"Prime Minister Pei, your reaction is really fast." Li Daozong sighed.”
Pei Ji smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"How can I not be fast? You and I messed up the matter of the monk's renascence. Not only did we lose face in front of His Majesty, but don't you feel cowardly?”
"Now that there's another matter, it's time for us to show our skills.”
The Minister of Works, Duan Lun, said solemnly,""That makes sense. In the end, monks still have to rely on Your Majesty to renounce asceticism. This old man really doesn't feel comfortable.”
"It's not that Your Majesty can't do this. It's just that this old man feels that as officials, we can't really become trash, right?”
Seeing that all the officials nodded and no one had any objections, Pei Ji decided,""Then let's discuss it in detail."
"There are dozens of temples and Taoist temples in Chang 'an.”
"The number of Daoists is even greater than the number of monks.”
"It's also a big one."
————
At this time, the imperial court's attitude towards Buddhism spread throughout Chang 'an.
"In the future, monks will have to take exams?"
"The exam is good. I'm convinced that such a capable person can become a monk!”
"Are you stupid? Why would you leave home if you have the ability? Isn't it good to be an official in the court?"
"What's the difference between the Imperial Court's actions and the destruction of Buddha?”
"I don't agree with that. How is there no difference? What's the point of destroying Buddha? It doesn't allow us to believe in Buddha. It even closed all the temples and dismissed all the monks to return to secular life.”
"But the little Emperor's actions are for the sake of us commoners! Those monks only ate and drank in the temple and did not pay taxes to the imperial court. They were all people of the Great Tang, so why could they do this?”
"And look at those monks. There are all kinds of people among them. Were they going to become monks? If a monk did not behave like a monk, wouldn't he be embarrassing Buddha?”
In the various markets of Chang 'an City, the people were discussing animatedly.
Meanwhile, in the Xuanzhen Temple of Chongren Lane.
In the Daoist temple.
Three middle-aged sect masters in Taoist robes sat together with solemn expressions.
Taoist Master Xuan Zhen looked at Taoist Master Qing Ling and Taoist Master Ming Xin with a serious expression and said,"
"Today, I invited two Taoist masters who can represent the Taoist temples in Chang 'an City to come here for one thing.”
"You've heard about what happened to tens of temples and hundreds of thousands of monks in Chang 'an?”
Daoist Priest Qing Ling and Daoist Priest Ming Xin nodded solemnly.
"I think the imperial court is really ruthless." Taoist Priest Qing Ling sighed.”
Daoist Priest Ming Xin said indifferently,"
"However, this Penniless Priest is happy to see this.”
"This Penniless Priest has long disliked the faces of those monks. The Imperial Court is doing the people a favor!”
Taoist Master Xuan Zhen frowned and looked at him." Besides the monk, should we get rid of him?"”
"What do you mean?" Taoist Priest Ming Xin asked in surprise.”
"We are Taoist priests, different from those monks.”
"How is it different?" Taoist Master Xuan Zhen shook his head and said,"
"In our eyes, there is indeed a clear distinction between them and monks, but in the eyes of the imperial court, what is the difference between a Daoist temple and a monastery, between a Daoist priest and a monk?”
"There are more than 100,000 monks inside and outside Chang 'an, and the number of Taoist priests is even higher than the number of monks.”
Hearing this, the two of them fell silent.
Just as he had said, the Great Tang's national policy was to put the Tao first and let go later.
There were even more people who believed in the Dao than those who believed in Buddhism.
"If the imperial court can punish monks, why can't they punish us Taoist priests?" Taoist Master Xuan Zhen said in a deep voice.”
"Then what should we do?"
"If the imperial court wants us to renounce asceticism, should we listen or not?" Taoist Priest Qing Ling asked in confusion. If they didn't listen, would the fate of Taoism follow in the footsteps of Buddhism?”
Taoist Master Xuan Zhen waved his hand." It's not that bad."”
"No matter what, the situation of us Daoists is different from monks.”
"Monks don't engage in production, and Taoist priests don't engage in production either. However, monks pay attention to the purity of their six roots and convert to Buddhism without asking about the secular world.”
"As for you and me, we are originally in the secular world and don't need to return to the secular world.”
"But just in case, we still have to make preparations early.”
"That's why I invited someone over," Taoist Master Xuan Zhen said solemnly.”
Daoist Priest Ming Xin was surprised." Who did Daoist Priest Xuan Zhen invite?”
"Priest Sun!" Xuan Zhen said.
"Sun Simiao?" Qing Ling was surprised.
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the door. The three of them turned around and saw a figure with an outstanding temperament, white hair, and a youthful face appear in everyone's field of vision.
The three of them hurriedly stood up and greeted him. They bowed and said,
"Greetings, Priest Sun."
Sun Simiao hurriedly returned the greeting and said in a solemn tone,"
"I was cultivating in Mount Zhongnan. When I heard that the imperial court was targeting monks, I rushed back.”
"Priest Sun also thinks that the imperial court might target Taoism?" Taoist Priest Xuan Zhen asked.”
"It's not a possibility, but a certainty."
Sun Simiao took a deep breath and looked at the three of them.""You must understand the reason for the Imperial Court's actions this time.”
"The Great Tang needs manpower everywhere, but there are two places in the world that have manpower but are not used by the Imperial Court. To be precise, they are outside the control of the Imperial Court and do not require taxes or corvee.”
"Now that we're attacking the Buddhist Sect, how can we turn a blind eye to our Dao Sect?”
"What's your plan, Priest Sun?" Priest Qing Ling asked hurriedly.”
"So what if I have a brilliant plan?"
" That Master Xuanzang is known as the Ocean-Pacifying Godly Pillar by Buddhism," Sun Simiao said with a sigh." Faced with the pressure from the imperial court, he even thought of bringing hundreds of thousands of monks to retrieve the scriptures in the West."”
"But what was the result?"
"In the end, the little Emperor helped him retrieve the Classics of the West.”
"As a result, Master Xuanzang could not even use his final excuse. He could only pinch his nose and accept the imperial court's words.”
"This Penniless Priest also wants to imitate Master Xuanzang's idea of obtaining the scriptures of the West, but the place where our Taoist Faction rose is right below our feet.”
Taoist Master Xuan Zhen's expression darkened." Even Taoist Master Sun is at his wit's end?”
"It's not like there's no way."
Sun Simiao raised a finger." I've considered it over and over again, and I think there's only one plan now.”
Under the gazes of the three people, Sun Simiao said firmly,"
"Learning medicine can save Taoism!"
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