Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 201: The Taoist Conference, Gods and Buddhas come to Beijing!
Chen Yiqin returned to the cabinet.

It was not to discuss the possibility of "surveying the land and distributing it equally to the people", but to transfer government affairs.

One is cabinet affairs, and the other is Ministry of Rites affairs.

As for cabinet affairs, Zhang Juzheng was in charge. He had a talent for multitasking and the more capable one is, the more work one should do.

Li Chunfang is in charge of the Ministry of Rites. The separation of military and politics will be officially implemented when the new year comes. By then, Li Chunfang's Ministry of War will become an empty shell.

The extra time and free time was just enough for him to take charge of the Ministry of Rites. Although Li Chunfang and his family did not know as much about the ritual system as Chen Yiqin, there were fewer major ceremonies and festivals in the Jiajing period, so they could barely cope with it.

After entrusting the cabinet affairs and the Ministry of Rites, Chen Yiqin bowed deeply to Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang, then turned and left.

He did not discuss the details of "surveying the land and distributing it equally to the people" with his peers. After all, they were all vested interests in the land, and Chen Yiqin was not so stupid as to discuss with mice how to catch them.

After leaving the cabinet, Zhu Qi, one of the Thirteen Guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was waiting in front of the cabinet door. Next, Zhu Qi would accompany Chen Yiqin to travel around the two capitals and thirteen provinces to clear fields, measure land, and distribute land equally. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had a heavy task.

As for Admiral Chen Hong's East Factory, the internal evaluation of the Jinyiwei was, "Catching a rabbit on New Year's Eve means celebrating the New Year whether you catch it or not."

Chen Yiqin disappeared.

Gao Gong and Li Chunfang immediately cut a piece of letter paper, picked up their pens, and wrote a letter back home.

The purpose is simple, to quickly sell off all the family's land, leaving not even a single acre, and to minimize the family's losses.

Zhang Juzheng glanced at Gao and Li, but did not say anything. Gao Gong's hometown was Kaifeng Xinzheng, and Li Chunfang's hometown was Yangzhou Xinghua. The policy of "surveying the land and distributing it equally to the people" would start from the capital area. It was believed that it would not be long before Henan and Nanzhili would learn about the new national policy.

The Gao and Li families have a lot of land. Even if they sell it, they will be sold in bulk to other officials, wealthy families, and powerful people, so they will not harm ordinary people.

Don't worry about it.

Zhang Juzheng looked at Hu Zongxian who was sitting at his desk in a daze, and without thinking too much, he blurted out: "Ruzhen, why don't you write a letter back..."

Having said this, Zhang Juzheng stopped talking and then remembered the current situation of Hu Zongxian’s hometown, Huizhou Prefecture in Southern Zhili.

The area of ​​one prefecture and six counties was almost torn down and rebuilt. Hu Zongxian's family was the wealthy owner of the Huizhou merchants. With the emperor's silence, they sat in the "tainted witness" seat. The roster of merchants of the Huizhou merchants' gang and the roster of officials funded by the Huizhou merchants' gang, the two rosters, served as evidence of Hu Zongxian's family's meritorious service while serving their sentences, and were recognized by the government and the public.

In order to protect himself, Hu Zongxian ordered his family to return all the income from the Huizhou merchants. Of course, the court did not care about some of the gold, silver and grain that had been spent.

The extremely frightened Hu Zongxian family was so scared that they voluntarily handed over everything except the ancestral temple to the court, including all the family's land.

However, it is not the case that Hu Zongxian became poor from then on. Before that, his two sons, the eldest son Hu Guiqi and the second son Hu Songqi, were famous "Gods of Business" in the capital, and made two to three million taels of silver from Huizhou merchants.

It has to be said that Hu Guiqi and Hu Songqi were smart. Although it was obvious that the Hui merchants were sending money to the Hu family, the two brothers also let the Hui merchants who went to deliver the money take the things away.

Wine and tea!
You know, many things in this world have a price. No matter how much the price of salt increases, it can never double. No matter how much the price of grain increases, people cannot afford it.

But since ancient times, there has been no fixed price for wine and tea, even though two kilograms of grain can produce one kilogram of wine and five kilograms of fresh tea can produce one kilogram of dry tea.

But for expensive wine, people dare to ask for a very high price. A pot of famous wine can be sold for a hundred taels of silver, a thousand taels of silver, or even ten thousand taels of silver. Isn't the profit just a hundred or a thousand times?
How delicious it tastes is a matter of opinion. Zhang Juzheng knew that wine worth a hundred or a thousand taels of silver could still be consumed by both parties, but wine worth ten thousand taels of silver was no longer wine, but "human affairs", something to be carried as a gift.

The value lies not in the item itself, but in the benefits delivered behind it.

There is no fixed price for wine, and the same goes for tea. Famous teas are worth thousands of dollars but are hard to come by. They contain much more.

Therefore, no matter how the government, the opposition and the people questioned Hu Guiqi and Hu Songqi, these two business geniuses really gave things to people but did not do anything for them.

The transaction is entirely voluntary. You gave me silver and I gave you wine and tea. But you said my wine and tea were not worth the price and were too expensive.

The Hu brothers just want to say: "What's expensive about it? It's been this price for so many years, don't say anything with your eyes open... Sometimes you should look for your own reasons. Has your salary increased over the years? Have you ever been a profiteer?"

Free pricing, free buying and selling. Even if the imperial court wanted to hold someone accountable, it would have no way to recover the more than two million taels of silver.

In short, the Hu brothers gave the people of the Ming Dynasty a solid lesson in business.

Including the imperial court.

There were loopholes in the Ming Dynasty laws, and there was a lack of management over the sale of alcohol and tea.

The Ministry of Justice, the Censorate and the Dali Temple were so angry that they submitted a special memorial to the court, requesting that the price of all liquors should not exceed five times the price of the same weight of grain locally, and the price outside the local area should not exceed ten times the price of the same weight of grain.

The standard for all types of tea, whether local or foreign, could not exceed one tael of silver for one tael of tea.

After the cabinet's proposal was passed, it was reported to Yuxi Palace, which also approved it. However, new laws cannot be used to implement old ones, and the more than two million taels of silver eventually fell into the hands of the Hu brothers.

In the name of their father, Hu Zongxian asked the two brothers to take out one million taels of silver and transport it back to their hometown in Huizhou to help their clansmen do some small business.

The Hu family went from extravagance to frugality, which caused a lot of trouble, but it was nothing serious. Huizhou Prefecture was still restoring order, and the Hu family had not started buying and selling land, and they didn't need to buy any more in the future.

Once the national policy of measuring land and distributing it equally to the people has been implemented in Huizhou Prefecture, all you have to do is wait for the land to be distributed. There is no need to send any letters back.

Hu Zongxian knew what Yuan Fu wanted to say, so he sighed and said with a wry smile: "I'm afraid I won't be able to go back to my hometown in the future!"

In any case, Huizhou Prefecture was torn down and rebuilt, and the role played by the Hu family was ignominious. A large number of Huizhou people died. As a cabinet minister of the time, Hu Zongxian did not play a role in saving his hometown. Those villagers who lost their loved ones did not dare to blame the emperor or the court, and all their resentment was attributed to Hu Zongxian alone.

Hu Zongxian did not want to make excuses, nor did he want to return to his hometown after his death. He had done so many things for the Ming Dynasty, and it was a noble thing for him to return to the mountains and rivers.

Zhang Juzheng remained silent. Many things cannot be measured simply by right or wrong. Hu Zongxian was a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty. It was a tragedy that he could not return to his homeland after a hundred years.

Gao Gong and Li Chunfang were in no mood for joy or sorrow. They ordered someone to send the letter back to their hometown as soon as possible as the family's money and food were important.

……

The cushion on which Zhu Houcong meditated was originally placed on a three-tiered octagonal platform.

The top layer is Qian Gua, which is numbered “nine”; the bottom layer is Kun Gua, which is numbered “one”; and the middle layer is the number “five” between Qian and Kun.

The futon is the emperor!

The octagonal shape of the platform naturally corresponds to the Eight Trigrams, which are the positions where he usually seems to be strolling casually, but is actually stepping on to determine good or bad luck.

Lu Fang returned to Yuxi Palace to report, and Huang Jin summoned the general recorder of the "Three Wars and One Sect" who destroyed Buddhism.

Zhu Houcong was sitting cross-legged on a cushion with his eyes closed in meditation. Suddenly his eyes opened and he picked up the bronze cymbals lying on his knees and struck the bronze cymbals beside the table.

With a "dang" sound, he stretched out his legs, got down from the futon, walked down three steps, and came to the main recorder filled with sandalwood boxes.

I read these records from the beginning, looking for solutions to the Taoist and Buddhist traditions.

The so-called "Three Wars and One Rebellion to Destroy Buddhism" refers to the four large-scale destruction of Buddhism that occurred in history.

That is, the anti-Buddhist events initiated by Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Li Yan, Emperor Wuzong of Tang, and Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou.

With the development of Buddhism, Buddhist temples began to enjoy privileges. Not only did the monks not engage in production or perform military service or labor, but they also owned a large number of servants and land.

The impact of this on the dynasty's economy and military became increasingly prominent. The economic downturn and foreign military failures inevitably caused dissatisfaction among the secular people, and eventually led to incidents initiated by the court such as the destruction of temples, Buddha statues, scriptures, confiscation of property, and prohibition of people from believing in Buddhism.

However, the Three Wus and One Zong's destruction of Buddhism not only dealt a heavy blow to Buddhism, but also accelerated the process of Buddhism's sinicization.

After the four destructions of Buddhism, in order to protect itself, Buddhism began to actively integrate with Confucianism and Taoism, gradually recognized Confucian ethics, learned to bow to royal power, and accepted relevant Taoist ideas.

But history always repeats itself. From these cold words, Zhu Houcong could feel that after Buddhism and Taoism developed to a certain extent, it was inevitable that the court would take strong measures.

First, there was the conflict at the beginning of development. The local conservative forces had a natural rejection barrier against Buddhism due to the “distinction between Chinese and barbarians”.

From the early stage when Buddhism was introduced into China to the period of rapid development of Buddhism in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the local scholar class has always regarded it as "Western learning".

This idea never disappeared until the culturally open Tang Dynasty, and its representative example is Han Yu's "Memorial on Receiving the Buddha's Bones".

The process of the development of Buddhism was also the process in which Confucianism became dominant.

The fierce anti-Buddhism campaign by Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei and the "democratic" anti-Buddhism campaign by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou were partly motivated by the desire to show goodwill to Confucianism.

As a backward alien race ruling the Central Plains, they must integrate themselves into the advanced culture of the Central Plains in order to consolidate the discourse power of their own ruling group.

Therefore, Emperor Wu of Zhou believed that "the Six Classics and Confucianism's promotion of political skills, propriety, loyalty and filial piety are suitable for the world and must be preserved."

He also said: "Buddhism originated in the Western Regions and spread to the East. Its customs and teachings are very different from those of China... Since it is not an orthodox religion, it should be abolished."

Secondly, restricting Buddhism was an inevitable measure taken by the emperor to consolidate his rule, and destroying Buddhism was only one manifestation of this inevitable measure.

The rapid development of Buddhism is bound to lead to the expansion of temple economy, the growth of monks and nuns' personal pockets, the surge in the number of monks and nuns, and tax evasion.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, expenses on Buddhism accounted for one-third of fiscal expenditures; according to the Old Book of Tang, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, "Buddhism accounted for seven or eight out of ten of the world's wealth."

This was obviously something that neither the emperor nor the court could accept.

Furthermore, the interpretation of Buddhism's own principles has made Buddhism an object of exclusion by other sects.

The first thing that comes to mind is the Buddhist question about the origin of the world. Buddhism advocates that the origin of the world is emptiness, which is similar to the "nothingness" advocated by Taoism.

"Emptiness" eliminates the differences in status between people and animals, and advocates equality for all living things. On the one hand, this is not compatible with a highly centralized hierarchical society.

The Buddhist doctrine of "not worshipping the emperor or parents" and the theory of reincarnation were in conflict with Confucianism and were not tolerated by the imperial power.

Therefore, although Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty attached great importance to Buddhism, he had been reciting Laozi and Zhuangzi since he was young.

Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty vigorously promoted Buddhism at the beginning of his reign. However, the result was that after the Buddhists, who were treated with courtesy by the emperor, became more confident, they indulged Buddhists to leave Buddhism and oppose the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty, making "the king's law abolished and not enforced." Especially after the Gai Wu Uprising broke out, Buddhist monks actually conspired with the rebels and attempted a rebellion.

Any emperor with a sound mind would not tolerate the rampant Buddhism, let alone Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty who was determined to unify the country.

Therefore, under the influence of Taoist Kou Qianzhi and important official Cui Hao who believed in Taoism, he changed his attitude of worshipping Buddhism and ordered the destruction of Buddhism.

The greatest hatred in the world is hatred born from love, and Buddhism has paid a heavy price for its reckless actions.

Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty issued an order to kill all monks and destroy Buddha statues. In addition, those who believed in Buddhism and made various Buddha statues made of clay, copper, etc. were also to be massacred, resulting in "no more monks in the whole area."

Emperor Taiwu's destruction of Buddhism became the bloodiest and cruelest of the four anti-Buddhist incidents.

In the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism developed greatly again, thanks to the promotion of the Li Tang group and Xuanzang's vigorous preaching after his journey to India.

When Emperor Wuzong of Tang, Li Yan, first ascended the throne, there were nearly 300,000 monks and nuns and nearly 50,000 temples.

The growing group of monks, either having forgotten or learned from the lessons of the past, actually extended their tentacles into the imperial court and formed a considerable political force.

Within the imperial court, more than thirty monks were given important positions, including many high-ranking officials and some were even made generals and participated in important military affairs.

There are also monks who have close contacts with the powerful and wealthy, are extremely arrogant, and commit crimes. "(Monks) make a living by growing goods, rely on their connections to build cliques, and keep wives and raise children."

They have forgotten the Five Precepts of Buddhism and the Six Purities of the Senses. Buddhist monks have had wives and children, and given birth to offspring. This is absurd.

In addition, Emperor Wuzong of Tang was already obsessed with Taoism. With the instigation of Taoism, the advice of Taoists Zhao Guizhen, Liu Xuanjing and others, and the participation of Prime Minister Li Deyu, Emperor Wuzong of Tang ordered the destruction of Buddhism.

Because the Tang Dynasty was a unified dynasty and was at the end of its heyday, Emperor Wuzong's anti-Buddhism campaign was the heaviest blow to Buddhism among the four anti-Buddhist campaigns.

In just four months, more than 1,600 large temples and more than 40,000 small temples were demolished, more than 260,000 monks and nuns were returned to secular life, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile farmland were confiscated.

In addition, 150,000 slaves in temples were released and made into two-tax households.

A large number of Buddhist scriptures were destroyed, and the eight once prosperous Chinese Buddhist sects, except for Zen, all declined.

Perhaps time has worn away the pain. Although Buddhism during the reign of Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou suffered a severe blow from the anti-Buddhist campaign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, it still had a certain influence among the government and the people.

In order to avoid the war, a large number of useful people became monks, resulting in the loss of talent.

The reason why Zhou Shizong destroyed Buddhism was to discover the useful people among Buddhists and use them for his own purposes.

Moreover, the extravagant lifestyle of some Buddhists attracted the attention of Zhou Shizong, who was already short of money. This was called "Lubai" among the people.

In the second year of Xian De, Emperor Shizong of Zhou issued an order to destroy Buddhism, prohibited the private ordination of monks and nuns, strictly prohibited slaves and criminals from becoming monks, abolished all temples without imperial decree, and did not allow the construction of new temples.

Among the monks and nuns, there are young and brave monks and nuns who are talented and ambitious. If they want to become officials or join the army to serve their country, they can apply for an exam and the court will employ them based on their abilities.

Some old malpractices in Buddhism should be eradicated, and practices that damage the body, such as burning arms and refining fingers, nailing and cutting off hands and feet, which were adopted by some monks and nuns, should be banned.

All those unorthodox methods and sorcery techniques used to mislead people are also banned.

Confiscated bronze Buddha statues from the people and used them to mint coins to overcome the country's currency shortage.

Two volumes of monks' registers were made every year, and the number of monks and nuns in the temples was reported to the central government. Any monks and nuns whose names were not included in the registers were ordered to return to secular life.

It can be said that what Buddhism has done is worthy of such results.

In the sixth year of Xian De, Zhou Shizong died on the way to the north. Zhao Kuangyin launched a mutiny at Chenqiao, seized power, and established the Song Dynasty. He then ordered the restoration of Buddhism, and the anti-Buddhist movement ended.

During these three campaigns to suppress Buddhism, the emperor directly ordered the army to suppress the rebellion. Although Zhu Houcong admired the methods of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, and Emperor Shizong of the Zhou Dynasty, he found them unsuitable for the Ming Dynasty.

It is a good thing for people to have some beliefs while living in this world.

Zhu Houcong wanted to destroy Buddhism and Taoism in order to solve the problem that there were too many Taoists and monks in Taoism and Buddhism, and that they did not engage in production and were a burden on the court's finances.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong focused more on Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yuwen Yong's destruction of Buddhism.

In May of the first year of Tianhe and August of the third year, Emperor Wu of Zhou summoned all officials, monks, Taoists and others to the main hall twice and personally explained the "Book of Rites" to them, hoping to use Confucianism to reform Buddhism and Taoism.

In February of the fourth year of Tianhe, Emperor Wu of Zhou once again convened everyone to discuss Buddhist and Taoist doctrines. The issues discussed this time were mainly about Buddhism, and his intention to suppress Buddhism was more obvious.

In the second year of Jiande, Emperor Wu of Zhou held the third major discussion on Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and determined the order of the three religions, "Confucianism first, Taoism second, and Buddhism last", and his intention to suppress Buddhism became public.

Then came the destruction of Buddhism. In the third year of Jiande, Emperor Wu of Zhou issued an order to ban Buddhism, destroy and confiscate temples, burn scriptures and statues, and order monks and nuns to return to secular life.

In the sixth year, Northern Zhou conquered Northern Qi. Emperor Wu of Zhou ordered that Buddhism continue to be banned in the former territory of Northern Qi, causing many monks to flee to the south.

To destroy Buddhism, one must first suppress Buddhism, then let the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism fight each other, and finally complete the idea of ​​destroying Buddhism.

This method is perfect.

It was only when Zhu Houcong saw Emperor Wu of Zhou that he remembered the corrupt Confucianism of the time.

It's time to bring out the Confucian school as well.

It has been exactly one thousand years since the second year of Jiande. The order of the three religions was redetermined, and the world's "great sages", "great masters", and "great immortals" were mobilized to come to Beijing for debate, allowing the three religions to "fight".

When the time is right, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism will be solved together.

Zhu Houcong's mouth had smile lines, and the light in his eyes was particularly bright. He said: "Issue an imperial decree to order all the wise men, masters, and immortals in the world to come to the capital in the new year, both to pray for the people and to set the order for the discussion of the Tao!"

……

Cabinet, government hall.

Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang respectfully received the imperial edict and ordered people to spread it to the two capitals and thirteen provinces, and to three thousand temples, eight hundred Taoist temples, and great Confucian sages.

The imperial edict was in the cabinet and was transferred in transit before being delivered to the person in charge.

But after the four elders raised their heads, they looked at each other tacitly, their eyes full of worry.

The first half of the imperial edict invited great sages, great masters, and great immortals of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism to come to the capital to pray for blessings, but the ministers simply skipped it.

After serving His Majesty for so many years, how could I not know that fasting, offering sacrifices and praying for blessings are useless?

Even though His Majesty practices Taoism, he is still "wiser than the emperor". His Majesty absolutely does not believe that there are really saints, Buddhas, and immortals in this world.

Praying for blessings was just an excuse to invite Confucianists, Buddhists and Taoists to come to Beijing and re-establish the order.

In the eyes of Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Li Chunfang, this was the emperor's punishment for the Confucian scholars who had previously resisted the new policies.

For thousands of years, the status of Confucian scholars has originated from the great debate in the second year of Jiande. Now, His Majesty wants to re-establish the order of the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. I have to say that as a traditional Confucian disciple, I am still a little panicked.

Even though we know that Buddhism and Taoism can hardly be rivals to Confucianism, the outcome of a great debate is often decided not within the debate but outside it.

Standing at the pinnacle of power, everyone in the cabinet understands one thing: everything is connected.

The principles that Confucianism has are also found in Taoism and Buddhism, and vice versa.

The great sages, great magicians, and great immortals have all believed in their own beliefs for their entire lives. How could they be easily convinced?
Among the great debates among Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, the most frequent ones were between Taoism and Buddhism. There were as many as fourteen debates that were well known to the world.

From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, spanning hundreds of years, involving many emperors and countless monks and Taoists.

The final result was that Buddhism won seven games, Taoism won four games, and three games were tied.

Does this mean that the great Taoist masters are not as good as the great Buddhist masters?
Even those within Buddhism understand that Buddhism won outside the debate.

In other words, whoever the emperor and the court want to win will win.

This is the real reason why Emperor Wuzong of Zhou held seven great debates between Taoism and Buddhism, but Taoism did not win any of them.

Zhang, Gao and Li were all worried that the emperor really disliked Confucianism. If the imperial examination was suspended and Confucianism lost its supreme position, its status among the people would plummet.

As disciples of Confucianism, they had to do something, so after looking at each other, they returned to their seats and wrote quickly, inviting the well-known Confucian sages to come out of seclusion and come to Beijing.

Hu Zongxian still did not take any action. His mentor was Yan Song, which meant that he had no Confucian sages to be familiar with. Also, he was thinking about a problem.

Although he was a disciple of Confucianism, Hu Zongxian also said that the books of saints were for reading and were useless for doing things. Now that they were not favored by the emperor, it was natural for them to decline.

But as to how much the emperor likes Taoism and Buddhism, Hu Zongxian doesn't think it's necessarily the case. The ideas of these outsiders are not conducive to the stability of the Ming Dynasty, nor to the rule of imperial power. In terms of ideological superiority, they are even inferior to Confucianism.

It is impossible that His Majesty does not understand this truth, but he wants to re-order Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. How strange!
Hu Zongxian had a flash of inspiration in his mind, as if he had grasped something...

(End of this chapter)