My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 418 Hongwu Mystery
"The Supplement to the Universal Path was actually written by your ancestor?"

Li Han blurted out, "Could it be Liu Bowen?"

Then he immediately realized that something was wrong. When "Universal Records" was completed, Liu Bowen had been dead for more than 20 years. How could he possibly supplement a book that was published after his death?

"No, no, it couldn't have been written by Liu Bowen." Li Han scratched his head awkwardly, "Sorry, I was a little too excited."

However, this news is quite explosive. If "Supplement to the Universal Channel" was written by Liu Huazhang's ancestors, then Liu Huazhang should be familiar with the secrets contained in it, and should even know more about it than his unreliable parents.

Li Momo gently held Li Han's hand and felt his hand trembling slightly. She stroked it gently, trying to ease his excitement.

At this moment, she could understand Li Han's feelings. The secret that her parents had studied for almost half their lives was about to be revealed, and no one could remain calm.

Liu Huazhang waved his hand nonchalantly and said with a smile, "It was written by Liu Yu, the grandson of Liu Bowen."

"Grandson? Old man, are you talking about Liu Bowen's ninth-generation grandson?" Li Han thought for a moment and said, "Liu Yu is a man of extraordinary talent. After Liu Bowen and his son Liu Lian were stripped of their titles of Earl of Chengyi by Zhu Yuanzhang, he managed to get the title back from Jiajing, the most stubborn emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"It seems that you are very familiar with the past stories of our Liu family." Liu Huazhang said with a smile.

Although the Liu family is a large family and has produced textbook-level celebrities in history, its family history is nothing compared to the national history. Ordinary people will not deliberately learn about other people's family history.

However, Li Han blurted out Liu Yu's life story, which made Liu Huazhang feel very happy. The glory of his ancestors could be remembered by others, which also made him, as a descendant, proud.

Li Han suddenly realized, "If that's the case, then 'Supplement to Huanyu Tongqu' was completed during the Jiajing period. After so many years, no wonder I haven't found a second copy or a reprint."

"That's right. Strictly speaking, 'Supplement to the Universal Corridor' is just a book on geography and folklore. It's not a general history, and it's not as widely circulated as 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'. If you're not specifically doing this kind of research, most people won't go out of their way to look for this kind of book."

Liu Huazhang quickly understood what Li Han meant. The reason why so few copies of "Supplement to the Huanyu Tongqu" were handed down was that the readership was too small.

"But I am ashamed to say that as a descendant of the Liu family, I did not keep a single copy of the 'Supplement to the Universal Path'."

After hearing what Liu Huazhang said, Li Han's heart tightened. Li Momo also felt his nervousness because she felt that Li Han began to tighten his grip on her hand.

"But if you ask me what's special about this book, I do know a little bit. When I was a child, my father often told me about the contents of this book. He told me many things after he had understood them himself."

Liu Huazhang's thoughts seemed to have returned to the past. He thought carefully for a long time before speaking: "There is a paragraph in it that I find very strange. This may be the reason why your parents are fascinated by it."

Hearing this, Li Han breathed a sigh of relief. The way this old man spoke really made people's blood pressure rise.

Liu Huazhang went on to say: "In the eighth year of Hongwu, a strange theft occurred. Three silver ingots weighing several hundred kilograms disappeared from the Guangji Treasury in Yingtian Prefecture. Guangji Treasury was the national treasury, and this case immediately alarmed Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered a thorough investigation and even sent out the Embroidered Uniform Guards. However, after a thorough search, no clues were found.

The doors and windows of Guangjiku were intact, with no signs of damage, and there was no possibility that the policemen guarding Guangjiku had committed any crime.

The guards of Guangjiku worked in three shifts. When changing shifts, they would count and hand over the silver ingots, report to the deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and then sign and seal. Unless the three shifts colluded with the deputy minister, there would be no possibility of theft. The suspicion of the guards was soon cleared, because the stolen silver ingots were the treasure silver ingots, each weighing several hundred kilograms. Under the layers of guards in the warehouse, no one could take the silver ingots out.

Furthermore, if one really wanted to steal from the national treasury, wouldn't it be more convenient to steal small silver or even gold ingots? Why bother with the silver ingots in the treasury?

There were many different opinions about the theft from the national treasury. Some said that a strange person used the Five Ghosts Moving Method to steal the silver ingots, while others said that the silver ingots flew away by themselves. However, after a period of time, the silver ingots were found in the suburbs dozens of miles away from Guangjiku.

The silver ingot was buried under weeds and dead leaves, and was accidentally discovered by a scholar. "

Li Momo listened with great interest, but Li Han smiled and added:
"I have also read this story. It is recorded in the Miscellaneous Notes in the Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty's Caomuzi. The scholar thought it was a windfall and asked his companions to carry the silver ingot back home. However, the spoils were not divided equally and the case was reported to the government. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang found out.

Just when the scholar and others thought they were doomed, Zhu Yuanzhang thought that it was God who gave the silver ingot to the scholar, so he gave the silver ingot to the scholar, and the scholar made a fortune. "

"It seems that you, Xiao Li, have a wide range of interests. So what do you think of this story?" Liu Huazhang asked Li Han with a smile.

"As for folk stories of strange things, there are many such stories recorded in Caomuzi. That's not right..."

Li Han suddenly seemed to remember something and immediately looked at Liu Huazhang with surprise in his eyes.

"Old man, do you mean to say that this story is true?"

"Hahaha!" Liu Huazhang stroked his beard proudly. "Whether it is true or not is up to you to judge. But you two little guys, did you hear anything special from the story just now?"

Li Momo's eyes were full of stars when he heard this. He was just busy listening to the story, so how could he hear anything special?

At this moment, Li Han's mind was working fast, carefully recalling every word Liu Huazhang had just said. Suddenly, he thought of it.

"Master, in this story, only one of the silver ingots was found, but three were stolen. So, where did the other two go?"

"Good boy, very good, young people have very good brains!" Liu Huazhang praised: "When I told this story to my grandson, he took a long time to react and didn't understand it."

Li Momo also looked at Li Han with admiration. He was indeed the man she had chosen. He was so smart!

"In the Supplement to the Universal Corridor, the follow-up of this incident was recorded."

Liu Huazhang did not keep the audience in suspense but continued to speak.

"It is said in the supplementary records of the Universal History that the second of the stolen silver ingots was found in the 23rd year of the Hongwu reign at Yumen Pass, thousands of miles away from Yingtian Prefecture!"

Liu Huazhang smiled mysteriously, "When it was discovered, the two red characters Guangji on the silver ingot were still there, which means that no one has touched the silver ingot in the past fifteen years!"

(End of this chapter)