"Henan has troubles with the White Lotus Sect every few years. Every time there is banditry, Buddhism will gain large tracts of fertile land. Could it be that those White Lotus Sect members are pretending to be Buddhists?"
Jia Cong's words made His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Yu stunned.
Not to mention, this is really a possibility, and it is extremely likely.
They all worship Buddha. There doesn't seem to be much difference between Sakyamuni, Maitreya, Our Lady of White Lotus and so on.
Moreover, the White Lotus Sect, an evil religion that rebels against whoever becomes the emperor, itself originated from the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism and worships Maitreya Buddha.
According to legend, Shi Huiyuan, the founder of the Pure Land Sect in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, recited Buddha's name together with Liu Yimin and others at the Donglin Temple in Lushan Mountain, and he became a role model for later generations of believers.
Later, several Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were added to the shrine, and the cycle of making money, rebelling, and being suppressed continued to repeat.
Regardless of the might of the imperial army in the Zhaowu period, the White Lotus Sect would gather a group of poor people every few years to sacrifice to the so-called Holy Mother for their so-called "great cause".
Especially in Henan and Shandong, which are prone to floods, the imperial court tried to eliminate them countless times but could not wipe them out completely.
With Jia Cong's reminder, Prince Liu Hong quickly reviewed in his mind the cases of the White Lotus Sect in Henan over the past few years.
It seems, it’s really possible~
"Uncle King Yu, I remember that during the autumn flood in the eighth year of Yuanyou, the White Lotus Sect broke out in Kaifeng. Have you ever paid attention to whether there are many people forming sects near Kaifeng?"
What is an association?
In fact, it is a kind of self-help mutual aid organization. To a higher level, folk associations are to a large extent a continuation of rural societies.
As the saying goes, to help each other and support each other when sick, this is the most important purpose of association. The old, the weak, the sick, the hooligans, and the impoverished and bankrupt farmers, who cannot get help from the government and clans in real life, have no choice but to unite and help each other through various forms of association.
Either they make a blood alliance and form a quasi-kinship relationship; or they bow three times and nine times and form a master-disciple relationship; or they burn incense and kowtow, and together they become the biological children and grandchildren of the old mother. It is in this form that the White Lotus Sect has firmly controlled these people.
However, this has a prerequisite, that is, poverty. The poor do not have enough to eat or clothing to keep warm.
In the past, it could be said that natural disasters and man-made disasters caused poor people to have no food to eat, so it was reasonable to rise up.
However, in recent years, the imperial court has comprehensively promoted high-yielding crops such as potatoes and corn, and land taxes have been reduced again and again. Most of the imperial land in various places has been leased to landless people. There are still white lotus sects from time to time, which makes people have to Doubted.
Liu Xun had stayed in Henan for most of his life. He participated in various Buddhist Dharma gatherings on weekdays, often gave out porridge and dispersed wealth, and knew a lot about folk affairs. After careful consideration, he discovered something fishy.
"What the Jia boy said, something is really wrong. The hinterland of the Central Plains has always been the place that the imperial court pays the most attention to. Every time there is a natural or man-made disaster, the capital will transport food and rice as quickly as possible to help the victims. Just because our Prince Yu's Mansion has been dispatched every time The food that goes out accounts for half of the palace’s income..."
Speaking of this, Liu Xun was still very proud.
Other "virtuous kings" may be mixed with ambition and desire, but he is truly a virtuous man. He builds bridges, paves roads, and delivers porridge and medicine. He has been doing this for decades without interruption.
I just listened to the wise old man telling a few examples as if he was boasting, and soon got to the point.
"Great nephew, do you still remember the snowstorm at the end of winter last year? At that time, Dengfeng County sent an official document to the Chief Envoy, saying that the county government had enough food in stock to cope with the disaster, and there was no need for the Chief Envoy to send food."
"But the strange thing is here. At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, bandits broke out in Dengfeng County. In the name of the White Lotus Sect, the bandits burned, killed and looted in the countryside. By the time the officers and soldiers went to suppress the bandits, there were already several rural gentry. , several Zhuangzi were exterminated and their villages were massacred... By coincidence, the land deeds left by these Zhuangzi and the squires are in my hands."
Liu Xun secretly glanced at the faces of Prince Liu Hong, Jia Cong and Cao Jiugong, and found that they were solemn and not sulky, and felt a little relieved.
He asked the chamberlain to go to the inner room and quickly brought out an exquisite brocade box with a statue of Buddha on it, which was quite Zen-like.
Jia Cong opened it and saw that it was really a stack of land deeds. After flipping through it, it added up to almost thousands of acres.
And judging from the markings on the land deeds, they are all fertile farmland in Dengfeng County.
At this time, Cao Jiugong, who had not spoken for a long time, asked: "His Royal Highness King Yu, are these the lands donated to His Highness by Shaolin Temple?"
"It's the title deed that Shaolin Temple sent to the palace at the beginning of last month."
Cao Jiugong's inquiry made Liu Xun realize that this was indeed the case. Fortunately, he was not greedy.
He suppressed the uneasiness in his heart with tea and continued: "Originally, I didn't want to accept it. After all, the court was investigating Buddhism... But Qin Changshi reminded me and said that he wanted me to accept these land deeds and bring them with me. It is up to Your Majesty to decide when you come to the capital."
"Qin Jian is very alert. Shaolin wants to use His Highness's name to protect these lands, but he doesn't want to be tricked by Qin Jian. It's interesting~"
Why did Cao Jiugong say this? The main reason is those palace stewards who are suspected of being Shaolin or White Lotus sect members.
Jia Cong admired Liu Xun a little. The majestic prince of Daxia, whose palace was penetrated like a sieve, could still worship Buddha peacefully for decades, was really outrageous.
After eating enough food and melons, and getting the information they wanted, Jia Cong and the others quickly left the Prince Yu's Mansion with the stack of land deeds and the list of names.
I went to the palace to report the matter to the emperor. Since King Yu had not colluded with Shaolin, the matter would be easy to handle.
Cao Jiugong ordered a few confidants and asked them to quietly leave the capital with their troops. Jia Cong's life was carefree, and he leisurely returned to Rongguo Mansion with the afterglow of the setting sun.
…
The family is busy preparing for the wedding to welcome the Spring Festival this month. It seems that everyone is busy, but he is leisurely in front of the uncle.
But soon he was no longer idle. Daiyu asked Zijuan to call him over. Baochai was going to get married tomorrow. As good sisters, several girls in the mansion were gathering together to discuss going to congratulate her tomorrow.
When Jia Cong walked into Daiyu's courtyard, the pavilion looked like a gathering place for fairies, and the garden was filled with fragrant fragrance.
Seeing that Jia Cong had crossed the small bamboo forest, Daiyu hurriedly waved and said: "Brother Cong, come here quickly, take a look at this..."
There is an exquisite bookcase on the stone table. Inside is a thick collection of poems with four large characters on it - "Collection of Shuyu Poems".
"When a spring washes stones, the sound is like striking jade. My poems about washing jade are just like the sound of jade chimes, with endless wonderful sounds."
Jia Cong recognized the author of this collection of poems at a glance. Every time there was a poetry meeting at home, Daiyu would record the poems written by the sisters and combine them into a volume for Jia Cong to print into a book. I wanted to use it as a wedding gift for my sisters. It was such a unique surprise.
Especially a talented woman like Baochai, who is not inferior to men, will definitely like this special wedding gift.
Of course, all the poetry collections were printed, and Yingchun and Tanchun couldn't wait any longer. One by one, they pestered Daiyu to take out the remaining poetry collections, and each of them happily held them in their hands and read through them carefully.
Seeing that her sisters were already immersed in poetry collections and couldn't extricate themselves, Daiyu could only take Jia Cong for a walk in the courtyard and wait.
There was a cool breeze in the summer evening, and Jia Cong could clearly smell the fragrance of Daiyu's body as the evening breeze blew by.
He held Daiyu's soft, boneless hand and could feel the fine sweat in Daiyu's hand.
"Sister Bao will definitely like this gift from Sister Lin."
"It's natural. Sister Bao is not inferior to men, and she has the talent to sing poems. If she were not a girl, it would not be impossible to get the top prize. This collection of poems can be regarded as a collection of the friendship between us sisters and the recognition of Sister Bao's talent. .”
Daiyu and Baochai have known each other for several years. They lamented his misfortune but regretted his outstanding talent.
Hearing this, Jia Cong scratched Daiyu's palm and said with a smile: "It's true that Sister Bao has a talent for singing poems, but Sister Lin is not bad either. This collection of poems is only left in ashes in the boudoir. It's a pity. It's better to take it." Go to the bookstore..."
ah?
This time it was Daiyu's turn to be surprised.
"How can this be done? I don't care, but Sister Bao and Second Sister can't stand the rumors. Forget it, one more thing is worse than one less thing. If it causes trouble for Sister Bao and the others, it won't be a good thing."
How can the poems and essays written in the boudoir be circulated? This is actually a protection for women, but it is also a helpless protection.
It's just a noble princess like Daiyu. Not many people dare to make irresponsible remarks, but others are not sure.
Even Baochai, who is about to marry into the Shangshu Mansion, can't stop the lewd and filthy thoughts of the disciple.
If it were distorted by him, it would be a so-called love poem, and even a hundred mouths would not be able to explain it clearly.
Jia Cong also understood that he had taken it for granted. When his eyes met with Dai Yu's, they both sighed regretfully and helplessly at the same time.
The matter was abandoned, but the two of them had gained another belief and tacitly put this matter into the goal of striving for this life.
…
Early in the morning of the eighth day of June, several carriages came out of Rongguo Mansion.
As Baochai's "maternal family", the old lady personally sat in the Xue Mansion to entertain the guests who came to congratulate Mrs. Xue.
The girls gathered in Baochai's boudoir, laughing and playing in a lively manner. The front hall of Xue Mansion was also full of people, and even Master Pardon and Master Zheng were present in person. As Baochai's elders, they came to support her and "intimidate" her son-in-law.
Only Jia Cong was invited by He Chong to Shangshu Mansion early and formed a wedding team with Liu Xianglian and other friends.
"Brother Liu, I'll leave it to you to serve the Xue family's wine today..."
"Brother Cong, how have you prepared the poems for welcoming the bride?"
"Ziying, it's up to you whether you can open the door or not!"
He Chong was obviously very nervous at this time. He kept pacing in the yard to relieve his mood and chattered a few words from time to time, which made everyone laugh.
After laughing, several people patted their chests one by one and said that everything was ready, and He Chong felt relieved a little.
He thought to himself: After looking forward to it for so long, he is going to marry Bao Yatou home today. It must go smoothly and nothing can go wrong!
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
One chapter about religion was blocked again. I revised it and see if it can be released tomorrow. If not, I will rewrite it.
That’s it for tonight, and we’ll continue tomorrow. Good night!
(End of chapter)
