Da Zaojun

Song Wuji received a letter from the prefect of Hongzhou. Seeing that the letter was written in a refined and literary style, he asked Tian Chenghuang to take a look.

After reading it, Tian Chenghuang said after a long while, "In the past, when one was an official, one could exploit the people's hard-earned money. Now, when one is an official, not only is there no money from the people, but one also has to be careful of demons attacking the city and rebelling. He is still more willing to come and join us."

"I just wanted a way out, a sense of righteousness."

"Only when you have a strong sense of righteousness will he respond to you. For example, in this alliance, what is his identity? A traitorous minister, a warlord in a chaotic world, or a hero who rises up in response from all over the land?"

Before becoming the City God, Tian Chenghuang was the magistrate of Taichang County, which was directly under the jurisdiction of this Prefect of Hongzhou.

He knew his superior somewhat, so he said, "All civil officials are like this; they need a title."

Song Wuji nodded: "It's good that you're willing to agree with us. I'm just afraid that at such a critical moment, there will still be internal strife and factional struggles."

Tian Chenghuang said, "At this time, factional strife is unlikely to occur. Factional strife requires a leader and two factions. There is no fertile ground for factional strife now, but there is fertile ground for seizing power. It is not just a saying that heroes emerge in chaotic times."

"And what about the general? What talents did he have? What achievements did he have? Who in history can he be compared to? What were his abilities? Did he know anything about soldiers?"

Tian Chenghuang shook his head: "I am not familiar with this general. I will ask him about it when the time comes. It sounds like a mere 20,000 troops were completely routed."

Song Wuji disagreed: "If it were ordinary, it wouldn't have been able to hold the city for so long, and it's also quite good that it was able to quickly mobilize three thousand soldiers."

"What about this City God?" Song Wuji asked Tian Chenghuang for his opinion.

Tian Chenghuang saw this very clearly: "He'll probably just side with whoever wins."

“If the demons show any signs of entering the city, he will definitely sacrifice the entire city in blood.”

“If the general and his men can hold the line, he will actually help them.”

“Now that we are here, he must be honest. He is still useful, so we cannot get rid of him, but we also cannot just let him go.”

Song Wuji thought this made sense: "Then let's write a proclamation to denounce the demons, explain the righteous cause, and give him a way out."

"I'm not good at writing either, so you should do it, Tian Chenghuang. I'll just stamp it later."

Tian Chenghuang agreed, and then asked about the establishment of officials.

"It's impossible to have both Lü Han and Chen Xiu keep up now; we need to cultivate new talent."

Song Wuji said, "When the prefect of Hongzhou arrives, let him step down and teach, and I will take over as the prefect."

"Lu Han's county school only has one ninth-rank Confucian scholar, and it is still unknown what the eighth-rank scholar will be like. Now he has turned to the Legalist way and has mastered all kinds of laws and regulations."

"Once you get to the prefectural school, it will definitely be a higher level. It has a rich cultural heritage and a strong tradition of passing on the spirit. If you can become a prefect, you must have been a second-class scholar in the imperial examination back then. It would be perfect for teaching."

Song Wuji still had high expectations for Confucian rituals. Many people from all walks of life were considered "people of the nine streams," and many rituals could only be performed up to the seventh rank.

Those who are stronger can achieve even higher levels. For example, the highest ritual of the Beggars' Sect, the God of Poverty, is only at the fifth rank, and one must later transform into the God of Wealth.

However, the traditions and rituals of the various schools of thought, especially those that produced "masters" or even "sages," can certainly go much further.

This applies to martial arts, Legalism, and literature.

Or perhaps Buddhism or Taoism, or some other religion.

In any case, some "humanistic spirit" is needed to resist barbarians and demons. Although Song Wuji scoffed at many things of Confucianism, in the current environment, amidst the contention of a hundred schools of thought, Confucianism and Legalism share the same origin, as do military strategy.

Tian Chenghuang also thought Song Wuji's idea was good: "Teaching is good! Teaching is good. Since ancient times, there have been many academies in Jiangnan West Road. This is a good thing. He will definitely agree to such teachings and actions of a sage." "I will come to you again after I have written the manifesto."

After Tian Chenghuang left, Song Wuji sought out Lin Fajing, the master of Tiezhu Palace. After setting up the feng shui formation in Taichang City and putting it into practice, Lin Fajing went back to seclusion to cultivate the Six Jia Qimen Great Golden Elixir.

Song Wuji stated his requirements for casting the tripod, and Lin Fajing's eyes lit up. He then said, "This humble Taoist has a method for governing the imperial court on earth."

"This method was originally spread throughout the world by the Great Luo Saint Venerable and left behind by the Heavenly Court to command all the heavens."

"It is a good match for the ruler of the territory. In the early stages, it is like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, where it is called a feudal state. Later, it is called a king, emperor, and emperor, rising step by step."

"If one can unify the human realm, one will have the merit of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, becoming the ruler of all under heaven, revered by all three realms. One will not only be an emperor of the human realm, but also an emperor of the Heavenly Court, and even establish an Earthly Court like the Heavenly Court."

"According to the theory of the Five Elements' rotation, the ruler of the realm is the element of fire, which descends to the south, representing the aspect of light, so it can transform into the Vermilion Bird."

"Including the evil dragon suppressed in the Red Pillar Fire Well, it was dispersed because of the Lord of the Realm. So it can be seen that the incompatible dragon and snake is just like the phoenix singing in Qishan and the black bird being born in Shang in the past."

"Since we are going to cast a tripod, we need this Taotie in its true form. Although Taotie is a ferocious beast, it has the ambition to devour the world, which is truly magnificent."

"This gluttonous beast is just what I need."

"But it's not enough to just have Taotie; we also need the sun and moon, the four seasons, and the stars."

Lin Fajing's suggestion was very professional, and Song Wuji was also very interested: "Then how should we establish a dynasty?"

"First, let the Weaver Girl weave a blank decree."

"It is printed with the ready-made seal of the Human Way."

"The cauldron possesses the power to swallow rivers and mountains."

"Then an altar for heaven and earth was set up, and a vow was made to restore the order of the human world, so that the fortunes of heaven and earth would be in harmony, and that all the ancient sage kings, great sages and virtuous men, and the ancestors of humankind throughout history, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, would provide external assistance."

“In this way, one will possess great righteousness, fame and honor, destiny and fortune.”

"Most importantly, it can activate secret realms."

Upon hearing this, Song Wuji asked, "How do I activate the secret realm?"

"Once you have the Secret Realm Token, it is essentially the same as the blessed lands and grotto-heavens under the rule of the Heavenly Court. You can bestow titles upon the grotto-heavens and blessed lands."

"It's the same now; we can use the secret realm as a foundation to suppress the inescapable net."

"Seventh-grade demonic realms and sixth-grade ones can be blessed lands, and can be granted the title of Blessed Land Master."

"As for the ninth and eighth ranks, they are the Spirit Mansions, the masters of the Spirit Mansions."

“Spiritual realms and blessed lands can be placed on the earth's net like chess pieces, serving as suppression and collecting the fortune and spiritual energy of the secret realms to nourish the center and gather in the cauldron.”

"In other words, this is another way of gathering the masses."

"At that time, the creatures of the secret realm will also be subjects of the ruler, and the faith of the secret realm will also be a matter of respecting the Holy King. Otherwise, it can be abolished with a single word. For example, our Iron Pillar Palace is the location of a fifth-grade grotto-heaven, so when it has the fortune of a third-grade human, it can be abolished. The Blessing Monk Secret Realm is a seventh-grade Buddhist kingdom, so it can be abolished with the fortune of a fifth-grade human."

(End of this chapter)