"Thats because he should have died a long time ago." Huang Ran added, "The reason Liu Cheng has been able to hold on for so long is because Luo Benren has been supporting him from behind."

  "Wait a minute," I heard something wrong in Huang Rans words, and asked him: "Isnt it said that Luo Ben assimilated the Liu Cheng familys lifespan? How did it become Liu Cheng relying on Luo Ben to hold on like this?"

  "This is a long story," Huang Ran said, looking at me and then at Sun Baozi. "Liu didnt originally have the surname Liu. From the root of it, he should be a banner person. However, several hundred years ago, his ancestors committed a crime and were stripped of their banner identity by Emperor Shunzhi, from that ancestor down to the entire family. At that time, this was considered an even more severe punishment than being beheaded."

  Taking advantage of Huangs pause, Sun Baozi suddenly interjected: "What crime did he commit to be expelled from the entire Banner system? Im not saying this, Old Huang, when we tell stories, we should get to the point and avoid digging holes."

  Huang Ran smiled slightly and said, "Then Ill say it in more detail. Liu Chengs ancestors were one of the Manchu Old Four Banners, and along with Aixinjueluo, they were a branch of the Zheng Huang Banner Amuru clan. After the Qing dynasty entered the Central Plains and established its capital, Manchu officials were added to all official positions. Liu Chengs ancestors were granted the position of Qintianjian Monitor, which was an official in charge of observing celestial phenomena, calculating seasonal changes, and formulating calendar laws.

  When the Qing dynasty was first established, a perpetual calendar of its own was needed. At that time, Emperor Shunzhi entrusted Liu Chengs ancestor to create a perpetual calendar, but for some reason, after delaying for more than half a year, his ancestor finally submitted a perpetual calendar that only lasted 267 years.

  Can you imagine the mood of Emperor Shunzhi, originally like a unified Jiangshan for millions of years, originally according to the rules, the Imperial Observatory only needs to calculate the national destiny every few years, its enough to pass. But Liu Chengs ancestor didnt know if he was drunk or not, and actually calculated with zeros and integers that after 267 years, he added a word "end".

  Originally, this crime was to be punished by the destruction of the entire family. However, the Amuru clan had rendered great service in saving the emperors life in their early years and had been granted a pardon by Nurhaci that exempted the descendants of the Amuru clan from death. Although they were spared execution, it was still a serious crime, and after Emperor Shunzhi confiscated Liu Chengzus family property, he stripped him and his descendants of their banner people status, forcing them to survive as neither Manchu nor Han.

  Later, the unofficial history recorded that this immortal of Liu Cheng went mad and ran wildly in every alley of the capital city, shouting: "Two hundred and sixty-seven years is enough!" He didnt go mad for long before he completely disappeared. There was a rumor that the Nine Gate General heard about it and feared that Emperor Shunzhi would be furious, which would affect his own future, so he sent someone to kill the madman in the middle of the night.

  There is also a saying that this madman was killed by his own family, and the good eight-bannered sons identity was lost because of him. Now he is so crazy and shouting, fearing that even his life will not be preserved. In desperation, his family finally took drastic measures to kill him, understanding this madman

  At this point, Huang Ran poured a cup of tea and drank it all in one gulp. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I interjected: "Two hundred and sixty-seven years ago, Old Huang, I dont know if my memory is correct or not, but I seem to recall that the Qing Dynasty only lasted for two hundred and sixty-seven years? It cant be such a coincidence - either Im wrong or youre wrong?"

  Huang Ran put down his teacup and smiled at me, saying: "You didnt remember wrong, and I didnt say it wrong either. At that time, Liu Chengs ancestor had indeed calculated the fate of the Qing dynasty for 267 years. As to whether it was a coincidence or not, after so many years, no one can say clearly."

  He had just finished speaking, and Sun Baozi immediately followed up by saying: "Whether its 267 years ago or 762 years ago. Lets talk about what happened later, how did Liu Chengs family get stuck with Luo Ben?"

  Huang Ran glanced at Sun Baozi and continued: "After Liu Chengs branch was stripped of their flag identity, Emperor Shunzhi gave them the surname Liu, which is a homophone for leave. The meaning is that the emperors grace spared their lives. After Liu Chengs ancestors died, the Nine Gates Commander at the time feared they would cause trouble in the capital and drove them out of the city again. They drifted to a village on the border of Gansu and Shaanxi, after which there was no record of them.

  After many years, a rebellion broke out in Qinghai led by Lobzang Danjin. When Emperor Yongzheng sent a large army to suppress the rebellion, Liu Chengs branch re-emerged. At that time, Lobzang Danjin hid his troops in a large canyon, and because of the clever concealment, combined with the fact that he had killed all the surrounding civilians and destroyed their bodies, eliminating any potential threats. The Qing army besieged the area several times but failed to discover the whereabouts of this rebel force.

  At that time, the severe winter was approaching, and the commander-in-chief of the leading army could not hold on, preparing to temporarily withdraw his troops and fight again after the spring opened tomorrow. A man broke into the Qing armys camp gate, saying he knew the whereabouts of the Robucheng Danjin army. At that time, the Qing army commander sent a scout to check and confirmed the location of this cavalry before annihilating it.

  At that time, no one noticed anything wrong, but after the decisive battle, among the officials who came to comfort the army, there were people with discerning eyes who saw that Robocang Danzeng had hidden his troops in a dangerous and difficult-to-discover location. Afterwards, they asked the commander-in-chief at the time, called back the person who had come to receive the reward money but hadnt left yet, and after questioning him, found out that he wasnt a local either, and apart from Robocang Danzengs hidden troops location, he couldnt say anything about the surrounding areas. To prevent any hidden motives, they detained this person, preparing to subject him to severe interrogation.

  After a few lashes, the informant confessed everything. He said his name was Liu Ming, and he and his clan were originally demoted banner people who had been deprived of their status by the previous emperor and lived in a village on the border of Gansu Province, where life was extremely difficult. Just a month ago, he was awakened by a god in his dream and told the location where Robdanjungs army was hiding. He was asked to report to the Qing army commander in exchange for a reward.

  To the ears of the Minister of War and the commander, such words were nothing but a childs tale, and they thought Liu Ming was talking nonsense. After another round of severe beating, Liu Ming was beaten until his skin was torn and he fainted. Just as they were preparing to splash him with cold water to wake him up for further interrogation, this Liu Ming suddenly came to on his own.

  This Liu Ming, after waking up, was completely different from before. According to the records, his eyes turned white, his neck didnt move but his head turned, and he muttered to himself without opening his mouth. He scolded Labor Minister and Commander-in-Chief loudly. At that time, Liu Mings strange behavior had already shocked these two high-ranking officials, but what he said was too unbearable, so the Commander-in-Chief personally drew his sword to kill Liu Ming.

  At this time, Liu Mings body was as hard as copper and iron, the commander-in-chief looked over with a few knives, and his body couldnt even leave a white mark. In great surprise, he fled in disarray with the officials of the Labor Army, and finally heard Liu Ming cursing behind them, saying that their good days were coming to an end, wash your neck clean, wait for slaughter.

  Liu Ming scolded in the army for a whole day and night, and no one came to hurry him between the military account that detained him. Later, when the main force evacuated and returned to the court, the commander-in-chief wanted him to fend for himself here. However, the minister of the labor army was uneasy in his heart, and secretly sent his own soldiers to release Liu Ming, and also gave Liu Ming a sum of money.

  When the personal soldier went back to report, he said that Liu Ming had changed his words. When scolding him, he only said that he was a greedy and cruel man who squeezed oil from peoples bones. He still didnt dare to scold the general commander, but instead called him a good-for-nothing hanging ghost. Later on, these two men basically met with the same fate as Liu Ming had cursed them to have. The minister in charge of labor was named Long Kedu. After his family was confiscated and he was imprisoned, he died in prison. As for the general commander, it was Nian Gengyao. He was given a white silk by Emperor Yongzheng to hang himself.

  After finishing this paragraph, Huang Ran couldnt even bother to use his teacup anymore. He directly grabbed the teapot on the table and drank the tea water inside mouth-to-mouth. Sun Pengzi smiled at him without saying a word. Until Huang Ran finished drinking the tea water in the pot, he shook his head and said: "Old Huang, its not that Im criticizing you, but your story has been going on for half a day and still hasnt gotten to the point. Liu Cheng hasnt even appeared yet, so lets just forget about him. But whats the deal with Luo Ben? You still havent made it clear."

  Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door outside the room. After a moment, a man in his fifties with a half-bald head carried a tea tray and walked in, as if he had calculated that the teapot had just been emptied. He removed the old teapot and placed a new one on the table without saying a word, silently completing the task before turning around and leaving.

  At this time, Huang Ran finally caught his breath. After talking for half a day, he was already parched. He originally wanted to rest for a while, but Sun Baozi asked him and he could only answer: "One by one, I originally wanted to clarify Liu Chengs situation, since youre in a hurry, then Ill talk about Luo Ben first."

  According to the Ming and Qing palace records, Luo Ben was the last supervisor of the Imperial Observatory during the Ming dynasty. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, he remained in Beijing without leaving, and it is unknown how he escaped Li Zichengs Shun army. Later, after the Manchu entered the pass and took over the world, he suddenly appeared again, explained his situation to the Manchu officials, and volunteered to return to the Imperial Observatory. However, according to the custom at that time, he could only serve as a deputy supervisor, and the supervisor was Liu Chengs ancestor.

  Later on, Liu Chengs ancestors were stripped of their flag identity and expelled from the capital city, after which Luo Ben disappeared. Later still, when Liu Ming got into trouble, he described the appearance of the god who had appeared to him in a dream, which was identical to that of Luo Ben. After Liu Ming returned home with the reward money given by Long Kedou, he built an ancestral temple at home and enshrined something inside, but no one knew what it was. It was only said that there was a god being worshipped inside. From time to time, people from this branch of the family would see someone wandering in and out of the temple.