But no matter which title, you can see that Zhu Yuanzhang was born in poverty and was definitely at the bottom of society.
But from the lowest point of society to becoming the founder of the country and achieving the highest moment of life, it can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang is a talented person.
In the process of Zhu Yuanzhang's great achievements, one person is indispensable, and that is the strategist Liu Ji-Liu Bowen.
The two met in the turbulent era at the end of Yuan Dynasty. One has Wang Ba's ambition, and the other has Wang Zuo's talent. The two complement each other.
In the course of years of communication, Liu Ji deeply realized Zhu Yuanzhang's superb talents, so he looked for opportunities to show Zhu Yuanzhang from time to time.
This will not only make Zhu Yuanzhang happy, but also harmonize their relationship. Why not?
As a result, there was a picture that remained in history forever: one day in court, Liu Ji teased Zhu Yuanzhang and shouted "Long live, long live" and told Zhu Yuanzhang that this was the first film.
How can this defeat the witty Zhu Yuanzhang? He answered the bottom line tactfully without much thought, and the monarch and his subjects smiled at each other.
Zhu Yuanzhang dropped out of school as a child, and all his talents were accumulated in the process of becoming a monk and begging.
It was not until he was 24 years old that he defected to the rebels in Guo Zixing and gradually began his own hegemony.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang's educational level is not high, during his campaign, he gradually realized that he could not govern the country by force alone.
Therefore, he began to collect talents widely, such as Liu Ji, Song Lian, Shen Hu and others.
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang consciously kept learning from these people and gradually improved his knowledge level.
Of course, from a semi-illiterate to a well-read person, Zhu Yuanzhang has missed the best learning period.
So he started from the "partial door", specializing in those short and pithy literary categories, and was very interested in some literary expressions that did not need to be lengthy.
Zhu Yuanzhang has a soft spot for couplets. With his innate talent, Zhu Yuanzhang soon became a master.
Liu Ji is a trusted minister of Zhu Yuanzhang. Of course, he has a deep study of Zhu Yuanzhang, and he can best catch Zhu Yuanzhang's "jokes" at critical moments.
So once in court, he shouted "Long live" with his ministers.
After Zhu Yuanzhang said that he was outstanding in loving Qingping, he did not stand out like others.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very strange and the ministers were puzzled, so Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Ji to stand up again.
As a result, Liu Ji still shouted "long live, long live" and said that he had made a part.
Zhu Yuanzhang was so witty that he immediately realized that Liu Ji was confusing himself with a usual greeting.
So, he immediately said "stand up, stand up", and then Liu Jicai stood up happily.
However, the civil and military officials of the Qing Dynasty understood at this moment. While secretly scolding Liu Ji for being cunning, they quickly praised Zhu Yuanzhang loudly, which made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely happy.
On this day, ministers also changed their previous prudence, and the court was in a happy atmosphere. Liu Ji's ability to adjust and create an atmosphere can be seen.
Some people may find it incredible. How embarrassing it would be if Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't answer. Is Liu Ji really not afraid of death?
If you think so, you underestimate Zhu Yuanzhang's ability and despise Liu Ji's wisdom.
He is sure that Zhu Yuanzhang can answer it, because Zhu Yuanzhang has shown his talent many times in this respect.
And Zhu Yuanzhang himself is very good at this. He likes to test each other's talents on many occasions.
On one occasion, Zhu Yuanzhang led his descendants to the Royal Horse Garden for a cruise.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the horse's tail everywhere. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he made a couplet: "The wind blows a thousand lines."
Because at that time, Zhu Yunwen, the great grandson of the emperor, was already the handpicked successor of Zhu Yuanzhang, and besides Zhu Yuanzhang, his position was the highest. Of course, he must come first.
However, Zhu Yunwen is obviously not that talented. He only replied, "The rain hit the wool."
When it was the prince's turn, the bottom line of Judy, the four emperors, was "Rizhao Dragon in Ten Thousand Points of Gold"
Zhu Yunwen is talking about sheep, but Judy is talking about dragons. Obviously, the momentum and pattern of the two cannot be mentioned in the same breath.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel great anxiety about whether the emperor's grandson could sit still. Facts have also proved that his fears are correct.
Zhu Yuanzhang likes traveling incognito to inspect people's livelihood.
One day, Zhu Yuanzhang saw a farmer selling white fresh lotus roots in the market.
He couldn't help coming near, picked up a stick and said, "A bent west arm."
Unexpectedly, the farmer who sells lotus roots is not a mortal, so he casually connected "seven skills are not as good as dry heart."
This pair is a wonderful combination.
Because Bigan is considered to have "exquisite seven skills" in history, the extremely cruel Shang Zhouwang also dug out his heart to prove it.
The similarities between lotus root and stone's arm are white and tender, and there are idioms of broken silk, which are just as good as the seven senses.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be interested, and then wrote a couplet: "The lotus root is in the mud, and the jade tube is connected with geography."
As a result, the farmer calmly responded: "Lotus water is astronomical."
Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and immediately sold the lotus root as a "drink offering".
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang's story is also extremely interesting.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was traveling incognito, he went to a small shop to drink with Liu Sanwu, a bachelor of Hanlin.
But because this shop is too humble, there is only wine and no food, so Zhu Yuanzhang said with emotion: "The village shop has three cups and five lights, and there is nothing."
The shopkeeper who was delivering wine casually said to him, "Daming is a unified country, regardless of north and south."
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be overjoyed. The bottom line of this shopkeeper can be said to be extremely particular.
It is Zhu Yuanzhang's wish to express the hope of national reunification with "North and South" and "East and West" as opposites.
Liu Ji has a deep understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang's high-energy couplets.
The two men played a game of tattooed badminton, and Zhu Yuanzhang, who took the initiative to attack, was greatly inspired and casually said, "Heaven is a chessboard star, and the sun and the moon win glory."
And Liu Ji immediately said: "Lei is the flag of drums and electricity, and the situation is fighting." This pair is magnificent, each with its own identity and wonderful words.
On another occasion, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote a couplet in front of Duobao Temple, a famous temple in Beijing: "There are many treasures in the temple."
At this time, an official accompanying Wang Huaisu said: "The country name is Daming, and there is no greater emperor."
This kind of flattery is quite ingenious, almost without trace.
It can be seen that although Zhu Yuanzhang has never read a book, his talent is definitely leveraged, and "couplet to the son of heaven" is well deserved.
As for Liu Ji, Zhu Yuanzhang's right-hand man, people used to call him Liu Bowen, and he was even more a figure known as a god.
It is said that he was born in poverty, lived in a shabby hut and ate sweet potato silk, but he was "gifted, literate at the age of five, able to fight at the age of six and able to speak at the age of seven."
Liu Bowen, born at the end of Yuan Dynasty, served as an official in Gao 'an County, Jiangxi Province for several years. Because of his honesty, he won the favor of the local people.
In Zhejiang and Jiangxi, there are many legends of Liu Bowen, such as the Qiaoduan soybean case in Liu Bowen, the lawsuit of eliminating pesticides, and the judgment of Gao 'an County.
He can not only solve cold cases tactfully, but also make decisions for the people with a heart of loving the people, eliminating evil and promoting good.
Of course, one of Liu Bowen's most famous identities is Zhu Yuanzhang's military adviser.
After he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang, he skillfully enlightened Zhu Yuanzhang with the Confucian thought of self-cultivation and governing the country, which inspired his quality and level as a wise king.
Zhu Yuanzhang, also known as Liu Ji, said, "Count the words of Confucius and enlighten my heart."
Liu Bowen helped Zhu Yuanzhang get out of trouble and unified the whole country, which not only showed Liu Bowen's unparalleled military talent, but also showed his sharp wit.
In "White Lucheng", Zhu Yuanzhang did not listen to Liu Bowen's advice and rushed into the army. As a result, he was surrounded by the enemy. Thanks to Liu Bowen's clever plan, he was able to clear the way.
Walking in Hongdu is even more legendary. Liu Bowen and Zhu Yuanzhang sneaked into Hongdu Mansion controlled by Chen Youliang.
As a result, the news leaked, and Zhu Yuanzhang was besieged by Chen Youliang, making it difficult to get out of the city.
As a result, Liu Bowen finally tricked Zhu Yuanzhang into dressing up as a dirty and smelly monk to avoid Chen Youliang's search and get out of the city safely.
After Zhu Yuanzhang ruled the country, Liu Bowen began to assist Zhu Yuanzhang in establishing a new dynasty, which showed great wisdom in the process.
1366, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Bowen to reveal the base site of the imperial city, which highlighted Liu Bowen's talent and wisdom in astronomy, geography and geography.
According to legend, this is to build a capital on Long Mai, so that the descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang can be "king forever".
"History of Ming Dynasty" called Liu Bowen: "Learning to be quiet and benefit each other".
He combined the geographical conditions of Nanjing, imitated the astronomical phenomena, and invested wisdom and energy in the construction of the new city, making Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in the first month of the following year.
Liu Bowen also saved many colleagues with his wit, such as "saving colleagues with wit" and "saving Xu Da with wisdom".
It's all about Liu Bowen's clever rescue of his colleagues from the disaster when he saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was intolerant and wanted to set a trap to kill the hero.
"Clever Plan to Eliminate Disasters" and "Self-help" mainly talk about how he cleverly got rid of Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion and avoided a disaster when he knew that his reputation was very high and Zhu Yuanzhang could not tolerate it.
In folklore, wit is the most important and remarkable feature of Liu Bowen, and it is also the background color of the legend of Liu Bowen.
In the process of Zhu Yuanzhang winning the world, Liu Bowen fully demonstrated his true wit.
With the determination to assist the Ming monarch, he made suggestions on Chen's "eighteen strategies for current affairs" from the beginning of his defection to Zhu Yuanzhang, and finally helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen established a close relationship between teachers and students during their years of campaigns, in the end, there was no escape.
It is an indisputable fact that in ancient China, except for Song Taizu, who had the right to drink a glass of wine, almost all the founding heroes of the past dynasties had no good end.
So it is conceivable that Liu Ji's fate is almost doomed, and it is impossible to change under that system.
Because in the ancient environment of China, Liu Bowen, no matter how clever he was, couldn't stand Zhu Yuanzhang's single-handedly falling for ten times, and finally failed to escape death.
And Zhu Yuanzhang successfully killed Liu Bowen with only three strokes.
The first move is to lower the prestige.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Bowen, which was supposed to be one of the best, ranked 36th, with an annual salary of 240 stone.
Li Shanchang, whose credit status is the same as his, was made a Korean male with an annual salary of 4,000 stone.
This immediately let people know that Liu Bowen cannot be trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Of course, historians generally believe that "a knight is not called a virtue, not a reward", which is unfair to Liu Bowen.
However, Liu Bowen has a strong sense of the overall situation. He not only kept silent, but also paid tribute to "great kindness".
He said that he felt extremely honored to be labeled as a "humble fool". "Dogs and horses are overworked, but they are ashamed and afraid."
After returning to his hometown, Liu Bowen only drank and played chess, and never kept his word.
Liu Bowen's indifferent attitude of gloating effectively reduced Zhu Yuanzhang's chances of hitting him, but it failed because of the fundamental conflict with Zhu Yuanzhang's idea of getting rid of these founding old guys and not stopping.
The second move is to establish the enemy.
Liu Bowen looked down on Hu. When Zhu Yuanzhang asked Liu Bowen what he thought of Hu, Liu Bowen said rudely: Hu is like a bad horse. If you let it drive, it will definitely roll over.
This, of course, is "clever" from the palace to Hu's ears, and Zhu Yuanzhang also decided to let Hu be the prime minister.
Hu, of course, is the superior, and spared no effort to attack Liu Bowen.
Zhu Yuanzhang established the opposite enemy for Liu Bowen, and then suppressed Liu Bowen through Hu's hand. The so-called balance technique was used by Zhu.
The third measure is to deprive you of your annual salary.
Later, when Liu Bowen saw that there was no good fruit to eat in the imperial court, he said that he was old and wanted to retire to his hometown. However, Zhu Yuanzhang still did not trust him.
After he returned to his hometown, he also wanted to do his part for his hometown elders and proposed to set up a patrol inspection department in Zhejiang.
As a result, Hu used it to steal the concept and used it as a handle to make Liu Bowen sue him.
And Zhu Yuanzhang didn't ask, don't be dishonest, he immediately canceled Liu Bowen's pension, and the salary of 240 stone was gone.
Liu Bowen saw that it was imperative and had to rush back to Beijing to plead guilty, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not give him a chance to defend himself.
So this kind of mental torture day and night makes Liu Bowen, who is over 60 years old, easily get sick.
At this time, it is more obvious to see Zhu Yuanzhang's ruthlessness. He invited Hu to visit the sick and took the doctor to prescribe medicine for Liu Bowen.
Liu Bowen, who already knew the ending at this time, had to make a last resort to save his life for future generations.
After taking the medicine, he called his son to his side and told him that after his death, he asked his son to ask Hu to write an epitaph for himself.
As long as it is written by Hu, it is impossible to harm them again, so that Liu's descendants can be safe and sound.
History has proved that things really developed according to the path predicted by Liu Bowen.
It can be said that he used his own strategy to achieve peace for future generations.
Text/blue wind candle dust
References:
[1] Zhang Lu, research on witty legends of Liu Bowen, Wenzhou University, 2018 (3);
[2] Zou Lei, Zhu Yuanzhang "To the Son of Heaven", "Selected Folk Stories", 2022( 1).