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#Inheritance
·2022-08-20 23:32:13
Seeing that his disciples were increasing day by day, Zhang Sanfeng handed over the management of the Immortal Gathering Hall to Sun Biyun and went on a journey himself. Zhang Sanfeng's first stop during his travels was the Changchun Temple in Jiangxia (now Wuchang). The Changchun Taoist Temple was built in memory of Qiu Changchun, the first of the Seven Sages of Quanzhen. Back then, Qiu Changchun traveled thousands of miles westward and was invited to meet Genghis Khan, the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. Genghis Khan asked him for advice on governing the world and achieving longevity. Qiu Changchun replied, "Respecting heaven and loving the people is the foundation, and having a clear mind and few desires is the key." He also said, "To unify the world, one must not be addicted to killing." The Founding emperor then honored him as a deity and stopped killing. Qiu Changchun's "one word to stop the killing" saved thousands of lives from suffering. Zhang Sanfeng was deeply impressed when he visited the Changchun Temple. At that time, many warlords rose up and wars raged year after year. But who could govern the world? Zhang Sanfeng was looking for a leader who "respected heaven, loved the people and was not fond of killing" to offer his full support. He heard that Zhu Yuanzhang, whom he had rescued in the past, was strong and well-built, and had already occupied Jinling (Nanjing), so he set sail eastward. Jinling, historically known as the "Stone City", has a very small city. At that time, a scholar named Zhu Sheng presented Zhu Yuanzhang with a strategy for seizing the throne, the "Nine-Character Mantra", which was: "Build high walls, store up abundant grain, and delay proclaiming the throne." The Nine-character mantra is divided into three sentences. The first two sentences are about strategy, and the last one is about political strategy. At that time, many leaders of the rebel forces had declared themselves Kings, such as Chen Youliang being called "King of Han" and Zhang Shicheng being called "King of Wu", etc. Zhu Yuanzhang's generals all demanded that he proclaim himself king. However, Zhu Yuanzhang adopted Zhu Sheng's strategy, kept a low profile, delayed the declaration of king, sought truth first and then fame, and did not readily stand out, thus becoming the target of everyone's criticism. The first practical thing he did was to build high walls and expand and reinforce the city of Nanjing. However, not only is the project huge, but the amount of money consumed is also enormous. Where can such a large sum of money be raised? When Zhang Sanfeng arrived in Jinling, he heard that the common people were full of praise for Zhu Yuanzhang. They said that Zhu Yuanzhang was strict in military discipline, did not kill the innocent, and was also concerned about the livelihood of the common people. They felt relieved and relieved that they had not misjudged the person back then. Shen Wansan, the richest man in Jinling, was extremely wealthy and boasted to others, "If you want to make Shen Wansan poor, you have to cry out like a sea dragon." Later, she was overjoyed to have a son, who was smart and lovely. In his later years, Shen Wansan had a son and doted on him especially. This child has a problem, which is that he cries a lot. He cries day and night without stopping and there's no way to comfort him. But when he heard the sounds of the porcelain being smashed and the silk being torn apart, he stopped crying, causing the porcelain to be smashed and the silk to be torn apart in piles one after another. Zhang Sanfeng found out Shen Wansan's residence and came to his door. Strangely enough, when this boy saw Zhang Sanfeng, instead of crying, he burst into laughter. Shen Wansan was astonished to see that the Taoist priest who came was exceptionally talented and could even stop his son's crying. He then asked Zhang Sanfeng for advice on the opportunity behind this. Zhang Sanfeng smiled and said, "Time flies and life is short." Wealth and honor are like wind, lamps, grass and dust, fleeting and vanishing. Fame is like the sun, the moon and the stars, eternal through the ages. This child is crying that you value wealth and honor rather than fame!" Shen Wansan thought it made sense and asked Zhang Sanfeng to enlighten him. Zhang Sanfeng said, "Now, Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to relieve the people's unrest and pacify the world, has adopted Zhu Sheng's 'Nine-Character Mantra' and is worried about the lack of funds for building the Jinling City Wall. This is precisely your opportunity to leave your name in history." Shen Wansan asked, "Master, do you mean that you should ask your disciple to use the money to build the city wall?" Zhang Sanfeng clasped his hands together and smiled, saying, "Yes!" If you had funded the construction of the Jinling City Wall, Zhu Yuanzhang would have been able to both attack and defend. One day, he would surely have seized the throne and brought benefits to the people. You have naturally made a great contribution and will be remembered for all time! Shen Wansan suddenly understood and was extremely grateful, inviting Zhang Sanfeng to have a meal. When parting, I asked Zhang Sanfeng to leave his immortal title. Zhang Sanfeng turned around and said, "I am Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang Mountain!" With that, he burst into laughter and left. Later, Shen Wansan donated money to Zhu Yuanzhang for the construction of Jinling and claimed that he was enlightened by Zhang Sanfeng, a Taoist priest on Wudang Mountain. Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to invite Zhang Sanfeng over, but Shen Wansan said that the immortal Master Zhang had long been nowhere to be found. After leaving Jinling, Zhang Sanfeng boarded a boat on the Yangtze River and sailed upstream. When he reached the territory of Poyang Lake, he saw that Han King Chen Youliang was building large warships and training water troops in the lake, but the people were full of complaints. He landed and observed for several days, then turned around and returned to Jinling. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang received a military intelligence report saying that Chen Youliang would soon lead a naval force to attack Jinling. Zhu Yuanzhang summoned all his generals to discuss countermeasures. A guard came in from outside and presented a letter, saying that it was sent by Shen Wansan, who was extremely wealthy in the area. Zhu Yuanzhang opened it and saw a yellow table inside, with eight characters written on it: "Set fire in the wind, true martial god's protection." At that time, Chen Youliang 's 艨艟 warships, in chain formation, were powerful and fierce, while zhu yuanzhang' s warships were small and weak. In terms of military strength, Chen Youliang claimed that his naval force was 600,000, while Zhu Yuanzhang's was only 100,000. With such a huge disparity in military forces and warships, how can the war proceed? Zhu Yuanzhang was worried, but now a word "fire" dispelled the gloom. Not long after, Chen Youliang's navy and Zhu Yuanzhang's navy engaged in a fierce battle on Poyang Lake. Zhu Yuanzhang set fire to Chen Youliang and defeated him thoroughly. In this battle, more than half of Chen Youliang's water army suffered losses. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang launched a fire attack, causing Chen Youliang's entire army to be wiped out. Chen Youliang was also shot dead. When Zhang Sanfeng, who was traveling around the south of the Yangtze River, heard the news, he went to Shen Wansan's residence to bid him farewell: "Now that the world is at peace, I should return to Wudang Mountain." Shen Wansan said, "Nowadays, with many warlords rising up and one Chen Youliang being defeated, how can it be said that the world is at peace?" Zhang Sanfeng said, "Looking at the world as a whole, the Yuan Dynasty is already on the verge of collapse and beyond redemption." Only Chen Youliang could contend with Zhu Yuanzhang for the throne. The rest were all petty thieves and could not achieve anything significant. Now that Chen Youliang has been defeated, who else can contend with Zhu Yuanzhang for the throne?" Shen Wansan said that Zhu Yuanzhang had always wanted to pay a visit to the immortal master and asked Zhang Sanfeng to stay at his home for a few more days until Zhu Yuanzhang returned victorious. Zhang Sanfeng, however, burst into laughter and said, "I'm used to idling away my time. It's better not to see Zhu Yuanzhang." Saying that, he bowed his hands and said goodbye, drifting away.
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