How did Shen Wansan, the richest man in Ming Dynasty, die?

Zhouzhuang Town, as a representative of the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan water town, attracts an endless stream of tourists every day. Many tourists don't know that Zhouzhuang has become the most famous ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River because of Shen Wansan.

Shen Wansan was the God of Wealth in New Year pictures from the middle of Ming Dynasty, and his power grasping ability was brought to the extreme before his death. His eyes were fixed on the emperor instead of ordinary officials: first, he helped Zhang Shicheng defend Suzhou; after Zhang Shicheng's defeat, Shen Wansan turned to Zhu Yuanzhang to donate money. Repairing the city wall was faster than the emperor, and then he proposed to kill the army. He was exiled to Yunnan and died of excessive performance. In capitalist society, capital becomes absolute power, and those who master capital manipulate politics behind the scenes. In ancient China, capital was subordinate to politics, and it was never strong enough to turn politics into its puppet. Shen Wansan, the legendary road to riches, whose real name was Shen Fu, was the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, and also the richest man in China. Because he is too rich, he ranks third, so there is a common name of thirteen thousand. Three thousand, which means "three shows in ten thousand households", is also called three shows, which is synonymous with wealth.

Shen Wansan's ancestors lived in Shenjiayang, Nanxun Town, Xing Wu (now Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province). His father is Shen You and his family is very rich. He didn't want to be suddenly flooded and his wife died of the plague. Shen You and his four sons fled to Zhouzhuang by fishing boat. The eldest brother and the second son died unfortunately, and only the third son Shen Fu and the fourth son Shen Gui grew up. When Shen Wansan gave birth to full moon wine, his father ordered Four Treasures of the Study and gold, silver and jewels to be robbed by him. Shen Wansan grabbed a jade carving abacus, and the housekeeper thought that he would be far richer than his parents in the future.

Shen Wansan doesn't like studying, but he especially likes learning arithmetic knowledge and playing bookkeeping games with the housekeeper: the housekeeper takes an empty ceramic jar, asks Xiao Wansan to put change in it, and sets up an account book, which should be kept regardless of deposits and withdrawals. This matter is done with relish every time, and the awareness of financial management is formed. The housekeeper dubbed the jar a cornucopia, and so did the Shenyang family. It is said that Shen Wansan is particularly inspired by business as long as he faces the cornucopia. Shen Wansan became a monopoly when he grew up, and he became more and more attached to the Shen family. Slowly, Zhouzhuang developed from a small village to a big town.

There are generally three theories about how Shen Wansan made a fortune: farming, making a fortune and learning from the scriptures. Reclamation theory Zhouzhuang has a mild climate, fertile land and convenient water conservancy, and has been a good place for agricultural production since ancient times. When Shen Wansan first came here with his father, his family cultivated a low-lying land, producing only reeds and thatch. They dug canals and drained water, worked hard, and soon turned this place into high-yield cultivated land. Slowly, the family became richer and richer, and began to buy farmland houses extensively, accumulating a lot of gold and jade money, known as the richest man in Jiangnan.

Dongzhuang Snow, one of the eight scenic spots in Zhouzhuang, depicts the scenery of Shenyang in those days. Dongzhuang has many huge granaries, which store a lot of grain. This point has been recorded in many historical materials, especially in the article "The Wealth and Decline of Shen Wansan, the Rich Man in the Early Ming Dynasty" published by Chen of Kunshan Cultural Management Association in the Symposium on Economic History of the Ming Dynasty. The theory of sharing wealth. Volume 6 of Zhouzhuang Town Records records that "Shen Wansan is rich in the south of the Yangtze River. Shen Wansan, who clings to the kingship twice, becomes a rich man and regards Suzhou as an important business stronghold. He not only devoted himself to making money, but also used it to cling to power. However, what he is obsessed with is not only the history of local officials, but also the history of the supreme ruler.

At that time, there was a war at the end of the yuan dynasty, and heroes fought for heaven. At first, Shen Wansan supported the Zhou regime in Pingjiang (Suzhou) Zhang Shicheng. At that time, Zhang Shicheng was able to stay in Suzhou for eight months because of the financial support of Suzhou tycoons. As the richest man, Shen Wansan contributed the most. Therefore, Zhang Shicheng later dedicated a monument to him. In the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang attacked Suzhou. After the city was broken, Zhu Yuanzhang hated the rich and even ordinary people in Suzhou and took a series of retaliatory measures. Clever Shen Wansan turned to Zhu Yuanzhang for peace. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to build Nanjing City, and Shen Wansan "helped to build one third of the capital", that is, the section from Zhonghua Gate to Shuiximen of Nanjing City Wall today.

There are thirteen gates in Jinling, and the south gate is called Jubaomen, which is said to have been built by Shen Wansan. In addition, he also paid tribute to Longjiao, and presented 2000 ingots of platinum, 200 Jin of gold, and charger 10 horse, etc. Zhu Yuanzhang sealed two sons for this purpose. As for the idea of building a city, it is recorded in Jiao Yunting in the late Ming Dynasty that Zhu Yuanzhang and Shen Wansan agreed to start work at the same time, and as a result, Shen Wansan beat him to finish it in three days. Zhu Yuanzhang said to him at the celebration: "In ancient times, there was a white emperor named Su Feng, so you are a white emperor." Shen Wansan has also built "1654 verandahs and 4 restaurants ..." in Nanjing. At the request of Zhu Yuanzhang, he moved the main place of business activities from Suzhou to Nanjing. It is said that Liquor Square, Caodui Lane, Youfang Lane and other places are the backyards of Shenyang's house.

Although Shen Wansan had many enemies in the Ming Dynasty, it quickly declined under the three heavy blows of imperial power. The first attack took place around the sixth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (AD 1373). Ma Huanghou, the Bigfoot of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his biography: Shen Xiu, the rich man in Xing Wu, that is, Shen Wansan, helped Zhu Yuanzhang to build a third of Nanjing City and asked for capital to reward the army. Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "Those who dare to reward the army of the son of heaven and the people in troubled times should be killed." Ma Huanghou protested: "Punishment is used to punish lawless people, but not to punish unfortunate people.

The people are extremely rich, and they are unlucky in themselves. Heaven is bound to bring him disaster. Why should your majesty kill him? "Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the gas cooled by half, leaving Shen Wansan alive and exiled to Yunnan. His second son-in-law Yu Shishe was also exiled to Chaozhou. The blow made Shenyang lose Shen Wansan, the head of the family, most of its wealth, and both human and financial resources were empty. It is said that when Shen Wansan was arrested, many people in Zhouzhuang town were implicated, and it is said that Zhouzhuang residents were punished as much as they could.

Fortunately, Xu Min, a citizen, went to the capital to report to the court that only the whole Zhouzhuang town could be saved. The second attack took place in the 19th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (AD 1386). That spring, Shen Wansan's eldest son's two sons and Shen Zhuang (Bo Shi) were imprisoned for land tax. That year, Bo Xi died in prison and was later buried in Zhouzhuang Xing Village. But on the whole, until this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of embarrassing Shenyang. For example, in the twenty-first year of Hongwu (1388), Suzhou government recommended talents to be officials in Beijing according to the court order. Shen Jun, the grandson of Shen Gui, awarded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Molly, Shen Fu's in-laws, served as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Wang Gongda as the main event, Zhang Jin and Yi as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Gong Da as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shen Shi entered the rank of ten people at a time, which shows that they are still treated by Zhu Yuanzhang at this time. The third attack took place in the last years of Hongwu. Zhu Yuanzhang killed heroes and consolidated imperial power. Shenyang and his in-laws were punished by the "Aquamarine Rebellion Case" because they were too close to General Liang Guogong. The fuse was that Shen Wansan's son-in-law, Gu, had an affair with a woman, and it was at this time that Shenyang was slain. "Hu Dang" and "Blue Party" were great events that shocked the whole country during the Hongwu period, which also showed that Shen Wansan's descendants, after being exiled, did not learn a lesson and still tried their best to gain a foothold in officialdom.

This time, the Gu family and six members of the Shenyang family were executed on the same day, and nearly 80 members of the Shenyang family were beheaded. In this way, Shen Wansan, known as the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River, was hit hard and went into decline completely. Shen Wansan's life experience is controversial academically. One is that Zhu Yuanzhang died in exile in Yunnan, and the other died in the Yuan Dynasty. This paper is based on the theory of exile in Yunnan. When Zhu Yuanzhang established Nanjing as his capital and expanded Yingtian City, due to frequent wars, the state treasury was in deficit and there was no money to repair the city wall.

In order to please him, Shen Wansan promised to be responsible for the construction of a section from Jubaomen to Shuiximen and related supporting projects. He was very concerned about the project, hired a first-class builder at a high price, supervised the work on the site all day, and finally finished the wall built by the royal family three days earlier. He worked so hard for loyalty, but he made Zhu Yuanzhang lose face. Later, the Ming army leveled Yunnan, and he planned to take out 1.2 million gold instead of the emperor to reward the three armed forces. This taboo finally angered Zhu Yuanzhang, who had long been dissatisfied with him, and put him in prison for interrogation. Later, with the help of Ma Huanghou and Mu Ying, who was guarding Yunnan, he was able to survive. Mu Ying and Shen Wansan usually have a very good relationship, so they took the opportunity to ask Zhu Yuanzhang to let Shen Wansan enter Yunnan on the grounds of helping them "manage money on the West Road". After Shen Wansan left Nanjing, many friends who followed him came to visit him from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

They found that taking the ancient tea-horse road to transport silk, ceramics and handicrafts from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to northwest Yunnan and even Tibet was a new way to seek wealth. Although the weather there is cold, the roads are bumpy and full of hardships, there is a lot of room for development. Therefore, experienced Shen Wansan continued to use the ancient tea-horse road to do business, transporting silk and other specialties from Jiangnan to Yunnan, and even entering Tibet, Myanmar and India ... to resume the old business of the ancient tea-horse road. In the southwest border, Shen Wansan spent the last time of his life. 1392 He followed Zhang Sanfeng to the Fuquan Mountain for monasticism and died in Pingyue. 1393, Shen Wansan was buried in Fuquan Mountain after his death (under Fuquan Mountain in Fuquan City, Guizhou Province, Shen Wansan's tomb still exists today). Ming Hongzhi 1 1 year (1498), Shen Wansan's fifth grandson Shen (also known as Shen An) led his son Shen Bo and his daughter Shen Qionglian to bury Shen Wansan's bones from Fuquan Mountain in Yinzibang, Zhouzhuang, Jiangsu Province, and named them underwater tombs.

When he was exiled, Shen Wansan hid his second son, Shen Mao, in Mu Ying's army and went south to Yunnan and Guizhou to protect his offspring. Shen Shi's descendants lived in Tunpu, Guizhou under the care of officers such as Chen and Zheng sent by Mu Ying. They set some ancestral precepts: for example, to live in a tunpu forever; Sacrifice to the god of wealth, namely "Shen Wansan"; Sort by genealogy with hidden codes; Doing business for generations and so on.

Tunpu has four big families, and the fourth family name is Zhang, probably a descendant of Zhang Shicheng. Because historical records show that Shen Wansan and Zhang Shicheng are closely related and have always sheltered Zhang's descendants. Shen Wansan's arrangement proved to be correct. After being exiled, Shen Shi in the south of the Yangtze River suffered a heavy blow twice, and Wang Shen, the eldest son who stayed at home, gradually declined. Zhouzhuang, to which he is attached, has only one brother, Shen Gui (Shen). Shen Mao, the second son who continued in Guizhou, was saved. To this day, they still have many habits of more than 500 years ago. Throughout Shen Wansan's life, he didn't get much benefit from his obsession with imperial power, but was weakened by his own performance. However, how to be a gentleman like a tiger is just right? But after Shen Wansan was demoted to Yunnan, he still did not forget to protect the descendants of Zhang Shicheng, Zhu Yuanzhang's sworn enemy, but it was really amazing!