Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 219 The Rise of the Nine Provinces, the Suppression of Buddhism Begins (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Li Fuguo's downfall was like a verdict, completely extinguishing the last remaining hope in everyone's hearts.

Even the emperor bowed his head.

As Li Heng's most trusted confidant, Li Fuguo's current predicament speaks volumes.

Faced with the Gu family, who held the reins of justice, the newly enthroned emperor had no choice but to bow his head.

But what can they do?
The emperor is targeting the Gu family?

Let alone whether the world would agree, they couldn't find a reason to.

The Gu family never did anything rebellious from beginning to end. It was Li Heng who agreed to start the new policies, and it was Li Heng who abandoned them.

Not to mention that Lady Gu also held Li Shimin's last edict.

This is the sharpest weapon!
The situation in Luoyang changed drastically. Although the common people did not notice anything unusual, the officials were walking on thin ice, fearing that Gu Xuan would turn his attention to them.

Even their work style has become more cautious.

Many officials eventually made their decision and began to resign voluntarily, hoping that the Gu family would let them off this time.

Gu Xuan did not kill them all.

He ultimately gave these people a way out, preventing the Gu family from becoming enemies of the entire world.

But that's enough.

To reiterate, Gu Yi wouldn't go all out; it would be enough if he could successfully implement the new policy.

The sweeping reform movement originated in Luoyang and radiated outwards to all parts of the country.

One by one, the imperial censors left Luoyang.

Just like in the past, while overseeing the entire realm, he began to devise various new policies in different regions.

As the new policies were fully implemented, Gu Xuan, the Grand Tutor, naturally became very busy.

—Involves new policies.

There were simply too many things that required his assistance as Grand Tutor, and fortunately, there were some capable individuals among the Gu family members of this generation.

This would also be helpful to Gu Xuan in this situation.

Even if they lacked the ability, they could still use their status as members of the Gu family to travel to various places to implement new policies.

This can also be of great help to Gu Xuan.

Even so, the various government affairs he faced piled up from morning till night, and he had to personally step in from time to time to intimidate some people and personally implement certain policies.

Gu Yi really couldn't help with these matters.

Although he has been growing, Gu Yi's growth is mostly in the overall sense, including his mindset.

But when it comes to the details, it falls short.

Although the imperial court is not as treacherous as the battlefield, it still employs a variety of tactics, which cannot be mastered simply by watching a few historical dramas or reading political intrigue novels.

Moreover, the new policy involves the entire Kyushu region.

Gu Yi can provide strategic planning based on the forward-thinking mindset of modern people, but he is not good enough when it comes to details, so he can only let Gu Xuan handle them himself.

However, he didn't sit idle; instead, he took this opportunity to popularize punctuation marks through Gu Xuan's words.

There was no large-scale publicity; it was only promoted internally within the Gu family.

This includes Yunshao Pavilion, now a sacred place in the literary world.

Gu Yi did not choose to popularize these things in a grand manner, as doing so would also be a waste of time.

Scholars themselves will recognize the great advantages and convenience of such things.

Of course, the symbols introduced this time are also very simple, just the most basic ones, including commonly used symbols such as commas, periods, and question marks.

In fact, Gu Yi had discovered this problem before.

However, he was too young back then, and he focused all his attention on the so-called important matters, while neglecting these seemingly "small matters".

Looking back now, the achievements of such innovative initiatives that benefited countless people may be remembered for a much longer time.

The impact of those "major events" that occur in a specific time and place is ultimately limited to the present moment.

This is also an improvement brought about by Gu Yi's change in mindset.

In fact, he had many plans for the Gu family, but things cannot be rushed. He could only wait until the situation in the world was stable before he could start implementing them.

Time flies.

September of the second year of the Zhide era.

Gao Xianzhi returned in triumph from Liaodong.

As Gu Yi had predicted, this battle was another resounding victory. The warlike factions of Goguryeo and Baekje were almost completely wiped out, with countless casualties.

Decades later—

The imperial banner of the Tang Dynasty and the banners of the Gu family were once again firmly planted on the land of Liaodong.

This reignited the fear of the Gu family among the people of this land.

The King of Liaodong and the King of Baekje returned with him.

Gu Xuan received them in the imperial court.

It was only at this moment that Gu Yi once again took control of Gu Xuan, demanding in the main hall that an academy be established in Liaodong to popularize the culture of the Nine Provinces.

Compared to the Western Regions and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, etc.

Liaodong was clearly much more accepting of this matter, and neither the King of Liaodong nor the King of Baekje showed any intention of refusing it.

It's not just them who yearn for Kyushu; even their people feel the same way.

In Gu Yi's view, it might not be impossible to directly integrate them into Kyushu at this point.

But after careful consideration, Gu Yi abandoned the idea.

Integration is not just about land; the most crucial aspect is a change in mindset.

With the blessing of the Gu family.

Kyushu's current influence is indeed far greater than in its original history, but compared to Liaodong within Kyushu today, it is still far behind.

In any case, their thinking should be corrected first.

Driven by personal motives, Gu Yi decided to establish the Gu Family Academy in Liaodong, just like the Gu Family Academy in Ryukyu and other places, to gradually popularize Kyushu culture from the ground up.

Li Heng did not refuse, and the court officials did not think much of it either; the matter was thus settled.

Besides--

Gu Yi also put the religious symbolism of the two countries under his control.

Just like when dealing with Tibet.

After hundreds of years of cultivating prestige, Gu Yi has decided to once again provide the Gu family with a different kind of protection, and take advantage of this momentum to turn its attention to the whole world.

As for the future—

Gu Yi was unaware of this, but at least in the current situation, this matter did not harm the Gu family.

The wheels of history keep turning.

It finally veered off its original trajectory and headed in a completely different direction.

It is worth mentioning that--

The population census that began after Gu Xuan returned to the capital has finally come to a conclusion. The Tang Dynasty now has a registered population of over 90 million, if we include the population that is hidden in secret.

In reality, it must have already exceeded 100 million.

This is indeed an extremely alarming number. Although the impact of this upheaval may not seem that great, it is not actually so.

Amidst the turmoil, the number of civilians who died was not small.

However, it is already quite remarkable to have this number, especially considering that it does not include the foreign population that has gradually integrated into Kyushu.

If all of them were included, Kyushu's population would be several times greater than in its original history.

That was enough, and Gu Yi was extremely satisfied with it.

In the third year of the Zhide era, in the fourth month.

As the officialdom gradually stabilized, Gu Xuan finally began to take further action, turning his attention to the land.

He summoned the abbots of nearby temples in Luoyang and announced his decision very directly.

This will naturally lead to another wave of resistance.

Although Buddhism today is far from being at its most extreme in its original history, how could they possibly obey the rules set by the Gu family?

These people even rebelled more than the officials in the imperial court.

Not only did some people die by crashing into Gu Xuan, but even ordinary people were incited by them and began to cause trouble in various places.

There's no way around it; prophetic superstitions have always been like this. Even in modern times, it's impossible to completely avoid people becoming possessed, let alone in a situation like this.

The Gu family's influence was indeed significant.

But these monks were in front of them every day, and the influence they had was unmatched by the Gu family in many ways.

In fact, Gu Yi never had much of an opinion about Buddhism or Taoism.

Because it's impossible to completely eliminate these things.

That's why he never focused his attention on these people, only occasionally having to manage them.

Just like now.

However, he also did not expect things to develop in this way.

The Marquis of Champion's Residence.

"A whopping... a full fourteen million mu?!"

Gu Xuan stared at the numbers on the secret letter. Even though he was deeply influenced by Gu Yi, he was still horrified and his voice trembled slightly.

No, it's not just him!

Even Gu Yi was extremely shocked.

He knew exactly what Buddhism was like, but he figured that because of the Gu family's existence, Buddhism's development was far less advanced than in its original history, so it couldn't be too far off.

But I never expected it to turn out like this.

Why would he believe anything on it?

Of course, this doesn't mean he doesn't trust the censors' character; it's just that he knows these temples have far too many ways to conceal their true nature.

Most of the things that can be easily identified are things that these monks deliberately sold.

In fact, it has at least doubled.

Don't forget, temples are tax-exempt!
The benefits generated from this are self-evident.

What shocked Gu Yi even more than that was that these guys had actually started engaging in loan sharking and even venturing into business.

They even got involved in maritime trade.

This was completely unexpected by Gu Yi.

It's astonishing that these guys have managed to develop to this extent under such circumstances.

"Grand Tutor," a minister beside him said, his voice heavy with anxiety, "what should we do now?"

"Urgent reports kept coming from all over the country. Buddhist believers, misled by the reports, openly resisted the new policies and besieged the censors!"

"Even worse."

"Local government offices have already been besieged by fanatical believers who claim to be 'protectors of the Dharma' and forbid government officials from approaching the temples even a step!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another imperial censor rushed in, cupped his hands in greeting to Gu Xuan, and said, "Grand Tutor, an urgent report has arrived from the capital region—"

"A major disturbance has suddenly broken out at Guanghua Temple!"

"Incited by the wicked monks in the temple, thousands of believers, armed with sticks and farm tools, brazenly surrounded the officials sent by the Censorate to investigate the fields on the mountain road in front of the temple, making it completely impassable!"

"The ringleader shouted that 'Destroying Buddha statues and seizing property will surely incur divine retribution,' which aroused public anger and led to a violent scuffle with the police officers maintaining order, resulting in sticks being used against them!"

"The local government troops were afraid of inciting a popular uprising, so they hesitated to use their full strength to suppress it."

"The imperial censors are trapped in the capital region, making it difficult to implement new policies!"

The voice just fell.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the entire hall became more solemn.

Several ministers who were considered Gu Xuan's confidants couldn't help but change color at this moment, their faces filled with solemnity.

This is indeed a very big matter.

The resistance is even greater than the initial resistance faced by the new policy.

The Gu family may not care about those officials, but they can no longer easily ignore the struggle of these tens of thousands of ordinary people.

Popular support was the most crucial element for the Gu family.

Over the centuries, there have been spendthrift sons within the Gu family, but even these individuals have had to abide by this ironclad rule.

Otherwise, they will be immediately expelled from the Gu family.

Especially after Gu Yi obtained the Spirit Jade, this became an ironclad rule of the Gu family.

It's fine if there are few people.

But this time, the number of people who caused the disturbance was clearly not small.

At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Gu Yi's mind.

retreat?

—There is no way we can back down!
Gu Yi remembered very clearly that in the original history, there were several large-scale anti-Buddhist campaigns in the Nine Provinces, even during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty.

Furthermore, Emperor Wuzong's persecution of Buddhism was a massive undertaking, which could even be described as a nationwide campaign.

Its results were also extremely alarming.

According to the Zizhi Tongjian, it seized tens of millions of acres of fertile land, demolished more than 4,000 temples, and allowed tens of thousands of private Buddhist halls and hermitages to be built by the people.

More than 260,000 people were forced to return to secular life, and nearly 200,000 temple slaves were released.

This action goes far beyond the current system.

But Gu Yi remembered that Emperor Wuzong's suppression of Buddhism did not cause too much trouble at the time; in fact, it could be considered the late Tang Dynasty.

Why is it like this now?
Various thoughts flashed through his mind at this moment, and Gu Yi carefully compared the original history with the present in his mind.

The next moment, he suddenly realized the reason.

Today's Kyushu has never experienced the persecution of Buddhism!
The emergence of the Gu family has completely changed history. In the original history, when Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, Tuoba Tao, suppressed Buddhism, it also aroused a rebellion of monks.

Isn't everything here just like it is now?

This matter must be resolved.

Otherwise, it is very likely that it will explode one day in the future. If that happens, given the power of prophecies and superstitions, its impact may even exceed that of the An Lushan Rebellion.

At that moment, Gu Yi had an idea in mind. With a slight thought, Gu Xuan, who had been pondering for a long time, finally made a move.

He met the gazes of the assembled officials, some filled with alarm, others with worry, and still others with curiosity. He slowly rose, took the sealed letters in his hand, and calmly uttered a single sentence:

"The new policies are not for the personal gain of any one person, but for the eternal stability of the Tang Dynasty and the well-being of all the people of the land!"

"Leaving aside the fact that the Buddhist community is openly defying the imperial court's decrees, which is already an act of usurpation!"

"Based solely on his concealment of farmland, evasion of taxes, exploitation of the people, usury, manipulation of merchants, involvement in maritime trade, incitement of public opinion, coercion of the people, and resistance to the law, every single one of these acts is irrefutable!"

"His crime—"

Gu Xuan's voice suddenly rose, carrying an unwavering resolve, like a sword drawn from its sheath, gleaming with cold light:
"His crimes are too numerous to count! He deserves to be executed!"

"They have used faith as armor and believers as spears and shields, and are stubbornly resisting."

The brief pause allowed all the air in the hall to be drawn out.

"Then-"

"Suppress Buddhism!!!"

The two words, once uttered, resounded like a thunderclap.

At that moment, everyone's expression changed slightly.

"Please be at ease, everyone. I will write to His Majesty and explain the advantages and disadvantages involved," Gu Xuan said calmly.

Having said that, he headed straight for the study.
------

"Gu Xuan's reforms—"

This was the most crucial turning point for the Tang Dynasty.

It not only changed the political atmosphere after the Kaiyuan era due to Emperor Xuanzong, but also filled the loopholes in the Tang Dynasty system and completely resolved the various impacts brought about by the An Lushan Rebellion.

Although the various systems it reformed are not perfect from a modern perspective.

But this is enough to demonstrate the extraordinary nature of the Gu family.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty had a population of over 100 million, and all foreign lands submitted to its rule, with the legacy of the Zhenguan era revitalizing the world.

With thunderous force, Gu Xuan rectified the officials, surveyed the fields, standardized taxes, and reassigned military seals, thus solidifying the central government's authority and power, and ultimately reducing the arrogance of the regional warlords to dust.

He rebuilt the temple from the ashes of calamity, regained the hearts of the people in a chaotic world, and forcefully pulled the crumbling edifice away from the abyss of collapse, restoring it to a unified and glorious state.

This was also the final glory of the Tang Dynasty, like the molten gold of the setting sun, its afterglow shining for a thousand years.

—The Rise and Fall of the Tang Dynasty

(End of this chapter)