Overhaul Wudang

Emperor Yongle adopted Zhang Sanfeng's strategy of "extensively repairing Wudang and governing the world with the divine", and the time had come for the great prosperity of Wudang. Zhang Sanfeng instructed his eldest disciple Sun Biyun to draw a set of pictures of the Taoist temples of the Xuan Emperor of Wudang, which he presented to Zhu Di at the right time. Zhu Di was overjoyed to see that the painting was grand and imposing, with a noble and elegant charm. The layout of the palaces and temples was well-arranged and staggered, and it was completely a vast park with real mountains and waters. But there was still one thing he didn't understand: "Why must the Taoist temple for Emperor Xuan be built on Wudang Mountain?" Sun Biyun pointed at the map of the Wudang Temple and said, "My master, the true Immortal Zhang Sanfeng, is well-versed in astronomy and geography. He told me that the Wudang Immortal Mountain, which runs through the celestial pivot above and winds around the Earth axis below, is a feng shui treasure land for building the Heavenly Emperor Temple." By traversing the celestial pivot and winding the earth axis, one can rotate the universe. Therefore, during the Song and Yuan dynasties, both the Song and Yuan dynasties built a temple for Emperor Xuan on Wudang Mountain as a royal family temple to pacify the four barbarians and stabilize the country. The words made Emperor Yongle nod repeatedly. He immediately appointed Sun Biyun as the right chief of the Bureau of Taoist Records, with the rank of Third grade. Then, an edict was issued to mobilize 300,000 military and civilian craftsmen to carry out a major renovation of Wudang according to the map of the Wudang Taoist Temple planned by Zhang Sanfeng. On the map of the Wudang palaces and temples planned by Zhang Sanfeng, there was no Yuzhen Palace. Emperor Yongle personally changed the "Xuantian Palace" in the Huixian Hall to "Yuzhen Palace" and transformed the main hall dedicated to Emperor Xuantian into the "Zhenxian Hall" to honor Zhang Sanfeng. Since this was Zhang Sanfeng's palace, the "Dragon and Tiger Hall" and the "Parents Hall" were omitted. Entering the mountain gate was a large courtyard, which was convenient for Zhang Sanfeng's disciples to practice martial arts. At the back of the courtyard was the worship hall, followed by the main hall, and on the left and right were the side halls. And a bronze statue of Zhang Sanfeng was cast in the shrine of the main hall for eternal worship. When Zhang Sanfeng learned that Emperor Yongle had built a palace and cast a bronze statue for him, he was even more moved. During the more than ten years of the great construction of Wudang, he led his disciples and, using the martial arts they had mastered, secretly protected a large number of officials and craftsmen involved in the construction of Wudang, including Marquis Long 'en Zhang Xin, Vice Minister of Works Guo Jin, and Marquis of the Imperial Condor Mu Xin. The monk who was defeated by Zhang Sanfeng in the past, after decades of seeking a master for training, has now become highly skilled in martial arts and calls himself "Master of the Lamp". He was instructed by the exiled Emperor Jianwen to come to Wudang Mountain to eliminate the three officials, Zhang Xin, Guo Jin and Mu Xin, who led the construction of the Wudang Temple. That afternoon, he brought his apprentice to the Immortal Gathering Hall. The Huixian Pavilion had already begun to build the Yuzhen Palace. Zhang Sanfeng was temporarily staying in a nunnery nearby. Master Randeng went to the door and specifically asked to have a martial arts competition with Zhang Sanfeng. When it was heard that the two martial arts masters were competing, Zhang Sanfeng's disciples and the craftsmen from the construction site all came over to watch. Zhang Sanfeng adheres to the Taoist principle of "transforming evil and promoting good". This time, when he competes with Master Randeng, it is not to defeat Randeng, but to influence and reform him. So, in the face of the increasingly fierce attacks from the Lamp-burning Mage, Zhang Sanfeng always evaded the weak points and stopped at the right point, not causing any harm to Lamp-Burning in the slightest. Ran Deng thought Zhang Sanfeng couldn't defeat him and deliberately tried to play tricks on him. In a fit of rage and humiliation, he threw punches at him frantically. Unexpectedly, he tripped over a big rock by the roadside and staggered. Zhang Sanfeng shouted, "Slow down!" Both of them stopped simultaneously. Zhang Sanfeng bent down and lifted the thousand-jin boulder with one hand: "This stone nearly tripped the mage. It should have been taken!" " Saying that, he slapped the huge rock hard with his other hand and said, "Go ahead!" In an instant, the huge rock shattered, raising a cloud of smoke and dust that spread all over the ground. In the smoke and dust, Zhang Sanfeng looked like a god, his entire body shining with purple light. Master Randeng suddenly realized that Zhang Sanfeng was not lacking in martial arts skills; rather, he was lenient with him. Even a thousand-pound boulder could be shattered with a single palm strike, let alone his own flesh and blood body! His face was filled with shame. He turned around and led his apprentices away. Zhang Sanfeng reformed evil and promoted good, protecting the safety of the officials and craftsmen building Wudang, which enabled the project to proceed smoothly. The nine palaces and nine temples of the Wudang Mountain construction blueprint drawn by Zhang Sanfeng have been completed one after another. At this time, the Wudang County Government Office was also renovated into the "Yuxu Palace", which became the first palace of the nine palaces of Wudang. Emperor Yongle naturally attached great importance to the construction of Wudang Mountain, especially the casting of the Golden Hall of Taihe Palace and the statue of the Great Emperor Zhenwu. He personally reviewed the drawings until he was satisfied and cast them in Beijing. He then sent the second-rank Grand Commander He Jun to escort them. They were transported along the Grand Canal, the Yangtze River, and the Han River, and set sail at Junzhou City before being transported to Wudang Mountain. Some people say, "Zhenwu's body is like Yongle's." Indeed, the image of the True Martial Emperor in the Golden Hall is exactly the same as the portrait of Emperor Yongle. This is filled with the blood and tears of many artisans, as well as the scheming of Emperor Yongle. When the Golden Hall was completed, according to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, the brothers of Emperor Yongle, who were enfeoffed as vassal Kings, all came to pay homage to the mountain and offer incense. In order to facilitate these vassal Kings' pilgrimage to Wudang Mountain, Zhang Sanfeng, while planning and constructing the Nine Palaces and Nine Temples, also planned to build thirty-six nunneries as their summer palaces. These imperial palaces were all built at the expense of each vassal king, and their scale was determined by the amount of investment, so they varied in size. More than twenty vassal Kings climbed to the Golden Summit and, upon seeing the Great Emperor Zhenwu, were all greatly alarmed. The mighty Emperor Zhenwu, sitting majestically in the Golden Hall of the Emperor, was strikingly similar to Emperor Yongle. They were secretly amazed at why Emperor Zhenwu had helped Emperor Yongle. It turned out that Emperor Yongle was actually Emperor Zhenwu who had descended to the mortal world! Among these vassal Kings, several had ulterior motives. They hurriedly gave up the idea of competing with Emperor Yongle for the throne, knelt before Emperor Zhenwu and kowtowed to atone for their SINS, and successively turned themselves in to Zhu Di. From then on, the royal family was peaceful and no one dared to have any improper thoughts anymore. The news that Emperor Yongle was the True Martial Emperor who had descended to the mortal world spread like wildfire throughout the country. The court and the people were in awe, and the world was at peace. Having stabilized the political situation, Emperor Yongle was free to launch five northern expeditions, quelling the border threats from the Turks, Western Xia, Mongols, Liaodong and other regions, laying the foundation for the consolidation of China's territory. 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