A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 754 The Pure Land Is Not Pure
"This is a sacred Buddhist sanctuary; who dares to be so disrespectful!"

The temple gates opened.

A burly, robust monk, wielding a long spear, clad in gleaming armor, and carrying a sword and bow, stepped forward.

Behind him,

The two hundred monks were fully armed and formed four battle teams.

Hou Junji looked at the group of warrior monks without the slightest fear.
He came to the front,
He first spat a mouthful of phlegm at the magnificent temple gate.

"A clean place? A filthy place that hides filth and dirt, dirtier than a stinking ditch or sewer, and you dare to call it a clean place?"

Damn it! One of my brothers, because of the compounded interest on his debt to you, couldn't repay it. In the end, he lost all his money, his house, and even his meritorious land had to be used to pay off the debt. You drove a court soldier who had distinguished himself on the battlefield to the brink of despair and almost committed suicide.

You dare call yourselves a pure land?

"Put down your weapons and kneel down to surrender."

"Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

Hou Junji gave the order fiercely.

The warrior monks, spears in hand, refused to retreat. "Huadu Temple follows the Three Stages Sect, and its abbot, Zen Master Faya, is a highly respected monk appointed by the retired emperor."

How dare you be so disrespectful!

Hou Junji sneered repeatedly.
Too lazy to waste any more words with them, "Kill!"

The shield bearers stepped forward, erecting an impenetrable wall, while the spearmen behind them placed their eighteen-foot-long spears on the shields, like a hedgehog with countless sharp spines.

The archers did not stand at the front of the battle line to draw their bows as they did in open field battles.
Instead, they drew their bows and nocked arrows from behind a wall of shields and a forest of spears.

The four teams of martial monks stood back to back against the temple gate.

Tensions were high, and they were locked in a fierce confrontation.

Hou Junji's eyes were icy cold as he swung his hand down hard.

Immediately, countless whooshing sounds rang out.

Arrows and crossbow bolts shot out like locusts.
"you dare!"

The leader of the martial monks roared in shock and anger; he hadn't expected those people to attack so suddenly.

"Raise your shield!"

The monks were well-equipped.

Although they were caught off guard, they were all clad in fine armor, and the barrage of arrows did not cause much damage after they raised their shields.

Hou Junji ordered the shooting to continue.

Seeing that these people were putting up a stubborn resistance, Zhou Xiaofan ordered the heavy crossbowmen in the rear to push the crossbow carts forward.

The three-bow crossbow, also known as the eight-ox crossbow.

The crossbow, equipped with three bows, fired arrows resembling spears, making it a powerful weapon for the Tang army in sieges and field battles. Also known as the cart crossbow, it could shoot up to 700 paces.

The crossbow has a power of twelve stones and seven arrows. The largest arrow in the middle is three feet five inches long and five inches thick, with an iron fletching. Three smaller iron arrows are fired on each side, allowing it to fire seven arrows at once.

On the battlefield, when besieging a city, they could even switch to step-stake arrows, which could be shot into the city walls to allow soldiers to scale them.

It is called the Eight-Ox Crossbow because it requires eight oxen to operate.

Two hundred armored monks, no matter how well-equipped...
But when the garrison general ordered the Northern Palace Imperial Guards to bring out the Eight-Ox Crossbows,
The outcome of this battle is now a foregone conclusion.

The monks wanted to retreat behind the temple walls.
It's too late now.

Their gleaming armor could defend against many ordinary arrows.

But they couldn't defend against these giant crossbow bolts.

Even the most formidable warrior monks are still just flesh and blood encased in iron armor. In the blink of an eye, four teams were riddled with bloody paths by ten eight-ox crossbows.
Screaming again and again.

This warrior monk unit was formed by drawing warrior monks from major temples in Chang'an, at the request of Faya and with an imperial decree from Emperor Li Yuan. These monks were skilled in martial arts, and although they didn't go to the northern battlefields, they weren't disbanded and remained at Huadu Temple.
They were provided with fine wine and meat, and trained daily.
They were all fierce and powerful, but lacked practical combat experience.

They never expected the imperial court to actually dare to unleash such a massive killing spree.
Instead of guarding behind the temple gates and walls, they stood outside the temple.

Without obstruction or blockage,

Faced with the Eight-Bull Crossbow, even the Mingguang Armor was useless.

After a volley of eight crossbow bolts,
One section collapsed.

Hou Junji grabbed a short spear and hurled it fiercely at the burly leader of the martial monks.

He wasn't good at archery, but he was quite accurate at throwing spears, and the distance was short. The monk was hit in the leg by a spear and knelt down in pain.

Hou Junji grabbed his lance and spurred his horse to charge straight at them.

"kill!"

The warrior monks, routed by the eight-ox crossbow bolts, were in complete disarray.
They suffered continuous attacks from government troops, with archers still firing arrows and swordsmen and spearmen pushing forward with shield walls and spears.

Hou Junji and others charged into battle on horseback.

Hou Junji used his lance to tell these warrior monks a bloody truth: fighting a war is not just about having good equipment.

The monks of Huadu Temple had five hundred suits of bright armor, eight hundred warhorses, and were fully equipped with various spears, bows, and crossbows.
But these two hundred men faced an attack from the Northern Imperial Guards.

They couldn't even last one round.

They were massacred by the Imperial Guards.

Blood flowed like a river.
A strong stench of blood permeated the area in front of the temple gate.

Hou Junji thrust his spear into the leader of the martial monks, then forcefully lifted him into the air.
"You're nothing but a clay chicken and a clay dog, overestimating your own abilities!"

The monk soldier camp was resolved.

The temple gate was smashed open.

There was no further resistance.

The Imperial Guards began searching and confiscating property, arresting anyone they saw.

All account books, money, grain, incense, oil, gold Buddha statues, and bronze statues in the temple were confiscated.

···
East Palace.

Menzi Neixiang

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, Li Yi issued an order summoning the Ten Virtuous Men of Chang'an to discuss matters.

"Tell them of the upheaval in the Shamen and urge them to come quickly to decide on important matters."

The scribe behind the hall immediately took the order and went to make arrangements.

All the prime ministers were also invited.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the numerous crimes committed by Faya of Huadu Temple are truly appalling, and only now, upon investigation, have we discovered that this is not an isolated case."

Huadu Temple is a den of filth and depravity.
Even now, the entire Three-Tier Sect has completely changed, becoming a heretical cult. Monks marry wives and concubines, eat meat and drink alcohol, only knowing how to enjoy themselves. They solicit donations and alms, but use the collected incense money for usury and land grabbing.

Even more heinous is that many third-rank monks, including Faya, even abducted and raped women; their numerous evil deeds are too numerous to recount!

The prime ministers drank their tea.
Everyone knows what's going on.
Originally, it was Wang Gui, the Imperial Attendant, who was in charge of affairs this period. However, the emperor issued an edict to allow Li Yi to continue in charge of affairs this period. The reason was that Li Yi was to lead the crackdown on the heretical Three Ranks Sect. Wang Gui, like Xiao Yu, was a devout Buddhist and had frequent dealings with the Three Ranks Sect and Faya in the past.

The emperor needed him to avoid suspicion.

Something has happened at the Sanjiejiaohuadu Temple; the news has already spread among the monks in Chang'an.

Everyone knows that Faya has been arrested and imprisoned in the dungeon.
Huadu Temple was also attacked and breached by the Northern Army.

Those two hundred elite monk soldiers were also said to have been slaughtered.

This news greatly shocked the monks of Chang'an.

Emperor Wen of Sui built a brand new city, Chang'an, and also built many Buddhist temples in the city. Later, he invited many eminent monks from all over the country to translate Buddhist scriptures.

Although Huadu Temple is not the ancestral temple of the Three Stages Sect, it has become exceptionally prosperous in recent years due to Faya.

When Xinxing preached the Three Stages Teaching, he was opposed by various sects of Buddhism. Xinxing advocated asceticism and forbearance, eating only one meal a day from begging and not from temples. He would walk on the road and bow to everyone he met, regardless of gender.

He opposed the Samadhi of reciting the Buddha's name, advocating that one should not recite Amitabha Buddha's name, but only Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's name. He said that all Buddha images are clay shrines and do not need to be respected, while all sentient beings are true Buddhas and therefore should be respected.

These principles are very different from those of various sects of the Buddhist community, and therefore they have been constantly attacked.

In the twentieth year of the Kaihuang era of Emperor Wen of Sui, its circulation was banned.

However, during the reign of Emperor Yang, the Three Stages Sect changed its ways. Instead of practicing asceticism and enduring humiliation, it promoted the Dharma-ending Age and the Three Stages, encouraged people to give alms, established the Wujinzang Temple, and divided its wealth into three parts: one part to build temples, one part to support monks, and one part to relieve the poor.

This proactive engagement with the world, coupled with the promotion of the Dharma-ending Age and the evil world, the giving of alms, and the belief in the Three Stages of the Teachings as the path to liberation, has won over many followers.

The Three-Tier Cult grew stronger and stronger.

As a result, the other sects of monks who had previously opposed the practice of not worshipping Buddha were now also envious of the wealth of the Three Stages Sect.

They are increasingly opposed to it.

In the past, the Three Ranks Sect was very wealthy. For example, why was Faya able to become a guest of honor of Li Yuan? Because after Li Yuan raised an army and attacked Chang'an, Faya, along with Huadu Temple and the Three Ranks Sect, gave Li Yuan a lot of money, silk and food, and even organized monk soldiers to support him.

Just like when Louguan Dao supported Li Yuan, Li Yuan also gave Louguan Dao a generous reward.

Li Yuan didn't care what the Three-Tier Sect's doctrines were; as long as this influential sect was willing to provide him with substantial financial support, he was willing to reciprocate.

As for the rest, we'll talk about that after he unifies the world.

Historically, in the ninth year of the Wude era, Li Yuan finally began to clean up and rectify Buddhism and Taoism, issuing an edict to eliminate them and to rectify illegal activities.

Now Li Shimin has decided to begin reorganization, starting with Huadu Temple and the Three Stages Sect. In this way, other sects of Buddhism in Chang'an can cooperate.

Unite with other factions and first ban the Third Order Sect.

Compared to dealing with the entire Shamen, this would undoubtedly be a better breakthrough point.

Before the pot of tea was finished,
Li Yi then clearly conveyed the emperor's decree.
This time, it's not just about dealing with Faya, or just Huadu Temple; it's about taking action against the entire Three Ranks Sect.

The Three Ranks Sect has expanded dramatically in recent years. There are thirty or forty temples in Chang'an that believe in the Three Ranks Sect or have Three Ranks Academy. The number of monks in the Three Ranks Sect is estimated to be two or three thousand.

This doesn't even include the temples outside Chang'an city.

The ancestral temple of the Three Stages Sect is located in the Zhongnan Mountains.

In the Guanzhong and Guandong regions, there are many temples of the Sanjie sect, as well as temples with Sanjie courtyards.

It is true that the economic base determines the superstructure. In his early years of preaching, his teachings only attracted a small number of believers.

After all, according to his system, one could only eat one meal a day, which was obtained through begging, and if one died, one would be hung in a tree for birds to eat.

It's practically like creating a Buddhist beggars' guild.

His disciples, after their transformation, established the Wujinzang Temple, becoming the wealthiest people in Buddhism. They amassed vast fortunes, acquiring land, cultivating relationships with powerful figures, and even profiting from the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty by taking advantage of various warlords.

They also successfully predicted Li Yuan's fate.

In recent years, the Three-Tier Sect has expanded increasingly rapidly, causing considerable discontent among various factions in Chang'an, including the Daxingshan Temple and the Dachanding Temple.

However, thanks to their connection with the emperor, the Three Ranks Sect was able to establish its own Three Ranks Institutes in these major temples, assign Three Ranks Sect monks, and continuously expand its influence.

Li Yuan was a relatively tolerant emperor. The Three-Tier Sect supported him with money and provisions, and he was always very tolerant of the Three-Tier Sect. He even rewarded the monks with palace servants as wives and concubines. When he wanted to form a monk army, he gave them armor, weapons and warhorses.

But the current emperor has no relationship with Falla.
They were even more dissatisfied with their system.

The immense wealth of the Three-Tier Sect's Endless Treasury was even the envy of the emperor.

Under such circumstances, Faya still dared to jump between the retired emperor and Pei Ji to make contact; wasn't this courting his own destruction?

quickly,

Ten eminent monks, including Huiyin, Jizang, Fakan, Haicang, and Zhizang, who came from Daxingshan Temple and Dachanding Temple, were successively summoned to the government office.

The two eminent monks, Hai Zang and Zhi Zang, both from Jiangnan, met at the palace gate.

"I heard Falla has been imprisoned!"

"Yes, Huadu Temple was also raided."

Both of them came from Jiangnan. During the Southern Chen Dynasty, they were prominent monks in Jiangnan. After the fall of the Southern Chen Dynasty, they were treated with respect by Emperor Yang Guang. They first crossed the river to Yangzhou and later went north to Chang'an.

During the Sui Dynasty, he was already a high-ranking monk in purple robes.

In the third year of the Wude era, they were even bestowed the title of Ten Virtuous Ones, and the imperial court entrusted them with the duties of managing the monks and religious communities.

"Do you think the imperial court will truly ban the Third-Order Sect this time?" Zhizang asked.

The Venerable Hai Zang gazed at the East Palace gate and said, "The Three-Tier Sect is a heretical cult. Their actions have become increasingly bizarre in recent years. We can no longer stand idly by."

Today, I must come to the Hall of State Affairs to earnestly persuade the prime ministers to issue an edict banning the three ranks of the imperial clan.

"We have also collected a lot of evidence of illegal activities by the Third Order Law over the years, and this time we can hand it all over to the imperial court!"

(End of this chapter)