Buddhism

After a few days of getting along, Chitong knew that the young monk was called Kongqing and was eight years old.It is only because of the lack of nutrition caused by the famine in the past two years that the body has not grown up, so it looks like five or six years old.

Kong Qing said that he has lived in this Qingming Temple since he was a child, and has been following the old abbot in the temple to recite scriptures and praise Buddha, or go out to alms for alms and do good deeds.Two years ago, everything was fine. Although life was hard, we could still be full.

But one day two years later, in a town not far away, due to the lack of rain for several months, the farmer died of exhaustion. Without the support of crops, the common people had no source of income and food, and then broke out. famine.

If the local officials or the court could handle this matter in time, it would never have spread so quickly.But it was also that year that the emperor was old and often suffering from illnesses, with more energy than energy.And the princes are fighting secretly, with ulterior motives, and none of them are easy to save.

The ministers in the court saw that the situation in the court was unpredictable, and the famine town was still far away from the imperial city. The matter could be big or small, so they didn't dare to act rashly.After dragging on for half a month, I let it go, turned a blind eye, and let it run its course.

A famine in one place can still be controlled, even if they let it go.If people don't save me, I will save myself. The poor people can take all their belongings and drag their families and go to other places.

At worst, go to a town or village a little farther away to find a decent place to make a living.Although it is a bit difficult to leave home, there is hope, as long as you work hard, you will not starve to death.

But in the second half of the year, the surrounding cities and towns in the north suffered from droughts one after another. For a while, famines broke out everywhere, and the people were in dire straits.However, the south of the imperial city was just the opposite. Heavy rains struck one after another, and floods occurred in several places.

It seems that the heavens have dropped the rainwater that should have fallen in the north to the south. The earth on earth, which has not received balanced and controlled rainwater, is beyond the range of instinct, and it is silently bearing this "indiscriminate disaster".The people who suffered from the disaster were disheartened and panicked all day long.

These disaster-stricken places are all in remote areas, and the turmoil did not reach the imperial city for a while.The ministers just hid themselves, and no one was willing to claim this thankless job.They all have an attitude of having nothing to do with themselves and hanging high.

If it is like in the past, many people are still willing to go to such things as disaster relief, because they can earn some money from it.But at this time, the situation in North Korea and China is unclear.The emperor has been ill for a long time, and all the princes are secretly waiting, and their arrows are on the verge of breaking out.

If they volunteered for disaster relief, but the government changed at this time, and the relief funds and food in the later period could not keep up, and they were beaten to death and injured by hungry rascals, then the loss outweighed the gain.

A few ministers who were kind and upright took the initiative to report, but there was no reply.Even if he said it loudly in the court, it would be nothing.

Just because the emperor had more than enough heart but not enough energy, he still remembered this matter one moment, but forgot about it the next moment.And the assistant ministers deliberately covered up and delayed the matter, so they were shelved.

The emperor has been ill for a long time, with heart failure and exhaustion, so he can't handle too many things.The first prince is still young and ignorant, he doesn't know the difference between good and bad, but he is still a six-year-old child.On weekdays, she was spoiled by the old and well-behaved queen, and developed an arrogant, domineering and reckless temperament.Time waits for no one, how can he shoulder the heavy responsibility of this country.

The emperor knew that he was going to die, and he couldn't live long.He proposed to choose a regent for the young crown prince to take care of the government affairs of the court.This year is the time when the court selects the regent, and none of those princes are cheap.Relying on the fact that the emperor was seriously ill and had no time to control them, they all rushed back to the imperial city. First, they colluded with their mother's relatives, and then quietly and secretly wooed the ministers of the court. Everywhere they planned to win the position of the regent for themselves. Planning, overwhelmed.

The princes thought: As long as they win the position of the regent, the famine should be properly handled, and then the refugees who are about to die will be suppressed and appeased.I am also afraid that the people in the world will not think of my own good, and the ministers in the court will not accept my courage to do things. It is not a matter of time to overthrow that yellow-mouthed boy.

All the princes were indignant, and they were very angry at the ancestral precept of only setting up a heir, not setting up an elder and not setting up a concubine.Just because of this ancestral precept, these young, promising, talented and beautiful princes are not qualified to sit on the throne.But that willful yellow-toothed child can get it at his fingertips, which is really annoying.They swear that after they succeed, they must abolish this damned ancestral precept to vent their hatred.

It's not that the princes never thought about it, first to deal with the hooligan famine in person, to win the emperor's favor.It's just that seeing the emperor's body is getting worse day by day, who knows when the old man didn't stand up, and suddenly returned to heaven.If he was not able to accompany him by the bed when he died and was taken advantage of by others, wouldn't it be extremely disadvantageous and the loss outweighs the gain.

All the princes who are not in agreement with each other know that it is most appropriate to stay in the imperial city at this time.Therefore, they all postponed the handling of the hooligans. After all, for them, if they succeeded in ascending to a high position, resettling the famine refugees was an opportunity for them to gain popular support and authority.But if they don't succeed, doing something so thankless and risky is making wedding dresses for others.

In their eyes, the lives of these refugees are nothing more than lowly lives, and it is not worth taking a little risk for them to miss the highest point of power.

The matter was ignored like this, the people became victims of the powerful, and the famine became more and more serious day by day.The people who are in the heat of the water, the hearts of the people are withered, and the sorrow is everywhere.This situation has been maintained until now.

Fortunately, the general Chang Sheng who guarded the border has been sitting there dedicated to his duty.The imperial court was not so stunned that there was a shortage of rations and military salaries for the soldiers. Even though there were sometimes deductions, it was not a big problem.

The army guarding the border has been stationed for a long time, and it has long had the foresight to develop farmland within its own territory and sow seeds in season.It can be considered self-sufficient and does not rely entirely on military pay.Fortunately, the border side was not affected by floods and droughts, so it was able to garrison with peace of mind and guard the country safely.

If there is no large army stationed at the border, the people will be destitute and hungry at this time.If the enemy army takes advantage of this opportunity to attack, you don’t need to fight. You just need to scare them or tempt them with food. The hungry people will automatically surrender without persuasion and deterrence, and open the city gate to let the enemy army go. enter.

If after the surrender, the enemy army felt compassion, and they did not invite killing, but they got food, maybe they would point out a shortcut to the imperial city for the enemy army.Let them go to attack the imperial city, attack those inside the imperial city and destroy the most hateful dignitaries in it.

No matter how elegant and luxurious the imperial city is, it is just a magnificent and beautiful single boat, and their thousands of people are the continuous flow of water.Water can carry a boat and capsize it, how could they not know?It's just nothing to be afraid of.

Everyone thought: if they can ignore the life and death of the people, what is the use of them.It would be better to just change them directly, and change to a monarch who can make them have enough food and clothing.

They never cared who was sitting on the throne, nor did they care whose surname was in this world.They only care about who can save them from this crisis when they are in dire straits, give them hope and strength, and help them create a better future.

. . . . . . . .

There is no rain in the north for a long time, the dry rivers, and the cracked land cannot grow any crops.The famine became more and more severe, and the already sluggish Qing'an Temple had no offerings for a long time, and the brothers all left one after another to fend for themselves.As a living person, they can't just be caught like this, waiting to be starved to death, so they need to find food and seek refuge in other temples to survive.

The brothers were going to take him away, but he was thinking of the abbot who was seriously ill, so he didn't want to go.He couldn't bear to watch his master die alone like this, and he wanted to guard his master when he was dying.

The brothers couldn't bear it, but they were forced to do nothing.He left all the remaining food, and also left him a road map, only saying that he would follow after the master was buried.But after the master left, he searched for the note for a long time but couldn't find it. He didn't know where he lost it.

He mourned more than died, not knowing where to go.After wandering around for a few days to no avail, I had to return to the temple to guard.When he was hungry, he dug up the tree root to eat, and was able to hold on until Chi Tong came to him.

Chitong heard it, but felt nothing else.I am very grateful to the big tree in the courtyard for not letting the little monk starve to death.If he missed this time, he would have to wait for the next time. He didn't know how many more years he would have to wait to repay the previous cause.

In order to express his gratitude, Chitong directly used his spiritual power to nourish the injured tree roots.After several days of watering it and cultivating it carefully, the big tree, which was a little wilted and withered, gradually regained its vitality, the dead leaves fell off, and tender green branches grew.

The little monk Kong Qing was also very happy to see this, and the big tree also had life.If he ruined its life because of his own selfish desires, then even if he has committed thousands of crimes, he will not be able to pay for its life. At that time, he will feel ashamed for the rest of his life.

These days, Chi Tong eats with Kong Qing.He doesn't eat much.Eat without speaking, sleep without speaking.Elegant and upright, chewing slowly, with picturesque eyebrows drooping, soft facial features, and unparalleled beauty.Kong Qing thought, this is one of the best-looking male benefactors he has ever seen, even much better looking than those beautiful female benefactors.

Aware of Kong Qing's gaze, Chi Tong asked aloud: "Why are you in a daze, if you don't eat quickly, it will be gone!" He deliberately added two spoonfuls of porridge from the big bowl to his own.

Seeing this, Kong Qing's pupils doubled in size, in disbelief, fearing that Chi Tong would have filled up the remaining rice porridge.He immediately opened his mouth to pour the porridge left in his bowl into his mouth.Putting his head down and working hard, he quickly ate everything in his bowl, and quickly filled up his empty bowl.With such an eager look, I am afraid that Chitong will eat up all the food in the big bowl in the next moment, and he can only starve with hunger.

He looked like a very hungry and protective squirrel in the mountains, with big black and white eyes flickering, bulging big cheeks, funny and honest, but also kind of cute.

Chitong shook his head and smiled lightly. Although this little monk usually looks a bit old-fashioned, he is also eccentric.In terms of food, he is a real foodie.Chitong remembered that one day he forgot to cook, and left a meal uncooked for him.He kept wandering in front of him, talking about how he was so hungry and how he felt uncomfortable again.In short, if you don't think about it until you take the initiative to do it for him, he will never give up.

It simply brought his patience to the extreme in chanting scriptures and chanting Buddha.

It's not that Kong Qing doesn't know how to cook, but he feels that what he cooks is not as delicious as Chi Tong.With a spoiled mouth, he now has a choice. He is unwilling to eat the food he made.There is no comparison before, and it can be eaten barely.Now that there is a comparison, it is really difficult to recall his previous cooking skills.As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but it is difficult to go from extravagant to frugal.

Chitong put down the bowls and chopsticks, and said: "There is not much food in the kitchen. There are very few foods that can be purchased in this city. There are no resources and food nearby. It seems that we can't stay here for a long time." He looked Looking at Kong Qing, he asked, "Do you want to go to a more prosperous place and find a temple to stay there, or do you want to come with me?"

It stands to reason that the old monk saved his life and took care of him for a while.Now he has also repaid it to the little monk in this world, and it can be regarded as paying off.Now is the time to make a decision.

Kong Qing's hands holding the bowls and chopsticks visibly stiffened, and he raised his eyes to feel the seriousness in Chi Tong's eyes.Silently put down the bowl, pursed his lips and looked at Chitong, not knowing how to answer for a while.

Those trembling eyelashes made Chitong look at him very pitifully.This decision was made by Kong Qing, he didn't want to interfere with his decision, so Chi Tong just waited quietly.

Qing Kong stared at the ground for a long time with lowered eyes, then stared blankly at a corner of the ground.He lowered his head and was silent for a moment before saying in a dry voice, "I have nowhere to go, and I don't know where to go."

Chi Tong looked at the thin and anxious Kong Qing, facing him with a bald head, he stretched out his palm unconsciously, touched the top of Kong Qing's head and comforted him: "Then you come with me, if you get older in the future It's time, if you want to leave, it's up to you when the time comes."

Kong Qing raised his head happily, these days he was used to Chitong taking care of him.He can always feel a sense of déjà vu in him, and this feeling makes him feel at ease.Now that the situation is turbulent, the situation on his side is already so bleak, and it can be seen that other places are not much better.

Rather than being starved of food under the fence of others, it is better to stay by the side of someone who can make you feel at ease.

That night, the two of them started to prepare the dry food for the road.Early the next morning, the two packed up and went straight to the road.