When Chu Qing thought that these monks were already shameless, as soon as they left the city gate, Feng Taoist got into the carriage and told him what he knew, which refreshed Chu Qing's knowledge again.
In fact, regarding religion, he has always avoided it intentionally or unintentionally.
He knew that many people believed in Buddhism, and having faith was not a bad thing. On the contrary, it was good to give people something to think about.
But when Taoist Feng spoke, Chu Qing was completely shocked.
He always thought that landlords were all wealthy and aristocratic families. Unexpectedly, even monks were "landlords", real big landlords!
When mentioning temples and monks, the first impression that comes to mind should be that of someone who rings the bell and chants Buddha's name every day without any desire or desire.
But in fact this is not the case, the monk has turned his faith into a business!
Regardless of whether it is Dapu Temple or a temple in the city, there is a large amount of land in its name. This "large amount" is even comparable to that of some aristocratic families. The source of the land includes the original cultivation by the monks themselves, as well as grants from the court, and A lot of it is donated.
Not only do they have a lot of land in their hands, these temples also buy land. The purchased land is not cultivated, but rented out for the common people to cultivate, that is, tenants. In other words, they basically have the same relationship with the aristocratic families and those officials. The situation is almost the same. Land is obtained through different methods and then people are hired to farm it.
If it were just that, forget it, the temple was also engaged in another kind of commercial activity, lending money. In ancient times, it was called loan sharking, which can be understood as lending.
The most awesome thing is that most of the money used by the temple to lend is not their own, but the "investors'".
The investors here do not mean that someone has money, invests in the temple, and then gets a share of the incense money, but that the money is directly deposited in the temple, and later gradually evolved into lending to the borrower.
There is no interest when money is placed in a bank, but there is interest when it is placed in a temple. The temple has basically become the prototype of a bank. It stores rich people's money in the temple and then lends it to others, thereby collecting interest.
What is even more exaggerated is that many temples in Zhongzhou Changchao no longer allow people to worship Buddha, but only provide "lending" services.
Officials, aristocratic families, landlords and gentry from all over the world have no place to put their money, so they keep it in temples, which can be regarded as a kind of investment. Temple branches are also widely distributed in various places. Due to the continuous investment of funds from all walks of life, And the temple's branches in various places, the temple has more cash than the bank.
Various temples have also formulated industry regulations and have an extremely detailed mortgage system. Real estate, houses, gold and silver jewelry can be liquidated or mortgaged. If the people have silks, grains, salt, iron, or even bedding, no matter The temple will accept any amount, and it can be sold, pawned, or mortgaged.
There are also debt collectors in Buddhism, divided into three, six or nine levels, and several packages for non-repayment of money owed.
For example, if you only repay part of the interest and not the principal, then the Buddha will not bless the borrower, and you will be unlucky every day.
If all the interest is paid but the principal is not repaid, then not only will the Buddha not bless you, but when the debtor dies, you will have to go to hell, saying that that place is always suffering, and so on.
The third package, if the principal is not repaid and the interest is not repaid, the consequences will be terrible. Not only will you go to hell, but you will be reincarnated and you will have to be a pig or a dog in your next life.
The common people are quite superstitious and believe in the theory of reincarnation, so there are very few people who don't pay back the money they owe. Even if they end up ruining their family, they still have to pay back the money. Of course, if they encounter someone who doesn't pay back, then the Buddhist collectors, haha , quite professional, professional in boxing.
If you are more resistant to beatings, and professional boxing skills match professional ability to withstand beatings, Buddhism still has a way. The money they give out is not only their own, but also "investors", and these investors are all high-ranking officials. Noble people, they don't practice boxing, law, and etiquette. In short, they can make people come alive. They have a house, they can take a house, but they can't work as coolies if they don't have a house. If they want your children, if you don't have any children, then Just...if this were the case, it would be impossible for the temple to lend the money out, and they also have a credit reporting system.
"What the hell, is this a monk?" Chu Qing was completely shocked. He looked at the sarcastic Feng Taoist and was speechless for a long time.
Huang Laosi’s eyes were dark.
Whether it was Hua Wenwu or Feng Daoren, he knew all these things clearly, but he had never communicated this matter with Chu Qing.
In history, there have been many attempts to exterminate Buddhism. If Buddhism had only been a pure cultivator, it would not have been exterminated.
The temples of the Chang Dynasty can be regarded as a highly organized social group. This kind of centripetal force is not much worse than that of families or nobles. Once there is any rebellion against the imperial court, it will undoubtedly cause huge disasters, although the temples in various places are self-contained. , but their beliefs, at least the beliefs they say are unified, so after ascending the throne, Huang Laosi has been trying every means to curb the development of Buddhism.
Chu Qing, who was sitting in the carriage, had a look of shock on his face. But when he thought about it, he recalled some things from his previous life, and then he realized how similar the history was. Not to mention the monks of later generations, even in normal history, Buddhism was hard to describe. There is no need to argue about releasing money. There are records in official and unofficial history. The same is true for annexing land. Even land occupation is common. This group of monks is not a human being, and they make more concessions than aristocratic families.
The carriage had arrived at the southern suburbs. Chu Qing opened the curtain and found that the southern suburbs were extremely lively. It was just that he had not been there in the past six months, but it had become so lively.
Just like a market in Beijing, it is already dark, and there are an endless stream of pedestrians and carriages around. There are also many vendors and many stalls, especially these stalls selling everything. It is like going to a market. Among them, it seems to be still in the North City of the city.
Huang Laosi looked around and was quite surprised: "It is only three miles away from Hanmen Academy. The academy is inaccessible, but here, it is full of people. It is a good atmosphere."
Chu Qing looked through the crowd and noticed that the southwest side was deserted. He was a little surprised: "The land over there is so panicked, isn't it all taken over by us?"
Huang Laosi was extremely helpless.
You ask me and I ask who will go.
It was still Feng Taoist who gave the answer, with a half-smile but not a smile: "Your fiefdom of Chu Qing is so busy that the land price of this originally wasteland has also risen. Guess who's name is those lands?"
"Don't tell me that I'm from the temple too."
"Yes, houses will be built on these wastelands. The temple will build these houses and rent them to the people to live in."
Chu Qing realized something was wrong: "How much does it cost a month?"
"It's more than 30% higher than that of Bei City."
"It's impossible, only a fool would rent it. It would be great to live in Beijing with this kind of money."
Feng Daoist's face was full of teasing: "How is it impossible? You have taken in so many refugees in the southern suburbs. Outside the city, you are building roads, houses, and workshops, so countless people gather here and work outside the city. Naturally, you have to Looking for a place to live, if you don't want to rent a house in a temple, then go to the city. But if you go to live in the city, you will have to waste a lot of time every day. This is especially true for the poor academies. People flock to them, saying that if they live nearby, their children and grandchildren can enroll. , I don’t know what’s so good about that humble academy.”
Chu Qing slapped Huang Laosi on the thigh, and his anger arose in his heart: "I shed blood and sweat to revitalize the economy of the south of the city, but Buddhism is actually trying to build a school district housing on my territory?!"
