Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 487 Buddhist Affairs
When Xiao Yan announced that he would sacrifice himself in Tongtai Temple, all the ministers were dumbfounded.

For ordinary people, they can sacrifice their lives, and their family members and children can use money to redeem the person.

But if the emperor of a country is willing to sacrifice himself, what should his subjects do?
Everyone's eyes turned to Crown Prince Xiao Tong in the audience.

As a son and a subject, the most difficult person to deal with at this time was Crown Prince Xiao Tong.

At this time, Crown Prince Xiao Tong was also dumbfounded by his father's actions. He looked blankly at his father who had changed into a monk's robe. The frail crown prince could not hold on and started coughing violently on the spot.

At this time, Xiao Yan was full of merit and didn't care about his son's life or death. He left the cushion where he was preaching on the spot and actually entered the monk's room in Tongtai Temple.

Since the crown prince could no longer be relied upon, the ministers turned their attention to Xiao Yan's number one favorite, Zhu Yi.

Chen Qianzhi had never seen such a scene before. How could the great Daliang be without an emperor?

He looked at Zhu Yi and asked quickly:

"Mr. Zhu, your Majesty gave up his life in Tongtai Temple because he truly wanted to be a Buddhist. However, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. You are your Majesty's important minister. Please persuade your Majesty to return to the palace."

Everyone agreed with Chen Qingzhi's statement and looked at Zhu Yi with expectant eyes.

In the past, no matter how unreasonable Xiao Yan's request was, Zhu Yi could always give a proper solution. Unknowingly, the ministers also regarded him as an indispensable figure in the court.

Zhu Yi was very proud. Xiao Yan's decision to sacrifice himself for the Tongtai Temple was naturally something he had discussed with Zhu Yi.

Zhu Yi kept the question a secret for a while, and finally said to the ministers:

"There are only two ways for ordinary people to give up their lives in a temple. One is to accumulate enough merits and then naturally send them to the temple to return to secular life."

The ministers immediately said:

"How can this be possible! Your Majesty is the ruler of a country. How can a country be without a ruler for a day? Besides, Your Majesty has been living outside the palace for a long time. What if you encounter danger?"

Zhu Yi then said, "Then there is only one other way, which is to spend money to redeem His Majesty, and ask His Majesty to continue to handle worldly affairs and temporarily put aside the matter of worshiping Buddha."

After Zhu Yi finished speaking, some ministers nodded, but others frowned.

It is not uncommon in Jiankang for Buddhists to sacrifice their lives and have their families redeem them.

The most difficult thing is the redemption amount.

Although Buddhism emphasizes equality among all beings, there are always some people who are more equal than others.

High-ranking officials are naturally more equal than ordinary people, so the money used to redeem them is naturally more than that of ordinary people.

But how much money does the emperor want to redeem him?

Everyone looked at Zhu Yi again. This prime minister who mastered the art of finance was also the minister who understood Xiao Yan's thoughts best. This question must be answered by Zhu Yi.

Zhu Yi had already decided on a number in his mind.

Giving up oneself for a temple means believers donate themselves and make contributions to the temple, which is to accumulate so-called merits.

If the family uses money to redeem the body, it will interrupt the person who sacrificed himself from doing good deeds. Then they have to donate a ransom of the same value. This ransom will naturally replace the person's labor and become his merit.

It was because Xiao Yan discovered this "bug" in gaining merit that he came up with the idea of ​​sacrificing himself in Tongtai Temple.

Zhu Yi stretched out a finger and said:
"To redeem His Majesty, of course, there must be more. I think this much is needed."

Seeing Zhu Yi raise a finger, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief. One million coins?
Then the court can still afford it.

But Chen Qingzhi frowned. Based on his understanding of Xiao Yan, this Bodhisattva Emperor always attached great importance to moral cultivation. How could he suddenly do this today just for the merit of a mere one million dollars?

As expected, Zhu Yi reported an amount that shocked all the ministers.

"One hundred million coins. As long as we collect ten hundred million coins, His Majesty will naturally return to the palace."

Ten million dollars?
All the ministers were dumbfounded.

Chen Qianzhi was also dumbfounded. How much food could one hundred million yuan buy?

If the court had been willing to support him with 10 million coins when he was in Luoyang, Luoyang would have been defended long ago!
If the 100 million coins are divided among 10,000 soldiers, each of them can get 10,000 coins!
The low-level officials surrounding the ministers were also stunned. Ten million coins, how many years of salary would it be enough to pay them?

These low-level officials received a meager salary every month, and they might not know how much money the Wuzhe Conference had cost, but when they heard that it would cost 100 million coins to redeem the emperor, they couldn't help but feel angry in their hearts.

But when those important ministers heard this number, they all looked at Zhu Yi. All the ministers who were familiar with Zhu Yi knew that since Zhu Yi could report this number, he must have a way to raise the money.

As expected, Zhu Yi said:
"The iron smelters near Jiankang are all in operation. They have already minted the ten million coins. Once they are sent to Tongtai Temple tomorrow, Your Majesty can be invited back to the palace."

Chen Qingzhi and other ministers breathed a sigh of relief, but he vaguely felt that something was wrong. Zhu Yi was able to prepare 100 million iron coins so quickly, he must have discussed it with Emperor Xiao Yan.

The court of Jiankang could not provide support when Luoyang and Henan were in danger, nor could it provide support when the war in Yizhou was tense. However, when he sacrificed himself in Tongtai Temple, the court immediately provided a huge sum of 100 million yuan. Chen Qingzhi always felt bad when he thought of the brothers who were buried in Hulao.

What went wrong?
The next day, a large number of horse-drawn carriages entered Jiankang City and delivered mountains of iron coins to Tongtai Temple.

Crown Prince Xiao Tong kowtowed in front of Tongtai Temple and expressed his willingness to pay 100 million yuan on behalf of all the princes and ministers to redeem Xiao Yan.

The Bodhisattva Emperor Xiao Yan "reluctantly" put on the dragon robe again and returned to the Jiankang Palace under the escort of Zhu Yi and Chen Qingzhi.

In Jiankang city, everyone was talking about the anecdote of the emperor giving himself up in the temple. But when they heard that the court was offering 100 million yuan to redeem the emperor, the people of Jiankang all had strange looks on their faces.

Immediately afterwards, news came from the palace that among the gifts given by the sons for the Buddha's Bathing Festival, the gift from King Xiao Yi of Xiangdong was the best. In order to commend King Xiao Yi of Xiangdong for his filial piety, Xiao Yan decided to reward him with 10 million coins.

This reward once again caused controversy in the court, but since the emperor rewarded his brother, Xiao Zong, as the crown prince, could not say anything, otherwise it would seem that he was jealous of his brother.

The crown prince, the only one who could speak, stopped talking, and naturally the other ministers had nothing to say either.

In this way, this Buddha Bathing Festival finally came to an end amid the discussions among ministers and people.
-
In Yongle City, on the eve of Buddha's Birthday, many officials and common people went to Yongle Temple in Yongle City to pray for blessings.

Some ministers jointly wrote a letter to the Duke's Mansion, arguing that in this troubled time, the Duke's Mansion should hold a ceremony in the Yongle Temple to pray for the soldiers on the front line.

It was not just low-level officials, but also important officials in the government hall and the shogunate who had such thoughts.

However, Su Ze is not in Yongle City now, so the one who represents the shogunate to go to Yongle Temple to worship should be the mistress, Princess Chenliu.

This matter even formed a certain public opinion trend. After all, there were many ministers in this era who admired Buddhism. In the past, when he was in Luoyang, the Northern Wei emperor would also hold a blessing ceremony on the Buddha's Bathing Festival, just as Empress Dowager Hu would go to Yongning Temple when she was in power.

Given Princess Chenliu's prestige among the ministers, she could certainly go to Yongle Temple to pray for blessings.

However, Princess Chenliu made an exception and convened the Government Affairs Hall and the Shogunate.

One should know that this mistress never interfered in government affairs. She made an exception and summoned the ministers, which surprised the important officials.

After all the ministers arrived, Princess Chenliu asked first:
"What are the national sacrifices mentioned in the classics?"

This question was not a difficult one for Su Cho, who was well versed in Confucian classics, and he gave an answer quickly.

Su Cho said: "There are many kinds of sacrifices in the classics, but after classification, they can be mainly divided into three categories: sacrifices to heaven and earth, sacrifices to ancestors, and sacrifices to saints and sages."

Princess Chenliu asked again: "Is the Buddha Bathing Festival a sacrificial activity recognized by the ancient sages?"

Su Chao shook his head and said, of course it’s not the Buddha’s Birthday.

Buddhism was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty. By that time, Confucian classics had already been formed, so it was naturally impossible to use Buddhist festivals as national ceremonies.

Princess Chenliu asked several ministers again, and they all shook their heads. After all, they were all scholars and would not do such a thing as lying with their eyes open.

After everyone had finished speaking, Princess Chenliu said:
"Before the Duke of the County left for the war, he told me to consult the ministers on all matters. If there is something I cannot decide, I will ask the wise men for help."

"Since the ancient sages did not say that an official sacrifice should be held on Buddha Bathing Day, then we should not hold it."

After hearing what Princess Chenliu said, the important officials who advocated going to Yongle Temple to pray for blessings didn't know what to say. After all, Su Ze's suppressive attitude towards Buddhism was still very obvious. They just didn't expect that Princess Chenliu, as a descendant of the Yuan family, was so indifferent to Buddhism.

However, Su Cho still breathed a sigh of relief. The mistress's attitude gave him peace of mind. At least he didn't have to spend too much energy on Buddhist and Taoist matters, and it also reduced the burden on the Government Affairs Hall.

You have to know that organizing ceremonies in these countries is very time-consuming and laborious, and also requires a lot of materials.
-
In the Luoyang Palace.

Xi Yi and Liu Gui stood in the palace, listening to Emperor Yuan Ziyou on the throne saying:
"General Tianzhu is fighting for the country. I have nothing to do in Luoyang and cannot help the general."

Liu Gui was originally going to go on the expedition with Erzhu Rong, but was left behind because he was worried about Luoyang.

A few days ago, there was another civil unrest in Jizhou, and Yuan Tianmu took people to put out the fire, so Xi Yi became the highest-ranking regent official in Luoyang.

Liu Gui thought to himself, what else can you do as a puppet emperor? As long as you stay in the palace honestly, you can share the worries of General Tianzhu.

Liu Gui was about to speak when Xi Yi said:

"Your Majesty is thinking about state affairs, which is a blessing for our Great Wei."

Liu Gui also said a few polite words, and Yuan Ziyou said:

"I am going to Yongning Temple to pray for the soldiers on the front line. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

Liu Gui instinctively wanted to object. If the emperor left the palace, it would bring all kinds of problems. Moreover, Erzhu Rong's intention was to gradually weaken the emperor's influence. How could he let him leave the palace?

But Xi Yi said:
"I think it is a great virtue."

(End of this chapter)