Chapter 196: The Great Cloud Temple and the Buddha's Relics

Some ten-odd li northeast of the city of Shule lay the ruins of the Great Cloud Temple of Shule.

Over the past decade, Saktu, who was single-mindedly bent on using the Tianfang faith to unify hearts and divide friend from foe, had brought grave disaster upon the Great Cloud Temple of Shule.

This Buddhist temple, built in the first year of Tian Shou of the Wu Zhou, that is, 690 CE, had under Saktu's indulgence gradually fallen into ruin through one man-made calamity after another.

The Great Cloud Temple covered an immense area. When it was first built, even with the strength the Tang army then possessed in the Western Regions, it took eighteen years to complete.

It was said to have had several hundred monks' quarters and several thousand monks and nuns, more than a dozen stupas built specifically to house the Buddha's relics, and the other Buddha halls were magnificent and glorious; when the bells of the bell and drum towers were struck with full force, they could be heard in the city of Shule itself.

Of course, if it had been meant to serve merely as a Buddhist temple, the Tang court would never have spent so much manpower and resources to build it.

The Great Cloud Temple of Shule was, in truth, a great weapon by which the Tang court controlled the hearts of the people of the Western Regions.

From its completion in the first year of Tian Shou of the Wu Zhou onward, the Tang court continually dispatched large quantities of Buddhist scriptures and eminent monks of great virtue from the Central Plains to the Great Cloud Temple.

For more than a hundred years, the office of Chief Buddhist Overseer of the Western Regions and the abbacy of the Great Cloud Temple had always been held by eminent monks who came from the Han lands.

And before these monks of great virtue were transferred to the Great Cloud Temple, they would all first study in the divine capital Luoyang and would also be received in audience by Wu Zetian.

In those days, Empress Zetian vigorously promoted Buddhism in the divine capital, and monks of every school naturally felt boundless gratitude toward her. Once they arrived in Shule, their loyalty to the Tang court was, one might say, filled to the brim.

At that time, in the Buddhist center that was the Great Cloud Temple of Shule, the scriptures in common use were written in Chinese characters, the chanting of the sutras was done in the Han tongue, and eminent monks who emerged from the Great Cloud Temple were often dispatched to serve as abbots of the Buddhist temples of key Western Regions strongholds such as Kucha and Khotan.

This was using religion to carry out sinicization and identity-building!

This was also the finest moment for Buddhism in Chinese history, when government and religion needed each other — though of course there was also Wu Zetian's need to suppress the Li imperial clan.

Thus Buddhism, which had been suppressed by Daoism for over a hundred years during the Li-Tang period, suddenly flourished in the Wu Zhou period. The so-called "four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties" could not compare at all with Buddhism in the Wu Zhou period; at that time Buddhism flourished so greatly that it very nearly became the state religion.

Therefore, the Tang dynasty's hold over the Western Regions, under the combined force of military, culture, and religion, was considerably stronger than that of the two Han dynasties.

This was also why, after the An Lushan Rebellion, the royal houses of the Western Regions — the Bai family of the kings of Kucha, the Yuchi family of the kings of Khotan, the Xue family of the kings of Ningyuan (Ferghana), the Pei family of the kings of Shule, the Long family of Yanqi, and others — all dispatched troops eastward to come to the emperor's aid, and why figures such as Bai Xiaode, Prince of Changhua Commandery, and Yuchi Sheng, Prince of Wudu Commandery, emerged.

Because they truly regarded themselves as people of the Tang, and regarded the Great Tang as their own motherland.

At the same time, this was also a key reason why the four royal clans of Anxi, even though the Tibetans were Buddhists, still firmly stood with the Anxi Army against the Tibetans, and an important reason why many descendants of the Anxi Army fled to the Great Cloud Temple, seeking to rely on it for protection.

Of course, no one could have imagined that among the Uyghurs there would appear such a wretch as Saktu. The Great Cloud Temple of Shule, once the most dazzling pearl of the Great Tang in Anxi, which had continued to play a major role even after the Great Tang withdrew from the Western Regions, had actually been destroyed by him.

Before the ruins of the Great Cloud Temple — that is, before the ruins of what later generations would still be able to see as the Mor Stupa — Li Shengtian stood at the very front, dressed in the black-blue imperial robes and crown of the Son of Heaven. Zhang Zhao, also dressed in the purple robes of a commandery prince, stood a little behind him.

Behind the two of them stood the last abbot of the Great Cloud Temple of Shule, Master Daozhen; Master Titixigu of the Great Buddha Temple of Burana in Suyab; and Master Sengjialuomo of the Qusadanna Great Buddha Temple of the Khotan royal house — the three standing side by side with Daozhen at their head.

Further behind were the various officials of the Khotan central government, as well as the prefects and amozhi of the various regions.

This grand gathering, which had brought together nearly all of the Khotan Golden Kingdom's figures of real power in Shule, was precisely for the rebuilding of the Great Cloud Temple.

And, of course, along the way they would also dig out the treasure of the Loyalty Vault, buried in the underground palace of the Great Cloud Temple and guarded jointly by the Anxi Army and the Great Cloud Temple.

With a thunderous boom, Cao Shisi, Cao Yanming, came riding over from the distance on a black horse, hoofbeats clattering.

He wore a vermilion round-collared everyday robe. A scion of a great clan by birth, with no common looks and superb horsemanship, he immediately drew cheers from the whole assembly.

In truth, Cao Yanming had deliberately dressed up today, because on ordinary days he was completely let loose and paid no attention to his appearance.

In his own words: studying the Divine Fire Thunder every day, and at night still having to comfort a flock of clamoring young Hu beauties — where would he find the time to paint his face with powder and rouge!

He had deliberately dressed up today because Zhang Zhao had arranged a match for him: Li Shengtian's second daughter, Princess Tianxi, was sixteen years old and had never married, because her position was simply too awkward.

And having received the promise of a marriage alliance between Zhang Zhao and Li Congde, Cao Yuanxin was in fact already inclined to release his former love rival.

Because Zhang Zhao's promise was equivalent to thoroughly consolidating Li Congde's position — even Li Shengtian could not easily shake it.

For with the ability of Great King Zhang, in the foreseeable future, the Khotan Golden Kingdom absolutely could not afford to lose this blood-close ally.

With Zhang Zhao's support, although Princess Tianxi still enjoyed Li Shengtian's favor after her mother's fall from power, her mother and younger brother — including the princess herself — could no longer pose the slightest threat to Cao Yuanxin and Li Congde.

But Cao Yuanxin was still somewhat uneasy, so at Zhang Zhao's suggestion, before preparing to release Princess Tianxi's mother, Cao Yuanxin arranged to marry the princess to Cao Yanming.

For everyone concerned, Princess Tianxi marrying out of Khotan, far away from the center of power of the Khotan Golden Kingdom, was best for all.

Cao Yuanxin could rest easy, and Princess Tianxi's mother and younger brother could finally enjoy their wealth and rank in peace.

Because apart from Princess Tianxi, her mother and younger brother were not favored by Li Shengtian.

At the same time, for Cao Yanming, although he did not know what Princess Tianxi looked like, judging from Li Shengtian's appearance, she could not possibly be ugly.

And marrying a princess of the Li family could be said to be the ultimate pursuit of a young man of the Cao family in dealing with his other half — this was a dream! Even if the princess was not born of a Cao-family woman, for Cao Yanming it was still surprise enough.

Finally, it was also advantageous to Zhang Zhao, because Cao Yanming was now very important to him.

Because Cao Yanming's abilities were actually quite strong. The current research on gunpowder was no longer something he did alone.

Cao Yanming's subordinates had now grown to more than sixty people, of whom twenty were gunpowder apprentices, and the rest were skilled craftsmen responsible for gunpowder production.

Gunpowder, in this era, was very difficult to standardize. The fineness of the charcoal, the quality of the saltpeter and sulfur, and the proportions measured down to the qian — all required rich experience to compensate.

Gunpowder mixed by a novice and by an experienced hand were two complete extremes.

These apprentices under Cao Yanming, taught in turn by him and Zhang Zhao, along with the several dozen skilled workers, were an extremely important part of Zhang Zhao's combat system.

Moreover, the three directions Zhang Zhao had proposed — sugared gunpowder, flour gunpowder, and granulated gunpowder — were all being tackled by Cao Yanming.

Because it was already quite good that Zhang Zhao could roughly recall that these three directions seemed capable of enhancing gunpowder's power.

He did not even know how granulated gunpowder actually came about. That sugar and flour (he was not entirely sure) could be combined with gunpowder was also something he had only heard about secondhand.

As a monarch-like figure, Zhang Zhao did not have the time, and very likely did not have the talent, to research gunpowder himself.

So all of this could only be left to Cao Yanming to do. Thus the means of arranging his marriage to Li Shengtian's second daughter, Princess Tianxi, and so on, were all to win over this cousin-nephew and, at the same time, elder brother-in-law.

"Great Sage Son of Heaven, Great King, the Fire Thunder Office has blasted open the gate of the Loyalty Vault. Commander Liu and Squad General Shi are leading men in the digging!"

The location of the Loyalty Vault was actually beneath the Mor Stupa, but it was not easy to dig out, because it lay in an underground palace beneath the stupa.

The main purpose of the treasure map was to mark the entrance to the underground palace and the course of the tunnels.

This damned underground palace had been reinforced with dressed stone; without finding the entrance, it was very difficult to dig through from anywhere else.

It had originally been built to house the legendary relics of Shakyamuni Buddha, as well as the Buddha's birth-bed and the Buddha's alms bowl, collected by the Great Cloud Temple. Without a clear understanding of the internal structure, it was very difficult to enter.

"Master Titixigu, Master Daozhen is old and frail, and the rest of the monks all wish to follow the Deputy King eastward. From now on, the work of rebuilding the Great Cloud Temple will require you to bear much of the burden!"

After the treasures of the Loyalty Vault and the Buddha's relics had been brought out, the rebuilding of the Great Cloud Temple would begin at once.

Li Shengtian, like the Great Tang court of old, hoped to raise up the Great Cloud Temple of Shule once more, as a means of cultural export for the Khotan Golden Kingdom.

"This humble monk obeys the Son of Heaven's decree and will do his utmost to rebuild the Great Cloud Temple and restore Shule's thousand-year glory as a Buddhist land!"

Titixigu and the monks under him no longer hated Zhang Zhao; instead, they were quite grateful to him.

Because Zhang Zhao had not deceived them — he really had brought them here to rebuild the Great Cloud Temple.

Titixigu had originally assumed that the rebuilding of the Great Cloud Temple would be led by the abbot, Master Daozhen. But in fact, Master Daozhen had spent five or six years in Saqtu's prison, and his health was extremely poor; he could pass away at any moment.

And of the Great Cloud Temple monks later found, most had long since returned to lay life. Those who still held on were almost all descendants of the Anxi Army, and they had already decided to return east with Zhang Zhao.

So the rebuilding of the Great Cloud Temple would be undertaken entirely by Titixigu and the monks of the Bulana Great Buddha Temple whom he led.

Compared to Suyab, Shule held a far higher status in Anxi. And before the Great Cloud Temple of Shule, the Bulana Great Buddha Temple of Suyab was nothing more than a small country bumpkin — the two simply could not be compared.

Having gained such a great benefit, Titixigu naturally would no longer bear a grudge against Zhang Zhao.

"It's been brought out! It's been brought out! Quickly, prepare the grand ceremony to welcome the Buddha!"

Not long after, Cao Yanming rode back to report, his face wild with joy and all decorum forgotten, for the most important treasures in the Loyalty Treasury — the Buddha Shakyamuni's relics and the Buddha's birth bed — had been brought out from the underground palace.

The moment the words fell, Li Shengtian drew a deep breath and took the lead in chanting the Buddhacarita, which extols the life and deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Hundreds of monks around them, dressed in black robes and monastic vestments of every color, struck their wooden fish and other ritual instruments together and followed toward the entrance of the underground palace.

After walking several hundred meters, the entrance of the underground palace, thick with the smell of gunpowder smoke, appeared before everyone's eyes.

Liu Zaisheng, Shi Chongmin, and the others knelt on the ground chanting the Buddha's name. A Khotanese palace eunuch raised a five-colored glazed treasure casket above his head and advanced on his knees to Li Shengtian.

Inside the treasure casket, seven Buddha relics glowed with a faint seven-colored light.

Uh! To put it somewhat disrespectfully, Zhang Zhao felt that these Buddha relics did not look like crystals that could be produced by cremating a person after death. They looked very much like the colorful, mottled things left over from a failed attempt at glassmaking.

But then again, Shakyamuni Buddha had long ceased to be an ordinary mortal, so it was understandable.

"The birth bed! This is the birth bed!" While everyone knelt to welcome the Buddha relics, the Tripitaka Master Sengjialuoma pointed at a somewhat old but well-preserved infant bed and cried out, tears streaming down his face.

"In those days, Lady Maya passed away seven days after giving birth to our Buddha, so he was raised by his aunt, Mahaprajapati. This was made for our Buddha by the Lady of Great Love herself."

Zhang Zhao, still kneeling on the ground, could not help rubbing his chin again. Why did this birth bed look so strongly in the style of the Central Plains?

Wasn't the Buddha from Nepal?

Whatever. Zhang Zhao shifted his gaze to the Buddha relics in the five-colored glazed treasure casket. Three of the Buddha relics there belonged to him.

He would use these three Buddha relics to win over the Great Cloud Temple of Liangzhou, and then use the Great Cloud Temple of Liangzhou to win over the Wenmo of Liangzhou — that is, the later Six Valley Tribes of the Tibetans.

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