Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

The Shifo Temple located in Luochuan has attracted much attention from the public when it was still under construction. When it was completed, it became the first famous temple in Beizhou. Over the past few years, its popularity has become more and more prosperous, making all other temples in Beizhou look dim. Eclipsed.

The Shifo Temple does not have a long history and is dwarfed by other famous temples in Kansai. However, because the Master Liu it enshrines is a Jihu monk, and the northern states are the main distribution areas of the Jihu tribe, these Jihu tribes are The Hu people are sincere in their worship and offerings to the temple.

This large temple is located on the east bank of Luoshui. Not far away is the north-south transportation and commercial center of Luoshui. There are many people and goods coming and going, and it is bustling.

The Shifo Temple has also become a famous building on the surface due to the huge flow of people. Even if they are not Samana believers or Jihu people, when they hear that there is such a famous temple in the area, most people will choose to visit it.

The temple itself is not known for its profound Buddhist teachings, but for its majestic architecture and exquisite statues that are breathtaking. The most important building in the temple is called the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, which houses thousands of Buddha statues, large and small.

These Buddha statues are made of different materials and have various postures. They are enshrined in various Buddhist niches. They receive worship and prayers from many believers every day, and use the incense they share to protect the donors behind them.

The bigger the temple, the more brilliant the blessings will be. In this Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, even the lowest clay statue is said to be able to protect the donor's health and protect him from all diseases. If he prays for the blessings of his children, he will be fulfilled.

Of course, it is not easy to obtain these blessings. In addition to having a firm belief in Buddhism, you also need to be sincere. There are thousands of followers of Buddha, and every believer is sincere enough. If you want to stand out among the many sincere believers, you must naturally show more performance.

When the temple was being built, only one sheep was needed to enshrine a clay Buddha statue. But now the incense in the temple is becoming more and more prosperous, and this standard is also rising year by year. The latest quotation this year has reached as many as one hundred pieces of silk, and it can only be worshiped for one year. After one year, it needs to be replenished, otherwise the niche will be destroyed. To be passed on to other believers.

"There are 800 niches in the lower level, 500 in the upper level, 300 in the upper level, and then 80 fine niches, 50 golden niches, and 10 treasure niches in the upper level. The amount of money dedicated to the niches on each level varies. From the fine niche above, except every year Donate more than 1,000 pieces of silk, and also contribute to the promotion of Dharma in the temple. At the end of each year, the host and the elders will discuss which worshiper can go to the shrine in the coming year, and the temple will also provide a sutra and transformation ceremony, or a water and land ashram, etc. wait……"

As the Master Buddha Temple became more and more famous in Beizhou, Master Hongyi, the abbot of the temple, became a well-known eminent monk in Beizhou. He devoted himself to studying Buddhism and temple management every day and rarely came out to see the believers. But today , but he led the elders in the temple to accompany a handsome young man to visit the temple.

All the eminent monks who were usually solemn and dignified were following this young man, all bowing their heads and being very respectful. It made people wonder what kind of status this young man had that he could enjoy such respectful treatment in the temple.

As more and more people gathered around, some people gradually saw a hint of the mystery. Suddenly they pointed at the young man in brocade robes who was surrounded by eminent monks and warriors and shouted: "Isn't this the divine general who protects the Dharma under Master Buddha?"

Hearing this exclamation, everyone looked up in surprise. Li Tai couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He didn't expect that the little trick he did back then was still very powerful. He didn't want to be watched by the crowd, so he waved his hand and ended the tour. Master Hongyi and others were afraid of inviting him to the inner hall. He sat down and then apologized profusely: "Old monk, before he could close the temple and clear the place, he let those stupid people disturb Master Lang. Please forgive me..."

Li Tai waved his hand to show that he didn't mind, then frowned and asked, "With so many niches, can they be filled every year?"

Although he had determined the business route of the temple when he was still in Beizhou, the details were still completed by the Hongyi monks.

Having just heard Monk Hongyi introduce the various charging rates, Li Tai silently calculated in his mind that the income from supporting Buddha statues in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall alone reached nearly one million pieces of silk every year. He was shocked but also a little worried.

The believers of this Buddhist temple are mainly Jihu, and the vast majority of Jihu are very poor. Now that so much wealth is extracted from them every year, they will inevitably become even poorer in the long run. Once there is a conflict between faith and survival, there will probably be a big wave of turmoil.

Li Tai's original intention in establishing this Buddhist temple was to use religion to tame these unruly Jihu people. If he puts too much emphasis on interests, he will undoubtedly put the cart before the horse. He raised this question because he wanted Monk Hongyi to hold back and not to catch all the trouble.

Hearing this, Monk Hongyi smiled and said: "Master Lang, please rest assured that these niches and funding are increasing year by year in response to the needs of the masses. Today, the temple has tens of thousands of believers all over the northern states, each with its own If I don’t tolerate the idea of ​​worshiping Buddha here, I’m afraid I’ll turn to another place..."

In the final analysis, temple management is a business. If there is demand, there will be supply. If there is sentiment, then you have to pay the bill. Previously, the Taiwan government had launched a major attack on Liu Shifu's belief, and Li Tai took advantage of this vacuum period to re-establish this belief, and raised it to a very high position, adding ethnic identity and emotion, etc., making Master Liu Fodai Temple quickly established its dominant position in the religious circles of northern Shaanxi.

But as time went by, other Jihu forces also noticed this situation, so similar temples appeared in other places to attract and divert believers.

Monk Hongyi and others responded to this by increasing niches and raising fees, using the still rapidly developing market to raise industry standards and increase brand effects in order to combat those grassroots groups.

"Are there many fake temples?"

Li Tai's face sank when he heard this. He started Liu Shifo's belief not only to make money, but also to strengthen the ideological integration and shaping of the Jihu group through this belief.

In this field, he will never allow other competitors to appear to take away his right to speak. Of course, those who imitate may not have such understanding and intention, but in the actual business process, the dispersion of voice will occur. I talk about the city gate building, you talk about the hip bones and elbows, who should you listen to?

After hearing from Master Hongyi and others that similar situations had occurred frequently, Li Tai added, "Have you ever reported it to the government? Isn't it the responsibility of these state and county officials to ban obscene sacrifices and educate customs?"

"Yes, yes, but the princes of the various governments only say that the barbarians are fierce and stubborn, and they are difficult to control in remote areas..."

As soon as Li Tai heard this answer, he knew it was just perfunctory. Speaking of which, Hu Huang is not as serious as when he arrived?

Jihu casually pulled out tens of thousands of people and chased him like a dog. After a few years, he still managed to get rid of him. Now that Jihu has a collective belief in Shifo Temple, Helian Bobo was He has never had such a strong appeal when he was alive. It is time to shape and strengthen the control of the Jihu group. If it is difficult to control the remoteness and it is difficult to control, then he is still a shitty official!

After all, if you are not one of your own, you won't care. What's more, you may simply get another dividend from the temple, and support puppets to do business elsewhere. It's not like Li Tai has done this kind of thing before, and he has a clear conscience.

He also asked someone to fetch the temple's account books and look through them, and found that the annual dividends paid to North China and other state capitals had not been reduced, but the imitation within their own borders was the most serious.

Among the northern states, Beihua Prefecture is considered a relatively prosperous place. It is also the northern barrier of the Guanzhong Plain, and its geographical location is relatively important. Previously, Shuo Hui and Cui Quan took over this position successively. At that time, Li Tai was also able to develop with peace of mind under the care of relatives and friends.

But after Cui Fan resigned, the governor of Beihua Prefecture was replaced by Yu Wen Xianhe. Although Yu Wen Xianhe and Yu Wentai were said to be from the same clan, they were actually not the same thing. They were from a wealthy family that moved south, and they had long been estranged from their fellow clan members in Wuchuan Zhenbing. When it came to their relationship, they were closer to the clans and aristocratic families in Chang'an.

The current situation is obviously that Beihua State is taking money and not doing anything. Although Monk Hongyi's strategy can ensure the growth of profits, it has lost the ability to radiate and influence the public in the long run. Therefore, those who imitate must be suppressed and banned. of. But now that Li Tai is not the governor of the three-defense city, it is obviously impossible to use troops across the border.

After thinking for a while, he then said: "From now on, no more tributes will be given to Beihua Prefecture. We will gather 3,000 Hu soldiers and the corresponding supplies. Later, Daxingtai will patrol here and advise the Hu people to accept the Buddha's teachings." Inspired, I want to donate materials and services to Daxingtai and build the Huazhou official residence."

Although Li Tai was rich, he never spent too much meaningless money. After realizing that Beihua Prefecture could no longer or was unwilling to provide protection within the area, there was no need to bother anymore and directly get the big deal. Xingtai Yuwentai ordered Xingtai to ban the destruction of obscene sacrifices and maintain the monopoly of belief.

Recruiting three thousand Jihu soldiers was too easy for Shifo Temple. Many Jihu soldiers were poor and had no means to support them, so they dedicated themselves to serving their faith. It's just that Li Tai did not allow the temple to hoard land and people from the beginning, otherwise there would be at least thousands of households of monks and slaves. Since they did not have their own land and property, many believers who donated their lives to join the temple were rented out to Xihe County to cultivate wasteland after the temple changed hands.

After inspecting the temple's management, Li Tai returned to Luochuan Fangcheng to wait for the prince and Daxing to meet in Taipei.

After the New Year, the emperor's illness relapsed again, and it took until early March to finalize the arrangements for the northern tour. Because Li Tai had been stationed in Luoshui, he was sent north by the envoy to arrange the reception. As a result, more than a month later, even south The news of Liang's great change and the destruction of Jiankang City has reached Guanzhong, and the Northern Patrol Team has not yet set off.

Even if Li Tai didn't notice it at first, after being left here for so long, he naturally tasted something unusual. The subsequent arrival of Li Mu confirmed some of his conjectures.