Ming Dynasty: The ghost betrays the Confucian sage, my son Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 1 Who is this old man? I have never seen such a arrogant old man
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the first year of Hongwu, in the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the capital.

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished paying his respects, he dismissed everyone and stood alone in front of the ancestral tablet.

"Dad, my son has become the emperor. It would be great if you were still alive." He whispered to himself.

Emperor Hongwu, who had always been decisive in killing, also had wet eyes at this moment.

He thought of his parents, who had suffered all their lives and finally starved to death. When they died, not to mention the coffin, there was not even a complete reed mat.

My mother's feet were exposed. It was his second brother who took off his coat and wrapped my mother's feet before they were buried.

Zhu Yuanzhang wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

He remembered a strange thing. That year he and his second brother buried their father.

But that night, his father's grave was dug open, and his body disappeared.

At that time, he and his second brother searched all around but couldn't find it.

They couldn't figure it out, could someone still be stealing corpses?
After so many years, this matter has become a knot in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart. How many times in the middle of the night he dreamed about it, and he felt that his father must be blaming him for not letting him rest in peace.

"Your Majesty, it's time to return to the palace." Mao Xiang, commander of the Jinyi Guards, came in to pay his respects.

"Let the prince and others go back first, we have to walk back." Zhu Yuanzhang waved.

Mao Xiang knew that the emperor liked to stay incognito to understand the people's sentiments, so he asked Jin Yiwei to be ready at all times.

Half an hour later.

Zhu Yuanzhang was walking on the streets of the capital, with Mao Xiang following behind him.

"Your Majesty, it is still too dangerous." Mao Xiang whispered, "There are Zhang Shicheng's remnants in the capital, Chen Youliang's remnants, and Beiyuan's Tanma Army Division."

"Humph, their master has been defeated by us, why are we still afraid of these little minions?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly.

Mao Xiang could only smile bitterly.

However, he was not afraid even if he had dozens of casual guards scattered around.

……

"Stop for me!"

Suddenly, there was a shout from behind.

Mao Xiang was startled and quickly protected Zhu Yuanzhang. He turned around and saw four or five people running desperately, and the person chasing them was an old man.

The old man was tall and mighty, with long silver-white hair, like silver threads struck by lightning.

He was holding a six-foot sword in his hand, and his muscular upper body was naked. The knotted muscles were like giant dragons entrenched on his body, full of explosive power.

The most eye-catching thing is his back, where the muscles are tightly twisted together to form deep ravines, like the undulating landscape of mountains and rivers.

What's surprising is that the lines of these muscles actually form the word "ren", like a mark on his body.

Swish!
The old man stood on one foot and unsheathed his long sword.

next moment.

A splendid sword light swept away, destroying everything.

scold!
A knife passed across.

He accurately chopped off the head of the strong man running at the front. A rain of blood splashed down, and the head drew an arc in the air.

The old man's huge hand grabbed the flying head, his eyes were extremely sharp.

It was as if everything around him was not in his eyes.

"Master Zhu, have mercy on me, have mercy on me." The remaining four big men knelt in front of the old man tremblingly.

"From now on, you angry dragons will listen to me." The old man shouted coldly.

He carried a two-meter-long golden ring knife on his right shoulder, and a head in his left hand, which was still bleeding.

This momentum is chilling.

"You guys, all listen to Fourth Master Zhu's order." The four big men kowtowed quickly.

"Why don't you lead the way quickly?" Fourth Master Zhu scolded.

Four big men took him and hurried towards the north of the city.

……

"I have never seen such a violent old man." Mao Xiang frowned, "In this capital, he actually dares to kill people on the street."

He originally wanted to order the Jin Yiwei brothers to take action, but the emperor was here, and the emperor's safety was the top priority in everything.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

His heart was in turmoil, and his face was full of disbelief and disbelief.

"How is that possible? The old man just now looks exactly the same as our dad, and his voice is the same." "They are so similar, so similar, but he is stronger than our dad."

"Is there anyone in the world who looks so similar?"

"But our dad is definitely not as strong as him. If he were this strong, he wouldn't have starved to death back then."

Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking wildly, and at the same time he was holding on to a glimmer of hope.

Didn't our father die back then?

"Mao Xiang, check this old man." He ordered in a deep voice.

"According to the order!" Mao Xiang's eyes were cold, "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will kill him with my royal guards."

"Who asked you to kill him?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes suddenly turned sharp.

Mao Xiang, who had been with Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, instantly felt a murderous aura, and he quickly knelt down.

He was familiar with this kind of murderous intent. Every time the emperor exuded this kind of murderous intent, he wanted to kill people.

The sweat on Mao Xiang's forehead came out: "I will die."

Zhu Yuanzhang restrained his murderous intent and said coldly: "Find him and tell us again not to make arbitrary decisions."

Mao Xiang nodded quickly: "I obey your order."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the emperor's murderous aura dissipated, but he also wondered, why was the emperor interested in the old man just now?
"Also, protect him." Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Killing people on the street will definitely alert Ying Tianfu. Go over and say hello. Your Jinyi guards are in charge of this case. Don't let them interfere."

"Yes." Mao Xiang became even more confused.

……

early morning.

Thick frost enveloped the earth, shining with this cold light under the sunlight.

Frost kills the grass!

Thick white frost covered a piece of withered yellow, like a cold shroud.

A small courtyard beside the Qinhuai River.

Fourth Master Zhu was stepping on the white frost, with his muscular upper body naked, doing pull-ups against the cold wind.

"I will examine myself three times a day."

He insists on exercising his body three times a day.

After doing five hundred pull-ups in one breath, he was already sweating profusely and his body was steaming.

Suddenly, the book of destiny in his mind emitted golden light.

[A gentleman can gain enlightenment by thinking three times a day. 】

【Opening the orifice points and opening up the meridians can nourish Haoran Qi. 】

The acupuncture points all over his body were like seeds that had been dormant for a long time, bursting out of the ground at this moment.

In the meridians, a strong and warm air flow rushes through, unimpeded, like a rushing river, nourishing every corner of the body.

The moment of enlightenment was like an enlightenment, making him suddenly enlightened.

The core of Confucian practice is to nourish Qi.

Mencius said:
"I am good at cultivating the aura of awe-inspiring people."

"It is Qi, which is very large and strong. If it is nourished directly and does no harm, it will be blocked between heaven and earth."

But for ordinary people, forcibly cultivating Qi is tantamount to taking poison. The only way to practice is to polish the body first and reach a stage that can carry the awe-inspiring righteousness.

"It's been more than twenty years, and I finally got the idea." Fourth Master Zhu let out a sigh of relief.

Twenty-six years ago, he traveled through time and climbed out of the grave. At that time, his mind was blank except for a strange book.

There are four big characters in the book: Confucianism and Taoism are the most holy.

It turned out to be a book on Confucian practice. According to the description in the book, Confucian practice is divided into nine realms: enlightenment, spiritual accumulation, priest, knowing destiny, Dongxuan, gentleman, establishing destiny, great Confucian, sub-sage, and Confucian sage.

If one can reach the realm of Confucian sage, then the sage will come and speak the law, he can kill people, he can judge the emperor as unrighteous, and he can achieve immortality in the world.

That's why he insisted on 'I will examine myself three times a day'.

Breaking through the realm of enlightenment is the real step into Confucian practice. The next step is to cultivate one's spirit, which is actually about cultivating one's body, tempering one's literary courage, and making people courageous.

The power of literary courage is the primary manifestation of Confucianism's ability to follow the rules of speech.

What you say can be convincing and influence the minds of others.

(End of this chapter)