Chapter 629: The person who collects taxes from Buddhism has unique wisdom and deep connections with Buddhism?
Daxiangguo Temple.
As an old Bianjing native, Li Yan's visits here are undoubtedly unqualified.
Moreover, the first two times I came here were related to cases.
The first time was when the boss of Happy Forest was killed. At that time, I followed the clues all the way, but just passed by in a hurry and went straight to the next place.
The second time was when Empress Dowager Xiang was assassinated. At that time, there were Banzhi guards outside guarding the area, preventing crowds from entering the three core areas of Tianwang Hall, Buddha Hall and Zisheng Hall.
So the third time I came here, I really had a good visit to Daxiangguo Temple.
"'Brilliant and magnificent, the clouds disfigure it'. It is indeed the first royal temple in history to 'open a temple for the country'. The Daci'en Temple in the former Tang Dynasty did not have such treatment!"
Li Yan walked in the temple, which has deep and wide courtyards, rigorous layout, majestic palaces, and majestic temples. He was very relaxed with the mentality of a tourist.
Gao Qiu was anxious, and he endured it again and again, but finally couldn't hold it back: "Master Lin, don't we go visit Zen Master Zhiyuan?"
Li Yan raised his eyebrows slightly: "The current abbot of Daxiangguo Temple is no longer Zen Master Zhiqing?"
Gao Qiu said: "Since the Queen Mother was assassinated, Zen Master Zhiyuan has taken over as the host."
Li Yan nodded clearly: "Then there's no need to rush. Let's see if they are willing to take the initiative to greet..."
Gao Qiu looked behind him, and he saw a large number of guards from the Imperial City Division following him, walking as if they were relatives. With such ferocious looks, the believers who entered the temple to worship all avoided them, not feeling ashamed, but feeling proud: "
Yes, it’s time for these monks to come out to greet us!”
This group of uninvited guests did quickly attract the attention of the monks in the temple, but after waiting and waiting, no eminent monk came forward to greet them.
Gao Qiu's face darkened and he gritted his teeth and said, "These monks are really rude!"
After all, this is the number one Buddhist temple in the world. Even the Queen Mother comes here to pray for the officials. The Imperial City Secretary was inconvenienced and immediately became angry. Li Yan tested his attitude and knew better, so he stopped wandering: "
Let’s go to Zuo Street first.”
In the Daxiangguo Temple, there is the "Left Street" which is directly under the central management, and the "Right Street" located in Kaibao Temple, another royal temple, has the same jurisdiction and jurisdiction over national Buddhist affairs.
During the Tang Dynasty, the religious management agency was under the management of the Chongxuan Department under Honglu Temple and was located in the imperial city. Now it is better to move directly to Daxiangguo Temple and Kaibao Temple. Temples all over the country have to handle business.
Going to these two royal temples, you can imagine their leadership status.
Of course, there are historical reasons for this. When Li Yan, along with Gao Qiu and a large group of Imperial City Secretary followers, officially entered this imperial institution, what struck his eyes were stacks of bookshelves filled with a massive amount of documents.
The officials who came up did not dare to offend the Imperial City Secretary. Seeing Gao Qiu following behind Li Yan like a follower, he quickly introduced enthusiastically: "These are documents from Buddhist temples in various places. I wonder what the senior officials want to check?"
Gao Qiu couldn't help being shocked when he saw it: "So many?"
Li Yan smiled slightly: "Before the Shenzong Dynasty, I'm afraid there wouldn't be so many. It wasn't until after the opening of the border that a large number of Buddhist temples were built. This number is not surprising. I'm afraid there are still so many on the 'right street'."
The official was a little surprised: "I didn't expect that senior officials know so much about Buddhism..."
Of course Li Yan understood that Buddhism was extremely prosperous in the Tang Dynasty, but it also aroused the disgust and hatred of many high-level officials. In the Song Dynasty, it eased a lot. One reason is that Buddhism not only has the value of religious guidance, but can also participate in secular military wars.
.
This also has a general background. For the entire East Asian continent today, widespread belief in Buddhism is a common feature of all ethnic groups. As a result, Buddhist monks play an important role in the exchanges between various ethnic groups.
For example, in Tuobian during the Shenzong period, when Zhang Dun opened the "Meishan Barbarians", he relied on the influence of famous local monks to convince the barbarians. After tasting the benefits, he immediately recruited famous monks to join the army. When Xihe opened the border, the monks also took the lead.
Go and lobby, and everyone who is willing to listen will join Amitabha. If there is anyone who does not listen, Song soldiers will follow closely and start fighting. This is to be polite first and then to fight.
After the success of opening the border, the imperial court began to build Buddhist temples in the newly occupied areas, using its power of education to cater to the hearts of the barbarians, so as to smoothly transition the rule, and then subtly change the customs.
Since people of all ethnic groups subconsciously believe in Buddhism and have few doubts, it is also a Buddha. The Buddha of the Northern Song Dynasty was the product of the merger of the three religions. There are many "private goods" in it. Over time, it can have a cultural influence. "With Chinese Dharma teachings,
Control it”.
For the same reason, in the espionage war between the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom and Xixia Dynasty, many of the spies were monks. The Liao Kingdom was the most direct. They simply sent people to become a monk in Mount Wutai and return to the country after completing their studies to "explore
The imperial court was so panicked that it ordered Wutai Mountain to conduct a strict identity check, but it still could not prohibit the activities of spies and monks among the people.
According to Li Yan's thinking, the Imperial City Division, a secret service agency, should have close ties with Buddhism, cultivate a large number of monks and spies, and engage in peaceful evolution among the surrounding ethnic groups. However, the Imperial City Division was half-abandoned before, and now it has only become a
A tool to suppress internal voices obviously does not have such strategic thinking.
Of course, it is too late now. The Liao Kingdom and Xixia have already been destroyed. The real enemy is the rising Jurchen tribe. This tribe believes in shamanism and is the only one in East Asia that does not believe in Buddhism. The Southern Song Dynasty in history
In the early days, due to habitual thinking, the spies pretended to be monks to deliver messages. However, when the Jurchens saw where the monks were from, they immediately arrested him and found out that they were indeed spies from the Song Dynasty.
Anyway, each era has its own characteristics. After three campaigns to exterminate Buddhism, Buddhism, a foreign religion, finally reached a balance between secularity and religion with the court. Today, in addition to not paying taxes and doing corvee, and sucking the blood of the people, Buddhism now has
He did many things entrusted by the imperial court.
Therefore, with the endorsement of Gao Qiu, an official figure, Li Yan chose to come here to look for clues against Ming Zunjiao.
He visited the bookshelf, randomly selected some documents and flipped through them. He determined that the documents compiled by temples from various places had very detailed records, many of which contained records of folk obscenities and evil sacrifices. He said to the officials: "In the past five years, you have
Everything reported by the Buddhist temple about the movements of Mingzun believers has been sorted out."
The official's expression changed slightly: "This... so many..."
Hearing this, Gao Qiu immediately shouted: "What? You are used to being lazy and unwilling to do things? If you don't want to do it, I will ask you to find someone who is willing to do it immediately!"
For example, the officials in Zuojie are all ninth-rank minor officials. If the Imperial City Secretary really wants to take it, no one will pay attention. The officials hurriedly nodded and bowed: "Please don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter. Come quickly. Come quickly."
Organize the paperwork!”
Seeing the fat-headed and big-eared officials mobilizing one after another, they came to the tall shelves and began to read documents. Gao Qiu frowned: "Mr. Lin, can we find clues with these people?"
Li Yan had long been accustomed to the efficiency of the Northern Song Dynasty court. He found a seat and sat down. After receiving the tea offered by Li Xu, he took a sip and said: "This is how to solve a case and look for clues. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort, but it doesn't work."
It may just be misleading information. I can understand Gao Ti's anxiety. I also hope to capture those thieves quickly to prevent the people of the capital from being harmed again, but haste makes waste in haste.
"
"What Mr. Lin said makes sense..."
Gao Qiu sat opposite him, nodded first, and began to taste tea.
But after drinking a few cups of tea, he quickly lost his patience, rolled his eyes, and called his men to give low-key instructions.
Li Yan did not stop him and sipped the tea calmly, but Gao Qiu took the initiative and said: "Mr. Lin, our main investigation now is the capital. I think we should let the abbot of the Daxiangguo Temple come forward. What do you think?"
Li Yandao: "From the previous active avoidance of monks, we can see that after the assassination of the Queen Mother, the monks of Daxiangguo Temple had a negative attitude based on the idea that doing more is worse than doing less."
"After all, we are here to seek help. It's okay to say that Zuojie is an institution of the imperial court. If those eminent monks really avoid them, we can't force them, right?"
Gao Qiu observed his words and found that this man had no respect and respect for Buddhism. He immediately sneered: "Then please wait and see, Mr. Lin, to see what our Imperial City Secretary can do!"
Li Yan was noncommittal.
However, less than half an hour later, there was indeed a noise outside, and there were also sounds of people crying and wailing. Li Yan raised his eyebrows slightly: "What's going on?"
Gao Qiu sneered: "I guess it's a matter of lending money. There are different schools in the Daxiangguo Temple, and the letter money sent out has deceived many people. Since they don't give me face, I don't have to give them face...
…”
Li Yan laughed in his heart. He had to say that the Imperial City Secretary was really skilled at doing these things.
The winter solstice has just passed. During this festival, many people will borrow money in order to reunite their families and even have face when worshiping their ancestors. The Daxiangguo Temple has made a lot of money from this business, but because this royal temple is made up of different
The Buddhist sect is composed of a lot of tricks and frauds. The Imperial City Secretary started to use this, which naturally caused disputes and began to intervene in an honest and fair manner.
"Amitabha!"
Seeing that the commotion outside was getting louder and louder, finally a deep and mellow voice, like Zen singing, echoed in everyone's ears, as if it was explaining the scriptures.
Gao Qiu got up and came to the door. He saw a group of eminent monks from the temple approaching. Although the old monk at the head was not tall, he walked very upright, like a bronze bell, without any deviation. He was the wise wish to take over as the host.
Gao Qiu smiled coldly, put his hands behind his back, and walked out proudly.
Li Yan also put down his tea cup and came to the door of Zuo Street.
The current presiding Zen Master Zhiyuan first glanced at Gao Qiu, and then his eyes fell over. He was slightly startled. After carefully looking at Li Yan, he clasped his hands and said: "Tan Yue has unique wisdom and deep connections with Buddha. I have lost my way."