Since he decided to be a bitter brother, there was no need to hide some information. However, when Jin Zhizhao told his junior brother's background, Li Yan was still slightly startled.
Needless to say, Shaolin Temple became a household name in later generations, and it also became famous in the early Tang Dynasty. Shaolin Damo Jin is the number one fighting secret skill in Buddhism, and An Zhongjing of Liangzhou practiced that skill.
He is not an exception. Shaolin Temple participated in the battle between Li Shimin and Wang Shichong. Thirteen-stick monks captured Wang Renze. The martial arts became famous all over the world. During the Zhenguan period, many high-ranking gentry who advocated martial virtue would send their children to the temple.
Learn martial arts in Shaolin Temple.
But nowadays, fewer and fewer people go to Shaolin, especially the noble disciples in Guan Nei. More and more of them are kept at home, unable to endure hardships. They only do cockfighting and running dogs all day long, turning into idle rice bugs.
Li Yan asked: "Did your junior brother come from a noble family and was sent to the Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts by the elders of the family, or was he a monk originally born in Shaolin?"
Jin Zhizhao said: "I don't know. He has already returned to secular life. After joining Master's disciples, he only talked about the past, and it is not easy to find out the root cause."
Yang Zaiwei shook his head and said: "I was the first to join, and my junior brother was the last. We haven't met many times, so we are not very familiar with each other."
Li Yan asked again: "When was the last time I saw him?"
Jin Zhizhao replied: "A few months ago, due to the great disaster in Guanzhong, he asked for rice and grain for the village. I asked Gong Siye to send several Gong family caravans to Guanzhong, deliberately letting my junior brother's men seize the grain."
Li Yan thought of the grain and grass stored in the village. When other places in Guanzhong were starving and dying, in a small village, the thieves were glowing with food and full of energy. As expected, they had good connections to borrow grain, so the Gong family gave it to them for free.
…
The expert in the village reappeared in his mind, and he sneered: "So that's it, this person is training monk soldiers and wants to imitate the thirteen monks who captured the city. No wonder there are enough rice and grain tubes and abundant materials. This is
We must take advantage of the famine to attract people."
"If Beiya hadn't been encircled and suppressed by hundreds of cavalry, that mountain stronghold would be easy to defend but difficult to attack, and there is a secret passage leading to the mountainside. Even the elite soldiers of Zhechong Prefecture would have been unable to do anything."
"Compared to you fighting alone, this junior brother's power is greater. There must be more than one such stronghold, right?"
Jin Zhizhao frowned: "Li Yuanfang, aren't you planning to negotiate with my junior brother? Why do you sound like you want to uproot him?"
Li Yan said: "Things have priorities. This is indeed a negotiation. How to find him?"
Jin Zhizhao said: "We don't know where junior brother is now, but I heard before that he still has contact with Shaolin Temple. You might as well send someone to the temple to ask, maybe there is a way to contact him."
Li Yan nodded: "Okay."
Shaolin Temple is less than sixty miles away from Luoyang. It can be reached in a few hours with a quick horse. Li Yan asked to calm his nerves and asked: "Zhongjing once studied with the thirteen warrior monks of Shaolin Temple. Do you have a close relationship with Shaolin?"
familiar?"
An Shengan was startled when he heard this: "Shaolin Temple, I haven't contacted you for a long time. Ninth Brother's Jinfa was taught by the monks in the temple. He came to my house to teach in person, and did not go to the mountain to learn the skills."
After Li Yan asked carefully, he realized that the role of Shaolin Temple in the early Tang Dynasty was a bit like the most famous fitness center in Buddhism. The Thirteen Stick Monk was the famous fitness instructor.
However, the highest flow of these gold medal coaches was during the Zhenguan period. Nowadays, most of them are dead, and those who are still alive are also old and aged in their seventies and eighties. Those who teach them are apprentices, and they are willing to come to serve as personal coaches for high-ranking students.
An Zhongjing studied in his own residence and did not enter a temple. Members of the An family have never been to Shaolin at all.
Li Yan originally thought that finding someone he knew would make things more efficient. After all, the rebellion was urgent and if chaos really broke out in Jiangnan, it would be too late. But since An was not familiar with him, he summoned several other internal guards.
Give instructions and ask them to go to Songshan Mountain to bring people back.
However, An Shengan listened nearby and frowned and said: "Liu Lang, this Shaolin Temple is no better than other Buddhist temples. I'm afraid it needs to send more manpower."
Li Yan raised his eyebrows: "Why, a mere Shaolin, dare to resist the law and protect the suspect?"
Anshengan paused and explained in a low voice: "This is not the first time that Shaolin Temple has resisted the law and disobeyed the law..."
In fact, as soon as he started talking, Li Yan remembered that the Shaolin Temple really relied on force to resist the law.
The so-called contribution of the Thirteen Stick Monks to the King of Diligence is due to the fact that during the struggle among the heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Wang Shichong's nephew Wang Renze wanted to confiscate the land of the Shaolin Temple. The Shaolin Temple immediately resisted and helped the Tang Dynasty.
Then Li Yuan issued an edict to demolish the Shaolin temple and dissolve the monks. There are different opinions on the reasons. Anyway, Shaolin refused to obey. However, the pattern of the Tang Dynasty's domination of the world was established. They did not insist on it. They ordered representatives to go to see Li Shimin, tell them about their merits, and beg for retention.
, in the end, after several years of being a housekeeper, he gave up.
This temple is not yet the most famous temple in the world, and its influence in Buddhism is far inferior to that of Daci'en Temple and even Famen Temple. However, it flourished during the Tang Dynasty.
During this period, he accumulated more than 14,000 acres of farmland, more than 5,000 pavilions and pavilions, and thousands of monks. There was no Shaolin Temple in the political arena, but relying on the abundant land and training of monk soldiers every day, it was impossible to deal with this landless tiger.
It's not easy.
This is obviously what Anshengan is worried about: "Shaolin Temple is no different from other temples. The monk soldiers in the temple are personally gifted by Taizong Yukou. If there is a conflict, the internal guards will only go to a few people, and they will definitely not be able to please them. And if there is no evidence, they will accuse them."
Denial, in the end there is nothing you can do.”
Li Yan turned to Jin Zhizhao: "Besides the Shaolin Temple clue, do you have any other contact methods?"
Jin Zhizhao shook his head: "No, we used to go our own way and rarely get together."
Li Yan pondered for a moment, and his voice became colder: "It seems that I am going to the palace to ask for a decree!"
…
Ziwei Palace.
East Palace.
The chamberlain reported: "Your Highness, the chamberlain Li Jiyi has come to see you."
The prince was discussing matters with the ministers, and his expression immediately became solemn: "Invite him in."
After hearing this, the other ministers also looked solemn.
The last time Li Yuanfang came here was when King Yong Li Xian was awarded a reward, he cleverly resolved the crisis. Now King Yong is revising and annotating the "Book of the Later Han" at his residence. He is very happy with the scholars. The brotherhood is harmonious and has become a good talk. Everyone has been much more relaxed recently.
The disaster situation in Guanzhong has basically been stabilized, and the next step is for the people who fled the famine to return to the prefectures and counties for resettlement.
What this person has done is a big deal. What did the inner guard discover when he came this time?
Li Yan walked into the palace and presented the testimony: "Your Highness, please take a look."
The prince looked at it carefully and suddenly frowned: "King Poyang wants to start a rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River?"
As soon as these words came out, all the officials in the palace changed their expressions.
If a rebellion is really going to happen, it will be the first time that this dynasty has ever happened!
On the contrary, the prince was the calmest. The supervisor of the country became more and more calm and calm, and said: "If you really want to incriminate yourself, there is no need to worry about it. You can't go into a big fight over this matter and cause turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River."
This sentence shows the attitude. If it is Empress Wu, even if she knows that King Poyang is unjust, she will still use it to achieve political goals. The prince wants to suppress it.
But Miao Shenke took a step forward and admonished: "Your Highness, the thieves are vicious. If they take advantage of the reputation of King Poyang and really start a rebellion, even if they fail, it will not only affect the prestige of your Highness overseeing the country, but also the people of Jiangnan."
It’s a huge blow!”
Other East Palace officials and North Gate bachelors also held similar opinions: "Your Highness, this matter must be taken precautions before it happens. We must not take it lightly!"
After the prince pondered, he nodded slowly: "I didn't think carefully. I really can't ignore it and increase the arrogance of the thieves... Go and invite the minister!"
The Lai Shilang was Prime Minister Lai Heng and concurrently the Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He basically succeeded Li Jingxuan, but his power was far less than that of Li Jingxuan.
Because this person is from Jiangdu and is not very good at uniting his subordinates. Although he has promoted many officials from Jiangnan, they have not yet been integrated into a real Jiangnan force. It is precisely because of these characteristics that Li Zhi promoted him to avoid
Once again, Li Jingxuan's family is the only one in power.
It is true that a dominant family has been avoided, but recently there are signs of regional fighting in the court.
The Shandong gentry and the Jiangnan gentry wanted to fight for their rights and interests, so they challenged the gentry in Guan Nei, targeting the vacated important positions in the six ministries. The prince acted as an intermediary, hoping to take this opportunity to balance the political situation of all parties.
In this regard, the Crown Prince, Li Zhi and Empress Wu had the same views. The proportion of power in Guanzhong was too great and must be checked and balanced.
When Lai Heng entered the palace, he was somewhat delighted. Nowadays, both the Minister of Criminal Affairs and the Minister of Household Affairs are vacant. Once he wins these two positions of real power, he will be able to form a large faction. Who can resist this temptation?
As a result, he went to the palace to bow down, and then received the testimony. After a quick scan, Lai Heng's expression suddenly solidified, and he exclaimed: "The King of Poyang has always been weak and sick, how could he raise an army to rebel? This is probably a slander by a thief!"
Regarding the major matter of rebellion, he did not dare to say anything. Instead, the prince nodded and said: "I still have an impression of this fourth brother. He is a gentle and kind person and will not do such evil things."
Lai Heng felt certain in his heart, as if he had been granted amnesty: "Your Highness is kind and virtuous."
The prince said: "Nowadays, water transport is becoming more and more important, but there are no officials to manage it full-time. I intend to open a water transport department, rectify water transport, and increase the intensity of transporting rice from various places. Come, Minister, you go to Jiangdu and report the situation in the south of the Yangtze River.
"
Come to Hengxin to understand the truth, and said loudly: "I have no shirking responsibility!"
Once a major rebellion occurs in the Jiangnan area, no matter whether it is successful or not, the previous efforts of the Jiangnan nobles will be in vain, and if they go to counter the rebellion, it will be a heavy blow. Now the prince is secretly using water transportation to
He investigated to minimize the impact while eliminating the disaster.
Of course, this would test the ability of the executor. As the prime minister, Lai Heng naturally would not think that this matter could not be solved. He accepted the order with high spirits and quickly resigned.
After deciding on this most important matter, the prince stopped the discussion of other officials and looked at Li Yan in a tacit understanding: "Yuanfang, do you have any other important matters?"
Li Yan handed over his hand: "The internal guards are tracking down clues related to an ancient Buddhist temple. I request an order to investigate the Songshan Shaolin Temple!"