Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen The Curtain Call of a Tragic Life
In the most precious year before Liu Bowen passed away, he devoted all the embers of energy and wisdom to his memories, and left a little bit for Hu Weiyong and Zhu Yuanzhang.
Hu Weiyong was disappointed with Liu Bowen's initiative to confess.According to his original idea, as long as Liu Bowen is not by Zhu Yuanzhang's side, everything will be easy to handle.He can shoot Liu Bowen with open and hidden arrows like a perpetual motion machine.But now Liu Bowen was right in front of him, so his attack would definitely meet Liu Bowen's resistance, and this matter was not as easy as imagined.
Liu Bowen was wary of Hu Weiyong from the bottom of his heart, but fate played tricks. The more he guarded against Hu Weiyong, the more he hoped that Hu Weiyong would fail, the higher Hu Weiyong climbed. In the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 1373, that is, the month when Liu Bowen came to Nanjing to plead guilty, Hu Weiyong was promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang to the right prime minister of Zhongshu Province.It is said that when Hu Weiyong arrogantly accepted the congratulations of all the officials, Liu Bowen beat the bed on the sickbed and shouted angrily: "I hope I misunderstood him, that is the blessing of the common people. If it is really unfortunate, what should the common people do?" what!"
Hu Weiyong knew this.Hu Weiyong was furious at first, saying that Liu Bowen would never change his nature, but when he heard that Liu Bowen's condition got worse because of this incident, he became happy.He said to his cronies: "If Liu Bowen can be pissed to death without spitting, then I am willing to continue to rise, haha!"
In fact, Hu Weiyong's promotion was not the whole reason why Liu Bowen collapsed in bed.Since he arrived in Nanjing in the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 1373, his body has not belonged to him.In his own words, the reason why he has not fallen now is all because of the support of a few clank steel bones and the spiritual strength of reverence for the emperor.These words are contradictory. If he is really strong, then he should not have reverence for Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang is not worthy of his admiration, but only worthy of his contempt.
First of all, Zhu Yuanzhang blatantly betrayed Liu Bowen in the selection of the prime minister.Yang Xian's execution for violating laws and regulations did not remind Zhu Yuanzhang of the reliability of Liu Bowen's theory.He has been unremittingly promoting Wang Guangyang, hoping that Wang Guangyang can rise up, but Wang Guangyang has somehow become a silent puppet.He promoted Hu Weiyong and let Wang Guangyang restrain him, but Wang Guangyang let him down again. In the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 1373, Hu Weiyong was promoted smoothly and became Prime Minister of the Right, while Wang Guangyang was expelled from the Central Committee by the distraught Zhu Yuanzhang because of his inaction.
What Liu Bowen still can't understand is that Zhu Yuanzhang is not blind, how can he not see that Hu Weiyong is an ambitious, unscrupulous and extremely selfish person?
In August, the hottest day in Nanjing, the sun scorched the whole city like a fire, and Liu Bowen speculated about Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts in this scorching city.While speculating, he complained about the heat, wishing he could jump out of his skin.When the sun set over the mountain and darkness came, Liu Bowen thought he had figured out why Zhu Yuanzhang would go against him.A few years ago, Liu Bowen believed that Zhu Yuanzhang was deliberately confronting him in order to get rid of the previous cooperation model between the two.But Zhu Yuanzhang is a very rational, even cruel person.It is impossible for him to make fun of the empire he worked so hard to build because of personal grievances.It wasn't until today that Liu Bowen figured out another reason.Zhu Yuanzhang was also helpless. Among the ministers, there were very few people who really had the qualities of a prime minister, and Hu Weiyong was the best among them.In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang was closely surrounded by Hu Weiyong. Such a short distance and frequent contacts made Zhu Yuanzhang deeply involved, and it was impossible to treat Hu Weiyong objectively and rationally.Just as the poem says: I don’t know the true face of Lushan Mountain, only because I am in this mountain.
As soon as Liu Bowen thought of this, he would have deep sympathy for the biggest dictator in the world at that time.Zhu Yuanzhang was so pitiful that he couldn't see the people closest to him.People who are far away from him, he suspects.What I think about every day is not the glory of being an emperor, but the danger of being an emperor. I am very afraid that others will follow him and rise up to kill him.Zhu Yuanzhang is now a slave to the God of Fear in Liu Bowen's heart.
Thinking of this, Liu Bowen shook his head desperately to calm himself down. Recently, he always felt as if he was thinking, dreaming, thinking in a dream, dreaming in thinking.
"I hope I'm wrong," he said.
Liu Bowen may have thought wrong about Zhu Yuanzhang's use of appearance, but he was not wrong about Zhu Yuanzhang's squeezing him over the years, because the facts are there.
After the Tanyang incident, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly made an inexplicable decision: to suspend the imperial examination.
The imperial examinations of the Ming Empire were restored by Liu Bowen himself. The time was in August of the lunar calendar in 1370. Liu Bowen served as the chief examiner for the first imperial examination, and recruited many outstanding talents that year.Zhu Yuanzhang was not tempted by this "do twice the result with half the effort" political strategy.He once said: "The imperial examinations only recruit young people with no administrative experience. If people like them become officials, isn't this harmful to the people?"
If we understand Liu Bowen's restored imperial examination content, we will find out Zhu Yuanzhang's strange psychology.The imperial examination that Liu Bowen resumed was actually the imperial examination of the Yuan Dynasty. The subjects of the examination were the "Four Books" annotated by Zhu Xi, "Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", and "Mencius", plus "Shangshu", "Book of Rites", "Zhouyi" and "Spring and Autumn Annals". Five Classics".Among these books, what Zhu Yuanzhang hated most was "Mencius".Because Mencius said that the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least.The literal meaning is that in an empire, the people are the most valuable, followed by the country, and finally the monarch.
In fact, Mencius' original intention is far less avant-garde and noble than what we think today.What he actually said was that as a monarch, one must have such an awareness: the dynasty can change, and the monarch can also change. The only constant is the people who support the country and the monarch.The people are the foundation, so as a king, you must value the people, put the people in the most honorable position, and always think that your power and status come from the people and serve the people.
Zhu Yuanzhang does not reject this kind of thinking. He himself comes from the people at the bottom, and he loves his people very much.What he hates the most is the theory of "transaction between monarch and minister" derived from Mencius' "people-oriented" thought.According to Mencius, Confucius' "loyalty to the emperor" who doesn't care about his own interests is stupider than a pig.Mencius said, when the ruler gives you a bowl of rice, you should do just one bowl of rice, and don’t do anything more than one grain of rice.If the monarch gives you a bad beating, then you leave immediately, but you don't want to destroy him, and wait for someone more powerful than him to destroy him.In other words, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers is an exchange of equal value.If you are worthy of assistance, I will assist you; if you are not worthy of my assistance, I will fire you.Don't think that you are a king who holds the power of life and death, and I will try to curry favor with you without principle, or even treat you like a dog.In fact, we are in an equal relationship. The source of the idea of this equal relationship is that I come from the people, and the people are the most precious, and the monarch is a scum compared to the people.Zhu Yuanzhang rose from the lowest position, he was a real slut, and finally climbed to the noble position of emperor, but he was regarded as a slut again. How could his cheap self-esteem withstand such a blow?
It is said that when Zhu Yuanzhang read Mencius, it was as if he was reading a prose cursing eighteen generations of his ancestors.He opened his eyes angrily, and the sound of gnashing his teeth could be heard outside the palace. When his patience exceeded his bottom line, he jumped three feet high, tore "Mencius" in half, fell to the ground, and stomped on it with his feet. , Pick it up again, and bite it with your teeth.Finally, he said: "If this old guy is still alive, I will cut off his head." He ordered Guozijian to split the Mencius tablet in half and burn it.Years later, the more he thought about it, the more angry he became, and he asked people to delete all 85 "evil words" in the book "Mencius".
The suspension of the imperial examination may be due to Mencius, and more likely because the imperial examination system was restored by Liu Bowen.At that time, when the Tanyang incident was raging, he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he suspended one of the traces left by Liu Bowen-the imperial examination.
Zhu Yuanzhang's impression of Liu Bowen was getting worse and worse. In the first month of 1373, when Zhu Yuanzhang was chatting with Zhejiang literati Gui Yanliang, he talked about the world's literary world. Gui Yanliang had the capital to talk about this aspect.
Gui Yanliang was born in Cixi (now Cixi, Zhejiang).When he was young, he was extremely alert, coupled with his diligence and studious, he became a local celebrity.Participate in the imperial examination and become famous in one fell swoop.He used to work in the education department of Zhejiang. Seeing the chaos in the world, he returned to his hometown to live in seclusion according to the most intelligent Confucian thought of "If you have the way, you will show up, if you don't have the way, you will hide."When he was living in seclusion, both Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen sent people with generous gifts to invite him out of the mountain.Gui Yanliang was not sure about the future of these two people, so he politely declined. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Empire in Nanjing. Gui Yanliang waited and watched for a long time, and gradually discovered that Zhu Yuanzhang had great potential, but Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know him, so no one came to invite him.After waiting for a long time, Gui Yanliang realized that the history of Zhang and Fang's invitation would not be repeated by Zhu Yuanzhang, so he took the initiative to come out and ran to Nanjing City to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for an official position.After Zhu Yuanzhang talked with him, he found that Zhejiang was indeed a land of talents, so he left him and asked him to be a professor in the uterus.Gui Yanliang and Song Lian became colleagues and fellow villagers, so Song Lian spared no effort to praise Gui Yanliang's aggressive talent in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yuanzhang said: "There are so many talented intellectuals in Zhejiang." Song Lian said: "This person is not only talented, but also has a huge voice. Even a dead body that sinks in the water will be shaken to the surface when he shouts. water surface."
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't believe it, so he wrote a poem and ordered Gui Yanliang to recite it in the early court. Gui Yanliang seized this opportunity and raised his voice an octave.So, just as Song Lian said, all the fish at the bottom of Xuanwu Lake fainted from the shock, and floated to the surface with their white bellies.
The tenor Gui Yanliang was praised by Zhu Yuanzhang, not only because Gui Yanliang was indeed talented, but also because he was born with a good voice.What's more, Zhu Yuanzhang's poems are extremely stinking, but after Gui Yanliang recites them, it feels unexpected.
Zhu Yuanzhang once praised Gui Yanliang when he was taking throat moistening medicine, "you are the only one who is a great scholar in the south of the Yangtze River".
Gui Yanliang cleared his throat and replied, "I am not as good as Song Lian and Liu Ji."
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "I know these two people too well. Song Lian is a simple literati, while Liu Ji is severe and narrow-minded. They are not as good as you."
Although Gui Yanliang didn't say anything, he believed in his heart that he was indeed inferior to Song Lian and Liu Bowen in the literary world.And Zhu Yuanzhang said that Liu Bowen was a little narrow-minded, so he didn't know what he meant.He didn't know much about Liu Bowen, but he had heard a lot about it.In these messages, he didn't feel that Liu Bowen was a narrow-minded person at all.
In 1373, the only people who really knew Liu Bowen were Song Lian and Zhu Yuanzhang.Those who thoroughly understood Liu Bowen and experienced Liu Bowen's character are all dead.Those are the people and things of the old society.
If you can dig out Liu Bowen's colleagues in the Yuan Dynasty from their coffins, ask them what their impression of Liu Bowen is.They will definitely say that Liu Bowen is a resolute and generous person with strong principles.Whenever discussing the safety and danger of the world, Liu Bowen, who is usually taciturn, eloquently like a demon, showing righteousness.
Friends of Liu Bowen will say this: Liu Bowen is a good brother, he makes friends with every friend with heart, and has insight into the heart.The most important thing in life is loyalty, frank and frank, speaks directly, and never hides it.Such a person can easily offend others, so he has many friends, but also many enemies.
Liu Bowen’s folks have the following impression of Liu Bowen: He is very polite, lives a simple life, and often does good deeds without leaving his name. Even after he became such a big official and returned to Qingtian, he never showed off his noble dignity identity.
Zhu Yuanzhang said that Liu Bowen was narrow-minded, but in fact it was Liu Bowen's uprightness and rigidity.As long as it is the people and things that he is looking for in his heart, he will fight hard with reason and never leave room for others.Zhu Yuanzhang still clearly remembered that everyone said that Linhao was the place where the capital was established, but Liu Bowen said coldly that that place was nothing.
Zhu Yuanzhang's evaluation of Liu Bowen has been so low that many people are shocked. You must know that Liu Bowen followed him for eight years and guided him for eight years. It is like raising a child. In folk terms, it is a shit Zhu Yuanzhang was dragged to the dragon chair with a piss.Such a person who was very important to Zhu Yuanzhang's life received Zhu Yuanzhang's "narrow-minded" evaluation, which surprised even Zhu Yuanzhang himself.
Song Lian was not surprised at all. After Liu Bowen returned to Nanjing with an old skin this time, Song Lian often went to see him.The two sat together and never talked about the affairs of the court. They just recalled the history of the "four gentlemen in eastern Zhejiang".This period of history has long been stained with thick dust. I am afraid that only Liu Bowen and Song Lian are interested in brushing off the dust, chewing on the forgotten history, and enjoying it.
Song Lian watched the autumn leaves twirling in the air and said, "I still remember that we met the emperor that year, and the weather seemed to be like this."
Liu Bowen coughed and said, "You remember wrongly, I remember it was spring, and it was drizzling. I got wet all over."
Song Lian said: "Really, but I remember that the emperor had already put on a cotton padded jacket at that time. It was so plain and without any color."
A gust of wind blew Liu Bowen's gray hair up. Liu Bowen shivered and said, "You may have misremembered again. I was wearing single clothes at that time. I was still wearing single clothes with my body, which means it must not be autumn."
Song Lian said again: "I remember correctly. The emperor asked you to compose a poem impromptu, and you talked about autumn in the poem."
Liu Bowen was very annoyed that his old friend's memory was so incomprehensible.He said: "You really remember wrongly. I haven't written any poems at all. In the past ten years, I have written only a handful of poems and articles. You remember wrongly." Song Lian said: "Okay, I don't want to argue with you anymore. But you must remember one thing." Liu Bowen said: "I don't remember many things. I have thought about what you just said about Mr. Zhejiang East Fourth." Song Lian said: "If If you don’t remember this incident, then I will definitely remember it, and it will be unforgettable for the rest of my life, even though what you said was a lie.” Liu Bowen’s always confused eyes lit up like a light switch, he wanted to sit up from the recliner, but he didn’t success.He was very anxious: "I, Liu Bowen, have also lied, I am only..."
He still had a sober place in his mind, so when he said this, he immediately stopped.Song Lian smiled and said: "This is the case. Once the emperor asked you who is the boss in the literary world today. You said it was me Song Lian, but you said that I, Liu Bowen, deserved the second place."
Liu Bowen opened his mouth where he could no longer see his teeth. After a long time, he said slowly: "I probably said something like this. But I don't know which one is a lie." Song Lian smiled modestly and said: "My Your literary talent is not as good as yours." Liu Bowen shook his head hastily, his old head crumbling.He said: "This is the truth, I am not as good as you." Song Lian took out a long poem from his side with a serious face, and said, "This poem of yours represents your highest achievement, which is beyond my reach."
Liu Bowen looked over, it was an article he wrote not long ago, called "Two Ghosts".This is an eloquent poem with more than 1,400 characters. As Song Lian said, it is the most glorious chapter in Liu Bowen's poems.In the poem, the "two ghosts" refer to him and Song Lian, and the "emperor" refers to Zhu Yuanzhang.They exaggerate their fantasies of rebuilding the Confucian feudal order in the turmoil through bizarre and changing myths, and also illustrate their anguish that they were kept in Zhu Yuanzhang's cage and their ambitions could not be realized.If we want to understand the talented Liu Bowen, we don’t need to read all his articles and poems, but only this one is enough:
In the spring of 1374, accompanied by Song Lian, Liu Bowen visited Zijin Mountain.He can no longer play, only his thinking is constantly moving.Even the thinking is now doing the reverse rotation.Liu Bowen consciously lets himself fall into the trap of memories, not wanting to climb out.
He said to Song Lian: "Zijin Mountain is majestic and majestic. It is a mountain of emperors. It is distinct from other Taoist fairy mountains."A long time ago, there was a Taoist priest named Xu Taiding in the temple. After years of practice, he suddenly flew into the sky on a crane one day and became a god.
He also said that when he was young in Qingtian Mountain, he saw cranes flying up from the mountain, flying into the clouds and disappearing.It is said that those cranes are guide messengers, and whoever can ride on them will become a god.
In warm memories, Liu Bowen thought of the Shimen Cave in Qingtian Mountain. The world said that he got the heavenly book there.But Liu Bowen is too old to be sure about this matter at all.But there was one thing he remembered very clearly.It was in Yuping Cave of the Qing Dynasty on Mount Tiantai, where he met an old Taoist with an immortal demeanor, and the two soon became Taoist friends.One day, the moonlight was like water, and I went into the cave. The old Taoist sat for a long time, and suddenly sighed: "Actually, many years ago, I was also a man of the world, and I passed the imperial examination." Liu Bowen asked him which subject he was in. The Taoist said: "I don't remember that. I only remember that Yan Jidao was among the Jinshi that year." Liu Bowen was shocked. Yan Jidao was from the Northern Song Dynasty. How old.
The old Taoist continued: "After I was elected, I had no intention of being an official. I lived in seclusion in the mountains and comprehended the way of the gods. I finally comprehended it yesterday. I am going to go west with a crane. Today I have a wonderful book. I will give it to you. I hope it can be helpful to you." It will help you in your future life."
After Liu Bowen and the old Taoist walked out of the cave, he opened the strange book, which was "Fire Attack Formation".After flipping through a few pages, I found that it was a fire attack technique that I couldn't think of even beyond the limit of my imagination.Liu Bowen ran out of the cave, and right in front of him, there was a glowing breeze, and the Taoist priest was ascending, and waved him goodbye.Liu Bowen clearly remembered that day as March 8th in the lunar calendar in 1347.
Song Lian said "Oh" and pointed out the falsehood of the story: "Where did the moonlight come from on March 8?"
Liu Bowen was at a loss, thought for a while and said, "That's because I misremembered the date, or there was no moonlight at all that day."
Song Lian asked with a smile, "If this is true, do you really think that old Taoist priest ascended to immortality?"
Liu Bowen said: "Gods and immortals are not the same. There are no gods in the world, but there are immortals. The ancients believed that gods are the creators and masters of all things in the world, the foundation of the world, and the beginning of all things. 'What is formed is not created by gods at all, so there are no gods in the world. Immortals are different from gods, and there are immortals."
Song Lian asked, "How do you know there are immortals?"
Liu Bowen replied: "Look at things. For example, a fox is a beast; a maple tree is a plant. Both of these things can change strangely. Human beings are the spirits of all things, and of course they can change. Therefore, immortals are just the strange changes of people. That's all. There are strange changes, but they are rare, so it is difficult for you to see immortals."
Song Lian asked again: "Will immortals never die?"
Liu Bowen replied: "How is this possible? The sky has become all things with its energy, and human beings are just one of them. As long as they are things, they are organic life, so they are destined to have life and death. The so-called immortals are not immortal, but can live forever." Live longer. I once wrote an "Ancient Song", which is my view of immortals: old flowers want to fall and new flowers are good, new people are young and old people are old. Seeing this, the beautiful women feel pity for each other, and they raise their glasses to persuade me to learn from the gods. I heard that the gods are also dead, but I and Zi have not heard. I only said that old Peng lived the longest, how about after eight hundred years old?"
On the night when Song Lian talked with him, Liu Bowen sat in the courtyard and began to practice the Taoist "sitting and forgetting" work.Soon, he fell into a dream state. From the perspective of outsiders, when the power of sitting and forgetting reaches its peak state, the human soul will fall into a deep sleep.
Liu Bowen has not practiced "sitting and forgetting" for at least ten years. This is because he has been solving problems for Zhu Yuanzhang and has no time.Now that he has time, when he sits there and enters the state of forgetfulness, everything around him immediately blurs.He opened his eyes, the night turned into day, and a white mist rose in the courtyard.He saw several Taoist priests come in through the door and walked straight towards him.
Liu Bowen noticed that there were seven Taoist priests in all, and they were wearing beautiful Taoist robes, fluttering like immortals.The Taoist priest walking in the front bowed to him and asked him with a bright smile, "Do you remember me?"
Liu Bowen didn't need to recall with his heart at all, because in the ocean of his memory, there was a treasure land of Taoism, where the sun would never set, shining on those people and those things forever.He said: "I remember you, your name is Zhang Xuanzhong. When I was detained by the Yuan government in Shaoxing, I went to Baolin Temple to play. It was there that you and I met and became good friends from then on."
Henry Zhang nodded and said: "You were depressed at that time, and you wanted to practice Taoism with me. Unexpectedly, you still stepped into the world of mortals and achieved such a great cause."
Feeling lost, Liu Bowen murmured: "Now that's the case, what is a great cause?"
The Taoist priest behind Henry Zhang flashed out, looked up to the sky and screamed, and asked Liu Bowen: "Do you remember me?"
Liu Bowen didn't need to seriously identify him, just by looking at his bohemian appearance, he knew that he was Zhang Yu.Zhang Yu was a Taoist priest of the Maoshan sect in the Yuan Dynasty. According to many people, Zhang Yu has dealt with zombies all his life.Zhang Yu not only has the ability to catch zombies, but also has extraordinary achievements in Taoism and Taoism.His ability to make friends with countless high-level intellectuals in Yuandadu is an undoubted proof.
Liu Bowen clearly remembers that in 1349, when he was working in the education department of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he met Zhang Yu while visiting the West Lake. The two had a conversation, and Liu Bowen determined that this was the beginning of their great friendship.Before Zhang Yufei was promoted, he asked Liu Bowen to agree to write his epitaph, which shows the depth of their friendship.
Liu Bowen looked at the other Taoist priests while recalling the good times between him and Zhang Yu.He saw Wu Meijian, the Wu Meijian who had regarded Liu Bowen as a friend when Liu Bowen was studying, and he couldn't help sighing when he saw Liu Bowen's old face.He said: "Time is terrible." Liu Bowen said: "Fortunately, it will not torture me soon."
The remaining Taoist priests said in unison: "Liu Bowen, you are opening your mind."
Liu Bowen went to see the speaker. They were Liang Weishi, Wang Youda, and Zhan Mingde, famous Taoist priests in the late Yuan Dynasty.All three were Liu Bowen's spiritual mentors in his Taoist life.Especially Zhan Mingde, after Liu Bowen was abandoned by the Yuan government many times, he persuaded Liu Bowen to either completely retreat to the mountains and become a carefree Taoist priest, or plant a tree of will in his heart, let it take root and sprout, and wait The wise monarch came to enjoy the shade under the big tree.Liu Bowen finally chose the latter passively, and their Taoist friends contributed a lot.
While he was talking to these three people, suddenly a young Taoist priest floated in front of him from behind the crowd.Liu Bowen was taken aback, because although this man was wearing a Taoist robe, he was dressed crookedly, and there was no such person among the Taoist priests in his memory.
The man saw Liu Bowen's surprise, and asked with a smile, "You really don't know me?"
Liu Bowen carefully identified, in fact, his eyes could not see anything clearly a year ago, but today, for some reason, he can see everything clearly.But he still didn't recognize the man.
He shook his head apologetically.The man took out a wooden sign from his sleeve, on which nine words were written: Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and become king slowly.
Liu Bowen's memory suddenly became clear, and he exclaimed in surprise: "You are Zhu Sheng." Then he became frightened again, "Aren't you dead?"
Zhu Sheng laughed out loud like a donkey braying.When he was laughing out loud, Liu Bowen hurriedly sorted out his memories, trying to restore the real Zhu Sheng.
Zhu Sheng was indeed dead.He died in 1370, and no one noticed his death, because he died in the remote Huizhou Prefecture Xiuning County (now Xiuning, Anhui), his hometown.At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Sheng was on par with Liu Bowen. After he was recommended to Zhu Yuanzhang in 1357, he dedicated a nine-character mantra: build a wall high, accumulate food widely, and become king slowly—and become king slowly, it must be Zhu Sheng's wisdom, but building high walls and accumulating food widely, some people say it is the wisdom of Wang Guangyang. In 1360, Liu Bowen came to Nanjing to present "Eighteen Strategies of Current Affairs", and Zhu Sheng's status in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind gradually declined.He gradually became Zhu Yuanzhang's counselor, while Liu Bowen became Zhu Yuanzhang's mentor.Liu Bowen and Zhu Sheng had worked closely together. During the Battle of Poyang Lake, Zhu Sheng was also one of the accompanying advisers.With the efforts of the "pro-Zhu faction" later, Liu Bowen's superb resourcefulness on Poyang Lake was all pinned on Zhu Sheng's head, including his saving Zhu Yuanzhang's old life.
In any case, the Battle of Poyang Lake was performed by Liu Bowen alone. Even so, Zhu Sheng's influence was unquestionable at the time.He followed Zhu Yuanzhang for 11 years, and has been advising Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established his new China, and Zhu Sheng's mind was full of thunder.Like Liu Bowen, he saw clearly Zhu Yuanzhang's volatile face, so he asked to retire.The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang allowed him was because he was 71 years old that year, and he was too old to walk. What reassured Zhu Yuanzhang most was that Zhu Sheng had been honest and cautious over the years, and he had never made Zhu Yuanzhang feel at ease.
Zhu Sheng helped Liu Bowen revisit the experience of the two of them as colleagues, but Liu Bowen still didn't quite believe that the person in front of him was Zhu Sheng.Because when Zhu Sheng died, he was already very old.And the person in front of him who claimed to be Zhu Sheng seemed to be a young man full of energy.
Zhu Sheng told him: "In that world, time goes backwards. People will get younger and younger until they become infants before they are born, and finally reincarnated into this world."
Liu Bowen never believed in such a thing. He said: "When a person dies, he is dead. It is impossible to become a ghost, and it is impossible to have another world. Even if there are ghosts in this world, it is like this: after death, For ghosts, this ghost is just a kind of existence, they can't see the living, and the living can't see them. In the end, the ghost will still turn into Qi and disappear forever."
Zhu Sheng didn't want to debate such an obvious issue with him, he carefully examined Liu Bowen, sighed, and smiled wryly.The surrounding fog was dissipating, and Liu Bowen noticed that Zhu Sheng and his Taoist friends had become transparent.He heard Zhu Sheng say: "The most perfect you died on the way back to Qingtian in 1368."
Liu Bowen yelled: "Impossible, it's 1374, and I'm still alive."
Those Taoist friends laughed loudly and said, "Look at you, you are so old, you live in sorrow and fear, life is better than death."
Liu Bowen was at a loss, he didn't know how to answer such a question, but he was sure that he was still alive.Because he saw his own appearance in Zhu Sheng's increasingly transparent body, with dry and pale hair and dim eyes.This was exactly what he had seen of himself in the bronze mirror for a year, and he was alive in the bronze mirror.
Zhu Sheng leaned close to his ear amidst the roar of laughter and said, "Although it's hard work, it will eventually come to an end. You should do it yourself."
After saying this, the fog completely dissipated.Those friends gradually turned into air and disappeared in the courtyard.Liu Bowen's head drooped, pulling him as if there was a rope behind his neck, and he woke up. The courtyard was pitch black, and the leaves were blown to the ground by the wind.
He couldn't help shivering, and looked around.He was sure that it was just a dream.But this dream was too clear and real, he suddenly had a feeling, is he dreaming now?He dreamed that he was framed by Hu Weiyong, and in order to save his life, he came to Nanjing and put himself under house arrest.
He thought, this is really the biggest nightmare in his life, when will he wake up from this dream!
A year later, Liu Bowen will be on his sickbed in his hometown Qingtian, thinking of the scene of Hu Weiyong visiting him on that cold morning in Nanjing.It was the first month of 1375. Liu Bowen remembered that when Hu Weiyong came, it was raining and snowing outside.
Throughout 1374, Liu Bowen spent in a trance.He would drag his sick body to the morning court every day, but he was often late.When he was late, he stood outside the palace gate, trembling imperceptibly all over.When he was not late, he didn't say a word in the court.People standing around him will always see him with his eyes closed, the sound of a hen laying eggs in his throat, and at the same time smell the breath from his mouth like a herd.
Everyone said that Liu Bowen was old and seriously ill.Two years ago, when he first arrived in Nanjing, someone saw the Grim Reaper hovering in front of the gate of his house.Later, someone saw the Grim Reaper enter his courtyard, where the Grim Reaper kept looking into his bedroom.Later, everyone could not see the god of death in his courtyard. Some people speculated that the god of death had entered his bedroom, and Liu Bowen was not far from death.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Liu Bowen was seriously ill.But he never cared, and people were amazed by his ruthlessness, but Zhu Yuanzhang thought differently.It was still in the summer of 1374, at a scorchingly hot noon, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Song Lian: "Liu Bowen can't die. He thinks he is a god-man. He will not die when he should die, but when he wants to die. He is now I don't want to die yet."
Song Lian did not disclose this sentence to Liu Bowen.He knew that this sentence was not a good one, and worried that Liu Bowen would be stimulated.Although there was no such stimulus, Liu Bowen's condition was still deteriorating rapidly.His eyes could no longer see clearly, and his eyes were always filled with whiteness. The constant pain in his lungs and liver prevented him from falling asleep.His spirit is getting worse and worse, and he often mistakes people who come to see him for people from ancient times.For example, once, he mistook Song Lian for Pan Gu, and asked Song Lian: "You used an axe when you opened the world, but at that time the world was chaotic and there was nothing. Where did you get your axe?" He mistook Song Lian for Nuwa who created human beings, and when Song Lian talked to him, he kept spying on Song Lian's ass.Song Lian asked him why.He said, "Where's your tail? Aren't you the head of a man and the body of a snake?"
Song Lian seldom visited him afterwards.For the last time, Song Lian asked him quietly: "Are you pretending to be crazy?" Liu Bowen squinted his eyes and asked Song Lian solemnly: "Where have you been for so many years? I am the only one left by Mr. Zhedong Si. Lonely." Song Lian thought he had recognized him and was about to be happy, but he heard Liu Bowen muttering: "Zhang Yi, why haven't you come to see me for so many years?"
It was not Hu Weiyong's intention to visit Liu Bowen, but Zhu Yuanzhang's.Zhu Yuanzhang said to him: "Everyone says that Liu Bowen is dying, but I don't quite believe it. Go and see him, what's going on."
Hu Weiyong had no choice but to come to see Liu Bowen.He is different from Zhu Yuanzhang. He is a rationalist. Rationalists believe that people have to experience birth, old age, sickness and death, so it is a fact that Liu Bowen is seriously ill.When he saw Liu Bowen walking out tremblingly, this understanding was further deepened.
In fact, Liu Bowen didn't see Hu Weiyong, but "listened" to Hu Weiyong.He turned his head sideways, pointed his ears at Hu Weiyong, and listened carefully to Hu Weiyong's speech.
Hu Weiyong said: "I came to see you by the order of the emperor."
Liu Bowen nodded.
Hu Weiyong said again: "Actually, I, like the emperor, want to see when you will die!"
Liu Bowen also nodded.
For a long time, Hu Weiyong and Liu Bowen did not speak, and the living room was as quiet as outer space.
Suddenly, Liu Bowen stretched out his right index finger, put it to his ear, and said, "Listen, the sun is rumbling." Hu Weiyong really went to listen, but he didn't hear anything, he just saw the sound outside. The snow became heavier.He said disapprovingly: "There is no sun today, and it is snowing." Liu Bowen said "Oh", and suddenly said seriously: "Do you feel it, the earth is turning, turning very fast." Hu Weiyong said in his heart: " Crazy", but said: "How can the ground turn? Liu Ji, you are hallucinating."
He stood up and asked the servant outside to come in. The servant held a square box in his hand. He put the box on the table next to Liu Bowen and said, "I have heard that you are very ill. According to your condition, I have found a few smart doctors and prepared a few medicines for you. I believe you will recover after taking it. Don't worry."
Liu Bowen stood up and said, "Thank you, I'll eat right away." Hu Weiyong also stood up and turned to leave.At this time, he heard Liu Bowen say: "We will see you in five years." Hu Weiyong turned around again, frowned and asked, "What did you say?" Liu Bowen glanced at him, and Hu Weiyong was startled.Liu Bowen's black eyeballs had disappeared, as if he were blind.他又听到刘伯温小声地说：“五年很短，我等你。”胡惟庸莫名其妙，笑了笑，大步流星地走出了刘伯温的家。刘伯温站在那里，突然说了句：“但愿我没有说错。”这就是胡惟庸最后见到刘伯温的情景，也是刘伯温在人间最后见到胡惟庸的情景。胡惟庸把这一场景用语言的方式传递给朱元璋时，朱元璋“咦”了一声说：“刘基该不会真的不行了吧？”胡惟庸用一副悲痛的声调说：“据臣的观察，应该是不行了。”朱元璋陷入沉思，良久才说：“我看我有必要见见他。”不过，据经常去看望刘伯温的几个大臣说，现在见刘伯温，如同见个傻子。刘伯温已有点神志不清，自说自话，根本无法和他正常交流了。朱元璋半信半疑，终于在1375年阴历二月的一天，他命刘伯温来见。
刘伯温和朱元璋在人间的最后一面，是自古以来凤毛麟角的一幅柔情似水的政治画卷。实际上，朱元璋每天都能见到刘伯温，朝堂上，他经常会在不被人注意时把目光扫向刘伯温。那时的刘伯温，双眼呆滞，不经意地打着并不响亮的嗝。在透进大殿的熹微晨光中，朱元璋看到刘伯温呼出的气有时候是五彩的，有时候是乌黑的，还有时候，看不到他呼出的气，就像是个不能呼吸的死人。
他眼中的刘伯温，虽然老态龙钟，精神萎靡，但直到1375年阴历二月，二人独自相见之前，他从没把死亡和刘伯温挂上钩。可当他第一眼看到几乎是挪进来的刘伯温时，内心深处不由得一动，脑海中一道闪光，“死亡”两个字跃上眉头。
刘伯温要跪下去，他没有让。非但没有让，一股“悔之晚矣”的心态使他不由自主地快步走向刘伯温，握住了他的手。刘伯温的眼眶里仍然是白茫茫的，但他能看清眼前这个人，就是他把毕生精力和智慧都捐献给的那个人——朱元璋。
两个人都老了。刘伯温是生理上的苍老，而朱元璋则是心灵上的苍老。两个老人面对面坐着，谈着谈着，就掉进了回忆的陷阱中。
朱元璋先开了头。他说：“刘先生还记得当初陈友谅来攻南京，阵势骇人，是您让我稳住阵脚，调兵遣将，才避过那一劫。”
刘伯温吃了一惊，他知道，自己真的快要死了，连朱元璋都看出来了。如果朱元璋没有看到他即将死去的信息，这个忘恩负义的人是不可能谈这样的事情的。
他笑了笑，说：“不记得了。”
朱元璋潜意识里当然没想让他记得，所以继续说：“后来小明王被张士诚攻击，所有人都同意我去拯救他，只有你不同意。就是在那次，陈友谅趁我后院空虚，兵围洪都。如果不是您，鄱阳湖之战的结果如何，还真未可料。”
这件事，刘伯温必须要记得。他严肃地说：“您是真龙天子，就是没有我在，您也一样平安无事的。”
朱元璋摇了摇头，但马上又点了点头。又接着说道：“后来就是张士诚、方国珍、蒙古人，我每一个对手的消失，都有先生您的运筹帷幄，功不可没啊。”
刘伯温闭上眼睛，白色的曙光消失了。他看到了鄱阳湖，还有鄱阳湖上密密麻麻的战舰。他看到一颗火球正在飞向朱元璋的指挥舰，他听到自己那底气十足的声音，叫朱元璋赶快离开战舰。he cried.
这时，他感觉朱元璋在推他。他睁开眼，看到朱元璋惶恐的神情。朱元璋说：“先生你在喊什么？”刘伯温这才意识到，他的神经在刚刚又陷到错乱的泥沼中了。
当他恢复平静时，朱元璋又追忆着往事。朱元璋说：“帝国初建时，我是胆战心惊，我从未想过会有1368年那一天，我居然成为了皇帝。如果不是您的《时务十八策》为我指点迷津，我现在还会从梦中惊醒。”
刘伯温极端谦虚地说：“《时务十八策》只是几张纸而已，纸上谈兵。如果没有皇上您的精明手腕，再好的策略也只是说闲话。”
朱元璋叹息了一声，说：“先生是否还记得您对我说过，王保保不可轻？”
这件事，刘伯温当然也记得。而且，自他1368年说出这句话后，现实情况一直在验证着。
王保保自1368年聚兵占据甘肃后，朱元璋的远征军一直对他进行持续不断的攻击。在付出了巨大伤亡后，好不容易把王保保逐出甘肃，但结局更糟糕。王保保逃出山西后，开始和朱元璋的远征军玩起了游击战。
当时朱元璋远征军总司令徐达在横扫中国境内的蒙古势力时，最头疼的就是王保保兵团。这是一支军纪严明、骁勇善战、来去如风，并在血腥中成长起来的兵团。在王保保的领导下，这支兵团众志成城，用徐达的话而言就是，软硬不吃，油盐不进。徐达兵团在每次和王保保兵团的战役中，都会取得胜利，但在伤亡面前，胜利就不值一提了。
徐达远征军最悲惨的一次发生在1373年。本年，徐达兵团十五万人分三路同时出击，设想把北元政府连根拔起。中路军是徐达，由雁门直趋北元老窝和林；东路军司令是李文忠，从居庸关至应昌，然后直逼土剌河（今图拉河），目的是从西北面攻击和林；西路军司令是冯胜，出金兰取甘肃，试图扫清那里的北元散兵游勇。
东路军司令李文忠的开局美好，结局悲惨。他的兵团开始时所向无敌，一直推进到胪朐河（今克鲁伦河），又在土剌河击溃北元猛将哈喇章，李文忠进行得如此顺利，难免轻敌，所以急行军，当大军抵达拉鲁浑河（今鄂尔浑河）畔的称海后，陷入了北元兵团的包围圈，李文忠艰难地突破重围，损失惨重。
中路军徐达的开局就不美好，结局更是惨不忍睹。他遇到的对手就是他多年来头痛的王保保。当他的军队到达土剌河后，王保保兵团和他们打起了硬碰硬的野战，徐达轻易获得胜利，紧追不舍。因为前方就是和林，徐达不是那种瞻前顾后的人，当他的兵团到达和林后，突然周围锣声四起，徐达大叫一声不好，显然，他中了王保保的诱敌之计。徐达虽然冲出重围，但他的五万人马全军覆没。
西路军司令冯胜兵团没有遇到强劲对手，披荆斩棘，可对整个战略计划已无任何作用，这一年的北伐就这样灰头土脸地结束了。
在这次北伐失利后，朱元璋曾对他的军官们说：“我此生有三件事非常遗憾，一、没有传国玉玺；二、王保保未擒；三、元太子无音问。”
传国玉玺是秦始皇用和氏璧制造的一块国家印章，印章是八个字：受命于天，既寿永昌。在相当长的时间里，这颗传国玉玺象征了国家权力，谁得到它，就意味着谁建立的王朝才是正统的王朝，而他本人则是正统的皇帝。北宋灭亡时，传国玉玺被金人夺走，后来就不知下落。元朝初年，有人在街市上吆喝卖传国玉玺，当时的宰相伯颜拿到手后，认为这玩意不过如此，所以就把这玩意和其他的玉玺放在一块，后来伯颜把这些玉玺都磨平了，送给各位大臣刻私人印章。传国玉玺惊鸿一现，从此再没有出现过。
朱元璋建立新中国后，始终把这件事当回事，他的北伐兵团其中一项重要的任务就是寻找这个传国玉玺，可惜，到他死时，传国玉玺也没有找到。
北元太子就是元顺帝的太子爱猷识理答腊，元顺帝去世后，爱猷识理答腊领导的北元政府始终是朱元璋的一大心病。“无音问”，其实是说，爱猷识理答腊政府从未和他沟通过，只是抵抗，不停地抵抗，偶尔会发动一次反攻。
朱元璋把爱猷识理答腊放到王保保的后面，足以说明王保保真的未可轻。
为了把王保保这个敌人变成朋友，朱元璋曾七次派人招降王保保。但王保保给出的回答，永远都是沉默。有一段时间，朱元璋甚至神经质地怀疑，世界上是否有王保保这个人。
1375年阴历八月，王保保病逝。朱元璋得到消息后，总算松了一口气，他首先问他的那些将军们：“当今天下，谁可称得上是奇男儿？”大家都认为非常遇春莫属。因为常遇春横行天下，无人可挡。朱元璋摇头说：“遇春的确是个汉子，但我能收服他。我却不能收服王保保，所以王保保才是真的奇男儿。”
当然，朱元璋说这些话时，刘伯温在人间早已听不到了。在1374年阴历二月那个即将到来的黄昏，刘伯温却听到了朱元璋提到的王保保。
他叹息了一声说：“是啊，王保保这人是不可轻的。”
朱元璋又试着回忆起很多事来，这些事都和刘伯温有关。他希望用这种回忆弥补他对刘伯温的忘恩负义，但他也明白，太晚了。
刘伯温从朱元璋眼里看到的是柔情，听到的是朱元璋真心实意的表达。可当他深入朱元璋的内心，去寻找内心深处泯灭的柔情时，他马上就找到了。也就是说，朱元璋现在回忆的这些事，只是对他刘伯温一种客套的安慰。这种安慰虽然从内心里发出，但正如离弦的箭一样，一去不回。朱元璋和刘伯温在一起追忆刘伯温的好，是无源之水、无根之木。
当追忆到谈洋事件时，朱元璋的脸就冷了下来。他盯着刘伯温说：“我不相信这样的事，但我知道你是个风水学大师，这样的事，我不相信，别人也会乱说。”
刘伯温浑身一震，这一天最后的一缕阳光和大地平行着射到房间里来，照到一块水晶上，撞出五彩缤纷的星星。在那些星星中，刘伯温看到朱元璋那张久违的狰狞的脸。他想，这次谈话可以结束了，他和朱元璋在人间的最后一面也结束了，他和朱元璋的历史也已经结束了。
他费力地站了起来，对朱元璋说：“皇上，我可能要不行了。自从胡丞相给我送来一服药，我将它吃掉后，肚子里就起了个瘤子，摸得清楚。我的肚子胀得厉害，平躺时都会窒息。我的大便次数增加，每天都在十几次。”
朱元璋还在想谈洋事件，漫不经心地，但语气里带着威严冷酷：“刘基，你好好养病，不碍事。”
刘伯温跪下谢恩，朱元璋这次没有阻拦。这是个非常缓慢的场景，刘伯温的动作如同慢镜头，朱元璋特别欣赏这一艰难的跪拜。当他要刘伯温平身后，突然想到一件事。他问刘伯温：“听说你说过这样的话，凡事不必尽如人意，但求无愧我心？”
刘伯温点头。
朱元璋冷冷地又问：“你此生真的能无愧于心？”
这是一个非常刁钻的问题。刘伯温站在那里，对他的人生进行了严肃的回顾后，发现，他真的不能无愧于心。实际上，任何人都不可能无愧于心。
1375年阴历三月，刘伯温在南京城中忍受着提前到来的炎热。他的两鬓流着油腻的汗，给朱元璋写一封请求回家的信。出乎意料的，他上午送去的信，下午答复就来了，来的信是朱元璋给刘伯温的最后一道手诏，名为《御赐归老青田诏书》，开篇就是气势凌人：
在这道《御赐归老青田诏书》中，朱元璋和在二月里跟刘伯温聊天的那个朱元璋判若两人。这道诏书中，没有任何人性，直接呼刘伯温为“尔刘基”，同时把谈洋事件放大，最后一兜，说他朱元璋此生对刘伯温已是仁至义尽，无愧于心。刘伯温捧着这道诏书，流下泪水。三月初四，他离开南京城，回青田。宋濂来送行，刘伯温问：“皇上没有说什么吗？”宋濂说：“皇上很关心你，问你能否坚持到家。”
刘伯温苦笑说：“当然能。”二人分别的最后，他拉宋濂的手。宋濂听见他说：“我在1360年没来南京时就已死啦！”宋濂知道他又神经错乱了，正要说几句安慰的话，却又听到刘伯温说：“死了的我，用十五年做了一个大大的梦！”
宋濂失声道：“不要多想，回去好好养病。”
刘伯温看了他一眼，再也没说什么，宋濂也不说什么了，二人心知肚明，此次分别，将是永别。
青田凉爽得使人如在天堂，这至少是刘伯温到家那天的感觉。他的家人对这位病入膏肓的老人所表现出的快乐情绪大为惊讶，自谈洋事件后，刘伯温第一次露出了发自心底的笑容。他的家人以为他能挺过这一关，不过第二天，刘伯温从床上醒来后，就变成了另外一个人。
他坐在床上，自言自语。他要他的家人准备椅子，说不能让客人来站着。他还让家人杀鸡宰猪，因为客人们要吃饭。家人对他突然变成这样，大为惊骇。
实际上，刘伯温在那个空荡荡的屋子里看到了他生命中所有的人。他看到他的儒学导师郑复初，郑复初正在给他讲课。他就跟着郑复初大声地读了起来。他又看到父亲，父亲在心无旁骛地钻研一本天书，还让他安静一会儿，不要打搅自己。他看到很多人，元大都里那个卖书的书商，高安衙门他的领导，还有他那些同僚，他看到了方国珍，这都是他最痛恨的人，可现在，他却发现，原来自己这么爱他们，如果没有他们，他的人生就不会这样完美。最后，他看到了此生最不想看到的人——朱元璋。
他叫了起来，在房间里直打滚。但在这个房间里的朱元璋并没有那么多戾气，反而非常和蔼可亲。朱元璋还向他鞠躬，说：“我为天下，屈四先生。”
刘伯温赶紧跪下，说：“皇上千万不能这样说，多年以后，我无法忍受你的前恭后倨啊。”
朱元璋语重心长地说：“谁让你前知五百年、后知五百年呢。”
刘伯温说：“那是民间的刘伯温，不是真实的刘伯温。”
朱元璋点头说：“我承认。但是，我容不下你。”
刘伯温不无伤感地说：“可在1368年，我已经隐退，为何还要把我叫回？”
朱元璋说：“你们道家讲究功成身退，对别人而言，是可以操作的。可对你，却不行。我容不下你，却需要你。最重要的，你还没有死，这就是命运！”
刘伯温愣了一会儿，突然恍然大悟地笑了。他说：“我明白了。如果朱升活到现在，恐怕也是这样凄凉的结局吧。”
朱元璋点头，说：“是的，一个人只要活着，就难免有事。”
刘伯温已彻底清醒，说：“也就是说，无论我多么能掐会算，也无法逃脱。因为我还活着，活着本身就是一种罪恶，特别是活在你的世界中的人。”
朱元璋鼓掌大笑，说：“你说对了。你看现在活着的那些人，必有厄运等着他们。要知道，我是个从不念旧情、有着蛇蝎心肠的人。”
刘伯温大叫一声，因为世界上还有这种人，让他暴怒。他猛地敲向身边的桌子，在一阵灰尘飘扬中，房间里所有的人都消失不见了，只剩下空气流动的声音。
1375年阴历四月十五，折磨了刘伯温一个多月的那些幻象突然消失不见了。他感觉非常好，他知道，这是死神即将来的征兆。于是他把儿子刘琏叫到床边，手指着他的所有著作，说：“等我死后，把这些书都送到南京去，你要告诫子孙后代，千万不要看这些书。”
刘琏翻开一份书目，这是刘伯温一生中最辉煌的著作，可称为刘伯温全集：《郁离子》《覆瓿集》《写情集》《犁眉公集》《春秋明经》《清类天文分野之书》《天文秘略》《白猿经风雨占候》《玉洞金书》《灵棋经注》《解皇极经世稽览图》《三命奇谈滴天髓》《金弹子》《一粒粟》《地理漫兴》《灵城精义》《佐元直指图解》《效颦集》《观象玩占》《演禽图诀》《披肝露胆》《注玉尺经》《多能鄙事》《烧饼歌》《百战奇略》。
或许正是这些著作在后世的流传，才让许多人把刘伯温看成一个神乎其神的魔法师和预言家。而作为政治家、思想家和文学家，刘伯温的光环在民间越来越淡。
这对刘伯温是绝不公平的。他要子孙后代不要学习这些神秘的玄学，可能是谈洋事件给他造成了难以释怀的伤害。他以精通术数闻名，最终却倒在了术数上，这不能不说是他人生中最大的讽刺，或许正如梦幻中的朱元璋所说，这就是命运。
在嘱咐完大儿子刘琏后，他又对小儿子刘璟说：“为政宽猛如循环，当今之务，正在修德省刑，祈天永命。诸形胜要害之地，应与京师声势联络。我想给皇上写封信，说明这样的问题，但现在胡惟庸在，我就是写了，也没有用处。等胡惟庸下台后，皇上必然思念我，会找你们，你就把我这段话说给他听。”
——刘伯温临死前还对朱元璋和这个帝国念念不忘，用赤胆忠心这四个字恐怕不能完全概括。有时候，我们很难理解古人那份百死不悔的情怀，刘伯温就是这样的一个古人。
刘伯温说完这些话，剧烈地咳嗽，当他恢复平静后，嘴唇已发白。这个时候，他突然困倦了。他说他要睡一会儿，他的两个儿子走出他的房门，还没有把门关上，刘伯温就睡着了。在梦中，他发现自己走进了一个空荡荡的房间里，周围的墙壁白得使人发抖。一种他是第一个走进这房间的沉重感使他极为不安。睡梦中，他不经意地想起，最近几年来，他做的都是这个梦，也就是说，这个梦他已经重复了有一千天，可每次醒来后，他都会忘记。于是，每次梦到这个房间时，他都认为自己是第一次来。只有在梦将要醒时，他才发现自己不是第一次来。
现实中，那天下起了淅淅沥沥的小雨。在梦幻中，刘伯温想推开那个房间的窗户，看看是否也在下雨。但他没有找到窗户，这是一个没有窗户的房间，甚至连门都没有。和从前一样，他在这个房间里恐慌起来，他拼命地大叫，于是，梦醒了。
房间里一片梦幻，他看到了陈友谅、张士诚正在向他招手，是那种彬彬有礼而充满热情的招手。他从床上爬起来，向他们走去，可能是动作太快，他突然穿过了他们透明的身体，转头再看时，两人消失了。于是，他再度醒来，窗外一片明亮。
这已是1375年阴历四月十六日的夜晚，月亮早早地升起，又大又荒唐。月光探进房间里，刘伯温在床头睁着眼睛，看到在流动的月光中，有那么多人在向他招手。此时，他忘记了正在南京城里顾盼自雄的胡惟庸，忘记了他亲手毁灭的陈友谅、张士诚，忘记了他曾效忠过的元王朝。他闭上眼睛，月光消失了，眼前却更光明起来。他看到了自己的童年，瘦骨嶙峋，郁郁寡欢，眼神忧郁，正在一个山洞中如饥似渴地读书。他又看到一帘厚厚的帐幕被人掀起，里面走出了一个下巴突出、两眼晦暗的人，正是朱元璋。
他听到地球飞速自转轰隆隆的声音，把他震得浑身发抖。他睁开眼睛，看到月光如闪电一样从他的房间里退了出去，穿街过巷，冲向原野，然后一个优美的姿势越上了青田山，在飞驰了一段时间后，月光贴着青田县城湿润的石子小路快速地流向处州，在处州城里，月光左旋右转，右旋左转，终于在一处空地前停了下来，它转身向青田方向看了一眼，然后呼啸一声，冲天而逝。这是65年前1311年阴历六月十五的那道月光，它和刘伯温在人间驻足65年，如今重回天界。
月光如水，刘伯温归天。
1377年，刘琏写信给南京，要人来取刘伯温全集。朱元璋拿到这套全集后，假惺惺地掉下几滴眼泪，说：“刘基太忠诚了，可让他的大儿子刘琏来做官。”如果这次是逢场作戏，那么在1390年，刘伯温归位的15年后，朱元璋的一番话倒的确是真情实感。1380年，胡惟庸谋反案爆发，朱元璋兽性大发，先后屠杀三万余人。胡惟庸临死前将会想起，那个寒冷的上午，他去见刘伯温的情景。刘伯温对他说，五年后再见，如今，一语成谶。
而朱元璋或许正是在这个时候，才想到刘伯温论相。他对刘伯温的小儿子刘璟说：“我经常思念刘伯温。他在这里，满朝都是党，他却一个也不从。他后来吃了胡惟庸的毒药，死掉了。我也算是为他报仇了，胡惟庸那厮被我斩尽杀绝，坟墓也被我挖了。”
事实真如朱元璋所说的那样吗？或者换个问法：刘伯温到底是怎么死的？
第一种意见认为，刘伯温的确如朱元璋所说的，是胡惟庸下毒。胡惟庸案的爆发，是因为有人密告，说胡惟庸正准备造反，在密告信中，提到的胡惟庸种种不法勾当中，就有一条是，胡惟庸谋杀了刘伯温。这封告密信的主人在胡惟庸被杀后现身，正是胡惟庸最信任的一名手下。这人知道内情，应该没有异议。可问题是，当朱元璋审问那个与胡惟庸共事的汪广洋时，汪广洋说自己毫不知情。有人于此认为，胡惟庸根本没有谋杀刘伯温。至于那封告密信，在中国政治场中，栽赃陷害是常有的事，告密信的主人栽赃胡惟庸，也不是没有可能。
第二种意见认为，是朱元璋指使胡惟庸谋杀了刘伯温。因为胡惟庸在1375年去看刘伯温时，是朱元璋命令他去的。或许就在这份命令之外，又加了一条命令：神不知鬼不觉地杀掉刘伯温。这种意见太荒谬，如果朱元璋真要杀刘伯温，谈洋事件是最好的理由，何必要去谋杀？
这两种意见都把刘伯温当成了白痴。刘伯温对药理相当了解，《多能鄙事》中关于药方的搜集就是证明，况且，他对胡惟庸始终就有防范，不可能明知是毒药还吃。如果他