However, no matter what, it was not the turn of the only great monk in the temple, Dahui, to go down and dig in person, so the presiding monk watched awkwardly on the shore for a while. He saw Dahui wearing a borrowed cowhide waterproof coat, rolling in the mud in the middle of winter. The cold winter air could not even cover the stench of the mud and water. It was not easy for him to take off his monk robe and go down to help, so he could only cough a few times and then called out seriously:
"Brother! Brother Dahui! Why is it so?"
Monk Dahui looked up and saw that it was the abbot. He immediately stood up from the mud and chanted a jingle from a distance:
“No one cultivates barren fields, but those that do are fought over. When lotus leaves sway without wind, there are definitely fish swimming.”
The presiding monk smiled bitterly on the shore, then looked around and waved his hand to signal the monk who was accompanying him and the novice monk who was originally here to watch over the lotus roots to go out and guard the door. Then he became serious again: "Brother, I have something serious to tell you, but I have always been stupid, so today we should speak human language instead of talking nonsense... Do you think it's okay?"
Monk Dahui also smiled in the winter mud and said: "Junior brother is the abbot, whatever he says is what counts."
The host smiled bitterly again, "Brother, why do you have to be like this? I have always known that you are a powerful person. Your heritage, reputation, and Zen wisdom are ten times better than mine. When you came here, I thought that if the court really fled to the south and created a situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, I would push you, a monk from Tokyo, to be the host so that you can deal with officials... Come ashore, today we will not talk about Zen, but just talk seriously."
Monk Dahui sighed slightly, chanted the Buddha's name, then climbed up the shore carefully, took off his cowhide coat, and put on his outer coat... By the way, one of them was covered in incense, and the other was soaked in mud and had a bit of a rotten smell, but they didn't care, and didn't call for the novice monk outside to bring some hot soup or tea. They just stood side by side on the shore and talked seriously.
"...That's it. Donor Wang and the others said that when the court inspected the land, the officials sent down were extremely vulgar. They were worried that the officials might disturb the people rather than give some benevolent policies and concessions. This is especially true in the south, which is different from the Central Plains. The spring ploughing will start soon after the Chinese New Year. Delaying the spring ploughing will mean delaying the Northern Expedition. So they wanted to write to the court to postpone the matter for a season... What do you think, senior brother?" the presiding monk asked seriously.
"Since my junior brother asked me to speak human language, I would naturally like to ask the abbot first. Since ancient times, no one has known the situation in this place better than us monks. How wealthy are these families? Are they rich?" Monk Dahui asked with a smile.
The host laughed when he heard this, but he said a Buddhist name and then said seriously: "Although they are scholars, they are all local wealthy families. For example, the leader, Mr. Wang, is a legitimate official, but when his father was the governor of Hezhong, his family suddenly became rich. After the Fang La Rebellion, he began to invest heavily in property. Not only did he buy property in Yuhang and Fuyang counties, he also asked several of his relatives to hold land in Muzhou and Huzhou on his behalf. There are also several shops in several cities... I don’t know about other things, but the rent collected from the fields alone is more than a thousand stones this year!"
Monk Dahui nodded repeatedly. Of course, he had expected this. But soon he remembered something and shook his head slightly: "This is not a lot, right? Compared with the Hebei landlords who relied on the conquest of land across states and counties before the Jingkang period, it is still far behind..."
The host sneered and shook his head when he heard this. "That's Hebei, this is the southeast. The population of the southeast is here, there are more people and less land, how can Hebei compare? However, the north and the Central Plains have their own land, and we also have the Flower and Stone Gang. The problem is somewhere else."
"That's true." Dahui sighed slightly, then turned serious. "I already know what you just said, Master Junior Brother. These people are naturally afraid that the tax will be too high after the increase in the number of people and the tax will be paid according to the amount of land, so they are reluctant to resist. It's not that they dislike the officials going to the countryside to work and delay the spring ploughing. There may be some truth in their words, but it won't affect the overall plan."
"That's natural." The host responded calmly. "So what? Brother, just tell me, do you think they can succeed?"
"Difficult!" Dahui gave the answer immediately.
"Please explain in detail, brother."
"Junior brother, this is how I see this matter." Dahui answered earnestly, and indeed he didn't even bother to recite a jingle. "The government has already revealed its true intentions. If these people want to succeed, they must have extensive and proper connections, and the situation must be unified from top to bottom, from left to right. They must work together to create a situation that is too big for the government to control for a while, and then they can work together to find many key figures, and then they can talk to the government and have a fight. But let alone that, I think it will be difficult for them to communicate smoothly."
The abbot was slightly stunned, obviously not understanding.
Since Dahui had agreed to speak human language, there was no need to keep the audience in suspense, so he immediately explained:
"First, make contacts. It is difficult for these people to escape from the prefectures and counties... Take the donor Wang just now for example. His family is in Yuhang, and his family has lived in Yuhang for generations. Of course, he can find people in the local area and can even be a half-leader.
But he still has land in Huzhou. Why would the people of Huzhou want to join him? You must know that according to the theory of never increasing taxes and allocating taxes to each acre, if his land in Huzhou is seized, the local tax amount of Huzhou must be taken from Huzhou. Wouldn't that benefit the people of Huzhou who don't even know him? How much effort does he have to put in to get Huzhou to contact Hangzhou? Is it too late? "
"That's right!" The presiding monk realized immediately. "That's right... Moreover, even if Huzhou has a big landlord like Wang Shizhu, they can't bring them together, because the difference between the two places is not just about the tax amount now, but also about the daily disputes over water sources, land boundaries, and the number of places in the state school, and even the number of places in the public cabinet. If he goes to the next door to make a connection, he will only be held back by his fellow villagers behind him... Even if it's between counties, it won't work... No wonder only the locals of Yuhang came today... What else?"
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