硬命之人
《明朝那些事儿》（一）
一、朱元璋他没有李密牛角挂书那样的情操，自然也没有杨素那样的大官来赏识他，于是，他很老实地帮刘德放了十二年的牛。
1. Zhu Yuanzhang lacked the refined character of Li Mi who hung books on his ox horns, and naturally had no high-ranking official like Yang Su to appreciate him. Thus, he honestly herded cattle for Liu De for twelve years.
二、在这个马上民族统治中国六十余年后，他们的国家机器已经到了无法承受的地步，此时的元帝国就好像是一匹苟延残喘的骆驼，只等生命中那最后一根稻草。
2. After this equestrian nation had ruled China for over sixty years, their state apparatus had reached an unsustainable point. The Yuan Empire at this time was like a dying camel, just waiting for the final straw in its life.
三、元末的世界正处于拉马德雷冷位相时期，气象规律促使着地质灾害频繁发生。一方面，蒙古族本是逐水草而居的畜牧民族，对农业生产既不了解，更不重视，积极的治灾行动得不到官府的响应。
3. The world during the late Yuan period was in the La Madre cold phase, where meteorological patterns led to frequent geological disasters. On one hand, the Mongols were originally nomadic herders who followed water and grass, neither understanding nor valuing agricultural production, so active disaster relief efforts received no response from the government.
四、另一方面，政局腐化，赈灾物资遭到层层盘剥克扣。天灾加上人祸，便出现了伏尸处处、饿殍遍野、民众易子而食的悲惨局面。
4. On the other hand, the political situation was corrupt, with relief supplies being embezzled layer by layer. Natural disasters combined with human misfortunes created a tragic situation where corpses lay everywhere, the starving filled the fields, and people resorted to exchanging children to eat.
五、灾难到来后，四月初朱元璋的父亲饿死，初九大哥饿死，十二日大哥长子饿死，二十二日母亲饿死。如果说这是日记的话，那应该是世界上最悲惨的日记之一。
5. After the disaster struck, Zhu Yuanzhang's father starved to death on April 4th, his eldest brother on April 9th, his eldest brother's eldest son on April 12th, and his mother on April 22nd. If this were a diary, it would be one of the most tragic in the world.
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