Xiao Zixiu was indeed quite clever; he came up with a strategy for the Third Prince to "hide soldiers and Buddhas."
Buddhism was prevalent during this era.
For example, the Southern Dynasties, which have already fallen, highly revered Buddhism.
At its worst, even the emperor was clamoring to become a monk, and his court officials had to pay a large sum of money to buy him back.
Although the North was not as wild as the South, it still had many temples and monks.
Empress Dowager, Empress, and other women in the harem, whether devout or not, would build a small Buddhist shrine, make a string of prayer beads, and burn incense every now and then.
Following the example set by their superiors, the wives and children of officials also enjoyed worshipping and praying to Buddha.
There are more than a dozen temples of varying sizes in the Gyeonggi region alone.
The largest temple had hundreds of monks and nuns.
These people do not engage in production, pay taxes, or perform corvée labor.
It happens to occupy a huge amount of land.
Jia Yi couldn't stand it and scolded these "monks" as parasites.
He proposed a policy of suppressing Buddhism.
In fact, this is in line with the ruling interests of a sage, and it is also a good thing for the country and the people.
However, Jia Yi always had an old problem—he was too extreme and too eager.
As the ancients said, "Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish."
Jia Yi, on the other hand, prefers to act decisively and energetically.
Good policies can easily lead to bad outcomes despite good intentions.
This was true of land surveying and investigation of hidden households, and even more so of the suppression of Buddhism.
The former harms the interests of powerful families and nobles, while the latter is condemned even by ordinary people.
The common people just wanted to worship Buddha and seek some spiritual solace, but Jia Yi wouldn't allow it. That's going too far!
The public is absolutely outraged.
The sage was speechless and choked with emotion once again.
His current focus is on powerful families.
Instead of acting like that mad dog Jia Yi, indiscriminately attacking everyone.
Fearing that this would create unforeseen complications and ruin his grand plan, the sage could only refute Jia Yi's proposal to "suppress Buddhism."
Therefore, temples were still everywhere in the capital region and throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, and tens of thousands of people hid in them.
Xiao Zixiu then realized that there was room for manipulation—
“We arranged for the retainers to stay in temples; they were ‘monks,’ not soldiers.”
Each temple can hide two or three hundred people, and a dozen or so temples can hide three to five thousand people.
Three thousand soldiers are nothing on the battlefields of the Northwest and Liaodong.
However, in the capital city, a palace coup could already be launched.
Of course, the Third Prince wouldn't stage a coup.
His mother was a favored concubine, he was the emperor's beloved son, and with the emperor as his backer, he only needed to be obedient and wait for the emperor to pass the throne to him.
He secretly raises a private army, but only as a precaution.
One should not have the intention to harm others, but one should not be without the intention to guard against others.
For example, in the capital city right now, the Fifth Prince is restless and the Second Prince is eyeing the city covetously.
The eight noble families are secretly mobilizing their troops, and a bloody storm is about to break out.
The third prince must have sufficient military strength to protect himself.
Otherwise, if the Second Prince or the Fifth Prince really makes a move, before they enter the palace, they will first send troops to the Third Prince's Yan Prince's residence to kill him. The Third Prince will then have no choice but to wait for his death.
Three thousand "warrior monks" were enough to protect the Prince of Yan's mansion amidst the turmoil.
“Mother, chaos is imminent in the capital. Please go back and tell Zixiu to have the people in the temple find a way to enter the city.”
Facing her mother, Consort Xiao lost the gentle and demure demeanor she displayed before the emperor; her face was cold and stern, and her eyes gleamed with ambition.
Actually, if you look closely, her aloof and indifferent demeanor is very similar to Helian Jue's.
Consort Xiao was even more shrewd and experienced than Helian Jue.
"yes!"
Although Xiao's mother was a mother, there was a distinction between ruler and subject, and she was still very respectful in front of Consort Xiao.
Furthermore, Consort Xiao was abducted more than 20 years ago, and the mother and daughter have been separated for so many years that they do not have a deep affection for each other.
The only thing that can hold both sides together is tangible interests.
Consort Xiao was a favored concubine, and her son was the emperor's chosen successor.
As a minor clan in the Southern Dynasty, the Xiao family needed to rely on Consort Xiao and her son to become a top-tier aristocratic family!
Therefore, the entire Xiao family obeyed Xiao Zhaoyi's orders without question.
...
While the Third Prince's Prince Yan's residence was gathering "martial monks," the Fifth Prince was not idle either.
His own maternal family was not prominent, but he managed to get close to Princess Yongchang.
Princess Yongchang's residence had 1,500 personal guards, making it the highest-ranking residence for a princess.
In addition, Yongchang secretly kept many henchmen and assassins.
This group alone numbers three or four hundred.
In addition, Yongchang also followed the example of Empress Lü of the Western Han Dynasty and kept many women who served as his protectors.
These women were all burly and strong, possessing immense power.
Each person had a washing mallet, and if they swarmed forward, just seven or eight people could beat a skilled general to death.
Back then, Yongchang's third son-in-law was a scoundrel who secretly kept a mistress behind Yongchang's back.
Without saying a word, Yongchang led a group of women from the mountain village to attack.
In other words, Yongchang didn't intend to kill them; otherwise, that slut and his mistress would have been beaten to death.
And Jia Yi from last time also got a good beating from the woman who relied on the mountain.
He couldn't get out of bed for the entire New Year.
The extent of his misery was so tragic that it made his enemies rejoice and applaud!
It can be said that Yongchang had no intention of rebelling; otherwise, with the military power she possessed, she would have been able to stir up trouble in the capital.
“That’s in the past! I used to think Ah Gui was still my good brother, but look, he’s already become a ‘saint’.”
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