Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 411: Great Lack of Virtue
Chen, Jiankang City.

It was the spring planting season, and the city was extremely bustling.

In the distance, you can see many people pushing carts towards the fields, and on both sides of the road, you can see long canals.

After Chen Xu came to power, he attached great importance to agriculture and sericulture. He replaced officials from various places one after another, replacing the military officers who were originally in charge of military affairs with civil officials who were good at internal affairs.

This was also thanks to the fact that the previous emperor cleared out the rebels and princes from all over the State of Chen and drove guys like Wang Lin to the north. Therefore, the new emperor was able to slowly adjust the national policy from prioritizing military affairs to prioritizing internal affairs.

He also promoted and met many engineering masters. With their help, the State of Chen built more than 50 water conservancy projects. Officials from all over the country were ordered to reclaim wasteland, set up public fields, and resettle the people.

The internal affairs of the entire south began to recover rapidly, and the cities and ports that were destroyed by the great general of the universe gradually regained their former peace and prosperity.

At this time, outside Jingkou City, there were nearly a thousand people standing in a mighty force.

The outermost layer are soldiers from the State of Chen. The armor rate of the State of Chen is visibly lower than that of Qi and Zhou. Oh, yes, Qi is no longer in existence. It is lower than that of Han and Zhou.

And the combat level of the soldiers is slightly lower than that of the North.

This is determined by many factors.

Surrounded by the soldiers was a large group of officials. These officials were dressed in formal attire and were accompanied by great monks.

The person standing in the front was Yuan Xian, the Minister of the Southern Kingdom.

There were several great magicians surrounding him, and Yuan Xian was quite respectful to these people. Although he was the Minister of the State of Chen, and a close minister of the emperor with decision-making power like Zu Ting and Lu Qubing, Yuan Xian did not dare to put on airs in front of these common magicians.

Those great masters were explaining profound truths to Yuan Xian one by one.

After an unknown amount of time, several large ships finally appeared on the river.

There were naval forces from the State of Chen escorting these large ships.

Compared with the other ships on the river, the big ship was definitely a giant. The small boats all avoided it and dared not approach.

Yuan Xian took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and prepared himself to welcome the guests.

When the ship docked, Yuan Xian immediately led everyone forward and ordered people to blow the musical instruments used to welcome the distinguished guests, giving full display.

People came down from the big ship one after another and quickly rushed towards Yuan Xian.

The leader was an elderly monk, and those following him were all wandering monks, more than a thousand people in total.

The old monk got off the boat and hurriedly greeted Yuan Xian.

"I am the Minister Yuan Xian, and I am here to welcome the Northern Kingdom's divine monk on the orders of His Majesty."

"Greetings to Master Lingqi."

Yuan Xian bowed his head and saluted. The old monk quickly made a Buddhist gesture and said, "Don't be like this, Master Yuan. We have fled here and it is an honor for you to personally welcome us."

Yuan Xian hurriedly called out several senior monks around him and introduced them one by one.

The old monk also brought out a few of his good friends to introduce them.

After everyone met, Yuan Xian took the eminent monk to a luxurious carriage and then rushed towards the city.

The soldiers led the way, and the monks of all sizes followed in front and behind.

Seeing such a scene, the common people along the road were also extremely surprised. After asking and learning that it was a high monk from the Northern Country who had arrived, they all knelt on both sides and paid their respects.

Inside the car, Yuan Xian asked softly, "Did you encounter any troubles on your way here?"

"Your Majesty has ordered that you let them go."

"No, no, your majesty is kind."

As the old monk spoke, grief welled up in his eyes. "Since I escaped from the clutches of the barbarians, I was lucky to have met your Majesty. Otherwise, how could these disciples around me be saved?"

Yuan Xian's expression also turned serious. "The northern barbarians have seized the country and falsely called themselves the Han Kingdom. Sooner or later, we will drive these barbarians out!"

Upon hearing this, the monk burst into tears.

He wiped his eyes and said, "After hearing what the general said, I will die without regrets."

"After entering the city, those demons started killing people indiscriminately. They set fire to temples, killed monks, and toppled Buddha statues. They also captured tens of thousands of believers in the houses!"

"I had 800 disciples, but only a hundred or so of them survived by chance, while the rest died at the hands of these monsters."

“Even the scriptures cannot be preserved.”

"If it weren't for these disciples, I would not want to escape."

The monk talked about the hardships he had experienced in the north.

After the rise of Buddhism, both in the north and the south, Buddhism flourished and there were countless converts. They had been living a good life in the Central Plains until those demons broke into the Central Plains and began to attack these kind-hearted people.

The kind-hearted families who had been friends with them in the past either died or fled, and those of them who had become monks also eventually gave up their wealth and fled.

They had never experienced such hardships. Thinking of the torture brought to them by Liu Taozi and others, the monk could not help but tremble.

Fortunately, they still have a way to survive.

When Liu Taozi launched a massive attack on the Central Plains, these people began to flee southward. The Huai River area was home to countless eminent monks, virtuous people from prominent families, and natural nobles who had fled there.

There were so many of these people that it seemed as if all the good people in the Central Plains had fled to Lianghuai.

The people in Lianghuai are starting to feel troubled and don't know what to do.

Governor Chunyu Liang hurriedly reported the news and wrote a letter to Jiankang to ask the emperor for his opinion.

Chen Xu immediately ordered Chunyu Liang to send these great people to Jiankang.

The first batch of gifts was sent to a group of enlightened monks.

Chen Xu attached great importance to this matter and asked the attendant to go to greet him personally, giving him enough face.

Listening to the old monk recounting his sufferings, Yuan Xian listened very seriously, nodding in agreement from time to time and cursing along with him.

The carriage approached the city so quickly.

Yuan Xian finally got the chance to interrupt. He cleared his throat and said, "His Majesty thinks highly of you all."

"He ordered that all the high monks who had migrated south should be provided with sufficient supplies."

"Your Majesty has mercy!"

Yuan Xian added: "However, His Majesty also hopes that you can work for the stability of the world."

"The northern barbarians are now rampant and occupying the Central Plains, causing panic among the people. If you are willing to help my Majesty to subdue the demons and drive out the barbarians, that would be great."

The monk hurriedly said, "Please tell me what I should do?"

"It's actually very simple. I hope that after you arrive in the south, you can send your disciples to various places to hold Dharma meetings and preach the scriptures. Of course, when you preach, it would be best if you could talk more about the evil deeds of the Hu people and your majesty's wisdom."

Yuan Xian's eyes flickered, and the monk understood instantly.

He said with a serious face: "Is this what Lord Yuan wants me to do?"

"Do you really need to give us orders for this kind of thing? Who doesn't know about the evil deeds of the Northern Hu? Who doesn't know about your majesty's benevolence? Even if you don't give us orders, we will definitely do it."

Yuan Xian then laughed and nodded, "Okay! What you said makes sense!"

Yuan Xian brought this group of eminent monks into the city, but in the end only a dozen of the most famous monks got the opportunity to meet Chen Xu.

When they were brought to the palace hall to meet Chen Xu, they were surprised to find that Chen Xu was dressed like a Buddhist.

When everyone was kneeling, he even returned the greeting with a Buddhist salute.

He warmly invited everyone to gather around him. He did not talk to them about what was happening in the north, but instead talked to them about Buddhist principles.

"The Emperor, a disciple of the Bodhisattva precepts, bows to you"

"The Tathagata's entrustment must wait for the benevolent king, the prosperity of Prajna depends on the holy destiny, and the disciples will inherit the great cause and spread this Dharma to all the hidden and the visible."

Chen Xu also had a profound study of Buddhist philosophy, which was inherited from his family.

These eminent monks were even more delighted. They compared this man with the Hu man in the north in their hearts, and then kept shaking their heads. The two people were simply not comparable. How could that demon who only knew how to kill people be compared with such a saintly emperor?
They stayed together like this and talked for a whole hour before parting ways.

Chen Xu asked Yuan Xian to arrange for these people's settlement, food and drink.

After them, there was a steady stream of great benevolent people coming from the north. Yuan Xian settled these people near Jiankang, where they built a temple specifically to accommodate these eminent monks from the north.

These eminent monks did not forget Chen Xu's kindness and tried their best to repay him.

After they arrived in the south, they first went to visit the important officials and nobles and told them about the horrific scenes in the north.

According to their words, the north had already been occupied by a group of bloody man-eating monsters. Liu Taozi and his men had all turned into man-eating, bloodthirsty monsters with green faces and fangs.

They are not good at other things, but their ability to make up and tell stories is first-rate.

After becoming familiar with the local clans, they began to set up Dharma assemblies in various places to continue their own propaganda.

Nine out of ten houses in the north were empty, people were eating each other, and the Xianbei butchers, speaking a language that no one could understand, were riding bloody horses and killing people all over the streets.

There are no ethics, no morals, and a lot of dirty and filthy language.

In short, these descriptions seem excessive when applied to the Xianbei people when they were still on the grassland.

On the contrary, the State of Chen and its people were praised to the sky, especially the emperor. All kinds of praises appeared together. These adjectives seemed excessive when applied to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in ancient times.

While they were busy with their part-time jobs, they certainly did not forget their main jobs.

"Shang Li, this is not possible!"

"It's really not possible!"

In a small hut beside a farmland, a man stood in front of the clerk, his eyes full of fear.

"These twenty acres of farmland are all inherited from my family. How can I just sell them off like this?"

At this moment, a gloomy-faced clerk stood in front of him, followed by several soldiers. There was also a fat-headed and big-eared monk standing far away. He was a kind-hearted person and could not bear to see such painful things, so he closed his eyes and muttered something in a low voice.

A look of disdain flashed across the clerk's face. He grabbed the man and stared at him with a cold look.

"I'm telling you, the government is going to build a temple at Qingshikou. Your farmland is not for sale to us, but for the Buddha! Do you know that?"

“This is us helping you to do good deeds and accumulate virtue!”

"What a rare opportunity!"

"Offer it to the Bodhisattva, and the Bodhisattva will remember your kindness. Maybe in your next life, you will not be a commoner, but an official like me."

The clerk pushed the man away.

"Take your wife and leave quickly."

The man's face was filled with despair. "But how are we going to survive? It's spring planting time and we don't have any farmland. You want to spend 300 yuan to buy my 30 acres of farmland. How are we going to survive with that money?"

The clerk's expression became increasingly ferocious.

"What? You dare to disobey the imperial edict?"

"Do you know what crime this is? This is an imperial decree issued by His Majesty himself, requiring all localities to carry it out, and no one is allowed to delay!!"

"If you don't get out of here, I will arrest you for disobeying the imperial edict, and your entire clan will be executed!"

Hearing the clerk's scolding, the man burst into tears.

The clerk became more and more angry. He looked at the two soldiers on his left and right. The two soldiers quickly stepped forward and grabbed the man. The man panicked and said, "I'm leaving! I'm leaving now! I'm leaving right away!"

"Wait a minute!"

Someone interrupted this tragic situation.

The clerk was stunned and turned around, only to see the monk who had never spoken a word. He was now standing beside the crowd with a compassionate look on his face. When the clerk saw him, his expression changed, and the gloom and coldness just now all disappeared. He immediately bent his waist, and his face was filled with a warm smile.

"Master, what do you want to tell me?"

The monk looked at the man and sighed.

"Buddha has mercy on me. I cannot bear to see such a thing."

"However, the placement of the monks is an imperial decree from His Majesty. Even monks dare not disobey the imperial decree."

"Let's put it this way. After we build the temple, we still need a few believers to do some chores, help cultivate the land, and do some farm work. Don't be afraid. From now on, just work with us. You will definitely be provided with food, and your family will not starve to death."

The man seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He knelt on the ground hurriedly, thanked repeatedly, and wiped his tears.

"Thank you, master! Thank you, master!"

The monk's eyes passed him and fell on his family members in the distance who were filled with fear.

"Well, your family members should not sit idle, you can all go and help with some work, which can be considered as doing good deeds and accumulating virtue."

Naturally, the clerk did not dare to say anything more and immediately urged the man to take out the land deed, stamp it, and put a mortgage on it. From then on, the farmland no longer belonged to the man. The clerk even took his own hard work fee from the money given to him. This is also the common practice nowadays. Naturally, the clerk cannot run errands for nothing. No matter what he does, he has to take a portion of it for himself. However, this proportion is often well controlled, neither too much nor too little.

The monk comforted the man with a few more words, and then told him to keep doing what he had done before and continue farming.

After finishing his work, the monk followed those people to the next family who were ready to do good deeds and accumulate virtue.

The man stood there in a daze, and only after they had gone far away did some resentment flash across his eyes.

The woman walked forward cautiously and checked her husband's body for any injuries. She was relieved only after she was sure that her man was not injured.

She couldn't help but ask, "How about asking the elders in the clan first?"

“Oh, if the elders don’t give the nod, would they dare to force their way in with just these few people?”

“This must have been reported to the clan elders.”

"For these three hundred coins, I lost my land and became a slave."

The man just stared in the direction they left. These people who were forced to do good deeds were actually not as stupid as the carnivores imagined.

They just haven't been educated, there's nothing wrong with their brains.

They can see clearly the things and the principles behind this, but they dare not say more.

I am alone and powerless, what else can I do except begging for mercy and bowing my head?

However, the woman did not think as much as her man. Life had not been easy in recent years. As long as she could have food to eat and her family could survive, she had no other extravagant hopes. It did not matter whether it was her own land or farming for others as long as she could fill her stomach.

The man sat on the steps at the door in a daze, sulking.

When will the Hu people from the north come?

It's worth it even if I get killed along with you bastards!

There were more and more boats on the river. At first, there were only some enlightened monks, and later there were virtuous people from big families. These virtuous people from big families were different from the enlightened monks. Except for a few who came with official positions and had some fame, and were valued by Chen Xu, the rest of the people could not enjoy the treatment of enlightened monks.

Fortunately, this group of people did not come empty-handed, many of them brought money and books.

Except for those who were directly taken away by Chen Xu because of their high official positions, the rest had to find a way out on their own, and the first step was to pay a visit to the local big families.

Most of the big families in Jiangdong are xenophobic.

Especially after the migration of the nobles to the south, the great families of the Chen State had always looked down upon the great families of the Northern Dynasties. They believed that the real noble families had already come to the south while retaining their orthodox clothing, and those who remained in the north were just a group of imposters who followed the Hu people, fake noble families.

Each of those people called himself Yang from Hongnong, Gao from Bohai, or Li from Zhaojun.

But if we carefully question their ancestors, we will find that most of them were remnants of the Six Garrisons, and some were horse breeders or beheaded people.

Even if they are not the remnants of the Six Garrisons, they have nothing to do with the so-called big families. Only they themselves recognize it.

However, if they are willing to offer gifts to make friends, show friendship, and are willing to bow their heads, then they are still willing to give them some face, allowing them to stay and ask for food, and to do business together.

The last batch of natural nobles to arrive.

Some of these people had the surname Gao, some had the surname Lou, and they were all genuine Northern Hu people. However, after arriving in the south, these Hu people did not encounter any difficulties. Instead, most of them became guests of Chen Xu.

Chen Xu also valued these people and felt that their identities would be helpful in the future.

In this era, it was very common for countries to take in each other's royal families and nobles.

Chen Xu put aside other things in his hands and began to concentrate on dealing with this increasing number of kind-hearted people in the north.

ps: I would like to offer you a book, "Hu Ben Lang", if you are interested, you can go and have a look.
(End of this chapter)