A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 462 The Blasphemer

East Palace.

Chongxian Hall.

Wu Huaiyu, who also serves as the Prince Shaozhan's affairs, came to the East Palace today to be on duty, and also serves as the Prince's attendant.

"Teacher, what are you going to talk about today?"

The prince sat there with all his clan relatives and the prime minister's children looking forward to it. Wu Huaiyu, the teacher, only came to give them a few lessons in one month, but every time he taught them, he would never teach them the classics and history subsets that made people sleepy.

It is possible that today we will talk about astronomy and geography, and next time we will talk about history and customs, or myths and legends, etc.

"Today, I will tell you a story about Laojun."

With her hands behind her back and without the scriptures, Wu Huaiyu talked about a miracle that happened in the first year of Wude.

In the hall, Prince Chengqian, Wei Wangtai, Han Wangke, etc. also cheered up and pricked up their ears.

At the back, there are still many officials from the Eastern Palace who are also listening in the back today.

The 80-year-old prince Zhan Shi and Li Gang are here today. Every time Wu Huaiyu attends class, this unshakable person must come to listen in, lest Wu Huaiyu teach the prince badly.

"It is said that in the first month of the first year of Wude, Liu Wuzhou sent Song Jingang with [-] troops to attack Jinzhou and Jiangzhou. At that time, it was Jiangzhou where the current emperor was sitting.

There is a man named Ji Shanxing from Jiangzhou who was hunting in Yangjiao Mountain. In the mountains, he met an old man with white hair and white beard wearing plain clothes and a golden crown.

After he finished speaking, he flew away. Although Ji Shanxing was surprised, he didn't act.The old man appeared again at Ji Shanxing's home and asked him why.Ji Shanxing said that he had no entanglements, no documents, and it happened that the two armies were fighting, so it was difficult to get on the road, and even if he saw the emperor, what proof did he have?
The old man said that you just go ahead, you will have everything you need ahead, and when you arrive in Chang'an, someone will present a stone turtle as a token.

Ji Shanxing went to Jinzhou first, and Shi Heruo Xiaoyi, the governor of Jinzhou, sent someone to greet him early, and introduced him to the current emperor.

So His Majesty sent Du Ang, the school captain of Zuo Qinwei, to accompany him, and first went to Yangjiao Mountain to meet the immortals to offer sacrifices.Just as he was about to worship, the immortal appeared and said, "I don't drink or eat, how can I use it for sacrifice?"
Du Ang came back from Yangjiao Mountain and told King Qin what he had seen and heard, so His Majesty believed it and arranged to send Ji Shanxing to meet the emperor. "

This story sounds quite legendary, especially when it is about the affairs of this dynasty.

Chengqian, Li Tai and others listened attentively.

"Who is that immortal?" The prince couldn't help asking.

Li Tai asked, "Du Ang has any position, can you call him to ask about the details?"

Han Wang Li Ke said, "The white-haired and bearded immortal who rides a green bull and wears a golden crown, and asked to set up a Taoist statue in Chang'an, must be the Supreme Lord."

A few people were chattering, so excited, this kind of story with a taste of myths and legends, even adults like it very much, let alone this group of children.

Nowadays, the sales volume of Beijing News has increased greatly, and the serial section of legendary novels on it has made a lot of contributions. Even these serialized novels can be sold immediately when they are assembled and released in separate volumes.

The biography of the bearded guest, the biography of Cui Yingying, Huang Liang Yimeng, and Liaozhai are all favorites of young and old.

"What about the back?"

"Is there really someone offering stone turtles?"

The prince and his group of young students listened to stories, but Li Gang, Kong Yingda, Lu Deming, and Ma Zhou, who were listening behind, would not think that Wu Huaiyu was just telling stories.

There must be a deep meaning in it.

Wu Huaiyu said with a smile: "Du Ang sent Ji Shanxing to Chang'an to meet the emperor. At the gate of Chaotang, it happened that Zhang Da offered a stone tortoise in the government of Qiuzhou. There were texts on the stone tortoise. The world is safe, and the children and grandchildren will prosper for thousands of years."

"The Supreme Emperor is overjoyed, and he directly called my ancestor, Lao Tzu."

His Majesty conferred the title of Ji Shanxing Chaosan Doctor, and sent officials to follow him to Yangjiao Mountain to practice Taoism.

Just after the Taoist temple was built, Ji Shanxing saw the old man appear again. He asked about his honorary title, and the old man said, I am a supreme god, my surname is Li, and my name is Boyang.

He also told him that the enemy can be defeated in April, and that there are dead junipers regenerating in Guyang County, Haozhou, which can be used as a test.

Ji Shanxing reported to the emperor, and the Supreme Emperor ordered to change Fushan County to Shenshan County, and Yangjiao Mountain to Longjiao Mountain. In the temple, Laojun Hall, Tianzun Hall, Zhenren Pavilion, etc. were newly built, and ten hectares of land were given to Xianyoujian to fill the village.
In April, the enemy was indeed defeated, and the emperor issued an edict to change the name of the temple to Qingtang Temple.

In the third year of Wude, His Majesty led hundreds of officials to pay homage in person and erected a stele of imperial books. "

Wu Huaiyu told this story today, of course he did not make it up, but it was recorded by the official Tang Dynasty. Both Li Yuan and Li Shimin said this publicly.

But, Wu Huaiyu doesn't believe in Laojun's words. After all, according to the official records, at the end of Sui Dynasty, Laojun appeared more than once, and appeared every now and then, saying that Li Yuan or Li Shimin had a destiny.

Some records even say that in the story he just told, he was able to defeat Liu Wuzhou in the end because Laozi finally transferred Zhou Gongdan to lead the gods to help him, and Li Yuan was blocked in Huoyi when he raised his troops. I came to help, and it came true, the rain stopped, Tang Jun defeated Song Laosheng, and opened the passage to Chang'an.

Anyway, there are many such stories, each more mysterious than the other.

Anyway, Wu Huaiyu felt that this was deliberate hype and marketing, to add some legal principles to raising troops and proclaiming himself emperor, just like many failed rebellions in history, not all of them had such miracles.

In the end, everyone only remembered those who succeeded, and felt that they were the right ones, but there were more unsuccessful ones, but who remembered.

But these things, in Datang now, are called political correctness, who dares to question them?

Li Gang, an old man in his 80s, of course knows the mystery, but he can't stand up and refute it.

On the contrary, Chen Ziliang, a scholar of the Eastern Palace, couldn’t help but stand up and refute. This person deeply believed in Buddhism. He was actually quite talented.

Later, he worked as a bachelor of Hongwenguan for a while, and now he has returned to the East Palace. He is also a good friend of Falin, the abbot of Longtian Temple.

It's a pity that Wu Huaiyu's few words made his neck red and he couldn't continue. Even the prince Chengqian and his brothers glared at the old man. How can you doubt the Supreme Emperor and the emperor, how can you doubt my royal ancestor Lao Tzu?

The young prince shouted angrily and told him to back down, Chen Ziliang was angry and helpless.

Lai Ji, the editor-in-chief of Prince Literature and Beijing News, who attended this class that day, wrote an article immediately after returning home, and Wu Huaiyu's class was directly published on the Beijing News.

The Beijing News is published once every five days. Nowadays, engraving is used for printing, and the efficiency has been greatly increased. When I wake up in the morning, the Beijing News that still smells of ink is everywhere in Chang'an City.

Li Shimin, the emperor in the palace, also wants to read it regularly now. He especially likes to read some inconspicuous sections on it, such as the prices of the two cities above, and even the advertisements of some merchants. These are much more vivid than the transfer of officials and imperial edicts on the front page.

Of course, the emperor also liked to read the serialized novels above.

However, the class in the Chongwen Museum in the Beijing News today surprised him.

Laiji's level is good, and the manuscript is very well written. It not only vividly writes the original story of the old man's appearance on Yangjiao Mountain, but also puts on the cover of a Wu Xianggong's East Palace class.

In the early dynasty, Li Shimin, who was still very happy, issued an edict in the high hall. The name of the edict was Taoist women's crown above monks and nuns, especially emphasizing that Taoism was above Confucianism and Buddhism.

Lao Tzu, that is my ancestor.

The emperor issued an edict to honor Lao Tzu as the ancestor Taishang Xuanyuan Emperor, and wrote that Lao Tzu is the original lineage of the royal family. Now he has given him the honorary title in order to respect his ancestors.

This was the first time that the Tang Dynasty honored Lao Tzu as emperor. When Li Yuan was in power, although he often said that Lao Tzu was his ancestor, he was not formally proclaimed as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's intention is also very obvious. He wants to take advantage of the breakthrough of the third-tier sect this time, continue to pursue the victory, expand the results of the battle, and clean up this cancer.

It is not enough to crack down on the third-order religion, and then invite Zen Master Xihe from Hedong to be the abbot of Xiangji Temple in Chang'an, and let him officially establish a sect and establish the Pure Land Sect to weaken and suppress the third-order religion.

Lao Tzu is the emperor's ancestor, and now that he respects the emperor, Taoism has naturally become Li Tang's family religion. Isn't it normal to elevate his status?
Immediately afterwards, the emperor issued another edict,
The officials in the palace were a little shocked. The emperor issued three edicts in a row in the morning.

The edict listed Lao Tzu as an examination subject of Ming Jing in the imperial examination. Together with the Analects of Confucius and the Book of Filial Piety, it became the third concurrent classic, only after the Nine Classics. All officials were required to study the Tao Te Ching.

It is normal for the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to respect Lao Tzu and Taoism.

But at the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the struggle between Buddhism and Taoism was very fierce. Fu Yi wrote seven times to destroy Buddhism. In the end, Li Yuan officially issued an edict to eliminate Buddhism and Taoism in the ninth year of Wude. Chang'an left three Buddhist temples, and each state in the world only left one.

Buddhism suddenly fell into the darkest moment, but just at this time Li Shimin's palace seized the throne, and then stopped the execution of this edict.

The monks escaped unharmed.

Now that the emperor is so respectful, the monks are full of a sense of crisis, especially after they have just experienced the incident of the third rank. Although the third rank is also called heresy by other sects, they are all monks after all. At this time, we have to unite the front.

What's more, Fa Lin, the abbot of Longtian Temple, knew from his name that he and Fa Yana were brothers of the same school. In fact, it was true. Fa Lin was also a monk of wine and meat.
At this time, he stood up without hesitation.

He blatantly slapped the emperor in the face and directly declared to the outside world that you, the emperor, are from Xianbei and have nothing to do with Lao Tzu.

This guy was very bold, and even used his eloquent tongue to openly say that Lao Tzu’s father was Han Qian. Han Qian was poor and humble, and he was born lame, one-eyed, and without ears.

Such words are not only bold, they are simply blasphemy.

Not only blasphemed Laojun, but also blasphemed the royal family.

After Li Shimin received the report, he immediately asked Zhang Liang to send someone to arrest him and put him to death.

Wu Huaiyu made a suggestion, "Falin often says that she is a saint, but she is obviously a swindler, a liar and a lunatic who indulges in wine and meat, His Majesty is the real saint, be generous and merciful.

In the book he wrote before, he said that reciting Guanyin would not harm the body.

Why not imprison him and let him recite the Seven Heavens Guanyin Bodhisattva, if he is really a saint, then he will be able to communicate with Guanyin Bodhisattva and let Guanyin Bodhisattva intercede with His Majesty on his behalf."

"If Guanyin Bodhisattva did not intercede with His Majesty after seven days, it means that he is not a saint at all, and he should be chopped off at that time."

When Li Shimin heard this idea, isn't your Falin stronger than Fa Ya, and you can still say that you are a saint every day, and that your status as a Bodhisattva is extraordinary?

Well, let's see if you can invite Guanyin Bodhisattva to come to me to intercede for you.

If you can't please, then you are either a saint or a liar, and you will have to be a ghost under the sword and keep Falla as a companion.

The reason why Wu Huaiyu came up with this suggestion was because Falin, like Faya, was a monk of wine and meat, but his status in the hearts of Buddhists in Chang'an was indeed higher. This guy was not only good at eloquence, but also especially good at writing books.

In the fierce struggle between Buddhism and Taoism during the Wude period, Fa Ya was the one who led two thousand monks and soldiers, and was responsible for making money and ensuring logistics, while Fa Lin was the one who wrote book after book, refuting all the offensive remarks of Fu Yi, Li Shizheng, Li Zhongqing, Liu Jinxi, Qin Shiying and other Taoist priests.

This guy is the Buddhist standard-bearer of the war between the two sides in these years, and he is quite amazing.

Of course, what is even more bizarre is that this guy not only eats meat, drinks, marries a wife and has children, but also when he was a young monk in the Sui Dynasty, in order to explore the true details of Taoism, he once wore a yellow scarf and pretended to be a Taoist priest, entered the Taoist circle, studied Taoist scriptures seriously, and even learned alchemy and divination.

So this guy has always had the upper hand in his battles with Taoism all these years, all because he knows the enemy.

Even though the third-order sect was raided this time, Falin was not affected. The monks of the Shi family in Chang'an were all protecting this guy. He was called the Dharma Protector Bodhisattva.

If such a guy is simply caught and chopped up, the other monks will not accept it.

Falin will definitely not be able to invite Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"After seven days, I will kill this demon monk." Li Shimin hated people saying that he was from Xianbei, the Son of Heaven, how could he tolerate such slander?
Although Li Shimin's grandmother Dugu was from Xianbei, and his mother, Dou, was also from Xianbei, but firstly, his grandmother Dugu and his mother Dou were not pure Xianbei, but Han and Hu had been married for many years, and their Sinicization was relatively thorough.

Furthermore, when did Huaxia stop being descended from the paternal line of blood, and start to talk about it as matrilineal?

Anyone who dares to say that Li Shimin is from Xianbei, or of Xianbei blood, has ulterior motives, even Xianbei people will not recognize Li Shimin as a tribe.

Even for the relatives of the Li family, such as the Dugu family, the Dou family, and the Changsun family, who still think of themselves as Xianbei people now?
Xianbei has been sinicized.

Wu Huaiyu could see that Li Shimin was very angry. He was called a barbarian. This is not only an insult, it will even shake the foundation of the rule, and it will never be allowed.

"Your Majesty calm down, in fact, after seven days, there is no need to kill him."

"Could he starve to death? Or will he commit suicide in prison?" Li Shimin stroked his beard.

"Your Majesty has the generosity of the sage. Falin is just an arrogant demon monk. This kind of person is dirty if he kills him. After seven days, if he can't invite Guanyin, his identity as a liar will naturally be revealed. When it is made public, no one will believe him anymore.
At that time, His Majesty will save him from death and exile him to Lingnan, which is better than killing him, and it will also let the world see His Majesty's generosity and benevolence. "

"It makes sense, let Zhang Liang take a good look at him. I want him to be alive after seven days. Even if he wants to commit suicide, he won't be able to let him go. I will demote him to Cochin to dry salt for atonement!"

(End of this chapter)