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Niu Gao sighed and said, "It's hard to put it into words!" Then Niu Gao talked about his rough experience.

Niu Gao (born in 1087 and died in 1147), whose courtesy name was Boyuan, was a native of Niujia Village, Lushan, Ruzhou (now Lushan County, Pingdingshan City, Henan Province). In his later years, he assisted Yue Fei in fighting against the Jin Dynasty and was a famous general who fought against the Jin Dynasty in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Niu Gao and his father were both born into peasant families in the Northern Song Dynasty. They followed their parents to farm since childhood. They had little education and their family conditions were very ordinary.

It is said that after Niu Gao's father grew up, he successfully married a wife. The couple loved each other very much. The man farmed and the woman wove, and they lived a happy and harmonious life.

But the couple had been married for nearly ten years and had yet to give birth to a child, which made Niu Gao's parents so worried that they could not eat or drink all day long!

As the saying goes, "There are three unfilial acts, and the worst is to have no descendants!" Niu Gao's parents went everywhere to seek medical treatment and pray to Buddha, trying every possible means, but it was just like a nephew holding a lantern to take care of his uncle.

There is a Wulu Wealth God Temple near Niugao’s farmhouse. The faithful men and women nearby who wish to make money all go to the Wulu Wealth God Temple to burn incense, pray and make wishes devoutly, asking the Wulu Wealth God to bless them with great wealth!

Niu Gao's parents had been seeking medical treatment and consulting Buddha for seven or eight years without any effect. They were extremely poor, so they stopped running around and just repaired bridges and roads, did more good deeds, and did not care about the future. Every day the couple would go directly to the Wulu God of Wealth Temple and kowtow three times morning and evening. They did not burn incense or offer sacrifices, but would kowtow every day and ask for a child to continue the Niu family's incense!

In order to have a baby, Niu Gao's parents worked hard every day to sow seeds. One night, the couple had an absurd dream at the same time. In the dream, a divine man in golden armor came to their home on a black tiger, holding a golden whip in one hand and a gold ingot in the other. He muttered to himself, "Since you two are so pious and kind-hearted and have no children, it's a good opportunity for me, the black tiger, to come down to earth to experience trials and tribulations, so I will be reborn into your family!" After that, he disappeared!

The couple woke up at the same time in the middle of the night. After talking to each other, they immediately realized that the divine man in golden armor with a whip in one hand and a gold ingot in the other and riding a black tiger was none other than Marshal Zhao Gong, the God of Wealth of the Wulu God of Wealth Temple, to whom they kowtowed three times every morning and evening!

Zhao Gongming, also known as Zhao Xuantan and Heihu Xuantan, is the god of wealth worshipped by Taoism. Legend has it that he can control thunder and lightning, eliminate plague and disasters, and is quite capable of upholding justice. He attained Taoism in Mount Zhongnan during the Qin Dynasty and was revered as the "Marshal of the Zhengyi Xuantan".

According to the "Cihai", Zhao Xuantan's image is that of a man with a black face and thick beard, wearing an iron crown on his head, holding an iron whip in his hand, and riding a black tiger.

Not long after that, Niu Gao's mother really became pregnant!

So Niu Gao's parents specially prepared a table of incense and offerings and made a special trip to the Wulu God of Wealth Temple to thank the God of Wealth for his grace.

Ten months of pregnancy, one day of delivery! It is said that when Niu Gao was born, the sky was covered with dark clouds, thunder was rolling, and the lightning illuminated the earth like daylight. In such a thrilling night, Niu Gao was born smoothly!

Niu Gao was born with supernatural strength. When he was five or six years old, he could lift a millstone weighing more than 200 kilograms. Even weak adult men could not do it. Niu Gao was also brave and careful. Some people tricked him into going to a graveyard in the middle of the night and pretended to be a ghost to scare him, but they were frightened by his boldness. Niu Gao also had a strong learning ability. At the age of five or six, he could go to the fields and do the same farm work as his father.

Because Niu Gao's family was very poor and could not afford to send him to a private school, he could barely read or write. However, as the village was close to Lushan, many people in the village made a living by hunting. Niu Gao developed a good physique and archery skills since he was a child.

In such an environment, Niu Gao made rapid progress. By the time he was a teenager, his archery skills had become very good and he became a great archer.