Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Those who understand current affairs are heroes, but only Monk Guanghui is half a hero.

Dongzen Temple does not rely on farming to make a living. The annexation of land is just incidental. It mainly makes money by doing business and loan sharking.

Dividing nine-tenths of the land and donating all the food to Li Bao did not shake the foundation of Dongzen Temple. Because they didn't give them a penny, they kept the factories and shops in their hands.

As for Beichen Temple and Nanzen Temple, they were not even half talented. They did not give him any money, land, or stores. They only dedicated half of their grain reserves to Li Bao.

The temples inside and outside Fuzhou City all look like this.

Li Bao killed Xichan Temple until the blood flowed into rivers. They still took a chance and only gave them a lot of food.

The temples farther away pretended not to know anything.

Li Bao didn't have time to deal with the monks. He had to take a sea ship to Quanzhou and wait for Xin Xingzong to surrender in Quanzhou City.

As for the thousands of temples and temples in Fujian, just report them truthfully to the court.

Based on the attitude of the emperor and the prince towards Buddhism and Taoism, Li Bao believed that these guys would be miserable and he just needed to get military rations and forget about it.

Li Bao and Xin Xingzong are about to arrive in Quanzhou, and what is Quanzhou Prefect Chen Yuanlao doing?

He is playing with his friends!

There was an honor guard in front to clear the way, followed by a large number of servants, as well as temporary handymen from the Xiang army.

When this old man went out of the city, he was accompanied by more than three hundred people.

Arriving at a mansion on the outskirts of the city, Chen Yuanlao opened the car curtain, waved to his friend and shouted: "Old man, please get in the car and sit with us."

"The governor is really elegant!" Li Bing stepped forward, followed by a group of servants.

Although officials in the Song Dynasty also avoided their place of origin, they did not enforce it strictly. Usually it was just a matter of different roads, and there were often people from the same road but from different states.

Chen Yuanlao, the governor of Quanzhou, was born in Fuzhou next door.

Li Bing's ancestral home is in Jezhou, Shandong Province, and he moved to Quanzhou with his father since he was a child. This man had already been a bachelor of the Imperial Academy. When he was sent abroad, he encountered a military disaster and heard that Tokyo was gone, so he simply returned to Quanzhou to travel in the mountains and forests.

Li Bing got on the carriage and said casually: "I heard that many maritime merchants escaped from Fuzhou a few days ago."

Chen Yuanlao said angrily: "That traitor Tong Guan went against the grain. He found a clan member from nowhere to support the puppet emperor, and even robbed the maritime merchants doing business in Fuzhou. I have already asked those merchants, Tong Guan We just force the gentry and temples to provide food, but we don’t dare to fight with swords like we did with maritime merchants.”

Li Bing sighed: "Last year, the situation was unclear, so I gave up my official position and returned to Quanzhou. Now it is clear. The old Song Dynasty will be destroyed, and the new Ming Dynasty will be unstoppable. Brother Danian, do you have a plan?"

"What else can we plan?" Chen Yuanlao said, "The Quanzhou Xiang army has been depleted for a long time. If Tong Guan comes with his troops, he will summon monks and soldiers from all the temples to fight to the death like he did last time when he refused to eat. If they are soldiers from the Ming Dynasty, then Immediately open the city to welcome them. Whether it is defending the city or dedicating the city, it is all to ensure the safety of the people of Quanzhou."

Li Bing immediately complimented him: "Brother Danian cares about the people, and I admire him very much."

Chen Yuanlao smiled and said: "When the heavenly soldiers of the Ming Dynasty arrive, it is inevitable that talents will be needed to govern the place. When the time comes, I will definitely recommend good brothers to do the work."

"Then thank you, Brother Danian," Li Bing said, stroking his beard. "It seems that we, the old ministers of the previous dynasty, should have left the two masters alone. But how can that faint king be like a human master? He is as cruel as Jie and Zhou, and he deserves to die and his country will be destroyed!" Now that the Ming Dynasty has the Holy Emperor in the court, how can all the benevolent people in the world not assist the Ming Emperor?"

"That makes sense." Elder Chen nodded and said.

Chen Yuanlao had three major hobbies in his life: Buddhism and Taoism, composing poetry, and running schools. He also used Guan Zhong's famous saying to write, "It takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people."

Since then, these eight words have been exclusively used in the field of education.

The two chatted all the way and soon arrived at Yanfu Temple.

How can I say this temple? It has become a group!

It was built in the early Western Jin Dynasty and had a history of nearly 900 years by the late Northern Song Dynasty. It has 54 courtyards in itself, and has merged with more than 50 surrounding Zen monasteries to form a group-operated Zen forest.

The total area of ​​Yanfu Temple is larger than the Xichan Temple in Fuzhou inspected by Li Bao!

When Chen Yuanlao and Li Bing arrived outside the temple, they were immediately greeted by monks who knew the guest. Soon after entering the temple, they met the abbot, Zen Master Huisui.

The three of them went to the abbot's room together, where Zen Master Huisui personally made tea to entertain the guests.

After talking about the past and the present, Zen Master Huisui said: "To pray for wind this winter, we still have to kill animals, which is really contrary to the meaning of compassion. The poor monk wants to use the Buddhist precepts to change the Taoist rituals of Zhaohui Temple, and pray from now on. The wind does not kill any living thing, but only uses various kinds of vegetarian food to sacrifice it."

"this……"

Chen Yuanlao was a little embarrassed and said: "I have no objections, but I am afraid that those maritime merchants and ship owners may have some objections."

Zen Master Huisui said: "Then when we set up the water and land monastery next year, we will invite all the big ship owners to discuss it."

Zhaohui Temple is the Tongyuan Temple.

At this time, Mazu belief was not yet mainstream, and the officially recognized Poseidon was King Tongyuan.

Here in Quanzhou, every summer and winter, sacrifices are made to King Tongyuan to pray for stable monsoons.

Tongyuan Wang Temple was originally a Taoist temple, but now it has been annexed by Yanfu Temple.

The Buddhist temple not only successfully merged with the Taoist temple, but also wanted to modify the Taoist sacrificial rituals in accordance with Buddhist precepts... This shows the strength of Fujian Buddhism!

Chen Yuanlao immediately changed the subject: "Tong Guan, that guy, plundered Fuzhou merchants a few days ago, and will probably send troops to Quanzhou to collect grain. The old Song Dynasty court is gone, and we must not help Zhou to do evil again. I have sent soldiers to fight on both sea and land. Fang is on sentry duty, and if he encounters Tong Guan's army, he also asks Yanfu Temple to send out monk soldiers to help."

Zen Master Huisui said: "Amitabha, Tong Guan is so ruthless that all the people in Fujian are in ruins. Although our Buddha is compassionate, he also has angry eyes. If Tong Guan sends troops again, the monks of Yanfu Temple will definitely help him with all their strength!"

"Then please leave it to Zen Master!" Chen Yuanlao immediately felt relieved.

The two of them had a vegetarian meal in the temple, then left respectfully.

On the way back to the city, nearly half of the people I met were monks.

Some people are not monks but deliberately dress up like them. Or they may buy a Duduo, not even shaving their hair, and show themselves like a tutu when going out.

There are also many craftsmen, clerks, and tenants who devote themselves to the temple, all dressed as monks.

Chen Yuanlao and Li Bing are accustomed to this. One of them has lived in Fuzhou since childhood, and the other has lived in Quanzhou since childhood. They have long been accustomed to it.

Returning to the state office, Chen Yuanlao handled some official duties, then walked to the back house to lie down and rest.

He has sent his confidants to Zhejiang to find out what the situation is there. If the Ming Dynasty soldiers enter Fujian, he will change his banner as soon as possible.

Chen Yuanlao is a fan of officials, and his poem about becoming an official is very famous: Leading the immortals to Ziwei, the clouds gradually follow each other. The peach blossoms penetrate three layers of waves, and the osmanthus climbs up to the first branch. In Langyuan there is no horse in front, and in Xingyuan there are only poems written afterward. A man should look like this, and the whole world will know that his sleeves are full of fragrance.

No matter it is the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, as long as it does not affect his official career.

"Ms. sir, sir..." The servant came running in with a soldier.

Chen Yuanlao opened his eyes in confusion and asked, "What's the matter?"

The soldier on the other side said: "Seven or eight ships suddenly arrived at the mouth of the Jinjiang River. They all hung strange flags, and many soldiers got off the ships!"

"What flag is it?" Chen Yuanlao asked.

The soldier said: "It looks like a painting of the sun and moon."

"Flag of the Sun and Moon? The Heavenly Soldiers must be coming!" Chen Yuanlao stood up suddenly, "Hurry up and gather the officials in the city and follow me out of the city to meet the Heavenly Soldiers!"

Various government offices in Quanzhou City soon became agitated, and many officials gathered with their subordinates.

Under the leadership of Chen Yuanlao, they left the city happily.

Li Bao originally thought that it would take some effort for him to attack the city, but he saw Quanzhou officials beating gongs and drums to welcome him, and even local wealthy businessmen came to join in the fun.

“The customs of Fujian are amazing!” Li Bao said with emotion.

Chen Yuanlao was confused at this time. He didn't know why the Ming army came to Quanzhou. It was like a divine army descending from heaven.

However, Li Bao sent troops too quickly. In addition to chasing Tong Guan, he was only delayed for one day while inspecting Xichan Temple.

The officials here in Quanzhou didn't even know that he had captured Fuzhou!

"Old Chen, the governor of Quanzhou, led the officials of the state to pay homage to the general!" Elder Chen still wanted to save face, he just bowed and did not kneel down.

Li Bao asked: "Did Xin Xingzong bring troops?"

Chen Yuanlao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "Xin Xingzong is in Fuzhou."

Li Bao said: "I just came from Fuzhou. Tong Guan is dead. Xin Xingzong led his troops to escape, probably to Quanzhou."

Chen Yuanlao was shocked and said quickly: "Please ask the general to take action to protect the safety of the people of Quanzhou."

"You don't have to worry about this." Li Bao said.

Chen Yuanlao said: "May I ask the general your surname?"

Li Bao held his head high and said: "Marquis Cao of the Ming Dynasty and General Yunhui Li Bao!"

The Ming Dynasty now only has five marquises, and they are all titled after their respective hometowns.

However, the titles of Shi Yuangong, Zhang Boring and Yang Zhi all came from the county name. Only Zhang Guangdao and Li Bao got their title from the name of their state.

Li Bao's hometown belonged to Caozhou in ancient times, so he was named Caohou.

As for General Yunhui, in the Northern Song Dynasty, he had the title of Wusan, but in Ju Ming's case, it was a military rank (from the third rank).

After destroying the country and returning to Beijing this time, Li Bao's military rank is expected to be upgraded three levels in a row, becoming a second-level "national general". (Yang Zhi has been promoted to the third-level champion general because of his heavy damage to the Xixia army.)

Of course, there will definitely not be no rewards. In addition to military ranks and titles, there are also various promotions and honorary titles. All rewards have been upgraded, and you can create another set of honorary positions to award rewards!

Although Quanzhou officials didn't know what was going on in the north, they learned a lot about the Ming Dynasty from passing merchants.

In front of me is Li Bao, one of the five princes of the Ming Dynasty?

Chen Yuanlao's body instantly shrunk by three points, his attitude became more respectful and attentive, and he said with a smile on his face: "General, please come into the city quickly. I have prepared the bright-character flag. But I don't know that the new dynasty has a sun and moon flag, so I only let Someone embroidered a clear word on the flag.”

Li Bao found it very interesting and asked: "Did you just embroider the flag recently, or have you embroidered the flag a long time ago?"

Chen Yuanlao said with an upright face: "The old Song Dynasty court was unruly, and the new Ming Dynasty obeyed the people. I have been embroidering the Mingzi flag for a year."

Li Bao scolded: "Fart, the name of the new dynasty is Ming Dynasty, and it has not been a year since this matter was announced to the world!"

"Uh..." Chen Yuanlao was suddenly at a loss for words.