Hankou, located in the north of the Yangtze River in Henan Province, is a large town with prosperous commerce. Cars and ships traveling from south to north stop here. The beautiful scenery and fish and salt of Suzhou and Hangzhou go up the river, wealthy merchants from Sichuan and Sichuan opened ports here, barbarians from the south exchanged goods with each other, and escorts from the north gathered here. The Huguang area itself is a land of abundant fish and rice. In addition, the Han River flows into the river here. It can be said that it is a thoroughfare in all directions and is blessed by nature.
A restaurant built next to the river was packed with seats. The name of the building is: "Jiangshan Moon". Not far away is the world-famous Yellow Crane Tower.
"It's a good building, it has a good name, it's close to the mountains and rivers, and it's famous all over the world." An elder in green clothes who had just gone upstairs and took his seat praised, the serenity in his eyes was incompatible with this lively scene.
There was a man and a woman who went upstairs with him. The man was in his thirties, with deep eyes and a strong figure. The woman is in her twenties, with bright eyes, white teeth, and a generous manner. A few strands of black silk hang down from her forehead, brushing her eyes from time to time, showing a hint of sadness.
The stools were still hot, so it was obvious that arriving earlier would be better than arriving late, and those who came later would probably have to stand.
"Fine wine, beautiful scenery, wine invites Huang He, singing to the scenery." The beautiful woman said, already holding the wine bowl in her hand, and when she was about to pass it to her mouth, she remembered that the bartender hadn't come to greet her yet, and there was nothing in the bowl. liquor. Then he smiled to himself and was about to call the waiter when he was called by the man sitting on his right. She stopped talking and caught a glimpse of the elder in green waving his ears a few times, with his ears facing the river.
What's there on the riverside? The sound of the piano. The faint sound of the piano, isn't it "Plum Blossoms"? That was my adoptive father's favorite song. No wonder I listened to it as soon as I sat down.
"Come on, come on." The bartender quickly came over and poured the wine.
"Haha... Yan'er is right! Come on, let's do it." The elder in Tsing Yi seemed to be no longer interested in the sound of the piano for a moment, still thinking about "Good building, good name, the building is close to the mountains and rivers, famous The "world" is a "perfect match" with "good wine and beautiful scenery, the wine invites yellow cranes and sings to the scenery".
"Father, come!" The woman named Yan'er replied, raising the bowl and drinking it all in one gulp. With her ice-snow intelligence, she certainly knew that this kind of musical skills would not be able to enter the "faith" of her adoptive father. What's more, with the attainments of the senior brother next to her, although she could not compare to her master, her piano skills were adequate. Compete with the piano player by the river.
The adoptive father and two senior brothers at the same table seemed to have become accustomed to Yan'er's behavior of drinking from a large bowl and talking loudly. They didn't take it seriously at all, but it attracted the attention of people around him. Especially the clear voice of the woman named Yan'er, like a lark singing, makes people want to take another look.
She was dressed in white clothes, with red lips and white teeth, a peach-like face, black hair in a bun, and an aura of nobility and elegance in her bright eyes. She looked like a completely beautiful girl. Although her demeanor is free and easy, not like that of a lady, her appearance matches her appearance, which makes people not disgusted at all, and her name "Fang Lingyan" is even more similar to her.
"Look, Yellow Crane Tower," someone exclaimed. Everyone then looked over together.
Fang Lingyan looked at the Yellow Crane Tower, her eyes a little dim, and said quietly: "The Yellow Crane is gone and will never come back, and the white clouds will be empty for thousands of years!".
Her adoptive father was startled for a moment, knowing that she was at a sad point. They had passed by this place more than ten years ago, so he put aside the topic and said: "Yan'er, you haven't been to Wudang yet. When we get to Wudang, we will know that there are How fun."
"Wudang? It turns out that this gentleman is also going to Wudang, so we are on the same journey." The people sitting next to him became interested in seeing the color, and had been coveting this direction for a long time, thinking that it would be a shame to travel with such a beauty. This trip was empty, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
Fang Lingyan came back to her senses and snorted at the man, ignoring him.
"Why do so many people go to Wudang?" said a big man standing drinking next to him. A strong local accent immediately added a lively atmosphere to the building.
"Don't you know this? Today's Holy Master supports Taoism. No, he has built a new capital in the north and built Wudang in the south. Now he is holding a world conference on classics and theory in Wudang. The King of Han personally came to preside over it. He said that all schools in the world are... You can participate in scripture discussions, and the sect that the winner believes in will be respected as the state religion, and the leader can also be appointed to take charge of the world's religious affairs." Another person said proudly.
"Hmph...I'm afraid it's not that simple. How can anyone be a state religion?" The speaker was an old man sitting in the corner, an old man who looked shabby, as if these words were not his. , but I didn’t expect that what he said was very sharp.
"Oh? I need to ask for advice!" The person who was boasting just now was not sullen and said with fists in his hands.
"In my opinion..." The old man saw that it was a courtesy to ask, so he was ready to share it with everyone. He took a sip of tea and continued: "In my opinion, the outcome of this debate has been decided. You should just go and watch the excitement, and don't have any thoughts of winning.
"How do you say this?" Everyone was interested in him.
"Haha... In our Middle-earth sect, the most prosperous ones are only three religions, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Confucianism has no religion at all. Since Zhuzi in the Song Dynasty, there have been people who argued about Qi Li, and then there are two major sects of Qi Li. Now each of the Five Mountains The Confucian sect is a sect that accompanies the two schools of thought of Xunzi and Mohism. It is disdained by the Confucianists in the dynasty and will not be tolerated by the dynasty. Moreover, this Confucianism in the opposition has only risen in the past twenty years. Although there are
The popularity of the "Five Sons" cannot be compared to the thousands of years of accumulation of Buddhism and Taoism. Therefore, the conference on sutras and commentaries is most likely to be a meeting of Buddhism and Taoism competing for supremacy. You must have heard about the great debate between Buddhism and Taoism in the previous dynasty! At that time, Master Fuyu of Shaolin and other seventeen eminent monks in the world argued with Li Zhichang and other seventeen eminent Taoists of the Quanzhen Sect. In the end, Taoism failed. From then on, Buddhism flourished. Extending to this dynasty, Emperor Taizu also hibernated in Buddhist temples before Longxing. And the great monk Daoyan is responsible for most of the achievements of today's saints. From this point of view, we should vigorously support Buddhist activities now. "
Unknowingly, the upstairs became quiet, and everyone listened to the old man's eloquent remarks. "Yes, yes, this old gentleman is right!"
"Does this make sense? What sense does it make? It's just nonsense. Don't you see that today's martial arts sects seem to be contending with a hundred schools of thought, but in fact Wudang is the only one? The Shaolin sect has long been inferior to its former glory. I also heard that in the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas, Many temples have been raided and monks have been persecuted, yet they still support Buddhist activities." Someone objected loudly, but it turned out to be a tutu. It seemed that he had neither the compassion nor the humility of a monk. It's just a lot of resentment.
Everyone listened to this man's words. Although they were offensive, they were basically true, and they couldn't help but be suspicious of the old man's words.
"Well said, this is actually what I want to say. In fact, the current emperor suspects that Jianwen's deposed emperor did not burn himself to death, but escaped into Buddhism. I heard that someone saw him becoming a monk in Suzhou and Hangzhou, so he This is what the master just said."
Everyone looked at each other.
"This is just one of them. What's more important is that the current sage believes that one person like Dao Yan, who has thousands of pearls in his chest, can turn the world upside down... I won't say more about the rest." The old man said Finished, quite pleased with himself, he took another sip of tea.
"So, the purpose of holding this sutra discussion meeting is to rectify Taoism and attack Buddhism?" Someone with a flexible mind had already thought of this step and asked.
"That's not necessarily true! Then how did the emperor know that these bull-nosed men can defeat those bald donkeys?" The man said rudely, but it made everyone burst into laughter.
"Not to mention the rumors that Master Zhang is still alive, and his several disciples are not ordinary people. Even without them, the court will still have methods." The old man said with a smile, not feeling at all that he had made any mistakes in discussing the government affairs here.
Everyone started talking among themselves, thinking that if they could catch a glimpse of Zhang Zhenren's immortal energy in Wudang, it would be worth dying.
"Father, is it really what he said?" Here, Fang Lingyan's thinking was obviously stimulated by the old man's eloquent words.
"It's hard to say. This economics conference is different from the martial arts competition. It compares with literary and ink rather than bravery. Without years of accumulation, it is indeed impossible to enter the elegant hall. Therefore, the three schools of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism cannot compete. It makes no sense. As for who is stronger in Buddhism and who is weaker, as far as I know, several eminent monks from Tiantai Mountain and Wutai Mountain were unable to attend the meeting due to unrest in the temple. Maybe there is some mystery in this."
"But, there is Shaolin. Shaolin more than a hundred years ago could lead the monks to argue against Quanzhen, but can't it be done today? Moreover, is our Confucian sect really as difficult to argue as he said?"
"Nowadays, Buddhism is different from the past. In addition to various sects in China, Buddhism at that time also had Tantric monks from Mongolia, Uzbekistan and other places, and they had wide contacts. Taoism at that time was only pure and unique, and it was not as successful as it is today. As for my Confucian sect, it is true that I have co-founded it with your four masters and uncles in the past twenty years, and I have to admit that my accumulation is still shallow."
"Then shall we go?" Fang Lingyan stared at her adoptive father, fearing that he wouldn't be able to go.
"Of course I have to go. If you don't, you girl will definitely find a place to fight and vent your anger again. Besides, I haven't seen your five uncles for more than ten years, so I just want to take this opportunity to catch up on old times."
It turned out that the elder in green was Wang Zhaoren, the head of the Hengshan Sect, the "Yu Huizi". On this trip, he took his eldest disciple Li Rufeng and his adopted daughter Fang Lingyan from the Xiangjiang River north to Dongting and down to Wuchang, preparing to go up the Han River. Heading to the Wudang Sutra Conference.
"Hehe..." Fang Lingyan bared her teeth and grinned, "I heard that grandpa's home is in Xiangyang, should we stop by and visit him?"
"Junior sister, I don't even know this, how do you know?" Li Rufeng stared at Fang Lingyan with his eyes widened.
"Master's wife won't tell you! Huh..." Fang Lingyan deliberately made fun of him. In fact, this was what his adopted brother Wang Wenxuan said to him before, but later Wenxuan became ill and couldn't bear it. He passed away. His adopted father It is naturally inconvenient to mention a person with white hair as a gift to a person with black hair.
Wang Zhaoren said: "When we return, we will definitely go and visit."
Seeing the two apprentices having fun, Wang Zhaoren stroked his beard and smiled, then shook his head slightly. How could he not understand the thoughts of these two young people? They are naturally the leaders of the younger generation of the Hengshan School. From the outside, they can be regarded as a match made in heaven. But as a master, doesn't he know that the falling flowers are intentional and the flowing water is ruthless? Yan'er's mind was not on this.
