Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 33 The Lord is Buddha, Buddha is Tao

Buddhism spread across Southeast Asia from Bharat (India) via the Arakan Mountains and became a major force.

Mulanism was introduced to Malacca, Sumatra and Luzon due to the Maritime Silk Road and trade between Arabia and China.

Establish the religious crown of the land below the wind with a top-down trend.

The land above the wind deviated from its course, and Buddhism avoided the conflict with the Muran religion, moving from top to bottom and then from bottom to top.

It defeated Indian religion and animism, and completely became a unique existence that integrated politics and religion.

Since the beginning of the Pagan Dynasty, Hongsavadi has been renovating temples and pagodas.

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Dharamshala, the Ananda Temple in Bagan, and the Mahamuni Temple in Ava are all world-famous.

Toungoo County is no exception.

Although not as prosperous as Bagan Ava, it also has hundreds of temples located on the ridge outside the ancient city.

One of the largest temples.

After the evening service, seven or eight monks walked barefoot through the corridor and entered the dining room.

Most of the people in Fengshang are Theravada Buddhists, who do not eat after noon. They certainly do not come here to eat vegetarian food.

Put your hands together and bow to each other.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the leading old monk got straight to the point:
"The Ming army has already broken through Pingmanna. After defeating 10,000 Hongsha troops, Ming's Bai Wenxuan continues to pursue the majority of Mangbai's army."

"We fought our way from the right bank of the Xitang River to the left, and defeated another 20,000 enemies."

The others chanted Amitabha a few times.

"So, including the 20,000 soldiers of Marquis Yonggui, a quarter of Mangbai's 200,000-man army has been lost."

"Even if Mangbai can gather some of the defeated soldiers, it won't make much difference."

"He no longer dared to stay in Toungoo County. He could only rely on his navy to defend the confluence of the Piyu and Sittang Rivers, a hundred miles south of the ancient city."

"Half of the 10,000 soldiers and horses from Tonggu City were also withdrawn, leaving only the old, weak, sick and disabled slaves."

Several people looked at each other and saw the eagerness in each other's eyes.

The old monk sighed, "The Crown Prince of Ming has tried many times to sign an alliance with Mang Bai, but Mang Bai is so stubborn and stubborn that he's obsessed with fighting the Crown Prince of Ming."

Someone echoed, "That's right, it's just tribute. Although 50 million kilograms of rice is a bit much, it's not something Xia Hongsha can't provide."

"Mang Bai killed his two brothers, and now he's thinking about the national hatred and family feuds."

"Hasn't Hongsavadi been a vassal state of China since ancient times? The Pegu area was once the Dagula Xuanwei Division of the Ming Dynasty."

Another person criticized sharply:

"He is ambitious and wants to be the king of Hongsha. A short rope cannot draw water from a deep well. If he is not lucky, how can he become king?"

"You have gathered 200,000 soldiers and caused great suffering to the people of Hongsha. You are as warmongering as Mang Yingli. Even if you can defeat the Ming, my country of Toungoo will be destroyed."

"Although the old Pagan Marquis is a fake king, he treats the people well and is tolerant of Buddhism. This is the style of his father, King Thalong."

Mang Bai slaughtered the villagers and plundered the people, which had long caused great resentment among the people of Hongsha.

The villages of chieftains of all ethnic groups were looted and plundered.

Even temples with special status were not spared.

If he had not commanded a large army, nine out of ten houses would have been robbed and the counties would have rebelled long ago.

Even after the Hongsha Army moved north, the chieftains hiding in the mountains had begun to collude with Siam and Arakan.

"As the royal family of Toungoo, we cannot help the tiger eat."

The old monk looked around at the few people.

They are all monks with great prestige in the temples around the ancient city.

But what is even more special is their status before they took the precepts and became monks.

He is a descendant of the remote royal family of Toungoo.

Speaking of remoteness, the Toungoo royal family, which only lasted for five generations, is not that far away.

They are all descendants of Mang Yingli.

Mang Yingli was extremely militaristic and attacked the Ming Dynasty in the north, Siam in the east, and Arakan in the west.

He caused the whole world to rebel, and was deserted by his friends and relatives and died.

Their fathers controlled a county at that time.

Until King Liangyuan rose to power in Shanghongsha, Anabilun unified the world and King Helong moved the capital.

These descendants of the royal family who failed in their fight for the throne could only become monks in Toungoo County.

"Old Lord Pagan is the youngest son of King Liangyuan, and the brother of Kings Anabilun and Thalong. After King Thalong's death, the throne should have passed to him."

These people are not from the lineage of King Liangyuan, and the throne has nothing to do with them.

But as monks, it was in their best interest for the Pagan King to give the monasteries the tax-farming rights and land.

More importantly.

Personnel rights.

As descendants of dukes and kings who failed in their fight for the world, this generation can still be monks in temples who do not engage in production.

The next generation will become Ahmedan.

The freedom to become a monk and the recommendation of officials that Pagan Hou promised to the king were exactly what they wanted.

There is even a chance to return to the center of Toungoo and become the governor-general.

"Pindali's children are all young now, and his son, King Long's only son, Mangbai, even murdered his brother. This goes against the laws of nature and Buddhism. It is even more appropriate for the old Marquis of Pagan to be the King of Toungoo."

The old monk nodded slightly:
"What kind of fake king are you talking about? Our Hongsha Kingdom has been a vassal state of China for generations. The old Marquis of Pagan was personally crowned the King of Toungoo by the Ming Kingdom and the Duke of Qian. On the contrary, it was Mangbai who refused to accept the throne of Pegu and proclaimed himself the King of Toungoo. He is the real fake king."

"The Ming Dynasty's Taizu Emperor was a monk like us, and the Ming Dynasty's Yongli Emperor was even a Buddhist."

"The uncle of the Ming crown prince once claimed that he was the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Galan, and that his younger brother, the Yongli Emperor, was the reincarnation of an Arhat."

"The rulers and ministers of the Ming Dynasty came to Hongshawadi to promote Buddhism and recover the Central Plains." Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan burned down temples and robbed the people, causing widespread complaints.

When Zhu Cixuan was trying to win over the monks in Buddhist temples, he naturally had to show goodwill.

This is not nonsense.

These were the last words of Zhu Cixuan's uncle Zhu Youye before his death.

It was based on the words of Galan Arhat that Qu Shisi was asked to assist Yongli.

A monk hesitated and asked, "Doesn't the Crown Prince of Ming believe in the Western Catholic Church? Is he also the reincarnation of Buddha?"

The others stared and glared.

This means that the Ming Dynasty's rule over Hongsavadi is both legitimate and righteous.

Why are you talking nonsense?

Don’t they know that the Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty uses Europeans and Catholic slaves?

The old monk stretched out his hand and pressed it, not caring:

"It doesn't matter."

"Master Lanai, do you know about Taoism in the Middle Earth and the sage Laozi Li Er?"

Master Lanai bowed slightly and asked, "But is this Zhuge Kongming's sect?"

There is no need to say much about Zhuge Wuhou's influence in the southwest.

There were more than a dozen major disturbances in the Central Plains, and the Han people of Bashu migrated south, bringing the worship of Wu Hou to Yunnan.

Yang Shen is the one who has been nurturing scholars for a hundred and fifty years in the imperial court, just like the mighty Yangtze River flows eastward.

He was arrested by Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Cixuan's grandfather, and exiled to Yongchang in southern Yunnan.

Express your feelings about mountains and rivers, and browse geography.

It is recorded that there was a village called Jiuhan outside Yongchang City, where the people's language and clothing were similar to those of Shu people.

When the Ming Dynasty conquered the southwest and established the Three Xuans and Six Weis, many Han soldiers remained to guard the chieftains in western and southern Yunnan.

He was also related to Wu Hou.

This is because there are many chieftains like Mengmao, Mengyang and Mengding in Luchuan, and Meng is a common surname.

In order to elevate their status, the Han people despise the barbarians.

For example, the chieftain surnamed Meng was a descendant of Meng Huo, and he himself was a descendant of Zhuge Wuhou, which was superior to him.

Many Shan people, who have little education, also joined in the clamor to worship Zhuge Liang.

Although the ancient city of Toungoo County is located in Xiahongsha, it is close to the western foot of the Luchuan Plateau, so I have heard some stories about Wu Hou.

Previous generations of Toungoo kings wanted to conquer Lukchuan and also introduced Buddhist monks to it.

There are also many people who reject Wuhou Taoism.

The old monk nodded and said, "You know about Wuhou Taoism, but you didn't know that there is a Taoist scripture that says that a Taoist saint once traveled east from the Central Plains to India to teach the barbarians and enlighten the Buddha to become a Buddha."

All the monks were stunned.

Is there such a saying?

Is Middle-earth really the starting point of world civilization?
They don't care either.

They eat three kinds of pure meat, and even non-vegetarian food is not prohibited.

There are also sectarian disputes in Buddhism in Hongsavadi, but they are not about Buddhist scriptures and theories, but about temple precepts.

For example, whether to carry an umbrella, whether to cover the head with palm leaves when traveling, and whether the robe should be worn on the left or right side.

So whether the Buddha attained enlightenment on his own or was enlightened by a Taoist saint is none of their business.

The old monk clasped his hands together and said, "You may not know this, but I once heard a Western missionary say this in Maduba."

"A Western saint once traveled to India and learned from the Buddha the secret art of resurrection from the dead."

"So, the Lord is originally the Buddha, and the Buddha is originally the Tao."

"The three religions save all living beings and teach people to be good. They are all one. The Crown Prince of Ming believes in God, so he is also the reincarnation of my Buddha."

"Otherwise, how could the Buddhist Hongsha, the Red Moon grant him armor, making him invulnerable to swords and spears, and his lost soul gaining divine power, awaken him and capture the elephant?"

The monks were stunned by the old monk's words and their minds were in a mess.

Master Lanai was the first to come to his senses: "Since the rulers and ministers of the Ming Dynasty are all reincarnations of the Buddha, we monks who worship the gods and Buddhas should submit to the Ming Dynasty."

Others also quickly woke up.

The saints lived two thousand years ago, what does it have to do with them?

Even if the old monk's words are all absurd and false, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, he was looking for an excuse to rebel against Mangbai and defect to the Ming Dynasty.

"The deputy commander of the Tonggu City garrison, please contact me. I am willing to cooperate with us to capture Tonggu City and present it to the Crown Prince of Ming."

The old monk explained.

Mangbai gave up garrisoning Tonggu, and the deputy general was unwilling to sit and wait for death.

The commander-in-chief had five hundred combat-ready soldiers at his disposal, and he contacted the monks to gather help.

"We are all royal descendants, ordained monks. We also have slaves and Ahmedans. We are contacting the Shan and Kachin people in the mountains. We have two thousand men."

Mangbai not only carried out a massacre in the three counties of Pegu, Daguang and Bosheng, but also spared no effort to kill the small chieftains in his own fiefdom.

The chiefs living near Tonggu City had already harbored rebellious intentions.

Master Lanai spoke up in time: "I will get up and go to the palace in Tonggu City overnight to contact my aunt Princess Binya."

Princess Binya was the concubine of King Helong and gave birth to Marquis Bimiao Mangwen.

Two months ago, Mang Bai threw Mang Wen into the Jinsha River and imprisoned him in Tonggu City.

(End of this chapter)