Chapter 360: The Righteous and Heroic Emperor Zhao Ji Chan Master

'Amitabha, may all sins return to me.'

Recalling the various tragedies of that day of slaughter, a trace of unbearable pain flashed in Lu Zhishen's eyes,

but in an instant, this unbearable pain was replaced by determination.

For the long-term peace and stability of the Great Gan in the Northwest, he had to, or rather, the Great Gan's Five Military Governor's Offices had to resort to this inferior strategy.

But such an order could not come from Zhang Jie's mouth, because he was the Emperor of the Great Gan,

and his body could only possess brilliant radiance, not a single trace of darkness.

The Son of Heaven should be like the sun in the sky, impartial, shining on all directions.

Previously, some surrendered generals in the Western Army had secretly suggested finding a scapegoat.

In the end, Lu Zhishen decided to issue this order himself.

In the entire Western Army, there was no one more suitable to carry this black pot than he, the Western Army Commander, General of the Western Expedition of the Great Gan,

and Grand Commander of the Rear Army of the Five Military Governor's Offices.

'Sigh.'

Zhang Jie also let out a faint sigh in his heart.

With his powerful control over the army, how could he not know about these things?

It was just that for some people, compared to changing their thoughts,

it was simpler to directly eliminate the flesh that carried those thoughts.

Perhaps for Western Xia and their various sects, they were loyal heroes and saints,

who needed to be placed on altars for future generations to worship,

but one man's hero is another man's enemy; for the Great Gan, they were enemies that had to be eliminated.

Regarding the slaughter rhetoric circulating in the Western Army about "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,"

he not only knew about it but had also silently fueled the flames behind it.

After all, the result of Zhaohui's expedition against the Dzungars was indeed quite good.

After Zhaohui's actions, the Dzungars, who had once unified the grasslands,

truly made our Great Qing smell the scent of national extinction, and which the Kangxi, Yongzheng,

and Qianlong reigns could not wipe out, became a grassland empire that, in later generations, apart from this name,

almost no other information was passed down.

The only problem was that slaughter was too damaging to one's character and reputation.

In the end, it was Lu Zhishen who silently carried all the black pots.

His calling Lu Zhishen back this time to report on his duties and let him have a deeper understanding of the Western Xia war situation was one reason,

but more importantly, it was to transfer him back to Bianjing, far away from Western Xia, to protect him.

Now that Lu Zhishen was resigning, he was probably also wanting to use his own military achievements to carry this black pot.

"I do not agree!"

Zhang Jie said decisively.

He was not one of those emperors who had no sense of responsibility, pushing all the blame onto his ministers,

and even if he knew he was wrong, would only issue a vague edict of self-reproach.

From the day he chose to become emperor, he was prepared to shoulder everything for the Great Gan,

whether it was boundless glory or monstrous infamy!

What Lu Zhishen did was ultimately for the Great Gan and for him, Zhang Jie,

so he naturally would not let Lu Zhishen carry such a black pot alone.

He wanted to see what trouble this mere bit of slaughter infamy could bring him.

"Your Majesty, this subject's retirement this time is a carefully considered choice, not forced by anyone."

Lu Zhishen replied sincerely.

"Give me a reason that can convince me."

Zhang Jie tapped his finger on the imperial desk and stared seriously at Lu Zhishen.

If there was no sufficient reason that could convince him, he would absolutely not let Lu Zhishen resign.

A leader without responsibility cannot last long.

After all, everyone elects you as the leader because they hope that when no one else can make a decision or

take responsibility, someone can stand up, right?

"In my life, I have not cultivated good fruits, only loved to kill and set fires. Suddenly, I broke the golden shackles and tore apart the jade locks here.

Hey!

The tide comes on the Qiantang River; only today do I know who I am."

Lu Zhishen did not give any reason, but instead gave a Buddhist verse he realized while watching the tide on the Qiantang River.

"It seems Brother Lu has made up your mind."

Hearing this Buddhist verse, which should have been realized while listening to the tide after conquering Fang La and before entering Nirvana, Zhang Jie felt a thousand emotions in his heart.

Lu Zhishen's state of mind had already surpassed the vast majority of high-ranking monks and virtuous men in history,

reaching the realm advocated by the Buddhist sect: "Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot," and "Killing is to protect life; cutting karma is not cutting people."

The "putting down the butcher's knife" here is not what those giant bandits and thieves do to avoid the pursuit of enemies and the government,

choosing to "escape into the empty gate, where all things are empty," and "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot."

They put down the butcher's knife in their hands, but they haven't put down the butcher's knife in their hearts at all.

Like Lu Zhishen, this is truly putting down the butcher's knife in his heart, giving birth to great compassion.

It is just that the *Water Margin* world is a low-martial world, at most a low-magic world with natural divine strength like pulling up a weeping willow

and superb martial arts to take the head of an enemy general in the midst of ten thousand troops.

If it were a high-magic or super-magic world where the Dao Venerable operates the Heavenly Dao, the Buddha cuts off the three worlds,

and the Confucian sages' vast righteousness fills the world,

with Lu Zhishen's state of mind at this time, the fruit status of a Great Arhat would be unavoidable no matter what.

And if he were to meet a Buddha with similar experiences, his future would be limitless.

"Your Majesty, this subject..."

Before Lu Zhishen could finish speaking, Zhang Jie had already ordered Li Dequan, who was serving by his side:

"Lu Da is loyal, righteous, and wise, with a strong and fierce temperament. I hereby confer upon him the title of 'Righteous and Heroic Emperor Zhao Ji Chan Master,' to be announced to the world and the entire court!"

Although this title of Righteous and Heroic Emperor Zhao Ji Chan Master, in the original work,

was given by Song Huizong, an emperor who was far from being wise and martial,

the title he gave Lu Zhishen was incredibly appropriate.

"Righteous and Heroic" is a summary of Lu Zhishen's life.

When Lu Zhishen first appeared in *Water Margin*, it was because he saw injustice,

beat the bully Suppressor of the West to death, and then began his flight through the Jianghu.

Looking at the entire *Water Margin*, every turning point in Lu Zhishen's fate,

every sorrow, was because he saw injustice, and was for the sake of others.

Almost never did Lu Zhishen bring disaster upon himself.

Lu Zhishen is also the only person in the entire book who can be called someone who enjoys helping others.

While the stories of Wu Song, Lin Chong, and others are certainly exciting,

their tragic fates were almost entirely for themselves,

almost entirely their struggle against their own fate.

Wu Song killing Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian was to avenge his brother;

beating Jiang Men Shen was to repay Shi En's grace of knowing him;

fighting the tiger on Jingyang Ridge and killing people at Feiyunpu was because the tiger or people wanted his life; the arrow was on the string and had to be fired.

Killing people at Yuanyang Tower was because Zhang Zhang Du Jian and others framed him, and his anger was hard to calm.

Lin Chong goes without saying; his actions were entirely for his own sake, cowardly and struggling.

Lu Zhishen is different; beating the Suppressor of the West was to save Jin Cuilian and her father,

being hunted by Gao Qiu's men was to save his friend Lin Chong, and offending Zhou Tong at Peach Blossom Village was to save Liu Taigong's daughter.

Although Waguan Temple was for finding food for himself, in the end, it was to save those monks by killing that Daoist and monk,

and being captured at Mount Huashan in the West was to save Shi Jin...

Therefore, Lu Zhishen can be counted as the first person in *Water Margin* who is righteous enough and loyal enough to his friends.

At the same time, Lu Zhishen is also a man of iron bones and uprightness, who, when facing power and torture,

never once yielded, so being conferred as the Righteous and Heroic Emperor Zhao Ji Chan Master is truly well-deserved.

Now, Zhang Jie has also personally conferred upon him the title of "Righteous and Heroic Emperor Zhao Ji Chan Master."