Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 293: Datang and Tianzhu, Not Far Away (Part )
In March, spring comes and flowers bloom, grass grows and birds sing.

In Chang'an City, Taiyi Qinghua Temple.

Li Chengqian knelt on the cushion with a solemn expression and bowed his head.

Yin Wencao, the head of the Louguan Dao sect, stood by, reciting the "Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun Treasure Edict": "The Qinghua Changle Realm, the Dongji Miaoyan Palace. The seven-treasure fragrant forest, the nine-colored lotus throne..."

The blue smoke is curling up and the Taoist temple is quiet and solemn.

Dozens of Taoists in blue, red and purple robes stood on both sides, holding whisks and silently reciting the "Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun Baogao".

After a long time, Li Chengqian knelt down solemnly on the cushion, then slowly stood up.

Today is his mother's birthday, so Li Chengqian comes to Taiyi Qinghua Temple every year to pay homage and offer sacrifices.

After a few words, Yin Wencao accompanied Li Chengqian to the backyard.

Chang Sunxiang, Ma Zhou and others followed from a distance.

……

Li Chengqian stood under the bell tower, looking at the bronze bell above his head with a sad expression.

This bell tower was donated by him and the emperor using the palace funds, and it even contained clothes knitted for him by his mother.

Every time the sound of the bell spread throughout Chang'an City, he couldn't help but think of his mother.

After a moment, Li Chengqian finally calmed down his sorrowful expression, turned to look at Yin Wencao, and clasped his hands, saying, "I'll trouble you to come down the mountain in person."

"Your Highness's filial piety is truly unmatched in the world." Yin Wencao clasped his hands in return, saying, "It is my great honor to be able to witness this great event."

"You are too polite, Master." Li Chengqian nodded calmly and said, "I'm afraid you came down the mountain this time for Buddhist matters."

"Yes!" Yin Wencao nodded and said, "Although His Highness asked Xuanzang to compile a travelogue of the Western Regions at Hongfu Temple, he did not prohibit Buddhist monks from visiting him."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "My father once said that when Xuanzang finishes compiling his travel notes on the Western Regions, he will be allowed to start preaching... Six hundred and seventy-five Buddhist scriptures, how long will it take to finish spreading them?"

"I don't quite understand." Yin Wencao noticed that Li Chengqian seemed to be planning something, but what exactly he was planning, Yin Wencao could not figure out for a moment.

"The more people visit Xuanzang, the more his energy will be wasted, and the later it will take for him to complete the compilation of the Travel Notes of the Western Regions, and the later he will be able to preach." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly.

"But now that someone is visiting him, he is still preaching, right?" Yin Wencao frowned.

"Six hundred and seventy-five original Buddhist scriptures." Li Chengqian looked up at the bronze bell above him and said softly, "These Buddhist scriptures can only be best spread if a large amount of manpower and material resources are mobilized to carry out the most comprehensive editing and revision. If we only spread them on a small scale at the moment, it will not benefit the overall situation."

"So that's it." Yin Wencao immediately understood.

If Xuanzang only focuses on preaching in a small area now, then large-scale preaching will inevitably be delayed.

In the final analysis, small-scale preaching is nothing more than an excellent monk, but widespread preaching is the way of the saints.

Li Chengqian turned sideways, looked at Yin Wencao, and asked, "Master, do you know what the Zen Master Daoxin is up to?"

Yin Wencao clasped his hands and whispered, "Many Zen sect disciples have already begun to head towards Shuangfeng Mountain in Jingxiang. Xuanzang's sudden return has had a significant impact on Zen. Zen has always had an orderly inheritance. Now that Xuanzang has returned, although joining forces is the key, it's important to clarify who is in charge and who is subordinate, and who comes and who goes."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian sighed softly and waved his hand, saying, "I will not interfere in Buddhist affairs. They can decide for themselves. But Chang'an City must not become like Jiankang... The 480 temples of the Southern Dynasty are a joke."

……

In Hongfu Temple, Li Chengqian knelt sincerely under the statue of Tathagata Buddha with a humble look on his face.

Xuanzang and the abbot of Hongfu Temple stood together on the left, chanting the "Sutra of the Past Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" calmly.

Hongfu Temple was once the residence of Wang Junkuo, the Duke of Peng, the Right General. After Wang Junkuo betrayed the Tang Dynasty and died, this place was converted into Hongfu Temple to commemorate Empress Taimu.

Empress Taimu Dou was Li Chengqian's grandmother.

So after paying homage at Taiyi Qinghua Temple today, Li Chengqian came to Hongfu Temple again and also came to see Xuanzang.

He attached great importance to Xuanzang.

Although the Journey to the West, which tells the story of the spread of Buddhism to the East, is just a legend, it also shows the importance that Buddhism attaches to this matter.

With the combined power of Buddhism in the world, even Li Chengqian would not be able to stop it.

Besides, he had no intention of obstructing it; all he wanted was a smooth transition.

Moreover, the power of Buddhism is not as strong as imagined.

Li Zhi did a very good job in his previous life by not obstructing the spread of Buddhism, but as for Xuanzang, he had no chance of escaping his control.

After Xuanzang's death, the Yogacara school he founded died out within a few generations.

On the contrary, Zen Buddhism flourished and eventually became the mainstream of Buddhism in the world.

Of course, that is Li Zhi's business. Now that Li Chengqian is in power, he holds the greatest initiative in his hands as to what the future outcome will be.

The rest is the dispute between Xuanzang and the Zen sect...

A moment later, in the quiet room in the backyard.

Li Chengqian bowed slightly to the Buddha's relics before being led into the inner hall by Xuanzang.

Sitting on a cushion on the left side of the hall, Li Chengqian bowed calmly to Xuanzang and said, "I have many things to deal with in the court, and I have been a little neglectful of the master."

"I dare not!" Xuanzang calmly raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian and said, "This poor monk has just returned to Chang'an, and there are many places I need to familiarize myself with."

"Yeah!" Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

After all, it was already the 19th year of the Zhenguan reign. Li Chengqian was still, surprisingly, the crown prince, and in the 17 years since Xuanzang left Chang'an, the Tang Dynasty had conquered the Eastern Turks, Tuyuhun, and Gaochang, defeated the Xueyantuo and Western Turks several times, and now marched eastward to conquer Goguryeo, solidifying its image as the overlord of the East.

Chang'an City had already become the most powerful city in the world, which was very different from when Xuanzang left.

He needs to adapt to many things, including the place and the people.

Li Chengqian looked up at Xuanzang and asked, "Master, do you know anything about Tubo while you are in India?"

Xuanzang's brows jumped involuntarily, and then he nodded solemnly: "Yes!"

"Nipala is located hundreds of miles north of Rajagriha, where Nalanda Monastery is located." Xuanzang paused briefly before continuing, "Pipala is located high in the mountains, and Tibet is even higher than that. I have also traveled to Pipala. At that time, the Tibetan king Songtsen, after failing to marry a princess from Pipala, launched an attack on Pipala."

Before marrying Princess Wencheng, Songtsen also married Princess Chizun of Nepal.

The King of Nepal also refused at first, but who would have thought that Songtsen would directly send troops to attack Nepal, and finally forced Nepal to marry the princess to Tubo.

This was Songtsen's usual tactic. Back then, when Songtsen first asked to marry a Tang princess, he did the same. After being rejected, he directly sent troops to Songzhou.

Unfortunately, it ended in failure.

Of course, the Tang Dynasty also knew that Tubo was not easy to defeat.

When the Tang Dynasty conquered Tuyuhun, they once went to the plateau. The altitude sickness made the Tang soldiers very uncomfortable.

Therefore, although all the generals were immersed in the joy of destroying Tuyuhun after the war, the Ministry of War had already come to the conclusion that Tubo should not be attacked lightly.

"Tubana began introducing Buddhism over a decade ago and later intermarried with Nipola. Princess Nipola brought with her a large number of scriptures and Buddhist statues. At the same time, Tubo also began communicating with India through Nipola." Xuanzang calmly looked up at Li Chengqian and said, "It's clear that Tubo is considering invading India."

"Master, your discerning eye is as sharp as a torch." Li Chengqian nodded in appreciation.

It is not surprising that Xuanzang could see through this. He himself was a rare intelligent person in the world, and the Nalanda Temple where he was located was one of the ruling centers of India.

How could they not understand Tubo's intention of external expansion?

"The Tibetan king is ambitious, but it's not easy to invade India. It's not easy to rush down from the plateau." Xuanzang finished speaking. Li Chengqian looked up at him in surprise and asked, "Master, could you elaborate?"

Xuanzang glanced at Li Chengqian in slight surprise, then said calmly, "Someone from India has traveled to Tubo and returned. If they go slowly, it's fine, but if they go fast, it's inconvenient... If something happens to Tubo, if they go fast, it will be disadvantageous to them, but if they go slow, India will respond. It would be difficult for Tubo to even have any ideas, let alone have any interest in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian smiled softly and nodded to Xuanzang, saying, "Yes, Tubo still has its sights set on the Tang Dynasty, but since the marriage between Tubo and Tang, the Tubo people have gradually calmed down. Furthermore, as far as I know, the Tubo people's current target is Yangtong. Their main focus right now is on annexing Yangtong, though there have been some setbacks."

Xuanzang lowered his head slightly and said softly, "I didn't expect Your Highness to care so much about Tubo."

Li Chengqian's expression darkened, and he shook his head calmly, saying, "Although my sister's marriage to Tubo was arranged by appointment, I really don't like the Tibetan king's way of asking for marriage. Moreover, even though my sister is the most distinguished woman in Tubo, I don't know if she is actually the queen of Tubo."

Wencheng married into Tubo, and the people of the Tang Dynasty thought she was the queen of Tubo, but no one could understand the rules of Tubo.

Princess Chizun was a princess of Nibo Luo, and her status was equally noble. Moreover, she married into Tubo before Wencheng. Perhaps Songtsen initially treated her as the supreme queen.

As for Wencheng, I'm afraid the Tibetans also came to marry her with the hope of getting lucky.

I thought that the Tang Dynasty was not clear about the system of Tubo.

Afterwards, suppression and adjustments were carried out domestically.

Songtsen's method made Li Chengqian feel disgusted.

What’s important is that Wencheng still has no children, and Songtsen’s only child is his son with Princess Yangtong.

After Songtsen's death, Wencheng had no children and eventually died, which was what Li Chengqian was most dissatisfied with.

Recovering his thoughts, Li Chengqian nodded slightly to Xuanzang and said, "Master, let's stop here for today. I have to return to the palace. If you need anything in the future, please send someone to the palace directly. I will do my best to arrange it."

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will escort you there." Xuanzang stood up and saluted Li Chengqian with his hands folded.

"No need, Master, please stay!" Li Chengqian stood up, waved his hand slightly, and then walked out of the hall.

Xuanzang continued to follow and when he sent Li Chengqian back, there was an elderly monk in a gray robe in the hall.

"Senior Brother Deyun." Xuanzang bowed to the gray-robed monk.

"Junior Brother Xuanzang." Deyun bowed to Xuanzang, then looked outside the hall and said softly, "Junior Brother seems to be having a very pleasant conversation with the Crown Prince."

Xuanzang asked Deyun to sit down, and then said gently: "I heard from my senior brother earlier that the prince was indifferent to Buddhism, but today it seems that is not the case."

"It's the nature of the royal family, it's just a matter of weighing the pros and cons. The prince, like the emperor, is more inclined towards Taoism." Deyun shook his head slightly.

"Brother, I do not advocate that Buddhism intervene too much in the struggle for imperial power. And from what we see today, the prince is not without a good impression of Buddhism. The key is to see how to promote it." Xuanzang breathed a sigh of relief and looked serious.

"Junior brother, are you talking about Tubo?" Deyun looked up at Xuanzang. He heard clearly what Xuanzang and Li Chengqian said before.

"Hmm!" Xuanzang nodded, then said softly, "The Tang Dynasty and India are actually not as far apart as we imagined."

Deyun lowered his head, looking thoughtful, but a hint of vigilance flashed deep in his eyes.

……

On Suzaku Street, Li Chengqian slowly walked towards the imperial palace.

Just at this moment, a fast horse came from the opposite direction.

Zhang Xuan, the Lieutenant General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, stopped his horse in front of Li Chengqian and said solemnly, "Your Highness, His Majesty has a decree!"

"Let's go back to the palace!"

(End of this chapter)