National Division

Chapter 84 A Woman Rules the Country—It Is the Mandate of Heaven! (This chapter contains 3,000 words; please vote with monthly tickets!)
Qianyuan Hall, side hall—

The Empress turned her gaze to Shen Xian and asked, "Sir, you say that the inner law is based on the principle of 'law and sage,' but people say that the Legalist school is too harsh and cruel. For example, the Daxu dynasty of the previous dynasty abused its power by issuing excessive corvée labor and imposing severe punishments. After only two generations, it was abandoned by the people of the world. However, after our Great Jing Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, he reduced punishments and lightened taxes and corvée labor, thus creating the prosperous Hongxi era."

This is also why the Huang-Lao school of Taoism flourished during the Jing Dynasty, drawing lessons from the demise of the previous dynasty.

"Times change and the world changes; we must adapt to the times and not be bound by old ways or cling to outdated practices," Shen Xian said.

The princess looked at the young man, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a strange light.

As the eldest princess of the Great Jing Dynasty, she was passionate about governing the country, even while living in the palace.

Shen Xian said, “At the time of the founding of the country, the world was in turmoil and the people were impoverished. It was time to recuperate and rebuild, reduce taxes and levies, and let the rulers cherish the people’s strength. By adhering to the principle of non-interference and minimal disruption, the country could quickly recover its strength. But now, the Great Jing has been established for more than a hundred years. Powerful families and clans have formed their own independent territories. The people are not worried about scarcity but about inequality.”

In fact, even the Taoist classic "I Ching" does not say that one should stick to the ancestral laws without changing them. However, both national development and individuals have path dependence, as well as inertia of thinking and historical inertia, and it is not easy to turn back easily.

The teachings of Huang-Lao are indeed easy to learn but difficult to master.

Although he wouldn't do the kind of nonsense about old horse meeting Confucius, the methodology of the Book of Changes, stripped of mystical idealism, does indeed conform to dialectics. It can be considered a simple dialectics of the agricultural era, rather than the scientific and systematic dialectics of the industrial era.

The Empress's phoenix eyes flickered. These words coincided with her thoughts. She sighed and said, "The prime minister Lu Xiangxian once said that there is nothing wrong in the world. It is the mediocre who make trouble for themselves. I do not agree with this, so I dismissed him as prime minister."

Shen Xian said, “The Zhou rites used rites and music to educate people and clarify the hierarchy. However, the people of the world have different talents and moral character. Therefore, the laws should be enforced, the discipline should be strictly enforced, and leniency and severity should be combined. As the saying goes, ‘Those who are talented should not be subject to rites, and those who are punished should not be punished.’”

"Does the gentleman agree with these?" Upon hearing this, the Empress looked intently at the young man with her phoenix eyes beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows.

Shen Xian said, "The proper etiquette applies to commoners, while the proper punishment applies to high officials."

The Empress was slightly shaken upon hearing this, as it coincided with her own beliefs, and she could see from the boy's eyes that he was not trying to curry favor.

Shen Xian said, "When high officials break the law, they are punished the same as commoners!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress was overjoyed and said, "What you say is very true."

At this moment, Gao Yanfu said, "Your Majesty, it's time to serve the meal."

The Empress nodded and said, "Summon."

Meanwhile, the Princess Zhenguo in the palace looked at the young man and thought to herself, "No wonder Shen Muzhi is trusted by the Empress Dowager. Every word he says is exactly what the Empress Dowager wants."

……

……

Zhaowang Mansion

This is a prince's residence, with five courtyards in total, and it is brightly lit at this moment.

King Zhao, Yang Youxing, wore a purple-gold python robe, the robe of a prince, but no crown on his head; instead, a jade hairpin pierced through his hair.

At this moment, the empress's nephew sat on a rosewood armchair with his eyes slightly closed. Two maids behind him massaged his shoulders. As the maids' massage techniques varied in strength, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, like folds in a folding fan, would sometimes appear and sometimes disappear.

Yang Youxing was in his forties, with a robust build, fair complexion, a nose like a jade bridge, and a short beard. As he listened to the story with his eyes closed, he rubbed a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand back and forth.

On the central platform, a storyteller, dressed in a long robe, sat behind a table, holding a gavel, recounting the deeds of the founding emperor and the meritorious officials of the Qilin Pavilion in pacifying the world at the time of the founding of the Great Jing Dynasty.

Seated to the left was a bald monk with a face like a golden bell, wearing a red kasaya, with white eyebrows and a white beard. In the grand scene of Taoist rule, the appearance of a Buddhist monk felt somewhat incongruous.

His name is Faming, and he is the new abbot of Baima Temple. Alternatively, it can be said that Faming has been working tirelessly for the eastward transmission of Buddhism.

Behind Faming were two young novices, one fat and one thin, holding a wooden fish in one hand and prayer beads in the other, serving him on either side.

With the sound of the gavel, the first chapter was finished.

"Clap clap..."

Yang Youxing opened his eyes and clapped his hands gently: "Well said, here's a reward."

At this moment, the steward of the Prince's mansion instructed his servants to prepare some loose silver as a reward for the old man who was telling stories.

Yang Youxing turned to look at the red-robed monk sitting below him and said, "Master Faming must have met my Great Jing Emperor back then. What did you think of my Great Jing Emperor?"

That is to say, Yang Youxing was the Empress's nephew; otherwise, ordinary officials would never have dared to comment on Emperor Taizu of the Great Jing Dynasty in private.

The flickering candlelight was reflected in the monk Faming's eyes, and his voice was ethereal as he recalled distant events: "Back then, when I was traveling in the Central Plains, I once stayed in Xijing. I met Emperor Taizu with my master. My master said that purple clouds came from the east, turning into five colors, and that a tortoise and snake were sinking into the abyss, while a blue dragon was about to emerge."

“This man is truly a man of great talent and ambition, a man destined by Heaven,” said the monk Faming.

Yang Youxing picked up his teacup, took a sip, smiled, and asked, "Then Emperor Yang of the former Great Xu Dynasty, some say he dug the Grand Canal, connecting the north and south, and launched three campaigns against foreign tribes. Do you think he can be considered a man of great talent and strategy?" Faming coldly replied, "The last emperor of Great Xu was cruel and bloodthirsty. Those who obeyed prospered while those who resisted perished, just like Jie and Zhou."

Yang Youxing smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and said, "It's a pity that back then, the Buddhist sect still tried to bewitch the last emperor of the Great Xu. After the last emperor of the Great Xu was killed, they then assisted the Xia King and Xiao Qi."

Faming sighed, “At that time, the capital was in the hands of the Xia king and he also revered Buddhism. Xiao Qi was a powerful maternal relative of the emperor and could inherit his legacy. Our Buddhist sect, with its high virtues, did not understand the rise and fall of dragons and snakes on land, did not observe the flow of energy and tides, and went against the will of heaven, and was ultimately defeated.”

Yang Youxing gently twirled the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, his tone playful: "When Da Xu pacified Xiao Qi, the Buddhist sect secretly helped Xiao Qi, which made Da Xu resentful. As a result, the Taoist sect began to rise. It can be said that the Buddhist sect has failed every time."

"Amitabha Buddha." Faming chanted the Buddha's name, and a look of sorrow appeared on his old and frail face.

Yang Youxing waved his hand, and the maids behind him curtsied gracefully and all withdrew.

"The Empress Dowager does not object to the construction of the Mingtang, but she finds the claim of Maitreya's reincarnation absurd and unlikely to silence public opinion." As the maids left, Yang Youxing stood up as he spoke.

After all, this is a world of immortals. If you say you are the reincarnation of Maitreya, how could the Taoist sect possibly believe you?

In other words, this discourse might fool ordinary people, but it won't fool Taoist priests.

Faming picked up his prayer beads and said in a deep voice, "The reincarnation of Maitreya, the Pure Light Goddess, is a result of the Buddha's divination."

“Then let the Buddha cast another divination.” Yang Youxing said casually, walking over to a glass screen with his hands behind his back, where three paintings were hanging.

On the left is a painting of an old man with a topknot, dressed in hemp clothing and straw sandals, riding backwards on a blue ox, holding a book, with ancient and stern eyebrows and a profound expression.

Amidst the rolling hills, auspicious clouds gathered and white cranes fluttered gracefully. Not far away, a crowd of people carrying banners and holding long halberds stood, with the leader wearing a golden crown and yellow cloak, seemingly an emperor reluctantly seeing them off.

The Painting of the Supreme Lord Leaving the Pass

Beside it is a poem by Ouyang Chengqing, a famous calligrapher of this dynasty: "Purple mists fill Hangu Pass, a blue ox carries the road back. A thousand officials bid farewell to the imperial palace, a single seal is bestowed upon the world."

In the center is a fat monk sitting on a lotus cushion, with a halo of light behind him. His face is kind and his appearance is solemn. On both sides are arhats, some lying down and some standing, some laughing and some sad, holding incense, flowers and treasure vases, each with a different expression and lifelike appearance.

This painting was done by Yuchi Yiseng (a native of Khotan). He was skilled at painting Buddhist and Taoist figures, and his brushstrokes were tight and vigorous, like coiled iron wire, fine yet orderly.

He was a contemporary equal to Yan Henian, one of the six great painters who founded the Great Jing Dynasty and was skilled in portrait painting.

Below the painting, a group of believers kneel and listen to the Buddha's sermon, while amidst auspicious clouds are magnificent temples, palaces, and pagodas, a truly breathtaking sight.

On the slightly yellowed paper was inscribed a famous poem by Du Zhengyan, a renowned prime minister of the founding of this dynasty: "Golden bricks build the Buddhist palace, jade tiles adorn the cloud-capped peaks. The fields of merit yield not a single grain of rice, compassion is the only tax."

There is another picture of a jade chariot pulled by four dragons. Inside the chariot, there seems to be a Taoist priest holding a jade ruyi, with a yin-yang symbol behind his head and an ancient-style long sword on his lap. Beneath his two white eyebrows, his eyes are narrow and look down on all living beings.

Beside it... well, there's no inscription.

“Neither Taiqing nor Yuqing will stand idly by.” Yang Youxing looked down at the Taoist holding a jade ruyi and a long sword across his knee, his gaze solemn and his tone full of worry.

As a martial artist at the Martial God Realm, I am neither a frog in a well nor a mayfly in the water. How could I not be wary of the profound immortal forces of Taiqing and Yuqing?
Faming's voice was booming, and he said in a deep, resonant voice, "A woman ruling the country is the will of Heaven! Taiqing may not question it, but Yuqing cannot defy it, especially since there is also the support of fellow Daoist Shangqing."

"I hope everything goes well." Yang Youxing remained silent for a moment, but his heart was shrouded in gloom.

Perhaps it was because he had reached the fifth realm of martial arts and his mind was connected to the divine, but he always felt that the Buddhist sect was somewhat unlucky, with a kind of bad luck where whoever supported it would suffer misfortune.

However, in order for the diva to ascend to the throne, they had no choice but to cooperate with her.

Yang Youxing turned around and looked at Faming: "Three months from now, Yuqing will be discussing the Dao with Si Di of the Vermilion Bird Division. Master, you might as well go and take a look."

“If I go there, I fear I will become the target of everyone’s criticism,” Faming said.

Yang Youxing thought for a moment and then said, "Then Master, please make preparations soon and come with me to pay homage to the Empress Dowager. The reconstruction of the White Horse Temple cannot be delayed."

Sending a Buddhist messenger to the Heavenly Empress to bring back statues of Buddhas and Arhats to the Central Plains—I'm afraid Yuqing would want to tear him to pieces.

Yang Youxing smiled to himself, but didn't take it to heart.

A wise man should act with the wind and clouds, and change like a dragon or snake. What is there to fear about thorns and brambles?
Just as the two were talking, Ji Hong, the chief clerk of the Prince's mansion, hurried over and reported with his hands clasped: "Your Highness, Lord Zhou from the Court of Judicial Review has arrived, saying that he has important matters to discuss with Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, King Zhao's face showed a surge of doubt, and he asked, "What is he doing here at this time?"

Faming, standing to the side, clasped his hands together and said, "Since Your Highness has a guest, this humble monk will take his leave first."

King Zhao gestured for Faming not to move, and said with a smile, "Master, please wait here for a moment. I will be right back."

With that, accompanied by Ji Hong, the chief secretary of the Prince's residence, they went to the outer study.

(End of this chapter)