During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang gifted a “golden mallet” to his loyal strategist Liu Ji, saying, “This is a ‘door-knocking mallet.’ If you have an urgent matter, you can use this to knock on my door.” This Liu Ji is the renowned Liu Bowen, who had previously predicted several calamities for Zhu Yuanzhang during wartime and helped him avoid them. The gift of the golden mallet was generous and represented Zhu’s exceptional trust in Liu Bowen.
One night, in the middle of the night, there was a knocking at the palace gate. Upon opening it, the guards found Liu Ji, and following the emperor’s orders, they allowed him entry. Zhu Yuanzhang, curious, asked: “What brings you here at this hour?”
Liu Ji replied: “I couldn’t sleep and wanted to play a game of chess with Your Majesty.” So the emperor and his minister began to play chess. Shortly after, a report came in that the granary was on fire, and the emperor was needed to direct the firefighting efforts.
Liu Ji quickly stopped Zhu Yuanzhang, saying: “Your Majesty, there’s no need to rush. You can send an envoy to impersonate you and go instead.” Zhu Yuanzhang, after considering Liu Ji’s advice, agreed and sent an envoy. When the envoy returned, he had been killed in the carriage. Zhu was shocked and said: “How did you know I was in danger and came to save me?” Liu Ji humbly replied: “I observed changes in the celestial phenomena and came to report to Your Majesty.”
Liu Ji skillfully used Zhu Yuanzhang’s love for chess and his ability to read celestial signs to cleverly help the emperor avoid disaster and protect the Ming Dynasty. Indeed, a remarkable person!
Zhu Yuanzhang finds a hair in his meal
One day, while Zhu Yuanzhang was dining, he found a hair in his food. Infuriated, he immediately summoned the official in charge of the imperial kitchen to discover how such a thing could happen. The official, realizing the gravity of the situation, boldly said: “This is not a hair; it is Your Majesty’s dragon whisker!” Zhu Yuanzhang, upon hearing this, touched his beard and found a couple of whiskers had fallen. Thus, he could only grumble loudly for a moment and then let the matter go. The official managed to save his life with this clever response.
The lucky barber
Zhu Yuanzhang had a barber named Du who groomed his hair and trimmed his nails. On one occasion, while trimming the emperor’s nails, Zhu noticed Du carefully wrapping the clippings and placing them in his pocket. Zhu Yuanzhang asked, “What are you doing with my nail clippings?”
Du respectfully replied: “Your Majesty, these clippings are from your imperial body. How could I dare to discard them? I plan to take them home and preserve them carefully!” Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and asked: “Why are you so cunning? Have you kept all my previous nail clippings as well?”
Du answered: “All of Your Majesty’s clippings are stored at my home.” Zhu Yuanzhang then ordered Du to stay in the palace and sent someone to Du’s home to verify his claim. When Du’s family heard the imperial guards’ purpose, they retrieved the emperor’s nail clippings from a shrine. The clippings were placed in a vermilion box and even worshipped with incense.
Upon hearing the report, Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted and praised the barber for his sincerity and respect. He immediately appointed Du as the Minister of Ceremonies, and from then on, Du’s fortunes soared.
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