The iron coupons written in alchemy, why did Chai Jin go to Liangshan in "Water Margin", are the iron coupons written in alchemy really useful?

Why did Chai Jin go to Liangshan in "Water Margin"? Are the alchemy iron coupons really useful?

Chai Jin is the most noble person in "Water Margin". The former royal family, because of his merit in giving up the throne (actually he was taken away), was given mansions and treasures, and enjoyed eternal wealth. The key is that A privilege was granted to the iron certificate of alchemy, which is a "certificate of immortality". As long as he does not rebel, no matter what crime he commits, he will not be held accountable. It can be said to be a super amulet. But under this protection, how could Chai Jin still rebel? What about the road?

To say that the old Zhao family is really good, Zhao Kuangyin is a rare emperor who does not kill heroes, and even retains the royal family of the previous dynasty. Emperors after the Song Dynasty all abide by this ancestral precept, and it was passed down to Chai Jin Here, the good times come to an end.

Chai Jin was born with a majestic spirit, a talented person, good with guns and sticks, and good at making friends with heroes. Chai Jin supported many big names, such as Lin Chong, Wu Song, Song Jiang, etc. Because of Chai Jin's special status, Chai Jin dared to let anyone who committed crimes in society, even if he committed murder or arson, live in his village, which became a paradise for criminals. Chai Jin's status in the world is getting higher and higher.

With a life without worries about food and clothing, a high status in the world, and an iron certificate to protect his body, why would Chai Jin choose Luocao? After Song Jiang went to Liangshan, he was grateful for Chai Jin's kindness and wanted to drag Chai Jin into the water. Chai Jin refused. "Male thieves and female prostitutes" are the most despised. The descendants of Chai Jin's royal family would never choose to fall into trouble and become a bandit.

The trigger was the homestead issue. It didn't happen to Chai Jin, it happened to his uncle. His uncle's name was Chai Huangcheng, and he lived in Gaotang Prefecture. He also had fine clothes, fine food, and a garden. At this time, a bully came, named Yin Tianxi. He was the brother-in-law of Gao Lian, the prefect, and Gao Lian was Gao Qiu's uncle and nephew. Yin Tianxi took a fancy to Huayuanzi in Chaihuangcheng and wanted to snatch it. Chai Huangcheng got angry because of this and called Chai Jin.

Chai Jin has an ironclad book and is confident, thinking that he can solve the problem through formal channels. So he went to Yin Tianxi to reason. Originally, the matter was not serious, but he took Li Kui with him when he left. After they met, they had a disagreement, so Li Kui went up and started beating him. He beat Yin Tianxi to death with three punches and two kicks. Chai Jin had an elixir book and an iron coupon to protect his body. He thought he was fine and asked Li Kui to return to Liangshan quickly.

Not long after, Gao Lian came to find him. Although Chai Jin was the grandson of the emperor, he had no real power, so Gao Lian tied up Chai Jin. Chai Jin was negligent. He left in a hurry and didn't bring the iron coupon for the alchemy book. Gao Lian didn't have it when he wanted to read it in the hall. Gao Lian was so angry that he didn't care much and beat Chai Jin until his skin and flesh were torn. Chai Jin couldn't bear it, so he had to confess and was nailed to death row. Chai Jin felt bitter, but Chai Jin had nothing to say. Afterwards, Liangshan and others managed to rescue Chai Jin. Seeing that there was no way out, Chai Jin had no choice but to seek refuge in Liangshan.

There is a question here, are the Alchemy Iron Coupons useful? If Chai Jin had brought the Iron Coupon of the Alchemy Book with him, would there have been a different ending?

In my opinion, the Iron Coupon of the Alchemy Book is useless. Alchemy certificates were generally awarded to the heroes who founded the dynasty, especially military generals, in recognition of their military exploits. The Alchemy Iron Coupon can only be regarded as a medal of honor and cannot be truly used. People who have used it usually die.

The earliest form of alchemy and iron coupons began with Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. Han Xin had great merit. Liu Bang once promised Han Xin that he would not kill him three times: he would not kill him when he saw the sky, he would not kill him when he saw the ground, and he would not kill him when he saw the iron. But Han Xin was still hung in the air by a cloth bag and stabbed to death with bamboo sticks. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, also issued iron certificates of alchemy books on a large scale, but those who got them basically died. Emperor Chongzhen also awarded an iron certificate of alchemy to the nephew of the great eunuch Wei Zhongxian. Therefore, it can only be regarded as a symbol of honor. The emperor has ten thousand reasons to kill you. It would be foolish to really use it as a talisman.

Chai Jin’s tragedy is that he was overly superstitious about the iron certificate of the alchemy book. When he was caught by Gao Lian, even if he had the iron certificate of the alchemy book, Gao Lian would say it was fake and forged, and beat him severely first. Let’s talk about it for a while. Anyway, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Moreover, I guess even if the emperor knew about it, he would turn a blind eye. The emperor is also annoyed by the Chai family. If it wasn’t for the sake of his ancestors, he would have given up his family long ago. Done.

Li Kui was right. When Chai Jin was about to bring the alchemy book and iron coupons to Beijing to file a petition, break the regulations, and go through the procedures, Li Kui said: "Regulations! Regulations! If you still comply with them, the world will not be in chaos. "What Li Kui said is the truth. There is no order at all now. Officials are protecting each other and bullying the people. It's funny that Chai Jin didn't see this through. He blindly believed that the court would give him justice, but he didn't want to be slapped hard by reality. At this time, Chai Jin also saw through the society, became disheartened and went to Liangshan. What is the function of the iron coupons of ancient alchemy books?

This is the earliest existing iron coupon in China

Qing may die nine times, his descendants three deaths, or he may be punished with regular punishment, and no one will be punished. Take my oath and go to Wei Qinzai! It is appropriate to submit it to the history museum and announce it to the world. Who were the courtiers who were given alchemy certificates and iron certificates in the Ming Dynasty?

The gold certificates and iron certificates in the Ming Dynasty were divided into seven grades, among which dukes were divided into the second grade, marquises were divided into the third grade, and counts were divided into the second grade. Each grade of iron coupon is different in size. The largest Duke's first-class iron coupon is one foot high and one foot six inches wide. The other grades of iron coupons generally decrease by five points in both height and width. The smallest Earl's second-class iron coupon is seven inches high and one foot two inches wide. All iron certificates are in duplicate, one is awarded to the recipient, and the other is hidden in the inner palace. When it is necessary to check, just put them together to distinguish the authenticity. In the third year of Hongwu (1370), Zhu Yuanzhang made a great official. Six people were awarded the title of duke, including Li Shanchang, Xu Da, and Li Wenzhong, and 28 people were awarded the title of marquis. They were all given golden books and iron coupons. After that, Zhu Yuanzhang also successively awarded iron coupons to those who had newly established meritorious services or were promoted to noble titles. When Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, came to the throne, 26 people including Qiu Fu, the hero of the "Jingnan" who helped him seize the throne, were also given iron coupons. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, meritorious officials and their descendants were still awarded iron coupons from time to time. Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen, who had just ascended the throne, planned to paralyze the traitor Wei Zhongxian and awarded iron certificates to his nephew Wei Liangqing and others. Compared with the iron coupons of the Tang Dynasty, there are two noteworthy differences in the inscriptions on the iron coupons of the Ming Dynasty. First, treason will not be forgiven, only other capital crimes will be forgiven. Secondly, the number of escapes from death is small, and the grandson will not escape death. These characteristics of the Ming Dynasty gold books and iron certificates indicate that in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang really hoped to fulfill his promise to his heroes to avoid death. Although a large number of gold letters and iron coupons were awarded to meritorious officials in the Ming Dynasty, very few Ming Dynasty iron coupons have survived to this day. Among them, two pieces collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing are the golden book and iron certificate awarded to Zhu Yong when he was granted the title of Funing Marquis in the fifth year of Chenghua (1469), and the gold letter and iron certificate awarded to him in the twenty-third year of Chenghua (1487). A golden book and iron coupon awarded by Duke Bao Guo. What is the identity of Chai Jin in Water Margin? Why is there an iron certificate for alchemy? Why can't the emperor deal with him?

During his lifetime, Zhao Kuangyin once erected a stone tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Later, when the new emperor came to the throne, he would go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship the tablet and recite the oath silently. This stone tablet was erected in a mezzanine of the Imperial Ancestral Temple's dormitory hall. No one except the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty knew about it. Even when the new emperor went to worship the monument, there was only one illiterate chamberlain accompanying him, and the others stayed far away, making it very mysterious. It was not until the Jingkang Incident at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty that the palace doors were opened and people were able to take an overview of the three simple rules: first, to preserve the descendants of the Chai family, and no additional punishment for guilty; second, not to kill scholar-bureaucrats and those who wrote letters; third, Descendants must not break the above oath, otherwise they will be punished by heaven. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin also issued an "iron coupon" to the Chai family, with which the descendants of the Chai family will never die for committing crimes. In "Water Margin", Xiao Xuanfeng Chai Jin is so popular and lives a prosperous life because he has the iron certificate of the alchemy book. Even the busboy in the hotel at that time knew: "He is a descendant of Chai Shizong of the Great Zhou Dynasty. After Chenqiao abdicated the throne, Emperor Taizu Wude gave him an ironclad oath to stay at home." Chai Jin himself admitted: "Because the ancestors of the family were responsible for Chen Qiao's abdication of the throne, the previous dynasty had issued an edict to give iron certificates of elixirs." At that time, everyone knew that with this thing at home, "no one would dare to bully him." Chai Jin himself said more specifically: "But no one dares to search for people who have committed wrongdoings." When Song Jiang was in trouble and came to Chai Jin's place, the senior official spoke more frankly. He comforted Song Jiang and said: "Brother, don't worry. Zhe Mo has committed one of the ten worst crimes and has come to our village, but there is no need to worry. It is not because Chai Jin is boasting and letting him capture and steal the officers and soldiers that he dare not look at Xiaozhuang.

When he heard that Song Jiang had just killed Yan Poxi, who was like a "mistress", Chai Jin actually started laughing: "Brother, don't worry, he killed the court official and robbed the property of the palace. Chai Jin also dared to hide it in the village." "Li". Darling, this "iron ticket with alchemy book" is far more powerful than "Sword of Shangfang". "Sword of Shangfang" only allows people to exercise power on behalf of the emperor and uphold justice, but this "iron ticket with alchemy book" can simply tolerate the accumulation of dirt. Gao Lian, the magistrate of Gaotang Prefecture, relied on the power of his cousin Gao Taiwei to do whatever he wanted, and his brother-in-law Yin Tianxi also bullied others and wanted to occupy Chai Jin's uncle's garden. Li Kui couldn't hold back and accidentally killed Yin Tianxi. He fled back to Liangshanbo overnight, relying on the iron certificate of the alchemy book to protect him. Unexpectedly, Gao Lian did not dare to do anything to him. Unexpectedly, Gao Lian ignored Chai Jin's "immunity", captured him and beat him to death, making him a tragic joke for the aristocracy. The mocking witness. Chai Jin was awakened by the ugly reality of injustice and began to rebel against Shang Liangshan. The so-called "Alchemy Book and Iron Coupon" refers to a kind of privilege certificate awarded by ancient emperors to heroes and important ministers. It is also called "Alchemy Book and Iron Coupon", which is also known as the "death-free card" and "death-free card" in folk narratives. "Gold Medal", the system of awarding "iron coupons for alchemy" first started with Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty. Why was Li Shanchang obviously given the iron coupon for alchemy, but was given to death in the end?

I think the most important thing is Because Li Shanchang's status was very high at that time, and Zhu Yuanzhang was very jealous of others, he may have felt that Li Shanchang's outstanding achievements might threaten his position when Zhu Yuanzhang had just established it. In the Ming Dynasty, he issued more than 30 iron alchemy coupons in one day, but few ministers who had these alchemy iron coupons actually ended up well, although these alchemy iron coupons were said to be free of charge. If they die twice, their descendants will not die. But when Zhu Yuanzhang really wants to execute someone, it is Zhu Yuanzhang who has the final say. This pill book and iron scroll of fate have no effect.

At that time, Li Shanchang was in a high position. But his younger brother was involved in the rebellion, so Zhu Yuanzhang also began to wonder if Li Shanchang was also involved.

Moreover, after the Hu Weiyong incident, many people were involved. There were also many people who had iron certificates in their hands, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not take these to heart and still killed them.

At the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang was still very fond of Li Shanchang. Okay, and he also let his daughter marry Li Shanchang's eldest son, and Li Shanchang also became a relative of the emperor. I think this should be an extremely honor at the time.

But later Zhu Yuanzhang became a relative. Li Shanchang was arrested on unfounded charges. At that time, Li Shanchang was already 76 years old and had retired to his hometown. He had no rights. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried and found various excuses to kill Li Shanchang's family.

However, because Zhu Yuanzhang's daughter married Li Shanchang's eldest son, Zhu Yuanzhang spared their lives, but they were still exiled to remote areas. Alchemy Book (3) Water Margin (9)