The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 479 Liu Zhaosun Returns Home

On the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of Taichu, as the end of the year was approaching, the Qi army stopped all combat operations north of the Huai River and began to shrink and consolidate the front line.

At the same time, the "Northern Expedition Army" that the small Southern Ming court had barely assembled was afraid of the Qi army and stopped in Hefei.

At first, Commander Zuo Liangyu was frightened when he heard that the Kaiyuan troops were heading south. He allowed the Ming army to plunder Hefei and Anqing before fleeing south in panic.

Unexpectedly, the Qi army hurriedly retreated north after drinking water from the Huai River. The people in the Jianghuai area who had suffered from the war composed a folk song to curse Zuo Liangyu:

"If you want to indulge evil, you must cultivate the land; if you want to make mistakes, don't ask the left."

In the third year of Hongguang, the traitor Zuo Liangyu colluded with the eunuch Tian Cheng and abused power to harm the country.

"To indulge the traitor, one must cultivate the land" means who indulged the traitor? It was Tian Cheng. Why did Tian Cheng protect the traitor? Because he accepted bribes. "To indulge the traitor" is a homophone for "to cultivate the traitor," and the "land" in "to cultivate the land" is a double entendre – the field for cultivating crops and the person with the surname Tian. "To cultivate" means to give benefits. Because the traitor gave Tian Cheng "gold coins," he was protected.

"If you want to make a mistake, don't ask Zuo" means that imperial envoys should not criticize the court's mistakes, and especially not hold Zuo Liangyu accountable. "Don't ask Zuo" means not to question or inquire about the various crimes Zuo committed as abusive and detrimental to the country. Zuo's rampant rule within the court was due to his collusion with the palace eunuch Tian Cheng. Tian and Zuo, like a pair of pests, brought disaster to the country and its people.

During the Hongguang reign, there were many ballads in Jiangnan denouncing the traitor Zuo Liangyu, such as "Sweep away all the money in Jiangnan and fill up the Zuo family's mouths";
"Seeking land will earn you salary, buying land will earn you official position";
"During the Hongguang era, if one wanted to be an official, one had to either go to the left or farm."

Zuo Liangyu used the sudden retreat of the Qi army to justify his defeat of Liu Zhaosun and the defense of the Southern Ming Dynasty as a major achievement, and used this to claim credit for his actions in the Hongguang era. With the assistance of the eunuch Tian Cheng, in December of the third year of the Hongguang era, the imperial court issued an edict conferring the title of Earl of Ningnan on Zuo Liangyu, and gave his second son, Zuo Mengshou, the seal of the General Suppressing Bandits. The court also promised that after the Qi army was defeated, their father and son would guard Hefei for generations. Zhu Changling ordered Zuo Liangyu to immediately dispatch troops to suppress the bandits, but Zuo Liangyu repeatedly delayed the order and submitted memorials to decline, delaying the order until the end of the year.

When the Northern Expedition Army learned that the Qi army had returned north, they felt a little relieved. They did not dare to cross the Huai River in pursuit, but only set up cannons on the south bank to cut off navigation on the Huai River.

In December, Zuo Liangyu issued a manifesto to attack the State of Qi, but he kept his troops inactive for several days and continued to loot, burn and kill in Hefei.

Emperor Wuding did not pay much attention to this old enemy, nor did he have any good feelings towards this group of losers. After all, in his eyes, Zuo Liangyu and the Hongguang Emperor in Nanjing City were both dead. The reason why he did not kill them now was just to keep their heads for the time being.

On the 26th day of the 12th lunar month in the first year of Taichu, the emperor's carriage was moved from the Fuwang Palace in Luoyang, Henan to the Jingle Palace in Junzhou.

After the "Jingnan Campaign" in the early Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle took the throne and claimed that he was able to conquer the world with the blessing of the "True Martial God".

Because of Zhu Di, the Ming Dynasty worshipped the God of Zhenwu even more than the previous dynasties, and built the Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple as the royal family temple.

During the eleven years from the tenth year of Yongle to the twenty-first year of Yongle (1412-1423), the imperial court mobilized soldiers and civilians to build eight palaces and two temples, a large Taoist architectural complex, on the -li ancient road from Jingle Palace to the top of Tianzhu Peak in Wudang Mountain.

This is the famous "Building Wudang in the South" during the Yongle period, which is as famous in history as the construction of Beijing in the north and Zheng He's voyages to the West.

Jingle Palace is the first of the nine palaces in Wudang Mountain. After its completion, it occupied almost half of Junzhou City.

Inside the palace, there are memorial archways, the main palace gate, the second palace gate, the main hall, the second holy hall, the real palace shrine, the abbot's hall, the god's kitchen, the god's storehouse, etc. Surrounded by red walls and green tiles, the palaces are towering and majestic, and the courtyards are wide and deep. The environment is elegant and just like a fairy palace.

Junzhou is Liu Zhaosun's hometown. After almost ten years of wandering, it's time to go home.

On the day before New Year's Eve, Emperor Wu Ding, accompanied by Empress Dowager Cisi Jin Yuji, Sister Daphne and other entourages, moved into the main hall of Jingle Palace.

On the day the retired emperor arrived at Jingle Palace, the former Ming governor of Yunyang, the prefect of Junzhou, and the eunuchs of the Wudang Commandery all rushed to pay their respects, vying to offer auspicious gifts. Wudang Taoist priest Li Hunxi personally presented the retired emperor with "Langmei Immortal Fruit," a symbol of good fortune for the world.

The Qi army was short of manpower and it was impossible to completely occupy the Huguang region. Therefore, in order to win over the people and save manpower, Emperor Wuding never killed these former ministers.

These former Ming Dynasty governors, prefects and eunuchs all knew that their time was up, and they all tried their best to please the Emperor of Da Qi in order to save their lives.

In the Ming Dynasty, Wudang Mountain was the richest in the world. The extra money from incense offerings every year was used to fill the financial gap in Huguang and other places. Therefore, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to Wudang and sent his trusted eunuchs to guard it.

Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were no longer just vassals of the royal family. They were part of the state institution and another political team for the emperor to rule the world.

The Wudang eunuch system belonged to the imperial envoy's office outside the capital, and was an institution that the imperial power used to monitor and manage Wudang Mountain in an open and aboveboard manner.

The emperor established the post of Governor of Internal Affairs and granted him military and religious powers, perhaps for many purposes, but the most prominent purpose was to check and balance the power of the Governor of Vassal States and the Governor of Yunyang, forming a local authority in which internal and external officials could check and balance each other and cooperate with each other to maintain the long-term development of Wudang Mountain.

Liu Zhaosun grew up at the foot of Mount Wudang and was well aware of these matters. Therefore, before entering Junzhou City, he did not take action against these Taoist priests and eunuchs. Not only did he not take action, but even after a busy schedule, he summoned the Taoist priest Fan Zhongyang to inquire in detail about the ascension of the Great Emperor Zhenwu. Fan Zhongyang, believing that the retired emperor was obsessed with seeking immortality, spoke nonsense to the Emperor Wuding:
Before ascending to the Immortal Realm, the God of War once told the world: "When a saint appears, the plum blossoms will fall." When Your Majesty first visited Taihe (Wudang Mountain), the plum blossoms ripened and fell, which shows that God blesses the Great Qi...

"Since you want to pray for me, then go and burn the dragon head incense!"

He then ordered Zhang Dong to punish those fake Taoist priests who did not properly conduct rituals and cheated people by making them burn dragon head incense, and those who could not be killed by falling would be shot on the spot.

The so-called Dragon Head Incense is a famous scenic spot in Wudang. It is located on the cliff of a stone temple in Nanyan. Next to it is a stone beam carved with a dragon. The stone beam extends outward from the cliff, extending 2.9 meters in the air and about 30 centimeters wide.

There is a coiled dragon carved on the stone beam, and an incense burner is carved on the top of the dragon head. This is what people refer to as dragon head incense.

As long as believers go to Longtouxiang to burn incense devoutly, their wishes can reach heaven and communicate with the gods.

The location of the Dragon Head Incense is dangerous, nearly three meters away from the cliff, and it is very narrow. Therefore, if you want to burn incense, you must climb up at risk. There is a deep abyss under the Dragon Head Incense. Once you fall, you will surely be smashed to pieces.

These Taoists and demons with ulterior motives, holding incense sticks in their hands and with trembling steps, were shot to death by a volley of arrows as soon as they stepped onto the Dragon Stone Beam. They fell off a thousand-foot cliff and were smashed into a pulp.

(End of this chapter)