Ouyang Rong stood up from behind the table and prepared to leave.

After reporting to Yan Liulang remembered something and suddenly said:

"By the way, Mingfu, there is something else."

"What?"

"The host of Donglin Temple, Master Shandao, came to Xunyang with his disciples."

Ouyang Rong was slightly surprised:

"Where are the people?"

Yan Liulang scratched his head:

"The boat under the tip of the Shuangfeng Peaks is on the side of Xunyang Grottoes and has not yet entered the city."

Ouyang Rong looked outside the lobby.

...

"I'll have time for Ming Mansion to come to accompany me."

"You are polite, Master."

Shuangfengshen, the left bank of Xunyang Grottoes.

Master Shandao, who had not seen for a long time, was still the same as he was wearing the cassock of the country protected monks who were rewarded by the saint when he entered Beijing, and was walking on the road with a solemn appearance of treasure and a fairy-like appearance.

Ouyang Rong was not wearing official uniforms, but wearing Confucian clothes and regular clothes, walking in front of him.

The Xunyang Grottoes were a little lonely. The bloody smell of that day had long been blown away by the river wind, and I forgot my memories like fish that had tasted flesh and blood.

The main grotto is empty.

There is no big Buddha you should stay in.

Master Shandao found that the young governor was a little absent-minded and was walking very fast, and was walking in the front.

Master Shandao speeds up and keeps up with the young people:

"The Ming Dynasty does not need to worry. You are not blamed for the Great Buddha. Before I came, I went to the county government office and discussed with the magistrate Diao. I had already written a letter and went through the channels of the monks of the Ministry of Rites to speak out for the Ming Dynasty."

Ouyang Rong shook his head and said nothing.

After walking for a while, I suddenly asked:

"Apart from this, what's the matter with the Master?" He paused and said, "The budget invested by the Master and Donglin Temple. When the autumn taxes come, the government will raise all the money to return it, or use the temple tax collected by the Longcheng County Government to offset it. The Master does not need to worry."

Master Shandao smiled and said:

"I'm here, not to settle the accounts."

"What is that?"

Master Shandao looked around the empty Xunyang Grottoes and said with a kind smile:

"Mingfu, the previous expenses invested by this temple do not need to be paid back by the government. Can this main cave be donated to this temple and handed over to this temple to build some Buddha statues?"

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly and asked:

"This is where the Donglin Buddha was established. Although the land belongs to the government and some merchants involved in the construction of the grottoes have the right to use it, if you want it, you can just make the calculations."

"That's good, what's the matter, Mingfu?"

Ouyang Rong couldn't help asking:

"What is Master Shandao going to do? I asked, the location of the main grotto is good, right at the Xunshui Fork, and you can see it by the merchant ships passing by, but are you going to build the big Buddha by yourself?"

"uncertain."

Master Shandao replied truthfully:

"If the temple is rich in the future, you can consider building it. However, in a short time, the temple will only set up some incense and carve some murals here. Mingfu should know that our Lian Sect's murals are very good, and it is not impossible to carve it into the second Pure Land Palace."

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

Master Shandao asked again:

"Mingfu, how about it?"

Ouyang Rong looked at the novice monks who were looking around.

For the brand new main cave without Buddha, their eyes seemed to be full of curiosity and interest.

Ouyang Rong turned around and looked at Master Shandao.

The old monk looked at each other with a smile.

Ouyang Rong suddenly nodded:

"Yes, but there are some Jiangnan grain merchants and Yangzhou salt merchants who participate in the Xunyang Grottoes. Some of them are also aware of them. The main grottoes have to go through a procedure. The government will give them a transfer. This official can nod, but if you want to talk to them, you may have to pay the money, but don't worry, you won't slaughter the customers."

Master Shandao waved his hand: "It's okay, you can chat."

Ouyang Rong pulled the corner of his mouth.

He looked at Master Shandao, who was luxuriously robed and shook his head.

He is worthy of being a great monk in protecting the country, but he is rich and arrogant enough.

Ouyang Rong slightly resisted the idea of ​​catching a wave of autumn wind. Under his management of the Jiangzhou lobby in the past two years, he had financial health. He digged the Shuangfeng Peaks and built the Xunyang Grottoes and the Donglin Buddha, which did not delay the people's livelihood in Xunyang.

It's not as stretched as he was when he took over the mess in Longcheng County.

Otherwise, the high and low monks who protect the country would spend money to take over the country.

"There is something that I personally requested the master."

"Mingfu..." Master Shandao changed his words and said in his private name: "Please speak by donor."

Ouyang Rong pointed to the lotus stone carvings on the dome of the main cave and asked seriously:

"Can you leave this inscription and don't erase it?"

Master Shandao took a look and nodded and said:

"The governor... the female historian... respectfully creates a statue of honor... This is a truthful statement, and it should be kept, so it is OK."

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

After a while, the group turned around and left, ready to say goodbye.

At the ferry, Xiufa and Wushu couldn't help but look at the Buddha's head and fleshy temples exposed on the river.

A soft-hearted novice monk clasped his hands together and silently recited Amitabha Buddha.

When I arrived at the south bank, before parting, Ouyang Rong suddenly turned around:

"Master, I have something to do with it. Why didn't you come when the Donglin Buddha was built? It was repeatedly postponed. Now that the Buddha has been destroyed, you have come instead and you have to take down the empty main cave? Wouldn't you put the cart before the horse?"

Master Shandao's back paused when he heard this.

The sunset fell behind him, leaving a faint bald head with a glimmer of light.

It's both funny and sacred.

"Amitabha."

Master Shandao turned around, sang a vocal, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Governor, because there were no Buddhas in the cave at that time, but now there were Buddhas in the cave, so I naturally came."

He looked around his disciples, as if he was saying to them, and said:

"We are monks, Buddha comes, but no Buddha goes."

Ouyang Rongsha asked back:

"Since you go from here, won't you pass away?"

Master Shandao's smile became even stronger.

He turned around, bowed solemnly, and replied:

"Sending oneself means saving others, and saving others means saving oneself. How can the Ming Mansion say that it is not to save others?"

Ouyang Rong asked: "Saving oneself means saving all living beings?"

Master Shandao nodded:

"Saving one's own nature, saving oneself means saving all living beings!"

Ouyang Rong was silent and did not look back.

The main grotto on the other side of his rear was empty, and its head sank into the river, dim and rusty.

But the master said there was a Buddha.

...

The second day.

A shopkeeper named Shi who was left in Xunyang by Wang Caozhi came to look for him.

Manager Shi reported to Master Shandao’s affairs.

The main grotto has been negotiated, and Donglin Temple is generous. The offer has made Manager Shi quite satisfied, or relieved.

In this world, what is the greatest respect between people and money?

It’s not trust, not face, nor is it “killing everything”.

It's the price.

A master is a master, and there is no bargaining.

Now that the Donglin Buddha has been destroyed, the prospects of Xunyang Grottoes are temporarily bleak, and they cannot count on the saint's preferences. The 20,000 stagnant money that the saint invested in is also wasted. The subsequent support of the imperial court is unknown, and no one knows where the Xunyang Grottoes will go.
To be continued...