“No, we won’t take the little one.” Old Zhu beamed and said, “If the Empress gives us another great-grandson, we’ll give you our jade ruyi as a reward. It’s a really good thing; we wouldn’t even give it to the Emperor.”
Zhu Yunying immediately complained, saying, "That's because we don't want them. Grandfather has quite a few jade ruyi, so Yin'er and I can take them if we want!"
Old Zhu gently patted Zhu Yunying's bottom and said, "We worked so hard to conquer the world, and you and Yin'er have already squandered all the little things we left behind. We have to be careful, with your stingy nature, I'm afraid when we're buried, we'll only have a few jars and pots to be buried with us."
Zhu Yunying was displeased and complained, "While we wouldn't empty the national treasury, we're not stingy either. Even my grandfather doesn't care much for writing brushes, ink, paper, and paintings, and we think those things are hard to preserve anyway. But we can't make that decision, as there are funeral rites to observe."
Old Zhu had long since come to terms with matters of life and death, and didn't care much about such things at all.
Just as they were chatting, Wang Chengen rushed over and said, "Your Majesty the Retired Emperor, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has found Zhang the Sloppy."
Zhang Lata is actually the same person as Zhang Sanfeng. In fact, Lao Zhu has been searching for Zhang Sanfeng's whereabouts, because Zhang Sanfeng is quite famous nowadays. It is said that he can be resurrected from the dead, and Taoist disciples say that he can travel with his spirit.
Gu Zhu
It's even hard to say whether this slovenly Zhang is actually Zhang Sanfeng. After all, if he really is Zhang Sanfeng, he'd be almost two hundred years old, which is just too exaggerated.
Perhaps it's just a folk legend, or something that believers have been constantly promoting and mythologizing.
Zhu Yunying snorted coldly, somewhat displeased, and said, "Oh? It's that remnant of the Great Yuan Dynasty?"
It's no wonder Zhu Yunying complained and was dissatisfied. Although there are many legends and stories about Zhang Sanfeng, and he has been deified, he was still honored as "Sanfeng Immortal" and "Loyal and Filial Immortal" during the Yuan Dynasty. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Sanfeng also called himself "a remnant of the Yuan Dynasty," and he indeed considered himself a subject of the Yuan Dynasty.
This one was indeed like that. Even though Zhu Yuanzhang sent envoys and issued imperial edicts several times to invite Zhang Sanfeng to the capital, Zhang Sanfeng "appeared to be an immortal and fled far away to preserve his integrity in serving the Yuan dynasty."
Ultimately, Zhang Sanfeng had no sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty.
Old Zhu noticed Zhu Yunying's dissatisfaction and said, "We're not seeking immortality. We're not Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han, nor are we trying to emulate Emperor Taizong of Tang. We chose that slovenly man because we want to treat everyone fairly. We've been fake monks before, and people outside don't know what they'll say about us. We've suppressed the Buddha a lot over the years, so it's time for us to take charge."
Zhu Yunying naturally understood Zhu Di's thoughts. In fact, Zhang Sanfeng at that time could not be considered a 'deity'. The historical Zhang Sanfeng was infinitely deified starting with Zhu Di, whose enthusiasm for finding Zhang Sanfeng far exceeded that of Zhu Di.
Even the fact that Wudang Mountain became a Taoist holy site began with Zhu Di's major renovations of Wudang Mountain. Although Wudang Mountain's status had been continuously rising since the Tang Dynasty, the "deification" of it truly began with the Yongle Emperor.
For example, Zhu Di designated Wudang Mountain as "Great Mountain," placing it above the Five Sacred Mountains. There was even a saying about building the Forbidden City in the north and renovating Wudang in the south, referring to the construction of the Great Mountain Taihe. However, Wudang is not yet the most famous Taoist mountain.
Zhu Yunying thought for a moment and said, "It is necessary to deal with the Taoists, but the Dragon Tiger Celestial Master's Mansion is not enough."
The Celestial Master's Mansion, like the Confucius Family Mansion, is a noble family with an incredibly long history. Regardless of changes in dynasties, the lineage of the Celestial Master's Mansion has never been interrupted, and it is one of the symbols that the imperial families of each dynasty would bestow upon it.
“We will not bestow titles upon the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty,” Zhu Yunying said after thinking for a moment. “There are also many virtuous people in Taoism. I think Wudang is worthy of being honored. Wudang is the imperial ancestral temple, and the True Martial God of Wudang is our national guardian deity. There’s no problem with that.”
This was also the tone set by Zhu Yuanzhang, because he worshipped the Zhenwu God. When Zhu Yunying went to Beiping Prefecture, the helmet on the armor bestowed upon him by Zhu Yuanzhang had the image of the Zhenwu God on it.
Old Zhu nodded slightly, indicating that he largely agreed with Zhu Yunying's statement.
Ultimately, Zhu Yuanzhang's true intentions weren't necessarily immortality. His search for Zhang Sanfeng and Zhang Lata stemmed simply from his desire to prevent the Longhu Mountain sect from becoming too powerful. The Taoist sects were numerous and needed some checks and balances. Just as the imperial court needed balance, so too did the religious establishment.
To be honest, many rebellions throughout history have involved religious groups.
Even the Red Turban Army, which Zhu Yuanzhang joined, was called the "Incense Army" by some because of its incense-burning gatherings. The White Lotus was a significant force within it. This tradition dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty; its claims of "Maitreya's descent" and "the birth of the Bright King" have considerable influence, and it remains powerful even today.
Zhu Yuanzhang clearly knew the power of the White Lotus, so after establishing his dynasty, he vigorously suppressed the White Lotus and even enshrined it in the Ming Code.
Whether Zhang Lata was the real Zhang Sanfeng or Zhang Sanfeng lived to be two hundred years old, what the Ming Dynasty needed was a Taoist priest with considerable influence, and what the emperor needed was to further strengthen control over religion.
Old Zhu was in a good mood. His grandson and granddaughter-in-law were chatting with him, which was already a happy thing. What's more, little Zhu came running over after school, head down, which made Old Zhu even happier.
Although Xiao Zhu, his own grandson, is important, Old Zhu can no longer live without his great-grandson, Xiao Xiao Zhu.
"Let's go to my great-aunt's house tomorrow," Little Zhu said expectantly. "My uncle said he has good books and military strategy books at home."
This naturally means that this is the son of Mei Yin and Princess Ningguo. Old Zhu was extremely fond of Mei Yin as his son-in-law. As for Princess Ningguo, although she was only Old Zhu's second daughter, she was born to Empress Ma, making her a legitimate daughter. Her status was vastly different from that of Old Zhu's eldest daughter, Princess Lin'an.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
