The first prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 271 I Don't Believe in Buddhism

After thinking about it for a while, Zhao Kuangyin also knew that what Zhao Xu said was true. Why did the emperors of all dynasties support Buddhism so much.

It's not like what Zhao Xu said just now, Buddhism is conducive to their rule and makes the people obedient.

Your current life is not good. It is because you were too many bad people in your previous life. If you do good deeds and accumulate virtue in this life, you will be reborn into a good family in your next life.

Then you don’t have to suffer any more, so you don’t have to blame others when your life is not good now, you have to bear it well.

For the good life of your next generation, you can't be dissatisfied. After the people believe in this Buddhism, they have a belief in their hearts, and they gradually become obedient citizens.

Can the ruler not vigorously support such a sect?Zhao Kuangyin naturally understood the truth of this.

"I know that it is not a good thing if there are more Buddhist temples. How can you say that it can weaken the strength of the Tang Kingdom in the south of the Yangtze River? I am very puzzled by this."

Too much belief in Buddhism will only make the people more docile. At most, the combat effectiveness of Tang's army will drop a little. As for other national strengths, it can't decline much.

"Father, you are right. When the people become docile, the combat effectiveness of the army will naturally decrease. This is obvious."

"But father, have you ever heard the allusion that the king of Chu is so thin?"

The story of "The King of Chu is so thin-waisted" is widely spread. It comes from a fable in "Mozi": "The King of Chu is so thin-waisted, and many people starved to death in the palace."

The king of Chu was talking about King Ling of Chu. This guy has a hobby, that is, he likes those palace ladies with thin waists very much.

In order to win the favor of the monarch, a large number of court ladies went on a diet to lose weight, and some even hung themselves up to thin their waists.

As a result, her waist was thin. I don’t know if she was not thin, but countless maids in the palace starved to death.

"Father, you have to know that the king of Chu has a thin waist. If he is good at the top, he must follow suit. This is the same truth through the ages."

"Look at the monarchs of the Southern Tang Dynasty. They were very interested in Buddhism, so they also had a lot of domestic Buddhist temples. This is not a matter of this dynasty. There are 480 temples in the Southern Dynasty, and there are many misty buildings in Taizhong."

"The land in the south of the Yangtze River has believed in Buddhism since ancient times, so they are destined not to be the protagonists in troubled times. This can be reflected in the demise of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Wu Dynasty."

Before the Great Song Dynasty, as long as there were unified countries, they were unified from north to south. In the not-too-distant Sui Dynasty, the unification of the north and the south and the destruction of the southern Chen were all based on this principle.

"The Southern Dynasty's weak national power is one reason, but I think their most important weakness is that they believe in Buddhism too much."

When Zhao Kuangyin heard Zhao Xu's reasoning, he couldn't believe it. How could believing in Buddhism lead to the destruction of the country? Isn't this nonsense?

"You kid, aren't you making too much sense? How can a country be destroyed if you believe in Buddhism? I think you are saying that because you hate Buddhism?"

Zhao Xu thought that I disliked Buddhism, but I didn't reject it very much. Besides, I said it made sense.

"Since you said that, let me ask you, how did Emperor Liang Wu of the Liang Dynasty die, and how did his country perish."

Emperor Wu of Liang was obsessed with Buddhism throughout his life. During his reign, a large number of Buddhist temples were built, and the whole country was about to become a Buddhist country.

The most absurd thing is that as an emperor, he actually wanted to escape into Buddhism, but the ministers disagreed, and this guy never left the monastery.

It is not absurd that he sold himself in the monastery, and later the country paid a lot of money to redeem him.

However, the Liang Dynasty also gradually declined. It cannot be said that its demise was due to its belief in Buddhism, but it was largely due to this.

"Li Jing, the monarch of the Southern Tang Dynasty, believed in Buddhism by nature, and had no interest in government affairs. Especially after the death of his son, he handed over the government affairs to his sixth son, King Wu of the East Palace, and chanted scriptures and Buddha all day long."

"One emperor did this, and other ministers followed suit. What do you think the government of the Southern Tang Dynasty will look like? After the Great Song Dynasty destroys the Southern Tang Dynasty, Buddhism must be restricted."

After Zhao Xu said all this in one breath, he didn't notice Zhao Kuangyin's obvious body froze when he was talking about King Wu of the East Palace.

"As an emperor, every word and deed should be an example for the world. Li Jing is a little too confused. I feel a little sorry for him."

Zhao Kuangyin thought that he was definitely better than them, otherwise he would not have the confidence to destroy Nantang.

"I said, old man, it's good for you to hold the injustice for him. Isn't it just right? Wouldn't it be easier for us to pacify Nantang in the future?"

Zhao Xu knew that Zhao Kuangyin also wanted to unify the Quartet, so how could he feel worthless for Li Jing now, which puzzled him.

"By the way, you asked your so-called eminent monk to go to the Southern Tang Dynasty to promote Buddhism. I don't think you would find it so boring. Otherwise, you wouldn't come here to tell me."

Zhao Kuangyin knew that the prince could take the initiative in such matters, and there was no need to report to the emperor at all.

The emperor had so many things to do every day, so he couldn't care about such small things, but Zhao Xu came here to tell him, which meant that things were not that simple.

"Your old man is really very wise. You can see this. My admiration for you is like a surging river..."

"Stop it, you kid, just tell me your real purpose, don't talk about other imaginary things, I can't bear it."

Zhao Xu also often joked with Zhao Kuangyin with the classic lines of who was flattering in a work by a famous actor in his previous life.

"Okay, I finally remembered a sentence that flattered you and you didn't know how to enjoy it. Forget it, then I will talk about my plan."

"He is going to spread the truth about Buddhism, and he has more opportunities to get close to the monarch of the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, his most important task is to deliver information for my Song Dynasty. He is a senior spy trained by me personally."

Zhao Kuangyin also saw what Zhao Xu meant by the senior spy. At first, didn't he think that there was something outstanding about a spy?
Later, when these people went to various countries and completed the tasks that the spies could not complete, he really knew how capable these people were.

"You kid is really trying to sell dog meat, and let an eminent monk do the things of transmitting information and spying on the military. You are not afraid that the Buddha will blame you,"

Zhao Kuangyin said angrily.

"I don't believe in Buddhism, and he can't control me. Besides, I am more concerned about when the reunification can be completed and when the people will no longer suffer from the war."

"If the Buddha really wants to blame you and let him blame me alone, I will be worth it for the Song Dynasty, so I must send this person to Nantang."

Zhao Xu said sternly, I did this for the sake of the country and the Song Dynasty, so you can blame me.

(End of this chapter)