Yu Zhining couldn't help but blush. "The Minister did use up all his money when he was rushing to take the exam and stayed at a Buddhist temple. However, when he asked someone to send money from home, he had already paid the temple double the amount of incense money. The grudge has long been settled. The Minister has studied the path of the saints all his life and respected the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.
Fu Yi sneered. "The Old Man didn't borrow money from the Buddhist temple back then. Naturally, there is no financial dispute. How can there be a personal grudge?"
"Enough!" Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "You are all familiar with the books of the sages. I naturally believe in your loyalty."
According to this, there were too many officials who had received favors from the Buddhists. If the investigation continued, it would implicate even more. Li Shimin wisely brushed this topic aside.
However, Fu Yi's counterattack was not without effect. Some of the officials who had received favors from the Buddhists no longer dared to speak up for the Buddhists openly. The atmosphere in the court could not help but freeze.
Yu Zhining saw that the situation had reached a stalemate and could not help but look anxiously at an important official with a youthful face and white hair. Xiao was born in Nanliang and was a descendant of the royal family. He was the younger brother of Sui Dynasty's Empress Xiao. Nanliang's Buddhism was flourishing. Xiao had been influenced by Buddhism since he was young and was naturally the staunchest supporter of the Buddhists.
Seeing this, Xiao could only step forward and say, "Your Majesty, although the Buddhists have repeatedly made mistakes in the past few days, it was only the Great Mercy Temple's actions. Not all Buddhist temples are like this. On the contrary, most Buddhists abide by the rules and are merciful."
Xiao was an important official in the court and his words carried great weight. When he stepped forward to support the Buddhists, many people immediately agreed.
Even Li Shimin nodded in agreement. When Li Shimin led his troops to war, he liked to personally observe the terrain with a small number of guards. When he was attacking Wang Shichong in Luoyang, he was discovered by Wang Shichong's troops when he was surveying the terrain again. They chased after him with all their might. In the end, he was saved by a Shaolin monk from Mount Song. He was also convinced by Shaolin's benevolence, so he naturally agreed with Xiao's words. He did not believe that Shaolin would be as filthy as the Great Mercy Temple.
When Fu Yi saw Leader Xiao supporting the Buddhists, the situation in the imperial court changed drastically. Although he had expected this, Fu Yi wasn't discouraged this time. This was because he still had a comrade who shared the same ideals — Mo Jiazi.
At that moment, Fu Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, many Buddhist temples do not produce, oppressing the Zhao couple, seizing fertile land, harboring criminals, and even allowing demonic monks to mislead people and deceive believers. This was exposed by the School of Mohism. I think Merton must have his own opinion on whether to exterminate Buddhism."
As soon as Fu Yi finished speaking, everyone's eyes immediately focused on Meton.
Meton couldn't help but bitterly smile at Fu Yi's betrayal of his teammate. However, he didn't think much of it. After all, these things were done by the School of Mohism. In the eyes of the world, his position was already decided.
"Meton, do you have any objections to Minister Fu's words?" Li Shimin looked at Meton and said helplessly. He originally thought that Meton would be well-behaved for a while after marriage, but he never expected this kid to continue causing trouble.
Meton could only step forward, bow, and cup his hands. "In regards to Lord Fu's words, this one must first state that the School of Mohism's scandals are all based on solid evidence and are not deliberately targeting Buddhism. It can even be said that regardless of whether it is Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Medicine, or Historians, as long as they commit crimes, the School of Mo will also report them without mercy."
Many of the court officials couldn't help but narrow their eyes as they warily looked at Meton. This time, the School of Mohism's few articles had already left the School of Mohism in a terrible state. The School of Mohism's might made everyone fearful.
"Then what about your School of Mohism?" Yu Zhining sneered.
Meton said without hesitation, "The School of Mohism is naturally willing to accept the School of Mohism's supervision."
Li Shimin's expression relaxed. After running the School of Mohism for more than a year, he naturally understood the role of the School of Mo. On one hand, it disseminated useful knowledge, allowing the people of the world to know about it. On the other hand, it monitored injustice. It could be said that it was quite effective, greatly reducing the number of crimes that were committed on the surface.
"That would be for the best. Then what do you think about Lord Fu's proposal to eliminate Buddhism?" Li Shimin asked.
"Eliminate Buddhism!" Meton's face was filled with shock, as if this was the first time he had heard this shocking news. He repeatedly shook his head and said, "This subject naturally opposes it."
"Opposes it!" At this moment, all the court officials couldn't believe their ears. No one would have thought that the School of Mohism, the vanguard of anti-Buddhism, would oppose the elimination of Buddhism. This was simply beyond everyone's expectations.
Fu Yi's face was flushed red as he looked at Meton. In his opinion, Mo Jiazi was definitely a firm and not anti-Buddhist. Could it be that Mo Jiazi saw that the situation in the court was not right and actually admitted defeat? He couldn't help but feel disappointed, and a feeling of sorrow spontaneously arose in his heart.
The other court officials also looked at Meton thoughtfully. Some were contemptuous, some were regretful, and some were even disappointed. The Mo Jiazi who loved to toss things around like a catfish seemed to be gone forever.
Only Li Shimin glanced at Meton suspiciously. A leopard couldn't change its spots. He didn't believe that Meton would change his character so easily.
As expected, Meton looked at Li Shimin anxiously and fearfully said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! It's a little too early to eliminate Buddhism. The School of Medicine pays attention to curing illnesses and saving lives. The Minister earnestly requests Your Majesty to give Buddhism another chance and save Buddhism! "
"It's too early to eliminate Buddhism!"
"Save Buddhism!"
…
Instantly, everyone was dumbstruck as they looked at Meton who had said such a shocking thing.
"It's too early to eliminate Buddhism!" Fu Yi came back to his senses after a long time. Mo Jiazi said that it was too early to eliminate Buddhism. Naturally, he also agreed with his idea of eliminating Buddhism. He couldn't help but feel that he had a close friend.
"Merton is too arrogant." Xiao was so angry that he laughed. The other court officials were also agitated and reprimanded Meton.
Looking at the agitated court officials, Li Shimin couldn't help but lower his head with a headache. He knew that Meton wouldn't let it go so easily.
"So, you still agree with eliminating Buddhism. You just think that Buddhism isn't causing enough trouble now." Li Shimin asked in annoyance.
Meton shook his head and said, "The Minister believes that if Buddhism doesn't change, in two hundred years at most, the Two Martial Annihilation of Buddhism will repeat itself."
"Two Martial Annihilation of Buddhism!" Suddenly, everyone fell into a dead silence. Although Buddhism was known to be merciful, it had two dark histories. The first was when Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei annihilated Buddhism. The second was when Emperor Taiwu of Northern Zhou annihilated Buddhism.
Because of these two annihilations of Buddhism, Fu Yi was so radical to propose the idea of eliminating Buddhism.
Historian Yan Shigu couldn't help but lower his eyelids. He was familiar with history and naturally knew that in the Two Martial Annihilation of Buddhism, Buddhism seemed to have suffered heavy losses. However, they were not as innocent as people said.
Many of the court officials were well-versed in history books. Naturally, they knew about these two histories. Their original thoughts of supporting Buddhism were immediately dispelled.
Even Li Shimin couldn't help but be stunned. There had been two emperors who had annihilated Buddhism. Could there be a third time?
Meton shook his head regretfully and said, "It's a pity that Buddhism has gone through two calamities. However, they still made the same mistake and walked the path of tragedy. Now that I have foreseen that the tragedy of Buddhism is about to repeat itself, how can I stand by and do nothing?"
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