At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Wansan, known as the "richest man in the south of the Yangtze River", was as rich as the country. He owned half of the country's wealth. His huge family business spread all over the country, and his economic ability was enough to compete with the government.
Historical records show that Shen Wansan was originally a poor boy. When he was young, his family fell into ruin and his mother and brother died of the plague. He and his father moved to Zhouzhuang and made a fortune by reclaiming wasteland, eventually accumulating considerable fields and properties.
Lu Deyuan, a wealthy businessman in the late Yuan Dynasty, saw that Shen Wansan had a good business acumen, so he donated his inheritance to him for free and escaped into Buddhism himself. Shen Wansan became more powerful and used the Jiangnan waterway to monopolize the water transport industry, becoming the richest man in the country.
After becoming wealthy, Shen Wansan was still not satisfied and began to get involved in politics in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of power. Ordinary officials have long been unable to catch his eye, because the people he supports and assist are all rulers.
During the melee at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when gangsters were everywhere, Shen Wansan chose Zhang Shicheng without hesitation. Back then, in the face of Zhu Yuanzhang's heavy troops, Zhang Shicheng, who was barely surviving, was able to fight hard for dozens of days in Suzhou City because of Shen Wansan's help. It's a pity that Zhang Shicheng was defeated and was wiped out by Zhu Yuanzhang. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Wansan's position as a remnant of the rebels was in jeopardy...
Donating money to build the city of Nanjing and clinging to royal power were self-defeating< /p>
At that time, Shen Wansan was already a famous rich man in the world. After Zhu Yuanzhang came to power, he wanted to get rid of him quickly, but he had no reason, so he tried every means to make things difficult for him. Due to the recent war, the capital city of Jinling was devastated, with ruins and ruins everywhere you could see.
In order to curry favor with the imperial power, Shen Wansan offered to generously donate 1/3 of the repair costs of the Nanjing City Wall. Today, Shen Wansan built the entire Nanjing City Wall from China Gate to Shuixi Gate. In addition, he also took the initiative to reward the soldiers and paid them military salaries out of his own pocket.
It was the emperor's duty to reward the troops, but now Shen Wansan had to pay for the emperor. Isn't this an act of overstepping the mark? Zhu Yuanzhang seized his handle and became furious, trying to accuse him of tyranny. Empress Ma, who had always been virtuous and virtuous, defended Shen Wansan and said: "This man deserves his punishment and should be punished by heaven. The emperor does not need to take action." After her words, Zhu Yuanzhang was convinced and no longer cared about it.
The emperor arranged the Hongmen Banquet and cleverly used three words to avert danger
Shen Wansan was very particular about food. He once hired famous chefs from all over the world to cook for him. Afterwards, he organized it into a "Wansan Family Banquet" ". Zhu Yuanzhang had heard about it a long time ago and came to Shen Mansion in person just to taste the delicacies of the world.
During the dinner, Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to a pig's trotter and asked Shen Wansan what it was. You must know that the name of the emperor in ancient times was taboo, and "pig" and "zhu" were homophonic. Once Shen Wansan said the answer, it would be a crime of beheading.
He had an idea and replied: "Wan San Hoo". He did not contradict the emperor's name, but even called himself a pig, so he escaped the disaster.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not give up. He asked Shen Wansan: "These Wansan hoofs are so big, I'm afraid they can't be cut off without a knife." But if a knife appeared at this time, it would be suspected of regicide. Shen Wansan didn't dare.
He replied: "These ten thousand hooves have been stewed for a long time, and the bones and flesh can be separated by just picking them with chopsticks." Zhu Yuanzhang gave it a try, and it was true. Shen Wansan resolved the crisis again.
The son-in-law was involved in the blue jade case, and the Shen family in Jiangnan collapsed
During the Hongwu period, a fool named Chen married a woman named Liang who was both talented and beautiful. The neighbors felt that the two were not a good match. , Mrs. Liang also shed tears in her boudoir all day long. Shen Wansan's adopted son-in-law, Gu Xuewen, was a lustful person. Hearing about such strange things, he felt aggrieved for Liang and decided to go to appease the beauty himself.
He spent a lot of money to buy jewelry as a gift to Mr. Liang. The lonely man and the widow came and went, and they actually saw each other. In order to go to Chen Fool's home and have a date with Liang smoothly, he bribed local bullies and ordered them to take Chen Fool to gamble, thereby luring him out.
There is no airtight wall in the world. The affair between Liang and Gu Xuewen was discovered by Uncle Chen Fool. Chen is just a petty official, and it is almost impossible for him to bring down the powerful Shen family by himself, but he cannot tolerate his daughter-in-law's adultery.
At that time, the "Blue Jade Case" was causing a stir, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that all those involved should be executed. Chen came up with a plan and falsely accused Gu Xuewen of being a member of the Blue Jade Party to the local government.
Once it got involved with the Lan Yu case, it was a serious crime. The government immediately investigated Gu Xuewen and the Shen family, and finally found that the two did have a relationship.
As a result, Gu Xuewen and his family were executed, and even his wife and family could not escape the fate of genocide. The Shen family in the Jiangnan area came to an end.
Zhu Yuanzhang was originally from a poor background and had a serious hatred of the rich; coupled with his suspicious nature, he was naturally quite afraid of Shen Wansan. Looking at the founding veterans of the Ming Dynasty, Li Shanchang, Lan Yu, Fu Youde and others have not escaped his clutches, let alone Shen Wansan who was on the wrong team at the beginning. It's a pity that Shen Wansan's life's wealth was confiscated after his death, and he worked hard all his life to make wedding clothes for others.