More than ten miles northeast of Shule City, here is the site of Shule Dayun Temple.
In the past ten years, Saktu, who was obsessed with relying on Tianfang religion to unify people's hearts and distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, brought serious disasters to Dayun Temple in Shule.
This Buddhist temple, built in AD 690, the first year of Wu Zhou Tianshou's reign, was gradually destroyed by various man-made disasters with Saktu's connivance.
Dayun Temple occupies a very large area. When this Buddhist temple was built, it took eighteen years to complete given the strength of the Tang army in the Western Regions at that time.
It is said that there are hundreds of Buddhist temples, thousands of monks, and dozens of Chuandubo temples specially used to place Buddha relics. The other Buddhist temples are majestic and glorious. When the bells of the Bell and Drum Towers ring at full strength, Shule City can
can hear.
Of course, if it were used solely as a Buddhist temple, the Tang court would not have spent so much manpower and material resources on its construction.
Dayun Temple in Shule was actually the great weapon used by the Tang Dynasty to control the hearts of the Western Regions.
Since it was built in the first year of Wuzhou Tianshou, the Tang court has continuously transferred a large number of Buddhist scriptures and eminent monks from the Central Plains to Dayun Temple.
For more than 100 years, the Western Regions Monk Council and Dayun Temple have been in charge of eminent monks from the Han Dynasty.
Before these eminent monks were transferred to Dayun Temple, they would first study in Luoyang, the sacred capital, and would also be received by Wu Zetian.
At that time, Empress Zetian promoted Buddhism in the divine capital, and monks from all walks of life were naturally grateful to her. After arriving in Shule, their loyalty to the Tang court was overwhelming.
At that time, in the Buddhist center of Dayun Temple in Shule, the commonly used Buddhist scriptures were in Chinese characters, and the scriptures were sung in Chinese. Eminent monks from Dayun Temple were often sent to Buddhist temples in important towns in the Western Regions such as Qiuci and Khotan.
Serve as host.
This is using religion to create Chinese culture and identity!
This was also the best moment for Buddhism in Chinese history. The government and religion needed each other, and of course Wu Zetian also needed to suppress the Li family.
Therefore, Buddhism, which had been suppressed by Taoism for hundreds of years during the Li and Tang Dynasties, suddenly flourished during the Wu and Zhou Dynasties. The so-called 480 temples in the Southern Dynasties were incomparable to Buddhism during the Wu and Zhou Dynasties. At this time, Buddhism was so prosperous that it was almost becoming the state religion.
.
Therefore, the control of the Western Regions by the Tang Dynasty was much higher than that of the Han Dynasty due to the combined efforts of military, culture and religion.
This was also after the Anshi Rebellion, the royal families of the Western Regions such as the Bai family of Qiuci, the Yuchi family of Khotan, the Xue family of Ningyuan kings, the Pei family of Shule kings, the Yanqi Long family, etc., all sent troops to march eastward to join King Qin.
It explains the reasons for characters like Bai Xiaode, Prince of Changhua County, and Yuchi Sheng, Prince of Wudu County.
Because they really regard themselves as Tang people and regard the Tang Dynasty as their own motherland.
At the same time, this is also an important factor why the Anxi royal family of the four surnames firmly sided with the Anxi Army and fought against the Tubo people even though the Tubo people believed in Buddhism. It is also an important factor why many descendants of the Anxi Army fled to Dayun Temple in an attempt to rely on Dayun Temple for protection.
reason.
Of course, no one expected that a scoundrel like Saktu would emerge among the Uighurs. The Dayun Temple in Shule, which was once the most dazzling pearl of the Tang Dynasty in Anxi and still played a major role after the Tang Dynasty withdrew from the Western Regions, was actually killed by him.
Destroyed.
In front of the ruins of Dayun Temple, which can still be seen in later generations, Li Shengtian stood at the front wearing a blue and black emperor's crown, and Zhang Zhao also wore a purple robe of the prince, standing behind him.
Location.
After them, the last master Daozhen from Dayun Temple in Shule, the ancient master Titexi from Suiyebulana Buddhist Temple, and the great master Sangharama from the Khotan royal family's Qusadana Buddhist Temple are all here.
Standing side by side with Michizane as the leader.
Further behind are the officials of the Khotan center, as well as the governors and Amozhi from various places.
Today's grand meeting, which brings together almost all the powerful people in Shule in the Khotan Jin Kingdom, is about the reconstruction of Dayun Temple.
Of course, we also need to dig out the Zhongzhenku treasure buried in the underground palace of Dayun Temple and jointly guarded by the Anxi Army and Dayun Temple.
After a loud bang, Cao Shishi and Cao Yanming rode a green horse and ran over from a distance.
He was wearing a red round-collar uniform. He was a young man from an aristocratic family. He had good looks and superb riding skills. He was immediately cheered by the whole audience.
In fact, Cao Yanming dressed up deliberately today, because on weekdays, he is completely unkempt.
In his own words, he studies divine fire and thunder every day, and comforts a bunch of little Hu Ji who are waiting for food at night. How can he find the time to apply makeup and makeup!
The reason why he dressed up deliberately today was because Zhang Zhao gave him a clue. Li Shengtian's second daughter, Princess Tianxi, was sixteen years old and never married because her identity was too embarrassing.
After receiving the promise of marriage between Zhang Zhao and Li Congde, Cao Yuanxin actually intended to release his former love rival.
Because Zhang Zhao's promise is equivalent to completely strengthening Li Congde's position, even Li Shengtian cannot easily shake it.
With King Zhang's ability, it is absolutely impossible for the Kingdom of Khotan to lose this direct ally in the foreseeable future.
With Zhang Zhao's support, although Princess Tianxi could still get Li Shengtian's favor after her mother lost power, her mother and younger brother, including the princess herself, could no longer pose the slightest threat to Cao Yuanxin and Li Congde.
But Cao Yuanxin was still a little uneasy, so under Zhang Zhao's advice, Cao Yuanxin married Princess Tianxi's mother to Cao Yanming before preparing to release her.
For everyone, it is good for everyone that Princess Tianxi marries Khotan and is far away from the center of power of the Khotan Kingdom.
Cao Yuanxin can feel at ease, and Princess Tianxi's mother and brother can finally enjoy their wealth with peace of mind.
Because except for Princess Tianxi, her mother and younger brother are not favored by Li Shengtian.
At the same time, for Cao Yanming, although he didn't know what Princess Tianxi looked like, judging from Li Shengtian's appearance, it was impossible to be ugly.
And marrying a princess of the Li family can be said to be the son of the Cao family’s ultimate pursuit of his partner. This is a dream!
Even if this princess was not born to a daughter of the Cao family, it was still a surprise to Cao Yanming.
In the end, it was also beneficial to Zhang Zhao, because Cao Yanming was very important to him now.
Because Cao Yanming's ability is really strong, he is not the only one doing research on gunpowder now.
Cao Yanming now has more than 60 people under his command, 20 of whom are gunpowder apprentices, and the rest are skilled technicians responsible for gunpowder production.
Gunpowder is difficult to standardize in this era. The thickness of the charcoal, the quality of saltpeter and sulfur, and the precise ratio of money all require rich experience to make up for it.
The gunpowder prepared by a novice and an experienced person are completely two extremes.
Cao Yanming's apprentices, who were taught by him and Zhang Zhao in turns, as well as dozens of skilled workers, were extremely important entities in Zhang Zhao's combat system.
Moreover, Cao Yanming was responsible for tackling the three directions proposed by Zhang Zhao: sugar-added gunpowder, flour gunpowder and granular gunpowder.
It would be great if Zhang Zhao could roughly recall these three directions that seemed to enhance the power of gunpowder.
He didn't even know where granular gunpowder came from. Sugar and flour (he wasn't sure) would go well with gunpowder, and he heard about it through hearsay.
As a monarch-like figure, Zhang Zhao did not have the time, and probably did not have the talent, to study gunpowder.
Therefore, all this could only be done by Cao Yanming, so he arranged for him to marry Li Shengtian and his second daughter, Princess Tianxi, etc., all in order to win over this cousin and uncle.
"The Great Sage, Your Majesty, the Huolei Yamen have blasted open the gate of Zhongzhen Treasury, and Liu Du Yuhou and Shi Jiangtou are leading the excavation!"
The location of the Zhongzhen Treasury is actually under the More Pagoda, but it is not easy to dig because it is in the underground palace under the Pagoda.
The most important function of the treasure map is to mark the entrance to the underground palace and the direction of the tunnel.
This broken underground palace is reinforced with strips of stone, so it is difficult to dig out from other places without finding the entrance.
It was originally built as Dayun Temple to collect the legendary relics of Sakyamuni Buddha, as well as the Buddha's birth bed and Buddha bowl. The internal structure is unclear and it is difficult to enter.
"Master Titexigu and Master Daozhen are old and frail, and the rest of the monks are determined to follow the deputy king back east. From now on, you will be responsible for the reconstruction of Dayun Temple!"
After the Zhongzhenku and Buddha relics and other treasures are recovered, the reconstruction work of Dayun Temple will begin immediately.
Li Shengtian, like the Tang Dynasty, hoped to promote Shule Dayun Temple again as a means of cultural export to the Khotan Jin Kingdom.
"The poor monk will obey the emperor's will and will do his best to rebuild Dayun Temple and restore the glory of the thousand-year-old Buddhist kingdom in Shule!"
Titsigu and his group of monks no longer hate Zhang Zhao, but are quite grateful to him.
Because Zhang Zhao did not lie to them and actually asked them to rebuild Dayun Temple.
Originally, Titsigu thought that the reconstruction of Dayun Temple should be led by Master Daozhen, but in fact, Master Daozhen had been in prison in Saktu for five or six years. His health was very poor and he might die at any time.
Most of the monks from Dayun Temple who were found later had already returned to secular life, and those who were still holding on were almost all descendants of the Anxi Army. They had decided to return with Zhang Zhaodong.
Therefore, the reconstruction of Dayun Temple will be entirely undertaken by Titsigu and the monks of Burana Buddhist Temple led by him.
Compared with Suiye, Shule's status in Anxi is much higher. At the same time, in front of Shule Dayun Temple, Suiye Bulana Buddhist Temple is just a little bumpkin. There is no comparison between the two.
Titsigu, who had received such great benefits, would certainly not hold grudges against Zhang Zhao.
"Get up, get up, get ready to welcome the Buddha!"
After a while, Cao Yanming rode over again to report. At this moment, his face was filled with ecstasy regardless of etiquette, because this time the most important treasures in the loyalty treasury, the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha and the Buddha's birth bed, were from then on.
He was lifted up from the underground palace.
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shengtian took a deep breath and took the lead in singing the "Buddha's Prayer Sutra" which praises the life and deeds of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Hundreds of monks in various colors of silk robes and robes were surrounding them, tapping the wooden fish and other magical instruments in their hands, and then walked towards the entrance of the underground palace.
After walking several hundred meters, the entrance to the underground palace, filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke, appeared in front of everyone.
Liu Zaisheng, Shi Chongmin and others knelt on the ground and chanted the name of Buddha. A Khotan official raised a colorful glazed treasure box above his head and walked on his knees in front of Li Shengtian.
In the treasure box, seven Buddha relics shine with dim colorful light.
Uh! To put it lightly, Zhang Zhao felt that this Buddha relic didn't look like crystals that could be burned out after death, but more like the colorful things left behind after a failed attempt at burning glass.
However, Shakyamuni Buddha has ceased to be a mortal a long time ago, so that’s understandable.
"Buddha's birth bed! This is the Buddha's birth bed!" When everyone knelt down to greet the Buddha's relics, Master Sangha Rama Tripitaka pointed to an old but well-preserved baby bed and shouted with tears in his face.
"Lady Maya passed away seven days after giving birth to my Buddha, so I was raised by my aunt Mahaprajapati. This was built for my Buddha by Mrs. Aida."
Zhang Zhao, who was kneeling on the ground, couldn't help but touch his chin. Why did this Buddha bed look so Central Plains style?
Isn't Buddha a Nepali?
Regardless, Zhang Zhao turned his attention to the Buddha relics in the colorful glazed treasure box. There were three Buddha relics there that belonged to him.
He will use these three Buddha relics to recover the upper and lower parts of Dayun Temple in Liangzhou for his own use, and then use Dayun Temple in Liangzhou to recover Limo in Liangzhou, which later became the Liugu Department of Tubo.
This chapter has been completed!