Chapter 154 Fotucheng Secret Treasure (5k)
In Princess Chenliu's mansion, on the soft couch, the two who had just finished a fierce battle were still hugging each other tightly. Princess Chenliu buried her head in Su Ze's chest and asked suddenly:
"Compared to my imperial sister, whose body is softer?"
Su Ze was so scared that he almost let go of his hand, but he saw Princess Chen Liu raised her head and said with a suppressed smile:
"Look how scared you are. You dare to do it but not take responsibility for it?"
"Before the battle, you already knew how to charge forward without any regard for my feelings. This time, you are much more skilled and can show sympathy. Isn't this the result of 'drills'?"
Su Ze broke out in a cold sweat. Is this a woman's intuition?
Princess Chenliu put on her fur coat and sat up. She leaned against the edge of the couch and said, "I have been working with you in Luoyang for so long, why am I still pregnant? How many times have you done it with my sister?"
Faced with such questioning, Su Ze really didn't know how to answer and could only shut the other party up with practical actions.
. . .
After the lovemaking, Princess Chenliu finally stopped mentioning her imperial sister, and instead briefly explained the situation in Luoyang to Su Ze.
This is similar to what Li Chong said. Su Ze said with emotion: "I am a little surprised that King Qinghe can hold on for so long."
Nowadays, the power of King Jiangyang's party in the court is huge. Including himself, Li Chong, Duke of Danyang Xiao Baoyin, and Yuan Shen can all be regarded as Yuan Yi's followers. Yuan Yi is also Erzhu Rong's biggest backer in Luoyang. Su Ze did not expect that after traveling through time, he would become a follower of the treacherous minister.
Unexpectedly, Princess Chenliu smiled and said, "You don't think that Brother Qinghe is really relying on his friendship with the Emperor's sister-in-law to support him? Do you really think that the friendship of the royal family is so strong? It is the Hedong nobles who are supporting him behind the scenes."
So that's why! No wonder Prince Qinghe is so highly regarded in history books!
In fact, Su Ze was also very surprised. There was basically no record in history books about King Qinghe's governing ability. He had never presided over any important wars, nor had he promoted any reforms. The only thing worth praising was his fairness and integrity.
Needless to say, he is honest and incorruptible. The Qinghe Palace is the second largest building complex in Luoyang after the Imperial Palace. Isn't this "honest"?
As for justice, Su Ze has not seen it since he traveled through time.
The reason why Qinghe Prince Yuan Yi has such a good reputation in history books is not only because his opponent, Jiangyang Prince Yuan Yi, did indeed use dishonorable means, but also because he loved literature and was supported by the scholars in Hedong.
After all, history books are written by people!
Case solved!
The current Palace Attendant and Minister of Personnel Cui Liang, like Cui Guang, is from the Qinghe Cui clan and is the leader of the Hedong scholars. He supports the King of Qinghe and can naturally confront the King of Jiangyang.
Cui Guang, his teacher Li Daoyuan, and other upright officials in the court, although they maintained neutrality in the struggle between the two factions, were basically on the side of Prince Qinghe.
So that's how it is. Su Ze has a better understanding of the current situation in the Luoyang court, which can also provide a basis for his future decision-making.
After talking about the court affairs, Princess Chenliu talked to Su Ze about the recent news in Luoyang:
"Su Lang, have you heard the recent rumors in Luoyang City about Fotucheng's secret treasure?"
"Fotucheng? Is he the eminent monk Fotucheng under Shi Le of Zhao State?"
Princess Chenliu glanced at Su Ze again and said with a smile, "Is Su Lang really not from a noble family? How can he be so knowledgeable? I only knew the story of Fotucheng after asking Cui Jijiu, but I didn't expect Su Lang to know it."
Su Ze said awkwardly: "I got a copy of 'Biographies of Eminent Monks' a while ago, which contains records of the miraculous deeds of this Buddhist master Fotucheng."
"Where's the book?"
Su Ze regretted it very much, but looking at Princess Chenliu's eyes, he could only lower his head and say, "Give it to Princess Shouyang."
Princess Chenliu grabbed his "vital point" and said, "Besides the child, how many other things have you given to my sister?"
Su Ze was caught in the "weak spot", so he naturally didn't dare to act recklessly, and quickly said, "Don't you believe in Buddhism too?"
Princess Chenliu pushed Su Ze down and said, "From now on I believe it. I will go to practice with my hair untied tomorrow!"
Seeing that she was about to go up to the plate again, Su Ze quickly said, "Don't you believe in Buddhism? If you break the precepts of adultery, you will go to hell!"
"Don't I start practicing tomorrow?"
. . .
Su Ze deeply felt that the system was foresighted in giving him kidney-tonifying medicine. However, Princess Chenliu was also severely troubled this time and had fallen asleep. It seemed that he had to wait until she woke up to ask about Fotucheng.
When he woke up the next day, Princess Chenliu was no longer on the couch. Su Ze recalled that he had not slept so soundly since he went to the war. The comfortable couch made him not want to get up. It was true that the land of gentleness was the tomb of heroes.
No one knew where Princess Chenliu had gone. This was her boudoir, and it was not convenient for Su Ze to barge in. Out of boredom, he opened the system and checked the reports accumulated over the past few days.
It must be said that the reports generated by the system are very concise, unlike those official documents of the Northern Wei Dynasty which are long and boring. Su Ze opened Su Bai's report. In recent days, he has been obtaining intelligence about Luoyang through the reports of Su Bai, the [Inconspicuous Egret Cao Envoy].
Oh, there really is this news.
"Rumors about Fotucheng's Secret Treasure in Luoyang City (Part 1, 2, 3)"
Su Ze opened this information and found out that it was a rumor brought back by the army that went north to attack Jizhou.
Fotucheng was an eminent monk during the Shi clan regime of the Later Zhao Dynasty. He was highly regarded by two emperors, Shi Le and Shi Hu. In particular, the murderous Shi Hu was a great admirer of Buddhism and believed in Fotucheng's Buddhism. Later generations even said that Fotucheng's entry into Yecheng reduced Shi Hu's sin of killing by half.
In addition to his profound Buddhist teachings, Fotucheng also had many supernatural powers that were recorded in history books and passed down to later generations. To this day, there are still many legends related to Fotucheng in the north.
The story of Fotucheng was very popular during the Sui and Tang dynasties. For example, in the Mogao Grottoes in the early Tang Dynasty, there were murals depicting the miraculous story of Fotucheng.
The most famous of these are three stories, all of which are engraved in the form of comic strips in the Buddhist caves of Mogao Grottoes.
These are also the three stories widely circulated in the north, namely, Extinguishing the Fire in Youzhou, Solving the Matter by Hearing the Bell and Washing the Intestines with Water.
The story of extinguishing the fire in Youzhou was also recorded in the Biography of Eminent Monks given by Su Ze to Princess Shouyang. The general content of the story is as follows:
When Fotucheng was discussing Buddhist scriptures with Shi Hu, Fotucheng suddenly stood up in surprise and said, "There was a fire in Youzhou."
After saying this, he took the wine and sprayed it in the direction of Youzhou.
After the spraying was completed, Fotucheng smiled and said to Shi Hu: "The fire in Youzhou has been put out now."
Shi Hu found it strange and did not quite believe it, so he sent an envoy to Youzhou to verify it. The envoy came back and told Shi Hu: "On that day, the fire started from the four major city gates and the fire was fierce. Suddenly, a layer of black clouds floated from the south, and then heavy rain fell from the sky, putting out the fire. You could even smell the smell of wine in the rain."
The story of hearing the bell and deciding the matter refers to the time when Liu Yao and Shi Le were fighting for Luoyang.
Shi Le wanted to lead his troops personally to resist Liu Yao, but all the civil and military officials inside and outside the court advised Shi Le not to lead the troops personally.
Shi Le was undecided, so he went to visit Fotucheng to ask for divination on whether he would be lucky or unlucky in the war.
Fotucheng said to Shi Le: "The sound of the bell on the pagoda's wheel tells him that the army is going to the battle and Liu Yao will be captured."
So Shi Le left his eldest son Shi Hong and Fotucheng to guard the capital together, and he personally led the infantry and cavalry directly to Luoyang.
The two armies fought fiercely, and Liu Yao's army was defeated and fled. Liu Yao was in a panic and his horse fell into the water. Shi Le's son Shi Kan took the opportunity to capture Liu Yao alive and escorted him to Shi Le's tent.
These two stories, one illustrates Fotucheng's extraordinary skills, and the other illustrates Fotucheng's divination ability. Washing the intestines with water reflects the supernatural power of Fotucheng himself.
There was a small hole under the left side of Fotucheng's chest, leading directly into his abdomen.
Sometimes Fotucheng took the intestines out of the small hole, and sometimes Fotucheng plugged the small hole with cotton wool.
If you want to read, just pull out the cotton wool, and the light coming out of the hole will make the whole room bright.
On the day of fasting, Fotucheng went to the river, took out his intestines from the hole, washed them with water, and then put them back into his stomach. Su Ze certainly did not believe the authenticity of these stories, and he fabricated some miraculous events to promote himself, which was a common method in the early spread of Buddhism.
However, the fact that Fotucheng was honored as a guest of honor by both Shi Le and Shi Hu was not only due to these miraculous phenomena, but Su Ze inferred that his "divination" was accurate because Fotucheng had established some kind of intelligence network among believers.
Both Shi Le and Shi Hu were great devout Buddhists. Fotucheng had tens of thousands of followers, and many of the upper echelons of the Later Zhao were also believers. The intelligence network formed by these people was used by Fotucheng, so he could always accurately "predict" some things.
For example, Fotucheng had warned Shi Hu about several rebellious activities. These should have been information he obtained through the intelligence network among his believers, and he then reminded the other party through divination and prophecy, so he was treated as a guest of honor by Shi Hu.
Su Ze clicked on the information collected by Su Bai:
[The rumor about the secret treasure came from the soldiers who were on the northern expedition to Jizhou. This was a long-standing legend that they heard when they were suppressing the Mahayana sect in the north.]
[Fotucheng came to China from India and stayed near Luoyang. He buried a jar of Buddhist coins in a mountain near Luoyang.]
【Buddha money can be multiplied by one, and multiplied by two, and infinitely. No matter how much is taken, it will be filled up the next day. Fotucheng originally planned to use this jar of Buddha money to build a temple, but due to the war in the Central Plains, he could only stay in Luoyang temporarily.】
[When Fotucheng was worshipped by the Later Zhao monarch, he no longer needed the Buddhist money to build a temple, so he stayed near Luoyang.]
[This news was brought back by the soldiers who went north to Jizhou, and quickly spread in Luoyang. The people of Luoyang would go to the surrounding mountains to look for Fotucheng's secret treasure, the Buddha's money, whenever they had nothing to do.]
what is this?
Fotucheng's royal treasure?
A youthful version of Shen Wansan’s cornucopia?
Su Ze didn't believe in Fotucheng's Buddhist money. Luoyang City was so big, and this rumor could spread to the whole city. There must be a conspiracy behind it.
However, this had nothing to do with Su Ze, who had just returned to Luoyang. He instructed Su Bai to continue collecting information about the rumors about Buddhist money. Su Ze stretched and stood up.
"Captain."
Luzhu came in with a red face, holding a basin of water in her hand, and said to Su Ze: "Your Highness entered the palace this morning and told me to help the captain wash up."
Su Ze said calmly, "Your Highness has entered the palace?"
While Lu Zhu was wiping Su Ze's body, she said, "Your Highness came to the palace for Princess Lanling's matter."
Princess Lanling? Is she the demon princess from Northern Wei?
Lu Zhu knew the relationship between Su Ze and Princess Chenliu, and she did not shy away from telling Su Ze about the palace affairs: "Since Princess Lanling divorced Prince Song, the Queen Mother took her into the palace. That prince cried all day in the palace, and Prince Qinghe could not bear it any longer, so he asked the Queen Mother to issue an edict to allow Princess Lanling and Prince Song to remarry."
Su Ze was about to roll his eyes. Princess Lanling and King of Song Liu Hui were no longer just a pair of bickering lovers; their relationship had now developed into a fateful one in this life.
Princess Lanling was jealous by nature, and she kept her eyes on the playboy Prince of Song Liu Hui. Prince of Song Liu Hui was a member of the Southern Song royal family who fled north. He felt extremely insecure and could not stand Princess Lanling's abnormal desire for control.
The couple was unable to have children, which led to increasingly intense family conflicts. Princess Lanling even committed the horrific act of killing Liu Hui's concubine and removing the unborn fetus from her womb.
Even after things have come to this, you still want to remarry your ex-husband?
Not to mention that the yandere attribute has long been outdated, if a real yandere appeared in the real world, most people would run away directly.
Not to mention that this yandere girl is a princess of the Great Wei who is deeply loved by the Queen Mother and Prince Qinghe.
Su Ze silently mourned and blessed King Song Liu Hui, and tidied his clothes with the help of Lu Zhu.
After Lu Zhu put the Diao Chan crown on Su Ze, Su Ze, who was originally full of the temperament of a military general, suddenly changed into the noble aura of a civil official. Lu Zhu had never seen Su Ze dressed like this before, and her eyes could not leave Su Ze for a long time.
"How come there is a Diao Chan crown in your house?"
The sable tail and cicada feathers on the Diao Chan crown are both precious ornaments. When Emperor Xiaowen carried out the Sinicization reform, he designated this crown as a crown that could only be worn by noble ministers such as the Shizhong and Sanqi Changshi.
However, as the extravagant lifestyle in Luoyang grew, middle and low-level officials, and even children of aristocratic families without official positions, began to wear Diao Chan crowns.
Lu Zhu said, "His Highness said that the captain will definitely be promoted when he returns this time, and will definitely be a minister in the future, so he asked the hat maker in the palace to make this crown."
Su Ze also felt that the size of the Diao Chan crown was just right, and his heart couldn't help but warm. Fortunately, the Princess of Wei gave birth to nine sons, each of which was different. The two he had provoked had much stronger personalities and tempers than Princess Lanling.
Lu Zhu said, "The captain is going to visit a friend in Luoyang today, right? Your Highness has already prepared the corresponding gifts."
When Su Ze saw the gifts Princess Chenliu had prepared for him, his heart was even warmer. It was true that one should marry a virtuous woman. Having a reliable hostess at home could really save a lot of energy.
Princess Chenliu prepared various gifts for Su Ze. For example, the gift for his mentor Li Daoyuan was a volume of Bingzhou Local Chronicles. This was an ancient book, but its value could be precious or cheap. Giving it to Li Daoyuan was also a way to please him. Su Ze knew that his mentor would definitely find it difficult to refuse.
The gift given to her sworn brother Erzhu Rong was an exquisite horse bridle. According to Lu Zhu, this was a treasure used by Zhang Sun Song, a famous general in the early days of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is unknown where Princess Chenliu got it from.
Next, Princess Chenliu prepared gifts for Su Ze's old friends in Luoyang City, including Su Chao and his former subordinates in the Yulin Army, that were appropriate to their status. They were neither too expensive to make them look like nouveau riche, nor too shabby to be looked down upon.
For important officials such as Cui Guang and Yuan Shen, Princess Chenliu also prepared gifts that were actually very valuable but unique so that they could not refuse.
In addition to preparing gifts, Princess Chenliu also arranged proper accommodation for Hou Jing, Murong Shaozong and others brought back by Su Ze, and gave them various daily necessities.
Su Ze looked at these gifts and secretly sighed that if Princess Chenliu had an entry, it would probably have to have a [Corrupted] added to it. She was really good at giving gifts!
Is this what it feels like to be kept by a rich woman?
Su Ze rode on his horse, with the carriage behind him loaded with gifts, and began to deliver the gifts to each family.
-
Qinghe Palace, in the Literature Museum.
Prince Qinghe, who had just returned from the palace, walked into the Literature Museum exhausted. Liu Bozhi hurriedly held a piece of exquisite Xiaoxiang paper above his head and handed it to Prince Qinghe Yuan Yi.
"Congratulations, Your Highness! All twelve volumes of Xianzhonglu have been completed! Please read it yourself!"
Prince Qinghe quickly took the Xiaoxiang paper with the scent of ink and paper. This kind of paper had just appeared in the Luoyang market. Because it was light, snow-white, and fragrant, it quickly became popular among the nobles.
When Prince Qinghe saw this kind of paper, he ordered that the "Xianzhonglu" originally engraved on bamboo slips be copied onto Xiaoxiang paper, and then bound into twelve volumes in total.
After discussing the marriage of his beloved sister Princess Lanling in the palace today, Prince Qinghe hurried back to the mansion in order to see the completed "Xianzhonglu" as soon as possible.
Touching the ink on the paper, Prince Qinghe praised: "Loyalty! Loyalty is beyond words!"
"I will give this book to the Queen Mother. No one in the court will doubt my loyalty anymore!"
"Come here! Give two pieces of silk to all the literary scholars who participated in compiling the Xianzhonglu!"
The scholars in the Literary Institute expressed their gratitude to Prince Qinghe and flipped through the book "Xianzhonglu", which recorded the deeds of loyal people from ancient times to the present dynasty. It ended with Prince Qinghe Yuanyi himself, and totaled twelve volumes, which was considered a masterpiece in that era.
Liu Bozhi looked at his own prince and could only hold back his sigh. After receiving the silk, he returned to the palace and came to the secluded courtyard in the deepest part of the palace.
"Old Master!"
Liu Bozhi leaned against the window and shouted into the room.
The old man behind the window said, "I have already told King Qinghe that I will no longer make elixirs for him. Why are you trying to persuade me again?"
Liu Bozhi lowered his head and said, "After the old Heavenly Master refused the king's request to refine the elixir, he is sending people to search for the secret treasure of the evil monk Fotucheng near Luoyang."
The old man behind the window laughed when he heard this and said, "How could a foreign monk from the Western Regions get precious money from the Central Plains? Does the King of Qinghe believe in this legend?"
Liu Bozhi sighed and said, "Your Majesty, there is nothing you can do."
The old man continued, "The matter of medicine gold will cause endless troubles, so please stop trying to persuade me."
Having said that, Liu Bozhi could only retreat sadly.
-
Su Ze carried gifts and visited Cui Guang, Yuan Shen and Li Daoyuan in succession. Then, looking at the midday sun, he turned and came to Su Cho's courtyard.
Pushing open the door to the courtyard, I found it quite lively. There were two young men sitting in Su Cho's yard. Were they guests?
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(End of this chapter)