Water Margin people

Chapter 1430 Mutual Benefit

In a pavilion in the back hall of Lingyin Temple.

"The donor is so elegant and graceful, his identity must be extraordinary!"

Zen Master Huiyuan looked at Sun Lei and asked.

"My brother is the Emperor of Da Qi!"

Chai Jin directly reported Sun Lei's identity.

"Amitabha, it turns out to be His Majesty the Emperor! I am honored to meet you!"

Zen Master Huiyuan showed no surprise on his face and bowed to Sun Lei.

"Master, I won't be polite with you. I'm here for the Buddhist cause! As one of the current Buddhist leaders, I hope you can support me!"

Sun Lei went straight to the point and spoke to Zen Master Huiyuan.

"This... I wonder what kind of support Your Majesty wants?"

Zen Master Huiyuan hesitated for a moment before asking.

"On the one hand, you Buddhists have accumulated a large amount of land. Although you have distributed these things to believers, the land deeds must be handed over. In the future, Buddhism must not encroach too much on the secular world of the Central Plains. You should just study Buddhism behind closed doors."

"On the other hand, if you want to preach, you can integrate Buddhism and go abroad to preach together. Of course, it is best for Buddhism to act with my permission. As for the details, Master Dao Ji already knows them."

Sun Lei looked at Zen Master Huiyuan and said.

Zen Master Huiyuan looked at Sun Lei, then at Dao Ji, and didn't know how to decide for a moment. This was a major event concerning the entire Buddhist community, and even he could not make a decision at will.

"Also, those merchants have been trying to go against me recently. I don't need to tell you what will happen to them. You Buddhists had better not get involved."

Sun Lei looked at Zen Master Huiyuan again and said that Mr. Liu had obviously come to Lingyin Temple with a purpose, and the so-called Dharma Assembly was probably a cover to protect the merchants.

The salt from Yangzhou, the silk from Hangzhou and the port from Quanzhou, these were the three problems that Sun Lei had to solve when he went south.

"Master, you can think about it for a moment. I am waiting for your response!"

Sun Lei stood up and took everyone to continue touring the temple.

"Your Majesty, the old monk seems unwilling?"

Chai Jin asked in a low voice.

"There's nothing wrong with them being unwilling. I've already given them a choice. If they don't want to, then you can't blame me for being cruel!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

After visiting Lingyin Temple, Sun Lei and his party went boating on the West Lake.

The women were very satisfied with the scenery of West Lake. The gentle scenery of Jiangnan was more in line with their aesthetic taste. However, the children were not interested because they were too familiar with boat rides.

“This is much smaller than home.”

The children pointed at the West Lake and thought it was too small and not as big as Liangshan Lake.

The food in Hangzhou was even more unsatisfactory for the children. Along the way, they had seen dishes from different places with their own characteristics, and they all ate heartily, but in Hangzhou, there was nothing delicious to eat.

"What does this fish smell like?"

In the evening, a Hangzhou specialty dish, vinegar fish, made everyone lose their appetite.

“It’s really hard to put it into words!”

Sun Lei tried it and was not disappointed by the West Lake Vinegar Fish. It was just as unpalatable even if it was prepared a thousand years ago.

The child was curious and tried it, but he started retching.

“Can’t this thing be improved?”

Sun Lei pointed at the plate of vinegar fish and asked the waiter who served the food.

"Sir, this is a famous dish from Hangzhou!"

The guy felt a little contemptuous when he heard Sun Lei's foreign accent, thinking that outsiders didn't know what delicious food was.

"Go, get some charcoal and some meat, and grill it right away!"

Seeing that everyone had no appetite, Sun Lei said to the waiter.

Speaking of barbecue, the women became interested and joined in. Dao Ji came back at this time.

"How is it, has Zen Master Huiyuan replied?"

Sun Lei looked at Dao Ji and asked.

"Master said that this matter is of great importance, and he can only agree on behalf of Lingyin Temple. As for other temples, he can only write a letter!"

Dao Ji said that Qi State was different from previous dynasties. Sun Lei's determination could be seen from his swift and decisive actions. If they resisted at this time, it would be another destruction of Buddhism.

Buddhism could no longer withstand such a disaster, and Zen Master Huiyuan and Dao Ji both felt that Buddhism needed to be rectified. Today, temples all over the world no longer resemble pure lands, but are filled with the stink of money. If this continues for a long time, the Buddhist faith will surely no longer exist.

"Then happy cooperation!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

Sun Lei wanted to pry out the interests occupied by Buddhism, and those monks also needed someone to help Buddhism clean up its followers. This was a win-win situation for both parties, and they hit it off immediately.

"As for the matter of preaching, we still need the monks from all sects to discuss it together!"

Dao Ji continued to say that preaching Buddhism requires reforming Buddhism again, which is no small matter and cannot be done by one person.

"Well, you guys hurry up and come up with a charter, my army won't wait!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

"Army?"

Dao Ji was stunned for a moment, then he realized what Sun Lei meant, which was that Qi would soon launch an external expedition.

Sun Lei didn't say anything else, but pointed at the barbecue and invited Dao Ji to eat some with him.

Dao Ji had no aversion to wine and meat, and he sat down and started eating with great concentration.

Early the next morning, Sun Lei took his men to Quanzhou. They took a boat from Hangzhou and the warship was already waiting for them when they arrived at the seashore.

It was the first time for most of the family members to see the sea and they were all full of interest.

"Is this the sea?"

The children lay on the side of the boat and looked at the endless blue sea with curiosity in their eyes.

"Uncle Xiaoqi, is the sea water salty?"

"What's under the sea?"

"Dad said it was SpongeBob!"

"What is SpongeBob?"

……

The chirping sound continued.

Sun Lei didn't want to be bothered, so he hid at the stern and lay in an armchair, reading the memorials that were sent to him.

"The mission has failed, but Xixia is still not peaceful!"

Sun Lei looked at the report just sent by Western Xia. A month ago, a group of bandits appeared near the Helan Mountains in Western Xia. They rode down the mountain to rob, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties.

"What? Someone else dares to cause trouble?"

When Lu Zhishen heard that it was about Xixia, he immediately became angry. He had killed many people in Xixia, and it had only been a short time before someone rebelled again.

"You only destroyed the Xixia regime and the main force. How could you possibly take care of the tribes and armies in various places? They were afraid of the army and ran into the mountains."

"But there is a shortage of food and clothing in the mountains. The supplies those people brought have run out, and hunting is no longer a way to make a living. So they risk going down the mountain to rob. It is said that there have been three heavy snowfalls in the Helan Mountains!"

Sun Lei said that no matter whether it was Western Xia or the Jin Dynasty, conquest was only the first step, and the next step would be to suppress the rebellion repeatedly until all the rebels were eliminated.

"Three heavy snowfalls? The snow came so early this year?"

Lu Zhishen was a little surprised. He had also been in Guanxi for many years. It was already autumn at this time, but three heavy snowfalls meant that the entire north was covered with ice and snow.

"It got cold earlier this year. Liaodong has already had two snowfalls. It's getting more and more difficult in the north!"

Sun Lei sighed. It was not easy for the defenders in the north now. The ice and snow covering the earth made it impossible for the army to quickly provide support to various places. This gave the bandits scattered in the mountains an opportunity to take advantage.