Chapter 64: Selling Martial Arts for Survival

  (Written at the beginning: I strongly recommend it, and I'm delighted. Thank you for everyone's support. No more nonsense, regarding the update issue, I'll explain here. Today there is one update, but with 6,000 words. According to common practice, 6,000 words can be counted as three updates, but I still release a big chapter at once. Readers who are familiar with me should understand my habits - it's not because I'm lazy, but the plot has reached this point, and forcibly splitting it into two or three chapters would make the plot look unsmooth. Don't mention that you guys get confused after reading, even I myself get a headache. Special explanation: don't always stare at the chapter number or how many updates there are in one day, take a look at the word count instead.)

  (Also PS: During the strong push period, collection and recommendation data are very important to me, which directly determines the author's motivation to code words. Everyone please help out and thank you in advance.)

  "Imperial grandfather, what is the memorial that your grandson has presented to you..." Zhu Yunwen hastily spoke as soon as he stepped into the palace gate.

  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him with a pampered gaze, raised his hand to interrupt his words, and smiled slightly: "Grandson, don't be impatient, sit down and have a cup of tea first, then talk slowly."

  Zhu Yunwen's expression was somewhat aggrieved, and he responded in a low voice. The eunuchs presented him with tea, which Zhu Yunwen drank without much enthusiasm.

  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen with joy, his eyes gradually becoming hazy. On Zhu Yunwen's body, he seemed to see the shadow of his eldest son, the Crown Prince Zhu Biao, who died young and was born in a chaotic world, growing up from a young age amidst swords and flames, suffering many hardships and hardships. Unfortunately, after going through fire and water, he still did not have the good fortune to inherit his empire and eventually passed away due to illness.

  Zhu Yunwen not only looked like his father, the Crown Prince Yiwen, but also had a similar temperament. He was indecisive and weak-willed, just like him, with the same kind and gentle nature, completely lacking the majesty and dignity that a ruler should have.

  This was also what Zhu Yuanzhang worried about most.

  The great-grandfather is already advanced in years, and the ministers and sons all address him as "Your Majesty", but he has not yet become so senile that he thinks he can really live forever. His lifespan is predetermined by Heaven, and sooner or later he will die. After his death, what will happen to this weak-minded grandson? If he cannot control the civil and military officials of the court, nor rule over the millions of people in the empire, what if someone were to usurp the throne?

  Zhu Yuanzhang spent his whole life doing only two things, conquering the realm and defending it, killing countless people, and committing countless atrocities that would be cursed by future generations. All of this was for these two things, for this throne, he paid too much, too much! He absolutely wouldn't allow others to snatch it away. This world was won by Zhu Yuanzhang's own sword and spear, with his life on the line, in blood and fire. From now on, for a hundred years, a thousand years, this realm would only be surnamed Zhu!

  Zhu Yunwen sat obediently beside Zhu Yuanzhang, pouting slightly, showing that he was in a bad mood at the moment.

  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his grandson's wronged expression and couldn't help but smile.

  "Grandson, to be a ruler, one must have the composure and demeanor of Mount Tai crumbling before him without changing his expression. With your current agitation, how can you become a good emperor to rule over the people?" Zhu Yuanzhang slowly and calmly admonished.

  Zhu Yunwen's face turned solemn and he said: "Imperial Grandfather, your grandson knows his mistake."

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "It's almost time for the spring court gathering. After the spring court gathering, all the kings who are garrisoned in various places will come to the capital to pay their respects. Your imperial uncles each guard a side, and it's not easy to gather them together even once. They're all doing this for you, guarding the rivers and mountains. If my Zhu family descendants can always be like this, each taking care of their own duties, why worry that our great Ming dynasty won't last for thousands and tens of thousands of years? Hehe..."

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with confidence, in this regard, Zhu Yuanzhang and Han Gaozu Liu Bang's views are consistent. The reason why Qin's national fortune was short-lived is that the Qin emperor did not divide his sons and younger brothers to guard various places, leading to chaos in one place and rebellion throughout the country. He learned from the lessons of the Qin emperor, he felt that only by dividing the Zhu family children among different regions could he ensure that this dynasty would be thoroughly surnamed Zhu. The strategy of vassal kings is one of his few proud achievements in life.

  Zhu Yunwen lowered his head and remained silent, but a flicker of worry flashed across his eyes. This worry he did not dare to express directly, for he knew how resolute the Emperor was in implementing the strategy of vassal kings.

  "Are all the princes going to the capital, Imperial Grandfather?" asked Zhu Yunwen softly.

  "Not bad, including your fourth uncle, the King of Yan, who also needs to come to Beijing for court," Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Among my princes, your fourth uncle, the King of Yan, is the most effective in defending the border. He has launched several attacks on the remnants of the Yuan dynasty, repeatedly achieving military merits, making great contributions to the security of the northern border of the Great Ming. Ha ha, if he were not a prince, he could also be considered a famous general."

  "The grandson will certainly treat all of you imperial uncles well." Zhu Yunwen did not dare to show any emotion, and only gently agreed.

  Zhu Yuanzhang gazed at his grandson's increasingly mature and handsome face, a heartfelt affection filling his weathered face.

  "Is your visit today related to the memorial you submitted to clear the name of merchants?"

  Zhu Yunwen looked up and saw Zhu Yuanzhang's face full of kind smiles, and immediately said with grievance: "Imperial Grandfather, it is rare for the grandson to make a memorial to the throne on national affairs. If you are not satisfied, just reject it. If you are satisfied, issue an order to the Ministry of Rites to promulgate it throughout the country. Why only give 'postpone discussion' two words? What I said in my memorial, do you agree or disagree?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said: "The matter that Sun'er reported, I'm afraid it has something to do with Xiao Fan from Jiangpu?"

  Zhu Yunwen was startled, but then thought that there was nothing his imperial grandfather didn't know about, and so he quickly calmed down. Zhu Yunwen smiled and said: "Xiao Fang's words and actions are quite strange, and his speech is full of unconventional ideas. As for the merchant's reputation, my grandson was inspired by him."

  "Son, I have told you before that the affairs of the world are not divided into right and wrong. Any national policy must be implemented according to the times and circumstances. The times refer to the heavenly timing, such as when I first established the country, the world was in turmoil, and frequent disturbances occurred. It was necessary to use heavy punishment to govern the world and strict laws to govern the people, so that they would have something to fear and be able to abide by the law and live in peace. The world could only be stabilized then.

  Circumstances refer to the timing of events, such as when Hu Weiyong plotted rebellion, I used the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search the entire country, implicating tens of thousands of people, and finally making the world clear for my descendants, clearing away thorns for the Zhu family. At that time, I could sheathe my sword and the Embroidered Uniform Guard no longer had a reason to exist. So, in front of all the civil and military officials, I burned all the torture instruments of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, disbanded the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and showed mercy to the people. This is what is meant by circumstances."

  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his grandson's confused face and smiled, "The national policy is being implemented, it's a matter of time and momentum, none can be missing. Yunhe, your memorial mentioned the merchant's affairs, if I were to evaluate them, there is no right or wrong, the only thing that is not suitable is that the timing is not yet ripe. In the past when I established the Ming Dynasty, why did all industries flourish except for commerce? Firstly, merchants go against the teachings of the sages, regardless of whether I agree with the words of the sages or not, all scholars in the world would definitely agree with them. At the beginning of my reign, I urgently needed to win over the hearts of scholars, I established the country through military power and governed it through literature, this world after all needs scholars to help me govern, how could I offend scholars for the sake of merchants? Wouldn't that be abandoning the fundamental and pursuing trivial matters?"

  "Secondly, it is a fact that merchants gain huge profits without engaging in production. If we do not classify merchants as inferior, I fear that the people of the world will emulate them, and the whole country will become merchants. Who will then till the land and farm? Who will then work as artisans? I cannot abandon all industries because of commerce."

  "Thirdly, when I fought against Zhang Shicheng in Pingjiang that year, the merchants and wealthy households of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces all regarded me as a rebel army, but took Zhang Shicheng as the orthodox one. They enthusiastically donated grain and goods to him, and treated my heavenly army as an enemy. I was furious with these merchants! After establishing the country, I repeatedly reduced the national taxes and levies, but only in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces did I not reduce the taxes at all, instead imposing heavy taxes on them. Moreover, I did not allow people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to hold official positions in the Ministry of Revenue, which was intended to punish their blindness. I regarded merchants as a lowly occupation, and ultimately, this had something to do with the grudges against the merchants of Jiangsu and Zhejiang that year."

  Mentioning the old grievances of those years, Zhu Yuanzhang's face was filled with hatred and his aged face was full of murderous intentions.

  He smiled again: "Forget it, it's been decades since then, and my hatred has also dissipated a lot. Yun Wen, the world is already settled, and a prosperous era is approaching. What you said about merchants is not wrong, merchants are beneficial to the country, how can I not see that? If we can grasp the measure, appropriately raise the status of merchants, it's not impossible. But you shouldn't have brought this up at this time, this is why I'm putting it off."

  "Grandfather Emperor, when is it suitable for the grandson to take over?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "After I die, when you ascend to the throne as emperor, you can implement your plans, and it will be twice the result with half the effort."

  "What's going on?" Zhu Yunwen asked in confusion.

  "You propose to rehabilitate the reputation of merchants, which is a benevolent policy. If I were to agree and promulgate it throughout the empire now, people would remember my kindness, and this personal favor would fall on me. Ha! I am already old and have borne the infamy for many years; where is the need to accept this personal favor? On the other hand, when you ascend to the throne, all the officials and commoners under heaven will be watching the new emperor, waiting to see if he can implement benevolent policies. If at that time you were to rehabilitate the reputation of merchants, it would be a precursor to implementing benevolent policies, and the people would sincerely regard you as their lord. The foundation of our Zhu family's rule would become even more solid, imperial authority would penetrate deeper into the hearts of the people, circumstances would all be in your favor, and the Great Ming would flourish under your rule, creating a glorious era that would last for thousands of years."

  Zhu Yunwen was deeply moved upon hearing this.

  No matter how others view the emperor, at least in his heart, the image of the emperor is lofty. Everything he did with all his might was to pave the way for him, and although his affection was not spoken, everything he did was out of love.

  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen with tears in his eyes and smiled kindly.

  "Yun Wei, that new friend of yours, named Xiao Fan, has a good family background and is a decent person. I have left you with all the civil and military officials in the court, but they are all old and outdated, and there are too many pedantic and narrow-minded scholars among them. Except for Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, and Qi Tai, it's hard to find any capable ministers. Xiao Fan is still young and has a good character, and he knows you well, so it's not impossible that he will become your trusted minister in the future..."

  Zhu Yunwei laughed happily and said, "Then let that grandson replace Xiao Fan to ask the Emperor for an official position, so he can accompany the grandson every day and talk with him. In the future, he will assist the grandson in becoming a good emperor."

  Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and smiled: "Private relationships and national affairs must be discussed separately. If Xiao Fan really has the ability, why would I begrudge him high office and wealth? But if he doesn't have the ability, then you can only be close friends in private life, not ruler and subject. Do you understand my meaning?"

  Zhu Yunfeng hastily said: "Imperial Grandfather, you must believe your grandson, Xiao Fan is indeed a capable person."

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled meaningfully: "Whether or not you have the ability, it's not up to you to say, I want to see it with my own eyes."

  Xiao Fan, who was very capable, was worried about what to eat for the next meal.

  A single coin can kill a hero, unfortunately, Xiao Fan doesn't even qualify as a hero. Without money, how can one buy food? It's not like he would really go rob someone. Having been reborn into this world, Xiao Fan thinks he should learn to be more refined, at least pretend to have a refined demeanor. In these times, those who act too crudely are dragged to the market square for execution, while refined people live longer. — The head of state is Zhu Yuanzhang, who has killed countless people and rules with strict laws. Compared to him, Xiao Fan thinks he can't match his cruelty.

  But what else can you do besides robbery?

  Xiao Fan was filled with regret, thinking that in his past life he should have grasped some skills, such as inventing glass, inventing perfume, or inventing the steam engine. If he had come to ancient times and shown off a bit, wealth would have naturally poured in, so why worry about starving to death?

  This is the sorrow of being young and not working hard!

  Tai Xū stroked his belly, lying on the ground covered with dry grass, and growled with hunger.

  The mountain temple was renovated with the efforts of three people and can barely shelter from wind and rain. The problem of living is solved, what about eating?

  The little beggar girl also rubbed her belly, looking at Xiao Fang with a worried and bitter face. The temporary small family of the three now had Xiao Fang as their head of household.

  "Master, in your younger years when you didn't have any business, how did you fill your belly?" Xiao Fan decided to learn some experience on getting food from his master.

  Tai Xū grumbled in a bad mood: "Apart from fortune-telling, of course it's alms. As an ordained monk, I have faithful laypeople who can always scrounge up some leftover rice to fill my belly."

  Xiao Fangdao said: "Alms? Isn't that just like begging for food?"

  Tai Yu jumped up, angrily saying: "How can it be begging for food? Alms! The donations from the Taoist believers to us monks are all made with sincerity. They believe in Lao Jun and make offerings to us monks to accumulate merit, what does this have to do with begging?"

  Xiao Fang suddenly understood: "Master, lend me your Taoist robe for a moment."

  "What's up?"

  "Karmic affinity!"

  Begging for food, wrapped in a layer of religious clothing, becomes alms.

  This is Xiao Fan's understanding.

  When the situation is forced to the point where all three people are starving, then begging alms will do, at most hiding one's true face, and just consider it a temporary expedient.

  On a cold winter day, three huddled figures appeared on the main street of Jiangpu, including the elderly, young and small children. The three people supported each other, walked through the streets and alleys for a long time, before finally stopping in front of a wealthy household that looked quite prosperous.

  "Where are you going?" Tai Yu asked, looking at Xiao Fan with a slanted gaze.

  Xiao Fan wore the tattered and dirty Taoist robe that Tai Xu had left behind, his face smeared with black mud to the point where he looked like Donald Duck after being blown up by a hand grenade. At first glance, even if his own parents were to come back from the dead, they probably wouldn't be able to recognize him.

  Xiao Fan is a man who values his dignity, and for the time being, he cannot swallow his pride. This typical act of stealing a bell while covering one's ears makes Tai Yu deeply despise him, and he does not understand why begging for alms would be humiliating.

  It seems that the generation gap of one hundred years is not so easy to cross.

  Xiao Fan took a deep breath and then knocked on the tightly closed door of the wealthy family's mansion.

  "Knock knock knock."

  The knock on the door was as gentle as a midnight tryst between lovers behind the red apricot wall.

  The gate did not respond at all.

  "Knock knock knock."

  The gate still did not respond.

  Tai Yu was furious: "Knocking on the door like you, no one will pay attention even if you knock till dawn, get out of the way!"

  Tai Yu rolled up his sleeves and slammed the door with all his might.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  The door opened quickly.

  An old man wearing a family uniform stood at the door, glaring at the three of them with great displeasure.

  "Who are you looking for?" The old man growled.

  Tai's overbearing aura vanished instantly as he pushed Xiao Fan forward: "He's looking for you."

  "What's wrong with you?" The old man had a bad temper.

  Xiao Fan swallowed hard, forced a smile, and made a bow, saying: "Amitabha Buddha... this old patron has arrived, I am from the East Earth Great Tang... ah, no! I am from Wudang Mountain, going to Western Heaven... ah, also not right, going to the capital to visit fellow Taoists, please old patron donate some money... eh? Old patron? Old patron, open the door! Old patron? Damn it!"

  …………

  …………

  One after another, they were rejected by several households. Tai Yu sneered with a smile: "You stinky brat, now you know how difficult the world is? You think filling your belly is that easy? Hmph! You don't remember things for long, even tens of taels of silver can be forgotten, serves you right to go hungry!"

  Xiao Fan wiped his face fiercely, wiping away the black mud on his face, and then said in a deep voice: "This won't do, we'll all starve to death! My specialty is robbery, I'm not professional at begging, we need to think of another way..."

  Tai Xudao said: "Do you have a good way?"

  Xiao Fan glanced at him and suddenly burst out laughing, with a familiar mischievous glint in his smile.

  Tai's scalp felt a numbness, and he warned: "You're smiling so eerily, what are you plotting?"

  Xiao Fan said in a soft and gentle tone: "Master, actually you yourself are a mountain of gold..."

  Tai Yu's face was filled with despair: "You want to sell me out?"

  Xiao Fan wiped his sweat: "No, Master misunderstood... Master, aren't you skilled in martial arts? And many kinds at that..."

  "So what?"

  "Just pick a random martial art, write it down on paper, compile it into an extraordinary martial arts manual, and then sell it..."

  Tai Xū jumped up in great anger and said: "You... you scoundrel! The martial arts of our school are the world's most closely guarded secrets, not to be practiced by anyone outside of our school. You... you actually want to sell it for silver? No way! I would rather starve to death than commit such a treacherous and unfilial act!"

  Xiao Fan's face was filled with a "hate iron for not becoming steel" expression, and he said painfully: "Master, your enlightenment is too low!"

  "What does it mean?"

  "What is martial arts used for?"

  "Of course, it's for beating people... Cough, no, that's not right. Martial arts follow the natural order of heaven and earth, and cultivate the body to be strong and healthy, prolonging one's lifespan, making heaven, earth, and man as one, so that man is nature, and nature is man's ultimate..."

  "Alright, alright, no need for unnecessary chatter. Simply put, martial arts are used to strengthen the body, right?"

  Reluctant nod.

  Xiao Fangdao said: "Since it is a strong body, why can only the people of our sect practice it? What about saying that people are natural, don't ordinary people count as human beings? In my China, there were many martial arts in the past! It's just because of the sectarianism of various schools and factions, which led to the decline of martial arts later on. Many kung fu skills were lost forever because they were not willing to show them to others, resulting in permanent loss. The current Wulin sects are all sinners of later generations!"

  He was utterly embarrassed, his face flushing with shame.

  Xiao Fan sighed heavily again: "Alas! Master, alas!"

  Tai's face grew even redder with shame, and after a long while, he muttered: "Then what kind of skill do we have to sell?"

  Xiao Fan's chest had a confident and determined look: "Tai Chi Fist!"

  "Absolutely not! Tai Chi Fist is the culmination of my senior fellow apprentice Zhang Sanfeng's lifelong martial arts experience, painstakingly compiled and edited with blood and sweat... it's the treasure that stabilizes our Wudang Sect..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Fan sighed with a pained expression: "Alas..."

  Tai Yu stomped his foot heavily, with a look of desperation, and said: "Alright, alright! I'll sell the Tai Chi Fist, but I want to modify the fist formula, only keeping the parts that strengthen the body. The killing moves for defeating enemies must be kept secret."

  Xiao Fan's painful expression immediately turned into a smiling face: "Alright!"

  Taihe blinked his turbid old eyes, and two lines of hot tears flowed down: "In the future, if my master brother finds out that everyone on the street is practicing Tai Chi, he will surely beat me to death..."

  "Alas, Master's Day of Mourning... it's all fate..."

  “…………”

  Borrowing a book stall from a certain down-and-out scholar, Tai Chi wrote out a manual of Tai Chi boxing with tears streaming down his face, and in order to avoid trouble with his senior fellow-disciple, he specially put on the cover: "Original work by Zhang Sanfeng".

  Three people held the boxing manual and ran to the most prosperous Dongshi in Jiangpu, borrowed a copper gong, and Xiao Fan knocked it vigorously.

  In the bustling downtown area, Xiao Fang knocked a few times and immediately drew people's attention.

  "Don't miss the opportunity! Today, my three fellow disciples and I passed by this place, exhausted and penniless. With no other choice, we are forced to sell a precious copy of Master Zhang Sanfeng's lifelong achievement in martial arts - the Tai Chi Quan manual, which took decades of hard work and dedication to complete. This boxing technique combines aesthetics, practicality, and physical exercise, benefiting the elderly with longevity, attracting the opposite sex for the young, and supplementing iron and calcium for children..."

  Onlookers gathered around, whispering to each other.

  "Isn't this Chen Jia's maternal uncle? How did he become 'passing by'?"

  "Hey! You don't know yet? He's no longer Chen Jia's maternal uncle."

  "What? What's going on? Tell me..."

  "I heard that he has fallen out with Chen Si Liu and the marriage arrangement with the Chen family has been completely blown off..."

  "Hmm, no wonder he's wearing a Taoist robe. Poor little guy, must have been so fed up that he became a monk..."

  …………

  …………

  In the center of the field, a hundred-year-old old man Tai Xuan was practicing Tai Chi with an unwilling expression. He kept repeating: "Taiji gives birth to two instruments, two instruments give birth to four images, four images give birth to eight trigrams, eight trigrams... give birth to eight trigram news..."

  The little beggar girl also looked like a madman, happily following Tai Xu, making gestures and practicing tai chi together, old and young, slowly and harmoniously, complementing each other, and it was really delightful to watch.

  Xiao Fan continued to peddle enthusiastically: "As the saying goes, outsiders watch the excitement, insiders watch the doorway. Gentlemen, you must be connoisseurs, take a good look, Zhang Sanfeng's and Zhang Xian's exclusive martial arts skills are being broadcast today at a friendly price of 50 taels of silver. Those who want to bid, hurry up! The secret book is only sold once, no waiting!"

  Indeed, there were connoisseurs among the onlookers.

  A passing merchant immediately saw the value of this boxing and shouted loudly: "Fifty taels of silver, I'll take it!"

  Another merchant raised the price: "I'll give fifty-five taels!"

  Xiao Fang was overjoyed and shouted: "This white and chubby brother has bid up to 55 taels, is there anyone who can bid higher?"

  "I'm out sixty taels!"

  "Ah! This heavenly brother's weight has reached sixty taels, sixty taels! Is there anything higher than sixty taels?"

  "I'm out 70 taels!"

  "I'll give eighty taels!"

  "I'll give you one hundred taels!"

  Xiao Fan felt a kind of dizzy happiness: "One hundred and twenty taels! Is there anything higher than one hundred and twenty taels?"

  "One hundred and two, once! One hundred and two, twice! One hundred and two... three times!"

  "Bang!"

  The copper gong resounded heavily.

  "Deal!"

  The Tai Chi Fist that had been renowned for hundreds of years was thus popularized in the world at a price of one hundred taels of silver, right from Xiao Fan's hands...