Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 343: The Profound Dharma
"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

In Suzhou, there are no trees on either side of the official road. There are only abandoned fields and dead bones lying in waist-high weeds.

Hundreds of armored soldiers on horseback fled westward in panic, raising a cloud of dust...

"Damn it, yeah yeah, I'm going to kill this Wang Xiaonian one day!!"

On horseback, the disheveled Wang Xianzhi shouted and cursed the names of others, because the appearance of this person ruined his plan to force the court to surrender him with high positions and generous salaries.

No one could tell that two months ago today, he, Wang Xianzhi, was still the "General of Heavenly Blessing and Pingjun" and the "Commander-in-Chief of All the Heroes in the Country" with 8,000 soldiers and 100,000 troops.

However, after the defeat at Gaoyou, he had no choice but to lead thousands of soldiers and nearly ten thousand bandits to retreat north to Chuzhou, and then to Haizhou.

When Wang Xianzhi learned that Wang Shi had set up defenses on the canal, he knew that Wang Shi was planning to completely encircle and annihilate them, so Wang Xianzhi did not choose to sit and wait for death.

He originally wanted to rely on Haizhou's shipbuilding technology to sail out to the sea and head south to the south of the Yangtze River.

As a result, Wang Shi had anticipated his move and transferred the Huainan navy in advance to blockade all the coastal waters south of Haizhou.

Unable to travel by sea, Wang Xianzhi could only lead his people to break out westwards.

However, as he led his troops to break out westwards, Wang Shi slowly commanded his army to press forward step by step, and finally forced him into the encirclement of Fuli County, Suzhou.

Thousands of armored soldiers and nearly 20,000 bandits who were recruited later were completely wiped out by the government army. Only more than 300 old brothers of the Tianping garrison and Wang Xianzhi broke through the siege.

Although they are still in Suzhou, they have broken through the defense line of Tongji Canal and are about to enter Yingzhou.

Shang Rang rode forward and asked Wang Xianzhi loudly while galloping: "General, where should we go now?!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xianzhi cursed without thinking: "Damn it, Wang Xiaonian is so powerful, I am no match for him. Now my only option is to head south to the Dabie Mountains to avoid him."

"This Wang Xiaonian has been appointed as the punitive envoy. Pang Xun in the north is still causing chaos in Qingzhou. He will eventually go north."

"There are many bandits in Dabie Mountain. When Wang Xiaonian goes north, we will wave the flags and make it difficult for Wang Xiaonian to deal with the situation!"

Wang Xianzhi's words undoubtedly gave some confidence to the more than 300 fleeing cavalrymen.

With the sound of horse reins shaking, they all turned southward to the Dabie Mountains.

At the same time, the pursuers sent by Wang Shi were also in hot pursuit. It was not until half a month later, when Wang Xianzhi and his men looted several villages and fled into the Dabie Mountains, that Wang She, who led elite cavalry in pursuit, passed the news back to Suzhou.

At this time, the canal had been reopened, and grain from Huainan and Jiangnan was being transported to Luoyang through the Tongji Canal.

In addition, Wang Shi was also waiting for news from Wang She in Suzhou, while at the same time encircling and suppressing Wang Xianzhi's scattered old subordinates and training troops from various towns.

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

Outside Suqian County, the shouts and cries of killing were deafening in the military camp. The troops from various towns, who had experienced the Battle of Gaoyou and the Battle of Suzhou, finally had some of the flavor of the "Tang Army".

At this moment, Wang Shi was standing on the training platform, in front of him were 30,000 soldiers from various garrisons who were training.

However, his attention was not on the troops from various towns, but on the military newspaper in his hand.

"The bandit Wang led more than 300 people to plunder several villages, then abandoned their horses and fled into the Dabie Mountains."

"Wang's troops captured 372 horses, but were unable to kill the thief outside the Dabie Mountains."

Wang Xianzhi's military report made Wang Congjian, Yang Fugong and Zhao Qian who were standing behind him very happy.

For them, being able to defeat Wang Xianzhi and leave only 300 remnants of his army was enough to show their merit to the court.

"I will report this matter to the court, but as long as Wang Xianzhi is alive, he will always be a threat to the court."

"I will petition the court to request that troops from Jingnan, Eyue, Jiangxi, Shandong (Shannan East Road) and other garrisons be dispatched in turns to trap the Dabie Mountains to death."

"If we keep surrounding him for a few months, we won't have to worry about this bandit coming out to surrender..."

Wang Shi arranged the matters in the south, and then said to the three people behind him:

"Order the three armies to rest for five days, and then divide the troops and march north. I will wipe out all of Pang's troops in Zibo and Qing before the end of the year!"

"The last general takes orders..."

The three generals bowed in response, and then at Wang Shi's signal, they conveyed the general's order to the three armies.

Five days later, 30,000 troops from various towns marched north.

Yang Fugong led 5,000 Zhongwu troops to Yunzhou, Zhao Qian led 5,000 Yicheng and Huainan troops as the vanguard to Qingzhou, and Wang Shi led 20,000 troops to cover the rear.

In addition, Wang Shi ordered Yang Gonghan, the governor of Tianping Army, to lead 3,000 new soldiers of Tianping Army to defend Qizhou to the death.

Li Fu, Li Yan, Li Xun and other three military governors of Xuanwu, Yicheng and Ziqing led their troops to guard Mizhou, waiting for Wang Shi to lead his troops to arrive, and then join forces to defeat Pang Xun.

Under Wang Shi's arrangement, the route and plan for the government troops to march north to attack had been determined.

Pang Xun, who was still looting in Zibo and Qingzhou, had no idea of Wang Xianzhi's disastrous defeat. This was a perfect opportunity for Wang Shi to go north and capture Pang.

"Good good..."

On the second day of May, when the memorial written by Wang Shi arrived in Chang'an, Emperor Li Yi applauded again.

However, this time he did not appear in the Zichen Hall, but remained in his Xianning Palace.

The difference was that this time there were not so many musicians and actors in the Xianning Palace. Instead, there were hundreds of monks surrounding a middle-aged monk who was reciting Buddhist scriptures.

The food on Li Yi's table also changed from the usual delicacies on jade plates to various seasonal vegetables and fruits.

"Have you prepared the food for the great masters?"

Li Yi asked Tian Yun, and Tian Yun bowed and said, "Everything is ready. We can serve the meal as soon as the chanting is finished."

"Hmm..." Li Yi nodded, his face looking very happy, and then he glanced at the memorial on the table and continued, "Go to the Southern Court and summon the three ministers."

"Yes……"

Tian Yun agreed, then stepped down from the golden platform and walked out.

At the same time, the chanting of the monks gradually became quieter and finally subsided.

Seeing this, Li Yi stepped down from the golden platform, came to the middle-aged monk and bowed, saying, "Excuse me, sir, is the chanting of sutras finished today?"

"Your Majesty, the chanting has ended. I wonder if I can leave the palace now?"

The middle-aged monk slowly opened his eyes, stood up and bowed, while asking Li Yi in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi said, "I would like to have a chat with you about Buddhism."

"In addition, the palace has prepared food. You can stay in the main hall to eat. I would like to ask Master Fahai to go to the side hall to discuss Buddhism with me."

"Good..." Fahai nodded, then turned to the monks behind him and said:

"Everyone is waiting here. Please be careful when eating and do not disturb His Majesty."

"Follow Master's instructions..."

The monks bowed in response, then sat cross-legged in the hall.

Seeing that the monks were behaving themselves, Fahai immediately went to the side hall with Li Yi.

Soon, the two came to the side hall. Li Yi sat in the main seat and Fahai sat in the first seat on the left.

Speaking of which, Fahai's experience is also very legendary, so folk literati and poets wrote many stories for him.

Fahai's secular name was Pei Wende. When he was young, he was sent to Mount Wei to practice Buddhism by his father Pei Xiu, the governor of Tanzhou. The abbot of the temple, Master Lingyou, gave him the name "Fahai".

When practicing in the mountains, fetching water is a necessary task, so Fahai often needed to go down the mountain to fetch water, while reciting Buddhist scriptures to improve his Buddhism.

Fahai's elder sister could not bear to see him go through the trouble of carrying water up and down the mountain, so she donated her cosmetics money to the temple and built a huge drinking water pond for the permanent residents, which she euphemistically named "Beauty's Pond".

After three years of hard work of carrying water, Fahai went into seclusion for another three years. By the time the temple was reopened, he had become a great monk in the temple.

After Pei Xiu became prime minister, Fahai went to Runzhou to practice hard. While renovating Zexin Temple, he dug up gold and handed it over to the government.

At the same time, white pythons appeared in the caves of Zexin Temple, often attacking people and preying on their livestock.

When Fahai learned about this, he went to the cave with his Zen staff and drove the white python into the Yangtze River.

These stories of his were widely circulated in the local area, and the government sent them, along with the gold he had dug up and handed in in his early years, to Chang'an in the form of a memorial.

When Tang Xuanzong Li Chen learned about this, he immediately changed the name of Zexin Temple to Jinshan Temple. The story of Fahai subduing the white python in Jinshan Temple was also artistically processed by many scholars in Chang'an.

Today, the story of Fahai subduing a ten-foot-long white python has evolved into the saying "There was a four or five-foot-long white python in Jinshan Temple, which often devoured common people. It was subdued by Fahai using his Vajra power and suppressed under the pagoda."

Li Yi naturally did not believe this statement, but he believed that Fahai was indeed an accomplished monk.

It was for this reason that he wanted to take advantage of the news of Pei Xiu's death to summon Fahai to Chang'an for a reunion.

"Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand." "Your Majesty, please tell me..."

In the side hall, Li Yi sat in the main seat and asked Fahai, who sat in the first seat on the left, "I wonder what you think of the folk rumor that Emperor Wuzong destroyed Buddhism?"

Upon hearing this, Fahai's expression remained calm, but a deep light flashed in his eyes.

Facing Li Yi's question, he looked calm and said in a deep and powerful voice: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is not the fault of Emperor Wuzong alone, nor is it the fault of Buddhism. It is the result of the current situation."

Li Yi nodded slightly, motioning Fahai to continue.

After all, Fahai was Pei Xiu's son. Through the correspondence between father and son, Fahai knew a lot about the court. Therefore, he knew very well what he should say in order to win the favor of the Emperor Xiantong.

"During the reign of Emperor Wuzong, temples throughout the country occupied extensive land and there were many monks and nuns. Although they did not engage in production, they enjoyed the privilege of being exempt from taxes and military service."

"The wealth accumulated by the temples even exceeded that of the imperial treasury, while the people suffered terribly from heavy taxes."

"In order to rectify the government and reduce the burden on the people, Emperor Wuzong ordered the destruction of Buddhism, the recovery of temple lands, and the dismissal of monks and nuns in order to enrich the national treasury and alleviate the people's hardship."

After hearing this, Li Yi's brows relaxed slightly, but he still had doubts: "I have also heard what you said, Dade."

“But is the move to destroy Buddhism too drastic?”

"Buddhism is a good way to educate people's hearts. How can we deny it completely because of a temporary problem?"

Fahai smiled slightly, with a bit of compassion in his tone: "Your Majesty, please understand..."

"The move to destroy Buddhism was indeed drastic, but Wuzong's original intention was to serve the country and the people."

“Although Buddhism is a good way to educate people, if temples abuse their privileges, deviate from the original intention of Buddhism, and become a burden to the people, then the act of destroying Buddhism is also unavoidable.”

At this point, Fahai paused, and seeing that Li Yi's face showed no other expression, he continued: "However, the Dharma is vast and cannot be destroyed in one moment or one thing."

"After Emperor Wuzong, Buddhism revived, temples were rebuilt, and monks and nuns gathered together again. This is the lifeblood of Buddhism."

"Your Majesty asked about this matter today, I believe you are also concerned about the relationship between Buddhism and the fate of the country."

Li Yi nodded, with a hint of emotion in his tone: "You are right, Great Master."

"Recently, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance have both had problems, and the Ministry of Shrines has reported the number of temples and monks and nuns in the country, saying that there are nearly a thousand large temples, nearly ten thousand monasteries, more than 77,000 registered monks and nuns, and millions of Buddhist fields."

"After the memorial was submitted, many ministers in the court proposed to demolish Buddhist temples and return the monks and nuns and their land to the court."

"What do you think I should do?"

Li Yi's question made Fahai feel nervous. You know, the main reason why Emperor Wuzong destroyed Buddhism was because the national treasury was empty. However, monks owned fields and mountains and rivers and did not pay taxes, making them richer than the imperial palace.

The number of temples, monks, nuns and Buddhist fields that Li Yi just mentioned is enough to make people jaw-dropping, but in the past Huichang period, the number of temples, monks, nuns and Buddhist fields in the world far exceeded that of today.

When Emperor Wuzong destroyed Buddhism, there were more than 4,600 large temples in the country, more than 40,000 monasteries, nearly 300,000 monks and nuns, tens of millions of Buddhist fields, and hundreds of thousands of slaves.

This is the number registered by the Ministry of Rites. Many monks and nuns in temples were not even registered, which shows how much resources Buddhism occupied in the world at that time.

After Emperor Wuzong issued an order to destroy Buddhism, the Ministry of Shrines submitted a petition to demolish more than 4,600 temples, return 265,000 monks and nuns to secular life, collect and make them households subject to the two-tax system, demolish more than 40,000 monasteries and hermitages, collect tens of millions of hectares of fertile land, and collect 150,000 slaves and servants as households subject to the two-tax system...

But the problem was that many officials, because of their own worship of Buddhism, did not demolish temples and dismiss monks and nuns as required by the court. This was also the reason why Buddhism revived in less than 20 years.

The population of the Tang Dynasty was only about 40 to 50 million, but there were nearly 400,000 monks and nuns and their servants, and the resources they controlled accounted for nearly 10% of the world's total.

With one percent of the population controlling one tenth of the resources, it is no wonder that Emperor Wuzong wanted to destroy Buddhism.

Of course, the destruction of Buddhism was not complete. At least judging from the number of memorials from the Ministry of Shrines that Li Yi just mentioned, Buddhist temples throughout the country were restored very quickly.

In less than twenty years, there were nearly 80,000 more monks and nuns in the world, not including their slaves.

In addition, these more than 80,000 monks and nuns actually controlled millions of acres of Buddhist land, which the local government was unable to count.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance are currently short of money and grain. If Li Yi can really make up his mind to disband the thousands of temples and 80,000 monks and nuns and collect millions of acres of Buddhist land for the use of the court, it can really solve many problems.

Fahai's heart tightened when he saw Li Yi's thoughts, but his face remained calm.

If Li Yi puts his current idea into practice, it will definitely deal a huge blow to Buddhism.

Thinking of this, Fahai slowly put his hands together and said in a gentle but firm tone: "Your Majesty..."

"Although the number of monks and nuns counted by the Ministry of Shrines is true, the Buddhist lands in the world are not as large as stated in the memorial."

"Take the Jinshan Temple where I am as an example. Although there are hundreds of monks, the Buddhist land is only 2,424 mu."

"Jinshan Temple is considered a large temple in Jiangnan, but it has so many Buddhist fields, let alone other small temples?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi frowned slightly, as if he was touched by Fahai's words.

Fahai saw this, still keeping his hands clasped together, and his tone became gentler.

"Your Majesty, although Buddhism is broad, its essence lies in educating people and benefiting the world and the people."

“The produce from the Buddha fields is mostly used to support monks, repair temples, and provide relief to the poor.”

"If the imperial court needs to dismiss the monks and nuns from the temples and take over the Buddhist fields, the monks and nuns in the world will certainly support it, but this move may cause dissatisfaction among the people..."

At this point, Fahai paused, and said earnestly: "If Your Majesty can treat monks and nuns with compassion, the fortune of our dynasty will be blessed by Buddhism, and we will be able to complement each other."

After hearing this, Li Yi's expression gradually eased and he nodded involuntarily, with some certainty in his tone: "You are right, Dade."

"I just didn't think carefully enough and almost made a big mistake."

Fahai heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Li Yi's change of attitude. He quickly put his hands together and bowed: "This is not what I said. Your Majesty is compassionate and has realized the true meaning of Buddhism on his own."

"If Your Majesty governs the world with a compassionate heart, the country will prosper and the people will live in peace."

Fahai's words were very helpful to Li Yi: "Your words have enlightened me."

"From today on, I will govern the country with a compassionate heart and bring peace and happiness to the people."

After he finished speaking, Li Yi paused and continued, "Although Jinshan Temple is a large temple in Jiangnan, it only has more than 2,000 acres of Buddhist land, which is really poor."

"In a few days, I will order the governor of Runzhou to allocate a thousand acres of wasteland to Jinshan Temple to show my sincerity."

Upon hearing this, Fahai hurriedly clasped his hands together and bowed: "On behalf of all the monks in Jinshan Temple, I thank your Majesty for his great grace. I wish your Majesty a long life and prosperity for the country..."

"Hahaha, I hope to borrow your good words."

Li Yi smiled and nodded, and at this time the food was brought into the side hall.

Li Yi and Fahai discussed Buddhism while eating. About half an hour later, Fahai led the monks to leave Xianning Palace. At this time, Lu Yan, Jiang Shen and Gao Qu had been waiting outside the palace for two quarters of an hour.

"Your Majesty summoned the three of you to the side hall to discuss matters..."

Tian Yun walked out of the side hall and came to the gate of Xianning Palace, where he bowed and gave instructions to Lu Yan, Jiang Shen and Gao Qu.

The three of them nodded, then walked into the side hall with Tian Yun.

Seeing the three people entering the hall, Li Yi picked up a few memorials and said:

"In recent days, many officials have said that Buddhist temples are expanding disorderly, and monks and nuns are encroaching on the land of the country."

"I have consulted Master Fahai about this matter and have learned that it is completely false."

"After this, I hope the three gentlemen can find out the truth and not let these unwise people occupy the high positions without doing anything."

Lu Yan and the other two were also confused. Didn't the emperor summon them to discuss Wang's strategy of encircling and suppressing the Dabie Mountains?

Now that they have just arrived, how did the topic turn to the affairs of the monks and nuns in the Buddhist temples that are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Shrines?

"The ministers and others lead the decree..."

The three of them didn't care why the emperor was so angry, they just agreed to the matter.

Seeing that the three agreed, Li Yi immediately said, "What do you think of Wang Shi's suggestion to mobilize the various towns to station garrisons in Dabie Mountain to prevent Wang Xianzhi from resurrecting?"

"Your Majesty, I think that you can just issue an order as Wang Xiaonian said. He is talented and was able to defeat Wang Xianzhi in such a short time. The court does not need to change its strategy."

Jiang Shen spoke slowly, while Lu Yan and Gao Qu nodded in agreement. After all, they didn't have any good solutions.

Seeing this, Li Yi immediately nodded and said, "In this case, we should follow Wang Shi's advice and make sure there are no mistakes."

"We obey your order..." The three of them bowed in response, and Li Yi turned his gaze to the table.

Tian Yun understood what he meant and immediately said to the three men, "Your Majesty still has some government affairs to attend to. I will escort you three gentlemen."

Gao Qu and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment. It took them half an hour to get from the Southern Court to the palace, and they were blown in the cold wind outside the Xianning Palace for another quarter of an hour. In the end, they didn't talk much about Wang Xianzhi, but were scolded for the monks and nuns in the ancestral hall.

The three of them were puzzled, but they followed Tian Yun's instructions and left Xianning Palace one after another...

(End of this chapter)