In the chaotic world at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a poor background, finally defeated the crowd and achieved the imperial cause, relying on a large group of outstanding talents around him. Among them, there were many military generals, as well as outstanding courtiers such as Li Shanchang, Liu Ji, Zhu Sheng, and Song Lian, who offered advice and advice, but Li Shanchang and Liu Ji did not have a good ending.
However, at that time, there was still such a strange person, who assisted Zhu Yuanzhang for more than twenty years, in order not to lose Liu Ji and Li Shanchang, unusually low-key, but in the end he could avoid disasters and save himself.
This person's name is Chen Yu, the character is in the line, people called Mr. Jingcheng, a native of Nanjing. During the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Yu worked as a professor in Wenzhou, and later the swarms sprang up, and he resigned and went home to live in seclusion. Chen Yu is a calm man, well-read, especially proficient in celestial signs and magic numbers, which is very similar to Liu Ji, but he is not as sharp and powerful as Liu Ji, so he does not attract attention.
In the sixteenth year of Zhengzheng, Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Nanjing, heard about Chen Yu's name, invited him, and after in-depth conversation, he was greatly appreciated, leaving him as his own counselor, and discussing important military and state affairs with him. Zhu Yuanzhang was very polite to Chen Yu, calling him "sir" or "gentleman", and even went to Chen Yu's mansion several times to have a long talk with him. Moreover, Chen Yu has a characteristic of this person, that is, his mouth is particularly strict, and he never mentions his communication with Zhu Yuanzhang to others, so no one knows what they talked about when they were together.
At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Yu made several suggestions to Zhu Yuanzhang: do not be murderous, reduce taxes, appoint sages, and restore liturgy. If any minister was punished by Zhu Yuanzhang, as long as Chen Yu came forward to intercede, the result would always be good. This point is not comparable to that of many princes and princes. When Chen Yu was ill, Zhu Yuanzhang would send his own imperial doctor to diagnose and treat him, give him medicines, and let him bathe in the palace and invite him to eat. All kinds of indications show that Zhu Yuanzhang greatly appreciated Chen Yu's talent and received a lot of important help from him.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established himself as the King of Wu, he wanted to give Chen Yu an official position, but he refused. After ascending the throne, he was asked several times to become a Hanlin scholar, but he was also politely refused. Zhu Yuanzhang sent him ten guards and gave him a palanquin to protect him in and out of the palace.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted Chen Yu to be an official several times, such as the Zhongshu Zuo Cheng Xiang, which was a higher position than Liu Ji's. He also asked him to be a rebbe attendant and a scholar of Hongbunkan University, Taichang Shaoqing, or Rebbe Shangshu, etc., but Chen Yu all refused. Chen Yu had three sons, and Zhu Yuanzhang proposed to give them official positions, but Chen Yu said that the children were too young and they still needed to study, so let's talk about it in the future.
Chen Yu repeatedly refused to come out as an official, and this situation zhu Yuanzhang encountered for the first time, and it is estimated that there will be some unhappiness. Interestingly, Chen Yu did not come out to be an official, but Zhu Yuanzhang had some advisers, and he had nothing to keep, and he gladly accepted the gold, silver, silk and other things that Zhu Yuanzhang rewarded.
In the seventeenth year of Hongwu, the seventy-two-year-old Chen Yu died in Nanjing, and Zhu Yuanzhang gave coffins, linen, rice bills and other items, and gave him a burial of Zhongshan. Counting up, Chen Yu and Zhu Yuanzhang got along for more than twenty years, and it was very rare that they could finally die well. This also shows that Chen Yu is a smarter person than Li Shanchang and Liu Ji, and knows how to give in and protect himself when he is proud.
It is generally believed that Chen Yu repeatedly refused to take office, one reason was that through his contact with Zhu Yuanzhang, he understood that the emperor was too majestic and difficult to get along with. Another reason is that he was born in the Yuan Dynasty and did not want to become an official in the new imperial dynasty.
Written by Yu Zuo