Zhenguan Crown Prince Li Chengqian

Chapter 53 Li Chengqian's Views on Religion

"I am the lord of the world. The officials should believe in me, not those gods and Buddhas made of clay. You kid usually have a lot of ideas, so tell me what you should do."

Ever since Fang Xuanling mentioned Emperor Wu of Liang, Li Shimin had a murderous desire in his heart. If he became a puppet of theocratic power like Emperor Wu of Liang, he would be as happy as killing him.

Of course, this kind of thing cannot be said to the courtiers, and the queen is in self-cultivation, so she can't bother her.Since the Luoyang incident, Li Chengqian's status in his heart has continued to rise, so it is reasonable and reasonable to vent his dissatisfaction with his son.

Li Chengqian gave Gan Yun a look and told him to clean up the teacup that the emperor had smashed, while he himself moved a chair by the emperor's side.

"Father, the matter is a bit complicated. It involves imperial power, aristocratic family, religion, land, population, taxation and other aspects. If it is not handled properly, it will shake the foundation of the country. This is the reason why my son suppressed the matter."

"I know all these things, just tell me what to do"

"Piece and piecemeal", Li Chengqian's answer aroused Li Shimin's interest, this kid can always have some whimsical ideas at critical moments.

Sometimes Li Shimin really wanted to pry his head open to see what was inside.He knew Li Chengqian's temperament, and Li Chengqian would not say anything without full confidence.

"Simply speaking, restricting the development of religion, not to mention, Zhou Wu Emperor Yu Wenyong and Sui Wen Emperor Yang Jian both encountered the problems that the father is facing today.

But the approach of the two was obviously inappropriate, so both ended in failure.Erchen thought that their idea was right, but the way they did it was somewhat unsatisfactory. "

Hearing that his son wanted to change his perspective on the past and the present, Li Shimin smiled, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why did the two fail?"

"At the beginning of Yu Wenyong's accession to the throne, although he practiced Buddhism as usual, he paid more attention to Confucianism. In the second year of Tianhe, there were more monks in the temple, which caused disputes, and the revenue of the treasury plummeted. , This also provided Yu Wenyong with an excuse to destroy fo and religion.

In the third year of Tianhe, Yu Wenyong gathered a hundred bureaucrats, monks, and Taoists in the Dade Hall, and personally lectured on the "Book of Rites".arrive

In May of the third year of Jiande, a proposal was made to ban fo. Monks and Taoists were ordered to gather in the capital to denounce Buddhism as unclean. An edict was issued to ban fo and Taoism: all scriptures and images were destroyed, and monks and Taoists were ordered to return to vulgarity. All the blessings of the three treasures were distributed to Your servant, the temple, pagoda and temple are given to the prince.Other offerings and worship, those not recorded in the ritual ceremony, will be eliminated.

In June of that year, Taoist Temple was set up, and 120 famous Buddhist and Taoist scholars were selected, dressed in common clothes, as "Bachelors of Taoist Temple", and placed under the supervision of officials.

In the sixth year of Jiande, the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty. Yu Wenyong entered Yecheng and enforced the ban on fo in the original Qi territory.

After the ban on fo, the northern temple statues were almost extinct, and many monks fled to the south of the Yangtze River.But not long after Yu Wenyong's death, Buddhism flourished in the north again. "

"Then why did Yu Wenyong fail? It was because he was too anxious. Killing is not the only way to solve the problem. People are not afraid of death, so why should they be afraid of it.

While killing wantonly, he forced the people to believe in Confucianism, and the people were illiterate, so they didn't understand what he meant by the Book of Rites.

Who cares about etiquette when you have enough to eat? Religion persuades people to be good, and they often donate to the poor. They have different opinions. Of course, the people believe in religion more. This is also the reason for his failure. "

Li Shimin raised his head and listened with fascination: "What about Yang Jian, how did he fail?"

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and was extremely happy to see his father's emotions gradually subside.

So he went on to say: "Because of his background, he was a monk for a while when he was young. During that time, Yang Jian was also deeply attracted by the Buddhist theory and became a devout Buddhist.

But after becoming the emperor, he also discovered the disadvantages here, and at the same time learned from Yu Wenyong's lesson, he stopped killing. He chose to vigorously support the Fo religion, and took the Fo religion as the state religion. During his reign, he built as many as three temples. Thousand 790 two.

Yang Jian admired Buddhism so much, and he knew his father's purpose for the Yang family, so he naturally got closer to Buddhism.Needless to say, the crown prince Yang Yong once called on eminent monks and great virtues to meet in Chang'an, and together with his core aide, Prime Minister Gao Jiong, believed in the three levels of Fo religion.

Among them, Gao Jiong claimed to be the protector of the third-level religion, the third son Yang Jun believed in the Buddha religion, and asked to become a monk in the third year of Kaihuang's reign; Every temple has its figure. "

"Yang Jian's purpose of using the Fo religion to suppress other sects has not been achieved at all, because he can't control the increasingly powerful Fo religion at all.
At the same time, under his influence, the civil and military ministers in the DPRK believed in Buddhism, so they couldn't get rid of it. "

Li Chengqian's analysis of imperial power, religion, officials, common people, etc. can be said to be reasonable, and Li Shimin is also satisfied with his son's knowledge.

Although I am an emperor, I am also a father. They taught your son to be like this, so it is right to reward Li Gang and Zhang Xuansu well.

For his son's remonstrance, Li Shimin thought it was true, so he said lightly: "Since you know so much, what should we do in Tang Dynasty? I can't follow the old path they walked, and I can't let the divine power be above the imperial power. Let them suck the bones of the common people. In my opinion, they are more hateful than those corrupt officials."

"First, restrict the issuance of ultimatums. All sects must have the permission of the father before they can recruit disciples. The Ministry of Rites is responsible for the assessment and registration of newly-ordained monks. Second, conduct examinations for all existing monks. Those who pass the Confucianism Examination will all return to vulgarity.

Third, impose heavy taxes on the land occupied by all sects. Since they are blessed by the Tang Dynasty on my land, they have to pay taxes like ordinary people.Fourth: No sect is allowed to have arms.Fifth, all new temples and Taoist temples must be approved by the imperial court. "

According to Li Chengqian's piecemeal fight, even if there is resistance, it can be easily suppressed. Li Shimin believes that it will not take long for the influence of theocracy on imperial power to be greatly reduced.

"If the theocracy is to be restricted now, we must first unify the will of the court officials inside and outside the court, so the merger of provincial officials has become a top priority.

After all, they still have to do things, push each other's way, hold each other back, no matter how determined the father is, he will end up with nothing in the end. "

Of course Li Shimin knew what his son meant, let's say Zheng Shanguo, he could be between the court and the gods, Li Shimin knew with his ass that he would choose the latter.

(End of this chapter)