Li Shimin heard this and said casually:
"Haha, I thought it would be so difficult, but it turns out it's such a small thing."
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say. The master is unswervingly determined and dedicated to the Buddha. It is indeed admirable!"
When Xuanzang heard the emperor's promise, he quickly clasped his hands together and thanked him:
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Shimin said with a smile:
"Then I ask you, does my supporting Buddhism in this way count as accumulating virtue and doing good deeds? Can it bring me more blessings?"
Xuanzang nodded.
"It counts, but it's not the most extraordinary."
he responded.
"Then what is the most extraordinary?" Li Shimin asked quickly.
"Doing good without intention is the most extraordinary thing."
Xuanzang gave eight words.
Li Shimin said oh.
"It's hard for me to be careless. Everything I do has a purpose."
He looked at Xuanzang and suddenly said with a smile,
"Since there is no great merit, then I cannot agree to the Master's request in vain."
"Master must also agree to one of my conditions before I will be happy to build a temple and translate scriptures for you."
Xuanzang raised his head slightly.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
There is no such thing as a free lunch, he knows.
"It's very simple."
Li Shimin said,
"You have been seeking scriptures along the way. You have passed through hundreds of countries, right? This journey must be legendary. I want you to write down everything you see, hear, and encounter, and write a documentary book. Give me the memoirs, I want to read them."
"Isn't this difficult for you?"
Xuanzang: "..."
Seeing his silence, Li Shimin couldn't help but frown.
"What, are you having trouble?"
Xuanzang shook his head repeatedly.
"No... there is no difficulty. The poor monk agreed to His Majesty's conditions."
He said quickly,
"The poor monk will write it when he gets back. This book will be called "The Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty". Does your Majesty think it is good?"
Of course he had no difficulty!
Because a lot has been written on the map of Tianzhu in the Western Regions given to Xu Fenglei! All you need to do is connect those experiences together, it’s not difficult at all!
And in fact, he himself did have the idea of writing a memoir. Recording this precious and legendary experience and passing it on to future generations can strengthen the future generations' devotion to Buddhism!
Li Shimin chewed these five words in his mouth twice and nodded slightly.
"Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty...well, not bad, not bad."
He stood up and said,
"Ok, deal!"
"You can start writing when you get back! I will ask the Ministry of Industry to allocate funds to build a temple for you so that you can concentrate on translating Buddhist scriptures!"
Xuanzang stood up quickly and saluted respectfully.
"Thank you for Your Majesty's holy grace."
Li Shimin looked at his round bald head and couldn't help but laugh.
"To be honest, I admire you very much. If a talented person like you is no longer an official in the government to assist me, it would be a real loss to the country."
He smiled and patted Xuanzang on the shoulder and said,
"Otherwise...will you return to the secular world? As long as you return to the secular world, I will directly let you sit up from the rank of fourth-rank official and have the right to discuss government affairs!"
"As well as all other requirements, I will satisfy you! Without any conditions! As long as you can return to secular life and become an official!"
Xuanzang was shocked.
"Your Majesty is ridiculous. How can a poor monk be considered a talent? He just has some experience in Buddhism."
He declined politely,
"Confucianism is used to govern the country. The poor monk knows nothing about it, and Buddhism cannot be used to govern the country. If your Majesty uses poor monks, it will only add another rotten tree to the court."
"The poor monk is not very talented. In this life, he only wants to translate the Buddhist scriptures he brought with him. Please do it for your majesty."
Li Shimin stared at him for a while, and finally sighed.
"Don't belittle yourself. Smart people can achieve great results anywhere. Besides, we in the Tang Dynasty do not specialize in Confucianism."
He waved his hand and said,
"But since you don't want to, I naturally won't force you."
"Go ahead and have a good rest these days. Buddhism is a quiet place, and I actually like quiet too."
"According to the decree." Xuanzang nodded in agreement.
He naturally understood the hidden meaning of the emperor's words.
Keep a low profile and don't make a big deal out of Chang'an.
"Go ahead."
Li Shimin waved his hand, turned around and entered the house.
Xuanzang quickly left the palace under the guidance of his chamberlain.
And then, he indeed responded to Li Shimin's words and chose to postpone public lectures. Instead, he lived in Xingguo Temple and patiently compiled the scriptures.
Taoist Zhang Tianshi also drifted away after helping Sun Simiao serve the last free clinic patient.
In a "Buddhist and Taoist dispute", everyone got the limelight in the end, and no one went too far.
Those who are harmonious and harmonious have chosen the slow and steady flow.
…
In the blink of an eye, another two years flew by.
The Duke's Mansion of Jin State.
"You brat, don't follow me!"
"Why are you so annoying like a candy? I told you, I can't do that question!"
In the courtyard, a beautiful girl is teaching a silly boy a lesson.
The boy was rejected by the girl, but his eyes were still bright and he kept saying:
"Sister Wu, you are number one in the school!"
"You will definitely do it! I believe you!"
Wu Erya rolled his eyes.
"It's been a long time since I went to school, and I'm still number one in grade! That's all in the past!"
She said angrily,
"I'm warning you, don't pester me!"
"Or I'll beat you up!"
She's showing off that she's going to beat someone up!
The boy shrank his head, looking pitiful.
Seeing him like this, Wu Erya couldn't take action anymore.
At this time, a voice came:
"You are no longer in the world, but there are still legends about you in the world."
Xu Fenglei held a folding fan and said cheerfully,
"It means that you have always been a god-like existence in the Academy."
Seeing him coming out, the boy immediately saluted respectfully:
"Meet the Master!"
Xu Fenglei stepped forward and touched his head.
"Uh-huh."
He said,
"Huaiying, what's your current level in the academy?"
This boy is none other than Di Renjie!
It was still the name he gave this child when he was born!
In the blink of an eye, Di Renjie was no longer a young man. At Di Zhisun's strong request, Xu Fenglei also accepted this apprentice.
"Just try to be first."
Di Renjie smiled, scratched his head, glanced at Wu Erya cautiously, and said hurriedly,
"It's all because of Sister Wu's tutoring that I can be number one!"
"Compared with her back then, I'm far behind!"
This kid never forgets to flatter Wu Erya at a time like this. That's called being on the right track.
And Wu Erya did follow this trick. After hearing these words, his chin rose slightly.
"That's right, without me, you would be above average at best."
She said proudly,
"However, you are considered smart. If I give you some random advice, you will understand. Compared with those stupid pigs, you are pretty good."
"You are allowed to go out and say that you are my apprentice."
Xu Fenglei glared and hit her on the head.
"Nonsense! Isn't that nonsense?"
he spat.
"Everyone calls him his own..." Wu Erya rubbed his head and muttered.
Xu Fenglei rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay, stop being such a mouthful."
He said,
"Huaiying, go and get some fruit for your sister Wu. If you flatter her, she will benefit from you."
"Yes, Master!" Di Renjie turned around obediently and trotted all the way to get a fruit plate for Wu Erya.
Looking at his back, Xu Fenglei couldn't help but smile:
"This boy has a good character. Look at him, he looks like your little follower."
"Do you like such a follower?"
Wu Erya snorted softly.
"It's barely acceptable. It's a little more pleasing to the eyes than Prince Nalaxi."
She said,
"That Li Zhi is the most annoying. He pretended to bump into me accidentally a few times, but in fact it was all on purpose! He thought I didn't know... hum."
"I hate scheming boys! I like sunny and cheerful boys, at least they have to be as naive as Huaiying."
Xu Fenglei laughed.
"Okay, you hate it."
"Let's get down to business. How did you do with the investigation we asked you to investigate last time?"
Without saying anything, Wu Erya took out a piece of paper from his arms.
"Here, they're all here."
She said,
"The 100,000 craftsmen in Jiuwei Mountain are now led by Xue Rengui. They claim to be cultivating fields and maintaining the imperial tombs, but they are actually acting as government soldiers."
"While farming, I have to train at the same time. It is said that those are the Zhaoling Guards who were specially trained by His Majesty."
"An army of one hundred thousand is a combat force that cannot be underestimated."
Xu Fenglei suddenly realized.
"Let me tell you, it's so mysterious... I asked that guy and he didn't tell me. It turns out he was training the army in secret."
"However, such a big thing cannot be kept secret, right?"
Wu Erya nodded.
"Yes, it was relatively secretive at first, but then there was no secret at all."
"Up to now, as long as you want to know, if you inquire deliberately, you can basically find out, and His Majesty has not tried his best to hide it."
"However, I'm not sure about his purpose of establishing Zhaoling Guard. Do I need to continue to investigate?"
Xu Fenglei shook his head.
"No, I just want to understand."
He said,
"Being with you is like being with a tiger. It's too late to avoid him. Who wants to be a roundworm in his belly?"
"This matter ends here. Don't continue to investigate. I will continue to be my salted fish."
Wu Erya chuckled.
"My godfather has really used the word "goofing around" to the extreme in the past two years."
"Besides receiving your salary, I think you do nothing. You are the most comfortable person in the whole court!"
Snapped!
Xu Fenglei slapped her on the head.
"Do you understand what it means that those who are good at fighting have no great achievements?"
He hummed softly,
"I am messing around, which shows that Datang is running very well!"
"If I get busy one day, the country will be in danger!"
"So, no matter who you are, you should hope that my life will be more comfortable..."
"Yes, yes, your reason for being old is impeccable." Wu Erya stuck out his tongue in pain.
Immediately, she suddenly said mysteriously:
"I have another piece of news about you."
"It's good news. Do you want to hear it?"
"If you fart, hurry up. I still need to take a nap." Xu Fenglei said casually with his eyes narrowed.
"Oh, can't you be curious? It's so boring..."
Wu Erya said dissatisfied.
"Okay, okay, you say it, you say it, I'm listening."
Xu Fenglei then opened his eyes wide and looked at Wu Erya.
"Your Majesty has drawn portraits of heroes and wants to place them in Lingyan Pavilion!"
Wu Erya said,
"There are a total of twenty-four heroes he recognized!"
"Guess where you are ranked?"
The corners of Xu Fenglei's mouth rose.
"I'm ranked second, does anyone dare to be ranked first?"
He smiled and said,
"It must be number one! There is no doubt about it!"
In other respects, Xu Fenglei may be a little more modest, but in this regard, he never belittles himself.
You are the first!
"Look how beautiful you are!"
Wu Erya hummed,
"Okay! You guessed it right! Your Majesty has already ranked you first!"
"There is indeed no suspense about this. From the Xuanwu Gate Incident to the 17th year of Zhenguan, you have always been the leader among ministers in terms of dragon power, civil and martial arts."
"The second-ranked grandson Wuji, I can't bear to look at your neck."
Xu Fenglei smiled slightly.
This is also the reason why he spends his time messing around.
The credit is already great enough, but you still have to work hard... Wouldn't it be shocking to the master?
Even if the Lord is not jealous, the ministers will be jealous and start fights.
So, this is the best thing now.
Regardless of whether you do something or not, there will be no conflict of interest with anyone! Then his prestige and status will always be the highest and greatest!
This is called staying in hibernation to cultivate strength.
"Who are the twenty-four heroes?"
he asked suddenly.
"How can I remember this?"
Wu Erya spat,
"Anyway, it's just the old faces in the court, and people who have passed away, such as Du Ruhui, who is also ranked high."
"Others such as Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Li Jing, Li Ji, etc. are all here."
"Don't worry if you know everything is complete. His Majesty will invite you to the Lingyan Pavilion for a banquet soon."
As soon as she finished speaking, a voice came from outside the hospital.
"master!"
"Eunuch Gao has come from the palace to deliver an edict. His Majesty invites you to gather at Lingyan Pavilion."
Xu Fenglei: "?!"
"Do you have such good information?"
He was a little shocked.
Wu Erya smiled proudly.
"That's natural. The development of the darknet in recent years has not been in vain. I have operated it all over the Tang Dynasty. Even foreign countries have our people, such as Goguryeo, Xue Yantuo, and Tubo. We are present in these places!"
She is full of treasures,
"As the base camp, Chang'an naturally operates the best!"
"There are many of my spies in the palace!"
"Now, I can basically know the emperor's will as soon as possible!"
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"You are wandering crazily on the verge of death..."
He held his forehead and smiled bitterly,
"Although I, your godfather, am a big tree, I can't stand what you do like this!"
"When the time comes when you get angry, I'm afraid you'll burn me to death too!"
This girl is so courageous!
All the tentacles have reached into the palace!
"It's okay. If the emperor is unhappy, he will take action. I am also testing his bottom line."
Wu Erya said with a smile,
"Once the bottom line is figured out, we will not be constrained when we use it in the future."
"You don't have to worry about this matter. I have my own sense of responsibility."
Xu Fenglei: "..."
"You have such a sense of propriety! If something happens, the emperor will be blamed on me!"
He knocked Wu Erya on the head and glared, "Chang'an, please calm down! You can develop your business outside, especially in Goguryeo, develop more intelligence lines!"
"If the darknet really wants to gain a foothold, it must show its capabilities! It will always be protected under my wings, and it will fall one day!"
"Do you understand?"
(End of chapter)
