The temples of Nanzhao Kingdom were magnificent, and not only the common people of the country knew about it, but Zhang Jiuli had also collected a lot of information about it. Even Changsun Wuji, who was far away in Chang'an City, had heard about it many times from his subordinates, so Li Xiang was mentally prepared.
But when Li Xiang saw the golden color everywhere, he was shocked in his heart. Even compared with the imperial palace in Chang'an City, this place was even more beautiful. He had heard that although Nanzhao was located in the southwest, its national strength was still good because there had been no wars for many years. But he didn't realize it along the way. Now he knows where the national strength was spent. It turned out that it was all in this temple.
"Majestic, exquisite, beautiful..."
Walking from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard, whether it was the pagoda or the Buddhist hall, Li Xiang was not stingy with his words and said all the words of praise he could think of. The monks in the temple also straightened their chests. If ordinary people had given them a few words of praise, they probably wouldn't be happy about it, after all, this was a fact.
But if it is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, it would be different. He is a very powerful person. Basically, all the places in the world that we know of have been conquered by this prince. Even he thinks that Tianlong Temple surpasses all the ancient temples in the world. How can these people not be proud?
The second is the officials of Nanzhao Kingdom. In their view, Nanzhao is a small country in the southwest. Although it has lived a good life in recent years, if compared with the Tang Dynasty in the north, there is really a world of difference. Now that Li Xiang can praise their temple, it can be regarded as one place that has won. When compared with a big country, it is quite difficult for this small country to have one place that has won.
Or was it only the Prince of Zhennan who felt depressed? A country threw so much money here, and all matters concerning the national economy and people's livelihood were forgotten. How much future did this country have? He even felt that the prince was exaggerating a bit.
He had just heard Li Xiang's words, which implicitly encouraged the development of Buddhism in Nanzhao. If Buddhism was truly so good, why didn't the Tang Dynasty vigorously promote it? Why did the Tang Dynasty insist on the coexistence of Buddhism and Taoism? And why did the Tang Dynasty only promote Confucianism?
So the Prince of Zhennan had a bold idea in his mind. Could it be that they wanted to weaken Nanzhao?
But compared with the Tang Dynasty, Nanzhao was not even a rival. This was simply impossible. Why would they want to destroy Nanzhao? Could they take Nanzhao seriously?
All sorts of thoughts raced through Prince Zhennan's mind for a moment, but in the end he really couldn't figure this out. The only possible explanation was that the Crown Prince was really interested in Buddhism, otherwise he wouldn't be able to worship Buddha whenever he saw one, right?
Master Jinghong was the happiest. When a person in power admired Buddhism so much, it represented the recognition of monks like them. Now he could become the national teacher of Nanzhao. If he arrived in Chang'an one day in the future, according to the admiration of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for him, he would definitely have his own status in Chang'an.
Even after Li Xiang ascends the throne and becomes emperor in the future, Master Jinghong may have the hope of becoming the national teacher of the entire Tang Dynasty. Of course, this is just his own idea, but if a person has this idea, he will definitely try his best to realize it, so this guy also made up his mind, that is, he must please Li Xiang and make Li Xiang have a deep impression of him. If he really becomes the master of the Tang Dynasty in the future, maybe he will really have the possibility of becoming the national teacher of the Tang Dynasty.
So in the following talks, the two were like a pair of old friends, and they could talk about anything together. Of course, this was also the result of mutual accommodation. Li Xiang did not expect such a result today. He was still thinking about how to cater to Master Jinghong and let everyone think that he advocated Buddhism.
Unexpectedly, Master Jinghong was also very caring towards him. If there was anything he didn't understand, he would explain it in detail. In the eyes of everyone around them, the two of them were really like a pair of master and disciple, and what they said was so natural, without any trace of acting.
Only when he walked out of Tianlong Temple did Li Xiang feel relieved. Acting was definitely not an easy job. Although he had done a lot of preparation yesterday, when facing a Buddhist master, he still couldn't speak carelessly. If he said something wrong, all his previous performance would be in vain.
"Farewell, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The lunch served in the temple was a vegetarian meal, which was nothing more than a banquet without meat. Li Xiang could not afford this in modern society. He was wondering at the time, why were they more expensive than meat dishes when they were obviously vegetarian?
Now I finally understand that no matter what it is, as long as it is related to religious beliefs, the price of this thing will increase a hundred times. If you prepare a table of vegetarian dishes to entertain guests at home, the guests may think that you look down on them.
But if you eat a vegetarian meal in a place like Tianlong Temple, then your meal will be of high quality. When you hear the Buddhist sounds around you, you may even feel that you have improved a lot compared to others. Of course, whether it is a real improvement or a false improvement, only you know. After eating, you pay the bill at the door of the temple, and then you realize that improvement comes at a price.
Of course, Li Xiang didn't need to pay for this meal, but he still felt that he was not full. After returning, he asked his subordinates to bring more food. As a carnivore, he couldn't live without meat.
"Farewell, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
When Li Xiang was about to get on the car, the officials of Nanzhao Kingdom and the monks of Tianlong Temple saluted in unison. Li Xiang then put on another show for everyone. He had already gotten on the car, but then got off and personally helped Master Jinghong up.
This can be said to be many times more. If Master Jinghong had not been coughing constantly, Li Xiang might have forgotten the King of Nanzhao next to him. Of course, all this was acted out by Li Xiang. Under the guidance of Master Jinghong, Li Xiang remembered to help the King of Nanzhao up.
Although the King of Nanzhao was almost forgotten by Li Xiang, he did not feel uncomfortable in his heart. Instead, he thought that this was normal and he was just a small king. Master Jinghong was a real monk. As long as Li Xiang respected Master Jinghong, he would be happier than respecting him personally.
