Chapter 15 The fifteenth chapter was framed by traitors and returned home again

In the first half of the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 1370, Yang Xian was the happiest person in the world.Because Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately ran counter to Liu Bowen's guidance, he made Yang Xian the Zuo Cheng (deputy prime minister) of Zhongshu Province. In the second half of the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 1370, Yang Xian became the most unlucky person in the world because Zhu Yuanzhang killed him. Just as Liu Bowen expected, Yang Xian has talent but no weapon, he is a shallow dish, if you give him a platform, he will destroy himself and the platform. Yang Xian's Zuocheng got this position by kicking his immediate superior, Wang Guangyang.Not long after Liu Bowen discussed the Prime Minister, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately went against Liu Bowen's guidance, promoted Wang Guangyang to Zuo Cheng, and put Yang Xian in Zhongshu Province as You Cheng (Deputy Prime Minister).Zhu Yuanzhang is particularly sensitive to the left and right, and has been changing. Now, according to the system, the left is bigger than the right.

The left and right prime ministers are only a piece of paper thickness away from the left and right prime ministers, but the left and right prime ministers must be the priority.From this point of view, Zhu Yuanzhang's first candidate to replace Li Shanchang was Wang Guangyang.A strange scene appeared: Wang Guangyang was full of resourcefulness in the past, there was no problem he could not solve, and no one he could not settle.But in front of Yang Xian, he transformed himself into a hands-off shopkeeper.Wang Guangyang's inaction allowed Yang Xian to flex his muscles. His first step was to transfer all his cronies to Zhongshu Sheng's own sect, and eliminate all previous officials.Wang Guangyang only warned Yang Xian about such an important matter: "The emperor is very disgusted with this kind of practice of making circles. If you do this, don't you live up to the love of the emperor?"

Yang Xian had no intention of respecting the boss, and said with a sneer, "I'm doing things according to tradition. Which big guy in Zhongshu Province doesn't use his cronies?" Hairy.Finally, he said: "The human heart is a terrible thing, everyone has a ghost in their hearts." In fact, at this moment, although Yang Xian always suppressed Wang Guangyang, he still didn't know that Wang Guangyang was his competitor.Because in his opinion, he is Zhu Yuanzhang's lovely slave, and Wang Guangyang is Zhu Yuanzhang's minister. Of course, he has the closest relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang.A few days later, he talked with Zhu Yuanzhang. Just as Liu Bowen was worried before, Zhu Yuanzhang did not know whether it was intentional or not, so he told Liu Bowen's evaluation of him.Finally, he sighed and hinted: "If you can get rid of this problem, Li Shanchang is not suitable to be a prime minister at all."

Yang Xian smoked from his seven orifices, and almost splashed it in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.He locked himself in the room as if he had been enchanted by some kind of witchcraft. He didn't eat or drink, talked to himself, and wandered back and forth.Finally, he opened the door and ran to Liu Bowen's house to question the crime. The city of Nanjing was as hot as a stove that day, and Liu Bowen and his little wife, Ms. Zhang, were escaping the heat in the coolest corner of their home.Yang Xian followed the guard and rushed in, but instead of saluting Liu Bowen, he stood there arrogantly without saying a word.

Liu Bowen saw that his nostrils were flapping all the time, so he knew something was wrong.His mind is much slower than it was a few years ago, so after thinking about it for a long time, it occurred to him that he probably knew what I said about him. Thinking of this, he started to sweat all over.He dismissed Ms. Zhang and asked Yang Xian to sit down.Yang Xian said coldly: "Your evaluation of me really opened my eyes, as if I was reborn. I found that I now know a brand new me. It turns out that I am a villain who always has personal grievances in everything I do." Liu Bowen knew that this old friend for many years was not a paper tiger. He possessed the qualities of a spy career, such as ruthlessness and unscrupulousness in pursuit of goals, and he had reached the pinnacle.

Liu Bowen didn't explain.Even if he didn't make that kind of comment on Yang Xian, and Zhu Yuanzhang said he did, he did.There are some things, whether you did or didn't do it, as long as the emperor says you did it, then you did it. Liu Bowen comforted Yang Xian and said: "What is my comment? The emperor knows it well. You are a celebrity around the emperor. Don't you understand your position in the emperor's heart?" Yang Xian liked to hear such words, but he still did not let Liu Bowen go, he said: "Mr. Liu, you and I have an extraordinary friendship. Even if you don't lift me up, you can't push me away."

Liu Bowen apologized hastily, and said, "Yes, yes, I was a little out of place in this matter. But when the emperor asks me, I have to answer truthfully. If you don't answer truthfully, you are deceiving the emperor. Personal friendship counts." What, Jiangshan Sheji is the top priority in your and my mind." Smoke rose from Yang Xian's forehead, pointing at Liu Bowen: "You..." Liu Bowen stopped talking, he didn't talk much in the first place.Now, he has said everything for the day. After a long silence, when Yang Xian's forehead returned to flesh color, he actually smiled and said, "Wang Guangyang deserves it too!"

After saying this, he turned around and left, with heavy steps. Liu Bowen realized that Yang Xian already knew that his opponent was by his side.But Liu Bowen no longer has the aura to predict the direction of this matter. Only time can predict Yang Xian's life, and this time is very short. Yang Xian was determined to kick Wang Guangyang out of Zhongshu Province, but how to kick him out was a question Yang Xian had to rack his brains.Fortunately, he was a spy and was good at exposing people's privacy.Soon, his spies discovered that Wang Guangyang was not very filial to his mother.From the perspective of today's ethics, a person's disobedience is only a moral issue, and has nothing to do with political issues.But in the Ming Dynasty, especially the early years of the Ming Dynasty, this was a big problem.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established New China, he has been clamoring for the restoration of the long-lost ethics. Ethics advocates that "filial piety comes first." If a person is not filial, he is against the ethics, against the emperor, and against the whole world. After Yang Xian detected Wang Guangyang's evil deed, he immediately instructed Yu Shi Liu Bing to sue Wang Guangyang to Zhu Yuanzhang.We still have a deep impression of Liu Bing. He was named by Zhu Yuanzhang a month ago and was not allowed to participate in the celebration of Bei Yuan's expulsion. Liu Bing has been following Yang Xian's footsteps for many years. This time, he also wanted to show a good face in front of Zhu Yuanzhang to offset that humiliation.As soon as the accusation was issued, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious.According to Liu Bowen's explanation, what Zhu Yuanzhang was angry with was not Wang Guangyang's unfilial piety, but Wang Guangyang's being Zuo Cheng, who couldn't keep Yang Xian quiet, but let Yang Xian take the initiative.Wang Guangyang's cowardly temperament is the root cause of Zhu Yuanzhang's anger.

Punishment measures came down soon: Wang Guangyang was dismissed as a civilian and returned to his hometown. Yang Xian thought that this punishment was too light, and worried that Wang Guangyang would come back from the dead one day, so he intensified it.Zhu Yuanzhang had completely lost confidence in Wang Guangyang, so he gave Wang Guangyang a new punishment: exile in Hainan. As soon as Wang Guangyang left, Yang Xian became Zuo Cheng logically.He is only within reach of Xiangguo's position.He began to sing and laugh, and strode up. "Too soon to be happy" is one of the most grim cautionary quotes.Yang Xian has now become a negative example of this famous saying.Yang Xian's domineering in Zhongshu Province made Li Shanchang very uncomfortable.Li Shanchang's power that Yang Xian swallowed in just a few days was accumulated by Li Shanchang in more than ten years. Li Shanchang would never be like Wang Guangyang.

His reaction was extremely violent.He summoned the members of the Huaixi Gang and conveyed this message to them: Yang Xian is not a member of our Huaixi Gang, the world is our Huaixi Gang's world, how can a Taiyuan person show off his power here?All the members of the Huaixi gang passed it and wanted to bring down Yang Xian.Li Shanchang also summoned ministers who were not from the Huaixi Gang, and conveyed this message to them: Yang Xian was a spy. If he became prime minister, would you still have a good life?These ministers were filled with righteous indignation, thinking that their future life must not be spent in trembling. Yang Xian has become the public enemy of all ministers and has nowhere to escape. "Operation Falling Yang" began soon, and Li Shanchang was the leader who did his part.He accused Zhu Yuanzhang of the assholes that Yang Xian had done in less than ten days in Zhongshu Province.Among these things is Yang Xian's gang formation, which turned Zhongshu Sheng into Yang Xian's Zhongshu Sheng.This crime alone is enough for Yang Xian to drink a pot. Just after Zhu Yuanzhang drove away the useless Wang Guangyang, Yang Xian, who was not a useless at all but wanted to do something earth-shattering, appeared, and his anger was close to a volcanic eruption.He ordered the investigation of Yang Xian. As expected, Yang Xian did so many illegal things, and the investigators were all members of the "Operation Against Yang". Yang Xian is finished. Liu Bowen said a long time ago that Yang Xian has too much selfish desire. After he has a platform, he will expand this selfish desire without limit. Among all kinds of selfish desires, the desire for power is Yang Xian's favorite and Zhu Yuanzhang's least favorite. kind of desire.Although Zhu Yuanzhang has a lot of dissatisfaction with Li Shanchang, he likes Li Shanchang the most. This person has a measure of power.Yang Xian, on the other hand, has no scale and only pursues relentlessly. Zhu Yuanzhang had tirelessly instilled the idea of ​​"you are just my chief of staff" to his ministers of the Zhongshu Province. When the Yang Xian incident broke out, Zhu Yuanzhang said with regret: "He Yang Xian doesn't understand!" In the "Inverting Yang Movement", Liu Bowen's position must be on the opposite side of Yang Xian.According to some unofficial history, it was Liu Bowen who informed Zhu Yuanzhang of Yang Xian's various illegal activities in Zhongshu Province, and Zhu Yuanzhang got rid of Yang Xian. This kind of statement is very debatable. 1370 is not the era of Liu Bowen. Zhu Yuanzhang just ignored Liu Bowen's words. If he really listened to Liu Bowen's words, he would not violate Liu Bowen's purpose of discussing prime ministers and send Yang Xian to Zuo Cheng's chair superior.When Yang Xian sat on that chair more than ten days ago, he probably never thought that it was not Zuo Cheng's chair, but an electric chair. Tweaked "Sincerity" In the autumn of 1370, Liu Bowen stood on Zijin Mountain overlooking Nanjing City.The city of Nanjing is shrouded in autumn colors, vast and lifeless.The autumn wind blew into his baggy clothes, and he shivered.During this period of time, Liu Bowen's life can almost be described as "doing nothing".Although he did not live in seclusion, he actually lived a life of seclusion. When the first rooster crowed in the suburbs of Nanjing, he got up from the bed, put on a piece of clothing and went to the yard to watch the stars disappearing one by one.He was as still as a statue carved out of the worst stone.During that time, the sun was always invisible, and when the darkness and light were handed over, the autumn rain came.The promiscuous autumn rains don't stop until noon. Liu Bowen always stands in the rain without an umbrella. He said to Ms. Zhang, "This rain is very different from the rain in Qingtian. The rain in Qingtian doesn't fall on people. , it weaves a circular rain curtain around you, for you to enjoy, and never gets you wet. The rain in Nanjing always falls on you, and the raindrops are cold and go straight to the bone marrow." After lunch, Liu Bowen will change into commoner clothes , to the street to stroll. There are people coming and going on the street, all running for their lives.No one knew that the person who walked past them with trembling hands as if he couldn't figure out the position of the object would be the most outstanding person in this empire.Without him, the Great Ming Empire would not have been possible. Walking on the street, Liu Bowen looked at the faces of everyone in a hurry, and sighed, "Cars and horses are like running water, the man in the dream of Handan!" It was not until dinner time that Liu Bowen returned home tremblingly. On the fifteenth day of the ninth lunar month of this year, he spent his 60th birthday alone.Nobody knew, and he didn't tell anyone.That night, he wrote: In the last few months of his sixtieth year, Liu Bowen lived like this.He thought he could endure the end of the world peacefully like this, but unexpectedly, in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, he was hit again by Zhu Yuanzhang. In November of the lunar calendar in 1370, Xu Da's Northern Expedition Corps made a triumphant return to Nanjing.Zhu Yuanzhang said to the officials: "Now that everyone is here, we should share the fruit." Zhu Yuanzhang's "Fenguoguo" is to be knighted, to give an explanation to the heroes who have followed him in the South and North for many years.This time, there were mainly six dukes, twenty-eight marquises, and two earls. In the era of Chinese imperialism, there were roughly five kinds of titles for foreign surnames, namely: Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Male.The six dukes are: Li Shanchang (Korean Duke), Xu Da (Wei Guogong), Chang Yuchun’s son Chang Mao (Zheng Guogong), Li Wenzhong (Cao Guogong), Deng Yu (Wei Guogong), Feng Sheng (Song Guogong) .Among these six people, only Li Shanchang was a civil servant, and the other five were all people who fought bloody battles and opened up territories for Zhu Yuanzhang with blood. Twenty-eight marquises: Tang He, Tang Shengzong, Lu Zhongheng, Zhou Dexing, Hua Yunlong, Gu Shi, Geng Bingwen, Chen De, Guo Xing, Wang Zhi, Zheng Yuchun, Fei Ju, Wu Liang, Wu Zhen, Zhao Yong, Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tongyuan, Hua Gao, Yang Jing, Kang Maocai's sons Kang Duo, Zhu Liangzu, Fu Youde, Hu Mei, Han Zheng, Huang Bin, Cao Liangchen, Mei Sizu, Lu Ju. Seeing this, it always makes people wonder, why is there no Liu Ji among these names?Count again carefully, still nothing.It is impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to forget the name of such a major reward event.So, this is not only confusing, but also surprising. Zhu Yuanzhang said in the edict of the knighthood: "The current knighthood is set by myself and written down by others, so it is fair and just." In order to show his fairness, he also specifically mentioned two examples: " Tang He, the censor, made great achievements and deserved to be named Duke, but he likes to drink and kill indiscriminately, so he can only be named Marquis. Liao Yongzhong sacrificed his life in the Battle of Poyang Lake, and he was like a god descending from the earth to save He deserved to be named a duke for taking my life, but he likes people to pry into my mind, which is very bad, so I only made him a prince." As for the six dukes, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that the name was worthy of the name: "Although Li Shanchang did not make great contributions, he followed me the longest and was my best logistics minister. Xu Da is my fellow, and all the victories of the empire were commanded by him himself." Now, we can't help but ask how much Liu Bowen's contribution is. Just one thing, Liao Yongzhong saved Zhu Yuanzhang's life, so why isn't Liu Bowen on Poyang Lake?Based on this alone, even if Liu Bowen cannot be included in the ranks of dukes, he should be the first among marquises. But the problem is, there is no Liu Bowen. After the promulgation of the knighthood edict, Liu Bowen remained indifferent.In fact, even if he has emotions, even if he bursts out of them, it won't help.In the court at that time, there was no one to speak for him, no one even felt wronged for him. This is the sorrow of the mentor, because the mentor is always behind the scenes, and people cannot see him.People only saw the warriors who charged into battle, the logistics ministers who kept sending food to the front line, and the chattering staff around Zhu Yuanzhang. Now Liu Bowen has become a completely unpredictable invisible man.Although Liu Bowen has shifted the focus of his ideals for the rest of his life to spending his old age peacefully and not caring about fame and fortune, this is just like borrowing money from a rich landlord.Not long after this knighthood, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be aware of this problem.He made a fuss and said, "Oh, why did I forget Mr. Liu." He called Liu Bowen.Liu Bowen trotted all the way to him. Zhu Yuanzhang blamed himself and said, "You see, the overall situation is fixed now and cannot be changed. I'd better make you an earl." Liu Bowen hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, you still miss the old minister." Zhu Yuanzhang just stood like that, nodded proudly and said, "Get up." Liu Bowen supported the ground with his hands, and stood up for a long time before standing up up. Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Wang Guangyang was wronged by Yang Xian. I have transferred him back to the capital. Let me be your companion. I will make him an uncle of loyalty and diligence, and you an uncle of sincerity." Liu Bowen wanted to kneel down again to thank Zhu Yuanzhang. I didn't want to see his old appearance, so I stopped him.Today, Liu Bowen's name is finally on Zhu Yuanzhang's honor roll, ranking second in the third rank.If you count from the back of the honor roll, he became the first.Acting must be done enough, and Zhu Yuanzhang awarded Liu Bowen's "Sincere Letter": It was still the same shameless charm: Liu Bowen came to him on his own initiative, because he had the aura of Buddha on his head, and he was the right man.Liu Bowen can pinch and count, and is a prophet, so he was spotted in the world of mortals at a glance.Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang also has a conscience and said a few truths.He said that Liu Bowen was a character like Zhuge Liang and Wang Meng (a former important minister of the Qin Dynasty in the Wei and Jin Dynasties): With your help, the dust has settled, and it is wrong not to confer you a title, so I will confer you a sincere uncle. Although he has a title, Liu Bowen is still useless.Li Shanchang's annual food salary is 4,000 shi, Wang Guangyang's annual food salary is 600 shi, and Liu Bowen only has 240 shi. What a disparity in treatment this is. Compared with Liu Bowen's feats, this contrived "Sincerity Bo" is simply inexplicable. Liu Bowen didn't complain at all.At this time, he did not dare to complain.He stood in the yard and looked at the sky, white clouds were rolling in.He thought of the honor list again, and thought of Zhu Yuanzhang's sinister and terrifying face, the corners of his mouth trembled, and a smile that he hadn't seen for many years appeared. Some people say that Liu Bowen's Mona Lisa-like smile shows that he has expected that the honor roll is nothingness: it looks like the honor roll, but in fact it is the book of life and death of the god of death, and it is Zhu Yuanzhang's blacklist. Many years later, the Hu Weiyong case and the Lan Yu case proved this point. In Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, there were fifty-nine heroes in total. Among these fifty-nine people, 23 people were killed by Zhu Yuanzhang, regardless of their heirs who were punished and died of illness. They died directly in the Hu Weiyong case and the Lan Yu case. There are sixteen of them. In 1398, after Zhu Yuanzhang went to hell, only Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying were still alive among the fifty-nine princes who were conferred. The first person crossed off the blacklist was Liao Yongzhong, who Zhu Yuanzhang kept saying saved his life, who died in 1375.The crime was: wearing clothes embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns without permission.There are gossip that Liao Yongzhong was killed because his murder of King Xiaoming was exposed many years ago, and Zhu Yuanzhang killed him to silence him.After Liao Yongzhong, Zhu Liangzu, Li Wenzhong, and Xu Da died successively.If Liao Yongzhong's death was charged with another crime, then Xu Da's death was purely murder: Xu Da suffered from a kind of gangrene, and goose meat was the most taboo.Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a bowl of goose meat, and ordered the eunuch who delivered the goose meat to watch him eat it. Xu Da wept while eating, and died that night. Liu Bowen may have rejoiced before his death, fortunately, he was not on the honor roll, fortunately, he was just an inconspicuous "uncle".Sometimes, "the name does not match the reality" is really not a bad thing! In the first month of 1371, when everyone in Nanjing City of the Ming Empire was immersed in the joy of the Spring Festival, Liu Bowen left Nanjing City.This time, quite different from the one he left in 1368, he retired in an honorable manner.The reason for retirement is related to two people, one is Hu Weiyong and the other is Wang Guangyang. In the first month of 1371, Li Shanchang fell ill.Zhu Yuanzhang believed that he could no longer fully perform his duties as prime minister, so he temporarily retired. At the same time, he appointed Hu Weiyong as Zuo Cheng and Wang Guangyang as You Cheng.Although Hu Weiyong is not a prime minister, he has actually become the number one person in Zhongshu Province because he has no prime minister. At this point, anyone can see that Liu Bowen's arguments did not give Zhu Yuanzhang any warning. It can even be said that Zhu Yuanzhang is competing with Liu Bowen: You don't want to use it, but I insist on it. At noon on the day when Hu and Wang's letters of appointment came down, Liu Bowen went to Xuanwu Lake.Xuanwu Lake is struggling to climb out of the severe cold to welcome the coming spring.He saw a swallow hovering over the lake, probably looking for a place to stay, but after searching for a long time, he still couldn't find it, so he flapped his wings and flew away.Liu Bowen watched the swallow turn into a black spot in the distant sky, and finally disappeared.He whispered: "Xuanwu Lake, Hu, Hu, Hu Weiyong." Then he sighed, "How cold the lake is, how can my old bones bear it!" Hu Weiyong would make it unbearable for anyone.He had only been in office for a few days, and he changed the personnel structure of Zhongshu Province vigorously.He has a wealth of grassroots work experience, so he is a technocrat.In addition, as a member of the Huaixi Gang, he acted extremely smoothly, and because of his tough wrist and quick mind, he became the real prime minister of the Ming Empire in less than half a month.Whenever Hu Weiyong saw his colleagues bending over and smiling at him, he would think of a person who once said that Hu Weiyong was not a good driver.Now, that person is sitting on Yushi Zhongcheng's chair like a log. "This chair should have been removed from under his butt." Hu Weiyong said to Wang Guangyang. "Yes yes yes." Wang Guangyang said repeatedly. "You handle this matter, find some censors to accuse him." Hu Weiyong gave instructions. Wang Guangyang said: "That's not necessary. If he doesn't even have this vision, then he is not Liu Ji." Of course Liu Bowen has eyesight.In fact, he had already used this vision as early as 1368 when he returned to Nanjing, and there was still a place of sobriety in his old body.When Liu Bowen was waiting outside the palace gate to go to court in the freezing morning, he saw the group of officials carefully guessing Zhu Yuanzhang's psychology.When Zhu Yuanzhang said "yes", what was he thinking; when Zhu Yuanzhang said "no", what was he thinking; when Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing, what was he trying to say.The officials rubbed their hands and stomped their feet carefully to drive out the cold.In this scene, Liu Bowen saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was slowly transforming into a beast of power.This empire, which has only been established for two years, has been captured by the God of Terror, and no one can escape. Just when Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang decided to attack Liu Bowen, Liu Bowen had preemptively met Zhu Yuanzhang and asked to resign."I'm old and useless. Putting me here as a vegetarian, I think it's a torment," he said. Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.He looked at Liu Bowen and looked carefully.In the past two years, this was the first time he had seriously looked at Liu Bowen's face.He was a little surprised that Liu Bowen had aged so quickly in such a short period of time.Zhu Yuanzhang didn't understand that four years ago, Liu Bowen exuded a mysterious aura, which made people think that he was a fairy-level figure who would never grow old.Zhu Yuanzhang also thought that one day, Liu Bowen would suddenly revert to his old age and become a handsome young man.Looking at Liu Bowen now, time seems to speed up on his face, and there is no trace of aura on that wrinkled face anymore, just like what Liu Bowen himself said is a "useless old man". For the first time in three years, Zhu Yuanzhang vented a little humanity on Liu Bowen.Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, and said softly: "Yes, sir, you are really old." This kind of tenderness disappeared immediately after a flash of inspiration.Zhu Yuanzhang regained his coldness, and said to Liu Bowen: "Liu Ji, you can retire and go back to your hometown." He felt a pressure come back to him, a pressure he couldn't describe but was there. He left Nanjing City overnight, and walked quietly without anyone noticing him.The city gate officer had no impression of Liu Bowen who was the last one to walk out of Nanjing that day, but only vaguely remembered that it was a trembling old man. On the surface, Liu Bowen's retirement was the exclusion of Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang, but in fact it was the acquiescence of Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang himself couldn't figure out when he had an indelible rift with this mentor, but he would not think about such issues. On the contrary, he was most happy to see things develop to the point where he is today, and even more happy to see The lonely figure of Liu Bowen was walking on the small path from Nanjing to Qingtian. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty novel "Biography of the Heroes of the Ming Dynasty", the reason why Liu Bowen became an official pointed directly at Zhu Yuanzhang: We know that this is not true, but it vividly describes the shadow of the relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen.Zhu Yuanzhang's scolding of Zhang Liang was actually insinuating.Liu Bowen was keenly aware of the smell of blood from Zhu Yuanzhang scolding Zhang Liangli, so he resigned.In the world of martial arts, a person who is tired of the grievances in the world will withdraw from the world.But the political field is 10,000 times dirtier than the Jianghu, and 10,000 times more terrifying than the Jianghu. As long as you are still alive, you will never be able to withdraw from such a Jianghu. As long as you have residual value, you will never be able to withdraw out of politics. The deadliest residual value of Liu Bowen is that he once guided Zhu Yuanzhang. Another thing is that his outspokenness is about to offend Hu Weiyong, who is very popular, so he can't retreat. In 1371, Zhu Yuanzhang had already stuffed Liu Bowen into a locker, and he would only think of him when he was needed.Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards Liu Bowen is already lukewarm, following Hu Weiyong's wave, chasing Hu Weiyong's flow.Therefore, Hu Weiyong wants to bring down Liu Bowen, as long as he can find an opportunity. In February of the lunar calendar in 1371, Liu Bowen returned to his hometown where he had been away for more than two years.He breathed in the fresh air of Qingtian, the air was like chicken blood, and immediately activated Liu Bowen who was weak along the way.After having a lively meal with the villagers, Liu Bowen called his son Liu Lian into the room and locked the door. That day was the fourth day of the second month of the lunar calendar in 1371. There was no moonlight, and the lights in the room were dimmed by Liu Bowen.He took out a piece of paper from the bundle, which was a poem Zhu Yuanzhang gave him before he left.The title of the poem is "To Liu Bowen": Liu Lian read the poem and said, "The emperor thinks highly of you." Liu Bowen said seriously, "There is murderous intent in this letter." His son didn't have this sense of smell, and looked at his father strangely.Liu Bowen didn't want to explain anything, and said to his son: "I will write a "Thank You Form" today, and you will leave for the capital tomorrow and give it to the emperor." Liu Lian thought it was reasonable to go to Nanjing City to submit the "Appreciation Form", but it was not in such a hurry. Liu Bowen picked the lamp, and the light reflected the shadows of the father and son on the wall, jumping and jumping.Liu Bowen wanted to analyze Zhu Yuanzhang with his son, but he opened his mouth, and he stopped talking, just said: "Listen to me, leave early tomorrow morning." That night, Liu Bowen sat at his desk and wrote down his "Thank You Table" against his will: "Thank You Table" mainly has three meanings.The first is to flatter Zhu Yuanzhang and give Zhu Yuanzhang all the good words in the dictionary, saying that he is "Allah" and has "divine civil and military posture".People like Zhu Yuanzhang have never been out since Yao, Shun and Yu.After flattering Zhu Yuanzhang, he belittled himself again.He said that he was "a fool", with little talent and learning, and no courtesy.If Zhu Yuanzhang is "Tai Sui", then I am "Nest Gull"; if Zhu Yuanzhang is "Sun", I am "Sunflower".In short, you are my God and I am your slave.As for those mysterious and unpredictable prophets, it is actually Zhu Yuanzhang's credit, because Zhu Yuanzhang is the representative of heaven, and his level of Liu Bowen can only be displayed with Zhu Yuanzhang.In the end, Liu Bowen was very, very satisfied with Earl Chengyi's title, especially for Zhu Yuanzhang's permission to retire and return home. He was so grateful that he almost drowned himself in tears of excitement. The sole purpose of Liu Bowen writing such a "Thank You Table" is to avoid disaster.Because he understands a truth: he can't withdraw from the rivers and lakes woven by Zhu Yuanzhang, no matter when and where, as long as Zhu Yuanzhang wants to put him on the cutting board, he is a piece of meat! In 1371, Liu Bowen retired to his hometown Qingtian.From the eyes of his son Liu Lian, his father is really old.The old people in the world are similar. They wandered back and forth in the room, talking loudly about the things they showed their faces when they were young.Even so, few people noticed them, until suddenly one day, they passed away, and his family or friends didn't think of them.Although Liu Bowen is old, he is completely different from this kind of old man.His innate solitary nature is now at its peak, he speaks less than a mute every day, and the only impressions others have of him being alive are drinking and playing chess.He drank alone, very little, and stared at the chessboard in a daze for a whole day. Liu Lian decided that the old man was planning to die at home when he came back this time.The old man had already signed an agreement with the god of death. In the most precious four years of his life, he only hoped that he could die decently without any further mistakes and disturbances. From the eyes of Liu Bowen's wife, Ms. Zhang, her husband is not old.Whenever the night was quiet, Liu Bowen would lie awake in bed.In the dark night, his misty eyes shone with light, which was a kind of vibrant light, which would give people an illusion that such eyes should belong to young guys.Ms. Zhang said that her husband is not old at all, because she gave birth to a daughter for him last year, and she was pregnant with her second child when she left Nanjing. If you look at Liu Bowen from the perspective of outsiders, then Liu Bowen is not old, at least his legendary life will never be old.Among these outsiders, there is one named Ling Yu.Ling Yu was the first magistrate of Qingtian County after the establishment of the Ming Empire. This young intellectual from a farming family has always had lofty Confucian ideals. He hoped to make Qingtian an eye-catching county.He also found a seemingly good method, which is to promote Qingtian's soft power.The first thing he thought of was Liu Bowen. Qingtian had such a god-man, and he couldn't let it go no matter what. After Liu Bowen returned to Qingtian in 1371, Ling Yu invited Liu Bowen over and over again, and he came in person.But every time he was interviewed by Liu Bowen's family members, Liu Bowen never showed up.For a certain period of time, Ling Yu seemed to have a dreamlike feeling: Liu Bowen never came back, or there was no such person as Liu Bowen in the world.Ling Yu has been in a sleepy state. However, this loyal disciple of Confucianism who "does not talk about strange powers and distracts gods" still believes that Liu Bowen is indeed a real person, and he is living in his jurisdiction for the elderly.He thought of a trick, disguised himself as a mountain farmer, quietly came to Liu Bowen's house, and knocked on Liu Bowen's door.Liu Bowen was washing his feet at the time, and saw that it was a mountain farmer, so he invited him in and prepared wine and food.It was the first time for Ling Yu to observe Liu Bowen closely, and Ling Yu found that Liu Bowen's face was really old.When Liu Bowen smiled, there were only two or three teeth in his mouth.For some reason, he couldn't lift his left arm.His face was sallow, like a dead man, and every time he gasped, his lungs would make a chi-chi sound.Ling Yu was horrified, the image of Liu Bowen was far from the image in Ling Yu's mind.Liu Bowen in his mind should be a person with white hair and childlike face, fluttering and immortal. Liu Bowen didn't pay attention to Ling Yu's turbulent psychological activities, and took the initiative to chat with him, asking about his crops, asking about government policies, asking this and that, and Ling Yu answered them all.Although he was very solemn when he answered Liu Bowen's question, he was still muttering in his heart. Is this trembling sick old man in front of him really the legendary Liu Bowen who "has all the plans" and "the prophet of uncertainty"? He began to turn from defense to offense, and took the initiative to ask Liu Bowen: "What was the most glorious thing that happened back then, sir?" Liu Bowen's eyes lit up, and the right hand holding the tea stopped in mid-air.Ling Yu could tell from his facial expression that Liu Bowen was reminiscing about the past. There are too many beautiful things in Liu Bowen's life. When he consciously recalled these things, they entered his mind like a mountain and a sea.He once obtained the heavenly book in Shimen Cave, is this considered glorious?He once recited a book while standing in Yuan Dadu.He once wiped out Wu Chengqi's rebel forces. Is this considered glorious?He was invited by Zhu Yuanzhang three times, does this count... How can such a thing be brought up?This is a brain-dead thing!He stopped his recollection in horror. Then his eyes dimmed quickly, and he shook his head and sighed, "Where is there any glorious thing, even if there is, it was a fluke success under the leadership of our great emperor." Ling Yu was greatly disappointed, this is not modesty, this is hypocrisy.And he especially felt that there was a kind of fear behind this hypocrisy, and Ling Yu couldn't help shivering. But for those who entered the Ming Empire government at that time, who didn't know Liu Bowen's unrivaled feats.Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, these influential figures disappeared one after another, and Liu Bowen's contribution cannot be ignored. Ling Yu noticed that Liu Bowen had closed his mouth, as if he didn't want to mention these things in his life, so he changed his angle and asked again: "Mr. Rumor, you have known five hundred years before and five hundred years later, is it true?" Liu Bowen's eyes did not change, and his mood was calm.He was silent for a long time before he said: "This is a folk fiction. No one can know the secret. The secret must not be leaked." Ling Yu did not get any valuable information.However, sitting beside this legendary figure, he was extremely excited.The old man beside him seems to have put on his shroud, but in this lifeless image, Ling Yu has been feeling a huge force, which he can almost see, weaving around the two of them. made a net.当他走出门去时，必须要费力地把那张网从身上拨开。 凌玉是极不情愿地走出门去的。在长久的兴奋中，他不明白为什么脑袋里突然就缺了根弦，他向刘伯温坦白了自己的身份。刘伯温蜡黄的脸立即就变得惨白，急忙站起来，向他行礼，然后请他离开。 自此，凌玉再也没有见到过刘伯温。刘伯温就像是隐形了一样，能在他到来时突然消失，又能在他离开时，突然现形。 凌玉很遗憾。他不知道的是，刘伯温很恐惧。 已经丧失神性的刘伯温对于凌玉的到访是心惊胆战的。这一恐惧心理并非是杯弓蛇影，朱元璋那无孔不入、细致入微的特务遍布整个中国，即使是退休的官员，朱元璋也不会轻易放过。几乎和刘伯温同时退休的前吏部尚书吴琳回到老家后，朱元璋竟然派特务去吴琳的老家查看。吴琳是黄州下辖的一个村里的人，那个特务走过各种各样的路，翻过各种各样的山，涉过无数凶猛的大河，才找到那个村子。就在村外，他看到一农民打扮的老人在田间插秧，这个特务骂着娘跑过去问：“你们这里是不是有个前吴尚书？” 那位老农民停下手里的活，站直了，回答：“我就是吴琳。” 特务和吴琳寒暄了几句，又千辛万苦地回到南京，当朱元璋知道吴琳正把余生交给黑土地后，才满意地点了点头。 这件事给人的启示就是，只要是在朱元璋的平台上工作过的人，直到进入坟墓前，都会在朱元璋的“照顾”之下，这是个退不出的江湖。 刘伯温在凌玉之前的拜访中拒不接见和后来凌玉表明身份后的送客，都是朱元璋的行为带给刘伯温的条件反射，他认为凌玉很有特务的嫌疑。况且，一个退休官员和地方官来往，本身就是一件危险的事。这是朱元璋那种疑心重如山的人无论如何都无法接受的。 当凌玉问他一生中最风光的事时，他是非常兴奋的。因为到了他这个年纪，正是回忆往事的欲望最强烈的时候，一生碌碌无为的老人还会绞尽脑汁地找出此生中很得意的几件事，刘伯温也不过是个凡人，这种心理他也有。但他不能说，因为如果说了，这就是在和朱元璋争功，和朱元璋争功，只有死路一条。 浙东四学士之一的宋濂最懂得不说话的艺术，宋濂对朱元璋唯一的贡献可能就是推荐了刘伯温。这人只是学术精深，在政治上毫无建树。不过在当时的政治生态中，他有一项法宝，那就是十分的谨慎，百倍的小心，为官从不讲一句废话。他在自己家的墙壁上贴着“温树”两个大字作为座右铭。家中如有人来访，谈起政治，宋濂就指一下墙上的字，微笑。朱元璋对宋濂这样嘴巴很紧的人非常赞赏。几年后，他夸奖宋濂：“事朕十九年，未尝有一言之伪，消一人之短，始终无二。非止君子，真可谓大贤。” 刘伯温怎么可能不谨慎，他太了解朱元璋了。 凌玉被送客后不久，刘伯温的儿子刘琏突然有一天闯进刘伯温的卧室，说：“城里来了几个身穿锦绣的淮西口音的人。”刘伯温扔了手中的筷子，跑起来到院子里张望，但刘琏却带了点失望的口气说：“他们穿城而过了。我以为他们京城里的人是来看父亲您的。” 刘伯温的肺里发出剧烈的嗤嗤声，脸色惨白，指了指儿子，大概是想要骂几句，可由于紧张，没有说出话来。 刘琏不是他爹刘伯温，自然就不明白老爹的恐惧产生的源泉。刘伯温以为那几个淮西口音的人中会有朱元璋。虽然理性告诉他，朱元璋不可能来处州，但他还是会胡思乱想。 朱元璋亲自去侦查大臣这样的事件不是没有过。刘伯温在弘文馆的一位同事，曾为陈友谅工作的罗复仁就曾受到过这样的“皇恩”。罗复仁和刘伯温的性格很像，秉性刚直，能言敢谏，在朱元璋面前敢于直陈意见，朱元璋表现出很喜欢他的样子，称他为“老实罗”。突然有一天，老实罗正在家里读书，几个人进了他家院子。他定睛一看，吃了一大惊，原来正是他那伟大的皇上。朱元璋观看了他的房子，发现这房子破烂不堪，在房间里迈的步子稍大一点，就会尘土飞扬。朱元璋对这种苦行僧的生活很满意，说：“大贤人怎么能住这样破烂的房子？”回宫后，他就下令赐给老实罗一座高大豪华的宅第。 “世事难料！”刘琏有一天正在读书，突然听到父亲刘伯温没头没脑地说了这样一句，他问询，得到的回答是：“天知道将来会发生什么事，所以，我必须要小心，加倍地小心。” 刘伯温说这话的时候，左手毫无生气地垂着，右手的五根手指震颤着。刘琏叹了口气：“老爹真的老啦！” 刘伯温有时候并不老。1371年阴历六月，朱元璋西征兵团攻陷明玉珍的儿子明升的重庆，明玉珍帝国覆灭。这是一次值得庆贺的事，但朱元璋遇到了一个小难题。钦天监的人对他说：“太阳里又见黑点，而且已经三年。”朱元璋曾清楚地记得，几年前，太阳曾出现黑点，他的一员大将胡深被敌人处决，他不知道这次太阳里的黑点预示着什么。 本年阴历八月，朱元璋想到了在他人生中最重要的人物刘伯温。其实朱元璋根本没有想理刘伯温，但这种天象的事，他手下那群人种居然没有一个可以解决。钦天监的工作人员讨论了很多天，给朱元璋递交了一份报告。报告中详细叙述了自有人类以来太阳黑子的历史记载，并且认定太阳出现黑子必然是不祥之兆，因为每次太阳有黑子出现，都会有灾难的事发生。天灾也有，人祸也有。可这些人只会总结，不会推理，当然更不会预测。 朱元璋发了一回怒，钦天监的人就跪在下面浑身发抖。谁都明白，发抖解决不了任何问题。于是，朱元璋就想到了刘伯温。想到刘伯温，在他看来，应该是无可奈何的事。 朱元璋给刘伯温写了封信，信中说：“万恶的重庆政府已被我解放，举朝欢腾，天下人欣喜若狂。我现在的疆域比之中国历代王朝的疆域已不算少了。你之前曾说过，元王朝是以宽而失国，所以我认为治中国，非猛不可。不过那些恶人是非常厌恶严刑峻法的，所以诽谤国家，总搞小动作，我很头痛。这可能是最近天象有变的缘故，最近太阳中出现黑子，不知道灾祸从哪里来、什么时候开始。” 接着就是朱元璋最狡猾的地方：“你住在山中，身边肯定有些奇能异士，你可否和他们请教一番，研究出个推理性的报告，交给我？” 谁不知道，刘伯温最善于观天象、识变化，还用得着去请教别人吗？朱元璋其实最核心的意思是，即使你把这件事办了，我也认为这不是你一个人的功劳。 信的最后，朱元璋又假惺惺地说：“上次你儿子来送感谢信，由于我太忙，没有问您的身体如何，我现在差人去给你送信，你就不要给送信人礼物了，只请他吃个农家菜就得了。我想你现在肯定不亦乐乎，山里空气好，你又没有什么烦心事。所以赶紧把这件事办了。” 刘伯温接到这封信后，陷入沉思。他内心开始了波涛汹涌。一方面，朱元璋重新想起了他，这使刘伯温燃起了他潜意识里“安邦定国”的欲火；一方面，他又恐惧这种事，因为自1368年以来，和朱元璋打交道成了他生命中的不能承受之重。 他很矛盾，真的想不理尘俗事，一直到死去，但又不敢和朱元璋这样说。在矛盾重重中，他的欲望战胜了理智，他拿起笔来，准备写下关于太阳黑子的推理报告。但他没有直写，而是先恭贺朱元璋解放了重庆，然后才说到太阳黑子的事。 刘伯温认为，太阳黑子的出现并不绝对地证明就有什么灾难的事发生。这话他早就说过，为政当宽猛结合，该宽要宽，该猛要猛。这其中没有什么一成不变的规律，全在自己的本心。 朱元璋读到这封信后，放下了心。就在1371年阴历八月之后，朱元璋曾多次向刘伯温请教天象问题，刘伯温都一一作了详细的解答。 当人们在1371年最后一个月看到刘伯温时，刘伯温的精神似乎好了很多。这和他重新与朱元璋建立了联系有着重要的关系。 他那蜡黄的脸有了一点点红润，他的左臂偶尔也能听从他的指使，他还能以年轻人的速度爬上青田山，欣赏山下的景色。 有那么几天，刘伯温认为枯木真的会逢春。朱元璋的来信越来越有人情味。问候他的身体，问候他的家人，偶尔还会用几个可怜的字追忆一下两人并肩奋斗的情景。这让刘伯温产生了梦幻般的感觉：皇上在他人生低谷时终于拉了他一把。 不过，他那极富智慧的头脑偶尔会跳出来警告他：狗是改不了吃屎的。 这话当然是提醒他，朱元璋只是暂时利用他，现在的他在朱元璋的心目中只是个工具，是一把扫帚，打扫完房间后，扫帚仍然会回到墙角，从来没有人会把扫帚放在房间正中央。 刘伯温没有重视这一警告，于是，他最后余生中最大的波澜“谈洋事件”出现了。 谈洋事件包含两件事，第一件事是这样的：青田县南60公里处有个村落叫谈洋，这里是处州的边缘地带，和温州接壤，同时又与福建行省的三魁比邻。由以上的论述可以看出，这是块“飞地”，浙江行省鞭长莫及，福建行省没有义务管，所以此地的治安环境相当恶劣，是出产刁民的宝地之一。早在元朝时，这里就经常发生盗贼光天化日之下抢劫杀人的事件。后来，一大批私盐贩子跑到这里占山为王，并与方国珍友好。方国珍投降朱元璋后，此处仍然是个盗贼的安乐窝。朱元璋政府羽翼未丰，对此地只能睁只眼闭只眼。 刘伯温自从朱元璋的来信“重视”起来后，突然心血来潮，像中了魔一样研究起了谈洋。在作了大量研究和调查后，刘伯温给朱元璋写了封信。信中说，谈洋这个地方之所以是盗贼的天堂，就是因为那里的百姓也不是好鸟，他们照顾着盗贼，甚至他们本身就是盗贼。要彻底解决谈洋的治安问题，必须要在那里设置巡检司。 巡检司是县衙底下的基层组织，职能相当于今天的武装检查站。其主要设置在关津、要冲之处。它的职能是盘查过往行人；稽查无路引外出之人，缉拿奸细、截获脱逃军人及囚犯，打击走私，维护正常的商旅往来。 朱元璋认为这个建议非常有建设性，于是就让大臣们讨论。胡惟庸马上恼羞成怒。 胡惟庸虽然没有特务出身的杨宪那样耳听八方、眼观六路，但自他进入中书省担任左丞后，他始终把精力放到工作上，他动员所有的官员都专注天下事，无论大事小情，必须要第一时间向他汇报。他这样做的目的只是希望能被朱元璋继续刮目相看，然后把他送到丞相的椅子上去。但不能不说，自胡惟庸主掌中书省后，整个帝国政务的确在有条不紊、几乎毫无遗漏地进行着。现在，突然出了这么一件事，胡惟庸的脸上无论如何都挂不住。 那天早朝的情景是这样的，朱元璋先是问浙江行省：“你们可有人知道谈洋这个地方？” 让朱元璋大为震惊的是，居然没有人回答。也就是说，没有人知道世界上还有这样一个地方。这说明什么，依朱元璋那个变态的脑袋思考的结果就是，人人都在关心自己眼皮子底下那点破事，或者是关心连最偏僻山区的妇女都知道的大事。 他去问胡惟庸：“你知道有这样一个地方吗？” 胡惟庸知道。他曾在福建的基层待过，听说过浙江有这样一个地方，这个地方是任何基层官员都不愿意去的地方。因为太乱，农夫白天是农夫，晚上就成了盗贼。但自从朱元璋建立新中国后，谈洋这地方就没有人提及过，按胡惟庸的见解，这地方太微不足道了，新中国成立后的大事太多。或者说，这个地方的治安可能随着新中国的建立而自我良好了。就如春天来了，所过之处全是绿色。但胡惟庸不知道，谈洋那地方永远都是沙漠。 现在，胡惟庸感觉嘴里渗出一股苦涩的黏液，针对朱元璋的询问，他不无痛苦地回答：“臣知道这个地方，正准备作实地调查后……”朱元璋用手势制止了他。他说：“这种地方全是刁民，还用作什么实地调查，一定要设立巡检司。”胡惟庸急忙承认朱元璋的英明，但他马上就问道：“皇上您是怎么知道这地方的？”朱元璋不满地向他瞥了一眼，冷冷地说：“是刘基告诉我的，他也认为应该设立巡检司。你们中书省是不是应该向他学习一下？”如果说，胡惟庸没有注意到谈洋这地方，而让别人注意到了导致他的羞愧，那么，当他听到是刘伯温注意到的后，羞愧就变成了恼怒。 刘伯温简直是阴魂不散，胡惟庸现在就是这样的想法。他恨刘伯温，因为刘伯温把他看成是一个危险人物。他更恨刘伯温的是，刘伯温似乎总在朱元璋面前抢他的风头。这在普通的社会生活中都是大忌，何况是在残酷的政治生活中。 胡惟庸现在唯一想的就是挽回面子，挽回面子的唯一方式就是把刘伯温的功劳贬低得一文不值。他对朱元璋说：“刘伯温离谈洋近在咫尺，而且谈洋之地的平安与否和大局无关，但如今他现在提出来了，我们应该加紧筹办这件事。” 朱元璋冷笑，说：“你呀，那就去办吧。”一个月后，谈洋巡检司设立，刘伯温的心情很好，仿佛重新找回了当年和朱元璋的亲密感情，但这是幻觉。他和朱元璋永远不能回复从前的关系。天意有时候很难猜测，这是因为它不按章法走。谈洋巡检司设立的几个月后，又发生了一件事，把刘伯温推到了悬崖峭壁上。这是第二件谈洋事件，事情是这样的：茗洋这个地方本来驻扎着一支武装小分队，不知是什么原因，这支小分队有个叫周广三的士兵发动兵变，带领了一批士兵和农夫跑到了谈洋占山为王。而巡检司由于初建，在应变能力和作战能力上都有欠缺，于是，周广三很有坐大的气势。当地政府吓破了胆，所以隐匿不报。刘伯温离那个地方最近，对情况最了解，所以就写了封奏折，要他的儿子刘琏亲自到南京城送给朱元璋。这是1373年阴历三月的事。 胡惟庸得知此事时，七窍生烟。他召集他的团伙成员，拍着桌子大叫：“他刘伯温根本就不知道什么是体统，连续两次，居然不通过我们中书省，这明显是没有把我放在眼里。这样的事我如果还能忍受，那还算是个人吗！” 他的同伙们一致认为他不算个人，并且义愤填膺，认为必须要教训刘伯温，让天下人看看，没把胡副宰相放在眼里的人是什么下场。 教训刘伯温是一定的，但怎么教训他，大家分成两派。一派是武将，武夫做事大都喜欢直奔主题，快刀斩乱麻。和智商有关的事，他们做起来很费劲。依他们的意见，找几个手脚麻利的刺客，去青田把刘伯温做了。一派是文臣，他们在政治迷宫中走过很远的路，并且深有体会，用政治手段最安全，也最具杀伤力。所以，他们认为应该在皇上面前指控刘伯温。 胡惟庸先是否决了武夫们的办法，然后对文臣们说，皇上自刘伯温回老家后，对他的态度发生了转变，刘伯温在他心目中已有了新的地位，而且，刘伯温这人也没有什么瑕疵供我们指控的。所以，这个思路虽然不错，但操作性不强。 正在大家叽叽喳喳时，胡惟庸在人群中听到了一声冷笑，这声冷笑是那种自信的笑，胡惟庸一下就听出来，这个人是个有办法的人。他在人群中循声望去，就望到了一个国字脸、浓眉小眼的人。这个相貌让人联想到卡通人物，不过此人的智慧可一点都不卡通。他叫吴云沐，是司法部部长（刑部尚书）。从其职务来看，就知道他在栽赃陷害上有着丰富的经验。 胡惟庸看到他冷笑后，一副得意洋洋的架势，就知道他有东西。吴云沐向他使了个眼色，胡惟庸马上明白了，他清退了众人，只留下吴云沐和几个心腹中的心腹。 吴云沐伸出一根手指，说：“很简单。编一个让皇上特别忌讳的故事，让刘伯温成为这个故事的主角。” 其中一心腹马上作恍然大悟状，抖搂小聪明道：“就说周广三叛乱是刘伯温主使的。” 胡惟庸很鄙夷地看了他一眼，冷笑道：“你当刘伯温是头猪啊，他指使周广三叛乱，又第一个来报告？再说，他和周广三八竿子打不着，怎么可能联系上。皇上信了这种事，那才叫奇怪呢。” 他又看向吴云沐。吴云沐慢悠悠地说：“我听说一个人的优点往往会成为别人攻击他最便利的匕首，有时候，一个人的优势其实就是他的劣势。” 这段富有哲理的话让胡惟庸陷在茫茫云雾中，他极力地转动脑筋，思考这句话背后到底隐藏着什么事实，终于他想到了。 他一拍手，说：“刘伯温这人的优势不就是能掐会算吗？” 吴云沐连连点头，说：“是啊是啊，只要在这上面做文章，不怕搞不倒他。” 胡惟庸陷入沉思，用他那在政治斗争中苦修出来的超级联想力，终于又一次让他想到了。 胡惟庸想到的这件事和周广三叛乱没有关系，而跟去年的谈洋设立巡检司有关。 几天后，吴云沐向朱元璋上了一道指控刘伯温的信，信中说：“去年，刘伯温要您在谈洋设立巡检司，名义上是为了朝廷着想，实际上是为了他自己的私欲。” 朱元璋看到这里，很奇怪，刘伯温居然还有私欲，这真是他没有想到的一件事。他接着往下看，信中说出了刘伯温的私欲：刘伯温原本是想把他自己的坟墓建到那里的，但那里的百姓不愿意，所以他就想出了以政府的名义驱逐那些百姓，而那块地自然就空出来了。 这封信最妙的地方就在于写到此处，戛然而止，留给朱元璋的意味，深长。 朱元璋果然品尝出了其中的意味，立即毛骨悚然。刘伯温可是未卜先知、能掐会算的神人，风水这种事在他那里就是小儿科。他如此煞费苦心地选中谈洋那个地方作为坟墓，这已是一目了然。那个地方一定是风水宝地，甚至可能是龙兴之地，将来的天下，可能要姓刘。 一想到这里，朱元璋不但毛骨悚然，而且脸色发白。他放下信，手扶着龙椅，几乎要摔倒。“可恶！”他深吸了一口气，恨恨地说。 胡惟庸适时地来了。他说：“刘伯温这是以公谋私，应该严惩。”朱元璋沉默不语。胡惟庸继续说：“他儿子正在回家的路上，应该把他儿子捉拿归案。”朱元璋沉默不语。胡惟庸只好说出朱元璋最敏感的话来：“他能掐会算，选那块地为他的墓地，这事……” 朱元璋示意他闭嘴。朱元璋坐进了椅子，冷静地观察胡惟庸，想到了他是刘伯温最看不上的人，又想到了刘伯温只是性格太刚，却是聪明到极致的人。而谈洋事件如果真如吴云沐所说的那样，那刘伯温岂不成了初出茅庐的毛头小子？ 他突然意识到这是一场阴谋，不过刘伯温确实很可疑，因为他有那么多技能在身。一个人有技能那就是个危险人物。虽然如此想，但他不同意胡惟庸对刘伯温儿子下手，他说：“既然刘琏已经走了，就算了。” 胡惟庸说：“这事怎么就能算了呢？” 朱元璋点头说：“是啊，这事不能就这样算了，下道圣旨到青田，剥夺刘伯温的俸禄吧。” "and then?" 胡惟庸直勾勾地看着朱元璋的脸，那张阴冷的脸像海上的天气，反复无常，莫测高深。朱元璋的脸突然阴云转晴，他笑了，说：“然后？刘伯温应该知道然后。” 刘伯温当然知道然后。当他收到那封圣旨后，他蒙了。这犹如一个晴天霹雳，一下劈在了他头上。至少有一个时辰，刘伯温坐在椅子上像是死人一样，他在反复思考这件事的来龙去脉。圣旨说，他在谈洋挑了块地当作他的坟墓。这是子虚乌有的事。不过他明白一个毋庸置疑的道理：政治场上，你是否做了一件事不重要，重要的是有人说你做了还是没做。 刘伯温的第一个反应就是，这必然是胡惟庸的诬陷，而朱元璋根本没有相信这样的诬陷。否则，就不会是剥夺他俸禄这么简单。可朱元璋在不相信的情况下剥夺了他的俸禄，只有一种情况，那就是，朱元璋对他还不放心！ 一个时辰后，他在房间里转悠起来，自言自语，像着了魔一样。这种情景，我们并不陌生，当初他被困绍兴时就是这样的。而今天，他一面重演这一情景，一面絮叨着，时间不是一条直线，一去不复返，而是一个圆圈，它一直在围着每个人转动，当一个人死去时，它还在转动，永不停转。 又一个时辰后，刘伯温站住了。他的心定了下来，他叫来家人，语气凝重地说：“我要去京城。” 他的家人疑惑不解，问他：“是去解释这件事吗？” 刘伯温苦笑：“月有阴晴圆缺，如何解释？” 刘琏聪明地说：“既然无法解释，那为何要自投罗网？” 刘伯温看着这个傻儿子，语重心长地说：“现在对我而言，天下就是罗网。” 1373年阴历七月，刘伯温孤身一人走进南京城。南京城当时酷热难耐，树的绿叶沾满尘土，灰色的瓦片毫无生气，他为南京城在短短的几年时间里衰老到如此程度而吃惊不已。当他佝偻着身体走进朱元璋的皇宫时，他才发现，那座才刚建造的皇宫也老了很多，墙皮脱落，柱子失去光泽，从前红灿灿的大门被晒成了血黑色。他自言自语着，叹息着，见到朱元璋，艰难地跪了下去，作了一番深刻的检讨。 他说，自己不该冒失失地去找坟地，更不该冒失失地找了本不应该去找的地方。朱元璋要他抬起头来，刘伯温就费