Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 395 Hanguan Zhuang Emperor’s Residence (4)

"Sure enough, the assassination of Zhong Shimin was done by Xi Mian, they couldn't wait." Yelu Dashi handed the secret letter to brother Yelu Tie.It is really shocking that people can assassinate the guard general of Hangu Pass.There was a look of strangeness in Yelu Tiege's eyes, he took the secret letter and read it quickly, respectfully returned it to His Majesty, and sighed: "After all, they are of the same species as the people of Song Dynasty. It’s so easy to use internal response.” Brother Yelv Tie was instinctively wary of "their" ambitions.

"The preparations for the Southern Expedition must be accelerated." Yelu Dashi looked at the lush garden outside the big tent, and said in a deep voice, "It's best to finish it before autumn, not after winter. Where is Bo Shenggao in Mierbo?" A complex expression flashed in his eyes.If Bo Shenghuo hadn't entangled the East Army of the Song Dynasty and the Anbei Army Division, the Liao Kingdom would not be able to concentrate its forces to conquer Hebei.But Bo Shenghuo Mi Erbo is not a thing in the pool.

"This old fox is worried that after the army goes south, Xia Guo will plunder his tribe. He only sent a cavalry team of [-] people to the south as a vanguard. This time, Erbo will stay behind the mountain and stay in Kyushu." "Brother Yelu Tie showed dissatisfaction. Xiao Tachi's massacre of villages and villages was not a small loss for the Khitan nobles. Xiao Tachi regards the slaves as livestock to sign the army, and is also an important property of the Khitan family. The Khitan nobles in the Kyushu behind the mountain have complained to the North Court many times, but Yelu Tiege did not complain to Yelu Dashi for the sake of the overall situation. Impeach Xiao Tachi.

"Where are our troops?"

"Nanjing Road has gathered 15 cavalry, and other soldiers and horses are heading south. The preparation of 30 troops will not be a big problem before autumn." Brother Yelu Tie hesitated, "It's just that the money and food are not enough. Because Xia Guo Both the Song Dynasty and the Song Dynasty cut off trade with us. Everyone is hoarding copper coins. The copper coins are in short supply, and the things produced in the tribe's village cannot be bought and sold. Now the market is very depressed, and the tribe has some complaints. The Northern Expedition consumed a lot of hoarding For food and grass, if an army of 15 goes south, the food and grass can last for a month, but if an army of 30 goes south, the food and grass for a month will not be enough."

"Well," Yelu Dashi nodded, and said in a deep voice, "Let the monastery donate land, grain and grass, and temple slaves. There are too many Buddhist monks in my dynasty. Many monks are just pretending to be extravagant. They don't do business and waste food. Buddhism was not what my Khitan ancestors believed in. It is important to persuade people to be merciful and not to kill. One, with no more than 50 monks. All other monks will be dismissed. The Khitan Xi people will be incorporated into the tribe from the North Court, and the Han people will follow the army to the south to transfer food and grass. In addition, the excess Buddha statues are melted down, copper coins are cast to alleviate the money shortage, and gold and silver income The treasury is used to purchase military supplies when the army marches south."

"Your Majesty," Brother Yelu Tie's complexion changed slightly, "I'm afraid the people of Babu will complain if the Buddha is destroyed at this time."

Brother Yelu Tie knew that Yelu Dashi had long wanted to destroy Buddha.It's just that since he came to the throne, he has been busy cleaning up other opponents and has no time to do this.But he didn't expect that he would do it before the South Expedition.The Liao Kingdom is a country that worships Buddhism extremely, with thousands of temples and tens of thousands of monks.The man takes the Buddha's name, and the woman puts on the Buddha's makeup.The temple has vast land and temple property, countless Buddha slaves, profit-making usury, received a lot of donations and rewards from dignitaries and dignitaries, and did not pay taxes.Not only that, the emperors of the Liao Dynasty also conferred high officials on the monks and disciples. Not only did the monks themselves get official positions such as "Chonglu Doctor", "Shou Sikong" and "Shou Situ", but also their disciples and relatives of the nine clans could shadow the officials.As early as when he was young, Yelu Dashi once wrote to the emperor to accuse the Buddhist temple of "the funds are huge, the monks are unrestrained, they lend money for profit, the state is not given, and the people are very miserable." He also said that the monk is "a giant beetle of Khitan, internal response."

"The Buddha is not destroyed now, when will we wait?" Yelu Dashi said in a deep voice, "Two birds with one stone. The Northern Conquest of the Jurchen has won a great victory, and the Southern Conquest will soon follow. All the troops and horses are under the control of the Northern Academy. What can you do if you are dissatisfied with the extermination of the Buddha? Brother Tie, the North Court will keep an eye on the leaders of the Eight Departments, and if anyone dares to make a mistake, report it immediately."

"Yes," Brother Yelv Tie said respectfully.In his heart, even Sakyamuni could not compare to His Majesty's brilliance and martial arts.With Yelu Dashi's order, there are hundreds of thousands of Khitan warriors, and the sky is full of gods and Buddhas, so why not be afraid.Because Yelu Dashi had long intended to exterminate the Buddha, Yelu Tiege had prepared a detailed plan in the North Courtyard.Just as His Majesty said, the Northern Expedition had just ended, and almost all the Khitan warriors were under the command of the Northern Academy. At this time, when the Buddha was destroyed, there was no power in the entire Liao Kingdom to resist.

However, the most vehement objection to the extermination of Buddha was Empress Xiao Tai Buyan. After hearing the news, she immediately begged to see Yelu Dashi. Buddha, suffering in hell now! How could Your Majesty be so disrespectful to gods and Buddhas..."

Yelu Dashi had a gloomy face and ignored him, Xiao Tai Buyan didn't choose what to say, and continued to cry: "Your Majesty is blessed by heaven, the ancestors bless you, Gods and Buddhas are all over the sky, but your majesty also needs to think about your descendants. It is for the protection of gods and Buddhas, how can your majesty not cherish the blessings for your descendants." Crying and crying became more and more unspeakable.

Yelu Dashi's face was livid, suddenly he slapped the table, and shouted: "Enough--"

Empress Xiao was so frightened that she shrank back and stopped crying, but still knelt on the ground and sobbed.

Yelu Dashi stood up, walked in front of Empress Xiao, and reprimanded him: "I am a Khitan who is blessed with longevity, and the Buddha from the west has nothing to do with me. These monks have sinister intentions. Zhou Shizong spared no effort to slander him when he destroyed the Buddha. If I hear such words again, I will definitely pull out his tongue." He looked at the very aggrieved Empress Xiao, and said in a deep voice: "For the matter of destroying the Buddha, all the gods and Buddhas in the sky will blame it, and I, Yelu Dashi, will blame it." One person. Hmph, I want to see if it's the thief monk's sharp tongue, or my sharp knife!" After speaking, he waved his hand and ordered: "The queen is tired, so take her back and take care of her. It's windy outside, without my According to the will, you must not move around at will."

Since Yelu Dashi ascended the throne, the Northern Court has become more and more strict on the ministries and localities, and all Khitan men have been registered as soldiers.From the commander of ten thousand, the commander of a thousand, to the commander of a hundred, to the commander of ten, from top to bottom, it is like an arm and a finger.With this order to exterminate the Buddha, in a short period of time, countless Buddhist temples from Xijing Road and Tokyo Road have been destroyed.Most of the monks were forced to return to secular life, and those who refused to do so were used as military slaves.Houses, land, and monks and slaves were distributed to the Khitan people. Most of the money and food hoarded by the temple did not enter the treasury of the North Court, and a small part was distributed to the Khitan nobles in various places.Some temples were destroyed, and some temples were changed to worship Changshengtian. In the past, there were several monks in Buddhist temples, but now there is only one temple at most in shaman temples.Even though some Khitan nobles were secretly dissatisfied, they did not dare to object publicly, so they could only take individual eminent monks to their homes to worship in private.But among the ordinary Khitan people, there is another interesting situation. After converting to shamanism, the people began to believe that Yelu Dashi had the destiny of longevity, and had the power to fight against gods and demons.

"Lord Shaman, bless my youngest son's evil spirits to recede." Chang Gen 'inserted' a stick of incense on the incense burner with great reverence.His child is only three years old and is suffering from high fever.In front of the incense burner is a statue of Kule Buddha.Kulefo was an early leader of the Khitan tribe. According to legend, he was able to communicate with the will of heaven and turned into a god and Buddha to protect the tribe after his death.The Khitan tribe originally had the custom of worshiping the early leaders as gods, but now many people re-enshrine the original tribal gods.

The light in the room was very dark, the shaman's face was wrinkled like old tree bark, his eyes were slightly closed, and he was mumbling something. Suddenly, his left hand pulled out a painting from under the table, which was the portrait of the current emperor Yelu Dashi.Your majesty is a living god who is blessed with the destiny of longevity and is specially reincarnated to save the Khitan people.The shaman rolled up His Majesty's royal face, slowly made several mysterious gestures, crossed his left hand with his right, and made several gestures.

Chang Gen watched the roll of yellow paper reverently, and a cluster of light spots on the incense burner reflected in his eyes, like a flame of hope.Suddenly, the portrait in the shaman's hand ignited with a sound of "hoo--" and the flames blazed brightly. The shaman shook it a few times before throwing the scroll that was about to burn into the incense burner.After the flame was extinguished, he picked up the paper ashes, solemnly put it into a package of 'medicine' powder that had been prepared, wrapped it up slowly, and placed it in front of Changgen, as if he was relieved from a heavy burden.

Changgen picked up the elixir added by divine power with both hands, and shivered into his arms.He bowed and thanked the shaman. Apart from the tent, he galloped home on horseback. As soon as he saw his frowning wife, he shouted excitedly: "Quick, give the child some water to eat. No matter how powerful the demon is, this time it will be too late." They can all be suppressed." His idea was very simple, no matter how powerful the gods and Buddhas were, they were no match for His Majesty Dashi, and with His Majesty Dashi's divine power to drive away any evil spirits that penetrated into the child's body, they could only be wiped out immediately.

"Did you get the 'medicine'?" The woman carefully powdered the 'medicine' into the water and gave it to the child.Ever since Yelu Dashi came to power, the Khitan people have been able to obtain free 'medicine' from the shaman, which is a gift from the longevity god.Caressing the child's flushed and hot cheeks, Chang Gen felt somewhat inexplicable anticipation.

That night, the couple just sat beside the child and waited.Chang Gen muttered words, and prayed for his son with all his heart and soul, so that the demon would leave his child's body.Chang Gen was delighted to find that the child's forehead was not so hot.

In the morning, the light of Changshengtian shone in from above, the frightening flush on the child's face gradually dissipated, his eyes opened a crack, saw the long roots, and said vaguely: "Father, I'm hungry. ..."

"Thank you Changshengtian," Chang Gen tremblingly touched his son's cheek, "Go and get some goat's milk." "Woo——" the woman wept with joy, and turned to get goat's milk without thinking about talking to her son ' up.