Chang'an, Xiangji Temple.
This is an extremely large-scale temple. It faces south on a high terrain, with the Liao River to the south, the Jishui River to the west, and the beautiful Fanchuan River to the north. At its peak, he was known as a monk with three thousand monks, riding horses to close the mountain gate.
In other words, if you want to close the mountain gate, you have to ride a horse to get there.
This very powerful description will be used repeatedly in the introduction of major temples across the country for thousands of years to come.
Xiangji Temple was extremely glorious during the Tang Dynasty. It was highly sought after by everyone from the emperor to the common people. When Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, paid homage to the Buddha at Xiangji Temple, he donated more than a thousand relics at one time.
And this glorious Buddhist temple turned into ashes with the decline of the Tang Empire.
Historically, it was not until the third year of the Taiping reign of the Song Dynasty, that is, AD 978, that reconstruction began. At that time, the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism began to become popular. As the ancestral hall of the Pure Land Sect, Xiangji Temple was also restored.
However, in this time and space, it was not the turn of the God of Chariots to repair Xiangji Temple. After Zhang Gao regained Guanzhong and began to repair Chang'an City, Xiangji Temple was the first to be rebuilt.
When others look at Xiangji Temple, it is the ancestral home of the Pure Land Sect and a holy place for Buddhism.
But what Zhang Yan saw was the Battle of Xiangji Temple that took place 190 years ago and had a profound impact on Chinese history.
Many people in later generations may have little impression of the Battle of Xiangji Temple, and it is not even included in Baidu Encyclopedia.
But in fact, the battle of Xiangji Temple can be said to be the pinnacle of cold weapon warfare in Chinese history, and it is the pinnacle of no other.
This can even be called a world war. The Tang army except for the 110,000 tooth soldiers in Anbeiting, Hexi Longyou, and Jiannan Sichuan.
There are also more than 40,000 Tang auxiliary troops in Khotan, Southwest Yi, Xijiasi, Uighur, Arabia, Tocharo (Afghanistan) and other places.
As for the rebels, about 110,000 Anlushan guards, Yiluohe heavy cavalry, Hebei and Hedong Ya soldiers, Khitan, Tongluo and Xi people all appeared on the scene.
Among the 2,560,000 troops, there are at least 150,000 real soldiers.
The two sides fought fiercely for four hours at Xiangji Temple from morning to night. Troops from various places took turns to go into battle, and they would basically withdraw after more than 40% of the troops were exhausted.
One legion on both sides repeated the nesting of dolls against the other legion until the rebels couldn't bear it and wanted to make a desperate attack. Then they were surprised by the Uighur cavalry that had been prepared before they were finally defeated.
According to records, the government army and the rebels engaged in more than 300 formations within four hours, and countless heroic men lay dead in the formation.
The quality of the soldiers on both sides was so high and the equipment was so sophisticated that the cavalry on both sides, especially the heavy cavalry, did not dare to be dispatched casually during the battle.
This is a phenomenon that only occurs when the heavy infantry is extremely powerful.
When facing them, let alone heavy cavalry attacking the infantry square frontally, it became extremely difficult to even dispatch them. They could only choose to guard both sides of the infantry to provide support.
For example, the Eight Thousand Armored Cavalry of Yiluohe, which Anlu Mountain relied on as its core, had been squeezed out of their space for movement, and in the end they were even surrounded and defeated by infantry.
After the battle, an inventory revealed that the rebels had been killed by 60,000 soldiers.
Note that this is a formation beheading, not a beheading of 60,000 people.
There were many battles in Chinese history in which tens of thousands were beheaded, because after mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people to defeat the enemy in a big battle, it was not difficult to cut off tens of thousands of heads.
The difficult thing is formation beheading, which refers to the number of people who were hacked to death in the battle. In the battle of Xiangji Temple, more than 60,000 rebels were beheaded by formation, including at least 45,000 soldiers.
As for why they were not killed during the defeat, it is because the rebel coach Li Guiren and others were defeated, but they were not completely defeated. They were able to gather the remaining troops and leave. If they were defeated, they would naturally not be so calm. .
"Xiangji Temple! The two hundred thousand armored warriors of the Tang Dynasty, the elite of the Tang Dynasty, the Han people were proud of. In one battle, they defeated nearly one hundred thousand. Since then, such a grand occasion has never been restored."
Zhang Yan stood in the square outside the Tianwang Hall of Xiangji Temple, sighing softly. When he closed his eyes, he seemed to be able to feel the bloody storm of one hundred and ninety years.
If there had been no Anshi Rebellion, and if Xuanzong Li Sanlang had been wise from beginning to end, these two hundred thousand armored soldiers would have been the sharpest swordsmen in the empire.
With them around, even if the feudal town grows further, the strategy of expanding its living space outwards will definitely continue.
Maybe Gao Xianzhi has defeated Dashi and gone to Persia to become king, and Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and others can finally defeat Tubo.
Later generations will not suffer the humiliation brought about by the Song Dynasty, and Chinese politics will not move towards a deformed model in which the elite is noble and the military is neglected.
It’s just that history can be assumed, but it cannot be assumed.
Even Zhang Hao didn't know where he would eventually take this country.
Because after the timeline was repeatedly modified, Zhang Yan opened his 'eye of the sky' and did not know the future situation.
"Namo's great free-spirited deity, King Buddha!"
A low Buddhist chant sounded, and in the looming morning light at the beginning of Mao Shi, a monk wearing a brocade ocher yellow robe and hanging sandalwood Buddhist beads worth ten thousand gold appeared in front of Zhang Yan.
This monk is not a bald man, but has fluffy soft hair on his head. His appearance is not Chinese, but rather dark. He looks like a Tianzhu man, or a low-caste Asan.
But his Chinese is very standard, so standard that if you didn't look at his appearance, you would subconsciously think that this person is a talented person who has just won the Jinshi.
Moreover, his voice was clear and clear, with a hint of youthful enthusiasm, which was even more incompatible with his appearance.
"The young monk felt the confusion on the Dharma King's body, and it was not just any ordinary confusion. It was the kind of confusion that would either bring good news to the people of the world, or else lead to a terrible disaster."
For a moment, Zhang Gao thought that this monk was a virtuous and eminent monk from his Sixth Method Sect in Hexi Province, but soon Zhang Gao denied his judgment.
Because his temperament is very different from that of the Six Methods Sect. The monks of the Six Methods Sect are not so peaceful and calm.
"The master called a certain Dharma King. Are you planning to convert to the Six Dharma Sect?"
Zhang Yan didn't care how this person appeared, although he was very surprised that Xiangji Temple had been blocked by his own troops, and no birds or beasts could enter. It's unlikely that this monk had the ability to fly into the sky and escape from the earth, right?
"The Dharma King has Buddha nature, but it is a pity that he cannot lead the young monk to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss." The monk shook his head, still looking calm.
Zhang Hao suddenly smiled coldly, "Master harmed people's lives and still wants to cross to the Pure Land of Paradise. Isn't it a bit fanciful?"
The smile on Fan Monk's face stopped for a moment, and then returned to normal. He looked at Zhang Hao and said.
"The Dharma King should not be angry, because the young monk cannot influence the believers of the Six Dharma Sect. If the young monk dared to provoke them, his body would have been buried in the wilderness."
Now it was Zhang Hao's turn for his expression to freeze for a second. The gap between the Six Methods Sect and other Buddhist sects in terms of scripture meaning was not even the slightest.
Monks who are not from the Six Methods Sect can really not influence those under him who believe in the Six Methods Sect and believe that Zhang Yan is the bodyguard of the Supreme Heaven.
It is only possible that the Han guards released the water.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yan no longer struggled with this, but became more interested in the monk in front of him.
"Where is the Master's ultimatum? Why are you here? Where will you go?"
The monk put his hands together and saluted Zhang, "The young monk came from Tianzhu, but he has long forgotten where he came from. After entering the Middle Kingdom, he was praised by good men and women as compassionate and virtuous.
Now I came to relieve the shackles in my heart, but I don’t know where I will go. "
Zhang Yan's eyes suddenly gleamed, and he knew who the Monk in front of him was. This was the Master Fan Monk Cixian, who was known as the last great virtue of Tianzhu in Middle-earth!
The most famous deed of Master Cixian in later generations is that it is said that after his death, his body did not rot the year before, and even his brain tissue was still there.
Later, in 2017, when Dinghui Temple in Hebei donated his body, it caused a stir in the city.
Zhang Yan naturally didn't believe that brain tissue could be preserved for thousands of years. Maybe this was a miracle that was exaggerated by believers to a certain extent.
But Master Cixian can indeed bear the title of the last Great Virtue from China and India.
This is not some pretentious 'eminent monk', but a truly virtuous Master with a heart of compassion.
Historically, he translated ten Buddhist scriptures, especially playing a very decisive role in the spread of Buddhism in Khitan. He also advised Yelu Deguang not to go on a killing spree in Tokyo.
Zhang Yan hates those who use religion for personal gain, but he still respects genuine eminent monks.
He looked at Master Cixian and said: "I respect the Master for protecting the people of Tokyo in the past. But the Master should not appear like this. For an emperor, this is a provocation!"
Master Cixian bowed deeply to Zhang Yan, "In the past, when the young monk went to Khitan from Tianzhu, the Dharma King should have just arrived in Tianzhu. Unfortunately, we were not destined to see the Dharma King and the Dharma Protector where the Buddha was born. For more than ten years, he has been Because of regret.
When I came to meet you today, the young monk did not see the emperor on earth, but only the supreme Dharma King above the nine heavens. "
Master Cixian's words were clouded and misty, and he never revealed his true inner thoughts, but Zhang Yan suddenly caught a clue from his erratic sentences.
Master Zhang frowned, staring at Master Cixian with his eyes like a falcon, and then slowly shook his head.
Doesn't this monk want Zhang Yan to go to Tianzhu to protect the Dharma after he has the strength?
"There is no hope for Tianzhu, and the Samana trend is just your wishful thinking.
It cannot change the worldly emperors, generals, and nobles, nor can it stop ordinary people from yearning to become emperors, generals, and classes. There will be no end in sight for oppression and class, at least for a thousand years. "
The Samana trend of thought is a religious and philosophical reflection in ancient India. It was caused by the shortcomings of ancient Brahmanism in doctrine and organization, which made it increasingly unconvincing.
The underlying reason is the dissatisfaction of the emerging warrior class, big businessmen in the city, and even the kings of various countries with the Brahmins.
Because according to the rules of Brahmanism, the highest person is the Brahmin who holds the right to inherit religion and knowledge. The king is a Kshatriya, who is inherently lower than the Brahmin.
This is not a joke! Is it not enough for the gods to be above the king? The monks must be above the king. Are you going to treat those who control the army as easy to bully?
Therefore, the Samana movement of thought soon broke out in ancient India, and people of the king's class began to magically advocate equality for everyone.
Everyone is equal? He shouts nicely, but even if you give Vaisya a hundred courages, he will not dare to be equal to the king.
But as the second-level Kshatriya kings, they dared to be equal to the Brahmins, and even climbed on top of them.
The Samana movement arose out of the greed and imperfection of the Brahmins, but when they almost destroyed the entire basis of Brahmin existence and the kings had seized all the power, they inevitably began to ebb.
The Brahmin system, a doctrine that divides people into three, six or nine classes and allows the 'lower class' to accept their fate, is naturally more recognized by the ruling class.
Especially a few decades ago, the Brahmin class began to stop treating the kings of various countries as ordinary Kshatriyas, and further complicated the division of the caste system, making the king class belong to the Kshatriyas but also detached from the Kshatriyas.
Buddhism, which advocates the equality of all people, and other strange and strange sramana philosophical concepts that emerged at the same time as Buddhism, quickly lost their market.
That's why Zhang Yan said that Buddhism has no soil in Tianzhu for a long time.
Not to mention that it is unlikely that the Chinese will completely control India during his lifetime. Even if they could, Zhang Yan had no intention of changing anything.
It's best to follow the locals' rules.
Master Cixian looked at Zhang Yan with more and more despair in his eyes. After being silent for a while, he tried hard to look like he had regained his composure.
"The young monk does not have the extravagant expectation of being able to unify the noble and the humble in the secular world. It is something that cannot be done in China, and naturally cannot be done in Tianzhu. But at least he can do it without dividing people into three, six or nine grades."
"Master is obsessed!" Zhang Hao didn't want to say any more, because he suddenly realized that he and Master Cixian were not the same people at all.
The ideas of equality and compassion for all beings in Buddhist scriptures actually have the same meaning as the emperor said that all people in the world are my sons.
They all stand in the position of absolute controller and treat other sentient beings equally, but they do not really want to make everyone equal. This is what Zhang Yan believes.
But this Master Cixian really practiced treating everyone equally and showing compassion to everyone regardless of their status.
The two people's thoughts and patterns are obviously not on the same plane at all.
wrong! Zhang Yan suddenly turned around. What can I say about the Buddhist thoughts at this time? There is still a certain difference between the Buddhist thoughts recognized by later generations.
Buddhist ideas such as equality of all living beings and compassion were not born in the Indian period.
It should have originated from the period of Samana thought in ancient India, spread to China, and was deeply integrated with Chinese culture.
Could it be that Master Cixian appeared so suddenly and strangely, and suddenly said these things to Zhang Yan, just to seek soldiers from him to go to India to protect the Dharma again, in order to save the dying Buddhist sect in Tianzhu?
Could it be that they wanted to achieve a situation in which Buddhism was lost in Tianzhu, and during the period of King Harsha, Buddhism had a detached status and became a force of its own, almost co-ruling with the king?
But now in the Central Plains, they seem to have such strength.
The Qianzhuanghui has never been completely separated from Buddhism. Buddhist temples in various places have their own temples, manors and even Wubao.
As for weapons, there is really no shortage of them. For example, Xiangji Temple has just been rebuilt, and there are more than 60 warrior monks protecting the temple. There should be two to three thousand warrior monks in so many temples in the world.
Moreover, Buddhism was already quite popular in the Central Plains. Among the civil and military officials in the Central Plains, there were many devout Buddhist believers.
After Zhang Gao forcibly integrated Hexi Buddhism and turned them into Six Dharma Sects, many Hexi monks who did not agree with Zhang Gao left. Hundreds of people left Dayun Temple in Liangzhou.
What is even more worrying is that when Zhang Yan was still the King of Liang, the Jinyi guards relied on the Buddhist network in various parts of the Central Plains to carry out their activities.
When Liu Tao and Fan Zhi went to Liangzhou to rescue Pei Yuan's family, and when Murong Nobunaga returned to Hexi, they all received help from Buddhists in the Central Plains.
A feeling of extreme anger, mixed with a little fear, rushed straight to Zhang Haotian Linggai!
He wanted to immediately order the arrest of the monk in front of him, and then order the Hexi Buddhist sect, headed by Zhang's son, to sort out the Jinyi guards.
He even thought that he would immediately send someone to investigate the old officials of the Central Plains faction who were deeply involved in Buddhism.
Clean! Big cleaning starts now!
The "kind" face of the great loving father flashed in Zhang Shengren's mind.
Just when his anger reached the fixed point, a voice like a warbler sounded behind him.
"His Holiness, breakfast has been prepared and Duke Qiao is also waiting for you."
Xiao Sage just walked over with her waist swaying. During these days, Xiao Sage, the former Queen of Khitan, was just Zhang Gao's closest pillow.
Because since he believed that Zhang Xiu was the supreme being and descended from the mortal world, Xiao Sage, who believed in Buddhism, only believed in Zhang Xiu. To say that he was obedient and obedient was an understatement. It was completely the attitude of a slave towards his master.
Therefore, Xiao Sage, who is helpless, cliqueless, young and beautiful, and completely surrendered both mentally and physically, is the woman Zhang Gao can trust most.
'call! "Zhang Gao took a deep breath, and his head became much clearer.
There are some openings that cannot be opened no matter how angry you are.
We cannot allow the power of the Hexi Buddhist Sect to investigate the Jinyi guards, let alone launch a general purge when the world is about to fall apart.
Thinking of this, Zhang Hao controlled his emotions with great perseverance. He looked at Xiao Sage with a smile.
"Prepare some fast food. I want to chat with the Master while eating."
As soon as he finished speaking, Master Cixian suddenly felt great fear. The emperor in front of him clearly noticed something, but controlled himself with great perseverance.
Master Cixian has seen dozens of monarchs, including Yelu Deguang, but he has never felt that anyone has such control as Zhang Yan.
For a moment, Master Cixian wondered if taking this job would push Buddhism into the abyss.
"Saint, there should be a place for Buddhism in this secular world."
"Of course, of course there will be! I also need the help of Buddhism, and I myself am a member of Buddhism!"
Zhang Hao suddenly smiled brightly. Master Cixian was really not a qualified messenger. He must have been entrusted by Buddhism to test Zhang Hao's attitude towards Buddhism.
Because Master Cixian is from Tianzhu, no matter what he talks about, he can remove Buddhism from the Central Plains to the greatest extent.
But Master Cixian, in just a few words, pushed Buddhism to the most feared position in Zhang Hao's heart.
Did he do it on purpose? Or is this compassionate master really not politically sensitive enough?
Zhang Yan was calm on the surface, but there was a storm in his heart, and a new storm was about to begin.
