unclear

Chapter 156 Internal and External Troubles 4
Issues related to temple monks had been rectified as early as the founding of the Ming Dynasty.In the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang personally ordered that women under the age of 40 were not allowed to become nuns and nuns; men under the age of 20 were not allowed to enter temples and become monks.

In the 24th year, he also issued an order that if anyone imitated the teachings of yoga, claimed to be a "good friend", and used the name of Zhenren Zhang to secretly create talismans, he would be punished with a serious crime.

In the 27th year, another order was issued that if anyone among the monks and Taoists had wives and concubines privately, they were allowed to be expelled, and Rong Yin was protected and punished together.Monks who claim to be White Lotus, Lingbao, Huoju and other monks do not follow the ancestral customs and make rash remarks, and they will also be punished with serious crimes.

In the tenth year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty issued an edict that monks and Taoists did not abide by the precepts, participated in folk fasting and chanted sutras, and cared about the rewards, or practiced without sincerity, drank alcohol and meat, wandered and indulged in debauchery, and even falsely claimed to be Taoists. Men and women mixed together, which ruined the family tradition. Kill without mercy.

Under such strict government orders, the monks and Taoists in the early Ming Dynasty were generally able to abide by the pure family tradition.Since the middle period, the ban has been abandoned. Monks and Taoists do not adhere to the ancestral customs and do not practice peacefully in temples. They are envious of the city or the prosperous life of the secular world and wander around.As a result, wandering monks can be seen everywhere in cities, with monks being the most common.

Under the guise of "Wandering Alms", these monks are called "Youfang Guajiazhu Monks" and "Yunxingji".Especially in Beijing, all the Buddhist monks from all directions gathered here, forming a "sea of ​​monks".

Once a monk arrives in a city, he or she participates in civil affairs or socializes with scholar-bureaucrats, it will inevitably lead to confusion between monks and secular people, resulting in a torrent of secularization of religion.It is common to not follow the ancestral customs, drink alcohol, eat meat, marry and have children.He even broke into a widowed family, visited prostitutes, and hung out in the market with rogues.

During the Zhengde period, Chen Duo, a well-known Sanqu composer, once composed a Sanqu called "Nun", which is described as follows:

Remove hairpins and worship on the lotus platform, cut off meat and fish, eat vegetarian food, stay away from dirt and observe pure precepts.Emptiness is emptiness, color is color, and the two things cannot be eliminated.Lovesickness is difficult to cure, and there is no cure for madness, so it is better to keep your head.

Later, as the system of guard posts and craftsmen's households was relaxed, and land annexation became more and more serious, more and more deserters, evaders, and tax evaders appeared, and temples became refuges for refugees.

The number of temples in the capital is particularly large, and there are also many fake monks who come here to wait for opportunities to obtain ultimatums.Unable to find a way to make money, he simply wandered into the market. Together with another group of refugees, beggars, they became two major problems for public security in the capital.

It is not that the Five City Military and Horse Divisions, patrol battalions, including the Jinyi Guards, do not want to be strictly managed, but many monks have become friends with the scholar-bureaucrats, and often visit the halls to commemorate their equal status.

None of the soldiers who were doing specific work were sure whether the monk who had committed the crime had a close eye or a fellow apprentice. They were afraid that if they were caught, they would be implicated as well. As time went by, they became slacker and thought that doing more things would be better than doing less things. Attitude.As long as you don't make too much noise, just turn a blind eye and refuse to delve deeper.

It’s not that Hong Tao is indifferent to the suffering of the people, but that the current situation is too chaotic. Wang An and Zhang Ran’s statements alone have become a very serious social problem, involving all aspects of the court, and it is far beyond the emperor’s intervention with a few words. solve.

Moreover, there is no energy to solve this kind of problem now. Compared with the Jurchens in Liaodong, Mongolia in Mobei, and Xifan in Nanyang, the public security chaos in the capital can only be regarded as scabies, and we have to let it go if we don't want to.

But it doesn't matter now, it doesn't mean it won't matter in the future, as long as the people and things recorded in Hong Tao's notebook are either those who need to be repaid, or those who need to be eliminated first.

So the temple monks were lucky enough to be selected. Not only was it a matter of not abiding by ancestral customs, not observing the precepts, and gradually becoming secular, but the temple was also among the best in terms of land annexation.There is also a tendency to further infiltrate court politics through interactions with the scholar class, and everything is on the opposite side, which is inevitable. "My slave has something to say, and Lord Long Live may not be happy to hear it. However, Lord Long Live has spoken to my slave many times. If you have anything to say, you must say it face to face. If you don't say anything, you will be cheating. So I still have to say it..." After the introduction of the situation, The emperor did not gnash his teeth and curse, nor did he attack the temple monks, which made Wang An's heart drop to the ground.

The current situation in the court is very delicate, and it is roughly divided into three factions.Some officials criticized the emperor, some officials thought it was acceptable, and some officials were waiting to see what happened. No one could have an absolute advantage.

If the emperor wanted to take action against the temple monks, the delicate balance would be broken immediately, and the situation would quickly tilt to the unfavorable side.Those who are dissatisfied will be even more dissatisfied, while those who can still accept it and wait and see what happens will be opposed.

But another thing also made him feel very uneasy. In the afternoon, Zhang Ran and the young eunuchs did something to hide it from others, but they couldn't hide it from the first letter of the Li Superintendent in charge of the East Factory.

Not only in the Royal Horse Prison, but also in the Twelve Prisons, Twelve Treasurys, Eleventh Room, Eighth Bureau, Fifth Factory, Fifth Gate, Four Divisions, including the Sixth Bureau and One Division of the female officials, there are confidants placed in them. The matter will be reported immediately.

Such audacity was not the idea of ​​the Director of Ceremonies, but the emperor's instruction.By analogy, it is difficult to say whether there was Zhang Ran's spy in the Li Supervisor. If there was, it must have been the emperor's instruction.

This is nothing. The group of eunuchs is relatively simpler than the courtiers. If there are factional struggles, they are limited to the harem. The emperor has a transcendent status and usually will not be targeted. As long as he has no rebellious intentions, even if he is monitored Don’t be too afraid.

But when he heard the report from the Royal Horse Prison, he still felt his heart pounding and his stomach felt uncomfortable.It was simply unheard of for the emperor to actually let the imperial eunuch capture living people for the eunuchs to practice killing.

Putting aside whether the people captured deserved death, in fact it was a good thing to kill some rogues, so that they would not harass the people of the capital all day long. What was worrying was the safety of the emperor.

After more than four years of training, the little eunuchs in the Cuju team have gradually grown up. Their bodies and strength are obviously much stronger than ordinary eunuchs.This is enough to serve as a guard. If you get used to killing people again and surround yourself with the emperor all day long, if something goes wrong, the consequences will be disastrous.

He is already firmly tied to the emperor. Once something goes wrong with the emperor, his successor will be blessed without asking.Just think about the way the Imperial Concubine looks at him. It is impossible to change his mind, and there is only a dead end.Therefore, whether for myself or the emperor, this matter must be raised and a clear answer must be obtained.

"Do you think I shouldn't take human life lightly?" After a lot of words and a solemn look on his face, Hong Tao knew that there was another link that the eunuch couldn't figure out, and it must be related to what happened in the afternoon.

"The fake monks have been causing trouble for many years and deserved their death. Even though Long Live Lord's move can't be called eliminating harm for the people, it is not an attempt to make too many concessions. Even if he kills one or two by mistake, it is not harmful to the cause of justice." Wang An shook his head and expressed that he did not mind if the emperor killed a few more.

"Oh...are you afraid that I will be harmed by him?" This sounded very pleasant, so Hong Tao patiently continued to guess.

(End of this chapter)