An Zizhen is in his forties and is a native of Dezhou, Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province. When he was young, he came from a wealthy family. He studied and practiced essays, thinking that one day he would be able to reach the emperor with his eight-part essays. However, he did not expect that the world would be in chaos just after he became a scholar. I couldn't continue reading, and I couldn't even stay in my hometown anymore, so I had to bid farewell to my ancestral grave in the north of Dezhou City with tears, and went to Dengzhou for temporary refuge with my parents.
After arriving in Dengzhou, he joined the Zuo Jiajun of Zuo Maodi on the recommendation of several fellow Texas scholars. First he worked as a clerk, and later he went to the Dezhou camp to lead troops. He served in the army for more than ten years, and finally retired from the army with the rank of Baihu. He returned to his hometown in Dezhou, and used his savings from many years of service in the army and the land certificate he received when he retired to buy a house in the north of Dezhou City. With two thousand acres of land, he runs the farm while guarding the graves of his ancestors - this is also a filial son and a virtuous grandson!
The grave he guarded certainly had its origins. Buried in it was Badu Gebaci, the Eastern King of Sulu Kingdom, who died of illness when he came to pay tribute to China during the Yongle period.
And this An Zizhen is the descendant of Andulu, the third son of Badugu Basi, the eastern king of Sulu. At that time, King Sulu Dong came to China with his three sons to pay homage to Yongle Emperor Zhu Di. After he died of illness, the eldest son returned to China and ascended the throne, leaving his second son Wenha Ci and his third son Andulu to guard the tomb. Later, Emperor Yongle moved several families of Tianfang believers from other places to accompany them, and together they guarded the tomb of Badu Geba, the king of eastern Sulu. Gradually, a village was formed in the north of Dezhou City, named Beiying Village.
Both Wenhaci and Andulu had their descendants. Among them, the descendants of Wenhaci took Wen as their surname, and the descendants of Andulu took An as their surname.
An Zi’s real surname is An, so he is of course a descendant of Andulu.
After more than two hundred years of reproduction, the Wen and An families have formed two big families. Unfortunately, most of them were dispersed in the previous troubled times. Those who can reunite in Dezhou Beiying can be said to be out of ten. . An Zizhen, who held the official title of a hundred households, was considered the best among them, so he was elected as the clan leader by the descendants of King An's surname Sulu who returned to Beiying.
As usual, the patriarchs of the Wen and An families also served as the headmaster of the Imperial Tianfang Temple next to the tomb of King Sulu. Therefore, An Zizhen was not only the head of the clan, but also the headmaster of the Tianfang Temple and the leader of the Tianfang congregation in Jinan Prefecture.
Now that I have become the clan leader and leader, I have to do something for the clan and the congregation. So An Zizhen wrote to the Shandong Provincial Government in the name of a descendant of King Sulu, requesting funds to repair the tomb of King Sulu and the Tianfang Temple next to the tomb.
He just wanted a few hundred taels and a thousand taels, but he didn't expect that not long after he handed in the letter, the money was not paid. Instead, an imperial edict announcing that he went to Nanjing to meet the emperor came down, and it was from the Jinan Prefecture and Zuotong Secretary. They were sent to Texas together with the general administration officials.
This is really incredible! The emperor was shocked...
By now he had arrived at Laoshan Palace. An Zizhen was walking on the side of the majestic Yudaochang Street following the sturdy Yan Shenggong. As he walked, he looked around. The magnanimity and wealth of the people here were really great. It opened his eyes.
Today's Emperor Da Ming is indeed the "richest". Just look at the Laoshan Palace here... It seems that this time he will be able to return with a full load!
After walking for a while, Kong Yinzheng, the Duke of Yansheng in front, suddenly stopped. An Zizhen almost lost his footing and bumped into Kong Yinzheng.
When he looked up, he realized that he was outside a magnificent palace.
Is this the Golden Palace of the Emperor? When An Zi was really thinking about it, Duke Yan turned to stare at him and whispered: "Your Majesty will ask about Heavenly Law and Allah later. Do you know what to say?"
What? An Zizhen was stunned. Just when he was about to ask again, Yan Shenggong had already stepped into the hall. Anzi really wanted to follow, but was stopped by the guard guarding the door: "Wait here!"
Then just wait! An Zizhen was thinking, as long as the emperor is willing to give him money, he can wait as long as he wants!
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard Kong Yinzheng's voice coming from the main hall: "My minister Kong Yinzheng is bringing the headmaster of Dezhou Tianfang Sect in Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province to see you. I respectfully ask the Holy God to inquire..."
Then he saw a eunuch holding a fly whisk walking out quickly, "Who is An Zizhen?"
"I'm the official, I'm the official An Zizhen." An Zizhen responded quickly.
"Come with us!" After saying that, the eunuch turned around and walked towards the main hall.
An Zizhen quickly followed and walked into the "Jinluan Palace". After entering, I found that the Jinluan Palace was empty, there was no one around, and even the emperor's throne was empty.
Just as he was about to ask where the emperor was, the eunuch leading the way turned around. Probably fearing that he would get lost, he turned around and said, "Follow me!"
An Zizhen responded and followed the eunuch around the corner. After turning the corner, I realized that there was another room next to the Jinluan Palace. The door of the room was open and guarded by eunuchs and guards. Kong Yinzheng, the Duke of Yansheng, was also standing at the door. When he saw An Zizhen, he waved to him.
An Zizhen hurriedly walked into the room and found that it was a very spacious study. Behind a desk sat a tall man wearing a dragon robe, with a long beard and a majestic appearance. Although there was a smile on the corner of his mouth, It still makes people feel frightened.
Needless to say, this must be the emperor of tomorrow!
Before Kong Yinzheng could remind him, An Zizhen knelt down and kowtowed, "I, An Zizhen, an official from hundreds of households, respectfully wish His Majesty the Emperor to pay your respects."
"Flat body, give me a seat."
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand and gave the visitor a seat. Then he pointed to one of the two people sitting next to him with a smile and said, "An Zizhen, this is your relative, Prince Ali of Sulu Kingdom."
Relatives from Sulu?
An Zizhen turned around and saw a middle-aged man with dark skin, a foreign face, and wearing Ming Dynasty official uniform sitting there.
"I've met the prince." An Zizhen clasped his fists.
Prince Ali, who could speak Chinese, returned the greeting with clasped fists and said with a smile: "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."
Zhu Cixiang added: "An Zizhen, I heard that you are the leader of the Tianfang Sect in Dezhou?"
An Zizhen replied: "Your Majesty, I am in love with the An and Wen tribes of Mengzhou, and I am elected as the headmaster. However, Tianfang Temple in Beiying, Dezhou, has gone through wars and is dilapidated. I am unable to repair it. I am ashamed..."
Emperor Zhu nodded and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter... I plan to send you a job. If you agree, you will have to step down as the headmaster and no longer have to worry about the academic affairs of Texas."
This is... An Zizhen was stunned when he heard this. Does the emperor mean not to spend money to repair Beiying Tianfang Temple? Beiying Tianfang Temple was built by imperial decree.
Seeing that he was silent, Zhu Cixiang said again: "An Zizhen, the job I want to give you is to go to Sulu Country to take charge of the Tianfang Sect!"
What? Going abroad to become a leader? An Zi was really surprised and quickly looked at Ali, who responded with a flattering smile.
Zhu Cixiang said again: "An Zizhen, are you a Confucian scholar?"
"Yes, I am a scholar."
Zhu Cixiang nodded: "Then you should know that Tianli Tianfang is a family, right?"
Do I know? An Zi was really stunned again and again. What does he know? As a scholar, he just wrote eight-part essays and had no research on the natural principles of Neo-Confucianism. My knowledge of Tianfang Sect is also limited, and I can only recite a sutra, and it is in Chinese. I didn't even study the Tianfang philosophy such as "all things have their origin".
Zhu Cihong knew that he didn't understand, so he gave Yan Shenggong a look.
Yan Shenggong said: "Heavenly principles, God, and Allah are actually the same. They are all the beginning of creation and the source of all things."
Is there such a thing? Anzi said sincerely: I really don’t know. It seems that I need to read more books when I go back...
Kong Yinzheng added: "Both Western Catholicism and Tianfang Religion originated from revelation, and the truth was handed down by angels and prophets. Confucianism, on the other hand, was discovered by the sages and sages who discovered the principles of heaven and peeked into the way of heaven. Because of the sages and sages, The time when I had a glimpse of the way of heaven was far away from the year of Jesus and the Holy Prophet, so there was no need for revelation."
An Zizhen nodded: The saint is so amazing!
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said: "Since we are all from the same family, then the descendants of King Sulu who stayed in China will be the headmaster of Sulu Kingdom in the future!"
