The establishment of monk officials did not cause much disturbance in the court.

There are many monks in Dingxi Kingdom.

There are also a few native, Western, Xianbei, Lu Shuihu and other barbarian monks, and their ethnic origins are complex.

Not only that, these monks are also uneven in their level of personal cultivation of Buddhism.

There are those who are knowledgeable and well-versed in Confucianism and Taoism, who have evolved to the point where they can skillfully use Buddhist scriptures and theories, and compare with Confucianism and Taoism, especially Taoism. They are in the family of nobles with the right surname, and they can enhance the status of Buddhism through clear discussions with scholar-bureaucrats.

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There are also those who claim to have "supernatural powers" and still use the methods common when Buddhism first entered the Central Plains, using "illusion magic" in the Western Regions to dazzle the people and scholars in order to boost their reputation and recruit followers.

There are those who are devoted to the Buddha and do not ask about current affairs; there are also those who deceive believers and act arrogantly.

A mixed bag.

Sooner or later, we need to build an organization like Jiangzuo and manage it systematically.

This monk official is nothing more than a matter of how many days should he be appointed early and how many days later should he be appointed.

Only when it comes to the selection of monk officials, the courtiers have somewhat different voices.

Some people recommended an eminent monk from the Western Regions, the one from whom Dao Zhi sought to receive the Bodhisattva ordination, to take up this post; some people recommended another local indigenous monk.

Zuo knew that Huang Rong was a close confidant of Xin You and did not listen to them. In the end, he accepted Huang Rong's recommendation and gave the post to Daozhi.

Under Xin'er's design, monk officials were in charge not only of monks, but also of monasteries in Dingxi.

At the administrative level, it is divided into two levels: the central government and the county.

In addition to the chief officials, the central government has two people each, namely, Shanshi, left and right, lecturers and translators, who are responsible for the translation and lecture of Buddhist classics. The counties have Du Gang, deputy gang, etc., who are responsible for supervising the temples within their jurisdiction.

Whether the monks abide by the precepts. However, the monks' precepts are still very simple and unformed. Xin You plans to improve this aspect for the monks after the Buddhist scriptures about the precepts are translated.

Officials at the central and county levels can either be recommended by Daozhi or appointed by court officials.

Xin'er has only one principle: Dingxi monks are managed by Dingxi, and all backup candidates must be local indigenous monks in Dingxi, and they must also be willing to worship the emperor.

To be honest, although Xin'er has no religious beliefs, there are two things he doesn't like about Buddhism nowadays. One is that it wastes people's money, and the other is that he refuses to worship the emperor. If it is left to future generations, he will not worship him.

It doesn’t matter, but what kind of society is it now? It can be said to be a royal society, or it can be said to be a “secular society” characterized by the supremacy of royal power.

In a secular society, monks are also members of the secular world. Xin You cannot tolerate the existence of a certain religion as if it has privileges beyond the secular world. Therefore, when it comes to the selection of monks and officials, he must

This is the principle.

Fortunately, this is Dingxi, not Jiangzuo.

On the Jiangzuo side, there have been two major discussions at the court level on whether monks should worship the emperor. The pure Confucianism faction that respects the king and restrains the Buddha was defeated by the opposite party both times. Of course, it failed twice.

It’s not that the monks in Jiangzuo are very eloquent. In secular society, no matter how prosperous the religion is, it must rely on power. The failure of the pure Confucianists is not so much that they were defeated by the monks, but more importantly, they were defeated by the monks.

Those right-wing clansmen who do not like to see the expansion of imperial power and therefore support the idea of ​​"not worshiping the emperor".

After all, there were not as many Buddhist nobles in Dingxi as there were in Jiangzuo, and the royal authority in Dingxi was, after all, more powerful than in Jiangzuo.

Therefore, Xin'er's principle was successfully adopted.

But another incident caused a certain amount of noise.

This is the ultimatum.

Nowadays, although monks already enjoy some privileges in terms of economy and taxation, they do not yet need to issue a certificate from the state in the process of becoming a monk. In other words, the monks of the common people are still outside the jurisdiction of the "King's Law". Scholars , common people, if they want to become a monk, they can become a monk.

This situation has resulted in the state being unable to effectively control the "number of domestic monks", and it is also unable to impose strict restrictions on the "unwanted expansion" of Buddhist power from a legal level.

Drawing lessons from the "Four Hundred and Eighty Temples in the Southern Dynasties" that later generations heard about, and taking this opportunity, Xin You called Huang Rong to apply to the DPRK to discuss the creation of an ultimatum system.

It is expressly stipulated that only monks with ultimatums are eligible to enjoy various privileges.

In order to alleviate some of the resistance that may be encountered when implementing this system, monks who have already become monks will not make any distinctions for the time being and will all provide ultimatums.

But from the day this order is promulgated, if there are any scholars or people who want to become a monk, they cannot just find a temple, worship a master, and have a few monks witness them, just go through the Buddhist monkhood process, as before. To become a monk, you must first obtain approval from the court. If you do not report to the court, or do not get approval, or do not receive an ultimatum, you are a wild monk who is not recognized by the country. You will not be exempted from taxes and labor. If you abandon your home and run away, you will be punished. Parents, wives; if a temple dares to take him in, he will be punished with the same crime.

The issuance and filing of annual ultimatums are all the responsibility of the monks, and the number of annual ultimatums to be issued is decided by the pastoral office.

In other words, from now on, the court will have the final say on how many people in the country can become monks every year.

Although concessions have been made and ultimatums can be given to all monks who have become monks, some people are still quite opposed to this.

Think of the monks who claim to be outsiders, who think they are not the same as the common people. They keep their status reserved, and most of them do not worship noble people, even the emperor. Not to mention the rights of believers to become monks, that is, their freedom to expand the power of their religion. Can you tolerate being co-opted by the imperial court? After hearing the news, many monks in the royal capital came out to protest. Some of the ministers who believed in Buddhism in the court accepted the monks' instigation and wrote letters to remonstrate.

But it's no use.

Zuo summoned Xin You for this purpose, told him the opinions of his ministers and monks, and asked him whether the system of paying ultimatums should still be implemented?

Xin'er replied: "'On the shore of the land, could it be the king's ministers?' The monks became monks and called themselves Fangwai. However, their food, clothing, and daily necessities, what things are not taken from the world? Since they are taken from the world, they are the people of the world, so what? Are there earthly people who disobey the imperial government? Although they are monks, they are also ministers of the king! Subjects have civil status, and ministers and monks should also have monk status! "Fang Wai" said, if you resist the ultimatum, I think it is true that you are disloyal. heart of!

""If anyone makes such remarks again, I dare to ask the palace to punish him!

"But if you eat the wind and drink the dew, don't eat the fireworks of the world, don't use the clothes of the world, and transcend the world, you don't need to give an ultimatum."

Zuo believed in Buddhism very much. Although he heard Xin'er's words, he was still uneasy and said: "However, the eminent monks in the capital are quite opposed to this system. General, if this arouses the anger of the Buddha, he will surrender." If you are guilty, what should you do?"

Xin Er thought to herself: "She is worried about Linghu Le." He replied, "Queen Mother, I advocate this system just for the sake of the country and the king!"

"oh?"

"The gradual rise of Buddhism has only happened in the past few decades. In just a few decades, the number of monks and nuns who have become monks and nuns in our Dingxi country has reached thousands or tens of thousands. Our Dingxi country is small and its population is not large.

If we do not control this and continue to allow the people to become monks at will, given time, I dare to ask the Queen Mother, are there still people under the king's rule?

"Furthermore, Buddhist monks do not perform hard labor, do not pay taxes, sit back and accept the offerings of believers, and eat the anointing of the country and the people. They are wasted. However, this generation is not enough. They often organize 'township meetings' and repeatedly squeeze money from believing men and women.

They spend a lot of time and money to build temples and courtyards, dig mountains and caves, and carry out Buddhist services; they also fulfill their own selfish desires, and they spend a lot of time and money! In today's troubled times, the people are already living a difficult life, and the Buddha's clouds save all living beings, but they don't pity the people's hardships!

I dare to ask the Queen Mother, if the people are exhausted, will there still be money in the imperial treasury over time?

"Without people and money, I dare to ask the Queen Mother, can the country still stand on its own, and can the king still stand on his own?"

Although Zuo respected Buddhism, her favorite was Linghu Le. After hearing what Xin You said, she took it for granted. She immediately made up her mind and decided to do what Xin You suggested, saying: "General, you can tell me

Yes!" Miao eyes lingered, looking at Xin You's loyal face and heroic posture, and said softly, "General, your Majesty is young and I have little knowledge. All important affairs of the country depend on you!"

"The Queen Mother is wise and wise. Although the king is young, he already has the qualities of a wise master. I will devote my whole life to the Queen Mother and will die for the Queen Mother!"

Zuo was moved in her heart. She didn't know why, but she was also a little happy. Her voice became gentler and she said, "I like the honey fragrance you sent to the palace last time. There is no other gift in return. These green onions and leeks have just grown. You

Take it home and give Xiaoxiao a taste."

After Zhu Ye Ze, Zuo didn't see Liu Le again. He asked Xin You a few more questions and asked Liu Le to come to the palace to see him another day.

Xin'er accepted the promise and thought to herself: "Xiaoxiao is only my maid in name. The palace does not regard her status as lowly, but still remembers the old feelings and calls her into the palace. This shows that the palace is kind by nature." Kind people will always be kind.

Arousing others' sense of justice, he thought, "No matter how unpredictable the situation in the court is and how many enemies there are, no matter what, I will do my best to keep the palace and Linghu Le safe!"

As early as the early Qin Dynasty, the technology of "greenhouse cultivation" existed. During the reign of the First Emperor, he planted melons in the Lishan Hot Spring in winter. Later, the emperor of the Qin Dynasty planted vegetables in the greenhouse of the royal vegetable garden in the capital.

It is used by the royal family for daily use. Dingxi Kingdom also has a similar greenhouse. Specifically, it is in an airtight room with a fire burning day and night to generate warmth in the room so that vegetables can be planted and grown.

The eunuch brought the onions, leeks and other vegetables prepared in advance to Xin You.

Xin'er paid his respects to Zuo and returned home with vegetables.

He also built a greenhouse in his home. These vegetables are not rare, but given by Zuo, they taste different.

No need to say more.

It is only said that after some twists and turns, the establishment of monk officials and ultimatums was officially approved by the central government.

While choosing a place to build an official temple for monks, preparing for the candidates for monks and officials, and improving the system of paying ultimatums, at the next court meeting, Xin You put forward Huang Rong's suggestion about "acquiring Xianbei loyalists and Hu Shixin".

This proposal was related to "acquisition of Xianbei's loyal followers", so Xin You did not let anyone else do it for him, but went to the battle in person and submitted the petition.

The content is: requesting the imperial court to issue an iron certificate and Xianbei's obedience, and making a two-chapter agreement with it.
Chapter completed!