[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-369":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558535,2024,"Chapter 369","shao-song-chapter-369",369,"\u003Cp>Starting in the winter of the eighth year of the Jianyan era, the court formally began large-scale land surveys and household registrations in the southeast, specifically in the two wealthiest circuits, Liangzhe and Jiangdong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the direct pressure of Mount Fenghuang, all local officials in the southeast gritted their teeth and began the most core and impactful work they had never dared to imagine before. Meanwhile, the local scholar-officials and influential households who might have posed direct resistance to the land surveys and household registrations were summoned to Mount Fenghuang in batches, where they, like the local authorities, directly faced the pressure of the reigning Jianyan Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, this Jianyan Emperor had been on the throne for seven or eight years, had considerable military achievements, and was hailed as a restorer... to put it bluntly, not everyone had the courage to say no to this emperor. After the Wulin Assembly, most people even lost the courage to discuss related issues with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that these people in the southeast—officials, scholar-officials, and influential households—naturally lacked experience in dealing with an emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, even so, after just a few months of interaction, these members of the so-called southeastern \"ruling group\" had still discerned a clue... among other things, the lord's posture of charging through mountains of knives and seas of fire once he made up his mind was truly daunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely because of this that, with the start of the land surveys and household registrations, the entire southeast fell into a strange atmosphere:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, saying that all horses were silent was certainly wrong, because Mount Fenghuang instead showed a vibrant and politically relaxed posture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was truly very relaxed and vibrant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Mengde, a former official from the southeast, was pardoned in one stroke; Zhang Jiucheng, a leader of the southeastern scholarly community, was directly promoted to a high-ranking position in the Secret Pavilion... who could say it wasn't relaxed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, people like Zhang Jiucheng and Ye Mengde were still relatively distant from everyone. What truly made southeastern scholar-officials and influential households feel they themselves could take a leap was ultimately the Public Pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously with the land surveys and household registrations, the Public Pavilion quickly and resolutely established a three-tier local Public Pavilion system at the circuit, prefecture, and county levels, similar to the structure of the prefectural and county schools in the Three Hall System. Under this system, southeastern scholar-officials, influential households, wealthy merchants, and well-known monks and Daoists were almost all swept in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this Public Pavilion was by no means an empty framework for housing influential households. At the foot of Mount Fenghuang, everyone witnessed with their own eyes that many commoner scholar-officials who had once been just like them, using the Public Pavilion as a springboard, through political statements and displays of talent, obtained political prospects they had never dared to dream of before. From prestigious posts like Gazette editor to substantive vacancies like Vice Prefect or County Magistrate, Lord Zhao was utterly unstinting, truly using real political power for political buy-offs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even those influential households of clerical status, as well as pure wealthy merchants, landlords, monks, and Daoists, because they entered the Public Pavilion, had their sons and nephews extensively arranged to transfer into prefectural and county schools. Those with some merit were even directly attached to the Military Academy, becoming close attendants of the lord. This not only gave these influential households some political identity but also added an extra expectation for their descendants to leap into the ranks of the elite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Learn civil and martial arts, sell them to the imperial house\"—wasn't this exactly what these influential households, whether official households or not, were after?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this atmosphere, it was more like scrambling to be first; who dared to say all horses were silent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the strange thing was this—everyone clearly knew that Lord Zhao was doing these things to ensure his two reforms concerning the poll tax, namely the so-called \"no tax on new adult males\" and \"apportioning the land tax by the mu,\" yet except for a very few scholars who, to become officials, would formally express support through memorials, almost everyone intentionally or unintentionally avoided discussing the specific implementation of this matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, the local land surveys and household registrations were not going smoothly. There was no open policy resistance, but there was private obstruction, various forms of delay, complaints to prefectural and county officials, and bribery of executing clerks. Even after Lu Yihao, Lord Lu, issued an order for the mutual transfer and audit of clerks among prefectures and prefectures, there was an incident where, during a snowy day, while the auditing clerks were out drinking, someone burned down the hay yard next to their official residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But only the dragon banner of Lord Zhao at Mount Fenghuang seemed blessed, as no one had died yet, which amazed everyone up and down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, for a time, the vitality of Mount Fenghuang and the tension and severity of the localities, the repeated orders of official documents and the drunken chanting and slow recitation at West Lake taverns, formed a strong sense of fragmentation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could only say that this phenomenon not only illustrated these influential households' instinctive resistance to reform but also fully demonstrated their contradictory mentality when facing Lord Zhao's coexistence of political buy-offs and harsh posture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, by the time of the New Year, around the time of the Eastern Capital Imperial Academy's political inquiry, after a light snow cleared, Lord Zhao formally convened a full assembly of the Public Pavilions of the Liangzhe and Jiangnan East Circuits at the foot of Mount Fenghuang. Leaving aside various trivialities, at the end of the meeting, Lord Lu Yihao suddenly stood up and publicly announced three new regulations concerning influential households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, wealthy merchants, landlords, and monasteries and temples whose property and assets reached a certain figure (annual rent of three hundred shi, annual interest of three hundred strings) were to be uniformly included as influential households. This meant that \"influential households\" would become truly worthy of the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, as the name implies, \"influential households\" refer to locally influential families, that is, the wealthy and noble households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the Song Dynasty, \"influential households\" was also a technical term, referring to those who actually had this household registration, which consisted entirely of official households and clerical households. Once a family declined and its property was insufficient, it would be removed from the influential household category and transferred to commoner households... Those who were both wealthy and had official status were, of course, typical local magnates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, this household registration still had a nominal flaw: it omitted the theoretically hardworking wealthy merchants and large landowners, as well as monasteries and temples outside the secular world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it was unified; no one could escape, and in a sense, this could also be considered a \"household registration rectification\" targeting influential households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, regardless of other matters, all influential households in the Liangzhe and Jiangnan East Circuits, starting from next summer's tax, would have to pay their taxes half a month early—that is, they would have to complete their tax payments before ordinary people paid their taxes... After all, these people's assets were right there; there was no need to wait for silk to be woven or autumn grain to be stored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third, for this summer tax, the influential households of the two southeastern circuits would be the first to enjoy the benevolent policies of \"no additional taxation\" and \"apportioning the land tax by the mu.\" So-called no matter what, the land survey of the influential households themselves must be completed first, and then tax quotas set. The state's benevolent policies would not miss the influential households' share, even if it meant missing others'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Lord Lu reminded the Public Pavilion members sitting below that they had a duty to report the minority of influential households who, instead of being grateful, were trying to evade the land survey and the new policies... The lord had said that for those who had previously used schemes like \"land skin and land bone\" to resist land taxes, or who concealed land in the survey without reporting, there was no second way out—direct confiscation of homes, monasteries, and shops!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kind of information basically amounted to the dagger being revealed. Especially when Lord Lu was speaking, Lord Zhao was sitting silently behind him... To use a later cliché, the most difficult land survey work had reached the stage of gnawing on hard bones and tackling tough problems... And everyone understood that, with Lord Zhao's unshakable determination, to the point that he would start gnawing on the hardest bones right after spring, whether the land survey in Liangzhe and Jiangdong could succeed, or directly whether the entire tax reform could succeed, would probably depend on this wave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it succeeded, it succeeded; if it didn't... then before the Northern Expedition, it probably really wouldn't succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But although the dagger was revealed, although everyone faced each other knowing full well, considering Yang Yizhong, who often disappeared from behind the lord, and the large number of plainclothes Imperial Guard on duty at Mount Fenghuang, no one dared to collude within Hangzhou Prefecture, even though this was the best opportunity for collusion... For a time, there was a posture of \"exchanging glances on the road.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Hangzhou Prefecture was right at the foot of Mount Fenghuang, with Lord Zhao personally pressing down on it; not daring was normal. But after these Public Pavilion members, who were essentially equivalent to influential households, left Hangzhou to go home and prepare for the New Year, they couldn't help but gather again during the holiday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Dahui is washing the Buddha for the New Year and is unwilling to come!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Jingshan Temple, in a quiet rear courtyard, several prominent figures from Yuhang came to burn incense and naturally gathered together. After a few casual words, they couldn't help but ask the accompanying abbot to invite the Great Wisdom Monk, a member of the Liangzhe Circuit Public Pavilion, a close friend of Vice Minister of Works Zhang Jiucheng, and reportedly also a family friend of Grand Councilor Zhang Deyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot, thin-skinned, naturally couldn't refuse, but after waiting a long time, the novice monk only brought back this reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone exchanged glances; how could they not know that the Great Wisdom Monk was being cautious and unwilling to come?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, although the Great Wisdom Monk was a man outside the secular world, he was still the most prominent Public Pavilion member with roots in Yuhang. Moreover, this time he had taken the opportunity to receive a purple robe and kasaya in Hangzhou, formally receiving the name \"Great Wisdom\" from the lord's own mouth, becoming a four-character Great Dharma Master, Dahui Zonggao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they abandoned this position, they couldn't help but feel some regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the seven or eight people exchanged glances, and one leader stepped forward, pulled a long face, and told the novice monk to lead the way to find the man, meaning to take the initiative to go find him. The novice monk, bewildered and unable to read the abbot's signals, actually made a bow and turned to lead these local prominent figures away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, these men had miscalculated. Following the novice monk through twists and turns, walking for a long time, they finally arrived at a narrow, abandoned Buddha hall. To their astonishment, during the New Year, this Great Wisdom Chan Master, who had just obtained the status of a purple-robed Dharma Master before Lord Zhao, was actually personally washing the Buddha with several novice monks... A discarded, large wooden Buddha statue, who knew how many years it had been placed there, covered in dirt and dust, stood in this cramped Buddha hall. Beside the Great Wisdom Monk was a bucket of hot water; he personally picked up a rag and went to work, bustling around the Buddha, getting his head and face covered in dirt and grime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only because he had rolled up his sleeves, his forearms constantly wet with water, they remained pale and white, like two winter lotus root segments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing him like this, the group of Yuhang scholars first hesitated. And when the Great Wisdom Monk saw them arrive, he didn't stop. Instead, while continuing to wash the Buddha, he recited a limerick directly on the Buddha's body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It went:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone splashes a ladle of foul water, washing away the Tathagata's border dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the dirt is gone, the sentient beings' afflictions are removed; the fox then roars like a lion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, not all of these seven or eight people had the learning of a Zhang Jiucheng to immediately grasp the meaning. Instead, more than half were completely bewildered. The few who roughly understood something dared not be certain, fearing they might misinterpret and be laughed at for nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, everyone exchanged glances again, forced a few words of praise for the Great Wisdom Dharma Master's Buddhist principles in front of the Buddha hall, and then awkwardly withdrew. Returning to the original quiet side courtyard, they talked until afternoon, setting aside the Great Wisdom Monk, before dispersing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving others aside, the abbot of Jingshan Temple had spent the whole afternoon attending to these people until his mouth was dry. But he didn't rush back to rest; instead, he turned to look for the Great Wisdom Monk. To his surprise, the Great Wisdom Monk had already finished washing the Buddha and was now alone in a small pond in the temple, seriously digging for lotus roots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In winter, the small lotus pond had long lost its summer beauty, entirely withered branches and leaves. Although the long lotus roots were in season, they were hidden beneath the cold water and mud, requiring one to brave the cold water, carefully dig through the muck, to unearth the large roots. A slight carelessness would break them... In the past, even the novice monks were unwilling to do this work, always letting the white roots rot in the mud. It was only recently that the temple had undergone a land survey and paid the full exemption fees for all the thousand-plus monks. Then the abbot issued an order that if the temple didn't become self-sufficient, they would run out of food. He also designated a few young, energetic monks to emulate Lord Zhao's financial strategy, carrying out internal financial reforms. Only then did this winter's hard labor of digging lotus roots begin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, no matter how it was said, it shouldn't have been the turn of the temple's only four-character Great Dharma Master, the Great Wisdom Monk, to personally go down and dig. So the abbot watched awkwardly from the shore for a while. Seeing the Great Wisdom Monk, wearing a borrowed leather waterproof coat, rolling in the mud in the middle of winter, with the winter cold unable to even cover the stench of the muddy water, and not daring to take off his own monk's robe to help, he could only clear his throat a few times and then earnestly called out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elder Brother! Great Wisdom, Elder Brother! Why has it come to this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Wisdom Monk looked up, saw it was the abbot, immediately stood up from the mud, and recited a limerick from afar:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No one plows the barren field; when it's plowed, people fight for it. Without wind, the lotus leaves move; there must be fish moving.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot on the shore gave a wry smile for a moment, then looked around, waved his hand to signal the accompanying guest-receiving monk and the novice who had been watching the lotus root washing to go out and guard the door. Only then did he become serious again: \"Elder Brother, Junior Brother has serious and important matters to discuss with you. And Junior Brother has always been a dull one, so today let's speak human language, not Chan riddles... Is that good or not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Wisdom Monk also smiled back from the winter mud: \"Junior Brother is the abbot; whatever you say goes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot smiled wryly again: \"Elder Brother, why must you be like this? Junior Brother has always known you have deep roots—your lineage, reputation, and Chan wisdom are ten times greater than Junior Brother's. Back when you first came here, Junior Brother thought that if the court truly fled south and formed a situation like the Northern and Southern Dynasties, I would push you, this monk from the Eastern Capital, to be the abbot, to better deal with officialdom... Come ashore; today we won't play Chan games, just earnestly talk about some serious matters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Wisdom Monk sighed softly, chanted a Buddha's name, carefully climbed ashore, took off the leather coat, and wrapped himself in an outer robe... Now, one of them was full of incense, the other somewhat foul-smelling from the mud, but neither cared. Without calling for the novice to bring hot soup or tea, they stood side by side on the shore and began to talk seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It's like this, Patron Wang and the others all say that when the court surveys the land, the clerks sent down are crude and vulgar. They fear that the disturbance to the people will outweigh the benefits of the benevolent policies. Especially since the south is not like the Central Plains; soon after the New Year, spring plowing will begin. Delaying spring plowing would delay the great plan of the Northern Expedition. So they intend to submit a memorial to the court, asking to slow this matter down by one season... Elder Brother, what do you think?\" the abbot asked earnestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since Junior Brother asked me to speak human language, I naturally must first ask the abbot: since ancient times, no one knows local conditions better than us monks. How are the assets of these families? Are they substantial or not?\" the Great Wisdom Monk immediately asked with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot also smiled at this, but after reciting a Buddhist invocation, he replied seriously: \"Although they are scholarly families, they are all wealthy local gentry. Take the leading Patron Wang, for instance—though he is a proper official household, when his father served as Prefect of Hezhong, the family suddenly became wealthy. After Fang La's rebellion, he began vigorously acquiring property. Not only did he establish estates in both Yuhang and Fuyang counties, but he also had several of his clansmen hold land on his behalf in Muzhou and Huzhou. He also owns several shops in a few cities... I don't know the rest, but just from the farmland, the annual rent collection amounts to over a thousand dan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great Wisdom Monk nodded repeatedly, having long expected as much, but soon he thought of something and shook his head slightly: \"That's not much, is it? Compared to the Hebei landlords who, before the Jingkang Incident, seized land across entire prefectures and counties, it's still far behind...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot chuckled at this and shook his head in response: \"That's Hebei; this is the Southeast. The population density here is what it is—many people, little land. How can it compare to Hebei? However, the North and the Central Plains had their land seizures, and we had the Flower and Rock Network. The trouble just lies elsewhere.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's true.\" Great Wisdom sighed softly, then turned serious. \"Brother Abbot, I understand what you've just said. So these people naturally fear that after the 'no increase in head tax' and 'apportioning by acreage' reforms, the taxes they'll have to pay will be too high, causing them immediate pain... Hence they've developed a resistant mindset. It's not that they dislike officials coming to the countryside disturbing local affairs and delaying spring plowing. That argument might have some merit, but it won't affect the grand plan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Naturally.\" The abbot responded calmly. \"So then? Brother, just tell me—do you think they can succeed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Difficult!\" Great Wisdom gave his answer immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please elaborate, Brother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother, this is how I see it.\" Great Wisdom spoke earnestly, indeed not reciting a single doggerel verse. \"His Majesty has already shown his hand. For these people to succeed, they must build broad and proper connections—the influential households must unite from top to bottom, left and right, and create a momentum so vast that His Majesty cannot control it for a time. At the top, they must band together to find many key figures before they can even speak with His Majesty or test his strength. But setting that aside, just the networking alone—I think they'll find it difficult to connect smoothly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot was momentarily stunned, clearly not understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since Great Wisdom had agreed to speak plainly, he had no reason to be cryptic, so he immediately explained:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, regarding left-right connections—these people can hardly break out of the prefecture and county scope... Take Patron Wang just now, for example. His family is in Yuhang, his household registration is in Yuhang, and they have lived in Yuhang for generations. Locally, he can certainly find people and even act as a half-leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he also has land in Huzhou. May I ask, why would the people of Huzhou follow him? You must understand, according to the 'no increase in head tax' and 'apportioning by acreage' arguments, if his land in Huzhou is discovered, it would have to take away part of Huzhou's local tax quota there, which would instead benefit the local gentry and commoners of Huzhou whom he doesn't even know. So may I ask, how much effort would he need to get Huzhou to coordinate properly with Hangzhou? Would there be enough time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct!\" The abbot suddenly realized. \"That's exactly it... Moreover, even if Huzhou also had a big landowner like Patron Wang, they still couldn't unite, because the division between the two places isn't just about this sudden tax quota issue. There are also daily disputes over water sources, land boundaries, quotas for prefectural school admissions, and even quotas for these public pavilions. If he went to a neighboring place to build alliances, he would only be held back by his own fellow townsmen... Even between counties, it won't work... No wonder only the locals from Yuhang came today... What else?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Also, the top and bottom can't connect either... There are two types of influential households. One is the official households—they are the leaders, with prestige and connections at court, able to speak with His Majesty. The other is the clerical households—they have much property and land, strong local influence, but they act independently, can't communicate with each other, and are utterly terrified of His Majesty... But precisely between top and bottom, there has always been a gap. The upper class disdains to know the lower, and the lower has no way to associate with the upper. Brother, tell me—in such a short time, can this gap between the upper and lower influential households be broken?\" Great Wisdom Monk continued his detailed explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot was momentarily stunned, then smiled again: \"What Brother says is simple and straightforward, yet every word hits the mark... The upper and lower cannot connect. In the end, the lower ones want to cause trouble but have no leader. And I estimate His Majesty's Imperial Camp Army should already be at Wuwei Army, or perhaps has already arrived. By then, they'll be even more afraid to act. As for the upper official households, not only can they not cause trouble themselves, they actually dare not or are unwilling to cause trouble. Their methods, no different from how the Old Faction once suppressed the New Faction, ultimately rely on finding high ministers and nobles to persuade and shake His Majesty's resolve. But with His Majesty as he is now, which minister dares to speak?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There will certainly be some—you can always find those who are unwilling—but it will definitely be useless.\" Great Wisdom stated categorically. \"I have seen with my own eyes that His Majesty is as resolute as a blade! Any minister who goes to speak, if he is capable, will immediately suffer a setback; if he is useless, he will only become a laughingstock. The only thing to worry about seems to be whether they can find someone to move Lu Yihao, Lord Lu, and block this at the Councilor level. But I, Brother, don't think so either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother, have you ever heard a saying?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everything has its beginning.\" Great Wisdom pressed his palms together solemnly, setting aside the stench of mud on him, appearing truly dignified. \"Brother, you must understand. Lord Lu is already past sixty-five this year, twelve years older than Lord Li Gang, and only a few years younger than the other Lord Lu Haowen. May I ask, why is he so urgent and severe... to the point that even the central government dares not keep him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I would like to hear the details.\" The abbot also pressed his palms together solemnly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"During the Xuanhe era, the Great Liao was destroyed, and the state purchased the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, establishing Yanshan Prefecture Circuit. Lord Lu was sent as an envoy. However, within just a few years, the Jin people marched south, the local Han Chinese of Yanyun surrendered to the Jin, and Guo Yaoshi rebelled, capturing him and taking him into the Jin army...\" Great Wisdom said here, unable to help but sigh. \"Thinking about it now, with Lord Lu's fierce and unyielding nature, how could he not regard this as the greatest humiliation of his life? And his beginning lies right here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot let out an \"Oh,\" suddenly understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With that beginning, one can understand today's affairs.\" Great Wisdom Monk continued with a sigh. \"Regarding the Song-Jin war, when His Majesty rose up to resist, he was the most resolutely pro-war among the senior ministers. Regarding preparations for the Northern Expedition and crossing the river to recover the Two Rivers, he was the most uncompromising and reckless among the councilors. Regarding His Majesty Zhao's ambition to pacify Yanyun and annihilate the Jin state, he is one of the few old ministers in the realm willing to follow unconditionally and charge forward without hesitation! And since that is the case, this new tax policy is equally unshakable for him! If anyone is blind enough to fear His Majesty but dares to go and persuade him, I'm afraid they won't be able to spend the night in the Southeast.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, the abbot was completely without doubt and nodded with a sigh: \"Thanks to you, Brother. Otherwise, wouldn't I have made a grave mistake?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great Wisdom Monk was momentarily puzzled: \"Brother, were you originally planning to help those people today?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abbot slowly shook his head: \"Not to help them, but to decide whether to help others by reporting them... A few days ago, when you went to Hangzhou for the public pavilion meeting, someone came in disguise, holding a silver token of the Imperial Guard. He said that since our temple had been thoroughly investigated and had paid the exemption fee, we were considered clean and usable. So he wanted us to diligently serve the public: first, to provide the Military Command Office with information on the property and assets of wealthy households around Yuhang; second, to keep an eye on matters like today's for the Imperial City Office. I was still somewhat hesitant, but after your thorough explanation today, since His Majesty already has his measures and the overall situation is clear, I, your younger brother, no longer need to hesitate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great Wisdom Monk quickly recited a Buddhist invocation, and even instinctively wanted to recite a doggerel verse, but remembering their earlier agreement, he forcibly held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, the abbot stood up, gave a slight bow with his hands together, and prepared to take his leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Great Wisdom Monk glanced at the cowhide garment covered in mud beside him, remembered another matter, and ultimately couldn't hold back, calling out: \"Brother!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is there something else, Brother?\" The abbot turned back, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's like this. Since we've agreed not to speak in Zen riddles but only in plain language, and we've been so frank today, I, your elder brother, also have a couple of questions about the temple that I'd like to ask you, Brother Abbot...\" Great Wisdom Monk actually seemed a bit timid. \"But if it's awkward, you don't have to answer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother, what kind of talk is that? Even this abbotship could be freely given to you. What words in the temple cannot be heard by you?\" The abbot replied magnanimously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The first thing... I went to seek good karma for the temple, but not only did I not find any, I also lost an extra two hundred dan of new rice. Then came this wave of exemption fees and the preliminary land survey. You didn't blame me, did you?\" Great Wisdom Monk seemed nervous again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could I?\" The abbot couldn't help but smile, like the Buddha holding a flower. \"The land survey and exemption fees came to all temples in the Southeast—how could I blame you? As for those two hundred dan of new rice, didn't they earn our temple a purple robe and the title of 'Great Dharma Master of Four Characters'? By past market prices, two hundred dan was already very cheap. It's just that those two hundred dan must be delivered directly to the Tokyo granaries next year, which will take a bit more effort.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's no problem. I know the route well. When the time comes, I, your elder brother, will make the trip to that old place.\" Great Wisdom Monk was momentarily relieved, but soon grew even more nervous. \"But there's one more thing. Lately, everyone in the temple has been saying that after paying the exemption fee, the temple's operating funds won't be enough...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not at all.\" The abbot's expression grew even more gentle and dignified. \"Mount Jingsi Temple has stood in the Southeast for hundreds of years. Unlike the North, which suffered such calamities, even the Flower and Rock Network never came to rob us, and Fang La only came to ask for a vat of sesame oil. How could we be poor? Not to mention the three dou and three sheng of rice-grain gold we have stored away as a reserve for true scriptures, even the sesame oil stored in the back warehouse would be enough for you, Brother, to drink for a lifetime, plus be used to anoint your relics after your nirvana. Those words were just my way of using the opportunity to restrain those under me... Isn't it because His Majesty has arrived at Mount Fenghuang, and the Imperial City Office is everywhere? I, your younger brother, was afraid they might cause trouble... So it's better to keep them in the temple working, and also temper their minds in the process.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great Wisdom Monk raised an eyebrow slightly, let out an \"Oh,\" and said no more, simply letting the abbot turn and leave. As soon as the abbot was gone, this monk looked at the cowhide garment on the ground and lost all desire to wash it. Instead, he immediately recited a doggerel verse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes: \"Old cowhide, no seams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ask about Buddha's law, repay with rice grains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hair's breadth off, becomes a handle for talk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No face to show, makes people fear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reciting it, he stood up, patted his backside, and went straight out. He called for the little novice who was washing lotus roots and together they headed to the kitchen to find a vegetarian meal.\u003C\u002Fp>",5267,"2026-06-06T07:46:04.529Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","29a1de37a499ec868841376e9405f24c2583bd678bf6f3ba7f3112058ddc5fba","shao-song-chapter-370","shao-song-chapter-368",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]