Zhu Yuanzhang was repeatedly hit hard in the turbulent era and escaped doom. Once, when he was in distress, he was rescued by a poor widow and hid in her home to heal his wounds. The two gradually fell in love, and when they parted, the widow asked Zhu Yuanzhang worriedly: What if I am pregnant? Faced with his life-saving benefactor, Zhu Yuanzhang resolutely made a shocking decision, which was unexpected......
First, the catastrophe is coming, and life hangs by a thread
In 1363, it was the turbulent era of the Red Perils at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the peaceful and prosperous era had long ceased to exist. The young Zhu Yuanzhang joined the rebel army against the rule of the Yuan Dynasty and threw himself into the chaos of war. Although he was born as a reckless hero, Zhu Yuanzhang showed outstanding military strategy and decisiveness. With his keen eye and extraordinary courage, he soon became famous in the army and became an important mastermind under the commander Chen Youliang.
However, the good times did not last long, and Zhu Yuanzhang's fate suddenly fell into a critical crisis. In the spring of 1363, Chen Youliang's army was temporarily transferred to the defense, and it happened to encounter a head-on blow from Zhang Shicheng, a famous general of the Yuan Dynasty. The battle was fought extremely fiercely, and the new forces of both sides almost fought for their lives. The position changed hands several times, and finally the vanguard battalion led by Zhu Yuanzhang lost one after another and was forced to flee in a hurry.
The chasing soldiers followed like a shadow, and Zhu Yuanzhang's war horse was injured, and he fled with blood. Seeing that he was about to be captured alive, he caught a glimpse of a gray and dilapidated house in despair. It was a widow's house, with shabby houses and crumbling tiles. The widow runs the small family alone, and has been living in poverty for many years, and has lived in this poverty since the death of her husband.
The street fighting continued, the artillery fire continued, and Zhu Yuanzhang had no time to think about it, so he had to break into the dilapidated grass house and fall in front of the widow in embarrassment. This warrior was covered in dust, covered in bruises, and on the verge of death. In the face of this sudden fright, the young widow was unexpectedly calm, and without hesitation, she dragged Zhu Yuanzhang in and covered him with a quilt.
Second, the small courtyard temporarily avoids hardships and warmth
The widow held a candle and carefully stripped off Zhu Yuanzhang's clothes, revealing the gunshot wounds and knife wounds all over her body. This reckless hero is under siege and has somehow been able to escape all the way here. The widow did not suspect him, turned over the cabinets and took out her only cotton yarn and medicinal wine, and bandaged Zhu Yuanzhang's wounds one by one. By the dim light of the candle, the widow focused on the task of healing at hand, without hesitation to help a stranger who was in distress.
Zhu Yuanzhang was in great pain, sometimes in a coma and sometimes awake. In his delirium, he vaguely saw a thin woman holding twine, carefully weaving over his body, occasionally soaking her wounds with warm wine. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but admire this kind woman. With this glimmer of vitality, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly passed the most dangerous juncture of his life under the careful care of his widow.
In the blink of an eye, it was the scorching sun of July, and the rain of bullets had long gone. Zhu Yuanzhang regained some strength and was finally able to leave the humble little wooden bed. Although he was wearing the only few old clothes in the widow's house, Zhu Yuanzhang was not ashamed, but had infinite respect for this woman who had saved his life. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang was already twenty-six or seventeen years old, and the widow was only twenty-four or five years old, at the age of youth and beauty.
The two depended on each other, and the days of getting along day and night soon gradually gave birth to secret feelings. While recovering his strength, Zhu Yuanzhang had a long talk with the widow, telling his twists and turns in his life. The widow cooked for him with her own hands and took care of his daily life. When the sun was setting in the west, the two would occasionally pace in the small courtyard, admiring the few lilacs blooming.
Far away from the smoke of artillery fire and the chaos of war in the outside world, Zhu Yuanzhang soon found a rare sense of tranquility and security in this small courtyard. And the widow she had never met also fell in love with this martyr because of Zhu Yuanzhang's heroic and fearless image. When the two look at each other, they often see a different kind of tenderness and longing in each other's eyes.
However, even if this sentiment is charming and moving, it is difficult to escape the tricks of fate in the end. The peaceful and prosperous world is far away, and Zhu Yuanzhang will have to embark on a journey one day, he is destined to not be able to settle for this side of the world, so he will keep to himself. Zhu Yuanzhang understands that he has the ambition to change his life against the sky, and if he is content with the status quo, he will owe his heroic ideals. And as a low-level widow, even if this woman has a soft spot, I am afraid it is difficult to understand the pride and ambition in Zhu Yuanzhang's chest.
3. Go forward bravely and vow to hate
The heat of August has passed, Zhu Yuanzhang's wounds have healed, and his body has regained most of his strength. Looking at the leafy tree in the courtyard, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he had been delayed in this small courtyard for too long. The battlefield in the distance is still in full swing, and Chen Youliang and other righteous troops are desperately fighting to the death with the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang has relatives in his heart, how can he keep to himself? Moreover, devoting himself to this sweeping movement and restoring the country's rivers and mountains is his greatest long-cherished wish in this life.
So, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to leave. Before leaving, he solemnly bid farewell to the widow and expressed his determination and ambition: "I should make new contributions to this dusty field, and I hope you can wait for me to triumph." With that, he waved his hand, turned around and walked out of this place of refuge.
Seeing that the savior was about to leave, the young widow's heart was mixed. She couldn't bear Zhu Yuanzhang to just throw everything away and go to Ge Ji again, but she understood that this was Zhu Yuanzhang's ambition, and she had no right to interfere. Finally, she choked up and said the last bit of expectation: "If I... When you're pregnant, can you still call the shots? ＂
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. He knew that this was a problem—if the widow was pregnant, what should he do with her mother and child? However, if you leave them behind, you will be a great grace to save your life.
At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly made an unexpected decision. He took out of his bosom a simple wooden comb, broke it in half, put half of it into his bosom, and handed the other half to the widow, saying, "If you have such a good deed, come to me with this half of the comb." No matter where I am at that time, I will do my best to ensure the well-being of your mother and child. ＂
When the widow saw this, she was both surprised and delighted, and took the half-comb with tears in her eyes, and a glimmer of hope burned in her heart. Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep look at her, turned around and strode out of the courtyard gate, disappearing around the corner of the street.
In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang left this place of refuge that had saved his life and embarked on the journey again. After returning to Chen Youliang's command, he quickly broke a new world in the flames of war with his calm and decisive military strategy and extraordinary courage. Once upon a time, he was just an unknown reckless child, but now he has laid a foundation step by step. What's more, the widow who saved him with his own courage made him hope for this revolution against the sky.
So, Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to fight his way out. Since leaving the small courtyard, he has not hesitated to gallop on this battlefield filled with gunpowder. Every night in the dead of night, Zhu Yuanzhang would rub the half-comb, secretly dreaming that if he could kill a way out, he would fulfill his promise to the widow with the greatest sincerity.
Fourth, the hero first became a life-saver
Since leaving the widow's house that time, Zhu Yuanzhang has been like an arrow and has devoted himself wholeheartedly to this battle that will change the world. Under Chen Youliang, he repeatedly performed miracles, and soon became the leader of the army who was brave and good at fighting. With his extraordinary vision and determination to kill, Zhu Yuanzhang not only made meritorious contributions to the battle, but also repeatedly showed elite strategies in strategic layout.
In 1367, Chen Youliang led the army to join Zhang Shicheng, Yang Shi and other rebel armies, and finally fought a decisive battle with the Yuan army in the Huguang area. The battle lasted for several months, and the two sides went back and forth, and it was difficult to distinguish between the winners and the losers. Just when he was in a stalemate, Zhu Yuanzhang was ordered to lead the vanguard to break through the defense line of the Yuan army, creating an opportunity for Chen Youliang's command to break through. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the army to the Yuan army camp and captured several important generals. In the end, with Zhu Yuanzhang's heroic efforts, Chen Youliang's army finally broke the deadlock and won a complete victory.
In this battle, Zhu Yuanzhang made brilliant achievements and became famous. Chen Youliang immediately crowned him "Wu Anbo" and worshiped him as a core strategist. Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang has a promising future and has become an important leader in this change of dynasty. Especially after the subsequent annihilation of the Yuan army garrison one after another, the righteous army has occupied the initiative and counterattacked everywhere. Zhu Yuanzhang, who was in the middle of the day, was complacent, and finally remembered the life-saving benefactor.
It has been several years since he left the widow's house, and Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't know if the woman is doing well now. He ordered someone to inquire about her whereabouts, and soon followed the clues to find her. It turned out that many years after Zhu Yuanzhang left, the widow was really pregnant and gave birth to a son. Since Zhu Yuanzhang left, she has never married, running a poor family alone, and trying her best to bring up this son. Despite the hardships of life, she always carefully kept the half of the wooden comb left by Zhu Yuanzhang as her hope.
After learning the news, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately ordered someone to take the widow and her son over. Unexpectedly, this mother and son were once a powerful family, and they became a poor family after being punished by the nine clans in the Yuan Dynasty. If there is chaos today, Zhu Yuanzhang is also the first place today, although he is slight. He then ordered the mother and son to be given appropriate courtesy, and specially purchased a place for them to live in the barracks.
Zhu Yuanzhang still clearly remembered the half of the wooden comb back then, and immediately took out his own half, and paired it with the widow's half, and it was a whole one. After seeing the life-saving benefactor and the child she gave birth to with hard work, Zhu Yuanzhang was full of gratitude and immediately assured them: "From now on, your mother and son will be my Zhu Yuanzhang's family." When I accomplish great things, I will put you in place. ＂
Fifth, success and fame will repay the grace of saving lives
After many years, Zhu Yuanzhang is already a mighty general. With his extraordinary military prowess and extraordinary courage, he made outstanding contributions and made great contributions to this movement to change the dynasty. In 1368, Chen Youliang's command finally conquered Miyun and fully controlled the sixteen states of Yanyun. Yuan Qing Di Qing was driven out of the old capital, and Zhu Yuanzhang was ordered to guard Beiping and deal with the Central Plains plan with full authority.
Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang led his army south, linking Xuzhou, Yangzhou and other important towns, and defeated Chen Youliang and other generals. Then, he crossed the river, and the army overwhelmed the border, even approaching Ying Tianfu. In August 1368, he was enthroned as emperor in Yingtianfu, known as Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, and established the founding foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
All these achievements can be traced back to Zhu Yuanzhang's experience of escaping the catastrophe in that widow's house. It was the widow who used her meager family background to come forward to save Zhu Yuanzhang and allowed him to rise again in the crisis of life and death. Now that he has achieved the emperor's family and country, Zhu Yuanzhang will naturally not forget his life-saving grace back then.
After ascending the throne, the first thing Zhu Yuanzhang did was to bring the widow and her son into the palace and give them extremely high courtesy. Although they came from humble backgrounds, they were hand-picked as "Taizu's great-great-grandmother" and "prince's great-grandfather" for helping Zhu Yuanzhang's life. They were not only given rich fortunes, but also supported by the court as "life-saving benefactors". Since then, he has lived a carefree life of brocade clothes and food, and has since become one with Zhu Yuanzhang's family.
In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered to rebuild a manor in Yingtianfu City for the place of refuge that year, and build it into a luxurious mansion surrounded by lakes and pavilions as a token of gratitude. At the same time, a majestic stone tablet was erected in the manor, with seven characters written on it, "Zhu Taizu has a difficult place to vote", to commemorate.
This mansion, known as "Taizu Manor", was named by Zhu Yuanzhang himself and carefully designed by the imperial master, which shows the importance he attaches to life-saving benefactors. In order to prevent others from prying eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang also specially appointed a personal guard to guard day and night to maintain the secrecy of the manor. In addition, he specially allocated silver taels and good fields as supplies for the widow and her son.
Many years later, when Zhu Yuanzhang's personal conquest was raging, he would still often think of that warm courtyard back then. After the night, he would take out the half of the wooden comb from his bosom and think of the former savior. Sometimes he would also order someone to send this half of the comb to Taizu Manor, so that the mother and son could also touch this eternal friendship.
In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang was unswervingly committed to his life, and did his best to repay the grace of saving his life. In this way, he laid the foundation of his rebellion against the sky, and sublimated the most simple kindness in the world into an emperor-like grand atmosphere.