When Chu Qing thought that these monks were already shameless, as soon as they left the city gate, Feng Taoist got into the carriage and told him what he knew, which refreshed Chu Qing's knowledge again.
In fact, he has always avoided the subject of religion, intentionally or unintentionally.
He knew that many people believed in Buddhism, and it was not a bad thing to have faith. On the contrary, it was good to give people something to think about.
But when Taoist Feng opened his mouth, Chu Qing was completely shocked.
He always thought that landlords were all wealthy and aristocratic families. Unexpectedly, even monks were "landlords", real big landlords!
When I mentioned temples and monks, the first impression that came to my mind was that of ringing the bell and chanting Buddha's name every day without any desire or desire.
But in fact this is not the case. The monk has turned his faith into a business!
Regardless of whether it is Dapu Temple or a temple in the city, there is a large amount of land in its name. This "large amount" is even comparable to that of some aristocratic families. The source of the land includes the original cultivation by the monks themselves, as well as grants from the court, and
A lot of it is donated.
Not only do they have a large amount of land in their hands, these temples also buy land. The purchased land is not cultivated, but rented out for the common people to cultivate, that is, tenants. In other words, they are basically the same as those of the aristocratic families and those officials.
The situation is almost the same. Land is obtained through different methods and then people are hired to farm it.
If this is just the case, the temple is also engaged in another kind of business activity, lending money. In ancient times, it was called loan sharking, which can be understood as lending.
The most awesome thing is that most of the money used by temples to lend is not their own, but belongs to "investors".
The investors here do not mean that someone has money, invests in the temple, and then gets a share of the incense money, but they directly deposit the money in the temple, and later it gradually evolved into lending it to the borrower.
There is no interest when money is placed in a bank, but there is interest when it is placed in a temple. The temple has basically become the prototype of a bank. It stores rich people's money in the temple and then lends it to others, thereby collecting interest.
What is even more exaggerated is that many temples in Zhongzhou Changchao no longer allow people to worship Buddha, but only provide "lending" services.
Officials, aristocratic families, landlords and gentry from all over the world have no place to put their money, so they keep it in temples, which can be regarded as a kind of investment. Temple branches are also widely distributed in various places. Due to the continuous investment of funds from all walks of life,
And the temple's branches in various places, the temple has more cash than the bank.
Various temples have also formulated industry regulations and have an extremely detailed mortgage system. Real estate, houses, gold, silver and jewelry can all be liquidated or mortgaged. If the people have silks, grains, salt and iron, or even bedding, etc., no matter
No matter how much, the temple will accept it, sell it, pawn it, mortgage it, whatever.
There are also debt collectors in Buddhism, divided into three, six or nine levels, and several packages for non-repayment of money owed.
For example, if you only repay part of the interest and not the principal, then the Buddha will not bless the borrower, and you will be in bad luck every day.
If all the interest is paid but the principal is not repaid, then not only will the Buddha not bless you, but when the debtor dies, you will have to go to hell, saying that the place is always suffering, and so on.
The third package, if the principal is not repaid and the interest is not repaid, the consequences will be terrible. Not only will you go to hell, but you will be reincarnated, and you will have to be a pig or a dog in your next life.
People are quite superstitious and believe in reincarnation, so there are very few people who don't pay back the money they owe. Even if they end up ruining their families, they still have to pay back the money. Of course, if they encounter people who don't pay back, then the Buddhist collectors, haha
, quite professional, professional in boxing.
If you are more resistant to beatings, and professional boxing skills match professional ability to withstand beatings, Buddhism still has a way. The money they give out is not only their own, but also "investors", and these investors are all high-ranking officials.
Noble people, they don't practice boxing, law, and etiquette. In short, they can make people come to life. If they have a house, they can take a house, but if they don't have a house, they can't work as coolies. If they want your children, if you don't have any children, then
Just...if this were the case, it would be impossible for the temple to lend the money out, and they also have a credit reporting system.
"What the hell, is this a monk?" Chu Qing was completely shocked. He looked at the sarcastic Feng Taoist and was speechless for a long time.
Huang Laosi’s eyes were dark.
Whether it was Hua Wenwu or Feng Daoren, he knew all these things clearly, but he had never communicated this matter with Chu Qing.
In history, there have been many attempts to exterminate Buddhism. If Buddhism had only been a pure cultivator, it would not have been exterminated.
The temples of the Chang Dynasty were considered a highly organized social group. This kind of centripetal force was not much worse than that of families or nobles. Once there was any rebellion against the imperial court, it would undoubtedly cause huge disasters, although the temples in various places were self-contained.
, but the beliefs, at least the beliefs they say are unified, so after taking the throne, Huang Laosi has been trying every means to curb the development of Buddhism.
Chu Qing, who was sitting in the carriage, had a look of shock on his face. But then he thought about it and recalled some things from his previous life. Then he realized how similar the history was. Not to mention the monks of later generations, even in normal history, Buddhism was hard to describe.
There is no need to argue about releasing money. There are records in official and unofficial history. The same is true for annexing land. Even land occupation is common. This group of monks is not a human being, and they make more concessions than aristocratic families.
The carriage had arrived at the southern suburbs. Chu Qing opened the carriage curtain and found that the southern suburbs were extremely lively. It was just that he had not been there in the past six months, but it had become so lively.
Just like a market in Beijing, it is already dark, and there are an endless stream of pedestrians and cars around. There are also many vendors selling goods and many stalls, especially these stalls selling everything. It is like going to a market.
Among them, it seems to be still in the North City of the city.
Huang Laosi looked around and was quite surprised: "It is only three miles away from Hanmen Academy. The academy is inaccessible, but here, it is full of people. It is a good atmosphere."
Chu Qing looked through the crowd and found a deserted area on the southwest side, which was a little strange: "Why are the lands over there so panicked? Haven't they all been taken over by us?"
Huang Laosi was extremely helpless.
You ask me, I ask who will go.
It was still Feng Taoist who gave the answer, with a half-smile but not a smile: "Your fiefdom in Chu Qing is so busy that the land price of this originally wasteland has also risen. Guess whose name those lands are under."
"Don't tell me that I'm from the temple too."
"Yes, houses will be built on these wastelands. The temple will build these houses and rent them to the people to live in."
Chu Qing realized something was wrong: "How much does it cost a month?"
"It's more than 30% higher than that of Bei City."
"It's impossible, only a fool would rent it. It would be great to live in Beijing with this kind of money."
Feng Daoist's face was full of teasing: "How is it impossible? You have taken in so many refugees in the southern suburbs. Outside the city, you are building roads, houses, and workshops, so that countless people gather here and work outside the city. Naturally, you have to
Looking for a place to live, if you don't rent a house in a temple, then go to the city. But if you go to live in the city, you will have to waste a lot of time every day. This is especially true for the poor academies. People flock to it, saying that if they live nearby, their children and grandchildren can enroll in the school.
, I don’t know what’s so good about that humble academy.”
Chu Qing slapped Huang Laosi on the thigh, and his anger arose in his heart: "I shed blood and sweat to revitalize the economy of the south of the city, but Buddhism is actually building a school district housing on my territory?!"