"See Your Majesty, long live my emperor!"

"Zhongqing is flat."

According to the custom, after the New Year, civil and military officials naturally want to enter the palace to meet and feast.

The hundred officials are arranged in order according to their grades and titles, and they are in order, and the officials who can enter the palace under such circumstances are at least above the fifth grade.

After the audience of the hundred officials, as the emperor, Su Zimo also had to give a few words of encouragement, but then nodded and said, "The secretaries don't have to be formal...... Come, give a feast! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

A cadre of courtiers hurriedly bowed to thank him again.

After a while, I saw Zhong Lu's voice ringing in unison, and a group of palace people poured in, carrying each table in, but it was not in the form of a family banquet, but a small table for one person and one seat.

Subsequently, all kinds of wine and food were also presented, although there were not many, but they were better than small and exquisite.

In the feast, singing and dancing, as well as congratulatory poems, are indispensable.

Although in Su Zimo's opinion, these processes are extremely boring, they are also essential, and naturally they also echo a few words, which can be regarded as having fun with hundreds of officials.

"How is the arrangement of the conference?"

"Your Majesty."

But I saw an official of the Ministry of Rites get up, bow slightly, and say in a deep voice: "According to your instructions, the monks and Taoist priests who came to meet have been registered one by one. ”

In this regard, Su Zimo couldn't help nodding and instructed: "These outsiders have unruly personalities, but they must be treated properly. If there is a person who commits a crime and fishes in troubled waters, he should also be reported in time and handed over to the forbidden army for disposal. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

This set the tone for the conference.

In fact, in Su Zimo's opinion, even if the four holy monks of Buddhism come, they will not dare to make a mistake in the capital easily, unless Buddhism is ready to break with the imperial court and is ready to retreat.

Otherwise, if you find a crime at random, it will be the disaster of raiding the family and exterminating the family!

This is also where the ancient monarchs centralized power and hegemony.

The king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die!

This kind of rule of king, king, minister, father, son, and son, along with the spread of Confucianism, has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and as those in power, they are naturally happy to see it, but it is also much better than those religious elements in later generations who tried to divide the territory.

In the palace, the feast continued.

At this time, it coincided with heavy snowfall, and the snow was fluttering and fluttering, and it didn't take long for the entire city to be covered with a layer of silver.

Thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, covered with snow, at a glance, are all snow-white.

And outside the city, there are still many people who are constantly running for a living, braving heavy snow, long journeys, driving heavy wagons, and rushing towards the city.

"It would be nice to have a bowl of hot liquor on this cold day—"

The person who drove the carriage was a middle-aged man over forty years old, who had been running around all the year round, and his face had already been dyed with a thick layer of wind and frost, and his chapped palms were pulling the reins and driving the carriage on.

After a short time, the carriage also stopped at the city gate and was inspected.

And this middle-aged man stepped out of the carriage and said in a deep voice: "Several Taoist leaders have arrived at the gate of the city, you see?" ”

"Good work."

As he spoke, a middle-aged Taoist stepped out of the carriage, and behind him, there was a young Taoist priest in his twenties.

"Chunfeng, go."

"Yes, Master."

Seeing the two Taoist priests, one big and one small, entering the city gate, the guards who were in charge of guarding the gate only looked at it a few times and let them go easily.

They also knew that these outsiders were all ordered to come to the capital to participate in the so-called Dao Conference, so naturally they didn't dare to slack off.

When the two of them walked into the city, they also looked at it curiously.

But I saw that the city was in order, the snow on the road had already been swept away, and there were many shops and restaurants on the side, the doors were ajar, but they were still doing business.

Seeing this scene, the two did not stop, but as if they already knew the way, they went straight to a house in the west of the city and gently buckled the door.

"Squeak-"

As soon as the door flickered, a person dressed as a servant, after seeing the costumes of the two, nodded slightly: "Two Taoist leaders, you have worked hard all the way, please show your degree." ”

"There is labor."

After confirming that his identity was correct, the servant immediately changed his face and said with a pleasant face: "Two Taoist masters, please come inside." ”

This house seems to be small, but the interior is extremely spacious, all of them are one by one, arranged in an orderly manner, a total of more than ten rooms, in addition, on the side of the road, there is a white stone paving, connected to other courtyards.

Obviously, this is a special place for those who come to the Festival.

…………

In the blink of an eye, it is the Yuan Xi Festival, and all over the capital is naturally full of lanterns, with colorful lanterns hanging everywhere, and there are more men and women, guessing the lantern riddles in groups, so lively.

At the same time, in the palace, it was a different scene.

"Masters, please."

I saw that in the distance of this road, a soldier was giving directions to several Taoists.

These people were dressed in Taoist robes, old and young, and they all looked like people of the Tao, and under the guidance of the soldiers, they passed through the palace under martial law, but they came to a large hall.

This hall is extremely empty, and the interior is supported by hundreds of large columns, which is more than enough to accommodate thousands of people.

At a glance, in addition to the high platform used for debate on one side, the rest of the hall is densely packed with futons for these monks and Taoists who came to participate in the Taoist conference to sit.

In addition, there are thousands of forbidden troops waiting around the main hall, all of them are stubborn, revealing an unstoppable bravery. Ordinary people stand in front of these people, and in a few moments, they will be frightened and pale.

With the passage of time, more and more Taoist monks gathered in the main hall, but it was solemn.

"Amitabha."

A long Buddha horn sounded.

But I saw a group of monks, fish out of the stream, all of them hung Buddha beads in their hands, eyes and noses, noses and hearts, the treasure was solemn, and at a glance it was a monk who had attained the Tao.

The front is an old monk holding a Zen staff, with a graceful temperament, a burly and mighty body, and white eyebrows.

The man on the left-hand side, dressed in a brown robe, has a tall figure, black eyebrows, a compassionate face, and his eyes shine with the light of wisdom, as if he has attained the Tao.

The one on the right side has white eyebrows over his ears, his long beard reaches his chest and abdomen, but the skin on his face is young and tender, the top of his head is bald, and the whole person reveals a comfortable demeanor, looking amiable, holding a pot in his hand, so comfortable.

The most is the person behind the cushion, thin and dark, wearing a black monk's robe, holding a wooden fish in his hand, and his eyes are fleeting.

"Shhhh

Seeing the arrival of the four people, the hall suddenly froze, and there was silence.

In the middle of the night, there were bursts of low exclamations.

"How could it be their ......"

"Venerable Jiaxiang of the Three Treatises Sect, Venerable Daoxin of the Four Ancestors of Zen Buddhism, Venerable Wisdom of Tiantai Sect, and Venerable Emperor Xin of Huayan Sect, I can't imagine that a conference on Taoism will even shock the four holy monks of Buddhism, it's really ......."

"Hehe, the Buddhists have been forced to this part, if these people are sitting and waiting to die, do they want to wait for death?"

"This is also true, I just don't know how to deal with it today, after all, these four people are all Taishan Beidou of Buddhism......"

With the arrival of the four people, a series of discussions sounded in the main hall, whether it was the rest of the Buddhist sect or those in the Taoist sect, their eyes were on the four people.

However, the four of them seemed to be accustomed to it, and did not care about it at all, just found a secluded place, and began to meditate with their eyes closed.

"The emperor has arrived—"

With this low cheer, all the monks and Taoists in the hall, even the four holy monks who were meditating with their eyes closed, all hurriedly got up and saluted the bright yellow figure.

"Meet Your Majesty."

"All the masters are exempt from courtesy, you are all outsiders, don't break me."

"Your Majesty is seriously ......"

Anyway, seeing Su Zimo's warm face, these monks and Taoists also breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, this conference was too sudden, and even they didn't know what His Majesty the Emperor was selling, but they could only enter Beijing with a hard head.

Of course, compared with Buddhism, many people in the Taoist Gate are vaguely aware that it seems that today's son is extremely repulsive to Buddhism, and even has the intention of opening a knife to Buddhism.

Therefore, many Taoist priests also came here with different thoughts to discuss the Tao, just hoping to take this opportunity to carry forward the Taoist theory.

Soon, people from the main Taoist sect and the Buddhist sect came to the stage one after another to perform the Fa and expound their respective ideas.

As a matter of fact, this conference mainly divided the ideas and doctrines of each school of Buddhism and Taoism into three, six, and nine categories, and gave different rewards according to the results of the discussion.

And the top three can get the title given by the saint himself.

It is precisely for this reason that the conference was in full swing from beginning to end.

In a blink of an eye, three days have passed.

Seeing that the Dao Conference was coming to an end, Rao is four holy monks had expected it in their hearts, and they also had a trace of doubt, and they couldn't help but ask themselves.

"Could it be that this Dao Conference is only for the purpose of dividing the three, six, nine and so on, and there is no intention of opening the door to Buddhism?"

Finally......

But seeing Su Zimo, who had disappeared for three days, came to the main hall again, his expression was leisurely, his face was flushed with a hint of playfulness, and he said faintly: "I have a doubt, I want to ask the masters." ”

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"In Buddhism, there is a saying that everyone can become a Buddha. There are also words to put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the ground, I don't know if there is one person among the Buddhist monks who really became a Buddha? ”

As soon as the words fell, the monk was also stunned.

After a long time, I saw Venerable Jiaxiang of the Three Treatises get up, first made a bow, and said, "Amitabha, Buddhism practice, Hinayana surname, Mahayana law, it is difficult to say, easy to say, as long as there is a Buddha in the heart, there will be some achievements." ”

"Oh?"

Su Zimo smiled: "Dare to ask the master, do you become a Buddha?" ”

(End of chapter)