Chapter 29 2. The old age of the strong

The forty-eight years of Emperor Liang Wu's reign can be divided into two periods based on the year when he received the bodhisattva precept: the early period was the Tianjian period (502-519 AD), and the later period was after the general change of the Yuan Dynasty (520-549 AD). His interest in Buddhism is getting stronger.In the reign of Datong (535-545 A.D.), he was already an old man in his seventies. "Wei Shu" commented that Emperor Wu of Liang in his later years "was lazy in listening to the government and devoted himself to lecturing", completely losing the vitality of his prime. His demeanor looks like a Buddhist disciple who was born extraordinary.There is no problem with being born extraordinary, but as an emperor, especially a capable emperor like Emperor Wu of Liang, who wholeheartedly believes in Buddhism, or as critics say, "Synonymous with Buddha", it is questionable.

So we come back to an old question, why did Emperor Wu of Liang "sing Buddha"? Of course, Emperor Wu of Liang had ten thousand reasons to choose his own belief, but he must think from the perspective of choosing the destiny of the country if he wants to turn Liang into a "world of Buddha" as an emperor. Liang Guo was established in troubled times, Southern Qi's economy was not very developed, Liu Song's power was far less than that of Northern Wei Dynasty, and there were frequent disturbances in the Southern Dynasty.After Emperor Wu of Liang took over the world, he put in a lot of effort to sum up the lessons of Liu Song and Southern Qi’s unrest, and finally he came to a conclusion: "To build a country, rule the people, and establish religion as the leader." The ruler, ministers, fathers, sons and sons, the society is stable and united. In today's words, it is to achieve a "harmonious society". Then we must first "establish a religion" and establish a foundation of belief among the people.

In the view of Emperor Wu of Liang, both Liu Song and Southern Qi did not pay attention to the beliefs of the Chinese people.If the people of the country have no faith, they will lose their cohesion. If the ruler is stupid and the people are treacherous, the regime will not last long.Therefore, to build a country that is no longer chaotic and well-ordered, the most important thing is to make a fuss about beliefs. This is the outline of everything, and everything else is the order. The next question is, what kind of belief should be established?Emperor Wu of Liang chose Buddhism.Buddhism urged people to be kind, and cultivation methods such as eating fast and worshiping Buddha were also easily accepted, and they were relatively popular among the people at that time, so there would not be much resistance to their implementation.Buddhism preaches karma, the suffering you suffer in this life is the sin of your previous life.Believing this, people will not rise up against the rule.

Under the guidance of the idea of ​​"establishing religion", the political situation in Liang State was much more stable than that in the turbulent north. Yu Xin, a writer of the Southern Dynasties, sighed in his famous "Fu Jiangnan Fu", "In fifty years, nothing happened to Jiang Biao." , is probably true.This shows that the policy of promoting Buddhism cannot be said to be completely wrong, at least it has achieved certain results.The problem is that everything cannot go to extremes, both in degree and in time. In the later period of Emperor Wudi's reign, the actual social situation has undergone tremendous changes compared with the early period. (From the behavior of the ruling class of Liang during the Hou Jing Rebellion, it can be seen that Liang people were not too "treacherous" at this time, but became a little inflexible, and even a little resigned and insensitive.) Emperor Wu of Liang was too devoted to Buddhist affairs, and he himself He became more and more detached from the real society, and the longer the time, the more serious the degree of detachment became. However, Emperor Wu of Liang lived a long life, and felt that he was wise and mighty and blessed by the Buddha, so it is not surprising that he made mistakes in governing the country.

Although Emperor Wu of Liang devoted himself to "establishing religion as the leader", Liang Guo did not get rid of the law of the decline of other dynasties in the Southern Dynasties.Although belief is important, it cannot be the only factor affecting social development.Food is the most important thing for the people, without economic development, there is no faith, and it is not beneficial to the country. In ordinary years, Liang's economic crisis gradually emerged, frequent wars, and large-scale Buddhist activities made the treasury increasingly empty.Ordinary four years (AD 523), the government ordered the banning of copper coins and the casting of iron coins. This kind of iron coins, also known as "iron five baht", was the first iron coin cast in large quantities in Chinese history.The value of iron coins is less than one-tenth of that of copper coins, and the result is naturally inflation, with prices soaring.Officials corrupted wantonly, merchants profited from it, and the people suffered unspeakably.

Worse than ordinary people, is the economic situation of the military.The military system of the Southern Dynasties was inherited from the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty. Its principle is that once you serve as a soldier, you will serve as a soldier for generations.These so-called "military households" were strictly managed and shouldered heavy military service.In the eighteenth year of Tianjian (519 A.D.), Emperor Wu of Liang issued an edict to rank soldiers and slaves side by side. The status of military households was extremely low, and the phenomenon of fleeing became more and more common. shade household.

In order to prevent soldiers from fleeing, the imperial court also stipulated that if one person fled, the whole family would serve as a mortgage.In desperation, various incidents of committing crimes and even forcing the people to rebel increased.During the Datong period, mass rebellions took place successively in Guangjin (now northwest of Jingdezhen, Jiangxi), Ancheng (now Anfu, Jiangxi), and Jiaozhi (now Hanoi, Vietnam). 541) claimed to be the Emperor of Yue, fought against the imperial court, and almost captured Guangzhou in its heyday.The rebellion lasted for seven years, and it was not quelled until the first year of Zhongdatong (546 AD). Chen Baxian, the founding emperor of the Chen Kingdom, came to prominence by suppressing this rebellion.

Emperor Wu of Liang was not unaware of various social problems. He issued edicts several times, requiring officials to submit criticisms.He Chen, the regular attendant of Sanqi, listed the four major disadvantages of current politics in detail: 1. Local officials extorted and extorted money, which led to the emigration of people, a sharp reduction in household registration, and hindered people's livelihood; 2. The nobles were extravagant and corrupted; Officials are dedicated to self-interest and have no intention of serving the public; 4. The government builds too much, wastes money and wastes money, and shakes the foundation of the country.

The analysis of these four items is very reasonable, but Emperor Liang Wu was furious after reading it, and immediately replied to He Chen: "You said that some people are corrupt and some are treacherous, who are they, and what are they? If not, it would be in vain to deceive the emperor! I have been advocating frugality for thirty years, how can all the officials not follow suit? You have to recognize your mistakes and seriously review them!" Seeing this, He Chen had to obediently admit his mistakes and stopped talking. Among Liang Guo's courtiers, those like He Chen who occasionally dare to speak up are rare.Emperor Wu of Liang was old and only listened to flattery. After the death of Zhou She and Xu Mian, the capable ministers in the middle period, Zhu Yi, the leader of the Central Committee, was the most favored of him.Zhu Yi is highly educated and capable, but his character is poor.He knows how to figure out what he wants, blindly flattering and flattering, and at the same time colluding with private parties and accepting bribes.In his hands, Liang Guochaogang went from bad to worse, getting darker and darker.

Buddhism pays attention to saving all living beings and showing compassion, but Emperor Wu of Liang only showed mercy to the royal family and officials.Once, when Emperor Wu of Liang was going to the suburbs to worship, an old man stopped Yu Jia on the way and advised him: "Your Majesty's law enforcement is too strict for the common people and too lenient for the powerful. This is not a long-term solution. If there is a change, the world will be lucky." After hearing this, Emperor Wu of Liang did not review and correct it, and remained the same. (The ruling strategy of Emperor Wu of Liang was similar to that of the Yuan Dynasty. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang said sharply: "Yuan used lenient to subjugate the country." This "lenient" does not mean lenient to the people, but lenient to the dignitaries. The power to sweep Eurasia with Mongolian iron cavalry, Even if he died in less than a hundred years, the potential danger of Emperor Wu of Liang can be imagined.)

It is very "happy" to be an official under Emperor Wu of Liang. If you commit a crime, you can often find mercy outside the law.As a relative of Emperor Wu of Liang, this is even more so.The sixth younger brother of Emperor Wu of Liang and the king of Linchuan, Xiao Hong, was incompetent in war (see ), but he was good at hunting down common people.The sixth prince found a job for himself - money lending. He used the borrower's land, real estate, business name, and shop as collateral. Once the debt repayment period expired, he immediately sent people to seize the mortgaged house property, and then used these house property to make money. New windfall.In the Jiangdong area around Jiankang, there are countless unemployed and bankrupt people, most of whom have his "credit". The "smart" Sixth Prince has made considerable profits, and there are nearly a hundred warehouses just for storing wealth!Xiao Hong valued money the most in his life, and his defenses were extremely strict. The warehouse was set up behind the inner hall, so that he could protect it at close range.However, the precautions were too strict, which attracted attention instead. Some people suspected that there were weapons hidden inside, and secretly notified Emperor Wu of Liang. When Emperor Wu of Liang heard that the king of Linchuan had secretly hidden weapons and was suspected of treason, he had to take it seriously. He sent someone to investigate for fear of wronging his younger brother, so he went out in person.He came to Xiao Hong's house in the name of having a drink with Xiao Hong and his wife and sharing their brotherhood.Xiao Hong warmly received him, and when he was half drunk, Emperor Wu of Liang said, "I want to take a walk in your back hall." Xiao Hong turned pale with fright, thinking that he was going to investigate corruption, so he led Liang Wudi to the back hall.After walking down in a circle, Emperor Wu of Liang was overjoyed. It turned out that Xiao Hong's warehouse was not a weapon warehouse, but a big treasure house.Among them, there are more than 30 money banks, and the rest store valuable items such as cloth, silk, lacquer, honey and wax. Emperor Wu of Liang looked at Xiao Hong who was covered in cold sweat, and said with a smile, "Lao Liu, you had a good life." Immediately put down his mind, he went back to the front hall and continued to drink until late at night. Emperor Liang Wu's tolerance towards Xiao Hong has been shown many times.Xiao Hong played incest with his niece, Princess Yongxing, the daughter of Emperor Wu of Liang, and planned to kill Emperor Wu of Liang to stand on his own.When the matter was revealed, the princess committed suicide in shame, but Emperor Wu of Liang did not pursue Xiao Hong's crimes any longer and let him spend the rest of his life in peace.Xiao Hong died in the seventh year of Ordinary (526 A.D.). Emperor Wu of Liang posthumously presented him as a servant and general. He was posthumously named King Jinghui and was buried with a generous gift. Xiao Hong raised money by lending money, which is more or less a serious business; his third son Linhe Wang Xiao Zhengde specializes in road robbery, murder and extortion, and he belongs to the rank of Jiangyang Bandit. Emperor Wu of Liang gave birth to three daughters in a row in his early years. He was worried that there would be no successors, so he adopted Xiao Zhengde as his heir. Later, when the prince Xiao Tong was born, he returned Xiao Zhengde to Xiao Hong.Xiao Zhengde thought that he would be the emperor in the future, but he didn't expect to lose all his money, and because of his mental imbalance, he voted for the Northern Wei Dynasty in a fit of anger, claiming to be the deposed prince of the Liang Kingdom, and fled to avoid disaster.As a result, in the new year, Xiao Zhengde felt that the Northern Wei Dynasty was unfriendly to him, and his enemy Xiao Baokui became murderous, so he fled back to Liang State in boredom (Originally, you are a royal family in Liang State, what is it to the Northern Wei Dynasty? If it is not for you Save face, who cares about your onion?).Emperor Wu of Liang did not punish him for treason, but taught him with tears and restored his title. Xiao Zhengde has the tendency of the dragon returning to the sea and the tiger entering the forest.He recruited a group of desperadoes, set up a picket team with his younger brother Xiao Zhengze, and ambushed on the road at dusk to do robbery and murder.With Emperor Wu of Liang as the umbrella, the government did not dare to intervene.In the sixth year of the Northern Expedition of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Zhengde was appointed General Qingche.Xiao Zhengde missed his picket team on the front line, so he simply abandoned the team and ran back to Jiankang alone.Emperor Wu of Liang became angry with the military situation, cut his title and exiled him to Linhai County.Before Xiao Zhengde reached Linhai, Emperor Wu of Liang regretted it again, and sent someone to catch up with him and pardoned him.Don't go to the Northern Expedition, just stay in Jiankang and be a robber. (Under the repeated indulgence of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Zhengde finally formed an alliance with Hou Jing and took Emperor Wu of Liang's old life.)