Chapter 133 Burning Paper in the Rain is a Trick
Chen Biao lit the resin paper in the rain. The yellow paper burned quietly in the rain, emitting a faint fragrance, which scared many people. Some people even knelt down and shouted for God to appear.
However, Chen Biao did not deliberately condone such superstition.
He had already discussed this with Emperor Ming Zhu Yuanzhang in a letter. His lord, who was still very wise, powerful, and proud, said that there was no need to incite people with the stories of gods and Buddhas.
Now he is using this kind of thing to incite people, and in the future someone will use the same method to incite people.
"I, Zhu Yuanzhang, gained the throne of the emperor through the will of the people, through bloody battles fought with sword after sword. Why do I need proof from heaven? I have the people of the world to prove the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty for me!"
What Zhu Yuanzhang said was a complete replica of Chen Biao's insult.
In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself that if he had to talk about "the will of heaven", he might as well raise his own flag.
The Great Chu rises, and Chen Sheng becomes king?
Don’t say that the stone man has only one eye, and he is trying to stir up rebellion against the Yellow River?
There's no need for those tactics to stir up public opinion. Look at the banner I'm holding up! This is the most conclusive reason why I, Old Zhu, was chosen by God!
As the person truly chosen by God, Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to let Chen Biao expose those false tricks.
"Everyone, stand up. The King has ordered that such supernatural means should not be used to deceive people. Let me explain this matter to everyone."
Chen Biao took out a box of rosin and explained to everyone how these yellow papers were made.
Rosin is flammable and can ignite even in the rain. This is something that anyone with experience in chopping wood knows.
But the yellow paper soaked with rosin can be used to do some tricks of "lighting paper in water".
Chen Biao said with a straight face, "My lord, Ming Wang, received his mandate from Heaven. This Heaven is not some ethereal god or Buddha, but the people of the world. The will of the people is Heaven's will. Ming Wang's ascension to the throne is the common choice of the people. There's no need to resort to street tricks to prove Ming Wang carries Heaven's will."
Chen Biao took out another piece of paper and shook it gently. The paper combusted without being ignited and quickly turned into black smoke, leaving no ashes.
"Isn't this even more amazing?" Chen Biao said with a straight face, "There's gunpowder inside this paper. I won't tell you the specific method, it's a military secret."
The "fire paper" used in later magic is actually nitrated paper. It's not wrong to say it's gunpowder, but it has nothing to do with black powder. Chen Biao wouldn't explain this, simply using the familiarity of gunpowder to dispel the mystery surrounding it.
The soldiers showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.
"Gunpowder? That one is indeed easy to burn even without fire."
"Not fried? Not fried? Too little?"
"Can you play with gunpowder like this?!"
"Ah! What are you kidding! I'll blow you to death!"
The awe on the soldiers' faces at Chen Biao lighting the yellow paper in the rain immediately disappeared.
The civil officials were also surprised to find that it was rosin and gunpowder.
Chen Biao walked slowly up to the altar and said, "My Lord, what is God's will?"
"Heaven's ways are constant; they do not exist for the sake of Yao, nor do they perish for the sake of Jie."
"If there's a hole in the sky, mend it. If a flood comes, control it. To keep wild beasts and the cold away, drill wood and strike stones to make fire."
"Our food and clothes come from farming, hunting, breeding, and weaving. They don't fall from the sky by praying to God."
"Under the rule of wise rulers throughout history, floods, droughts, locust plagues, and epidemics have never been rare. Provide relief when disaster strikes; the more adversities there are, the more prosperous a nation will become."
"They say 'a comet appeared and gave the Yin people power.' The comet's appearance was a sign of great change in the world. But looking through historical records, we know that such comets appeared every seventy or eighty years. When the comet appeared, there were many accomplished emperors like Emperor Wen of Han, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Wu of Tang."
"Natural disasters are tests from heaven. Those who can weather them are wise rulers, while those who can't are incompetent. A wise king will proactively respond to any natural disaster. This is the kind of king that heaven wants to see."
"Instead of kneeling down and begging for mercy from God!"
Chen Biao stepped to the highest point of the altar, and there was a loud bang in the sky, and a thunder rarely seen in autumn exploded .
Then, a ray of sunlight leaked out from the gap in the dark clouds. Although the sky was still raining, each strand of rain reflected the sun's light, as if it were a strand of golden thread.
Chen Biao lit the incense and candles, knelt down with his hands clasped, and kowtowed three times and nine times.
Zhu Wen was half a step behind Chen Biao and kowtowed together with him.
The officers and soldiers all bowed down, and before any civil officials could sing the sacrificial eulogy, they shouted "Long live the emperor"!
Ji Renshou smiled, and regardless of the pre-arranged etiquette, he knelt down and shouted "Long live".
The other civil officials knelt down one after another in uneven positions, but Zhang Chang stood there for a long time before he knelt down straight as if his back and knees were broken.
He knelt on the coal slag ground, listening to the overwhelming cheers of "Long live", his mind blank.
The tomb of Ming Wang's grandfather Zhu Chuyi was successfully opened, and there was only a broken earthenware jar inside.
The original tradition in the Central Plains was burial, but after Buddhism was introduced into the Central Plains, some Buddhist believers chose cremation due to the influence of the "Nirvana" culture.
But Zhu Chuyi's cremation had little to do with Buddhism. He was simply poor.
The poor have no place to stand, and naturally no place to be buried.
Poor people, whether farmers or small-time craftsmen in the city, would burn the remains of their loved ones after their death. The more filial ones might place the remains in a clay pot or wooden box and bury them quietly in the mountains; those who cared less would simply throw the ashes into the wilderness.
Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, cremation has become common among the poor. The History of the Song Dynasty recorded that "the land of Hedong is small and the population is dense, so even for the funerals of close relatives, all remains are cremated."
This was a very shameful thing for Zhu Yuanzhang, so when someone asked him to build a luxurious mausoleum for his ancestors, he was so tempted.
However, when he heard Chen Biao say that most people in later generations were cremated, the shame in his heart disappeared.
Biaoer also said that future generations would not care about his poor background, but would admire him even more for his struggle from monk and beggar to emperor. What is there to be ashamed of?
When the people present saw that Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather only had an urn, just as Chen Biao had said to his father before, no one felt contempt or disdain for him, not even Zhang Chang.
Just like the appearance of a high-ranking official from a humble family in the officialdom, people would admire him immensely. Zhang Chang knew how amazing it was that Zhu Yuanzhang, with such a humble background, could rise to the point where he was just one step away from becoming emperor.
Chen Biao brought out the urn, but instead of removing the ashes, he simply cleaned it, wrapped it in goose-yellow silk, and placed it in an ornate ebony box. This was to be Zhu Chuyi's coffin from that day forward.
The subsequent sacrifice was finally carried out according to the steps prepared in advance by the civil officials, and no problems occurred throughout the process.
Except that the original cloudy and rainy weather turned into a bright sun shower.
After the sacrifice, Chen Biao took a bath with mugwort and changed into new clothes.
As soon as he returned to his tent, he saw Ji Renshou looking at him with sharp eyes, which scared him.
"Mr. Ji, what's with that expression on your face?" Chen Biao reflexively jumped behind Zhu Wenzhen, who had just returned from taking a bath with him, and poked his head out from behind Zhu Wenzhen.
Zhu Wenzheng said happily, "It must be that the lightning and the half-revealed sun were too kind to Biao'er. Mr. Ji is happy."
Ji Renshou smiled and stroked his beard: "Indeed."
Chen Biao said gloomily, "I was originally advocating against superstition, saying that everything has its own laws... Oh, why is it thundering? The sun is even out? This makes me very embarrassed."
If Chen Biao had not been determined when he heard the thunder, he would have lost his composure on the spot.
He could even travel through time, so perhaps God and the gods really existed. However, this existence wasn't some omniscient and incomprehensible entity; this was the materialist view of the gods.
If such a heaven really existed, it would certainly not pay attention to "low-dimensional life," just like humans wouldn't deliberately observe ants. This thunder and sun shower must have been an accident.
It was just a coincidence that this accident occurred when he was fabricating the "Ming Wang Theory", making it seem as if the heavens were supporting Ming Wang.
In fact, it cannot be said that he fabricated these words. He and Ming Wang had discussed these words in the letter. He just integrated his own words with Ming Wang's words to build momentum for Ming Wang.
The Ming King was constantly worried. He had made his fortune in the Red Turban Army, which was inextricably linked to the White Lotus. The White Lotus, frankly speaking, was a cult that rebelled in prosperous times, in troubled times, when life was bad, and when life was too good to be true. They were always looking to rebel, regardless of the circumstances, and had little to do with the interests of Han, Yuan, officials, or civilians.
The King of Ming was very worried that after he became emperor, the White Lotus Sect would come out again to mislead the people.
Chen Biao took the opportunity to propose that the Ming King emphasize that "the will of the people is the will of heaven" and that the Ming King ascended the throne only because of the will of the people, not because of prayers to heaven, in order to prevent future rumors from misleading the people. He also took the opportunity to expose the tricks of some alchemists and monks to confuse the people.
Why are the Thunder and the Suns so disrespectful?
After hearing Chen Biao's complaint, everyone was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.
Even Yan Qian couldn't help laughing. The person in front of him was clearly his teacher, so he shouldn't laugh.
"Biao'er, you..." Ji Renshou said with a smile, "Don't worry, this won't affect your plan."
Chen Biao said depressedly, "Really? When the people learn about what happened today, they will definitely say that it was a manifestation of God."
Ji Renshou said, "Heaven's will does exist. But it is on the side of the Ming King, confirming what the Ming King said: Heaven's will is the will of the people. There is no need to use any auspicious signs to prove it. Isn't this what you want to achieve, Biao'er?"
Chen Biao held his head and said, "Oh, it seems so. Forget it, it's already happened, let's not dwell on it. I should write a letter to King Ming and tell him the good news."
In fact, Chen Biao has already discovered that Ming Wang probably cares about God a lot, but now he is flattered by God and is trying hard to pretend that "I don't care ".
Chen Biao didn't know why he could see Ming Wang's true feelings from the letter.
What made Chen Biao laugh even more was that every time he imagined Ming Wang trying hard to maintain his high standards, his father's silly face would appear in his mind.
Although today's incident was an accident, this accident may make Ming Wang happy for a long time and make him more convinced of the correctness of the path he is taking.
Chen Biao put down his hands that were holding his head and turned to look at the sun shower outside the tent.
The two younger brothers came running over, grabbed Chen Biao's hands, and jumped and shouted, they really liked the view of the sky today.
Others also stood up and stood at the entrance of the tent like Chen Biao, and some even stood outside the tent.
Many civil and military officials were even standing outside in the rain, looking up at the half-hidden but not glaring sun.
