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

Chapter 765 Door Gods Suppress Ghosts
In the Hall of State Affairs,

Liu Shiche, a drafter of imperial edicts, was ordered to do so.
An edict establishing seven temples within the military camp was quickly completed.

"Please review and approve!"

Li Yi, who was in charge of the rotating administration, took the pen and began to read it.

"Disciple: The sage empties himself, forgetting self and others. The Buddhist compassion is based on equality, regardless of differences. Thus, we know that the supreme sage's compassion knows no bounds. His great compassion and benevolence extend to all, as if he were one's own child. When the Sui Dynasty lost its way, the nine regions were in turmoil."

I, the Emperor, personally command the army and hereby issue this clear punishment…
Therefore, we should establish fields of merit to nourish the souls of those who perished in battle since the founding of the righteous cause. We should build temples and monasteries for those who were righteous, those who were ruthless, and those who died on the battlefield, in order to attract virtuous companions…
He defeated Xue Ju in Binzhou and established Zhaoren Temple.

He defeated Song Laosheng in Lüzhou and established Puji Temple; he defeated Song Jingang in Jinzhou and established Ciyun Temple; he defeated Liu Wuzhou in Fenzhou and established Hongji Temple; he defeated Wang Shichong in Mangshan and established Zhaojue Temple…

Liu Shiche was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and the draft of this edict was quite good. After being reviewed by the Vice Minister of the Chancellery and the Chancellor, Li Yi was naturally very satisfied.

"Yes, I will discuss this with the ministers at the Council of State meeting later."

"Your Excellency, I believe the 480 temples of the Southern Dynasty serve as a lesson," Liu Shiche said tactfully, reminding the emperor that he had recently become too devoted to Buddhism, which was not a good thing.

The emperor bestowed titles upon 169 eminent monks at Daxingshan Temple, all of whom were granted purple robes.

Yesterday, a young monk in his early twenties named Xuanzang was appointed as a great translator of Buddhist scriptures, and he was also tasked with presiding over the Dharma Assembly, selecting 3,600 monks from Chang'an to hold a grand Dharma assembly lasting forty-nine days.

Now they want to build seven more temples, ordain monks, allocate land, and so on.

This inevitably made Liu Shiche feel that something was amiss.

Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei and Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou suppressed Buddhism, while Emperor Wu of Southern Liang was particularly devoted to Buddhism. Both Northern Wei and Northern Zhou became powerful by suppressing Buddhism, while Southern Liang, which was devoted to Buddhism, eventually went downfall. Emperor Wu of Liang even starved to death in Taicheng.

The Northern Qi dynasty also revered Buddhism.

"During the Northern Qi Dynasty, Buddhism flourished, with over two million monks and nuns, accounting for one-tenth of the total population of the Northern Qi at that time. There were thirty to forty thousand Buddhist temples throughout the country, with more than four thousand in the capital city of Ye alone."

The temple cultivated land and also profited from it…

Liu Shiche was considered one of Li Yi's confidants, so he didn't hide anything from him. He poured him tea and said, "Actually, His Majesty has long been aware of the harm caused by the temple economy."

However, the Sui Dynasty revered Buddhism, and Buddhism flourished, wielding considerable influence, making it impossible to deal with simply…

After hearing Li Yi's explanation, Liu Shiche was full of praise.

The emperor's current display of devotion to Buddhism is not actually to follow the example of Emperor Wu of Liang. On the contrary, this current practice is for the purpose of further cleanup and rectification.

For the current court, monks are both a hidden danger and a potential tool; it all depends on how the court utilizes them.

The meeting of the Council of State Affairs began.
Wei Zheng, the prime minister who had once been a Taoist priest, directly opposed the emperor's plans to hold a grand Buddhist and Taoist ceremony, build seven temples, and ordain monks.

"The chaos of the Sui Dynasty has just ended, the country has only recently been unified, and everything needs to be rebuilt. Countless people are still struggling to make ends meet. At this time, the court should not expend so much energy, manpower, and resources to hold Buddhist ceremonies, nor is it necessary to build Buddhist temples on the battlefield."
Where did the Water and Land Dharma Assembly originate?

It was in the fourth year of the Tianjian era of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties that Emperor Wu of Liang ordered Zen Master Baozhi to create a ritual based on the story of "Ananda meeting the Ghost King with a Radiant Face" and hold it at Jinshan Temple.

To the best of my knowledge, apart from Emperor Wu of Liang, no one else has ever held a Water and Land Dharma Assembly.

Emperor Wu of Liang was obsessed with Buddhism, but what was his ultimate fate? He starved to death in Taicheng. The Southern Liang dynasty was nearly destroyed by Hou Jing, and after Emperor Wu's death, it was quickly usurped by Chen Baxian, becoming the Southern Chen dynasty!

Wei Zheng opposed holding Buddhist water and land ceremonies and building temples, believing that it would be better to allocate funds directly to local governments to collect and bury the corpses and bones exposed in the wilderness since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty.

The money used to build the temple,

It can be used to build cemeteries to collect the remains of those who have no one to bury them, or to help the poor bury their relatives.

They could also build official schools to educate the people.

Rather than holding grand Buddhist ceremonies, building temples, or even sending monks to India thousands of miles away to seek scriptures, doing something practical for the people is the most effective approach.

Wei Zheng's words caused everyone to ponder deeply.
But no prime minister publicly stood up to support him.

Li Yi spoke slowly.
"After the great chaos, His Majesty, with a benevolent heart, wanted to hold a Buddhist and Taoist ritual to deliver the souls of the dead, and to build seven temples at the seven major battlefields, all in order to stabilize the hearts of the people."

As for the cost...

There's no need to worry about Prime Minister Wei.

The funds for this Water and Land Dharma Assembly, as well as the construction of the seven government-built Buddhist temples, will all come from the previously confiscated Three-Tiered Teachings Treasury.

The 49-day Dharma assembly and the seven temples will not require too much money or silk.

In addition, the monks of the seven temples, as well as the monks' fields and oxen, will be selected from the monks of all the temples in the world who are devout and diligent in their practice, and will be granted certificates and settled in the seven temples. The fields and oxen will also be allocated from the Wuzang Temple.

I find the suggestion made by Prime Minister Wei to collect the bones left exposed in the wilderness since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, and to repair the ruined gardens and official schools.

I will request Your Majesty to allocate a portion of the confiscated inexhaustible wealth of the Three Ranks Sect specifically for the collection and burial of remains in various prefectures and counties, the construction of cemeteries and official schools.

This is a hitchhiking grant.
The Three-Tier Sect's inexhaustible wealth was previously said to be divided into three parts.

Now, Li Yi is using the pretext of holding Buddhist meetings and repairing Buddhist temples to piggyback on projects in various places that collect remains, build cemeteries, and establish schools, and to allocate funds for these projects.

But in fact,

The Dharma assembly and the seven temples will not cost too much money.

The Dharma assembly was grand, but it didn't require funding from the national treasury; the seven temples were limited to twenty monks per temple.

On the contrary, all the more than 300 prefectures and more than 1,000 counties in the country allocated a sum of money to collect the remains, build public cemeteries and establish official schools, which amounted to a huge sum of money.

Li Yi was taking this opportunity to extract the money from the Endless Treasury.

Moreover, there's no need to build new temples; you can simply choose an old temple near one of the seven major battlefields and renovate it.

To hold the Water and Land Assembly, three thousand monks need to be carefully selected. The selection process, of course, involves examinations.

This was actually a disguised major test for the monks of the various temples in Chang'an.

Last time, over three thousand monks at Daxingshan Temple took the third-level examination, and only thirty-six passed. While this time it wasn't explicitly stated that those who failed would be forced to return to secular life, it was essentially a comprehensive assessment of the monks in Chang'an.

Even if things don't go smoothly, the court can talk to the Ten Eminent Monks and ask them to persuade some of them to return to secular life, which would be a natural outcome.

Wei Zheng held the teacup.

He lowered his head and pondered for a long time.
The methods proposed by Li Yi were indeed good; they involved using the funds from the Third Order Sect's useless stash instead of the national treasury.
It can also do some practical things for the country and the people, which is indeed a good approach.

They no longer oppose it.

The two attendants, Wang Gui and Pei Ju, naturally did not object.

The other prime ministers did not object.

Soon, Li Yi's plan was approved by the prime ministers.

"Then I will submit this resolution to His Majesty. If His Majesty agrees, then it will be implemented."

This is also one of the advantages of the current State Affairs Hall.
The prime ministers make the decisions first, so that there won't be a situation where the Central Secretariat makes a decision, but it fails to pass the Imperial Secretariat, resulting in back-and-forth wrangling.

Now, the officials in charge of the Secretariat and the Chancellery make decisions together with other prime ministers; it is no longer the Secretariat that makes decisions.

Of course, Emperor Li Shimin still firmly held supreme decision-making power. The decisions made by the Council of State were at most preliminary decisions, much like the draft decisions submitted by the Grand Secretaries of the Ming Dynasty.

Ultimately, the emperor still made the final decision.

In this respect, the current State Council does indeed resemble the emperor's cabinet.

The more chancellors there were in the Council of State Affairs, the weaker their power became, especially when officials other than the heads of the three provinces were given additional titles and appointed as chancellors in the Council of State Affairs.

However, the power of the monarch was greatly enhanced.

He took the resolution to the Ganlu Hall to meet the Emperor.
The emperor's expression was very unpleasant.
"These past few days, I've been constantly dreaming of the ghosts of Song Jingang, Liu Wuzhou, Xue Ju, and others coming to claim my life. I spend entire nights fighting them in my dreams,"

The calming tonics prepared by the old imperial physician of the Imperial Pharmacy in the palace were ineffective.

"I have a method that can ensure Your Majesty's peaceful sleep."

"Oh, what good idea do you have? I am very troubled by this. If you have a good idea, I will reward you handsomely."

"The evil spirits like Song Jingang and Liu Wuzhou are ultimately malevolent beings. I believe that two fierce generals capable of defeating ten thousand men should be selected to guard Your Majesty's gates at night."

Especially those fierce generals who have fought countless battles and killed countless people—ghosts would never dare to approach them.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin felt it made a lot of sense.

"Who do you think is suitable?"

"If we're talking about soldiers who can defeat ten thousand men, there are many in the court. But if we're talking about taking the head of a general from among ten thousand soldiers as easily as taking something from a bag, then there are those who have fought in hundreds of battles."
Your subject first recommends Duke Qin Qiong, also known as Qin Shubao.

Li Shimin laughed and said, "Your second brother is truly a man whose spirit can command the three armies and whose strength can crush the enemy. He is a lone warrior on horseback, leading the king's vanguard. In every battle, he takes the head of the enemy's general."

"When the two armies clash and arrayed their troops, anyone who dares to provoke or shout at the front lines will be stabbed by Shubao amidst the multitude, causing men and horses to flee in terror!"

At this point, Li Shimin sighed, "It's a pity that Uncle Bao also said that he fought more than two hundred battles, big and small, and shed a lot of blood. Now he is plagued by injuries and illnesses."

This General of the Left Guard and Duke of Yi had been recuperating at home for a long time.

"Why would I want Uncle Bao to stand guard at night?"

Li Shimin thought for a moment, then said, "Let Yuchi Jingde come."

Jingde was previously quite arrogant, even daring to beat up a prince and nearly blinding Li Shentong. Li Shimin ordered him to stay home and reflect on his actions. Later, he followed Li Jing to Shuofang to attack Liang Shidu.
Upon his triumphant return to the capital, Yuchi Gong was reinstated to his original position.

After all that he went through, Yuchi Gong is now quite well-behaved, and it is said that he has become obsessed with studying elixirs and the art of immortality at home.

I don't usually go out.

An imperial edict,
Upon hearing that he was to stand guard for the emperor, Yuchi Gong immediately abandoned his alchemy furnace and rushed to the palace.

Soon,
Qin Qiong also came.

He had heard that the emperor was recently being tormented by evil spirits such as Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang, and was having trouble sleeping, so he came uninvited.

"Your Majesty, Song Jingang and Liu Wuzhou are both defeated opponents. Tonight, I will don iron armor and wield a great iron spear. If they dare to come again, I will annihilate them!"

“Shubao, you are still recovering from your old injuries. You should stay home and rest. How can we let you come here to wear armor and hold a spear to guard the palace gates?” Li Shimin quickly comforted him.

Qin Qiong replied, "Although my old wounds have flared up again, I am still capable of guarding the palace gates. Your Majesty, I am definitely more qualified for this position than General Yuchi!"

The implication is that Yuchi Gong was a defeated opponent of his back then, and not just once.

Old Hei's face flushed red, but he couldn't refute it.

Seeing Qin Qiong's insistence, Li Yi tried to smooth things over, saying, "Since the Duke of Yi is here, I think it would be better if the Duke of Yi and the Duke of Wu guarded the palace gates together for His Majesty."

With one on the left and one on the right, no evil spirit dared to approach.

then,

Two invincible generals, clad in armor and wielding long spears, stood guard at the palace gates.

This night,
Li Shimin even made a point of keeping Li Yi to sleep side by side with him.

The emperor and his minister chatted for a while, and then Li Shimin started snoring and fell asleep.

The emperor slept soundly until dawn.

(End of this chapter)