The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 411 sets standards for the family

The matter of Yuan Ziyan also reminded Yang Tong that under the rule of the Sui Dynasty, the pattern of a hundred schools of thought contending has quietly blossomed. The shackles of the law, let alone enjoy any special rights, and of course privileges cannot be completely eliminated, but they must be controlled within a controllable range.

When the Silk Road was officially opened, more foreign theories and sects would inevitably flow into the Sui Dynasty.The imperial court must treat the essence of these schools of thought equally. As for whether the local sects will be overwhelmed by foreign sects, Yang Tong has no choice.

All he can say now is that no one can save the damn sect.Those who are eliminated under the big waves are not competitive in themselves, and there is no need to exist. Only those who survive through cruel competition are real gold.What Yang Tong needs is a spiritual culture that can lead the nation to make continuous progress, instead of sticking to stereotypes, sticking to the handicapped, and not treating the essence of other races as a scourge.A country can only progress if it suffers from adversity. This is true for businessmen and sects.The most important thing is that Yang Tong doesn't believe that there are tens of thousands of schools, large and small, derived from a hundred schools of thought, and they can't do the foreign race theory.

However, before many ideas poured into the Sui Dynasty, what the court had to do was to formulate the rules for development.

The rules need to be discussed with the elites of the era.

Although everyone half-understands many of Yang Tong's views, everyone fully agrees with the use of laws to limit religious rights.

The main reason is that the excessive development of Buddhism during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the period of Emperor Wen and Wu brought many hidden dangers and problems to the whole society and people's livelihood.

Yang Gongren said: "Whether temples or Taoist temples are worth mentioning, they use the name of asking for Buddhas to collect offerings from believers and collect hard-earned money from believers! This is not the only thing. There are countless properties under the name of various temples and Taoist temples. industry, the most important thing is that these monks have countless fields, but they don’t have to pay taxes!”

"In the past dynasties before the Holy One, the monks enjoyed the right to be exempted from taxes and servitude, which led to the temple becoming a place outside the law. Ordinary people only need to transfer their real estate to the temple by giving alms and paying a considerable amount of land rent. This is a loophole in the system and law of the past dynasties. It is understandable that you love me and I wish. But behind this transaction, the monks in the temple can make money out of thin air without paying any price. Obtained land and a large number of free labor. During the period of Emperor Wen and Wu, the temples in Guanzhong were extremely magnificent, with hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns. These monks, instead of reciting Buddhist teachings and guiding people to be good, they drove the land, plowed and weaved all day long. To make a living, to estimate and sell, to do some business of buying and selling land, and lending and pawning."

"Precisely because of the laissez-faire attitude adopted by the past dynasties, some temples and Taoist temples have been extravagant and corrupt. They usually have nothing to do, and there are countless people who can't spend money on sesame oil. This extravagance will naturally follow...I think we have to deal with it Strict control, regardless of Buddhism or Taoism, will be included in the legal system, land tax will be collected, and sesame oil money will be collected in the form of commercial tax, and then used as charity to build the place.”

"My lord, I fully agree with Zuo Pushe's opinion!" Wei Zheng stood up and said, "Regardless of Buddhism or Taoism, they are all part of the world. As long as they are still in the world, they will inevitably be contaminated with secular vices. They have never been a pure land. Perhaps There are laymen and eminent monks who can transcend the world, but nine hundred and nine hundred and ninety-nine out of 1 people are members of the secular world, fantasizing about being unique and independent, but it’s just wishful thinking.”

"I think that not only should their privileges be abolished, but also the number and scale of monasteries and Taoist temples should be limited. There is no need to have all of them. In this way, monks can be gathered in one place, which is also convenient for control. All redundant temples Take it back to the court."

"Reconsideration!" Yang Shidao, Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, continued: "These fake monks collect the hard-earned money of the common people, and the common people have the right to know the ins and outs of the money. The minister proposes to set up good books and account books in all temples and Taoist temples for The people check it at any time. The government has to check the account books every quarter, and if there are abnormal expenditures and incomes, they will be severely punished. This will prevent people from enriching their own pockets."

"In addition, many monks are not sincerely devoted to Taoism and Buddha. Most of them are lazy hooligans. This must be taken seriously. It is better to imitate the imperial examination and put all monks through a big assessment. Anyone who fails to pass will be sent back to the court. Home." Kong Yingda's move was the most ruthless.

"..."

Everyone said something, and I said something, from the very beginning of restricting the theory of a hundred schools of thought, they uniformly criticized the temple.

It's no wonder everyone is targeting it, it's because these bald guys are so hateful.

The earliest pawn industry appeared in the Buddhist temples during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The temple’s stock can be mortgaged and redeemed, and the contract relationship can be inherited through relatives. The process is quite complete.

Human greed is infinite, and the fake monks with impure six sense organs are no exception.

They were gradually dissatisfied with pawning, so they ran the usury business in full swing. They borrowed everything, and some monasteries even lent cattle to farmers to collect interest.

The usury interest of monasteries is usually higher than that of the secular world, and they often use the power of the Buddha to intimidate borrowers in order to obtain higher interest rates.For borrowers who cannot repay, the monastery unceremoniously sues the government, uses legal means to protect their legitimate rights and interests, and even forces them to serve in military service to repay their debts.

If buying and selling land and lending and pawning were still legal businesses in the feudal era, some monks who behaved badly even did illegal activities.There are even some monks who blatantly buy and sell by force, rob and steal, and cheat. Compared with them, lending money is nothing compared to it.

And the monks, who are composed of criminals who "put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha", are actually soldiers, guards, and dead soldiers serving the temple!
Therefore, stripping off the lofty and mysterious armor of "superior people", the vast majority of monks are not fundamentally different from merchants, rich men, and bullies.

Listening to everyone's words, Yang Tong nodded his head.

Now is a troubled time with a sharp drop in population, but as long as the world is unified, the population will increase, and the available land will decrease, and crises will also arise as a result.

But Buddhism is an outlier among all sects. They recruit believers widely, occupy mountains as kings, and enclose land as fields.In addition, temples do not need to pay any taxes, which leads to richer monks and more and more fields, and finally shakes the foundation of the country.

Yang Tong remembered that a few years later in history, the monastery was sitting on a large amount of real estate in the world, and there was a thing that "everything in the world has wealth, seven or eight Buddhas have it".

These extralegal places have traditionally been places where privilege has concentrated.Due to their vicious expansion, arrogance and extravagance, and the mixed believers, good and bad, religious organizations that should have been indifferent to the world and operated in a healthy manner have become cancerous tumors of the country.

Finally, it led to Tang Wuzong's extermination of Buddhism.

Since monks like to mobilize believers to build temples in famous mountains, and then take famous mountains as their own, they should not be allowed to build temples indiscriminately; if they occupy good land, then they are not allowed to own land, even if they have to pay taxes according to the tax law; they are arrogant and extravagant , then limit their income, so that they have no money to earn and no money to use; they have disciples everywhere, then raise their entry requirements...

In this way, monks cannot escape their sins, eat meat, marry wives, be exempt from taxes, make money, be extravagant, break precepts, and finally be uneducated...

If in such an environment, there are still people who sincerely follow the Buddha and the Tao, it means that the other party’s true heart is the Buddha and the Tao. Since he is a true monk, he will definitely not do anything that harms the country and the people.

As long as these clauses are implemented as scheduled, all the fake thieves and hypocrites in the world can be completely wiped out.

What's more, these methods are completely set according to their teachings, and believers have no reason not to support them, because in their view, monks should be so detached and free from vulgarity, and they should be like this. The rules are like nothing to a Taoist expert. If you don't follow these terms, then you are a fake. Why should I believe in you?

However, it is easy to set laws to limit the unbridled growth of monks, but it is quite difficult to synchronize their rules and teachings with the law.

Because the setting of many laws needs to be checked and filled according to the rules of each school, so as to make up for the loopholes in this aspect of the law. This is a very huge project, and various schools may not be willing to let the court control To reach into their interior, and to do this, the legislative department of the imperial court must sort out the internal rules of each school and their teachings, so that they can be compared with each decree one by one. This is a huge siege, and it will not happen overnight. Therefore, Yang Tong did not ask everyone to give a deadline, but this matter must be put on the agenda as the main project of the legislature within ten years.

After sending off many important officials, Yang Tong climbed up to Chaotian Hall.

Chaotian Hall is very similar to Empress Wu Zetian's Ming Hall, with a total of three floors and a square base, symbolizing the four seasons.The dodecagon in the middle layer imitates the twelve o'clock hours, with a round cover on it, which is held by Kowloon.The upper layer has 24 polygons, with 24 solar terms.On the top floor is a golden phoenix, one foot high.The overall building is more than [-] feet high, and it is the tallest building in Yecheng. Standing on the highest point, you can have a panoramic view of the whole Yecheng.

Opening the door and walking to the corridor, a bitter cold air swept across the world, and Yecheng, the royal city built by Yang Tong, was quietly entrenched at the foot.

Yang Tong took a deep breath of the cold air, feeling that the time of this year seemed to pass quickly, in the blink of an eye, it was already the end of the year, and a year passed silently.

He felt as if he had done a lot of things, but he didn't seem to do anything.

"Husband, what are you looking at?" Xiao Wu's voice came from behind, and she put a thick cloak on Yang Tong's body, and carefully tied the silk sash tightly.

"I'm looking at our empire." Yang Tong opened his cloak and hugged Xiao Wu into his arms, feeling an unspeakable sense of satisfaction in his heart. If this momentum continues to develop steadily, the roots of his empire will be very strong, perhaps A few hundred years later, in the era of barbarism and ignorance in other countries, the Great Sui Dynasty has taken the lead in entering the most prosperous and glorious historical moment. At that time, the Great Sui Dynasty may perish, but the soul of the Great Sui Dynasty will never be destroyed. will be destroyed.

"It's been a long time, won't my husband get tired?" Xiao Wu, who was huddled in the cloak, looked at the scene in front of her in puzzlement. Icicles hang down.Looking far away, you can see the whole picture of Yecheng, and a sense of simplicity and heavyness rushes over your face.She will be shocked at first, but it will become dull after a long time.

"How is it possible?" Yang Tong shook his head and laughed, a man's romance is sometimes incomprehensible to a woman's, "This is the world I brought down, and it's also how I raised the city of Ye from the ruins, no matter how you look at it, you won't get tired of it." of."

Xiao Wu asked: "Will we still move?"

"definitely will!"

"Daxing?" With the recovery of Guanzhong, Chang'an changed its name back to Daxing.

Yang Tong said without hesitation: "Luoyang!"

Although it is troublesome to move the capital, Daxing is not suitable as the capital if you want to enter the Central Plains in the future. Whether it is to convey news or control all over the world, Daxing is not as convenient as Luoyang, which has well-developed water and land transportation.

Moreover, the problem that Guanzhong’s food could not support Daxing existed as early as the time of Emperor Wen. If the capital was established in Daxing, the population would inevitably soar.Not only is the cost of going southward for food from the south unrealistically high, but the key point is that if the Yellow River freezes for a long time, there is a danger of food shortages.In addition, the environment of the Loess Plateau is too fragile, and if it is developed indiscriminately, it will inevitably cause irreversible damage.

Although people often say that Luoyang has no danger from the four fortresses, in fact, Luoyang has been surrounded by numerous passes since ancient times, and the situation is very dangerous.As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty set up Hangu, Yique, Guangcheng, Dagu, Zhuyuan, Xuanmen, Mengjin and Xiaopingjin eight passes around Luoyang, the capital.

As long as Henan County is captured and perfected in the future, Luoyang's defense effect will not be worse than that of Guanzhong, which controls the four fortresses and looks at the world.In addition, the peripheral fortresses such as Tongguan, Hulaoguan, Tianjingguan, and Zhiguan have become Luoyang's strong gateways. As long as defenses are set up, Luoyang will become an important military location that can be attacked and defended.

Wang Shicheng first chose Luoyang as a foothold, and he did not have the heart to see the world through the eight passes, but he fought with Yang Tan internally and Wagang externally, consuming too much material, troops and energy, and there was no time to consolidate the foundation. There was a situation of air leakage everywhere.

"However, this will definitely be the last time we move in this life. Shenwu Palace, Linshuo Palace, Zhaowu Palace, Daxing Palace, Jiangdu Palace, and Jinyang Palace are all accompanying capitals." Yang Tong held his wife in Lou's arms, his eyes clear express their ambitions.

"As long as our family is safe and sound together, it's the same everywhere." Xiao Wu smiled lightly.

"When the world is unified, we will follow the example of the emperor's grandfather to tour the world. Only by contacting the people at all times can we understand the needs of the people and hear the voices of the people."

"En! Good." Xiao Wu's eyes revealed deep longing.

Snowflakes swirled and fluttered around the two of them, Xiao Wu with her thin eyelids hanging down, snuggled obediently into her husband's arms, her heart was warm.

That wind, that snow!
It seems that they are far away from her at this moment.

There was a soft "crunch", and a gust of fragrant wind rushed to the face.

Yang Tong tilted his head slightly, and looked at Pei Qinghua who was walking.

(End of this chapter)