Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 446 Is Brother Tian Chinese?
Chang Qianhu thought for a while and finally gave up.

"Then let's maintain the status quo." He had no choice but to say: "When you put it this way, I feel that doing craft work or something may be more suitable for him. Maybe he will make a name for himself in the future."

Monk Dao Yan didn't say anything, but he smiled and seemed to agree.

"But besides him, there is another child who needs attention." Chang Qianhu reminded.

"Little princess?" Monk Daoyan shook his head: "She is indeed smarter, but she won't cause any trouble."

"Her situation is very special." Chang Qianhu told him: "After she came here, almost everyone in the palace said that she is the smartest and most potential person. The prince himself said to others that it is a pity that she is a Girl, otherwise you will definitely achieve great things.”

"The countries in the West generally have very short histories, and people do not have the habit of recording and learning history. Therefore, their political level is also very low. We know that there are lessons to be learned and issues that need to be avoided, but they are not very sensitive."

"The result is that their noble ladies frequently interfere in state affairs, but the country lacks effective mechanisms to stop them. As far as I know, there have been more than one such case in the princess's mother's line - as you know, even Her biological mother is obviously not a peaceful woman."

"She has been taken care of by Princess Ma these past few years, so she should be fine." Monk Daoyan said, "Besides, I don't see any excessive ambitions on her part."

"Ambitions will change with the environment. Few people are born with rebellion, but there are still many people who gradually develop their own ideas as the times change. One of the main tasks of our Beizhen Fusi is I have some experience monitoring various people who may have thoughts." Chang Qianhu seemed to understand quite a bit.

"Moreover, the customs in different places are different from each other. I don't know if she will bring the habits from there in the future. But this is also something beyond my authority. I am just a little worried, so I want to Let me ask you."

"This will indeed have some influence." Monk Daoyan nodded: "I communicated with the scholars here some time ago. The princess's grandmother, the Queen Mother of France, seems to have a bad reputation. Many people complained that she caused troubles In state affairs, after cheating her husband and cheating on her son, she made a mess of a good country. From this point of view, she seems to be a figure like Empress Wu."

"The history of the Tang Dynasty is so famous. Even a martial artist like me knows it, and the great monk must know it better." Chang Qianhu sighed: "After Empress Wu, there was Empress Wei and Princess Taiping. With this precedent, who knows her family Do your daughters and granddaughters have similar thoughts?"

Monk Dao Yan thought about it and did not answer directly.

"I didn't think so much at first. But later, a special notice was sent from my hometown, saying that everyone should pay attention to the performance of each feudal king and their family members - now that I think about it, it should be the time when I checked King Zhou and his family. Chang Qianhu lowered his voice and said, "I didn't know what was going on at the time, so I paid more attention. Then the more I thought about it, the more I felt I had to pay more attention."

"Is it...that you are too sensitive about your profession?" Monk Daoyan reminded.

"I hope I'm too sensitive. It's better than being too insensitive and something will happen." Chang Qianhu didn't shy away from this.

"After all, the system in the Roman Khanate is relatively crude, and there is nothing we can do about it. You see, they still have a prime minister and a lieutenant in a practical sense, and their power is not small, and there are no supervision measures. If it were in the Ming Dynasty, there would be no way This will happen." Speaking of professional counterparts, he couldn't help but make a few more comments.

"So we don't actually delve into many things - things like the public appearance of female family members are nothing. Anyway, it's too far away from the motherland, and it won't ruin the clan's reputation. But in addition to this kind of personal morality issue, there are also There are more important business matters."

"The little princess also often comes into contact with the daughter of Bai Saihan. That person is also very ambitious, which is something that even passers-by know. If this continues, will it teach people bad things? They are not afraid of problems in the future. I am also afraid of them in the future. Feedback our 'experience' back to our hometown to cause trouble. In that case, we will really be derelict in our duties."

"There are two problems with Empress Wu: bad intentions are a small problem; incompetence in major national affairs is a big problem. Later generations criticized her mainly because of the latter; the lesson we need to learn is how to prevent conspiracy, People who don't know how to do things come on stage." Monk Dao Yan thought for a while and said.

"So, I think they can't produce such people here. You also know that the system here is relatively rough, and people often do not act according to the rules, but purely based on their strength. People like Empress Wu, among them, I'm afraid it will be difficult to climb up here, and others will kill you halfway. Moreover, compared with the external war pressure and the troubles caused by immature internal systems, Lu and Wu's matters are not the primary issue."

"Of course, this is just my conjecture." He thought for a moment and asked, "What do the locals here think?"

"The attitude of the local people is very obvious." Chang Qianhu had obviously conducted careful investigation: "Their attitude is also very interesting - basically, you can see the level of civilization of the local people."

"Greece has the longest civilization among the countries around the West Sea. Most other countries are also barbarians in their eyes." He introduced: "The Greeks are also the most wary of women interfering in politics. They have suffered great losses in history, and they have memories of this. Even the Roman Khanate experienced it back then. After all, they must have suffered from this for a long time."

"Among these barbarian countries, the most civilized one should be France. They are not as experienced as the Greeks, but they clearly have this tendency. What I just mentioned, the matter of the little princess's grandmother, is an example."

"So you see, there should be rules here." Chang Qianhu concluded: "You said that Lu Wu's matter is not important to them. This is true for some countries. But judging from the experience of Greece and other places, Some more developed civilized areas have already begun to encounter problems in this regard."

"So I think it's just a matter of time. If you develop for a long time, you will encounter it."

"I'm not a serious scholar, so I can't explain so many truths. I don't quite understand the reasons behind this phenomenon." He shook his head: "But I feel that the experience gained from so many years of history must be reasonable. ——What’s more, this is not just the experience summed up by people in one place.”

"Look, during the Tang Dynasty, to be honest, the ministers in the court were not really opposed to women being in power, otherwise Empress Wu would not have a chance to come to power, right? But now, everyone has formed a consensus. It can be seen that everyone has suffered more and more. The more you learn, the more you will see things in the world."

"So, since the predecessors have suffered enough losses and have even gained experience from the losses, why not let future generations continue to suffer? Otherwise, what is the meaning of history books?"

"As for these other civilizations... I think maybe this is what is called education, and we should pay attention to it." He thought for a while and expressed his opinion.

"I didn't have any feelings about this word before. I had no interest in it either. I thought it was just a cliche made by rotten literati and had no practical meaning. But after I went on business overseas for a long time, I realized that this is not actually chanting sutras, but a real need. "

"It would be fine if you were far away from the things that barbarians do every day, out of sight and out of mind; but they do these things in front of you every day, and it's really unbearable after a long time. I brought people here On the way, I couldn't hold it in a few times." He shook his head repeatedly.

"I had a lot of trouble on the way here, but I think it's okay..." Monk Daoyan thought about it and said.

"Yours is a serious mission. Everyone takes great care of it. All countries should take more care of it. Moreover, taking the river and Persia all the way here is also a traditional trade route. You are familiar with it along the way, so it should be more reliable. "Chang Qianhu couldn't help complaining: "We took the sea route, but it was miserable. What kind of things were there along the way..."

"The natives in many places act quite surly, and sometimes I don't know what they are thinking. When I walked to Tianzhu, I couldn't stand it. Later, I went to Egypt on a business trip, and soon I had a conflict with a local powerful man. "

"I thought at the time, even if it wasn't for justice, I should at least pay attention to the impact, but the man threatened me in turn. I was still domineering at that time, and I couldn't get angry, so I led someone to kill his whole family."

"That's it." Monk Daoyan remained calm and just nodded.

Although Chang Qianhu didn't elaborate on this matter, he could roughly guess it.The reaction of these Jin Yiwei was not too surprising.

"But their accomplices were still there, and they wanted to retaliate against us, so I had no choice but to run away. We contacted that girl Jeanna - the one who was later sent to help King Wu. It was at that time." Chang Qianhu continued to recall. road.

"I learned a lot from that incident, and I reflected on it for a long time. I felt that there was really a lack of order outside. Although the principle is empty, the meaning is correct. This is not educational. It’s really not possible.”

"How to educate? In fact, there are only two things." He said: "The first is to kill those barbarians who are too much trouble; the second is to teach others our experience, so that they can learn from us and be serious people. People. These are things that take a long time to do, but His Majesty asked King Wu to stay overseas and asked us to come over. It should be for long-term planning, right? These things must be done sooner or later, right? "

"Then, what do Miss Jeanna and the others think? They should know best." Monk Daoyan pointed out.

"They don't object. Their abbot thinks we are too violent, saying that the Seris people kill their entire family every day." Chang Qianhu shook his head: "But there is nothing we can do. The barbarians don't understand at all. Humanly speaking, only by taking direct action can we make them behave for a few days. Can this be called violence? If you ask me, it's still too much killing!"

Monk Dao Yan really didn't know how angry he was, so he could only comfort him with a few words.Chang Qianhu shook his head and returned to the topic.

"What I just said is only part of my worry. In addition to fear that this barbarian habit will lead to bad children, I feel that there will also be problems with their religion." He told the old monk. "Barbarian habits are often difficult for people to adapt to, and religion may be part of it. The Roman Khanate's god-worshipping religion is relatively normal. Others are even more wrong."

"After the little princess was born, she was fostered in the countryside for a long time, and her biological mother arranged for someone to take her with her. Later, when the King of Wu became more stable, he entrusted Mr. Qi and Huang to give her an enlightenment education. Maybe it was because of this Experience shows that she actually believes in the sect in her hometown, which is not the same thing as Prince Edward and Mr. Guo."

"I think it would be better to let her change her sect. Otherwise, I will always be afraid that something will happen." He shook his head and said to Dao Yan: "You are the one who understands the teachings, great monk. I don't care about this kind of thing." Do you think it’s best for you?”

"I'm not a monk who worships God. Besides, if this could be persuaded, I guess Master Wang and the others would have persuaded him already." Monk Daoyan was also a little embarrassed.

"I'm worried that this matter will be more troublesome." Chang Qianhu was obviously very vigilant: "When the dynasty was first established, special orders were issued to restrict the culture and customs of the Semu people. I think we should also pay attention to the religion of the French Hui. "

"Since you, as a clan member, enjoy all kinds of preferential treatment, you must abide by the corresponding laws and etiquette. However, the teachings and customs of Fahui are in many contradictions with the etiquette of the Han people. This will cause adverse effects and even cause harm to people. Forces like the Yuan Ren provide words; secondly, they are also a hidden danger.

"Children are easily influenced, and there's nothing we can do about it. Moreover, she has a long life. I don't know how many people she will come into contact with in the future, and how much contact she will have with her hometown. I heard that those in power have to pay attention to their own performance at all times. , according to their literate words, it is to be 'as if you are facing an abyss, as if you are walking on thin ice', because every move you make has a great impact." He also quoted a scripture.

"People in Prince Wu's Mansion all think that the little princess is smart and good at getting along with others. Because of this, they have to pay more attention. Otherwise, what should we do if this is spread within the clan and among the people, causing others to imitate her?"

"That's it, there's no need to worry about it." Monk Dao Yan didn't care much: "If that's really the case, then there's no need to worry."

"Why?" Chang Qianhu asked.

"We Buddhists know this matter best." Monk Daoyan said with great understanding.

"The widespread spread of Buddhism began in the troubled times after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. However, not long after the beginning, it encountered major setbacks. In the early years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Taiwu Dharma Dilemma occurred."

"Although everyone knows that the real reason for this incident is that the Buddhist temple has accumulated a lot of wealth, and there are even many monks who do not abide by the precepts and even plot evil. But when the edict was actually implemented, the Buddhist crimes given by Emperor Taiwu were still This is to seduce the monarch to 'do evil things and ghosts to cause chaos in the sky. This has never happened in the Nine Provinces since ancient times'."

"Therefore, he requested to 'eliminate the false and establish the true, and restore the rule of Xi Nong. Eradicate all the Hu Gods and eliminate their traces.' In the order, he insisted on calling our Buddha the 'Hu God' and the Buddhist scriptures the 'Hu Jing' ’, making unreasonable accusations.”

"The Northern Wei Dynasty is a country of Xianbei people, and he himself is a Wuhu." Chang Qianhu felt that something was wrong: "Then why did he accuse others of being too... too Hubarian?"

"On the one hand, the Han officials and Taoist priests in his court were lobbying, and the Northern Wei monarch also needed to prove that he was orthodox. On the other hand, the concept of Hu people may also be hierarchical." Dao Yan told him: "Before the Northern Wei Dynasty, encouragement And the regime that supported Buddhism was the Hou Zhao of the Jie people. Shi Le and Shi Hu valued monks and appointed Fotucheng and others to assist them, so Buddhism was also closely connected with this regime."

"For the Xianbei people, the Jie people are also a foreign race, and they are even more different from the other Sihu people. They belong to the Hu people among the Hu people. In the narrow sense, the Hu people probably refer to them. That's why there is such a saying."

"But no matter what, this is obviously not a good thing for Buddhism. You know the word 'nonsense', right?"

Chang Qianhu nodded.

"Buddhism has the 'Four Noble Truths', the 'Eightfold Path', and the 'Twelve Causes and Conditions'. The Hu monks who came to the Central Plains tried to explain these truths to others. But most people neither liked the Hu people nor did they like them. He understands the Hu language, and in addition, there were many new concepts in Tianzhu Buddhism that the Central Plains people could not accept, so there was great resistance to these teachings."

"Monk Hu explained the 'Eightfold Path' and tried to teach Buddhism, but in everyone's opinion, it was completely unclear and nonsense. Over time, even though Buddhism has been widely accepted, everyone still used this idiom. Today's Buddhist believers , maybe I am using this word myself.”

"There is also this allusion." Chang Qianhu had an eye-opening expression on his face.

"Yes, Buddhism, or all foreign scriptures and meanings, are inherently faulty in the Central Plains. No need to find any other problems, just 'you are from the barbarians' is one of the biggest accusations." Monk Yan shook his head with emotion.

"Until the Tang Dynasty, Han Changli wrote a letter to denounce Buddhism. The first sentence at the beginning was 'Those who worship the Buddha are the ears of the barbarians and Di.' In other words, coming from the barbarians and Di, it is the most straightforward and powerful Guilty."

"Other competitors tried their best. Taoism also made up a saying, 'Laozi transformed the barbarians', which satirized Buddhism as the religion of the barbarians. They claimed that Laozi traveled westward and taught them, which led to Buddhism. Therefore, they are The ancestor of Buddhism. There is no evidence for this statement in history, and the plot is ridiculous and unexamined, but it is still widely circulated."

"During the Yuan Dynasty, Meng Ge Khan ordered Ali Buge to preside over the debate to clarify the situation; because everyone was dissatisfied, he later ordered Kublai Khan to hold a great debate again. Buddhism was led by Elder Fuyu of Shaolin, and Taoism was led by Zhang Zhijing of Quanzhen Sect. Hundreds of people from both sides participated in the debate. Kublai Khan, Master Pasiba and others also personally came forward to inquire, and invited Confucian scholars and other celebrities to witness on the spot. As a result, Taoism was refuted and the words were exhausted, so it was ruled that "Laozi turned into a Hu" "The Sutra" is a forgery, and it is required that the relevant apocryphal texts and other groundless slanderous remarks be deleted and the editions burned."

"At this point, all the arguments that need to be argued have been completed, and there is nothing more to argue about. But even after that, Laozi's statement about turning Hu Hu into a Hu is still widely circulated among the people, and it continues to this day. The monks have expressed their opinions to the Yuan Dynasty and this Dynasty. I complained and complained, but the court could do nothing about it.”

"Because this matter is not a matter of reason." He complained helplessly: "The common people, and even many scholar-bureaucrats, just like this kind of argument. Although there are Taoist priests fishing in troubled waters, many people can't even Said it was malicious."

"This scripture was written by a barbarian. Everyone just felt awkward and had to find him a Chinese teacher to feel at ease. He may also feel that finding a Central Plains person to be your ancestor is flattering you. How is this? Be reasonable..."

"Buddhism is already relatively close to the thinking of the Central Plains, and Tianzhu's speculative theory has also inspired the Central Plains people a lot. Later, both Confucianism and Taoism began to take the initiative to learn and absorb Tianzhu's learning in Buddhism. In this way, Buddhism has had so many twists and turns in being accepted by the public, and it has been considered to be unable to come to the forefront. Even if there are as many believers as in the Liao Kingdom, it cannot take on the responsibility of the state religion. Otherwise, let alone the orthodox Central Plains countries, even the barbarian regimes affiliated with China will not be able to Accept it," he argued.

"However, in order to be able to save all sentient beings, Buddhism can accept many contingencies. "The Lotus Sutra" records that there was an elder whose disciples were playing in a burning house. Unaware of the approaching danger, the elder used convenient methods to lure them and told them There were sheep carts, deer carts, and ox carts for play outside the door. When the disciples heard about it, they rushed out of the house, went outside the door, and asked the elder for the cart. At that time, the elder gave the disciples and others a large white ox cart. This big white ox cart is the symbol of Mahayana Buddhism. It means that in order to save the world from suffering and danger, one can even hide intentions or even disguise it. In order for the people of the Central Plains to accept it, the way of expounding the Buddhist scriptures and various Changes in rituals and interpretation methods are naturally in line with Buddhism. It is precisely because of these adjustments that Buddhism can be accepted by everyone."

"Later, many people began to advocate the unification of the three religions. For example, probably starting from the Song Dynasty, some people began to create paintings with themes such as "Three Religions Pictures", represented by Buddha, Confucius, and Laozi, combining these People who have never met are painted together to express the intention of the exchange and integration of the three religions. Only at this point can the people of the Central Plains accept the fact that Buddhism is the right way."

"And what about the God-worshipping religion? Their religion is even further away from the customs of the Central Plains. In terms of philosophy and thinking ability, they are also far inferior to Buddhism. Buddhism has encountered so many setbacks and has not been able to completely overcome it so far, let alone them. ?”

"If these religions spread to the Central Plains, they will gradually change themselves like Buddhism. In this way, they themselves will become a God-worshipping religion that you can accept. On the contrary, if they cannot change, then they will It is always just a personal hobby of a few people, it will only be ostracized by the public, and it will not have any influence on the court."

"Furthermore, the pessimistic point of view, even if it changes to this extent, is probably just a little better. People only need to ask, is the Buddha from China? No matter how you explain it, he is born short. For thousands of years, this has happened No matter how eminent monks or virtuous men there are, they have not been able to explain this problem well, and I don’t think the God-worshipping religion can do it easily.”

"I think they took the initiative to cater to the idea of ​​'I turned into a Hu'." Chang Qianhu said.

"They have no pressure to compete with Taoism, so even if they admit it, it doesn't matter - and I doubt whether their sect, Hercynian Crossism, borrows things from Taoism to improve itself, or the other way around, it is the Hellenization of Taoism." Dao Monk Yan questioned.

"Buddhists and Taoists are considered peers and cannot admit that the other party takes advantage; but they seem to have been taught by Taoists, so they have no psychological pressure at all to recognize Lao Tzu as their ancestor."

"I discussed this matter with Master Wang, the leader of the God-Worship Cult. He used Greek-style logical arguments to explain their theory to me." He told Chang Qianhu: "Master Wang said that it is known that the Eastern Han people There are records saying that the Romans were similar to China; it is also known that the founder of the God-worshiping religion, Brother Yishu Tianzun, was born in the first year of the Western Han Dynasty and was indeed a Roman in this time period. Based on this, we can draw a conclusion , Brother Tian Yishu is also 'similar to China', he is an almost Chinese character."

"There are many Han Chinese in the upper echelons of the Roman Khanate, and they often have contacts with the East. Relying on this kind of argument can we avoid conflicts between the Central Plains identity and the local God-worshipping religion, and make full use of the advantages of both. As for those individuals in France I don’t think the sect can reach this level.”

"The barbarians are stubborn and arrogant. They always feel that their teachings are heavenly principles and cannot tolerate any changes. They have neither the great wisdom of Buddhism nor the open-mindedness and detachment of seeing through everything, nor the foresight and practical spirit of great Confucianism." He said, and then Added: "Even Taoists know better than them how to do things in a down-to-earth manner."

"So, although they all come from foreign lands, let alone Buddhism, they can't even compare to the God Worship Cult." He shook his head: "In the eyes of the Central Plains people, no matter what he said, it was just another show." Monk Hu is just talking nonsense. Therefore, there is no need to worry about this matter and what the consequences will be."

"In this way..." Chang Qianhu nodded: "I really didn't expect this level. Master, you can see through it."

"Hey, didn't you just say that you have experience because you have suffered losses? We monks have really suffered losses too." Monk Daoyan smiled helplessly.

(End of this chapter)