兄弟争代

 

Brothers Compete to Redeem Their Father

 

十三世祖吴处仁(1242-1304)家富,其父因富为元兵所闻。元兵抓捕其父,令其巡山呼喊,欲令其子拿银来救。吴处仁急赴军前,语曰:“银吾所藏也。容归取以赎。”及发窖则已为人所得。乃回告元军曰:“银无存者,吾戴吾头代父。”其弟渊又祈代之。众愕然义之,俱获免。



The family wealth of thirteenth ancestor Wu Churen (1242- 1304) was such that his father was targeted by soldiers of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. When the soldiers captured Wu’s father, they demanded that he shout across the mountain to his family for help. They wanted him to order his sons to come and ransom him with silver. Wu Churen hurried before the general, saying “I’m the one who hid the silver, so please let me go and fetch it to redeem him”. But when he got to the cellar, he found that the silver had been taken, and so returned to the Mongol general and declared, “The silver is no longer there, so I am bringing my head instead, in place of my father”. His younger brother Wu Yuan also pleaded with his life to save his father. The soldiers were greatly shocked by their spirit of self-sacrifice and finally released all of them.