Spring has begun, the wind is warm and sunny in Chang'an, and new green appears on the willow branches.
In Furong Garden, by the Qujiang Pool, a group of people were drinking and having fun. They set up tents on the shore and laid out fruits and vegetables. They also hired a painting boat and let the actors play the piano and dance on the boat.
It was so uncomfortable to listen to music and play dominoes while the wind was blowing.
"Peace!"
"Li Chenghong, you put the cards down again."
"I'm going to urinate and eat dog intestines. I'm so lucky."
"Go further away. You drank too much dog urine last night, so don't let me wait."
When Li Chenghong reached the Qujiang River, he walked further north. While unbuckling his belt, his stomach growled a few times, and he simply headed into the woods ahead.
This area is actually a royal garden, built by Li Longji to play in. Now it is abandoned, and only some clan members come here occasionally.
Li Chenghong is also a member of the clan. He is the grandson of Prince Zhanghuai Li Xian and the son of King Bin Li Shouli. In terms of seniority, he is the clan brother of Emperor Li Cong. His sister is Princess Jincheng who is married to Tubo. His brother Li Chengcai is married to Uighurs. Princess.
In short, their family's close relationship with the emperor made them the easiest candidates for marriage.
Choosing a place with a nice view facing the lake among the vegetation, Li Chenghong squatted down and was about to relax when he suddenly heard the figure of a branch being trampled. He turned around and quickly picked up his clothes and stood up.
"Your Highness."
Xue Bai also heard the commotion and looked over from behind a big willow tree. When he saw Li Chenghong, he stood up openly and said, "King Guangwu is very elegant."
"I don't dare. Your Highness, please forgive me for not being able to do it properly."
Li Chenghong took a peek and clearly saw a woman hurriedly leaving behind the willow tree, only a glimpse of her back with a flying skirt. Apparently, Xue Bai was having a private meeting with someone here today, and he happened to meet him .
It is indeed very convenient and enjoyable to ride out from the Daming Palace and follow the wall of the East City to the Furong Garden to enjoy the scenery. But who is that woman?
"I wanted to call you for a chat recently, but since we met today, it's just right." Xue Bai said, waved, and walked to the lake to talk.
Li Chenghong regarded himself as an elder and secretly scolded him for being rude, but he still put on his belt, clamped his legs tightly, and walked over slowly, saying: "Your Highness, just ask."
"Do you know anything about Tibet?"
"Your Highness, is it possible that you want my family to get married again?" Li Chenghong was startled when he heard the word "Tubo", because among his many children he had a daughter of school age, and he quickly said: "If so, I...I can never agree to it. of."
Xue Bai waved his hand and said: "It is not a marriage. When the Tubo envoys come, you only need to point out which of them are good friends with Princess Jincheng. As for the others, I will make my own arrangements when the time comes."
"Really? Didn't Your Highness deceive me into being honest and deceive me?"
"How can I joke with you about national affairs?"
Li Chenghong wanted to act like an elder and suppress Xue Bai, but unfortunately he lacked the momentum. In the end, he accepted the errand obediently and agreed to welcome the Tibetan envoys as the county prince and the officials of the Ministry of Rites.
After saying this, seeing that Xue Bai still refused to leave, he cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll take my leave."
"Um."
Xue Bai stood by the Qujiang Pond, looking at Li Chenghong's tense back. He stood alone for a while, seeming to be staring at whether he was still planning to relieve himself.
Historically, probably after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tubo army invaded Chang'an and established Li Chenghong as the puppet emperor. This matter may be just a small matter in the vast dust of history. No one would really count Li Chenghong among the emperors of the Tang Dynasty.
But for ordinary people living in Chang'an today, it is another disaster.
Therefore, Xue Bai was very cautious in dealing with Dazalu Gong.
Li Chenghong finally solved the problem by holding a piece of shit in the latrine. From this incident, he realized that he was a little afraid of Xue Bai.
When he returned to the card table, Li Zhen, who had been waiting impatiently, asked, "What took you so long?"
"I just met..."
In the middle of his words, Li Chenghong wanted to make a joke about Xue Bai's private meeting with a certain woman in Furong Garden. But he could actually feel that Xue Bai had been staring at him from behind after he left, with no threat.
And Ming.
"Lost."
Soon, the crisp sound of dominoes colliding sounded again.
~~
The next day.
After the court meeting, Wei Jiansu was summoned by Xue Bai alone.
In fact, Wei Jiansu is very dissatisfied with the current structure of the court. The "prince supervising the country" he wants should be that the prince watches from the side and the prime minister decides the government affairs.
This time we are talking about the issues of land and population in the Tang Dynasty. Xue Bai believes that after two or three years of war, the wealthy families have hidden their land and the situation of households running away has become more and more serious.
In this regard, he asked Wei Jiansu his opinion.
"Presumably, His Highness will start to resolve this matter sooner or later, and by then the old minister will no longer be in the court."
"Why did Wei Gong say this?"
Wei Jiansu was a rather old-fashioned and serious person, so he started from the past when Li Longji appointed Yu Wenrong as prime minister, and talked about the various difficulties faced in tracing hidden fields and hidden households, and asked Xue Bai to wait with peace of mind until the foundation was deep.
, then consider these things after it is justified.
Xue Bai accepted his opinion humbly.
Seeing that Xue Bai was willing to accept advice, Wei Jiansu said a few more words, saying that he had misunderstood His Highness before, but now that His Highness has clarified his identity and is indeed a wise man, he should support His Highness.
The relationship between the two was not good before, but it has undergone some changes recently.
Then, Xue Bai asked tentatively whether it was feasible to increase the number of candidates for imperial examinations and correspondingly reduce the number of officials.
"Absolutely not!"
Wei Jiansu sternly opposed it as soon as he heard it, and his attitude was resolute.
As a result, Xue Bai became clearer about his position. He could accept things like censusing the land population, which could ease land annexation, but he would still instinctively oppose things involving the core interests of the family.
Then, the thing that should not be rushed for success is the reform of the imperial examination. Xue Bai then said: "Wei Gong does not need to be excited, I am just asking casually."
After going back and forth like this several times, Xue Bai said something casually.
"By the way, I wonder how many people and land there are in the temples of the Tang Dynasty now?"
When Wei Jiansu heard this, he immediately caught Xue Bai's intention.
Today we talked about two issues first, and the last one was directed at Buddhism.
To be fair, Wei Jiansu still did not support it. He shook his head very stiffly and said, "I don't know."
"Can it be checked?"
"I believe that Buddhism can help all sentient beings and encourage people to do good, which can stabilize the country." Wei Jiansu looked around and talked to him.
Xue Bai said: "Yes, I also think that Buddhism can help people dispel their hostility, and intends to use it to persuade Tibet to stop fighting and stabilize the country. What does Wei Gong think?"
Wei Jiansu understood what he meant.
At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, an official named Fu Yi submitted a letter "Please abolish the Buddhist Dharma Table", believing that monks "are unfaithful and unfilial. They cut off their hair and bow to their kings and relatives. They wander around, eat and drink, and change their clothes to avoid paying taxes."
", requesting that "the Hoover cult should be returned to Tianzhu; all ascetics should be released to their hometowns; those who skip classes should be punished by Pule and lose rent; those who are avoiding military service should be kept under constant service. Don't save a little bald man, always bow to the country, be a self-sufficient loyal minister,
Staying in the Wei Ancestral Temple, the Tang Dynasty has been established, and it is the master of creation. The people have nothing to do, and they are the people who sacrificed the emperor."
In the end, due to the opposition of the courtiers, the matter was dropped.
But officials are all smart people, and they are very aware of the consequences of the temple's economic expansion.
To put it simply, Xue Bai wanted to rectify Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, take back the land of the temples, and order the monks to return to secular life and farm. On the other hand, he also wanted to spread Buddhism to Tibet, thereby triggering a dispute between Chisong Detsen and Dazhalu Gong.
conflicts, and devoured Tubo's taxes, inspiring its hostility.
And he also wanted to use the most drastic means, such as destroying Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty and deliberately guiding monks to preach in Tubo.
Wei Jiansu was thinking about whether he could still stop Xue Bai from doing this.
Among the prime ministers, there is no need to mention Du Youlin; Li Bi is a Taoist priest and is likely to agree; Yan Zhenqing will agree to weaken Tubo; Li Xian will at least not oppose it too strongly because of taxation.
Moreover, Xue Bai just promised that he would wait until the time is right to investigate the hidden fields and households of the wealthy families, and would not touch the system of becoming an official. He accepted the advice humbly, and now he just wants to touch Buddhism. If he doesn't
Supporting him would be too disrespectful to him.
After thinking about it, Wei Jiansu finally said: "If Your Highness wants to know the land owned by temples in the world and the population, I can check it carefully."
~~
Another half month later, during the court meeting, Xue Bai asked again casually.
That was after discussing whether Tubo Zanpu believed in Buddhism or Bon Bo religion.
"My lords, do you know how much land and population the temples in the world have?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the ministers looked at each other in confusion, not knowing how to answer.
Only Wei Jiansu stood up and replied: "As far as I know, there are more than 40,000 small temples and more than 4,600 large temples in the world. The temples have tens of millions of acres of fertile land and more than 300,000 monks.
The temple has more than 500,000 tenants and hundreds of thousands of slaves. It also has property, including iron statues, bronze statues, bells, chimes and other items, which are not counted."
Hearing this, many officials' hands holding the wat plate shook unconsciously.
Especially the officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
What is the population of the Tang Dynasty now? After the war, there were only more than 7 million registered households and only a billion acres of farmland, but the temples occupied nearly one-tenth of the fertile land and did not pay taxes?
Between the questions and answers, it became obvious what the prince and the prime minister were planning.
Officials who believed in Buddhism immediately stood up and wanted to give some advice.
"knew."
Xue Bai just waved his hand and ordered the court to disperse without saying anything, as if it was really just a casual question.
As a result, many officials thought this was a false alarm. Many people had written protest memorials overnight, but they didn't even have a reason to submit them.
After a few days, the impact of this small incident gradually subsided, but the imperial court issued an official document and made a series of personnel transfers, such as moving Wang Jin, the governor of Hedong Jiedu, to be the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and appointing Yuanjie as the pacifier of Hedong.
Wu Qiquanzhi, the deputy envoy to the east of Hedong, transferred Yuan Zai, Chang Gun, Liu Yan and others back to the court.
From these transfer orders, a thoughtful person can tell that the imperial court is taking big action against Buddhism. For example, Wang Jin believes in Buddhism, and the transfer order is to prevent him from protecting temples in Hedong. And the fact that many officials who are good at financial management have been reused is obviously the result of the imperial court.
I want to confiscate Buddhist property.
However, just as this rumor was gradually rising, Xue Bai's banquet once again calmed down the anxious hearts of the monks.
~~
Taking advantage of the warm spring weather and the good weather, Princess Yuzhen invited some royal family members to gather in Quchi.
Li Chenghong also came. He was still worried that the court would send his daughter away for marriage. Now that the Tibetan envoys were on the way, he wanted to get more information. He heard that Princess Yuzhen also invited Prime Minister Li Xian, so he came here specially to get some information.
lively.
The reason why Princess Yuzhen held this banquet was to help Wang Wei ask Li Xian about the court's current attitude towards Buddhism. Although she was a Taoist priest, she had no ill feelings towards Buddhism.
After hearing her question, Li Xian waved his hands and said, "Where did you hear this rumor? The imperial court has no such objection."
"Aren't His Highness and the Right Prime Minister eyeing the temple industry?"
"Is this possible?" Li Xian said: "The imperial court is also planning to send a group of eminent monks to Tubo to save the world and promote Buddhism."
Just as they were talking, they saw Li Qiwu also coming, with a few young people behind him, two of whom were monks with shaved heads and cassocks.
When Princess Yuzhen saw her, she couldn't help but said to Li Xian: "You see, I'm here to get some news from you too."
They are a princess and a prime minister, with noble status. They sit at the top, but they can also hear everyone's discussions.
When Li Chenghong saw that behind Li Qiwu, in addition to the two monks, there was also an ugly but elegant young man, he couldn't help but ask: "Is this Lu Yu who has become famous recently?"
"That's right." Li Qiwu stroked his beard and smiled, saying: "King Guangwu has actually heard of his name."
Lu Yu responded and said, "I have met King Guangwu."
Li Chenghong laughed loudly and said: "Then don't drink alcohol today and try the tea you brewed."
"Being respectful is worse than obeying orders."
Since Lu Yu followed Li Qiwu to Chang'an, he has gained a high reputation among the nobles of Chang'an in a short period of time because he really knows tea, understands tea, and can make good tea. As soon as he came today, everyone wanted to see his tea art.
.
So the tea utensils were placed one by one, and Lu Yu took out his treasured Yang Zijiang water to boil.
Li Chenghong stepped forward to take a look and said: "There are many people here, but you are too stingy. Who can drink this little food?"
"King Guangwu, I am not stingy. Although there are tea leaves, there is not much good water."
"I'm waiting right next to the Qujiang Pond, how can I still be short of good water?" Li Chenghong completely forgot that he often peed in the Qujiang Pond.
Lu Yu pondered slightly and said: "If you want Qujiang water, you need to use the Zhongling water in the center of the pool."
Princess Yuzhen heard this interestingly, so she called Li Jilan beside her and said, "Send someone to go to the pool and scoop some cool water for him."
"Here."
Li Jilan got the order and arranged for two little Taoist nuns to row a boat to scoop water. She herself was a little absent-minded and glanced at the Furong Pond from time to time.
"Ji Lanzi, what are you waiting for?"
"No." Li Jilan blushed again, turned around and asked, "Is there a scoop of water? Give it to me."
She was a little panicked, but she didn't expect that the jar was quite heavy. When she picked it up, half of the water inside was poured out.
"Yeah, what should I do?"
"Let's go scoop it again."
"The fire has already been lit, I'm afraid it's too late."
Li Jilan looked back, then looked at Qujiang Pool, thinking about the difference between the water at the edge of the pool and the water in the center of the pool. It must be that the man was pretending, so he simply filled the jar by the pool and raised it with the little Taoist nun.
go back.
The jar is placed on the tea table, and the water inside is clear and translucent.
After finishing this matter, Li Jilan returned to stand behind Princess Yuzhen, her eyes still unconsciously peeking in the direction of Furong Garden.
suddenly.
"I'm afraid this is not the middle cooling water of Qujiang Pool."
Behind her, Lu Yu took a spoonful of water from the jar, tasted it, and said, "This must be water from the shore."
Li Jilan was shocked and wondered how he could taste this? Could it be that this person saw them fetching water.
She then quickly looked towards the place where she had just drawn the water, but could not see it through the fence and reeds.
Li Chenghong didn't believe that Lu Yu could taste it, so he stepped forward and took a spoonful and tasted it, but he didn't feel any peculiar smell at all.
"Ji Lanzi." Princess Yuzhen asked, "Is this Chi Xinshui?"
"Master, it was the disciple who beat me by the pool." Li Jilan had no choice but to reply.
"You are really out of your mind all day long. Go get some water."
"yes."
Li Jilan then took the Taoist nun to fetch water. The road was slippery and he accidentally fell. Fortunately, he fell among the grass and flowers. It didn't hurt at all, but the hem of the Taoist robe was stained with the juice of the flowers and plants, making it dirty and red.
Red and green.
After putting the brought water on the tea table this time, Lu Yu tasted it and said with a slight smile: "This is the Zhongling water in the center of the pool. Is what Xiaosheng said wrong?"
"Yes." Li Jilan couldn't help but admire.
Everyone present was also amazed at Lu Yu's ability to distinguish water, and marveled at it.
Li Chenghong tasted the two cans of water separately, but he didn't feel any difference at all, so he could only feel ashamed.
Roasted over slow fire, the time for making tea passed very slowly, but a group of royal family members could wait.
They don't need to do spring plowing anyway, so they have plenty of leisure time.
The fragrance of tea is refreshing, and the melodious sound of the piano can be heard.
Everyone turned around and saw a young monk playing the piano.
This monk is about twenty-six or seventeen years old. Although he is not tall, he has a face as beautiful as a crown jade, with delicate features, red lips and white teeth. What is even more rare is that his head shape is also perfect, round and full.
His piano skills are also very superb, which, combined with the scent of tea, makes people relaxed and relaxed.
"Who is this person?" Li Chenghong couldn't help but whispered to Li Qiwu.
"His dharma name is Jiaoran." Li Qiwu said with some admiration in his tone: "He is the tenth grandson of Xie Lingyun. His courtesy name is Qingzhou. His poetry, tea ceremony, chess, music, calligraphy and painting are all extraordinary."
Li Chenghong said: "I am hosting the Tibetan envoys, but I am short of people like Lu Yu and Jiao Ran. Can I give up my love?"
Li Qiwu was surprised and turned his head to glance at Li Chenghong, thinking that such a waste could still have errands, but he was not as important as him.
After one song, the tea was ready.
Just watching Lu Yu share tea with everyone is a pleasure.
Li Xian drank the tea and nodded repeatedly. He first praised Lu Yu and said, "He is a master of tea ceremony for a generation."
"Thank you Mr. Li for your great reputation. I don't dare to take it for a young man."
Li Xian turned to Jiaoran again and asked, "Are you also a good drinker?"
"yes."
"Spring wine in the Cui Lou, shrimps in the toad mausoleum, all the young people in Chang'an share the same joy." Li Xian asked: "Is this a poem you wrote?"
This is a poem he saw praising the winemaking of Xiabaoling when he went to see a performance. He heard that it was written by a monk named "Jiao Ran". When he saw this monk today, he couldn't help but ask.
"Yes." Jiaoran clasped his hands together and said, "I wrote a poem for this wine, and the restaurant gave me the wine as a gift. I feel ashamed."
Li Xian asked with a smile: "You are a monk, but you also drink alcohol? Don't you break the precept?"
"Although a poor monk has become a monk, he still loves poetry and wine."
Li Xian stroked his beard and smiled, saying: "In that case, why not write a poem for the beautiful scenery today?"
At this time, everyone's eyes had moved away from Jiaoran's body and looked to the north. Many people also stood up one after another.
Because Xue Bai has arrived.
Xue Bai still paid a private visit incognito today. Seeing everyone's gaze, he waved his hand and said: "There is no need to be polite, don't disturb your elegance."
"Your Highness."
"Don't be too polite, they are all my elders."
After a small refusal, everyone sat down again.
Li Jilan, who was originally absent-minded, seemed to have come back to her senses now. There was more smile in her eyes, and her cheeks seemed to be stained with a blush, which contrasted with the pink color not far away. Her delicate appearance could not be suppressed by the plain Taoist robe on her body.
.
Xue Bai sat down between Princess Yuzhen and Li Xian and said, "What were you talking about just now? Continue."
"Master Jiaoran is going to compose a poem."
"Very good, please."
Jiao Ran clasped his hands together and said, "Ji Lanzi was just fetching water to make tea. He must have dropped it, so the poor monk gave this poem to Ji Lanzi."
Li Jilan was still lost in thought when he suddenly heard his name and couldn't help but be surprised.
And a poem by Jiao Ran has also been read out.
"The goddess came to test her and dyed her clothes with flowers."
“I can’t afford Zen, but I still return with old flowers.”
This poem was indeed beautiful and elegant. Everyone praised it and asked Li Jilan what they thought.
Li Jilan quickly stepped forward and thanked her brightly.
Jiaoran then asked: "The young monk has heard the name of Ji Lanzi's poem for a long time. I wonder if I am lucky enough to get a poem by Ji Lanzi today?"
Li Jilan glanced at Xue Bai from the corner of her eye, and saw that Xue Bai was talking to Princess Yuzhen, saying that it was just now that Lu Yu could taste the unique differences between the water in the heart of the pool and the water on the bank of the pool.
When she was about to speak, Xue Bai glanced at the hem of her Taoist robe and suddenly spoke.
"Master Jiaoran and I also have a predestined relationship, and we gave each other a poem to express our shame."
Everyone couldn't help but be surprised. Although they all knew that Xue Bai was good at poetry, he had always pushed and pushed whenever he could. Except for the time when he was currying favor with the Supreme Emperor, he rarely took the initiative to compose poems.
Jiao Ran was also flattered and quickly joined his hands in salute and said: "I am honored to be twice as honored as this poor monk."
Xue Bai then stood up, walked a few steps, and started chanting.
"Sit and drink the cool water while watching the simmering dust."
"Wuyou holds a bowl and sends it to tea lovers."
It is also a five-character quatrain, but this poem is more clear and beautiful, compared with Jiaoran's poem.
Xue Bai recited the poem, but seemed to feel that it was not enough. He took a sip of Lu Yu's tea and said: "Good tea, but I also have some new tea here. I want to share it with everyone, how about it?"
He is so elegant, so naturally everyone has no reason not to follow him.
But many people also have doubts in their hearts, why is His Highness uncharacteristically competing with two young people who have not yet entered the officialdom?
Li Xian looked at Jiaoran's bald head and understood clearly that Xue Bai was deliberately dealing with Buddhism.
Li Chenghong looked at Xue Bai and Li Jilan, and suddenly realized. He could see that His Highness was jealous. In this case, the woman who had a tryst with His Highness in Furong Garden that day was obviously Ji Lanzi in front of him.