Chapter 35: Debating the Hu Monk (Part 1)

Prime Minister's Mansion.

The charcoal blocks in the small charcoal furnace were burned slightly red, and there was a kettle above, and the water in the kettle had been boiling and kept rolling.

Zhuge Liang handed a small teacup to Pang Tong. Pang Tong hurriedly took the teacup with both hands, put it on the tip of his nose and smelled it. Then he sucked it in a small mouthful, then slowly closed his eyes and savored the elegant and fragrant smell of the tea.

"Good tea!" Pang Tong sighed lightly: "Kong Ming, the tea you cook is definitely the best in the world! Come on, give me another cup."

Zhuge Liang did not respond to Pang Tong's words, but continued to fiddle with the gap in his hands, and said at the same time: "Shi Yuan, I invite you here today, not to let you have tea."

"I know, you are looking for me for what Your Majesty mentioned!" Pang Tongfang got the teacup in his hand and continued, "The ninth-rank official is not much different from now on. He just changed the soup and the medicine. If this is changed, it will be changed. It doesn't matter. But these six divisions... are a bit troublesome."

"Yes." Zhuge Liang nodded: "Shi Yuan, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, governs civil and military officials and soldiers' training; the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money and grain; the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice is closely related to civil affairs; but this Ministry of Rites, I don't think it is necessary to form one department and start with the six departments."

"Your Majesty should have his profound meaning when doing this." Pang Tong said.

In the era without the imperial examination system, the Ministry of Rites was not responsible for the selection of imperial officials, and had much less power. It was only responsible for the emperor's life and the reception of envoys from outside the court. It seemed a bit far-fetched to be on par with the other five ministries.

Pang Tong paused and continued, "Kong Ming, do you think these six pieces are feasible?"

"If it was a peaceful and prosperous era, these six ministries would definitely work! And it was a way to stabilize the court. The Shiyuan, the only way to divide the civil and military division into the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War was to govern the peace. Thinking back to the time when Emperor Ling issued an imperial edict, the provincial governor held great power. Liu Yan, Liu Biao and others had nothing to do, but because they were governors of a state, they eventually became princes. Liu Yan secretly stopped the taxes that paid tribute to the court. The prefect of a county also held heavy troops, and compared with the time when the Han Dynasty was first established, the county princes were even better than those princes. If the civil and military division was divided into governance, this problem would be solved."

"There are also the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice. If there is no war in the court in a peaceful and prosperous era, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice will play a major role. The Ministry of Works is responsible for civil engineering, paving bridges and building roads, and urging canals and irrigation, which are all major matters for establishing the people; and the Ministry of Justice is in charge of the world's criminal reputation and governing people who commit crimes are a move to stabilize people's hearts."

"Yes, it's just Kong Ming. Have you ever thought that if these six ministries were really established, the voices of opposition from the court would probably not be small!" Pang Tong said.

Throughout the dynasties, any reform will affect the interests of some people. For example, Emperor Wu of Han's "Grace Order" strengthened the power of his monarch, but the interests of the local princes made many princes rebel. Going forward, some of the policies of the First Emperor were profitable and rewarded for generations, but they caused the public to be rebelled because of inappropriate attempts. Earlier, although Shang Yang's reforms made the Qin powerful, also offended the power of the reign of the reign of the court at that time. It was only because Qin was poor and indifferent at that time, and with the support of the King of Qin, he barely succeeded, but Shang Yang ended up being broken.

If this official is divided into nine ranks and eighteen levels, just scratching the surface, then building six departments will be a damaging problem. Because this involves almost everything, including officials, soldiers, people, taxes, etc., there are mixed roots and many conflicts of interest, and reforming it is definitely a difficult task.

"Oh..." Zhuge Liang also frowned. If A Dou is in power and enjoys the world, he can use some means and even directly send troops to suppress him like the First Emperor back then. However, if there is a lower three-pointer today, and the Yongzhou area has not yet established a foothold. If there is civil strife at this time, even a little chaos will give Wei and Wu an opportunity to take advantage of it.

"Kong Ming, I have an idea." Pang Tong suddenly spoke.

"What's the idea?"

"Take advantage!"

"Taking the momentum?" Zhuge Liang's eyes turned slightly, and he immediately understood Pang Tong's intention.

"Miscellaneous! It's so wonderful! Shi Yuan, this trick is so wonderful! If you can borrow power, the change of the ninth grade and six divisions will be seven parts." Zhuge Liang smiled on his face, and then continued, "But how can you borrow this power!"

"Kong Ming, don't pretend to be confused!" Pang Tong also laughed: "You thought of it a long time ago, but you want to force me to say it out, hehe...good, you cunning Kong Ming!"

Although Pang Tong saw it through, Zhuge Liang had no embarrassment on his face, and he still said seriously: "I am worried that Your Majesty will not agree, so I won't say it out. Why don't you tell him?"

"No talk! You have found me like this kind of errand! I won't do it!" Pang Tong waved his hand immediately and continued, "I won't go, but one person went. Such a marriage event needs to be decided by the elders. It's not good to say that you can call your Majesty's elders now. No need to say, you know which two people are there! What's more, those two ladies are not young anymore!"

As soon as Pang Tong finished speaking, the servants outside hurriedly ran over, came to the two of them, and reported: "Prime Minister, Grand Tutor, General and General Guard are here!"

"Haha, what a coincidence, just as they were talking, they came, please come up quickly..."

"Kong Ming, hurry up and calculate for me, which day is the auspicious day!" A loud voice came from a distance, and both Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong heard it. The person who spoke was Zhang Fei, and it sounded like Zhang Fei was drunk!

"Kong Ming, have you heard that you're drunk again!" Pang Tong shrank slightly.

"Don't be afraid, didn't you say that Junhou and the third general came together, and the relevant Junhou are here!" Zhuge Liang said from the side.

"Kong Ming, calculate the auspicious day of the zodiac..." Zhang Fei's voice came from outside again.

"Hehehe..." Pang Tong suddenly laughed.

"Shi Yuan, why are you laughing at?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"Kong Ming, I have a premonition." Pang Tong's face showed a strange smile, and then he continued: "We don't need to mention this matter to Your Majesty, Your Majesty has agreed."

Weiyang Palace.

Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong stood in front of Adou, but Zhuge Liang still looked calm, while Pang Tong had a smirk on his face.

"Your Majesty, both of us think that these ninth grade and sixth divisions are feasible!" Zhuge Liang said.

A hint of joy suddenly appeared on Adou's face. What Adou was most worried about before was that Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong would not support him. Now both of them agreed, and the reform was more than half successful.

"It's just that Your Majesty, I'm worried that the ministers in the court will object." Zhuge Liang's next sentence undoubtedly poured a lot of cold water.

Before A Dou could speak, Zhuge Liang continued, "So after I waited for the two of you to discuss it for a long time, I finally thought of a countermeasure."

"What's the countermeasure?" A Dou asked hurriedly.

"Take advantage!"

"Taking the momentum?" A Dou was confused after hearing this.

"It is taking advantage of the situation. The day before yesterday, the general came to me and asked me to make a good day to marry your Majesty. The use of the situation I said was to take advantage of your Majesty's wedding to announce the change of the Nine-rank Sixth Division!" Zhuge Liang said.

A Dou suddenly realized.

The ancients paid attention to etiquette, but under normal circumstances, royal weddings were pardoned by the whole country and celebrated by the whole country. This joys included the emperor's birthday, the empress dowager's birthday, and the emperor's marriage.

The queen is the mother of a country, and it is very important to enthrone the queen. If the previous emperor did not establish a queen and was still a bachelor, let alone the grandeur of the wedding.

According to ancient examples, at this time, except for those who committed unforgivable serious crimes such as treason, other prisoners will be pardoned. Sometimes, some places will even open warehouses and grain to celebrate. The ministers also know that at this time, there must be no discordant things. This is also a hidden rule in the officialdom and a kind of etiquette. Even if the censor wants to impeach some officials who have committed the crime, it will only be done after the emperor's wedding. Even the most stubborn old scholar will not be uncomfortable at this festive time.

So if we use Adou's wedding to announce the reform of the Nine-Rank Six Divisions, even if someone wants to object, he cannot object. This is not in line with etiquette.

"Good plan!" A Dou shouted softly, and then immediately smiled bitterly again. At this time, A Dou finally realized the sentence: I am in the imperial family, and I can't help it.

A Dou couldn't make the decision on his own marriage, so A Dou was already prepared. A Dou always felt that he had never been married in his previous life and almost became a Taoist priest. He had made a profit by being able to marry and have children in this life and pass on the family line. But A Dou never thought that this wedding would become a medium for the implementation of strategies.

Pang Tong next to him seemed to notice A Dou's abnormality. Pang Tong took a step forward slightly and said softly: "Your Majesty is the king of a country, and state affairs should be the priority!"

The king of a country is the most important thing? A Dou smiled self-deprecatingly, and then said, "Tao Fu, I just have some feelings occasionally. I know what to do."

On both sides of the long street, hawkers were squatting there. Some of them leaned against carts in the north, and some held the shoulder poles in their hands. In front of them, there were goods for sale.

The streets of Chang'an City were already relatively wide in the Han Dynasty, but they were surrounded by these vendors and seemed crowded. In late autumn and early winter, the weather was already dry, and the streets were full of dust. When pedestrians walked by, there were often slight dust rising. However, these vendors seemed to have been used to these things and didn't care at all.

Zhang Yi followed closely behind A Dou, looking around with vigilance, while A Dou in front of him walked forward in a leisurely manner, occasionally checking for the things he was interested in.

The autumn harvest season has passed, and it is the slack season for farming, but these hardworking people are not idle. Some skilled people have made some small handmade products and come to Chang'an City to sell them. Those who do not know how to craft will run to the city as long as they have the strength to see if there is any opportunity to make money. Therefore, in Chang'an City today, there are much more people than in spring and summer.

Adou casually came to a stall and looked at the pairs of straw sandals on the stall. Adou took out one of the straw sandals, but he couldn't help but think of Liu Bei in his mind.

"Let's go and have a look. The Hu monk is going to preach again." A scholar said in a dressed up as he spoke.

"What's so good about that? I can't understand what Hu monk said." said a slightly fat scholar next to him.

"You don't understand this! Let me tell you, I want to listen because I don't understand." Another person said, leaning into the fat scribe's ear and whispered: "Actually, I don't understand either. How many of those who go to listen to the Hu monk's lecture can understand it!"

"I don't understand, why are you going to listen?" the fat scribe continued.

"Hmph, you don't know this! If no one understands it, you can understand it. Doesn't it make you look knowledgeable? So the person who listens to the Hu monk's lectures must pretend to be able to understand it, so that he can appear superior!"

The scribe's voice was very small, and it was only heard by the fat scribe. In addition, the sound on the way was noisy, and no one noticed the scribe's words, but Adou Erli was indeed very clear.

"Haha..." Adou smiled slightly. Mr. Nan Guo has had such a dynasty and dynasty. He didn't expect that he would meet two of them as soon as he left.

Thinking of this, Adou walked up and said, "Brothers, how dare you ask what you said just now, what happened to Hu Monk?"

The slightly thinner literati immediately looked mysterious and looked like a mysterious person, and said, "This Hu monk is a monk from the Hu people. He opens an altar every ten days to preach. Recently, an old Hu monk named Lai Xin Jueluo came from the Kingdom of India, and we are going to listen to his preaching."

"Aisin Gioro?" A Dou suddenly said.

"It's not Aisin Gioro, it's Reliance on Xin Gioro!"

"Oh, it turns out it was Lai Xin Jueluo..." Adou breathed a sigh of relief. He just heard that Adou became "Aisin Jueluo" and thought that it was an emperor of the Qing Dynasty who had also traveled through time!

"Brother, you don't know that this Hu monk must have just arrived in Chang'an, right? Are you interested in following me to listen to the Hu monk's lecture?"

"Yeah, that's fine..." Adou also wanted to see what this Han Dynasty monk looked like, so he agreed.

This Buddhist temple in Chang'an City has been established for some time. In the past 30 years, there have been constant wars in Chang'an and have changed hands several times, and naturally no one has come to repair this temple. Now the temple looks a little dilapidated, and even the plaques are not hung.

In front of the temple gate, two monks in thick clothes stood in front of the door to greet the visitors. The two monks didn't seem to be Han people, but looked towards the yard. There were dozens of cushions placed in the yard, which also looked very shabby. In front of them, an old monk sat cross-legged on the wide platform with his eyes down. The old man's skin was dark, similar to the Indian people whom A Dou had seen in his previous life.

Adou came late, and most of the cushions were filled with people, but there was no one sitting in the front row. Even if the newcomer stood in the back, he was unwilling to sit in the front.

Adou casually pulled a monk next to him and asked, "This master, is the front row for important people?"

"I dare not behave, I dare not behave!" The monk didn't seem to be a Han Chinese, but he spoke fluently. He pointed to a row of cushions in front and said, "Everyone is equal. In my Buddha's eyes, people have no high or low status. How can there be an important person say that if this gentleman wants to sit, what if he sits on that high platform?"

"Oh. Then why is there no one sitting in front?" A Dou asked.

"The people in this courtyard came to listen to the Buddha's voice. Wherever they sat, or whether they were sitting or standing, they could..." After the monk said that, he lowered his head and began to recite the scriptures.

"Young Master, I see that there is something strange in the row in front, so let's not go over." Zhang Yi said next to him.

Now A Dou is traveling in a condom, so he ordered Zhang Yi to call himself "Young Master."

"What are you afraid of? Let's go and take a look!" Adou took Zhang Yi to the front row and sat down.

Seeing that Adou was sitting in the first row, everyone's eyes were all focused on Adou. There were some confusion, admiration, and ridicule in his eyes.

The fat scribe was late just now. When he saw Adou sitting in the first row, the monk did not stop him. He poked the scribe next to him slightly and said, "Look, the first row can be seated, let's go and sit there too!"

"Don't, don't go over." Fat scribe's companion immediately stopped him, "I tell you, you must not sit in this first row."

"Why? Didn't that man sit down too?" the fat scribe asked in confusion.

"That man is new and doesn't know the rules. This is called "Laixin Jueluo's old monk is different from other monks. This old monk likes to ask questions when he preaches. Of course, he asks the first row closest to him. I'll ask you, do you understand what this monk said?"

"Can't understand……"

"Since you don't understand, can you answer?"

"I can't even understand it, how do I answer?" The fat scribe replied honestly.

"Isn't this going to end? The old monk asked you a question, but you can't answer it. This is a huge loss of face! Last time, a few people sat in the first row, but when the old monk asked, no one could answer it. These people are still the laughing stock of Chang'an City! I didn't expect that today, someone who overestimated his abilities has passed by. Let's see how he makes a fool of himself later!"

There were many people in the venue who had the same thoughts as this scribe. Most of the people who came to listen to monks' lectures could not understand, while the few people could understand only a few understandings, so most people came to be surrounded by elegance.

More importantly, not long after Buddhism was introduced to the Han Dynasty, many scriptures were not translated into Chinese characters, and these monks were not Chinese, and they were not very good at speaking. Some Buddhist scriptures were understood in their hearts, but they could not speak them. What's more, they simply read the original text of the Buddhist scriptures in the Indian language, even if they were preaching. In the eyes of these scholars of the Han Dynasty, this Indian language was undoubtedly like listening to the heavenly books. It would be nice to not fall asleep, so how could they understand and answer?

"Dong..." Not long after Adou sat down, a thick bell came and everyone calmed down.
Chapter completed!