Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 407 Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi was chatting with Confucius when they suddenly heard a noise coming from the main hall. The two got up and went over to see if it was Little Fatty playing around.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, the door on the left suddenly slammed shut. Confucius reacted quickly, raising his large, fan-like hand to firmly block the door. The force of the blow made the person behind the door exclaim "Eh!"

Zhou Yi initially thought it was the chubby girl playing a prank, but upon hearing the strong, resonant male voice, he realized he was wrong.

At this moment, the person behind the door suddenly stepped back, causing Confucius to miss his target. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the other person slipped out from behind the door and threw a punch, which Confucius grabbed firmly. The two then began to grapple with each other across the Book of Changes.

Zhou Yi observed the newcomer and noticed that he was around forty years old, with a full forehead, regular features, and wearing the Ming Dynasty imperial robes. He couldn't help but ask:
"Are you an emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"

The other person jumped back, sizing up the Book of Changes and Confucius:
"You people from outside the secular world, since you know I am the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, why do you not kneel? Furthermore, why do you Taoist priests worship Buddha? Where is this place?"

His voice was strong and resonant, carrying a military bearing. Zhou Yi asked:

Are you Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Di?

Among the Ming Dynasty emperors who were good at fighting and lived past forty, it seems that only Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Di were capable of fighting. Zhu Yuanzhang started from scratch, while Zhu Di spent his whole life being the General Who Conquers the North.

Upon hearing Zhou Yi's words, the other party frowned and asked in confusion:
"You even know my fourth son's name? Who are you? Why are you mistaking me for my fourth son?"

Wearing the emperor's ceremonial robes, I was mistaken for the fourth prince instead of Biao'er. There seems to be a lot going on here!

Holy crap, Zhu Yuanzhang is here... Zhou Yi looked at Old Zhu, then turned to look at Confucius. This pair of the most bizarre contrasting groups in history actually arrived at Hunyuan Palace on the same day.

One was a mass murderer, known as a tyrant of all time; the other advocated benevolence and righteousness, and was revered as a teacher for all ages... What kind of fate brought these two together?

Zhou Yi put aside his interest in watching the spectacle and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:

"This is Hunyuan Palace, the place where immortals live. We know very well about your Great Ming Dynasty from its founding to its demise."

Zhu Yuanzhang simply didn't believe it:
"Gods can summon wind and rain, why don't you try?"

Zhou Yi directly activated the eighth-grade Wind-Drawing Technique, pointed outside, and a level five or six wind blew up in the courtyard, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang speechless with astonishment.

Of course, Zhou Yi was also surprised. The eighth-grade Wind-Summoning Technique could actually summon winds of level five or six. When it reached the seventh grade, wouldn't it be able to summon winds of level eight?

I wonder when we can summon a typhoon. If possible, let's arrange for one to be sent to countries like Japan and the Philippines, so that the typhoon can wreak havoc in their territory for ten days or half a month to experience the taste of life and bring the warm greetings of the Chinese people.

Confucius also took out the Confucian scholar's pen from his bosom and wrote the character "rain" in the air. Soon, a storm raged in the courtyard of Hunyuan Palace, giving Zhu Yuanzhang a glimpse into the world.

This whole operation completely stunned Zhu Yuanzhang. Confucius put away his scholar's pen and bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang.
"I have a request, and I hope that Emperor Zhu will not refuse."

Zhu Yuanzhang returned the greeting:
"What are your instructions, sir? If you can do it, I, Zhu Yuanzhang, will not refuse."

The gods can summon wind and rain, and they speak so politely, so naturally Old Zhu has to save face and not tarnish the name of the Ming Dynasty!

Zhou Yi was also curious about what Confucius wanted to ask Zhu for. At this moment, with wind and rain raging outside, the three of them simply sat on the prayer mats in the main hall and started chatting.

Confucius said to Zhu Yuanzhang:

"I humbly request Emperor Zhu to issue an edict to inform all students of the Ming Dynasty that the bloodline of the Kong family has long been replaced by the Jurchen and Mongol Tartars, the true Kong family line has died out, all honors of the Kong family should be stripped, and the Kong family's actions during the invasion of China by foreign tribes should be investigated... Your Majesty is skilled in using punishments, this matter should not be difficult, should it?"

It was indeed not difficult, and it even touched on Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. At the beginning of his reign, Kong Kejian repeatedly feigned illness to refuse to obey the imperial edict, showing him no respect whatsoever.

From that time on, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to eradicate the Kong family.

However, the fact that this person harbored such deep hatred for the Kong family piqued Zhu Yuanzhang's curiosity.
"May I ask your name and why you harbor such resentment towards the Confucius family?"

Confucius stroked his beard and said:

"I am Confucius. The Confucius family has committed too many evils, to the point of incurring the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people. Today I am fortunate to come to Hunyuan Palace and unexpectedly meet you. Perhaps this is a predestined fate."

Upon hearing the name Confucius, Old Zhu didn't immediately recognize it.

No, did I hear that right?

Asking me, an outsider, to wipe out your descendants... this... this isn't appropriate, is it?

The usually decisive and ruthless Zhu Yuanzhang was rendered indecisive by the Confucian sage. He looked to the Book of Changes, seeking verification of its truthfulness. The Book of Changes said:

"He really is Confucius. Hunyuan Palace has famous figures from all dynasties. Besides Confucius, there are also Huo Qubing, Chen Tang, Ban Chao, Li Bai, Guo Rong, Zhao Xu, Xin Qiji... We have been waiting for a Ming Dynasty person to appear, but we never expected that it would be you, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. What year is it now? How long have you been on the throne?"

Upon hearing those names that had shaken the ages, Zhu Yuanzhang gasped and answered honestly:
"It is now the second year of Hongwu. I have built a temple for meritorious officials on Jiming Mountain to enshrine the soldiers who shed blood and sacrificed their lives for my Great Ming Dynasty. I just finished offering incense and came here."

In the second year of the Hongwu reign, which was 1369 AD, the Ming Dynasty had just been established, and everything was in need of rebuilding. The Yuan Dynasty had not yet been completely eradicated, and Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and others were still fighting in the north. Thinking of Chang Yuchun, Zhou Yi said to Zhu Yuanzhang:

"If things go as planned, Chang Yuchun will die from a stroke in July this year. I will get him a peace talisman from the Emperor of Longevity. You must deliver it to him and have him carry it with him at all times. This will prevent any accidents from happening to him."

Every generation has its own Huo Qubing. The Huo Qubing of the Ming Dynasty was Chang Yuchun, who never suffered a defeat in his life, fighting in the south and north, and conquering in the east and west.

Zhu Yuanzhang was greatly surprised to hear that Chang Yuchun would die this year:
"He's two years younger than me, in the prime of his life, how could he..."

The sudden death of Chang Yuchun was tantamount to the loss of a great military commander for the Ming Dynasty, and even affected the course of the Ming Dynasty. In particular, Xu Da's defeat during the second Northern Expedition highlighted the importance of Chang Yuchun.

Although Chang Yuchun's brother-in-law, Lan Yu, later took his place, Lan Yu's abilities were still somewhat inferior to Chang Yuchun's, and their personalities were worlds apart. Ultimately, Lan Yu became the only general in history to be skinned alive and stuffed with straw.

Of course, Chang Yuchun died unexpectedly in history, but now with the intervention of Hunyuan Palace, he should live for another thirty years... In the future, generals of any dynasty will have to try to match the lifespan of Li Weigong.

Zhu Yuanzhang was still somewhat uneasy:

"Should I leave him in Nanjing to weather this storm first?"

Chang Yuchun's importance is beyond doubt. Zhu Yuanzhang would rather give him a year's leave than face Chang Yuchun's early death.

The Book of Changes says:

"With the Emperor of Longevity's amulet, everything is guaranteed to be safe. If all else fails, I'll personally extend his life... But let's make this clear first: he can live longer, but you'll have to wipe out a few small countries for me."

Upon hearing the words "annihilation of a nation," Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up:
"Which country do you want to destroy? I'll give the order as soon as I get back."

At this moment, Wu Zetian, holding a transparent umbrella, gracefully walked into the main hall:
"Master, it suddenly started raining. Are you and Confucius alright?"

Noticing Zhu Yuanzhang sitting below her, Wu Meiniang immediately transformed from a demure woman back into the head steward of the Hunyuan Palace:
"This is...the new guy?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, came from the Temple of Meritorious Officials at Jiming Mountain in the second year of Hongwu's reign... Zhu Yuanzhang, this is Wu Meiniang, the chief steward of Hunyuan Palace."

Zhu Yuanzhang blinked and tentatively asked:

"Is it Empress Wu Zetian?"

Wu Zetian nodded, took out a leaf from the tree of Emperor Gouchen, and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang:

“Since you came from the Temple of Meritorious Officials, all the civil and military officials must be there. You can go back now and tell them about your encounter with the immortals, so that they won’t directly recommend a new emperor.”

In the second year of the Hongwu reign, people's hearts were still unsettled, especially the literati, who were still nostalgic for the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang's sudden disappearance might cause some people to take advantage of the situation and cause chaos.

Confucius cupped his hands and said:

"I humbly request that the immortal master bestow upon Emperor Zhu a token, so that he may falsely claim to be an immortal and strike down the Duke Yansheng of the Confucian school, in order to set the record straight."

Zhou Yi sought to make up for the regrets of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to prolong Chang Yuchun's life, Wu Zetian considered the stability of the court, only Confucius was single-mindedly thinking about killing his own descendants.

Of course, at this time, it was hard to say whether the descendants of Confucius were actually direct descendants of Confucius, so it was better to wipe them out and get rid of them once and for all.

For most people, dying without an heir diminishes their good karma, but Confucius is different. If he died without an heir, his merit would increase dramatically... The more of these sycophantic people who fawn over foreign tribes die, the more merit they accumulate.

Wu Meiniang said "Wait a moment," then lifted the hem of her Taoist robe, held up her umbrella, and went to get the token.

Soon, she brought out a brass token and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang:

"This is a magical artifact made by the immortal. Holding this token, one can summon divine protection and divine lightning to strike down treacherous people. It can also make them swear an oath and fulfill their oath... Each time it strikes someone, it will deduct the immortal's merit, so do not strike indiscriminately. However, when something happens, there is no need to be stingy. If you should act, then act without hesitation."

Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the token with both hands and then inquired about the use of the leaves of the Gouchen Emperor. He was relieved to learn that he could return immediately after going there.

After bidding farewell to everyone and obtaining permission from the Book of Changes, he returned directly from the Great Buddha Hall to the Hongwu World of the Ming Dynasty, appearing in the Temple of Meritorious Officials on Jiming Mountain.

As soon as he appeared, he found himself surrounded by imperial guards and a bustling crowd of officials, as if he had entered a marketplace.

Zhu Biao, with his sharpest eyes, was the first to see Zhu Yuanzhang return and hurriedly came to greet him.
"Where has Father gone? I am very worried."

Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his beloved son's cheek, glanced around at his ministers, taking in their diverse expressions, then took out the brass token bestowed upon him by Zhou Yi from his robes, took a deep breath, and said loudly:
"Just now, I was distracted and entered a celestial cave called Hunyuan Palace, where I met Confucius. The Master entrusted me with a matter... Kong Kejian, do you dare to swear that you are a direct descendant of Confucius?"

(End of this chapter)