Chastity Layman

  Chapter 239 The Emperor's Bottom Line

  The host of Inspiration Temple looked at the dark green thick phlegm, and couldn't help frowning.

  He took two steps back, then bypassed the mouthful of phlegm, and came to Qin Lang, clasping his hands together.

   "The poor monk visited Yi Guogong. The test was completed a few days ago in the Bi Temple. The monks and clean people in the temple have all obtained the degree and deed certificate. I don't know why Yi Guogong came today?"

  Inspiration Temple was re-established because it was abolished a few years ago. It is not as good as Da Zongchi Temple, etc., but there are still dozens of monks.

  Wei Chang, however, was not polite to him. He pressed the hilt of the knife with his left hand, and said viciously, "Thieves and bald donkeys occupy such a precious place in Chang'an, but they hide filth and do many evil things. Now they are ordered to raid!"

  Abbot Guangzhi was shocked, "Why did the benefactor say that?"

Wei Chang leaned in front of him and said, "Thief and bald donkey, the monk in your temple is righteous. He was originally a scoundrel, but he fled into your temple because of a crime. You took his money and gave him a shave and asylum. Now this man is private. Princess Tongdanyang..."

  Guang Zhi was shocked by the six gods.

  Wei Chang waved his hand directly, "Search the Inspiration Temple, all eunuchs and clean men in the temple will be arrested and interrogated, and everyone's details will be found out."

   "Never..."

Wei Chang kicked the great monk to the ground with one kick. It is said that Wei Chang was a slave when he was young and was bullied by the monk, so he has always had a grudge against the monk. In addition, he has been a hobgoblin all his life, and he has no Buddha in his heart. In awe.

  A group of sergeants of the Zhenfu Division who were like wolves and tigers were also street fighters, and the temple suddenly jumped.

  Qin Lang saw it and didn't stop him.

  A law enforcement officer sometimes needs deterrence. He is here to handle the case today, so of course he has nothing to say.

  Qin Lang wandered around the temple, and even went to the Daxiong Hall to burn incense sticks.

  After offering incense, the sergeants of the Zhenfu Division had already gathered everyone in the temple together, from the abbot to the sweeping monk to the fire head monk, there were more than 300 people in total. Compared with the last time when Qin Lang came to take the exam, there were obviously many more people.

  Undoubtedly, the Temple of Inspiration deliberately concealed the number of people last time.

   "Wei Shuai, thoroughly investigate the identities of these people!"

  Wei Chang said, "These are our specialties."

   While examining the identities of these monks and servants one by one, they began to check the money and food in the temple and check their account books.

Not to mention other things, the location of this house is very good, and it covers a large area. The land alone is worth a lot of money, not to mention that there are so many bronze Buddha statues and other bronze statues in the temple. It is also a lot of money to take the utensils and melt them into money.

  The monastery houses can be divided into many gardens or houses for sale after renovation.

  Wei Chang is indeed very effective in handling affairs, and has found many problems in a short while.

Sheltering fugitive prisoners, housing undocumented black households, and slaves who have not registered with the government, etc. In addition, the property in the temple is also amazing, including rewards from the Sui and Tang dynasties, purchases from the temple, and donations from others. Of course, many of them are unavoidably controversial fields, etc. The temple also has a lot of water mills, etc., and some of these were originally banned by the government, but they still retained them by virtue of their influence.

   Not to mention the loan from the quality warehouse, the interest is very high. In fact, many land properties in the temple were mortgaged by the common people to the quality warehouse.

  This temple actually still has its own grain shop, incense candle shop, and gold shop in Chang'an City...

   "Thorough investigation, detailed investigation!"

  Qin Lang only said four words, and then continued to look through the ledger.

   Waiting until noon, Qin Lang got up satisfied with the collection of confessions and evidence.

   "Continue to block the Inspiration Temple, please also ask Wei Chang to send someone to seal up the shops, workshops, farms, water mills, etc. in and outside the city of Inspiration Temple, and temporarily detain the slaves belonging to the temple. I will report to His Majesty first."

  As for that Wei Xiaobao, he was arrested immediately, after interrogation, he knew everything he said, and now he is under strict guard.

  The emperor is eating.

  At this time, it was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the emperor had no time to eat the busy meal. The imperial meal was passed on three times, and then withdrawn.

   "Huailiang is here, have you eaten yet?" Li Shimin was eating a fried chicken.

   "Your Majesty, I have already eaten."

   "You said there was something urgent to report, so go ahead."

  Qin Lang said there was no rush and asked the emperor to continue eating. Li Shimin was indeed hungry, so he lowered his head and continued to eat. The diced chicken was fried well, but it was a pity that there was no chili. Although Fuliu vine, dogwood, ginger, etc. could be used instead of spiciness, the taste still lacked a lot.

   There is no peanuts, otherwise you can make authentic Kung Pao Chicken. Now the imperial chefs obviously only make dry fried chicken without chili.

  However, the diced chicken is also fried golden, and it is sprinkled with expensive pepper and other seasonings. It looks good.

The emperor is very diligent, and every time he sees him, he is devoted to government affairs. Although the emperor also has some hobbies of his own, such as hunting on horseback, playing with eagles and walking dogs, as far as he knows, the emperor succeeded to the throne After that, these past personal hobbies have not been played much now.

   Li Shimin was full and wiped his mouth.

   "Tell me, what is it? Is it about land tax and salt administration? I have to think about it again!"

   "Your Majesty, it is not these, but another matter, which is related to the face of the royal family."

  Qin Lang handed over the file.

  The more Li Shimin looked at it, the more shocked he became, and the more he looked at it, the more angry he became.

   "Really?"

   "Your Majesty knows the minister well. The minister always seeks truth from facts and never dares to deceive the emperor!"

   Li Shimin got up angrily, blew his beard and stared, put his hands behind his back, his chest heaved unsteadily, the more he thought about it, the more angry he became, the more he thought about it, the more angry he was, he lifted his foot and kicked the imperial case over.

  The guards and servants on duty at the entrance of the hall rushed in, only to see the emperor kicking over the imperial case, while Duke Yi was still kneeling in the hall, far away.

   Li Shimin waved to the guards, and they all quickly withdrew again.

  Being on duty in the palace for a long time, everyone knows that once the emperor is angry, he will kick the case, but he is used to it.

   "I'm going to kill that bastard!"

Qin Lang waited for Li Shimin's breath to come out, and then said, "Your Majesty, I think it's time to rectify these monasteries. There are too many filth. Many monks in the so-called famous temples are actually monks. Thieves and rascals who have been convicted. There are even many monks in the temple who only exist on the list. In fact, they are not really monks at all. Most of them are sons of powerful landlords. The status of a monk is just to avoid class service."

  Before there was the case of Fa Ya and Pei Ji colluding, and later there was the case of Li Xiaogong's family secretly raising a monk, and now there is another incident of a monk having an affair with Princess Danyang to become pregnant.

   This is challenging Li Shimin's bottom line again and again.

Qin Lang began to talk about statistics again. How many Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, nunneries, maiden Taoist temples, so-called monks, houses, bronze statues and bronze wares, and fields in Chang'an City , how many loans are there, how many servants and tenant farmers...

   More importantly, these people have not only influenced the beliefs of the people, they are also extremely powerful economically, and have begun to invade politics.

   "Your Majesty, please remember that during the Turkic invasion in the sixth year of Wude, Fa Ya once quickly gathered thousands of monks as soldiers in Chang'an City. We have to guard against it!"

  As soon as these words came out, Li Shimin's expression became more and more ugly.

  Chang'an City is the capital, under the feet of the emperor, the monks can quickly gather thousands of monks as soldiers, which has already made him extremely afraid.

Qin Lang reiterated the old saying that the temples should be rectified, strict assessment should be carried out, and those devout ones who are dedicated to cultivation must be retained, but all the temples in Chang'an City must be moved outside the city. Not only Chang'an, but the whole world should be like this. The temples and temples must be moved at least twenty miles away from the residential areas of the common people, and temples and temples must not occupy fertile land.

All monks and Taoists must pass the examination, obtain the degree certificate and become a monk to practice, and they are forbidden to enter and leave cities and villages at will, and they are not allowed to hold pujas at will. For pujas with more than ten people, they are required to report to the government for approval, and temples are also prohibited. To engage in any industrial and commercial activities, it is not allowed to operate quality warehouses, and it is not allowed to operate workshops, shops and caravans.

  Temples should also strictly limit the land. According to the order of equal land, each monk or Taoist can reduce the land granted by half. However, the food and silk for the rent adjustment must be paid in half of the regular Ding. In addition, each monk must also perform 20 days of free labor every year.

  It is forbidden to use gold, copper and other statues, gilding, etc. in temples.

   "It is strictly forbidden to keep or use slaves in temples!"

   This series is actually equivalent to exterminating Buddhas and banning Dao in disguise. However, compared to the one-size-fits-all approach of destroying Buddhas with two martial arts, Qin Lang still has some reservations, affirming the existence of true monks and true Dao.

  "In the future, monks and Taoists must first apply to the government for shaving. Those who are young and strong are prohibited from shaving, and those who have committed crimes are prohibited from shaving. Men who are over 50 years old and women who are over 40 years old can only be shaving if they can pass one or more classics."

   Li Shimin's breathing gradually stabilized.

  Qin Lang's proposal is very bold.

  But if it is really implemented in this way, I am afraid that the impact will be huge.

"Your Majesty, Taoism is small in scale and has little influence. It is mainly Buddhism. Taishi Ling Fu Yi also said that Buddhism does not respect the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects, father and son. Shave hair and wear clothes easily, avoid taxes and servitude. Exploit the common people, cut off the national reserves. He is good at preaching evil books and evil methods, intimidating fools, and defrauding property."

"The common people have little knowledge, don't know the root cause, and believe their lies. They pursue past crimes, falsely hope for future happiness, make people foolish, falsely seek merit and virtue, defy punishment, and violate the law. He is in prison, but he is still in prison. Respecting the Buddha, reciting Buddhist scriptures, trying to avoid sins!"

  ·······

"Your Majesty, when it enters the family, it destroys the family, and when it enters the country, it destroys the country. There was no Buddhism during the time of the five emperors and three kings. The emperor was loyal and his ministers were loyal, and the ancestors lived for a long time. Emperor Han and Ming first established Buddhist temples, but only the Sangmen in the Western Regions taught themselves. Before the Western Jin Dynasty, There is a strict law that prohibits the people of the country from shaving their hair to become monks. After the Wuhu invasion, the ban in the Central Plains was relaxed. After that, it was a disaster for the Central Plains, and Shi Le served the Buddha, making the monarch fatuous and treacherous. Emperor Wu of Liang should be a warning.”

   "In the past, one Baosi confuses King You, and can subjugate the country. Now hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns carve and paint clay Buddhas, melt money to cast Buddhas, to confuse the world, and must be controlled."

  Qin Lang did not say prohibition, but control.

   "As long as we rectify a little, the national treasury will be filled, and the country will be rich enough for soldiers!"

  (end of this chapter)