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Deng Yu
Ming founding general who took over his dead father's troops at sixteen, held Hongdu against Chen Youliang's great siege of 1363 and was made Duke of Wei
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Chuming Youde
- Roles
- Commanders
Deng Yu, first named Youde, came from Hong county in Sizhou; after his father and elder brother were killed in the fighting, the men chose him, at sixteen, to lead their troops, and he was always first onto the walls. He brought his force over to Zhu Yuanzhang from Xuyi, received the name Yu, crossed the Yangzi with Zhu and with Hu Dahai took Huizhou and Jiande. When the surrendered officers Zhu Song and Kang Tai mutinied at Hongdu in 1362 he broke out with only a few dozen riders. The next year Chen Youliang laid siege to Hongdu with a huge army; Deng, under Zhu Wenzheng, held the Fuzhou Gate, rebuilding the wall as fast as it was breached, for three months until Zhu Yuanzhang's relief force arrived. In 1370 he was made Duke of Wei. Sent in 1377 with Mu Ying against the Tibetan tribes of western Sichuan, he fell ill on the way back and died at Shouchun at forty, receiving the title Prince of Ninghe.
Life and times
Dates 1337 CE–1377 CE