In the winter of the third year of Hongwu's reign, the air inside Yingtian Fengtian Hall was extremely cold. Zhu Yuanzhang was wearing a dragon robe and sitting on the throne. On the table were ten gilt iron coupons, each of which was engraved with the name of the hero and the words "avoid death three times". Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Shanchang and other founding heroes were ordered by their titles and stood bowed in the hall, their eyes locked on the shining golden iron certificate. "Today you will be rewarded based on your merits," Zhu Yuanzhang's voice passed through the hall, carrying the majesty of an emperor, "You have followed me through life and death, and conquered the Ming Dynasty. This iron ticket is my promise to you - except for the serious crime of treason, you will be exempted from death three times!" The chamberlain awarded the iron ticket to the meritorious officials in turn. Xu Da took it with both hands and bowed to express his gratitude: "I thank Your Majesty for your grace, and I will devote my whole life to the Ming Dynasty!" Chang Yuchun took the iron coupon and said loudly: "I am willing to protect the Ming Dynasty with my life. Although this coupon is good, I hope I will never use it!" The heroes accepted the coupons one after another, but only one figure stood there and did not come forward - was that the Marquis of Ji'an Lu Zhongheng? No, it was Wu Liang, the Marquis of Jiangyin. Wu Liang was born in Haozhou. When Zhu Yuanzhang raised his army, he defended Jiangyin for ten years and resisted Zhang Shicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops. He was known as the "Eastern Wu Barrier" and ranked among the top five in terms of merit. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was not moving, he frowned: "Wu Liang, why don't you accept the iron coupon?" Wu Liang took a step forward and bowed without raising his head: "Your Majesty, I don't dare to ask for this iron coupon to avoid death." The whole hall was in an uproar. Li Shanchang couldn't help but said: "General Wu, this is His Majesty's grace. How many people ask for it, why do you refuse it?" Wu Liang raised his head and his eyes were clear: "I know very well that the death-free ticket is not a talisman, but a life-saving talisman. During the Warring States Period, Lord Xinling stole the talisman to save Zhao, but in his later years he was jealous of the King of Wei; in the early Han Dynasty, Han Xin had great achievements and eventually died in Changle Palace. If I accept this iron ticket, I may bring disaster to the family in the future because of the word 'high merit'." Zhu Yuanzhang's hand holding the armrest of the dragon chair tightened, and his tone was a bit colder: "Do you think I will kill the heroes like King Wei and Emperor Gaozu of Han did?" "I dare not speculate on Your Majesty's intentions," Wu Liang kowtowed to the ground, "but I would rather guard the Botian in Jiangyin, remove my armor and return to the fields, and spend the rest of my life in peace. My merits are achieved with Your Majesty. If Your Majesty cannot trust me in the future, an iron bond cannot protect me; if Your Majesty trusts me, I will die well even if there is no iron bond." Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a long time. The palace was so quiet that he could hear the crackling of candles. After a while, he suddenly laughed: "What a 'disarmor and return to the field'! Wu Liang, you are quite transparent. Since you don't want this iron bond, I will grant your request. From tomorrow on, you will return your military power and return to Jiangyin to retire." Wu Liang was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty!" The other heroes looked at Wu Liang, some envious, some puzzled - the iron ticket to avoid death was a life-saving talisman, and he threw it away at will? Xu Da quietly pulled Wu Liang's sleeve and whispered: "Brother Wu, why are you doing this? With this coupon, even if something goes wrong in the future, you can still save your life." Wu Liang just shook his head: "Brother Xu, your Majesty is talented and resourceful, but he is also suspicious. This iron coupon is a favor today, but it may be evidence of crime tomorrow. It is better for you and me to be careful." Xu Da seemed to understand, but finally took the iron coupon into his arms. The next day, Wu Liang returned his military power, left Yingtian with his family, and returned to his hometown in Jiangyin. He cultivated farmland in his hometown, raised chickens and grew vegetables. He never made friends with local officials, let alone discussed court affairs. Someone once advised him: "Master Marquis, you are the founding hero of the country. Even if you remove your armor, you should enjoy wealth and honor. Why do you have to work so hard?" Wu Liang just smiled: "Wealth is like floating clouds, stability is real. It is enough that I can live to see my wife and children safe." As the days passed, the storm in the court became more and more intense. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu's reign, the Hu Weiyong case broke out. Zhu Yuanzhang had Hu Weiyong killed for "treason", implicating more than 30,000 people. Because Li Shanchang had an old friendship with Hu Weiyong, even though he had a ticket to avoid death, he was still sentenced to death and his entire family was executed. Before execution, Li Shanchang looked at the sky, suddenly remembered Wu Liang's words back then, and smiled bitterly: "If I had rejected the iron coupon, maybe I would not end up like this today." In the 26th year of Hongwu, the Lan Yu case broke out, and Lan Yu was skinned and turned into grass. Fu Youde, Feng Sheng and other heroes were sentenced to death one after another. Although Xu Da died young, there are rumors that he was killed by the roasted goose given by Zhu Yuanzhang. Except for Chang Yuchun, who died young, almost none of the heroes who had received the iron ticket to avoid death had a happy ending. The iron ticket to avoid death had become a "death reminder", and the word "death-free" engraved on it became the greatest irony. But Wu Liang, who was far away in Jiangyin, lived a stable life. The local officials had written many times, saying that Wu Liang "kept his own conduct and was loved by the people." Zhu Yuanzhang just nodded lightly every time he saw the memorial and never had any suspicion about Wu Liang. Someone once advised Zhu Yuanzhang: "Although Wu Liang has shed his armor, he still has prestige. If someone uses his name to rebel in the future, it may cause disaster." Zhu Yuanzhang said: "If Wu Liang wants to rebel, he rebelled when he was guarding Jiangyin. Why wait until today? He is a smart man who knows what to do and what not to do." In the fourteenth year of Hongwu, Wu Liang died of illness at home at the age of fifty-eight. After Zhu Yuanzhang learned the news, he left the court for a day and sent his servants to Jiangyin to pay homage. He posthumously named Wu Liang the Duke of Jiang Guo and gave him the posthumous title of "Xiang Lie". Wu Liang's family was also treated well, and their descendants lived and worked in peace and contentment in Jiangyin without ever being involved in court disputes. Wu Liang's son Wu Gao later entered the court as an official. Someone asked him: "Your father refused to receive the death-free iron coupon. Did he have expected that something would happen in the court?" Wu Gao sighed: "My father said back then that you can accept or reject the grace given by your majesty; but people's hearts are unpredictable, and the emperor's trust is more important than any iron bond. He doesn't want the iron bond because he doesn't want your majesty to think that he is 'arrogant', nor does he want to have the idea of 'relying on the bond to act rashly'." Later, someone discovered a suicide note written by Wu Liang to his descendants in his former residence. It said: "We will conquer the world with your majesty. It is a blessing to become famous. Remember, the emperor's favor should not be greedy, and the position of a powerful minister should not be attached to. Living a stable life and protecting your wife and children is the greatest blessing." This suicide note was later included in the "History of the Ming Dynasty", and Wu Liang became one of the few founding officials who died well during the Hongwu period. Whenever future generations mention those bloody cases of meritorious officials, they will think of the Marquis of Jiangyin who refused to receive an iron ticket to avoid death. He did not have a glittering iron ticket to protect himself, but with his clear mind and the choice of being law-abiding, he protected himself and his family in the bloody storm of the Hongwu period. And those heroes who once regarded the iron coupons as treasures eventually became victims of the struggle for imperial power. They never understood until their death that Zhu Yuanzhang's promise to avoid death was never an ironclad guarantee, but a chess game that tested people's hearts. Only Wu Liang saw through the nature of the chess game and took the initiative to abandon his pieces, and was able to escape unscathed.
Go read "Spring Comes to Jiangnan and Flowers Bloom", which is a time-travel novel. The protagonist traveled through time to the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, cherished each other's friendship with Wen Tianxiang, assisted Jia Sidao in guarding Ezhou City, fought fiercely with Kublai Khan, and established a new style of school. Later, the protagonist was driven out of Lin'an. After the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, he desperately rescued Wen Tianxiang, and the wheel of history began to slowly turn.
It is a particularly enjoyable old-school Ming Dynasty story. There are no systematic cheats, and the villain does not need to use his wits. Let's see how the protagonist's mind can crush all kinds of monsters and monsters. Dark plot + bloody battlefield + assassination and espionage, all included
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