The emperor measured the words, and when he paid the money, the fortune teller refused to accept the money from the dead
Emperor Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng, who led the peasant rebel army, besieged the city of Beijing, and saw that Yongding Gate could not be defended, and his heart was full of despair. He decided to make a private visit to find a glimmer of hope.
When passing by a fortune-telling booth, he was apprehensive to get a revelation about the future of the Ming Dynasty from the fortune teller, but he was only warned again and again by the fortune teller, and when he paid the money, the fortune teller even spat on again and again: "Bad luck, bad luck, it's really a rare bad luck." ”
Looking at Chongzhen, who was pale, the fortune teller waved his hand and said, "You go, I can't ask for the dead man's money." ”
Elegy and tragedy: Chongzhen worries about the country and the people, insists on resisting the king in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the country is ruined, the king Li Zicheng led the peasant rebel army to be powerful, and the army is about to come to the city, Emperor Chongzhen is sitting in the big palace, pacing back and forth.
He knew in his heart that the Ming Dynasty's qi was exhausted, and he had already heard of Li Zicheng's ferocity, but the Zhu family's throne had been passed down for more than 200 years, how could he let it be easily lost in his hands?
Zhu Youzhen was unwilling to sit still, he was captured, he always dreamed that he could turn the tables and counterattack and restore "orthodoxy", he gave a death order again: "Stick to Yongdingmen." ”
On the other side, the leader of the rebel army, Li Zicheng, was in a strategic dilemma, they were unable to take the capital Beijing. Although both sides knew that Emperor Zhu Youzhen was powerless to resist, the rebel army continued to die, and both the army and the morale of the army were severely hit.
At this critical moment, the advisers on both sides took the initiative to ask for help, hoping to help the leader solve the problem. Li Zicheng's most famous strategist, Song Xiance, was good at divination.
When he saw Li Zicheng's sad face, he knew that he was worried about how to attack the city. Beijing was the political, economic, and cultural center of the Ming Dynasty, and if Li Zicheng forcibly captured it, it could cause serious damage to the ancient city, and at that time, even if a ruin was captured, it would be of little practical significance.
Song Xiance's eyes flickered, he took a step forward, bowed to Li Zicheng and said, "I am willing to solve problems for the prince." Li Zicheng smiled bitterly and said, "What is the best plan for Song Junshi? ”
Song Xiance raised his eyes to look at him, his face was divided into three parts and seven ghosts, and he smiled weirdly: "If you want to win the city, you must first attack your heart." Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment, and then asked eagerly: "I want to hear about it." ”
Song Xiance elaborated on his strategy, Li Zicheng frowned from his brows to his eyes, and finally exclaimed: "The military advisor is really the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang!" During this time, many difficulties were encountered in attacking the capital, and many shallow people proposed clichéd methods such as "fire attack, artillery bombardment, and attrition", which could not be compared with Song Xiance's superb strategy.
Emperor Chongzhen was anxious in the palace, because events such as the murder of his family and the loss of Luoyang made him feel that the decline of the Ming Dynasty was inevitable. Although he needs to hide his emotions as the Son of Heaven, he often asks himself in his heart if all this was destined to happen from the time he inherited the throne.
At the same time, Song Xiance and Li Zicheng had already mastered Emperor Chongzhen's weakness, and as long as the time was ripe, they would attack him. Emperor Chongzhen kept a close eye on the movements of Li Zicheng's rebel army, however, suddenly one day, Li Zicheng ordered to stop the siege of the city, which made him feel even more uneasy.
Emperor Chongzhen's heart was full of doubts, and he began to doubt the true purpose of King Chuang's army. Ever since Li Zicheng stopped attacking, he has always claimed that he is the "reincarnation of the true dragon".
The doubts in Chongzhen's heart grew bigger and bigger, and he began to believe in the existence of the True Dragon Imperial Power, which made his heart beat faster. So, he called the eunuch Wang Dehua and asked him to go to the city for a private visit to Weifu to spy on it himself to see if there were any tricks.
Chongzhen didn't know that in fact, Song Xiance had been wandering around Beijing in disguise for many days, in order to spy on the reality of Beijing. People can't remember when it began, but there was a little old man with a narrow face, less than three feet in weight, a slight limp on his right foot, and a cane under the Beijing overpass.
In this era of war and chaos, people always need some sustenance, even if these divination techniques are dizzy, but it is always a thought: the road ahead is not smooth, and it will not be counted today, and die tomorrow.
Song Xiance, the god operator under the Beijing overpass, is famous for his fortune books such as Qimen Dun, Fengjiao, and Wei Wei. He can accurately calculate the good fortune and fortune, so he became famous in a short period of time, and no one knows about it within a radius of ten miles.
However, no one realized that this fortune teller actually had a profound knowledge of arithmetic. On this day, Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Dehua came to Beijing under the overpass, and Emperor Chongzhen had always hoped to find a fortune teller who could tell the truth.
At this moment, Song Xiance noticed them, and he expected that these two people were from the palace, and one was the master and the other was a servant. He decided to use the opportunity to let the two tell the truth.
Song Xiance smiled slightly, he knew that he had successfully attracted the attention of these two big shots.
Anagram maze": Chongzhen is in a predicament, seeking a way to solve the problem in Beijing's Tianqiao, a corner where people from all over the world converge, there are all kinds of vendors, including those selling dog skin plasters, selling pear paste candy, showing boxing, storytelling, singing songs, juggling, hawking, monkey tricks, and ...... selling fake medicinesDespite the approach of the army outside the city, the scene inside the city was still bustling.
Looking at the Xiangfei Courtyard, the Touhang Pavilion, the Zhenjie Hall and other buildings on both sides of the street, the originally melancholy Chongzhen's mood was slightly relieved. He looked around and found that the most attractive place was the stall that specialized in dismantling characters and reading fortune telling.
Take a closer look, the booth is hung with a signboard of "one iron mouth breaks the world's fierce fortune, and two strange eyes are good at observing the rise and fall of the world".
Chongzhen walked to the fortune-telling booth and saw that the fortune teller was telling the fortune teller eloquently. Although he wears the clothes of a farmer's family, he gives people an extraordinary feeling. Although his face is ugly, his eyes are black and white, and his eyes are firm.
At this time, a sentence in the mouth of the people in the rivers and lakes touched Chongzhen's heartstrings: "The gentleman asks about misfortune and does not ask about blessing, and the villain asks about good fortune and not about evil." When Chongzhen heard this, he immediately stood in front of the fortune-telling booth and stared at the bamboo sticks and grass and other items on the stall.
He asked, "Sir, are you busy?" A smile appeared on Song Xiance's face and said, "How can you be afraid of being busy." Chongzhen then said: "In that case, can Mr. make a divination for me?" ”
Song Xiance lowered his head and said: "Ji people have their own natural appearance, and when they meet, they are friends, you can say a word casually, and I will explain it to you." ”
Chongzhen pondered for a moment and replied hesitantly: "I chose the word 'have'." The old gentleman asked, "Do you want to ask about family affairs or state affairs?" Chongzhen hesitated in his heart, although the capital was in danger, he believed that the Ming family belonged to the Zhu family.
He said firmly: "I want to ask about state affairs." However, the old man in front of the stall pinched his fingers lightly, as if he had heard something terrible, and exclaimed: "This word is a great omen!" ”
Chongzhen looked at him in surprise and asked, "What's the explanation?" Song Xiance pretended to be anxious and said: "The top of the word 'have' is the word 'big' that is missing a stroke, and the bottom is the word 'Ming' that is missing half."
Although the literal meaning is, the big characters are incomplete, the Ming characters are incomplete, and what is worse is that there is no day in the Ming characters, which means that the day of the Ming Dynasty is gone. The word 'have' indicates that half of the Ming Dynasty has gone, and I am afraid that it is hopeless. ”
After hearing the fortune teller's words, Chongzhen was so shocked that he almost fainted. The explanation of the word "friend" in the fortune teller's words made the turmoil in his heart even greater. The word "friend" in the hexagram means that the rebellious word "anti" stretches out, which seems to indicate that the rebellious Li Zicheng is about to become a big climate.
Chongzhen's heart trembled, and he stared at the fortune teller closely, hoping to find some comfort and answers from his expression.
Emperor Chongzhen was convinced of the old man's prophecy, and although the old man kept shaking his head and sighing, Chongzhen still insisted on his thoughts. He told the old man that what he had just thought of was the word "unitary", not the word "friend".
The old man smiled after hearing this, and then told Emperor Chongzhen that this would bring greater danger. When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was very angry, and he immediately questioned the old man about the reason.
The old man calmly told him that the two dots on the word "unitary" symbolized the leader or head of state. And now, the word "unitary" has no head, which indicates that the emperor will face the disaster of death.
Chongzhen was deeply struck by these words, and could barely keep standing, his assistant Wang Dehua immediately stretched out his hand, carefully supported him, and gently comforted: "Your Majesty, the words of these Jianghu warlocks are not to be believed, don't worry too much." ”
Wang Dehua is convinced that these tricks of measuring words and splitting words are just about fifty years old, and the ** tool used to deceive with a little old learning skills, what can a word predict?
He concluded that this old ** must have taken a fancy to their extraordinary clothes, and wanted to lure them to ask questions and then make a fortune. Facts have proved that Wang Dehua's guess is correct, and the stall owner Song Xiance did not refute it after hearing it, but just smiled faintly: "If you believe it, you will have it, and if you don't believe it, you will not have it." ”
However, this sentence made Chongzhen's face even more gloomy. He understood that if he hadn't insisted on coming to this stall to tell his fortune, there would have been no such prophecy. Song Xiance noticed Chongzhen's face and felt that his prophecy might come true, and this person might be Chongzhen.
Chongzhen still had a glimmer of hope and asked the fortune teller to explain the meaning of the word "you". The fortune teller pondered for a moment and said, "The character 'You' is a good word. Hearing this news, Chongzhen felt a little relieved in his heart and was about to ask in detail, but the fortune teller suddenly changed the subject.
Wang Dehua angrily accused the fortune teller on the side: "You old **, always say something inconsequential." The bad words are all because of my master, and the good words have nothing to do with us? ”
Chongzhen asked, "Why did the gentleman say that?" The fortune teller shook his head with a wry smile and explained: "'You' is the embodiment of 'Dragon', implying that the true Dragon Son is about to leave the dragon throne and be taken away by others. ”
When Chongzhen heard this, his heart felt as if he had been hit hard, and he could barely stand firmly. He squeezed out a bitter smile and tried to open the hand towel to pay the hexagram fee. However, the handkerchief was tied so tightly that he couldn't open it.
Chongzhen was so anxious that his eyes were red, and he even bit the handkerchief with his teeth, and persuaded the fortune teller to wait a little longer while biting: "Please wait a minute, sir, this little money ......."However, before he could finish speaking, the fortune teller interrupted him: "Master, your luck is really bad, you don't have to pay for the hexagram."
I suggest that when you go back, relax your mind, your current hexagram is very unlucky. Chongzhen took a deep breath and asked, "Is there anything more unlucky than this?" ”
The fortune teller stretched out his finger, pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "You just bit your handkerchief, which is an unlucky omen. A mouth and a towel, isn't the combination of a hanging word?
If you do get into trouble, you have to stay calm and don't think about the bad things, I think you could still be in danger. Before Chongzhen and Wang Dehua could react, Song Xiance quickly pinched his fingers, with a surprised expression in his eyes, as if he was incredulous about Chongzhen's declining fortune.
He waved his hand with emotion and said, "I won't take money from the dead, you can go!" With that, he quickly cleaned up his stall and quickly left, leaving only a scattered pile of rags.
Wang Dehua saw that Chongzhen was already overwhelmed with fright, and he also felt both angry and confused. It stands to reason that the old ** should not have said to this extent, let alone leave in a hurry without even collecting the money, this kind of behavior seems to be deliberately trying to scare Chongzhen and make him lose his mind.
Chongzhen deeply felt that time was running out, and his Zhu family had fallen into a desperate situation. He saw the scene of Li Zicheng breaking the city in his dream, and his heart was full of despair. These nightmares prevented him from eating and he was losing weight day by day.
He firmly believed that he had received the revelation of heaven's will, and the Zhu family's world would not be guaranteed. Finally, at a meeting of the ministers of civil and military affairs, he announced a special decision: "The thieves are overwhelming, we can't resist hard, and I have prepared some red lights."
If a thief breaks through a gate, hang a red light for me; If the thieves break through the two gates, hang up two red lights; If the thieves break through the three gates, hang up three red lights. ”
The officials were grieving, and Chongzhen was ready to arrange the things behind him. He asked, "Who has the courage to take on this task?" But no one dared to take it. Chongzhen looked at Du Heng in disappointment and asked him to take charge of the matter.
However, Du Heng had actually secretly taken refuge in Li Zicheng, and when Li Zicheng's army arrived, Du Heng hung out three red lights, causing the defenders to be disheartened and the city gate to be breached.
It turned out that Song Xiance's strategy was to incite the people by spreading false information, and eventually dismantle the city of Beijing.
On an ordinary evening, Song Xiance set up a stall in the market, but unexpectedly met the panicked Emperor Chongzhen. Chongzhen was convinced of Feng Shui physiognomy, but Song Xiance's superstitious methods surprised him and made him tremble.
After returning to the barracks, Song Xiance used his prophecies such as "Heavenly Dao Qi Number" to boost the morale of the peasant rebels and hit their confidence. He knew that after listening to his "word test", Chongzhen must have felt depressed and unable to eat or sleep.
It didn't take long for him to say to Li Zicheng that the Ming Dynasty's qi was exhausted, and there would be a sign of fog and mist and bitter rain on the afternoon of the 18th of this month. He firmly stated that on the nineteenth day, the capital would be breached.
Li Zicheng originally planned to march directly, but Song Xiance suggested that the people should be appeased before acting.
Li Zicheng adopted the suggestion and made the rebel army enter Beijing without disturbance. However, although Song Xiance made great contributions, it was not reused after Li Zicheng took office. Li Zicheng regarded himself as the emperor and gradually distanced himself from Song Xiance, who advised him not to revel in victory, to become emperor as soon as possible, to stabilize people's hearts, and not to wait for the situation to stabilize before acting.
But Li Zicheng was carried away by the victory, and was finally defeated by Wu Sangui and defeated. Song Xiance was captured and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
Ji Liuqi mentioned relevant literature in "Ming Ji Beiluo", and Du Xuede, editor-in-chief in "Chinese Folk Literature Collection: Handan City Story Volume (Volume I)".