Conferred Gods: Start with a Phoenix clone

Chapter 1640: Imperial Brother
No matter what, Huang Tianhua was still a person from the underworld. The Mengpo soup he drank when he was reincarnated was a weakened version. When he was twenty years old, his memories of his past life were awakened. He knew what he should do and how to do it very early on.

When Tang Seng was carried to the Daming Palace by the crowd, he was paying homage to Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"Disciple Huang Tianhua pays homage to his uncle-master." He paid homage to Guanyin Bodhisattva according to the etiquette of the Chan sect.

Guanyin Bodhisattva said: "Master uncle's words are yesterday's news. I am a layman and cannot deserve your majesty's great honor."

Huang Tianhua said, "A hundred years ago, I went to the Peach Blossom Cave in Jiuxian Mountain to pay homage to my teacher. My teacher said that my uncle went to Buddhism only for the sake of the Tao, and that there should still be a place for him in the Chan Sect."

Guanyin Bodhisattva was a little touched. He and Guangchengzi had always had a good relationship. After he "betrayed the religion", Guangchengzi's attitude towards him was extremely bad, but if you look closely, you will find that there is no hostility in it, it is just an attitude. This time, he used Huang Tianhua's mouth to talk about the feelings of the past in expounding the religion, which naturally has a deep meaning.

Moonlight's plan to "go public," reap the profits, and then flee has yet to be exposed. Even his disciples, Kasyapa and Ananda, remain unaware, and neither can Avalokitesvara. However, he knows that everything, after reaching its peak, must decline. Buddhism is currently flourishing, but can it last? If its fortunes collapse, what will become of him, a great bodhisattva? Returning to the Chan School isn't out of the question for him.

It doesn’t matter whether he is called Guanyin Bodhisattva or Cihang Taoist, he only cares about his own path.

"Junior Brother." He immediately changed his address, glanced outside the hall, and said, "Junior Brother, you need to cooperate with me today."

Huang Tianhua said without hesitation: "Disciple obeys your command."

Guanyin Bodhisattva hid her body, and Tang Seng was surrounded by people and came in front of Huang Tianhua.

"The Goblet of Fire has chosen the Master as the Chief Abbot of the Tang Dynasty. Now I see that he is indeed a man of great talent. Come, announce the decree. From this day forward, Master Xuanzang will be the Chief Abbot of the Tang Dynasty in charge of Buddhism."

Huang Tianhua did not give Tang Seng any chance to explain himself. He asked him to take a look at the note he had thrown into the Goblet of Fire. After confirming that it was correct, he announced the appointment on the spot.

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Tang Seng agreed reluctantly.

In the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, the most important thing is to overcome the difficulties and obstacles along the way. Who goes to obtain the scriptures is not so important, and who becomes the emperor is even less important.

Li Shimin was frightened by the underworld, which directly prompted Tang Monk to go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

Now Huang Tianhua has been reincarnated as Li Longji. He is a native of the underworld, and his "establishment" is still in the underworld. He is purely one of the underworld's own people. It would be too fake to play the role of being frightened again.

Huang Tianhua's method of treating Tang Seng is to praise you, giving you a small banquet every day and a big banquet every three days.

Many young people are unable to refuse the big promises from their leaders. The key is that they are too thin-skinned and don’t know how to refuse. Tang Seng is in almost the same situation now. Faced with the hospitality of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he really can’t say no.

When Tang Sanzang was at Gao Laozhuang, he said, "I have been a vegetarian since birth. I have not eaten meat since I was young, and I dare not drink alcohol."

He refused to drink Old Master Gao's wine, and when he arrived at the Kingdom of Women and faced the delicate Queen, he became "a poor monk who eats vegetarian food but never gives up drinking."

He had very flexible standards for discipline. Drinking was different for different people, and the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was undoubtedly the kind of person who needed to give face. Huang Tianhua said all kinds of nice things, and after pouring the wine, Tang Sanzang fainted.

Seven days later, Guanyin Bodhisattva turned into an old monk again and brought Mu Zha to the court to sell robes and staffs. He lied with his eyes open, belittling the Hinayana Buddhism and saying that we have the Mahayana Buddhism in Lingshan and you can come and get it.

Tang Seng was not in the hall at this time, so the ministers began to discuss.

During the previous empress period, Buddhism was respected and Taoism was suppressed. Now, from both Huang Tianhua's own perspective and Li Longji's perspective, he had to suppress Buddhism and promote the Taoism of his ancestors. However, this task could not be completed in a day or two, so someone advised the emperor to send all the respected monks away.

Let these eminent monks preach in places like Tibet, grasslands, and cold and bitter places in the west. Not going there would be considered disrespectful.

Deng Chanyu once told Deng Xiu about the method of governing foreigners. What she meant was that the Central Plains dynasty should recruit foreign warriors as soldiers, marry high-ranking officials, give them large amounts of gold, silver and jewelry, and then send virtuous people to preach, so that they would give up their worldly desires for fame and fortune, encourage them to become monks, and encourage them not to have children.

The theory was very good, but at that time the Han Dynasty did not have the logistical strength to launch expeditions against foreign races, and the Taoists were not capable of preaching. Over time, this national policy was shelved.

The Tang Dynasty, feeling its way across the Han Dynasty, discovered that they had Buddhism! They sent monks to preach in the four directions, allowing all foreigners to become monks. Those who became monks were encouraged by the government and given a certain social status.

The position of Chief Abbot is regarded as a disaster by many eminent monks because the monks have to lead the way to those bitter and cold places.

Now what are you talking about? The Western Paradise, a million miles away? Don't be ridiculous. That sounds like a place to die.

Huang Tianhua immediately summoned Tang Seng to the main hall, and first gave him the tin staff and cassock that he had bought at a high price, and then told him about his journey to the West to worship Buddha and seek the true scriptures.

If the chief monk doesn't go to the Western Paradise, who will? The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty invites you to drink every day, but is that free? He gives you a staff and a cassock, but are those free?
Tang Seng really couldn't refuse and had to agree reluctantly. Huang Tianhua was also open-minded and recognized Tang Seng as his "royal brother" in the main hall.

Less than seven days after the chief monk took office, Tang Seng took on an extremely difficult task. Seven days later, everything was ready, and he left Chang'an City with his entourage, changing his "drifting west" to "traveling west".

Li Shimin in the original time and space was too stingy, so Tang Seng is treated much better now.

There were 1,500 followers alone, and 200 accompanying monks. Monks Minghui and Mingfa, who had broken their legs on purpose, were also in the team. The team also carried a large number of gifts and gold, silver and jewelry. This was completely the standard of an diplomatic mission.

It is impossible for everyone to have a horse. It may be possible in the early Tang Dynasty, but important horses would not be wasted in the late Tang Dynasty. A few leaders had horses to travel on, and the rest of the people had to walk to the west.

Tang Seng was forced to go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures for the sake of the Emperor of Tang.

This is similar to the original time and space. In the original time and space, when Tang Monk discovered that he had obtained a scripture without words, he said, "How dare I see the King of Tang! The crime of deceiving the king is truly unforgivable." He felt that he was unworthy of the King of Tang's kindness, and it had nothing to do with the people of the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)