There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, and there are many towers in the mist.

Du Mu only lamented that there were many temples in the Southern Dynasty, but he did not know that four hundred and eighty was not enough to be a fraction of the number in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The official history of the Northern Wei Dynasty records: Emperor Gaozu (Emperor Xiaowen) moved the capital to Yecheng and left 421 temples in Luoyang.

By the time of the Western Wei Dynasty, the capital was twenty miles from east to west and fifteen miles from north to south. There were more than 190,000 households with a total area of ​​220 miles (squares), and there were 1,367 temples.

This means that every small community with a radius of about one mile in Luoyang City has at least six temples, and every seventy or eighty households must support one of them.

This is Luoyang. A few years ago, Yuan Cheng, the king of the city, wrote in a memorial to the current emperor: At a rough estimate, the number of monks and nuns in the household is two million, and its temples are more than 30,000...

According to the official records of the Wei Dynasty, there were only more than five million households in the country, which is equivalent to more than one-third of the people who did not engage in production and relied on the state and the court for support. What is this concept?

In comparison, the impacts and harms mentioned in the memorial such as "the concubine enters the monk's room during the day, the children stay in the nun's room at night, the tower is entangled in fishy smell, and the spirit is lost in lust..." can be almost ignored.<

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If things go on like this, the country will not be the country, and the country will not be destroyed until it sees ghosts?

Thinking about it this way, as long as you have some conscience, you must make it...

Li Chengzhi sighed secretly and asked: "What day does it fall today?"

Even if there were many monks and nuns, they wouldn’t all flock to the street. It was clearly celebrating some kind of festival.

Li Xie counted with his fingers: "Binglangjun, today is May 27th!"

Li Chengzhi suddenly realized: No wonder, it turned out to be a "little kitchen party" where Buddhism and Taoism meet every seven days, just like the temple fairs in later generations.

For a large gathering like this, the inner city will never open until it is over, so entering the inner city at this time has become a luxury.

Li Chengzhi had no choice but to store the horses and carriages at a post station outside the city, and asked Li Xie to take a few people to guard them, and then took Li Rui and three guards to play.

Just pretending to be shopping, a few people were wandering aimlessly with the flow of people.

There were a lot of people, some wearing coarse linen and many wearing brocade and jade shirts. Every now and then, as they passed by, there would be ladies or young ladies waving round fans and staring at Li Chengzhi fiercely. The bolder ones would even give him some.

Ogle...

Li Chengzhi was speechless when he saw it, and secretly sighed at the openness of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

There are also a lot of delicious things, such as peaches, fresh apricots, dried fruits, and plum wine and cheese. Li Chengzhi also saw a few people who were trying to make sweets.

The five people ate and drank together, and walked eastward with the flow of people. But as they walked, Li Chengzhi suddenly discovered something different.

The further east you go, the closer you are to the inner city, the fewer monks and nuns there are, and the fewer pedestrians, and the originally impassable official roads are almost ready for horse-drawn carriages.

Looking forward, it turns out that the monk's altar near the inner city wall has been replaced by a Taoist altar.

There are not many Taoist altars, only three or four, which may not even be one-tenth of those of a monk.

Not to mention juggling, not even a sound of shouting could be heard. Although the Taoist priestess on the stage was giving out porridge, they all looked deserted and did not even say a single unnecessary word. They looked like they were asking "Do you love me?"

.

The number of believers in the audience was even pitiful. There were only a few beggars receiving porridge.

Li Rui was extremely puzzled: "Why is there such a big difference between the two sides?"

Li Chengzhi thought for a while and felt that it would be too troublesome to explain, so he simply remained silent.

First, the concepts advocated by the two religions are different, and second, the class composition of the believers is different.

Taoism advocates tranquility and inaction, being transcendent and free from the world. It only deals with the self. It does not talk about the mysteries, and the audience is still narrow.

In addition, Kou Qianzhi’s improved New Celestial Master’s Way follows the upper-class route. The noble group accepts all the children of noble families. How many believers can it have?

Buddhism, on the other hand, pays attention to the theory of reincarnation that saves all sentient beings, has blessings in the next life, and enjoys wealth and honor. It is easy to understand and ordinary people feel hopeful as soon as they hear it.

Let’s put it more plainly: Judging from the average life span of this era, by the time it’s time to argue about right and wrong, it’s almost the age when the earth has already buried it up to its waist and its head can be seen at a glance. Do you want him to believe in the Taoist life or the Buddhist afterlife?

The gap between the two suddenly widened countless times.

Only those aristocrats who have reached the end of their official career, have too much money to spend, have so many women at home that they can't even remember their names, are tired of all the tricks they can think of, and feel that their spiritual life is extremely lacking.

I like the Taoist style.

This is also the reason why metaphysics flourished among the aristocracy during the Southern and Northern Dynasties...

There was not much to visit, and it was also close to the inner city. You could enter the city as soon as the city gate opened. Li Chengzhi wanted to find a place to sit and wait.

There is a porridge shed under the Taoist altar, which can also provide shade. He picked a place at random and walked there with Li Rui and others.

When he walked past the nearest Taoist altar, he didn't know what he found. Li Rui whispered: "Lang Jun, look!"

Li Chengzhi raised his head: there was a yellow flag standing on the stage, with the three words "Wujiguan" written in the middle, and a couplet on each side: The high altar welcomes strangers, and thousands of gold rewards unusual guests!

Thousands of gold?

Even if the gold here refers to copper, one thousand catties can buy two to three hundred thousand catties of grain.

Li Chengzhi suddenly became interested and took a look on the stage.

The altar is very gorgeously decorated, with a gauze tent on the top and a felt blanket on the bottom. The tables on the platform are also glossy and smooth, with fresh crimson and apricot colors.

There are several things placed on the tables, and a silk towel is spread next to it, with densely written small characters on it. There is a female crown standing on each side, as if it is ready for guests to inquire at any time.

Look at the words on the scarf again: There are three questions, and for each answer, you will get a hundred gold (copper) as a gift. If you solve all three questions, you will get a thousand gold.

After reading the three questions, Li Chengzhi looked weird: Is it true or false?

Is it so easy to make money in Luojing City?

Seeing Li Chengzhi's extraordinary appearance, the two women bowed their heads in unison: "Tan Yue is more polite!"

"Polite!" Li Chengzhi nodded slightly and asked Li Rui: "How many questions can you solve?"

Li Rui took a look at the silk scarf and scratched his head: "I can only solve one problem, the flick of the finger to light the lamp..."

Li Chengzhi nodded.

There are specialties in the field of science, and the emphasis is different. Li Rui can solve one question, which is pretty good. If Li Lianglai, who has been trained by him personally, will not be able to solve any question.

The two asked and answered questions very casually, but the eyes of the two female Taoist priests were about to pop out.

If these words were said from the mouth of this husband, they might still believe it, but the guy next to him is skinny and looks like he is just a servant, but he can solve a problem just by opening his mouth?

The two female crowns stared at Li Rui for a moment and asked in unison: "Tan Yue is serious?"

Li Rui responded casually: "Of course I take it seriously!"

The two female Taoist priests were startled. After looking at each other, they turned around and walked in. It was unclear whether they were going to bring the copper coins or to call someone. The other one respectfully asked Li Chengzhi and others: "How many times are you here?"

Please take a seat!"

If you are idle, you should just make some money for Li Rui. Li Chengzhi did not refuse and went to the high platform.

Before his butt even touched the futon, when he heard a noise behind the stage, Li Chengzhi turned around and saw seven or eight Taoist priests running out from behind.

There are men and women, and one in the middle is particularly conspicuous. He is wearing a white robe. He is also very white and graceful. Not to mention his thin skin and tender flesh, he actually looks a bit elegant.

Seeing Li Chengzhi, the Taoist priest seemed to be stunned, and a layer of pink appeared on his face.

Seven or eight men and women came out together, all wearing silk robes and clothes, young and beautiful. It was impossible for Li Chengzhi to just stare at him, so he didn't notice anything unusual about the Taoist priest.

Looking around, he saw that the Taoist priest in white robes was wearing a lotus crown. Li Chengzhi guessed that this person should be the highest-ranking one. His rank should be similar to that of Guo Shouzheng, the master of Taiping Temple in Jingzhou.

You can be called a heavenly master.

Although he looks young, only in his early twenties at most, Li Chengzhi does not find it strange: since Emperor Taiwu worshiped Kou Qianzhi as his disciple, among the disciples of Tianshi, there are not only disciples of the noble family, but also Wangsun and Wangs with the surname of Yuan.

Therefore, it is normal whether you have beautiful clothes, extraordinary appearance, or you are a high-ranking Celestial Master at a young age.

He didn't dare to take the big one, so he stood up and cupped his hands. But before he could say any polite words, the white-robed Taoist priest flew over and grabbed Li Chengzhi's hand, saying excitedly: <

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"Can you really solve these three questions?"

Looking at the Taoist priest's appearance, Li Chengzhi guessed that the white-robed Taoist priest was probably stumped by these questions, or that he had made some kind of bet with them, so he was so urgent.

But it has nothing to do with you, just make money and leave...

As he was thinking about it in his mind, Li Chengzhi realized that the two people were very close to each other, almost touching each other, when a very strong fragrance of powder came from his nose.

Men in the Northern and Southern Dynasties could not help but be masculine. Even if they didn’t like masculine styles, it was normal for men to apply powder. There were also a lot of people who put on blush and rouge, but Li Chengzhi was not used to it. Coupled with the hot weather and sweating, the smell was indescribable.

Weird. He instinctively shook his hand and took two steps back.

The Taoist priest was stunned for a moment, as if he had been humiliated, and his face suddenly turned pale.

"It's not me who solves the problem!" Li Chengzhi felt a little bored. He put his hands behind his back and wiped the hem of his clothes hard twice. Then he pointed at Li Rui and said, "It's me...it's my clan brother. He answered all three questions of yours."

It can be solved. Of course, your thousand pieces of gold must be real..."

Upon hearing that all three questions could be solved, the unhappiness on the Taoist priest's face dissipated a lot, and he smiled again, waving his hand gently: "Bring it up!"

A female crown responded respectfully and walked over carrying a red lacquered square plate, which was also covered with a layer of red silk.

"How can this be a hundred pounds..."

Just as Li Rui muttered a sentence, Li Chengzhi glared back.

There are many things worth a thousand gold, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be copper.
To be continued...