In the second year of Wuping in the Northern Qi Dynasty, in the evening, Yecheng.

The houses are like forests, with overlapping eaves and corners, and they are spread out layer by layer, like fish scales. In the deep twilight, the candlelight between the city houses is arranged into a warm halo, like a patchwork of chess pieces nailed to the chessboard, implicitly outlining the outline of Yecheng, interpreting a strange beauty. The time for dinner has passed, Zhao Yanshen is standing on the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, next to him is an old monk wearing a robe and clasped hands, many officials and troops are standing under the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, in the dark skylight, like a fierce Shura.

"The old man came rashly, unintentionally disturbing Master Chengde's cultivation, and I ask the master to forgive me."

"The right minister is polite, the right minister holds the government of the country, and there are all kinds of opportunities, you can take time to visit this temple, this is the honor of this temple, why bother?"

"Hehe, Master Chengde's clear name, even His Majesty is in the Ninefold Palace, it is often heard, last year the master Du Baoqing Princess entered, and relieved the disaster, His Majesty also appreciated it when he mentioned the master...... This time, the master took the initiative to sell the acres of households in the name of the temple to the imperial court, His Majesty is the dragon face is happy, personally mentioned the royal pen for the master to write a plaque, since then the good name of the Chengen Temple will be praised all over the world. ”

The old monk is very thin, his waist and back are stiff, he is a little older than when the emperor saw him last year, and he has to gasp for breath at the slightest action, seeing that time is running out, but his eyes are kind and clear, facing Zhao Yanshen, a giant who can be counted above the government and the opposition, neither humble nor arrogant, between his manners, all reveal a sense of Zen, making people like a spring breeze.

"Since the master is so polite, the old man is not good to hide the words of his stomach anymore, it's not like words......" Zhao Yanshen tapped his finger lightly on the railing, and said: "I am restructuring, in order to check the acres of land, household registration, people, such as Haoqiang, etc., so that the behavior of the people to take refuge is absolutely not allowed, and after the review of the Ministry of Households, Buddhism has at least hidden nearly one million peasant households, so it seems that Buddhism is a big household, but never pays taxes, does not pay grain, but enjoys so many special treatment, Now the DPRK and China have quite a lot of complaints......"

"Hmm...... Millions? Truly...... My Cheng'en Temple alone has 8,000 households under its name...... There are more than 20,000 people, there are so many Great Qi Buddhist Temples, and Yecheng is known as the Buddha country. ”

When the old monk heard these explicit, half-light and half-dark words, he did not defend Buddhism for the first time, but instead demonstrated the authenticity of this data very realistically, which made Zhao Yanshen have a little more good impression of him. The emperor has never believed in Buddhism, but he appreciates and respects this old monk, and now it seems that it is not unreasonable.

The imperial court counted the household registration of several states, and Yecheng was the top priority, and the strength even exceeded that of Jinyang, in addition to the hundreds of big clans that wanted to focus on cracking down, it was because of the thousands of Buddhist temples in Yecheng that gave people a headache. The Gao family worships the Buddha, Gao Huan, Gao Yang and other monarchs have built temples in a big way, and even the palace has built a luxurious royal Buddha hall, which is built with gold and jade, and is magnificent.

The wealth in the world is very ten, and the Buddha accounts for seven or eight, although it is exaggerated, but it is not far away. These Buddhist temples not only have incense money as a source of income, they also have a large number of fugitives, farmers, in this era of fanatical superstition Buddhism, monks and nuns have the right to be exempted from servitude, so a large number of farmers who suffer from servitude and exploitation flee into Buddhist monasteries in large numbers, and even, in the Northern Dynasty monks and nuns break the law, not bound by the law, and deal with the internal laws of the temple, many privileges make this sect snowball.

During the Taihe period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were only 6,478 Buddhist monasteries in the whole territory, more than 80,000 monks and nuns, and in the period of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, there were more than 10,000 monasteries in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, more than 1 million monks and nuns, and there were more than 30,000 monasteries in the Northern Qi Dynasty, with more than 2 million monks and nuns, and the monks and nuns accounted for one-tenth of the population, which was ten times more than the peak of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty!

It is recorded, "There are many dangers in the world, especially the king's service." So the household where he was located, he was in harmony with the Tao, and he faked Mushamen, and actually avoided servitude...... Roughly speaking, there are 2 million monks and nuns. "It can be said that Buddhism Shamen is the biggest landlord in the world, but the most terrible thing is that this landlord does not pay taxes or tribute, and the wealth obtained is his own, and the court does not even want to suffer from it.

However, when they do this, everyone in the world feels that it is reasonable and legitimate, and there is no dissatisfaction, which makes the arrogance of Buddhism more and more prosperous......

Things have come to this point, and the whole court has already understood that His Majesty must clean up the Buddhist gate, anyone, any force is unstoppable, whether this old monk is really obedient to the court, or just good at understanding the current situation, wise and self-preservation, one thing is recognized by Zhao Yanshen - this old monk is an understanding person.

Smart people don't do stupid things, so there are some things that Zhao Yanshen thinks can be taken out and said, even if it is to talk about cooperation and ask him to cooperate, it is not a big deal.

“…… Alas, although the master has great wisdom, not everyone has the same idea of the country as the master, and the new policy of the imperial court is implemented in the local area, which can be described as difficult, and it cannot solve too many problems without violent suppression by the army......"

"For this, the ministers of the imperial history have more than once impeached the old man and others, and the old man does not want to use swords, so it is better to solve the problem peacefully...... Your Majesty means the same thing, but many times, the times force us to do something against our will......"

The old monk raised his eyes and looked at Zhao Yanshen, clasped his hands together, and said: "The right minister has something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it, although the old monk is soft-spoken, as long as he can help, the old monk will definitely help." ”

"Master Chengde is quick to talk," Zhao Yanshen nodded, stroking his beard, "Things have developed to this point, there is no turning back when the bow is opened, it is imperative to re-determine the household registration and measure the land, as for the acres of land under the name of the Buddha, they will also be recovered together when the time comes, there is nothing negotiable...... The old man is afraid that there are still people who can't understand it and do some stupid things. ”

"So, I hope the master can cooperate with us...... We don't need the master to do anything, the master is highly respected and enjoys a high status in Buddhism, and then the master only needs to convey the will of the court to us between Buddhism, then it's okay. Zhao Yan thought deeply and added, "Oh, if the master can't dissuade him, there's nothing." Your Majesty will inherit this affection from the master. ”

The night is deep, the liveliness in Yecheng has no sign of fading, after hundreds of years of accumulation, Yecheng is the out-and-out key place of the Daqi regime, reaching all over the world, every day through here to trade people and so on countless, after the opening of border trade in Daqi, in order to further stimulate the economy, it is to cancel the curfew of Yecheng, since then Yecheng has become a city that never sleeps, a large number of lights in the distance reflect the night sky, the roadside, the small courtyard, the wine shop, three or three people dot in the meantime, lively, It is also a picture of a peaceful life.

The old monk was silent for a long time, as if he was looking at the scenery in the distance, but his eyes were blurry, and then he nodded slightly, "The right minister personally came to discuss this matter with the old monk, how dare the old monk not?" Hehehehehe, the old monk just did it. ”

Zhao Yanshen was overjoyed, arched his hand to the old monk, and the old monk waved his hand again and again, saying that he couldn't afford it, and then Zhao Yanshen left with a group of people.

In the dark sky, the stars are shining, standing on the top of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda as if you can reach out and pick off the stars, the old monk is alone by the railing and looking into the distance, the little monk who serves tea stands quietly behind the old monk, looks up a white and lovely face, and asks crisply: "Host, what are you thinking?" Then get into the gods. The old monk suddenly turned around, stroked the top of the little monk's smooth head, and smiled lovingly: "Well, I don't think about anything, I can't think of anything anyway, why add unnecessary troubles to myself?" Let's go back to sleep...... "I don't know when there was an extra spider web under the eaves of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and a few flying insects stuck to it, and they couldn't move it no matter what.

The old monk blew lightly, and a small insect broke free from the cobwebs with the help of the wind, and when he turned around, the old monk said:

"If there's a quagmire ahead, you should get out of the way. Don't go ahead even if you know you can't do it, because you are reckless for a while, or you don't check for a while, or because you are greedy, and you fall into a place where you are going to die...... What you sow, you will taste the fruit, and this is karma. Three feet above his head, is there no god? Why can't the old man think about it? Amitabha, good and good......"

On the second day, the old monk Master Chengde summoned 20,000 Buddhas under the name of Cheng'en Temple, all of them were dismissed, and the Buddha gate shook! Countless monks asked to see Master Chengde, after a deep talk, several and Master Chengde generally quite famous presiding over the sleeves of the sleeves left, in early July, more than a dozen famous monks of the world went to Jinyang to see the Son of Heaven, asking the Son of Heaven to take back his fate.

The government and the opposition were shaken, and the imperial historian Zu Ting went to the book on the same day to impeach Buddhism: "Monks and nuns do not obey the king's law, do not respect the Son of Heaven, sit on the land of the Son of Heaven, eat the people's money, but do not call ministers, do not pay taxes, and are called monks, but they are really thieves who steal the country and the people!" …… The flood of Buddhas has made the people of the world only revere Buddhism, and forget to fear the Son of Heaven, and in the long run, the country will die! ”

And the emperor sitting on the top of the nine-fold palace just glanced at it coldly, and threw the document jointly signed by all the Buddhists on the ground, and the dark clouds of early summer were like a cauldron lid covering this side of the sky, and before the thunder fell, no one knew what was brewing behind it.