Liu Ji ( 14th century ) Liu Ji ( July 1 , 1311 — 16 May 1375 ) , Bowen and posthumous name Wencheng ( 文成 ) , was a military strategist , officer , statesman and poet of the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history . He was born in Qingtian County ( present - day Wencheng County , Zhejiang ) . He was the main advisor to the Yuan Dynasty era rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang ( 1328 – 1398 ) , who later became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty . ( r . 1368 - 1398 ) . Liu Ji is also known for his prophecies , as he has been described as the " Chinese Nostradamus " . With his contemporary general and scholar Jiao Yu , he was one of the co - editors of the military treatise known as the " Huolongjing " ( the " Fire Dragon Manual " ) . His most famous military treatise is known as the " Lessons of War " . Career . Liu Ji served Zhu Yuanzhang in his rebellion against the Mongol - led Yuan Dynasty in China , which had ruled since the conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279 . Liu Ji dabbled in many fields of statecraft , philosophy , scholarly works , and technology . His philosophical outlook was that of a skeptical naturalist , and he became interested in astronomy , calendrical science , magnetism , and fengshui . He was known to be a friendly associate of the mathematician and alchemist Zhao Yuqin , and collaborated with his contemporary general and scholar Jiao Yu to edit and compile the military - technology treatise of the " Huolongjing " , which outlined the use of various gunpowder weapons . He was very interested in the latter , and once said that " thunder is like fire shot from a cannon " . Early Service in the Yuan Dynasty . Liu Ji earned his Jinshi degree in the final years of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty , and spent much of his early career attempting to save the dynasty from collapse . Liu served the Yuan as an official for 25 years , gaining a reputation for integrity and honesty , and became known as a distinguished scholar and strategist . In 1348 , Liu was appointed to a military position and assigned to put down a southern rebellion against the dynasty . The leader of the rebellion attempted to save himself by offering Liu a bribe . When Liu refused , the rebel went to Beijing and succeeded in bribing his way into favour there . Once the secessionist had bribed his way into the regime ' s favour , he was given a public office and a salary . Liu Ji ' s relationship with the Yuan deteriorated after this event . Liu attempted to resign twice , in 1349 and 1352 . He was demoted in 1358 , and finally left service to retire in his ancestral homeland . In 1360 , Liu was introduced to Zhu Yuanzhang , a former leader of a radical White Lotus Buddhist rebellion who was then the leader of a broad anti - Yuan rebellion . Service to Zhu Yuanzhang . Liu Ji served not only in the administration of Zhu Yuanzhang , but also in many battles as a commanding officer on land and water , leading the early Ming naval forces . Zhu Yuanzhang placed Liu Ji in charge of the campaign to conquer all of Zhejiang from Yuan forces . Liu was also responsible for military ventures against opposing Chinese rebel groups , as well as coastal Japanese pirates . His forces owed much of their success to the use of the medieval Chinese firearm known as the fire lance . It was during this period that he wrote the books " Extraordinary Strategies of a Hundred Battles " ( " 百戰奇略 " ) and " Eighteen Strategies and Affairs " ( " 時務十八策 " ) . Later in the rebellion Zhu only rarely relied on Liu to personally command his armies in the field , as he acquired other capable generals , including Xu Da , Deng Yu and Chang Yuchun . Liu was most often consulted for his strategic advice during this period . In 1368 , after eight years of Liu Ji ' s service , Zhu Yuanzhang unified China . When Zhu founded the Ming Dynasty , Liu was one of his most trusted advisors , but the relatiohship between Zhu and Liu eventually deteriorated in a manner similar to the way that Liu had become estranged from the Yuan government . In 1375 , Liu rejected a man , Hu Weiyong , for appointment to high office . Hu later obtained an audience with Zhu Yuanzhang and slandered Liu by telling Zhu that Liu was plotting to establish his own power . After convincing Zhu of Liu ' s treachery , Liu was ejected from office , and Hu Weiyong was promoted . Death . The shock and shame of being groundlessly dismissed from office destroyed Liu ' s health , and he quickly died . Within five years of Liu ' s death the man who had slandered Liu to achieve office was himself suspected of plotting against Zhu Yuanzhang . In the subsequent orgy of Zhu ' s paranoid efforts to root out conspiracy , 30 - 40 , 000 people were executed . The precise cause of Liu Ji ' s death is considered uncertain by modern scholars . Some scholars believe that Liu was poisoned by emperor Zhu Yuanzhang himself , not because Liu failed his duty , but because the emperor was envious and even fearful of his knowledge and influence . Other sources have pointed out that the emperor did kill many people shortly after Liu lost his official position , but they are uncertain about whether Liu was part of this group . Prophecy . Liu Ji ' s most famous prophecy to Zhu Yuanzhang , written down in a lyrical style , is called the " Shaobing Song " ( 燒餅歌 ) . The poem is written in cryptic verse and is difficult to understand . Some people believe that the " Shaobing Song " has predicted future events in China , including the 1449 Mongol invasion , and the 1911 founding of the Republic of China . Biographical works . Liu Ji ' s official biography is found in the 128th chapter of the " Ming Shi " . The author Chong Tai also wrote a biography on him . In popular culture . " Shenji Miaosuan Liu Bowen " ( ) , a 404 episodes long television drama about Liu Bowen , was aired on Taiwan ' s TTV from 23 August 2006 to 12 March 2008 , starring Taiwanese actor Huang Shaoqi ( 黃少祺 ) as Liu Bowen .