Diqin Designer

Chapter 317: Are the people of Danmo Lidi aiming at Daqin?
On the other side, Yao Zhi and others were touring Tanmo Lidi. Although they said they were touring, they were actually observing the situation in Tanmo Lidi, getting to know the place better, and then understanding the Peacock Kingdom through this place.

Of course, the Tanmo Lidi side would not allow Yao Zhi and others to tour the city at will, so they arranged for someone to accompany them. This made Yao Zhi and others somewhat unhappy. If someone was accompanying them, the inspection would be greatly reduced, and they would not be able to see the true face of the city.

However, Yao Zhi and others could not refute the actions of the Tanmo Lidi side. After all, they were foreigners. If they did not send someone to keep an eye on them, what would they do if something went wrong?

It was already afternoon, and the warm sunshine was shining on the city. The whole city was lazy, and the monks on the street were still sitting on the cloth motionless, as if they were doing this day after day, year after year.

The people accompanying him explained to Yao Zhi and others with a smile that the monks were practicing meditation, imitating the Buddha who sat in meditation under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, awakening and thinking about the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and achieving great wisdom.

Yao Zhi and others disliked this behavior very much, and believed that these monks were using it to escape the hard work of farming. It was fine to meditate and attain enlightenment, but they had the guts to not let the people donate money to them for food and drink.

You are meditating and attaining enlightenment, but you want the people who work hard in the fields to provide you with food and drink. Aren't you just lazy people who allow others to provide for you?

In the Qin Dynasty, this would be a violation of Qin law and the people would be arrested and forced to perform labor service. What's even more outrageous is that for this obviously unreasonable behavior, the people were willing to provide food and drink to the monks.

That’s right, without the support from the people, these monks would not be able to meditate and attain enlightenment so leisurely. They would have been starving and would have run out to find food.

In response to this, the people accompanying them explained that the monks were seeking enlightenment and comprehending great wisdom. Once they had comprehended it, everyone would benefit from it, so the people provided them with food and drink.

At the same time, people now donate money, food and drink to monks to accumulate merit for themselves. The more merit they have, the greater the blessings they will receive. They will be able to wash away their sins in life and avoid suffering after death. They will also be able to keep the blessings in the next life and will receive good rewards.

In addition to the monks, many civilians were also resting under the trees near the wall. The whole city gave Yao Zhi and others a very peaceful feeling, but they always felt that something was missing.

Soon, they remembered that this city lacked high-spirited vitality and fighting spirit. It seemed peaceful and quiet, but in fact it was like stagnant water, and the time of the city seemed to be permanently stopped at this moment.

Not having a lot of violence is a good thing, but not having energy and fighting spirit is a bad thing, which means they will no longer move forward and will only be content with the present moment.

Moreover, is this city really peaceful and quiet?

Yao Zhi and the others noticed the same gaze they felt when they came here. Still in the shadow of the corner, a group of thin and dark people were watching them from afar. When they noticed that Yao Zhi and the others had discovered them and were looking over, they quickly looked away and hid in the shadow.

Yao pointed directly to the place where those people were hiding and asked the accompanying personnel: Who are those people and why are they staring at us?

The accompanying staff glanced at them indifferently and then replied: They are "Dalits", you are distinguished guests from afar, and you should not have contact with Dalits.

This made Yao Zhi and others even more curious, because when they learned about the Maurya Kingdom from Master Maya, Master Maya did not tell them that there was a group of people called "Dalits" in the Maurya Kingdom.

The caste system that Master Maya talked about only includes Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. Where did the Dalits come from?

Brahmins are religious clergy, Kshatriyas are kings and nobles, Vaishyas are merchants, hunters and other people, and Shudras are servants and craftsmen.

Either Guru Mahadev didn’t know there were people like Dalits, or Guru Mahadev knew but didn’t say anything…

It is unlikely that Master Moye did not know, so it must be the latter. If he knew but did not say it, then why did Master Moye not say it?
These people don't seem to be living well, even worse than the common people in Tamālidi. Their status is not high, and they are not the Shudras, the lowest of the four major castes. In other words, there is actually a lower caste in the Maurya Kingdom, called "Dalit".

Because the status of Dalits is so low, they are outside the Three Realms and are not included in the Five Elements. They are no longer treated as human beings, and naturally they are not counted among the four major castes.

Yao Zhi and others quickly determined the status of the Dalits, but this made them feel that the Maurya Kingdom was a twisted and bizarre country: Buddhism advocated equality for all beings, and everyone could be saved, but this caste system that strictly divided people into different levels based on their origins still existed.

How is it that the monks of the Maurya Kingdom believe in Buddhism and at the same time turn a blind eye to the caste system and even abide by it tacitly?
In fact, Buddhism in the Maurya Kingdom is like this. It claims that all beings are equal and everyone can join the religion, but this "everyone" refers to people of the Shudra caste and above. Even murderers can join the religion among this kind of people, but there are strict restrictions on the Shudra caste to join the religion.

Even the Shudras were so strict in converting to Buddhism, let alone the Dalits. This is one of the reasons why Buddhism in the Maurya Empire did not encounter much resistance under the promotion of Ashoka.

Because it did not really shake the caste system, and with Ashoka's prestige, the high-caste lords could of course still sit still.

If Buddhism in Maurya Empire was really open to allowing Shudras and Dalits to convert freely, even with the strong support of Ashoka, it would still encounter great obstacles. Even the Shudras and Dalits themselves would stand up to oppose it: Why should you treat us the same as the high-caste masters?
Masters are born of high castes, so they should have privileges. This is the truth established after the creation of the world. Without the masters of high castes, how would we, the slaves, survive!

After the accompanying personnel revealed the identities of those people and asked them not to contact them, Yao Zhi and others looked at them curiously again, and then went to visit other places without contacting them immediately. Anyway, they would have to stay in Peacock Kingdom for a long time.

At night, after another banquet, Yao Zhi and others returned to their place of residence and gathered the important members of the delegation together to review and record today's events and make adjustments to future matters based on what they knew and heard today.

In the summary, Gan Yu said: "Have you noticed that at the banquet tonight, the people of Tanmo Lidi seem to be more welcoming to us?"

One of them said, "From what you said, it seems to be true. Tonight, several officials from Tanmo Lidi came to talk to me and asked what the Emperor likes, who is Master Li Nian, and what does Master Li Nian like?"

Another person laughed and asked, "So how do you answer?"

The man said, "How do I know what the Emperor likes? I can only say that the Emperor likes the Great Qin to become more and more powerful, and that we old Qin people can live a good life. As for Master Li Nian, I don't know even more, and I dare not say that Master Li Nian is a beautiful woman..."

This remark caused everyone in the room to laugh. Even in the most remote area of ​​Yan, some people knew that Master Li Nian was the son-in-law of His Majesty and that he had killed the prince of the Xiongnu for Princess Shunying.

Dare to say that Master Li Nian likes beautiful women, aren't you afraid that Master Li Nian will catch you and punish you after you return to Daqin? Although as far as they know, Master Li Nian is not a violent person. After laughing, another person said: "I am the same. I was asked about Daqin, asked His Majesty the Emperor what he thinks about sects, how many sects there are in Daqin, and what gods they believe in?"

Another person also said: "I was asked this question too, but the question was about how much influence Taoism, Confucianism, and Mohism had in Daqin, and how they recruited believers? I don't know either!"

After listening to everyone's speeches, Yao Zhi said, "Young Master said 'see the essence through appearances'. The people of Tanmolidi can't ask these questions for no reason. They are asking for information related to Daqin. Their target is obviously Daqin!"

"However, what you all said did not involve much about the military and politics of the Great Qin. Instead, you were interested in the likes and dislikes of Your Majesty, the likes and dislikes of the prince, and the various schools of thought. Yao thought you were trying to preach to the Great Qin!"

This analysis makes sense. Someone wondered, "I know they are very interested in Daqin, but why are they so anxious? They seem to be anxious to spread Buddhism to Daqin?"

This is a good question. We know that the Peacock People are interested in Daqin, but this seems a bit too hasty. Are they so eager to preach in Daqin?
Gan Yu said: "Things are abnormal, there must be a reason. They can't wait to preach in Daqin. Either they attach great importance to preaching in other countries and want to preach spontaneously, or they are forced to do so for some reason."

"I think the latter is more likely. This is the reason why they have to rush to preach to Daqin. Buddhism is the number one religion in Peacock Country, with a flourishing incense and believers everywhere. There is only one possibility that can make them anxious: the situation in Peacock Country has changed!"

Gan Yu continued, "Buddhism originated hundreds of years ago, but has never flourished. The reason why it is flourishing in the Maurya Kingdom today is inseparable from King Ashoka, who is regarded as great by the Maurya people!"

"When Ashoka was alive, he built a large number of temples in the Maurya Kingdom. It is said that there were 84,000 stupas to store relics."

It is outrageous that such a king who wastes the people's money and manpower is still considered a great king in the Maurya Kingdom.

"However, Ashoka passed away ten years ago. It is said that the Maurya King who is in power now is the grandson of Ashoka. Ashoka believed in Buddhism, but his grandson may not like it. If the current Maurya King does not like Buddhism and instead likes another sect, then what will the people like Tamakli do..."

Gan Yu didn't finish his words, but everyone understood. One person continued, "This is very possible. Based on what we saw today, Tammo Lidi is a Buddhist city, and almost everyone in the city believes in Buddhism. If the current Maurya King does not believe in Buddhism, but believes in another sect, it will bring a great impact to Tammo Lidi."

Another person asked, "So the people of Tanmo Lidi are looking for a way out? And, they regard our Great Qin as their way out?"

The person who answered nodded and said, "I'm afraid that's the case. Now the other sect that King Maurya believes in will definitely suppress them. They will definitely try to save themselves, and their way to save themselves is Daqin."

"If we succeed in spreading Buddhism in Daqin and make Daqin the same as the Peacock Kingdom, how great a feat would that be if we spread it back to the Peacock Kingdom? That would mean spreading Buddhism to a foreign country and influencing a country. Even if the Peacock King and another sect want to suppress them, they would be hesitant."

"Even if the Maurya King and another sect are determined to suppress them, they can retreat to Daqin instead of being annihilated at home."

One person sneered and said, "These people from Tanmolidi have a good plan. They think that as long as they go to Daqin to preach, Daqin will immediately accept it. Have they not considered what will happen if they fail?"

Another person laughed and replied: "They look down on the Great Qin and think that the Great Qin is barbaric. They are the Celestial Empire, and when the envoys from the Celestial Empire come, how can the lower countries not accept them?"

Everyone clearly felt the condescending attitude of the people of Tanmo Lidi when they looked at them. With this mentality, they would have the mentality that as long as they went to Daqin, Daqin would accept them, which was in line with Tanmo Lidi's logic.

Yao Zhi said: "If this is the case, the people of Tammolidi will definitely ask to send envoys to the Qin Dynasty very soon!"

After a brief thought, everyone understood what Yao Zhi meant: the Tamolidi people were worried about being suppressed by the current king and another sect, so they wanted to preach to Daqin. They would definitely send people to Daqin before the king and another sect learned about Daqin.

One of them said in a deep voice: "We must not allow Buddhism to spread to Daqin. When you came here, you also saw what the Buddhist monks did. Not only did they not do anything productive, they talked about empty and meaningless things all day long, and they also brought disaster to the local area. It is because the people there are ignorant and backward that they can tolerate their actions."

This refers to the tribal areas that were preached by the Maurya monks that the delegation saw on the road before arriving at the Maurya Kingdom. In the name of preaching, those monks did many things that the delegation did not like.

But the delegation only passed through other people's territory with a mission and did not intervene. However, those things could happen in other countries but not in Daqin.

They don't want their descendants to disrespect their ancestors one day by shaving their heads and believing in Buddha. They also don't want to see bald people using the name of Buddha to abuse their power and defraud their descendants.

"This Tanmo Lidi may seem peaceful and tranquil, but it is actually lifeless. They are just lucky not to have encountered any external enemies. Once a strong enemy invades, they will be defeated in one blow and will have no power to resist. And if they bring that kind of surname to Daqin..."

Hearing the last sentence, everyone took a deep breath. Buddha was still okay, but that kind of surname was absolutely unacceptable, at least it couldn't be implemented in the Qin Dynasty.

If their descendants are demoted to a lower caste, or even become Dalits, which are not included in the four major castes, it will be very difficult for them to turn things around.

Yao Zhi said: "But if the people of Danmolidi send people to Daqin, it will be difficult to stop them. We must write a letter to report to His Majesty the Emperor and Master Li Nian. With the wisdom of His Majesty and Master Li Nian, they will definitely not allow them to act recklessly in Daqin."

Hearing Yao Zhi mention His Majesty the Emperor and Master Li Nian, everyone felt relieved. Although Li Nian had only been famous in Da Qin for a year, he had a very high reputation in the world. Many people believed that with the assistance of Master Li Nian, Da Qin would become stronger and better.

His Majesty the Emperor is so wise, and Master Li Nian is so capable, so why should we worry about the Qin Dynasty not being strong?
Yao Zhi added: "The people of Tamolidi will probably ask us soon to send some people to go with them to Daqin. This will also be beneficial to us. If we ask them for the local products, I'm sure they will not only not refuse, but will also cooperate."

Everyone's eyes lit up. If the Tamolidi people had something to ask of them, they would definitely try their best to meet their demands. And the biggest mission of their trip to the Peacock Kingdom was to collect the products of the Peacock Kingdom, especially the thing called "cotton" by Master Li Nian.

Yao Zhi also warned: "When you are in a foreign country, you must be cautious. When you return, you must be extra careful and arrange night patrols well. Don't give anyone an opportunity to take advantage of you."

Everyone's heart trembled, for they were worried that the Tammo Lidi people would kill them and silence them. The possibility of this happening was not high, but it was possible. After all, this was a foreign country!

(End of this chapter)