Quick Wear: Random Cheats

Chapter 213 Extra Chapter – Famous Figures During the Yonghe Era, and the Fate of Emperor Yonghe

With the premiere of the long historical drama "Emperor Yonghe", not only have the actors related to the plot frequently trended on social media, but related historical figures have also been constantly trending.

#A Detailed Look at Historical Figures During the Yonghe Era#
Besides Emperor Yonghe, the most famous should be the sisters, the Goddess of Agriculture and the Goddess of Medicine.

Their achievements can truly be described as saving countless lives, and they were also the founders of modern agriculture and modern medicine. Most remarkably, their origins cannot be traced back at all; they are only said to be descendants of Shennong, who came to assist the sage emperor in creating a prosperous era.

I've always felt that Emperor Yonghe was embellishing his own image, but their achievements were indeed real.

The Goddess of Agriculture and the Goddess of Medicine are truly amazing. It feels like they descended to earth specifically to complete a mission. On their first appearance, they were directly received by Emperor Yonghe.

He was later appointed as Grand Minister of Agriculture and Grand Minister of Medicine.

This is an official position that has been abandoned for nearly a thousand years.

Moreover, the fact that they gained Emperor Yonghe's trust so easily and were entrusted with important responsibilities by him makes it seem like they had known each other for a long time, rather than meeting for the first time.

It's like they're acting together.

The departure was also quite interesting.

They are two goddesses, as clearly recorded in historical texts, who, after ten years of preaching and teaching, declared their merits complete and ascended to heaven. They left no offspring, as if they were born into the mortal realm solely to perform this purpose.

[During the reign of Emperor Yonghe, quite a few female deities emerged. Besides the Goddess of Agriculture and the Goddess of Medicine, there were also the Goddess of Flowers and Fruits, and the Goddess of Wealth, Xue Yuanjun. These were the four most famous. There were also many lesser-known ones, such as the Goddess of Morning Dew and the Goddess of the Vast Ocean...]

[Every time I hear the name "Flower and Fruit Goddess," I can't help but chuckle. I always get the illusion that she's the Earth Goddess of Flower and Fruit Mountain.]

It's the same story; it's all Journey to the West's fault.

[It's all your fault for omitting too much; just read the full title, "The Abundant Harvest of a Hundred Flowers and Fruits, the Goddess of Prosperity."]

Seeing how they can be hailed as legends makes me feel indignant for today's researchers. They develop better varieties with higher yields, yet they remain unknown. Forget about being hailed as legends by later generations; many of them probably won't even get a place in history.

[If we really judge by your logic, the inventions of the ancient Suiren and Shennong are far inferior to those of modern people. Does that negate their achievements and make them unworthy of recognition? That's ridiculous!]

Indeed, the significance is different. When everyone is starving and people are dying every year, developing high-yield, high-quality crops that can satisfy the basic needs of the vast majority is the greatest merit, a true act of kindness in times of need. However, when everyone is well-fed, developing crops with even higher yields or better taste is at best an added bonus; naturally, there is a difference.

The historical records from the Yonghe era are as fantastical as magic books, including accounts of these empresses' achievements. To be honest, when I saw that the historical records explicitly stated that Emperor Yonghe himself said that the Flower and Fruit Goddess Lin Daiyu's previous life was the Crimson Pearl Fairy, and that the Goddess of Wealth Xue Yuanjun's previous life was a spirit from some celestial realm, I really felt like I wasn't reading a history book, but rather a novel like *The Romance of the Flowers in the Mirror*.

What is *The Romance of the Flowers in the Mirror*?

[An ancient Chinese novel about a fairy and a host of other flower fairies who violated heavenly rules and were banished to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations.]

I vaguely remember that after Wu Zetian became empress, she issued an edict requiring all flowers to bloom. As a result, all the flowers bloomed except for the Peony Fairy. As a result, Wu Zetian banished the peony to Luoyang.

The Flower Fairy and the Hundred Flower Fairy were banished to the mortal realm for violating heavenly rules; there were a total of one hundred of them.

I can't remember exactly, look it up yourself if you're interested...

Anyway, it seems there's a scene involving female examinees.

Let's stop discussing deities; if we keep going like this, it'll veer off into a supernatural tales group.

Since we've already mentioned the Flower and Fruit Goddess and Xue Yuanjun, we must also mention another famous figure who is related to both of them: Zen Master Baoyu.

It seems that Buddhism has included him in the ranks of Arhats.

I remember someone calling it the Jade Arhat.

I do know this Zen master; some people even group him with Ji Gong, the Arhat who subdues dragons. However, he doesn't have many stories about exorcising demons, and I haven't heard of any famous works that have been passed down. I think he was just very lucky. On one hand, Emperor Yonghe said that he was the reincarnation of Shenying Attendant, and on the other hand, his two cousins ​​were both accomplished and almost married him.

That's how he benefited and gained some attention.

This led many people to believe that he was actually a Zen master.

The Buddhist community also included him in the genealogy of Arhats.

[After careful recollection, I really can't think of any merits that Arhat Baoyu had, not even fabricated feats of subduing demons. Before becoming a monk, he also took several concubines and fathered two sons and a daughter, which is quite hard to believe.]

I do know that. In fact, the Jade Arhat had no reputation before his death. He became famous after his cremation, when dozens of relics were found in his body. He was then deified, and the Buddhist community quickly recognized him as the Jade Arhat.

There is even a stupa built specifically for him.

They enshrine a portion of his relics.

Last year, there was a descendant of Baoyu who, whether due to an argument or being questioned, stole a relic from his family because it was believed to be fake, and had it authenticated by an institution.

Finally, it was found to contain a large amount of unknown substances.

It sparked heated discussions for several days.

I vaguely remember someone saying that relics were simply stones that couldn't be burned away, crystallized glass, and they even used the example of the Jade Arhat, saying that he produced a large number of relics after being burned, implying that he had countless stones in his body. Then, a somewhat hot-blooded descendant of the Jade Arhat got angry, stole a relic from his home, had it appraised, and then published the appraisal report.

However, no official conclusion was reached on this matter later.

On the contrary, the price of the relics of the Jade Arhat has skyrocketed.

I heard that his family sold a finger relic for a whopping 360 million. Sigh, their ancestor burned a relic, which can bless future generations with wealth and prosperity hundreds of years later.

I don't even know where my ancestors' graves are...

[I strongly suspect this is a publicity stunt.]

The three heroes of the Shi family can be considered historical figures during the Yonghe era: Shi Xiangyun, Shi Mu, and Shi Zhong. All three were great generals who had made great contributions in conquering countries. Shi Xiangyun led troops to completely destroy the Nanyue Kingdom, Shi Mu led troops to destroy the Xi Kingdom, and Shi Zhong destroyed the Beichang Kingdom. They were a family with five marquises.

Because of Shi Mu's father and Shi Zhong's father.

They were all marquises, their military achievements were truly outrageous.

Compared to a family producing five Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), a family producing five Marquises is even rarer. There has never been one before, and I doubt there will be one after. Of course, I'm referring to those who were not of royal lineage and earned their titles through their own abilities and military achievements!

[After careful analysis, I found that those whom Emperor Yonghe identified as either immortals descended to earth or reincarnations of celestial spirits, who were unmarried and did not return to family life after marriage, generally achieved considerable success. Those who settled down to domestic life after marriage seem to have all faded into obscurity.]

Oh, what a pity...

There seems to be one exception: Jia Xichun, who was unmarried and became a nun. According to historical records, she concocted elixirs and died from them. However, it's unclear what preservatives were in those elixirs, or what happened, but her body remained incorrupt for decades after her death. She was considered to have achieved immortality through "corpse liberation," and her body was even worshipped as a golden statue.
However, it's not very famous; it's only well-known locally.

[I suppose that's not an exception, since at least there's some record of it? The rest of the married women, there's not even any historical record of them. For example, my ancestor was the legendary Jia Yingchun, but our family knows practically nothing about her. The only record we have is a short line in our family genealogy, stating when she married into the family, when she died, and how many children she had.]

Please, can you guys stop being so gossipy and boring? The celebrities you're talking about are just those mentioned briefly in unofficial or official histories. There are 128 people listed in the official histories during the Yonghe era. If you're going to list historical figures from the Yonghe era, shouldn't you include them? For example, Du Weiwu, who destroyed India and guarded it for thirty years, turning it into a granary; or Ji Ming, who developed a large number of new firearms, allowing the nomadic peoples of the grasslands to sing and dance.

Their experiences may not be particularly legendary.

But their achievements cannot be erased.

With the guidance of some interested individuals, the discussion gradually got on track, and people began listing famous figures whose biographies appeared in official histories. However, the level of discussion and popularity declined significantly as a result, since most people don't take these exams, and who wants to read dry and boring historical records? Official histories are nowhere near as interesting as unofficial histories.

As a result, many people are keen on gossip discussions.

Ultimately, they chose to continue in a different location.

#A Review of Unofficial Histories from the Yonghe Era#
[Among the unofficial histories of the Yonghe era, the most discussed subject is probably Emperor Yonghe himself. Even the official historical records seem like unofficial accounts. After all, what historical record mentions an emperor regaining his youth due to auspicious omens? That's too far-fetched.]

【You can't blame unofficial histories. The key is that Emperor Yonghe himself was rather abstract, and his daily actions offended too many people, leading to countless rumors.】

Moreover, he was the longest-lived emperor in history.

It's normal for there to be a lot of unofficial historical anecdotes.

To this day, I still can't understand how Emperor Yonghe lived to be 128 years old, and how he was ultimately struck by lightning and killed, turning to ashes without leaving a trace. Otherwise, with today's technology, we could easily examine his remains and determine his exact age at death, unlike now where there are so many mysteries surrounding him.

Some even suspect that he was already dead long ago, and that a large number of body doubles were impersonating him to keep him alive.

It's a real pity about Emperor Yonghe. He spent over eighty years successfully unifying the country, not just the country in the old sense, but the entire country. He conquered almost every inhabited place.

This is an unprecedented achievement.

There's no problem with calling him the master of the planet.

But just as he was offering sacrifices to Heaven, he was struck dead by lightning. Immediately afterward, the newly unified empire quickly fell apart, and even the Imperial Seal of the State disappeared under the lightning. This led people to say that he had attempted to establish a Heavenly Court, defying Heaven, and was thus struck down by the heavens.

Having lost the favor of Heaven, even the Imperial Seal of the State disappeared.

The world could have been unified under one country; what a pity, what a terrible pity!

……

At roughly the same time, the five-colored stone fragments, or perhaps the Imperial Seal of the State, finally awoke from their slumber and recovered from the injuries they had sustained hundreds of years ago due to the divine punishment inflicted by Emperor Yonghe.

That's right, the unofficial historical records are actually correct.

Unlike official histories, which conceal the faults of rulers and sages.

Emperor Yonghe was struck by lightning and died.

The development path planned with Ding Shui's help went very smoothly in its early stages. Relying on its absolute technological advantage, Emperor Yonghe unified the world in just about eighty years. He also enfeoffed all his meritorious descendants, as well as other meritorious members of the royal family and meritorious officials.

Then proceeded according to the original plan.

To establish a humane dynasty and unite the world with the Dao, thereby becoming both the ruler of the humane dynasty and the ruler of the world.

Just in case, and for the good of the people.

Ding Shui deliberately left some hidden tricks in the methods he taught Emperor Yonghe. If Emperor Yonghe followed Ding Shui's plan completely, although he could live as long as heaven and earth, he would be subject to certain restrictions and constraints.

He will be affected if the world is damaged; if the world is severely damaged, he will feel very uncomfortable, as if he were seriously ill.

The people are dissatisfied and resentful.

He will be consumed by resentment and unable to sleep all night.

In short, Ding Shui deepened his connection with the world and its people, urging him not to become unrestrained or reckless after achieving immortality. He had to protect the world's environment and ensure the happiness and well-being of the vast majority of people; otherwise, even if Emperor Yonghe achieved immortality, it would be an immortality fraught with torment.

It's like urging him to be a good emperor.

After all, if there were no constraints, and he gained immortality and supreme power, he could act recklessly and the lives of ordinary people would be even more difficult. That would all be Ding Shui's fault, so she naturally had to be wary.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Seal's spiritual intelligence was aware of the situation and agreed to it. After all, as the most precious treasure of humanity's destiny in this world, it was deeply bound to the world and the life within it. If the emperor's reckless actions caused damage to the world or led to widespread suffering among the people, this precious treasure would also be harmed.

Restraining Emperor Yonghe was actually helping itself.

It has no reason to refuse.

Everything was fine at first, and the constraints set by Ding Shui were not strict. At least, it was unlikely that the dissatisfaction of three or five hundred people would make him uncomfortable. As long as he could maintain the current state, there would be no problem.

However, Emperor Yonghe had his own ideas.

He didn't want to be bound by this, and for the past few decades he had been subtly trying to learn more about the Imperial Seal from its spiritual essence.

They secretly altered the ritual during the sacrificial ceremony.

He wanted to take the opportunity to erase the spirit of the Imperial Seal and turn it into a magic weapon in his hands, but he didn't know that Ding Shui was actually thinking of him.

After all, he was an immortal monarch.

If there were no constraints, things would be chaotic.

Even the Jade Emperor is bound by the Heavenly Laws!

Most importantly, Ding Shui had already signed a relevant contract with the world's consciousness when the Imperial Seal of the State had just transformed into a divine artifact of human destiny.

This is Ding Shui's last trump card.

Now that Emperor Yonghe has arbitrarily altered the records, it's tantamount to breaching a contract, a contract with the world's consciousness. Isn't that courting death? So, it's only natural that he would suffer divine retribution during the sacrificial ceremony, his soul would be scattered and he would be reduced to ashes. Even the Imperial Seal of the State was severely damaged and had to be hidden away for hundreds of years to recover.

Fortunately, the status of the most precious treasure of humanity's fortune is still intact.

It will never die as long as humanity exists in the world.

It never expected to become an immortal, so it wasn't too disappointed with the current situation. On the contrary, it was quite interested in splitting its soul in two, with one part reincarnating to enjoy the convenient life of a mortal.

Another part uses the secret techniques left behind by Ding Shui to restore the world, extend its lifespan, restore the environment and ecology, and prolong the survival time of humankind.

As for what the future holds, who knows?
Let's just take it one step at a time!