The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 395 Master Zhang

At the beginning of June in the first year of Wuding, the entire Qi Dynasty was busy preparing for the coronation ceremony of Crown Prince Liu Kan. Troops were being prepared inside and outside Shenyang, and the Kaiyuan soldiers who were withdrawn from various places were ready for battle.

Empress Dowager Yang Qing'er disappeared on her way to Tianjin and could not be found. In fact, Concubine Jin Yuji had become the future Empress Dowager. In order to stabilize the people's hearts, the ministers unanimously supported the young Empress Dowager and begged her to follow the instructions of Emperor Wuding and rule the country from behind the curtain.

At the end of May, the well-informed and fickle King Yi Suong of Joseon was the first to turn against the Qi Dynasty. The royal armies from all over Joseon expelled the Qi Dynasty garrisons, took back the mines, and killed the Qi Dynasty envoys and the Jin Party (Jin Yuji's faction).

On June 1, General Li Shunyi (a good friend of Jiang Hongli) led 3,000 Korean soldiers to launch a sudden attack under the pretext of inspecting Pi Island. They killed more than 300 Qi sailors who were left behind in Pi Island and captured three new warships. Korea immediately announced the restoration of order and officially joined forces with the Southern Ming court to resist the violent Qi.

Jin Yinghe, Jin Dajiu and others fled in a hurry. They took more than 2,000 Qi soldiers and traveled hundreds of miles before finally returning to Shenyang. They joined forces with the Liaodong garrison and the Qi army's strength finally reached nearly 10,000 people.

Jin Yinghe and others fully support Jin Yuji. In this way, the position of Queen West will be more stable. As the adoptive mother of Crown Prince Liu Kan, she will rule the country from behind the scenes.

The war was fierce and dangerous. On the second day of June, Du Du, the leader of Jianzhou who had endured hardships for six years, launched an uprising based on his "eight great hatreds," killed the military supervisor of Qi, and announced the change of the country's name to Qing, with the capital in Hetuala. In mid-June, the Qing sent envoys to Haixi, Mongolia, Korea, and the Hongguang court, agreeing that the five parties would rise up simultaneously to besiege the violent Qi and kill the remnants of Liu Zhaosun...

In an instant, the situation in Liaodong changed drastically and became critical.

~~~~~

On June 6th, in the eastern suburbs of Shenyang, the heat was steaming and the streets were full of red dust. Jin Yuji, dressed in plain clothes, led Chiyoko Tokugawa Senhime and other female relatives to the Daqing Palace. They came to the Zhenwu Temple where Liu Zhaosun had prayed for her, and prayed for Emperor Wuding and the crown prince.

"Mysterious Heavenly God, True Lord Yousheng, the Three Pure Ones, all the High True Ones in the heavens, all the great gods, have mercy on us and accept our prayers. May you bestow your blessings upon us and protect us all. May you bestow your grace upon us and save us from danger and suffering. Emperor Wuding, while defending himself against bandits and saving the people, was unfortunately besieged and met with natural disaster. His life or death is unknown, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"The emperor was diligent in his work and loved his people. He was cautious and benevolent, sharing happiness with his people and showing kindness to all. Why did he end up like this?! God have mercy on me! I beg you, the True Lord, to save my husband! Let him return to the human world. If he survives, I will convert to Buddhism and spend the rest of my life with the green lamp and yellow book..."

Jin Yuji clasped her hands together, knelt before the statue, and bowed devoutly three times. She took out a sharp dagger, cut her finger, and drops of blood fell onto the incense burner.

In the distance, Chiyoko and Tokugawa Senhime bit their lips and followed the Korean woman in praying.

This shamanic blood sacrifice was extremely popular throughout Northeast Asia—later spreading to Thailand and Southeast Asia—with particular fervor in Korea and Japan. Jin Yuji, raised in Seoul, often prayed for her father's swift return while her mother was still alive. She was so desperate to save her husband that she forgot the pain. "Crown Prince Liu Kan, whose parents are both gone, is left alone and pitiful. In three days, he will ascend the throne in Shenyang, inheriting his father's unfinished work and protecting all people. We beg the True Martial God to protect Great Qi, us orphans and widows, and to bless Liu Kan to become a good ruler like his father..."

Jin Yuji raised the dagger and was about to bleed herself again, when suddenly an ethereal sound was heard over the hall.

"Donor, wait a minute."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and they found that Taoist Zhang, with white hair and a youthful face, suddenly appeared in front of Zhenwu God. He held a whisk in his hand, standing alone and aloof, with two spirited little Taoist children following behind him.

Taoist Zhang looked up at Jin Yuji, stroked his beard and nodded:
"How strange! How strange! Seven years ago, someone knelt here and prayed, saying he was willing to sacrifice fifty years of his life. The prayer the female donor just said was almost identical to that person's. I wonder where that person is now?"

Jin Yuji listened halfway, her eyes were already slightly red, and her voice trembled as she said:

"Ah, fifty years of life... What does this person want?"

"He's begging the Great Emperor Zhenwu to grant him medicine to save a beautiful Korean girl. He said he's willing to sacrifice fifty years of his own life in exchange for her life."

Jin Yu Ji was shocked as if struck by lightning and stood up in a daze. She had never heard Liu Zhaosun mention this matter.

Thinking about my husband’s short life, it turned out to be due to this!

The statue before him seemed to come alive, looking down with compassion at this beautiful woman with a tragic fate.

Taoist Zhang waved his whisk and continued:
"It's destined by fate. A heroic woman, deeply in love. You, like that man, care about the people. You've also come here, returning to your original nature. Good! Good! Good! You've truly achieved enlightenment... By the way, let's pay the incense money first!"

(End of this chapter)