Chapter 27: Consistent and strange, manipulating people's hearts
Along the way, when everyone arrived at Shanshiyuan, all the monks had angry expressions on their faces. Even Hui Qi, who was successful in practice and had always been in a peaceful state of mind, now had a faintly dark complexion.
From the city gate to the so-called Shanshiyuan, everyone along the way was interrogated several times by the city patrol camp and the imperial army.
Every time someone came to complain, and then a general came excitedly with his troops, checked the ultimatum, and left with disappointment.
Even among the ordinary people in the capital, when they were watching the group of people, many of them had expressions of joking and disrespect on their faces.
The entire Zhongqing City seemed to be on guard against the monks as if they were thieves. How could they accept this in their hearts?
Chu Li stood still, pointed at the large house in front of him, and said with a smile:
"Master Huiqi, this is Shanshiyuan!"
Hui Qi looked up at the big house in front of him and couldn't help but be stunned and said:
"This Shanshiyuan is not like a Buddhist place!"
The house in front of you occupies a large area. At first glance, you can see the carved beams and painted buildings, and the gorgeous decoration. Compared with the place where Buddhism was built for Qing Dynasty, it looks more like a luxurious mansion built by a high official.
Chu Li made an inviting gesture and led the way while smiling and saying:
"This Shanshiyuan was rebuilt by His Majesty as the residence of a prisoner. Hahaha, so, it looks a little different from other Buddhist places. But, Buddhism has always been exclusive.
Everything moves, you are all eminent monks, what impact will it have if you practice in such a mansion!"
When Hui Qi heard this, he turned to look at the disciples behind him who were marveling at the luxurious decorations and furnishings in the mansion, and his heart sank again.
Chu Li looked at Hui Qi's slightly gloomy expression, with an inexplicable flash of meaning in his eyes. He pointed at a passing courtyard pretending to be careless and said casually:
"By the way, in the courtyard over here, Master Huifa of Guiyuan Temple lives. Ah, and in the courtyard we just walked through, Abbot Zhimi of Xiangji Temple lives. According to seniority, Abbot Zhimi is still Hui.
Where is Master Qi’s nephew? Oh, this is Abbot Huili of Liushi Temple..."
Zhitong on the side could not help but interrupt again:
"Eunuch Chu, when did these masters come to the capital, why don't we know?"
The monks he just mentioned are all abbots of large temples and have high status in Buddhism. But why did they not receive any news from such people when they came to the capital?
When Chu Li heard this, he turned around in surprise and said in confusion:
"Ah, don't you know?"
Hui Qi put his hands together and said:
"We really don't know, please let me know for sure!"
"The rebellion of Ganye Temple resulted in the death of Master Huikai. Therefore, the leader of the Buddhist sect is now vacant. Your Majesty feels that this position is related to the stability of the Buddhist sect and cannot be left vacant. Some time ago, he issued an order to order the abbots of the temples in the Yun Kingdom to come to Beijing.
Gather together and hold a meeting to debate scriptures and discuss Dharma, use Buddhism and martial arts to determine the winner and loser, and decide on the candidate for the great master." Chu Li explained.
Hearing Chu Li's words, everyone in the group was stunned.
After a moment, Zhitong came to his senses and frowned:
"Why don't we know the news about these uncles and brothers coming to Beijing?"
During the Dharma Discussion Conference, these abbots came to the capital without their knowledge. No matter what they thought, something felt wrong!
When Chu Li heard this, he shook his head and said:
"I don't know that!"
Zhitong's face darkened, his eyes became serious, and he asked:
"What about these uncles and brothers? Abbot Hui Qi"
"Ah, several masters came to see His Majesty early this morning and said they wanted to give lectures to His Majesty..." Chu Li continued to provoke casually.
Zhitong looked ugly and gritted his teeth and said:
"How could they be like this? This is..."
"Cough cough cough!" Hui Qi coughed twice, preventing Zhitong from being carried away by anger and continuing to say anything.
Among the Buddhists, it had actually been agreed before that Hui Qi would take over as the Great Master.
After all, Hui Qi is the only ninth-level master left in Buddhism. Secondly, in order to eliminate the influence of Ganye Temple on Buddhist disciples, Buddhism has already described Hui Qi's breakthrough as a enlightenment.
It has already reached this point. If Huiqi is not the Archmage, it will obviously end badly.
But these temple abbots, at this time, secretly ran to the capital without telling their group to attend some kind of Dharma discussion conference held by the emperor. They still need to learn about this from the emperor's mouth.
What these people behind the scenes are thinking about is naturally due to their ignorance.
Seeing Zhitong's appearance, Chu Li knew that the errands Xiao Cheng had told him had been completed. He chuckled twice and handed the group of people to the officials of Shanshiyuan. He bowed and left, returning to the palace to resume his duties.
This Shanshiyuan occupies a large area. There were hundreds of people in the group, and the officials of Shanshiyuan easily accommodated them all.
As soon as he settled down, Zhitong couldn't wait to lead several disciples to Hui Qi's Zen room. When he saw Hui Qi, he couldn't wait to say:
"Abbott, today these..."
"I know what you want to ask!" Hui Qi interrupted.
It was obvious that what others were trying to grab was Hui Qi's upcoming position as the leader of the Buddhist sect. But at this moment, Hui Qi didn't look as angry as when he had just been teased by the people in the city.
When Zhitong heard this, he immediately said:
"Abbott, since you know how to do it, we all obey your arrangements!"
"Everyone listens to the abbot's arrangements!" Several disciples who followed Zhitong immediately said in unison.
Buddhism is one body, and it is also a place for monks to practice. There should not be so many complicated thoughts. Unfortunately, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. However, monks from different temples naturally join each other to keep warm.
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People like Zhitong are all from Taning Temple, so they naturally hope that the next Buddhist leader will be one of their own!
At this time, the major temples and monasteries in various places showed signs of seizing the throne, so they were naturally dissatisfied.
Huiqi looked at the several disciples of Taning Temple who were obsessed with the six impurities and moved them. He couldn't help but sigh softly and said earnestly:
"As a member of the Buddhist sect, what's wrong with judging who is superior based on Buddhist practice? What you say and do is more like officials fighting for power and profit than monks."
Zhitong was speechless for a moment after hearing the words. He quickly bowed his head and saluted, chanted the name of the Buddha, and said:
"Amitabha, this disciple was confused for a moment and almost went astray!"
Several disciples also imitated the same example, bowed their heads and saluted, and chanted the name of the Buddha.
After a moment of pause, Zhitong saw that Hui Qi's expression improved slightly, but he spoke again, saying:
"It's just Abbot, you have a clear mind and are not tainted by worldly things. Buddhism is in your hands, which is the best choice. If because of the emperor's help, the title of great mage fell into the hands of those fake practitioners who only have power in their hearts.
, that is the difficulty of Buddhism!”
Seeing Zhitong's appearance, Hui Qi knew that he still failed to find out. He sighed slightly, shook his head and said:
"Oh, that's right. How can the greed and hatred in your heart be easily detected... You don't need to worry too much about this matter!"
Hearing this, Zhitong was slightly startled and said:
"What?"
Hui Qi looked solemn, shook his head and said:
"It's just the emperor's method! After meeting Chu Li, everything is the emperor's method... No wonder you are so afraid of His Majesty today, no wonder!"
"Here, abbot, what does this mean?"
"As soon as we arrived outside Zhongqing City, His Majesty's people arrived? Such a coincidence, someone must be monitoring our whereabouts at all times. There is also the issue of the ultimatum, which contains our names, temple origin, appearance, and characteristics.
Verbatim! From these things, it is clear that His Majesty’s forces are spread all over the Yun Kingdom, so we can quickly find out our identities! With such strength, we are naturally able to intercept the messages about the Dharma Conference from various temples!"
Zhitong was stunned for a moment and then said:
"What the abbot is saying is that His Majesty is deliberately using this matter to provoke us?"
Hui Qi nodded and said:
"nature!"
When Zhitong heard this and thought, cold sweat broke out on his back, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"This, this, the current emperor uses this method, it is a bit dark!"
The emperor of a country does not have to be upright and upright, but his methods are so shameful!
Hui Qi took a deep breath, with firm eyes, and said:
"Based on the emperor's actions, there must be something fishy about the Ganye Temple! For the sake of the reputation of our Buddhist sect, Master Huikai must rest in peace, and I must find out!"
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After Xiao Cheng read the last memorial in his hand, he looked up at Feng Bao and said:
"Chu Li is back?"
"Yes, I'm back. All the things His Majesty asked me to do are naturally done!"
Xiao Cheng nodded, stood up and walked out of the Yangxin Hall.
Outside the Yangxin Hall, seven or eight monks dressed in monk's robes, who look very good at first sight, are all great and eminent monks. They are sitting cross-legged under the eaves of the corridor, reading scriptures together, and praying for His Majesty, the State of Yun.
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Xiao Cheng gave a slight signal, and Feng Bao immediately nodded and ordered all the palace attendants and imperial troops to withdraw, leaving only a few masters to accompany Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng coughed slightly, and seven or eight monks stopped chanting sutras, stood up quickly to greet them, and shouted in unison:
"People from the Shimen have met Your Majesty!"
Xiao Cheng glanced at them casually and said directly:
"Today, Abbot Huiqi of Taning Temple has arrived!"
When all the monks heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other in shock.
Xiao Cheng glanced at several people and then said:
"Your Buddhist sect sent out several waves of people to tell Abbot Hui Qi about the Dharma Conference... but unfortunately, I intercepted them all!"
All the monks were shocked and looked at Xiao Cheng.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?" One of the monks couldn't help but asked loudly.
"I don't mean anything else, I just want to tell you clearly. I will never let Hui Qi become the next Archmage! The next Archmage, even if you don't fight for it, will definitely be born from among you!"
Having said this, Xiao Cheng showed a playful smile and said immediately before the monks could react:
"Masters, after you have finished praying for today, please come back!"
Several monks froze in place, motionless, with a hint of complexity in their livid expressions!
The position of the Archmage! For a monk, this position is the Prime Minister among scholars and the Great General among soldiers. There are very few people who will not be tempted!
The emperor used a method to sow discord. At this time, Abbot Hui Qi didn't know why, and he couldn't say he was resentful or jealous of us. With such a state of mind, he might not be able to shoulder the important responsibility of Buddhism!
Moreover, Your Majesty has already said that Abbot Huiqi will definitely not be able to get the position of Great Master. The poor monk stepped forward and took over the important task, but it was also to protect Buddhist disciples and believers, wasn't it?
Seeing the expressions of emotion in the monks' eyes, Xiao Cheng curled his lips, and a sense of pleasure in manipulating people's hearts came to his heart.
Xiao Cheng's methods were never known to be done in a dark way. Only by combining the right and the odd can we achieve success!