Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 217: The government executes the temple landlord without considering the opinions of the local officials!
Shu Sheng thought for a moment, looked at Chai Wenyan and said, "No!"

Yan Song nodded and smiled, "Indeed, there is no need to see him."

Chai Wen asked, "They are all local high-ranking officials. Are they really gone?"

"Now that I am in the Huguang government, do I still need to consider the opinions of other local officials when doing things?"

Gui E asked back.

Shu Sheng nodded: "That's right. Now we have soldiers and money, and we can control public opinion, so we don't have to meet them if we want!"

Finished.

Shu Sheng stood up and said, "According to your order! All prefectures, cities and counties should immediately send out patrol officers and soldiers. Divide them into two groups, one for inspection and the other for measurement."

"The Provincial Administration Office sends personnel to supervise the land survey, the Provincial Supervision Office sends personnel to supervise the investigation, and the Military Command Office prepares troops to suppress the various places!"

"The inspector and I will also conduct inspections and supervision, and we must ensure that all Buddhist temples and monasteries are checked within this year!"

"Yes!"

……

"You won't see us?"

Deng Mo, Huang Wensheng and other local officials from Huguang were shocked and angry when they were ordered to convey the news that the governor would not see them in the governor's office.

They never expected that one day people in the government office would treat them, the local officials, as if they did not exist.

You know, in the past, local officials did not dare to treat local officials like this. They basically treated them with courtesy. So in the name of respecting the wise and humble, they also listened carefully to the opinions of local officials. But now, local officials actually ignore them.

"I understand!"

Deng Mo couldn't help but say something at this time, then looked at Huang Wensheng and others and said: "These officials now have soldiers and food, and there are also officials to help control public opinion, so they don't take us local officials seriously at all!"

Da da!

Da da!

At this time, many officials and officers suddenly rode out of the governor's office on horseback.

Deng Mo, Huang Wensheng and other local officials from Huguang were shocked when they saw this.

Deng Mo also stopped a clan member named Deng Jie who was working as a military officer in the governor's office and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Destroy the Buddha!"

Deng Jie replied.

Deng Mo was horrified after hearing this.

……

……

Five days later.

It was snowing heavily in the area of ​​Yuanjue Temple in Shishou.

The sky was dark, and there was a solemn atmosphere all around!

On a street facing the temple, there seemed to be no one except for a team of patrol officers led by armored patrol officer Ma Jixian who were heading towards the temple.

Snapped!
Occasionally, children who stuck their heads out of the window to look out would be taken back by their parents and the windows would be quickly closed.

Ordinary people have long seen how powerful the patrol officers and soldiers are, so naturally they would avoid them when they see them.

At this time, the monks in Yuanjue Temple naturally had gloomy expressions.

Even Li Wen, the third son of Li Xu, who came to Yuanjue Temple to report the news at the order of Li Xu, said with a terrified look:

"This is the will of the Holy Spirit. We can't stop it. It's too late to get the certificate of ordination now. Let's go!"

"Where can we go?"

Abbot Kong Jing asked angrily.

then.

Kong Jing added: "We have already reduced the interest rate, but now they are forcing us to go to Donglai. We can only fight to the death!"

"The key is that we don't have the capital to fight to the death!"

Li Wen stood up, stamped his feet and said something, then sat back down:
"They have weapons and food now, and they are making a lot of noise. We are trapped in a jar!"

"Whether we have the chance or not, we must fight to the death. We will probably die if we go to Donglai anyway. Besides, it's better for us to die here than to farm and mine!"

Kong Jing said.

For these monks who were used to extravagance and debauchery, they really could not accept going to Donglai, nor could they accept returning to the hard and frugal life of farming and mining.

Therefore, he really found it extremely difficult to accept the court's treatment of these monks who had no ordination certificates or were not old enough.

It should be noted that they found it difficult to accept the impact on their lending profits at the beginning, let alone the fact that the court now wanted to punish them.

"That's right! It's better to die with honor than live in disgrace!"

"Rather Stick to your guns!"

"Rather Stick to your guns!"

So, after Kong Jing said this, many monks of higher status in the temple followed suit.

Seeing this, Li Wen shouted, "This is the master's order! You must leave! From now on, this temple will be turned into a manor!"

Kong Jing sneered, "We won't really listen to everything the mansion says."

"You want to betray the Lord?"

Li Wen asked in a deep voice.

Kong Jing ignored him and ordered, "Take the Third Master away and tie him up. The rest of you, follow me and prepare your weapons!"

"Yes!"

Li Wen was taken to the Buddhist temple by several monks.

Li Wen couldn't help but yell, "You are kidding!"

But Kong Jing ignored him, walked out of the temple and looked outside.

It was completely white outside.

Below a row of crows that flew into the sky in shock, the patrolling officers and soldiers were marching through the continuous snowflakes on the houses like a long black dragon. They had now approached Yuanjue Temple, leaving behind rows of snow pits.

Hot air was coming out of Ma Jixian's nostrils, and there was ice on his cold brows, but the eyes beneath the icy eyebrows were burning hot, and he was staring intently at the Yuanjue Temple that was getting closer and closer.

He had no good feelings towards the monks in the monastery.

Especially when he saw the yellow walls and black tiles of Yuanjue Temple and heard the endless ringing of the bell, he was reminded of the days in Datong Prefecture when his family failed to pay the land rent to a nearby temple and his father was arrested and beaten in the temple.

He clearly remembered that most of the fields near Datong Prefecture belonged to the temples. Therefore, his family always rented fields from the temples and always borrowed money from the temples. When he saw the Yuanjue Temple now, it was as if he was thinking of his hometown, the hard days he had in his hometown, and the scene of his parents begging in front of the monks.

Now, influenced by the "Huguang Xinbao" published by Yan Song, the envoy in charge of observing customs and rectifying social practices, he instinctively began to believe that his parents' difficult life and his own forced service as a frontier soldier due to his family's poverty were related to these temples that occupied large amounts of farmland but refused to pay taxes or labor service.

Therefore, Ma Jixian was very willing to carry out the task assigned by his superiors.

Snapped!
A purple clay teapot suddenly flew towards Ma Jixian as a courtyard door opened, hitting the eyes of Ma Jixian's mount. Ma Jixian's mount neighed, raised its four hooves, and then, under Ma Jixian's control, landed almost at the same time as the purple clay teapot.

"Dog officer!"

A scholar in a brocade robe stood at the gate of the courtyard, with a sullen face and staring fiercely at Ma Jixian, followed by a panicked servant.

Yuanjue Temple is a large temple, and many of the monks in the temple are large landowners, and they would raise families near the temple.

The houses and courtyards around Yuanjue Temple are actually the real homes of the monks outside the temple.

They settled their families here, kept servants, and even encouraged their children to study and take the imperial examinations.

This scholar is the son of a monk. He has now entered school and is served by several maids.

But he obviously hated Ma Jixian and other patrol officers who came to arrest his father and check the fields here, so he rushed out despite the dissuasion of his family and servants.

Ma Jixian said in a deep voice: "Anyone who attacks the patrol officers and soldiers will be killed without mercy! Catch him!"

The scholar was then captured by the soldiers from the Inspection Office.

After being arrested, the scholar sneered at Ma Jixian and said:

"Do you think I'm afraid of you? I've passed the exam and am a county student! Didn't you see the scarf on my head?!"

"Boss, maybe he really is a husband."

Someone next to Ma Jixian asked.

Ma Jixian was silent for a moment and looked at the majestic Yuanjue Temple in front of him.

He didn't want a student to block his way to Yuanjue Temple.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and the corners of the scholar's mouth were curled higher and higher: "Don't you dare? Didn't you say that there will be no mercy for killing? If you have the guts, do it!"

puff!
Ma Jixian's knife had been unsheathed at some point and pierced into the scholar's chest.

The tip of the knife was instantly stained red.

The blood dripped along the blade and onto the snow, like blooming red plum blossoms.

The scholar looked at the knife under his jaw in astonishment, and began to choke on blood: "How dare you!"

Although the governor had issued a clear order long ago that this action was to deal with rebellious rebels, and therefore even if the scholars tried to stop them, they would be killed without mercy, Ma Jixian did not expect that he would be so eager to kill the student without announcing the governor's order again.

At that time, he just felt that if he did not kill this man and did not enter Yuanjue Temple to investigate, he would be sorry for his parents and sorry for all the suffering he had endured in his life.

Although he was a stranger to this scholar, when the scholar mocked him, he felt as if he had a blood feud with the scholar for several generations and no longer cared about anything.

After Ma Jixian drew his sword, a large number of martial monks rushed out from the alleys around Yuanjue Temple in front.

These monks all held iron spears, and their faces were ferocious, and it was obvious that they were ready to fight to the death with the government troops.

They were all strong men employed by the temple. They usually collected rent and managed tenants for the temple, and their interests were the same as those of the temple landlords.

This time, the abbot of Yuanjue Temple, Kong Jing, also promised that as long as they could destroy the invading government troops, he would give each of them thirty acres of land, and the families of those killed in battle would receive an additional five taels of silver as compensation.

Five taels of silver for pension was considered a very high pension in that era.

You should know that the pension for the Ming army soldiers killed during the three major expeditions of the Wanli period was only three taels of silver per person.

This is why the temple landlords were wealthy enough to afford five taels.

And precisely because of this, given five taels of silver as a compensation, these monks were willing to risk their lives. Of course, more importantly, their interests were consistent with those of the temple landlords.

Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houcong issued an edict to pilot the rectification of temples and monasteries in Huguang and to collect money from their merits, which was almost tantamount to destroying Buddhism and naturally caused fierce confrontation.

After all, taking someone's money is like killing their parents. In the eyes of these temple landlords who have been operating the land for many years and the forces that depend on them, it is their right to have these benefits. If the court wants to take away their benefits, it is tantamount to not letting them live.

Upon seeing this, Ma Jixian immediately retreated and took out the three-barreled gun.

The cavalrymen behind him also took out their three-barreled guns, first fired at the monks who rushed forward, and then rushed into the camp and started smashing things crazily.

The infantrymen began to pump gunpowder through tubes, lit the fuses at the same time, and formed a multi-line formation. After the cavalry retreated, they aimed at the monks.

Boom!

Soon, the sound of frying beans was heard, and the monks fell to the ground one after another.

At this time, white smoke and dust also covered the entire street.

After the smoke and dust cleared, Ma Jixian led the officers and soldiers of the Inspection Office, stepping on the corpses on the ground and walking towards the main gate of Yuanjue Temple step by step.

As they walked, they were occasionally attacked by hidden arrows from houses or muskets hidden in temples, but they had little impact and were easily dealt with by the officers and soldiers of the Inspection Office.

After all, the official power of the Inspection Office was better equipped, and the inspectors were all selected from military braves with more combat experience, so these monks who were usually good at guarding houses or oppressing the people could not gain any advantage.

After Ma Jixian entered Yuanjue Temple, he looked at the monks in the temple and said, "Where is your abbot Kong Jing? Ask him to come out and lead the monks of the temple to cooperate with the court in the investigation and land reclamation. Otherwise, we will treat all of you as traitors and kill you like those monks outside just now!"

"We won't betray the abbot!"

At this time, a monk stood up with his neck stiffened and said.

Ma Jixian stabbed the monk directly with his knife, causing him to fall to the ground as if he was vomiting blood.

Ma Jixian continued pointing at another monk: "Go and ask your abbot Kong Jing to come out!"

The monk put his hands together.

Ma Jixian had no choice but to strike again. After he knocked the man down, a monk turned around and ran away: "I'll go call our abbot!"

The other monk's legs were shaking, and the short knife hidden in his sleeve fell to the ground with a plop, and water was dripping from under his robe.

Ma Jixian just smiled faintly.

Soon.

Kong Jing walked out with a gloomy face.

He did not expect that his monks would be defeated so quickly, and he only said: "We do not have a certificate of ordination. Our Yuanjue Temple is the ancestral temple of Mr. Li, the Deputy Chief Censor."

"Without the certificate of ordination, all of you will be taken away!"

Ma Jixian replied, then waved his hand, and the officers and soldiers from the Inspection Office came up and put Kong Jing and other monks in shackles.

These monks did not resist, because those who dared to fight had been completely wiped out. Although many of the remaining ones were full of resentment, they were still somewhat afraid of death after seeing that they could not win with real swords and guns, and a large number of corpses were left outside the temple.

Even the abbot Kong Jing did not resist, but just smiled bitterly.

The same situation as that at Yuanjue Temple was also happening in other places in Huguang.

On many main roads, one could see large numbers of monks being forced to walk on the roads and then being taken onto ships and taken away.

At the same time, Jue'an and Miaoshan were also being toured around the temple, but when they saw a large number of monks being taken to Donglai, they couldn't help feeling melancholy for a moment.

Because they didn't expect that one day, their actions would lead to the emperor striking down on them in Huguang.

The "anti-Buddhist" campaign also seriously affected the interests of local officials. After all, a lot of their land was secretly held in temples.

Therefore, after learning about the "destruction of Buddhism", Deng Mo and other local officials in Huguang stopped the governor Shu Sheng's carriage and tried to stop it.

Deng Mo said to Shu Sheng, "Zhongcheng, please stop destroying Buddhism immediately, otherwise, we may not be able to harvest all the autumn crops this year!"

(End of this chapter)