Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
The ancients regarded the She (社) as the god of the five soils and the Ji (稷) as the god of the five grains. Sacrifices to the mountains, rivers, She, and Ji were essential.

Feng Tieshan, a soldier of the Shenji Battalion, was loyal to the emperor and served his country. He died a heroic death and should be deified.

The god of Tieshan Mountain in Xinganling is hereby specially appointed, and his descendants shall worship him forever.

May the gods bear witness and offer this sacrifice!

One imperial edict after another was issued, and Feng Dazhu, a descendant of martyrs, received the decree that his father was conferred the title of God of Iron Mountain.

This left him feeling both excited and bewildered, unsure of what was going on.
This was all so sudden; he never imagined that his father would suddenly become a god.

Thinking of the legendary gods and then of his own father, he simply couldn't connect the two.

Confused and bewildered, Feng Dazhu stammered as he asked the official who delivered the imperial decree:

Where is Tieshan?

"How did my dad become the God of Iron Mountain?"

The rest of the Feng family felt the same way; they simply couldn't believe it.

The officials from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices who came to deliver the imperial edict were very amiable.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the person in front of you doesn't hold an official position; he will be a descendant of gods in the future.

According to regulations, any family descended from a deity who has been ordained as a god can send members to participate in priestly training.

Once the training is completed, the temple will be given priority for management by them.

If every generation of the Feng family has a priest who becomes a clergyman, then they can be considered a family of scholars.

While not as prestigious as nobility, it was still a stable hereditary occupation. It guaranteed a government salary and inclusion in the social security system.

Many officials in the imperial court sought to be deified, and they were also active contributors to the formulation of related rituals and laws.

He said to Feng Dazhu:

"The exact location of Tieshan has not yet been determined; it is only limited to the Xing'an Mountains."

"Didn't you choose to go to the garrison in Jinning? It's a vast and sparsely populated area. As long as your ancestors were martyrs, you can be deified there."

"Your father has been appointed as a mountain god. You can choose a mountain near the garrison as the sacred domain of the Iron Mountain God and build a mountain god temple to worship him."

"The religious personnel and facilities within the sacred domain under its jurisdiction are all managed by the mountain god temple."

Feng Dazhu still didn't understand and asked:

"What religious personnel and facilities are in charge of monks, Taoist priests, and their temples?"

The official from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices explained:

"They can manage not only monks and Taoist priests, but anything related to gods, and some things they absolutely must manage."

“If someone builds temples haphazardly, the mountain god temple needs to be destroyed.”

“Some people pretend to be gods and ghosts to fool the people, and the mountain god temple needs to take care of them.”

"Also, the mountain god temple belongs to the City God Bureau and is responsible for guiding the ghosts in its jurisdiction."

"Therefore, the procession to the afterlife must pass through the mountain god temple, and the cemetery is also managed by the mountain god temple."

As he spoke, he smiled somewhat ambiguously, because this was a common way for many temples to generate revenue.

After the emperor entrusted the funeral affairs to the City God Bureau, the temples under the City God Bureau made a lot of money from this business.

Some people are particular about their table manners, while others go too far, drawing a lot of complaints.

The Yu family, who came from Quanzhou Prefecture to Dongning Prefecture, were quite successful on Dongning Island. They were so greedy that they offended many people in the Five Guards of Dongning.

After the Crown Prince's Guard took over the five guards of Dongning and learned about these matters, they proposed to the emperor to re-enfeoff Yu Dayou and drive the Yu family out of Dongning.

This incident left Admiral Yu Zigao quite humiliated, and he was even impeached for disrespecting the Crown Prince, causing a great uproar.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the imperial court would not abandon this area, nor would the families whose ancestors had been deified be willing to give it up. The City God's Office, by managing funerals, had already established a firm foothold in the religious circles of the Ming Dynasty.

The temples, such as City God Temples, Earth God Temples, and Mountain God Temples, which were previously scattered in various places, have become a force to be reckoned with after being integrated by the City God Bureau.

Feng Dazhu was unaware of these things, and he wanted to continue pressing for answers, but the official from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had already said:

"If you want to become a priest, you should go for training as soon as possible."

"The people heading to Jinning are about to depart. If you arrive early, you can choose a large mountain for your father."

“If there is a good place to cultivate, you can also choose it as hereditary land and select temple property for the mountain god temple.”

After giving a few instructions, he left Feng Dazhu's house to deliver the imperial decree to the next household.
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Feng Dazhu was completely bewildered and didn't know how to deal with this imperial decree.

However, some people knew that Wang Baihu, who had overheard the imperial decree outside, said:

"Dazhu, congratulations! Your dad has become a god now!"

"Your family is now blessed by the gods, and will surely prosper in the future."

Looking at the imperial edict, he felt envious and even a little jealous.

As a hereditary centurion, he naturally had martyrs among his ancestors.

However, the competition for a place in the capital was fierce, and the centurion was really insignificant in the capital, so his ancestors could only have a memorial tablet in the Martyrs' Shrine.

Unlike Feng Dazhu's father, who could become a mountain god directly because the Feng family was moving to Jinning.

Thinking of how Feng Tieshan, that honest, cowardly, and spineless man, could become a god simply because he died on the battlefield, he felt envious and jealous, yet he had no choice but to treat him well.

Regardless, the imperial edict has been issued. As long as the Feng family doesn't commit any serious offenses that lead to the emperor stripping them of their divine status, Feng Tieshan will remain the God of Tieshan.

He said to the ignorant and clueless Feng Dazhu:
"The Mountain God Temple is under the jurisdiction of the City God Bureau, and according to the region, it is under the jurisdiction of the City God above."

“Your provincial city god in Jinning is quite remarkable; the emperor invited my grandfather to serve as his godfather.”

"Grandpa Yue's lifelong ambition was to reach Huanglongfu and drink with you all."

"Now that the ancestral land of the Jin Kingdom has been pacified by the Ming Dynasty, he has been invited by the Emperor to serve concurrently as the City God of the Jinning Protectorate, which is at the provincial level."

Feng Dazhu may not know anything else, but he certainly knows who Grandpa Yue is.

The thought that his father had become a deity under Yue Fei's command made him wide-eyed and he asked:
"You mean my dad's boss is Grandpa Yue?"

Will I be able to see him too?

Wang Baihu was startled, fearing that Feng Dazhu would blame him for not seeing Yue Fei. He said to the simple-minded boy:

“Your father can see it, but you can’t.”

"As the saying goes, 'Yin and Yang are separated, and humans and gods are separated.' After Emperor Zhuanxu severed the connection between heaven and earth, only the emperor could communicate with the gods."

"This statement was also written into the rites and laws. Any divine decree without the emperor's approval is false. This is because the emperor was worried that someone would try to fool the people."

He talked about the recent hot topics in Beijing regarding etiquette and legal provisions, and even showed Feng Dazhu the discussions in the newspapers.

These few sentences, which the emperor specially added to the first article of the rites and laws, have sparked much discussion.

Especially for Buddhism and Taoism, the outline of the *Honghuang Yanyi*, compiled under orders, included the story of Emperor Zhuanxu severing the connection between heaven and earth. After it was published in the newspapers, people understood the deeper meaning of this passage even more clearly—

By doing this, the emperor established his status as a being who is both human and divine, and the sole communicator between humans and gods.

Without the emperor's approval, divine pronouncements could not be transmitted.

Therefore, religions that claimed to be divine pronouncements or prophecies were all designated as cults and were suppressed by the imperial court.

Wang Baihu dared not say that Feng Dazhu would be able to see Yue Fei, unless he died and went to the underworld.

Feng Dazhu, unaware of the gravity of the matter, was immediately disappointed upon hearing that he couldn't see his grandfather. Wang Baihu, worried that he would continue asking about ghosts and spirits, changed the subject:

“Nephew, the imperial court has conferred titles upon many deities this time, so you must build the mountain god temple yourself.”

"Uncle Wang has some extra money here, which can help you build a temple."

Upon hearing this, Feng Dazhu immediately became extremely wary, because he did not believe that Commander Wang would be so kind.

Although this hereditary commander of Fuyuwei was not particularly wicked, he was never a generous person.

He must have had ulterior motives for building this temple for himself.

However, considering the family's situation and the urgent need to build a temple after his father's deification, Feng Dazhu ultimately did not refuse and asked:
"Uncle Wang, you must have ulterior motives for helping me build this temple, right?"

"Just say what you have to say. I still need to go to the City God Temple for training."

Wang Baihu inwardly cursed the poor boy for being so money-grubbing, but on the surface he forced a smile and said:
“Your father appointed you as the Mountain God. As long as you take charge of the Mountain God Temple, you can become the Mountain Chief and be responsible for the ecological protection of the mountain.”

"You don't know what ecology is, do you? It's the living conditions of organisms, including forests, grasslands, prey, and mountain rivers and water sources, etc."

"If anyone wants to go to your mountains to log, hunt, or fish, they have to pay you money, which will be used for ecological protection."

"This is a way to make a living off the mountains, a continuous source of income. You can mine anything else in the mountains, except for the mines."

Feng Dazhu's breathing quickened as he realized that although his father's divine realm was not exactly his own fiefdom, it was not far off.

There are so many birds, beasts and fish in a mountain that the Feng family can become rich just by hunting and fishing.

Not to mention the many trees on the mountain; they could all be sold for money if they were cut down.

That ecological protection issue really puzzled him, and he needed to get to the bottom of it:
What is ecological protection funding?

"Should we hand it in after we collect it?"

Wang Baihu said:

"You don't need to hand it over, but if there are any major problems, you'll have to pay for it yourself."

"If a wildfire breaks out in the mountains and all the trees are burned, you'll have to pay out of your own pocket to plant new trees."

"If someone cuts down trees and doesn't replant them as required, and you don't notice, then you should also use ecological protection funds to replant them."

“Especially for mountain rivers, if the water source is cut off or becomes turbid, you have to plant water conservation forests.”

"Anyway, the main thing is to plant trees, which is the responsibility of the mountain god temple."

Feng Dazhu nodded, feeling it wasn't a big problem.

The Feng family needs to rely on the mountain for their livelihood, so they can't cut down all the trees. They'll be staying there in the future; they can't exhaust the resources.

Thinking about cutting down trees, he somewhat understood Wang Baihu's purpose and asked:
"Uncle Wang, are you planning to go to Tieshan to cut down trees and bring the timber back?"

"It's not a big deal, you can just say it!"

He believed that sending Wang Baihu to cut down trees in exchange for his help in building the temple was a very worthwhile deal for him.

Wang Baihu was taken aback, not expecting Feng Dazhu to think that way.

It's true that timber prices are rising, but the Xingan Mountains are inland in Jinning, so the felled timber can't be transported out.

How could he possibly go there to cut down trees? Wouldn't the Kingdom of Jiangling, which is near the river and the sea, be more convenient?
However, Feng Dazhu's thinking was a perfect way to conceal his true intentions. He pretended his plan had been discovered and chuckled sheepishly:
"My dear nephew, you've figured it out!"

"Now the capital is undergoing a major construction boom, and it is also building a large number of warships."

"If you can choose a mountain with lush forests, you can cut down timber and sell it for money."

"Don't worry, Uncle Wang will pay you the protection fee you're owed, and he'll even help you build a mountain god temple and donate money to it."

"You don't need to worry about anything you need there. Uncle Wang will buy it in the capital and ship it over to your village at the foot of the mountain to open a general store."

He promised Feng Dazhu that he would definitely help him build the temple.

Feng Dazhu laughed heartily and almost signed the logging contract with Wang Baihu.

However, the location of Tieshan Mountain was still undecided, and he didn't know which government department was in charge of logging. In the end, they only reached a verbal agreement to go to Jinning together to select a mountain.

After Wang Baihu left, he spat and said to his mother:

"Mother, I'm going to the City God's Office."

"Hurry up and pack your things, I'm going to Jinning to select a mountain in a few days."

Feng's mother asked him:

"Aren't you going to wait for your Uncle Wang?"

"Didn't we just agree on that?"

Feng Dazhu cursed and said:

"That old bastard never tells the truth, and he even wants to seize our mountain."

"His logging claims are all fake; he just wants to do business selling mountain products."

"Think about it, what's the price of ginseng from Liaodong? How much timber is equivalent to one ginseng?"

This is what he realized after hearing Wang Baihu's last words: compared to timber, ginseng, furs, and other mountain products are more valuable.

Moreover, it is lightweight, making it easy to transport out of the mountains.

Having decided to go to Jinning to select Shiyetian, he had been inquiring about news about Jinning during this period.

He had paid attention to ginseng, pearls, and other similar products.

He originally planned to search for these ginseng after things settled down in Jinning, but now that his father had been appointed a mountain god, he immediately decided to choose a mountain that might have ginseng and search for it inch by inch.

Wang Baihu thought he was unaware, but he miscalculated.

Soon, Feng Dazhu, along with other descendants of martyrs, received training at the City God Temple and came to understand their rights and responsibilities.

Once they become priests, they have many responsibilities and considerable power. Moreover, due to the population shortage in the Northeast, they can also serve as military priests, which is considered part of their service.

Feng Dazhu thus retained his hereditary military rank in the garrison, intending to have several sons in the future to inherit the military rank and the priesthood respectively.

He boarded a boat with those who were going to Jinning and traveled directly there by boat.

When Wang Baihu went to look for him again, he learned that he had already gone ahead. He was so angry that he stomped his feet, feeling that he had missed a chance to make a fortune.

He originally intended to send people to follow Feng Dazhu to collect mountain goods, hoping to establish a foothold by fooling the simple-minded boy and build up the trade route.

If he misses this opportunity, the market for mountain products in Northeast China will soon be divided up by local nobles and hereditary officials from the military garrisons. As a hereditary official in the capital, he will have no chance of getting in.

For a time, he even considered moving to the northeastern garrison, and even choosing a place in the northeast to enfeoff his ancestors so that they could also become gods.

However, after he expressed this idea, his family and relatives all objected.

What's in Northeast China now? Barbarians everywhere. The Feng family is destitute but willing to risk their lives, but the Wang family isn't.

Having finally managed to stay in the capital, we can't afford to move elsewhere.

In the end, Commander Wang stayed in the capital and continued to work in the garrison.

However, he often thought of Feng Dazhu, and those acquaintances who had migrated overseas and to the border regions—

Compared to the predictable life in the capital, he sometimes envied those people.

Encouraged by the court's policies, many people dissatisfied with the status quo began to look outward. (End of Chapter)