Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The news that Yang Ji and Bai Qi joined forces to fight against Buddhism spread faster than Duan Yu went to Luoyang.

As soon as Duan Yu and his family arrived at the Yangtze River, the Yunnan fight against Buddhism was reported to the court through Sichuan telegram.

To be precise, it was more than fighting against Buddhism, but it had not yet reached the level of destroying Buddhism. Yang Ji and Bai Qi even supported the Dali Zen Sect, suppressing it with knives while letting the Zen Sect fight against the Esoteric Buddhism.

In Yang Ji's view, both the Dali Esoteric Buddhism and the Theravada Buddhism were heretics, but these two sects were the strongest in Yunnan.

Only the Zen Sect was still a target that could be used. At least when Yang Ji talked with the Zen master, he would not fall out on the spot because of the conflict of ideas. It happened that the Zen Sect was relatively weak in Yunnan, so they could cooperate with each other in the short term. The joint efforts of Confucianism and Buddhism were easier for the people to accept than using Confucianism alone.

"I have merits and no guilt, why are you arresting me? I don't accept it, I don't accept it!"

Dong Mingshou shouted hysterically.

It was he who led his troops to seize the South Gate of Dali at a critical moment and welcomed the pursuing Ming cavalry into the city. It can be said that he had contributed to the capital of Dali.

Moreover, his family inherited the position of leader of Dali's secret religion, and he could also be regarded as the master of all the scholars (Buddhists and Confucians) in Dali.

With merit and reputation, Dong Mingshou felt that he was safe.

Who knew that before the reward from the court came, he was arrested in public at home by Bai Qi's men.

A group of Buddhists and Confucians could not beat the soldiers, so they went around the gate and blocked the gate of the inner courtyard of the Dong family's mansion, trying to rescue their spiritual leader.

"If anyone resists arrest, he will be killed without mercy. What are you waiting for?" Fan Ruwei shouted angrily.

"Kill!"

The Ming soldiers inside and outside the courtyard attacked the scholars blocking the gate of the courtyard.

In a blink of an eye, more than 20 Buddhists and Confucians were stabbed to death or injured, and the rest were so scared that they knelt down on the spot and cried for mercy.

The bloody scene frightened Dong Mingshou's legs.

He dared not say anything more and was taken away by the Ming army.

Dong Mingshou certainly knew why he was arrested. When he met Emperor Zhu in Luoyang, he promised to reform Dali Esoteric Buddhism.

But during this period, he pretended to obey but secretly disobeyed. He said that he would implement reforms, but secretly encouraged scholars and monks to gather at the government to petition, and hinted that local temples were fooling around with the reforms.

Dong Mingshou thought that this was enough. Openly reforming could give the government face, and secretly not changing could maintain his prestige.

Isn't it a happy ending?

But he thought that the happy ending made all the civil servants transferred to Yunnan furious.

In the final analysis, it was a problem of thinking habits.

All the scholars in Dali believed that there was no problem with practicing Buddhism and Confucianism, and they should be more inclined to Buddhism. It was no big deal to annotate Confucian scriptures in Sanskrit.

And what about the civil servants sent to Yunnan?

They also acquiesced to practicing Buddhism and Confucianism, but this was the bottom line. Confucianism must be ranked before Buddhism, and Dali Esoteric Buddhism must be reformed, and Sanskrit must not be used to annotate Confucian scriptures!

In Dong Mingshou's eyes, it is a trivial matter, but in the eyes of the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty, it is an unforgivable crime!

You should know that in another time and space, Dali Esoteric Buddhism was changed again and again during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and it was very secular and tried to abide by Confucian ethics. But in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, it was still constantly criticized by civil officials, and even made a fuss to the court. Qianlong personally ordered it to be banned.

Civil officials could not tolerate the castrated version of Dali Esoteric Buddhism in the Qing Dynasty. How could they not react strongly when they encountered the original version now?

Yunnan has been established as a province, and the provincial capital has been moved to Kunming.

At this moment, Yang Ji, Bai Qi and others are in Kunming, but Lin Chong leads his troops to Dali, and sets Dali City and its surrounding areas in a semi-military state.

The prefect of Dali, Nie Tingxun, walked in, turned a blind eye to the corpse in front of him, and shouted: "Where is Dong Sen?"

"Here...here."

Among the group of people arrested by the soldiers, a young man in his early twenties responded in fear.

This man is called Dong Sen, the eldest grandson of Dong Mingshou - his father has died of illness.

If the Ming Dynasty does not destroy the Dali Kingdom, Dong Sen will inherit the position of the leader of the Esoteric Sect and be canonized by Master Yideng as "the pillar of the Five Esoteric Sects". Compared with the titles of his ancestors, Dong Sen's title is very rubbish, and it is obvious that he was suppressed by the Gao family.

Nie Tingxun said: "Your grandfather will be taken to Luoyang to wait for the emperor to deal with him personally. Before the court officially orders, how about you preside over the reform of the Dali Esoteric Sect?"

How dare Dong Sen refuse?

He glanced at the corpses at Nie Tingxun's feet and nodded hurriedly: "Whatever Magistrate Nie tells me to do, I will do it honestly and will never disobey in the slightest."

Nie Tingxun also said to Fan Ruwei, who led the troops to arrest people: "These scholars, throw the wounded on the street and let their relatives and friends take them away. As for the dead, hang them all at the city gate, post notices stating their crimes, and arrange for someone to read them there."

"Yes!"

Fan Ruwei bowed his hands and accepted the order, thinking why these big turbans are all crazy.

They used to be polite, but suddenly became cold and ruthless, and they wanted to kill more people.

Just now, Fan Ruwei didn't think of killing people. A group of scholars blocked the gate of the courtyard. He just wanted to scare them and then disperse them. Who knew that Nie Tingxun directly asked him to use a knife and he would not stop until the ground was covered with blood.

Nie Tingxun glanced at the scholars who were still alive: "You have also read the books of sages, and you should understand some truths. In a few days, Dali will set up a government school, and you will go home to study and prepare for the exam. The imperial court will give you preferential treatment, as long as Those who pass the imperial examination will be regarded as scholars and will go to Kunming next year...that is, the Shanchan Township Examination. Remember, only Confucianism is tested, not Buddhism."

Those scholars who had survived the disaster quickly thanked the magistrate and left in a hurry.

When managing the newly occupied land, one should not blindly kill people. Killing people today is to establish their authority, and then they will give them a few sweet dates to eat.

In order to conquer scholars as soon as possible, both Yunnan and Guizhou gave quotas for candidates.

Moreover, the first imperial examination skipped the scholar examination. As long as you enter the official school at the state level, you will automatically obtain the status of scholar for nine years. The first provincial examination will be held in Kunming next year, and students from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces can participate.

When entering Beijing to take the Jinshi examination, students from the five provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Ningxia, North Korea, and Jiaozhi were placed on a separate list.

Students from some prefectures and counties in southern Sichuan, western Hunan, Liaodong, Guangxi, northern Shanxi, northern Shaanxi, and northern Hebei, as well as the areas under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate and the Governor-General are also included in this list.

Even for the scholars in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Duhufu and the Governor-General, officials directly recommended the list of candidates, and even the provincial examination was not set up for the time being. If the candidates thought they were particularly good, they could apply for the imperial examination in nearby provinces and follow the normal imperial examination process to pass the Jinshi.

It is relatively easy to admit Jinshi in this list, and the marking officer does not have such high requirements for them.

Of course, there are not many places, and you will definitely be at the bottom when you are first awarded an official position. If you work hard until you retire, you will be able to reach the prefect level.

After the overall quality of candidates in these areas improved, the imperial court re-drawn the imperial examination list, and the awarding and promotion of officials returned to normal.

A new bookstore opened in Dali City, and the owner is a foreigner from Sichuan.

Two of the employees were locals. They held textbooks and shouted along the street: "Authentic imperial examination books compiled by the Meizhou Engraving and Rites Department, with entrance examination standards for Dali Prefectural Schools. Scholars who want to buy books should go to the former Dali Ministry of Rites Find Jinbang Bookstore on Gongyuan East Street! Authentic Meizhou woodblock prints..."

The imperial court racked its brains to think of how to immigrate, but merchants themselves always came to occupy new territories.

Moreover, those merchants operate a variety of industries. How long has it been since Dali recovered? There are people from Sichuan actually opening bookstores.

As Ming Dynasty continued to expand, many domestic merchants benefited. Some businessmen were even willing to accompany the army and help the court transport supplies in exchange for corresponding dividends after victory.

Those who are a little timid will follow the Ming army. Once they hear that the battle is won at the front, they will immediately take their belongings to do business.

To open a bookstore like this, the capital investment is not very large, and the civil servants will support it. The store can be opened quickly after purchasing it at a bargain price.

Su Tong and his friends escaped from Dong's house. As soon as they left, they were called back and asked to take away the injured scholar.

Although their lives were saved, everyone was still terrified.

The injured scholar was taken home by his relatives and friends, while the rest were afraid and discussed the imperial examination.

Although the tyranny of the government killed scholars, since it left a career path, they were still willing to accept it. Don’t take the Buddhism exam? Then don’t take the exam and just recite the Buddha’s name quietly in private.

As long as the road is not blocked, the more ruthless the government is, the faster they will change.

"Is the Confucianism of the Ming Dynasty the same as that of Dali?" Shi Luohanguang suddenly asked.

His brother Shi Luo Hanming said: "They are all Confucian, what's the difference?"

Su Tong said: "The government prohibits the use of Sanskrit to annotate Confucian classics. I am afraid that the Confucian classics in the Central Plains are really different from those in Dali."

"Then what should we do? They only asked us to prepare for the imperial examination, but we couldn't find the Central Plains Scriptures." All the scholars were quite anxious.

Just now, they were grieving for their dead and injured friends, complaining in their hearts that the government was too cruel, but now they were beginning to worry about not being able to find textbooks.

"Authentic imperial examination book edited and edited by the Meizhou Engraving and Rites Ministry, with entrance examination standards for Dali Fuxue..."

Suddenly, a local clerk hired by a Sichuan bookseller came hawking along the street waving two textbooks.

The scholars' eyes gleamed when they heard this, and they quickly quickened their pace to surround him.

Su Tong hurriedly asked: "We understand the editing by the Ministry of Rites, but why is it Meizhou Engraving?"

The clerk explained: "Our boss is from Sichuan. In Sichuan's book printing industry, the book engravings in Meizhou are the most exquisite. Even the book printing in Chengdu cannot compare."

A scholar named Zhao Liangshou asked: "Is it true that the entrance examination standards for government schools are included?"

The guy said: "It must be true, the government revealed it. Even if the monks don't buy it, the government will announce it in a few days."

Su Tong quickly corrected him: "Don't call me monk or master. From now on, I will all be Confucian scholars."

The more than twenty noble surnames identified by Dali Esotericism in the Tang Dynasty have changed their rankings by this time, and some of them have even become local powerful families, serving as retainers of the real powerful surnames for generations.

For example, the Su family of Dali has been a retainer of the Dong family for generations.

Now that the Dong family is being attacked by the government, Su Tong naturally wants to cut it off quickly. From now on, his family will no longer be Dong family retainers, but serious Ming scholars.

The scholars asked for the address of the bookstore and hurriedly ran to look for it.

The previous killings had been completely forgotten by them.