Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 342 Asking monks to pay taxes is more uncomfortable than killing them

Li Yan rode on the lion's horse, went south from Luoyang, and headed for Songshan Mountain in Zhongyue.

Behind him, apart from Yang Zaiwei, An Shengan and a group of internal guards, there was also the Beiya Baiqi led by Cheng Wuzhong.

Yang Zaiwei is good at martial arts and can stay up all night. It is a waste to rest in the inner prison. This time, he is also brought along with him. Beiya Baiqi can complete the follow-up that was not done before.

At this time, Cheng Wuzhong was extremely active: "The last time we set up an ambush in the village, unexpectedly the village master's martial arts skills are strong, and relying on his familiarity with the location, he escaped from the encirclement and escaped abruptly. What a shame and humiliation!"

Li Yan looked at Baiqi's fully armed posture, and said with a smile: "This time, we will focus on negotiating, looking for this village master, and persuading him to follow the advice of his fellow disciples. If we can make the other party realize their mistakes, we can turn hostility into friendship. "

Cheng Wuzhong was startled for a moment, then understood the meaning, and smiled knowingly: "We have all the bows, crossbows, knives and sticks, so we can have a good talk with him."

Li Yan nodded: "Then I can rest assured."

Everyone was powerful and tyrannical, with Longyou's precious horse under their crotch, they rushed all the way, and after a few hours, they arrived at the site of Shaolin Temple.

Now it's spring plowing, Guanzhong was originally withered, and under the organization of the imperial court, it began to slowly recover its vitality.

What caught the eye was the novice monks in gray clothes, carrying two wooden barrels with pointed bottoms, and carrying water into the fields with both hands raised.

Everyone stood on the hillside and watched, Cheng Wuzhong was a little surprised: "Where are we now? Could it be the field of Shaolin Temple?"

Li Yandao: "Today, as far as Gongyi and Yanshi in the north, Ruzhou in the south, and Xinmi in the winter solstice, there are farmlands from this monastery in the surrounding land for hundreds of miles."

Cheng Wuzhong was puzzled: "Why is it so big? Shaolin Temple has a lot of martial arts, but they are not royal temples, so how can there be so many fields?"

Li Yan asked: "Are you all clear about the arrest of Wang Renze by the thirteen stick monks in Shaolin Temple?"

Many people nodded, and others expressed their understanding after hearing the explanation.

"It's not strange to stand in line in troubled times. The strange thing is the back."

Li Yandao: "After the thirteen stick monks captured the king's thief, Emperor Taizong issued the "Letter to the Shaolin Temple at Baiguwu", commending the achievements of the Shaolin Temple. He gave forty hectares of land and a pair of water mills. The leading monk Tanzong was named a monk general."

"This matter is widely spread, especially Shaolin Temple often uses it to say that their monks and soldiers were bestowed by the imperial mouth."

"However, there is still a follow-up to this matter, and I'm afraid few people know about it..."

"In the sixth year of Zhenguan, Shaolin Temple reported to the imperial court again, saying that the land rewarded before was divided into mouths, and the amount was too small to meet the meritorious service they had made. They should reward [-] hectares. Based on this calculation, Shaolin Temple lost [-] hectares of land at that time. "

"This incident is recorded in the "Shaolin Temple Revised and Granted Land". The court's subsequent disposition was 'special decree to set up the temple, and the land is not counted'. It really gave another [-] hectares of land, which is unique to Shaolin Temple. to its present size.”

Neiwei was amazed when he heard that, but Baiqi's face was not very good-looking.

As the personal guards of the saints, their fields were embezzled before, even if they were taken back now, they are still not as good as a group of monks?
The point is, if it’s the Ci’en Temple that commemorates Empress Wende for a saint, or the Famen Temple that enshrines the relics of the Buddha’s bone, then that’s fine.

What is this Shaolin Temple? It is not even ranked among the ancient temples in the world. Before capturing the thief general, he was rewarded, and he was rewarded again and again. How could the soldiers on the front line feel so embarrassed?

Li Yan knew how much land the Buddhist temples of later generations had invaded, so he didn't think it was strange. Of course, he wasn't surprised. How much rice has been donated by Shaolin Temple, and how many monks have been sent to give out porridge for relief? It must be recorded in detail!"

"Yes!"

Anshengan immediately mobilized competent staff and dispersed them.

This is not a voluntary donation for future generations. If you don’t want to, you shouldn’t be morally kidnapped. This time the court has clearly stipulated that, except for the high-ranking clans in various places to release food for disaster relief, all Buddhist and Taoist temples must send monks and priests to give porridge to save people. , to stabilize the hearts of the people.

As the saying goes, raising soldiers for a thousand days and using them for a short period of time, the imperial court gave such preferential treatment to Buddhism and Taoism. In addition to their beliefs, they actually used these religious forces to stabilize the situation among the people and suppress the chaos of prostitution.

The disaster is raging, and it is only natural for these monks who are usually compassionate to come forward.

All the major monasteries and Taoist temples in Chang'an participated in it, and the same is true here in Luoyang. Many monks have not yet returned, and the temple seems very deserted.

But from what I saw along the way, there seemed to be a lot of monks in Shaolin Temple. When the group went up the mountain, they saw many monks walking like flying, kicking and practicing boxing, exhaling energy.

Li Yan's expression darkened, and his heart became more and more unhappy.

He combined work and martial arts so well, he had to go to work every day, and when he encountered thieves making trouble, he even stayed up all night to investigate the case. In comparison, this group of monks relied on the farmland tenants at the foot of the mountain to support them, without interference, and practiced martial arts all day long. It must have been too happy!
I am indeed very happy. According to historical records, monks spent about [-] yuan per person per year on food and clothing when Buddhism was at its peak in the Tang Dynasty, which is equivalent to [-] yuan in later generations, with an average of [-] yuan per month.

In terms of horizontal comparison, the tax paid by the five male families of the Tang Dynasty is this amount.

It is equivalent to every monk, and there are five families behind him making offerings. No wonder the Buddha was later destroyed.

Of course, that was the heyday period, and the early Tang Dynasty certainly did not reach this level of exaggeration, but behind each of the full-time monks, there are countless farmers who bent over the fields and worked hard in the fields to support them silently.

No matter how much you heard in the past, seeing is believing after all. Li Yan had a panoramic view of the contrast between the mountains and the mountains, and silently made a decision.

Yang Zaiwei suddenly said from the side: "Li Yuanfang, do you hate Buddhism?"

Li Yan didn't deny it: "I really hate it, how about you?"

Yang Zaiwei said: "I can't say I hate it. After all, I practice consciousness-only energy. Master still has a good impression of Buddhism, but I definitely don't like it. These monks make people look angry... With your power, I will wait for the crown prince in the future." Ascending to the throne, if you really hate Buddhism, don’t you want to carry out the extermination of Buddhism like Emperor Wu of Zhou?”

Li Yan shook his head: "That won't work. The extermination of Buddhism seems to be vigorous, but in fact, with the current popularity of Buddhism, it is deeply rooted in the hearts of ordinary people and many nobles..."

"In addition to the theory of religion, the more it is suppressed, the more it will arouse people's rebellious psychology. If people keep advocating it, no matter how to destroy Buddha, it will definitely revive and become more prosperous."

"Some Buddhist eminent monks are indeed compassionate, which is admirable. It is better to avoid it than to block it. Exterminating Buddha is never the solution to the problem."

Yang Zaiwei wondered: "Listen to this, do you have other ideas?"

Li Yan did have an idea.

He wants Buddhism to pay taxes.

In fact, it doesn't matter if the land is divided, the people all share the land, but if they take the land from the imperial court, the tax cannot be escaped. Anyone who grants the land will lose two millet and three rice at the age of Ding, which is called rent.

That is to say, after getting the field, one year later, you have to pay two dendrobiums of millet and three dendrobiums of rice, which is regarded as a rental tax, and there are many tax items after that, depending on the nature of the field, the taxation is also different.

But Buddhism does not pay taxes, no matter how much land they occupy, and monks who have a degree can be exempted from corvee, so it has become a cancer of the country.

Therefore, Buddhists must pay taxes. Monks and Taoists under the age of [-] pay four bolts of silk cloth every year, nuns and nuns pay half of it, and other miscellaneous services are the same as ordinary people.

After the age of [-], taxes and miscellaneous duties will be exempted, because those who are old and intensive will be teachers, so that the benefits of Taoism and Buddhist classics will be brought into play, and the atmosphere will become better and better.

This method was not originally created by Li Yan, but was suggested by an official of the Tang Dynasty in history. According to the calculation of that official, if it is really implemented, the tax paid by monks across the country will not be less than one-third of the annual tax. As a result, the country will be prosperous, and the great harm to the common people will be eliminated.

The emperor was very moved, and then rejected the proposal.

There was no way. At that time, the central authority of the Tang Dynasty was no longer sufficient to carry out this reform. It could not even destroy Buddhism, let alone make monks pay taxes.

For monks, making them pay taxes is more uncomfortable than killing them.

Because of this, Li Yan didn't say anything.

Just like when he sold tea back then, it took a long time to brew before it was officially launched when he went to Tibet as an envoy.

However, there is no rush for such a major event.

Everyone withdrew their gazes and walked up the mountain gate.

Compared with the grandeur of the later generations, the current Shaolin Temple is just a rough temple in the mountains, and it looks a little shabby at first glance.

Since it is built in the middle of the mountain, if you talk about the grandeur of the temple and the exquisiteness of the statues, it is definitely not as good as the big temples in the city, but the monks who come and go are much more energetic, and a group of strong monks gathered here, naked upper body, showing smooth muscles , posing in various poses, talking loudly.

Others were puzzled, but Li Yan understood it at a glance.

This Shaolin Temple is actually proficient in advertising effects.

Sure enough, the Zhike monk greeted and led the way: "All benefactors have come from a long way, please dismount here..."

Their tone was enthusiastic, but their eyes frequently glanced at the team, looking for someone who might come to the temple to practice martial arts.

The main income of the monks in Luoyang, Chang'an is the donations from the believers, and the legal affairs after the death of the noble family. These two major incomes feed them a lot, and they don't need to care about other things.

In comparison, the business of Shaolin Temple is to recruit apprentices to practice martial arts. The children of local wealthy families come here attracted by their reputation, and they all earn a lot of income, especially if they are from high-ranking noble families.

But if you look at it horizontally, the temperament of Li Yan and his party is more like they are here to teach them, rather than to learn from a teacher...

Feeling that something was wrong, Li Yan took out the imperial edict and announced calmly:

"Under the order of the Crown Prince of the Jian Kingdom, thoroughly investigate the case of the bandit hiding in Shaolin Temple, and call out your abbot and all the monks and officials!"

(End of this chapter)