Life

Hu Dahai was born in present-day Si County, Anhui Province. His family was of Persian extraction (though he was almost certainly of mixed Persian-Chinese blood), having come to China through the Silk Road and settled in Anhui as youtiao vendors; Hu was a Chinese Muslim from the Hui ethnic group. Hu joined Zhu Yuanzhang's army sometime around the fall of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. After Zhu's forces crossed the Yangtze River, they captured all of southern Anhui, most of Zhejiang, and other surrounding areas. Hu received positions of leadership and led troops which defeated rival warlord Yang Wanzhe, leading other Miao chieftains Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen, and Li Fu to surrender. He served as administrator of the entire Jiangnan region, and was responsible for safeguarding the Jinhua area of Zhejiang.

Although Hu was illiterate, he was renowned for his humility and willingness to accept suggestions from his subordinates. He recommended several well-known scholars and officials from Zhejiang to the service of Zhu Yuanzhang (who later established the Ming dynasty and became its first emperor), including Liu Bowen, Song Lian, Ye Chen, and Zhang Yi. Hu's troops were highly disciplined, and Hu once described them, "My fighting men do not know writing, they only know three duties: do not kill, do not violate women and girls, and do not burn down huts or farmhouses."

In early 1362, Miao chieftains Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen, and Li Fu came to appear before Hu in Yanzhou (now part of Jinhua and Hangzhou, not to be confused with Yanzhou in Shandong) and offer their surrender and allegiance. Hu lauded the men for their courage and made them honorary officers under his command. However, the three chieftains had no intentions of ever serving Hu. Soon after their surrender, Jiang Ying invited Hu to perform a review of some crossbowmen at the Bayong Tower in Jinhua. As Hu prepared to mount his horse and leave the review, a Miao soldier came running up and fell on his knees in front of Hu's horse, and declared that Jiang Ying was trying to kill him. Hu turned and looked at Jiang Ying, who withdrew a wooden club he had hidden in his sleeve and attacked Hu, bashing his skull and killing him. At the same time, other Miao men attacked and killed Hu's son, Hu Guanzhu, as well as Geng Zaicheng. The Miao men looted the city and fled back into their mountain homes.

简介

元朝末年，从朱元璋起事。虽是文盲，但是能折节下士，曾荐刘基、宋濂、叶琛、章溢于朱元璋。

渡江后攻取皖南、浙江等地，胡大海率兵把元朝将领杨完者打败，苗族将领蒋英、刘震、李福等归降，任江南行省参知政事，镇守浙江金华。胡大海军纪严明，曾说：「吾武人不知书，惟知三事，不杀人，不掠妇女，不焚毁庐舍。」。

至正十八年（1358年），胡大海长子在婺州因酿酒，违背军令，被朱元璋处死，有人劝告朱元璋不要这样作，以避免胡大海兵变。朱元璋说：「宁可让胡大海造反，也不能让我的军令无法推行。」最后，朱元璋亲手杀了胡大海的长子。

至正十九年（1359年），朱元璋命枢密院判事耿再成、参军胡大海率兵取处州。

至正二十二年（1362年）二月七日，部将蒋英邀请胡大海前往八咏楼，视察士卒演习，大海不疑有他，欣然前往，未上马时，有苗将钟矮子跪于马前称「蒋英欲杀我！」胡大海未及回答，即被蒋英以铁锤打死，次子胡关住同时被杀，耿再成亦死。朱元璋取杭州之后，杀死蒋英，血祭胡大海，并作文以祭，特赠光禄大夫，追封越国公，諡武庄。

胡大海长子被朱元璋所杀，在次子胡关住被杀后，绝后。

胡大海有养子胡德济。

动漫

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