Ghostly Tomb

Chapter 1490 Ju Wentai's Generosity
One night more than 300 years ago, Xuanzang, who had just escaped from the desert, had not touched his teeth for five days.

He came to Gaochang State exhausted and knocked on the knocker of Gaochang's gate.

Qu Wentai, king of Gaochang, did not live in the city that day, but when he heard that Xuanzang had arrived in Tiandi City, he immediately ordered the accompanying ministers and Xuanzang to rush back to Gaochang overnight. In the middle of the night, the gate of Gaochang opened for Xuanzang...

It is described in "Da Tang Western Regions" that Qu Wentai and his Gaochang Kingdom were very excited for Xuanzang's arrival, and the welcoming scene was very enthusiastic.

Xuanzang originally had no plan to pass through Gaochang, but because of his kindness, he had to change his route to meet Qu Wentai with the Gaochang mission.

Because of his longing for Buddhism, Xuanzang received unprecedented hospitality in Gaochang, and setting up an altar to lecture was naturally an indispensable program.

Qu Wentai is an even fanatical believer. He traveled in the Tang Dynasty for four years, visited many places, and saw the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty with his own eyes.

He admired Xuanzang's Buddhism very much, saying that he had never seen a monk with higher knowledge than Xuanzang, and he worshiped him endlessly.

It may be that he admired Xuanzang too much, and finally made a request that Xuanzang could not accept:
【Master, please stay in Gaochang and be our national teacher.Although Gaochang is a small country, there are always thousands of monks. Both these people and Gaochang country need the guidance of masters. 】

This kind of honor as a national teacher is the dream of all monks, and it is simply an irresistible condition.

But Xuanzang risked his life to travel westward for his faith, and he would not accept this temptation. The prosperity and wealth of the world are like floating clouds to him.

Facing the refusal, Qu Wentai did not give up, but pressed on step by step, and finally even threatened Xuanzang.

【Master, if Gaochang Kingdom does not allow Master to go west, will Master be able to do so? Please think twice...】

Faced with such behavior of King Gaochang, Xuanzang did not compromise, and fought on a hunger strike in exchange for the right to move on.

So after three days, Qu Wentai compromised, and the two sides reached a compromise plan:
Qu Wentai and Xuanzang became brothers and prepared materials to support Xuanzang's westward journey, but Xuanzang had to stay in Gaochang for three years after returning from his studies to teach scriptures and enlighten the people of Gaochang.

Xuanzang agreed.

So in the following month, Qu Wentai devoted all his efforts to making various preparations for him.

And Xuanzang's Buddhist scriptures career has since bid farewell to twists and turns and darkness, and a smooth road has been paved to glory.

After seeing these records, Chen Zhi began to think unconsciously. In fact, he didn't want to think too much about Buddhism.

The sanctity of Buddhism is always daunting, and people dare not even question it.

But as a normal person, Chen Zhi couldn't help but have a suspicion in his mind, which made him look at Xuanzang again.

Don't look at him from the perspective of a saint, but look at him from the perspective of an ordinary person.

Judging from these records, Xuanzang's position is actually very strange.

From a normal person's point of view, Qu Wentai threatened him to stay in Gaochang, which disgusted him very much.

But what Qu Wentai did later should make him completely forget this unpleasant memory.

Before Xuanzang arrived in Gaochang, he relied on alms for his survival. Everywhere he went, it was very difficult. He begged for leftovers from the people with a wooden bowl, and slept in the open.

But after arriving in Gaochang, he has become a rich man. Not only does he not have to worry about financial issues, but he can sometimes give alms to others.

"Da Tang Western Regions" records: "From the gold, silver, silk, silk, clothes, etc. given by King Gaochang, to the big tower and the big garan, they were all kept for support, and they went away sincerely."

It can be seen that during Xuanzang's leisurely and dedicated study of Buddhism in India, not only was he not troubled by financial problems, but he also had the financial strength to maintain exchanges with the Buddhist circles, which played a very important role in his future success.

So what exactly are the gifts that King Gaochang gave Xuanzang?

"Da Tang Western Regions" clearly records this list of gifts, Qu Wentai prepared materials for Xuanzang as follows:
[The four attendants, novice monks, made thirty pieces of dharma clothes; they also made face clothes, hand clothes, boots, cloaks, etc.

100 taels of gold, 20 silver coins, and [-] bolts of silk and silk are used for the master's [-]-year journey.

Give thirty horses and twenty-five men. 】

These human and material resources were simply astonishing in terms of Gaochang's national strength at that time.

Chen Zhi browsed some materials from the ancient Western Regions on the Internet, including documents from the Gaochang era of the Qu clan unearthed by TLF.

Among them is the "Gaochang Nei Zang Zuo De Weighing Price Account", which is a document from the tomb of Astana, and the content is a report on a certain year's trade tax.

It lists in detail the commodities, quantities, and the amount of tax money obtained from each trade, giving people some idea of ​​the economic situation at that time, and at the same time, the value of these substances at that time can be calculated.

Xuanzang got one hundred taels of gold, which is about 625 coins in silver coins. Although the amount is not much, as a precious metal, the gold Xuanzang got greatly exceeds the total gold trading volume of Gaochang Kingdom in a year. This is a wealth involving the country.

And the 240 silver coins is a huge number, equivalent to [-] years of tax revenue in Gaochang Kingdom.

500 bolts of silk and silk, if calculated based on the estimated price that existed in Gaochang, should be [-] Wen.

In addition, in order for Xuanzang to travel westward smoothly, Qu Wentai wrote letters of credence to the kings of 24 countries along the way, and each book was accompanied by a large silk as a gift, hoping that the kings of all countries would treat Xuanzang well.

Big silk is more expensive than silk, and 24 horses cost at least [-] silver coins.In order to seek help from Western Turkic Yehu Khan, he also offered "five hundred horses of silk and two carts of fruit flavor".

This kind of behavior is really unbelievable. It is estimated that Qu Wentai gave Xuanzang the entire treasury without any reservations.

You know, at the time of war, the meaning of money is life.

The countries in the Western Regions are divided into separate regimes, wars are frequent, thieves and robbers are rampant in the desert wasteland, the newly rising Tang Dynasty and the Turks, the overlord of the grasslands, both covet this little Gaochang.

Would Qu Wentai, the king of Gaochang Kingdom, really pour out his treasury and use the money to support a monk to learn scriptures, instead of staying to save his life?

(End of this chapter)