Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Luoyang, Tianwang Temple.

After the Ming Dynasty moved the capital, Ju Ming specially transferred Dahui Zonggao to be the abbot.

When Ju Ming first captured Chengdu, he met Mahawisdom Zonggao and his teacher Yuanwu Keqin.

Last year, Yuan Wu Keqin passed away and returned to the West.

The fame of Dahui Zonggao is getting higher and higher. It is not an exaggeration to describe him as famous all over the world.

Such an eminent monk would naturally stay in the capital to facilitate the government's management.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the praise of scholars, Zen Buddhism developed extremely rapidly. They sang poems and lyrics with local officials, and naturally gained more support than other sects of Buddhism.

Zen Buddhism has the greatest influence with Linji Buddhism.

Within Linji Sect, it continues to be subdivided into Yangqi Sect and Huanglong Sect.

The Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng has always been controlled by the Huanglong Sect.

Over the years, celebrities who have had close contacts with the Huanglong Sect include Zhou Dunyi, Su Shi, Su Che, Zeng Gong, Huang Tingjian, Wang Anshi, Zhang Shangying, etc. For example, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian were simply laymen of the Huanglong sect.

Even the Zen sects of Japan and Korea currently belong to the Huanglong sect.

Ju Ming felt that it would be best if a hundred flowers bloomed, so he took action to support the Yang Qi sect, and Zonggao, the great Hui, was the key figure.

"Abbott, a decree has arrived!"

"Why panic? Just let me take the orders."

Dahui Zonggao went out calmly, cleaned his hands and arranged his clothes. He knew that the monks had already set up the incense table.

Sizheng of Senglu Division also came and stood beside the emperor's pedestrians.

When all the monks were in their seats, the traveler opened the imperial edict and read: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty said: There is now the country of Ceylon, which was originally the country of Buddhist lions. The king of the country presented the three treasures of Buddhism, one of which is the tooth of Sakyamuni. The order was issued to Luoyang Tianwang Temple built a tower to worship the Buddha and promoted Buddhism in the imperial capital..."

Before the imperial edict was read out, all the monks looked at the thing in Seng Lu Sizheng's hand.

Gautama Buddha's teeth?

"I accept the decree!" Mahahuizong Gao took the imperial edict with both hands.

Si Zheng also handed over the box containing the Buddha's tooth and said with a smile: "The two Buddha's teeth contained in the Buddhist scriptures of various countries are now gathered in the Ming Dynasty. The Buddha's tooth in Shandong has been recalled by His Majesty's order and re-enshrined in the Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng. From now on. Luoyang and Kaifeng each enshrine one, and two Buddha teeth will forever guard the east and west capitals."

Mahawisdom Zonggao, even though the Buddhist teachings were profound, became excited at this moment: "This is a grand event for Buddhism! Only by your Majesty's destiny can the Buddha's teeth be gathered together."

Si Zheng took out another short scroll: "This is His Majesty's royal letter. When the Tooth Relic Pagoda in Tianwang Temple is built, let the craftsmen carve the royal letter next to the tower."

Dahui Zonggao held the short book with both hands, and when he opened it, he saw four words: Yongzhen and Two Capitals!

The official who delivered the message quickly left, and the monks gathered around him.

Mahawisdom Zonggao opened the box. Although the Buddha's tooth had no unusual appearance, everyone was amazed.

The Buddha relics and Buddha bowls brought back from Ceylon were sent to Mount Wutai in Shanxi.

Monks from many temples in Wutai Mountain persisted in resisting the Jin Dynasty for several years. All the temples were burned down, and they fled to the mountains to fight guerrillas. They suffered heavy casualties due to lack of food and clothing, and finally cooperated with the Ming soldiers to fight back.

In the year when Zhu Ming recovered Wutai County, he ordered to allocate funds to build the Huguo Temple in Mount Wutai, and designated the Huguo Temple as a Shifang Jungle.

The original monks from various temples in Wutai Mountain all practiced in Huguo Temple, and 500 ultimatums were issued at one time.

Of course, taxes must be paid according to law!

…

Tianwang Temple in Luoyang is still recruiting workers to build the Tooth Relic Tower, and will soon welcome its first batch of guests.

They were envoys from various countries, and they all came to watch the fun. In addition to the Nanyang circle, envoys from Xixia, Goryeo, Japan, and Dali also came.

"Please don't get too close, and stay three feet away from the Buddha's tooth." the monk reminded.

Many messengers lined up to move forward, clasping their hands and chanting the Buddha's name, their eyes fixed on the Buddha's tooth without moving.

Jin Yungui, the Korean envoy, murmured to himself: "Does the Ming Dynasty really have Buddha's blessing?"

He left silently after the service, feeling extremely heavy.

Although Wang Gou, the leader of Goryeo, eradicated powerful ministers for the third time and regained his freedom from house arrest, he was still unable to completely control the government.

Wang Gou used the excuse of revitalizing the country to imitate the Ming Dynasty and implemented the cabinet system, hoping to regain power by establishing a cabinet and six ministries. But the positions of cabinet ministers and ministers were divided among the major families.

All the king could do was to promote a few officials from poor families to serve in the General Council and the Inspectorate.

They barely obtained some administrative and supervisory powers.

Gradually, these officials from poor families were secretly won over by wealthy families.

The majestic King of Goryeo can only truly trust a group of eunuchs...

Moreover, in order to consolidate their power, the aristocratic families jointly proposed to ban the marriage of close relatives in the royal family. The reason is very simple, it is not in line with Confucian ethics.

"Where is the Korean envoy?" an official from Honglu Temple ran into Tianwang Temple and shouted.

Jin Yungui quickly agreed: "Here it is."

The official of Honglu Temple said: "Tomorrow I will go to the palace to meet the saint, so be prepared."

Jin Yungui was taken into the palace by officials in the afternoon of the next day, and after waiting for a long time, he finally saw the emperor.

After the meeting, Ju Ming asked: "Are you here to delineate the boundaries between the two countries?"

Jin Yungui said: "There has never been a demarcation between our country and the Ming Dynasty, and the territory is difficult to define. There are many lawless people who come and go across the border between the two countries to commit crimes. I sincerely request your Majesty to send officials to demarcate the boundary."

A few years ago, the ministers of Korea were clamoring to regain lost territory, and there were always envoys asking the Ming Dynasty to return Pyongyang.

Now I don’t even bother to shout slogans, I just want to demarcate the border as soon as possible for stability.

Ju Ming asked: "What do you want to do?"

Jin Yungui said: "The west is bounded by the main stream of the Taedong River, and the east is bounded by the estuary of the Kwoden River (30 miles south of Hamhung). From the estuary of the Kwoden River, follow the ups and downs of the mountains to the Taedong River."

Zhu Ming didn't quite understand, and looked at Zheng Zhichang who was sitting in the hall.

Zheng Zhichang said: "The Taedong River has several tributaries, and the middle tributary should be used as the border between the two countries."

Jin Yungui was furious, pointing at Zheng Zhichang and said: "You were born in Pyongyang and served as an official in Goryeo. Even if you are an official of the Ming Dynasty now, how can you sell out the territory of your motherland?"

Zheng Zhichang smiled and said: "Pyongyang has been the land of Jizi's Korea since ancient times, and Jizi is the ancestor of our Chinese. I was born a Chinese, but I have temporarily become a foreigner. Now, Pyongyang and I have returned to our ancestral country. What kind of relationship can I have with you Goryeo?"

"How can this be, how can this be!" Jin Yungui was very angry.

Zheng Zhichang said: "If you want to draw the boundary, do as I say. Otherwise, the worst that can happen is another fight."

After this, Jin Yungui dared not speak again.

Zhu Ming said: "Zheng Qing."

"I am here!" Zheng Zhichang stood with his hands folded.

Zhu Ming said: "I appoint you as the boundary demarcation envoy, go to Pyongyang to contact Goryeo, and draw the detailed boundary between Ming and Goryeo."

Zheng Zhichang said excitedly: "I will not fail in my mission, and I will fight for every inch of Ming territory."

He has been in charge of Goryeo affairs in the Honglu Temple, and occasionally also in charge of diplomatic affairs with Japan.

Facing Japanese envoys, Zheng Zhichang was still a little polite.

But facing Goryeo envoys, Zheng Zhichang was aggressive and fussy, for fear that others would think he still had old feelings for his motherland.

After demarcating the boundary this time, he will definitely be promoted.

Even if his official position is not promoted, his official title will be promoted by one level. With enough experience, he will be promoted more smoothly in the future.

Jin Yungui left the palace in despair. He didn't know how to report back to the country.

Although according to Zheng Zhichang's demarcation method, most of the demarcated territories are now under the actual control of the Ming Dynasty. But there is still a small part of the territory that will be cut off by the Ming Dynasty.

Jin Yungui will definitely take the blame!

Even the responsibility for losing Pyongyang should be counted on Jin Yungui.

Because Pyongyang was "borrowed" by the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo has never acknowledged it. It was after Jin Yungui's mission that he confirmed that Pyongyang belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

What if he disagrees?

Can he beat the Ming Dynasty?

All the aristocratic families in Goryeo rely on the Ming Dynasty to do business and make money.

In particular, the crazy influx of cheap cloth from the Ming Dynasty has completely collapsed Goryeo's economic system.

The stuff that Chinese people use to wear mourning clothes, they use as trading currency. As a result, better quality cloth is continuously imported from the Ming Dynasty, and the Goryeo market soon became a mess.

The powerful, visionary, and wealthy Koreans bought Ming cloth from the coast and took it to inland cities to cheat and make money.

Merchants in inland cities took Ming cloth to the surrounding villages to make money.

Countless Korean people were cheated to death.

Many Korean lower-class people had their savings for several generations directly cheated away by dozens of pieces of coarse linen.

However, the aristocratic families in Korea took the opportunity to amass countless wealth.

Now, in Korea, only Ming copper coins are recognized, and cloth only has the most basic practical value.

The wealthy Korean families gradually began to enjoy the luxury goods from Ming.

Especially in the capital Kaizhou and several coastal cities, more and more rich Koreans wore silk. Some people even bought glass mirrors and clocks. These products were so expensive that I don’t know how much money the people spent.

They exploited the people even more!

There was a continuous famine in many villages in Korea, but there were still merchants selling grain to Ming.

For two consecutive years, peasant uprisings occurred in Goryeo, but they were quickly suppressed by the aristocratic families.

Jin Yungui was born in a poor family in Goryeo.

With the economic invasion of the Ming Dynasty, this small family became more difficult. Their family savings were mostly stored in the form of cloth, and now cloth is worthless!

There are many large water-powered spinning wheels in Shandong, which can spin linen in large quantities, and the cost is countless times lower than that of Goryeo. (This kind of water-powered spinning wheel appeared in the Yuan Dynasty in history, causing the price of linen to fall. But it cannot be used to spin cotton yarn because cotton fibers are shorter and easier to break.)

Returning to Sifang Pavilion, Jin Yungui became more and more lost.

The country, internal and external troubles.

The family, gradually declining.

Individuals, were thrown to draw boundaries and take the blame.

He really couldn't see any bright future, and felt that there was an abyss of hell ahead.

The king was wise, and those aristocratic families were the root of the trouble!

Jin Yungui suddenly realized the truth in Sifang Pavilion in Luoyang. He planned to contact more scholars from humble backgrounds after returning to China to overthrow the rule of the aristocratic families.

But the aristocratic families controlled all kinds of power from the court to the local areas.

How could the humble family overthrow it?

After tossing and turning in bed all night, Jin Yungui suddenly thought of Zheng Zhichang.

Zheng Zhichang was already in a high position in the Ming Dynasty, why can't I?

Return to China to contact scholars from humble backgrounds who have no future and spread the idea that the aristocratic families are ruining the country and the people.

Make the situation chaotic, and then lead the Ming army to the south, and everyone will be the citizens of the Ming Dynasty in the future!

Anyway, I am already in this state, maybe the Ming Dynasty will annex Goryeo, and the life of the small family will become better.