Chapter 539

"This..."

The farmer's words directly stunned Xuanzang.

He asked anxiously: "This big brother, I wonder what relationship the farmland here has with Jin Shan Temple?"

"Master, you became a monk at Jin Shan Temple when you were young; don't you really know that all the farmland here belongs to Jin Shan Temple?"

"These farmers work diligently, but all the grain harvest must belong to Jin Shan Temple."

Before the farmer could speak, Qin Mu directly answered Xuanzang's question.

"This little brother, you are the one who sees clearly! Unlike this Master, who is always in the clouds and mist, and doesn't know at all how we common people live." As soon as Qin Mu's words came out, that farmer immediately felt a sense of affinity.

This young man has an extraordinary bearing; one look and you can tell he is from a great family.

Being so understanding of the hardships of the people is truly commendable!

"How is that possible? We monks have always been compassionate and deliver all living beings; every drink and every peck comes from the people, and we have always lived on alms; how could we possess so much fertile land?"

Xuanzang's worldview collapsed.

From the time he was young, the elders in the temple told him that the people's things should not be taken, and that monks take delivering all living beings as their own responsibility.

But everything before his eyes dealt a huge blow to Xuanzang's cognition of more than ten years.

This fertile land actually belongs to Jin Shan Temple?

"Hmph! Master, look at you monks, one by one appearing righteous and moral, I didn't expect you to be doing such things in private."

Princess Changle on the side directly added a sharp remark.

She had long been unable to stand Xuanzang's appearance.

What's so great about him?

Compared to my brother-in-law, you are far behind!

"Cough, cough... I'll say a fair word!" Li Er stood out and said: "In fact, it is not their fault that these fertile lands belong to Jin Shan Temple. After all, the Great Tang Emperor is naturally kind-hearted and quite generous to Buddhism; precisely because of this, he bestowed these fertile lands to Jin Shan Temple to pray for blessings for the common people of the world."

Good guy!

One sentence directly established his image as perfect and flawless.

Empress Zhangsun on the side rolled her eyes when she heard this.

Li Lao Er, you can really brag!

It's not because you felt guilty about the Xuanwu Gate Incident that you built Buddhist temples on a large scale, just to try to restore some image.

You say it so nicely!

Bah!

Li Xueyan and Wu Meiniang also looked at each other with complex expressions.

It's hard to describe in words!

"In that case, it's not a big deal that these fertile lands belong to Jin Shan Temple."

Xuanzang breathed a sigh of relief.

After all.

What is the foundation of his theory?

Delivering all living beings!

What is delivering all living beings?

It is to try every possible way to let the people live a good life and let them experience true happiness.

If Jin Shan Temple kept all these grain fields for itself and put all the people's grain into its own pockets, then everything Xuanzang had learned would be black and white reversed.

Buddhist teachings not only didn't let the people live a good life, but instead exacerbated their toil and pain.

This was something Xuanzang simply couldn't accept.

"Not a big deal?" Qin Mu smiled coldly and continued: "One Jin Shan Temple possesses a hundred acres of fertile land; there are tens of thousands of temples all over the Central Plains. Do you know how much the fertile land of these temples adds up to?"

"Furthermore, your temples never pay taxes; even if you possess so much fertile land, it just fattens your own bellies. And you monks don't have to perform labor, which has led to more than half of the people in the world becoming monks. And the other half of the people have to support themselves, support the imperial court, and also support you monks!"

"Do you also think this is nothing?"

Qin Mu's words were sharp, directly making Xuanzang's head buzz.

"This..."

"Do our temples not have to pay taxes? Do we not have to perform labor?"

Everything was impacting Xuanzang's worldview bit by bit.

His face was pale, his eyes were shaking, and he seemed unable to hold on.

"This little brother, you know so much! It is indeed so; who in this world wants to be a real monk? Isn't it just to enjoy a life of ease?"

"Look at the monks in Jin Shan Temple, all of them are white and fat. Look at this Master before us! He is also red-lipped and white-toothed; one look and you can tell he is someone who has never suffered." Qin Mu's words spoke to the farmer's heart, making him give a thumbs up.