Chapter 9 four

Wuhua Building stands under the Yuju Peak of Cangshan Mountain. This is a famous building in the late Nanzhao Dynasty. It is located in the south of Zicheng. It was built in the 17th year of Nanzhao King Tianqi (856). It was a famous guest house during the Nanzhao and Dali periods. And built.The building is square, with a circumference of seven or eight hundred feet and a height of about ten feet. The upper floor can accommodate ten thousand people, and the downstairs has a flagpole more than ten feet high. The Wuhua Building was designed according to the "seven-level pagoda" in Buddhist scriptures, and it took more than 100,000 craftsmen to complete the construction in two years.Because of the advanced scaffolding method, the construction period was shortened by five years compared with the traditional bulldozing method.

The early capital of Nanzhao was located in Taihe City.In the fourteenth year of Dali (779), Nanzhao and Tubo jointly sent troops to attack Chengdu and were defeated.The king of Nanzhao was afraid of Tubo's anger, so he moved the capital from Taihe City to Zicheng.Since then, Zicheng has been the capital of the local governments of various dynasties for more than 470 years, passing through the middle and late stages of Nanzhao, Changhe, Tianxing, Yining and Dali. Choosing Zicheng as the capital is based on strategic considerations.Because it is "closed to the danger of Cangshan Mountain in the west and choked by Erhai River in the east", with Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake as a natural barrier, there is no need to build city walls in the west and east of the city, but only two city walls in the north and south.

In addition to the gorgeous Nanzhao royal palace and official residences, Zicheng also used natural streams as moats in Wuhua Building. On this day, in the lobby on the first floor of the Wuhua Building, Kublai Khan sat on a seat that the Lord of Dali had used when he came to court.Civil servants and generals on both sides stood there holding their breath. "Master Duan Xingzhi of Dali led all the concubines, princes and princesses to meet His Royal Highness!" Following the shout of the guards in front of the gate, Duan Xingzhi led more than 500 concubines and hundreds of princes and princesses to file in.Immediately, music played everywhere, and amidst the music, Duan Xingzhi bowed to Kublai Khan, and all the concubines, princes, and princesses bowed and bowed.

Luo Feng sat on the princess seat.Seeing her, Duan Xingzhi was not surprised, he had known about Chief Aliang offering his daughter to welcome the surrender.Thinking of this girl who was famous in Dali for her beauty, purity, and melodious singing voice, she finally became the favored concubine of Kublai Khan, Prince of Mongolia, and he was only slightly moved. Luo Feng had accompanied his father to meet the king many times before, so he was no stranger to the king.She nodded to the lord, with a friendly smile on her pretty face, and the lord could only smile wryly in return. At the end of the ceremony, Duan Xingzhi's court general summoned loudly: "Present to His Royal Highness Kublai Khan, the Dali's handed down treasures "Nanzhao Illustrated Biography" and "Zhang Shengwen Picture Scroll".

Accompanied by the melodious melody of flutes and reeds, two Dali civil servants stepped forward holding picture scrolls.The guards stretched out, and two ingenious handed down works slowly unfolded before people's eyes. "Nanzhao Illustrated Biography", also known as "Nanzhao Zhongxing National History Painting" and "Zhongxing Illustrated Biography", is composed of two long scrolls, the text scroll and the picture scroll, and the painting time is the second year of Zhongxing in Nanzhao (898).The picture scroll is painted on a bundle of paper, about 24 feet 5 inches long and 1 foot 2 inches wide. It is in the form of a comic book, with religion as the theme and false pretense of human affairs, depicting a series of fascinating stories. .

"Well, is this painting a story from a Buddhist scripture?" Kublai Khan asked interestedly while admiring the scroll. The Dali civil official who presented the painting stepped forward and replied: "Yes, Your Highness. This one tells the story of the illusion of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Guanyin turned into a Buddhist monk and went to beg for food at the home of King Qi in Nanzhao. At that time, King Qi and his son were bowing. Farmed in Weishan, Guanyin received their generous charity, and he appeared to make him establish a country. Later, Guanyin went to other areas, but the local leaders and villagers did not know the Holy Spirit, and they were stubborn and uneducable. Finally, Guanyin's holiness convinced them and converted them to Buddhism. .”

He went on to say: "Your Highness, please look here. This picture tells the story of the nine Wuman and Baiman leaders in the Erhai area who sacrificed to heaven together when they met. Here is a picture of the God of Erhai and the situation of Erhai. The two A snake circle composed of two big snakes, enclosing a goldfish with a wheel on its forehead and a golden snail. This is actually a primitive religious picture of the ancestors of Erhai Lake." "What's going on here?" Kublai Khan asked with relish, pointing to a picture of joy. "Your Highness does not know, but here is the scene of court personnel worshiping Buddha in the Nanzhao period. You see, the statue of Huanxi is surrounded by the last king of Nanzhao and his father Longshun, the king of Nanzhao. The attendants all acted like worshiping the Buddha to show their devotion to the Buddha. As for this piece of 'Civil and Military Emperor Shengzhen', the painting is an emperor and his ministers and attendants who bowed to the Buddha and burned incense."

After speaking about "Nanzhao Picture Biography", another Dali civil official came forward and explained "Zhang Shengwen's Scroll": "This painting was drawn in the early years of Dali's prosperity (1176), and it was painted by painter Zhang Shengwen. The scroll is made of plain paper and colored The painting is 70 feet 2 inches in length and 1 foot 2 inches in width. This painting is also based on a Buddhist story, and can be divided into three parts according to its content: the front is the king of Dali and his male and female retinues, and the middle is It is the statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Tianlong Babu, etc. The latter part depicts the sixteen kings of Tianzhu. The theme of the whole volume is the "Nantian Sakyamuni Buddha Association" and "Pharmacist Liuliguang Buddha Association" in the middle part. The exquisiteness of this painting The level is even better than the "Nanzhao Illustrated Biography". Your Highness, you can see that there are many local myths and legends in the painting, a total of 134 openings, and there are 628 images. The lines of the entire scroll, The coloring, composition, modeling and the mutual echo of each group of pictures are all arranged densely and densely, with just the right amount of shades and weights. , the legacy of the Six Dynasties, and closely inherited the mantle of Wu Daozi and Wu Zongyuan."

Kublai Khan listened to the explanation with great interest.As a Mongolian prince who received the influence of Central Plains culture since childhood, Kublai Khan had a certain ability to appreciate art.Although he can't paint, he likes painting very much. After the guards put away the "Nanzhao Illustrated Biography" and "Zhang Shengwen's Picture Scroll", Kublai Khan's eyes fell on Duan Xingzhi, the lord of Dali, his family and his entourage again. Duan Xingzhi and the queen were sitting upright in the gorgeous guest seats specially set up for them, with upright facial features, focused and serious expressions, and they were somewhat royal.

Kublai Khan said to him: "Your Majesty of the Kingdom of Dali, the king likes these two paintings you presented very much. I will definitely collect them properly so that they can be handed down to future generations. How about it, can our next banquet be formalized?" it has started?" "Okay, the banquet begins!" Duan Xingzhi announced.Immediately, there were singing and dancing, and the drums were beating together. Amidst the wonderful music, the celebration dance banquet celebrating victory and cooperation kicked off. There are fresh and tender slices of raw meat on the plate, including pig, beef, chicken, goose, fish, and garlic and other condiments.

Duan Xingzhi saw that Kublai Khan and others did not move their chopsticks, understood the meaning, and said, "These fresh meat slices are very delicious when dipped in garlic. Please, Your Highness." Kublai Khan said with a smile: "I still eat this more to my liking." He picked up a piece of mutton with his hands, cut off a piece with a Mongolian knife and put it on Duan Xingzhi's plate. "Try it too, how does it taste?" Duan Xingzhi picked up the mutton, dipped some garlic in it, and put it in his mouth: "Well, the taste is very special." Kublai Khan laughed loudly, and ordered another Mongolian feast to reward Duan Xingzhi and his attendants. Time passed quickly in a harmonious atmosphere. After drinking for three rounds, Kublai Khan was a little bit drunk. He looked at Duan Xingzhi and asked bluntly: "I wonder if Lord Duan has seriously thought about the reasons for the defeat of Dali Kingdom? We The strength of the army, or the weakness of the Dali army?" Duan Xingzhi replied solemnly: "Not at all. The biggest reason is that the Dali government has not been strong these years, and the Gao Xiang brothers have abused the country by monopolizing power. They recruited party members, emptied and rejected the royal family, resulting in discord among the people and the morale of the army." Speaking of this, Duan Xingzhi paused for a moment, took a gulp of rice wine, and continued: "In terms of strength, the Dali army is no match for the Mongolian army, but we are waiting for work at leisure, taking advantage of the three advantages of time, location, and people." Conditions. However, your army has long-distance raids, the water and soil are not acclimatized, and the people are exhausted. No matter how many people there are, how can they reach the goal of our millions of Dali troops? The whole army was annihilated in the area, and Xianyu Zhongtong only saved himself; three years later, Yang Guozhong ordered Jiannan to stay and Li Mi led 100,000 troops to attack the Erhai area twice. , Li Mi was killed in battle. May I ask Your Highness, how is your army stronger than Li Mi's army?" "Then, what caused Dali to be conquered by our army?" Kublai Khan raised another sensitive question. "It is your benevolence and love for the people that conquered Dali and my heart. Otherwise, I could gather 200,000 troops to fight against you in a short period of time. As long as we are around the mountains and valleys and streams Attack, I firmly believe that in less than a year, you will be defeated, and you will even repeat Li Mi's mistakes." Duan Xingzhi talked eloquently, not without emotion. "I admire your straightforwardness very much. In my opinion, the reason for your army's defeat is not because of the number of troops and the quality of weapons. Similarly, our victory is not because of high morale and well-trained, but because of the evidence He said two words—people's heart. Brother Gao Xiang is like a fish and meat common people, he despises the monarch of Dali, and he is good at controlling the government. Besieged on all sides, alone in a situation where there is no one left, Invincible cannot tolerate it.” Kublai Khan’s analysis can be described as three-pointed, and he immediately touched on their fatal point. Duan Xingzhi clasped his hands and bowed: "Your Highness is wise, and he made it clear with one word. It is a great fortune to meet His Highness today. Of course, such an army is invincible and powerful. From this, it can be inferred that His Highness is the one who destroyed the Song Dynasty!" Kublai Khan's senior staff, Zi Cong, Yao Shu, Dou Mo, Lian Xixian, Hao Jing, etc., as well as the general Wu Liang, took it very seriously, drank wine and enjoyed music, and raised their glasses to celebrate. Kublai Khan laughed heartily, his eyes shining brightly.Duan Xingzhi stared at him intently, and couldn't help feeling a bit of real reverence behind the concealed shame of defeat. The king, the dragon and the phoenix, is this the one who wins the world?