Riding the wind of rebirth

Without even exchanging pleasantries after getting in the car, Zhou Zhi immediately called his godfather.

As soon as the call connected, his godfather's booming voice came through: "Where the hell have you been, Elbow?! We found the county annals, but where are the details? There are only two sentences in the annals!"

"Now you believe what I said, right?" Zhou Zhi teased his godfather leisurely: "If you and godmother were as serious and down-to-earth, this would have been done long ago."

"If I were to be serious and down-to-earth, that position wouldn't even be available to your godmother! Acting like a big boss, lecturing people, she's forgotten how many reports I helped write for her, humph!"

It seems that the godmother found out about this and scolded the godfather, otherwise he wouldn't be so resentful.

Zhou Zhi chuckled to himself, "That's right, my godmother's unofficial secretary is a top student from Sichuan University, and she was already famous twenty years ago. Is that what you call... a 'virtuous wife'?"

"You brat! Stop your sarcastic remarks and trying to sow discord!" The godfather had already realized what was going on: "Your godmother doesn't know you, but I know you well enough! Since you dared to bring this up, you definitely have more than just what's in the county annals! Hurry up and hand it all over!"

"I'm on my car now, I'll email you after I get off."

"Then tell me the gist of it first. What kind of guy are you, Liu Xian and his son? How did you become our fellow villagers?"

To discuss this issue, we must first know who Liu Xian and his son were and what great achievements they made.

The History of Ming, Volume 212, Biographies 100, records it as follows:
Liu Xian, a native of Nanchang, was born with extraordinary strength and a slight understanding of literature. His family was impoverished and destitute. He went to a shrine intending to hang himself, but the gods protected him and he did not die. He secretly traveled to Sichuan and became a tutor to young boys. Later, he falsely registered as a martial arts student. In the thirty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign (1555), the Nine Miao people of Yibin rebelled, and Governor Zhang was tasked with suppressing the rebellion. Xian joined the army and charged into battle, personally killing over fifty men and capturing three ringleaders. The other armies followed, and the rebellion was completely quelled. Xian thus became famous. He was appointed Deputy Commander of a Thousand Households and later, through a bribe, became a Vice Commander.

This is a record of Liu Xian's rise to power. His pacification of the Nine Barbarian tribes expanded the Ming Dynasty's territory by a thousand miles, a feat of paramount importance. Later, recommended by Zhang Ao, the Minister of War, he was appointed Vice Commander of the Nanjing Zhenwu Camp, and then served as Military Commander of Zhejiang. He decisively defeated the Japanese pirates at Pukougang and was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief. He also annihilated the Japanese pirates at Liujiazhuang. In the 41st year of the Jiajing reign (1552), he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and stationed in Guangdong. Later, he led troops to Fujian to aid in the fight against the Japanese pirates, and together with Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, he repeatedly defeated them. He was then appointed Commander-in-Chief of Langshan, in charge of the north and south of the Yangtze River, defending against Japanese pirate invasions. He was promoted to Vice Commander-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army, and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. He became a renowned anti-Japanese general on par with Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

Liu Xian's son, Liu Ting, passed the imperial examination for military officers during the Wanli era and became the top military scholar. He followed his father in the campaign against the Jiusi barbarians. Based on his military achievements, he was appointed as the commander of the Nanjing Xiaojiaochang military camp and married the daughter of Zhang Ao, the Minister of War.

Liu Ting was incredibly skilled in martial arts. His iron sword weighed over 120 jin (approximately 60 kg), and he could wield it with incredible speed on horseback. He was known as "Liu the Great Swordsman" and was hailed as "the fiercest general of the late Ming Dynasty."

The History of Ming records that Liu Ting was "the most valiant among all the generals. He fought hundreds of battles, large and small, to quell the Burmese pirates, Luo Xiong, the Korean Japanese pirates, the Bozhou chieftains, and the Luo people, and his fame resounded throughout the land. He was brave in the same way as his father. In the Bozhou campaign, all the generals fought with their lives, and with the combined forces of eight provinces, it took five months to finally conquer it. They were truly exhausted. Liu Ting was the bravest among the generals and had done the most work."

In the Battle of Sarhu, Liu Ting led his army three hundred li deep into enemy territory, killing two deputy generals of the Later Jin. Du Song's entire army was wiped out without Liu Ting's knowledge. In the end, he was surrounded by the Jin army, where he killed dozens of men before dying for his country.

"When Ting died, the entire court was greatly alarmed, and border affairs became increasingly difficult."

Liu Ting was posthumously awarded the title of Junior Guardian. During the Qing Dynasty, although the emperor was fighting against his own ancestor, Emperor Qianlong still posthumously honored him with the title of "Loyal and Valiant" for his "outstanding merits, exceptional courage and strategy, valiant efforts, and most heroic sacrifice."

"According to the History of Ming, there's absolutely no mention of their connection to their hometown," the godfather said. "These past few days, I've been looking at the county annals from the Republican era, but I couldn't find any records. Then I looked at the Tongzhi County Annals, and there are two sentences in the 'Military Achievements Records.'" "The first sentence is: 'Liu Xian, originally from Nanchang, Jiangxi, was the father of Ting. Old records state he served in Sichuan, and later settled in Jiachuan.'"

The second line reads: "Tingfu was skilled in poetry, and Banchengcao in southern Sichuan was his hometown. Liu Shiyu, a scholar who passed the imperial examination, was a seventh-generation descendant of Tingfu."

"Details! Tell me the details now!"

"This whole story will have to be told slowly..."

"Hurry up!"

"Oh, let me ask you a question first. Do you remember any of the prominent families in Hejiang's history?"

“Big families… the Wu family of Baimi, the Chen family of Rongyou, the Xian family of Xianshi, the Shui family of Baisha, and the Su family of Dajing on your mother’s side, there’s no one with the surname Liu among them…”

"No, but in the early winter of the year Yiwei in the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, there was a man named Liu Qiqian who was an instructor in Hejiang. He took special care of four students, namely three descendants of the Shui family, Shui Yourong, Shui Yougui, and Shui Youlu, and one descendant of the Xian family, Xian Shen. On the night they were returning home after visiting relatives, they passed by the ancient temple Fuming Temple, which is located at the border of Bailu and Jiangjin, and rescued a young man who had hanged himself but was still alive when the rope broke."

"You mean the young man who didn't die after hanging himself is Liu Xian? Because the Ming History says that when he entered Sichuan, he was poor and starving, and tried to commit suicide by hanging himself twice, but the gods secretly protected him and the rope broke both times."

"Yes, at that time Liu Xian was not called Liu Xian, but Gong Xian."

"So he was saved by Liu Qinian, the instructor of Hejiang, and out of gratitude to his benefactor, he changed his surname?"

“Of course it’s not that simple,” Zhou Zhi said. “This Liu Qinian is no ordinary man. His grandfather, Liu Chun, served as Minister of Personnel and Minister of Rites in Nanjing, and was in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, eventually rising to the position of Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. His uncle, Liu Tai, served as Director of Ceremonies, Assistant Director of Personnel, Prefect of Taizhou, Provincial Education Commissioner of Guangxi, Provincial Administration Commissioner of Yunnan, and Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guangdong. His paternal uncle, Liu Henian, served as Director of Revenue, Director of War, Provincial Education Commissioner of Shanxi, and Provincial Administration Commissioner of Yunnan. His father, Liu Danian, was the Assistant Magistrate of Hejiang County at the time.”

"Wait a minute. I have the *History of Ming* right now. The biography of Liu Chun says that the Liu family has been famous for generations through the imperial examinations. Liu Chun's father, Liu Gui, was an imperial censor; his younger brother, Liu Tai, was a Yunnan provincial administrator; and his son, Liu Pengnian, was the governor of Guizhou and concurrently the right vice censor-in-chief. Liu Pengnian's son, Liu Qizong, was the head of the Liaodong Imperial Stables. Liu Qizong's son, Liu Shishang, was the left provincial governor of Guangdong. Liu Tai's son, Liu Henian, was the provincial governor of Yunnan, known for his integrity. Liu Henian's grandson, Liu Shizeng, served as the right vice censor-in-chief and governor of Yunnan, and was meritorious in the campaign against Burma. They all entered officialdom through the imperial examinations. But this book doesn't mention these two people you mentioned, Liu Danian and Liu Qiqian. Where did they come from?"

"Hehehe, the History of Ming is an official history book. There are too many capable people in the Liu family. Those who are not Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) cannot leave their names in it. So, we have to look for Liu Danian and Liu Qiqian in the family genealogy and local chronicles."

"However, we don't need Liu Danian. The journal 'Cultural Relics' previously published an article in Chongqing entitled 'A Study of the Tombs of Ming Dynasty Officials.' The Liu family, as a prominent family in Ba County, and the tombs of another prominent family, the Jian family, were the main subjects of the article's research."

"That article examined the joint tomb of Liu Chun and his wife, the Liu Tai tomb, and the tombs and inscriptions of their father Liu Gui and grandfather Liu Gang, who were posthumously awarded high-ranking official positions. It also recorded a 'Fuzi' tomb, indicating that Liu Chun's son was granted special permission to be buried in the cemetery. This son was Liu Danian. The local records and archaeological evidence match up." (End of Chapter)