Millions of Taoist monks in Qi will pay an extremely heavy price for Zhang Yixing's limerick.
In the second month after Qi Taizu disappeared, Emperor Guangde drove out all the Taoist priests supported by his father in the palace.
Not only that, the new emperor also executed more than 80 Taoist priests who participated in alchemy, preaching, and seeking immortality.
The charges given by the Ministry of Punishment were to cause trouble to the imperial court, deceive people's hearts, harm the late emperor, deceive the people, and cause the emperor to conquer the east without returning.
Liu Kan announced to the world that these Taoist priests were actors and clowns for fun and scoundrels in the market.
They can do nothing but spread rumors to cause trouble and bring trouble to the world.
Over the years, Liu Kan, known for his generosity and love for the people, turned into a butcher overnight.
It is hard to imagine that this gentle prince and quasi-emperor was sitting in Fengtian Hall with a group of eminent monks and Taoist priests three months ago, discussing Taoism and expressing their love.
From Liu Kan's harsh treatment of Taoist monks, it may be inferred that the real cause of Taizu's death may be that he died of an overdose of elixirs during the Eastern Expedition.
However, the historians of the Qi Dynasty under the extreme circle doctrine were tabooed by the venerable. It is impossible to write straightly in this life. Those who dare to write straightly will be reincarnated in the next life immediately. So they can only Tell a ghost story and arrange it so that the emperor kills people and turns them into immortals.
Since this period of historical data is too far back, the relevant classic records have long been destroyed by those in power, and the author has no way to trace it. Let's take one family's word here and conclude that the Supreme Emperor has become an immortal.
Initially, when Liu Zhaosun was the protector of the country, he launched the Marco Polo Bridge Mutiny, killed the king and usurped the country, seizing the world from the orphans and widowers of Zhu Ming.
After he ascended the throne, in order to prove the legitimacy of Da Qi's rule and to highlight his achievements in governing the country, under the instigation of Kang Yingqian, Ke Zhen'e and others, the Supreme Emperor often intentionally or unintentionally asked his officials to collect auspicious signs, such as Jiahe, Qilin, and Five Stars...
In those years, relevant auspicious signs sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain, appearing in official memorials one after another, and became a landscape.
Now, in Emperor Guangde's view, those dirty tricks were too childish and ridiculous.
At least Liu Kan didn't bother to use it.
On the eighth day of November in the fifth year of Guangde's reign, Emperor Guangde convened his ministers at the Fengtian Hall to announce the empire's development plan for the next five years. The key points are as follows:
"From the first day of the first month of the sixth year of Guangde, all auspicious events in Qingyun and Jiagu are not allowed to be reported. Anyone who disobeys the order, regardless of officials or civilians, will be killed!"
"In view of the fact that the empire's overseas troops cannot make ends meet and the profits are very small, gradually abandon the Australian and Yinzhou colonies, stop interfering in European affairs, focus on domestic affairs, rest and recuperate, focus on agriculture, and resume production. Anyone who talks too much and starts a war without authorization will be killed!"
"Abolish the imperial examination system (recommend the imperial examination system), gradually resume scientific examinations in various provinces, allow Henan and Hebei to resume commercial trade, protect the private property of small and medium-sized landowners, allow land sales, and gradually abolish the food stamp system..."
"Destroy the Buddha, destroy the Tao, and expel the Western sects..."
The promulgation of this edict marked the gradual decline of the exaggeration and polarism left over from the Taizu era, and the strength balance between civil and military officials began to return to normal. It also marked the beginning of an empire that focused on production and construction, worked in a down-to-earth manner, and repeatedly stood up to work hard. new theme.
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On the first day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of Guangde's reign, Wu Di, the Minister of Rites, reported to the emperor that he would get married early that day since his hair had been tied up.
On the second day of December, the cabinet ministers, officials of the six departments, and the Nanjing military and civilians jointly submitted a petition to Emperor Guangde to establish a harem to appease the people.
On the third day of the lunar month, the decrees of the Queen Mothers of the two palaces came out, requesting that Cining Palace and Ciqing Palace be rebuilt for the emperor's wedding.
Emperor Guangde immediately reported to the Empress Dowager Cisheng that Ciqing Palace and Cining Palace had been overhauled in the first year of Guangde. The palaces were majestic, long, solid, and colorful. It was only five years ago. They are as magnificent as ever and do not need to be renovated. As for the wedding Because my father was on an expedition to the Japanese country, there was no news. If bad news comes back, you should be filial and loyal, and it is not suitable to get married.
So the officials once again advised him, to the effect that the harem should not be left without an owner for a day, and that Emperor Guangde had to consider the interests of the Qi community and so on.
Liu Kan declined repeatedly and finally agreed.
On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Emperor Guangde convened the ministers in the Fengtian Hall and announced an edict to select the queen of Daqi from all the ladies aged between 13 and 16 in the world.
From Ryukyu Province in the south to Sakhalin Island in the north, all Qi ladies with excellent appearance, conduct, and family background, regardless of origin, can participate in the election.
The audition lasted for five months, and 3,000 people were selected from various provinces to Nanjing.
After arriving in Nanjing, a re-selection was conducted, and then the "eight passes" were selected. The eighteen stunning beauties who stood out were finally selected by the two empress dowagers. The selected ones covered their heads with green gauze, and then opened them with gold and jade.
The lady who is not selected will have her post taken away from her, given twenty taels of silver, and will be sent back to her home by car (boat).
While the audition was going on, officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor took the trouble to tell Emperor Guangde all the details of the wedding ceremony that would take place soon.
At that time, the wedding procession will enter the palace from the middle gate of Daqi Gate. All civil and military officials in court will stand outside Chengtian Gate, with columns running east and west to welcome the bride.
After the wedding team entered Chengtian Gate, all the officials exited. Feng Yu walked outside the Meridian Gate, the bells and drums rang together, and the book stopped.
Then Fengyu entered Fengtianmen and went to the harem. The queen went down the west steps and entered by the west steps. The emperor raised the east steps and bowed to welcome the queen into the inner hall and into the bridal chamber of Kunning Palace...
The queen audition is in full swing, so I won’t mention it for now.
In the past few months of choosing the queen, Emperor Guangde has not been idle. What he wants to do now is to destroy Buddhism and abolish Taoism.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qi Dynasty, due to great chaos, national divisions, and social unrest, Buddhism and Taoism flourished.
By the Taichu period, due to the strong promotion of the Supreme Emperor, the development of Taoism reached its peak.
In the southern Zhili area alone, there were 1,913 Taoist temples with more than 360,000 Taoists, accounting for almost one-tenth of the population of southern Zhili at that time;
By the time Liu Kan came to power, there were more than 2,800 Taoist temples and more than 1,700 monks, nuns and Taoists. Even the Supreme Emperor Liu Zhaosun himself believed in Taoism.
The expansion and development of Buddhism and Taoism not only brought spiritual comfort to the Supreme Emperor, but also gradually created a huge crisis for the empire.
Let’s leave aside the faith aspect for now.
In terms of economy, Daqi Buddhism and Taoism have formed a unique congregational economy centered on temples and Taoist temples.
According to the Daqi legal system, temples and Taoist temples can get part of the farmland, which serves as an economic source for the monks and Taoists to maintain their livelihood.
During the years of the Emperor's wars, these monks and Taoists cultivated land and became involved in commercial interests, thus forming an economic entity. Many monks, nuns and Taoists in monasteries gradually became wealthy and got involved in commerce, loan sharking and other industries, competing against the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System".
After Emperor Guangde put down the White Lotus Rebellion, he stationed in Jinan and entered a Buddhist temple. He saw many weapons hidden in the temple. He suspected that the temple was conspiring with Gai Wu, so he ordered all the monks in the temple to be killed. When the temple property was confiscated, brewing tools, caves where women were hidden, and even property stored by many state and county officials were discovered.
Out of hatred for both Buddhism and Taoism, large-scale activities to exterminate Buddhism and Taoism soon began.
On the seventh day of December in the fifth year of Guangde, the day before the birthday of the Supreme Emperor, Emperor Guangde announced to the world:
(Buddha, Taoism) Entering a family and destroying it causes father and son to act differently, brothers to behave differently, abandoning two relatives, filial piety is cut off, the relationship between father and son is separated, the righteousness between king and minister is obedient, the harmony between husband and wife is harmonious, the trust between friends and friends is destroyed, and the whole world is destroyed. The killings and chaos, the late emperor's eastward expedition to the Japanese country and their failure to return were all the work of the demon Dao Zhang and his party...
Therefore, the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism were eliminated, all the scriptures and images were destroyed, the ascetics and Taoist priests were dismissed, and they were ordered to return to the people. All rituals and rituals are also prohibited, and those not included in the rituals will be eliminated.
Chen Bing withdrew all the more than 100,000 troops from the borders of Guangdong, Guangxi and Sichuan and dispersed them under the command of the civil affairs of each province to ensure the smooth development of the movement to abolish Buddhism and exterminate Taoism.
A vigorous movement to exterminate Taoism and exterminate Buddhism was launched in various places in the north and south of Daqi.
Historical records record that within the territory of Daqi, "Buddhas were integrated to burn sutras, monks were driven out to break down pagodas... All Buddhist temples and garlands were secular residences, and ascetics were dressed in white clothes."
Tens of thousands of temples and Taoist temples in the north and south of the Qi Dynasty were all destroyed. All the monks, nuns and Taoists in the country under the age of fifty were returned to secular life to work as slaves. Those who were unwilling to serve as slaves could be redeemed with money. Suddenly, the state treasury had More than thirty million taels of silver, and three million strong men.
