Chu Liuyan said to Li Wenzhong: "Wenzhong, please step back first." Li Wenzhong was still indignant, Tang He stepped forward and said, "Brother Wenzhong, you step back first." Lord Chu will definitely handle this matter properly. Li Wenzhong had no choice but to retreat. It's just that his eyes are still full of suspicion of Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, if you want me to let you go today, I will let you go for the sake of the common people in the world. It's just that you have to promise me three conditions. Chu Liuyan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said after pondering for a long time.

"You say. I also deeply regret what I have done in the past. As long as I can make amends, I will do my best. Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a long sigh of relief and said.

"First, I want you to sacrifice Brother Xu and Brother Liu on a large scale, and posthumously seal them. Rebuild the mausoleum for them, and let the people of the world worship and pay homage to them together. Chu Liuyan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said his first condition.

"Good. I promise you. I am deeply sorry for their deaths to this day. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Chu Liuyan and said. After speaking, he kowtowed three times in front of Xu Da's tomb to express his sincerity.

Chu Liuyan nodded, and said the second condition: "Second, I want you to promise me that I will never investigate what these brothers did today, and I will never settle accounts with them." Especially Wen Zhong, you must not kill him. If you don't agree, we won't let you go today. You have to swear to heaven, if you break your oath, your descendants will hang themselves and die, and the Zhu family's country will fall into the hands of outsiders. ”

When Chu Liuyan said these words, his eyes were quite poisonous. Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated slightly, Chu Liuyan glanced at him and said, "Can't you do it?" If you can't, don't push yourself. ”

Li Wenzhong shouted from behind: "He must not be able to do it." Chu Liuyan said coldly: "So I want him to swear poison." He is most nervous about his country, and he can't joke about his country and future generations. ”

"The yellow sky is above, the thick earth is below, I, Zhu Yuanzhang, have sworn a poisonous oath to this, and I will never pursue the actions of the brothers who held me hostage today in the future. If you break this oath, you will not die well. He thought for a while and said, when he saw Chu Liuyan's eyes, he continued: "If this oath is violated, the Zhu family's rivers and mountains will sit in the hands of foreign surnames, and my descendants will end up hanging." ”

"Okay." At that time, people paid the most attention to poisonous oaths, and Chu Liuyan was relieved to see that Zhu Yuanzhang was willing to even take a poisonous oath. The people behind, except for Li Wenzhong, who didn't think so, the rest of the people also breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Liuyan continued: "My third condition is to ask you to be kind to the people of the world. If you can't, today's events will repeat themselves at any time. When she said these words, the poison in her eyes became more and more serious.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Don't worry, I promise you that I will treat the world with kindness." I will also treat the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang the same as the people in other places, and cancel their high taxes, you can rest assured. ”

"Okay." Chu Liuyan slowly put the plum blossom needle back: "Since that's the case, I'll let you go today." I want you to remember everything you said today. Otherwise, even if I let you go, the sky will not let you go. ”

"I remember." Zhu Yuanzhang was still a little frightened: "Today's words, I have every word in my heart, you can rest assured." ”

"You can go back." Chu Liuyan glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang: "If today's brothers have any three strengths and two weaknesses, I will definitely ask for you." After saying that, she turned back to the people and said, "Go back, all of you." Today, the emperor swore a poisonous oath in front of Brother Xu's tomb, and I believe he will not joke about his country and descendants. ”

After listening to Chu Liuyan's words, everyone glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang with some hesitation. Zhu Yuanzhang saw Chu Liuyan's picturesque eyebrows, and she was still the woman she loved so hard in the past. The years are ruthless, and more than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. All people, all things, have become unpredictable, but the woman in front of her, the years do not seem to have left any traces on her. It's just that in addition to her character, she is becoming more and more stoic.

This woman, once she fell in love with Liu Bowen, once she fell in love with Xu Da, but she only had no affection for herself. As the king of a country, he is not even as good as them. It's not even as good as Chen Youliang. Because he knew that since Chen Youliang's death, Chu Liuyan would go to his tomb every year on the Qingming Festival and Chen Youliang's sacrifice day.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but speak: "Flowing smoke girl, I promised you three things today. I'm sure I'll do it all. I have one more request, I wonder if you can grant me? ”

The crowd was shocked. Chu Liuyan also glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang with some doubts, and said, "If you have any other requirements, you can say it." ”

"I hope you can come back to the palace with me, be my queen, and supervise my every word and deed. With you by my side, watching me all the time, supervising me, I can restrain my behavior and do better. I can always keep in mind what I promised you, and I hope you can go back to the palace with me. Zhu Yuanzhang sincerely said the words that had been hidden in his heart for more than ten years: "I am devoted to you, everyone in the world knows it, but you don't know." My throne is reserved for you, but unfortunately you will never appreciate it. ”

Chu Liuyan sneered slightly and said, "If you really want to do what you oath, why should I supervise you by your side?" If I wanted to be a queen, I would have done it a long time ago, so why wait until today? I supervise you by your side every day, maybe one day I remember that you killed Brother Xu, and I will kill you. As she spoke, the blue water sword in her hand rose suddenly, and a strand of Zhu Yuanzhang's hair fell steadily into her hand.

She looked at the hair in her hand and said, "The body is skinny, and it is subject to parents, and it can't be hurt casually." Therefore, I kept a strand of your hair to sacrifice Brother Xu. If, one day, you break your oath, I will come and take your head, just as I would take your hair. When she said these words, her voice was fierce, and Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but tremble slightly when she heard this.

"You can go back." Chu Liuyan said. As soon as she finished speaking, she heard someone behind her shouting: "Emperor, Emperor, Emperor......" It turned out to be Jinyiwei coming. After Zhu Yuanzhang was kidnapped by Chu Liuyan and left, at first, the palace people didn't notice it. It wasn't until later that Ma Xiuying knew about it and felt that things were not so simple. Because Xu Da had just died a few days ago, Chu Liuyan and Xu Da had a deep friendship, and she came to Zhu Yuanzhang, most likely to settle accounts.

Ma Xiuying immediately summoned the guards guarding the palace gate to come, and they said that they saw Chu Liuyan and Zhu Yuanzhang leaving surrounded by Li Wenzhong, the three Chang brothers and others. Ma Xiuying felt that the big thing was not good, and immediately summoned the commander of the Jinyi Guard, and ordered him to lead a large number of troops to find Zhu Yuanzhang's whereabouts and rescue Zhu Yuanzhang.

When Jin Yiwei found Xu Da's cemetery, it happened that Chu Liuyan planned to let Zhu Yuanzhang go.

"Bold, you actually dare to kidnap the emperor, don't you want to die?" The commander of Jinyiwei stepped forward and stopped in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, and then said to his subordinates: "Protect the emperor." "Yes." The brocade guards agreed, and they gathered around Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, I hope you remember what you promised me." Chu Liuyan stared at Zhu Yuanzhang coldly and reminded him. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded again and again, and said, "Don't worry." What I promised you, I will do. The Qing family did not kidnap me, but accompanied me to worship Xu Da. You need not panic. Zhu Yuanzhang said to the Jinyi guards.

"Good. I hope you will be a good emperor and treat the people well. After Chu Liuyan finished speaking, he pulled a horse over, jumped on the horse's back, and said to everyone: "I once promised Wei Guogong to go back to the mountains with him, and now that he is no longer alive, I will also fulfill his last wish." I hope that you can assist the emperor to be a famous lord of the world, so that the people of the world can have a good life. With that, he turned and rode away.

Everyone looked at Chu Liuyan's back, getting smaller and smaller in the wind, getting more and more insignificant, and in the end, they couldn't see it even more remotely, and their hearts were sad and melancholy.

"Let's go back to the palace." Zhu Yuanzhang said, he turned to look at Li Wenzhong, Tang Hemu Ying and others, and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely forget today's events." Wen Zhong, from today onwards, you will also stay in the capital to report on your work, and you don't have to go back to the place where you are released. Li Wenzhong's eyebrows were cold, and he always felt that Zhu Yuanzhang would not let him go so easily, so he said: "The minister implores me to return to the place where he was released." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and said, "Let's go back and talk about these things." Drive back to the palace. So, surrounded by the brocade guards, he returned to the palace in a mighty way. Ma Xiuying was originally a little impatient waiting in the palace, but when she saw Zhu Yuanzhang coming back safe and sound, she was very surprised and said, "Your Majesty, you are finally back." The concubine was really worried. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Ma Xiuying, and he felt like a person in another world. He sat on the chair and said with palpitations: "Today I almost died in front of Xu Da's mausoleum, but fortunately, I was alert, so they let me go." ”

Ma Xiuying pondered for a long time, and after a while, she knelt down and said: "Please listen to the emperor's concubines, in the past, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Liu Bowen and others were born and died with the emperor," she deliberately did not mention Lan Yu's name, because she had a deep affection with Lan Yu in the past: "Now their encounters will inevitably make the rest of the courtiers feel that the rabbit is dead, and the lackeys are cooking, according to what the concubines see, if the emperor is willing to appease them and treat them more kindly, they will definitely serve the emperor." The concubine begged the emperor not to pursue the person who kidnapped the emperor today. ”

"Don't worry. I know what to do. I have promised Chu Liuyan that I will never investigate what these people have done today. It's just that in the future, Zitong will remind me more by my side. Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while before he said slowly.

"The concubines obey orders, and the emperor is wise." Ma Xiuying bowed down again. Zhu Yuanzhang helped him up. Today, Zhu Yuanzhang feels very desolate in her heart, and the people who have been waiting by her side in the past are only Ma Xiuying who comes in. The so-called young couples are old companions, and this is exactly the case.

The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang issued a holy decree to posthumously crown Xu Da as the king of Zhongshan, and give the Zhongshan palace to Xie Cui'e and Xu Da's widow to live in; Posthumously named Liu Bowen as a sincere uncle, and built a special mansion for his family in Qingtian County, Zhejiang. The rest of the people who participated in this incident also received their own rewards, and Li Wenzhong was also transferred back to the capital to take up his post. Zhu Yuanzhang also issued an order to cancel the high taxes of the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and for a while, the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang raised their hands to celebrate.

In the next two years, Zhu Yuanzhang has been cautious in his words and deeds, and the oath that Chu Liuyan once asked him to make was like a knife across his neck, which made him feel very uneasy and uncomfortable, but there was no other way. Two years later, Ma Xiuying died of a serious illness. Zhu Yuanzhang was very sad, although the only person he had ever loved in his heart was Chu Liuyan, but Ma Xiuying had also shared hardships and prosperity with him for more than ten years. They have also supported each other and walked through the most difficult and difficult days together, and the feelings in them are naturally not known to outsiders.

Not long after Ma Xiuying's death, Zhu Yuanzhang's temper became more and more violent. Ma Xiuying's death, Chu Liuyan's departure, and many things in the court hit him very hard. After a few years, Zhu Yuanzhang lingered on the sickbed, and in the thirtieth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang died.

During his reign of 30 years, he launched a total of eight Northern Expeditions, but unfortunately the generals were withering away day by day, and they never regained the grand events of the year.

During his lifetime, Zhu Yuanzhang built a filial piety mausoleum at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain, and after his death, he was buried here with Queen Ma.

The crown prince Zhu Biao ascended the throne as emperor and held a large-scale state funeral for Zhu Yuanzhang. After the state funeral, a large number of tomb guards were sent to guard the filial piety tomb. Among them, there is another reason. A feng shui master once mentioned to Zhu Yuanzhang that the dragon vein of the Ming Dynasty is in Zhongshan, and if the dragon vein can be guarded, the rivers and mountains of the Ming Dynasty will be able to survive for generations.

Zhu Yuanzhang is selfish. Because he did something wrong, he didn't keep his old promise, and he didn't let go of any of the people who had held him hostage. He swore a poisonous oath, if he violated the poisonous oath, his descendants would hang themselves to death, and the Ming Dynasty no longer existed, which has always been a thorn in his heart, and he did not pull it out until he died.

In the spring of this year, when the spring flowers were blooming, a woman in red came to Xu Da's tomb. The woman was no longer young, she was gray-haired, maybe fifty or sixty years old, maybe older. It's just a face, still very beautiful, the skin is smooth, the eyes are very bright, and it looks much younger.

She is Chu Liuyan, who has been in seclusion for more than 20 years.

After she paid homage to Xu Da, she sat in front of his tomb and gossiped with him, she said: "Brother Xu, unconsciously, twenty years have passed, do you still remember me?" What would it be like if you were alive? ”

Paper money is all over the sky, flying like paper butterflies fluttering. Chu Liuyan continued: "Brother Xu, do you know what has been the saddest thing for me in the past twenty years? I hate myself, I believed Zhu Yuanzhang wrongly, he once said that he should be kind to the people of the world, and he did it. But he also once said that he should be kind to his brother, but he did not do it. ”

"Do you remember Li Wenzhong? At the beginning, it was also in front of your tomb that Li Wenzhong asked me to kill Zhu Yuanzhang, but I didn't agree, and as a result, five years later, Wenzhong fell ill, and Zhu Yuanzhang went to see him in person, gave him poison, and killed him like this. He posthumously named him the king of Qiyang, called "Wujing", worthy of enjoying the Taimiao, the portrait of the meritorious temple, ranked third. Burial of the Yin of Zhongshan. His son Li Jinglong inherited the title of Duke of Cao State. It's just that even with so many honors, what can it do? The man is dead. Zhu Yuanzhang did so much, just to compensate, lest the poisonous oath he made that day be fulfilled. ”

Chu Liuyan was a little emotional when she said this, she closed her eyes, tears flowed down her cheeks, and she continued to say slowly: "Tang and that little fat man, Zhu Yuanzhang let him go." originally thought that he could live a safe life, but who expected that when he was sixty-four years old, he was sick and inhuman, and Zhu Yuanzhang sent him to fight against the Japanese invaders. He died of illness like this, and he was posthumously named the king of Dongou and Xiangwu, but he was still just a false name. ”

"And Deng Yu, fortunately he died early, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't have time to deal with him, which can be regarded as his luck. Mu Ying, this child was like father and son with you at the beginning, and now he can also go to the underworld to accompany you. He lived less than fifty years old, and he didn't know how he died. People in the world don't know, I know that it's Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Yuanzhang won't let him go. ”

Chu Liuyan's tears were surging for a while, and Xiao Xiao's white hair was particularly cold in the steep spring cold: "The brothers and comrades who held Zhu Yuanzhang hostage with me at the beginning, except for the three children of Brother Chang's family, the rest died. Although they died in different ways, they all died very miserably, and it was Zhu Yuanzhang who killed them. If I hadn't been soft-hearted and let Zhu Yuanzhang go, maybe I wouldn't have ended up like this today. Brother Xu, I'm sorry for your ......"

The cemetery was quiet, Chu Liuyan and tears were surging, she endured the pain in her heart, and said: "Brother Xu, over the years, I have painstakingly studied the notes left by my mother in the past, and the notes record that in more than 200 years, the descendants of the Zhu family will die by hanging themselves in Wansui Mountain, and the Ming Dynasty will perish. You and your brothers worked hard to fight the world, but you all died tragically. Finally, the sky has eyes, and it is retribution. The affairs of the Ming Dynasty have nothing to do with me Chu Liuyan from now on. No matter what difficulties their children and grandchildren encounter, even if I will not fall into the trap, I will never help. ”

Time passed slowly, Chu Liuyan sat in front of Xu Da's tomb, his figure was gloomy, and he was slowly turned into a different silhouette by the afterglow of the sunset, with red clothes and white hair, which was particularly desolate in the bloody sun.......

It was a long, long time, until the sun was slowly setting, that she got up, jumped on her horse, rode away, and gradually disappeared into the dark twilight, never to be seen again.

(End of book)

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