Guo Kui, courtesy name Zizhang, was from Chao County. "Sikuquanshu" contains his work "Wangyun Ji", which contains more than 200 poems. Song Lian, a famous scholar in the Ming Dynasty, praised his poems as "interesting and meaningful, with subtle rhyme".
He once described the beautiful scenery of Chao City and his bohemian life in a poem: "Huainan (referring to Chao City) is full of flowers in March, and the sea of ??golden bottles is full of carved couplets" ("Spring Journey") .
After the age of 30, he wandered around the world, traveling all over Shaanxi and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. He claimed to be: "I have been without a home for ten years, and it is still difficult to travel even if I have no strategy" ("Qiu Xing").
In the 21st year of Zhizheng (1361), he went to Yingtian (now Nanjing) to join Zhu Yuanzhang, "joined the army with a sword", and participated in the struggle to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and unify China. On the way, he wrote: "The dream is broken." On Chaohu Lake, I am approaching the capital of Jianye. The return of spring is uncertain, and I am heading towards Miaowu independently" ("Jinling Daozhong"). He felt melancholy that his future was uncertain.
At first, he worked as a general clerk and consultant in the military camp, but then he experienced hardships and dangers during marches and battles. At that time, Guo wanted to build a career and get an official position. He said: "It is shameful that Lu Kang has not been awarded an official position for forty years." But he also wants to get rid of the shackles of fame and wealth: "I hope that I will retire early and live in peace on the peach blossom pond."
Because of his outstanding talent and hard work, he finally gained Zhu's trust.
In the 22nd year of Zhizheng (1362), Zhu asked his nephew Zhu Wenzheng to serve as the governor, stationed in the important town of Nanchang, and appointed Guo as the staff officer of the governor's office. They "Zengcheng dredged the pond and ordered Mingsu". At that time, Guo wholeheartedly supported Zhu Yuanzhang, as he wrote: "We know each other to expand the southern land and expand the territory of thousands of miles." "Qing Wu and Yue in one fell swoop, and then enjoying the prosperity of the Han Dynasty" ("On the Military March"). He regarded Zhu Yin as his "confidant" and compared him to the reincarnation of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. But he didn't expect that this "confidant" would soon take his head.
The following year, Chen Youliang, who was entrenched in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, led a fleet of 600,000 troops to attack Nanchang. Wen Zheng, Guo Kui and other commanding officers held on to the dangerous city and fought fiercely for 85 days before finally receiving reinforcements to relieve the siege. This played a big role in Yuanzhang's soon defeating Chen Youliang and seizing his territory.
However, after the war, Zhu was unwilling to give Wen Zheng more power and did not reward him for his merits. Wen Zheng was very disappointed and had "complaints." That’s all”.
Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not blame himself, but instead believed in the slander, thinking that Wenzheng's "different ambition" was guilty and dismissed him from office, but had Guo Kuilian executed. He actually became a victim of the overt and covert fighting between Zhu Zhiyi and their uncle and nephew.
The poet Guo Kui's wish to "retire after success" was not realized and he regretted it for the rest of his life. However, he left five volumes of "Wang Yun Ji" and is remembered by future generations.