Chapter 615: Whoever dares to oppose today, I'll be the first to hammer them!

"You... you said what you want to do?"

Li Shimin was speechless.

Damn it!

Abolish Buddhism—how could you even say that?

This must be that little brat Chen Yan's idea, right?

It must be, right?

Han Zhongliang said in a deep voice, "His Majesty, I recommend... abolishing Buddhism!"

Good job, old Han!

Chen Yan clenched his fist.

What a disgrace!

"Han Zhongliang!" Xiao Yu shouted, "Do you know what you're saying? Abolish Buddhism? How could you even utter such words?"

"Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"May I ask, Minister Xiao, what retribution I could possibly face?" Han Zhongliang went all out, "The Buddhist Establishment hangs compassion on its lips every day, preaching universal salvation, yet behind the scenes they commit filthy deeds—none of which lives up to the word 'compassion'."

"If you ask me, the Buddhist Establishment is the greatest tumor in the world!"

"They hold the prime lands and collect the most incense money; they turn a blind eye when the people go hungry, yet when the people can't repay the usurious loans they borrow, they are the most proactive of all!"

"Minister Xiao, I, Han Zhongliang, cannot stand this. I petition His Majesty to abolish Buddhism—what's wrong with that?"

"Are you saying you want me to watch these people evade taxes on one hand and lend money that harms the populace on the other, and still have to praise them as compassionate?"

"You..." Xiao Yu's fingers trembled, his face flushing red and white, "Absurd! Absolutely absurd!"

"The common folk are bathed in Buddhist light and voluntarily convert to the Buddhist Establishment—what's the problem with that?"

"No one forces them!"

"Han Zhongliang, I advise you to speak cautiously; know that within three feet above your head there are deities. If you continue, not only will you face retribution, but all your descendants will as well!"

Chen Yan glared, "Your mother's bullshit!"

"Damn it, in my view, the one most deserving of retribution is you!"

"Han Zhongliang, where am I wrong?"

"Damn your ancestors!"

"Temples and the Buddhist Establishment haven't seized the people's land? Haven't they repeatedly evaded taxes? Don't the temples enjoy everyone's incense while committing deeds that harm the people? How many families have been ruined by their usurious loans?"

"My goddamn!"

"The young master gives you face, calling you Minister Xiao; if I don't give you face, you're just an old clumsy fool!"

"Do you really think of yourself as something? Still dare say the young master's people will face retribution? To hell with you!"

"People like you who shield a group that appears compassionate but is no different from bandits deserve to descend into the eighteenth level of hell after death, suffering the greatest torment in the world."

"Well said!" Du Gou slapped the table and rose: "To your mother's bullshit Buddhist Establishment, day after day they chant 'My Buddha is compassionate', 'My Buddha is compassionate', where is my Buddha's compassion?"

"Was it the natural disaster of the first year of Zhen Guan? The locust plague of the second year? The human calamity of the third year, or the subsequent great drought?"

Du Gou shouted angrily, "During the third year of Zhen Guan, I donated money and set up a porridge shelter to aid the people. Where is the Buddha you claim to have compassion for?"

"What has it done?"

"You... you!" Xiao Yu felt like vomiting blood, especially after Chen Yan's tirade, which was truly merciless.

"You... you!" Ma Zhou quickly followed, standing up and saying, "Did they say it wrong? Isn't the Buddhist Establishment like this?"

"I really can't understand, especially the whole 'put down the butcher's knife and instantly become a Buddha' thing!"

"I'll become your mother's Buddha!"

"Is it that if I kill someone today, rape his wife, bury his parents and children alive, then put down the butcher's knife, I can instantly become a Buddha and have all my past sins vanish?"

"Minister Xiao, tell me, is that so!?"

Fang Yizhi rose slowly, closed his eyes, and made a Buddhist prayer gesture: "Amitabha, since the Buddhist Establishment claims to have compassion for all beings, surely now the Buddhist Establishment, full of evil, only knows how to exploit the people, will also forgive our abolition of Buddhism, right?"

"After all, my Buddha is compassionate... Amitabha!"

When those words were spoken, officials and generals across the court twitched their mouths, and many burst into loud laughter.

Cheng Yaojin laughed the loudest: "Well said!"

"Damn it, you all keep talking about how my family's cattle die, yet the Buddhist Establishment preaches the six roots are pure, but you never mind them slaughtering sheep and cattle every day!"

"Aren't they supposed to have pure six roots? Then why are there so many Buddhist monks marrying, having children, eating meat in large bites, and drinking wine in large gulps?"

"Chen Yan!!!" Xiao Yu shouted angrily: "What is the Ministry of Revenue doing today? Trying to cause chaos across the realm?"

"Across the Tang Dynasty, do you know how many people believe in Buddhism? Even Empress Changsun herself is a Buddhist follower, and yet you, as her son-in-law, lead the entire Ministry of Revenue to call for abolishing Buddhism!"

"This is not only unfilial, but also disloyal to the Buddhist Establishment, plunging the world into injustice!"

"I damn your mother!" Chen Yan also erupted, kicking the desk over, "Right! What you said is correct!"

"Han Zhongliang is acting on my orders; abolishing Buddhism is my intention!"

"Because I have seen the harm of the Buddhist Establishment, the ugliness beneath their compassionate façade! I'm not trying to cause chaos; I'm setting things right!"

"What does it matter how many people in the world believe in Buddhism?"

"At worst, we can investigate the Buddhist Establishment to the bottom, and publish all their filthy deeds in the Great Tang Daily; I want to see whether the world will oppose my abolition of Buddhism!"

"If there are, then all the cause and effect, I, Chen Yan, will bear alone!"

"Don't talk about disloyalty or unfilial piety, even if it's inhuman or unjust; from now on I will be cursed by everyone, and after death I will have a bronze statue erected and be forced to kneel before the world. I, Chen Yan... fully accept!"

Just as Chen Yan finished speaking, Wu De and Fu Yi, the anti-Buddhist representatives from the early Zhen Guan era, stepped forward without hesitation: "Count me in!"

"Secretary Chen, Minister Han, and others are right; at the beginning of Zhen Guan, the Buddhist Establishment had only a few hundred thousand members, and now it has grown to over two hundred thousand."

"How terrifying is that number?"

"Even more frightening is that it keeps rising rapidly; if this continues, our Tang Dynasty will become a Buddhist kingdom!"

Many officials who wanted to oppose the Buddhist Establishment saw the Ministry of Revenue go all‑in, launching a campaign to eradicate Buddhism, and the former top anti‑Buddhist, Fu Yi, also stepped forward.

They could no longer sit still and began to voice their agreement one after another.

"I support it—eradicate Buddhism, we must eradicate Buddhism!!"

"I second…."

"Second…."

"Impossible!" Sun Fuja said firmly, "The eradication of the Buddhist Establishment is absolutely impossible!"

"I won't, you mother?" Chen Yan pointed at his nose and cursed, "Don't damn force me to beat you; just mind your own business."

"Do you know the Buddhist Establishment has already begun to seriously affect Tang Dynasty's tax revenue? Whoever dares to speak against it today, I'll be the first to hammer them!"

"......"