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

Chapter 771 Striving to be the Vanguard

"I'm probably getting senile."

"I actually wanted to wake up a group of people who were pretending to be asleep!"

Inside the palace gates, in Li Yi's private quarters, after drinking two cups of wine, Fu Yi spoke frankly to the young Imperial Censor.

Ma Zhou refilled Fu Yi's empty cup. Knowing that Fu Yi was getting old, he didn't choose the strong persimmon liquor, but instead opted for Wei Zheng's homemade brew.

It is brewed using soft millet from the Loess Plateau of Guanzhong and sweet spring water.

The wine is yellow with a reddish tinge, has a slightly sweet and mellow taste, and also has the effects of warming the middle and dispelling cold, and relaxing muscles and tendons.

Ma Zhou is a very good listener.
Fu Yi had already drunk a gourd before he arrived, and now, after a few more cups of Wei Gong's brew, he became increasingly talkative and bold in his speech.

Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he criticized Buddhism for its harm to the country and its people. When he got angry, he couldn't help but slam his hand on the table.

"During the reigns of the two Sui emperors, Buddhism flourished, with temples everywhere and the number of monks and nuns increasing daily."
Thinking back to before Hoover entered China,

Eighty-year-old elders sing while striking the ground with clods of earth. Fifteen-year-old children rejoice with full bellies. Farmers yield the fields to each other, and no one picks up lost items on the road. Filial sons uphold their families' virtues, and loyal ministers fill the nation.

Ma Zhou said, “I have also read some Buddhist scriptures. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, it is said that, good man, after my Nirvana, in the defiled and evil world, the country will be in chaos, people will plunder each other, and the people will be starving. At that time, many people will resolve to become monks because of hunger. Such people are called bald men.”

These are bald men who, seeing a pure and virtuous monk upholding the precepts and protecting the Dharma, drive him away, either by killing or harming him.

"The many problems in Buddhism that the Grand Astrologer just mentioned are all caused by these monks with impure motives."
The Buddha also said that these people were not true monks, but merely bald men, ordinary laymen with shaved heads.
These people are only concerned with their own desires and don't take the precepts seriously at all. When they see a monk who upholds the precepts, has proper conduct, and possesses the pure appearance of a monk, protecting the Dharma, they instead become angry.
Then he would expel the pure monks, drive them out of the temple, and even beat, scold, or kill those who upheld the precepts.

Ma Zhou continued slowly, "Just like the first three levels of the sect, Zen Master Xinxing was originally a diligent ascetic who could uphold the precepts, but after his death, most of his disciples and followers were bald-headed laymen who did not abide by the precepts, or even fell into greed and depravity."
Therefore, the imperial court has now banned the Three Ranks Sect and forced those bald people to return to secular life.

Next,
It will also extend to monks in temples throughout the world.

Gradually, all will be assessed, and those who fail to make progress or whose conduct is lacking will be dismissed and sent back to their hometowns.

Those who diligently practice and observe the precepts will be issued ordination certificates and allowed to reside in large temples and monasteries, and will be allocated land.

Those lazy and idle people evade corvée labor, have their concubines shaved and changed their names, claiming to be monks or nuns. They are insatiable in their desires, constantly seeking gain. They frequent the neighborhoods, maneuvering among the common people, driving livestock, accumulating goods, making a living through farming and weaving, engaging in commerce and trade, and even personally committing robbery, breaking into houses, spreading rumors and deceit, and being cunning and treacherous—these are the kinds of people they are.
Such chaos and uncleanliness necessitate rectification and elimination!

Fu Yi was intolerant of any imperfections, especially within the Buddhist community as a whole, and hoped the imperial court would completely ban it.

But Ma Zhou only targeted those bald people who were not genuinely practicing Buddhism.

One approach is a comprehensive crackdown, aiming to eradicate Buddhism altogether.
One approach only targets a subset of the population initially.

Fu Yi put down his wine glass.

“Ma Zhongxian, tell me, in the Buddhist community today, who isn’t a bald, layman? Who is truly practicing Buddhism?”
You see, there are over a hundred Buddhist temples in Chang'an.

Dazhuangyan Temple, Zongchi Temple, and Daxingshan Temple—these were all grand imperial temples, built by imperial decree. The eminent monks within them were all tall and dignified.

But which of these three major temples doesn't engage in usury, which doesn't occupy hundreds of acres of land, and which doesn't operate various industries?

The entire temple is a mess.
Is this a problem stemming from a group of bald people who don't keep the precepts?

Ma Zhou poured him another glass of wine.
"What Lord Fu said was actually seen by all the officials in the Council of State Affairs, and Minister Li especially praised Lord Fu's integrity."

However, one must take things one step at a time, just as one must eat one bite at a time.

The sages and the imperial court have already taken action; the Three Stages Sect is the first step.

The road ahead is still long.
However, a natural disaster has struck, and the court must concentrate its efforts on winning this battle first.

Li Situ was originally going to speak with Fu Gong in person today, but since the Emperor summoned him, he entrusted me to speak with Fu Gong.

Now is not the time to provoke a conflict between Buddhism and Taoism.

Fu Yi was somewhat drunk.

"I think quite the opposite. There will definitely be a great famine next year, and perhaps the year after. At that time, it will be the right time to take action against Buddhism."
These bald men have seized far too much land, and their so-called inexhaustible treasury, kitchen, and longevity storehouse are also filled with far too much money, silk, and grain.

These were all produced by the common people.
These bald men greedily hoarded it, like giant rats.

"Suppressing Buddhism at this time would allow us to amass a million followers, seize millions of acres of temple land, and melt down Buddha statues to mint countless coins!"

Fu Yi blushed and banged on the table, saying, "Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty suppressed Buddhism. At that time, temples in Chang'an alone hid 300,000 mu of fertile land, and 50,000 people depended on the temples."

Later, the Northern Wei court issued an edict to suppress Buddhism, demolishing more than 2,600 temples, and forcing 150,000 monks to return to secular life and register them in the household register. The bronze statues confiscated from the temples were melted down and used to cast 300,000 strings of cash.

One hundred and thirty years later, Buddhism flourished even more, with more than 10,000 temples nationwide, occupying more than 3 million acres of fertile land, and millions of monks and nuns. The population dependent on temples accounted for 10% of the national population.

Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou suppressed Buddhism, forcing a million monks and nuns to return to secular life. More than two million dependents were registered as commoners by the court, from whom the army was expanded by 200,000.
In addition, 50,000 taels of gold and 5 million mu of farmland belonging to the temple were confiscated. This population and fertile land tripled the grain reserves of the Northern Zhou dynasty.

"Now that the national treasury is empty and facing famine, isn't this the perfect opportunity to suppress Buddhism? We can seize the gold and grain from Buddhist temples, reclaim fertile land, increase the population, and even use the bronze statues to mint coins."
This would not only solve a major threat to the court but also help it overcome its current crisis. Why not do it?

"Courage,"
Li Situ is deeply favored by the emperor, and now is the time for him to demonstrate his courage and persuade His Majesty to suppress Buddhism.

Don't worry about your personal reputation.

"Has the imperial court not realized the inexhaustible wealth of the Three-Tier Sect by banning it? If all Buddhist temples in the world were confiscated, the tax revenue of our Great Tang Dynasty over the past six years would not even be enough to cover it!"

Suppress Buddhism, and the country will be well-fed.

Fu Yi felt that the current calamity was just the right time for the country to take action, especially since the Three-Tier Sect had been banned before, which exposed many illegal activities by the Three-Tier Sect temples and monks. Now, while the iron is hot, the entire Buddhist sect should be banned.

While Ma Zhou and Fu Yi were drinking and talking there...
Actually, Li Yi was also there.
He was behind the partition, in a small room with a bed for resting.

Listening to Fu Yi recount the severe harm Buddhism caused to the country during the suppression of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of Wei and Emperor Wu of Zhou, and the enormous amount of population, land, gold, silver, and silk the country gained after the suppression,

It was truly touching.

In fact, there were more than just these two persecutions of Buddhism in history.

Instead, it was the suppression of Buddhism by the Three Wu and One Zong emperors.

After Emperor Wuzong of the Later Zhou Dynasty suppressed Buddhism, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty did the same. By this time, it was the late Tang Dynasty, and Buddhism was even more prosperous than before the previous two suppressions.

The number of Buddhist temples reached an astonishing 46,000, and these temples owned over 40 million mu of fertile land. They also maintained 150,000 slaves and retainers, and even colluded with regional military governors to oppose the imperial court.
A quarter of the imperial tax revenue flowed into Buddhism, leading to Emperor Wuzong's Huichang Persecution of Buddhism. This persecution involved the demolition of over 4,000 temples and monasteries, the confiscation of tens of millions of acres of fertile land, and the conversion of millions of monks and slaves into state-registered households.

The bronze Buddha statues confiscated from the temple were melted down and used to cast 150 million strings of cash, while the iron Buddha statues were smelted into farm tools, yielding 20 farm tools.

After the persecution of Buddhism in Huichang, another persecution of Buddhism occurred during the reign of Chai Rong of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

But they can be destroyed and banned endlessly.

For the imperial court, suppressing Buddhism was definitely a great boon.

But this great tonic is also toxic.

If not handled properly, it could lead to endless troubles.

Fu Yi wanted the imperial court to suppress Buddhism, so he swallowed the poison pill.

Li Yi was against it.
We haven't reached the point where we absolutely have to resort to desperate measures.

You can do it step by step.

The conversation outside had stopped sometime earlier.
The sound of snoring could be heard.

Ma Zhou went into the inner room.

"Situ, Fu Yi is drunk and has already fallen asleep."

"Okay, let's help him here to sleep for a while."

Li Yi and Ma Zhou helped Fu Yi to the inner room to lie down on a small couch, covered him with a light quilt, and then tidied up the wine jars and cups outside and replaced them with tea sets.

Fu Yi's snoring could be heard from the inner room.

Ma Zhou laughed and said, "How about Situ shows some guts this time, uses the same ruthlessness he had when fighting the Turks, and wipes out all the Buddhist sects in the world?"

I estimate that, just as Fu Yi said, they can seize tens of millions of acres of fertile land and register millions of households.

Even gold could be worth 100,000 taels, bronze statues could be melted down and cast into money, yielding millions of strings of cash, and iron Buddhas could be used to make over 100,000 farm tools.

Not to mention the grains and cloth that the temple had accumulated.

It's better than ten years of national tax revenue!

It was an appealing suggestion, but Li Yi rejected it without hesitation.

"Things can't be done this way, otherwise there will be big problems later. We have to take it slowly."

Listening to the snoring, Ma Zhou thought, "No matter what Fu Yi arranges, he still insists on eradicating Buddhism!"

"Send him to Luoyang. I will soon dispatch a group of officials and craftsmen to Luoyang to do some basic repairs on the Luoyang Palace. If there is a famine in Guanzhong..."

His Majesty may lead his officials to Luoyang for a meal.

"Let Fu Yi go with him; it's fine since he's not in Chang'an."

The water boils.
Li Yi used tea utensils, added tea leaves, and brewed the tea.

The aroma of tea overflows.

Ma Zhou said, "I think what Master Fu said makes a lot of sense. Buddhism is indeed a scourge to the country."

"Well, actually, throughout history, how many emperors didn't know this, but how many could actually control it? There are just too many interests involved."

If Your Majesty truly intends to destroy Buddhism,
I dare say that many court officials will stand up and loudly oppose this.

It wasn't just devout Buddhists like Xiao Yu and Wang Gui.

On the surface, the temple's economy is thriving, and the monks are making a fortune. However, they don't actually reap all the benefits.

Behind them stand countless powerful and influential figures, their interests intertwined.

One small change can have far-reaching consequences.

(End of this chapter)