Ma Lan looked at the old monk and smiled gently.

Knowing that Lotus was dead and dead, he was in a very good mood at this time, and the old monk was already inch by inch, but he was not angry.

"Tianzhu...... Nature is to be conquered, monk, this is the general trend, and you can't stop it. You are a monk, but a certain family is not, it is impossible for a certain family to give up the matter of the southern expedition to Tianzhu because of your words. ”

"But, General—"

"Nothing!" Ma Lan smiled and waved his hand, interrupting Kongjian's words, "Under the whole world, it is not the king's land, this sentence is not just talking. In the past, there was a distinction between human and peerless, but from now on, there will be no more. Datang's iron cavalry is about to fight to the end of this world, those who follow me prosper, and those who oppose me die, this is the general trend today, no one can stop it! ”

Kongjian's expression was gloomy, and he laughed miserably: "In this way, the place where the Buddha was born will be ruined, and I don't know how many Buddhist children will die." ”

Ma Lan smiled and said: "I don't understand Buddhism, I have killed so many people, and I can't enter Elysium, and now it's too late for me to put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha." However, there are two sides to everything, monk, the matter of the southern expedition to Tianzhu may not be as you think. The southern expedition is inevitable, but it is not necessarily a good thing for Buddhism. ”

Kong Jian furrowed his brows, and after thinking for a long time, he shook his head: "The monk doesn't understand. ”

Ma Lan smiled, took out a delicate map from his bosom, put it on the stone table in the pavilion, and pointed, "Can you see it clearly?" ”

Sorumi looked over, and the map was extremely exquisite, with mountains, rivers, and mountains, and dense with small characters. After looking at it for a long time, Kongjian nodded: "The monk is also a practitioner, and his eyesight is sharper than ordinary people, such a fine map." Monks are also unseen and unheard. It seems that the general has indeed intended to march south, and has been preparing for a long time. ”

"It's good to be able to see it." Ma Lan smiled, pointed to Chang'an City on the map, and then drew a line west through the Hexi Corridor to the west of the moraine, extending to the west of the Green Ridge and then to the southwest, and finally landed at the location marked with Tianzhu.

looked at the gray-haired old monk. Ma Ling smiled and said: "Monk, a certain family does not believe in Buddha, but it is not ignorant of Buddhism. This road is the route of Master Xuanzang's westward journey to seek the Dharma. As a disciple of Buddhism, "The Legend of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" wants you to read it. ”

Kongjian identified the various small countries on the route, and nodded after a few breaths: "Master Xuanzang traveled west to seek the Dharma, and after going through hardships and dangers without changing his original intention, he is a monk who is extremely respected by monks. According to the record of "The Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", it should be this route. ”

Ma Lan drew a line from Chang'an to Luo again. Then extended to Beitianzhu, and said with a smile: "At the beginning, Master Xuanzang traveled west to seek the law, and after several years of wading through quicksand, the hardships and hardships were written in the book "Tang Western Regions". In fact, from Chang'an to the place of the Buddha's birth, this is a recent route, when Master Xuanzang could not take this road, because there are Qiang people on this road, so he can only cross the quicksand and go to the Western Regions. At that time, there was Tuyuhun blocking the road on the right side of Long. Tubo above the Qiangtang has been completed, and this big road is impassable. If you seek the Dharma, you can't take this shortcut. ”

"However, this time is different from the past, now Tugu Hun has destroyed the country for a long time, and Qiangtang is also in my Tang Dynasty's bag, Bailan, Subi, Dangxiang and Qiang tribes are brave and ruthless, but they have all been wiped out by my Tang Dynasty, completely disappeared. The Qiang people in Qiangtang have become the end of a strong crossbow, and they can't confront my Tang Dynasty. ”

Pointing to the location of Bei Tianzhu, Ma Ling smiled and said: "As long as Bei Tianzhu is destroyed, all the way from Chang'an to the place of Buddha's birthday will be smooth!" Buddhism flourished in the Central Plains, but its roots were in Tianzhu. The great monks of the Central Plains all have the ambition to go to the Buddha country to seek Buddhism, but few of them can do it. If the Tang Dynasty captures the Northern Tianzhu and holds the place of the Buddha's birth in his hands, after opening up this road, those who are willing to travel west to seek Buddhism can go through this road, which is not a merit for the Buddhists in Middle Earth! ”

Kongjian was silent for a long time, shook his head and said, "What the general said is just strong words!" The children of Buddhism are willing to go to the place where the Buddha was born to seek the Dharma, but they do not want the land of the Buddha's birth to suffer from military disasters, and how can they endure the blood of the Tianzhu Buddha country! ”

"Huh!" Ma Ling sneered, looked at Kongjian and said, "Monk, you keep saying that Tianzhu Buddha Kingdom, a certain family asks you, have you ever been to Tianzhu?" Do you know what kind of situation Tianzhu is in now? ”

Kongjian shook his head and said: "Although the monk has long had the intention of going to Tianzhu to seek the Dharma, he has not made the trip so far. Regarding the place of Buddha's birth, I have heard Guru Padmasambhava say it many times, and I can't help but yearn for it. ”

"In other words, you don't know the true situation of Tianzhu today?" Ma Lan sneered.

Kongjian lowered his eyebrows and said, "Master Padmasambhava is not a person who speaks. The appearance of the place of Buddha's birth should be what the master said. As for other places in Tianzhu, I have never asked the master, but Tianzhu is a Buddha country, and I think it should be all over the place. ”

"Garan is everywhere! Monk, Tianzhu used to be all over the place, as for now, hehe! Ma Ling sneered, "Today's situation in Tianzhu is by no means what you can imagine. A certain family just knows something, so I might as well share it with you! ”

Sorami nodded.

Ma Lan said: "A certain family does not believe in Buddhism, but it also knows that the Buddha does exist. Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains during the Jin Dynasty, not directly from Tianzhu to the Central Plains, but first to the Western Regions, and then through the Western Regions to the Central Plains. ”

"Buddhism came from Tianzhu, how prosperous it was at that time, and gradually spread after it was introduced to the Central Plains, and it really flourished, but it was after Kumarosh entered the Central Plains to translate the scriptures."

"At that time, the Western Regions were all Buddhist believers, and the Central Plains Buddhism could not be compared with the Western Regions. Since Kumarosh's translation of the scriptures, Buddhism in the Middle Earth has flourished greatly, but Buddhism has gradually declined in the Western Regions, and all kinds of nonsense have become increasingly persecutive, and it has reached the current situation! ”

"The Middle-earth Buddhism originated in the Western Regions, and now you have traveled from the Central Plains to the quicksands, and you have made a wish to promote Buddhism in the Western Regions! Think about the world of Kumarosh, and then look at the Western Regions today, don't you think it's a little strange? ”

Sorami nodded silently.

What Ma Lu said was true, Middle-earth Buddhism was introduced from the Western Regions, but now he has to go to the Western Regions to promote Buddhism, and he has achieved nothing for many years. Longxing Temple is a large temple of Qiuci, but only the people who worship Longxing Temple are Qiuzi Han people, and the rest of the Hu have their own beliefs, but there are few people who believe in the Buddha. The grand ambition he set up in Chang'an City has been consumed by time in the wind and sand of the Western Regions.

He's a smart guy after all. At this time, I also vaguely understood what Ma Lan meant.

Ma Lan looked at Kongjian and said coldly: "The Western Regions are close to Tianzhu, but the Dharma is so weak!" Monks are also understanding people, so they should understand what the reason is. ”

Kongjian raised his head, looked at Ma Lan and said in a low voice, "Could it be ...... Could it be that the Dharma is already weakened in Tianzhu? ”

Ma Lan nodded and said, "No, there is no problem." Exactly! Monk, a certain family clearly tells you that Tianzhu is no longer a Buddha country! ”

Sorumi stared at Ma Lan and didn't speak.

Ma Lan sneered: "For the sake of your great contribution to the Tang Dynasty, a certain family only made an exception to tell you so much today." Why is Buddhism in the Western Regions weak? It is because of the weakening of Tianzhu Buddhism! The Western Regions are not far from Tianzhu, if Tianzhu is still a Buddha country, why is the Buddhism of the Western Regions so weakened, so that you need a monk to wade into the quicksand and go to the west to promote Buddhism? ”

Sorumi sat there. Sharp rise and fall of the chest. At this time, his emotions were also extremely excited.

"General, you are just speculation, there is no evidence at all."

"Huh! A certain aunt said it in vain, believe it or not. Ma Lan sneered, "The Buddha came from a small country in Tianzhu in the north, and Buddhism was greatly developed, but in fact, it was supported by a big country in Tianzhu. If not. It will not soon flourish in Tianzhu and spread to the Western Regions and even the Central Plains. However, there is no such thing as an undefeated dynasty. This is true of the Central Plains, and so is Tianzhu. ”

"When the dynasty was prosperous, Tianzhu was naturally a Buddha country, and it was indeed everywhere. However, the Tianzhu Dynasty, which was the most supportive of Buddhism, was defeated in the end! ”

"When did this happen?" The old monk stared at Ma Lan and said in a trembling voice.

Ma Ling thought for a moment. Said: "It should be the former Sui ...... Oh, no, the fall of that dynasty was in the early years of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, more than 200 years ago! Now in Tianzhu all over the place. Garanda has become a ruin, that is, the Nalanda Temple where Master Xuanzang went in the past, and now it is also full of rubble! In the past, the Tianzhu people called themselves the state of white clothes, called the Central Plains the state of black clothes, and promised themselves the country of Buddhism, but now it is no longer the scene of the past! You said that you don't want the blood of the people of the Buddha country to flow into a river, hehe, such a thing for more than 200 years, but it happened every day in Tianzhu! ”

Sorumi furrowed his brows and hesitated, "Really...... Is that so? General, it's just a change of dynasty, how did it get to this point? ”

Ma Xuan said: "In addition to Buddhism, there is another sect in the land of Tianzhu, when the original dynasty has not perished, Buddhism occupies an orthodox position, more than 200 years ago the dynasty collapsed, another sect took advantage of the situation, and gradually replaced the position of Buddhism. For more than 200 years, the influence of Tianzhu Buddhism has become smaller and smaller, and now it is only limited to the area of North Tianzhu, and the rest of the places are entrenched by another sect. It is the land of North Tianzhu, and Buddhism may not be able to keep it in the future, and even the place of Buddha's birth will fall into the hands of the enemy, I don't know what kind of situation it is! ”

"General, what is the sect you are talking about?" A trace of murderous intent suddenly appeared in Kongjian's eyes, obviously at this time, he already believed Ma Lu's words.

"The sect...... Let's call it Hinduism. It is also a very influential ancient sect, and it is in the past 200 years that it has gradually replaced the position of Buddhism in Tianzhu, and it is arrogant. ”

"So, monk, this Tang Dynasty's southern expedition to Tianzhu can be regarded as a counterattack by the Buddhists against Hinduism! I can't help Buddhism in Datang, if I take the land of Tianzhu, the fate of Buddhism in Tianzhu will be completely changed! - Monk, what did a certain family say so much? Do you understand? ”

Sorumi furrowed his brows and fell into deep thought.

Ma Lan smiled faintly, in fact, the history of the growth and decline of Buddhism and Hinduism is not so simple, but what he said is basically the truth.

The Gupta Dynasty strongly supported Buddhism, and Buddhism became extremely prosperous, and at that time it could really be said that the Gupta Dynasty was everywhere, and around 540 the Gupta Dynasty fell, without the support of the Gupta Dynasty, Buddhism in India was declining, but the Hindu sphere of influence was increasing. The struggle between sects is always bloody, and the struggle between Buddhism and Hinduism in the land of Tianzhu is naturally the same.

Saying so much bitterly, it was nothing more than trying to persuade Kong Jian to let him join this southern expedition. After all, the Qiang tribes that Padmasambhava persuaded to convert to the Buddha can now be said to be in the hands of Kongjian. This monk still has value for Datang.

Not only that, if such a statement spreads to Chang'an, it may be able to arouse the common hatred of the disciples of Buddhism, so that the matter of the southern expedition to Tianzhu may be supported by Buddhism. Buddhism in the Central Plains is very deep, the real strength is definitely more than the Persian Temple, if you can get the support of Buddhism, the southern expedition into the Buddhism of the defense of the war, then the southern expedition to Tianzhu will be much simpler. (To be continued......)