Zhu Yuanzhang did not state his intentions directly, but instead said:
"Master Boyang, do you still remember when I invited you to come out of seclusion and help me before I conquered the world? You told me that the time was not yet ripe?"
"Of course I remember."
How could he forget what he had said? In fact, Li Boyang had already foreseen the trouble Zhu Yuanzhang would encounter today, so he gave him a hint first.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked naturally:
"Is the time right now?"
Li Boyang nodded and said:
"The time has come."
Be dramatic when you need to be, but never act superior when you shouldn't. After waiting so long, you've finally lured Zhu Yuanzhang here, so naturally you can't pretend to be reserved.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face lit up with joy; Liu Bowen had indeed not lied to him. He said eagerly:
"I implore you, sir, to come out of seclusion and lend me a hand."
Li Boyang said mysteriously, "Since you have already promised to come out of seclusion to help when the time is right, I will naturally not refuse. However, I have one condition."
Zhu Yuanzhang never told Li Boyang why he wanted to invite him to come out of seclusion, and Li Boyang never asked, as if they both knew the reason.
"Please tell me your conditions, sir."
For an emperor who rules over the entire world, what is there to fear if he has the means? He can just ask for them. The only thing to fear is that he becomes invincible if he has no desires.
Can Li Boyang offer a suggestion? The chapter you're currently reading, "Fist Breaks Through All Realms," chapter 150, "Leaving the Mountain," is only a small portion. To read the full version, please search on Baidu: () and then search for: "Fist Breaks Through All Realms."
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Chapter 151 Purge the Jianghu
A few days later.
In the northwest corner of Nanjing, in an inconspicuous place, a government office was quietly established.
The plaque above the government office reads three large characters: Six Doors.
This was naturally Li Boyang's doing.
Zhu Yuanzhang granted Li Boyang enormous power, giving the Six Doors the authority to freely mobilize local troops and to execute first and report later.
The Six Doors is a very special government agency. It is not under the jurisdiction of the Three Judicial Offices and is an independent entity that specializes in handling matters related to the martial arts world. The Six Doors has priority in handling any matters related to the martial arts world.
The power of the Six Doors is terrifying, but Li Boyang could tell at a glance that it was only because he was currently in charge of the Six Doors.
Once he has purged the martial arts world, he will most likely still fall under the jurisdiction of the Three Judicial Offices, and there will be many restrictions imposed upon him. The current situation is merely a temporary measure.
The reason why the power of the Six Doors is so terrifying is because the Six Doors hold discretionary power and can interfere in almost everything.
The martial arts world is inherently intertwined with the world at large. If the Six Doors (a government agency) says you are a member of the martial arts world, then you are a member of the martial arts world. If they say something is a matter of the martial arts world, then it is a matter of the martial arts world.
Regardless of whether people and events are categorized within the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world), the Six Doors (六扇门) possess the highest decision-making power, which Zhu Yuanzhang cannot interfere with, only having the right to know. This was something Li Boyang and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed upon after Li Boyang came out of seclusion.
After Li Boyang emerged from seclusion, the newly established Ming Dynasty added an official position: the Commander-in-Chief of the Six Doors, which was personally held by Li Boyang.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Six Doors was ranked as a first-rank official. This was a special arrangement made by Zhu Yuanzhang to allow Li Boyang to act with more discretion.
Li Boyang began planning how to help Zhu Yuanzhang purify the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) as early as after Zhu Yuanzhang unified the country.
Pacifying the martial arts world doesn't mean annihilating it—that's impossible—but rather ensuring that the martial arts world and the imperial court are no longer in opposition.
To achieve this, it all boils down to three words: establishing rules.
Why do dynasties always take action against the martial arts world when they reach a golden age? Firstly, those who can rule a golden age are usually powerful rulers with a strong desire for control, who will not allow anything to escape their control.
Secondly, the martial arts world has never been a place where rules are followed.
What Li Boyang wanted to do was to establish several rules for the martial arts world. These rules were not made public, but kept in the shadows, so that all martial arts practitioners would remember the rules he set and not violate them when they were traveling in the martial arts world.
When this point is reached, the mission of purging the martial arts world will be complete, and the martial arts world will no longer be in opposition to the imperial court.
As for what rules to set for the martial arts world, Li Boyang had already considered them.
First: Matters of the martial arts world should be resolved within the martial arts world itself; they should not be brought outside of it or cause harm outside of it.
Second: All gangs must register with the Six Doors before they can be established, and must report their number of members every three years.
Third: When conflicts arise between江湖人士 (jianghu figures) and ordinary people, they must accept legal sanctions.
It still grants the martial arts world a great deal of freedom, establishing only three simple unspoken rules. However, as long as the martial arts world abides by these rules, it can essentially prevent the imperial court and the martial arts world from being in a state of conflict.
Li Boyang defines the role of the Six Doors as supervisors. The Six Doors will take over any violations and enforce the rules to make the offenders abide by them.
The rules may seem simple and there aren't many, but getting people in the martial arts world to follow them is no easy feat; just think about it.
The first rule, "matters of the martial world shall be settled within the martial world," essentially draws a line between the martial world and the secular world. Too many vendettas and murders have occurred within the martial world...
In these cases, the perpetrators not only killed the victims, but also wiped out their families, because most people in the underworld believe in the principle that if you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring.
This is the bloody world of martial arts; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many massacres of entire families.
The second point is even more difficult. What kind of people are the martial arts sects? They are all influential figures in their respective regions, hidden overlords under the dynasty. Expecting them to obediently report to the imperial court is simply wishful thinking.
The most difficult part is the third point, which is actually a supplement to the first point. It is to let people in the martial arts world know that if you do something that involves worldly affairs, you should obediently accept the punishment of the law.