Great Warriors of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Chapter 932 Monk Xu

Monk Xu is now a bodyguard in front of the imperial guard, with a seventh-rank imperial weapon, and belongs to the Qianniuwei Mansion.

As an orphan who was abandoned in front of Shaolin Temple since he was a child, he was adopted by Shaolin when he was young, and then became a monk.If it weren't for the turmoil at the end of the Sui Dynasty, perhaps he would have stayed on Mount Song all his life as a stick monk.

The emperor entered Luo, and the north was pacified.

Monk Xu originally wanted to return to Shaolin and continue the past.But the master wanted him to stay, so he stayed with Emperor Qin as a bodyguard, and let him return to vulgarity. The master said that it was good for him and good for Shaolin. He didn't understand the reason, but he followed the master's words and stayed. .

The days in Luoyang are not much different from those in Shaolin.

Get up early every morning to practice martial arts, and then be on duty to drive.When he is not on duty, he will practice martial arts and read scriptures, and occasionally go to worship Buddha in several major temples in Luoyang City.

He also has a small courtyard in Luoyang City, which was rewarded by the emperor, and he even has a deposit in the Daqin Kaiyuan Bank, which is more than 100 guan. expenses.Therefore, he, like other colleagues, deposited the money in the bank.The bank gave him a receipt and paid them interest.Banks then use their money to borrow money and collect the interest difference.

This kind of operation method of the bank is actually similar to the quality warehouse in the temple before.There is a warehouse in the temple, and the common people can mortgage and borrow money, and the temple collects interest.

Because he has returned to vulgarity, he started to grow his hair and put it into a bun. At the beginning, he was not used to it. After more than 20 years of baldness, he got used to it. Now his hair always makes him feel uncomfortable, but gradually he feels comfortable. Get used to it.

Today, the emperor summoned.

Monk Xu changed into a clean and tidy silver robe on purpose, and wore the Qianniu Saber bestowed by the emperor.

When the servant's summons came from the hall, he stood in front of the hall, straightened his clothes, and registered loudly.

"Monk Xu, are you still used to working in the palace?"

The emperor admired him very much, and he didn't call him by his name or his official position, but called him Monk Xu every time.

"Return to Your Majesty, get used to it."

Luo Cheng stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, "Just get used to it, now I have an errand for you, please take a trip."

"It's a great honor for me."

The task Luo Cheng gave Monk Xu was to let him go back to Shaolin.

"Shaolin helped me take Luoyang back then. I have made great achievements. I will always remember it."

In fact, after the emperor seized Henan, he quickly rewarded Shaolin with practical actions. Not only did he return all of Shaolin's original temple properties of more than 2 mu to them, he even rewarded them with a lot of money and food.

Not long ago, the central government issued a new policy, which is to set up a special Buddhist and Taoist management agency to control the development of Buddhist and Taoist groups and to purify the atmosphere of the religious groups.

Its main system is still to control the number of temples and temples, prohibiting private construction of temples and temples, subject to the approval of the imperial court.Second, the establishment of monks and Taoists to comprehensively strengthen the management of monks and Taoists. At the same time, the system of degree certificates is stipulated. Monks and Taoists need to obtain degree certificates from the imperial court first, otherwise it is illegal.

Another one is the control of its economy, strictly restricting the number of acres it owns, and prohibiting temples and temples from operating quality warehouses, lending, and doing business.

It is forbidden for temples to shave privately, and it is forbidden for temples to house prisoners.

Buddhism was introduced to my country from the Han Dynasty, while Taoism as a local sect emerged in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. These two major sects flourished and had a great influence in China.

It has a considerable scale of monks and Taoists, a large number of believers, a strong temple economy, and social influence that cannot be ignored.

They have huge bases in economics, culture and even politics.

On the one hand, Buddhism and Taoism have a positive side. The belief in Buddhism and Taoism is sometimes more effective than legal norms, and can educate the people, Yin Yi Wang Gang.

But on the other hand, this kind of belief with strong economic and political influence breaks through the secular norms, and its impact on the court is also quite huge.

Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the imperial court began to legislate laws and regulations to strengthen the management of monks and Taoists. However, this period was also a chaotic era when Buddhism and Taoism attacked each other. They either borrowed from the gentry or the imperial court to attack each other. Buddha, even entered the temple and refused to return to the court, asking the court to pay a huge sum of money to redeem him.

On the other hand, Emperor Wu of the Northern Wei Dynasty exterminated Buddha.

All this shows their huge influence and the court's loss of control over it.

When Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty exterminated Buddhism, one-tenth of the population of the Northern Zhou Dynasty were monks and nuns, or attached to temples. The number of temples reached more than [-], with more than [-] million monks and nuns. It was quite amazing and seriously threatened the Northern Zhou Dynasty. The imperial court finally brought a tragic dark age to Buddhism.

Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty exterminated Buddhism, but he died of illness in his thirties. After that, the Northern Zhou Dynasty soon perished, and Yang Jian usurped the throne and established the Sui Dynasty.

Yang Jian was raised in a nunnery since he was a child, so after he became emperor, he respected Buddhism very much, developed Buddhist temples vigorously, held relics, held Dafa conferences, etc.

In Daxing, the capital city, there are even several large Buddhist temples occupying an entire district.

The Shaolin Temple near Luoyang, in fact, can only be regarded as a lesser-known temple in the Sui Dynasty, but it still has a temple property of more than 2 mu of land, as well as lending businesses such as quality warehouses, which shows that it has a strong foundation.

Buddhism reached a very prosperous state during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Wei Wu and Zhou Wu's extermination of Buddhism actually had a specific background in the times, that is, their development was too great and they had already touched the bottom line of the court.

It’s just that although Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed Buddhas and temples, he did not slaughter monks and nuns, but forced them to return to vulgarity.

Now Daqin almost dominates the world, and is also facing various problems.

The aristocracy is a problem, and Buddhism and Taoism are also a problem.

But Luo Cheng did not engage in a drastic suppression strategy, but hoped to find a more flexible way.

According to today's preliminary census, although monks and Taoists are not as scary as the number of millions in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, there are still millions of people.

When Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty exterminated Buddhism, he forced 300 million monks and nuns to return to secular life. But later, Yang Jian revered Buddhism again, so countless monks and nuns were ordained again.

Up to now, the number of monks and Taoists is as many as one million, and there are tens of thousands of temples and temples in the whole country.

This does not include some other foreign sects, such as Nestorianism, etc., and all kinds of wild gods in other places.

From the royal family and nobles to the traffickers and pawns, and there are many people who believe in Buddhism and Taoism, simple and rude prohibitions will definitely not work.

After all, there are many believers, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and temples are everywhere, and its economic strength should not be underestimated.

Luo Cheng's decision-making center is still control, not banning.

Prohibition cannot be stopped, blockage is worse than sparseness, as long as it can be controlled well, it can also be owned by the court and play an active role in enlightenment.

(End of this chapter)