Changes

When he was sixteen, Zhu lost his entire family - with the exception of one brother - to the [[Black Death]], and had to scrape and beg to survive for a time. He had been promised to a monastery when he was a child, and in [[1345]]-[[1352]] joined that monastery, becoming an itinerant monk & beggar. It was during that time that he was first exposed to the philosophy of the bandit/rebel group known as the [[Red Turbans]]. He joined the Red Turbans, and married a daughter of one of the rebel leaders.

When he was sixteen, Zhu lost his entire family - with the exception of one brother - to the [[Black Death]], and had to scrape and beg to survive for a time. He had been promised to a monastery when he was a child, and in [[1345]]-[[1352]] joined that monastery, becoming an itinerant monk & beggar. It was during that time that he was first exposed to the philosophy of the bandit/rebel group known as the [[Red Turbans]]. He joined the Red Turbans, and married a daughter of one of the rebel leaders.

In [[1355]], his father-in-law died, and Zhu succeeded him as head of the Red Turbans, and began launching raids and attacks against the Mongol establishment. By [[1368]], he had taken Beijing, toppled the Yuan Dynasty, and set himself up as emperor of a new dynasty, which he declared the Ming Dynasty.

In [[1355]], his father-in-law died, and Zhu succeeded him as head of the Red Turbans, and began launching raids and attacks against the Mongol establishment. By [[1368]], he had taken Beijing, toppled the Yuan Dynasty, and set himself up as emperor of a new dynasty, which he declared the Ming Dynasty, making [[Nanjing]] his capital.

==Policies==

==Policies==