An official came to visit Wei Wencheng at night, Wei Wencheng went into the room to take a closer look, and saw that this person was wearing a black gauze hat, a round-necked narrow-sleeved silk shirt, a belt around his waist, cowhide boots, and a bearded dress. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info looked at his face again, Wei Wencheng couldn't help but be taken aback: "How is it?!"

It turned out that this person had big ears and a short beard, and this face was so familiar that it couldn't be more familiar, it was the same Yuan Song monk that Wei Wencheng met in the Hu family's courtyard in South Yanzhou on his way to Handan to pay homage to Hui Ke back then! Of course, this person now has a beard and is wearing the clothes of a layman, so he should have left the Liberation Gate.

I saw Yuan Song smile slightly: "I haven't seen my senior brother for a long time, and I am very thirsty, and I don't expect to meet again in Chang'an." Don't you want to sit down and talk?"

When Wei Wencheng heard this, he hurriedly gave a salute, pulled over a high table, and invited Yuan Song to sit down—he himself returned to the couch, and the two faced each other. After sitting down, Wei Wencheng spoke first: "How do you call you today?" You definitely won't be called Yuan Song anymore, and I can't call you "senior brother" like before.

Yuan Song smiled faintly and said: "I am still named Yuan Song, but I have a common surname ......" Chinese all have surnames, regardless of the young, good and low, maybe this is unique in the world at this time; Therefore, after Buddhism entered China, its custom was modified to a certain extent in accordance with Chinese customs, pretending that monks also had surnames and surnames "Shi" -- all monks worshiped Shakya, so what else could they have if they did not have the surname "Shak"? Therefore, if we talk about the full name, the former monk Yuan Song was Shi Yuansong, and Wei Wencheng should be called Shi Wencheng...... Oh no, it's Shi Daoxin.

Yuan Song said, I still use the old legal name as the name, but I have returned to the common family name, the common family name is Wei, and now my name is Wei Yuansong. Wei Wencheng's heart moved slightly, and he asked him bluntly: "Your Excellency is now an official in the Zhou Kingdom?" Wei Yuansong smiled: "Don't dare, I am favored by the Son of Heaven and I am named the Duke of Shu County." ”

Wei Wencheng couldn't help but be taken aback again, and said, How could you get to the side of the Son of Heaven in just a few years, and even have to be awarded the title of Duke of the County? You can climb very fast. Yuan Song said with a smile: "With the ability of a senior brother, if you seek a eunuch, Mingjue will not be under the mere melody." ”

As he spoke, he began to briefly introduce his struggle over the years since he separated. Wei Yuansong's original plan was to go west to Chang'an, intervene in the magnates, propose to rectify the Buddhist circles, and sand down those so-called "eminent monks" who flaunt and deceive everywhere under the banner of Buddhism, so after entering Chang'an, how should he seek to advance to the ranks? After all, he was not born in a famous mountain or a great temple, nor did he have a well-known monk as a teacher, and there was no one to introduce him; although he was a little good at Buddhism, it was difficult for him to stand out in this era when Buddhist beliefs were in full swing.

Fortunately, Wei Yuansong has his own ability to explore people's privacy, so he used this method to start helping people tell fortunes in Chang'an City. Fortune telling has always been divided into two parts, one is to calculate the past, and the other is to calculate the future. People want to predict the future in order to avoid evil, but since the future has not yet arrived, and it may change (otherwise there is no such thing as avoidance), it naturally gives scammers a lot of leeway. The future is not enough, if you want to prove that this fortune teller is not a liar, at least he has some ability, but he has to look at the past, and for the past, Wei Yuansong can say it in his own words.

So he quickly became famous - although he may not be able to calculate the future with much accuracy, but Wei Yuansong has traveled all over the world, has seen a lot, knows too much about all kinds of tricks and tricks, and then uses the accuracy of the past to cause a certain hypnotic effect on people, and he can win a big victory by trying his luck. After becoming famous in the market, it is natural that powerful people will come to the door, so Wei Yuansong's status in Chang'an City has also increased step by step, and the identity of the donors he can contact has also risen.

In the end, Wei Yuansong finally got in touch with a certain noble person he had been aiming at from the beginning, that is-the Northern Zhou Quanchen, Otsuka Zai, and Jin Gongyu Wenhu.

Wei Yuansong originally wanted to use Yuwen Hu to achieve his goals, but unfortunately Yuwen Hu was too convinced of Buddhism - there are many fortune tellers, and it is estimated that a large reason why he values Wei Yuansong is that Wei Yuansong is a Buddhist monk - he has always been noncommittal to Sha Tai's complicated request. Wei Yuansong was in a hurry, and Yuwen Hu said: "Although they can't be a teacher, they must have something to use if they chant sutras to the Buddha." "I also asked Wei Yuansong, saying that if I drive away all the other monks and leave you alone, will you be able to fulfill my request?

"Ask the mage, can you learn from you alone?"

Wei Yuansong replied honestly: "No." ”

"Old sins can be atoned?"

"No, you can't. ”

"Troubles and distractions, can they be eliminated?"

"No, you can't. ”

Wei Yuansong said, if you want to achieve the right result, or if you want to get rid of the troubles of the world, you have to rely on your own devotion to practice, no matter how I teach you, but you don't listen, you only know that chanting scriptures and worshiping the Buddha is useless after all-"Like fishing for the moon in the water, picking flowers in the mirror." ”

Yuwen Hu said that I am in charge of such a big country, how can I have the time and energy to become a monk and practice like you, Master? Other monks can say that as long as you chant the sutras to the Buddha, your troubles will gradually disappear, and as long as you give alms to Shamen, you can naturally atone for your sins, and even if you can't live forever, you can still ensure a good place for reincarnation. You asked me to kill them all, but you can't help solve the problem, what is the purpose of this?

After such a fuss, the relationship between the two gradually drifted apart, and Wei Yuansong was discouraged and disappointed, so he wanted to throw off his sleeves and leave, but he didn't know that he bumped into a Taoist priest and pointed him to another bright road.

This Taoist priest's name is Zhang Bin, and he is quite similar to Wei Yuansong, and the two can be said to have the same goal. Wei Yuansong was angry that there were liars under the banner of Buddhism, and Zhang Bin also hated those foolish people under the banner of Taoism, and they all wanted to find an opportunity to carry out a vigorous religious reform. When he heard that Wei Yuansong persuaded Yuwen to protect the sand and release the door many times, but was alienated, Zhang Bin came to the door and said to him: "The Duke of Jin is sixty years old, and he thinks that he can live a long life by chanting sutras and giving alms, so he was deceived by the erector. However, those who are troubled by troubles, can their life really be long? Moreover, the power is for a while, and it is easier for the two masters, and they are unwilling to practice it, and they are afraid that they will not be able to obtain it for Huo Guang, and the unforeseen disaster will be in a moment. The mage wants to act with him, but the sand-built city has to be relied upon? Why not find another Jincheng soup pool and do business?"

Wei Yuansong asked who you mean by "Jincheng Soup Pool"? Zhang Bin said: "Today, you are smart and wise, and you have a grand plan and perseverance, although you are sacrificed to a widow today, there will be a ......day when you will be thorned in the back." He hinted that Emperor Yuwen Yong had a plan to get rid of Yu Wenhu, saying that that was the best support for religious reform, and hoped that Wei Yuansong could go with him to assist Yu Wenyong.

Wei Yuansong asked Zhang Bin to arrange an opportunity to let him glance at Yuwenyong from afar, and then made up his mind to join Yuwenyong's door instead. However, Yuwen Yong is different from Yuwen Hu, he is more inclined to Taoism, and he is quite indifferent to Buddhism, so it is inconvenient for Wei Yuansong to serve him in the image of Shamen, so he simply took off his monk's robe, and was still a layman, and then wrote a book to reprimand the arrogance and rage of the Buddhists in the world, which is harmful to the national economy and people's livelihood. This came to the heart of Yu Wenyong, and he was immediately awarded the title.

Of course, the power is in the hands of Yuwen Hu, and it is impossible for Yuwen Yong to give Wei Yuansong any high-ranking official positions, so he can only give him an empty title, but in just a few years, he was crowned the Duke of Shu County, which is also an unprecedented miracle. "Mu Xiu is in the forest, and the wind will destroy it", so Wei Yuansong gained a lot of envy, jealousy and even hatred, plus he was originally a monk, but he turned into a monk and scolded the monks, and the monks and believers in the capital all hated him, although he couldn't shake his status, he could keep it silent, and simply treat this person as if he didn't exist.

-- That's why Wei Wencheng inquired about the foundation of the "Duke of Shu County" in the Zhiyu Temple, so no one was willing to tell him the truth.

Wei Yuansong almost told his experience over the years - of course, for Yu Wenyong to eradicate Yu Wen's idea of protecting Yu, he naturally had to hide it, but with Wei Wencheng's cleverness, he could guess it - when he was done, he asked Wei Wencheng, saying Senior brother, although you are not as radical as me, you are also very dissatisfied with the current situation in the Buddhist world, in this case, why did you come to Chang'an to make this troubled water?

Wei Wencheng said in his heart that I am not dissatisfied with the status quo, although I will become a sand gate due to fate, in fact, I am not very interested in the whole of Buddhism...... If it weren't for the weirdness of the gods and gods in this world, who would think of becoming a monk and cultivating? Then he gave a general account of what happened to him over the years.

Wei Yuansong said: "I now ask the Son of Heaven to edict to determine the order of the three religions by debate, which is to denigrate the Buddha and reprimand Taoism, and it is also ......" Yuwen Yong wants to attack Taoism, the resistance is very great, and if he wants to attack Buddhism, Yuwen Hu will not be the first to pass, so Wei Yuansong proposed to hold such a debate competition, on the one hand, Yu Wenhu will not stop this matter, on the contrary, he is happy to see it - of course, Yuwen Hu must believe that Buddhism can take the first place - at the same time, as long as the arrangement is successful, he can naturally take the opportunity to hit the prestige of the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism, as long as they lose.

Wei Yuansong and Zhang Bin both believe that truly moral and capable cultivators will not come to this troubled water, and those who come must be fame and fortune, and it is very convenient to control them. Not to mention anything else, as long as Wei Yuansong probes out the other party's privacy and threatens him, will you dare to come out easily at the debate? So Wei Yuansong is both puzzled and depressed, Wei Wencheng, why are you here? I know your ability, I can't control you, if you suddenly come out, won't it ruin my big plan?

He said very tactfully, but Wei Wencheng quickly understood the other party's intentions, and immediately smiled and said: "Your Excellency is here, do you have to persuade me to return?" Wei Yuansong looked at him with expectant eyes: "Can you return?" Wei Wencheng did not answer, but suddenly changed the topic: "On the long street today, the person who instructed the officials to arrest me must not be Your Excellency?"

Wei Yuansong relied on his old friendship with Wei Wencheng, but he said bluntly: "It's just me." "He said that I just wanted to stir up trouble, first send people to incite the monks of the idle monastery to fight with you -- the two monasteries have been fighting for a long time, Wei Wencheng did not know, Wei Yuansong wanted to attack Buddhism, and this information must be collected desperately -- causing a riot, and then he hoped to send officers and soldiers to take down the monks of the two monasteries together, on the one hand, to reduce the number of Buddhists who participated in the debate competition, and on the other hand, to suppress the prestige of Buddhism. "It's a pity, senior brother's witty words, cut off my thoughts. ”

Wei Wencheng asked again: "How about the monks of the idle temple?"

Wei Yuansong replied: "All of them have been captured." As long as I detain the old abbot for a year and a half, even if I am not convicted, the idle temple will inevitably lose its power, and the Shaolin Temple will be invincible in the Songshan area.

Then he continued to ask Wei Wencheng: "If the master's order is difficult to disobey, and the senior brother refuses to return immediately, can he keep his mouth shut?"

Wei Wencheng almost blurted out: Yes, but what benefits can you give me? Thinking about it, it is really a loss of identity to want to trade with the other party so nakedly, and besides, I don't want to be an official, so it's useless to ask for benefits. So he groaned for a while, and said to Wei Yuansong: "Clever words and deceive people, lie to confuse the public, this is a trivial matter, but the Buddha is really there, and the natural sand is tied, why is Your Excellency worried? However, the monks and Taoists occupy the fields and mountains and forests, sit and adopt them, and abuse the people; they eat without work, and they do not pay taxes, and they are a weak country. ”

Wei Yuansong was overjoyed when he heard this: "Senior brother is really a true Buddha, in a word!"