Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Returning to Fuzhou with a bunch of surrendered troops, Li Bao felt even more headache although he also captured a lot of baggage.

Afraid of causing trouble and being punished by the prince, Li Bao did not dare to easily dismiss the surrendered troops, but raising these troops would cost food.

After much thought, Li Bao decided to first dismiss the new soldiers recruited by Tong Guan, and then eliminate the old and weak among the Fujian soldiers. But those Zhejiang soldiers cannot move for the time being, and they have to be sent back to their hometowns, otherwise they will be looted all the way back to Zhejiang.

When he arrived in Fuzhou, Li Bao called the civil and military officials: "What are the largest temples in Fuzhou?"

Mao Kui replied: "The four Zen monasteries are the southeast, southeast and northwest."

Li Bao asked again: "Which family is the most famous?"

Mao Kui said: "Dongchan Temple is the most famous. In the third year of Yuanfeng, Dongchan Temple gathered famous monks from all over the world to prepare for the compilation and carving of the Tripitaka. It took thirty years to complete. Since it was carved in the Chongning period, this sutra Also known as "Chongning Collection", the transfer envoy came forward to dedicate it to...well, to the foolish king. Dongchan Temple in Fuzhou was canonized by the old Song Dynasty court with two temple titles. One is "Eastern Zen Pure Land", the origin of this title Since the Tang Dynasty; one is 'Long Live Chongning', this title comes from Hunjun."

Xie Ruyi said: "In Dongchan Temple, there is also a handwritten letter from Hunjun. Some time ago, Tong Guan ordered each temple to hand over food, and Dongchan Temple took out the handwritten letter from Hunjun, so Tong Guan did not dare to force it too much. Tong Guanyong When he established the false emperor, he also invited the abbot, Zen Master Guanghuida Gao, which made the identity of the false emperor even more convincing."

"In other words, Dongzen Temple has the most food?" Li Bao muttered.

Xie Ruyi said: "Dongchan Temple only has the most money and the greatest reputation. Its money mainly relies on donations from believers and business operations. But it is Xichan Temple that has the most food. There are rich fertile fields in the western suburbs of Fuzhou, and sixty-seven out of ten belong to Xichan Temple. of Terada."

Li Bao asked again: "What is the prestige of the abbot of Xichan Temple?"

Cao Zai said: "The abbot of Xichan Temple is Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao. He was also invited to participate in the coronation ceremony of the false emperor. He is the most eminent monk in Fujian after Zen Master Guanghuida Gao.

Li Bao slammed the table: "He is also a monster monk who resists the new dynasty. I will raise troops to let him know how to correct his evil ways!"

Xie Ruyi lowered his head and smiled. He was already used to seeing these monks.

Mao Kui also took pleasure in the misfortune because he was a Taoist believer and was too lazy to care about the life and death of the bald donkeys.

Cao Zai, the judge of Fujian Province, was shocked: "Guang Hui and Guang Ji, two Zen masters, are both highly respected in Fuzhou. They participated in the establishment of the false emperor and ascended the throne. They were also forced by Tong Guan. They must not be dealt with easily, otherwise it will definitely cause trouble." Civil uprising."

"I'm not afraid of a mutiny, but I'm afraid of a civil uprising." Li Bao glanced at everyone, "You also participated in supporting the false emperor. Are you colluding with those monks in an attempt to secretly rebel and subvert the new dynasty?"

"That's absolutely not the case!"

Cao Zai was so frightened that he immediately changed his mind: "We were forced, but those monks were voluntary. The general should immediately lead troops to arrest them!"

Li Bao grew up in an environment where he was exposed to Confucian classics and had no interest in Buddhism or Taoism.

Now that there is a shortage of food and the temples are hoarding food, it is natural to take action against the monks.

Moreover, Li Baotun personally participated in the policies of Zhu Guoxiang and Zhu Ming and his son in Sichuan when he was stationed in Kuizhou. He was very familiar with this process of destroying temples.

The hundreds of temples in Fuzhou control more than 70% of the local economy. Industry, agriculture, and commerce are all involved, so they send monks to sail ships to engage in maritime trade (they also supply goods to maritime merchants and purchase maritime merchants). goods).

The Quanzhou Pu family who betrayed the Southern Song Dynasty could not have developed in the late Northern Song Dynasty because Quanzhou's trade was also controlled by the temple.

It was not until Neo-Confucianism began to flourish in the Southern Song Dynasty, and Fujian was the base of Neo-Confucianism, that the government used the power of the government to counterattack, continuously weakening the influence of Buddhism in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty.

Civil officials took the initiative to suppress Buddhism, which started from Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. Previously, they mainly tended to destroy obscene sacrifices.

Those local officials in the Ming Dynasty, regardless of their background in Neo-Confucianism or Psychology, as long as they were strong-willed people, had more or less "destroyed temples" and liked to demolish temples to expand schools.

…

Fuzhou Xichan Temple, also known as Changqing Temple, was built in the eighth year of Xiantong in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of hundreds of years.

The building area of ​​the temple is nearly... ten hectares!

In the entire western suburbs of Fuzhou City, most of the fertile land belongs to the temple, and there are countless shops inside and outside the city.

There are nearly five thousand monks in the temple alone, and there are also many monk soldiers (without armor, with bows and crossbows).

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao was not worried about the change of dynasty, nor was he afraid of offending the new dynasty by participating in the establishment of a false emperor.

Because he was forced, the abbots of several other temples were all called away by Tong Guan. Is it possible that Emperor Zhu could kill all the abbots?

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao did not personally take care of the industrial, agricultural, and commercial properties of the temple. The monks below were responsible for taking care of it. All kinds of dirty things and scandals have nothing to do with him, because he is a great and eminent monk. He is responsible for studying Buddhism, making friends with celebrities, extending kindness, and hosting Dharma meetings.

Speaking from a personal perspective, he is absolutely highly respected and can't find any stain on him.

The monks below are doing bad things. What does this have to do with the abbot?

"Abbott, what's wrong, that Li Bao is coming with his troops to kill us!"

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao obviously had profound Buddhist teachings, his expression was as calm as water, and his heart was unruffled. He said in a calm tone: "The old Song Dynasty was cruel and unruly, the new dynasty complied with public opinion, and the change of dynasties coincided with the principles of Buddhism. This General Li Bao may have some influence on this temple. No misunderstanding, you must not resist, and let the poor monk explain Buddhism to him."

The monks and soldiers of Xichan Temple did not dare to go out. If they angered the new emperor, the centuries-old temple might be gone.

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao led the monks out of the camp and met Li Bao at the foot of Yishan Mountain. He found that Mao Kui, the transfer envoy, was also there. He immediately clasped his hands and said, "Amitabha, poor monk Guangji, please come into the temple and talk about it."

Li Bao said: "I heard that you helped Tong Guan support the false emperor?"

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao explained: "This boy is so strong that the poor monks will never dare to resist the new dynasty."

Li Bao added: "Our army does not have enough food, and the people in the city have no food to eat."

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao immediately promised: "Although our temple does not have much food, we are willing to donate 500 stones of food to the general for temporary use."

"Is five hundred stones of grain too little?" Li Bao's idea was simple. If these monks knew the current affairs, he would not bother to kill them and leave everything to the court officials.

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao thought for a while: "I can barely make up eight hundred stones."

Li Bao asked: "Can't there be more?"

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao said: "There are still many monks in the temple who want to eat."

Li Bao stretched out his hand to hold the knife: "Can't we really have more?"

Zen Master Guangji Zhaogao said: "One thousand stones, no more, there is really no more."

"Then there's no need to talk about it anymore!" The smile on Li Bao's face turned ferocious. He had heard from those officials that Xichan Temple had built several granaries.

Monk Guangji suddenly felt a pain in his lower abdomen and was kicked back by Li Bao.

"Qiang!"

Before the eminent monk could react, Li Bao had already drawn his sword out of its sheath and chopped down the monk next to him.

The thousand Kuizhou soldiers behind them also formed a formation and charged forward. In an instant, dozens of monks died tragically.

"Why is this happening? Why is it happening like this!" Mao Kui was shocked.

The other monks were so frightened that they ran away. In panic, they even organized monk soldiers to resist.

Most of these monk soldiers were armed with sticks, and a few were armed with swords, guns and crossbows.

Kuizhou soldiers moved forward in a mandarin duck formation and soon broke through the temple gate, but more than ten people were injured by crossbows.

Li Bao grabbed Monk Guangji and said, "Okay, Xichan Temple actually has hidden crossbows and private soldiers. He must be yearning for the old Song Dynasty and wants to overthrow the new dynasty!"

"You are spitting blood!" Monk Guangji was shocked and angry.

How could the monk soldiers stop the Kuizhou soldiers who looked like wolves and tigers? Soon, various temples in the temple were captured one after another.

There were corpses everywhere in Xichan Temple, and at least a thousand monks had been killed.

The other monks were so frightened that their livers and gallbladders split apart, and all the surviving monk soldiers put down their weapons.

Li Bao did not stop and ordered: "Except for this abbot who will be escorted to Tokyo, all the other monk leaders will be executed, and the ordinary monks will be allowed to live. All the food will be moved out, and the account books and deeds of the workshops and shops, as well as all kinds of property, will be sealed. Tian Tian The deeds were found and the land was distributed to ordinary monks and tenants. All the IOUs were burned in a fire!"

Li Bao turned around and looked at Mao Kui: "I will personally take charge of the distribution of temple fields. If anything goes wrong, don't come to see me and jump into the Min River yourself!"

"Yes...yes...yes!" Mao Kui was so frightened that his legs became weak and he couldn't even stand firmly.

Li Bao then said to several soldiers: "Take some people to inform the monks in the temple and the surrounding monks and laymen, saying that all the temple fields of Xichan Temple will be given to them!"

News of the land allocation spread quickly, and not only the monks and tenants outside, but also the monks in the temple were overjoyed.

Because now, apart from the heads of various industries, only the abbot, Monk Guangji, is still alive. All the heads of monks, big and small, in the temple have been killed.

"Kowtow to the great master Qingtian!"

We haven't even gotten the land yet, but we just announced the policy, and countless monks and tenant farmers came to kneel down and thank them.

Mao Kui and Cao Zai were worried about provoking a popular uprising, but it never happened!

…

Tozenji Temple.

There are not as many temple fields here as in Saizen Temple, but the business is more prosperous and the social reputation is higher.

Dongzen Temple held a Dharma conference, which was often attended by tens of thousands of believers. At the peak, tens of thousands of people came.

The chopping board used for cooking in the temple is called the "thousand-person noodle bed". When all the parts are put together, it can accommodate hundreds of cooks cutting vegetables and noodles at the same time.

Moreover, there was an imperial letter awarded by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, which used the reign name of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty as the official temple name "Long Live Chongning". This caused Fujian officials not to dare to offend Dongchan Temple. Its abbot, Zen Master Guang Huida Gao, is even known as "the most virtuous monk in the South".

"Zen Master, Xichan Temple was massacred!"

Monk Guanghui, who was studying Buddhism, trembled when he heard the words. Then he realized that he had thought about it, and he quickly chanted the name of the Buddha to wake himself up.

This eminent monk also left a famous Buddhist verse: Buddha is enlightened without a mind, because the mind is obsessed with Buddha. In the place where the Buddha's mind is pure, wild apes cry outside the clouds.

Monk Guanghui asked: "Why was Xichan Temple massacred?"

The monk replied: "Then Li Bao claimed that Xichan Temple was raising private soldiers and hiding bows and crossbows in an attempt to restore the Song Dynasty and subvert the new dynasty. I don't know how many monks he killed. I heard that there was a river of blood in the temple, and he also robbed all the food in Xichan Temple. Then he announced that he would allocate the temple land to monks and tenants."

"Amitabha……"

Monk Guanghui began to think seriously and quickly made a decision: "Give Li Bao the imperial book of the old dynasty, and then remove the plaque of 'Long Live Chongning'. Dismiss the monks who have made excessive demands, and leave some food. The rest of the food was donated to the new dynasty. Only one-tenth of the temple land was left, and the rest was distributed to monks who returned to secular life and tenants."