Chapter 639: You Are So Noble, Yet I Am Base

Chen Yan's tone was plainly calm, yet it rang out as if striking the ground, booming across the Court.

Everyone stared at Chen Yan in disbelief, shocked by his words.

Even Xiao Yu, who had been called a beast, was stunned on the spot.

The entire Court was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Li Shimin sat at the head, his gaze deep as he looked at Chen Yan, the admiration in his eyes nearly overflowing.

Xiao Yu's face turned green then white, his lips trembled for a long time, yet no word could spring out.

"Good!" Du Ruhui's complexion flushed, excited, "What a fine phrase—'to set the heart for Heaven and Earth, to set the destiny for the people'… This line should be carved in front of Wen Ming Dian, it hits right at my heart."

"That's what a scholar should be, the purpose of study is exactly this!"

"Bullshit about knowing right and wrong, knowing limits, understanding advance and retreat—aren't those just steering with the wind, for fame and profit?"

"I've never heard such reasoning either."

"Indeed!" Fang Xuanling nodded slightly, "Some people have dirty behinds themselves, yet have the nerve to teach others how to be a person?"

"Putting on the demeanor of an elder, yet the words spoken only invite ridicule; if I were anyone, I would immediately admit my mistake and take my own life, at least leaving a legacy of someone who recognized and corrected his error."

"After all… today's events are destined to leave a heavy mark in the histories; why Minister Chen uttered those four lines, the historians will surely record in detail."

Upon hearing Fang Xuanling's words, everyone instinctively looked at the two historians below, and then saw those two fellows trembling with excitement, their pens never pausing.

The crowd: "......"

Qin Qiong said nothing, only gave a slight nod.

The officials who had just echoed Xiao Yu now had wandering gazes; some lowered their heads to look at their toes, others pretended to adjust their court robes.

Xiao Yu finally caught his breath, gritting his teeth, and said, "Chen Yan, don't think a few flowery words will let you get away with this. Eradicating the Buddhist Establishment? Do you know how many temples there are in the world? How many monks and nuns? With a single sentence, how many livelihoods will you crush? How many people will be left homeless?"

"Lord Xiao." Chen Yan turned, facing him, "I have a question for you."

"You speak."

"What does the Buddhist Establishment teach?"

Xiao Yu was startled, instinctively answered, "Naturally it preaches compassion and the salvation of all beings."

"Good." Chen Yan nodded, "Then I ask you again, those temples occupy tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, pay no grain, pay no taxes; those monks and nuns neither farm nor weave, yet reap the benefits. Is this compassion?"

Xiao Yu opened his mouth.

"Those so‑called great monks, seated on gilded lotus platforms, clad in silk robes, using the faithful's blood‑sweat money to build temples and carve Buddha statues—this called the salvation of all beings?"

Xiao Yu's complexion changed.

"I continue to ask you, those parents whose families are so poor they cannot lift the pot, forced to send their children into temples as novices, or those who are desperate and can only become monks—who will alleviate their suffering?"

Chen Yan said word for word, "Those peasants who lost their livelihood because temples annexed land—who will save their lives?"

"Stop twisting arguments!" Xiao Yu argued, "I've already told you, there's no need to be so ruthless; we could simply establish appropriate regulations to manage the Buddhist Establishment."

"But you want to eradicate Buddhism; of course I disagree."

"Me, twisting arguments?" Chen Yan snorted lightly, "Am I really twisting arguments, Lord Xiao?"

"Now you speak of establishing regulations, yet why didn't you say that earlier?"

"Is it because you know my mind is set, you can't argue with me, so you step back?"

"Calling you a beast is absolutely correct!"

Chen Yan continued, "Lord Xiao, you say I'm young and inexperienced. Then I ask you, you've lived for decades, what do you understand?"

"Do you understand the bitterness of your sister wandering abroad for so many years?"

"Do you understand the desperation of the people you say are oppressed by the Buddhist Establishment, kneeling in the mud praying for rain?"

"You don't understand!"

"All you know is reciting your sutras, worshipping your Buddha, then standing on the Court, brandishing your banner of 'compassion' to block those who truly wish to act!"

Xiao Yu's face turned completely pale.

Those officials who had echoed him now, one of them quietly stepped back half a pace.

"Enough!" an elder official stepped forward, Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince Yu Zhi-ning, "Minister Chen, your words are too harsh! Even if Lord Xiao is at fault, he is still an official of the Court; how can you insult him so?"

Chen Yan glanced at him, calmly saying, "Junior Tutor Yu, I did not insult him; I was merely stating facts."

"Facts?" Yu Zhi-ning sneered, "What facts? Who knows whether your so‑called evidence is true or false? The Buddhist Establishment has existed for a thousand years, its blessings reaching all living beings; can a junior like you arbitrarily judge it?"

"A thousand years?" Chen Yan laughed, "Junior Tutor Yu, how old are you this year?"

Yu Zhi-ning was startled: "Sixty‑three."

"Sixty‑three years old," Chen Yan nodded, "Have you seen a thousand years? On what authority do you use the word 'thousand years' to oppress living people?"

"You..."

"Junior Tutor Yu," Chen Yan interrupted, "I'm not arguing with you; I have a question: if today His Majesty decreed that your family assets be confiscated, that your sons and grandsons become monks, would you agree?"

Yu Zhi-ning's face went rigid.

"You wouldn't," Chen Yan said for him, "yet you are willing to let those people do so—why? Because they are not you, because their lives are unrelated to you."

"Because they are entangled with you in profit, so even knowing that His Highness the Crown Prince supports my eradication of Buddhism, you stepped forward."

"Is that so?"

"Chen Yan!" Yu Zhi-ning, his anger making his beard curl, "You… you slander people!"

Li Chengqian's eyes harbored fire, evidently displeased with Yu Zhi-ning's words, but bound by his rank, he could not say much, let alone scold.

"I slander people?" Chen Yan mocked, "Yes, perhaps I do slander, Junior Tutor Yu is innocent, Lord Yu is noble, and Lord Yu, like Lord Xiao, cannot bear the suffering of the masses!"

"How noble you are, opening your mouths to the common folk, closing them to the masses, a stroke of the pen governs all people, a drop of the pen bestows blessings on all living beings!"

"We are despicable; a single word of ours can eradicate Buddhism, a single phrase can create chaos, entangling the whole world."

"Yet you claim such nobility, why repeatedly denounce the Buddhist Establishment's filth? Why must you block us?"

"Do you not realize that in today's Tang Dynasty, the best way to transcend class is not decades of arduous study and passing the imperial exams, but to shave one's head and become a monk?"

Chen Yan calmly said: "The great principle, this official has already said it until I'm tired; His Majesty also said, this matter must be settled today."

"Buddhism, this official will definitely destroy it."

"If you oppose, this official doesn't mind explaining the 'principle' in my hand!"

"......"