Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 327 Exchange for elixir, constant wealth and constant perseverance!
The Chinese still value family.

When there are many families, they become the world.

This is the family dynasty.

And the head of the world is the emperor.

In ancient times, Emperor Yu obtained the highest royal power, regarded himself as the one who received the mandate of heaven, and summoned the rulers of all states to meet at Tushan.

In order to consolidate the royal power, Emperor Yu divided the powers under the royal power and no longer recognized the leadership positions of the rulers of the various states.

He used the power in his hands to transform many tribal leaders into hereditary nobles. From today's perspective, this meant that he demoted the tribal leaders from kings to nobles.

Emperor Yu enjoyed the throne alone, and for this reason he cast nine tripods to represent the nine states. The king's power was supreme, and all nations were in power.

Before the Xia Dynasty, there was a harmonious society where the world was shared by all and the leaders were virtuous.

Since the Xia Dynasty, the world has been a family’s private property, and the family is ruled by the son after the father’s death.

All kings spend their entire lives doing one thing: consolidating their own power and status.

In the three ancient dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou, all the kings were constantly elevating the royal power and widening the gap with the lower-level powers.

"Under the whole world, is it not the king's land."

"All the people in the land are subjects of the king."

The idea that all the land and subjects in the world are the private property of the king and his family was first proposed during the Western Zhou Dynasty.

From the kings of the states to the hereditary nobility, in order to make the kings satisfied and at ease, the hereditary nobility was demoted again, so the word "noble" was removed, and the aristocratic clan, or the aristocratic family, came into being.

The Zhou Dynasty declined, and during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, overlords and powerful rulers appeared one after another. The royal power of the Ji clan was no longer there, and was eventually taken over by the Ying clan, who unified the country under the Qin Dynasty.

King Zheng of Qin was no longer satisfied with the identity and status of "king", so he once again raised the supreme power, surpassing the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and then I would be the emperor.

In order to maximize the emperor's power, Emperor Qin Shi Huang did not even make his own son a king.

Fusu, Huhai and other princes were still just called "Prince".

Afterwards, Qin lost its power and the whole world was chasing it.

Overlord Xiang Yu, in the name of King of Chu, successively conferred titles on 18 kings and divided the land among them, but he eventually could not escape and committed suicide by slashing his throat at the Wujiang River.

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, neither learned nor neglected the lesson. He ascended the throne and enfeoffed nine kings of different surnames.

After encountering misfortunes and rebellions, he finally made a pact with his thousands of subjects: "If anyone other than the surname Liu becomes king, the whole world will attack him together."

Since the Han Dynasty, the title of king has only been circulated among the royal family. Those who are not members of the royal family are mostly powerful ministers.

Imperial power, royal power, aristocratic families, powerful clans (clans), wealthy and powerful families (family)... the classes are clearly defined, and the structure of a family-run empire is basically stable. This was mostly the case for the four hundred years during the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms.

Even if there are occasional changes in power and promotions and demotions in class, these are personal changes. After death, people will quickly return to their rightful positions, and this pattern will not be destroyed.

But he met the Sima family.

As an aristocratic family, the Sima family refreshed the moral bottom line of the world and went from being an aristocratic family to a royal family.

As the saying goes, "He who first made burial mounds of clay will have no descendants." The Sima family knew how everything came about, and they also knew that under the imperial power and royal power, the distance between the aristocratic families was too small.

As a result, the families of the aristocratic class were either reduced to the status of powerful families or eliminated by the Sima family.

It is difficult to say much about the chaos of the Two Jin Dynasties, but the aristocratic families who moved south took control of everything, which led to the saying "The king and the Ma family share the world."

This also made the rulers of later generations realize that the aristocratic families were still too close to the imperial power. When the chaos ended, the Sui and Tang dynasties began to crack down on the five surnames and seven families of the aristocratic families.

Eventually, the aristocratic families fell one after another during the reign of the only female emperor, Wu Zetian, and the separatist regimes in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms scattered the ashes of the aristocratic families.

Since the Song Dynasty, the powerful families formed by the scholar-officials officially came on the scene, and the families of the subjects finally lost the ability to threaten the royal family and imperial power.

However, the factional struggles in the Song Dynasty, the turmoil among scholars in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and even the factional struggles in this dynasty all illustrate the serious harm that the powerful factions have posed to the imperial court and the people.

Forty years before the Jiajing period.

The Yan family of Fenyi, the Xu family of Songjiang, the Chen family of Nanchong, the Li family of Xinghua, the Xu family of Lingbao... and so on, all of them are powerful families with many students and former officials in the court, or with countless people's popularity in the opposition.

During the Jiajing reign, the most powerful and fiercely fighting families such as the Yan family and the Xu family were massacred by the emperor.

The Chen family, who never forgot their original aspirations and went against the tide, received the attention and rewards of the emperor. They moved from being a powerful family to a noble family and entered the class of an aristocratic family.

Of course, unlike the aristocratic families of two thousand years ago, the Chen family only retained the power of inheritance but had no ability to influence the imperial power or royal power.

The powerful families such as the Xinghua Li family and the Lingbao Xu family, who were law-abiding and let things take their course, were spared after being punished by the emperor.

For example, Li Chunfang, a cabinet minister, thought that the crisis of the powerful families had passed. Although they envied the Chen family, it was not easy to gain a foothold in this turbulent world. The Li and Xu families did not think of forcing anything. They planned to live the same way as they did during the Song Dynasty, the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and the Jiajing period forty years ago.

At worst, I can ask my tribesmen to squeeze their buttocks tighter.

But Li Chunfang never thought that the powerful families closest to the imperial power and royal power were the emperor's biggest enemies.

Even if His Majesty has not thought of eradicating the powerful families, some national policies that benefit the country and the people will inevitably damage, seriously damage the interests of the powerful families who have always been the vested interests for thousands of years.

Before leaving Beijing, Chen Yiqin had a special communication with his old friend Li Chunfang, persuading the Xinghua Li family to "whitewash" as soon as possible.

Whether it was family land, shops, or some despicable disciples and old officials, they would abandon them if possible and turn the family's wealth into letters of sages, calligraphy and paintings by national masters, rare treasures, and other items.

Mundane things like gold and silver are almost enough.

Antiques in prosperous times and gold in troubled times are no more than this.

But Li Chunfang disagreed and even quoted the words of Mencius, the second sage, in "Teng Wengong I": "As for the way of the people, those who have permanent property have constant heart, and those who have no permanent property have no constant heart" to evade him.

At that time, Chen Yiqin had expected that his old friend would encounter a disaster, but he did not expect that this disaster would come so soon.

Moreover, the old friend's self-righteousness pushed the entire powerful family into the abyss.

Ban the Six Classics and restore the Six Arts.

The lecture hall became a martial arts performance hall.

But the old friend never thought that martial arts had been suppressed by literature for nearly a thousand years, and the accumulated resentment and hatred were so great.

Once martial arts flourish and blood becomes as fierce as a dragon, who will be the first one to cause trouble?

A powerful family may have power and money, but like everyone else, they only have one life!

Everyone is equal before life and death.

Furthermore... Chen Yiqin looked towards the capital. The Chen family knew some of the emperor's situation. Even though Chen Yiqin had not been in the capital for a long time, he knew more than Li Chunfang. The Chen family did not even need to ask anyone to check the real identity of the Jinyiwei commander Zhu Fang.

"The art of rejuvenation".

Even Chen Yiqin felt his heart burning with excitement just thinking about it. It is said that the emperor pursues immortality, but who doesn't want to live longer?

Some of the elders of the Chen family who knew about the situation had discussed what the Chen family should do and what kind of merits they should achieve in order to exchange them for the elixir of "rejuvenation" from the emperor.

"The Jinyiwei came to our clan to ask for the atlas of the powerful families and wealthy people." Chen Xiao, the second elder of the Chen family, said in a faint voice.

This statement also proved Chen Yiqin's guess that the emperor was indeed going to take action against the powerful families.

The first thing they do is check the household registration, and they don’t want to let any of them escape.

Chen Yiqin looked at the second elder and asked, "Did you give it to him?"

"Lao Liu gave it to me." Chen Xiao nodded and replied.

The reason was not explained, but Chen Yiqun knew that among the elders of the family, the sixth elder had the hottest temper, which had become more and more severe over the years, and he would beat and scold the young people in the family at will.

However, the six elders were not without reason. As the clan was large, it was inevitable that some clan members would cause trouble. The six elders were in charge of the clan court and punished clan members according to clan laws. There was nothing wrong with that.

But Chen Yiqin and the other two elders of the Chen family knew that the Sixth Elder was not like this twenty years ago. Although the Sixth Elder had a bad temper at that time, he had a gentle and graceful wife who could comfort him.

The second elder called the sixth elder "Old Six". Although Chen Yiqin was the head of the family, according to seniority, he should call the sixth elder "uncle" and his wife "aunt".

Chen Yiqin still remembers that aunt always had a smile on her face. She stood gracefully and elegantly, sat gently and elegantly, and spoke in a soft voice. It could be said that she was the most typical lady from a noble family in the world.

What Chen Yiqin remembers most vividly is that this aunt never seemed to be angry. If one word were to describe her, it would be calm and composed.

The most difficult thing to do or talk is to remain calm. This will infect the people around you and make them calm as well.

Chen Yiqin once thought that all women in this world, even the queen or princess, were far inferior to his aunt.

The relationship between the old couples of the six clans has always been something that the young members of the Chen family of Chen Yiqin's generation could not understand.

If I have to make an analogy, it would be Beauty and the Beast.

Although the six elders looked good, when they were enraged, they were no different from wild beasts.

Later, when Chen Yiqin grew up, she realized that her aunt's "lady of noble family" was not innate, but was due to a congenital heart disease.

To be precise, my aunt's emotions cannot fluctuate too much.

The clan doctor had predicted that my aunt would have a hard time living to adulthood.

Therefore, my aunt was raised and pampered by the Chen family since she was a child.

Speaking of this, Chen Yiqun couldn't help but recall what the clan doctor had said after he became the head of the Chen family, "Marriage between people of the same clan is unlucky."

According to the clan doctor, my aunt's congenital heart disease was caused by the fact that her parents were both members of the Chen clan.

Yes, my aunt’s surname is also Chen.

Chen Yiqin can call her aunt or aunt.

My aunt is really trying hard to improve herself. She knows her own illness and also knows the efforts of her parents and the entire Chen family. She has been quietly cultivating her energy since she was a child.

I heard from the elders in the clan that my aunt started to cultivate her energy after her first illness when she was about four years old, and she did so until she was fourteen, a full ten years, without having another illness.

Nowadays, fourteen is considered an adult. Just when the tribe members were making fun of the tribe doctor's prophecies that were not coming true, the sixth tribe elder appeared.

My aunt's appearance and temperament were unique among the Chen family members. At that time, all the boys and even girls in the family were attracted to her.

But she was a "delicate lotus" after all, and the warnings she received since childhood made both boys and girls stay away from her.

My aunt's parents also planned to raise her like this and had no intention of marrying her off.

Only the sixth clan leader was an exception. Since he was about ten years old, he had been very interested in this cousin, a girl who could do anything she said. He never treated his aunt as a patient and often climbed over the wall of his aunt's house, wanting to take his aunt out to play.

Four years and forty-eight months passed without any success. The actions of the six elders were discovered time and again, and the clan and family laws were applied together. The six elders suffered countless beatings, but as soon as they felt a little better, they would go to climb over the wall of their aunt's house again.

The day after my aunt turned fourteen, all the clan members were happy and let their guard down, and the sixth elder of the clan "succeeded".

The sixth elder of the clan took his aunt out of the family and walked away for a long time. When they were about to leave Nanchong, they were found by the family.

In order to punish the Sixth Elder for his audacity, he was nearly beaten to death, but even while being beaten, he still grinned at his aunt.

Ten years later, my aunt's heart was touched again, and she fell ill and was about to die. If the clan doctor had not been by her side with his superb medical skills, the prophecy would have come true.

Later, my aunt married this elder from the Sixth Clan who never treated her as a patient.

After living together as a couple for twenty years, the six clan elders followed the clan doctor's advice and did not even plan to have children.

But from youth to young adulthood, and then to middle age, they have passed the age of thirty, and the six clan elders and my aunt have still not given birth to a child. Even if the clan members and the six clan elders don't say anything, my aunt doesn't want to continue like this.

When the aunt put the two options of "divorce" and "having a child" before the six elders, the six elders finally decided to give it a try.

Next, one became pregnant and the other died, all within a short period of time. For the past twenty years, none of the six clan elders remarried, and they would visit the graves of their aunt and her son to pay tribute during every festival.

However, without the "suppression" of the aunt, the Chen family had an elder with an increasingly bad temper.

But all the Chen clan members knew that the aunt who had congenital heart disease had died, and the Chen family had an elder who would never be able to resolve his heart knot.

Your Majesty has achieved great success in spiritual practice, and he can “rejuvenate”, but what about “resurrecting the dead”?

The Chen family did not know the emperor's limits, and many members of the Chen family really wanted to ask the emperor for an "immortal pill" to live a few more decades, but only the sixth elder of the family wanted to bring their aunt back to life, even at the cost of their own death.

The action of the six clan elders in handing over the family album of powerful families to the Jinyiwei without going through the family or the head of the family was obviously not in compliance with clan rules.

But whether it was Chen Yiqun or other elders, they all chose to turn a blind eye. Besides clan rules, there are also human feelings.

My aunt really treated him as her own child when he was young. I will never forget this kindness.

For other elders, they either watched their aunt grow up, like a daughter, or grew up with their aunt, like a sister.

But Chen Yiqin was the clan leader and head of the family after all. If he knew that a clan member had violated the family rules, especially the clan elder who was in charge of the clan's court, it would not be good to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to it. He was silent for a moment and said, "Second clan elder."

"Ok?"

"The clan law originated in the Song Dynasty. It has been out of date for thousands of years. Moreover, the emperor has repeatedly issued orders prohibiting the establishment of private prisons and private executions. In my opinion, the clan law should be abolished, right?"

"Ok?"

(End of this chapter)