Water Margin people

Chapter 1420 Collusion with the Japanese

"Old monk, what else do you want to say?"

Sun Lei looked at Zen Master Zhili and asked with a smile, "Now that the old monk has been caught red-handed and the evidence is irrefutable, there is no room for him to defend himself."

"Amitabha, in my eyes, they are just monks. My Buddha is merciful and does not differentiate between them. The Buddhist gate is wide open and we welcome all monks and pilgrims from all over the world!"

Zen Master Zhili clasped his hands together with a compassionate look and said.

"It looks like you, Daming Temple, are planning a rebellion!"

Sun Lei's tone turned cold. He was very dissatisfied with Master Zhili's answer.

"Why do you say that, benefactor?"

Zen Master Zhili was also shocked. He didn't expect the person in front of him to put such a big hat on him.

"I think the destruction of Buddhism by the Three Wus and One Sect is not thorough enough. You must be destroyed once more!"

Sun Lei stared at Zen Master Zhili and said.

Buddhism is also a very aggressive religion. Since it was introduced to China from India during the Han Dynasty, Buddhism has been trying to erode this land and establish a religious state, and theocracy wants to reach the top.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Buddhism even emerged and there was a saying that it was in harmony with the imperial power. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, it was above the imperial power.

But every time Buddhism expanded to the point of threatening imperial power, the emperor would suppress it with iron-blooded force.

Monks and nuns do not engage in production and do not pay taxes, but accept offerings from believers all over the world. They rely on their faith to squeeze the country's blood and bones to compete for profits, hoarding large amounts of land and shops, like a country within a country.

"You...you dare..."

Zen Master Zhili did not expect that the person in front of him would say such words. The Three Wu and One Zong exterminations of Buddhism were four catastrophes for Buddhism, and each one almost cut off the foundation of Buddhism.

"You should have guessed who I am, then you should know that I have this ability!"

Sun Lei said coldly.

“We just want to spread the Dharma!”

Zen Master Zhili said tremblingly that he had guessed that the young man in front of him was the Emperor of Qi, and that the emperor was fully capable of launching an anti-Buddhist movement.

"Spreading Buddhism? You stay on my land, enjoying everything this country has, but you take these things to buy people's hearts abroad? You are really good at making a wishful thinking!"

  Sun Lei looked at Zen Master Zhili. Jianzhen was the one who smuggled into Japan from Daming Temple. But if Japan just admired Buddhism, then why did they go through so much trouble to build a big ship and smuggle six times?

Wouldn't it be the same if I took some Buddhist scriptures with me? If the Japanese could come, wouldn't it be easy for me to secretly follow them back? Just like Xuanzang's journey to the West, one person and one stick.

  The only explanation is that the things they wanted to take were not just Jianzhen and Buddhist scriptures, but the smuggling ship also carried things that were prohibited from being passed on. This is smuggling!

Otherwise, how could Jianzhen gain a foothold in Japan so quickly? Bodhidharma had many difficulties in spreading Buddhism in the Central Plains and was misunderstood. It took many years for him to make some progress. Could it be that Jianzhen's Buddhist teachings were far more profound than Bodhidharma's?

It is nothing more than following the path of Xuanzang. Xuanzang had the support of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. He brought back "A Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty". The experiences along the way were of great help to the Tang Dynasty's Western Expedition to control the Western Regions.

Jianzhen brought the advanced technology of the Tang Dynasty to Japan, including medicine, literature, art, architecture and production technology, and used these in exchange for the support of the Japanese emperor. As for Buddhism, it was just a by-product.

"How dare you not kneel before His Majesty?"

Chai Jin directly drew out the sword from his waist and roared at the monks. He had no good feelings towards Buddhism because his ancestors of the Chai family had once destroyed Buddhism. He knew very well how hypocritical these Buddhists were.

The monks were so frightened by his loud shouting that their legs went weak and they fell to their knees.

Zen Master Zhili moved his lips and wanted to refute, wanting to say that monks do not worship secular rituals, but he saw Sun Lei's murderous face again, and finally he knelt down and bowed. The reason why Central Plains Buddhism can exist until now is that it relies on the reforms of generations of eminent monks. In the end, they reached a consensus that the imperial power is above the Buddhist sect.

"Take them away! Interrogate them!"

Seeing that these monks had become obedient, Sun Lei waved his hand and said.

"How long have you guys been in Central Plains?"

  Sun Lei looked at the eight Japanese monks in front of him and asked

"We two have been in Zhongyuan for five years, and they just came this year!"

The leading monk spoke.

"You two have been here for five years? What are you doing here?"

Sun Lei continued to ask.

"The Emperor ordered us to gather intelligence on Middle-earth and learn some of its culture..."

The two did not dare to hide anything and told each other the mission.

"Look, what's the difference between these monks in Daming Temple and traitors?"

Sun Lei looked at Lu Zhishen and asked. Just now, Lu Zhishen had some opinions about his handling of the monks in Daming Temple.

"Why? Buddhism is a pure land. Why do they do this?"

Lu Zhishen was very puzzled. In his opinion, Buddhism should be a pure land where monks should just study Buddhism and collect some money. How could it be considered as colluding with foreign races?

"For the sake of profit. The Tang Dynasty suppressed Buddhism in the past. These monks from the coastal areas wanted to preach overseas. The idea was good, but they used the good things in the Central Plains as a token of their loyalty! Otherwise, why do you think Monk Jianzhen was named the Great Monk and the founder of the Japanese Vinaya School as soon as he arrived in Japan?"

Sun Lei shook his head and said, Jianzhen happened hundreds of years ago. Maybe Jianzhen thought there was nothing wrong with what he did, and his disciples in later generations also thought there was nothing wrong with it.

But from Sun Lei's perspective, if this kind of behavior is tolerated, it would be tantamount to indulging traitors.

"The people in the Buddhist sect are actually very ambitious. My ancestors destroyed Buddhism for a reason. At that time, the Central Plains was in chaos and war, and every household in the people was impoverished."

"But the temples were very popular and had a thriving business. At that time, monks, nuns and the businesses owned by the temples were exempt from taxes. Many wealthy families took advantage of this rule and cooperated with the temples to register their family businesses under the temples' names, thus evading state taxes with a clear conscience."

"With the financial resources, temples and Buddhist sects took advantage of this opportunity to expand, build temples, and enclose land! Many people chose to become monks and nuns to avoid military service and taxes."

"In just two months, our ancestors demolished 33,336 temples, forced 61,200 monks and nuns to return to secular life, and seized so much property that even the national treasury couldn't hold it all!"

Chai Jin talked about the past of his ancestor Chai Rong. The reason why the Later Zhou Dynasty could prosper was closely related to the destruction of Buddhism. During turbulent times, Buddhism often took advantage of the chaos to compete with the country for profit.

"More than 30,000? How many temples are there?"

Lu Zhishen was also a little surprised. He was a monk and knew the locations of temples in various places best. However, he was a little shocked to hear that there were more than 30,000 temples. The territory of the Later Zhou Dynasty was not large. It was mainly the Central Plains north of the Yangtze River, and yet there were tens of thousands of temples in such a small place.

"More than 30,000 is definitely a bit exaggerated, but a lot of them were destroyed. There are 480 temples in the Southern Dynasties, and many pavilions are in the mist and rain."

Sun Lei said that it was a long time ago that Chai Rong destroyed Buddhism, and what Chai Jin said must be exaggerated.