Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 561: West
In spring, Chang'an is sunny and windy, and new green leaves appear on the willow branches.

In Furong Garden, beside Qujiang Lake, a group of people were drinking and having fun. They set up a tent on the shore and laid out fruits and vegetables. They also hired a painted boat and asked actors to play the piano and dance on it.

It's so comfortable to listen to music and play dominoes while feeling the wind.

"It's a tie!"

"Li Chenghong, you put down your cards again."

"I'm going to pee and eat dog intestines. What bad luck."

"Go away. You drank too much dog urine last night. Don't make me sick."

Li Chenghong walked to the bank of Qujiang River and then walked a little further north. While unbuckling his belt, his stomach growled a few times, so he simply went into the woods ahead.

This area is actually a royal garden, built by Li Longji for recreation. Now it has been abandoned and only some members of the royal family come here occasionally.

Li Chenghong was also a member of the royal family. He was the grandson of Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian and the son of Prince Bin Li Shouli. In terms of seniority, he was a cousin of Emperor Li Cong. His sister was Princess Jincheng, who married into the Tibetan royal family, and his brother Li Chengcai married a Uighur princess.

In short, their family's relationship with the emperor, which is neither close nor distant, makes them the easiest candidates for marriage.

Li Chenghong chose a spot among the grass and trees that faced the lake and had a nice view. He squatted down and was about to relax when he suddenly heard a branch being stepped on. He turned around and quickly stood up, picking up his clothes.

"Your Highness."

Xue Bai also heard the noise and looked over from behind a big willow tree. When he saw Li Chenghong, he stepped forward and said, "Prince Guangwu is quite elegant."

"I dare not. Your Highness, please forgive me for not being able to complete the ceremony."

Li Chenghong stole a glance and clearly saw a woman hurriedly leaving behind the willow tree. Only a fluttering skirt and back figure were seen for a moment. Apparently, Xue Bai was having a secret meeting with someone here today, and he happened to run into her.

Riding a horse out of the Daming Palace and following the wall of the East City all the way to Furong Garden to enjoy the scenery is indeed a very convenient and enjoyable thing, but I don’t know who that woman is?

"I've been wanting to call you to talk recently. Now that we meet today, it's just right." Xue Bai said, waved his hand, and walked to the lake to talk.

Li Chenghong claimed to be an elder, and secretly cursed him for being rude, but he still fastened his belt, tried his best to clamp his buttocks, walked over slowly, and said: "Your Highness, please give your orders."

"Do you know anything about Tibet?"

"Your Highness, are you going to ask my family to marry again?" Li Chenghong was shocked when he heard the word "Tibetan", because he had a daughter of marriageable age among his many children. He quickly said, "If so, I... I will never agree to it."

Xue Bai waved his hand and said, "It's not a marriage alliance. When the Tibetan envoys come, you just need to point out which ones are on good terms with Princess Jincheng. As for the others, I will make arrangements when the time comes."

"Really? Your Highness is not taking advantage of my honesty and deceiving me?"

"I don't think it's a joke to you about national affairs."

Li Chenghong wanted to put on the airs of an elder to suppress Xue Bai, but unfortunately he lacked the momentum. In the end, he obediently accepted the task and promised to welcome the Tubo envoys together with the officials of the Ministry of Rites as a prince.

After saying this, seeing that Xue Bai was still not leaving, he bowed and said, "Then I'll take my leave."

"Ah."

Xue Bai stood by the Qujiang Lake, looking at Li Chenghong's somewhat tense back. He stood there for a while, as if staring at him to see if he was still planning to relieve himself anywhere.

Historically, probably after the An-Shi Rebellion, the Tibetan army invaded Chang'an and established Li Chenghong as a puppet emperor. This incident may be just a small matter in the vast dust of history, and no one would really count Li Chenghong as one of the Tang emperors, but for ordinary people living in Chang'an today, it is another disaster.

Therefore, Xue Bai was very cautious when dealing with Dazalugong.

Li Chenghong finally had to hold his shit in the toilet. From this incident, he realized that he was a little afraid of Xue Bai.

When he returned to the card table, Li Zhen, who had been waiting impatiently, asked, "Why did you take so long?"

"I just met ..."

Li Chenghong was halfway through his words, wanting to make fun of Xue Bai's secret meeting with a woman in Furong Garden. But he could actually feel that after he left, Xue Bai had been staring at him from behind, and the threat was obvious.

"be lost."

Soon, the crisp sound of dominoes colliding rang out again.

~~
The next day.

After the court meeting, Wei Jiansu was summoned by Xue Bai alone.

In fact, Wei Jiansu was very dissatisfied with the current court structure. What he wanted was a "Crown Prince Regent" where the Crown Prince watched from the side and the Prime Minister made decisions on state affairs.

This time the topic was about land and population in the Tang Dynasty. Xue Bai believed that after two or three years of war, the situation of wealthy and powerful families hiding their land and fleeing had become increasingly serious.

In this regard, he asked Wei Jiansu for his opinion.

"I believe that Your Highness will take steps to resolve this matter sooner or later, and by then I will no longer be in the court."

"Why did Lord Wei say that?"

Wei Jiansu was a rather old-fashioned and serious man, so he started by talking about the old story of Li Longji appointing Yuwen Rong as prime minister, and talked about the various difficulties that would be encountered in investigating hidden fields and hidden households. He told Xue Bai to wait patiently and consider these things after he had a solid foundation and was well-founded.

Xue Bai accepted his advice humbly.

Seeing that Xue Bai was willing to accept advice, Wei Jiansu said a few more words, saying that he had many misunderstandings about His Highness in the past, but now that His Highness has clarified his identity and is indeed wise, he should naturally support His Highness.

The relationship between the two was not good before, but there have been some changes recently.

Then, Xue Bai tentatively asked whether it was feasible to increase the number of candidates for the imperial examinations and reduce the number of officials who were appointed through family connections accordingly.

"Absolutely not!"

As soon as Wei Jiansu heard this, he strongly opposed it and his attitude was firm.

As a result, Xue Bai's position became clearer. He could accept things like checking the land and population that could ease land annexation, but he would instinctively oppose things that involved the core interests of the aristocratic families.

Then, the thing that really cannot be rushed is the reform of the imperial examination system. Xue Bai said, "Don't be excited, Lord Wei. I was just asking casually."

After going back and forth like this for a few times, Xue Bai finally said something casually.

"By the way, I wonder how much land and population the Tang Dynasty temples have now?"

When Wei Jiansu heard this, he immediately grasped Xue Bai's intention.

Today we first discussed two issues, and the final target was actually directly pointed at Buddhism.

To be fair, Wei Jiansu still did not support it. He shook his head very stiffly and said, "I don't know."

"Can you check it?"

"I believe that Buddhism can save all living beings and encourage people to be good, which can bring stability to the country." Wei Jiansu looked around and changed the subject.

Xue Bai said: "Yes, I also think that Buddhism can help people get rid of their anger. I want to persuade Tubo to stop fighting and stabilize the country. What do you think, Lord Wei?"

Wei Jiansu understood what he meant.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, an official named Fu Yi submitted a letter titled "Petition to Abolish Buddhism", arguing that monks "are disloyal and unfilial, shave their heads and bow to the emperor and their parents. They idle around and eat, and change their clothes to avoid rent and taxes", and requested that "the evil cult of Hu Buddhism be returned to India; all monks be released back to their hometowns; those who skip classes be required to pay rent happily; those who avoid labor service be required to serve happily. Do not punish the little bald men, but bow to the country, be loyal ministers, and guard the ancestral temples. Then the Tang Dynasty will be stable and will be the master of creation. The people will have no troubles and will be the people who sacrifice for the emperor".

The matter ended up in nothing due to opposition from court officials.

But the officials are all smart people, and they are very clear about the consequences of the continuous expansion of the temple economy.

In short, Xue Bai wanted to rectify Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, take back the land of the temples, and order the monks to return to secular life and farm. On the other hand, he also wanted to introduce Buddhism to Tubo, thereby causing a conflict between Trisong Detsen and Dazha Lugong, and swallow up Tubo's taxes to influence its hostility.

He also wanted to use the most drastic measures, such as destroying Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty and deliberately guiding monks to Tibet to preach.

Wei Jiansu was considering whether he could still stop Xue Bai from doing this.

Among the prime ministers, Du Youlin goes without saying; Li Mi is a Taoist priest, so he is likely to agree; Yan Zhenqing will also agree in order to weaken Tubo; Li Xian, for the sake of taxation, at least will not oppose too strongly.

Moreover, Xue Bai had just promised that he would wait until the time was right before investigating the hidden land and households of the aristocratic families, and would not affect the system of family connections to enter the government. He was so humble and accepted advice, and now he only wanted to make a move on Buddhism. If he did not support him, it would be too disrespectful to him.

After thinking it over, Wei Jiansu finally said, "If Your Highness wants to know how much land and population the temples in the world own, I will check it carefully."

~~
Half a month later, at the court meeting, Xue Bai asked the question again casually.

That was after discussing whether the Tubo Zamp believed in Buddhism or Bonpo.

"Who among you knows how much land and population there are in the temples of the world?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Only Wei Jiansu stood up and answered: "As far as I know, there are more than 40,000 small temples and more than 4,600 large temples in the world. The temples have tens of millions of acres of fertile land, more than 300,000 monks, more than 500,000 tenants, and tens of thousands of slaves. In addition, there are countless properties, including iron statues, bronze statues, bells, chimes, etc."

Upon hearing this, many officials' hands holding the tablets shook unconsciously.

Especially the officials of the Ministry of Revenue.

How many people does the Tang Dynasty have now? After the war, there are only about 7 million registered households and only a few billion mu of farmland, but the temples occupy nearly one-tenth of the good farmland and do not pay taxes?

Between the questions and their answers, it became obvious what the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister were planning.

Some Buddhist officials immediately stood up and wanted to make some suggestions.

"understood."

Xue Bai just waved his hand, said nothing, and ordered the court to be dismissed, as if it was just a casual question.

As a result, many officials believed that this was a false alarm, and many had already written memorials of opposition overnight, but they did not even have a reason to submit them.

After a few days, the impact of this trivial matter gradually subsided, but the court issued an official document and carried out a series of personnel transfers. For example, Wang Jin, the governor of Hedong, was transferred to the Minister of Works, Yuan Jie was appointed as the Pacifier of Hedong, Diwu Qi was appointed as the Deputy Envoy of Hedong Transportation, and Yuan Zai, Chang Gun, Liu Yan and others were transferred back to the court.

From these transfer orders, those who are interested can see that the court is going to make a big move against Buddhism. For example, Wang Jin is a Buddhist, and the purpose of transferring him is to prevent him from protecting temples in Hedong. And the many officials who are good at financial management are given important positions, which obviously means that the court wants to confiscate Buddhist property.

However, just as this rumor was gaining momentum, Xue Bai's banquet once again calmed the monks' anxious hearts.

~~
Taking advantage of the good spring weather, Princess Yuzhen invited some royal relatives to a gathering at Quchi.

Li Chenghong also came. He was still worried that the imperial court would send his daughter to marry. Now that the Tibetan envoys were on the way, he wanted to find out more information. He heard that Princess Yuzhen had also invited Prime Minister Li Xian, so he came to join in the fun.

The reason why Princess Yuzhen held this banquet was to help Wang Wei ask Li Xian about the current attitude of the court towards Buddhism. Although she was a Taoist priest, she had no ill feelings towards Buddhism.

Li Xian waved his hands after hearing her question and said, "Where did you hear this rumor, Master? The court has no such idea."

"Your Highness and the Right Prime Minister have set their sights on the temple industry, haven't they?"

"How could this be possible?" Li Xian said, "The imperial court is also planning to send a group of high-ranking monks to Tibet to convert people and spread Buddhism."

As they were talking, Li Qiwu also came, with a few young men behind him. Two of them had bald heads and wore cassocks. They were monks.

When Princess Yuzhen saw this, she couldn't help but say to Li Xian, "Look, I'm here to ask you for information, too."

They were a princess and a prime minister, both of them were of noble status. They sat at the top, but they could also hear the discussions of the crowd. When Li Chenghong saw that there were two monks behind Li Qiwu and an ugly but elegant young man, he couldn't help but ask, "Is this Lu Yu who has become famous recently?"

"That's right." Li Qiwu stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Prince Guangwu has also heard of his name."

Lu Yu responded and said, "Meet King Guangwu."

Li Chenghong laughed and said, "Then let's not drink alcohol today and try the tea you made."

"Being respectful is worse than obeying orders."

Ever since Lu Yu followed Li Qiwu to Chang'an, he has gained a high reputation among the nobles in Chang'an in a short period of time because he really knows about tea, understands tea and can brew good tea. When he came today, everyone wanted to see his tea art.

So the tea sets were laid out one by one, and Lu Yu took out his treasured Yangzi River water to boil.

Li Chenghong stepped forward and said, "There are many people here, but you are too stingy. Who can drink this little?"

"Prince Guangwu, it's not that I'm stingy. Although I have tea leaves, I don't have much good water."

"We are right next to the Qujiang Pond, how could we be in need of good water?" Li Chenghong completely forgot that he often urinated in the Qujiang Pond.

Lu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "If you want Qujiang water, you need to use the Zhongling water in the center of the pond."

Princess Yuzhen found this interesting and beckoned to Li Jilan beside her, saying, "Send someone to the pond and scoop some cool water for him."

"Here."

After receiving the order, Li Jilan arranged for two young Taoist nuns to row the boat to scoop water. She herself was a little absent-minded and glanced towards the Hibiscus Pond from time to time.

"Ji Lanzi, what are you waiting for?"

"No." Li Jilan blushed again and turned around to ask, "Did you scoop the water? Give it to me."

She was a little flustered. She didn't expect the jar was quite heavy. When she picked it up, half of the water in it poured out.

"Oh, what should I do?"

"Let's go scoop some more."

"The fire has already been lit. I'm afraid it's too late."

Li Jilan looked back and then at Qujiang Pond, wondering how much difference there could be between the water at the edge of the pond and the water in the center of the pond. She thought that the man must be pretending, so she simply filled the jar by the pond and carried it back with the nun.

The jar was placed on the tea table, and the water inside was clear and transparent.

After finishing this matter, Li Jilan returned to stand behind Princess Yuzhen, her eyes still unconsciously glancing in the direction of Hibiscus Garden.

suddenly.

"I'm afraid this isn't the Zhongling water from Qujiang Pond."

Behind her, Lu Yu scooped a spoonful of water from the jar and tasted it, saying, "This must be water from the shore."

Li Jilan was shocked, thinking how could they taste it? Could it be that this person saw them drawing water?

She then looked quickly towards the place where she had just drawn water, but could not see it because of the fence and reeds.

Li Chenghong didn't believe that Lu Yu could taste it, so he stepped forward and scooped a spoonful to taste it, but didn't notice any strange smell at all.

"Ji Lanzi." Princess Yuzhen asked, "Is this Chi Xinshui?"

"Master, I was the one who fought beside the pool." Li Jilan had no choice but to answer.

"You really are distracted all day long. Go get some more water."

"Yes."

Li Jilan then took the Taoist nun to fetch some water. On the way, the ground was slippery and she accidentally fell. Fortunately, she fell among the grass and flowers, so it didn't hurt. However, the hem of her Taoist robe was stained with the juice of flowers and plants, and was a little dirty, red and green.

After putting the water on the tea table, Lu Yu tasted it and smiled slightly, saying, "This is the Zhongling water in the center of the pond. Am I wrong?"

"Yes." Li Jilan couldn't help but admire.

Everyone present was also amazed at Lu Yu's ability to identify water and admired him highly.

Li Chenghong tasted the two bottles of water separately, but he didn't feel any difference at all, and could only feel ashamed of himself.

The time it takes to brew tea goes very slowly over a slow fire, but a group of royal nobles can wait.

They don't have to do spring ploughing anyway, so they have plenty of free time.

The aroma of tea is refreshing and the melodious sound of piano can be heard.

Everyone turned around and saw a young monk playing the piano.

The monk was probably around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Although he was not very tall, he had a handsome face, delicate features, red lips and white teeth. What was even more rare was that his head shape was also very perfect, round and full.

His piano skills are also superb, and the combination with the lingering tea aroma makes people feel relaxed and happy.

"Who is this person?" Li Chenghong couldn't help but ask Li Qiwu in a low voice.

"His Dharma name is Jiaoran." Li Qiwu said with some admiration in his tone, "He is the tenth-generation grandson of Xie Lingyun, and his courtesy name is Qingzhou. His poetry, tea ceremony, chess, music, calligraphy and painting are all extraordinary."

Li Chenghong said: "I am entertaining the Tibetan envoys, but I am in need of people like Lu Yu and Jiao Ran. Can you give them up?"

Li Qiwu was surprised, he turned his head and glanced at Li Chenghong, thinking that such a waste could get a job, and he was not as valued as him.

After the song was over, the tea was ready.

Just watching Lu Yu distribute tea to everyone is a pleasure.

Li Xian drank the tea and nodded repeatedly. He first praised Lu Yu and said, "You are a master of tea ceremony."

"Thank you, Mr. Li, for your high honor. I do not deserve it."

Li Xian turned to Jiaoran and asked, "Do you like wine too?"

"Yes."

"Spring wine in Cuilou, Xiamaling, all the young men in Chang'an admire it." Li Xian asked: "Is this a poem you wrote?"

This was a poem praising the winemaking at Xiamaling that he saw when he went to watch a performance. He heard that it was written by a monk named "Jiaoran". When he met this monk today, he couldn't help but ask about it.

"Yes." Jiaoran clasped his hands together and said, "I wrote a poem for this wine, and the wine shop gave it to me as a gift. I am ashamed."

Li Xian asked with a smile: "You are a monk, but you also drink alcohol? Isn't that a violation of the precepts?"

“Although I have left home, I still love poetry and wine.”

Li Xian stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "In that case, why don't we compose a poem on this beautiful day?"

At this time, everyone's eyes had shifted away from Jiaoran and looked towards the north, and many people stood up.

Because Xue Bai has arrived.

Xue Bai was still on a private visit today. Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he waved his hand and said, "Don't be so polite. Don't disturb your fun."

"Your Highness."

"Don't be too polite. They are all my elders."

After a slight refusal, everyone sat down again.

Li Jilan, who was originally absent-minded, seemed to come back to her senses. There was a little more smile in her eyes, and her cheeks seemed to be stained with some blush, which contrasted with the peach red not far away. Her delicate and beautiful appearance could not be suppressed by the plain Taoist robe on her body.

Xue Bai sat down between Princess Yuzhen and Li Xian and said, "What were you talking about just now? Continue."

"Master Jiaoran is preparing to compose a poem."

"Very well, please."

Jiaoran clasped his hands together and said, "Ji Lanzi was fetching water to make tea just now, and I think she must have dropped it. I am giving this poem to Ji Lanzi."

Li Jilan was still in a daze when she heard her own name and was surprised.

And a poem by Jiaoran was also read out.

"The goddess came to test me, and wanted to dye my clothes with flowers."

"My Zen mind is not awake, I return with the old flowers."

The poem was indeed beautiful and elegant. Everyone praised it and asked Li Jilan for her opinion.

Li Jilan hurriedly stepped forward to thank Jiaoran.

Jiao Ran asked, "I have heard of Ji Lanzi's poetry for a long time. I wonder if I will be lucky enough to get a poem from him today?"

Li Jilan glanced at Xue Bai out of the corner of her eye, and saw that Xue Bai was talking to Princess Yuzhen. They were talking about the unique difference that Lu Yu could taste between the water in the center of the pool and the water on the bank.

She was about to speak when Xue Bai glanced at the hem of her Taoist robe and suddenly spoke.

"I also have a connection with Master Jiaoran. I have a poem to give to you. I am sorry for the rudeness."

Everyone was surprised. Although they all knew that Xue Bai was good at poetry, he had always refused it whenever possible. Except when he tried to curry favor with the emperor, he rarely took the initiative to compose poetry.

Jiaoran was also flattered, and hurriedly clasped his hands together in greeting, saying, "I am honored to be here."

Xue Bai then stood up, paced a few steps, and began to recite.

"Sitting and drinking the cool water, watching the boiling dust."

"I have no reason to hold a bowl and send it to tea lovers."

Although both are five-character quatrains, this poem is more elegant and beautiful, surpassing Jiaoran's.

Xue Bai recited the poem, but it seemed that it was not enough. He took a sip of the tea brewed by Lu Yu and said, "Good tea, but I also have some new tea here, and I want to share it with everyone. How about it?"

Since he had such a refined taste, there was no reason for anyone to disapprove.

However, many people were wondering why His Highness acted out of character today and wanted to compete with two young men who had not yet entered officialdom.

Li Xian looked at Jiaoran's bald head and understood that Xue Bai was deliberately dealing with Buddhism.

Li Chenghong looked at Xue Bai and Li Jilan, and suddenly realized. He saw that His Highness was jealous, so the woman who had a tryst with His Highness in Furong Garden that day was obviously Ji Lanzi in front of him.

(End of this chapter)