The abbot's face changed drastically when he heard this, but it was only for a moment. He thought he was hiding it well, but he was caught in full view by Xu Youzhen, who had been staring at the magnificent Buddha statue.
The abbot said softly: "What do Master Xu mean by these words? This poor monk cannot understand."
Xu Youzhen looked away from the Buddha statue and looked at the abbot: "Why, doesn't the abbot know about this? Hanshan Temple is a famous ancient temple in Suzhou, and the abbot is a senior monk in the temple. Every day in Suzhou city, there are dignitaries and dignitaries. Abbot Lunfo asked, after going back and forth, their fields and shops have become Hanshan Temple's. In my opinion, if Hanshan Temple has a longer history and is ranked higher in the Senggang Division, how can it be done? Instead of recording all the land and shops in Suzhou City under your name, do you want the court to collect silver taxes from ordinary fat monks in Hanshan Temple?"
"Master Xu, what do you mean by this?" the abbot said slowly. Although he is a highly qualified monk, he is not too young, but he is fat and has a kind face and kind eyes. In Xu Youzhen's view, he is pretending to be a lot of things. Worldly atmosphere.
And the fat monk in Xu Youzhen's last sentence is talking about him.
"Give me the list of real owners of those farm shops. I will only give you two days. I won't go anywhere for these two days. I will just wait in this temple. If after two days, I can't see Come to the list, you, the Buddha enshrined in Hanshan Temple, can't live peacefully. It doesn't matter if he is restless, but hundreds of monks in this temple can't live peacefully. That's a big trouble." Xu Youzhen said coldly. sneered.
"Master Xu, we are all outsiders who are monks. We practice green lanterns and ancient Buddhas every day, but we have never been involved in the secular world. Master Xu still needs to investigate more, so as not to listen to outsiders' slander and attribute all the sins to Lao Na and Han. The body of a mountain temple."
"I don't want to talk so much nonsense to you. Do you want to hand over the list? Or do you want to close the door and go down..."
The fat monk had always refused to admit it, which made Xu Youzhen a little angry. If he didn't have evidence, why would he come here specifically?
The abbot wanted to say something more, but Zhao Cong stepped forward to stop him: "Old monk, didn't you hear what I said? Go down and prepare."
The abbot looked at Zhao Cong with a murderous look on his face. He wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to say it. This was Hanshan Temple, not Shaolin Temple. He was just an old monk. He didn't like to sweep the floor, and he didn't have the Nine-Yang Magic. , Zhao Cong could hit him to death with one fist, and looking at the way this guy stared at him, he really dared to hit him if he didn't obey.
After the abbot left, the Jin Yiwei also slowly retreated. Only Xu Youzhen and his handsome scholar were left in the grand palace.
Xu Youzhen turned her attention to the Buddha statue, then pointed at the magnificent Buddha statue and sighed, saying to the handsome book boy beside her: "Sir, I often go to the Qing Taoist Temple of Taoist Qingxu. The three pure saints are all made of clay. The sculpture, without decoration, is calm and comfortable, but the inside of this Buddha is also made of clay and bricks, but the outside must be covered with gold foil to make him resplendent. Which one is higher or lower can be seen at a glance."
"Sir, you are right." This handsome book boy is Park Ningmei who is disguised as a man.
"Let's go back to our room to rest. It just so happens that today is the day to break the precepts. There may be some fun in this mountain temple." Xu Youzhen said with an indescribable smile on her face.
Pu Ningmei nodded: "Master, these days, the slave family has not been idle and has been practicing."
Xu Youzhen became interested and said with a smile: "What are you practicing for?"
"Master, you are evil, do you have to make it so clear to me?"
After hearing this, Xu Youzhen laughed out loud, said hello three times, and then left the Main Hall with Park Ningmei.
The gleaming golden Buddha in his seat quietly watched these things happen.
For Xu Youzhen, Taoism's Laozi and Sanqing are the native beliefs of their nation. If it were the obscure Taoist temple not far next door that protected the officials and gentry today, he would always speak politely, but he would treat outsiders As a monk, Xu Youzhen seemed impatient.
It doesn’t matter if you are an eminent monk, or if you are a Buddha.
Don’t forget that I am the Minister of Rites, and I am in charge of the monks’ temples in the Ming Dynasty.
Although Emperor Taizu Gao once gilded temples, after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in the first year of Hongwu, he established the "Shanshiyuan" in accordance with the Yuan system to govern the world's monks and nuns.
"In the first year of Hongwu, the two houses of Shanshi and Xuanjiao were established, and reformed in four years. In the fifth year, the monks and Taoists were given ultimatums. In the eleventh year, Shen Shen Yang was established in the west of the sacrificial altar in the suburbs, and set up reminders and insights.
At this time, monks were allowed to serve as officials to manage themselves. However, Emperor Taizu Gao later thought that it was inappropriate for monks to directly manage monks, so he abolished Shanshiyuan. In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, he established the Senglu Department and the Daolu Department. Under the Ministry of Rites.
The Senglu Division is the government agency that manages monks, and it stipulates that "any practice in the mountains requires monks and officials to sit in charge and use seals. If one of them is missing, they are not allowed to use it."
At the same time, he supervises the monks to sit in meditation, study public cases, and manage various affairs of the sect;
If monks in this area want to apply to be the abbots of major temples, they have to pass an exam organized by the Senglu Department of the Ministry of Rites. If you pass the exam, you can be the abbot. If you fail the exam, don't go. What? I am the old abbot's closed disciple, and he appointed me. As a successor, I'm sorry, he doesn't have the power.
The Ministry of Rites also has great power in the selection and appointment of monk officials. For example, the abbot of Hanshan Temple is Zuo Shanzheng, the sixth rank of the Seng Gang Division, and Xu Youzhen is technically his immediate superior.
After a series of policies, the imperial court also has a set of strict regulations on the issuance of ultimatums. If you want to escape into Buddhism, in principle, if there is no temple leader, you will not be able to obtain ultimatums at all, and the monks and gangs bureaus in various places have also checked. It is the responsibility of clearing the number of local monks. The number of monks in almost every state capital is fixed. If it is exceeded, officials will have to pay a price.
The reason why Xu Youzhen came here was because some officials and gentry in Suzhou City came up with a method after the new tax system was introduced in Hangzhou, Yingtian and other places. They transferred most of the acres of real estate to the name of Hanshan Temple.
The Peach Blossom Temple under Hanshan Temple has tens of thousands of acres of prime paddy fields, and 70% of them are actually under the name of Hanshan Temple.
And hundreds of shops in Suzhou city are actually the front rooms of Hanshan Temple.
This is not a temple at all. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a large listed group. It has land, shops and industries.
After Xu Youzhen investigated thoroughly, she knew that she had to make this case bigger, otherwise others would follow suit and her future would be difficult.
Monks are outsiders. Xu Youzhen will not let the swords and guns of the world destroy their bodies. Let them burn themselves. They should do it in their own way and be more dignified. If a holy bone relic is burned, their name can be preserved. Qingshi…………
Because the important people went to the temple, Hanshan Temple was closed for several days, and dozens of elite soldiers guarded the gate.
And Xu Youzhen went up the mountain, which made the officials and gentry in Suzhou City who had colluded with them restless, and paid close attention to the latest trends in Hanshan Temple...
Some have already written to the capital to see if they can find one or two capital officials who have a good relationship with Xu Youzhen to put in a good word for him. If the matter is really exposed, they can also spend some money to use Xu Youzhen's back door. , take yourself off that list.
Hanshan Temple, night.
The bright moon is hanging in the sky, and the breeze is blowing gently.
In the house, the old abbot was sitting cross-legged on the floor. In front of him, a monk was kneeling on the ground, sobbing, and said: "Abbott, please save me. This disciple was just confused for a moment, so he fell in love with them." With a little involvement, the disciple really didn't know that Xu Youzhen would come to visit."
"That's all. After all, I am not strict in management. You only need to hand over all the lists and books to me. I will bear the blame for you this time."
Hearing these words, the monk kneeling on the ground suddenly raised his head: "Abbott, Abbot, are you telling the truth?"
"Why did I lie to you? Xu Youzhen is coming in a menacing way. If I hand you over, you will definitely die. I still have a bad reputation. Xu Youzhen will not really harm me. As long as all those lists are handed over, our Hanshan Temple can be safe." Get through this crisis.”
"Thank you, abbot, for your kindness. This disciple will never forget it for the rest of his life." The monk said and knocked heavily on the ground.
The monk in front of the old abbot was the disciple of the previous abbot. The boss of the local sect had always been very unconvinced with him. This time, through Xu Youzhen's coercion, he severely damaged his prestige. Only then could he truly become this Han. The abbot of the mountain temple.
Buddha said, don't fight.
But which monk wouldn’t argue?
Biquge
