Chapter 564: Prime Minister, Prince and Old Monk
Although Emperor Xinghua wore a cassock and was not close to women, and he meditated and practiced meditation all day long, in fact, this Majesty's emperor's emperor is more addicted than anyone else... As long as he is not a fool, he knows that being an emperor is better than being a monk, so why didn't Emperor Xinghua wear a dragon robe and a cassock? He just hopes to cultivate a golden body that will last for thousands of years and become an emperor for ten thousand years.
Since establishing this belief, Emperor Xinghua no longer cared about government affairs and people's livelihood, and put all his thoughts on practicing Zen. The emperor's plan was good... I will put these "meaningful affairs" aside for the time being, and let Zhao Wujiu and Shangguan Yunhe take charge of it first. When the indestructible golden body is repaired, there is still no time to govern the country, deal with corrupt officials, benefit the people, and unify the country?
'Cultivation is for better and longer-term governance of the country', this is the strong reason for a Zen emperor to forgive himself. Supported by this powerful reason, Emperor Xinghua understood the selfishness of disregarding the national military and political affairs as long-term vision and hard work. He naturally smiled at the people who fell into the water and fire with peace of mind; he looked at the family and country indifferently because of the humiliation.
But he was not useless, at least he was quite sensible. The two civil and military stewards he appointed - Prime Minister Shangguan and Marshal Zhao, were both important weapons for the country. One was a mature planner and the other was invincible. The two of them appreciated each other and appreciated each other. For a time, they matched each other and cooperated perfectly, which made the sick Qi Empire's dead trees come to spring and prolonged their life for decades. It is known in history as "Xinghua Zhongxing".
To be honest, it was Emperor Xinghua who focused on his cultivation and did not care about state affairs that made the "Zhongxing" possible.
Then under the sunshine, there must be shadows. The great achievements of the two national soldiers, especially the Prime Minister Shangguan's control of the court, greatly squeezed out the power space of royal relatives and wealthy families, which will naturally cause these people to rebound. In particular, the old prime minister's implementation of the new policy and cure the trauma, greatly violated the interests of these people.
Speaking of the nobles in the world, they are intriguing all day long, just for power and profit? Prime Minister Shangguan offended them in these two things, and wasn't he anxious about him? He wished he could tear him alive.
Of course, they dare not speak out when everything goes well, but as soon as state affairs encounter difficulties, these people will jump out and push the blame on him, hoping to push him into the abyss that will never be restored.
Therefore, the most unknown people in this world are those who "have a good birth, but this is the only one who has a good birth." His Majesty Xinghua is the one who has the best birth and has also a great success. He always regards the achievements of the two national soldiers as his own achievements, and has been self-proclaimed all day long, and really thinks that he is a god who "plans in the tent and wins thousands of miles away." Although he values ​​the two national soldiers, he has never really regarded them as an indispensable force.
Therefore, when the conflict between the noble relative and the prime minister was inevitable, he did not stand firmly on the right side, but was stirred up dissatisfaction with the prime minister by the noble relatives. The story of the king and his ministers being in harmony for decades finally showed a crack.
But Prime Minister Shangguan did not notice this, and was still like an old dog, loyally guarding his family's world...
Therefore, when the emperor asked the Prime Minister Shangguan to allocate a huge amount of silver from the national treasury to stop the war, he heard the old Prime Minister's clanging voice: "Your Majesty forgives your crimes, and I will never accept the order."
Facing this hot potato, Prime Minister Shangguan would not pick it up, and he had no reason to wipe others' butts.
"Do you dare to resist the order?" Prince Rong immediately jumped and accused: "You are so ruthless, brother, this person is too disregarded by our surname Qi!" He has been resentful to the old prime minister for a long time, and now he is released, so he will naturally not give up.
"Shut up!" The emperor pulled down his face and scolded, "Stay there."
Prince Rong quickly stood aside, but he was not very depressed. He knew that the emperor's brother had a problem, and he would be close to anyone he scolded, and the more polite he was, the more distant he was.
"Prime Minister, do you have any difficulties? You might as well say it." After scolding Prince Rong, the emperor turned to Prime Minister Shangguan and said.
"I dare not resist the order," Shangguan Yunhe sighed softly, "Your Majesty said just now, 'It's a dog that has been in charge for three years,' which is really a deep impression on me. I almost burst into tears." As he said that, he wiped the corners of his clothes with a handkerchief, as if he was really moved, and his voice said in a low voice: "Prince Rong is not in charge of the family, but his Majesty shines high in his hole and is observing his eyes. Naturally, he should know that after a great battle, the national treasury of our Great Qi is no longer in charge, and he can't continue to operate normally. Where did he squeeze out such a large amount of silver?"
"Last month, Dajiang Maritime Bureau escorted the tax bank this year to Beijing," Prince Rong interrupted again: "Just trade with Chu State alone, it is only 5 million taels a year to earn money, how can you say there is no?"
"Yes, there are, but I don't know when this battle will be fought. The military supplies of hundreds of thousands of troops still need to be supplied; millions of refugees will also need to be resettled and subsidized, and these must be taken from the tax bank of the Maritime Bureau." Prime Minister Shangguan said with a bad face: "The money in Curry is useful, and there is no spare money."
"After this contract is completed, there is no need to fight. What should we raise military expenses?" Prince Rong curled his lips and said, "Are you still counting on making money?"
"You mean the truce here, but there is still a countermeasure to Mr. Zhao. It is unknown who will win. How can you admit defeat?" Prime Minister Shangguan was so angry that he trembled and pointed at Prince Rong with a trembling voice, "Your Highness should be so worried. Even if the national treasury is full, I will not pay this money!"
"Why?" Prince Rong refused to avoid giving in.
"I can't afford to lose this person!" Shangguan Yunhe's hair and hair were all wide open, and he roared almost: "The soldiers in front are still fighting to sacrifice their lives, and the army of kings is also coming day and night. As the center, we surrender without fighting. Not only did we bow our knees and pay compensation, we also lost the hearts of millions of soldiers! What is the law of doing this? What is the shame?"
"It's all right." Prince Rong said in his heart, then lowered his eyebrows and looked smoothly, lowering his head, and stopped talking.
As soon as he said that, Shangguan Yunhe knew that he was indignant and said nothing, but he saw that His Majesty the Emperor had turned pale. His right hand holding the Buddhist beads had turned pale due to the force.
Prime Minister Shangguan always regarded Prince Rong and other royal relatives as "country swindlers". That was quite despised. And as the country went on a long time, he had become accustomed to Qiangang's arbitrary behavior, so naturally there were not so many concerns in his words.
But he criticized Prince Rong without any mercy, but he deliberately or unintentionally revealed the emperor's dragon scales... You should know that Prince Rong was ordered to do the trick, and his good or bad behavior was the emperor's intention. Beating a dog depends on the owner. In the emperor's ears, Prime Minister Shangguan called Prince Rong "surrendering and compensation", "being shameless", "devouring all his conscience", what was it not to criticize the mulberry and locust?
Although he was practicing immovable Zen, Emperor Xinghua had not yet truly become a Buddha, and even the Buddha was still resentful to the roar of the Ming King! He just heard Prince Rong say, "The Qin people only know that there is a prime minister in Qi, but not the emperor in Qi." He felt very wrong in his heart. Now he heard Prime Minister Guan's almost open accusations, and obviously no longer treat him as an emperor!
We said that Emperor Xinghua practiced Zen to be an emperor for a longer time, rather than a monk. A fire of ignorance surged, and the emperor was full of only one sentence: "Is the world today belonging to your Shangguan family or our own family?"
Seeing that the emperor's face was not good, Prime Minister Shangguan quickly kowtowed and accused him: "The old minister has made a mistake. Please forgive me."
The emperor's face turned blue and white, and it took him a long time to speak loudly: "As long as the Prime Minister gives up the money, what's the crime?"
"This..." The old prime minister knew that the emperor's patience had reached its extreme, but his belief in being responsible for Qi was quite firm. Shangguan Yunhe had a fierce struggle in his heart, and he was already sweating profusely before he knew it.
The emperor did not urge him, but just slid the rosary in his hand rhythmically, as if counting the prime minister.
After a long time, when the rosary slid past the 108th, the emperor's eyebrows finally stood up, and his voice was cold and harsh, "Can I no longer make the decision?"
Prime Minister Shangguan kowtowed repeatedly and cried, "It's not just me who is the only one who is a memorial, but the national treasury is already used, so I can't take out so much spare money..."
"Then how much can you take?" The emperor said angrily: "When a country is a country, it is all the country, and it is all surrounded. Isn't it your fault? Isn't it your responsibility to rescue the siege and help the king and father?" Let's be honest now... Emperor Xinghua only hopes to be the emperor in a fair manner and cultivate the golden body safely. Compared with this big event, all the sufferings of people's livelihood and national difficulties are negligible small issues...
Therefore, with only a wave of "Eupu" bombings in Qin State, Emperor Xinghua couldn't wait to calm down...
Prime Minister Shangguan sighed sadly, and knew that he could not pass the level of blood. He could not pass it. He had to bow his head and say, "Recognize half of the national treasury."
The emperor's expression was slightly cleared. He also knew that it was not easy for Prime Minister Shangguan. He helped the old prime minister up with tears. He also gave a few symbolic comforts and said, "The state affairs of the world are not the Prime Minister's own business. Just be responsible for three million national treasury. Let's get together with the remaining half."
As he said that, he looked at the eunuch Huang who was standing beside him and asked in a deep voice: "Old Huang, how much surplus is there in the treasury?"
"Reply to Your Majesty," Eunuch Huang whispered: "There are still two million taels, but if the necessary expenses are deducted, there will be less than five hundred thousand taels."
"Well, if the country has something to do, the harem must save some flowers." Emperor Xinghua said in a deep voice: "Take one million taels out, which is my support to the country."
"Your Majesty... Alas, I'll let it go." Eunuch Huang sighed.
After the emperor said this, the old monk and Prince Rong naturally knew what they should do. Huineng clasped his hands together and said, "In order to save our people from war, Your Majesty, he was frugal, treated himself harshly, and paid treasury support to the treasury. This great and merciful act will surely be known to the Buddha and make Your Majesty's path to practice smoother."
"Amitabha..." the emperor praised solemnly.
Then he said hello to the Buddha, Zen Master Huineng said generously: "I am deeply admired and will contribute the 70,000 taels of gold I have earned from shaping the Buddha's golden body." Seventy thousand taels of gold is 700,000 taels of silver, which is an absolute huge sum of money.
"It's better not to..." The emperor was also surprised and said, "This is all dedicated to the Buddha, how can we use it for other purposes?"
"Your Majesty's thoughts." The old monk laughed and said, "My Buddha said, 'Save a life better than building a seven-level pagoda'. Now it can save millions of lives in the capital. How many layers of pagoda should this be? The Buddha must be happy."
"I am a Buddha, merciful." Emperor Xinghua said with great conscience. As he said that, he looked at Prince Rong and waited for him to answer.
"Your brother can't be behind others," Prince Rong said with a deep pain: "Just take out all the cash in my family..."
"How many?" The emperor was not easy to fool.
"Five... Ten thousand taels." Prince Rong said shyly: "My brother has spent a lot of money, and he can only take out so much for a while."
Emperor Xinghua sneered and said lightly: "The matter was proposed by your group, and the number was also decided by you. It is impossible to shirk responsibility." He said word by word: "One million and three hundred thousand taels, a single son cannot be left."
"Brother, please spare me. I can't get a half hundred thousand even if I sell it," Prince Rong kowtowed and said in a silence: "If you don't believe me, you can search the house..."
"Who told you to leave yourself?" The emperor waved his sleeves impatiently and said, "Give you an imperial edict to find the ones that they had proposed at the time, so that they could gather together. If they could not get out, they would search their house!" After that, he closed his eyes and said, "Get back..."
"I'm going to leave..." The old prime minister, the old monk and Prince Rong obediently left the Zen room.
Before he could go far, the angry Prime Minister Shangguan pointed at Prince Rong and cursed: "Coward! Traitor!"
Prince Rong said without giving in: "Da Qi has been stolen by you, the thieves of the country. How can I sell it if I am alone?"
"You are turning black and white!"
"You are so treacherous and loyal!"
The two of them quarreled like cockfighting, until Eunuch Huang issued an order: "Your Majesty has an order, let me get out..." Then they separated in anger and went to prepare for the silver.
"The Lone King goes to each family to raise funds." After separation from Prime Minister Shangguan, Prince Rong assigned tasks to Master Huineng and said: "I'll bother the national master to go to the Qin army camp and sign the peace agreement to Qin Yutian."
"It's so good, let's take action separately." Monk Huineng laughed and said, "Don't let that guy really burn the Rong Prince's Mansion and Huguo Temple."
Prince Rong took the imperial edict and brought the Jinwu Guards, and rushed to the wealthy families in the capital with great momentum. Huineng also brought the ceremonial guards and went to the Qin army camp outside the city without stopping.
I rushed along the way, and when I entered the military camp, it was still dark.
The old monk got out of the car and saw the stars floating in the sky at first sight. He couldn't help but shout anxiously: "See mercy, I'm here!"
After entering the Central Army's tent, Huineng had the time to wipe away the sweat from his forehead and said breathlessly: "Your Majesty has used seals on the deeds, please sign the seal as well."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Qin general in the tent buzzed and whispered: "Have you really agreed?" "The prince is so amazing." "How come there is such an emperor?"
Earlier, Qin Lei Lion spoke loudly. Although the generals did not object in person, the generals took the blame as soon as the envoy of Qi left, and they did not believe that the emperor of Qi could agree to such an unequal treaty. Some people also believed that the prince was too much and would annoy the emperor of Qi.
But Qin Lei didn't tell the other generals, and was so annoyed that he was entangled, so he took a nap with his pillow in his arms.
All the generals spent an afternoon waiting, and there were many people who wanted to see the jokes of the fifth prince...
But Huineng really appeared on time, and brought a contract with the Emperor Xinghua to use seal, which shocked the generals in the room to drop their chin.
Qin Lei was not surprised at all. He saw today's results from the fact that the Emperor of Qi was concentrating on practicing Zen... How could His Majesty, who ignored his responsibilities and practiced for decades, care about these external things?
After carefully reading the peace agreement, Qin Lei took his gold seal and used the seal on two yellow silks. This "Gongjing Peace Agreement" officially took effect.
When Shi Dan returned one letter of agreement to Monk Huineng and put away the other one, Qin Lei laughed and said, "It is a blessing for both sides to turn war into jade and silk, and it is a blessing for the people and the kindness of the master."
The old monk put his hands together, and he didn't dare to say anything.
"After the matter is over, it's time to drink happily," Qin Lei stood up and smiled, "Master, please come to the table."
The old monk ruthlessly said, "Mencius should stay away from the banquet and ask the prince to give him a bowl of vegetarian rice."
Qin Lei naturally heard his subtext and smiled knowingly, "Just listen to the master," and waved his hand and said, "Master is not involved in meat, but you are cheap, go and eat it."
The generals said happily, "That's good..." But seeing the prince still moving, no one dared to get up, and they laughed and said, "Prince, please."
"Everyone is going to yours," Qin Lei shook his head, "I will accompany the master."
The generals then stood up to salute, and then scattered and went to the banquet.
Only two Zen Master Qin Lei and Huineng were left in the big tent.
With a light cough, Qin Lei said straight to the point: "Why is the master helping me?" In the box sent by Huineng, in addition to 10,000 taels of gold, there is also a list of detailed works by Qi in Qin, which is shocking, but it is not certain whether it is true or false.
"He who helps others will help him." The old monk lowered his eyebrows and said with his eyes: "One of the way is to thank the prince for his helping hand, so that Zhishan could escape unstoppable, and the other is to ask the prince to protect him in the future."
"This is no problem," Qin Lei smiled heartily and said: "The freedom of belief under the rule of the Lone King is free. As long as the religion that does not affect social stability and national unity can be freely preached and developed."
"It's not the Zen Buddhism in your country." The old monk whispered: "It's the Zen Buddhism in Qi State."
"I have been in Qi State. How could I not know that Zen Buddhism has a high status and the master is also known as the "national teacher"?" Qin Lei couldn't help but be surprised and said, "I still need to protect me, the Gentile Prince?"
"The prince doesn't know anything," the old monk explained softly: "My Zen and Taoism coexist in Qi State, and they have always been increasing one and the other, competing with each other, and they can't tell the difference between male and female. But now His Majesty is obsessed with practicing Zen to the point of becoming obsessed with evil spirits, and he is unparalleled to my Zen Buddhism, which is worrying!"
"Why can't I hear anything wrong?" Qin Lei chuckled and said, "Sheng Juan is a good thing that many people can't ask for. Why are you still afraid of it like a tiger?" Qin Lei felt very absurd when he saw the most awesome monk in Qi's country commenting on his number one believer like this.
"The Buddha said: One prospers and one witheres, and the prosperity will wither." The old emperor said slowly: "I have been the only Zen family for decades. I have suppressed Taoism a little too much, which makes those bulls quite resentful. Once they turn over, they will definitely need to be liquidated."
Qin Lei frowned slightly and pondered softly: "Don't do anything too well, so you can meet again in the future."
"The prince is wise, but it's a pity that I realized it too late." The old monk smiled bitterly and said, "The two sides have already accumulated deep grudges. People from the Taoist sect are afraid that they will never stop even if they die."
"Since you can't reconcile, then kill them all." Qin Lei said with a smile: "The dead will not hold grudges."
Under the light, Huineng saw his white teeth and couldn't help but shiver: "It's too late, the Taoist sect has found a backer."
"What backer?"
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince." Huineng said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty's only son, the only heir of Qi, is as loyal as his father."
"These two men." Qin Lei couldn't help but smile and said, "It's really pious." After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "Even if the new emperor ascended the prime minister, he would not kill you in order to give him face to his deceased father."
Huineng couldn't laugh, and said with a bitter face: "After that being said, we have a life gate, which is enough to cause a huge disaster."
Qin Lei nodded and signaled him to continue, "That is the Emperor Xinghua himself. In order to compete for favor, the abbot said a big talk... He said that as long as Your Majesty practices diligently and does not move meditation, he can live without any disease..."
"Nonsense." Qin Lei laughed and said, "If you are so magical, you will be on stage."
"Your Highness is wise." The old monk smiled awkwardly: "The family master wanted to be happy for a while, and he gave a great show of greatness, letting His Majesty immerse himself in it without knowing it. He had a dream for decades, and also made my Zen Buddhism flourish for decades. But there are always times when I wake up. When Your Majesty is alive, I can fool you, but once you die, the new emperor can use this as an excuse to kill all the Zen Buddhism..."
Qin Lei finally nodded in agreement and smiled: "Although the old Zen master has no solemn appearance, he is a person with a clear and wise and long-term vision. It is a blessing for the Buddha Sect to have you."
The old monk's face tightened and laughed: "I don't know whether this is a praise or a criticism, but I'm very concerned about it."
Qin Lei kept his smile and said seriously: "There is no sarcasm. There are countless bald heads in the Buddhist sect. The big bald heads and small bald heads live in this world. If the Zen master really focuses on meditation and does not do anything common, he will really be looked down upon by the Lone King."
The old monk suddenly felt like a close friend and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is wise! When it comes to understanding Buddhist principles, I am not as good as my junior brothers, and even my disciples are not as good as my disciples. However, they have no objection to the facts and principles. It is because I am familiar with human nature and understand the truth."
"Tell me your request." Qin Lei said in a deep voice: "You are qualified to ask the Lone King once."
The old monk stood up and kowtowed respectfully to Qin Lei and said, "Please leave a place for my Zen Buddhism under your rule."
Chapter completed!