Zhenwu Temple in the southern suburbs of Si'en County.

Now, in addition to the Immortal Official Temple, the most common major temples in Dongsheng Shenzhou are the Jade Emperor Temple, Laojun Temple and Nuwa Temple.

After the Ming Dynasty unified the Dongsheng Shenzhou, it listed the Jade Emperor, Taishang Laojun, and Nuwa as the orthodox sacrifices of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang even wrote them into the "Imperial Ming Zuxun".

That is to say, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Yuanzhang had to use the Jade Emperor, Taishang Laojun and Nuwa as the main gods for national ceremonies, and the second god for accompanying sacrifices was the "Zhenwu Emperor".

At the same time, the "Huang Ming Zu Xun" stipulates that if the Ming emperor never offers sacrifices to the above-mentioned gods after ascending the throne, then the kings can "depose the emperor".

Zhu Yuanzhang invested heavily in this regard and learned many lessons from the previous Ming Dynasty, the first of which was the lesson of the Jingnan Campaign.

From the atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty this time, it can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang was actually not averse to the Jingnan Rebellion. After all, no matter how his sons and grandsons fought for the throne, the country would always be in the hands of people with the surname Zhu.

Moreover, the establishment of the Ming Dynasty was hard-won and was entirely due to the grace and help of the heavenly court and the gods. That is why Zhu Yuanzhang made such a tough regulation and clearly told his successors: If you disrespect these gods, the princes from all over the country will have to take the "Imperial Ming Ancestor's Instructions", bring thousands of troops and horses, and come to the capital with swords to argue with you.

But Zhu Yuanzhang also learned the lessons of the previous Ming Dynasty vassal kings. Zhu Yuanzhang established a border defense system for princes, that is, setting up "border troops" on the border of the Ming Dynasty. The number of border troops was about 50,000. They were paid and dispatched by the court, but were commanded by the princes.

The title of princes guarding the borders is only passed down for three generations. After the death of the third generation of princes, this branch will no longer be hereditary. The court will find a place to move your family there and let them live as rich farmers. The new princes guarding the borders will be appointed from the royal family among the virtuous and talented princes.

Of course, only those who are selected by the court as the commander of the border army can become princes. Otherwise, except for the prince, the rest of the royal family, no matter how noble their birth is, will only give you the title of prince or princess of the Ming Dynasty royal family, and will not give you any power. Moreover, the royal family will support you until you are twenty years old, and then you will go out to make a living on your own. You can do whatever you want in the 360 ​​professions, and you can also take the imperial examination to become an official, as long as you have the ability.

So this created a strange scene: the sixth prince, the most beloved by the current emperor, had virtue, talent, and was liked by the emperor.

But because he was not the eldest son, he could not become the crown prince, so he could only make a living everywhere after he grew up.

So the Sixth Prince found a job as a lecturer in a private school in the capital. While he was teaching, he earned money to supplement his family income while preparing to take the imperial examination.

In daily life, the interpersonal relationships are all with various "uncles and brothers", such as the emperor's uncle who is a Taoist priest, the younger emperor's uncle who runs a zoo, the fourth emperor's grandfather who runs a drugstore, and the emperor's brother who does carpentry work, etc.

In short, there are some people with the surname Zhu in all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty, and any one of these people may be a relative of the current emperor.

These imperial relatives, working in various professions across the Ming Empire, were still living ordinary lives today. Tomorrow morning, they might not even have washed their faces when the Imperial Guard suddenly arrived, handing them an imperial edict and smiling, "Your Highness, congratulations! The Emperor and his ministers have chosen you to lead the 'Xing-Xing Frontier Army,' granting you the title of King. From now on, you will be a prince commanding the Ming Empire's frontiers. Your carriages are ready. Hurry to the Imperial Palace to express your gratitude, then take your family to the frontier to take up your post."

All of the above happened countless times within the Ming Dynasty's imperial palace, court, and marketplace. To achieve this, a strong central government was essential. Otherwise, how could the hereditary princes of three generations be removed with a single imperial decree? Unrest would undoubtedly ensue. However, this system, now centuries old and with a comprehensive set of rules and regulations, no longer causes major chaos when princes are replaced.

Now back to the topic, Fang Jian brought Le Qi and Hei Haier to the Zhenwu Temple in the southern suburbs of Si'en County. The reason they came to the Zhenwu Temple was not to find Zhenwu Emperor, but to find the land god outside the Zhenwu Emperor Temple.

Generally, temples for the land god are rarely built in a single place. There are cases where a land god temple is built alone, but they are not common.

Many land temples are built outside Taoist temples and Buddhist temples. For example, outside the Zhenwu Temple in front of us, there stands a small land temple.

Fang Jian and the other two hid their figures and came to the land temple, then Fang Jian made a gesture to summon the gods.

A white mist rose in front of the land temple, and a little old man holding a peach stick appeared in front of Fang Jian. This little old man was the land god here.

The land god was surprised when he saw Fang Jian. Because he was an immortal official, he could see the golden immortal light above Fang Jian's head at a glance. So he immediately bowed and said, "I pay my respects to the immortal. I wonder what you want me to do?"

Fang Jian smiled and said, "I have come to the southern slope of the mountain to pay tribute to a friend who died seven hundred years ago. However, I can no longer find her grave, so I would like to ask the local deity to help me find it."

Upon hearing this, the land god immediately said, "This is a trivial matter. I am willing to serve you."

As he spoke, the land god took out the land book and asked Fang Jian, "Seven hundred years ago? Do you have an exact year?"

Fang Jian said, "Seven hundred and twenty years ago, to be exact."

Le Qi, who had heard this, suddenly looked at Fang Jian with a hint of confusion on her face. Then she heard the land god ask, "Sir, what is the name of your old friend?"

Fang Jian smiled and said, "Le Rong."

Le Qi was struck by lightning when she heard this. She widened her eyes and looked at Fang Jian in disbelief. Seven hundred and twenty years ago was the year her sister Le Rong left her.

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