Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Perhaps fearing that the Ming army would be unwilling to leave, the king actually said, "I also offer the Buddha's tooth, the Buddha's alms bowl, and the Buddha's relics to the Emperor of Ming!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of both the prime minister and the soldiers changed drastically.

Those are Shakyamuni's teeth, relics, and alms bowl!

They are all in Sri Lanka now and have not been taken over by any foreign tribes.

Later, the Buddha's bowl and relics disappeared, and the Sinhalese only managed to retrieve the Buddha's tooth.

Why was the king willing to offer up Buddhist treasures?

Because he outwardly believed in Buddhism, but in reality he was a Brahman.

This was also the fundamental reason why the monastic community did not support him during the battle for the throne.

His mother was a Kalinga from the Bengal region—she was a Brahman.

As for this king, he had long disliked the monks.

Anyway, he had already thrown the Buddhist treasures to the south, and he would never enshrine them in the Buddhist temples in the capital.

Offering it to the Ming Emperor now would be perfect; it would both please the suzerain state and disgust those damned monks.

After hearing the translation, Zhu Xiaozhong exclaimed in shock, "The Buddha's treasure of Shakyamuni?"

“It is Shakyamuni,” the South Indian merchant confirmed.

It's one thing that Emperor Zhu didn't believe in Buddhism, but it's another thing that he brought Buddhist treasures back to the country.

Zhu Xiaozhong felt a surge of excitement and nodded, saying, "Very good. As long as the Buddhist treasure is delivered as soon as possible, I can do without your treasure."

The Ming fleet had many transport ships that could trade along the way, so they certainly didn't lack the king's treasures.

"Thank you for your mercy, General!" The king kowtowed frantically.

Zhu Xiaozhong looked at the officials and soldiers opposite him and felt that if he did not send troops to protect the king, the king would probably be in grave danger: "Have all your soldiers surrender their weapons, and I will send troops to guard the palace to protect you."

The king said, "The Buddha statue is in the temple in the south. I will send troops to retrieve it immediately."

Zhu Xiaozhong laughed and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to retrieve. I might as well take you there with me to avoid any accidents during the round trip."

"Fine, fine!" The king didn't care about anything else, as long as he could save the dog's life.

To be on the safe side, Zhu Xiaozhong took the king and his entire family with him, as well as the abbots of all the Buddhist temples in the Victory City.

Inside the cabin, a group of civil officials surrounded the Buddhist treasure, examining it closely.

Yu Yunwen muttered, "Have you guys seen that one in China before?"

"Teeth, they should all be about the same," Hu Quan said.

Cheng Yu explained in detail: "I specifically consulted a local eminent monk."

He said that when Shakyamuni Buddha passed away, his relics were divided into eight parts and taken away by eight kings for worship.

"Later, India suffered many persecutions of Buddhism, and many of the Buddha's relics were destroyed or lost."

"Only two Buddha teeth remained. The monk cut open his own flesh and sewed the Buddha teeth into the flesh to take them away from India. One went northwest and the other southeast."

"The Buddha tooth in the Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng should be the one that was taken to the northwest (in Pakistan).

"And this Buddha tooth relic in front of us was brought to the Lion Kingdom in the southeast."

Yu Yunwen clapped his hands and exclaimed, "From now on, both Buddha teeth will be in the Great Ming Dynasty!"

Cheng Yu said, "Please go to the Star-Gazing Chamber for now and make offerings with the many sea gods. This should ensure our safe return home."

Of the three Buddhist treasures, the Buddha's tooth has a clear record and provenance.

As for the Buddha's alms bowl and the Buddha's bone relics, they were not recorded in the scriptures.

It may have been brought out with the Buddha's tooth, or it may have been forged by monks in later generations; in any case, it has been enshrined on the island of Ceylon ever since.

The group carefully carried the Buddhist treasure to the Star-Gazing Room and placed it there.

There are quite a few gods and Buddhas here.

There are Zhenwu the Great, Tongyuan King, Guangling King, Baogai God, Dragon King, Mazu... and now a temporary enshrinement of the Buddha's tooth relic.

Chapter 3635 The Legend of Mazu

Zhao Yuan originally wanted to standardize and unify the belief in the sea god, but the navy and maritime merchants all came from the coastal provinces.

They worship different sea gods, and often a city has several gods, so the officials really don't know which one to choose.

As for Zhao Yuan alone, he was inclined to promote Mazu.

The reason is simple: Mazu was a woman.

In the vast ocean, people are filled with fear and helplessness, and female deities are more likely to comfort them.

Once this ocean voyage is over, Zhao Yuan will elevate Mazu's title.

Only when Mazu's title level is raised can her divine power be enhanced, and only then will more people be willing to believe in her.

"May Buddha Shakyamuni bless our Ming fleet with a smooth journey and a safe return home." The crowd knelt down to offer incense and prayers.

After paying homage to the newly offered Buddhist treasures, everyone also paid homage to the other sea gods.

Then, go about your work happily.

The return of the Buddha's tooth relic to its homeland is a great achievement!

Currently, there is also a Buddha tooth in Shandong.

It was retrieved by the monk Wukong (the prototype of Sun Wukong) during his journey to the West, and during the Five Dynasties period, it fell into the hands of Meng Zhixiang, Shi Jingtang, and Zhao Kuangyin.

Then it was enshrined in Tongxu County for blessings. Shen Kuo staged a scene of the Buddha's tooth appearing, and Emperor Shenzong of Song quickly sent people to bring it back to Kaifeng, but it was then taken to the Prime Minister's Mansion by Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi handed over the Buddha's tooth after the Buddha Tooth Pagoda at Daxiangguo Temple was completed.

Emperor Shenzong's fourth brother took the Buddha's tooth, which was then taken to Shandong by Zhao Shichang, a member of the imperial clan.

The Buddha Tooth Pagoda in Shandong took several decades to build and was buried underground during the middle of Emperor Huizong's reign in the Song Dynasty.

If we bring this Buddha tooth back with us, the two Buddha teeth with their detailed historical lineage will be reunited in the Ming Dynasty!

……

Zhu Xiaozhong said, "Once the Buddha's tooth is taken away, this king will surely die."

"Why do you say that?" Cheng Yu asked.

Zhu Xiaozhong explained, "When I led troops to escort the king to retrieve the Buddhist treasures, all the monks in the temple glared at me angrily."

"When I left the temple and walked down the street, the whole city surrounded me. If I hadn't had elite troops, those monks and people would probably have already made a move."

“This king has no authority to begin with. Once we leave, someone will surely rise up in rebellion.”

"Moreover, the reason for the rebellion was sufficient: the king had given away the Buddha's tooth."

Cheng Yu asked, "Are we going to send troops to stay here and protect the king?"

“There’s no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days but not being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days,” Zhu Xiaozhong said. “This place is too far from the Ming Dynasty, so it’s impossible to station troops here for a long time.”

Yu Yunwen said, "Let the king immediately produce the letter of credence and tribute, and we can set off with the two princes."

“Once the king is killed, we can, as the suzerain state, escort the prince back to restore the kingdom and reclaim the throne.”

"The reason for taking the two princes away was to prevent one of them from dying unexpectedly from illness."

"Haha, that's what I think too." Zhu Xiaozhong laughed.

Hu Quan asked, "Won't we attack that king's uncle who attacked us this time?"

Zhu Xiaozhong said, "We won't fight. If we leave, he'll be the one who rebels the most."

"When we return, we'll bring our troops back and completely subdue this small country!"

After the discussion was completed, Cheng Yu went to negotiate with the king.

No matter what was said, the king readily agreed, only asking that the Ming army leave as soon as possible.

Three days later, the Ming Dynasty fleet set sail.

An official letter appeared on the ship, and from then on, Xilanchi became a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

Two more princes were added, one of whom was eighteen years old, already married with children, and his wife and children were also taken away.

He is fourteen years old and has not yet married.

The tribute mainly consisted of gemstones, which Zhu Xiaozhong personally selected from the treasury, as well as other treasures such as ambergris.

“This gem is huge,” Yu Yunwen exclaimed.

"The scale is here! The scale is here!"

Cheng Yu personally picked up the small scale, placed the sapphire on the scale pan, looked at the scale markings, and said, "It's almost half a jin."

Zhu Xiaozhong laughed and said, "When we return, we will lead our troops to break into the palace. There are plenty of treasures inside."

"Moreover, it was to eliminate the rebels, help the prince restore his country and ascend the throne, and take the lion's share in a perfectly legitimate way."

Hu Quan flattered, "General, you act with integrity and uprightness, which is truly admirable."

……

Only half a month after the Ming fleet left, news of the Buddha's treasure being taken away quickly spread throughout the entire island of Ceylon.

Taking advantage of the situation, Parakramabahu launched a rebellion. He led dozens of warships and landed, heading straight for the city of Victory.

The king was not on guard and did not properly reorganize his troops, continuing to indulge in pleasure in the palace.

In order to save time, Parakramabahu personally led five hundred elite troops and arrived at the outskirts of the royal city at an astonishing speed.

He told the soldiers guarding the city, "The king has abandoned the Buddha. If you remain loyal to him, you will all go to hell after you die."

"If I become king, I will build many Buddhist temples and ban Brahmanism."

"Officials and soldiers shall be appointed only by Sinhalese; all other races shall be expelled..."

Before the shouting was finished, the city gates of the royal city slowly opened.

The monks also rushed over upon hearing the news, took up arms, and joined forces with Parakramabahu.

The group rushed toward the palace, encountering the prime minister on the way.

The prime minister said, "Come with me."

Chapter 3636 The War of Annihilation

Parakramabahu immediately promised, "Even if I become king, you will remain the prime minister."

They attacked the palace without losing a single soldier.

The palace guards personally opened the city gates and then proceeded to massacre the entire palace, killing the king and his entire family.

The killing quickly spread throughout the city, and Sinhalese Buddhists gathered and stormed the various Brahman temples.

They would kill any Brahmin monks they saw, rob any treasures they found, and smash any idols they encountered.

After destroying the Brahman temples, they turned their attention to ordinary believers.

If it is a foreign race, kill it immediately.

If they are of the same ethnicity, they are forced to convert.

Centered on the city of Victory, similar killings quickly spread to other cities and villages.

The number of dead is countless!

The new king, Parakramabahu, therefore enjoyed supreme prestige.

He took the opportunity to train an army composed entirely of Buddhists, and then, under the guise of "protecting the faith," went to conquer other lords.

The morale of the Christian Guard was high, and they unleashed astonishing fighting power.

Moreover, Buddhist monks from hostile forces volunteered to act as their inside agents.

As the siege progressed, some monks rebelled within the city, joining forces with those inside to welcome the Buddhist protectors into the city.

Then, they began massacring the Brahman temples within the city.

In just three months, Parakramabahu unified the entire island.