In September, the team finally arrived in Shangjing. Shangjing suddenly became lively, and all the yamen were running at high speed, the North Privy Council, the South Privy Council, the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Left-behind Mansion, the Huanglong Mansion, the army in charge of the army, and the people in charge of the people, which looked complicated, but orderly. A large number of people poured into Shangjing, immediately woke up the city, it suddenly became busy, teahouses, restaurants, shops and song courtyards are booming, business is booming, busy. Even the Buddhist temple, which has always been a pure place, is crowded with people, and pilgrims are endless.

Yuan Xu, the presiding officer of Kailong Temple, received a notice from the left-behind mansion early in the morning: Today, the emperor will lead hundreds of officials to the temple to do things, overkill the dead soldiers, let them clear out the idle people, etc., and prepare for the practice.

Yuan Xuan didn't dare to slack off, and immediately got ready. Near noon, the emperor, the queen mother and hundreds of civil and military officials came. A huge crowd of people filled the streets.

Yuan Xuan greeted the temple gate, brought everyone into the temple, invited the emperor and the queen mother to the abbot to rest, and ordered the little novice to serve tea, vegetarian cakes, and fruits.

The Empress Dowager Xiao Sui said: "Don't be busy, I came to Kailong Temple this time to ask all the monks to do a great Dharma for me." The soul of the dead on the battlefield. ”

Yuan Xuji said: "The Queen Mother Bodhisattva has a heart, this Dharma event will definitely be of great merit. ”

Xiao Sui said: "This time the Song Dynasty invaded our Khitan, killed my people, trapped my city, and dumped our country several times, relying on the protection of the emperor, the soldiers fought bravely, defeated the Song army in one fell swoop, the country was preserved, and the territory was restored." It's just that there were too many casualties in this battle, and the soldiers, the people, the Khitans, and the Song people were all tragically destroyed, and the corpses were strewn across the wilderness, and the mountains of bones were piled up, which was all my sin. ”

Yuan Xuan said: "The Empress Dowager Hugh said this, although my Buddha is compassionate, but it is to the public, eliminate evil and promote good, take the people of the world as the mind, and save the people from fire and water, which is a great act of mercy and compassion." The violent Song Dynasty was insatiable, brazenly launched wars, ruined people, and brutalized the people. The queen mother personally led the three armies, annihilated the stubborn, cleared the world, and cleared the fog to see the sun, this is a great achievement, what is the crime? ”

Xiao Sui said: "After all, killing too many unjust souls and filling the universe, lonely souls and wild ghosts are cornered, they can't return home, their souls can't be at peace, they can't enjoy sacrifices, and they have nowhere to go, it's really pitiful." I am doing this ritual today to recommend them and surpass their souls, whether they are Khitans or Song people, whether they are soldiers or ordinary people, and pray that they will get rid of the sea of suffering as soon as possible and their souls will return to peace. ”

Yuan Xu said: "The Queen Mother has such a wish, and the common people are blessed." The little monk dares not to do his best to settle these dead souls? ”

Yuan Xuan said, so he asked the queen mother and the emperor to move to the Daxiong Treasure Hall, pay incense to worship, arrange the next Zen seat, and invite the queen mother and the emperor to pray. Yuan Xu and the monks started to do rituals, knocking on chimes and chanting, chanting mantras and burning incense, and cymbals and cymbals sounded together. It was not until the evening that the pujas stopped.

Xiao Sui said: "I want to do this 7749-day posthumous conference, but I am busy with state affairs, I can't burn incense and pray here in person, and I will bother the teachers to do the work on my behalf, and after the Dharma is completed, I will have a heavy reward." ”

Yuan Xuan said: "Please rest assured that the little monk will do his best to do a good job, and the Queen Mother's kindness will bear good results." ”

Xiao Sui said: "Then there is a monk Lao." ”

Yuan Xuan chanted Amitabha.

Wang Jizhong suddenly said: "Empress Dowager, the minister wants to stay." ”

Xiao Sui was slightly stunned, and then said: "It's good for Qing to stay, praying for those dead souls on my behalf can be regarded as fulfilling my wish." Well, you just stay here, and all the people who use it poorly come to the palace to get it. He also instructed Yuanxu to arrange a clean guest house for Wang Jizhong to live in, and in addition, he allocated several capable soldiers to take care of Wang Jizhong. Everything was arranged, and Xiao Xuancai led the crowd back to the palace.

Wang Jizhong sent the queen mother away and followed Yuan Xu to his guest house.

As soon as he entered the guest house, Yuan Xu said: "The donor is from Bianjing?" ”

Wang Jizhong was taken aback, looked at Yuan Xuan in a daze, and said, "My person is from Bianjing, how does the master know?" ”

Yuan Xuan said happily: "It's really you!" Jizhong, we are neighbors, Bianjing, Tongjin River, when we were children, we often went there to play in the water. ”

Wang Jizhong looked at Yuan Xuan with wide eyes and shouted, "He Zhong, why are you?" How did you come here to be a monk? ”

Yuan Xuan sighed: "Alas, everything is karma. Because the poor monk evaded military service, he asked someone to get a degree in Daxiangguo Temple, and wanted to be a fake monk, but he was denounced and had to be a real monk. But at that time, there was a shortage of soldiers after years of war, so the imperial court ordered the monks to return to the customs. The poor monk refused, so he absconded, became a wandering monk, and wandered around. Later, come to this Kailong Temple to hang an order, meet the old abbot in the temple, very fate, then become a friend, after the old abbot passed away, the poor monk took over his place to preside over the affairs of the temple. I didn't expect to meet you today, how did you get here? ”

Wang Jizhong sighed: "It's hard to say. Then he briefly explained how he was captured. At the end, he said, "Brother He, do you think I am a traitor and unfaithful person by doing this?" ”

Yuan Xuan said: "Donor, you can't think like that. There is a difference between great loyalty and small loyalty in the world, loyalty to the king, birth and death for the emperor, it is the loyalty of one person, and it is small loyalty; Thinking of the common people in the world, willing to give up their lives, carrying the infamy of the ages, and enduring humiliation, this is great loyalty, and it is very human. The poor monk has just said that everything is a cause and a destiny, and the donor does not need to worry. ”

Wang Jizhong said: "The matter has come to this point, what else do I think? It's just the walking dead, and just thinking about those who died in battle makes me feel very uncomfortable. I don't know how many innocent lives will be taken in a war, why does this world have to fight and kill, you must fight for me? ”

Yuan Xuan said: "The donor has such a state of mind, which makes the poor monk admire, but everything is destined, the color is not different from the empty, the empty is not different from the color, the color is empty, and the empty is the color." The origin and the fate fall, the flowers bloom and are gone, and it is just natural. ”

Wang Jizhong said: "I also understand this, but my heart is depressed, I just want to find a clean place to eliminate my troubles, master, you take me in, I want to become a monk." ”

Yuan Xuan looked at Wang Jizhong carefully, shook his head and said, "No, the poor monk can't take you in." ”

Wang Jizhong hurriedly asked, "Why?" Afraid that the Queen Mother blames you? If that's the case, I'd rather die, and I'm still alive anyway. ”

Yuan Xuan continued to shake his head and said: "No, no, don't misunderstand, the poor monk Guan donor's coming to the Khitan this time is also due to fate, but it is by no means a small fate such as a monk, but a great fate of accumulating great goodness and great virtue, and the donor must not miss it." ”

Wang Jizhong shook his head and sighed: "I have been taken captive here, in the name of betrayal of the country and disloyalty, with the pain of losing my family and relatives, and I am in pain. Think about Yang Jiye's death on the battlefield, his fame will be immortal, and I will become a sinner through the ages. ”

Yuan Xu said: "Justice is in the hearts of the people, why bother with it, it's better to follow everything." ”

Wang Jizhong didn't say anything anymore, Yuan Xu knew that Wang Jizhong was depressed, but what could relieve the depression was time. He sat for a while, got up and said goodbye, and said: "Jizhong, today, you live in a small temple temporarily, the temple is light, not as good as the fish and meat outside, fortunately, the queen mother left someone to take care of you, if you want to eat anything, although someone to buy, don't worry about the rules in the temple." Usually, when I don't do things, I come to my dormitory, talk to the poor monks, talk about my hometown, and talk about the pain of homesickness. ”

Wang Jizhong nodded and agreed, and sent Yuan Xuan away. Wang Jizhong didn't expect to meet the old man here, and he was very excited for a while, lying on the bed and tossing and turning, unable to sleep. In the second half of the night, suddenly, sad up, finally fell asleep, but had some messy dreams, for a while vaguely shopping in Bianjing, and for a while it seemed to be on the road, on both sides were surprisingly high mountains, no matter how to walk, it seemed to be with his wife for a while, but in a blink of an eye it was a group of poor people surrounding him, pulling him, and pushing him. He was so shocked that he sweated profusely, woke up, sat up, and his heart was pounding. After that, he could no longer sleep, so he got up and walked slowly in the temple, the Daxiong Treasure Hall, the Luohan Hall, the Wenshu Monastery, and the Tuas Pavilion, he wandered at the door of each hall, praying silently in his heart. Previously, he had read some Buddhist books, but he didn't study them deeply, and almost all of them were read as idle books, but tonight, those scriptures seemed to be presented in front of him, the Diamond Sutra, the Lengyan Sutra, the Great Compassion Mantra, and the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. These scriptures rushed together, as if they were old friends who they hadn't seen for many years. He recited the scriptures over and over again, like a monk doing his homework, until dawn, when he heard the bell of the monks doing their morning service, he returned to the guest house, lay down and fell asleep.