The landlord Liu De never dreamed that Zhu Yuanzhang, a poor boy who herded cattle for himself back then, would actually become the emperor, and he didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not settle accounts with him, but gave him "thousands of acres of fertile land" and "tax exemption for ten years".
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, I am afraid that among the hundreds of emperors in history, the lowest starting point, not only born poor, but also had many hardships in his youth, his parents died, and his relatives were separated, it can be said that the most tragic thing in the world, Zhu Yuanzhang has almost experienced it once.
But it was this poor boy who had been a monk and a beggar, under the difficult conditions of "opening a bowl", a few years later, he established the Ming Dynasty, which occupied an important position in history, and finally sat on the world with his bare hands and became the founding emperor admired by later generations.
Zhu Yuanzhang's life before becoming the emperor can be roughly divided into two stages, one is the military career after joining the Red Turban Army, and the other is the suffering youth, especially this juvenile period, which should be the most difficult and helpless stage in Zhu Yuanzhang's life.
Not only did both parents die, relatives were separated, and in order to survive, they had to be monks and beggars, during this period, there were many well-wishers who helped them, but there were also wicked people who bullied them, for example, Zhu Yuanzhang once gave him cattle landlord Liu De, is a typical representative of this.
There is a saying that "don't bully the poor young man", obviously the landlord Liu De doesn't understand this truth very much, and has bullied Zhu Yuanzhang many times when he was a teenager, and even after the death of his Zhu Yuanzhang's parents, he refused to borrow land to bury him, it is estimated that he would definitely not think that this poor boy who herded cattle for himself would one day become the emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown is in Haozhou, Anhui Province, a small place called Guzhuang Village, which is bordered by the Huai River in the north and the Yangtze River in the south, which belongs to the Huai River Basin.
Therefore, frequent floods have led to famine in this land, and Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown is even more so.
Zhu Yuanzhang in his childhood spent this kind of hungry and full days, his father Zhu Wusi was a tenant, and he worked hard in the fields all day long, but in exchange for the family barely being starved to death, most of the harvest was taken to the landlord.
If there is no accident, Zhu Yuanzhang's family may spend this kind of poor but ordinary life, and Zhu Yuanzhang may also marry a daughter-in-law when he grows up, continue the life of a tenant, and repeat the cycle.
But in the third year of Zhizheng (1343), a sudden drought broke the quiet life here.
The drought is not terrible, endure it and it will pass, it is nothing more than to eat less back then, for Zhu Yuanzhang, a half-grown child, this is nothing, the wild fruits on the mountains and the small animals in the woods are all good things that he and his friends can eat.
But the following year, the ensuing locust plague made people almost desperate, and the locusts crossed the border, gnawing almost everything in the fields and mountains, and the crops that were already sparse and lazy were completely gone.
Before people could react, the plague arose, and those who contracted the plague could not eat at first, then their bodies festered, and finally died in wailing.
In less than a month, Guzhuang Village, which was originally quite lively, became sparsely populated, and those who were able fled to other villages, and those who were unable could only wait for death at home.
Zhu Yuanzhang's father, Zhu Wusi, died at home not long after the plague came, the family has not recovered from their grief, and his mother Chen also followed, and the eldest brother Zhu Chongwu starved to death a few months ago, and the huge family was left with Zhu Yuanzhang and the second brother in a blink of an eye.
The little brothers wept loudly at home and were full of grief, but what could they do with their grief? People cannot be resurrected after death, and the most important thing at present is to bury their relatives and bury them in peace.
But the burial is difficult for the Zhu brothers, why? There is no cemetery.
Zhu Yuanzhang's father, Zhu Wusi, was not from Guzhuang Village, but in Peidi, and when he arrived at Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather's generation, he migrated to Xuyi, Jiangsu, and Zhu Wusi migrated to Haozhou, Anhui Province when he was young, and made a home in Guzhuang Village.
Therefore, as a foreigner, there is no land in the local area, and the land planted by Zhu Wusi is also leased from the local landlord Liu De, and now that the people are gone, the land will definitely be taken back.
As for digging up graves for burial, let alone thinking about it.
After thinking about it, the little brothers had no choice but to go to Liu De and pray that he could give him a piece of land to bury his family.
Liu De's reaction was very happy, with only two words: don't borrow.
The landlord does not care about me, and he is angry, neither with the land, nor with the neighbors. --- Zhu Yuanzhang's "Imperial Imperial Tombstone"
Liu De's reaction is also normal, as a rural landlord, what he sees is only a little benefit in the moment, as for the long-term, or doing good deeds, etc., in his concept, there is no existence.
In his opinion, these two poor boys, who did not know when they would starve to death, even if they lent them land, what would they pay back?
Zhu Yuanzhang once let go of cattle for Liu De, which was basically done by children from poor families at that time, adults farmed for the landlord, and children herded cattle for the landlord to make a living.
At the same time, his father also planted land for Liu De, and Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Liu De would be kind to his past feelings. Give them a piece of land, but the reality is so cruel.
Even if Zhu Yuanzhang knelt down in front of Liu De and begged bitterly, Liu De was still unmoved, it was impossible to borrow land, not counting Zhu Yuanzhang's account of herding cattle and stealing beef when he was a child, no matter what, it was impossible to help Zhu Yuanzhang.
In the end, it was Liu Jizu, a fellow villager, who saw that the two little brothers were really pitiful, so he helped Zhu Yuanzhang and gave Zhu Yuanzhang a piece of idle thin land in his home, so that the matter could be resolved.
I spare the ground, I don't call me, I can use it at will, I don't want to be stingy?--- Liu Jizu
The cemetery is there, but the coffin has not yet been settled, and no one can help them, so in desperation, the two Zhu Yuanzhang brothers had to use the ragged clothes at home to wrap their relatives, and wrap their bodies in broken straw mats, and bury their parents.
According to historical records, on the day when Zhu Yuanzhang buried his parents, he suddenly encountered heavy rain, lightning and thunder, and the cemetery that had not been dug was covered by the loess washed down, and even the bodies of his parents were buried in it.
In any case, the parents have already settled in the ground, and the rest is how to make a living, after discussing with the second brother, the two decided to go their separate ways, the second brother went to distant relatives, and Zhu Yuanzhang became a monk in Huangjue Temple and became a small novice.
As for the stingy landlord Liu De, and the kind-hearted Liu Jizu, they may have quickly forgotten the Zhu brothers at that time, after all, the war was in chaos at that time, and saving their lives was the right thing, but what they didn't expect was that the next time they met, Zhu Yuanzhang actually became the emperor.
In the twelfth year of Zhizheng (1352 AD), the twenty-five-year-old Zhu Yuanzhang was invited by his childhood friend Tang He to defect to Guo Zixing, the leader of the Red Turban Army, and thus Zhu Yuanzhang's military career began.
For more than ten years, Zhu Yuanzhang recruited Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, Tang He and others, had his own forces, and defeated Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, and finally in 1368 AD, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty in Yingtian (Nanjing) and ascended the throne as emperor.
When he became the emperor, he naturally wanted to be rewarded for his merits, and Zhu Yuanzhang added titles to the meritorious people who had followed him for many years, and after settling everything down, it was time to return to his hometown.
The ancients had a cloud: wealth does not return to the hometown, such as a night trip at night. What's more, when he became the emperor, he had to go back to his hometown to take a look, and his parents' graves were still there.
After some arrangements, Zhu Yuanzhang once again set foot on the land of his hometown, and he was greeted by enthusiastic villagers, and everyone was happy that there was an emperor in his hometown.
After greeting the villagers and feeling a lot of emotion, Zhu Yuanzhang asked about his former benefactor Liu Jizu, only to know that Liu Jizu had been dead for many years, and he couldn't help sighing, and at the same time ordered that Liu Jizu be named the Marquis of Yihui, so that his children and grandchildren can enjoy the worship of the court for generations.
When everyone was very happy, there was only one person who was flustered, and he was the landlord Liu De.
Liu De knew that after Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor, he was already at a loss for words, he had insulted Zhu Yuanzhang in every way, and even scolded him, and when Zhu Yuanzhang borrowed land from him, he refused to borrow, one by one, I am afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang will not spare him.
I wanted to run, but I didn't dare, and it was useless to run, so I had to bite the bullet and tremble to meet Zhu Yuanzhang.
After seeing Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu De's legs were weak, and he knelt in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, kowtowing, and begging Zhu Yuanzhang to forgive him for his lack of eyes back then.
But Lao Zhu's reaction surprised Liu De, Zhu Yuanzhang got up in person, helped Liu De up, and said something to Liu De, which moved Liu De to cry.
"You don't have to ask. When I was poor, how would you know that today is the Son of Heaven?"
What Zhu Yuanzhang meant by these words is that what you did back then was just human nature, I will not hold you accountable, when I was poor, how would you know that I would be the emperor today?
Immediately, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered to reward the landlord Liu De with 30 hectares of good land and exempt him from taxes for ten years, which made Liu De even more sobble, and couldn't help but kowtow and shout "The emperor's grace is vast".
This is the end of the landlord Liu De, and the record of it in the historical materials ends here, and after that, there is no trace of this character.
Compared with the killing of the founding hero, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite merciful to this rural landlord, and the humiliation did not make Zhu Yuanzhang retaliate against him, but generously forgave Liu De and rewarded him with good land.
First of all, if Liu De is killed because of revenge, it will be easy for Zhu Yuanzhang, and if he gives an order, Liu De's nine clans may be gone, but what is the use of killing him? Is it just revenge for the bullying of the year?
Han Xin can still be humiliated by the crotch of the bully, and later rewarded the bully, Zhu Yuanzhang, as the founding emperor, must also know Han Xin's story, if he kills Liu De, wouldn't he think in disguise that he is not even as good as Han Xin, without the slightest broad-mindedness.
Zhu Yuanzhang would never do this kind of thing that damages his reputation.
Second, compared with killing Liu De, is there any benefit in rewarding Liu De? Yes, and the benefits are great, what Liu De represents is the people at the bottom of society, although he is a landlord, but he is only slightly better than ordinary people, not to mention that Liu De, the landlord, is handed down from his ancestors, and he does not steal or rob.
A society and the government, the attitude towards the people at the bottom, determines the position of the government, Zhu Yuanzhang does not kill Liu De but rewards, it is to portray the image of a good emperor who loves the people like a son, and this kind of thing that is conducive to his own fame will spread very quickly in the local area and further places.
In the end, before Lao Zhu joined the army, he begged for food, became a monk, and experienced all kinds of hardships, and there were many people who offended him during this period, so they couldn't all be caught and beheaded one by one, right? If that's the case, who would dare to serve the Ming Dynasty, and he would only make his rule unstable.
All in all, Liu De is something that Lao Zhu can't kill, if he kills him, the gains outweigh the losses, as a qualified and mature politician, Zhu Yuanzhang knows which is more important, therefore, his butcher's knife may be slashed at meritorious officials, but it will never be swung at people like Liu De.
Whether it is fellow villager Liu Jizu or landlord Liu De, they are all people and things that Zhu Yuanzhang must have experienced in his youth, even if there are no these two, there can be other similar characters, Liu Jizu needless to say, the landlord Liu De can still survive after Zhu Yuanzhang becomes the emperor, it is the performance that Zhu Yuanzhang has become a mature politician, not killing Liu De, obviously there are many benefits, Zhu Yuanzhang is a good person, and he will definitely save his life.