Chapter 872 961 Buddhist Beads

In a luxuriously decorated mansion in Nanjing, Xu Jue held a gift list in his hand with a happy expression on his face.

At this time, a fan came in and bowed in front of Xu Jue, waiting for orders.

"You can arrange it. In the evening at Heming Tower, since the person named Hu is so enthusiastic, it's worth communicating."

Xu Jue gave instructions and arranged his schedule for the evening.

"Yes, sir, I'll be at Eunuch Sun's place this afternoon."

After Na Fanzi agreed, he carefully reminded Xu Juedao.

The Eunuch Sun he was talking about was naturally Sun Dayong, the current eunuch guarding Nanjing City. He used to be the imperial eunuch, and when he got old, he asked to live in Nanjing City.

In the 18th year of Yongle reign, after Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved his capital to Beijing, Nanjing became the remaining capital. The rulers of the Ming Dynasty regarded Nanjing as the fundamental place of their ancestors and left behind a complete set of central government agencies, among which Nanjing garrison officials played a core role.

This includes the internal garrison held by the internal ministers, the external garrison served by the honorable ministers, and the counselor and aircraft maintenance served by the civil ministers, who are jointly responsible for the security of Nanjing.

However, the functions and powers of this internal garrison were different from those of the Nanjing garrison eunuchs or guard eunuchs who appeared later.

At this time, the internal garrison duty was still to guard the remaining capital and "serve as the emperor's personal ministers three thousand miles away". He also had jurisdiction over the Imperial City of Nanjing, the twenty-four yamen and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and was also responsible for paying tribute to Nanjing's specialties to the emperor in Beijing.

The real appearance of Nanjing garrison eunuchs should be during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty wanted to move the capital back to Nanjing, so he temporarily appointed eunuch Wang Guitong to lead his army south to guard Nanjing in preparation for his return to Luan.

Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty gave Wang Guitong great authority. After arriving in Nanjing, Nanjing eunuchs needed to discuss matters within the palace with Wang Guitong; Nanjing bureaucrats also needed to discuss matters outside the palace with Wang Guitong. Any resolution could only be implemented with Wang Guitong's nod.

During the Xuanzong period, Xuanzong gave Zheng He the title of inner garrison, allowing Zheng He to share military power with the generals guarding Nanjing. This was the beginning of Nanjing's inner garrison military power.

Nanjing garrison eunuchs and Nanjing garrison internal officials initially had one chief eunuch and one deputy eunuch. Later, the number increased slightly, and the number of members was uncertain. Especially in the Zhengde and Jiajing years, there were as many as four garrison eunuchs, and the rights and responsibilities between each other were also different. Division can also be regarded as a means of mutual checks and balances.

After all, if the garrison eunuch only has two people, the chief and the deputy, it is easy for him to become the local emperor in Nanjing, especially if he is the chief. Under the strife, the deputy eunuch is likely to be sidelined, reducing the entire city of Nanjing to the garrison eunuch.

You know, this is a garrison eunuch who is so powerful that he even surpasses the garrison of Nanjing City.

Since the north and south Beijing are thousands of miles apart, Beijing may not be able to know the situation in Nanjing in time, and there is a risk of losing control.

Emperor Zhengde also saw this and directly arranged a few guard eunuchs, regardless of whether they were chief or deputy, just to check each other.

Besides, there were many eunuchs in the palace who needed to be taken care of in their old age, so sending them to Nanjing could be considered as a show of compassion for them.

"Nothing. I met Eunuch Sun in the afternoon and just went to the banquet with him."

Xu Jue said disapprovingly.

This time going south, preparing gifts is naturally the first priority. With the help of the old man Sun Dayong, we should be able to purchase the gifts that Queen Mother Li likes.

In this way, Eunuch Feng's position with the Queen Mother can also be consolidated.

As for Sun Dayong, it was Eunuch Feng who helped him get the job of Nanjing garrison eunuch, so he was willing to continue the good relationship.

After all, he was already in Nanjing. If he wanted to be stable, he had to have talented people around the emperor in the capital.

Feng Bao is undoubtedly the thickest thigh in the imperial city today.

"Have you found out Hu Zigao's family background?"

Xu Jue put down the gift list in his hand. The items on it were very rich, estimated to be worth about five or six hundred taels of silver.

Such a generous gift is rare.

Don't look at the TV shows and movies of later generations where thousands and thousands of taels of silver were often given away. In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, a few hundred taels of silver was already a huge sum of money, enough to buy dozens of acres of land and become a small landowner.

"Sir, we are still checking the details, but I estimate that there should be seven to eighty thousand taels of silver."

At this time, Na Fanzi came up to Xu Jue with a smile and said: "Hu Zigao served as the Cang Ambassador for one term, and also served as the judge of the Salt Transportation Department for two years, but they are all top-notch positions.

However, when he committed a crime and was impeached, he must have spent a lot of money to escape, otherwise he might not be able to wear this official uniform. "

"So, Hu Zigao can at least produce 30,000 to 50,000 taels of silver?"

Xu Jue sat up straight and guessed.

"Fifty thousand taels may not be possible, but 30,000 taels are definitely available."

Na Fanzi immediately replied.

"Hey, these civil servants are really greedy."

Xu Jue curled his lips disdainfully and muttered.

"Sir, do you want the brothers to check him out and copy them directly?"

Na Fanzi suggested again.

Xu Jue waved his hand. This man was generous, so he didn't have to worry about getting no money from him.

However, what Xu Jue is really concerned about is his experience in Yanyun Yamen.

Yanyun Yamen, this is a very fat Yamen.

Hu Zigao must have some purpose in giving himself such a generous gift.

It's worth spending money on. I definitely want to go back and continue working in Yanyun Yamen.

If he goes back to ask Eunuch Feng to give him this opportunity, and he returns to Yanyun, he will not receive a large amount of money every year in the future.

Xu Jue is very clear about the principle of fishing when the water is exhausted, it is better to let the water flow slowly and slowly.

Waving his hand to let the conversation go down, Xu Jue stood up and walked to a shelf with a bunch of boxes already placed on it.

Reaching out a box, Xu Jue returned to the desk and put it down, carefully opening the box.

As the lid of the box was opened, a string of Buddhist beads appeared in the box, lying quietly on the yellow silk base.

Xu Jue reached out and took out the string of Buddhist beads, carefully examined it for a while, and gradually, a smile appeared on Xu Jue's face.

This time when he went south, Xu Jue really received a batch of good things, among which the string of Buddhist beads in his hand was the most dazzling.

Now the two empress dowagers, when they have nothing to do, eat vegetarian food and chant Buddha in the palace, so Buddhist utensils are treasures that the two empress dowagers like.

It's also interesting to say that because Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang had been a little monk, he believed in Buddhism during the Hongwu period, but his son Chengzu Zhu Di was partial to Taoism.

As for the later immortal Jiajing Emperor, he also practiced Taoist scriptures.

It seems that the Ming Dynasty favored Taoism more, but in fact, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty did not taboo this. If you love Taoism, you are a Taoist, and if you love Buddhism, no one cares.

Of course, when it comes to the level of the emperor, the royal family favors Taoists more.

Buddhist instruments are instruments for practicing Buddhism.

In addition to having extremely high value in the art of Buddhist tools, they are also the embodiment of the inner spirit of practitioners.

In the spread of Buddhist culture, Buddhist instruments have a pivotal position, among which the most common ones are rosary beads, treasure bottles, vajra, etc.

Bracelets, originated from ancient Buddhist beads, originally called "rosary beads", refer to a certain number of beads strung through a line, used to count when chanting Buddha or chanting mantras.

Buddhism believes that Buddhist beads are "tools for leading to universal roots and leading to practice."

Holding Buddhist beads in the hand is solemn and majestic, and gains infinite blessings.

The number of hanging beads, holding beads and rosary beads recorded in the scriptures is roughly divided into 108, indicating that there are 108 kinds of troubles in the ten realms, which together make up 108 kinds of troubles.

Among the treasures collected by Xu Jue in the south this time, Buddhist beads and jade bottles accounted for a large number.

Of course, these things may not all be sent to the palace in the end, most of them will still fall into Feng Baohe's hands.

The Buddhist beads in Xu Jue's hand are composed of sixteen crystal jade beads, and the sixteen good gods carved on them are also lifelike, which matches the Guardian Prajna Sutra that Empress Dowager Li often recites.

The sixteen Buddhist beads represent sixteen kinds of wisdom, also known as the sixteen hearts, which correspond to the six roots and six emotions of people.

Xu Jue does not recite the sutra, and he took out the Buddhist beads at this time, naturally he has his own plan.

After all, this is Nanjing, he is unfamiliar with the place, and it happens that Sun Dayong, the garrison eunuch, helps. I believe that this string of Buddhist beads can be turned into white silver after a circle.

Well, Xu Jue has actually found enough treasures and can take them back to the capital to work for Eunuch Feng.

However, he continued to linger in Nanjing City, and his purpose is self-evident.

In the afternoon, when he saw Sun Dayong, Xu Jue saluted him and sat down to drink tea and chat.

"Do you want to find a shop?"

Hearing Xu Jue's question, Sun Dayong was just slightly stunned, and then smiled and said: "Okay, okay, my family has opened a jade shop in the inner city, called Lingyufang, I wonder if you want to..."

"Haha, this is what I plan to do."

Xu Jue smiled and whispered in Sun Dayong's ear, and soon a fox-like smile appeared on Sun Dayong's face.

In fact, people like them open shops not for the little money earned from buying and selling goods, but just to launder some money.

Hearing Xu Jue's words, he immediately smiled and said: "No problem, I will call the shopkeeper of Lingyufang over immediately, you give the things to him, and we will go to meet this Hu Zigao in the evening."

In Xu Jue's calculation, this mission has been completed, and naturally he still has to earn more yellow and white things, after all, this is what Eunuch Feng likes most.

Of course, some good treasures, Eunuch Feng also likes

Relatively speaking, yellow and white things are vulgar, but vulgarity also has its advantages. Eunuch Feng prefers vulgarity.

Heming Tower, located west of Sanshan Gate in Nanjing and north of Guanzhong Street, is one of the famous sixteen towers in Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

The Sixteenth Tower is the collective name of the towers where the fourteen official prostitutes lived in Nanjing in the early Ming Dynasty and the two towers of Nanshi and Beishi. The official prostitutes on the Sixteenth Tower, dressed in new clothes, entertained tourists from all over the world.

During the Hongwu period, sixteen large restaurants were built on the main roads in and outside Nanjing, namely: Qingjiang Tower, Heming Tower, Zuixian Tower, Jixian Tower, Lemin Tower, Nanshi Tower, Beishi Tower, Qingyan Tower, Cuiliu Tower, Meiyan Tower, Danfen Tower, Ouge Tower, Gufu Tower, Laibin Tower, Chongyi Tower, Jiaofo Tower.

As a place for public rest and entertainment for foreign guests and domestic people, the Laibin and Chongyi floors were specially used to entertain foreign envoys.

According to records, the Sixteenth Floor in Nanjing at that time was all high-base, double-eaved, spacious and magnificent. Famous calligraphers wrote famous plaques, and scholars wrote regular poems, which was magnificent.

Especially during the Yongle period, the distinguished guests from various countries who came with Zheng He's fleet gathered in Nanjing, so these restaurants were full and unprecedented.

Although the Ming Dynasty court has moved its capital to Beijing, the Sixteenth Floor is still a well-known old brand in Nanjing, with guests every day and booming business.

Hu Zigao invited Xu Jue this time, but he didn't expect to invite Sun Dayong, the eunuch guarding Nanjing City, as well. This big man was not someone he could casually make friends with as a director of the Ministry of Works, so he was naturally more attentive.

The best wine and food in Heming Tower were served as if they were free, but he almost refused to take a seat, just kept flattering.

When he was drunk, Sun Dayong asked casually: "Brother Xu, haven't you finished your mission on this trip to the south? '

"Alas, the palace gave me 20,000 taels of silver to come to Nanjing to buy gifts for the empress dowager because I was dissatisfied with Eunuch Sun.

I have also seen the prosperity of Nanjing City. There are really many good things. What a pity."

Xu Jue pretended to regret.

"Why?"

Sun Dayong asked in surprise.

"Two days ago, I saw a string of Buddhist beads at Lingyufang in the inner city. You know, the mother of the current emperor, Empress Dowager Li, likes to chant in the harem. These Buddhist beads are just right for her. The quality is also excellent, but the shopkeeper asked for a very high price.

I tried my best to persuade him, but he refused to lower the price. He also said that he would sell it to others for 50,000 taels of silver, and he was willing to sell it to me for 30,000 taels.

You said this. How can I have the money to buy this thing? This time when I go back, I will definitely be scolded by Eunuch Feng."

Xu Jue sighed and let Hu Zigao, who was holding a wine pot and pouring wine diligently, hear it.

Thirty thousand silver coins, buy a bracelet, okay, it's a Buddhist bead.

Hiss.

It's a bit expensive.

But I heard from Xu Jue that the Buddhist beads were for the current emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Li, so it seems that it is not expensive.

At the same time, Hu Zigao has been an official for so many years, and he is not given it for nothing. Looking at the two drunken people, he actually guessed something.

"Lord Xu, are these Buddhist beads really good?"

Knowing it is knowing it, but now he wants to curry favor with the big shots from the capital. Hu Zigao is also willing to take a gamble.

"The Empress Dowager likes this thing, but it's a pity."

Xu Jue pretended to be regretful and said.

"In this case, I will go to Lingyufang tomorrow to see if I can buy these Buddhist beads and give them to Empress Dowager Li."

Hu Zigao said.

He can say nice words, but as for what will happen to him in the capital, I don't know.

But even so, Hu Zigao still planned to try hard to see if he could take the opportunity to get close to Xu Jue and the eunuch Feng behind him.

As long as he spent money and could get the news to Eunuch Feng, it would be a great help to his career.

And the next day, Xu Jue met Hu Zigao in his house. At this time, he was holding a box in his hands and smiling flatteringly.

Xu Jue opened the box, and a string of crystal clear Buddhist beads appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, Lord Hu, you are so generous."

Xu Jue exclaimed.

"Alas, without Lord Xu's face, this string of Buddhist beads, Hu Mou spent 35,000 taels of silver to get it, and now I hurriedly send it to you, I hope you will accept it and send it to the palace, which is also a tribute to the Empress Dowager."

Hu Zigao said hurriedly.

"Lord Hu has spent a lot of money. How about this? I came from the capital with the money allocated by the palace."

"No, no, no, Lord Xu, you are slapping me in the face. Those are the hard work fees of Eunuch Feng and you, how can you give them to me?"

Xu Jue tried to test Hu Zigao again, wanting to see Hu Zigao's reaction, but he shook his head immediately.

Looking at Hu Zigao, they are all sensible people. After taking other people's money, Xu Jue smiled and said, "In this case, I will report to Eunuch Feng when I return to the capital." (End of this chapter)