The Village Gods of Four Directions of Dali City
In the Tang Dynasty，Zheng Hui，the county magistrate of Xilu County（Xichang City in Sichuan），had seven sons.When they grew up one by one，they followed their father to work in Xilu County.In the Tianbao years，Geluofeng，the Prince of Nanzhao Kingdom，led a military expedition to Sichuan.Zheng Hui's eldest son，second son，fifth son，and sixth son were killed in the battle.The rest of the family were captured by Nanzhao soldiers and brought back to Dali.
Geluofeng knew Zheng Hui was a learned county magistrate and treated him very kindly.He hoped Zheng Hui could civilize the court and offer advice to the court so as to expand the territory.However，Zheng Huiyi did not know all the ins and outs of Geluofeng.He was worried all day and did not speak to others.
One day，after Geluofeng went to court，he sent for Zheng Hui.The two had a long talk.But Zheng Hui still did not understand Geluofeng's sincerity.Geluofeng said to him，“Lord Zheng，I will be very happy to have you come to Nanzhao for the sake of overall interests.”
Zheng Hui burst out laughing and said，“I clearly rebelled against Tang.How can you say that I was for the sake of overall interests？”
Geluofeng explained，“This is the dilemma that Lord Zheng did not understand Nanzhao.”Then，Geluofeng explained to him the forced rebellion against the Tang Dynasty，and put forward his insightful views on the great cause of unification，which moved Zheng Hui deeply.Only then did he change his mind and wish to work for Nanzhao Kingdom.From then on，he had worked as a teacher in Nanzhao royal family，teaching them the Han culture.He taught Fengjiayi，Yimouxun and other royal family disciples to be well-educated and knowledgeable.Slowly，Zheng Hui was entirely convinced by Geluofeng，and he tried his best to help the king of Nanzhao govern the country，expand the territory and offer advice.Later，he actively communicated with the Tang Dynasty and finally reconciled Nanzhao and the Tang Dynasty.
After Geluofeng died，Yimouxun became the king and named Zheng Hui as the Qing Ping official of Nanzhao and invited him to participate in the administration of state affairs.Zheng Hui's third，fourth and seventh sons were assigned to the military and political departments respectively.The four of them，father and sons，worked faithfully for Nanzhao Kingdom and contributed greatly to the prosperity of Nanzhao.
They were not only good to Nanzhao royal family，but also to the common people.One year，a man named Qian in Shangmo Village had no food or clothes in his family and could not survive.So he left his old mother and went to Yongchang（Baoshan City in Yunnan）to do business.He didn't come home for three to five years.His old mother got ill and sent a letter to him to come back quickly.The son was very anxious when he received the message.He packed up and walked out of the city gate.The mountain was high and the road was long.It would take him a long time to get home.What should he do？He was worried that his mother would be angry.As he was thinking with knitted brows，he met a burly chap who was leading a big white horse towards him and asked him，“Where are you going，brother？”He replied，“My mother is seriously ill，so I must hurry back to Dali.”The big fellow said，“Your mother is very old.If she is critically ill，she maybe die.Can she wait for you while you walk on foot？”The man said，“I don't know.”The big fellow added，“You can go on my white horse.”Qian nodded and agreed，“That's good.Thank you！”
After saying this，he got on the white horse.The white horse took off and flew up.Qian felt that the wind was very strong and the road was shining.In a blink of an eye，he hurried back to Shangmo Village in the south of Dali.He had just dismounted when the big snow-white horse lifted its mane and broke the reins，jumped up and ran towards the city，and disappeared without a trace.
When Qian returned home，he found that his mother was seriously ill in bed.He rushed to call in a good doctor to cure her.After taking medicine for three days in a row，his mother recovered from the illness.One day when Qian went to the city's fair and walked to the center of the street，he found that the white horse he had ridden coming.The third son of Zheng Hui was on the horse.So Qian hurried forward to bow down and ask for the reason.Only then did he know that Zheng Hui's third son had sent him the white horse，so he could return home to see his mother as quickly as possible.
Because Zheng Hui and his sons worked hard for Nanzhao during their lifetime and did many good things for the people，people respected them very much.After they died，the people in Dali City regarded Zheng Hui and his three sons as the Village Gods of Dali City：Zheng Hui as the Village God of the North Gate，his third son as the Village God of the South Gate，his fourth son as the Village God of the West Gate，and his seventh son as the Village God of the East Gate.