At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a prefect named Gao Sheng in Shu. He had a hobby of collecting jade, and in his spare time he often went to various jade shops in the county seat. On this day, a jade shop owner told Gao Sheng that an antique dealer had lived in a nearby inn. There was a rare treasure in his hand, and the asking price was 5,000 taels of silver. He asked Gao Sheng if he wanted to open his eyes. Gao Sheng felt itchy when he heard that, so he followed the boss to the inn to find an antique dealer.

The antique dealer sneakily took out a rosewood box and handed it to Gao Sheng, and mysteriously said, "This object is called the 'Back Monkey!'

What "back monkey"? Gao Sheng curiously opened the box, and when he saw it, his eyes immediately widened, and he couldn't even breathe evenly.

The so-called "back monkey" was two monkeys carved from high-quality Hetian jade, a cute purple-black old monkey, and a naughty jujube-red little monkey. What made Gao Sheng's eyes shine was not the exquisite beauty of the jade itself, but the meaning contained in this object. As the saying goes, "gold is priceless", and the "priceless" of "back monkey" is its homophonic sound - "generation"!

Gao Sheng's life pursuit is to be promoted to a lord and a prince, although he is only a seventh-grade magistrate at the moment, but since he became the magistrate of the county, most of the people's lipids and anointing he has scraped have been "donated" to the important members of the imperial court, and the road to promotion is smooth, so he is convinced that promotion is only a matter of time. Gao Sheng's father, Zeng Guanzhi, is a magistrate who is about to rise to the top of the county, and three years ago, he had a son, and then he lost his fertility due to injury. At present, his greatest wish is to let his only son inherit the ancestral "official luck" and show off his ancestors. Thinking of all this, he looked at the "back monkey" again. Gao Sheng repeatedly murmured in his heart: "back monkey", "generation prince", this is a treasure that can bring endless auspiciousness to my son!

Gao Sheng has been an official for many years, and white wolves with empty gloves have become a habit. Therefore, despite his love for the "back monkey", he is unwilling to spend 5,000 taels of silver, but he wants to get something he loves. What should I do? Gao Sheng pondered for a while and said to the antique dealer, "I will come and buy it tomorrow, how about that?"

The antique dealer kept staring at Gao Sheng with his big eyes and replied, "Okay, I'll be waiting in the inn, see you soon!"

The day after Gao Sheng left the inn, it was already dark. He quickly returned to the county yamen and summoned a few trusted yamen, asking them to pretend to be "masked thieves" and go to the inn overnight to kill the antique dealer, snatching the "back monkey" and not buying it. At that time, the world was not peaceful, and it was not new for thieves to kill and offend goods in the county seat.

A few yamen took orders and sneaked into the inn in the dead of night. After touching the room where the dealer lived, they broke down the door. Who would have expected that the antique dealer had already gone to the empty house!

Although he was only in his early twenties, he had been in the rivers and lakes for many years, and had dealings with three religions and nine classes. He was well aware of the dangers of official affairs, and had long seen through the thoughts of an official like Gao Sheng. He expected that the deal with Gao Sheng would be bad luck, and "thirty-six plans would be the best plan," so he took the "Back Monkey" and escaped after nightfall.

After Gao Sheng got the report from the yamen, he was heartbroken and regretted that he was late. He immediately issued a notice saying that the antique dealer was a big thief from Jiang Yang and was wanted by the county. But a month has passed, and a year has passed, and the antique dealer and the "back monkey" are still nowhere to be seen…

In the blink of an eye, ten years later, Gao Sheng had been promoted governor, and his only son was thirteen or fourteen years old. Although his son's studies were still good, after all, his future was uncertain, and Gao Sheng's heart was still hanging, and he had no confidence in whether his son would be able to show off his ancestors in the future. Whenever he was unsure about his son's future, Gao Sheng would think of the auspicious "Back Monkey" and say to himself: "Back Monkey", "Generations", you should become the treasure of my family's town house! "

At that time, during the reign of Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were consecutive years of famine, and the exorbitant taxes were as much as a feather. King Li Zicheng took advantage of the situation to rebel, and the world was full of flames. This year, on the Qingming Festival, a team of officers and troops chasing "bandits" passed through the local area, and the leading general school visited the governor's yamen as usual. When the governor saw the general school, he was shocked: The general school was no one else, it turned out to be the antique dealer of the year!

It turned out that the antique dealer was wanted and hunted, and had nowhere to hide. In a hurry, he simply threw himself into the military camp. Unexpectedly, ten years later, he actually made a name for himself in the military camp.

Now that the two met, Gao Sheng was very embarrassed: the antique dealer who had almost become the ghost under his sword in the past has now become the life officer of the imperial court. Although the official rank is below him, he is in the same officialdom. After all, it is impossible to kill him, and the knot of that year will eventually become a shadow in the hearts of the two of them. Gao Sheng has been messing around in the official world for a long time and has a strong ability to adapt, so he immediately apologized: "Back then, when I collected all the silver taels overnight and went to the inn to pay for the goods, you left without saying goodbye. I was angry for a while, so I did something unrighteous. I hope General Haihan."

The colonel couldn't figure out whether these words were true or false, so it was inconvenient to care about them in person, so he said, "It seems that I was overthinking and misunderstood my lord back then!"

Gao Sheng chuckled, "It's also thanks to you and me misunderstanding each other back then. Otherwise, how could you abandon the merchant and join the army, and then have the glory you are today?"

The general felt that this was not unreasonable, so he echoed: "Haha, this is God's will!"

Gao Sheng immediately held a banquet for the general to receive the wind, and it was inevitable that official business would be talked about during the banquet. When it came to official business, the general sighed and said that in recent months, he had chased after the "bandit soldiers", not only did he not gain anything, but he had also lost his soldiers many times. If the imperial court were to investigate it, it would be either dismissal or loss of head. Gao Sheng smiled and said, "I have a plan, which can ensure that you will benefit from bad luck and be promoted to a position and make a fortune."

The general was skeptical and wanted Gao Sheng to tell him the clever plan, but Gao Sheng just toasted and persuaded the dishes, that is, he did not take out the beef yellow dog treasure. The general was anxious, drank three glasses in a row, and said, "If the governor can tell me a clever plan to save me from my predicament, I am willing to do everything in my power to serve the lord!"

Gao Sheng wanted this sentence, but he didn't see rabbits or eagles, and he was still chatting in the clouds and fog. It wasn't until the heat was enough that he brought the topic to the "Back Monkey": "Ten years have passed, is that object still in your hands?"

The general told the colonel the truth, saying that the "Back Monkey" was still in his hands, and he took it with him as he marched and fought. Gao Sheng said, "I keep my word, and I am willing to pay 5,000 taels of silver today to buy your baby upright, how about it?"

The general is no longer the antique dealer of the past, and he is not willing to sell the "Back Monkey" for 5,000 taels of silver. He pondered for a long time and said, "I used to be a grass-roots person, and I am afraid that I will rely on that treasure to make progress these years!"

Gao Sheng smiled. "You probably know best the consequences of chasing down the bandit soldiers. What use will the Monkey Back be to you then?"

"So..." Gao Sheng stopped laughing and said, "If you sell the Monkey Back to me, I will dedicate my plan to you. My plan is related to your life and death, honor and disgrace, and your life!"

The general was in a difficult situation and was eager to obtain the other party's ingenious plan, but he was still afraid of being fooled, so he had to tell Gao Sheng first. Gao Sheng did not hide it, motioning for the other party to stretch his head, bite his ears, and say something secret. In fact, the so-called ingenious plan, to put it bluntly, is to falsely report the colonel. At that time, Emperor Chongzhen had an edict: If you kill a "bandit soldier", the imperial court will reward you with five taels of silver, and the silver reward will be paid directly by the state treasury; if you kill a lot of "bandit soldiers", the commander-in-chief can be promoted exceptionally. In order to prevent the commander-in-chief of all parties from making false claims, the captured head must be counted and confirmed by local officials, and then reported after verification, and the imperial court can approve it. As a governor, Gao Sheng is naturally the most qualified "local official". With his "confirmation", the general's achievements can be guaranteed.

The general was surprised and happy, but he was full of doubts: "I have nothing to gain now, can you help me fake it?"

Gao Sheng said that he had committed the crime of deceiving the king by falsely reporting his exploits. If he was exposed, he would have to be slashed all over the place. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible to fill in the report out of thin air, and he had to "borrow his head" to recharge it.

The general was shocked: "Anything in the world can be borrowed, how can Keren's head be borrowed?"

There were no lettering on the heads of the "bandit soldiers" and there were no markings on the heads of the common people. If he was a civilian, he would be a civilian, and if he was a bandit, he would be a bandit.

The general was suddenly enlightened, slapped his thigh, and said, "Okay, I'll send someone to the countryside to chop off three or two thousand of his heads!" After the general finished speaking, he immediately dressed up and set off, and the swaying team went out of the city. After three hours, thousands of bloody heads were sent, including old farmers with white hair and young children with yellow mouths who were not yet dry.

When the head was delivered, Gao Sheng took no opportunity to bring up the matter of the "Back Monkey", and naturally he did not dare to disobey Gao Sheng. He knew in his heart that if he did not take out the "Back Monkey", the dangerous Gao Sheng could report him for killing innocents indiscriminately, so the school immediately took the "Back Monkey" and handed it over to Gao Sheng.

Gao Sheng was overjoyed when he got the "Monkey on the Back" that he had been thinking about for a long time. He thought to himself, "Monkey on the Back", "Generations", how lucky my son is... At this moment, Gao Fu's family members rushed over in a hurry, saying that Gao Sheng's only son had gone on an outing with the school teacher in the suburbs that day and had been beheaded by random soldiers in the countryside!

Gao Sheng's head suddenly exploded with a "hum" sound, his eyes turned black, and he fell to the ground. The general was even more flustered when he heard the news, could Gao Sheng not settle the score with me after he woke up? If he said that I killed innocent people indiscriminately and falsely reported my exploits, how could I survive? Thinking of this, the general turned his heart, chopped Gao Sheng's head with a knife, and then snatched the "Back Monkey", and then fled with the team.

After leaving the city, the general dismissed the team, and he took off his uniform, went incognito alone, and returned to the mountains and forests. He thought, with the "Back Monkey" in hand, I would definitely turn bad luck into good luck.

Although the world was in chaos at that time, and thousands of civilians were killed, the imperial court could not care, but how could it care if they killed the governor emperor? In less than a month, the general was captured and his head was chopped off soon after, and the "back monkey" was also unknown...