Chapter 1000: Lucky Paving the Way
Chang'an City.

Huasheng Temple.

The water and land salvation conference gathered more than 1,200 eminent monks and was supported by Chen Xuanzang.

Wang Ming sat in the dragon chariot and left the Golden Palace with civil and military officials to go to Huasheng Temple to burn incense.

Wang Ming was not afraid of the entanglement between Jing and the Dragon King's spirit.

Let alone the dead Jinghe Dragon King, even if it was a living Jinghe Dragon King, Wang Ming would not be afraid.

But the Dragon King of Jinghe River is just a small chess piece. The most troublesome ones are the group of powerful beings behind him who are scheming all day long.

Wang Ming planned to follow their ideas and cooperate with them to complete the journey to the West.

When Wang Ming arrived at Huasheng Temple, he took a look at the handsome Master Chen Xuanzang and asked him to start preparing for the Water and Land Assembly.

The Western Buddhist community has made many plans for this water and land conference.

First, he killed the dragon king of the water creatures in the Jing River, causing the dragon king of the Jing River to come and disturb Li Shimin.

Then he asked the underworld to cooperate in capturing Li Shimin's soul, which completely frightened Li Shimin out of his temper.

The purpose was just to help Chen Xuanzang build momentum.

Seven days passed quickly as the water and land ceremony was held at Huasheng Temple.

That day, an old monk walked outside Huasheng Temple, followed by a young monk.

The old monk shouted to sell his robes and staffs.

Although the shouting was happening on a street far away from Huasheng Temple, Wang Ming, who was lying in the golden dragon chariot, still heard it.

He just glanced in that direction thoughtfully, without using any spiritual power, and thought to himself: "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva has arrived..."

·······
At this time, Guanyin Bodhisattva transformed into a scabby monk, wearing tattered clothes, barefoot and bald old monk, holding an extremely gorgeous cassock in one hand, the cassock was shining brightly, and holding a staff in the other hand.

The minister shouted: "How much is the robe?"

The Bodhisattva said, "The cassock is five thousand taels, and the staff is two thousand taels."

All the people who heard it gasped at once.

Too damn expensive!
During the Zhenguan period, one dou of rice sold for 5 wen, and one tael of silver = 1000 copper coins (also known as one guan).

10 dou = one dan, one liang of silver can buy 200 dou of rice, that is, 20 dan.
One dan of rice in the Tang Dynasty was about 59 kilograms. Based on today's general rice price of 1.50 yuan per catty, one tael of silver is equivalent to the purchasing power of RMB 3540.

How could it not be shocking that the staff and the cassock were sold for seven thousand taels at the opening price?
The minister asked curiously, "What are the benefits that are worth such a high price?"

The Bodhisattva said: "The robe has advantages and disadvantages; it has some parts that cost money and some parts that don't."

The minister asked again: "What is good? What is bad?"

The Bodhisattva said, "Wearing my robes will keep you from falling into hell, from suffering from evil, and from encountering tigers and wolves. This is a benefit. But if you are a greedy and lustful foolish monk, a monk who does not fast or observe precepts, or an ordinary person who slanders the sutras, it will be difficult for you to see my robes. This is a disadvantage."

Then he asked, "Why do you want money or not?"

The Bodhisattva said, "If someone does not follow the Buddha's teachings and does not respect the Three Jewels, but insists on buying my robes and staff, I will sell them to him for seven thousand taels. This is asking for money. If someone respects the Three Jewels, rejoices in good deeds, and takes refuge in the Buddha, and can afford it, I will be willing to give him my robes and staff so that we can have a good relationship. This is not asking for money."

The minister was immediately delighted when he heard this. In ancient times, those who could become officials were all shrewd people. They could instantly see that the monk was here to give away treasures. The exorbitant price he had bid before was just to increase the value of the treasure.

Many things are seen through but not spoken. In his opinion, as long as the cassock is successfully delivered, he can also show his face in front of the emperor, so he said: "Dafa Elder, please forgive me, Xiao Yu. The Emperor of our Great Tang is very kind, and all the civil and military officials in the court follow his teachings. Now we will hold the 'Water and Land Assembly', and this cassock is just right for the Dharma Master Xuanzang of Dadu to wear. Let's go to the court to see the emperor."······
Wang Ming saw the monk transformed by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

In accordance with their wishes, the cassock and the staff were given to Chen Xuanzang.

Successfully helped Chen Xuanzang build momentum.

Wang Ming looked at and touched the cassock and the staff.

All those wonderful things are real.

Because the cassock and staff were the things left behind by Chen Xuanzang's previous life, Jin Chanzi, when Wang Ming touched them, he clearly felt a scent similar to that of Chen Xuanzang's soul.

Especially the cassock. The Bodhisattva said it was made of dragon skin and ice toad silk, which was not an exaggeration. But in fact, the main material was the shell shed by the six-winged golden cicada.

When Tang Xuanzang obtained the cassock and the staff, the Bodhisattva appeared before him and he knelt down and chanted "Amitabha".

Wang Ming just looked respectful, put his hands together, bowed, and left it at that.

The next step was to send people to the West to obtain the Mahayana Buddhist Scriptures.

All the people under Li Shimin's command were politicians. How could they possibly go to the Leiyin Temple, 108,000 miles away, to obtain the true scriptures?
By the time he retrieved the scriptures, his impression in Li Shimin's mind had faded, and his connections in the court were gone. Naturally, only a devout Buddhist, Chen Xuanzang, stood up to plead for him.

·······
night!
On a mountain somewhere in Chang'an,

There were two figures standing facing the wind. They were the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Mu Zha during the day.

"Bodhisattva, haven't we already sent you the robes and staff? Why are you still staying here?" Mu Zha asked the question in his mind.

The Bodhisattva frowned and said, “Although Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered Xuanzang to go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, that order was wrong.”

Mu Zha asked doubtfully: "No?"

The Bodhisattva nodded and said, "That's right! The imperial decree says to take, not to ask for."

Mu Zha was confused and said, "Isn't it just one word? Why bother about that?"

The Bodhisattva shook his head and said, "No! You don't understand. Going to the Lingshan Mountain in the West to obtain the scriptures requires not only great perseverance and great luck, but also the help of humanity and luck.

If the word "seek" was included in the imperial edict of Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, then Chen Xuanzang's journey to the West was on behalf of Li Shimin.

And it is strange why Li Shimin did not become sworn brothers with Xuanzang."

Mu Zha was still puzzled and said, "Isn't this just a formality? If the true scripture reaches the East, it will be successful."

The Bodhisattva still shook his head and said, “You still don’t understand. As long as Li Shimin and Xuanzang become sworn brothers, and the imperial decree is to seek the true scriptures for him, then every step of Xuanzang’s journey to the west will be paved by the destiny of the human emperor.

When the true scriptures are spread to the East in the future, our Buddhism will surely flourish."

Mu Zha was shocked and asked, "Is it that serious? What should we do? Xuanzang will be leaving tomorrow."

The Bodhisattva was silent and said nothing.

Mu Zha glanced at the Bodhisattva quietly, and then a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes and he said: "Bodhisattva, when I came here, I heard that the ghost messenger in the underworld accidentally let the ghost of the Jinghe Dragon King escape.

The Dragon King of Jinghe River hates Li Shimin so much, I am afraid he will go looking for trouble with Li Shimin again."

The Bodhisattva showed compassion when he heard this and said, "Amitabha! This is no small matter. Go and inform the Emperor of Tang quickly, don't let him be harmed by the evil dragon of Jing River."

(End of this chapter)