There was already a will in Liu Chengyou's words, gushing out.
Even a shrewd minister like Fan Zhi had a premonition about the emperor's attitude towards Buddhism. Although it was not stated explicitly, it was somewhat of a guess. It was not disgusting, just some targeted dissatisfaction. Even in Fan Zhi's opinion, not only the Buddhists, but also the Taoist emperors didn't seem to have much trust and respect.
During this period of time, Liu Chengyou would show dissatisfaction with the Buddhist temple from time to time. The Buddhist temple was dirty, the monks were extravagant, deluded people, occupied vast fields, and enslaved the people... In short, he disliked it from all aspects.
The Queen Mother is a Buddhist. There was a severe drought in Hebei. The Queen Mother went to Buddhist temples and Taoist palaces to pray for rain. Liu Chengyou went to the Taoist palace alone. This is an attitude in itself.
Over time, Fan Zhi almost understood the fundamental reason why the emperor targeted Buddhism. Magnificent Buddhist temples, luxurious bronze statues and instruments, fertile land, a large number of monks and non-productive Buddhists, and almost no taxation...
Nowadays, the Han Dynasty is in financial difficulties. This time of suppressing the rebellion from the west, the labor force has increased, which has almost exhausted the government's finances and taxes in the past half a year. Even though there are a lot of seizures in the river, it is just a drop in the bucket for the entire Han Dynasty. Not to mention anything else, just the pension for the wounded and wounded soldiers is another huge expenditure.
Buddhism occupies so much wealth and population that not only the emperor, but also Fan Zhi himself can't help but covet it. As a talented man with a lot of knowledge, Fan Zhi certainly knew the story of "Three Martial Arts Destroyed the Buddha" and also knew the huge benefits of "Destroying the Buddha", the most direct one being the sudden increase in the wealth of the imperial court.
Destroying the Buddha is not the goal, but the benefit of destroying the Buddha is. In fact, if Taoism were like Buddhism, in Liu Chengyou's case, Buddhism and Taoism would probably be destroyed together.
Knowing the elegant meaning after listening to the string song, Fan Zhi applauded Liu Chengyou's intention to destroy the Buddha. Of course, there may be resistance, but judging from the emperor's ability and means, the possibility of success is very high. Moreover, there will definitely be no shortage of supporting generals and ministers in the court. Fan Zhi is sure of this. To give two examples, Yang Bin and Wang Zhang...
Furthermore, isn’t there an excuse and a good opportunity worth taking advantage of right now?
Of course, these most true thoughts cannot be stated directly and must be expressed in other words.
While Liu Chengyou was thinking about it, Fan Zhi thought about it for a while, then handed over his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Buddhist temples are originally a pure place, but then I heard that the world is full of chaos among ascetics. The Buddhist temples are not as magnificent as the palaces, and the statues are as luxurious as the palaces. Reduce the Zhumen; its monks are cruel and cruel but not weak to the bandits; its land..."
"You willfully act recklessly, bend the law and violate the principles, so that people with evil intentions like Zong Lun can also mix among them, pretend to be Buddha, deceive the people, and even commit treason. Please Your Majesty, rectify and restrain the Buddhist temples in the world, and eliminate despicable things. Those who are unjust must return to Buddhism to be pure!”
Fan Zhi's statement is of course one-sided and seriously biased. Buddhist temples in the world cannot be a place where filth and evil are hidden. However, there is a word called political correctness. At this time, it is not suitable to talk about other aspects. What Fan Zhi said this time was basically based on what Liu Chengyou liked to hear, and he was very fond of it.
As the emperor, no matter what you do, it is best to have people who support you, and now Fan Zhi plays such a role.
"What Fan Qing said is true." Liu Chengyou sighed quietly, and said with emotion: "The matter of the demon monk's general relationship really scares me. There are many Buddhist believers, but if monks everywhere are like this, how can the world be peaceful? ?For the sake of the peace of the country, the well-being of the people, and the good development of the Buddhist temple, it is necessary to carry out an overhaul..."
Liu Chengyou's words were hypocritical, but Fan Zhi's serious face was filled with admiration: "Your Majesty is wise."
"Zhao Yanjin!" Liu Chengyou turned his head and faced Zhao Yanjin who was standing by his side.
"I'm here."
Zhao Yanjin listened to the conversation between Liu Chengyou and Fan Zhi. With his knowledge, although he was not sure about the conversation, he could probably understand with his agility that the emperor wanted to deal with Buddhism.
But he didn't know what he could do about this matter. He murmured in his heart, and without moving his hands slowly, he clasped his fists and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Liu Chengyou directly ordered: "Zong Lun's rebellion has led to chaos. Although the Dharma has been rectified, I worry that his followers may hide in temples and people, causing endless trouble. I give you a task. Lead your guards to clean up all the Buddhist temples in the river for me. The monks there carefully screened and examined them, so that no rebels could escape!"
When Zhao Yanjin heard the order, he was stunned for a moment, then he raised his chest and responded: "Yes!"
After saying that, he turned around and left. Seeing Zhao Yanjin's capable style, but thinking about the expression on his face when he heard the order, he took a breath, raised his finger and said to Fan Zhizhi: "Fan Qing, I'm afraid Zhao Yanjin still doesn't understand what he means, please put down your hands for now. Regarding the matter, take my order, go to assist him, and take control of the matter personally."
"Yes!" Fan Zhi bowed solemnly.
Attacking the city, suppressing violence and chaos, calming the people and dealing with the aftermath, a series of complicated events have come to an end, and dusk has arrived. The wounds suffered by the city are still very obvious, and the smoke of the war is about to dissipate. Outside the city, the counter-rebellion army that has returned to build a replica is already in an orderly and busy manner.
Carloads of rice, grain, wine and meat came out of the treasury and were brought into the military camps. Of course, when the emperor rewarded the army, he did not forget the officers and soldiers in Xizhai. There were also many meritorious soldiers there, and they ordered people to use boats to send reward materials.
Liu Chengyou only had time to briefly inspect the household registration, military registration, and land situation in the river. He was slightly impressed by the wealth in the river, and then he heard from his servants that Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo crossed the river to have an audience.
In this regard, Liu Chengyou showed great enthusiasm, went out to receive him in person, and showed respect to the hero, which made Yao Yuanfu, a veteran general, even more fond of Liu Chengyou.
"Yaoqing is over sixty years old, but he is still able to hold swords, brave arrows, witness battles, and fight for the country. Such heroic martial arts are truly honest and honest in this world. I have heard about them for a long time and have been fascinated by them. Now that I can see them today, they are well-deserved. Ah!" In the hall, Liu Chengyou looked at Yao Yuanfu, who was wearing armor and had a straight back, with a look of admiration.
Facing the emperor's personal compliment, Yao Yuanfu laughed heartily and responded: "I have been fighting all my life, and I only know how to fight. If I don't go into battle, my bones will be itchy. It's a pity this time, the rebels in the river will not After beating."
Although not exactly humble, the open-mindedness in his tone was not offensive at all.
"On the contrary, Your Majesty, you have not only succeeded to the throne for a long time, your foundation is not solid, but in the face of this rebellion, you are so spirited, personally bringing troops to the west, and destroying the thieves in ten months. This kind of heroic spirit is admirable!" Yao Yuanfu said in an unusual way! In a flattering tone, he complimented Liu Chengyou.
"The smooth suppression of the rebellion this time was also due to Yao Qing's early efforts to suppress the rebels in Tongzhou, which bought me time to advance westward..."
Next, it basically fell into mutual compliments between the monarch and his ministers. Soon, his brother-in-law Song Yanwo also joined in, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
Seeing the sky getting dark, Liu Chengyou took the lead and took Yao Yuanfu and Song Yanwo out of the city to the camp.
The huge Han army camp was already brightly lit and bustling with celebrations. Liu Chengyou went to the imperial camp and gathered all the generals to celebrate the victory.
The atmosphere in the military camp was so high that it was "blessed to the soul". One after another, the soldiers and soldiers were shouting, "Long live the mountain." It was obviously more enthusiastic than the previous time to greet the emperor's imperial chariot. The effect of a victory is better than thousands of means. .
Even so, Liu Chengyou did not get carried away. While drinking, he did not forget to send people to inspect the military camp to prevent unrest and prepare for unexpected changes.
In the afternoon of the second day, Fan Zhi and Zhao Yanjin, who were in charge of errands, returned and reported to Liu Chengyou.
In a short period of time, we only had time to control Qiyan Temple and Pujiu Temple near Zhoucheng and conduct an inventory. According to Fan Zhiyan, there are thousands of monks in these two temples alone, and the temples are magnificent, especially the Qiyan Temple controlled by Zong Lun, with hundreds of large and small Buddha statues and dozens of acres of farmland...
Just hearing this report, Liu Chengyou's thoughts couldn't be contained. While ordering Zhao Yanjin to continue to "purge and suppress rebellion" in other Buddhist temples in Hezhong Prefecture, he also asked Fan Zhi to make plans and send them to all the prefectures and prefectures in the world, asking officials from various places to clean up the situation of the Buddhist temples under their control. Liu Chengyou had ordered Wu Desi to secretly investigate this matter before. Due to lack of manpower, the scope was very small. This time, a large-scale census was about to be conducted.
This side of the river is just an appetizer, and the nationwide "rectification" will not happen until we return to Tokyo.
