Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 10 Zhu Zhanhe's Strategy for Governing His Fiefdom
An hour later, Zhu Zhanhe walked out of the Zen room slowly. At this moment, he felt a lot more relaxed, and it seemed as if a big stone had fallen from his heart.

"Teacher, I am back from meditation." Zhu Zhanhe bowed slightly to his teacher with a refreshed look and spoke. This time the old Taoist did not dodge.

"It seems the meditation has been quite effective. You've finally relaxed. Come sit down and I have something to tell you." The old Taoist priest looked at Zhu Zhanhe, who was clearly more relaxed than before, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stroking his white beard with his hand. After all, at such an old age, if he were to be oppressed by the dragon's aura again, he might as well meet the Taoist Patriarch!
"Teacher, please give me your instructions." Zhu Zhanhe walked to the teacher, poured him a glass of water, then sat down, poured himself a cup, then picked up the teacup and took a sip leisurely. Wow, it's so fragrant!

"Yanhe, although Taoism does not talk about age, I am already seventy-six years old this year. I have been in Chaotian Palace for six years. It is time for me to return to Longhu Mountain to serve the Taoist ancestor." The old Taoist priest took a sip of tea leisurely, put down the teacup, looked at Zhu Zhanhe's face, and said softly, his face full of sighs as he spoke.

In fact, when Zhu Zhanhe was meditating, the old Taoist had thought about it several times. He must run away. If he didn't run away, he would die in Shuntian Prefecture. This kid was born with the seeds of a dragon, but he has been enduring and not showing it. I'm afraid he will get into trouble soon. The Taoist cherishes his life very much, so running away is the best policy!
"Teacher, please don't go yet. Wait a moment. I still have a surprise for you." Zhu Zhanhe was stunned after hearing what the old Taoist said. He never thought that his teacher would want to run away. He originally wanted the old Taoist to show him the Alligator King.

"Surprise?! No, no, I'm old. I can't stand any stimulation. I need to keep a calm mind. Who knows, I can live a few more years." The old Taoist Zhang Zhengheng refused sternly, cursing in his heart. What surprise? I don't need it. I just want to live an honest life until I die. I don't want any surprises, no accidents, and then be killed by ten clans! I don't need any surprises! Not at all!

"Teacher, please wait for a moment. There is indeed something I need your help with." Zhu Zhanhe leaned forward and spoke sincerely.

But the more he said this, the more the old Taoist wanted to refuse. He was panicking. He thought to himself, is this kid going to rebel? No, I don't want to die yet!
"Tell me what the matter is. If it's important, I can stay for a while." The old Taoist priest felt weak when he saw Zhu Zhanhe who was about to salute him again. He thought to himself, no matter what you say, I will definitely say that this is not important. I, the old Taoist priest, will definitely run away!
"Teacher, if one day I could prove that what you've been pursuing your whole life actually exists, what would you do?" Zhu Zhanhe looked at his elderly teacher with some seriousness. He was ready to let his teacher see his own Alligator Dragon King! As long as he saw his Alligator Dragon King, the old Taoist priest would have nothing to say. In fact, he wanted to kidnap the old Taoist priest and take him to his fiefdom.

"What have I been pursuing all my life? What is it? What are you talking about, little kid?" Faced with Zhu Zhanhe's sudden serious words, the old Taoist priest was a little confused. His hand stroking his beard stopped unconsciously and he thought for a while.

"What are you proving? What are you proving?!" Suddenly, the old Taoist priest seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly jumped down from his chair, rushing to Zhu Zhanhe's side in one step. He was agile and like a young man, with an anxious look on his face. He asked loudly, and he didn't even notice that he was holding a handful of white beard that he had just pulled off.

What I have been pursuing all my life is the path to immortality. What can this kid prove? Can he prove that the path to immortality exists? It’s impossible, absolutely impossible. This kid is fooling me!
The old Taoist priest paced back and forth impatiently, telling himself in his heart that this was fake and that his student was fooling him. But he couldn't help turning his head from time to time to look at his student who was leisurely drinking tea and playing with the wooden Ruyi in one hand.

"Teacher, please be patient. It will take at most half a year and at most a year. Please be patient and I will discuss the outcome with you then. There will be no rush for you to leave then." Zhu Zhanhe slowly finished the tea in his hand, shaking the wooden ruyi in his hand, and gently comforted the anxious old Taoist priest, and said to the old Taoist priest.

After two consecutive long exhalation sounds of "Hu, Hu", the old Taoist priest felt a little nervous, and his excited mood finally calmed down.

"Yanhe, I'm so old, and you're still teasing me. Well, I'll stay for another year. Let's make it clear that no matter what happens in a year, I will leave. Don't use such words to stop me then." The old Taoist stared at the beard that was pulled off in his hand, his face full of heartache. At the same time, he kept glancing at Zhu Zhanhe secretly, trying to see something from his student's face.

But Zhu Zhanhe still looked calm and composed, drinking his tea leisurely, and nothing could be seen from him.

"Hmph, hurry back to your Prince of Han's Mansion. You've been out for almost two hours. Don't let your father come looking for me again. I don't want to see his black face." The old Taoist priest didn't see anything from his student. Like an old child, he looked unhappy and started to drive him away. However, Zhu Zhanhe was a little embarrassed about what the old Taoist priest said about his father coming to visit him. There were several times when he stayed in the Taoist temple for too long, and his father and mother were unwilling. So his father, Zhu Gaoxu, our Prince of Han, came over in person, with an unhappy face and full of provocation in his words, which made the old Taoist priest very dissatisfied. So basically from then on, Zhu Zhanhe would not stay in the Taoist temple for more than two hours each time.

"Teacher, I will take my leave now. I will come to see you again tomorrow." Zhu Zhanhe also saw that the old Taoist priest was unhappy and was trying to drive him away, so he prepared to leave without hesitation.

"No need. Don't come to me for no reason in the future. I have taught you everything I should teach you, but you don't learn the rest and keep running around aimlessly all day long." The old Taoist priest was still full of resentment because his student stopped talking halfway.

The old Taoist priest taught Zhu Zhanhe everything he should teach. In fact, Zhu Zhanhe only learned the Longhu Mountain internal energy training method. He did not learn anything else like talismans, fasting, and summoning gods.

"I am happy just seeing my teacher. I think being a Taoist priest is good. At least the health-preserving methods can make me live longer," Zhu Zhanhe explained to his teacher with a smile.

"Come on, Daoyan has good knowledge of Buddhism and is good at keeping fit. Why don't you go and tease him?" The unwilling old Taoist priest started to flatter again, his face full of disdain and his eyes rolled up to the sky.

“老师，说实话，就道家和佛家而言，我更喜欢道家，纵观古今，我只听说过灭佛的，还没听说过灭道的呢，说明道家惜身，这一点我就很喜欢，穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下，以我的身份而言，我想干嘛干嘛，多自在，再说了，当和尚不能吃肉，还要剃头，还不能娶媳妇，到时候我爹和我娘不得揍死我呀”朱瞻壑总算是说了一个正经的理由出来，让老道士很是满意。

"Tsk, everyone can say nice things, but after you get to your fiefdom, how do you plan to manage it and deal with the various schools of thought?" The old Taoist priest obviously wanted to test Zhu Zhanhe, and at the same time to test him, so he had a smile on his face, holding a cup of tea, and was looking forward to his student's answer.

"What's so difficult about this? It's very simple." Zhu Zhanhe looked relaxed and excited when he heard the old Taoist's question.

"Tell me about it." Seeing his student's spirited face, the old Taoist priest felt that even the air flowed more freely. Feeling a little nervous, he let his student continue to speak.

"Governance is simple: Confucianism as the exterior and law as the interior; farmers support the people, Taoists maintain health, Mohists promote agriculture, public transportation strengthens the army, military strategists guard the city, famous scholars lobby, yin and yang are used to measure the weather, vertical and horizontal scholars control the four directions, miscellaneous scholars understand practical affairs, and novels express people's sentiments. Anyway, they all have their own uses, and it's hard to say all at once!" Zhu Zhanhe said with relish. These modern rhetoric, which has long been prevalent, can be easily applied here, and his face was suddenly filled with joy.

　Aunt Xiu'er was a female official in the palace, in charge of the palace dining room, which was one of the eight dining rooms in the palace of the Ming Dynasty.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)