Zhenguan Crown Prince Li Chengqian

Chapter 52

In the second year of Zhenguan, after returning from the east tour, the emperor commended a group of people who had made great contributions to disaster relief, such as Liu Zhenghui, Du He, Liu Yuan and others.At the same time, the memorial of Niu Jinda, Minister of the Ministry of Integrity, was also approved, and dozens of officials detained were exiled to the army and ransacked their homes.

These people were all arrested for dereliction of duty during the disaster relief process, but one of the governors was an official of the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Integrity.His name is Zheng Shanguo, the governor of Qizhou, a native of Xingze, Zhengzhou, the grandson of Shao Sikong of the Western Wei Dynasty and Zheng Xiaomu, the governor of Qizhou, the son of Zheng Cheng, the general of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Duke of Kaifeng County, and his mother Qinghe Cui.

This buddy came from a wealthy family, and his father and son have been officials in Qizhou for three generations. He has a good official reputation in the local area. This time there was a locust disaster in Guanzhong, and the disaster relief was also considered effective. Originally, the Ministry of Officials wanted to praise him.

However, the Ministry of Integrity received a report from the squire, saying that the governor took advantage of the natural disaster to encourage the people under his rule to become monks and buy land, which seriously damaged the local rent regulation.

However, the investigation results of the Ministry of Integrity made Li Chengqian, who was in charge of the country at the time, dumbfounded. Zheng Shanguo bought a lot of land without losing the common people. He even gave more to the land that was really difficult.

In particular, they have very good reasons to spend their own money to buy land and donate it to Buddhist temples to pray for the people of Qizhou who are suffering from the locust plague. What can you say about that.It turned out that Zheng Shanguo was a devout Buddhist, and had close relationships with many eminent monks, and they often talked about Taoism and Dharma together.

He himself is also very respectful of the Buddhist theory that disasters should enhance compassion, create "good karma" together, make offerings to Buddhas and respect heaven in order to obtain the power of protection and protection.

In short, he buys land and encourages people to become monks so that everyone can avoid being persecuted by disasters. He doesn't care whether there are people on the land or not.

Whether it was due to legal principles or for temporary stability, so that the Zheng family and the Cui family would not take advantage of this to make trouble during the catastrophe, Li Chengqian could only suppress this matter.Now that the emperor came back, Niu Jinda put the case in front of Li Shimin.

Sitting in the Chengqing Palace, Li Shimin was sulking. In Li Shimin's view, Zheng Shanguo is a god and Buddha who is praised more highly than the emperor. How can this make Li Shimin, who has always been narcissistic, happy.

But you can't say that gods and Buddhas are useless, and Zheng Cui's family's intercession memorials were also sent to Hongwen Hall one after another. Yes, everyone knows that Zheng Shanguo is wrong, but what reason do you have to judge him? sin.

"I asked you to come here today to talk about Zheng Shanguo. It is reasonable and legal to give away such land and people for no reason. Tell me, what should I do?" Li Shimin glanced at everyone in the hall.

Wei Zheng looked left and right, seeing that no one spoke, he said: "Your Majesty, he gave the people and the land that should have been paid to the imperial court to the monastery.

If everyone learns from him, it won't take long for the court to have no soldiers and food to collect. I think he has deceived the court and the people under the guise of praying for the people. "

"Xuan Cheng, don't look at things too one-sidedly. Zheng Shanguo's performance in the disaster relief is still remarkable. You can't give him serious punishment for this matter, otherwise who would dare to help the people in a catastrophe year.", Xiao Yu said shaking his head.

"As the governor of Qizhou, he is obliged to lead the people under his rule through the locust plague, but this is not the reason for him to send the people of the court to the temple," Changsun Wuji said bitterly.

Liu Lei has always been on good terms with the Zheng family, and when she saw what Changsun Wuji said, she stood up and asked loudly: "Zhao Guogong, Zheng Shanguo spent his own money, and he didn't forcefully arrest the people. What is the reason to punish him? He has been corrupt or has broken the law." Liu Lei was right, and Changsun Wuji was at a loss for words for a while, so he could only sit down and sulk.

"Your Majesty, no matter in any dynasty, the court doesn't care what religion the officials believe in. Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, also sacrificed his life to enter the temple four times. Even the royal family is so religious, let alone those aristocratic families and literati. In their In my eyes, the biggest thing in the world is the gods and Buddhas, as for whether the country has money, food and soldiers, I don't care at all."

Fang Xuanling looked up at the emperor as if, seeing the emperor winking at herself, she made it clear that the officials believed in the gods and Buddhas far more than the awe of the imperial power, and this was the reason why Li Shimin was angry.

"They should put the interests of the court first when they take the salary from the court. Instead, they use the money and food from the court to supplement his so-called place of faith. Then I really want to ask who he is an official for. If I feel that I really can't let go of my admiration for the gods and Buddhas.

It doesn't matter, you can resign from office and become a monk, and concentrate on serving the gods and Buddhas. How can such a half-hearted person be loyal to the king's affairs and the master's affairs?" Du Ruhui never believed in gods and Buddhas, and he didn't save any face when he made a knife.

Li Chengqian looked at the double reeds sung by Fang and Du and secretly gave a thumbs up. How can he be a prime minister? This kind of insight is indeed not something ordinary people can have.

"Father, the two lords Fang and Du are old-fashioned talkers of the country. There are some officials like this in our dynasty. They serve the monarch on the one hand, and on the other hand, they also worship the gods and Buddhas devoutly, but they are distracted.

But how can this sugarcane be sweet at both ends? Zheng Shanguo is not the first, nor will he be the last. Could it be that the court just does nothing?
As Master Wei said, where will the court's money, food and soldiers come from in the long run.The grown-ups never tire of this billowing red dust, but it is difficult for them to continue to be officials.

My son thinks it's better to let those adults who can't let go of practicing Zen go back to serve the gods and Buddhas, and they can't cut off their chances of becoming Buddhas and ancestors, right? "

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Li Shimin stepped down and nodded.He said solemnly: "Although I am the king of a country and the lord of all nations, I can't restrict the religious beliefs of my subjects. A minister like Zheng Shanguo can be regarded as an official, but he will never go to that clean place.

It's not easy.How can folk couples be forced to come out and become officials if they are allowed to marry and divorce if they can't live on.Pass the decree to remove Zheng Shanguo from his official position as the governor of Qizhou, and send him home as a gift, so that he can feel at ease.At the same time, Zhongshu Province drafted another imperial edict, all those who want to worship gods and Buddhas and have no time for court affairs, the court will allow them to resign. "

The two imperial decrees issued by the Hongwen Palace downplayed the disrespect for the imperial power in this matter, and made those officials who usually talked about Taoism and Buddhism immediately silent.

No one wanted to implicate themselves, and of course no one submitted their resignation to the Ministry of Officials.Everyone came out to be an official for the sake of being famous, how many of them can be fooled into being like Zheng Shanguo.

Many officials in the court are secretly complaining that the Zheng family has a fool. The emperor even sent people to send Buddhist scriptures and cassocks, and sincerely wished his beloved Qing to become a Buddha and a ancestor as soon as possible. This also made the Zheng family suffer. .

(End of this chapter)