Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 199: Destroy Buddhism and Taoism, and benefit the fishermen!
Zhang Juzheng brought two state artifacts.

Strictly speaking, they all belong to the Song Dynasty.

One is a pearl relic tower made in the sixth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The pagoda is four feet high, and its main body is made of nanmu wood. It is divided into three parts from bottom to top - the Sumeru pedestal, the Buddha palace, and the pagoda top.

The Sumeru pedestal is octagonal in shape, symbolizing the eight directions of heaven in Buddhism. It is divided into three layers, including the base, the Sumeru Sea and the Sumeru Mountain. The Sumeru Sea and the Sumeru Mountain are painted in gold, and eight gold-painted wooden auspicious clouds rise around the sea.

The “Four Heavenly Kings” stood above the clouds, holding various weapons in their hands, with extraordinary momentum, while the “Four Heavenly Ladies” standing beside them were gentle, beautiful and graceful.

A sea surge pillar rises from the turbulent waves, and on top of it is Mount Sumeru.

A nine-headed dragon with silver-wire gilded beads is coiled around the Sea Surge Pillar. Legend has it that it is a symbol of the Dragon King, who is in charge of drought and flood in the world.

On top of Mount Xumi stand the “Eight Guardian Heavenly Gods” from Buddhist legends. The gods are carved from sandalwood with exaggerated shapes and lifelike expressions, as if they are about to appear.

What the guardian deities are guarding in the middle is the main part of the treasure tower - the Buddha Palace.

In the center of the Buddhist palace is an octagonal pagoda with green ground and golden inscriptions. The pagoda is hollow and contains two carved plates of the Great Sukhavati Dharani Sutra and a light green gourd-shaped bottle containing nine relics.

Above the canopy is the pagoda top, which has eight hollow dragons woven with silver threads as its spine, with their heads held high and diving, representing the eight dragon kings.

There is a large crystal ball on the top of the pagoda, surrounded by a silver flame halo, which symbolizes "Buddha's light shines everywhere."

At this point, the entire pagoda is decorated with dazzling brilliance, making people linger.

The Pearl Relic Pagoda is rare in the world for its beautiful shape, precious materials and exquisite craftsmanship.

The makers selected precious crystal, agate, amber, pearl, sandalwood, gold, silver and other materials according to the "seven treasures" of the world as mentioned in Buddhism, and used more than ten special craft techniques such as jade carving, gold and silver wire weaving, gold and silver leather carving, sandalwood carving, crystal carving, lacquer carving, gold drawing, bead threading, and ancient painting to carefully produce it.

It is truly a work of exquisite craftsmanship.

The entire Pearl Relic Pagoda is decorated with nearly 40,000 pearls.

The seventeen sandalwood statues on the tower are a testament to the artist’s skill; each statue is less than three inches tall and was extremely difficult to carve.

However, the majestic demeanor of the Heavenly King, the graceful figure of the Heavenly Maiden, the angry expression of the Vajra Warrior, and the solemn and serene appearance of the Buddha are all carved to perfection.

Zhu Houcong looked at this Buddhist treasure and commented that it was just a container for storing relics made of seven treasures such as pearls.

Having been a human being in two lifetimes, it is impossible to say that one believes in Taoism, let alone Buddhism. Fasting, offering sacrifices, and practicing Taoism are just ways to calm the mind.

After the Yuan people defeated the Song people and ruled the Central Plains, this national artifact fell into the hands of the Yuan people. Later, after Emperor Taizu Gao expelled the Tartars and restored China, the defeated Yuan people took it to the grassland.

After several rounds of transfer, Shen Weijing bought it from Altan Khan's eldest son Sengge, and when the trade was opened, he asked someone to pass it on to his mentor Zhang Juzheng.

Also handed over was a skull bowl made from the head of the fifth emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Lizong Zhao Yun.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Tibetan Buddhist monk Yang Lianzhenjia robbed the imperial tombs of the Southern Song Dynasty. The body of Song Lizong Zhao Yun had been soaked in mercury when he was buried, so it had not yet rotted. Yang Lianzhenjia dragged his body out of the tomb and hung it upside down in the woods in front of the tomb to drain the mercury.

Zhao Yun's head was then cut off and made into a skull bowl, which was sent to the Yuan Dynasty emperor in Dadu, while his torso was burned.

According to legend, this skull bowl was found in the imperial palace of Yuan Dadu after Emperor Taizu Gao conquered Dadu.

In the second year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu Gao buried the skull bowl in Yingtian Prefecture with imperial rites.

The following year, the skull bowl was buried back at the former site of Yongmuling in Shaoxing.

However, the skull bowl that Shen Weijing gave to Zhang Juzheng was taken out from Altan's treasury and had been passed down in an orderly manner.

If nothing unexpected happens, the skull bowl that Emperor Taizu Gao was buried with was not the real skull of Emperor Lizong of Song.

A great Confucian monarch was treated like this after his death. Zhu Houcong felt that this was a shame for the Han people.

Whether this skull bowl is the real skull of Emperor Lizong of Song or a fake skull, Zhu Houcong ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to bury it in the Yongmul Mausoleum in Shaoxing.

If it is discovered again in the future, it can be reburied. In short, it can be regarded as the one that Emperor Taizu Gao had already been buried.

This is why Zhu Houcong said that he accepted the national weapon on behalf of Emperor Taizu Gao.

We cannot lose face for our ancestors.

However, Zhu Houcong was troubled about how to deal with the pearl relic pagoda, this precious treasure of Buddhism.

It's said to be a national treasure, but it's not something that should really be worshipped as a thing that holds unclean ashes.

Perhaps, only Buddhists would be willing to offer it.

But to give it to Buddhism for no reason was obviously not in the interest of Emperor Zhu Houcong or the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has reported the clearance of the princes' estates." Lu Fang reported.

Including King Jing and King Yi who died early, the Ming Dynasty cleared out the fiefdoms and farmlands of 38 princes at one time. Those numbers are shocking just to look at, not to mention the remaining wealth in the royal palaces.

"read."

"The Liao Palace covers a total of 1,893,327 acres."

"The Chu Palace covers a total of 1,457,326 acres."

"The Qin Palace covers a total of 8,674,566 acres."

"The Prince of Jin's Mansion has a total area of ​​7,284,940 acres."

"..."

The longer the prince's inheritance lasts, the more farmlands the prince has. These are all rewards bestowed by successive emperors after they ascended the throne, and are also the result of the prince's annexation of the common people's land.

Hearing the numbers of the palaces and farms one by one, Zhu Houcong calculated carefully and found that the thirty-eight palaces had a total of 91,127,522 acres of farms.

Zhu Houcong frowned. He not only felt that the Zhu family owed the people too much, but also felt that the number of farmlands was not right.

Not more, but less.

It doesn't even reach 100 million acres of farmland, which is obviously not the amount of farmland that all royal palaces should have.

So, what about the land?
Lu Fang knew that the real Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty was not Gao Gong, the Deputy Minister of the Cabinet who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, but the Emperor in front of him.

In some matters, Lu Fang and Lu Bing, two old employees of Prince Xing's Mansion, were able to think ahead of His Majesty.

For example, regarding the missing royal mansions and farms, Lu Fang said respectfully, "Your Majesty, from the Hongwu period to the present, the Ming Dynasty has lasted for 200 years. The previous emperors and Your Majesty have conferred titles and inherited titles on 156 princes. The princes have nothing to do, so they often ask the gods and Buddhas for the indispensable incense money and oil money. The princes have generously donated money, including a lot of gold, silver, and farmland."

As he spoke, Lu Fang asked the young eunuch to carry up the incense record of the First Buddhist Temple, White Horse Temple, which had been prepared in advance by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

There were nearly a hundred large boxes packed.

These are all the records of incense offerings at the White Horse Temple collected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

It also includes the rewards from Emperor Taizu Gao.

"In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, pilgrims burn incense and offer a hundred taels of silver!"

"In the 16th year of Hongwu, a fire broke out in the White Horse Temple, burning down three of the main halls. Emperor Taizu Gao allocated 30,000 taels of silver and ordered Luoyi to recruit 1,000 strong men to rebuild the temple and re-sculpt the golden statue."

"In the sixth year of Yongle, the first Liao king visited the temple and saw that the novice monk was pale and thin, so he offered 100,000 taels of silver to improve the monks' food."

"In the first year of Hongxi, the second Liao king fulfilled his vow and offered 100,000 taels of silver, 1,000 taels of gold, and 1,000 acres of fertile land in Mangshan."

"In the fifth year of Xuande, the second Liao king saw that the temple was dilapidated and the golden statue was damaged, so he renovated the temple, rebuilt the golden statue, and donated 100,000 taels of silver."

"In the fourth year of Zhengtong, the third Liao king inherited the title and went to the temple to fulfill his vow, offering 10,000 taels of gold, 10,000 taels of silver, and 10,000 acres of fertile land in Mangshan."

"..."

Over a hundred years.

The White Horse Temple received incense money from successive Liao royal palaces, nearby princely palaces, and ordinary pilgrims, totaling tens of millions of taels of silver, and millions of acres of fertile land.

According to the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu Gao.

Monks and Taoists are people outside the secular world. They do not pay taxes or perform labor service, and enjoy many preferential treatments.

If you don't work but just receive worshippers' support, you will inevitably become rich.

This is true for the White Horse Temple, other temples, and Taoist temples as well.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were a total of 3,000 temples and 800 Taoist temples, and there were dozens of them that were slightly inferior to the White Horse Temple.

Shaolin, Lingyin, Hanshan, Qingjing, Wudang Mountain, Baiyun Temple, Chongyang Palace, Yongle Palace, etc.

Over the past two hundred years, Buddhist temples and Taoist temples have received over 100 million taels of silver and tens of millions of acres of fertile land.

As for the contribution to the Ming Dynasty and the help to the people, it cannot be said that there was none, but it was also very small. In years of disaster, the porridge provided in front of temples and monasteries seemed so insignificant in the face of such huge incense offerings.

Yes, I should have thought of it earlier. Only these gods and Buddhas can cut the flesh from the kings who are like Pixiu.

The lack of farmland in the royal palaces fell on the monks and Taoists.

Zhu Houcong put down the account book and looked at the pearl relic tower with a dark look in his eyes.

Emperor Taizu Gao was born a monk. It can be said that when Emperor Taizu Gao was about to starve to death, it was the monk who gave him a bite to eat, which saved his life.

Of course, Emperor Taizu Gao repaid the favor of this meal a thousand or ten thousand times after he ascended the throne.

When Emperor Taizu Gao led his army to conquer the world, he also received guidance and help from Taoist priests such as Zhou Dian and Zhang Zhong, the Iron Crown Taoist.

During the Hongwu period, Emperor Taizu Gao personally wrote the "Imperial Biography of the Immortal Zhou Dian".

In the first year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Taizu Gaodi personally bestowed on Zhang Zhengchang the title of "The 42nd Heavenly Master of the Zhengyi Sect, the Patriarch of the Han Dynasty, the Great Immortal Who Protects the Country, Expounds the Ancestor, Is Sincere and Worships the Way, and Promotes Virtue", and gave him a silver seal and the rank of the second grade official. From then on, he was summoned and bestowed with gifts almost every year.

During the reign of Emperor Chengzu Wen, Taoist Yuan Gong served as his adviser.

Emperor Chengzu Wen personally composed a piece of music for him, "The Great Ming Imperially Composed Mystical Music", to show his sincerity in admiring the Tao.

In the tenth year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu Wen issued an order to build a large-scale Taoist temple in Wudang Mountain. Because of Emperor Chengzu Wen's worship of Emperor Xuanwu, it became a standard in the Ming Dynasty, and even a grand temple of Emperor Zhenwu was built in the capital.

Subsequent emperors would send special personnel to Wudang Mountain from time to time to offer sacrifices and burn incense. Even though Emperor Renzong was in office for only a few months and did not take any new initiatives, he still issued an imperial decree to repair the palaces and temples on Taiyue Mountain and Taihe Mountain.

Emperor Xuanzong conferred the title of Great Immortal on Zhang Yuqing, Zhang Demou and others.

and many more.

Including Zhu Houcong himself, the eleven emperors of the Ming Dynasty all had deep roots in Buddhism and Taoism.

Unexpectedly, this made the Taoists and monks extremely rich.

Over the past two hundred years, Taoism and Buddhism have become more and more prosperous year by year, with more and more Taoists and Buddhists, and more and more people who are not engaged in production.

If this continues, it will do more harm than good to the Ming Dynasty. It is time to think of a way to destroy Buddhism and Taoism.

……

The twelfth lunar month is approaching.

Cabinet ministers are on duty all year round as usual.

His Majesty sympathizes with the hard work of his ministers and grants a special banquet at this time every year.

At three quarters past noon, four cabinet ministers, Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin, came to the Mingtang for dinner together.

After the kitchen servants had finished their preparations, the wine and food from the imperial kitchen were brought in by the cook. The dishes were placed on the table, and servants poured wine for the cabinet members.

The ministers took their seats one by one. Gao Gong was in a good mood and raised his cup and said, "Come on, gentlemen, let's drink the first cup to His Majesty. Thank you for the banquet and wish you a long life."

Li Chunfang hurriedly picked up the wine cup and raised it. Hu Zongxian and Chen Yiqin subconsciously glanced at the vacant seats and raised their wine cups. Everyone drank it all in one gulp.

After all, Gao Gong was not the chief minister of the cabinet, so he was not qualified to bring three cups of wine. After drinking one cup, he smiled and said, "Today's banquet is for you to be more casual. Please make yourselves at ease."

As he spoke, he raised his chopsticks to signal everyone to eat the food. He picked up a piece of fish fillet and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly.

Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin also picked up their chopsticks to pick up food.

Just like the dinner parties in previous years, the usually serious cabinet ministers put aside their airs and told jokes to each other. Even though one person was missing, the atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious.

As we chatted, we ended up talking about some interesting things.

Some tribal leaders of the Tatar Eastern Tartars, which were the left wing of the grassland and had always been hostile to the Ming Dynasty, secretly sent news to the court through border towns.

First, we ask the Ming Dynasty to open up trade, and second, we ask the Ming Dynasty to provide assistance.

The grassland was getting colder and colder, and many small tribes on the grassland could not bear it.

After receiving the letter for help, the cabinet found it funny. Although the Ming Dynasty and Tatar had reached peace talks, anyone with a sound mind would know that this was only temporary.

The idea of ​​the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars was to find an opportunity to kill each other.

The tribes on the left wing of the grassland had no food to eat, and their cattle, sheep and horses were frozen to death. What does this have to do with the Ming Dynasty?
The scene that the Tatars and their livestock all froze to death or starved to death was what the Ming Dynasty wanted to see most.

As for whether the left wing of the grassland would go crazy and go south to fight to the death with the Ming Dynasty.

Now the water on the grassland turns into ice and the snow is thick and difficult to walk. The left wing of the grassland dares not even resist Altan's orders and attempts to move south in a state of hunger and cold. This is a great achievement for the commander of the border town of the Ming Dynasty.

As for opening a new trade market, not to mention that there was not enough time, even if there was enough time, why would the Ming Dynasty sell things to an enemy who was about to die of hunger and cold?
Did he want the enemy to be well fed and well clothed before attacking the Ming Dynasty?
The laughter in the hall could be heard from far away.

This also alarmed the people who were walking over.

The hall door opened.

The cold wind blew the snowflakes that had not yet been cleared from the ground into the hall. The minister, whose face was flushed and whose neck was as red as a rooster's comb after drinking several glasses of wine, did not feel cold, but was a little drunk.

They all looked closely and saw that it was Zhang Juzheng. They were immediately puzzled. Prime Minister, why did he suddenly come back?
Gao Gong's drunkenness soon wore off. Although he had long anticipated Zhang Juzheng's return, he was still reluctant to leave because of the feeling of temporarily taking over the government and state affairs.

Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang, and Chen Yiqin stood up first and said, "Prime Minister."

Gao Gong did not move. All eyes turned to him. He raised his head sharply and poured the wine in the cup into his mouth. Then he stood up and said, "Prime Minister."

"Everyone go out, I'll pour the wine."

Zhang Juzheng dismissed the cabinet members who were waiting for him, took the wine pot, poured himself a glass, and said, "I'm late, this glass of wine is a penalty."

After saying that, he drank a cup.

The wine cups of the prime minister and the second prime minister were empty at this time. Hu, Li and Chen were not ignorant of the rules, so they drank up the wine in their cups.

Zhang Juzheng poured a glass of wine for Gao, Hu, Li, and Chen in turn, then came to Gao Gong and said, "Mr. Su, this is a toast to you. You have worked hard these days."

"It's not hard."

Gao Gong's face darkened and he said, "I can't hold my liquor. I drank too much before and now I can't drink any more."

The wine of frustration is the hardest to drink.

Gao Gong really couldn't drink any more.

"No problem." Zhang Juzheng drank up the wine in his cup with a smile, poured another one, and toasted Hu, Li and Chen.

Drink three glasses of wine in a row.

Zhang Juzheng could drink quite well, but his eyes and face turned red. He put the wine cup back on the table and said, "I just heard you talking about the Eastern Tartars asking for help. My idea is, we should help!"

"What?" Several people were immediately confused.

Li Chunfang said, "Prince, this is absolutely not allowed. Why should we help the enemies of the Ming Dynasty?"

Altan Khan of the Northern Tartars is an enemy, and the little prince of the Eastern Tartars is also an enemy. The Ming Dynasty should be happy to see the death of the enemies.

Besides, the Eastern Tartars have been exploited by the Northern Tartars and there is not much money left to be made. If the Ming Dynasty really wants to lend a helping hand to the Eastern Tartars, it may even lose money, but at least it will not make as much profit as it could by trading only with the Northern Tartars.

In terms of both emotion and reason, the Ming Dynasty had no reason to respond to the requests of the tribal leaders of the Eastern Tartars.

Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Chen Yiqin also had the same idea.

Gao Gong even reminded Zhang Juzheng of some of the instructions from the emperor during his absence from the cabinet, saying: "Prime Minister, the emperor wants to launch an expedition to the north next spring. The most appropriate way for our Ming Dynasty at this time is to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and watch the left and right wings of the grassland fight to the death. It would be best if we could leave a devastated grassland."

Infighting on the grassland.

It can consume the strength of the grassland to a great extent. When the Ming Dynasty's heavenly soldiers arrive, they can easily eliminate the enemy that has existed for more than a hundred years and wash away the shame of the Tumu Incident and Emperor Yingzong's "Northern Hunt".

"and then?"

Zhang Juzheng looked at his peers and said solemnly: "After defeating the Tatars, how will the Ming Dynasty deal with the grasslands and the people on the grasslands? Kill them all?"

Over the thousands of years of Chinese history, the Central Plains has changed several dynasties, and the grasslands have also changed several rulers.

The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turks, Oirat, Tatars, etc., new ethnic minorities continued to make a comeback.

The Han and Tang dynasties defeated foreign tribes countless times, sealed off the Wolf's Lair and engraved the Stone of Yanran, and their territories expanded to a huge size several times, but the grasslands were never truly integrated into the Central Plains or into the territory of China.

That was only a few decades or hundreds of years of peace. What Zhang Juzheng was asking now was how to truly incorporate the grassland into the territory of China and make the grassland a national pasture of the Ming Dynasty.

Sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, and then reaping all the benefits, is certainly a way to completely defeat the Tatars, but it is easy to conquer territory but difficult to defend it.

It is impossible that after destroying the Tatars, the Ming Dynasty's soldiers would kill every last person on the grassland, leaving the vast grassland, thousands of miles of land, uninhabited, right?
This is a problem that countless wise men in China have been unable to solve for thousands of years. When it comes to this, of course the people in the Mingtang can't think of a solution either.

Chen Yiqin's mind moved, and he said, "Does Yuanfu have any good ideas to incorporate the grassland into China?"

"No." Zhang Juzheng answered simply.

How could Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Taiyue, have the ability to solve a problem that countless sages could not solve with just one word?

The corners of Chen Yiqin, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang's mouths twitched slightly. The overwhelming momentum of Yuan Fu just now really made them think that the opportunity to leave their names for eternity was right before their eyes.

Gao Gong said sarcastically: "I thought the Prime Minister would say that by giving the Eastern Tartars food and fodder, we can influence those barbarians with love."

The barbarians fear power but not virtue.

This has been the consensus of countless sages over thousands of years. The Northern Barbarians and the Eastern Barbarians are all barbarians and belong to the prairie wolves. They will not recognize anyone once they turn their backs on them.

China tried to tame it into an obedient mastiff, but obviously, it has never been successful.

In Gao Gong's opinion, the strength of the current Ming Dynasty is not enough to make the Tatars tremble. If there is a magical weapon that can reap the lives of the Tatars like mowing grass, he believes that the people on the grassland will be the most talented singers and dancers in the world.

If you fail to tame it, trying to influence it with love is just like cutting your own flesh to feed the eagle. You, Zhang Juzheng, are not the Buddha, so why are you pretending to be so high and mighty?
Zhang Juzheng took out a lot of letters from his sleeve that his beloved disciple Shen Weijing had sent him. He said slowly, "Shen Weijing encouraged Altan to persecute the Eastern Tartars. The Eastern Tartars suffered heavy losses, and even their foundations were damaged. The current Eastern Tartar leader, the little prince, is an extremely cowardly person. I am worried that if this continues, the little prince will surrender to Altan and recognize Altan as the true overlord of the grassland. I think that a unified grassland between the left and right wings is not what my Ming Dynasty wants to see."

Gao Gong and others took the letter and looked through it. Although some of Shen Weijing's descriptions of the Eastern Tartars were a bit inaccurate, his judgment about the little prince was accurate.

The right wing of the grassland lived a comfortable life, eating rice, wearing silk, and drinking fine wine, while the left wing of the grassland went hungry, had no clothes to wear, and was often beaten.

However, the little prince, as the lord of the grassland, was tolerant in everything and remained silent about everything his people had to endure, just for the sake of food to survive.

You know, there is no dividing line on the grassland, but in the hearts of grassland people, there is an invisible dividing line.

The little prince's cowardice is likely to cause him to surrender to his uncle Altan and give up the throne after he can no longer bear the pressure.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty’s heavenly soldiers might face not a ruined grassland, but a unified grassland.

The power unleashed by the two in war is completely different, and the latter will make the Ming army very difficult to deal with.

Providing the Eastern Tartars with food and fodder will allow them to continue their fight against the Northern Tartars. This will be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty over a long period of time.

However, Chen Yiqin, who came from a prominent family, saw the shadow of the Ming Dynasty in the life on the left and right wings of the grassland.

Just as the family said, a dynasty is just a large collective, and a collective always has something in common.

In the Ming Dynasty, who is the left wing of the grassland and who is the right wing of the grassland?
An idea suddenly came to Chen Yiqin's mind.

(End of this chapter)