Chapter 44 135 Emperor Wu of Liang became a monk

After the civil strife broke out in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Liang Dynasty in the south made several expeditions to the north.However, Emperor Wu of Liang was incompetent in command. Not only could he not restore the land, but he killed and injured countless soldiers and civilians.After the split of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was no ability to attack the south again, so the Liang Dynasty had a relatively long period of stability. When Emperor Wu of Liang saw civil strife in both the Song and Qi dynasties due to the killing of the royal families, he was very tolerant of his relatives.Someone in the royal family committed a crime, so he had no choice but to teach him a lesson, and never punished him.Emperor Wu of Liang had a sixth younger brother, Linchuan King Xiaohong, who was greedy and searched for wealth as much as he wanted.There are dozens of warehouses behind the inner room of Linchuan Prince's Mansion, which are usually tightly locked.Some people suspected that there were weapons hidden in it, and reported to Emperor Wu of Liang that Xiao Hong had hidden the weapons privately and was preparing to rebel.

Emperor Liang Wu was a little surprised when he heard that his younger brother was going to seize his power, so he personally led the imperial army to search.When Xiao Hong saw Emperor Wu of Liang, he panicked.Emperor Wu of Liang became even more suspicious, so he ordered Xiao Hong to open all the warehouses and asked him to check from room to room. When he opened the warehouses, he found that more than 30 warehouses were full of money, with a total of more than 300 million yuan. Cloth, silk, silk, cotton and other miscellaneous goods are stocked in it, and there are countless more. Xiao Hong followed Emperor Wu of Liang, trembling with fear, fearing that Emperor Wu of Liang would find out his stolen goods and punish him.Unexpectedly, after finishing the inspection, Emperor Wu of Liang turned around and said to Xiao Hong with a smile, "Liu, your life is going well!"

After that, he knew that Xiao Hong would not rebel, so he trusted Xiao Hong even more. Emperor Wu of Liang indulged his relatives and gentry in every possible way, but he treated the common people in a completely different way. Anyone who violated the laws at that time would be severely punished.If one person flees, the whole family will be punished with hard labor.In this way, the aristocratic bureaucrats had nothing to fear, and became even more lawless. Some even killed people openly on the street, and no one dared to interfere. An upright official, He Chen, made a memorial and put forward four opinions to Emperor Wu of Liang, saying that the officials in various states and counties are now plundering cruelly, and the common people cannot bear it: the officials are extravagant and extravagant, and the waste is too serious; ; The government is built endlessly, and the people serve all year round without rest.

Everything He Chen said was true, but Emperor Liang Wu couldn't listen to a single word.He dictated an edict to blame He Chen.In that imperial edict, he described himself as a rare and wise monarch in the world, who was hardworking and frugal, and rejected He Chen's opinion. Emperor Wu of Liang was also a Buddhist believer.He built a large-scale Tongtai Temple in Jiankang. Every morning and evening, he went to the temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, explaining Buddhism, saying that he did this to eliminate disasters and accumulate virtue for the people.When he was old, he did a strange and absurd thing.

Once, he went to Tongtai Temple to "sacrifice his life", that is, to become a monk.This is the first time that the emperor became a monk.But the emperor said he wanted to become a monk, who would dare to object!Besides, Buddhism was prevalent at that time, and the emperor was willing to become a monk, which also showed his devotion to Buddhism. Emperor Wu of Liang became a monk for four days, and the people in the palace took him back.Then he thought it was wrong to do so.Because according to local customs, monks have to pay a sum of money to "redeem" from the monastery.The emperor became a monk, how could there be an exception.The second time, he went to Tongtai Temple to die, and the ministers invited him back to the palace, but he refused.

Later, the ministers understood what he meant, and they collected 10 million yuan to redeem the "Emperor Bodhisattva" in Tongtai Temple.The monks in the temple are not happy that they can receive a large amount of money, so of course they agree with him to return to vulgarity.The ministers lined up a guard of honor and went to the temple to bring him back. For the third time, Emperor Wu of Liang thought of a new trick. When he went to Tongtai Temple to sacrifice himself, he said that in order to show his devotion to the Buddha, he not only sacrificed his own body, but also sacrificed his palace and the land of the whole country. .

If you give up a lot, of course you should get more money for redemption.After a month, the ministers pooled up 20 million yuan to redeem him. It's a coincidence.Just that night, a pagoda in Tongtai Temple was set on fire.The monk quickly reported to Emperor Wu of Liang.Emperor Wu of Liang clasped his palms together and said that it must have been done by the devil.He issued another edict saying: "The higher the Tao, the more powerful the demons will be. We need to build taller towers to suppress the evil spirits of the demons." A year later, he gave up again.The ministers spent another ten million yuan to redeem him.Emperor Liang Wu became a monk four times (one said it was three times), and the ministers spent a total of 40 million to redeem themselves.Of course, this money was passed on to the common people.

Emperor Wu of Liang was enthusiastic about being a monk, which made the court affairs very chaotic.An ambitious man took advantage of his stupidity to launch an unprecedented rebellion.