Nothing to say along the way.

On the way to Longmen, we were all digesting the news we got from Xingkong's mouth. Because these news were really dense and complex, it was really difficult to adapt to for a while.

Before we could think through it, we reached the destination of our trip, Longmen Grottoes.

There are many tourists here, and you will understand it after a little inquiry. Most of the Buddhist stories carved in the Longmen Grottoes are concentrated in the caves dug in the Northern Wei Dynasty. From the content, they are carved with reliefs of Buddhist stories with white elephants reincarnation, garden travel, birth under trees, lotus growth step by step, and Nine Dragon Initiation.

Not just Buddhist carvings, the calligraphy content here is also a Chinese treasure. Among them, the twenty-fourth pieces of Longmen are the essence of Wei steles of calligraphy. The "Monument of Yique Buddha Sing" written by Chu Suiliang, a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, is a model of regular script art in the early Tang Dynasty.

After all, we were not here to visit. Those so-called attractions were naturally unintentional to see. Because of the clear goals, we went straight to Fengxian Temple, which carved the Great Buddha of Lushe.

After arriving at Fengxian Temple, we couldn't help but feel emotion when we looked at the amazing Buddha statue in front of us.

The largest Buddha statue in front of us is the Great Buddha Lushe, which is seventeen meters tall and four meters tall. The ear length of this Buddha statue is just two meters long, which is majestic.

The Buddha statue has a plump and round face, with a wavy hair pattern on its top of its head. It is wearing a shoulder-shaped robe. The clothes are simple and unpretentious, and the concentric circles of clothes pattern make the avatar look extremely vivid and holy. The whole Buddha statue is like a wise and kind middle-aged woman, which makes people respect but not fear.

In terms of appearance, the eyebrows of the Buddha statue are curved like a crescent moon, with a pair of beautiful eyes attached to it, staring slightly below. The straight nose bridge and a small mouth reveal a peaceful smile, the ears are long and slightly drooping, and the chin is round and slightly forward. The overall look is harmonious and peaceful.

If the rumors are true and if this Buddha statue is really carved with Wu Zetian's face, then we will have a general understanding of Wu Zetian's appearance.

The sitting statue of the Buddha Lushana is the largest Buddha statue of Longmen Grottoes, but it is not carved alone. On both sides of the Buddha Lushana, there are two venerables, Kashyapa and Ananda. The full name of the Venerable Kashyapa is Mahakasyapa. It looks like it has experienced many vicissitudes and is mature and persistent. Ananda is the abbreviation of Ananda, meaning joy, joy, and looks gentle and intelligent, making people feel warm.

Next to it are two Bodhisattvas, Manjushri and Samantabhadra, with reserved expressions, and gloriousness. Samantabhadra serves the right and Manjushri serves the left. On both sides of the Bodhisattva are two great heavenly kings. The southern wall is the southern king of heavenly kings, and the northern wall is the northern king of heavenly kings. The carvings are heroic and powerful, making people dare not offend.

When we were immersed in this ingenious sculpture, Shen Lang suddenly spoke. He looked at the magnificent nine Buddha statues in front of him and asked questions in his heart.

"You said why do you need to dig a cave here and carve so many Buddha statues on it?"

Chunting looked at Xue Nan, as if she wanted to know if there was any record in Lingyun Tower, and Xue Nan did not disappoint him. Seeing Chunting looking at her, she smiled slightly and began to talk about the mystery of the origin of the Longmen Grottoes.

The origin of the Longmen Grottoes was during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Emperor Xiaowen implemented a policy of sinicization. He felt that the country was inclined to the north and was not conducive to rule, so he moved the capital to Luoyang. At the same time, because he respected Buddhism, Buddhism naturally became the target of his key support.

After moving the capital, he dug out the Longmen Grottoes on both sides of the Yishui River in Luoyang. During this period, the Northern Wei unified the north, and Buddhism became the spiritual pillar of its ideological rule.

The excavation of Lushe Buddha was in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty can be said to be the heyday of the development of Buddhism. Emperor Taizong's active and enlightened attitude led to the rapid development of Buddhism. Emperor Gaozong even respected Buddhism. Many large areas of land in temples were criticized by the emperor. At that time, people said that "there are many monks in the world who occupy famous mountains" came from this.

During the Wu Zetian period, Buddhism reached the scale of the state religion. Wu Zetian built Longmen Grottoes on a large scale based on the contents of the Huayan Sutra. Among all the caves here, the Northern Wei caves accounted for about 30%, the Tang Dynasty accounted for 60%, while other dynasties accounted for only about 10%. This shows the importance attached to this place at that time.

After listening to Xue Nan's story, Shen Lang's expression became a little clear, but Qi Zhi, who was beside him, fell into deeper confusion. She remembered what I just said and looked at us asking in confusion.

"Brother Chuan, it doesn't make sense to say that. Didn't Abbot Xingkong say that this Buddha statue was carved by the gods here? This god cannot be Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, right?"

Because the matter is of great importance, I did not tell everyone the identity of this god. Naturally, they did not know that the so-called god was the Chunting that was the original Chunting. I couldn't help but look at Chunting and wonder how he explained the matter.

Before Chunting could speak, Ling Xuan walked out. He smiled and said another secret of the mountain.

"This theory of the god is purely absurd. In my opinion, he is just a senior master of Guanshan with profound Taoism. However, the reason why Wu Zetian was able to ascend the throne to the emperor is indeed related to Guanshan."

Although Ling Xuan didn't know the truth, he guessed with his intelligence that the god of heaven was indeed a man in the mountains, but he did not guess that the so-called god was the mysterious spring pavilion around us.

But according to his opinion, there seems to be something strange about Wu Zetian ascending the throne to the emperor.

Seeing that we were quite interested, Ling Xuan had no clues to continue now, so he sat down casually and began to talk about the connection between Wu Zetian and Guanshan for us.

Legend has it that when Wu Zetian was still in her infancy, Yuan Tiangang, a strange man, was surprised when he saw Wu Zetian's mother, Yang, saying that he would definitely give birth to a noble son when he saw his wife's bones. Yang was very happy, so he took his two sons for Yuan Tiangang to meet him. However, when Yuan Tiangang saw it, he said that he could reach the third rank, but he was not considered a noble person.

So Yang called out Wu Zetian's sister and asked Yuan Tiangang to look at him. After seeing this, Yuan Tiangang called this woman a noble but not a good husband, and was not a noble person. Finally, she carried out Wu Zetian dressed in a boy's clothes. Yuan Tiangang was shocked when he saw Wu Zetian in the cradle and said that her dragon eyes and phoenix neck were extremely valuable, but after the shock, he regretted that it was a pity that this was a man. If a woman's future was limitless, she would be the lord of the world in the future.

After all, Xue Nan was a woman, and she was very delicate and reacted very quickly. When she heard this, she suddenly patted Shen Lang's thigh beside her and looked at Ling Xuan with excitement.

"It's Yuan Tiangang!"

Shen Lang was fascinated by hearing this, and suddenly was attacked by Xue Nan. He rubbed his thighs while muttering.

"Oh, Sister Nan, why don't you pat your thighs when you are excited? You don't know how to be gentle if you are so strong."

Ling Xuan didn't care about Shen Lang's contempt to himself, and confirmed to all of us while looking at Xue Nan.

"It is precisely because of Yuan Tiangang that if Wu Zetian had not had his help, as a female liar, how could he easily go to the Nine Five in that era?"

Wu Zetian was not famous in the cradle, and Yuan Tiangang was already a strange man at that time, so how could he meet a baby specifically? There is only one possibility.

That is why Yuan Tiangang knew at that time that Wu Zetian would be able to ascend the throne to the emperor in the future, so he went to find Wu Zetian when she was in her infancy to make good relationships.

In the tomb of Yang Guang's clothes at Ba Bridge, we have learned from Ling Xuan's story why Yang Guang's Sui Dynasty died, and at the same time why Yuan Tiangang cut off Li Tang's dragon veins there.

More importantly, Ling Xuan clearly stated a fact that Yuan Tiangang, a strange man of a generation, was originally a disciple of Guan Shan’s leader.

From this point of view, the fact that Wu Zetian’s claim to be emperor is indeed inseparable from Guanshan.
Chapter completed!