It is almost noon on the fifth day of the eighth month.

The hot sunlight tilted down from the blue sky, and the small courtyard was silent. Suddenly, with a "bang", it broke through the tranquility of the courtyard.

A thin white porcelain cup fell to the ground, and the porcelain piece splashed, rolled a few times on the open space where the monks were sitting around, and stopped.

The monk who was sitting at the first place, no longer cared about the style of a monk, clenched his fists and angrily hammered it on the table beside the chair, roaring like thunder: "Hahahahaha--it's been going on geese all day long, but unexpectedly, today I asked the geese to peck my eyes blinded! Zu Yi... Hu Lu Xiaoqing..., these old men, who couldn't argue as much as us, made a black move. It was really shameless!"

The atmosphere in the wing room of this small courtyard was a little solemn. At the same time, a slightly noisy voice came from the courtyard next door. Many great scholars and Taoists had already gone there, and they were already sure to win.

The monks here looked increasingly pale, and a hint of confusion flashed through their hearts.

Things have completely exceeded the control of these monks, or the balance and rhythm they have been struggling to maintain, were completely disrupted on this day.

...To the outside world, it was a debate between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. In fact, everyone knew what the situation was. This was initiated by the emperor. Confucianism was the main attack. Taoism was just the emperor who put it there for the sake of good looks, and it would not have any effect. Perhaps, after Buddhism fell, the emperor would let Taoism fill some gaps in Buddhism, and these Taoists might even chew on their bones.

After all, the Buddhist sect in Daqi is too big. If the emperor wants to deal with them, he will definitely think about the consequences and influences, and he will never take action rashly. In that case, the emperor's appearance of eating in front of outsiders would be a bit ugly.

By this time, all the monks had already made some plans for the development of the situation.

In their opinion, their Buddhism is a big piece of fat, not only the emperors, Taoists, Confucians, powerful men and aristocratic families, all wanted to get a piece of the pie. Now their situation is clear, and everyone is pushing it out with obvious walls.

The rumors circulating outside are not very good for them. Some monks have already left the temple in a panic, and this situation is still expanding further... Their plan is to kneel to the emperor while trying hard to protect the Buddhist sect and give up a large part of the benefits. If the emperor gets what he wants, he will probably not be aggressive anymore.

After all, the power of Buddhism cannot be underestimated. There are more than 2 million monks in Daqi, and the monk soldiers told the young people that there are tens of thousands of people. Although they are all guardians and guardians, it is not fun to make a fuss. The emperor was worried about everyone's criticism and would not be willing to kill them all, right?

Of course, there is a prerequisite. In order for their plan to be implemented safely, and in order to give both sides a step - to give the emperor and Buddhism a decent and perfect step, they must first pass the present hurdle and win the debate.

It is really not easy to win this debate. They don’t need to worry about it. Those are just sorcerers who can’t hold much ink in their stomachs. How can people who are not a little bit of ink compare with them in terms of reasoning?

After Buddhism entered the Central Plains, it also actively absorbed Chinese literary talent. The cultural level of many eminent monks is actually not much lower than that of some great scholars. What's more, after Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains, its thoughts have been improving to adapt to local cultural customs.

Today, whether it is the theoretical system or the speculative philosophical thoughts, they are already impeccable.

Even Confucianism, which claims to be a conglomerate with all kinds of schools, may not be able to gain the upper hand. As long as they can delay the debate for a longer time, increase their strength and momentum, and steadily suppress these two forces besieging Buddhism. Then, they will take the initiative to surrender to the emperor and cede the vast majority of their assets. It may not be impossible for His Majesty to change his mind and achieve the perfect situation they expected.

Many monks think so, and the subsequent series of developments are also proceeding as they expected.

The Taoist sect is still mudless and cannot be supported by the wall. The monks are too busy to resist after talking left and right. The Confucian sect is calm and calm, and the questions raised are often at the critical point. Moreover, the great scholars are more good at citing scriptures and classics. Not only Laozi and Zhuangzi, but even Buddhist scriptures can also be used to argue in dialectical times, integrating Confucian views, which is extremely sharp in the debate. Fortunately, the cultivation of the monks is not good there. After a little defense, they can often justify themselves and barely block them. Sometimes they can even turn the defense into offense, which makes the great scholars frown.

The situation was moving in the direction they wanted until the blind man Zu Yi passed on the message to the emperor, and the scandals about Buddhism were placed one by one in front of the world.

Just this morning, when the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism were in full swing, someone sent a document in.

They will never forget the malicious smile that Hulu Xiaoqing looked at the document and held the corner of her lips...

He waved his hand, signaling everyone who was in the heated debate to stop, and raised a document in his hand.

"You guys will stop the battle for the time being. I feel that this debate can actually end early..."

In the astonished eyes of everyone, the thin sheet of paper was passed down one after another. They saw with their own eyes that the first person who looked first had a pale face, and his body couldn't help but sit up straight, and then a burst of almost uncontrollable ecstasy burst out from his throat... The monks sat in the same place in a daze, as if their hearts were hit by a heavy hammer, and they felt breathless for a long time.

They wanted to snatch it over and see what it was, but for some reason, their legs were powerless.

At this time, no one could care about their ideas. The great scholars opposite them were usually dignified and solemn, but at this time they were already in chaos. They were almost rushing for this document, and some Taoists were also dragging them in, surrounded by them.

Some people who had read the content sat back calmly and couldn't help but whispering to each other for a few words. Their eyes looked at them as if they were looking at a group of dead people.

The monks were not moved when they faced the questioning for half a month, but now they began to panic.

"Hahahaha, after doing so many things that are messing with discipline and bad laws, these bald donkeys will definitely lose!"

The last Taoist who saw this book was overjoyed and handed it to these monks as if they were giving alms.

The cicadas seemed to have gone away, and in their ears, all the noise disappeared.

The abbot Zhiling fought calmly and took it. More than a dozen monks stood around him, poked their heads out, staring at the contents of the paper. After a while, several monks could not support him and fainted on the spot, falling to the ground and screaming sounded behind him... Zhiling and others stared at the balls of ink traces facing him, and their minds were like thunder blew up.

"How could this happen...How could this happen...How could this happen...How could this happen?"

Zhiling's hands were trembling slightly, and his whole body seemed to be about to fall backwards, and was supported by the monks.

Someone from the other side walked over happily, "Master Zhiling, there is no need to continue this debate. You... should give up and admit your mistakes and give in to Your Majesty as soon as possible. Your Majesty may not be able to leave some seedlings for your Buddhism..."

"...Yes, yes, most of the masters present have an old age with me, and I don't want to watch you fall deeper and deeper on this misalignment. It's better to get out as soon as possible..." There was no lack of sincerity in the dissuasion of these people.

Someone said mockingly, "On the surface, he looks serious, but he is hypocritical. I don't know how many dirty things have been tolerated behind his back. The temple is like this... Haha, these things have been verified, and you can't rely on them! You should chant a few more scriptures for yourself and save yourself in advance..."

"Why do you have to talk more nonsense to them if you are about to die?"

Such remarks flocked to the crowd, and the monks could not hear a single word. Before they could come back to their senses, all kinds of miserable endings kept flashing in their minds. An old monk stammered his lips and murmured to defend:

"Not this...Not this, there are so many Buddhists, it is inevitable that one or two scum will be produced..."

These words were submerged in the criticism of the people. The monks were like being reefs in the sea, and they were soon submerged. Half of the debate had just passed, and before they came to an end, they were already defeated. In the end, it was Zhiling who saw the sun passing by and found an excuse to stop the debate today. Now everyone sat in a gathering, but they were as anxious as a dog that was strayed.

After venting his anger, the monks sat in place, thinking hard about the next countermeasures, but they had no idea, and their minds were still blank. After a long time, someone suggested a weak voice, "Or why don't we submit a petition to the emperor..."

The monks were moved in their hearts and looked up at the man. He leaned back unnaturally, changing to a more secure posture, saying, "It may be too late to admit defeat now. Although Your Majesty said that, after all, there are many people to be involved, and it is not impossible to deal with it at the discretion of the entire temple... We will take responsibility for the blame with all our efforts, which is better than the end of the destruction of the entire temple."

"……………” The monks looked at each other and seemed to be a little moved.

"Yes, yes... I'm just going to surrender quickly."

"They have already designed it, and we can't win..."

"Bastard, what should we do about the foundation of our temple? Do you think these are caused by the strong wind?"

"Bang--" Zhiling stood up by hitting the table.

"Shut up!"

Monk Zhiling stood up with a hammer on the table. He was not tall and looked average. When he was angry, he gave people a great sense of oppression. The beard under his jaw spread like a hedgehog, and his left hand pounded on the table, making a clanging sound.

"The emperor has said a long time ago, 'Don't say I don't expect what I say', don't say I don't expect what I say', do you know what I mean?

"We can only win once we enter the game, otherwise the ending will be death!...You idiots, haven't figured it out yet!"

He waved his arms and roared, "The current situation is no longer something that we can settle as many fields as we send, as many people. Now we are facing a full family of slaughter! Do you understand? It's a full family of slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!

"We have no conditions to tell the emperor here. We have disobeyed the emperor's will once. Do you think the emperor will let us live? He killed us. If we can't win, the ending will be death, and there is no need to discuss it!"

Everyone was sad, and after a while, someone said, "How to take it over? Now... the current situation..."

The monk Zhiling sat back heavily. Although he was still sitting upright, trying his best to maintain the dignity of the monk and maintain his majesty and calmness, his eyes were already a little wrong. The afternoon sun shone out from the window screen and shone on half of his body, but he only felt an unprecedented coldness.

After a long time, he sat there and said hunchedly: "It's not that there is no hope at all..."
Chapter completed!