When Liu Bowen was dying, he explained one thing to his eldest son Liu Lian and one thing to his second son Liu Jing.
What he explained to his eldest son was that he asked the eldest son to give Zhu Yuanzhang a "book of heaven" (that is, a book for studying astrology) at home, and could not open it halfway through.
(Liu Bowen)
What he explained to his younger son was to let the younger son tell Zhu Yuanzhang in the future after Hu Weiyong's death that the state decrees should be concise and concise, so that the people would know what was the crime and be able to actively abide by it. Then the country will be at peace.
So, why did Liu Bowen explain such a thing to his two sons? What is the significance of these two things he explained?
The two things that Liu Bowen confessed were measures to save his life and promotion measures.
Why did the eldest son give the "Book of Heaven" to Zhu Yuanzhang, and was not allowed to peek? Because Liu Bowen's fame at that time was very large. Folklore has it that he can peek into the sky. This is very fatal for Zhu Yuanzhang. When Liu Bowen was about to die, he handed over such a book and did not allow his son to read it, just to tell Zhu Yuanzhang that after Liu Bowen's death, no one could "see through the heavenly opportunity" and could rest assured. In this way, Liu Bowen also saved the lives of his sons.
(Zhu Yuanzhang)
His last words to the second son were actually to hope that the second son could tell Zhu Yuanzhang this suggestion, so that Zhu Yuanzhang would feel that he had inherited the mantle of Liu Bowen and deeply understood the essence of Liu Bowen's wisdom, so he would promote and reuse him.
So, has Liu Bowen's goal been achieved?
Liu Bowen's eldest son, Liu Lian, eventually served as an official in the imperial court, serving as an examination supervisor and also supervising the imperial history. Zhu Yuanzhang really did not embarrass him. However, he was unfortunately involved in the struggle of the Hu Weiyong clique, and was eventually coerced by the Hu Weiyong clique and fell into a well and died. Liu Bowen saved his eldest son from being killed by Zhu Yuanzhang, but he did not hide from Hu Weiyong.
After Liu Bowen's younger son Liu Jing offered advice to Zhu Yuanzhang, he was indeed valued by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang often summoned him to discuss the governance of the country with him, and left him to Zhu Yunjiao to assist Zhu Yunjiao.
(Zhu Di)
However, later Zhu Yunjiao and Zhu Di got into a fight, and Liu Jing, as Zhu Yunjiao's trusted minister, was arrested and imprisoned by Zhu Di because he said that Zhu Di "could not escape a 'usurpation' after a hundred lifetimes of His Highness". Liu Jingning died unyieldingly and committed suicide in prison.
That is to say, Liu Bowen also let the second son be promoted, but he did not count the royal war of the old Zhu family, and his second son also became a victim of the royal war.
It can be seen that Liu Bowen's last words are actually not so magical.
(Reference: History of the Ming Dynasty)