In the capital, above the court, under the gaze of hundreds of civil and military officials, the prince walked up with a man.

The man was dressed in an earthy yellow robe, with a robe and a beard, and a detached look between his eyebrows. He also held a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, and after following the prince to see the emperor, he bowed to the ground and performed a special ritual for Buddhist saints.

"See the Emperor." He said.

The crown prince said: "Father, please allow Erchen to introduce you to this mysterious master from Longyang Temple, that is, the national teacher recommended by Erchen and you. ”

The national teacher is the title given by the emperor to some Buddhists who have both learning and virtue, and the national teacher is also an indispensable position in a country.

The emperor still remembers that because of his own needs and support, he reached a certain connection with the monks, and many eminent monks relied on them to carry out activities, so that Buddhism could achieve great development, and the emperor increased his prestige and established faith through them.

"Not long after the last national teacher left, how did the prince bring me another one so quickly?"

"Father, this mystical master is a terrible person, he has learned the three Tibets, the five masters, the deep interpretation of the scriptures, and the number of arts, he is fully qualified to be a national teacher."

The emperor thought deeply, the country cannot be without a national teacher for a day, and the national teacher said it bluntly, that is, to use some superstitious academics to promote the image of a good emperor in the hearts of the people.

The monks and the emperor in the state basically helped each other, and the emperor allocated funds to the monks, and the monks helped the emperor to promote his reputation.

The last national teacher got along well with the emperor, but unfortunately he had passed away and his body had converted to Buddhism. People worship Buddhism, and the national teachers are like the microphone of the Buddha, and they are indispensable to the emperor.

"Okay, since you are the person chosen by the prince, I will trust you once." Then he said to Master Xuan Miao, "You are now the national teacher of our country, but you must know in your heart that I have given you this position so easily now, and if you don't do well, I can naturally drag you down easily." ”

"Yes, thank you Emperor, I naturally know what to do." Master Xuan Miao said.

"Your Majesty," one of the ministers said, "this national teacher is also the commander of a country, and the emperor might as well observe some better candidates." ”

"Are you questioning Prince Ben's vision, Minister Zhang?"

The prince glared back at the minister, who pursed his lips and said, "Weichen said this for the sake of the emperor and the country. ”

"Minister Zhang is worried, don't worry, you can go and inquire, this Longyang Temple is the most famous temple in our country, which is obvious to everyone. You may not believe me, but to denigrate Master Xuan Miao is to disrespect the Buddha. ”

Minister Zhang was speechless, so he had to say: "Yes, it was Weichen who lost his words, and asked the emperor and the prince to forgive him." ”

"It's okay," said the emperor, "the matter is settled, you all step aside, Master Xuan Miao stays." ”

"Yes, Weichen retired."

The crown prince and Master Xuan Miao glanced at each other, as if an agreement had been reached in the dark, and then the prince also retreated, leaving the emperor and Master Xuan Miao alone in the Taihe Palace.

The emperor said: "Master, do you know that as a national teacher, do you know what you should do? ”

Master Xuan Miao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you don't know that the last national teacher of our country, Master Huishan, is my master. ”

"Really?" The emperor was a little surprised, the last national teacher was personally selected by the old emperor, that is, the emperor's father, and the emperor naturally believed that his father's vision continued to use the national teacher. He tried to recall, it seemed that the national teacher was really from Longyang Temple.

"Therefore, every year when the master will go back to the temple to worship his ancestors, he will tell us how he assisted the emperor in the court, and I naturally know a little about it."

"This time, the master passed away, and His Royal Highness the Prince personally trekked through mountains and rivers to Longyang Temple to worship in person, and then I met me, and I heard that my master was Master Huishan and wanted to share the worries for the emperor, so he brought me to the capital."

This mysterious master's words were all praising His Royal Highness the Prince, and the emperor listened to it and sighed: "I didn't expect the prince to be so sensible, I am very pleased." ”

"From tomorrow onwards, I will go to the ancestral hall in the palace to recite and sing the "Great Pin Prajna Sutra" every day, and pass on the "Theory of Success" and "Zhonga Han Sutra" for the princes every two days."

After listening to what the national teacher said, the emperor nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yes, what you said is very good, as for how you do it, I will observe it every day." ”

"How?" As soon as the national teacher came out, the prince chased after him and asked, "Does the emperor still believe in you?" ”

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, rest assured, the emperor will naturally believe this identity you forged for me."

The national teacher in front of him conspired and smiled, where was the peaceful appearance just now. That's right, his identity was forged, the prince bought off the Zeng couple, the person in charge of Longyang Temple, forged the identity of "Master Xuanmiao", and then selected a monk who was resourceful and could do things for himself, and brought him to the palace.

Since he can't directly control the entire courtiers or even the entire country, it's indirect. He wants to control the emperor through the hands of this national teacher, and it is slowly spreading, so he slowly controls the entire country. ”

One day, after listening to the scriptures preached by the national teacher, the emperor mentioned that a man named Xini Ganzi believed in Buddhism, and finally moved the Buddha, who gave him the elixir of life so that he could live forever.

Immortality is the dream of many rulers, and for emperors it is no exception. Who doesn't want to sit on the beauty of the country all the time and keep their empire forever?

The emperor had a longing look on his face, and he asked the national teacher, "Master national teacher, is there really anyone who can live forever?" ”

"Absolutely." The national teacher almost agreed without hesitation, "The matter of the Cini Gandzi is not a rumor, but it is real, this is the Buddha's reward for his believers, as long as the emperor believes in the Buddha, the Buddha will definitely bless the emperor." ”

The emperor was embarrassed and said: "But the national teacher, I have followed Eniang since I was a child, and I went to worship the Buddha every day to worship incense, and the annual ceremony of sacrificing to heaven and earth is even more unmissable, but I have never seen the Buddha come to the world." ”

"Your Majesty," the national teacher folded his hands and closed his eyes, and said sincerely, "How can the Buddha appear so easily, as long as the emperor remains honest, he will definitely be able to fulfill his wish." ”

The national teacher advised the emperor not to be in a hurry about this matter, but how could the emperor not be in a hurry: "Master National Teacher, I am no longer young, I have reached the age of knowing the destiny of heaven, and now all kinds of diseases are emerging in an endless stream......"

The emperor's implication was obviously that he wanted to find a way to live forever now, and the urgency in his eyes said it all. The national teacher smiled secretly, but sighed on his face, and said, "Okay, then I have to try it for the emperor." I need to retreat in the Buddha hall for three days to explain the emperor's plea to the Buddha and ask the Buddha for the secret recipe for immortality. ”

"Really?" This thing sounds very mysterious, but after all, the emperor believed in the Buddha when he was a child, and he believed in every word of the national teacher.

"Naturally, it's true, as long as the emperor really believes in the Buddha as he said, I think the Buddha will definitely be willing to help you."

"Then this matter will trouble you, the National Teacher," the emperor immediately ordered, "Go and clean the Buddha Hall and serve fresh tributes, the National Teacher needs to retreat, go quickly." ”

At this time, the national teacher in the eyes of the emperor is still a monk, which is simply his lifeline. He has long been blinded by his idea of immortality, and unconditionally believes in the national teacher.

In this way, three days passed, and every day the emperor would spend a lot of time kneeling in the ancestral hall next to the Yangxin Palace, reciting scriptures, and personally copying the "Tripitaka" more than ten times and burning it to the Buddha, hoping that the Buddha could see his sincerity.

Subsequently, on the evening of the third day, in the expectant eyes of the emperor, the national teacher finally came out of this Buddhist hall, and the emperor hurried to inquire, and then the national teacher took out a brown pill from his arms.

"What is this?" The emperor didn't understand, and the national teacher replied, "Your Majesty, this is the elixir of life that the Buddha gave me!" ”

"Huh? The elixir of life! ”

The eunuchs who followed the emperor were shocked, and the emperor was even more surprised. He was sure that the national teacher was going to bathe and change his clothes before entering the Buddha Hall, and he would not have this little pill on his body at all. But now that he came out, he had one more for no reason, and it wasn't given by the Buddha where it came from.

"As long as this one grain, you can live forever?" The emperor was very excited and couldn't wait to eat it now.

"Not only that, but the Buddha told me to take one pill every seven days, and when the emperor needs to eat it, I will retreat again and ask the Buddha for medicine." The national teacher said.

"Of course, during this period, the emperor must keep his heart and continue to believe in the Buddha. Because the Buddha told me that he had received the "Tripitaka Sutra" copied by the emperor himself, he was very moved in his heart. ”

I didn't expect it to work! The emperor nodded hurriedly, laughing so much that his beard was about to rise: "Yes, yes, I will definitely continue to believe in the Buddha." I'm going to worship in the temple now! ”

After that, the emperor hurriedly walked into the Buddhist hall, and the national teacher smiled coldly behind him. I didn't expect this little trick to deceive the emperor, and the prince should be his own internal response to deliver news to himself every day, and I am afraid that I can't deceive the emperor?

Everything went as smoothly as the prince thought, the emperor took the so-called elixir, I don't know if it was because of the medicinal properties or psychological effects, after eating it, he still felt that his body was much better than before.

As for the national teacher, he has won the full trust of the emperor, and he transmits some so-called indifferent Buddhist stories to the emperor every day to bewitch his heart.

Now the emperor is all about worshipping Buddha and worshiping God, and he can't wait to sleep with the statue at night, for fear that one day he will not be honest enough and the Buddha will not give himself medicine.