Chang'an is very large, covering an area of 87.3 square kilometers, and is home to nearly one million people, of which more than 100,000 are barbarians from all over the world.
It's hard to find someone here, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But Chang'an City is very small. To some people, it is almost transparent. Especially after determining the search direction, it seems to become even smaller.
It only took Yang Tianlu two days to lock the target, and then another two days to confirm the target.
"I listed all the eminent monks in Chang'an City who have the ability to train ascetics to protect the Dharma. I checked them one by one and found that five of them have not shown up for many days."
"After tracing one by one, it was determined that three of them left Chang'an to travel abroad, and one chose to pass away at the end of his life."
There are many ways to pass away in Buddhism. One of them is to take a lot of antiseptic spices beforehand and cover your body with spices.
Then find a large porcelain jar and sit in it in a meditating posture. A disciple outside will cover the lid and seal the edges. The person inside will die from oxygen depletion.
Generally, this kind of corpse is called a meat relic and becomes a Buddhist vessel enshrined in temples.
Of course, those who are qualified to choose this method of death are all Buddhists with high moral standards. Generally speaking, monks can die however they like, including taking poison, hanging, drowning, or jumping off a cliff.
After death, the body is reduced to ashes by fire. Those with relics will be enshrined in the stupa, and those without relics will be washed away with water.
If you don’t bring it with you in life, you won’t take it with you in death.
"The eminent monk chose to pass away half a month before you were assassinated, and he used a porcelain altar. I personally sneaked into the temple and saw the altar to confirm that he passed away and was not faking his death or being killed."
Chen Jingke quickly asked: "You didn't open the jar, did you?"
Yang Tianlu shook his head and said: "How is it possible? Even though my stance is different, I still wouldn't do such a bad thing."
Chen Jingke felt relieved and asked, "Where's the last one?"
Yang Tianlu said with a solemn expression: "The last one is Huiqing, the abbot of Baoyi Temple, who fell suddenly ill and died suddenly the night before your assassination."
"But I have investigated and found out that he personally conducted morning classes the day before. His face was rosy and he didn't look sick at all."
"And his body was cremated the day after his death. No decent rituals were held, and monks from other monasteries were not invited to participate."
"I also found out that on the morning of your assassination, Falin had appeared near Baoyi Temple."
Chen Jingke asked: "Are you sure it's Fa Lin?"
Yang Tianlu said: "Although there are many monks in Chang'an temple, the court has issued an order not to leave the practice place without permission, so there are very few monks who can move freely."
"There are even fewer monks like Fa Lin who can roam the streets. There is nothing wrong with that."
Chen Jingke said bitterly: "That's right, it must be him. It turns out to be Baoyi Temple. Haha, I finally caught your fox tail."
At this time Wu Shu asked: "What is the origin of this Baoyi Temple?"
Yang Tianlu introduced: "The temple was built during the reign of Emperor Wen of the former Sui Dynasty. It was originally the residence of Wei Chigang, the Taibao Wu Gong. Emperor Wen moved to Daxing Palace, and Wu Wugong also moved the residence to near Daxing City, and the old residence was changed into Baoyi Temple."
"Because of Wu Wugong's relationship, the incense in Baoyi Temple is extremely prosperous, and many eminent monks hang meditation here and preach."
“In the seventh year of Emperor Kaihuang’s reign, Emperor Wen once installed the “Ten Great Virtues Salmon” in Xingshan Temple to assist Huiduo in translating Sanskrit classics. Dharma scriptures among the Ten Great Virtues were hung in Baoyi Temple.”
"During the Wude period, the late emperor also established the Ten Great Virtues of Buddhism to direct Buddhist affairs. Among them, Huixiang came from Baoyi Temple and was Huiqing's senior brother."
"Huixiang passed away due to illness in the seventh year of Wude, so he passed the position of abbot to Huiqing... Therefore, Baoyi Temple has a very high status in Buddhism. Although Huiqing is not as good as the leaders of other sects, he is not afraid to give in."
Wu Shu nodded and said: "Then he is indeed qualified to train a Samana protector."
Yang Tianlu said: "It is basically certain that it is him, but all of this is our guess. To confirm all of this, we need to find evidence of his contacts with Jiang Zian."
Chen Jingke said: "Then go find it quickly. Now that the identity of the assassin has been found, the mastermind behind it has also been found. It is not easy to find evidence of their collusion."
Yang Tianlu shook his head and said: "No, this is precisely the most difficult thing. Hui Qing must have destroyed all the evidence that can be destroyed before he died. It is too difficult to find ironclad evidence."
Chen Jingke said angrily: "How can he get away with us after we've gotten to this point? Even if we can't find irrefutable evidence, it doesn't matter. I say he is who he is."
Yang Tianlu advised: "You do have this ability, but I don't recommend you do this."
Chen Jingke frowned and said, "Why?"
Yang Tianlu explained: "There is always a wrongdoer and a debtor. The assassin is dead and the mastermind committed suicide. If you take revenge on others, it will cause criticism, especially the hatred of Buddhism."
"We finally took advantage of the opportunity of your assassination to divert the attention of Buddhism from us to the imperial court. It is really not appropriate to attract them again."
"You can only be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against a thief for a thousand days. You value the people around you so much, I'm afraid you don't want to see anyone get hurt."
Chen Jingke also hesitated. He was really not willing to let Baoyi Temple go like this, but Yang Tianlu also hit on his weakness.
Although he said calmly to Falin a few days ago, "If you kill the person next to me, I will bury him with a hundred, a thousand," it was all to intimidate him.
In fact, he doesn't want to see anyone around him get hurt. He can't stop everyone from going out in the future, and let Buddhism be used as a guard against thieves.
At this time, Wu Shu spoke and said: "There is always a wrongdoer and a debtor. Huiqing and Jiang Zian are both dead. No matter how much we take revenge, there is a limit. The most we can do is demolish Baoyi Temple."
"But doing this is not painful for Buddhism, but it will arouse the hatred of Buddhist fanatics, and the gain outweighs the loss."
Chen Jingke said unwillingly: "Are we going to let them go like this?"
Wu Shu sneered and said: "That is too advantageous for them. In fact, you have all gone into a misunderstanding. There are many ways to take revenge, why do you have to do it yourself? Can't you just tell the saint about this?"
Chen Jingke was confused at first, then his eyes lit up and he said: "Wonderful, why didn't I think of that? We don't have conclusive evidence and there's nothing we can do against Baoyi Temple, but a saint can."
"Because the saint is angry about Jiang Zian's incident, as long as we hand over the investigation results to the saint, he will immediately take action against Buddhism."
"The Baoyi Temple will definitely be demolished by then, and the monks there will either be ordered to return to secular life, or be exiled and beheaded...even the entire Buddhist sect will be implicated."
Wu Shu added: "Don't forget that Buddha is the Tao. The saints are short of excuses to attack Buddhism, so we will give this excuse to the saints."
Chen Jingke said happily: "Yes, Shu'er has helped me solve a big problem again. I will go to the palace and inform the saint about this."
…
He left as soon as he could, and took his guards with him to the palace, where he successfully met Li Shimin.
Li Shimin's face was full of exhaustion, his eyes were slightly dark, and he said: "Tell me, what do you want from me?"
Seeing this, Chen Jingke had no intention of saying anything else and said with concern: "Your Majesty, you stayed up late again. This is not good for your health. Be careful of your blood pressure rising."
Li Shimin was very pleased and said: "You still have some conscience, but the state affairs are complicated and I can't rest even if I want to."
Chen Jingke looked like he was hesitant to speak.
Li Shimin smiled and said: "It's not your style to be hesitant. If you have anything to say, just tell me and I can still eat you up."
Chen Jingke then said: "Why not let Dalang help you share some unimportant things, you only need to concentrate on the core affairs."
After speaking, he glanced at Li Shimin worriedly, fearing that he would be angry.
Unexpectedly, Li Shimin did not get angry, but said: "You really want to say this, you are the only one in the Tang Dynasty who dares to give me such suggestions again and again."
Chen Jingke scratched his head and said, "Hey, that's because I know the saint has a broad mind."
Li Shimin smiled and shook his head: "No, I'm not angry not because I have a broad mind."
Chen Jingke asked in confusion: "What's the reason?"
Li Shimin said jokingly: "Because I know you have no brains. These words really come from the heart and have no other thoughts."
Chen Jingke felt embarrassed and said unhappily: "Your Majesty, can we still talk to each other properly? How can we humiliate people for nothing? I also have dignity, okay?"
Li Shimin laughed and said: "Haha... You see you are getting anxious... OK, OK, I won't say anything anymore."
After laughing, he said seriously: "I decided to adopt your suggestion."
"Ah?" Chen Jingke was very surprised. The key point was that the turn was too sudden.
Li Shimin sighed: "Recently, I feel more and more lack of energy. I am afraid that my blood pressure will rise and I want to rest, but I can't let go of government affairs. In the end, not only did I not have a good rest, but I also handled the government affairs in a mess."
"Perhaps your suggestion is the best way. Leave some unimportant things to Cheng Qian and I will only focus on the core."
Chen Jingke said happily: "Your majesty is wise, I will say that you have a broad mind, and you are truly the emperor of the ages."
Li Shimin laughed dumbly and said: "You are a person who doesn't even know how to flatter. These words sound like swearing."
Chen Jingke analyzed seriously: "How is that possible? I never tell lies."
"I won't talk about your previous achievements. It's a bit exaggerated to say that there is one emperor throughout the ages. After all, Emperor Qin and Han Wu were there before them, and they also did what you did."
"But in the future, how much population and land will China have during the Qin and Han Dynasties? In the future, the land area of the Tang Dynasty will be ten times theirs, and the number of citizens will be ten times or dozens of times theirs."
"The imperial examination and official selection system, the academic and political education system, the medical system that you established... and in the future we will be able to connect trains to all parts of the world, and ships to sail to every corner of the world."
"The whole world will kneel at your feet and sing your holy name... At that time, as the founder of everything, you will be the emperor throughout the ages."
Li Shimin was very excited by what he said, but he still remained rational and said with a smile: "Although you are not very smart, you are very sharp-tongued and can talk in one way."
Chen Jingke was furious and asked: "Just tell me if there is a chance to complete what I just said, and whether you want to complete it or not."
Li Shimin actually nodded and said seriously: "I wonder, who doesn't want to do this? But it's very difficult, even with your help."
Chen Jingke said matter-of-factly: "It's definitely difficult. If it were easy, someone would have done it long ago. How could we wait until today?"
"But precisely because it is difficult, once you do it, you will become even greater and unmatched."
Li Shimin smiled and said: "Okay, you are right. The more challenges there are, the more motivated I will be."
Chen Jingke took the opportunity to say: "But it takes time to do this. It takes a long, long time. You have to live long enough."
"That's why I suggest that Dalang come out to share some of your work and relieve some of your pressure. Only by combining work and rest can you live longer, right?"
"Otherwise you will be exhausted and you will definitely regret it when the time comes."
If others dare to tell him anything about life or death, Li Shimin will definitely not be happy, and Ren Feng and others next to him will also scold him.
But Chen Jingke said that everyone was accustomed to it and pretended not to hear it.
Li Shimin said helplessly: "Okay, okay, I understand. Didn't I just say that I would let Cheng Qian come out to share the government affairs for me? You don't need to instill this idea in me."
Chen Jingke chuckled and said, "I'm not striking while the iron is hot."
Li Shimin looked speechless, but he actually enjoyed this way of speaking. The relaxed and comfortable way always made him relax.
The key is that although Chen Jingke is not very scheming, he is well-informed and gives constructive opinions.
He only needs to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the suggestion itself, and does not need to consider whether Chen Jingke is plotting something.
This was also a major reason why he indulged Chen Jingke, not just because the other party came up with many inventions and creations to help him make money.
The two chatted for a while, and then Li Shimin asked: "Tell me, why did you come to see me at this time? Did you find something else?"
Chen Jingke said: "Your Majesty is really smart and he guessed right. We found out that this matter may be related to Huiqing of Baoyi Temple."
He immediately told how Wu Shu found the loophole in Fa Lin's words, how Yang Tianlu went to investigate, and what the final investigation results were.
He even stated the purpose of telling Li Shimin about this matter.
"If Hui Qing really did it, then now that the culprit and the murderer are dead, I think there is no way to take revenge. We can't demolish other people's temples."
Li Shimin said: "So you came to me and asked me to help you demolish Baoyi Temple, right?"
Chen Jingke smiled naively and said: "Hey, by the way, you are the king of a country with all the power and authority. Don't you just demolish any temple you want to build? Who dares to say no?"
Li Shimin sneered, but then nodded and said: "Okay, I will fulfill your wish, but my action is not as simple as demolishing a Baoyi Temple."
Chen Jingke said: "Oh, what do you want to do? Demolish all the temples connected with Baoyi Temple?"
Li Shimin said, "Don't worry, we'll find out later."
Chen Jingke was so itchy that he wanted to ask more questions but was shot out by Li Shimin.
He complained in his heart but had no choice. After thinking about it, he went to the harem to see the little Sizi.