The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 750 A Spark
Like the evil gentry Jiang Tianxing, those pilgrims who came to worship the Zhenwu God had no respect for the impoverished royal relatives living in Fuzhen Temple.

The crimes committed by most of them in their lives are too numerous to list. If the emperor were still alive, every one of them would be executed by slow slicing.

Unfortunately, times have changed. Today, the Great Qi values culture and respects local tyrants and evil gentry, hoping that they will support the ruling order below the prefecture and county levels.

Although the eldest princess had never offended these people, this did not prevent everyone from taking advantage of her misfortune.

When pilgrims came down from the Golden Summit after burning incense and passed by Taizipo, they would throw stones at the Taoist temple and speak all kinds of obscene words to the princess when passing by Fuzhen Temple.

On the second day after Liu Yufei was exiled to Taizipo, the gate of Fuzhen Temple was painted with red words such as "witch", "get out of Wudang Mountain", and "you deserve to die".

Liu Yufei ordered her guard Zhao Xianxun to wash off the large red lacquer characters on the mountain gate, and then she walked slowly to the Feisheng Cliff next to Taizipo, where she could see the Han River in the distance amidst the misty clouds.

The eldest princess remained silent, with two maids following closely behind her.

"Junzhou is my father's hometown, but it is not the birthplace of my Great Qi. What a pity."

After cleaning the mountain gate, Zhao Xianxun came to the Ascension Cliff respectfully and stood carefully beside the eldest princess.

"Your Highness, it was all done by those pilgrims. They didn't want Your Highness to stay here."

Liu Yufei turned around. Zhao Xianxun didn't dare to look at her directly and quickly lowered his head to look at the ground.

"Xian Xian, in your opinion, should I leave?"

The guard didn't expect the princess to ask this question. He was stunned for a moment and stammered, "I don't know, but I heard that the chieftain of Chongqing is invading Yunyang. It would be better to return to Yunyang or go to Sichuan..."

The princess raised her arms and said firmly, "It is better to be still than to move. I am not going anywhere. I will stay in Taizipo, in Fuzhen Temple."

"But, Your Highness, I am worried,"

"What are you worried about?" Liu Yufei frowned.

"When the retired emperor built Tianxin City, he offended many local gentry. They are clearly here for revenge. If they dare to throw paint on us today, they might send someone to assassinate us tomorrow..."

The eldest princess said leisurely, "Qin Jianxun must have his own reasons for placing me at Taizipo. He is the general most trusted by my father, and my father will not make a mistake in him."

Zhao Xianxun did not have a good impression of the Fourth Corps, and he had no idea what Qin Jianxun's intention was in exiling them to this hellhole of a place called Fuzhen Temple. If there was any intention, it was definitely to humiliate the eldest princess.

"Zhao Xianxun, do you know how Taizipo got its name?"

"I don't know what will happen next."

The eldest princess recalled the story of how the Great Emperor Zhenwu cultivated himself to become an immortal, which her father had told her countless times when she was a child.

"Taizipo is the holy place where the Great Emperor Zhenwu cultivated himself, but he was not born here. He was born in the west of the sky, on the other side of the sea."

Liu Yufei pointed to the west.

Standing in front of Feishen Cliff and looking out, the Han River is like a jade belt, rushing down from the Daba Mountains in the Qinling Mountains, passing Xingtougang, reaching Hongfendu, and flowing eastward, winding through the mountains and ridges, and finally joining the Danjiang River in the southeast of Junzhou, which is Danjiangkou.

"Originally, there was a country called Jingle in the west. Its king was honest, its queen was kind, and the country was peaceful. One day, the queen was admiring the scenery in the imperial garden when she suddenly saw a golden light enter her arms. "From then on, she became pregnant and gave birth to a baby. The baby was born intelligent and aware of human affairs. Dragons and phoenixes danced, flowers bloomed, and the mountains and rivers rejoiced."

This was the first time Zhao Xianzhen had heard of the origins of the Zhenwu Emperor. Curious, he asked, "When I went up the mountain, I saw the Jingle Palace on the outskirts of Junzhou. Is this related to this?"

The princess nodded and continued to tell the story of Zhenwu Shen:

"Zhenwu was born intelligent, having read countless books and possessing a photographic memory. He was a tall and strong man, and had learned martial arts to great effect. People said he would be a great king in the future. However, he refused to inherit the throne, and instead sought a Taoist master everywhere, hoping to become an immortal and ascend to heaven."

Liu Yufei paused at this point, remembering her father. "One day, an immortal said to the prince, 'If you want to attain immortality, you must renounce lust, sex, wealth, and anger, and avoid the mundane world. Head east across the sea, and you'll find Mount Wudang, a perfect place for you to cultivate your Dao."

Father, it turns out that you were imitating the God of War, heading all the way east. Unfortunately, you didn’t go to Wudang Mountain in the end, but to Japan.

"So Zhenwu abandoned everything, sailed alone across the sea, and arrived at Wudang Mountain."

"The Queen was reluctant to let her son go. The Prince walked in front, and she followed behind, regardless of wind or rain, day or night, chasing him all the way to the slopes of Wudang Mountain. Seeing the Prince right in front of her, she shouted, 'Son, turn around!'"

Zhao Xianxun was fascinated by what he heard, and the two ladies also came over quietly.

"The Queen, anxious, ran faster and faster, closing in on him. She finally grabbed hold of the hem of his robe and refused to let go, insisting he return to the palace. The Crown Prince didn't want his mother to be sad, but he felt his cultivation was more important, so he refused to change his mind easily. So, he drew his sword, turned back, and gently struck the hem of his mother's robe, slicing it open. The Queen's grip missed, and she let go. The hem of his robe flew into the air, drifting on the wind until it landed in the Han River, becoming 'Big Robe Mountain' and 'Small Robe Mountain'."

When Liu Yufei mentioned the two place names, she pointed tremblingly at the Han River in the distance. Zhao Xianxun looked in the direction of her finger and saw that the legendary Xiaopao Mountain and Dapao Mountain were still standing there.

Father, you told me countless times that the small mountain village where you lived when you were a child was called Xiaopaoshan. I always thought it was Xiaopaoshan. Today, your daughter is finally here, despite being separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, but you have disappeared.

·······
"Zhenwu Sheng practiced diligently in front of Taizipo, sitting quietly from morning till night, motionless even as birds built nests, laid eggs, and hatched them above his head. A thorn grew from a small bush, passing through his feet, along his armpits, and out of his chest, blossoming and bearing fruit. He remained completely absorbed in his cultivation. He abstained from grains, and when his stomach and intestines became restless, he pulled them out and threw them away. These intestines and stomach, imbued with spiritual energy, later transformed into the Tortoise and Snake Generals."

On the ninth day of the ninth month, the sky is covered with auspicious clouds, heavenly flowers are scattered in the air, fairy music lingers in the woods, and the valley is filled with strange fragrance.

Zhenwu only felt that his chest was like crystal, spotless; his body was like flowing clouds, ready to fly away at any time.

He knew that he was about to ascend to heaven.

At this moment, a peerless beauty suddenly appeared before him, holding a golden plate and a jade cup, and nestled in Zhenwu's arms, she tenderly asked him to have some tea.

Zhenwu was unmoved by the woman. He drew his sword and shouted, "If you are a decent woman, you should be dignified and self-respecting. If you dare to act rashly again, I will kill you without mercy!"

The woman was frightened and ashamed, her face flushed red, she felt so embarrassed that she jumped off the cliff.

Zhenwu regretted his actions, feeling that he had forced someone to die. He believed that only by sacrificing her life would he be worthy of the merits of his forty-two years of cultivation. So, he jumped off the cliff. Unexpectedly, he was held up by five dragons, and he saw the woman standing on the clouds.

"My disciple has finally achieved enlightenment and become an immortal!"

Zi Yuanjun was very happy and led Zhenwu up to the Heavenly Palace. Later, this place was called "Feisheng Cliff".

Father, your journey to becoming an immortal is over, and Da Qi is almost over.

My story has just begun. In the past, the God Zhenwu practiced hard in Taizipo. Now it is my turn. If you are in heaven, please bless your daughter to survive this disaster.

~~~~
Junzhou was the hometown of the retired emperor, where Liu Zhaosun spent his long years before joining the army. However, unlike Liaodong, Junzhou did not become the foundation for the rise of the empire. On the contrary, the clans and gentry were powerful here. Since Emperor Guangde implemented the New Deal, Junzhou has not shown any signs of rebellion. Instead, it has actively supported the court's policies, becoming one of the "model areas" for the implementation of the Great Qi New Deal.

During the Retired Emperor's reign, the imperial court issued numerous decrees to reduce taxes and levies for the people of Junzhou, and the large-scale construction of Tianxin City transformed Junzhou Caodian, a relatively unknown port on the lower reaches of the Danjiang River, into a renowned port in the Jingxiang region, boosting the surrounding areas. Of course, all this changed after Emperor Guangde implemented his new policies.

"If the emperor were still alive, he would definitely arrest all these local tyrants and evil gentry and send them to Sakhalin Island to feed the horses!"

Imperial guard Zhao Xianzhen and guard Quan Chuhua stood guard at the gate of Fuzhen Temple, gazing resentfully at the pilgrims passing by on the mountain path.

Another drunken pilgrim passed by the gate of Fuzhen Temple and shouted inside under the influence of alcohol:
"I heard there's a beautiful lady from Beijing in the temple. Why is she hiding inside every day and refusing to see me? Is she hanging out with the Taoist priests?"

The servants around burst into laughter when they heard this.

Quan Chuhua drew his sword and shouted angrily, "If you dare to swear again, I'll cut off your tongue!"

When the pilgrim heard this, he was not afraid at all. Instead, he grinned and said:
"How dare a slave of a criminal dare to speak so arrogantly here! You are ignorant of your own life! My master He is a student of Junzhou Prefecture. He can crush you to death with just a flick of his finger!"

(End of this chapter)