The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 298 Untitled
"Who is it? Stop."

Seeing the stranger approaching, the guards around Chen Jingke immediately stepped forward to stop him. One of their hands was even on the handle of the knife.

The visitor was startled and quickly raised his hands to show that there was no hostility:

"My name is Azaza. I come from the Western Regions. I know Zhao Shaoqing. I'm here today to visit Chen Bandu."

He didn't speak Chinese very well, and when he was in a hurry, he became even more slurred, and couldn't understand what was being said at all.

Chen Jingke recognized his general origin at a glance. The beard, turban, and robe were all too obvious.

Although he couldn't hear what the other party was saying specifically, Zhao Shaoqing still understood these three words.

Most likely, they came with Zhao Zhi's caravan.

But he did not relax his vigilance, but took two steps back.

What if Timur sent him to assassinate him?

"Azaza asked me to apologize on his behalf. Yesterday was really abrupt..."

After luckily escaping with his life, he had to give up this ridiculous idea and traveled eastward.

Then he told the reason why Azaza was rude.

Chen Jingke was not surprised by this answer. At this time, China was proud.

Early the next morning, while waiting for the morning court, he was chatting with Xu Da and others when Zhao Zhi came over and said:

Later, he wanted to take the risk to visit the Christian world, but as soon as he stepped into the Roman territory, he was intercepted.

Both parties wanted to get the information they wanted from the other party, so they started frequent contact.

Now more and more people know his true status in Ming Dynasty.

If it weren't for fate, he would have gone to meet the gods.

Azaza showed a hint of embarrassment. How could he not know that blocking the door to visit was rude, but it was also a helpless move.

As an enemy of Ming Dynasty, it is normal to send people to assassinate him.

Being able to have Zhao Zhi come over as peacemaker shows that the relationship between the two is unusual.

Although many people still refused, some scholars believed that he was sincere and accepted him.

Halfway through, he heard that a fleet from a great Eastern country had arrived from his hometown, Horumus.

Don't tell me, this does have a certain effect.

There was no news from Jiang Yu, but Zhao Zhi found him first.

Unexpectedly, I was accused today.

So, he changed his route and came to Horumus, and quickly met Zhao Zhi relying on his family connections.

Chen Jingke had no intention of meeting him, but said:

He was more curious about Azaza's identity than this matter.

Chen Jingke immediately thought of Azaza's matter. Could it be that he wanted to talk about it?

Although it's unlikely, it's always a good idea to be careful.

It has been twenty years since he was sixteen years old, and his footprints have traveled throughout the Islamic world.

He himself loved adventure since he was a child and chose to become a scholar.

"Who is this Azaza who can make Zhao Shaoqing look at him differently?"

"I'm rude. I'll apologize another day. Please take the time to see Chen Bandu."

He wanted to cross the mountains and deserts, go to the Chagatai Khanate, and then go to the legendary eastern country from here.

When a foreigner comes to ask for advice, it would be strange if he can be ignored.

So much so that he gradually got used to using this method to visit people's homes.

After saying that, he saluted again and left.

"Chen Bandu, can you lend me a moment to speak?"

Chen Jingke was a little surprised, this person just left like this?
Then he said to a guard: "Let Commander Chiang check this Azasa and stay hidden."

Zhao Zhi introduced Azaza's identity.

As expected, Zhao Zhi got straight to the point when he came to a deserted place:

Azaza slowed down his speaking speed and repeated what he just said.

The Aryans under the rule of the Timur Khanate had family officials and religious scholars for generations.

"Since I know Zhao Shaoqing, I should know that it is rude to visit like this. Let's learn some etiquette first."

He also wanted to follow the formal procedures to visit the great Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty, but he was rejected.

Some were out of curiosity, and some were impatient and wanted to send him away quickly. In short, he did meet a lot of people with this trick.

With no other choice, he could only visit directly.

He did not defend himself, but said apologetically:

As their understanding deepened, they were attracted by each other's courage and knowledge, and gradually established a deep personal friendship.

When Zhao Zhi returned, Azaza also followed him to the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that he came in a private capacity, did not live in the accommodation provided by Honglu Temple, and was not qualified to participate in official activities.

Chen Jingke didn't care about what happened next. He focused on one thing.

Aryans, Persians to be precise.

In his previous life, he didn't know much about foreign history, except Persia.

When he was a child, he was envious of his neighbor's Persian cat.

Later I played a game called "Prince of Persia" and watched the movie adaptation.

This name left a deep impression on him...

Then he searched online and got a certain understanding of this country and nation.

Of course, I only have a general understanding of it, and I know how many periods there are in total, but I don’t know anything else.

Even the name is only remembered by Cyrus II.

But in this day and age, knowing this information is enough.

What shocked him most about the Persians was not how powerful an empire they had created.

It’s the choices they make when they’re at their lowest point.

Most countries and civilizations are gone after being destroyed, and they always rise again and again.

This kind of resilience is admirable.

Take the history after the fall of the Sasanian dynasty as an example.

The Persians quickly adjusted their position and transformed into religious scholars and bureaucrats.

Although the Arab Empire was powerful, they had little knowledge and did not know how to govern the country.

Persia has a long history and rich administrative experience.

The Arab Empire had to rely on them to manage their vast countries.

The countries created by the Seljuk Turks and Mongols later relied on them for governance.

During Mongolia's Western Expedition, other countries and nations only saw disaster, but they saw an opportunity to rise again.

The Mongols wiped out all the power in the Caucasus, and the Persians took the opportunity to form the Safavid sect here.

They initially came together to form a group in the name of religion.

But they did not directly raise the banner of national rejuvenation, but chose to continue to tolerate it.

Waiting until the Timur Khanate was weak, they took advantage of the situation and established the Safavid dynasty.

If history had not changed, the Safavid sect would still be secretly gathering strength at this time.

So is it possible to detonate this bomb in advance and give Timur a big one?

By then, Ming Dynasty will be able to navigate the Western Regions more calmly.

But there is too little information now, so he just has this idea.

I don’t have a clue yet on how to do it specifically.

I just hope this Azasa has something to do with the Safis.

After confirming the identity of the other party, Chen Jingke decided to meet him.

It would be better if he could be used to stir up the situation in Central Asia. If not, at least I can learn more about the situation in the Western world through him.

So he pretended to be generous and said that he would have said that he was your good friend Zhao Shaoqing, which would have saved him a misunderstanding.

He also said that Azaza could visit his home at any time, and he swept the couch to welcome him.

Regardless of whether this is true or false, Zhao Zhi understands this very well.
-
Today is a very ordinary day. Everyone thought that the morning meeting was just to deal with some basic affairs and go through the formalities.

However, when they saw Old Zhu Tieqing's face, they knew something was wrong.

Everyone's hearts were in suspense, and they subconsciously recalled everything they had done.

Even Xu Da and others were a little frightened, wondering what happened to make Lao Zhu so angry.

Then he looked at Chen Jingke and found that the other person's expression was relaxed, and he immediately understood that it was acting again.

While I was relieved, I couldn't help but wonder, what happened that brought Lao Zhu out to act again?

His curiosity was soon satisfied.

Zhu Yuanzhang directly named the officials of Senglu Division to come out, frightening these people and almost collapsed to the ground.

Then Lao Zhu took out a thick pile of documents and threw it on the ground, saying angrily:

"A group of people who are just eating corpses."

"Take a good look at what this is. Is this how you manage the monks?"

The doctor from the Senglu Division gingerly picked up the document, and when he could see the contents clearly, he knelt down on the ground:

"I am guilty."

At this point, everyone has already guessed what is going on without reading the contents of the document.

It's nothing more than secretly expanding temples, over-recruiting monks and Taoists, deceiving people into lending money at usury, etc.

This matter is just like official corruption and cannot be banned at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not waste any nonsense and directly gave the result of the treatment:
"Here comes someone, plucks his black yarn and demotes him to a commoner."

The doctor was overjoyed and kowtowed quickly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me. Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me."

Several guards came in, knocked off his black gauze, and dragged him out.

All the officials couldn't help but sigh that the emperor was becoming more and more merciful now.

It turned out that he was just dismissed from office. Before he was released, he must have been beheaded.

However, the next moment, they knew that they had thought too much, and Emperor Hongwu still raised the knife.

"Wearing royal robes to inspect temples all over the world, those who violate laws and disciplines will be severely punished without mercy. Anyone who obstructs and protects them will be punished as an accomplice."

Are you going to dispatch the Jin Yiwei?

Baiguan was shocked, knowing that this matter might be more serious than he thought.

Could it be that the emperor is planning to destroy the Buddha?
Then, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the abolition of the Senglu Department and the establishment of a Religious Department to take charge of religious affairs in the world.

Conduct re-inspection and registration of temples, temples, monks and monasteries all over the world.

The ministers were relieved. This showed that they were only attacking severely, not destroying the Buddha.

Then, Zhu Yuanzhang issued another order.

The grandson's companion and Prince Consort Chen Jingke were appointed to temporarily take charge of the affairs of the religious department.

The ministers had no objection to this sudden appointment.

But they became more vigilant, and many people began to think about whether their family had any contact with monks or Taoists.

Even Chen Jingke, who was hiding behind the scenes, was mobilized, which further proved that the emperor was extremely dissatisfied with the monk's behavior.

If he was found to have anything to do with them at this time, I'm afraid the consequences would be serious.

Xu Da and others were a little confused, unable to figure out the emperor's plan.

Naturally, they did not believe the superficial reasons. If it was really because Buddhism and Taoism were illegal, how could they move Chen Jingke out.

This only proves that they are planning a big plan.

It’s just that everyone really can’t think of anything that can be done about Buddhism and Taoism?

After going to court, the ministers left worriedly.

Chen Jingke was just about to go to Qianqing Palace when he was stopped by Jiang Wei.

"Chen Bandu, this is the information you want about Azaza."

Is it very efficient?

Chen Jingke took the pile of information and said with a smile: "I'd like to trouble Commander Chiang."

Jiang Yu flattered and said with a smile: "Chen Bandu is too polite. This is what you should do in a humble position."

Chen Jingke nodded and was about to leave, but found that Jiang Wei was hesitant to speak, so he asked:
"Commander Chiang, is there anything else you need to do?"

Jiang Wei, who didn't know how to speak, quickly said:
"Your Majesty has asked you to take charge of the Religious Department. I just want to ask if there is anything that requires your humble service."

Chen Jingke didn't know yet. He was confused and wanted to ask how hard he should use it.

"Has Commander Chiang ever planted jujube trees?"

Jiang Wei was very confused. What does this have to do with planting jujube trees?
But he still shook his head honestly.

Chen Jingke said: "Jujube trees grow a lot of redundant branches every year, which must be removed in order to bear more and bigger fruits."

"Sometimes you need to chop a few times on the tree, and the effect will be better."

"Does Commander Chiang understand?"

Jiang Wei suddenly realized: "I understand, I thank Chen Ban for reading and giving advice."
-
When he arrived at Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying had been waiting for him.

Seeing a stack of paper in his hand, Zhu Yuanzhang asked a few questions curiously.

Chen Jingke briefly talked about Azaza, and then talked about his plans to try to dig a hole for Timur.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't ask any more questions.

Chen Jingke is good at playing casual chess, everyone has known about this for a long time.

Some have made a big difference, and some have not yet worked.

Now it is not strange to take this opportunity to plan the Western Region.

"Do you have any ideas about the religious affairs?"

Chen Jingke nodded and said: "It's nothing more than strengthening supervision and increasing punishment."

"How to drive them can only be decided after contacting them."

It was Chen Jingke's own suggestion to temporarily take charge of the Religious Department.

It is simple to formulate religious management methods, but how to drive the expansion of Buddhism is a very troublesome matter.

After all, the teachings of the two religions and the habits developed over thousands of years cannot be changed in a short time.

And we must prevent them from going astray.

It needs someone to guide and supervise.

Although Chen Jingke did not specialize in the study of resultant religion, he had experience in his previous life and still knew something about this stuff.

At least a little more than his contemporaries knew.

In addition, among the trustworthy people, he was the most idle, so he took the initiative to take this job.
-
The news that the emperor was furious and wanted to take action against the Buddhist and Taoist families spread as quickly as possible.

The bureaucracy is mostly supportive.

In fact, for the sake of voice, suppressing religious expansion has always been the default thing of the bureaucracy.

If the emperor was more superstitious about religion, they would take action to suppress it themselves.

Now that Zhu Yuanzhang was ready to take action himself, they were naturally happy to watch the excitement.

The people are polarized about this, and some are opposed to it, thinking it is disrespectful to the gods.

Some people support it and believe that Buddhism is not about production and still deceives people, so it should be punished.

The Buddhist and Taoist families were horrified.

The Buddhist temples and Taoist temples around Luoyang were the first to get the news. They sent people to inform the speakers of other sects and went to the court to inquire about the situation.

When the matter was confirmed and they learned that the emperor had sent Jin Yiwei to thoroughly investigate the Buddhist and Taoist families, everyone felt like five thunderbolts struck their heads.

Naturally, the two families could not sit still and wait for death, so they all used their trust relationships to resolve this disaster.

As the newly appointed religious spokesman, Chen Jingke naturally became the number one lobbying target.

(End of this chapter)