big song poppi

Chapter 585 0582 [Without laws, power is unpredictable]

Upon learning that His Majesty was coming with the imperial guards, Yuankong was terrified.

He hurriedly led a group of monks to the gate of the temple and greeted the emperor with a nervous mood.

The elder beside him lifted his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked in a low voice: "Master, why did His Majesty bring the troops here this time?"

"How should I know?"

Yuankong smiled bitterly.

I thought that paying 80 million strings of cash and 180,000 mu of monk's land would buy me peace, but in the end I was still unable to escape?

Just as he was thinking about it, the dragon chariot slowly came over.

Ten men with imperial weapons rode on horses, guarding on both sides, and a strong aura was blowing in the face.

The people of Tokyo City have all seen the world. After all, there was once an impressive record in which the emperor was knocked out of the palace eight times by beating the drum in one day.

In addition, Han Zhen often took his children out of the palace for fun, so the people were no longer surprised.

The area in front of the temple was extremely lively, with insects chirping, birds singing, monkeys howling and animals roaring, as if one had entered a pavilion of exotic beasts.

The square in front of Daxiangguo Temple specializes in selling pets, with all kinds of exotic animals from home and abroad. Nearly half of the people setting up stalls are Arabs from the Western Regions.

In fact, during the Song Dynasty, a large number of Arabs came to the Central Plains through the Maritime Silk Road. Many of them were attracted by the Central Plains culture and chose to settle there.

Today, there are more than ten thousand Arabs settled in Kaifeng Prefecture alone.

Including port cities such as Jimo, Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Mingzhou, the population is over 100,000.

One hundred thousand people may sound like a lot, but when scattered among the Central Plains with a population of over 100 million, they are simply insignificant.

Moreover, China had a very strong assimilation ability. Within a few years, these people were assimilated by the Han people, so there are few records of them in later historical books.

These people are not good at farming, but they are very good at business.

Soon, the dragon chariot stopped in front of the temple and Han Zhen stepped out of the chariot.

"The poor monk has met Your Majesty."

Yuankong hurried forward to greet him, feeling even more nervous.

Han Zhen didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Is there a dragon spring in Daxiangguo Temple?"

Yuankong was a little confused, but still answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, it is true. The Dragon Spring is located in the small courtyard in the southeast corner of the Peach Garden. The spring water is clear and cold, and it is usually not open to pilgrims."

"Follow me."

Han Zhen ordered.

"Your Majesty, please come this way."

Yuankong was puzzled and bowed to indicate.

From the current perspective, His Majesty does not seem to be coming for the Daxiangguo Temple, which makes Yuankong feel relieved.

As they walked along the road, Yuankong asked cautiously, "May I ask your Majesty, are there any thieves hiding in the temple?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Han Zhen gave him a sideways look.

Yuankong was startled and immediately kept silent.

Daxiangguo Temple is very large, with three courtyards in front and back, and more than 20 acres of peach trees planted in the backyard.

Every March, peach blossoms are in full bloom, and peach blossoms are everywhere you look, attracting countless pilgrims to visit.

It was late autumn now, and the peach trees had withered, leaving only bare branches. Naturally, few people came here, so compared to the hustle and bustle of the front yard, the backyard seemed quiet.

Walking through the peach garden, a small courtyard came into view.

The courtyard is uniquely decorated and full of Zen spirit.

"Your Majesty, Longquan is in this courtyard."

Yuankong was tactful and stopped moving forward.

Han Zhen ordered: "You can leave now."

"The poor monk retires."

Yuankong bowed, then turned and left.

After he left, two men with imperial weapons immediately stepped forward and opened the gate.

Han Zhen put his hands behind his back and walked slowly into the courtyard along the cobblestone path.

In the courtyard, a clear spring flows.

A woman was kneeling behind the bluestone platform. She was wearing a light yellow skirt and a moon-white double-breasted jacket draped over her shoulders. Her face was covered with a white veil, and there was a cinnabar mole between her eyebrows.

Although the white veil covered half of her face, one could tell she was a beauty just by looking at her eyebrows, eyes, and forehead.

As the saying goes, beauty lies in the bones, not in the skin.

Beauties with good bone structure not only have a longer shelf life, but are also the type that is more attractive the more you look at them.

The appearance is inferior. It may be stunning at first glance, but after looking at it for a long time, various shortcomings will be revealed one by one.

The woman in front of me is obviously a beauty with good bone structure.

"I pay my respects to your majesty."

When she saw Han Zhen, the woman opened her hands, raised them to her eyebrows, and bowed gracefully.

Han Zhen did not sit down, but said condescendingly: "It seems that you did not take my words to heart."

The woman sighed quietly in her heart, stretched out her jade hand to take off her veil, revealing an exquisite and beautiful face.

If we only talk about the exquisite appearance, this woman cannot compare with Zhao Fujin, but she has a dignified posture and extraordinary temperament, with a cinnabar mole on the center of her forehead, she is like a Bodhisattva descending to the mortal world, making people feel awe at the sight of her.

I have to say, this is a good-looking appearance. He only needs to dress up a little and sit on the lotus platform, and there will be plenty of people bowing to him.

After taking off her veil, the woman bowed again and said, "Gao Xiruo, the Buddha Mother of Maitreya Sect, greets Your Majesty."

"No gift."

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Han Zhen's eyes, and then he sat down leisurely.

He was not surprised by the other party's identity, as he had already guessed it.

Moreover, the letter just now mentioned many evil cults such as Manichaeism, Nestorianism, and Woism, but did not mention Maitreyaism, which was almost a clear indication.

Han Zhen slowly said, "I heard that your Maitreya teachings teach people to enter the path of enlightenment through killing. Killing one person makes you a first-stage bodhisattva, and killing ten people makes you a tenth-stage bodhisattva. The more people you kill, the higher the merits you will have when Maitreya comes to the world?"

Gao Xiruo replied, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. My Maitreya Sect was originally founded by the great Buddhist monk Shanhui Dashi. It was derived from the Pure Land Sect, one of the ten Buddhist sects. Its teachings are to guide people to be good and accumulate good deeds. The so-called killing to enter the Tao is nothing more than a fabricated statement made by the rebels to use the name of my Maitreya Sect to motivate their rebels."

Han Zhen smiled and said, "I only know that since Master Fu founded the Maitreya Sect, there have been seven rebellions in the name of the Maitreya Sect in just thirty years. Including the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, and the pseudo-Song Dynasty, there have been more than a hundred riots and rebellions related to your Maitreya Sect. How can you expect me to trust you?"

"..."

Gao Xiruo was silent for a while.

In fact, Maitreya Buddhism was born out of nature for rebellion.

Moreover, Maitreya itself was not clean, and was full of shit. Wang Ze and Liu Ningjing could be said to have rebelled in the name of Maitreya. What about Gao Tansheng? Gao Tansheng was a real Buddhist disciple of Maitreya, and was recorded in the books of Zhao Song.

Gao Xiruo tried to explain: "Your Majesty, please understand. The teachings of our sect are like this, but they are being used by people with ulterior motives. Now, I am compiling a new doctrine, which will replace the birth of Maitreya with the birth of a white lotus in the fire."

Hearing this, Han Zhen's eyes twitched.

White lotus grows in the fire!
Okay, are they going to bring out the White Lotus Sect in advance?
In the original time and space, Maitreya Sect disappeared in the late Southern Song Dynasty, but this was just a change of skin, and it transformed into the White Lotus Sect.

The key point is that compared with Maitreya Sect, the White Lotus Sect is not much better, and its teachings are also suitable for rebellion.

Another religion that changed its appearance was Manichaeism. The famous Mingjiao at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was actually Manichaeism.

Han Zhen said without question: "Under my rule, no evil cults are allowed to exist."

Gao Xiruo was not surprised by this. Given Han Zhen's overbearing and strong personality, it would be abnormal to allow Maitreya Sect to exist. She was just trying to fight for it.

Since her efforts were fruitless, she decided to settle for the next best thing: "The Maitreya Sect will not exist, but I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and spare the disciples of the sect."

Although the Maitreya Sect experienced a devastating disaster during the reign of Emperor Renzong, it still has a profound foundation. After nearly a hundred years of recuperation, the sect now has more than ten thousand disciples throughout the south.

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Putting aside the grassroots believers, there are nearly a thousand core members alone.

Most of these backbone members joined the cult at a young age, have long been brainwashed, and have learned unorthodox methods.

It is impossible to get them back on the right track and integrate into the lives of the people since they don’t know how to farm and don’t understand business.

Han Zhen did not answer immediately, but ordered: "Tell me the details of Maitreya religion."

Gao Xiruo did not dare to hide anything and answered truthfully: "My sect has four Buddhist disciples in the southeast, northwest, and northeast. The east is the most respected. The four Buddhist disciples are in charge of four halls respectively..."

Han Zhen interrupted, "What is your status as a Buddha Mother?"

Gao Xiruo replied, "Your Majesty, our religion did not have a Buddha Mother in the beginning. Later, it absorbed the Manichaeism, Nestorianism and other sects, and then added the position of Buddha Mother. Moreover, the Buddha Mother is not a permanent position. It will only be added when the four Buddhist disciples have no male offspring."

It is a hereditary system, and a flexible one at that.

If you have a son, then everything will remain the same. If you have no sons, only daughters, there is no need to panic, just add a Buddha Mother.

It perfectly solves the problem of no successor.

In other words, the status of the Buddha Mother and the Buddha Son is the same.

Han Zhen waved his hand, motioning for her to continue.

Gao Xiruo continued, "The four halls are divided into red, white, blue and green. The White Lotus Hall is for the core disciples, who emphasize purity and are responsible for preaching. The Red Lotus Hall is full of beautiful women who have practiced dual cultivation techniques such as Heavenly Demon Dance and Joyful Zen since childhood and use their bodies for charity. The Blue Lotus Hall focuses on wealth, and the Blue Lotus Hall focuses on killing."

In fact, Maitreya Buddhism has absorbed the doctrines of many religions and has been changed beyond recognition.

The same is true for Manichaeism, Nestorianism, etc. These evil cults are intertwined.

For example, Buddhist disciples are not only found in Maitreya Buddhism, but also in Manichaeism.

For example, the Anglican character is not unique to Manichaeism, but also exists in Nestorianism and Woism.

Han Zhen chuckled: "The division of labor is clear."

Gao Xiruo heard the sarcasm in Han Zhen's words, but she didn't care. She continued in a soft voice, "Now, the position of the Southern and Northern Buddhist disciples has been vacant for more than 30 years. The Western Buddhist disciple is getting old and has stopped asking about the affairs of the church ten years ago. All the affairs of the church, big or small, are under the full responsibility of this woman. There are a total of 921 disciples in the four halls."

"More than a thousand people..."

Han Zhen pondered and said, "If these people were released back to the people, I'm afraid they would not be able to keep quiet."

Gao Xiruo quickly assured, "Your Majesty, please be at ease. I will strictly discipline you and will never cause any trouble for you."

Tuk-tuk-tuk~
Han Zhen remained silent, tapping the bluestone platform with his fingers, and fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Gao Xiruo was not in a hurry. He stood up and scooped a ladle of water from the cold spring. In front of the ten people with imperial weapons, he began to boil water and make tea.

The spring water in Daxiangguo Temple is of excellent quality, clear and sweet, and is ideal for making tea. Therefore, many dignitaries in the city would send their servants here to fetch water every day.

Gao Xiruo's tea-making skills are not as good as those of the tea masters in the capital, but they are not bad either.

Soon, two cups of fragrant tea appeared on the bluestone table.

The crisp knocking sounds stopped abruptly, indicating that Han Zhen had already made up his mind.

At this time, Gao Xiruo suddenly said, "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and ambition. You are a great leader and naturally want to unite the world. I may not be able to help the Jin people in the north, but if Your Majesty wants to take Guangdong and Guangxi, I can help."

"Ah."

Han Zhen smiled and said, "You are quite clever."

Gao Xiruo actually didn't know what Han Zhen's decision was, but to be on the safe side, she decided to increase the stakes for herself.

In fact, the list in his hand is more than enough to exchange for the lives and freedom of himself and several of his trusted disciples. The Emperor of Qi will definitely agree.

But she really couldn't ignore the fate of her followers. Given the character of the Emperor of Qi, these people would only end up dead.

To put it bluntly, the Maitreya Sect has been passed down in the hands of her Gao family for more than two hundred years. It is unreasonable and emotional for her to watch these believers being executed.

Han Zhen said calmly, "Tell me how you can help me?"

Gao Xiruo replied, "In the early years, Fang Qifo used force to coerce the relatives of the common people and asked our Maitreya Sect to do things for him. One of the tasks was to preach in Guangdong and Guangxi and develop the native tribes into followers for his use. However, the people of Guangdong and Guangxi and the native tribes believed in Lady Xian, so the preaching was not smooth, and the native tribes were wary of Han people like us."

"But my efforts over the past two years have not been in vain. I have gained something in the end. Whether it's using money or women, my sect has planted people among more than a hundred native tribes in Guangdong and Guangxi."

Hearing this, Han Zhen suddenly realized that these evil cults were not completely useless.

If used properly, it can have miraculous effects.

Moreover, some dirty work would damage one's reputation and was not suitable for the Secret Service, so it could be completely handed over to Gao Xiruo.

However, even if we want to use them, we have to recruit them first and then reorganize them.

After all, cults are a double-edged sword. If not used properly, they can end up hurting yourself.

Thinking of this, Han Zhen ordered: "Bring your family to the capital. In addition, I need a list, a list of the registered residences of all the relatives of the Maitreya core members."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Gao Xiruo was delighted and bowed gracefully.

"Come to the palace to see me tomorrow."

After Han Zhen finished speaking, he stood up and left.

After he left, a beautiful young woman walked out from the shadows in the corner and said with lingering fear: "These imperial weapons are really scary."

Just now, several auras locked onto her, and the terrifying feeling of oppression made her feel as if she was falling into an ice cellar, and she dared not move at all.

Although they were more than ten steps away, her intuition told her that if she moved, she would be killed instantly.

There was one square-faced man in particular who gave her the greatest sense of oppression. He had dark skin and a simple and honest look, like a country farmer, but his temples were bulging on both sides of his forehead, and it was obvious that he had practiced internal martial arts to the extreme. He carried two iron whips behind him and stood there like a mountain, pressing her so hard that she couldn't breathe.

With imperial weapons in hand, he is worthy of being called the top warrior.

Gao Xiruo did not say anything, but picked up the teacup and sipped the tea quietly.

Seeing this, the young woman looked puzzled and asked, "Buddha Mother, why didn't the emperor ask for the list of Manichaeism and others, but instead asked Buddha Mother to enter the palace tomorrow?"

Gao Xiruo uttered a few words softly: "If there is no law, the power is unpredictable."

(End of this chapter)