Chapter 4: The People
Now, years passed in the kingdom of Hung-wu and Chu Yuan-chang remained with that proud sovereign for all that time. The king grew in age and power until he became emperor of all the lands of Ch'in. However, little Chu did not grow any older.
Hung-wu wondered at this. How could a child remain a child? It was impossible; unless that child was a child of the ancestors sent to Ch'in to oversee the government of his land.
Emperor Hung-wu despised young Chu for this intrusion. But he also feared him. Thereby, he thought of many ways to deceive Chu Yuan-chang and many ways to rid himself of the boy. So did hardship fall once more upon his empire: this time not in the manner of war, but in the manner of famine. Hung-wu was forced to call for his counselor and tell him of the trouble.
“Hear my woe, child,” said the emperor to the little boy. “My empire has spread far across this land. I have taken many properties from my neighbors. I am a rich sovereign and have hundreds of grain storages to my wealth. Still, there are many mouths to feed.
"The people have asked me to open my storages to them, but I have refused. They are starving and I must refuse them food. My wealth would be diminished if I allowed them my grain. My enemies would find me weakened and threaten my realm. What shall I do, child?”
“Where have you gotten so much grain, sire?” asked Chu Yuan-chang.
“Why, from the people, from the fields. They must allot the empire so much a year.”
“The people have worked hard for this grain, sire?”
“Yes, very hard. Some have even died from their labors. But, it is their life. It is the life of our land.”
“And they are dying now from lack of grain, sire?”
“They are dying like fish in a net, child,” answered the emperor.
“Then who will give you grain next year, sire?”
“Why—why, the people.” answered Hung-wu.
“But, they are all dead, great lord.”
“They cannot all die, child.”
“The ones who do not die will not give you grain. They will know next year that they need it for themselves. They will hide it from you. Or they will burn it so you may not horde it from them.”
“I will send troops against them!” stormed the emperor, angrily.
“Then your enemies will see turmoil in your land. They will see weakness between you and your people.”
“How I am doomed either way,” said Hung-wu. “What wisdom is this?”
“Give to your people what is theirs, great lord. Give to them and they will love you. From that, strength will grow and your enemies will see unity in your land. They will fear to attack such a beloved sovereign.”
“I will do this,” agreed the stern emperor. “But, if it causes me any concern in any way, your head, child, shall be placed at my feet for retribution.
“Open the storages!” ordered Hung-wu to his officers. “Open and feed my people. We shall see what wisdom truly sprouts from a child.”
However, the storages were not opened and the people were not fed. Hung-wu changed his mind and deceived Chu Yuan-chang again. The emperor thought himself quite a clever ruler.
Now, many more years passed and still Chu Yuan-chang remained with the emperor in Ch'in kingdom. He still had not aged one moment from the first day he had appeared and it was now the thirtieth year of his stay. And in that thirtieth year, a great rebellion rose in the land. Hung-wu's cruelties and carelessness toward his people had ultimately incurred their wrath and they attacked the imperial city with a force of ten thousand.
The palace guards were no match for them and Hung-wu was taken from his throne room. He was tried as a traitor and sentenced to hang for his crimes. An impressive gallows was built for his execution.
Hung-wu was taken from his cell to the gallows where he was stood under the swaying rope of the hangman. As it was being secured around his neck the proud sovereign looked for his counselor, Chu Yuan-chang, seeing him in the crowd with tears of pity flowing from the child's eyes. Hung-wu called to him and asked again for the purest wisdom to aid him.
“Hear my woe, child,” he said, as the rope was drawn tight about his neck. “My people have rebelled against me. My time is at hand. They mean to slay me like they would the locust upon their crops. What can you tell me now that might save me? How can I stay my subjects' anger?”
“Their anger, my lord, is rooted in a hundred hundred days of sorrow and deceit,” answered Chu Yuan-chang. “How can one rescind such treachery? Payment is due, great emperor. Tyranny no longer has a place in this world.”
Hung-wu began to question this wisdom, like he had questioned all the wisdom granted him during his thirty-year reign. The bite of the rope cut short any further words. He was lifted upward and hanged before his maddened subjects. Their cheers foretold the end of a ruthless ruler.
Chapter 5: The Dream
As Hung-wu's last breath expelled, and he gazed one last time upon his young counselor, Chu Yuan-chang vanished from the crowd and dissolved back into the time from whence he came. His eyes blinked steadily as he again focused them upon the brilliant bluestone in his small hands. Its light was glowing hotly, yet there were no figures stirring about in its depths.
Running to his window, Chu looked out to see where the moon stood, thereby finding out what time it was and how long he had been peering at the gift his guardian had given him. The moon was nowhere in sight. Daybreak broke upon the horizon. Little Chu had been staring at the bluestone for many hours, but not, surely, for thirty years. It had been a dream after all, however not a dream merely to be forgotten and unheeded. Chu realized this as he placed the stone back into its small box.
Getting dressed, Chu quietly left the monastery to step out and greet the early morning dawn. Not wishing to awaken his guardians, he silently tiptoed into the misty forest surrounding his home, following a mountain stream that playfully trickled along his path. Eventually, he came upon a venerable oak tree where he knew his guardian worked.
Chu laid the box carrying the bluestone beneath its knotted trunk. He then turned away and left the bluestone to be given to another in need of it. His need had been fulfilled. Chu Yuan-chang was no longer the most loneliest boy in the universe.
Epilogue:
Chu grew into a fine young man. When he turned nineteen he led a rebellion against the Mongol leaders of his homeland. Chu defeated the Mongols soundly and captured the royal city of Ta-tu.
Chu Yuan-chang was later chosen emperor and founded a new dynasty known as the Ming. He changed his name from Chu Yuan-chang to the reign name of Hung-wu. He ruled his people justly and honorably throughout his life and at the end of his reign died the most beloved ruler in Ch'in history. During his thirty years as ruler, however, Chu never forgot the gift of his guardian. He never forgot the bluestone!
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About the Authors
Tian-fa was a Chinese philosopher during the Ming Dynasty. He wrote many proverbs for his emperor with The Bluestone, reportedly, being Hung-wu's favorite.
D. E. Powell was born in Pennsylvania, raised in Southern California, and learned to live in West Yellowstone, Montana. An avid history and nature buff, he weaves his tales around what is factual and what should be factual. Other titles by this author include:
The Tear Jar
David Kidboti and the Adventure of the Disappearing Tribe
The Butterfly Princess
Brittle's Rhymes for Kids' Bedtimes
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