The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 480: Eight Scenic Spots of Junzhou
In the twelfth month of the first year of Taichu, the north and south streets of Junzhou City were deserted. The pilgrims who used to flock from all directions were nowhere to be seen, and even the number of merchants traveling north and south on the streets had decreased a lot.

Instead, soldiers of the Qi army wearing black hats and black armor, holding muskets and spears, guarded the four gates of Junzhou and strictly prohibited the people from entering or leaving at will.

After Emperor Wuding returned to Junzhou City, his hometown did not receive any glory from the retired emperor. On the contrary, Liu Zhaosun brought endless fear and bloody and cruel killings.

Those Taoist priests who were clever and hoped to get promoted by offering auspicious signs angered Emperor Zhenwu because of their insincere prayers, and fell to their death at the foot of the Dragon Head Incense Cliff while offering incense.

After the death of the Taoist priest under the dragon head incense, it did not shake the other Taoist priests' determination to flatter the emperor.

The next day, several ignorant Taoist priests went to Jingle Palace to ask to see the retired emperor. They heard that the retired emperor was in poor health - this understanding probably came from the outside world's stereotype of Liu Zhaosun before the Wanggongchang explosion.

The Taoists chanted the ballad of Fuqi, which roughly talked about the relationship between Dantian and immortality:

My family cultivates our own fields, and we can grow spiritual seedlings that will live for thousands of years.

The flowers are like golden buds, but not big. The seeds are like jade grains and the fruits are round.

Cultivation depends entirely on the soil in the center, and irrigation depends on the springs in the upper valley.

One day, when your merits and deeds are complete, you will become the Daluo Immortal of Penglai.

Liu Zhaosun was deeply impressed by this doggerel. After listening to the Taoist's nonsense, he took the medicine gourd presented to him and carefully poured out the "magic pills" one by one from it.

"What's that smell?"

The Taoist priest who presented the elixir knelt down and said in a muffled voice:

"Your Majesty, this is Wudang Millennium Ganoderma Lucidum, Raw Polygonum Multiflorum, Chuanxiong, Chinese Angelica, Atractylodes..."

Liu Zhaosun placed the elixir in front of his nose, which was sharper than a dog's, and sniffed it carefully, determining that it was rich in mercury, heavy metals, sulfur, arsenic and other deadly medicinal materials.

He wondered whether the Taoist priest was offering medicine or plotting assassination.

"Come here, take down the assassin!"

Zhang Dong and others rushed forward like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

The retired emperor defined this incident as a great disrespect to the gods and the country of Qi, and a serious crime of treason. He used this as an excuse to massacre Taoists. Thousands of Taoists were implicated and either executed or arrested and imprisoned.

Part of the First Corps had completely controlled the entire city of Junzhou. Then the pacification troops entered and began to search the city. They arrested the rebels in an orderly manner, interrogated them hastily, and then escorted the prisoners to the Longshan Pagoda in the southeast of the city and executed them in public.

Qilixia (Shaoshuikou), southeast of Junzhou City, stands the Longshan Pagoda, also known as the Wenbi Pagoda, perched on the northern cliff overlooking the river. Built during the Jiajing reign, it remains as ancient as ever. Facing Canglang Pavilion across the water, it faces south, nestled against a backdrop of steep, undulating mountains. Clouds shroud the peaks, mist shrouds the peaks, and the water is shrouded in mist, creating a vast expanse. Whenever a drizzle falls and the mist thickens, the clouds blend with the trees, the peaks rise like dragons' heads, the mountain resembles a colorful dragon in the mist, and the pagoda resembles a mirage, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland.

"Misty Rain on Longshan Mountain" is one of the eight scenic spots in ancient Junzhou. It refers to a peculiar natural landscape occurring on Longshan Mountain. Whenever the weather is about to change, wisps of smoke will rise from Longshan Mountain, which indicates that rainy days are coming.

The "Junzhou Chronicle" records: "Rain is coming, and the wind is blowing in the building. In Junzhou, there is rain at Longshan Mountain."

The other seven scenes are: Clear Snow on Fangshan Mountain, Ancient Ferry under the Locust Tree, Green Water of Canglang Mountain, Late Green of Huangfeng Mountain, Wild Geese Landing in Lotus Pond, Moon Viewing from East Tower, and Clear Morning at Tianzhu Mountain.

In this era, if you pick any remote place, the literati and poets can make up eight scenic spots instead of ten through their fabrications.

When Chinese people look at mountains and rivers, they see the actual scenery, but they think about the artistic conception and the history and culture behind it.

Because scenic spots are famous for their literary value, many scenic spots like to fabricate various historical and celebrity anecdotes, just like the Canglang Pavilion, one of the eight scenic spots in Junzhou. In fact, it does not matter when it was built, but what matters is that Qu Yuan once wrote a poem here (Note 1).

Of course, more importantly, the Eight Scenic Spots of Junzhou were of great significance to the founding emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty. Liu Zhaosun spent his childhood beside the Yanluo Lotus Pond, one of the Eight Scenic Spots. Childhood memories will accompany a person throughout his life.

Therefore, when Emperor Wu Ding returned to his hometown one day, he did not pretend to be a monkey in a human crown like Xiang Yu, nor did he sing any Dafeng Ge like Liu Bang, as if he wanted to let everyone in the world know about his success.

Emperor Wu Ding wanted to give his hometown a new meaning and let the ancient city of Junzhou be reborn from the ashes.

This small city in northern Hubei, which has a history of thousands of years, has officially entered its darkest hour.

After the Taoists failed in their quest for immortality and fell into the abyss, a large number of Taoists, gentry, and clerks around Junzhou were arrested and imprisoned. They were tortured by the Suoyi Guards, and their lives were worse than death. ~~~~
"Your Majesty, why did you want to kill all these monks?"

These days, Jin Yuji has gradually become accustomed to the cruelty shown by her husband.

However, today, seeing my husband attacking this group of kind-looking monks, I really couldn't bear it.

The Empress Dowager Cisi's impression of Taoist priests mainly came from Taoist Master Zhang Yixing in the Daqing Palace on the outskirts of Shenyang. Taoist Master Zhang had profound magical powers, was kind-hearted and was truly a model of Taoism.

"The Empress Dowager doesn't know," Emperor Wuding patiently explained to Jin Yuji.

"This place is a royal temple, and even the surrounding mountains and forests are forbidden areas. Ordinary people trespassing are guilty of capital punishment. When I was young, I personally witnessed someone mistakenly entering the mountains and forests, being arrested and thrown into the county jail. He went in alive, but came out dead."

The man Liu Zhaosun was talking about was his childhood friend, a fearless shepherd named Tianxing. Because his family could not afford the fine, he eventually died of illness in the county jail. If he were still alive, he might have been the right-hand man of Emperor Wuding.

"You know, the people of Junzhou have three huge mountains weighing on their heads, pressing us down so hard that we can't breathe."

Emperor Wuding's eyes were slightly red. Jin Yuji realized her husband's mood change and quickly opened her beautiful big eyes to listen carefully.

"The civil servants sent by the court, the eunuchs sent by the emperor (stationed eunuchs), and the local garrisons. These masters are all more greedy than the other. They are in collusion with each other, not only embezzling incense money, but also exploiting the people."

Liu Zhaosun seemed to have returned to many years ago. He didn't care at all that he was already the emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty. When he mentioned the officials, Taoist priests and eunuchs in Junzhou, he gritted his teeth as if he was talking about the enemies who killed his father.

"In Junzhou, more than half of the land has been occupied by Taoist priests. As the imperial Taoist temple, the common people, in order to survive, either go fishing desperately on the Han River or become tenants for the Taoist priests. The Jiugong Taoist priests collect as much as 70% of the rent, which is comparable to that of the Yansheng Duke in Qufu who was cut into pieces by me."

"The common people were burdened with heavy rents and faced a difficult life. Every year, they had to perform various corvee labor, such as repairing Taoist temples and setting up ceremonies. Rich families hired people to do these tasks, but the poor, unable to make ends meet, had no choice but to flee the famine, often to the nearby mountains and forests of Jingxiang. Many people died along the way."

The so-called Jing and Xiangyang area refers to a large area located in the eastern part of Zhongnan Mountain, extending to Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain in the southeast, and Funiu Mountain in the northeast, at the junction of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces.

This area is densely forested and has fertile land, suitable for agricultural operations. It was one of the important granaries in Huguang at that time.

The Empress Dowager Cisheng heard the Emperor's voice tremble, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:

"Husband, what about your parents? Where were they at the time?"

Emperor Wu Ding was slightly taken aback. He did not expect Jin Yuji to ask this question:
"My parents sold everything they could at home and took my brother and me to Yunyang to escape the famine. They died of illness one after another. I buried them with a straw mat on a weed-covered path in the mountains of Yunyang."

"Just when I was about to die, I happened to meet my adoptive father who was heading south to suppress a rebellion. He took me in as a soldier. That was in the autumn of the 37th year of the Wanli reign..."

The long-forgotten memories were awakened again. The memories that were thought to have been forgotten suddenly became extremely clear at this moment, and played over and over again in front of Liu Zhaosun's eyes like a slide show.

"How old were you then?"

"Eleven years old."

Liu Zhaosun looked up at his woman.

"Jin Yuji, tell me, should I kill these parasites?"

"Deserves to be killed."

"I promised you I would take you boating on the Han River. Now that the Han River is right before our eyes, would you still like to ride on the boat with me?"

Jin Yuji looked up at the misty rain of Longshan Mountain, stained red with blood, over the Han River, and said without hesitation:
"willing."

Note:
1. Qu Yuan said: "I have heard that those who have just washed themselves must shake their hats and those who have just bathed must shake their clothes. How can one with a clean body accept the dirt of things? I would rather jump into the Xiang River and be buried in the belly of a river fish. How can one with a pure white body accept the dust of the world?"

The fisherman smiled, rowed his boat, and sang, "The waters of Canglang are clear, so I can wash my hat with them; the waters of Canglang are turbid, so I can wash my feet with them." Then he left without another word. —Li Sao

(End of this chapter)