And these are not isolated cases. The actual number of the so-called "four hundred and eighty temples" must be more, not less.
Mi Jing was not the abbot, and he did not have any assets in his name. He had no disciples and no house. He lived and ate in the palace. The only things that could be considered personal property were the gifts from the king and queen, which he had given to Xiao Rong long ago and asked him to deal with them.
But the most valuable thing about Mi Jing has never been those external things, but himself.
As long as he opens his mouth, countless people will rush to give him money. If he refuses, the other party will be depressed for three years.
…
People all over the world treat Buddhists with respect, but there is someone here who treats Buddhists as ATMs.
...But the Buddhist just accepted it. He found some time to go to the largest temple in the city and sat for a while with the abbot who was in his sixties or seventies. He explained the plight of Buddhism and the people at that time. This move could not only save the world, but also take back some of the limelight that was taken away by Taoism.
Mi Jing spoke slowly and the skinny old man opposite was like his student, nodding as he listened. After sending Mi Jing away, the old man immediately waved his arm and said, "Kids, go and invite the abbots of other temples to me!"
The Buddha has given new instructions again, we must follow them quickly!
*
Xiao Rong asked the Taoists to calculate the Feng Shui of the site in order to start building the imperial palace next year.
Xiao Rong himself did not believe in Feng Shui, but everyone at this moment did. One cannot twist a woman's arm against a woman's thigh. Moreover, Xiao Rong did not want to argue with them over such a small matter. As long as it was not a particularly outrageous place, the palace could be built anywhere.
At that time, people advocated the spirit of comparison, and showing off wealth became a trend. The common people showed off, the rich and powerful also showed off, and even the royal family was not immune.
Every new emperor who overthrew the previous court would build a palace larger than the previous one. The most outrageous thing was that the Yong Dynasty fled south for their lives, but the palace of Nan Yong in Jinling was larger and more luxurious than the one in Chang'an.
Xiao Rong could never understand what was going on in Emperor Guangjia's brain. You built such a big palace, and people don't think you are ashamed? It's even more embarrassing, okay? I really don't want to admit that you are also a primate!
…
However, Emperor Guangjia himself should not have felt ashamed, because before he started to escape, the exploration officials had already set out. When he started to flee, the construction of Nanjing had just begun, which took two years, several mountains were cut down, and countless laborers were exhausted. In the end, Emperor Guangjia only lived there for about half a year, and then he passed away.
Oh yes, because the imperial palace was delayed in construction, Emperor Guangjia had a smaller palace built in advance. As the current emperor was too young, the palace had been empty and no one lived in it. It also needed someone to take care of it every day. Xiao Rong felt very sad when he thought of these two places consuming Nanyong's wealth like a money-eating beast.
What they spent was not Nanyong’s money, but the money of the future Zhenbei Army!
…………
Sun Renluan didn't know that Xiao Rong had already begun to feel sorry for their assets. He had hardly any free time these days and could only sleep for two or three hours a day. His spirits were still good, but his clothes were getting looser day by day.
He tried hard to extend the lifeline for Nan Yong, and even his mortal enemy stopped bothering him. However, not everyone is so smart, and there are always people who cannot see the current situation clearly.
Sun Renluan ordered his men to purchase grain and fodder, and piled them all up in Jinling City. Now the grain price in Jinling had skyrocketed, and it had even affected the area north of the Huai River. However, under the thunderous tactics of the Zhenbei Army, they strictly controlled the whereabouts of the grain and fodder, and did not allow the price to rise north of the Huai River.
Once someone is found to be defying the law or secretly selling grain at a high price, there will be no such thing as leniency. Even if they only sell one kilogram at a high price, they will be executed on the spot.
After dealing with a group of daring and reckless people, the unrest north of the Huai River was quickly suppressed. Ironically, a branch family of aristocratic family wanted to sell grain and grass to Jinling. After being caught, they still hoped that someone from their own family would come to rescue them. The person who handled this matter was Song Suo. He pretended to want to let these people go, but then sighed and said that due to his identity as Chenliu Yin, he could not let them go directly.
So he wrote a letter for these people and sent it to Nanyong. No one knew what that relative was thinking, but they actually sent someone over. And the person was of a high status, being the eldest son of the direct lineage. People of Song Suo's status were very important in the family.
In front of this direct descendant, Song Shuo killed all the side branches from the oldest to the youngest with a knife, which scared him to the point of going crazy. Then he told him to write a letter and ask the family to redeem him with food and grass. In the face of the war, your family members dared to disobey the order of the King of Zhenbei. After being caught, they did not repent and committed suicide, but even wanted to use the family to suppress them. Where is the law? Where is the majesty of the King of Zhenbei? You have the same surname, but you are not a good person either!
…
At this time, we were only dealing with this family's affairs. Two days later, the nature of the matter changed. The noble family stood on the side of the court. Even if they were side branches and were located north of the Huai River, they were all thinking about sending food and grass to Jinling. It was so abominable. They were simply ungrateful ungrateful people! Kill them, kill anyone who dared to do this! Drive them out, drive out all the people related to the noble family!
Those sons of aristocratic families came to Chenliu to take on the mission of their families, to leave a way out for their families, or to wait and see for a while to see which side they would join. But now the Zhenbei Army has the same attitude from top to bottom. They think that the aristocratic families are all running dogs of the Yong Dynasty and cannot be trusted, nor do they want to trust them.
After learning about this, the families in Nanyong felt that the Zhenbei Army was forcing them to take sides. Some small families lost their patience and even sent their children to ask for help from the King of Zhenbei. The big families sneered. They knew best the principle that the law cannot hold everyone responsible. Killing a chicken can scare the monkey, but not the whole people. They, the wealthy families, were different from others. When the King of Zhenbei became the new emperor, he would be no different. He would still have to rely on the big families like them to do things, just like other emperors.
Although Xiao Rong didn't hear them say this, his silence already represented their attitude.
Xiao Rong sat in the meeting room, counting the visiting cards and letters sent by others like counting money. After all, the families with confidence were still a minority.
Song Suo sat aside with a pout. He was still unhappy that Xiao Rong suddenly stopped him and failed to kill that good-for-nothing from his family.
After Xiao Rong counted the visiting cards, he looked at Song Suo and shook his head: "I'm really afraid that you will become a cruel official in the future."
Hearing this, Song Suo looked at Xiao Rong in surprise, then he snorted and laughed: "Whether I am a cruel official or not depends on who is judging. I don't think ordinary people will hate me to the core."
Xiao Rong: "The words of ordinary people are not recorded in history books. At the beginning of the establishment of the new dynasty, some thundering means are indeed needed to intimidate the people below, but it does not have to come from your hands. Don't you care about your reputation?"
Song Shuo blinked at Xiao Rong: "I care."
Xiao Rong: "Then..."
Song Suo added, "But I don't think killing a few people will affect my reputation. A few years ago, a sorcerer said that I could live to be forty years old, which means I still have nearly twenty years. After twenty years, the officialdom will have changed a lot. Besides, Xiao Rong is not only an ordinary person whose words are not recorded in history books, but a loser who has fallen from grace is even worse than an ordinary person."
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