Liu Bowen assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in sweeping away the heroes and ruling the rivers and mountains, and was the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty.
He knew astronomy and geography from below, and was proficient in the art of war, and was on a par with Jiang Ziya and Zhuge Liang, and was jokingly called "Zhuge Liang under the three parts of the world, ruling the rivers and mountains Liu Bowen".
As a young man, Liu Bowen was depressed and unwilling, and served in the Yuan government three times, but was ostracized by his colleagues and suppressed by his superiors. It was not until he met Zhu Yuanzhang at the age of 50 that his talent had a stage to show. In this regard, Liu Bowen and Zhu Yuanzhang should be the relationship between Maxima and Bole.
But later generations commented on Liu Bowen's life: "Not at the time, not by others." This means that he was born at an opportune time, and that he met an inhuman. What's going on?
First, as a wizard, there is nowhere to display talent
Liu Ji (1311-1375), character Berwin, was intelligent and highly gifted from an early age, not only could read ten lines at a glance, but also had a superhuman memory. He was admitted to Xiucai at the age of 12 and was called "prodigy" by his fellow villagers.
At the age of 14, when I entered the school to read "Spring and Autumn", I could not only quickly remember the original text, but also understand the meaning contained in the book. The teacher secretly marveled, thinking that he must be extraordinary in the future.
At the age of 17, Liu Bowen left Fuxue to study Zhou Cheng Li with Zheng Fuchu, and received an education in Confucianism. He not only read the Confucian classics and the books of the hundred schools, but also devoted himself to the study of astronomy, geography, the art of war, mathematics, etc., and gained a lot. By chance, he got a copy of the Liujia Heavenly Book, and with his own talent and hard work, he learned the art of Qi Men Dun Jia from it.
The outstanding Liu Bowen soon became famous in Zhejiang. The teacher Zheng Fuchu valued him even more, not only teaching him everything he had learned in his life, but also prophesied in front of Liu Bowen's father that he would definitely be able to light the lintels for the Liu family in the future.
Ji Youying is different, and his master Zheng Fuchu said that he is righteous, and Junzu Dehou will be the gate of the great prince. ——"History of Ming"
In 1333, the 23-year-old Liu Bowen successively served as the Cheng of Gao'an County in the Yuan government, and was promoted from the deputy of Confucianism in Wupinjiang and Zhejiang, but because he was unwilling to "join the gang" and accept bribes like others, he was ostracized by his colleagues and had no choice but to resign and go home.
At that time, the Yuan government ruled corruptly, and the exorbitant taxes and taxes in various places made the people miserable. The people have been resentful for a long time, and some courageous righteous people have the idea of rebelling against the Yuan government.
In 1348, Fang Guozhen, a peasant leader who was engaged in selling salt and floating seas, rebelled at sea and fired the first shot against the Yuan. He originally went to enjoy prosperity and wealth, and he was not very determined to oppose Yuan. As soon as the Zhejiang officials lured him, he surrendered. However, he did not have a good time after his return, so he abandoned his government and rebelled again. This was repeated many times and caused headaches for local officials.
In 1352, Liu Bowen was appointed by the Yuan government for the third time and appointed as the governor of the marshal's office, helping the official government to plan to suppress Fang Guozhen's uprising.
After Liu Bowen took office, he successfully blocked Fang Guozhen's attack by strengthening the city wall and building fortifications. Fang Guozhen's heart was in turmoil, he was already short of food and grass, and he could not withstand a long-term battle, so if he dragged it on, he would definitely return with a big defeat.
Seeing that Liu Bowen's strategy was about to succeed, unexpectedly, at this time, Emperor Yuan sent Timur from Zuo Cheng Tiri to bring a large amount of money and recruit Fang Guozhen.
Liu Bowen immediately proposed to Timur that Fang Guozhen had repeatedly rebelled and had no integrity to speak of, and that recruiting him could only be exchanged for temporary peace, rather than a long-term solution, and it was better to kill him to avoid future troubles.
Fang Guozhen was very scared when he learned this, and busily asked someone to secretly send gold and silver treasures to Liu Bowen. Liu Bowen did nothing and sternly repelled the comer.
The Jiyan Fang brothers were in chaos, and there was no punishment for it. The country is afraid and thick. Base is not affected. ——"History of Ming"
Fang Guozhen was well aware that the corruption of Yuan government officials was very serious. Since Liu Bowen couldn't get through here, he turned around and went to bribe the other court ministers. Sure enough, many court ministers accepted his "good intentions" and said good things for him in front of Emperor Yuan. Fang Guozhen again accepted the surrender and received an official position in the imperial court.
However, Liu Bowen, who was dedicated to the Yuan government, was reprimanded by Emperor Yuan for having no governor and acting as a blessing and imprisoned in Shaoxing. Seeing this, Fang Guozhen acted more unscrupulously, and even mocked Liu Bowen. Liu Bowen was discouraged, knowing that the Yuan government had become dead wood and ashes, and it was difficult to get a glimmer of life.
Liu Bowen once determined that after becoming an official, he would rely on his own ability to seek the well-being of the people. But I didn't want to encounter the autumn of troubled times, and there was nowhere to show my talents. He resigned angrily again and returned to his hometown of Qingtian to live in seclusion and concentrate on writing. "Yu Ion" was written during this period of seclusion.
Second, re-emerge from the mountains and help Zhu Yuanzhang dominate the rivers and mountains
Soon after Liu Bowen's return to seclusion, the government and the public rose together, among which Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youcheng, and Zhang Shicheng were the strongest, and the Yuan government was in danger.
Liu Bowen quietly observed the changes in the situation in the world and believed that the Red Turban Army headed by Zhu Yuanzhang was the most likely to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish a new regime.
In 1360, Zhu Yuanzhang admired Liu Bowen's reputation and invited him to assist in the mountains twice. Liu Bowen, 50, was invited to Jinling (present-day Nanjing) and presented the "Eighteen Strategies of Current Affairs".
He believes that the Yuan government is now at the end of the strong crossbow, and if it wants to win the world, it is advisable to first set the southeast and then move north; In order to win the hearts and minds of the people, we must attach importance to the land on which the people depend, prepare for war with cultivation, and protect farming with war; If you want to achieve great things, you must not only maintain good military discipline, but also recruit talented people and use talents...
If Zhu Yuanzhang was a lone brave man who blindly rushed forward in the dark night, then this current strategy is the light that pointed out the direction for him.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately opened his mouth and repeatedly commented that Liu Bowen's suggestion was "an opportunity to explore the world." He specially asked people to build the Lixian Hall to settle Liu Bowen.
Liu Bowen analyzed the current situation for Zhu Yuanzhang, pointing out that he now occupies a favorable geographical position, but if he wants to settle the Central Plains in the north, he must first kill Chen Youcheng in the northwest and Zhang Shicheng in the southeast in order to solve his worries.
Then Liu Bowen pointed out that Zhang Shicheng had limited insight and insufficient ambition, and he only wanted to live on his one-acre and three-point land, and would not have much to worry about; But Chen Youshu is different, this guy kills the lord and usurps the throne, is ambitious, and is also tricky, and he is a very dangerous opponent.
Chen Youcheng not only had plenty of soldiers, but also powerful ships. If you first concentrate your forces to take Chen Youcheng, it will be much easier to attack Zhang Shicheng.
Zhu Yuanzhang followed the plan, first defeating Chen Youcheng by luring the enemy, and then fighting a decisive battle with Chen Jun at Poyang Lake, completely eliminating Chen Youliang's forces.
In this battle, Zhu Yuanzhang, as the commander, personally led the naval division to fight Chen Youqiong. In order to hide the command ship "White Sea" on which he was riding, he deliberately painted all the ships white, however, he was still exposed.
After Chen Youcheng discovered Zhu Yuanzhang, he immediately ordered his soldiers to aim their guns at Zhu Jun's command ship and prepare for bombardment. At this critical moment, Liu Bowen suddenly saw the "difficult star" rowing by, and felt bad, and quickly let Zhu Yuanzhang change ships to avoid a disaster.
The following year, Zhu Yuanzhang wiped out Zhang Shicheng's forces, and then sent troops north to attack Beijing, the capital of the Yuan government. At this point, the overall situation of the world has been decided.
In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne as emperor in Nanjing, established the Ming Dynasty, and changed the yuan to "Hongwu".
As one of the founding fathers of the Daming Dynasty, Liu Bowen should have been made a duke like Li Shanchang and Chang Yuchun. However, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Liu Bowen had been an official of the Yuan Dynasty, and he did not take the initiative to join him, which was somewhat reluctant. After much consideration, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to make Liu Bowen a "sincere uncle".
Liu Bowen knew the meaning of Zhu Yuanzhang's move, and not only did he not show half dissatisfaction, but he was happy to accept it.
Zhu Yuanzhang was overwhelmed in his heart, so he issued a decree that Liu Bowen's hometown Qingtian County did not need to increase taxes. In this way, the fathers and villagers of Qingtian County were grateful to Liu Bowen.
Taizu is the emperor, and the military defense law is established, and the prefecture tax and grain are initially determined, and the Song system is added to the five he, but Qingtian's life is not added, saying: "Let the world in Berwyn township be beautiful and talking." ——"History of Ming"
Liu Bowen felt the imperial favor and served the Ming Dynasty loyally. During his tenure as Imperial Shizhongcheng, he did not favor favoritism, severely punished corruption, and greatly consolidated the Ming Dynasty's regime. But because of this, he offended many dignitaries and colleagues, including Prime Minister Li Shanchang and Tai Changqing Hu Weiyong.
Third, he was jealous of Zhu Yuanzhang and passed away
Once, Li Shanchang's nephew Li Bin was arrested by Liu Bowen for embezzlement and bribery.
As the prime minister, Li Shanchang personally went to Liu Bowen's mansion to intercede for Li Bin, hoping that he would spare Li Bin for his own face. However, Liu Bowen, who was upright by nature, did not say anything about his feelings and directly reported the matter to Zhu Yuanzhang, and Li Bin was eventually brought to justice.
The feud between Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen deepened.
As early as when Liu Bowen first came to serve Zhu Yuanzhang, Li Shanchang was quite jealous of him. Li Shanchang and Wu You, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, etc. are all from Huaixi, while Liu Bowen is from Zhejiang. In ancient times, when the friendship of fellow villagers was emphasized, Liu Bowen, who had great ambitions, was like an invader, and was rejected by Zhu Yuanzhang's circle of close followers. Especially later, Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more dependent on Liu Bowen, and had to consult with him in everything, which attracted more and more dissatisfaction from Li Shanchang and others.
Now, the former hatred is coupled with the new hatred, and Li Shanchang and several people hate Liu Bowen even more. This also laid the groundwork for Liu Bowen's tragic end.
In 1371, when Li Shanchang resigned from the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned Liu Bowen in private and asked him, "Who can replace Li Shanchang?" ”
Liu Bowen was a little surprised, everyone knew that he and Li Shanchang had a bad relationship, but he didn't expect that now the emperor came to ask him what he thought. After thinking for a moment, Liu Bowen replied cautiously: "This needs to be decided by the emperor, and the minister does not dare to say more." ”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "I just want to hear your thoughts, what do you think of Yang Xian?" ”
Liu Bowen said: "Yang Xian can do things, but he is not popular enough and embarrassed. ”
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and asked again, "What about Wang Guangyang?" ”
Liu Bowen said: "This person is narrow and shallow, and even more incompetent than Yang Xian. ”
Zhu Yuanzhang continued to ask, "What about Hu Weiyong? ”
Liu Bowen solemnly replied: "If the imperial court is compared to a carriage moving forward, the prime minister is the driver who controls the horse." Hu Weiyong is the prime minister, I am afraid that he will overturn the car. ”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled when he heard this: "It seems that none of the few people I chose can compare to Mr. I hope that Mr. will not shirk and become the prime minister. ”
Liu Bowen hurriedly refused: "The courtiers are straightforward and easy to offend people, plus the position of prime minister is complicated, I am afraid that if I can't handle it well, I will not live up to the emperor's good intentions." Now there are many people, as long as the emperor has the heart to search, he will eventually find a suitable candidate.
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a long time after hearing this, thinking that Liu Bowen was unwilling to serve him, and he might have a heart of disobedience.
Although he had doubts, he did not bring out anything on his face. When he returned to the harem to eat with Empress Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang said what was in his heart.
Empress Ma was taken aback, but she did not expect that after Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he began to fear the subordinates who had been born and died with him, and now he even had killing intent on Liu Bowen.
In order to keep Liu Bowen, Empress Ma immediately sent someone to send him a basket of fruits. When Liu Bowen saw the dates and pears inside, he immediately understood that Empress Ma wanted to "leave early".
Liu Bowen is well aware of the truth of "companions are like companions to tigers", so he is cautious in everything, but he still does not escape the fate of being suspected.
In the fourth year of Hongwu, Liu Bowen resigned from his official post to Zhu Yuanzhang on the grounds of his advanced age and prepared to return to his hometown to retire, and Zhu Yuanzhang gladly agreed.
After Liu Bowen returned to his hometown, he became more cautious in his words and actions, except for drinking and chanting poetry to entertain himself, never talking about his past in front of people, and not interacting with local officials. Even so, he was still secretly calculated by his successor Prime Minister Hu Weiyong.
Hu Weiyong spoke in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, saying that Liu Bowen had privately occupied a piece of land with "royal qi", which once again aroused Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion.
Zhu Yuanzhang sent a divine decree to Liu Bowen's hometown, depriving him of his concubines.
In order to dispel Zhu Yuanzhang's doubts, Liu Bowen had to come to Nanjing again and stayed.
Hu Weiyongfang took Zuo Cheng's palm to save trouble, and took the past to regret, so that the officials and the emperor were kingly, and the base was the tomb, and the people were with them, and they asked for an inspection to chase the people. Although the emperor did not offend Ji, he was quite moved and took Jilu. ——"History of Ming"
Later, Liu Bowen became depressed. Hu Weiyong sent the imperial doctor to deliver medicine every day and stared at him to take it. Liu Bowen knew that there was fraud in the medicine, but he had no power to resist, so he had to drink it with tears in his eyes. After Liu Bowen took the medicine, his condition became more and more serious, and he was gradually bedridden. Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang arrange for someone to send him back to his hometown.
In 1375, Liu Bowen died at the age of 65.
Among all the founding heroes, although Liu Bowen escaped the bad luck of being killed, none of his descendants were spared, Liu Bowen's eldest son Liu Lian was persecuted to death, his second son Liu Jing committed suicide in despair in prison, and his eldest grandson Liu Lian was exiled.
In less than ten years, the famous Qingtian Liu clan changed from a founding father to a family of criminal ministers.
According to wild history, before Liu Bowen died, he left a nine-character last word to his son: The Liu family will be a wizard after 8 generations, and sure enough, in 1531, that is, 156 years after Liu Bowen's death, Liu Bowen's eighth grandson Zhizhou Wei commanded Liu Yu Wen Wu Shuangquan, repeatedly achieved miracles, and the Jiajing Emperor remembered his great merits and decided to overturn the case against the Liu family.
Since then, Liu Bowen was not only restored to all his honors and titles, but also was able to enjoy the Taimiao, and apart from Yao Guangxiao, Liu Bowen became the only civil servant of the Ming Dynasty worthy of the Taimiao.
Summary:
As a wizard, Liu Bowen joined the Yuan government three times as an official in order to show his ambitions, but he was finally disappointed. Later, he went out of the mountains to serve Zhu Yuanzhang, accompanied him to fight the world, provided him with advice, and finally helped him pacify the world and establish the Daming Dynasty. It can be said that without Liu Bowen, there would be no later Zhu Yuanzhang.
Unfortunately, Liu Bowen met inhuman. Zhu Yuanzhang was suspicious by nature and extremely jealous. In the face of the multi-talented Liu Bowen, he first used it, then feared it, and finally used the hands of others to remove him.
Liu Bowen's life is sad and lamentable, embarrassing! However, his talent and deeds will not be overwhelmed by this, but will leave a strong mark on the long scroll of history.