At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a highly cultivated Taoist came across a cowherd who was herding cattle. Although Cowherd boy is sallow and emaciated and ragged, he looks like a poor child at first glance, but the Taoist priest sees an imperial temperament from him. So, the Taoist priest patted Cowherd on the shoulder and said, "Cow is good, you are the future emperor", and it really came true many years later.
This cowherd is none other than Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, formerly known as Zhu Chongba. At that time, Zhu Chong was only about ten years old. Because his family is poor, let alone going to school, he often eats every meal. In order to survive, I have been herding cattle to the landlord since I was a child, and I am often beaten and scolded by the landlord. The degree of hardship can be imagined.
When he heard the Taoist priest say that he could be emperor in the future, Zhu Chongba's first reaction was: "Did the old man take the wrong medicine? My family has been farmers for generations, and now they are almost too poor to open the pot. He actually said that I can be an emperor in the future, just for fun. " However, Zhu Chongba looked at the Taoist priest carefully and thought that he was sage like type and didn't look like a liar. Besides, I'm too poor to wear * * *, and there's nothing to cheat. The Taoist priest saw the mind of the Cowherd Zhu Chongba and did not continue to say anything. He soon disappeared into the twilight.
After returning home, Zhu Chongba didn't tell his parents about his encounter with the Taoist priest, but kept it a secret and buried it in his heart forever. In A.D. 1342, when Zhu Chongba 15 years old, there was a famine and plague in his hometown Haozhou, which had never happened in a century. In just over ten days, his parents and brother died one after another. What's even sadder is that because my family is poor, I can't afford a coffin, and I don't even have land to bury my relatives. Fortunately, neighbor Liu Jizu felt sorry for Zhu Chongba and gave him a free place to bury his dead relatives.
Although life is so hard, Zhu Chongba didn't give up hope for life, because the distant dream in his heart (being an emperor). In order to survive, Zhu Chongba went to Huang Jue Temple to become a monk, and later became a beggar for many years. He saw the outside world, which made his heart more mature and tempered his iron will and fearless character.
Time flies, and several years have passed. At the age of 25, Zhu Chongba received a letter from Xiao Tanghe, which changed Zhu Chongba's life. It turned out that Tang He joined the uprising army, and he wanted to let him come over, not to mention it as a big deal, but at least to eat and drink. After reading the letter, Zhu Chongba was so excited that he went to the rebel army without saying anything and changed his domineering name to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Because of Zhu Yuanzhang's bravery and flexibility, many of them were praised by the supreme leader Guo Zixing and married his adopted daughter Ma Shi. After years of efforts, with the help of Xu Da and others, Zhu Yuanzhang drove the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty back to the grassland and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Many years ago, the Taoist priest's prophecy came true.