"In the name of the Ming Dynasty, we are giving to the world and promoting Mahayana Buddhism?"
Master Xingzheng looked at Chongzhen in confusion, wondering what the holy emperor’s intention was. Could it be that he was interested in the hundreds of thousands of acres of monk land under the name of Shaolin Temple?
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be. Hasn't the monk's field been completely measured and taxed according to the amount?
"Master, don't get me wrong. I have no other intention. I simply hope that the monks of Shaolin Temple can be compassionate and give the Mahayana Dharma to the poor people in Central Asia."
Master Xingzheng finally understood, but not completely: "Central Asia?"
"Oh, that area further west in the Western Region is full of mountains, Gobi deserts and deserts, with only a few oases, so the lives of the local people are very difficult." Chongzhen said, "So I hope that the monks of Shaolin Temple can
Bring hope of life to the poor people in this area."
"It turns out that it's an area farther west than the Western Region." Master Xingzheng's expression turned serious, "There are many countries and people there? Are the people's lives very difficult?"
"Yes, there are many countries. The larger ones include the Kazakh Khanate, the Khiva Khanate, the Bukhara Khanate, etc. Although the population is not as large as that of Jiangnan, there are still millions of people. But now these khanates have been designated
The king's army was destroyed, and all the land and population have been incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"It's just that the declining nobles in the local area were unwilling to lose their country and their throne, so they repeatedly incited the local people to launch rebellions. King Ding's army was also made to worry about one thing and the other, so they had no choice but to ask for help from the imperial court." Chongzhen said, "But after thinking again and again, I decided that
I believe that pure military means cannot solve the problem. Only by taking a multi-pronged approach from multiple fields such as military, religion and culture can it be possible for Central Asia to truly be integrated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
"Understood." Master Xingzheng exclaimed, "After the poor monk returned to Shaolin, he organized the monks in the temple to go to Central Asia to lecture on the scriptures."
Chongzhen said hurriedly: "The situation in the Western Regions and Central Asia is very chaotic right now, with thieves and bandits emerging in droves, so the monks of Shaolin Temple had better go with the army."
"Amitabha." Master Xingzheng stood up and pronounced the Buddha's name, then turned and left.
Just as Master Xingzheng left, another young eunuch came in to report that Huang Zongxi had arrived in the Supervision Department. Chongzhen immediately signaled Lu Jiude to bring Huang Zongxi in.
"Your Majesty, Huang Zongxi, comes to see you." Huang Zongxi bowed his hands and bowed.
Chongzhen waved his hand casually and asked, "How is the investigation of the Shi family's bribery case going?"
"I have investigated clearly." Huang Zongxi said firmly, "Shi Jiuke did not bribe the Zheng family, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank did not violate the rules when lending money to the Shi family silk workshop. This is a false accusation."
"Are you sure it's a false accusation?" Chongzhen asked in a deep voice, "There is no violation of regulations, let alone any violation of law?"
"It's definitely a false accusation. There is no violation and there is no violation of the law." Huang Zongxi's answer was decisive, but after a slight pause, he continued, "But..."
"But what? Say what you have to say, don't hesitate."
"Yes, I will speak frankly. I heard a lot of rumors before, saying that Mr. Zheng was carrying out a large-scale construction project in Kuaiji. He not only repaired the ancestral tombs, but also built a magnificent and unprecedented mansion."
"Magnificent and unprecedented in specifications? How unprecedented? How grand? Can it have nine entrances and nine spans?"
"That's not true, but the house occupies a small half of Kuaiji County. There are also many kinds of precious flowers and trees planted in the back garden. During the flower season, they are as spectacular as those in Xiyuan. Oh, by the way, there are also a lot of Taihu stones piled in the garden.
These are transported thousands of miles from Taihu Lake, and the cost here is probably not small."
Upon hearing this, Chongzhen's face gradually became solemn.
Huang Zongxi's meaning is already obvious, Zheng Zunqian is corrupt.
Speaking of which, Zheng Zunqian's salary is not low, or it can be said to be very high.
The monthly salary is very small, but the dividends at the end of the year are quite large, and bonuses for work-related matters are not less. It is conservatively estimated that Zheng Zunqian's salary last year reached more than 10,000 yuan.
Such a generous salary is enough to lead a very comfortable life.
But if you want to build the luxury house Huang Zongxi talks about, it may not be enough.
Therefore, there must be something wrong with this, and Zheng Zunqian has really fallen.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen felt a little sad. People do change.
Huang Zongxi then asked: "Your Majesty, do you want to continue to investigate?"
"Don't check for now. Let's wait until I find Ma Mingluan to understand the situation."
After a pause, Chongzhen continued: "Let's get down to business. I came to you today for another matter. You have to select a group of capable inspectors as soon as possible. This time, you will follow the 3rd Division to defend Samarkand.
"
"Samarkand?" This really surprised Huang Zongxi. Samarkand was far away in Central Asia, and not long after King Ding's army captured Samarkand, the government agencies of the Ming Dynasty had not yet been established. In this case, it was necessary
Send inspectors? If there are no officials, who will the inspectors monitor?
Chongzhen said: "Keep an eye on the monks from various monasteries who are going to Central Asia to preach scriptures and Dharma for me."
"Monks?" Huang Zongping was even more confused, "Monks also want to monitor?"
"Yes, monks also need to be supervised," Chongzhen said, "because the monks sent to Central Asia to preach scriptures and Dharma do not go empty-handed. The court needs to provide them with a large amount of money and food."
The monks from the Shaolin Temple were not the only ones who went to Central Asia this time.
There are also monks from other temples, totaling more than 10,000 monks.
The great monks in Southern Shaolin, Northern Shaolin and other monasteries may naively believe that relying on the mercy of our Buddha can influence the rioters in Central Asia, but Chongzhen is not so naive.
After all, the Green Sect has been deeply rooted in Central Asia for thousands of years and is deeply rooted.
It is sheer wishful thinking for Buddhism to compete for followers from the Green Sect with empty words.
In view of this, Chongzhen also prepared a big killer weapon for Buddhism, that is - money and food.
Just imagine, after listening to a lecture by a great monk from the East, you can drink a bowl of porridge for free, or receive a small bag of rice or corn flour. Who would be stupid enough to refuse?
After listening to Buddhism a few times, the poor people in Central Asia will basically convert to Buddhism.
After all, those who converted to Buddhism have food to eat and porridge to drink, so who would refuse?
"In this way, I will understand." Huang Zongxi said, "I will select a group of inspectors to keep an eye on the monks who preach scriptures and Dharma, and will never allow them to waste a penny or a grain of food from the court."
"No, that's not the point." Chongzhen shook his head and said, "The point is that these monks cannot be organized. In other words, it is to decentralize these monks."
"Decentralization? Does the Holy Spirit mean that these monks cannot have a core organization?" Huang Zongxi said.
"Yes, these monks cannot be allowed to form a core organization. Even those monks who left the Shaolin Temple cannot form a subordinate relationship with each other after establishing their own dojos. All dojos can only receive money and food from local government agencies, and
It cannot be distributed by a dojo."
The key to religious secularization is decentralization and de-hierarchy.
There can be no superior-subordinate relationship between dojos and temples, and there is no transfer of money, food and benefits. The abbot and abbot of each dojo or temple are of the same rank and have equal status, even if there is only one monk.
The abbot of the temple has the same status as the Shaolin abbot with thousands of monks.
This ensures that Buddhism will not become too big and become too big.
Otherwise, with millions of believers, the leader of the great monks can just climb up and shout, and he can directly kill officials and rebel. In this way, it will be the front door to drive away the wolf, and the back door to enter the tiger. It will be meaningless to support Buddhism to replace the green religion or Christianity.
, doing useless work, so Chongzhen must nip this dangerous factor in the cradle.
After a pause, Chongzhen continued: "Once it is discovered that monks in certain monasteries or temples are secretly communicating with each other, or secretly recruiting and training monk soldiers, they must be reported to the local garrison immediately."
Actually, what Chongzhen was guarding against was not the unity of monks.
What Chongzhen was guarding against were cults such as the White Lotus Sect and the Maitreya Sect.
Buddhism has been secularized in China for so many years, but cults such as the White Lotus Sect and the Maitreya Sect are still banned repeatedly. Once the monster monks of these cults are allowed to mix into the ranks of monks in Central Asia, they must not take the opportunity to make waves? So we must keep an eye on it.
Okay, we can't give these cults the slightest chance.
…
In the territory of the former Bukhara Khanate, Vardanz Fortress.
Zhu Cijiong stared at the fortress gate with a murderous expression.
The reason why Zhu Cijiong was angry was that the Uzbeks in Vardanz launched a rebellion and attacked the Ming army soldiers stationed in the fortress. Thanks to the Ming army soldiers who withdrew from the fortress in time, no greater losses were caused.
But even so, there were still more than a hundred Ming army soldiers killed or injured in this rebellion.
After hearing the news, Zhu Cijiong immediately led a cavalry division from Samarkand to Vardanci to put down the rebellion.
"Send the order, all artillery regiments use full firepower to open the fortress for Gu." Zhu Cijiong gritted his teeth and said, "Listen, Gu is saying that the artillery firepower is full and don't take into account the people in the city."
Zhu Cijiong could no longer suppress the anger in his chest.
Because this is already the third rebellion of Valdanz Fortress.
These ungrateful Uzbeks, let you experience the taste of the Ming Dynasty Iron Fist today!
Valdanz was just an adobe fortress. Not long after the bombardment, the main entrance of the fortress collapsed. The Ming cavalry, which had been ready to attack, poured into the fortress like a tide and killed everyone on sight.
In less than an hour, Valdanz was killed and his blood flowed like a river.
After making sure that there was no one alive in the fortress, Zhu Cijiong entered the fortress surrounded by Hu Guozhu and others.
Looking at the corpses of Uzbek rioters scattered on the ground, Hu Guozhu said with some worry: "Your Highness, collect these corpses and burn them quickly, otherwise it may trigger a larger-scale riot."
Zhu Cijiong also understood what Hu Guozhu said. If the killing is not thorough, it will only trigger a larger-scale rebellion.
But this time Zhu Cijiong was obviously impatient and said in a hateful voice: "No, Gu has had enough. According to Gu's decree, not only can the corpses not be destroyed and exterminated this time, but the corpses of these thugs must also be hung on the walls of the fortress. Gu wants
Use the corpses of these mobs to warn the nobles and remnants of the Bukhara Khanate that being an enemy of the Ming Dynasty will only lead to death!"