Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

The 13th year of Zhenguan was destined to be a turbulent year. First, a bloody dragon head fell from the sky, and Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was entangled by the dragon spirit and was dying. Then, Lei Feng rode a lion and ran wildly in the city, and there was a dog eating the sun, and the ghost hurt people, which attracted the snake general of the demon-killing heaven to descend...

This series of explosive news combined were not as eye-catching as the later one, which was that the Holy Emperor Li Shimin bravely opened his coffin and came back to life three days and three nights after his death.

According to a young Duke of Yun who was present at the scene and did not want to be named, "Everyone was terrified at the time. They thought the emperor was faking his death and almost nailed the coffin shut to prevent him from coming out."

Fortunately, Wei Zheng was there. Led by the calm Wei Zheng, the terrified ministers helped Li Shimin out of the coffin. Seeing that his hands were warm and his breathing was even, they realized that he was alive. Only then did they stop being afraid and began to ask about his health.

From this we can see that the Tang Dynasty could not have survived without the protection of the human official Wei Zheng.

Naturally, such a rare story of resurrection from the dead was rare, so it was no wonder that the ministers did not believe it. Now that they had witnessed the resurrection of their own emperor, they had to believe it, but in addition to being overjoyed, they were inevitably puzzled. They wanted to ask about the situation, but Li Shimin was exhausted after all the trouble. After just a few words, he yawned and squinted his eyes. Seeing this, the ministers did not want to disturb his rest, so they had to stretch their necks and watch him being surrounded by the overjoyed concubines and returned to the palace.

Empress Changsun personally watched him drink the calming soup, and seeing him fall into a deep sleep, she sighed softly, "This is the first time Your Majesty has slept so soundly since the old dragon in the Jing River caused trouble. Let's not disturb him." After that, she unhooked the tent with her own hands, allowing the light from the shark silk tent to pour onto the ground like water.

The golden sun set in the west, and soon the moon rose to the top of the sky. Li Shimin was sleeping soundly when he suddenly heard a female voice shouting, "Tang Emperor, wake up!" He slowly opened his eyes and saw a woman in green standing in the moonlight through the gauze curtain. She was clean and graceful. Who else could it be but Wen Jiao? He was delighted and said, "Lei..."

Before Wen Jiao changed color, he realized his mistake: "I was really confused in my sleep, Master Yin, you are back too? I was planning to invite you back to the world together, but you were hiding with Judge Cui, so it's not good for the news to leak out."

Wen Jiao chuckled and said, "Your Majesty is very concerned. I am not like your Majesty. I entered the underworld secretly. Besides, I have Uncle Cui to take care of me. After he got off duty, he found an opportunity and sent me out." After a pause, she said, "The reason why I came to visit you late at night and disturbed your Majesty's sleep is that I have something in mind, and I am afraid that your Majesty cannot explain it."

Li Shimin became more alert: "What's the matter? Master Yin, please feel free to tell me."

Wen Jiao asked, "Your Majesty, do you remember that the Ten Kings of Hell mentioned that your sister Princess Yuying's time is coming?"

Li Shimin heard this and his expression froze. He sighed, "How could I have forgotten? It was just that I came back to life in a hurry and was tired. I fell asleep without knowing it and had no time to think about the matter of my sister." He perked up and said, "From what Master Yin said, could there be room for maneuver in this matter?"

It was really inconvenient to tell him about the twists and turns behind this, so Wen Jiao just said, "The underworld also has a system of rewarding merits and punishing evils. Your Majesty only needs to let Princess Yuying use her cosmetics money to provide porridge and pave roads, help the orphans and widows, and feed monks to preach. Then, write a memorial with your own handwriting to pray for the longevity of your short-lived sister, burn it to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Kings of Hell, express the love of siblings, and then list Princess Yuying's pure and kind deeds one by one, and beg these gods to protect Princess Yuying and bless her with a long and safe life. In this way, your sister can be kept safe."

Since the Ten Kings of Hell wanted to win over Li Shimin's belief in the retribution of hell, Li Shimin had to personally beg them to spare Princess Yuying. If they refused, would Li Shimin continue to be devout? Even with this in mind, they would inevitably let her go.

Even if they refuse, isn't there Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva? Although Wen Jiao didn't know what the current management structure of the underworld was, from the confession of the three ghosts, she knew that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's level was at least on par with the Ten Kings of Hell. Buddhism pays the most attention to good deeds being rewarded. Princess Yuying's attitude was so humble and perfect. If he didn't take the opportunity to use her as a propaganda model to encourage the royal family to worship Buddhism and be kind, but instead took away her soul, how could he explain to his believers in the future? He said that those who build bridges and roads will die early, and those who feed monks and pity the poor will die sooner? He wasn't afraid that the believers he had brought over would run away overnight!

Li Shimin didn't know whether he had heard the relationship behind this or not, he just nodded and praised: "If my sister escapes from this, I will owe Master Yin a great favor."

Wen Jiao instructed: "I didn't come here for the so-called favor, but I bumped into you, so I have to be careful. The soul-collecting messenger may come at any time, so this matter must be handled urgently, otherwise something unexpected will happen."

Li Shimin said: "Early tomorrow morning, I will ask the Queen to help my sister handle this matter."

Wen Jiao emphasized: "Your Highness can help, but these good deeds must be done by Princess Yuying."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I understand that even if my queen wants to take over matters of life and death, I'm afraid my sister wouldn't dare to let anyone else do it."

Wen Jiao felt relieved. Seeing that the matter had been explained, she was ready to leave. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin stopped her and said, "Master Yin, I have been advised many times before. Today, Master Yin has provided advice on the matter of my sister. I am really grateful. I want to confer a noble title on Master Yin, let him take charge of the Taoist scriptures of the world, and build a Taoist temple to worship the statues of Master Yin and Zhenwu Emperor."

Whether it was out of the subconscious balance or the ability to see the big picture from the small details, or from the few superficial things he had come into contact with, he keenly perceived the intricacies hidden behind. In short, while Li Shimin essentially agreed to respect Buddha, he also wanted to support the Taoist lineage of Zhenwu Emperor and compete with Buddhism on the same stage.

Oh, plus the Confucianism that has always been advocated, this is a tripod. Respecting Buddhism, worshipping Taoism, following Confucianism and practicing law, this is the most stable cultural formula in China for nearly a thousand years.

Such intuitive ability to turn things around is hard not to admire.

Wen Jiao was stunned.

Seeing that she did not agree immediately, Li Shimin continued, "Master Yin also knows that last time in the underworld, I have promised to hold a large-scale water and land ceremony to pray for the dead and save the heroes who fled at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, in addition to this, I also want to gather the world's most famous and famous Taoists to hold a Luotian Grand Ceremony to pray for the country. How about it being presided over by Master Yin?"

In short, the higher-ups have already promised to establish a model for Buddhism, so Taoism should also have a model to achieve balance. Well, as my savior, I will take the initiative to give you this position, regardless of countless senior qualifications. Do you want it?

Wen Jiao, of course! This is a great merit, don't be a fool!

She immediately raised her eyebrows and said, "The emperor worships Taoism, which is also a great fortune for Taoism. I am honored to be a descendant of Taoism. I am fortunate to be able to meet this opportunity, so I naturally have no choice but to accept it."