First, the "hatred of the rich" mentality is at work.
I think it is incorrect to say that Zhu Yuanzhang had no "hatred for the rich" mentality towards Shen Wansan. This is determined by their different backgrounds. As we know, Zhu Yuanzhang, as a grassroots emperor, was born in the common people and was bullied and oppressed by the rich class for a long time. There must be deep-rooted hostility in his bones. After Shen Wansan came to Zhouzhuang with his father, he first relied on the development of agricultural production, "starting with farming", and then "expanding the fields and houses and enriching treasures", resulting in "huge capital and land all over the world"; Then, by accepting the huge property donated by Suzhou Fuhao Lu in the Yuan Dynasty, it is even more powerful; Later, through business contacts such as "East to Shanghai, Nantong to Zhejiang", he became the richest man in Jiangnan. They stand at different starting lines and have completely different ideas.
Second, the worry of regime consolidation.
Wealth is both a blessing and a curse to people of different identities. Not many rich people can reach the country or the rich side. Once the reputation of the super-rich is inadvertently exposed and attracted the attention of the court, the government and the underworld, disasters will follow. No matter whether you donate or not, there will always be endless mouths to fill, and you will never stop until you lose everything. Getting rich is an incurable "original sin", and its lineage is tragic and difficult to disguise and wash. At the very least, it may be a potential force to subvert the regime. How can I not go to the roots? This is the origin of Shen Wansan's tragedy.
Third, the vacillation of the rich class.
Generally speaking, the rich are often "mothers with milk", and as long as they are rulers, they are unconditionally attached. Shen Wansan is such a risk-averse. The rich are inextricably linked with politics. Long before he became attached to Zhu Yuanzhang, Shen Wansan supported his enemy Zhang Shicheng and was moved by Zhang Shicheng to erect a monument for him. Unfortunately, Zhang failed. In the early Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang built the Nanjing Wall, Shen Wansan generously donated silver 13200 Liang. After the project overspent, it added 13.2 thousand. But Zhu Yuanzhang still refused to buy it, forcing him to give the cornucopia. Shen Wansan shook his head, buried his fortune in the underground of Zhouzhuang, Suzhou, picked up a cornucopia and fled to other places. In fact, it doesn't matter whether he provides a cornucopia or not. High arch town master, kill; If you have more money than the royal family, you have to kill them.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Shen Wansan is not innocent in history, and there are some problems left over. In the new era of Jinling, Dingding, the Party is in Hulan. Is this okay? Those who use money to climb the dragon and attach the phoenix and try to ask the current regime to buy merit are miscalculating. Territory, is it Wang Chen? The king has long arms. Everyone in the world is privately owned by the royal family, not to mention the small business of weaving seats and selling shoes and the gold, silver and jewelry accumulated over the years. It is your advantage that the court does not move; Once moved, the life of the whole family will be in the hands of the government. It's a pity that Shen Wansan doesn't understand these things and the times. He really thinks that if he has money, he will know the way, and he can bargain with political forces and compete with others. In this way, bad luck can only be more urgent and tragic.
So, how did Zhu Can Yuan Zhang, a "swinging" figure like Shen Wansan, see it in his eyes and let it develop? So he launched three strikes against Shen Wansan:
The first attack was in the sixth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1373). According to Zhouzhuang Town Chronicle "Ming History". During Hong Wushi, Shen Xiuzhe, who enriched the people, helped to build a third of the capital and asked the emperor to submit to the army. The emperor endured the sun: ordinary people surrendered, and the army of the world was also chaotic, and the punishment was appropriate. After the admonition day, the unlucky people will be punished by heaven, but your majesty will not punish them! It's Shi Xiu. He's in Yunnan. "In addition to Shen Fangsan's exile in Yunnan, his second son-in-law Yu Shishe also exiled Chaozhou. Prior to this, Shen Wansan built the wall from Hongwumen to Shuiximen. He also contributed 2,000 ingots of platinum, 200 Jin of gold and 0/0 person of Jiatu/KLOC. Ten chariots and horses, building Nanjing corridor, restaurants and so on. This blow not only made Shenyang lose Shen Wansan's head; Moreover, the wealth has also been reduced by more than half, which can be described as both human and financial. Moreover, when Shen Wansan was arrested at that time, there were many collective punishments in Zhouzhuang Town, and it was said that all the residents of Zhouzhuang were punished. Fortunately, Xu Min, a townsman, didn't escape the axe, so he went to the capital: only in this way did he save the whole Zhouzhuang town.
The second blow was in the 19th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1386), and in the spring of the 19th year of Hongwu, "My brother died as a servant, so he died, and Boshi also gave him the imperial capital, so he was suitable to be in prison with his brother" (Tomb of Zhouzhuang Town Records, Volume 3). This time, two sons of Shen Wansan's son and Shen Zhuang (Bo) were jailed for land tax. That year, Bo Xi died in prison and was later buried in Zhouzhuang Xing Village. In this way, the inheritance of Shenyang has been fundamentally shaken.
The third attack was in the thirty-first year of Hongwu (AD 1398). "Wen Xue and Aquamarine conspired to catch Yan Xun, killed his wife and daughter and killed 72 families." "In February of the thirty-first year, there was a quarrel with the Hulan Party, and even three thousand great-great-great-great-grandchildren and six people died on the same day." ("Zhouzhuang Town Records" Volume 6 Miscellaneous Notes), this time Shen Wansan's son-in-law Gu Jia and Shen Jia were six, and nearly 80 people were all beheaded. Shen Wansan's huge family business, which was painstakingly managed, declined sharply. "Shen Wansan's family is in Zhouzhuang, and the dilapidated house is still there. It's not very stylish." The Shenyang family suffered such a heavy blow three times and could only be ruined.
Looking at the historical materials, we can know that the tragic ending of Shen Wansan is inevitable. According to the Records of Zhouzhuang Town, there was a millionaire named Shen Xiu in Zhouzhuang who generously helped the Ming government to build a third of the capital. Shen Xiu asked the emperor to reward the army. Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly flew into a rage and shouted, "What is he, to reward the army of the world-it's simply a mob! Deserve to be pushed out and slaughtered. " Ma Huanghou quickly remonstrated and said, "This ominous man doesn't bother the emperor to do it himself. God will punish him for you." Zhu Yuanzhang took his wife's words as stepping down. Although Shen Xiu didn't die this time, the local rich people couldn't avoid the tragedy of being "exterminated" in the end.
To sum up, we can see that Zhu Yuanzhang's "extermination" of Shen Wansan is not only a simple "hatred of the rich" mentality, but Shen Wansan's actions have threatened the stability and security of the Ming Dynasty.