"Blood-stained mercy!"
When the latest issue of the Mo Magazine put the Zhao family's tragedy on the front page, the entire Chang 'an City was in an uproar.
Before this, Buddhism had a good reputation in the Tang dynasty. They were merciful and compassionate. However, the incident reported in the Mo Magazine gave the citizens of Chang 'an a huge contrast.
"Hasn't the Great Mercy Temple always been merciful? Why would they do something as shameful as forcing people to commit suicide? "
"You don't know about this! It's common for the Great Mercy Temple to borrow money. Where do you think the land under the temple's name came from? "
…
Everyone was discussing and condemning the Great Mercy Temple's actions.
"It's only right to repay one's debts. The Zhao couple didn't repay the money they owed and even used their deaths to tarnish the Great Mercy Temple's reputation."
"This money is for the Buddha. If everyone borrows money and doesn't repay it, how are they going to build temples and build Buddhas?"
There were also foolishly loyal believers of the Great Mercy Temple who kept trying to whitewash the Great Mercy Temple.
"It's only right to repay one's debts? Do you know that this is called money? The interest is rolling. Old Man Zhao borrowed three strings of money and now he has to repay forty strings of money, "a merchant sneered.
As merchants, they were particularly sensitive to money. They hated and feared the Rolling Donkey Loan Sharks. Once anyone got involved with the Rolling Donkey Loan Sharks, it could be said that even if they didn't die, they would lose a layer of skin. They naturally knew the horror of the Rolling Donkey Loan Sharks.
"So much?" Everyone exclaimed.
The merchant sneered, "That's a lot? You haven't heard of that. Mo Jiazi and Princess Changle's game of doubling a copper coin. You'll know how terrifying loan sharks are. "
"A game of doubling a copper coin?" Everyone was curious.
"Why don't you try it and you'll know?" The merchant said proudly.
Everyone was curious and kept doubling. When they doubled it to thirty days, they were all shocked when they saw the huge sum of five hundred million.
"The Rolling Donkey Loan Sharks are actually so terrifying!" In an instant, everyone was terrified when they saw this number. Although it was impossible for loan sharks to double the interest rate of a penny, the principle was the same.
Immediately, the article about the bloodstained benevolence and the game of doubling the price of one copper coin exploded in popularity. The public opinion once again leaned towards the Zhao couple, and the reputation of the Great Mercy Temple plummeted to a freezing point.
In the Great Mercy Temple, almost all the monks in charge were gathered together. They were all looking at the ink magazine in front of them with gloomy faces. For a long time, the reputation of the Buddhist temple had spread far and wide, and no one believed a person's nonsense. However, when the new thing of the newspaper appeared in the Tang dynasty, the right of speech suddenly changed. Once a word was said, everyone knew about it. In an instant, the operation that had been safe for many years was magnified in front of the public, and the Great Mercy Temple was caught off guard.
"The Mo Clan is going too far! My Great Mercy Temple and the Mo Family have never interfered with each other's business. To think that they would resort to such underhanded methods. "
Monk Tongji roared with a flushed face.
The other monks were also furious. This time, the ink magazine's report was a fatal blow to the reputation of the Great Mercy Temple. Once they lost their reputation, the Great Mercy Temple would definitely decline and never return to its previous glory. This would damage the interests of the Great Mercy Temple as a whole, and even the reputation of Buddhism.
"This poor monk has said before that Buddhism is a place of peace. How can we let money be printed? Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a dangerous situation today." A kind-looking old monk said bitterly. Many other monks nodded in agreement. They didn't agree with such a dirty thing that tarnished the reputation of Buddhism.
"Senior Brother Tongren, it's easy for you to say that. If it weren't for my hard work over the years, how could the Great Mercy Temple be where it is today? Where did all this money come from to gild Buddha's gold and expand the temple?" Monk Tongji sneered.
Monk Tongren fell silent. Although they didn't agree with the Great Mercy Temple's practice of printing money, they were actually the beneficiaries. Fundamentally speaking, they weren't clean.
"Alright, it's too late to say anything now. What we need to do now is to let the Great Mercy Temple survive this crisis," said Abbot Ci En with a heavy expression.
"Abbot, please instruct us." Monk Tongji clasped his hands.
"Tongji! Old Man Zhao's land is not to be touched. In addition, all the borrowed money will be interest-free. We can even waive the fees, "said Abbot Ci En.
"Ah! That would be a huge loss for the Great Mercy Temple, "Monk Tongji said unhappily.
Monk Tongren sneered, "You are still thinking of such petty profits at this point in time?"
Monk Tongji's expression changed as he stared at Monk Tongren in a rude and unreasonable manner. Monk Tongren recalled Monk Tongji's past and couldn't help but tremble as he shrank back.
"It's settled then! Furthermore, the Great Mercy Temple will no longer be involved in printing money. It will all be handled by the bank, "said Abbot Ci En decisively.
"Yes!" Only then did Monk Tongji nod unwillingly.
"Then what about the Great Mercy Temple's reputation?" Monk Tongren no longer dared to target Tongji and turned to ask.
Abbot Ci En immediately frowned. The Mo Periodical was too harmful. Now that the Great Mercy Temple was being criticized by everyone, they had to salvage their reputation as soon as possible to protect the Great Mercy Temple.
"Although the Mo Periodical is very influential, it's not a monopoly. If we want to break out of this situation, we have to seek help from the Confucian school of thought," said Abbot Ci En with a frown.
Monk Tongren's heart skipped a beat as he said, "Abbot, are you talking about the Confucian periodical?"
"That's right!" Abbot Ci En nodded.
"Wonderful!" All the monks were overjoyed. With the Confucian periodical to help the Great Mercy Temple clean, they would definitely be able to wash away the Great Mercy Temple's bad reputation.
"That's right. The Confucian school of thought and the Mohist school of thought are enemies. This time, they will definitely help the Great Mercy Temple." Monk Tongren nodded.
"That's not all. We have to warn the Mohist school of thought to not do anything against the Buddhists," Monk Tongji said fiercely.
Abbot Ci En nodded and said, "With both sides working together, our Great Mercy Temple will be fine..
"The real Great Mercy Temple!"
The Confucian periodical published a statement from the Great Mercy Temple, attributing the tragedy of the Zhao couple to the expensive medical fees of the Mo Hospital. The Zhao couple had spent all their money but still couldn't be cured, so they committed suicide in despair. The Great Mercy Temple chanted sutras for the Zhao couple so that they could pass on to the afterlife. They also publicized the good deeds that the Great Mercy Temple had done on the surface and spread it all over the world.
"I knew it. The Great Mercy Temple is a place of benevolence. How could they do such a shameful thing? The Zhao couple must have committed suicide."
"That's right! Although the Mo Hospital's technology is superb, their fees are not cheap. The last time I went to see a doctor, I spent a lot of money. "
"Mo Hospital's fees are indeed not cheap. We're not Mo Jiazi's younger brother, so we can treat them for free."
…
In fact, since the opening of Mo Hospital, the recovery rate and expenses of the people of the Tang dynasty had been greatly reduced. However, no one wanted to spend their own money. Under the wrong guidance of the Confucian periodical, the people's conflict gradually shifted to the issue of Mo Hospital's fees.
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