"...Your Highness, Longshan is a towering place, surrounded by mountains on the south, north and west, shaped like a dustpan. The mountain is densely wooded and the environment is quiet. Standing on the top of the main peak, along the Suulugal Valley, you can see the entire Taiyuan City to the east. Everything can be seen in the eyes, it is a beautiful and beautiful place that seizes the heaven and earth.
It is said that when Zen Master Hongli traveled here, he saw five-color bright clouds shining from the sky above the ground. In the bright clouds, there were four boys sitting on green lotus seats and playing, which made the earth shake and the rocks fell. A statue of Amitabha Buddha appeared at the place where it collapsed on the shore. The three Jin Dynasties came to pay their respects. After Zen Master Hongli recorded this vision, he reported it to the court and applied to build a temple here, so the current Tongzi Temple was born! "
In the southwest corner of Taiyuan City, Li Tai, Qin Huaiyu, Meng Wenhao, Tiedan and other Yanhuang Academy students, escorted by three hundred forbidden troops led by Duguxin, came to the top of Longshan Mountain. Standing on the top of the mountain, they looked eastward. The entire city of Taiyuan under the rising sun was in full view, which was dazzling. The guard from the Governor's Office sent by Wang Liaoyuan stood next to Li Tai and explained to Li Tai with all his heart.
"Ha~! You know quite a lot!"
Looking around, Li Tai was extremely satisfied with the environment here. He couldn't help but praise the guard. When the guard heard this, he suddenly smiled and said: "Your Highness, I am a native of Taiyuan Prefecture. I was born and raised here." Naturally, you know more here than others. I have been to Tongzi Temple many times before. Your Highness, come this way. In front of you is the pavilion of Tongzi Temple, which enshrines the Three Saints of the West!"
Having said this, the guard pointed towards the north and made an invitation gesture to Li Tai.
It was a huge Buddhist pavilion with two floors, built against the mountain. It was very grand in scale.
Dugu Xin on the side winked to the left and right, and the two groups of forbidden troops immediately filed out and ran towards the Buddhist pavilion to the north. When Li Tai saw this, he did not say anything, but stood aside, waiting quietly for something. .
After a while, a forbidden soldier quickly ran out from inside, clasped his fists towards Duguxin and whispered: "General Qi, everything is normal in the Buddhist Pavilion, and no danger has been found!"
Duguxin nodded, and then winked at Li Tai. Li Tai understood and said to the guard of the Bingzhou Governor's Office: "Since you are quite familiar with this place, then come forward and lead the way!"
"Yes! Your Highness!"
The guard clasped his fists and walked slowly towards the Buddhist pavilion in front of and to the left of Li Tai.
When Li Tai and others walked in and took a look, they discovered that the Buddhist pavilion was composed of a front porch and the main part of the pavilion. The front porch is five rooms wide and one room deep. It is about ten feet wide and two feet deep. It has nine eaves columns, all of which are large-scale treasure-decorated lotus-covered style and arranged in the north-south direction. The diameter of the lotus-covered part of the column base is nearly three feet. , the platform is built of stone, the floor is paved with stone slabs, but square bricks are used in the open room.
The main surface of the Buddhist pavilion is about ten feet wide and about five feet deep, which is wider than the front porch. The wall is built vertically with stone strips, and the northern part of the wall is built directly on the natural rock mass. In the middle of the wall, there is a door in the bright room. There are no sculptures on the outside of the wall, but the inside is full of thousands of Buddhas. The thousands of Buddhas have different images, which is spectacular!
Inside the pavilion, there are statues of the Three Western Saints - Amitabha, Avalokitesvara, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva - carved on the cliff. The three Buddha statues are majestic and tall, more than ten feet high. The Buddha's head alone is more than two feet high. The Buddha statue has a majestic appearance. It’s so awe-inspiring!
"This Buddhist pavilion is very majestic. With these three Buddha statues and the thousands of Buddha carvings on the stone walls, it can be called a Buddhist holy place. It was abandoned and ruined due to the war in the Central Plains. It is somewhat of a pity!"
After looking around the Buddhist pavilion, Qin Huaiyu couldn't help but sigh.
Qin Huaiyu's mother believed in Buddhism, and there was a Buddhist temple in the backyard of Qin's family. Under the influence of his ears and eyes, Qin Huaiyu had some favorable impressions of Buddhism, so he sighed!
Hearing this, the others couldn't help but nodded.
To be fair, although the Tongzi Temple is somewhat dilapidated on the surface, the majestic buildings, Buddhist statues, and exquisite carvings in the temple all demonstrate its former glory and how much thought was spent by the builders of the temple at that time, as well as its inherent art. Value, can the dust in this Buddhist temple cover it up?
"Whether it is in ruins or glorious, now that this Buddhist temple can be used by us, it can be regarded as making the best use of it!"
Since he had been "hanging out" with Li Zexuan, a disciple of Tianshi Dao, for a long time, Li Tai was not very "cold" about Buddhism. Hearing the sighs of Qin Huaiyu and others, he said with some disapproval.
"Qingque, are you planning to... choose here?"
Hearing what Li Tai said, Meng Wenhao's heart moved and he asked aloud.
When Li Tai assigned tasks in the morning, he thought it would take a lot of time to select the location of the telegraph relay station, but he never expected that just by visiting Longshan, Li Tai would decide on the location. This was too much. Did it go well?
However, although he was surprised, Meng Wenhao did not relax his vigilance and did not tell any news about the telegraph relay station, because there was an outsider here - the guard of the Bingzhou Governor's Office!
It is related to the success or failure of the academy's mission and the safety of the teachers and students in the academy. Everyone among them must be cautious!
"Almost, but I have to confirm a few things before I decide!"
Li Tai nodded, responded to Meng Wenhao, and then said to the guard of the Bingzhou Governor's Mansion: "Is there another layer above this Buddhist pavilion? What is the upper layer used for?"
The guard quickly replied: "Back to Your Highness, I have also been to the small one on the upper floor. They are just a few meditation rooms. They are nothing special. They should be tidied up so that people can live in them!"
Li Tai nodded and said: "Okay! I understand! I have nothing to do with you here. You have done a good job. Let's go down the mountain and return to the city to find Governor Wang to receive the reward!"
From beginning to end, he never asked the name of the guard of the Governor's Mansion, because for him, he didn't need to know!
"Yes! Thank you, Your Highness!"
The guard was overjoyed and quickly bowed to thank him.
After saying this, he bowed to Li Tai, turned around and went down the mountain.
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