Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 756: How many teachers does Buddha have?

History has proven that if a general has lost a battle before, he will most likely learn from his mistakes and turn defeat into victory when facing the same opponent this time.

Shangxi Dongzan had been taught a lesson by the Tang army in Shazhou before, but only his offensive was frustrated and his main force was still intact. Moreover, Tibetan troops continued to flow into the Hehuang Valley from the plateau, so there was someone to support him.

Therefore, the total strength of the Tibetan army still had an overwhelming advantage over the Tang army in Shazhou. Logically, it was impossible for them to lose the battle.

However...things often don't develop as smoothly as people expect.

When Shangxi Dongzan attacked Luocheng in Shazhou, he was constantly harassed by soldiers from the "sub-city" on the other side of the river. There was a lack of tall trees needed to make siege equipment in the local area, so Shangxi Dongzan had to send people to cut down trees from the high mountains at the southern end of Dadouba Valley.

The siege was not going smoothly because of harassment on one side and lack of siege equipment on the other.

More than half a month had passed, and not only had Dazhaglugong's request for a "quick attack on Shazhou" not been realized, but the Shangxi Dongzan tribe was instead harassed on a daily basis with bows and arrows by the Tang cavalry who came out of Shazhou's inner city.

The troops suffered repeated casualties and were overwhelmed. This method of fighting was disgusting.

Send a large force to chase them, but their slow movements are like being walked by someone, and the troops are tired and cannot change guards. Send a small force to chase them, Shang Xidongzan has tried twice, and each time they went but never returned and were completely wiped out.

Then why didn't Shangxi Dongzan send people to surround the Shazhouzi City on the other side of the Ganquan River (i.e. Dang River)?
In fact, it was not that Shang Xidongzan did not want to, but the first time he crossed the river in the middle of the night and planned to quietly besiege the city, he was ambushed. Just like a person who has been bitten by a poisonous snake will be timid when seeing the well rope, Shang Xidongzan did not dare to try again.

He already knew that there were powerful figures among the high-ranking officials of the Tang army in Shazhou who were difficult to deal with, so it was best not to act recklessly and to proceed step by step.

Originally, the army was divided into two parts, separated by a river, besieging two cities located on both sides of the river. This was a taboo in military strategy and it was very easy for the defenders to defeat them one by one.

Separated by the river, it is inconvenient to organize an attack and to communicate. Once a major event occurs, it is likely to face a devastating defeat.

Although Shang Xidongzan is not a veteran soldier, he still has some military knowledge.

Since we can't take it by force, let's just stay put for now.

Shangxi Dongzan wrote a battle report to Dazhalugong, saying that "the Tang army has too many soldiers to win quickly, and the local treasury is full of supplies. It is recommended to surround the city instead of attacking."

Actually, Shang Xidongzan is not talking nonsense.

Because of the need to trade with the Western Regions, the local wealthy families in Shazhou have habits similar to hamsters. They like to hoard large amounts of food for emergency use.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why there is “plenty of food in the city”.

However, when this battle report was delivered to Dazhalugong, the Tibetan minister did not think so.

Dazha Lugong thought that regardless of what the Tang army was like, Shangxi Dongzan might be rebellious and was deliberately looking for trouble with him.

The surname "Shang" was originally a noble family descended from the maternal clan of the Zamp (but not necessarily the same big family), while Dazhalugong was born in the less prominent "Enlan clan" in Tubo, so there was a natural contradiction between the two.

It is somewhat similar to the difference between the Tianlong people in Chang'an and the Tianlong people in the suburbs of Chang'an.

A few years ago, Dazhaglugong took advantage of the opportunity to fight for power and dealt with a large number of Tibetan nobles from the "Shang" clan.

Shangxi Dongzan was spared because his family had little relationship with the maternal clan of the current Zamp. He also participated in this war as a representative of the political power of the "New Dynasty".

Therefore, for Dazhalugong, it is hard to say whether Shangxi Dongzan was unable to defeat the Tang army or was deliberately giving up and playing badly.

With a military order, Dazha Lugong ordered Shang Xidongzan to come to Liangzhou as soon as possible to report the military situation! As soon as the latter entered Liangzhou City, he and his personal guards were arrested by Dazha Lugong.

The latter beheaded Shang Xidongzan on the same day for the crime of "collaborating with the enemy and fearing war". At the same time, he appointed Shang Zanmo, who was from the same family as Shang Xidongzan, to replace him and let him return to Shazhou to take charge of the overall situation.

The battle strategy also changed from the original "quick attack on Shazhou" to "encircle but not attack" as suggested by Shang Xidongzan.

However, since Shang Xidongzan’s suggestion was not wrong, why should he be beheaded in public?

The high-ranking Tibetan army officials did not dare to ask this question, nor did they have much interest in delving into it. They only knew that Shangxi Dongzan's death was not unjust.

Because in Tibet, if a noble cannot fight, it is a natural sin, which has nothing to do with his personal character and style of doing things. If a noble cannot fight, it means he should die early.

Shang Xidongzan suffered repeated setbacks in his attacks on Shazhou, so he deserved to die. The reason was so simple and straightforward. It didn't matter what reason he was put to death.

The series of turmoil in the middle and late periods of Tibetan history were all related to this linear thinking of the survival of the fittest. Those who are not good at fighting can be killed. In the Tibetan plateau where life is like summer flowers and death is like autumn leaves, this may be a natural way of survival.

Due to Shangxi Dongzan's incompetence, the Tibetan army's plan to sweep across the Western Regions was thwarted. So Dazha Lugong decided to surround Shazhou without attacking it, since he had already cut off the Hexi Corridor.

After stabilizing the situation in Hexi, the Tubo army began to gather its forces and attack the hinterland of Longyou, heading straight for Lanzhou!
……

Late at night, Bianzhou, Daxiangguo Temple.

Abbot Huian was chanting in the Buddhist hall. For some reason, he always felt uneasy recently.

Today's Daxiangguo Temple has also undergone a "reform". Simply put, "what belongs to Buddha belongs to Buddha, and what belongs to the secular world belongs to the secular world."

Monks who can chant should focus more on chanting and not think about anything else, in order to ensure the "purity" of the team.

Monks who can't chant sutras need to know how to do business. Since they can't chant sutras, they might as well not chant them. They can eat, drink, gamble, or do anything else, as long as they can offer incense money to the Buddha, then they can pretend nothing happened.

Making money to offer to Buddha, isn't this also a way to accumulate merit?

So it doesn't really matter if they play with women, drink and eat meat, right?
Now, the interior of Daxiangguo Temple is also facing such a "two worlds of ice and fire". Thinking about these trivial matters, Hui'an sighed helplessly. He didn't really want to think about these, but the situation was stronger than people!
In recent years in Bianzhou, if you don’t talk about money, what else can you talk about?
Even small farmers have started to grow vegetables and sell them. A dozen acres of land planted with vegetables can support a whole family. This is a living example. If the temple does not talk about money, how can it survive?
"It's a sin, it's a sin, disciple."

Hui'an counted his Buddhist beads, muttering to himself, with the only sound of unknown insects chirping in his ears.

"Master, the night is long and I can't sleep. Are you unable to sleep too?"

A familiar voice suddenly rang in Hui'an's ears, and he shuddered with fear. He turned his head and saw Fang Zhongyong kneeling on the cushions in the Buddhist hall, looking at the golden Buddha in front of him and talking to himself.

There was no sign of piety on his face, instead it looked as if he was watching a joke.

"May I ask what the official is telling the Buddha by visiting so late at night?"

Hui'an suppressed his inner uneasiness and asked doubtfully.

"I am apologizing to the Buddha.

Originally, the task of cleaning up the house should be done by you, the abbot, but you just keep tolerating evil!

I had no choice but to take action, which has already offended the Buddha, so I apologize to the Buddha here."

Fang Chongyong looked at Huian with a half-smile and said, it seemed as if his eyes could directly see into the old abbot's thoughts, making him dare not look directly at him.

"The nunnery next door must be very lively right now. Pairs of naked monks and nuns are hugging each other and twisting their bodies.

I wonder what the Buddha would think if he knew about this?"

Fang Chongyong continued to question.

"Sin, sin, sin..."

Hui'an closed his eyes and kept muttering to himself, but he counted the beads in his hand even faster.

What else could he say? He had been caught red-handed by the government. Could this matter be resolved peacefully?
"Sir, I no longer care about worldly affairs. If you ask me about this matter, I cannot answer you."

Hui An said with a sigh.

Obviously, he wanted to get himself out of this first. As for the other things, it can only be said that it doesn't matter what happens. Hui'an's idea is a bit similar to some false saints that Fang Zhongyong knew in his previous life, who blindly followed others and did evil.

Before the incident, they enjoyed the convenience of others eating meat while they drank soup, and they said nothing about those evil things and pretended to know nothing.

Once something happens, they immediately cut ties, indicating that they did nothing and that it was all bad people doing bad things!
What does it have to do with me, a monk who chants sutras, if those monks who don't chant sutras hold a party? I haven't violated any precepts!

This is what Hui'an meant at the moment.

"Master, since you said so, then it is reasonable for me to arrest those lecherous monks who violated the precepts and take them to Shanyuan Villa, and even let them transport food to the front line. It is also a just act to forgive their sins, right?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile.

"Please do as you please, just remember that Buddha is everywhere."

Hui An said with his eyes closed.

You, an accomplice of the evil, actually dare to argue with me!
Fang Zhongyong got angry when he heard this.

"Where was the Buddha when the Tibetans invaded Hexi?"

Fang Zhongyong asked coldly.

Hui'an didn't answer, and he couldn't answer.

“Humph, I just want to clean up the filth in this Buddhist temple!
If the Buddha feels offended and wants to find me, let him bring his Buddhist soldiers and generals to see me. I will be waiting for you at any time!
Come, send the master to the inner hall. Then seal up this Daxiangguo Temple for me and thoroughly investigate the filth inside the temple!"

Fang Chongyong gave an order to the soldiers around him, then stood up and left, too lazy to talk nonsense with Hui'an.

If you don’t accept my toast, you will be punished. I originally wanted to give the bald monks of Daxiangguo Temple a chance to “self-examine”, but I didn’t expect the abbot to still want to show off.

Fang Chongyong never tolerates these unproductive bald men.

Since he wants to pretend, let him pretend to his heart’s content!

Walking out of the Daxiangguo Temple, Fang Chongyong saw He Changqi walking out of the Xijing Temple next door. Behind him were his personal soldiers escorting a group of young men and women in disheveled clothes. All of them were bald and were either monks or nuns.

"Sir, you didn't see it. I just saw more than a dozen couples doing it together in the Buddhist hall of the nunnery!
I could hear it from far away, and it was like someone cutting my flesh with a knife, and I could only scream in pain."

He Changqi made a dough-kneading gesture, with a somewhat obscene smile on his face.

Fang Chongyong was totally unimpressed by this and casually waved his hand, signaling He Changqi not to mention those boring details.

He doesn't care how the monk kneads the nun's soft body, he wants to make money!

Why has promiscuity in Buddhist temples become so rampant now? Because the monks have made money through business, and when they are well fed and warm, they are tempted to have sex.

These nuns are essentially the same as prostitutes, and they also do things for money.

When looking at a problem, one must look beyond the phenomenon to see the essence. Fang Chongyong has always been intolerant of this kind of ineffective use of resources!
The monks' full strength should be used for moving bricks! How can they waste it on nuns?
In his opinion, playing with women is not a sin, but playing with women without working is the heinous crime!

"The monks who committed crimes will be assigned to the auxiliary troops to transport food and fodder, and the nuns who committed crimes will be sent to the workshop to weave cloth! The war has begun, and every bit of manpower is precious. Tell the brothers not to kill anyone!"

Fang Chongyong warned He Changqi.

"Understood! Don't worry, sir. The brothers are all waiting to go into battle and make merit. Who wants to waste time on these scumbags?
Make sure none of them can escape!"

He Changqi patted his chest and sneered.

Capturing one more monk means one more auxiliary soldier to transport grain, and their chances of winning the battle on the front line will be higher.

So, what's the point of killing?
Arresting people is equivalent to seizing military merits, which is equivalent to making money in disguise.

If you understand this, you will deeply appreciate how considerate Fang Chongyong's military orders are.

"Well, let's go!"

Fang Chongyong raised his hand, and He Changqi hurried away, directing his men to continue the search. Jingzhao Yin Yuan Jie also led the yamen runners to search elsewhere tonight. From tonight, the continuous "severe crackdown" will be in full swing.

As for when it will end, it depends on when there are enough materials and manpower to support the Hexi front.

"Minister Liu, do you think it's enough?"

Fang Chongyong pointed at the gate of Daxiangguo Temple and asked.

Liu Yan shook his head slightly and said, "Sir, there is a lot of floating wealth in the Buddhist temples, but this floating wealth cannot be turned into military funds, cannot be turned into food and fodder, and cannot replace manpower. You should know this best, so it is only useful to capture these monks and serve in the army."

Liu Yan pointed out a very cruel reality to Fang Chongyong: money cannot be eaten!
This principle is naturally not difficult to understand for Fang Chongyong, who was accustomed to financial crises in his previous life.

Theoretically, the government can print money indefinitely, and even have an endless supply of gold, silver and other precious metals. However, the total amount of social materials will not increase as a result.

In a short period of time, it was extremely stressful for the Bianzhou court to gather all the supplies needed to send troops to Hexi, including all aspects of needs.

It's not as simple as just providing enough military rations for a few months.

Building bridges, roads, digging river embankments, supporting the reconstruction of Luoyang and Chang'an, opening up trade routes, etc., manpower and materials are needed everywhere.

"Che Guangqian has already entered Tongguan with 10,000 soldiers, and Yuan Zai is now lobbying Li Baoyu. We don't mean to take the supplies back all at once, can we pay in installments?"

Fang Chongyong said with a wry smile.

"How is the installment?"

Liu Yan asked curiously. He was a very stubborn person and didn't like to brag. He only wanted to talk about practical things.

"We can send troops gradually into Guanzhong, training them while we go out.

The army gradually advanced towards Longyou. The further west they went, the fewer troops there were, and the closer they got to Guanzhong, the more troops there were. The troops were then mobilized westward according to the food routes.

We must first gain a firm foothold and delay the Tibetan army's offensive. This battle will not end so quickly, so don't let us get hurt."

Fang Chongyong said seriously.

"Indeed, your Excellency's opinion is excellent."

Liu Yan thought about it, nodded and said. Fang Chongyong's advantage is that he is very pragmatic and will not give all the difficulties to his subordinates in a fit of anger.

Of course, correspondingly, once he decides to push forward something, it is all well thought out, which means that his subordinates must push forward resolutely.

"Let's prepare first and see what Li Baoyu says. If he nods, this matter will be easy to handle."

Fang Chongyong sighed and said, facing a powerful enemy, not everyone is united in facing the enemy.

Just like those monks who are having a party in the nunnery tonight, all they have in their minds is playing with women, and they don’t care at all whether the Tibetans are going to attack them or not.

Fang Zhongyong had no other solution. When facing a powerful enemy, they had to unite to face the enemy. If someone didn't obey, they had to use a knife to make them obey.

(End of this chapter)