Citizens fear Dong Zhuo?
Cao Rui snorted coldly: "Dong Zhuo has been dead for forty years! What is there to fear?"
"Dong Zhuo was killed by Liu Bei, and Liu Bei was killed by Emperor Wu. Once a person dies, there is no light left. The deceased are long gone, so where are all these ghostly tales coming from?"
"Baiyue," Cao Rui gestured towards Jiang Wei, "lead the troops to clear the area first. I want to go there personally and see what this Dong Zhuo temple looks like!"
"Submit to the command." Jiang Wei sat on his horse, bowing one body in salutation, then turned and whispered instructions: "Let Chen, Liu, and Shi lead their respective forces to follow me. Feng Sima will guard here."
But in a moment, 300 horsemen surged out from the cavalry regiment behind the emperor and rode after Jiang Wei's horse towards the distant place where the crowd gathered.
The citizens were startled by the sound of the cavalry's hooves and began to run southward in panic, as if encountering bandits or mountain bandits.
Jiang Wei showed no emotion and commanded that the path be sealed off. Those who had already run were not cared for, while those who had not yet ran were stopped in their tracks and gathered inside the "Dong Zhuo Temple".
There were about thirty to forty people trapped inside the "Dong Zhuo Temple," and no matter how they shouted or shoved, the cavalrymen did not let them out.
It was not until the cavalrymen in the front ranks drew their broadswords from their belts that the mixed crowd of Qiang people and locals gradually quieted under the threat of the blade edges.
Those who had run a short distance saw that the cavalrymen did not harm people and swarmed back to watch the scene, stretching their necks and tiptoeing, constantly gazing inside.
This strange phenomenon is something that hasn't been encountered for many years.
Jiang Wei rode back to the emperor and bowed, saying, "Please, Your Majesty, come forward. The area has been cleared."
"Hmm." Cao Rui nodded, pointing towards the direction of the "Dong Zhuo Temple," and gently tugged on the reins.
The remaining seven hundred cavalrymen, under the command of Jiang Wei, had two hundred cavalrymen spread out around the "Dong Zhuo Temple" to enforce martial law, while five hundred cavalrymen were divided into two groups and lined up on either side of the official road in an array waiting in place.
The temple of Dong Zhuo was not large, but the scent of incense was quite strong.
The temple was fifty steps long and wide, although the courtyard walls were made of mud, the main gate looked like it had just been built this year.
There were two rows of houses in the courtyard, with a hall for worship in front and the residence of the temple keeper at the back.
The sacrifices offered were a bit sacrilegious, but they actually looked quite serious.
"Yang Prefect! Ask them why they are worshipping Dong Zhuo?"
Yang Fu sensed the discontent in the emperor's words and went forward to carefully inquire.
More than thirty citizens were surrounded by cavalry, but seeing that the cavalrymen had good military discipline, they were not afraid and instead began to question Yang Fu, asking why he had interrupted the sacrifice.
Sima Yi spoke with slight helplessness: "Your Majesty, these are simple-minded villagers. They are not afraid of the military might. Please don't get angry with them."
Cao Rui said, "I am not angry, but I want to understand why Dong Zhuo is being worshipped here! I can understand worshiping a god of the mountains or rivers. But Dong Zhuo was so wicked, how could he be placed in a temple!"
As Yang Fu asked, Cao Rui also dismounted and walked into the temple, with his hands behind his back and surrounded by the Imperial Bodyguard.
The clay statue of Dong Zhuo was a few inches taller than a real person, with a black face, fangs, and bulging eyes. He wore a helmet and armor, holding a flail, exuding anger and terror in his expression.
Cao Rui slightly tilted his head, locking eyes with the statue of Dong Zhuo for a moment before looking away again.
There were two statues standing side by side, around the height of young children, but wearing armor. One held a spear and the other a iron whip, as if they were attendants.
Cao Rui leaned closer to see that the two plaques were written with "Li Qirang" and "Guo Aduo". These were obviously Li Jue and Guo Si.
In front of the Dong Zhuo statue, the incense in the incense burner was still burning. Due to the limitations of supplies, the local people did not offer any meat for the sacrifice but instead arranged some wheat, millet, and seasonal fruits.
"Why are it Li Jue and Guo Si?" Cao Rui asked.
Sima Yi replied: "Perhaps after Dong Zhuo's death, Li and Guo were the first to worship him in Chang'an, which is why they were allowed to be worshipped with him."
In this matter, indeed, Sima Yi was more knowledgeable.
After all, Sima Lang, his elder brother, was in Chang'an when he was accused of attempting to flee due to being the same age as Dong Zhuo's deceased son, yet Dong Zhuo pardoned him.
History is not far from the present, and there are always some witnesses to be found.
As Emperor Cao Rui and Sima Yi were talking about the past with Wang Yun and Liu Bei, Yang Fu finished his questioning and walked in from outside.
Yang Fu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have investigated the cause and effect of this 'Dong Zhuo Temple'. The people consider Dong Zhuo a god of pestilence because they are afraid of the plague."
"Plague?" Cao Rui frowned.
"Yes, it's the plague," Yang Fu replied. "During the years of Jian'an, there were several plagues. Some ignorant people claimed that it was evil spirits like Dong Zhuo causing the trouble."
"After the great plague of year 22 of Jian'an, the Dong Zhuo Temple began to become popular. It has been about ten years now."
Cao Rui nodded: "So it seems that the people are worshiping ghosts rather than gods, fearing more than venerating?"
"Your Majesty is wise. The worship of Dong Zhuo for blessings and the avoidance of disasters is indeed due to their fear of the plague," Yang Fu replied.
Cao Rui stood with his hands behind his back and walked back and forth in the hall for a while, before finally stopping after half an hour.
"Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi: "As the Chief Justice, what do you say about this matter of discussing the governance of the state and harmonizing yin and yang?"
Sima Yi bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should destroy this temple and ban the worship of Dong Zhuo to uphold the dignified atmosphere of the Great Wei."
"Not enough," Cao Rui shook his head.
Sima Yi was slightly taken aback and spoke again: "We should order the Imperial Secretariat to issue a decree to each state, county, and village, establishing an official rite of worship. All deities and ghosts that are not included in the rite should be destroyed."
"That's half right," Cao Rui stood firm, glancing at the dark-faced statue of Dong Zhuo that looked like an angry ghost, and said, "But it's still not enough."
Sima Yi was someone who had a habit of doing things in a particular way.
When proposing plans to the emperor, he first gives a more moderate and easier-to-implement solution, which is a basic plan. After the emperor further asks, he then provides a solution that addresses the root cause.
No matter what effect the emperor wants to achieve, there is always a solution.
However, the method proposed by Sima Yi earlier was already sufficient to address the root cause. If it's still not enough, what can be done? Teach the people to read the Five Classics?
Sima Yi spoke out spontaneously: "Forgive my lack of insight, Your Majesty. I dare ask if Your Majesty has any ideas?"
Cao Rui thought for a moment and sighed, "Chief Justice, as you said earlier, the people here are ignorant and simple-minded, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"If we want the people to stop being simple-minded, we need to educate them, teach them about etiquette and respect for Confucianism. However, it seems that this will have to wait until everyone can eat enough and have enough clothing and food."
"See here," Cao Rui beckoned to the few men, indicating they should come closer: "The people, since they are not familiar with Confucianism, will always worship something. If they do not worship something, they will not feel at ease."
"After the incident at Wei General's home involving the 'Wu Jian God', I read about various other stories where people worshiped gods made of coins, trees made of metal, and even fish. In short, there are many kinds of gods and all of them are completely absurd."
"According to the imperial edicts, anything outside of the official rites and worship is considered illicit worship."
Looking at the three men, Emperor Cao Rui asked aloud, "I am thinking, is it possible to create something official that the people like and is harmless to the court, so that they can worship and seek peace of mind during their leisure time or when they encounter difficulties?"
Xin Bi directly said, "Why not build more Confucius temples? Instead of letting the people worship these ghosts and gods, let them worship Confucius, thus clarifying education and emphasizing etiquette."
Cao Rui shook his head: "Confucius is a man, not a god. I do not want to elevate him to the status of a god. If Confucius becomes a god, how will the court treat scholars and literati in the future? Children of gods?"
Yang Fu spoke up: "This place is Chencang, which has long been accustomed to worshiping the God of Greenness, Tai Hao. Why not let the people here worship Tai Hao? Each state can be in charge of worshiping one emperor, and all other illicit worship should be destroyed?"
Cao Rui looked at Yang Fu and nodded, acknowledging that what he said made sense. However, the Five Emperors have always been worshipped by the court, and it would be unusual for people to worship them in a scattered manner.
Moreover, the ages of the Five Emperors are too distant and their statuses are too high, making it somewhat out of touch with the common people...
Is there any deity that is both humanized and divinized, popular and with strong vitality, and also beneficial to the court?
Thinking of this, Cao Rui slightly shook his head with a hint of a smile.
Sima Yi, Xin Bi, and Yang Fu exchanged glances and all understood.
The reason why Emperor Cao Rui smiled wryly was that he thought of Guan Yu, also known as Guan Yun Chang.
The later-generation worship of Guan Yu is just such a kind of belief that is full of vitality, brings blessings to the people, and encourages people to do good.
Whether this belief belongs to Daoism or Buddhism has become of secondary importance.
If we talk about vitality, the worship of Guan Yu in later generations has spread all over the world, from South Asia, South America, to Europe, where there are figures of Guan Yu to be found.
Guan Yu is a war god, the embodiment of loyalty and righteousness, a wealth god, and capable of breaking evil spirits. He has all the attributes fully developed.
Guan Yu, a man, became a ghost, a ghost became a god, and a god became sacred. It took hundreds of years to complete the transformation from human to god. A ghost or deity that was worshiped by the people turned into an official deity of the court.
However, the key point is that Guan Yu does not belong to the Great Wei!
Cao Rui sighed and said, "I will discuss this matter further when we return to Luoyang."
Turning around and pointing at the tall Dong Zhuo statue in the hall, Cao Rui said, "However, since I have encountered this today, let's not keep this Dong Zhuo Temple. Destroy it!"
Yang Fu answered quickly, "As ordered! I would like to borrow two hundred cavalry soldiers from Your Majesty. Your Majesty should go first, and I will follow up and deal with it."
"Okay."
Cao Rui slowly walked out the door and said to Jiang Wei: "Biaoqiu, please stay here and help Yan Qing deal with it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Jiang Wei answered immediately.
While the onlookering citizens didn't understand what was going on, Emperor Cao Rui had already ridden out with his army.
Standing in the courtyard, Yang Fu called out loud: "I am Yang Yishan, the Governor of Huanan Province!"
"Dong Zhuo is a traitor to the state and his worship is illicit. Today, as per imperial edict, I, Yang Yishan, am ordered to destroy this temple. Any talk of blessings or misfortunes should be attributed to me alone and not involve the people!"
The people realized that Yang Fu was going to destroy the temple and take responsibility for any consequences. Faced with such a high-ranking official, the people began to plead their case, saying that the villagers in their area had pooled resources to build this temple...
Yang Fu paid no heed to this and, drawing his sword from his waist, chopped down at the door frame of the Dong Zhuo Temple.
Both the courtyard and the outside were shocked. (This chapter is complete.)
