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"Master, I don't know where the distinguished guests came to our temple?"

"No need to ask, you'll know when you see it!"

"Let's go! You and I will go together to meet your guests. ”

After that, Fa Xian didn't wait for the host master to refuse, so he got up and walked outside the mountain gate.

The presiding master did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly led the monks to follow.

When the monks saw that the distinguished guest was King Yong himself, they couldn't help but be terrified.

The presiding officer of the temple did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly folded his hands and greeted him.

"Welcome to King Yong's law."

Wei Shuo smiled and saluted: "I take the liberty to visit, please forgive the master, I don't know who this master is?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, this is Master Faxian, a senior monk in my temple."

"Fa Xian?"

Wei Shuo couldn't help but be stunned, but he didn't expect that the great monk in front of him was actually the famous monk who traveled west to Tianzhu in history.

Just two years later, in the spring of 399 A.D., Fa Xian, together with Huijing, Daoquan, Huiying, and Huiwei, set out from Chang'an and headed west, embarking on a long and arduous journey.

The people traveled to more than 20 countries through the Western Regions to Tianzhu, collected a large number of Sanskrit classics, lasted 14 years, and returned to Middle-earth in the ninth year of Yixi.

It has to be said that in the long history, except for Zhang Qian's government-mandated trip, only Buddhists have privately organized a few successful 'international trips'.

Whether it is Fa Xian in front of him, or Xuanzang and Jianzhen in the Tang Dynasty, they have all bravely left Middle-earth and traveled to the outside world.

What makes people feel embarrassed is that they only brought back a few Buddhist scriptures to Huaxia, which is far less than Zhang Qian's opening up a thousand-year-old trade route for Huaxia.

Taking Fa Xian as an example, he traveled for 14 years, passing through nearly 30 countries, going by land and returning by big ships.

He traveled to the famous seaport of Tamalidi in eastern Tianzhu (present-day Demluk southwest of Calcutta), and then took a merchant ship to the Lion Kingdom (present-day Sri Lanka), passing through Yepoti (present-day Sumatra or Java), and finally changed ships to the north and landed near Laoshan Mountain in the southern part of the present-day Shandong Peninsula.

It would have been of even greater value if, like Western navigators such as Magellan, he had recorded the routes along the route in detail.

Accompanied by the monks, Wei Shuo, Cui Hao and others walked into the White Horse Temple to visit.

Unlike the dilapidated exterior of the temple, the luxury of the temple is far beyond everyone's expectations.

But when Wei Shuo thought of the incense in the White Horse Temple, it was not surprising that there was such a 'grand scene' in the temple.

"Sure enough, it is a pure land of Buddhism, solemn and solemn!"

Listening to King Yong's praise is not like a compliment, and sarcasm is not sarcasm, the host couldn't help but secretly sigh.

He knew that the King of Yong in front of him had no good impression of Buddhism.

And now, due to the government's implementation of the uniform field system, Buddhism is on the cusp, and he can't help but be careless.

However, unlike the host's fear, Fa Xian's behavior was more calm, in fact, he was also very dissatisfied with the extravagant life of some Buddhists.

This is due to the lack of precepts and scriptures, which makes it impossible for Chinese Buddhists to follow, so that the upper-class monks are extremely poor and extravagant, and even do all kinds of evil.

And this is also an important reason why Fa Xian insisted on traveling west to seek the Dharma in the near ancient years.

No matter how much Wei Shuo was unaccustomed to the Buddhism in front of him, he still gave everyone enough face on the surface.

At the same time, he also deliberately paid more attention to Fa Xian, and found that the other party was indeed worthy of being a Buddhist monk, and Zhou's body was full of energy, which made people look at him and feel good.

After taking a turn in the temple, Wei Shuo followed the monks to the wing room to chat.

"Your Highness, please use tea."

The host saw that King Yong was in good spirits, so he mustered up his courage and said: "Your Highness, the government has recently implemented the uniform field system, and even the temple fields are in the ranks of Qingzhang. ”

"But my Buddha is a person outside the world, I don't know if I can see the Buddha in front of the net?"

For the sake of the Buddha?! Without waiting for King Yong to react, Cui Hao couldn't help it first.

He squinted at the host and snorted coldly: "Master's words are so unreasonable, what does it mean that Buddhism is a person outside the world?!" ”

"If you are a person outside the world, why should you be in the red dust?"

"Since you are in Hongchen, you have to follow the laws of the country."

"And where is your Buddha? Please let him show up and let King Yong take a look. ”

"What are you?! Why does King Yong have to open the net as soon as his upper and lower lips touch? ! ”

was scolded by Cui Hao, and the host's face changed greatly, and his face was a little unbearable.

At that moment, he sank his face and said calmly: "Adults act perversely, is it rare that you are not afraid of provoking a civil uprising?" ”

"Civil uprising? Hehe......"

Cui Hao sneered a few times, and was about to speak, but was scolded by Wei Shuo.

"This is the 'pure land' of Buddhism, and Bo Yuan must not be rude."

"The pure land of Buddhism must have the appearance of a pure land of Buddhism, and don't spoil the face of the Buddha."

"Today, I took a turn in the temple, which can be regarded as an eye-opener."

"There are still important things to do next, so it is inconvenient to stay for a long time, and I will have time to listen to the teachings of the masters in the future."

After speaking, Wei Shuo got up and said goodbye to the monks.

Looking at the back of King Yong's departure, Fa Xian's heart was heavy.

Obviously, he had seen that King Yong was very dissatisfied with the luxurious life of the monastery.

However, the temple host and others are still regretting that they failed to persuade King Yong to make concessions.

"Alas! I'm afraid that the Buddhist affairs will be difficult in the future. Fa Xian couldn't help but sigh.

"Not really! Buddhism has more than 100,000 followers in the Central Plains. ”

"King Yong is in a dilemma with my Buddhism, isn't it not troublesome for himself?"

Fa Xian shook his head and said: "King Yong is the lord of the world, I haven't seen any trouble, what is the Buddha's door?" ”

"If the Buddhists hand over the property, they may be able to avoid disaster, otherwise they will avoid a catastrophe."

The host's lips moved, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Of course, he knew that by giving up his property, he would be able to avoid disaster, but how would he maintain the life of the monks in the future?

They have already gone through a luxurious life of not being productive, who wants to go to the ascetic practice again?

……

In March, the spring flowers bloomed, everything recovered, and the whole land was full of life.

However, in the Central Plains, due to the government's strong implementation of the equalization system, there was a dark tide in various places.

Unknowingly, it was noon, Wei Shuo was about to go to dinner after dealing with government affairs, but saw Kang Long roaring and barging in.

"Your Highness, there is a mess in the White Horse Temple, and the servant has already brought someone to deal with it."

Suddenly hearing the outbreak of civil unrest, Wei Shuo stood up suddenly, his brows tightly furrowed.

Originally, when he met with the monks that day, he already felt that Buddhism would not give in easily, and he didn't expect that there would be chaos today.

"Are there any casualties?"

"I heard that blood has been seen, but the exact casualties are unknown."

"Please Your Highness immediately mobilize troops to suppress it, if it's too late, I'm afraid it will spread to the city......"

Wei Shuo slowly sat back again, stabilized his emotions, and asked, "Do you know why there is a mess?" ”

Obviously, Kanglong also doesn't know much, so he can only give a general introduction to the situation.

"At the time of the incident, Lord Servant was leading people to clear the land, and because of the haste of the incident, the specific situation has not had time to be carefully investigated."

"But the servant shot the last general to remind the king that this matter is inextricably linked to the land of Qingzhang!"

Wei Shuo bowed slightly, as the saying goes: "Cutting off people's wealth is like killing parents!" ”

Now that the powerful Qingzhang Buddhist Temple and the land of the family in Hexi are almost equivalent to cutting off everyone's financial route, how can they not encounter fierce resistance?

The side of the family is temporarily pacified by the Zheng family, and it is estimated that the conspiracy is still brewing.

But Buddhism is different, originally they were dissatisfied with the suppression of Buddhism in Hexi, but now that all kinds of contradictions have accumulated, they naturally need an outlet.

However, Wei Shuo had already been mentally prepared for this, and he did not feel the slightest panic.

The only thing that troubled him was that most of the people involved in the civil unrest were ordinary people who were bewitched by Buddhism and did not know the truth.

Those people with ill intentions pushed tens of thousands of ordinary believers to the front as shields, which made him scruples.

You can't just suppress ordinary people for any reason, right?

Such chaos is not only not conducive to him winning the hearts of the people of the Central Plains, but also not conducive to Hexi's stability in the Central Plains.

"Kang Long!"

"The last general!"

"You take the lone hand and go to Bo Yuan immediately, and tell him to close the gates of Luoyang first, and temporarily prohibit the people from entering and leaving."

"In addition, all monasteries in the city will be notified that they will be temporarily closed to the public, and as for when they can be opened, we will be notified at a later date."

"That'...... What about the rebellious people of the White Horse Temple? ”

"Putting down the chaos...... Leave it all to Bo Yuan to take full responsibility! ”

"In addition, you tell Bo Yuan again, let him take Huairou as the mainstay, and don't kill until he has to."

Just at the pass where Wei Shuo gave Kang Long's order, Cui Hao had already led people to the periphery of the White Horse Temple.

By this time, he had received more detailed information and had a general understanding of what had happened to the civil unrest.

Early this morning, five officials were ordered to rush to the White Horse Temple to prepare to clear the fields of the Buddha Gate, but for some reason they were suddenly besieged by thousands of believers.

After a confrontation, five officials were beaten to death by angry believers.

To be honest, Cui Hao had already expected the emergency, otherwise he would not have let King Yong send guards to suppress the formation.

As a far-sighted statesman, he knew very well that any reform involving the interests of all parties would inevitably be accompanied by bloodshed and sacrifice.

But he knows better that anyone or force who dares to harm the people of Hexi will have to pay the price for what they have done.