I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"Religion is greater than imperial power?"

Li Shimin's pupils shrank sharply. This sentence was too devastating to him.

As an emperor, he would not allow any person or organization, even gods, to be above the imperial power.

The emperor is the Son of Heaven, the son of God, and the emperor of mankind.

Even gods are not as good as the Human Emperor, otherwise you will disappear from the world.

Such things have happened in history.

The place Li Shen was referring to was the European continent, especially Byzantium.

Christianity and Catholicism were rampant. The emperor only had status in his own country, but the pope had status throughout the entire continent.

Even the emperor had to be baptized by the Pope before he could succeed to the throne, otherwise it would be illegitimate.

All the ministers were also shocked that a religious sect could be higher than the imperial power.

Isn't this treasonous and against moral principles?

"Your Highness Prince Ji, does there really exist such a place?" an official asked curiously.

"Of course, it is in the Far West. You can find out by going to the merchants in Tianzhu in the main hall.

Buddhism advocates that everything is empty, and there is no difference between all things. People are the same, and people and all things are the same.

This is what is meant by the equality of all beings.

There is a belief in Buddhism that one should not worship the emperor or one's parents, which is incompatible with the ideology of our Tang Dynasty.

All beings are equal, and this also brings all the nobles down to the same level as the common people.

Aye, I think Buddhism needs to be regulated.”

After Li Shen finished speaking, he turned around and bowed to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, I think what Prince Ji said makes some sense. At least their teachings can be changed. They are not in line with the teachings of the saints of our Tang Dynasty."

An official from the Kong family stood up. He listened for a long time and finally discovered that this Buddhist thought was in conflict with their ancestors.

Why don't you kill them?

"I also think that it is necessary to make some changes. This Buddhist sect actually has such great wealth. As King Yu Ji said,

There may be hidden dangers in the future."

The one who spoke out was Li Daozon.

He is still a prince, a beneficiary of the class system. Do you want me to make all human beings equal?

"I agree with what Prince Ji said. Your Majesty, please put an end to this trouble."

Li Xiaogong, as a member of the royal family, also stood up, saying that they had status and wealth above the imperial power.

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

First it was the duke, then the marquis, and finally even the county man stood up.

These people are all shrewd people. Everything Prince Ji thinks and does is to maintain the stable status of the nobility and imperial power.

They have to come out to help out, this is also for their own sake.

"Your Highness Prince Ji, you have said so much, but you have not mentioned a solution. I wonder how you are going to suppress Buddhism?"

Xiao Rui asked.

"Have you heard of Tuoba Tao and Yuwen Yong?" Li Shen asked Xiao Rui.

“You’re going to destroy the Buddha first?”

Xiao Rui's face changed and he was extremely shocked.

The two people Li Shen was referring to are Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, Tuoba Tao, and Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yong.

During their reign, these two people carried out large-scale anti-Buddhist campaigns.

Destroying temples, Buddha statues, scriptures, confiscating property, prohibiting people from believing in Buddhism, etc.

Among them, Emperor Taiwu was the bloodiest, burning down temples and killing monks.

Not only did they kill all the monks and destroy the Buddha statues, but they also massacred those who believed in Buddhism and made various Buddha statues made of clay, copper, etc., resulting in "no more monks in the whole area."

That's why Xiao Rui was shocked. Is Prince Ji going to start a massacre?

This is not good for the court and your Majesty's reputation.

The other ministers had also read history books and knew the two people mentioned by Li Shen.

Although what Li Shen said makes some sense, isn't it a bit too much to destroy Buddhism?

“Your Highness Prince Ji, Buddhism is not threatening the imperial court at present. If we destroy Buddhism, it would be an exaggeration.

As long as we formulate a charter, strengthen the management of Buddhism and impose taxes, we can effectively curb Buddhism.

There was no need to cause bloodshed.”

This time, Changsun Wuji was not trying to oppose Li Shen, but was discussing the matter from the perspective of the prime minister.

The anti-Buddhist movement was so massive that it easily caused unrest among the people. Moreover, the excessive killings affected the reputation of the court and the emperor.

The people would also have some comments about the court. After all, Buddhism is not as strong as Li Shen said.

"Father, I think Duke Zhao's proposal is a good one. Imposing taxes on Buddhism and strengthening management is also a means of suppression.

The teachings of the sages emphasize being open to all things and inclusive, which requires us to be tolerant of everything.

This Buddhism simply brought a lot of bad things from the Western Regions when it first came into our Tang Dynasty.

But there are still many good teachings in it.

Why not give them a chance to change their doctrine and conform to the national conditions of our Tang Dynasty?"

Li Shen did not think twice and immediately recommended Zhangsun Wuji's idea to Li Shimin.

"Oh no, I've been fooled." Chang Sun Wuji reacted instantly.

Li Shen pushed himself out to be the leader.

By then, even if people have any complaints, they will only talk about him, Changsun Wuji.

'If Prince Ji is not a good person, he will deliberately exaggerate the matter and then try to make it small.

He just took advantage of the situation and let me take the lead. He is really treacherous.'

Changsun Wuji said in his heart.

"Well, my dear ministers, what do you think of what Duke Zhao said?" Li Shimin nodded and asked.

"Your Majesty, what Duke Zhao said is very good."

Chu Suiliang was the first to stand up and agree.

"I think what Duke Zhao said makes sense."

The ministers also followed suit.

"Well, it's settled then. The three provinces and six ministries will discuss and come up with a charter.

I have thought about what Prince Ji said just now for a long time.

I think this is by no means an exaggeration and it is very likely to happen in the future.

So we must take precautions before it happens.

All the chores, servants, and lay disciples belonging to the temple had to pay taxes and perform labor service.

The Ministry of Rites should be more strict in assessing monks and issuing ordination certificates strictly.

We need to re-screen the monks who have obtained the certificate of ordination from all over the country.

Buddhism is a pure place, where people do not care about worldly affairs and their six senses are pure. There is no use for them to have so much wealth.

The preferential treatment given to monks and nuns by the Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty was retained, and all other fields were handed over to local governments for management and used as grain for charity granaries.

Check the temple properties and you will find that if monks have too much wealth, it will disturb their purity.

Some of the money was kept for expenses, and the rest went into the national treasury to be used for disaster relief and building roads and bridges.

Let the Honglu Temple send people to tell temples everywhere to revise the scriptures."

"this....."

After Li Shimin finished speaking, there was an uproar below. This was no different from the anti-Buddhist actions of the previous two people.

It was basically the same except that the temples were not demolished and the monks were not killed.

It seems that Your Majesty cares a lot about the saying "religion is greater than imperial power".

"Do you have anything else to add?"

Li Shimin looked at the officials and asked.

"I have!"