The Jade Emperor in The Journey to the West has the ability to subdue the Monkey King. Why did he ask the Tathagata to do it?

I think it's not time for him to make a move.

Speaking of the Jade Emperor, many people have the first impression that he is very unintelligent. When the Monkey King made a scene, his behavior showed that his strength was not generally weak. In the end, he had to ask the Tathagata Buddha for help, which made him flustered and made many jokes.

In film and television dramas, every time the Monkey King goes to heaven to ask the Jade Emperor for help, he is very casual. He acts like a good friend with the Jade Emperor. In fact, this is not what the novel says. Many TV dramas are just made up by writers. The Jade Emperor's skill is not as great as it is said on TV. His strength is not ordinary, but he can hide it.

When the Jade Emperor invited guests to dinner, the order of immortals was Sanqing, Siyu, Wuxao, Sixi, Qiyuan, Octagonal, Jiuyao and Shidu. The Jade Emperor first sent Li Tianwang, and later sent the Nine Obsidian Star Officer. Nine obsidian star officer can be the Monkey King's "behind closed doors", which means that the Monkey King is better than the immortal at this level of "nine obsidian", and the Monkey King's strength is at the level of "seven yuan, eight poles" at least. Then, if you want to subdue him, the Jade Emperor will have to mobilize the immortals at the level of "five elders and six divisions". If it doesn't work, it will continue to increase the price until it is four royal and three clear. There has to be a sequence. What level of immortal is Tathagata? It is a "five old" level fairy. Therefore, the Jade Emperor's "decree" is called the Tathagata, and the Tathagata "smells the imperial edict", which is a very normal procedure.

In Fengxian County, The Journey to the West, the jade emperor released a pile of noodles and Mi Shan, which made Wukong helpless and unshakable. It was just a pile of food, but it contained the jade emperor's mana cultivation, which was also a rare feat of the jade emperor. From this little incident, we can see that this master of heaven and earth is not a joke, but the emperor just doesn't want to play with you. What do you think?