"Master, there is news. The people from Daxingshan Temple went to investigate the child and found the child's mother. As you expected, the monks wanted to treat him secretly. Do we want to stop him?" In Song Guogong's palace, a man Subordinates come to report.
Xiao Rui glared, "Why stop it?"
The subordinate was stunned for a moment, scratched his head and said: "What if the old monk is cured... No, Master, even if you are a miracle doctor, you can't cure it. The old monk is wishful thinking about curing the child's mother. It's my subordinate who is worrying too much."
Xiao Rui slapped the guy on the back of the head, "What do you mean? If the old monk from Daxingshan Temple can cure the woman, are you still going to stop her?"
ah? The subordinates were too guilty to raise their heads.
Xiao Rui scolded: "Idiot! Our fight with the monk is just a personal grudge. After all, this young master is not a god, and not all diseases can be cured. If the old monk has the ability to cure it, then the child does not need to become an orphan, and he can save others. It is a good deed of fate. For our personal grudges, should we kill an innocent life? "
The subordinates quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "Subordinates deserve to die, subordinates deserve to die..."
Xiao Rui kicked, "Get up. Tell the brothers, don't let anyone find out, and don't stop those monks. As long as they are not harmful to the patients, then don't worry about them. Protect the safety of the patients secretly."
"Yes, my subordinate will go right away."
Seeing his men fleeing in a hurry, Li Junxian said with a dark face: "Don't be surprised, young master. What these guys usually do is fighting and killing. They are inevitably a bit stupid when doing other things."
"Fifth brother, I'm one of my own. Just teach me a lesson. Are you still worried about me holding a grudge?" Xiao Rui saw through Li Junxian's thoughts.
Li Junxian smiled awkwardly, "Master, if the other party saves people, wouldn't our plan be..."
Xiao Rui waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, there are many ways to take revenge. I can't put all the eggs in the same basket. I can't use a miserable doll as a knife. It's more of a trap for Daxing." I’ll give the temple a helping hand, and by the way, I’ll help that kid get some magic elixirs to save people, and maybe a powerful monk will show up?”
Li Junxian exclaimed: "Master, even if you are not a miracle doctor like you, is there anyone more amazing than you? A group of bald monks, as you said, aren't they just a bunch of money-making liars?"
Xiao Rui lamented: "You can't look at it that way. There are thousands of monks in the world, and probably most of them are liars. But there are still real eminent monks and capable people. The practice method passed down by the Buddha is the real method, but the descendants of later generations are unworthy and go astray. They will use it for evil purposes, thereby causing harm to the people."
"But it is undeniable that Buddhism is very good at winning people's hearts and spreading it around. Among the millions of Buddhist believers in the world, as long as there is a person with good qualifications who practices Buddhism devoutly, there will eventually be a great monk. In this way. People are the true sages in the world. We return grudges to grudges and admiration to admiration. They are all different."
Li Junxian was even more confused, "Master, according to you, there are good people among the monks. But according to your plan, it seems that you want to drive Buddhism out of the Central Plains?"
Xiao Rui smiled, "It's not a contradiction. We don't necessarily use something just because it's good. Although Buddhism is good, there are too many stupid people in the world, and when it spreads, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Sigh... maybe I have some I am arrogant and want to use my own power to make choices for the people of the world. But I am not sure whether I can really drive Buddhism out of the Central Plains."
"Why? Is there anything in this world that you can't do, young master? I won't believe it." Li Junxian was a bit of pure blind worship.
Xiao Rui quickly interrupted: "Stop it, stop it, I'm not a god. Fifth Brother, if Your Majesty listens to your words, will I still be alive?"
At this moment, a familiar voice appeared at the door, "Am I so narrow-minded?"
The two people in the room subconsciously stood up and looked towards the door. After seeing clearly, they quickly saluted.
Li Er quietly arrived at Duke Xiao's mansion in civilian clothes. Xiao Rui said in his heart that the servants in the mansion are really useless and His Majesty can't stop him.
"Boy, I'm very curious, how do you want to deal with Buddhism?"
Xiao Rui personally poured tea and water. Li Junxian could not sit down with him at this time and stood at the door as a guard.
Looking at the eyes of his old father-in-law who was taking the school entrance examination, Xiao Rui said tactfully: "That depends on your Majesty's plan. If you don't support it, the most I can do is take revenge on the Daxingshan Temple family. It has nothing to do with Buddhism."
Li Er snorted coldly, "Humph, you are quite smart. The Buddhist tree has deep roots, no less than the alliance of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes. It has been developing secretly over the years. I asked someone to check it out. Especially in recent years, the Buddhist annexation The land is getting worse.”
Xiao Rui understood that annexing land was against the court's taboo.
Because the annexed land is not taxable, why? The reason for the five surnames and Qiwang is because of their aristocratic status. More than half of the officials in the imperial court are from these backgrounds. Isn't it easy to take advantage of this?
What about Buddhism? To put it more simply, for people outside the Buddhist sect, these properties are voluntarily donated by donors and belong to the temple. The properties outside the Buddhist sect are not under the jurisdiction of the secular dynasty, so they are not taxed. If someone wants to impose taxes, I'm sorry. Many high-ranking officials in the court, and even your immediate superiors, are followers of Buddha. All you need is a letter. Who dares to collect taxes from our temple?
Agriculture is the foundation of a country, especially in ancient societies, where food is the lifeblood. Most of the imperial court's tax revenues came from field taxes.
The land has been taken away by nobles and temples. What will the common people do about farming?
It would be fine if the nobles paid the same taxes as the temple's land. The court could care less about who cultivated the land, as long as I could receive food.
Here's the problem, the property of nobles and temples is not taxed. But the land in the hands of the common people is getting less and less, which means that the tax revenue the court can receive is getting less and less. What will the court eat as time goes by?
So, the emperor doesn’t hate the wealthy family? Don’t hate temples?
"Okay, I'll let that kid go. Anyone who dares to come out to help Buddhism is seeking death. With your support, Xiao Rui is not afraid of anyone." Xiao Rui patted his chest and assured, "Even if we can't completely drive out Buddhism, Even a cancerous tumor can suppress Buddhism and prevent it from rising in a hundred years."
Li Er did not doubt Xiao Rui's ability, and even had some expectations, but he smiled when he heard Xiao Rui's words: "No, the court will not come forward this time, and I can't give you any explicit support. I will send someone to cooperate with you secretly. , I can give it to you if you need people, files, etc. But I can’t openly help you withstand the pressure.”
"Boy, I'm optimistic about you!"
Patting his son-in-law on the shoulder, Li Er laughed and left.
Xiao Rui stood stunned on the spot, not knowing whether he was crying or laughing. I, did I exaggerate a little too much just now?
