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Chapter Sanskrit Epiphany

‘duang,duang,duang…’ As soon as Zhao Bing finished his speech, the ten thousand jin iron bell in Huacheng Temple was ringing. The bell sounded round and thick, echoing in the quiet mountains.

The bell is both a magical instrument and a commander. When the monks ate and went down to the hall, after meditation, they would ring when they were inspected in the morning and evening or when they had tea or got out of bed. The Buddhist scriptures also explain that hearing the bell can eliminate 108 kinds of troubles in life, so that people can awaken and gain peace and good fortune; another Buddhist verse says: "When hearing the bell, their troubles will be light, their wisdom will be long, and their Bodhi will be increased."

Some Buddhist scriptures say that knocking and listening to the bell can stop all sufferings in the evil realms, and can enable all sentient beings to "get rid of suffering at the same time", so that all suffering people can be liberated. Some Buddhist scriptures say that when the bell is ringing, if you can visualize and awaken all sentient beings, you can get greater benefits. When you hit the Buddha bell at night, you will feel confused and ignorant, and have the function of enlightening wisdom and wisdom.

One hundred and eight bells rang, and everyone felt that the spiritual platform was clear. Everyone looked at the little emperor and found that his eyes were slightly closed, as if he had entered a great monk and had known that he had "going out of the sky" again. Everyone was silent and did not dare to disturb him. At this time, the cymbals and chimes sounded lightly, and the sound of singing scriptures echoed in the valley, just like falling into the Pure Land.

Wang Yinglin recalled the words of Your Majesty along the way, and he felt deeply that he was a little restrained in doing things at the moment, but this discomfort did not all come from the little emperor, but more pressure came from his colleagues and scholars, especially after returning to Jiangnan. Not only did his disciples ask him for official positions, but he also felt dissatisfied with the court's policies, hoping that he could advise Your Majesty to change his mind.

Wang Yinglin was extremely disturbed by these things, and he also understood that the entire Confucian class had fallen. They were no longer the scholars who had the mission of "establishing their minds for heaven and earth, establishing their destiny for the people, inheriting their unique knowledge for the past sages, and opening peace for all ages". Their values ​​have changed. Studying and participating in the imperial examinations is just to become officials and seeking personal gain from it, which means that His Majesty has lost his original heart.

The tradition of using Confucianism in the world is exactly what Your Majesty said. Since the Han Dynasty, it is precisely because of the reason why dynasties have chosen to govern the country with Confucianism. Once they lose their value and only care about the interests of their own groups, they will inevitably be abandoned. Without the protection of imperial power, Confucian scholars will inevitably be suppressed by all parties, and they will lose the soil for development and growth, and will be replaced by other schools, just like Taoism in Jiuhua Mountain was "exiled" by Buddhism.

Wang Yinglin had this sense of crisis, and it was definitely not because he scared himself. The example of the Mongol Yuan was right in front of him. They regarded Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism as one, deprived them of their channels for entry into the government, and many people lost the foundation of their lives. Even if some Confucian scholars were able to enter the Mongol Yuan court, they were vassals, and whenever there was a change, they would be suppressed by various forces and had no ability to control the government's affairs at all.

He knew that he wanted to maintain the current situation of "scholars and officials governing the country". Many sages had found the answer for them. Entering the officialdom was for the long-term interests of the country, thereby protecting the long-term interests of the literati class. But now many scholars do not understand this truth. They inherited the Confucians of the Han and Tang Dynasties who paid attention to benevolence and loving things, and rest and recuperate. When they encountered wealth and strong words, they denounced them as overbearing and did not accept the sages. However, when there was a slight reform of the interests of this class, this huge vested interest group would attack them.

On the other hand, because of the praise of Zhu Lu Neo-Confucianism, this dynasty was good at making ideal personality, focusing on integrity, morality and social responsibility. It was short of governing the country in the world, and took advantage of its own high position to attack the party and attack different schools, suppress other schools, and try to control the government to ensure its vested interests. As a result, everyone has seen that the constant internal struggle and incompetence in governing the country weakened the strength of the country, resulting in public resentment, the country was poor and weak, and eventually died from foreign enemies.

In addition, to realize lofty ideals, we cannot avoid the option of money. The people will not choose you because of your lofty ideals. They value the family’s food and clothing and harvest in the fields. As the Chinese studies say: “If the granaries are full, you know etiquette, and if you have enough food and clothing, you know honor and disgrace.” Etiquette is born from existence and abandoned from non-existence. Therefore, a gentleman is rich and likes to perform his virtues; a villain is rich and can adapt to his strength. A fish grows in deep abyss, a mountain is deep and a beast goes to him, and a man is rich and a benevolence and righteousness is attached to him.

The rich get the advantage of the treasury. If the treasury loses the treasury, the guest has no place to do it, and it is not happy. The barbarians become more and more serious. The proverb says: "A son of a thousand gold will not die in the market." This is not empty words. Therefore, the sage also said: "The world is bustling, all comes for profit; the world is bustling, all goes for profit." A king of thousands of vehicles, a marquis of thousands of families, and a king of hundreds of households, is still worried about poverty, let alone a common man who has a household registration! It can be seen that the sage also has a deep understanding of money.

For a country, money is equally important. As the young emperor said, this is the basis for the rise and fall of a country. If there is no money or food in the treasury, how can we support officials, soldiers, water conservancy, and relief and help difficulties? Let alone benefit the people. Wang Yinglin also believes that even the literati and officials who stand on the moral high ground will be helpless without money and food. Moreover, many officials do not have the sentiment and awareness of the sages, and without salary, they will also feel resentful and deviate from the lessons of the saints.

Now that the court has recovered Jiangnan, it should be said that it has basically gotten rid of the situation of not being able to make ends meet in Qiongzhou, but it can only be said that it has improved slightly and can barely remain in parity. This Northern Expedition, the military consumption was very large, and the savings of more than two years were gone. It was also necessary to rely on over-issuance of paper money to maintain the balance of finance. The subsequent construction requirements are still huge, so it is no wonder that the little emperor was eager to "make money."

To be honest, Wang Yinglin also knew that there were not many ways for the current officials in the court to solve financial difficulties, and they mainly rely on summer and autumn taxes and commercial taxes. However, when the land use has become saturated, it is difficult to achieve a long-term growth. At this time, the young emperor proposed to develop industry and commerce to increase commercial tax revenue.

However, the young emperor's idea of ​​"emphasizing business" was opposed by some officials. They thought that this was a move to waste the roots and ends, which would destroy agricultural production and make people evil politics. However, the school of ritualism, which has been suppressed by the Neo-Confucian school in the past, supported the idea of ​​the young emperor. This school of sect inherited and developed the "outside king" and "managing the world" side in traditional Confucianism, paying attention to "utilitarian studies", and believed that "if there is no utilitarianism, morality is useless empty words."

In addition, the Shigong School advocates "communication and benefiting industry, supporting merchants with the power of the state, and circulating currency", and opposes the traditional view that "focusing on the foundation and suppressing the end" is to focus on agriculture, despise industry and commerce, and not purely paying attention to personal mental cultivation. It can be said that it coincides with the little emperor's idea. Therefore, at this critical moment of debate, it is not surprising that Your Majesty chose Shigong School.

Wang Yinglin also realized that the young emperor allowed him to continue to serve, and this is the reason why he presided over the innovation. But he also knew the risks. According to the thousand-year tradition, the king's duty is to govern officials, that is, to govern officials, not the people. The people are managed by officials. Where can the people have chaos? The responsibility lies with officials. Officials have acts of corruption and corruption, and they cannot blame the people.

Based on this study, the Confucian scholars of this dynasty often said that "the chaos in the world is the prime minister", which means that the mistake is made. The responsibility lies in the prime minister, not the emperor. Wang Yinglin understood this very well that all the reforms in the history of the Song Dynasty failed, and even if there were any changes, it was not complete. The people who presided over the reform often ended up miserably. Although they did not lose their lives, they were disgraced and demoted and retired.

Wang Yinglin looked at the little emperor who seemed to be listening to the scriptures with his eyes closed, but his eyes gradually became firmer. He thought about his success in the Jinshi at the age of 19, and served as the chief clerk in Quzhou at the age of 21. He was diligent in reading the classics and history while serving as an official. Although he was thirty-four, he was admitted to the most difficult erudite and Hongci subjects, and became the Minister of Rites. He was born at the wrong time. He was invaded by the Mongol Yuan outside, and was powerful minister Ding Daquan, Jia Sidao and others in charge of the government, which was difficult to carry out what he learned throughout his life.

Later, after Lin'an fell, Wang Yinglin fled to Qiongzhou to go to court, and was valued and then became a minister. Thinking about his 60s now, he still felt that he had not been able to show his talents. If he missed this opportunity, he would have to retire and return home. Now the young emperor is brave enough to make progress, determined to innovate, and intends to keep him. Why should he cherish this? Being able to do something for the country and the people is considered to be a lifelong failure...

At some point, Zhao Bing had already "resurrected". He looked at Wang Yinglin with a look of relief. He knew that he had accepted his ideas and was determined to follow him. Looking at Xie Fangde, he looked calm as before, and there was nothing unusual, but he was actually quite controversial about using him back then.

At that time, some people said that Xie Fangde once said that "follow the Tao but not the king". When he was suppressed when he was taking the Jinshi exam, he refused to return home, which shows that he had a certain dissatisfaction with the emperor. Especially when the Empress Dowager Xie ordered the subjects from all over the country to surrender to the Yuan Dynasty, Xie Fangde did not obey. Later, when Xie Fangde talked about not following the Empress Dowager's "edict", he once said: "The king and his ministers are united in righteousness. If they are united, they will go; if they are not together, they will go. From this, it can be seen that his destiny to the emperor is not just unconditional loyalty. Therefore, some people think that they cannot be valued to avoid doing something to blame the emperor.

Zhao Bing disagreed with this. After all, he came from modern society. When he was an unkind and unrighteous boss at that time, he could resign without hesitation, and even report him to evade taxes. It was no big deal. Although he did not "betray" the boss, he could sell all the remaining supplies privately, but he did not get the benefits and was trapped on the boat.
Chapter completed!
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