Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Liu Peiji waited for a moment and saw dozens of monks hurriedly coming out of the temple gate. The leader was a fat monk in his early forties. When he was only seven or eight steps away from the carriage, he bowed down and said, "I don't know how kind a poor monk is." Please forgive me for being late to greet you!"

Liu Peiji looked at the ascetic who was kneeling on the ground and asked after a while: "Ci'en is your dharma name?"

"Not bad!"

"Where does it come from?"

The ascetic was stunned, and after a while he replied: "I don't know, poor monk, it must be the kindness of a loving mother, right?"

Liu Peiji snorted coldly: "As the abbot of a temple, you don't even know the origin of your name. You really don't deserve your name!"

When Liu Peiji said this, the abbot was already covered in sweat and trembling all over. A monk next to him responded: "It is said in "The Sutra of No Destiny" that 'when you see people in disaster, you should have compassion and help rescue them. The compassionate heart in "Let You Get It" is one of the four immeasurable hearts, and grace refers to favor or friendship. The abbot's name means that if you see someone in disaster, you must help them to find a safe place to live. the meaning of!"

"Yes!" Liu Peiji nodded and asked the abbot, "Abbot Ci'en, is he right?"

"Reporting to Sir, what Kong Shi said is exactly the origin of the poor monk's dharma title!" the abbot said hurriedly.

"As an abbot, you want someone below to tell you the origin of your title. In my opinion, it would be better if you just stop being abbot and let Kong Shi do it for you!" Liu Peiji sneered.

When the abbot heard Liu Peiji's words, he didn't know how to reply for a moment. He could only kneel on the ground and kowtow. Liu Peiji sneered: "Everyone, get up! Abbot Ci'en, just now the monks in your temple said that there is a saying in the Buddhist scriptures; 'See When people are in trouble, you should have compassion, help and rescue them, and help them get what they need. You are all disciples of the Buddhist sect, shouldn't you act in accordance with Buddhist scriptures?"

"That's natural!" the abbot replied quickly.

"What should be done if there is a violation?" Liu Peiji asked.

"If you don't respect the teachings of the Buddha, you will not be a disciple of Buddhism. You should be expelled from the monks and banned from the door!" the abbot said.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Liu Peiji said three good words in a row, and suddenly his face turned cold: "Then let me ask you, now there are locusts everywhere in Bianzhou, and the people are in dire straits. Aren't the local people in a disaster? Why do you think so? Brothers of the Buddhist sect, why don’t you help rescue me and get me to my rightful place?”

When Liu Peiji asked the question at the end, his voice was very serious. The abbot was sweating profusely from being asked, and Ai Ai was speechless for a long time. Fortunately, Kong Shi on the side said: "Reporting to Sir, every month in this temple, we set up a place to give out porridge to help the hungry. , there are many living people, just according to the Buddha’s teachings! If you don’t believe it, you can go around and ask!”

Liu Peiji looked at Kong Shi. He originally wanted to find a reason to uproot Changmen Temple, but he didn't expect that Kong Shi's words would be more convenient. He had dealt with it two or three times. But now that he is here this time, He definitely couldn't return empty-handed, so he smiled and said: "That's very good. By the way, when I came here, I heard from the refugees who were fleeing the famine. The Samana in the temple said that these locusts are divine insects in the sky. If they are killed indiscriminately, they will be provoked." If the Bodhisattva is angry, more disasters will come!"

"This -" Kong Shi was at a loss for words. Of course he knew that this official came with bad intentions and came to Changmen Temple. But the problem is that these words "locusts are divine insects" were said in a Dharma conference, and more than a few hundred people heard it? If you deny it here, people will immediately find dozens of witnesses, and you will definitely not be able to get through.

"What's wrong? Is this really happening?" Liu Peiji asked forcefully.

"It's true!" Kongshi didn't dare to deny it and replied carefully: "But it is said in the Buddhist scriptures that all living beings are equal. Although locusts are insects, they are also one of all living beings. If someone kills them, their merits will be damaged. Everything in the world is equal. , everything is determined, and the locust plague is one of these determined factors, which cannot be changed by human beings!"

"Hahaha!" Liu Peiji laughed when he heard this: "The locust plague is a certainty. Okay, then if I order you to be killed, is that a certainty?"

When Kong Shi heard this, his face turned pale and he said, "It's natural that the gentleman wants to kill the poor monk!"

"Okay, come here, drag down this demonic monk who is deceiving everyone with his monstrous words and kill him!" Liu Peiji shouted sternly. The guard behind him responded and stepped forward to drag Kong Shi down. The other monks were shocked when they saw this, but they saw Seeing Liu Peiji's official robe and the guards beside him, he had no choice but to endure it. The abbot asked carefully: "Langjun, what crime did Kong Shi commit that you want to kill him?"

"What's the crime?" Liu Peiji sneered: "The food you eat and the clothes you wear come from farming and weaving for the common people. But now that there is a locust plague, you say that locusts and people are all living beings and cannot be killed. You also say that there is a locust plague. It is also a fate that cannot be changed by humans. As a result, the people watched the locusts devouring the seedlings but did not dare to attack them, for fear of causing greater disasters and not knowing how many people would starve to death. Shouldn't they be killed for such a serious crime? If you don’t kill a few demonic monks, how can you shake people’s minds and tell them right from wrong?”

While he was talking, the guards had already brought up Kong Shi's bloody head. Liu Peiji ordered it to be hung in front of the gate of Changmen Temple. He also ordered all the monks in the temple to be taken into custody and sent to the nearest government office for strict interrogation. The temple warehouse was sealed, thinking that For the purpose of providing relief to the victims.

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Chang'an, Political Affairs Hall.

"General!" Zhang Wenguan handed over a document: "Look at this, it's from the Henan newspaper!" "Oh? Is it about the locust plague?" Wang Wenzuo took it casually, looked at it and smiled: "Liu Peiji did a good job. ! I didn’t see him having such courage when he was in Chang’an!”

"There are many princes and nobles in Chang'an. Naturally, he, the Minister of Household Affairs, must be cautious!" Zhang Wenguan sighed: "But what do you mean, do you support Liu Peiji in doing this?"

"I recommended him when he went to Henan. As long as he doesn't kill officials and rebel, I will naturally support him in whatever he does!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.

"The general is joking!" Zhang Wenguan said with a bitter smile when he heard this: "We sealed twenty-seven monasteries in one go, and killed more than forty monks. Thousands of monks were forced to return to secular life! I guess it won't take a few days. , the big jungles of Chang'an and Luoyang will also take action, this is no small matter! Don't forget, even the Bodhi Temple of the royal family of this dynasty is in the two capitals!"

"That's true, but I didn't expect it!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "It's a pity that the emperor can't see things now. It's the three of us who are in charge. I'm not afraid of these monks. It depends on whether you two, Xiang Zhang and King Han, can stand. Stable!"

"General!" Zhang Wenguan sighed: "This matter is not a joke. Everyone is mortal. Even if the supreme power of ten thousand chariots dominates the world, it is only during life and cannot be taken after death. Before Abi Hell, the noble and the lowly. It’s the same, how can anyone not be afraid?”

Although Zhang Wenguan did not say it directly, his attitude was already obvious. In the eyes of many modern people, Buddhism and Taoism are similar to each other. They are both harmless images of humans and animals. However, this is the result of many secular regimes attacking China from ancient times to modern times. In the Tang Dynasty, especially in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism in the early days was not what it is today.

During the Yonghui period of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, a book called "The Book of the Underworld" was circulated. This story is recorded in the book: In the eighth year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, a man named Du Qi in Chang'an recovered from his death three days later and said that he had seen a man after his death. Yama. The King of Hell asked Du Qi what official his father was? Du Qi replied that my father once served as a command sergeant in the previous dynasty. The King of Hell said that you have found the wrong person and will release you back to the earth as soon as possible. The King of Hell asked again, have you seen the former Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty? Du Qi said I recognized it. The king of hell asked him to see Emperor Wu of Zhou. So Du Qi was taken to a small iron room. Inside the iron room was a man, dark and thin, with iron shackles on his body. Du Qi recognized Emperor Wu of Zhou and cried, "Your Majesty, how did you end up like this?"

Emperor Wu of Zhou replied: "I believed in Wei Yuansong's words and destroyed Buddhism and religion, so I received this retribution!"

Du Qi asked: "Then why don't you bring Wei Yuansong to suffer the crime together?"

Emperor Wu of Zhou replied: "That's what I said, but I have searched all three realms and still can't find this person. If he is caught in the morning, I can be freed in the evening! When you go back, tell the Sui Dynasty about my situation." Emperor, he has an old friendship with me, and the grain, cloth, and silk in the treasury were all accumulated by me. Please ask him to do some great merit for me to save me. If he doesn't save me, I will be free forever." Du Qihuo! After coming over, he reported the matter to Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, who asked everyone in the world to contribute a sum of money to build a Buddhist temple, so that Emperor Wu of Zhou could be relieved.

From a modern perspective, this story is ridiculous. Because in history, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, not only usurped the Yuwen family of the Zhou Dynasty, but also killed all the Yuwen family. If Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty knew what Emperor Wu of Zhou had experienced in hell, he would only think of ways to prevent Emperor Wu of Zhou from reincarnation forever. , and will never spend money to get rid of it.

But considering that the early Tang Dynasty was a society where more than 90% of the people were illiterate, the story in "The Legend of the Underworld" is quite powerful. Considering that printing had not yet been popularized at that time and the cost of knowledge dissemination was extremely high, even the intellectual class may not be very aware of the details of the high-level political struggles that had taken place more than half a century ago. After listening to this story, they would only feel the power of Buddhist karma. Even the supreme emperor could not escape cruel revenge after his death after violating Buddhism. A strong emperor like Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, under the influence of Buddhism, In the face of power, he had to lower his head.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand how arrogant Buddhism was faced by Confucian scholars represented by Han Yu. The monks at that time even openly threatened those who opposed them with hell. When they encountered floods and droughts, and failed in foreign wars, the monks would also use the lack of respect for Buddhism as an excuse. This struggle for discourse power and interpretation power lasted until the early years of the Song Dynasty, when Confucianism won a complete victory. This is also the reason why the ancient prose movement represented by Han Yu had such a high status in ancient China. The so-called ancient prose is not a return to the past, but a borrowing of the past to the present. Han Yu and others did not fight for the style of writing, but the right to speak in politics. In a sense, Han Yu is the Martin Luther of ancient Chinese Confucianism. Coincidentally, one of Martin Luther’s greatest achievements was translating the Bible into German. He is also known as the founder of German literature.

"Since this is the case, then there is no need for Zhang Xiang and King Han to say more!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If the Buddha has a spirit, he can cause trouble. If there is any disaster, it is better to add someone to the king's body, and God will give you a warning. I will No regrets!”

"This, this -" Zhang Wenguan was also frightened by Wang Wenzuo's words, and after a while he sighed: "General, why are you doing this?"

"Liu Peiji violated Buddhism for the sake of the country. If I punished him for this, who would be willing to do things for the country?" Wang Wenzuo said: "There must be someone to take responsibility for this kind of thing. Since Prime Minister Zhang and King Han are not willing, then so be it." Only I will take the responsibility!”

When Zhang Wenguan saw this, he could only sigh. Sure enough, as he expected, a few days later, various Buddhist temples in Luoyang, Chang'an, wrote to the court to attack Liu Peiji's extermination of Buddhism in Henan. Since women accounted for a large proportion of Buddhist believers at that time, the nobles and officials in Chang'an were immediately The pillows were blown up by the wind. Even though they knew that Wang Wenzuo was the one who ordered Liu Peiji to go to Henan, there were still many people who wrote to impeach Liu Peiji.

Taiji Palace, Ganlu Palace.

"The general has been working hard these days for government affairs. It's really hard!"

Tonight the Queen looked particularly charming. She wore a dark green low-cut blouse, with thick hair draped over her bare shoulders. Judging from her swollen belly, it seemed that she was not far away from giving birth. Wang Wenzuo lowered his head: "This is the duty of the minister!"

"It would be great if there were more people who were as dedicated as the generals!" The queen sighed: "These days, the rumors outside have made it difficult for me to have peace in the palace!"

"May I ask what the rumors are about?" Wang Wenzuo knew very well that they were probably related to Liu Peiji's affairs, but he still pretended to be ignorant and asked.

"Come!" The queen waved her hand and signaled the maids on the side to put the dishes on the table. She stretched out her hand and said, "General, you are welcome. Come and dine with me today! Just chat and pass the time!" "

"Thank you, Your Majesty, that would be rude!" Wang Wenzuo glanced at Young Supervisor Wang carefully and felt relieved when he saw the other person's right hand making a downward gesture. To be honest, the dinner prepared by the Queen was quite good: they started with mushroom and pheasant soup, crispy hot pies and crystal drinks. Then came the water basin mutton, fish breasts, preserved fruits and nuts. Wang Wenzuo ate very respectfully, waiting for the queen to swallow each dish before he started eating. He didn't think the queen would poison him, but it was always right to be careful.

"My mother came to the palace a few days ago!" The queen picked up a piece of preserved fruit and stuffed it into her mouth, biting it in small bites. Wang Wenzuo could see that the queen was upset: "She said that several eminent monks from Daci'en Temple said that the weather was unfavorable and that it would take a long time. Only by doing good deeds can everything go smoothly!" (End of Chapter)