Great Tang Dynasty

Chapter 603
Suzaku Street, in front of the Imperial Palace.

Several cooks started to grill the meat.

While the meat is roasting, a layer of honey is constantly being applied, and as the meat becomes more and more cooked, the aroma begins to permeate.

In front of the gate of the palace, there were about [-] believers sitting, and many people were watching.

At first the believers stood and yelled, but later they were really hungry, so they sat down.

Originally, they were dismissive of barbecue, and they were also vegetarians on weekdays and rarely ate meat.

However, when the smell of meat became stronger and stronger, they couldn't help opening their eyes, and some of them even drooled.

They were so hungry that they hadn't eaten all day and all night.

However, although they were very hungry, they still endured it, and didn't say they wanted to eat, nor did they rush to grab it.

They knew that the imperial court was going to use this method to force them to eat, but they had the backbone, so they refused to eat.

Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but proudly raised their noble heads.

If you want to tempt them with food, there is no way.

But when they were thinking this way, a few big men came over, they were some diners the court was looking for.

The meat was already grilled, and it was so fragrant that people didn't know what to say. After they came, they just tore it with their hands and ate it.

And the guards of the imperial court didn't have any intention of eating with these believers.

Those diners ate with gusto, and the believers watched from the sidelines, even more hungry. They thought that the court would give them food, but there was none, not at all.

They are stunned, believers are stunned, they don't understand what the court means.

The diners were still feasting. At this time, a guard stood up. Seeing this, the believers raised their noble heads again, and they would never give in.

However, the guards did not intend to invite them to dinner.

"The Holy Majesty has already said that the Buddha will not be destroyed. If you want to believe in the Buddha, you can continue to believe in the Buddha. The court just collected some land from the monastery and distributed it to the people. It is ridiculous for those monks to ask you to go on a hunger strike. They Why don't you come by yourself?"

After finishing speaking, the guard laughed twice, and then walked over to eat barbecue with a few colleagues. The aroma of barbecue spread in all directions, and the believers looked at each other.

Immediately afterwards, I felt that what the guard just said was right.

Those monks told them to go on a hunger strike, why didn't those monks come?
The taste of hunger strike is not good, especially when there is delicious food in front of you.

Soon, a believer got up and left. He couldn't afford to starve himself, especially after listening to the guards.

And when one believer left, the other believers also left one after another.

They desperately need a big meal now.

It didn't take long before the entire gate of the palace became quiet again. The guard looked at everything in front of him and laughed twice.

"Master Hou's method really works. If I had known it earlier, I wouldn't have to worry about it so much."

Human nature is sometimes the key to solving problems. As long as you control human nature, you can think of a solution.

There are many people who are not afraid of death, but very few are not afraid of hunger.
-
It began to rain in Chang'an City.

It wasn't a big autumn rain, it was pattering, but the weather suddenly cooled down.

Here in the Great Buddha Temple, news soon came.

"Abbot, those believers have all left." Kong Ming's face was a bit ugly, and after Qing Xin heard it, he was slightly taken aback: "Why did they all leave? Isn't the imperial court planning to destroy Buddha?"

"I'm not going to destroy the Buddha." Having said this, Kong Ming's face became even more ugly, and he said, "It's just that the imperial court wants to confiscate the monastery's property, and I'm afraid the monk will have to return to vulgarity."

"What?" Qingxin, who had always been calm, suddenly jumped up. His property, which was his lifeline, was going to be confiscated by the court. How could this be possible?

"Amitabha, it's really a sin, a sin." After speaking, Qingxin said: "Find believers again and let them continue their hunger strike."

He thought that the believers left because they knew that the court would not destroy the Buddha, so they left, but Kong Ming did not move, saying: "Master, those believers are no longer useful, the court eats meat in front of them, and as soon as they smell the fragrance , they can’t go on hunger strike, and they only believe in Buddhism, not in monasteries, so those believers won’t be too desperate.”

Hearing Kongming's words, Qingxin suddenly sat down on the ground: "Amitabha, Amitabha..."

The pure-hearted Amitabha kept talking, but soon he stood up again: "No, the Great Buddha Temple must not be destroyed like this. Those properties are also our property, and the court cannot just take advantage of it."

Qing Xin walked back and forth in the room, the rain outside did not know when it was heavy, Kong Ming stood motionless in the room, just put his hands together.

Qing Xin was not pure heart at all, sweat was about to break out from his anxious forehead.

And just as he was walking like this, he suddenly stopped, and then he suddenly laughed: "Amitabha, Amitabha, the sky is endless, my Great Buddha Temple, Kongming."

"Abbot, the disciple is here, what's your order?"

"In the imperial court, are there many officials who have contacts with our Great Buddha Temple?"

"Quite a lot. Some officials believe in Buddhism. They often come to give us sesame oil money and pray. The most important thing is that their family members often come to offer incense and pay their vows. They are all believers. Moreover, some officials donate their land to avoid taxes. They are all deposited under the name of our monastery, and they are also grasshoppers on the same rope with us. If the imperial court takes these lands, it will take theirs too."

Hearing Kong Ming's words, Qing Xin was stunned: "Why didn't you say this earlier?"

"The abbot didn't ask, so the disciple didn't dare to speak."

He wants to smoke people out of a pure heart, if he had known about these situations earlier, why would he be in such a hurry.

"This matter, you have to start from the top. You bring the silver to those officials. As long as they are willing to save the Great Buddha Temple, my Great Buddha Temple is willing to give them money so that they can live comfortably and make them richer than they are now. Even, I can give them land, more land..."

In this world, there is nothing that money can't solve. In Qing Xin's view, as long as money is given to those officials, these officials must help them.

As long as they speak for the Great Buddha Temple in the court, it will not be difficult to keep the Great Buddha Temple.

Of course, he didn't mean that the court should not do anything to other temples, he just asked the court to not do anything to the Great Buddha Temple.

As for the other monasteries, even if they were destroyed, it had nothing to do with him at all.

Even if other temples are destroyed, his Great Buddha Temple will be more prosperous. After all, other believers have no place to offer incense, so they can only come to the largest Great Buddha Temple in Chang'an City.

Kong Ming took the order, and then retreated without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)