Huguo Zhongyi Temple, just on the east side of the Shouhuang Palace in the north of Wansui Mountain, the main hall in the temple is called Zhenwu Palace, and the main god enshrined is the Zhenwu Emperor Zhu Di of Ming Chengzu Yongle Emperor Zhu Di is extremely reverent.

This Zhenwu Emperor, that is, the Xuantian God of Taoism, its full name is called Zhenwu Demon Emperor, is the god of the north worshiped by the Han people in the Ming Dynasty.

Because Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was named King Yan at the beginning, he was in the north, and before he raised his army, he had the spirit of Emperor Zhenwu to "dream" to him, predicting that Jingyan would win.

Therefore, after Zhu Di really succeeded in appeasement and became the emperor, he began to worship the Zhenwu Emperor, and on the basis of the title of Ming Taizu "Zhenwu Demon Tianzun", he was further crowned as "Arctic Town Tianzhen Wu Xuantian God".

Moreover, in the Wudang Mountain, where the legend of Zhenwu became a god, a large number of Taoist palaces were built, making Wudang Mountain the residence of the Zhenwu Emperor in the world.

It is also strange to say, Zhu Yuanzhang has been a monk for many years, and he can be regarded as a monk and monk, and he should respect Buddhism after becoming an emperor.

Including Zhu Di, Daoyan monk Yao Guangxiao has been following and assisting him in the process of his army Jingjing, and has played a great role in winning the battle of Jingjing for Zhu Di and ascending to the throne of the emperor.

It stands to reason that Zhu Di should also respect Buddhism.

However, the father and son of the old Zhu family just didn't do this.

What is the reason behind this, it is difficult to say now, but one thing is certain, that is, this must be done to consolidate the imperial rule of the old Zhu family.

After the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty, almost all the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty after Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, believed in Buddhism.

Both Tibetan Buddhism and Han Buddhism were greatly respected by the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty.

The lamas and monks from Tibet and Mongolia, relying on the protection of the Mongols, acted in the interior and ran rampant, arousing the hatred of the Han people and ruining the reputation of Buddhism.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when the peasants revolted, the spontaneous nationalist sentiment of the people was extremely high, and the Han people of China expelled the Tartars to restore China, and also expelled the Fanjiao monks from Tibet, Mongolia and the Western Regions.

Zhu Yuanzhang relied on the banner of expelling the Tatars and restoring China, and went to the end of the rebel armies that rebelled against Mongol rule from all walks of life, and after becoming emperor, he took the nationalist line.

After gaining the world, it was natural to draw a clear line with the Yuan Dynasty on religious issues.

The Yuan Dynasty promoted Buddhism, so Zhu Yuanzhang did the opposite, and since Zhu Yuanzhang and his descendants have always supported Taoism, the native religion of the Han people in China.

Moreover, the Taoism strongly supported by the old Zhu family is only a faction in Jiangnan Taoism, or a Zhengyi.

The Quanzhen sect, the largest sect in the north of Taoism, has been suppressed in all directions.

The reason is the same as the old Zhu family's advocacy of Taoism, because the Quanzhen sect chose to cooperate with the Mongols from the time of Qiu Chuji.

It was with the strong support of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, and the Yuan emperors after Kublai Khan that the Daoist Quanzhen School, or more precisely, the Longmen sect (Qiu Chuji's faction) in the Daoist Quanzhen School, was able to unify the Taoist sects and mountains of northern China at once.

Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty was established, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in the land of Jianghuai, did not hesitate to choose Taoism in the choice of religious issues, and also chose the Zhengyi faction of Taoism, that is, the Tianshi faction.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, officially canonized Zhang Normal, the forty-second generation grandson of Zhang Ling, the Han Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain (that is, Zhang Daoling), and named him "the head of the Zhengyi Sect, the forty-second generation of the Heavenly Master of the Han Dynasty, and the great true person of the Ming Dynasty".

By the time of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, although the emperor opened up Wudang Mountain as the exclusive dojo of the Zhenwu Emperor in addition to Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi, the status of the Heavenly Master's Mansion in Longhu Mountain was not shaken by this.

On the contrary, Zhengyi's forces also took this opportunity to go out of the south of the Yangtze River and come to Wudang Mountain, and later followed Emperor Shizong Jiajing from Hubei to officially enter the city of Beijing.

The Taoist priests admired by Emperor Jiajing, whether it was Shao Yuanjie in the early stage or Tao Zhongwen in the later period, were all Zhengyi.

Among them, Shao Yuanjie is directly from the ancestral court of the Zhengyi faction, the Great Shangqing Palace of Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi.

Since then, the north of the Forbidden City, which was built by the decree of Zhu Di, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, has been in the hands of the Dragon and Tiger Sect of Taoism.

However, it is precisely because the Jiajing Emperor particularly believed in Taoism during the period that the Taoist priests had too much say in the affairs of the court and the court, so after the death of the Jiajing Emperor, the later Longqing Emperor and the Wanli Emperor were alienated from Taoism under the persuasion of the civil ministers of the imperial court.

The later Taichang Emperor was too short to do much, and the Emperor of the Apocalypse, under the control of Wei Zhongxian, did not do much on this issue.

In the Chongzhen period in history, such an important religious force as Taoism in the world was basically in a state of loss of control.

On the morning of the fourth day of the second month of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen decided to go to Banzai Mountain to enjoy the snow, of course, it was not a whim, nor did he have any Yaxing to appreciate the snow.

He has something on his mind, and he has been hesitating, and he has to come to this special place to walk for a while before he can make up his mind.

Let's say that after Emperor Chongzhen made up his mind standing on Wansui Mountain, he walked to the front of the Protector Zhongyi Temple not far north of Wansui Mountain, accompanied by a group of attendants.

After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, this place was changed into the Guandi Temple by the later Manchu emperors.

It turned out that as the god of Zhenwu Emperor's worship, Guan Gongguan's second master, overshadowed the limelight of Zhenwu Emperor in one fell swoop, and under the deliberate support of the Manchu emperors, he became the main god in the temple of protecting the country and loyalty, and the god of the Ming Dynasty, Zhenwu the Emperor, gradually became unknown.

Of course, the current Emperor Chongzhen has been to this place in his later years, and although there are still remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the layout of the Manchu era has been different.

Otherwise, he would not have been able to know that the dilapidated place of the post-secular name Guandi Temple turned out to be the family temple of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty to worship the god of Zhenwu, the god of the town.

When Emperor Chongzhen led a group of people to the vicinity of the mountain gate of the Protector Zhongyi Temple, the Taoist priests in the temple had already heard the order and knelt down at the mountain gate in front of the temple.

On the ground in front of the mountain gate, the thick snow has not yet had time to be cleared.

I saw a thin old Taoist priest kneeling in front of him, wearing a magic robe, wearing a Taoist crown, and a gray beard.

Behind him knelt seven Taoist priests of different ages, all dressed in the regular clothes of the right Taoist priest with a blue collar and a Zhuangzi scarf on their heads, all kneeling on the snow.

Emperor Chongzhen turned a few snow-covered pine ancient cypresses, and his figure appeared outside the mountain gate, kneeling in front of the old road, separated by a distance of more than ten steps, he kowtowed in the direction of the emperor and said:

"Xiaodao Chen Fengxuan, lead all the disciples to welcome His Majesty's holy drive!"

This temple of protecting the country and loyality is at the northern foot of Wansui Mountain, in the same imperial city, and it is only two or three miles away from the Xuanwu Gate, the north gate of the Forbidden City.

However, even if it is so close, Emperor Chongzhen has never been here since he ascended the throne.

Sometimes, when he stood on Banzai Mountain and looked north, he could see at a glance this small but high-standard Huguo Zhongyi Temple decorated with a yellow glazed tile roof.

However, before he thought about how to deal with Taoism, he never came to this place easily.

Because he knew very well that as an emperor, his every public move had a strong symbolic meaning.

Even if this temple of protecting the country and loyalty is the family temple of the old Zhu family, it is not good, especially after experiencing the various stories of Emperor Jiajing's belief in Taoism, he came here, and the symbolic meaning is even greater.

This time, Emperor Chongzhen came to the mountain gate of the Protector of the Loyal Temple, and saw that the incense in the temple was not broken, and there were Taoist priests on duty, and his heart was suddenly comforted.

Hearing the old Taoist priest speak, Emperor Chongzhen turned his head to look at Gong Yonggu, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, and Gong Yonggu quickly bowed down and said:

"Your Majesty! This person is the abbot of the temple, Gao Shi Chen Fengxuan! ”

The name Chen Fengxuan, Emperor Chongzhen has never heard of, how do you know who he is.

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen still had doubts, Gong Yonggu, the commander of Jinyiwei, immediately continued: "Chen Fengxuan's teacher is Fan Zhimo, the real person of the temple, and Fan Zhimo's teacher is Guo Hongjing, and Guo Hongjing is the real person Tao Zhongwen of Bingyi when he inherited the temple!" ”

Gong Yonggu mentioned Tao Zhongwen's name, and Emperor Chongzhen suddenly realized, and at this time, Cao Huachun, the eunuch who was following him, immediately said:

"Your Majesty! The so-called Bingyi real person is the Tao immortal who led the three orphans in the court at the time of the World Temple! ”

Cao Huachun's words reminded Emperor Chongzhen.

Tao Zhongwen, a Taoist priest from Hubei, was the most trusted Taoist priest of the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming Dynasty after the Taoist Shao Yuanjie.

This Tao Zhongwen is even more fierce than Shao Yuanjie, Shao Yuanjie only served as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty as a Taoist priest, and this Tao Zhongwen in addition to serving as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, he also served as the young master, young master, and young protector of the Ming Dynasty, and was also awarded a super earl title.

It can be said that in addition to the descendants of the Zhang family of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, this Tao Zhongwen is probably not only the best Taoist priest in the Ming Dynasty, but also the most powerful Taoist priest in history.

After listening to the words of the two people around him, Emperor Chongzhen looked up at the big characters engraved on the mountain gate, "Ejian Protecting the Country and Loyalty Temple", and then looked at the kneeling old Taoist priest Chen Fengxuan, and said to him:

"Get up! There is Abbot Lao leading the way, and I want to see this temple of protecting the country and loyalty today! ”