Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After confirming that the gods of heaven and earth still belonged to the Taoist pantheon, the atmosphere of the talks became much better.

The most core demand of these Taoists is to keep these gods in the Taoist pantheon, so that people who believe in God and the God of Land will no longer believe in Taoism in the future.

The officials of the Taichang Temple could also accept this, because as long as Taoism recognized the Emperor of Heaven and Earth as the supreme, these Taoists were spreading the belief in heaven and earth when they spread the Taoist faith. Confucianism could gain benefits without any effort.

It can be said that the essence of this system of gods and immortals is the fusion of Confucianism and Taoism, and the determination of the master-slave status.

The Confucians who controlled the court, with the support of the emperor, also gained a dominant position in the field of faith.

After confirming that the Emperor of Heaven and Earth were the supreme gods, Gao Shiming, who represented the Emperor, said:
"The Emperor of Heaven is the supreme ruler of the heavens, and the Emperor of Earth is the supreme ruler of the earth."

"The Son of Heaven is the Son of Heaven and Earth, appointed by the Emperor of Heaven and Earth, and is the supreme ruler of the human world."

This established the emperor's status in the system of gods and immortals, and he was called the Supreme One together with Heaven and Earth.

When the Emperor of Heaven and Empress of Earth cannot descend to the human world, the Son of Heaven is the supreme god on earth.

Taoist priests such as Zhang Jiugong and Wang Changyue remained silent about this.

Cao Sicheng, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Academy, frowned slightly and said:
"The Book of Songs says: Heaven created the people. All the people in the world are the children of Heaven."

"The Book of History says: The Emperor of Heaven has changed the destiny of the great nation of Yin."

"So the Son of Heaven is the first son of Heaven, governing the people of the world on behalf of Heaven."

This concept is an important source of the patriarchal system.

It is not that only the emperor is the son of God, but all the people are the sons of God.

However, the Son of Heaven is the eldest son of Heaven and the most legitimate son, so he can govern the world on behalf of Heaven.

The emperor's respect for heaven and his ancestors is actually part of filial piety. There is even a concept of "the emperor usurping heaven", which means that the emperor is restrained by heaven's way.

Although Gao Shiming knew poetry and books, he did not understand these deeper things, and did not refute it. He just thought that Cao Sicheng admitted that the emperor was the supreme ruler of the human world, and looked at the Taoists.

Under the oppression of eunuchs and officials, the Taoists could only nod their heads reluctantly and acknowledge that the emperor was the supreme ruler of the human world.

The next step in establishing the system of gods and immortals was also for the emperor to confer gods on behalf of heaven.

Therefore, the book "Investiture of the Gods" must be greatly revised. Regardless of whether Jiang Ziya is in charge of the Investiture of the Gods, the Zhou Emperor must come forward when the gods are finally conferred.

Gao Shiming spoke eloquently, pointing out the areas in The Investiture of the Gods that needed to be revised, and then asked the Taoists:

"In the book Investiture of the Gods, Taoist Hongjun is the highest, even above the Three Pure Ones."

"Where did this Taoist come from? Can you explain?"

Zhang Jiugong didn't know why the emperor and Gao Shiming attached so much importance to this novel, so he replied:
"The idea that Taoist Hongjun is the teacher of the Three Pure Ones is passed down by ordinary people."

"There are Hongjun temples in some places among the people."

Cao Sicheng explained:

"Hong means big, Jun means pottery wheel."

"Hongjun probably refers to the Way of Heaven."

Gao Shiming immediately said upon hearing this:
"Cao Shaoqing explained it very well. Hongjun is actually the Way of Heaven."

"Master Hongjun is the manifestation of heaven and earth, so he can be called the Master of the Three Pure Ones."

He told everyone what the emperor had told him:
"What is Huangtian? It is the name of heaven."

"What is Hou Tu? It is the name of the earth."

"Heaven and earth are originally invisible, so when the court offered sacrifices, they only wrote tablets."

"But when ordinary people believe in heaven and earth, they need heaven and earth to have an image, so the Jade Emperor and Hou Tu Niangniang are the manifestations of heaven and earth."

"The Taoist Hongjun is also the manifestation of the one energy formed by the union of heaven and earth."

"So its essence is the same as that of the Heaven and Earth, and it is the Supreme God."

These words explained the image problem of the Emperor of Heaven and Empress of Earth in a very eloquent manner.

The image of Hongjun was also used to confirm that the Emperor of Heaven and the Empress of Earth were higher than the Three Pure Ones.

The Taoists frowned at this, and did not agree that Hongjun's image could be higher than the Three Pure Ones.

But they had just acknowledged that the Emperor of Heaven and the Empress of Earth were the supreme gods, and now Gao Shiming said that Taoist Hongjun was actually the incarnation of the Emperor of Heaven and the Empress of Earth, and therefore was higher than the Three Pure Ones. They could not refute this, and could only discuss it among themselves.

The officials of the Taichang Temple did not care about this. They even thought that the Three Pure Ones were nonsense of Taoists, so they certainly had no problem with the Three Pure Ones having multiple teachers.

Especially according to Gao Shiming, Taoist Hongjun is the incarnation of heaven and earth, and his status is higher than the Three Pure Ones, which is equivalent to the Emperor of Heaven and Empress Earth suppressing the Three Pure Ones. Of course, they are happy to hear this.

Cao Sicheng even concluded:
"So, the supreme rulers of the three realms of heaven, earth and man are Emperor Heaven, Empress Earth and the Son of Heaven."

"There are also incarnations that can be compared with him, such as the Jade Emperor, Hou Tu Niangniang, and Hongjun Taoist."

"Below the Supreme is the Celestial Lord, including the Great Purity Daode Celestial Lord, the Jade Purity Yuanshi Celestial Lord, and the Upper Purity Lingbao Celestial Lord."

Gao Shiming nodded and smiled, saying:

"Along with the Three Pure Ones are the Four Imperial Emperors, including the Northern Purple Star Emperor, the Southern Longevity Emperor, the Eastern Blue Flower Emperor, and the Western Heavenly Emperor."

"These four great emperors, together with the Jade Emperor of Heaven and Earth and the Earth Emperor of Heaven and Earth, rule over the world."

"There are other gods who can be mentioned together with him, such as Jie Yin Buddha, Zhunti Buddha Mother, and Du Si Tianzun."

This series of words made all the Taoists unable to react.

However, Gao Shiming did not give them a chance to react. He explained to these people the stories about Pangu creating the world and Hongjun preaching that he had heard from the emperor.

These stories were naturally based on the Honghuang novels of later generations by Zhu Youjian, but Hongjun's identity became the incarnation of heaven and earth.

Pangu's identity is the same as Hongjun's, that is, he was created by the combination of heaven and earth, but heaven and earth had not yet been separated at that time, so Pangu created the heaven and earth.

After Pangu created the world, the heaven and earth merged into one, and became the Taoist Hongjun. Taoist Hongjun preached the Tao, and thus the gods of heaven and earth came into being.

The Three Pure Ones, the Two Buddhas, and Nuwa became Hongjun's disciples, that is, the six most honorable people among the Heavenly Lords.

There were also three thousand guests listening in, and many side doors were built.

This series of stories made everyone dizzy and fascinated. It seemed that these things really happened and the gods of heaven and earth came from them.

It can be said that this genre of novels, which was written to death in later generations, was far more perfect than the legends of gods and immortals at that time. Moreover, it could also inherit novels such as "The Romance of the Gods" and "Journey to the West", and the system was very complete.

But the people present knew that this was probably a fiction. Zhang Jiugong asked carefully:
"Have these things ever happened?"

"If there are any mistakes, will the gods blame me?"

Gao Shiming had also asked the emperor about this matter. When he heard Zhang Jiugong's question, he smiled and said:
"Do you care in your heart what the ants on the ground think of you?"

"Besides, the emperor is one of the supreme beings in the three realms. All gods below him can make the decision with just a word from him." Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and then they were speechless.

In fact, as missionaries, some of them were very devout in their faith and believed that the deeds in the scriptures could not be changed in any way.

Some people disagree with this, knowing that the so-called classics were all compiled by humans.

Especially as a descendant of the founder of Taoism, Zhang Jiugong knew very well how some Taoist classics came from. He knew that even if there were gods and immortals in the world, they didn't care how mortals arranged them.

Therefore, he agreed with Gao Shiming's statement very much, and he was even more impressed by Gao Shiming's idea of ​​the emperor conferring the title of the gods.

He actually understood the hidden meaning of this sentence very clearly.

This means that the positions of the gods in heaven can be arranged at will, and even if mistakes are made, the emperor can take responsibility.

The emperor himself has the power to enthrone gods and immortals, so he can establish the system of gods and immortals.

But he understood it. There were some things he didn't understand, or he felt uncomfortable with it and didn't think it was right.

Wang Changyue frowned and asked:
"If you want to spread the gospel, you can just use scriptures and books. Why use novels and stories?"

"The Three Pure Ones are the supreme masters of Taoism, why add the Taoist Hongjun?"

Gao Shiming's expression gradually became serious, and he asked some Taoist priests represented by him:

"The Ming Dynasty has always worshipped Taoism, and your Taoism has been spreading for so many years."

"Then let me ask you, who in the world knows more about the Taoist system of gods and immortals, or about Investiture of the Gods?"

This question left the Taoist priests present completely speechless.

Even though The Investiture of the Gods has only been out for a few decades, no matter how confident a Taoist priest is, he would not dare to say that there are more people who know about the Taoist system of gods than those who know The Investiture of the Gods.

Even the Taoists themselves could not clearly explain the Taoist system of gods and immortals. There were many contradictions in the status of gods and immortals in different Taoist sects.

No matter how many fallacies "The Investiture of the Gods" contains, it at least has a complete system.

Moreover, when it comes to communicating to the public, vernacular novels have a natural advantage and are more popular among the people.

Therefore, when Zhu Youjian was rectifying the system of gods and immortals, he decided to use novels such as "The Romance of the Gods" and "Journey to the West" as carriers to spread this system of gods and immortals.

Because of this, he asked the Taichang Temple and the Religious Association to revise these novels, incorporate the established system of gods and immortals into them, and spread them to the public.

After being rebuked by Gao Shiming, the Taoists could no longer say anything against it. Then Gao Shiming said:

"Your Majesty's intention is to compile these stories, as well as some myths and legends, into a book called 'The Romance of the Great Desolation'."

“With Pangu creating the world, Hongjun preaching, Nuwa creating humans, and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors as the main storyline, it intersperses legends such as the battle for supremacy among the gods, Houtu’s reincarnation, Gonggong crashing into Mount Buzhou, Nuwa mending the sky, the connection between the sky and the earth, Dayu controlling the flood, Houyi shooting down the sun, and Chang’e flying to the moon, integrating them into a complete mythology system.”

"The established system of gods and immortals should be contained in it. At the same time, novels such as "The Investiture of the Gods" and "Journey to the West" should be revised to spread this system."

"These novels, collectively known as Mythology, use mythology as a medium to spread belief in gods and immortals."

"Your Majesty intends to appoint Grand Secretary Huang Liji as the Chief Executive Officer, and select Vice Chief Executive Officers and Chief Editors from among prestigious religious figures to be in charge of this matter."

"If you have any opinions, you can discuss them during the compilation."

These words made all the Taoists understand that the task of establishing the system of gods and immortals depended on this.

The system of gods and immortals to be established this time must not only find its basis in Taoist scriptures, but also be consistent with mythology and legends, integrating all ancient myths to achieve the grand unification of ancient mythology.

This is a difficult thing to do, but once it is accomplished, the reputation you gain will be great.

It can even be said that the mythological system has been determined and will not be changed. All mythological stories told by later generations must be based on this.

Thinking about the fame they could gain by participating in this matter, some Taoist priests who were practicing seclusion couldn't help but be tempted.

Soon people began to think about this matter and asked what the so-called battle among the gods and the reincarnation of Hou Tu were?
Most of them had heard of the legends about Nuwa creating humans and Nuwa repairing the sky, but they were hearing about the battle among gods and the reincarnation of Hou Tu for the first time.

The so-called war of gods is actually a mixture of the myths before the human race, such as the war of three tribes and the war of witches and demons in the prehistoric novels. However, he could not say that there were witches and demons before the human race, and he did not think that the setting of gods in prehistoric novels could convince the public, so he mixed this period and called it the war of gods.

Who are the gods fighting for supremacy and what camps do they belong to? These people are needed to compile the information based on ancient books and be able to convince people all over the world.

As for the theory of Hou Tu's reincarnation, it actually originated from prehistoric novels. There is no such theory in ancient mythology.

However, the earth god system determined by Zhu Youjian regards the Earth Emperor as the most respected, and the City God also belongs to the earth god system, with the function of sending the dead to the afterlife.

So of course he had to propose the reincarnation of Hou Tu, so that it would be more legitimate for Hou Tu to rule the underworld and have the function of reincarnation.

After hearing this, all the Taoists were delighted.

Because the concept of reincarnation originated from Buddhism, Taoism has tried to seize it but has never been able to do so.

If the legend of Hou Tu's reincarnation becomes widely known, Taoism will have more confidence in fighting for the concept of reincarnation.

Zhang Jiugong immediately said:

"Youdu is the place ruled by Hou Tu in the underground. It is dark and gloomy, so it is called Youdu."

"Hou Tu is the supreme ruler of the earth, the Emperor of Fengdu is his subordinate, and the Ten Kings of Hell are his subordinates."

"On earth, the Great Emperor of Dongyue communicates with the yin and yang, and the God of the City God sends the dead to the rebirth."

Gao Shiming clapped his hands and sighed, thinking that Zhang Jiugong was very good, and praised him:

"Master Zhang has profound insights and should be the vice president of the Mythology."

"The Zhang family of Longhu Mountain has been passed down for so many generations, and we should actively contribute classics and participate."

Zhang Jiugong stroked his beard and smiled, accepting the responsibility.

At the same time, it was also proposed to expand the "Hou Tu Wangsheng Sutra" of Chenghuang Dao to make it more convincing.

A group of Taoists also offered suggestions and began to accept the so-called City God Dao established by the court.

If the Chenghuang Dao can win back reincarnation, it will be a great victory for Taoism.

At the same time, these Taoists also thought that they were the first to negotiate with the imperial court. Taoism could fully take advantage of this opportunity to snatch back what it had lost from Buddhism.

For example, it is worthwhile to add the story of Laozi's conversion to Buddhism into the Romance of Mythology, elevate the status of Jie Yin and Zhunti, and suppress the status of Sakyamuni.

Even when creating an image, the image of Buddhism is made worse. For example, the Zhunti mentioned by Gao Shiming often said "My fellow Taoists have a connection with the West" and "This thing has a connection with the West", which is worth adding.

The mood of the Taoists finally improved, and they began to discuss how to use the "Mythology" to suppress other sects.

In this regard, Taoism, which has its roots in the local area, has an inherent advantage. They were able to absorb most of the ancient mythological figures into Taoist gods.

Foreign religions such as Buddhism cannot do this. It is difficult for them to connect with the ancient mythological figures of China. In order to join the "Mythology", they can only accept the arrangement.

Zhu Youjian's work of defining the system of gods and immortals finally made great progress, and even began to achieve the grand unification of the system of gods and immortals and mythological legends.

After this is done, the faith of Taoism will be much more stable. When facing the militant monotheism, it will be able to resist the invasion more effectively. (End of this chapter)