Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 387 The Theory of Destiny and Fate
"In addition, my brothers from the Cangyun Army and I have unexpectedly discovered something strange."

"Oh?"

"What's strange?"

After suppressing the surging killing intent in his heart, Xue Zhi calmed down and said, "Nurhaci and his people regard the people of our Great Ming as grain and sheep. They once said that he was doing this in accordance with the will of Heaven. Even if we slaughter them all, his descendants will still overthrow the Great Ming and take over the Central Plains."

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

A cold laugh appeared on Zhu Jinzhen's lips: "Following the will of Heaven, the talk of future generations?"

"Yes!"

Xue Zhi nodded affirmatively, but showed a hint of doubt: "Moreover, after failing to get an answer by pressing him, I tried to search his mind and soul, and found that Nurhaci was not lying, but was very certain about it."

"Among the Jurchen shamans of his lineage, someone once divined for him that he vaguely saw more than one scene of a dynasty called 'Man' entering the Central Plains and ruling over the nine provinces of China."

"Manchu? Qing?" Zhu Jinzhen narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them. He had no doubt about Xue Zhi's words, because in a normal historical later period, this dynasty would indeed have appeared.

As the founder of the dynasty, Nurhaci was able to vaguely glimpse his future destiny through certain means by the Jurchen shamans, and their methods were indeed extraordinary.

However, in the world of martial arts, with the five great powers of Sui, Ming, Song, Liao, and Yuan coexisting and numerous consequences arising, since the Manchu Qing dynasty did not appear, it could never have had any chance of appearing again.

Even if the world of martial arts were to allow it to appear, Zhu Jinzhen would make them understand what it means to destroy a country in a day, what it means to wipe out a family and exterminate ten generations of their clan.

Zhu Jinzhen concealed the dangerous glint in his eyes and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Your Highness, afterwards I ordered my men to capture that Jurchen shaman, but according to his confession, his shamanic skills were not proficient, and it was impossible for him to have such a strong belief in Nurhaci's future destiny," Xue Zhi replied truthfully, and recounted how the Jurchen shaman had repeatedly claimed that his magic was merely a mixture of Taoist arts, XZ, Mongol Yuan, and other shamanic and江湖 (jianghu) terminology.

In short, the Jurchen shaman whom Nurhaci regarded as an honored guest, although possessing some skills, did not have many.

If this weren't happening in Liaodong, but rather in the Central Plains, he'd basically be a conman.

They have no ability to divine the future or predict destiny.

After Xue Zhi finished speaking, he sighed with a strange expression: "I even forced him to confess through words and actions, and ordered the secret guards to search his mind and soul again, but the result was still the same. Yet Nurhaci was convinced that he was truly guided by the Mandate of Heaven, and indeed everything went smoothly after that, as if he were blessed by the heavens. This further fueled his belief that his descendants would surely establish a dynasty no weaker than the Ming Dynasty, and that the Ming Dynasty would even perish at the hands of his descendants."

"And that Jurchen shaman indeed didn't have that much ability."

"This is one of the strange things I have encountered."

Changsun Wangqing, who was standing to the side, frowned slightly upon hearing this. According to Xue Zhi's report, this matter was really contradictory. If that Jurchen shaman was a charlatan, how could Nurhaci be so certain about the fate of the Ming Dynasty and the future?

Zhu Jinzhen seemed to sense Changsun Wangqing's confusion and Xue Zhi's bewilderment, and explained calmly:
The concept of "luck" has always been mysterious.

"So-called destiny is nothing more than human fortune plus a bit of divine favor."

"If Nurhaci is truly as you say, Xue Zhi, he is indeed tainted with some destiny and luck. If you hadn't marched north and given him more time, perhaps even a pseudo-hidden dragon destiny would have been formed."

"This is the strange thing you find so puzzling: that Jurchen shaman clearly didn't have much real skill, yet Nurhaci seemed to see the future and for a period of time seemed to have divine assistance."

“The Jurchen shamans naturally do not have that ability.”

"but……"

Zhu Jinzhen looked up and saw that the sky outside the Wenhua Hall was clear and blue, no different from the past and present. His gaze seemed to meet something in the darkness, and he said softly, "Heaven and earth are acceptable."

“When the time is right, heaven and earth lend a hand; Nurhaci’s feeling was not wrong.”

"He does indeed seem to have some destiny."

With the mastery of the methods of governing dynasties and the study of the Heavenly Emperor's divine conferment techniques, Zhu Jinzhen's understanding and comprehension of the theory of fortune and various aspects of celestial fortune increased rapidly day by day.

"Your Highness, the concept of destiny is a vague and unfounded belief."

"Words about fate are mostly fabricated by people; how can they be taken seriously?" "Yes."

Zhu Jinzhen sighed, opened his hand, and a dreamlike purple-gold dragon swirled and circled in his palm: "In the past, I didn't believe in fate, nor in the concept of destiny or fate."

"Because I have personally crushed many so-called destinies."

"The idea of ​​a protagonist's destiny or a hidden dragon in the abyss is utterly ridiculous to me."

"I don't believe in fate, I only believe in power."

"Absolutely powerful, absolutely invincible power."

"but……"

"Although I don't believe in this thing, it truly exists!"

However, the world of martial arts is not like those powerful worlds. In addition, the world background of the world of martial arts is chaotic, with protagonists of various eras, protagonists of destiny, and protagonists of fate living in the same world, which greatly weakens the power of so-called destiny.

That's why things like luck and destiny aren't as powerful as they are in novels and tales of the strange.

Changsun Wangqing and Xue Zhi seemed to understand but not quite.

The concepts of luck and destiny are rather distant for pure military generals like them.

Zhu Jinzhen smiled, not elaborating further. There was plenty of time; the two of them would naturally understand when the time was right. He looked at Xue Zhi: "You mentioned one of the strange things earlier, could there be something else strange?"

"When I led the Cangyun Army to annihilate the Jurchen tribes, one of my soldiers reported that he had vaguely seen a cluster of palaces, but I searched the vast mountains and the black soil of Liaodong and could not find them anywhere." Xue Zhi frowned as he spoke of this matter: "I am confident in my strength, and I can find anything within a hundred miles with a single thought."

"Even if it is a mirage or a dream, it cannot deceive this humble general."

"But there, I have a feeling that exists between truth and falsehood, invisible to the naked eye and unknowable in the interaction between heaven and man, yet it is also extremely real."

Upon hearing Xue Zhi's words, Zhu Jinzhen and Changsun Wangqing exchanged a glance, both showing curiosity.

Xue Zhi was the deputy commander of Cangyun. His strength was among the strongest under Zhu Jinzhen, almost on par with Changsun Wangqing and others. They were all beings who surpassed the celestial beings on the land.

Logically speaking, let alone mirages or illusions, even if Phagpa were to be reborn and use his earth-shattering magic to pull Xue Zhi into a spiritual cycle, there would be no way he could be fooled.

Even if Li Changsheng, the headmaster of the Northern Academy, who had previously met Zhu Jinzhen, were to personally come, it would be impossible for him to do this.

But unfortunately...

Xue Zhi was troubled by this.

It's truly unbelievable.

Zhu Jinzhen's eyes flickered, and a variety of guesses instantly surfaced in his mind.

He considered several very bold possibilities.

This is also the guess that most likely fits the part that Xue Zhi found strange.

However, with so many things to consider, it's impossible to be certain in a short time.

"you……"

"Fine, I'll go myself."

"Please wait here for a moment, I have some suspicions that I want to confirm."

With that, Zhu Jinzhen, his face grave, flicked his sleeve, and his figure vanished from the Wenhua Hall in an instant.

(End of this chapter)