Chapter 45 The 18th session of the great monk's proposal to build more temples

As soon as the Empress Dowager Li was urging her to ask questions, she said: "What I said involves the late emperor, so how can I open my mouth casually.""The first emperor?" Empress Dowager Li became nervous, "Which first emperor?" Just like looking at Queen Mother Li, she said cautiously but distinctly: "Emperor Jiajing, the grandfather of the current emperor." "Ah, it is the emperor of Shimiao," said Queen Mother Li with a long breath, and continued the previous words The head asked, "What does the rejuvenation of Buddhism have to do with the old emperor?" "Not only is it related, but it is also very important." Like a monk, maybe something has been held in his heart for too long. His haggard face turned red, and he spoke much more sharply, "If the Empress Dowager Mercy forgives me, I will pour out the words that I have kept in my heart for many years." Empress Dowager Li was stunned Dazed, he said: "We will follow you. I forgive you for your innocence. You have to tell what you have to say."I saw that his hand twirling the Buddhist beads slowed down, and the blue veins on his forehead suddenly bulged—this was a sign of a sudden anger, he said slowly, "Zhu Hongwu, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was originally a disciple of Buddhism. After winning the world, filial piety was the foundation of governing the country. Emperor Hongwu knew very well that if all people in the world were to be filial and fraternal, only Buddhism can completely eliminate the delusions of people's hearts. My Buddha is merciful and uses great compassion to save the dead. The great light lamp illuminates the obsession and shows the way of enlightenment. In view of this, Emperor Hongwu worked hard, integrated the imperial style and Buddhism into one, turned the wheel and taught, respected the Three Jewels, and devoutly turned to the Buddha's heart. It is a model for all generations. After the death of Emperor Hongwu, the descendants of the Zhu family who inherited the throne all respected the ancestors, inherited the wind from far and near, and glorified the teaching of the Great Buddha. The great China has always been the atmosphere of Mahayana, the pure land of the Western Heaven. And the Great Tomorrow is also due to the Emperor The long life, the prosperity of the country and the peace of the people are all brought about by the blessing of the Buddha's light. "However, when the imperial seal was handed down to the eighth emperor, that is, the Jiajing Emperor Shimiao, the emperor misunderstood the sorcery. Indulging in fasting and offering sacrifices, instigated by Tao Zhongwen and Shao Zhenren's gang of monsters, they ravaged Buddhism, destroyed Buddhist temples, burned relics, and tortured monks.The catastrophe of Buddhism since the founding of the Ming Dynasty was actually caused by this emperor..."  Just as the monk enumerated the various crimes of Emperor Jiajing's persecution of Buddhism, he specifically talked about the biggest crime that happened in the 14th year of Jiajing Destruction of Buddha: In the Forbidden City, there used to be the Dashan Buddha Hall, which contained gold and silver Buddha statues made by emperors of all dynasties, as well as Buddha bones and teeth collected from all over the world. Due to the actions of the former emperors, it was difficult to make up their minds for a while. It happened that the empress dowager proposed to build a palace to live in another place. Shimiao immediately seized this opportunity and ordered the demolition of the Dashan Buddha Hall to build the Empress Dowager Palace. Xia Yan, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and others visited the site of the foundation. Xia Yan voted for the World Temple, and suggested that you should order the Secretary to move the Buddha bones and teeth out of the palace and bury them in the wilderness without people to prevent confusion. The World Temple summoned Xia Yan and issued an order saying: : "When I think about this thing, the wise think it is obscene, so they don't want to look at it; the foolish people think it's strange, and they want to respect it.Although it is buried today, it will not be stolen in the future. It is better to burn it with fire to avoid future troubles. "As soon as the imperial decree came out, the Dashan Buddhist Temple in the Forbidden City was demolished immediately, and the 169 gold and silver Buddha statues hidden inside, and more than 13,000 catties of various head teeth and Buddha bone relics were also moved to the downtown of Dengshikou. Burned. From then on, in the last Jiajing dynasty, Buddhism was in a slump, and monks in all prefectures and counties died. Even so, the Emperor Jiajing still did not relax his grip. Don't forget to issue an order to the Shuntian Mansion and the two courts, strictly prohibiting monks and nuns from going to the precept altar to preach. And order the factory guards to patrol the city and the censor to strictly investigate the monks and temples inside and outside the capital. Those who are still living under the precepts will be arrested and sent to prison. Traveling monks from all over the world will be arrested. Punishment... As the saying goes, "If you store it for a long time, its hair will be strong." As I said this for half an hour, I was impassioned and angry. When I talked about the sad part, I choked up and sighed, and burst into tears. Rain. Empress Dowager Li was affected by this emotion, and praised in her heart: "This old monk is usually kind-hearted, cautious in his words and deeds, but he is still a bloody old man. "Suddenly, she respected him more and more. She also heard a little about Emperor Jiajing's dislike of Buddhism in the palace, but she was only born in the 24th year of Jiajing, so she didn't know much. Since entering the palace, whether it is the emperor or the old eunuch , They all kept taboo about the late emperor, and many things were unknown. While Yiru was wiping away tears to stabilize her mood, she asked Feng Bao: "Eunuch Feng, as the master just said, is it true. "Feng Bao nodded, and replied: "Everything is true. When Jiajing destroyed the Dashan Buddhist Temple in the 14th year and burned the Buddha bone, the servant had already been in the palace for six years. You can see all these things with your own eyes. "

Empress Dowager Li stared at Feng Bao, her face was as cold as ice.Feng Bao couldn't help feeling apprehensive, and sat there with his hands on his knees, staring stupidly at the Buddhist beads that Ru was twisting in his hands, regretting that he answered too quickly.In fact, Empress Dowager Li's face was not for him to see, she was sinking into the sad past: in terms of seniority, Emperor Jiajing was her father-in-law.However, since she entered Prince Yu's mansion and even gave birth to the grandson of the old emperor, her father-in-law did not see her as a daughter-in-law.He listened to the alchemist's demonic words, saying that "if the two dragons don't meet, your Majesty's life will be damaged if they see each other", so he never set up a prince during his lifetime, and King Yu actually became the only son of Emperor Jiajing later.Some ministers spoke for King Yu, and Shangshu asked the prince to be established.This angered Emperor Jiajing, who cut off the imperial staff of the Minister of Shangshu, and issued an order to the outer court, that anyone who dared to speak up and establish a prince in the future would be executed without pardon.It doesn't matter if there is no crown prince, but in the eight years before his death, he never called King Yu to meet him, let alone her daughter-in-law.Story: A prince who has a son must be named by the old emperor.But the emperor's grandson has no name until he is three years old.King Yu asked for gifts many times, but there was no follow-up.Until her death, Shimiao did not name the emperor's grandson after all...  Every time she thinks of these past events, Empress Dowager Li feels a dull pain in her heart.In all fairness, she has no respect or love for the old Jiajing emperor but only hatred.But because of her special status, she can only bury this hatred in her heart if she wants to make the royal family harmonious and her mother respect the world.But hiding it doesn't mean it's disintegrating. This kind of hatred is still in my heart.She has never been able to find a way to vent her anger, so when there is no one in the quiet night, she often fills her chest with unreasonable anger.Today, Yiru dared to risk the displeasure of the world and openly vented his dissatisfaction with Emperor Jiajing's slander and destruction of Buddha.In the bottom of her heart, that little bit of true feelings suddenly exploded and swelled... But even though her heart was burning with excitement, she still did not forget to restrain and cover up.Sometimes, she took the opportunity of drinking tea to suppress her anger, took out a yellow silk embroidered handkerchief and gently wiped her cheeks, and then yelled majestically: "Eunuch Feng."

"The servant is here." Feng Bao got up quickly.  Empress Dowager Li put down her teacup forcefully, and asked sternly: "Slandering the late emperor, according to the law of the Ming Dynasty, what should be the crime?""This..." Feng Bao looked at Empress Dowager Li and then at Yiru, not knowing how to answer.It's like vomiting out all the lumps in my heart, it's a relief.The queen mother's reaction was as early as he expected, so she replied calmly: "Slandering the late emperor can be punished with the death penalty, but what the old monk just said about the actions of Emperor Jiajing, there is not a single word of it that is slanderous, let alone One sentence is a slander."  Empress Dowager Li smiled coldly, and reprimanded: "The monk speaks nonsense, let's ask you, which one is greater, the emperor of the court and the Tathagata of the West?" He would ask such a tricky question, but fortunately he has deep roots of wisdom, penetrating Dharma, and immediately replied without thinking: "This is hard to compare. One is the King of Human Beings, and the other is the King of Dharma. When human beings and laws confront each other, the way of heaven will inevitably be blocked, and disasters will arise." Frequently. Humans and laws are in harmony, the heaven and the earth will be clear, and all things will be clear. People can deceive the law, but the law does not deceive others. If a person breaks the law, he will be punished."  "Well, this sounds quite reasonable." 

 "It's just unreasonable, the queen mother can't deal with the old man today." "Why?" "Because the old monk has something to say first, please get the queen mother's order, and the one who forgives the sentence is not guilty." The queen mother Li was originally acting, seeing what Yiru said, she smiled slightly and said: "The old monk is worthy of being a person who has attained the Tao. , very scheming."  "If the Queen Mother is willing to accept advice humbly, I still have a piece of advice."  "Talk."

 "There are rumors inside and outside the court that the Empress Dowager is the reincarnation of Guanyin. This is not a lie. The Queen Mother is entrusted with a great mission from heaven. I hope that I can rectify the legacy of the temple and form Buddhist ties, so that I can be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and regain the atmosphere of Mahayana." “How to form a Buddhist relationship?”  "Restore and rebuild the temples destroyed by the world temples." The Empress Dowager Li frowned and thought about it for a while, and said: "This matter needs to be discussed in the long term." As she spoke, she stood up and was about to return to the palace. "

  "Ah, please!" Empress Dowager Li immediately took off her clothes.Just like the master resigned in due course.After a while, I saw a thin old man about sixty years old in light silk python clothes rushing in.When he caught a glimpse of Empress Dowager Li, he was immediately agitated and embarrassed. This was Empress Dowager Li's father Wu Qingbo Li Wei.According to national etiquette, he should kneel down to Empress Dowager Li, and according to family etiquette, Empress Dowager Li should kneel down to him. This is exactly Li Wei's embarrassment.Empress Dowager Li probably saw her father's embarrassment, she took the initiative to stand up and gave her father a blessing, helped her father to sit on a rattan chair, and said: "Father, this is not a palace, and there are no outsiders. You There is no need to be formal."  "Okay, okay, let's listen to my daughter." Li Wei replied hastily.  "Father, why are you here?" Queen Mother Li asked. "I heard that you came to Zhaoning Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, so we came here specially to meet you. To help us kowtow a few times in front of the Bodhisattva and burn a furnace of incense." Li Wei replied, then looked around and saw that the guest room was full of beautiful things. , Every piece is very elegant, and I can't help but say enviously, "The layout of the monks is so luxurious. Compared with this place, our Wuqing Bo's mansion is much poorer."Feng Bao listened with a smile, Said: "If Mrs. Li finds these furniture to be good, I will move them out later." Li Wei squinted at Feng Bao, showing his yellow teeth when he grinned, and said familiarly, " Your father-in-law Feng always likes to make fun of us, these things are not yours, you are so generous."  "It's not mine, and it's not from the temple," Feng Bao laid a piece of yellow silk and phoenix embroidered on the coffee table beside him. Lifting it and shaking it, he said, "Look, old man, where is this used?" Li Wei stretched out his head to take a closer look, and smiled casually: "Ah, it turns out that they are all belongings from the big house." "That's right, After Mrs. Li, how can I display the objects in Zhaoning Temple?" Feng Bao said, looking at the expression on the face of Queen Mother Li, "The things that your old master likes are all brought from the palace." "Let's talk, these things look familiar." 

Li Wei spoke with a strong Shanxi accent, and he was born dry. No matter how you look at it, he is not a lucky person.If he took off the python clothes and put on ordinary attire, and walked on the street, he would look like a sorghum flower child, how could he be the first royal family member of the current holy dynasty.With regard to the history of his fortune, everyone in the capital is well-known, and the words are miraculous.When it reached his own ears, he just smiled and never defended himself. Li Wei is a native of Beizhili County. He grew up among farmers and did not know a single character until he was twelve years old. Because his family could not make ends meet, he learned crafts from his father, a mason.From then on, guarding a masonry knife, begging for a living in the pile of bricks and stones.This Li Wei is smart by nature and good at pondering problems.A few years later, his craftsmanship surpassed that of his father, and he became a well-known local mason.As the saying goes, "If you have a lot of money, it's better to take your thin skills with you." With this skill, although Li Wei can't buy land, he can always find a few small money to support his family.He got married at the age of 21, and his wife hadn't conceived for ten years. Although Li Wei didn't say anything, his wife couldn't hold back, and she prayed to God and worshiped Buddha all day long.Thirty miles away, she went to the Guanyin Niangniang Temple almost two or three times a month, and her hard work paid off. In the eleventh year, she finally had news in her stomach.She was pregnant in October and on the first day of childbirth, she dreamed that a five-color auspicious cloud floated into the room, and the merciful and compassionate Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sat on the head of the cloud, bent down and nodded and smiled at her. She was so panicked that she hurriedly bowed down. But when Guanyin Bodhisattva raised his hand, he released a colorful phoenix.The phoenix flew around the house, swayed up and down, and then fell into her arms and disappeared.As soon as the fetal gas moved the next day, she gave birth to a daughter.Li Wei hoped that a son could take over the Jidao.The daughter is a loser, and she didn't want it at first. Now that she was born and his wife had such a good dream, she had no choice but to keep her.Li Wei named his daughter Li Caifeng, in response to the auspicious omen in his wife's dream.This Li Caifeng is smart and can understand people just after learning how to speak.As time goes by, Li Caifeng grows bigger and bigger, no matter in appearance or temperament, she is completely different from other girls in the village.The couple loved her very much. .In a blink of an eye, Li Wei was already in his early forties.The daughter Li Caifeng is also a lucky star. When she was two years old, Li Wei had another baby son, named Li Gao.Although the life of a mason is hard, he does not have to worry about his livelihood, and he has a son and a daughter under his knees, so he enjoys the happiness of his family and has nothing to worry about.But the good times didn't last long. In the spring of that year, the sky suddenly changed. There was a hailstorm in the dark, and the houses of the villagers were smashed by the hailstones.It stands to reason that Li Wei, a mason, will not have to worry about his work, but he is transparent in his heart. The hailstorm smashed the wheat that was showing ears, and the villagers have no food. How can they have spare money to build houses?What's more, his own house was also destroyed. After thinking about it, Li Wei felt overwhelmed. If he was starving to death in the countryside, he might as well go out and wander around. Maybe he could find a way to survive.So he took his family and his mouth to Beijing, where he ate and slept in the open.  When he first arrived in the capital, Li Wei was unaccompanied.All day long, with a brick knife, he went door to door asking if there was any work for a plasterer.The people in the capital thought they were obedient citizens at the feet of the emperor, and they never forgot to take the opportunity to tease and question the local officials who came to Beijing to report on their duties and the businessmen who traveled all over the country. ?So in the first few days, he really suffered a lot.In his own words, "Don't say you are a human, even a dog with a Beijing accent bullies us."The work is also fishing for three days and drying nets for two days.For half a year, most of the days I could only squat on the threshold in front of the rented house, hugging my knees and looking at the earth.At this time, Li Caifeng was already fifteen years old, with beautiful features, and as much water and water as she wanted.It provoked some prodigal children in the neighborhood to spin around his door all day long.Li Wei is worried that something will happen if this continues.One day, he led Li Caifeng to Prince Yu's mansion.He explained his intention to the steward signboard on duty at the gate of Prince Yu's Mansion, and voluntarily sent his daughter here as a maid.Seeing Li Wei's foolish appearance, the steward board pushed him three times to drive him out.At this time, the young Yu Wang came back from wandering in the street, asked why, and looked at Li Caifeng.At this time, Li Caifeng was snuggling tightly behind her father.Take a look at her slender figure, her white and greasy neck and the big shiny black braid tied behind her head.The lustful King Yu's bones softened immediately, and he immediately left her in the Prince Yu's mansion.  From then on, Li Weifeng turned around, and his prosperity and wealth in the second half of his life began through this incident.Before Li Caifeng gave birth to Zhu Yijun for King Yu, King Yu had two sons, but they both died before reaching adulthood.King Yu ascended the throne and became Emperor Muzong. He immediately conferred Li Caifeng, who already had the title of Duren, as the noble concubine, and then made Zhu Yijun the prince.As the father-in-law of Emperor Mu Zong, Li Wei was granted the title of Uncle Wu Qing in the first year of Longqing.In less than ten years, he changed from a calloused plasterer to a famous dignitary.Moved into the mansion bestowed by the emperor to live in, and lived a life of aristocrats with rich clothes, fine food, and hordes of servants.At the beginning, Li Wei was really not used to it. After all, he is a laborer, and his hands would itch if he didn't stack bricks every day.But after a long time, he also adapted to the status of the old head of state.Know what to say on what occasion, and what kind of music to put on when you meet someone.Those who knew his details said that this royal family had changed.But there is also one thing that has not changed, that is, love money like life, and never forget the old saying "Don't forget the poor when you are rich", and live very stingy.Ever since Concubine Li Gui became favored in the palace, Li Wei, the old head of the country, would run into the palace every few days and change ways to ask for rewards whenever he got the chance.Although Concubine Li Gui is filial and fraternal, she still finds it difficult to resist the demandingness of her old father, so she often avoids seeing her.Since the death of Emperor Longqing, father and daughter have not met in private for almost two months.Today, my father came to Zhaoning Temple to meet her. Even though Empress Dowager Li knew that her father's characteristic was to go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, she was still happy. This was because she had been promoted to Empress Dowager now, and she felt different from before.  Empress Dowager Li originally planned to go back to the palace as soon as she finished the ceremony, but now she could not say that she wanted to leave in front of her father, so she temporarily decided to have a fast meal in the temple.Fortunately, Feng Bao had made arrangements in advance, so that the burner in the imperial dining room would bring food with the chariot.In a short time, ten or twenty exquisite vegetarian dishes were prepared.The father and daughter talked while having meals in a incense storage room specially prepared for the great benefactor next to the living room.Empress Dowager Li has been in the palace for many years, she has learned to be reserved, she eats food slowly and doesn't talk much.It's just that Li Wei has been nagging and chattering, talking about family affairs, it's all old talk.He originally wanted to reconnect with his father and daughter by reminiscing about the old days, but Empress Dowager Li thought her father was nagging and just bowed her head to eat, and as soon as she put down the bowls and chopsticks, she immediately returned to the living room to drink tea.Although he has the status of father and daughter, the daughter is the queen mother after all, so Li Wei couldn't take it easy, picked up a few bowls of rice, and returned to the living room.  "Dad, do you have anything else to say?" Queen Mother Li asked. 

 Li Wei came to find his daughter today, and he did have a serious business.But it said that last night, about four or five high-ranking officials from Beijing visited his home, and the leader was Wang Xilie, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites.These people collected a thousand taels of silver and gave it to him. Seeing that the money was open, the old man immediately warmed up with these officials.During the conversation, Wang Xilie brought the topic to the salary of Pepper Sumu, and he said: "Master Wu Qing, your grandson ascended the pole and became the Lord of Long Live, and your daughter has now been promoted to the Empress Dowager. As usual, such a big happy event, Rewards should be given to civil and military officials, but now, not only have we not received a centimeter of reward silver, but even the monthly salary silver that we should have received has become pepper sumac. Those who are sensible know that this is from the new chief assistant My idea, people who don’t know, think it’s the emperor’s lack of kindness.” Hearing this, Li Wei was furious, because he, the old head of the country, also received a salary of pepper and sumac this month.Immediately, he slapped his thigh, and said with a big bag: "You don't have to complain, even what we got is pepper sumac. You see, it's not evil. Tomorrow, let's go find a girl." This is the reason why Li Wei came to Zhaoning Temple today. Now that his daughter took the initiative to ask questions, he knew that the opportunity had come.  "Let's just wait for my daughter's words," Li Wei drank the tea soup brought by the little fireman in one gulp, wiped his mouth and said, "You have been promoted to the empress dowager, and the whole capital is full of joy, but we At home, even though a large row of red lanterns was hung at the door, it caused a lot of noise all day long.”“What is this for?”

Li Wei sighed, and said with a mournful face: "It's not your brother who doesn't live up to expectations, who keeps fighting with me all the time."At the same time Li Wei was granted the title of Uncle Wu Qing, Li Gao was also granted the title of Thousand Households of Jinyiwei.From then on, she took the imperial salary to pamper her and not to do anything, and even made troubles with a gang of villains in the capital. Empress Dowager Li was very dissatisfied with this younger brother, and she repeatedly blamed her. Now hearing what her father said, she couldn't help but frowned, and asked: "Why is he crazy?" "What's crazy?" Li Wei sighed again and again, and said, "Your brother said, 'My sister is the queen mother now, but you are the father and we are the younger brothers. , not only did not get a little bit of light, but even the monthly salary was lost.'”“Why, your monthly salary is gone?” Queen Mother Li was shocked. "Yes," Li Wei said angrily, "The patriarchal family sent us a lot of useless pepper sumac." For business?" But on the surface, she kept annoyed and said nothing. Li Wei continued: "Yesterday, I cleaned up the garden at the back of the house, and shoveled out all the flowers, precious or not.""What is this for? "Queen Li asked. 

"Shovel out the vegetables. Now, we are the number one royal relatives in the world, and we don't even have money to buy vegetables."The Empress Dowager Li knew from the bottom of her heart that no matter how poor her father was, she would not be able to do this kind of work. However, she believed that her father's words were not child's play, the old man would do any kind of prank for money.She let out a long sigh, and said to Feng Bao, who had been sitting beside him all the time: "Eunuch Feng, after you go back, take a hundred taels from our private house and send it to Uncle Wu Qing." "The servant obeyed. "

Feng Bao bowed to answer, just after he finished these four words, Li Wei said again: "Girl, don't get me wrong, your father is not here to ask for small money, what we want is justice." "You Why are you asking for justice?" The Empress Dowager Li suddenly became irritable, and her tone of questioning became stiff.Li Wei didn't look at his face at this time, and said to himself: "Long live our ascension to the throne, my daughter, you are promoted to the empress dowager. They all turned into pepper sumac, do you know how to pass it on?""How to pass it on?" "Say you are unkind."  "What does this have to do with us!" Empress Dowager Li immediately felt uncomfortable as soon as the words came out, and said, "Taicang is running out of silver, so what can I do? Besides, pepper sumac is a good commodity, and it is easy to cash in."  "Who said that?" Li Wei said angrily: "Qiaohuo, hum, tens of thousands of catties were suddenly released from the storage warehouse, and now it's all over the street, and it's cheaper than radish and cabbage."  "Ah?" Empress Dowager Li habitually bit her lips and began to meditate. Li Wei knew that she was moved by the words, so he added fuel and vinegar and said: “Take a step back, even if Taicang’s silver is exhausted, the monthly salary of Beijing officials will be given to Pepper Sumu , we royal relatives, we have to take care of them, you can’t watch me, who is over 60 years old, go to the street with a bag to sell sumac pepper..."  When Li Wei was nagging , Another servant came in. Empress Dowager Li interrupted her father and asked the servant: "What's the matter?" "There are two more people asking to see you outside?" "Who?"  "British Duke Zhang Rong and Prince Consort Xu Congcheng." These two men are relatives of nobles in the court.Upon hearing that they were coming, Empress Dowager Li's scalp went numb, and she asked: "Why are they all here?"  "I don't know the little one." "Eunuch Feng, go and ask them what's the matter?" Feng Bao went out for a while, and came back to report: "Queen Mother, the two of them asked to see each other, and it was also a matter of paying their salaries for pepper and sumac." Cen Cen, she didn't want to see these two people at first, but she couldn't see them, so she raised her hands slightly and said, "Let them in."