The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 159 Retribution
As soon as Xiao Yi entered the main hall of the palace, the generals surrounded him, praising his court attire.

"Hey, General Xiao can also be a civil official."

"Learn from this, everyone. This is what it means to be both a scholar and a warrior. You can lead troops to break through enemy lines and write imperial edicts with ease."

"A talented man has also emerged from the Imperial Guard."

Xiao Yi repeatedly said he didn't deserve such praise, as his handwriting was terrible and he had never read any proper books; he only owed his reputation to his fellow soldiers.

"It's all thanks to the good leadership of Commander Li."

"Stop talking nonsense." Li Chongjin turned his head and looked at him, only then noticing that he had pimples. He said, "You just rebelled against Liu Chong, why are you so anxious that you've got pimples?"

"I've never seen anything like this before."

"You're quite a worrywart; no wonder your uncle appreciates you so much."

Upon entering the hall, Li Chongjin ordered two imperial edicts to be read aloud and then unfurled a map of Kaifeng. On the map, the temples in the capital region were marked by the Privy Council.

"Palace Guards, listen to my order! Search these temples!"

Tang Jin was greatly disappointed and said, "Sigh, I thought we were going to fight Liu Chong."

"Why the rush? Let me handle this."

After Li Chongjin finished speaking, he looked at the map and remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he beckoned and said, "Ayi, come here."

"Military leader."

Li Chongjin whispered, "I know how to fight, but I don't understand this imperial edict. Why do we have to sift through these bald monks to find out who has profound Buddhist teachings? We might as well kill them all."

Xiao Yi said, "The military leaders only need to follow the regulations given by the Privy Council; it's very simple."

"How is it simple? There are so many words! Here, you do it."

"it is good."

"Ahem, Xiao Yi, listen to my command, arrange the troops and deploy them on my behalf!"

"Here!"

Xiao Yi looked around at the generals and, seeing that he couldn't explain it to them in a short time, simply asked them to sit down and patiently explained the policy.

Although it was his first time in politics, his awareness was higher than that of ordinary military men.

"We must understand His Majesty's intentions. This time, it's not about letting the army plunder, but about reforming taxes and land..."

We talked for a long time.

Liu Tingrang, Guo Shouwen, and Li Chongju were all literate and could understand what they were saying. Tang Jin, though illiterate, was not difficult to teach.

On the contrary, Li Chongjin disliked tedious matters, and after listening to the story, he propped his head up and fell asleep.

Xiao Yi simply assigned tasks directly. The Palace Guard only had a thousand men for the time being, and they were short-handed to control the Buddhist temples in the capital region. So he sent someone to summon Chen Guanghui and ordered him to lead troops to assist.

All the generals were convinced and accepted their orders.

Xiao Yi then realized that employing people was not about rewarding them handsomely, because in the end there would be nothing left to reward. Their own abilities were more important. These abilities did not necessarily have to be martial prowess, but could also be the kind of value that all the generals needed and lacked.

As the Imperial Guards were deployed, various government offices also sent people to coordinate the operation.

The Censorate sent people to supervise; Kaifeng Prefecture took over the temple's land; the Imperial Workshop received the dismantled stone and timber; the Ministry of Works was responsible for casting the bronze statues; the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Sacrifices provided imperial edicts and verified the qualifications of monks and nuns; the Ministry of Revenue had four departments, each with different officials in charge of land, household registration, wealth, and grain.

In addition, government offices such as the Court of State Ceremonies, the Three Departments, and the Imperial Household Department all wanted a share of the pie.

The level of excitement far exceeded Xiao Yi's expectations.

When it came to suppressing Buddhism, no one was enthusiastic. Instead, they started dividing the spoils and calculating their merits, each trying to outdo the other, which reflected their simple religious beliefs.

They had no choice but to summon Hua Nong, Feng Sheng, and Yin Cheng to deal with these trivial matters.

The campaign to suppress Buddhism was in full swing.

Busy until noon the next day, Tang Jin returned to the Palace Guard, furious, and said, "Everything at Dengjue Temple is ready, but we haven't found the bald monk Chanlu. That fellow must have gotten wind of it beforehand and escaped."

Xiao Yi beckoned Yin Cheng over and said, "I've already sent people to raid Chan Lu's properties and private residences. Where can he possibly hide now?"

“Amitabha Buddha, with the protection of believers, he will surely hide under the protection of powerful and wealthy people, given his nature.”

"Give me the donation book."

Tang Jin ordered someone to move a box of booklets, which he slammed on the ground. He said smugly, "All those yamen lackeys want these booklets, but I didn't give them to them. You can choose one yourself. I don't know which one is the donation booklet."

Xiao Yi was extremely busy and had Hua Nong select the donation register, then sent soldiers to verify the donations recorded in the register.

The investigation lasted two days, but they couldn't find Chanlu. Instead, they ran into a tough nut to crack.

“General, the Chang residence in Yanshou Lane in the east of the city belongs to Chang Si, the military governor of Zhaoyi Army. His wife, Zhang, is a devout believer and drove out the villains.”

"I'll go there."

Li Chongjin was extremely bored and was picking his ear when he said, "I'll go."

Xiao Yi was afraid that he would kill Madam Chang, so he said, "If I can't handle it, it would be better for the military leader to step in. The military leader, please sit in the yamen for now."

When I arrived at the Chang residence on horseback, I looked up and saw that the gate was high and wide, quite grand and wealthy.

Just as he was about to step forward, he heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him; it was Fan Zhi approaching.

"Xiao Lang?"

Xiao Yi dismounted and bowed, saying, "Lord Fan, are you here to see Chanlu?"

He knew that Fan Zhi had many things to interrogate Chan Lu about, and he was afraid that if the person fell into Wang Jun's hands, the interrogation would not be possible.

"The powerful and influential are protecting lawless monks; this precedent cannot be set. Is Xiao Langjun coming here personally with the same idea?"

"I had the same idea as Master Fan."

"please."

The two arrived together, only to be stopped by the gatekeeper.

"The military commander is not in the capital, and there are only female relatives in the mansion, so it is inconvenient to receive outside guests."

"Ok."

Seeing that reasoning was useless, Xiao Yi took out his token and shouted, "Palace Guards, get out of the way!"

Without saying a word, he rushed inside, but when he reached the front hall, Madam Chang personally came to stop him.

The woman's face was solemn and dignified, but her eyes showed a resolute willingness to sacrifice herself for Buddhism. She rebuked, "My husband is the military governor of Zhaoyi Army and will be returning to the capital soon. You are wronging me, saying that I am hiding a lawless monk. Are you trying to kill a meritorious official?!"

Xiao Yi played the bad guy, so Fan Zhi played the good guy, saying, "Madam Chang, you misunderstand. We have come here only to clean up the Buddhist sect."

"Even if the person were here, I wouldn't fall for your tricks."

"Amitabha." Fan Zhi put his palms together in a gesture of respect and said in a calm voice, "The Zen Dew is in the small Buddhist hall of the Chang family. This was foreseen by Zen Master Yan Jun."

"This……"

Madam Chang's expression changed.

Seeing her hesitation, Xiao Yi continued to press forward.

They stormed into the small Buddhist hall and kicked the door open. Sure enough, Chanlu was sitting cross-legged in the main hall, surrounded by eight young monks who were chanting sutras with their eyes closed.

Surprisingly, upon seeing him, Chanlu's first reaction was to cry out, "Save this old monk!"

Suddenly, four burly men rushed out from the corner.

"Alright, it's this kid who's here!"

"Avenge the commander!"

Xiao Yi reacted quickly, pulling Fan Zhi aside and dodging to seize the knife, then engaging the four burly men in combat.

He immediately thought of the news he had heard at Fanlou: Bai Zairong's men wanted to take his life.

The fight was raging when suddenly Chanlu screamed in terror.

"Help! Ah!"

Xiao Yi glanced out of the corner of his eye and suddenly saw flames rising.

"Please, Abbot, do not destroy the Buddhist precepts; please, Imperial Court, do not destroy the Buddha's golden statue!"

The young monks shouted in unison, set their bodies ablaze, and embraced the dew.

Whether it was utter disappointment with the court's suppression of Buddhism or the exposure of Chanlu's crimes, he was determined to perish together with the emperor.

The scene was horrifying; Madam Chang's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Xiao Yi was entangled by four guards and couldn't escape. He watched as the fire in the small Buddhist hall grew bigger and bigger, and the heat wave came over, as if it would burn him to a crisp.

Time passed little by little.

Suddenly, a fiery figure lunged at them, baring its fangs and claws, letting out a shrill roar.

One of the soldiers turned pale with fright and tried to step aside.

"puff."

Xiao Yi seized the opportunity and killed him with a single strike.

He turned and slashed again, severing the fire man's neck and relieving his pain.

The fire has spread.

The other three soldiers were somewhat flustered.

"puff."

"puff."

"puff."

Xiao Yi swung his sword repeatedly, finally killing them. Looking around, he saw that the courtyard was engulfed in flames. Fan Zhi took off his outer robe and was trying to extinguish the flames burning on the wooden door.

"Oh!"

With a flying kick, Xiao Yi kicked open the door and quickly passed over the flames.

He used to perform dangerous stunts in fire, so the current situation was nothing to him, but he had died in a similar situation in his previous life, which left him with a deep-seated trauma.

They quickly ran out of the burning courtyard, where servants were rushing towards them carrying buckets of water.

Looking back, Fan Zhi did not immediately follow.

"Master Fan?"

"Save Madam Chang!"

Xiao Yi knew that if Madam Chang died, the situation would indeed be troublesome.

He let out a long breath, snatched the bucket of water from the maid's hand, and poured it over his head.

It was bone-chillingly cold.

He covered his mouth and nose with wet clothes and rushed back into the fire. He saw Fan Zhi dragging Madam Chang away. Without saying a word, he rushed up, grabbed Madam Chang, and carried her out.

"go!"

After rescuing Madam Chang, they poured a bucket of water on her, rushed back, and desperately pulled Fan Zhi out.

"Damn it."

Fan Zhi's hair was charred and he had several burns on his body.

He collapsed to the ground, vomited the ash from his throat, and checked himself. He was in much better shape; his clothes were ruined, part of his hair was singed, and a small patch of skin on his elbow was burned.

What bad luck.

He asked a servant from the Chang family to bring some medicine for his injuries, and saw them gathered in a distance, whispering amongst themselves.

Xiao Yi had good hearing and could faintly hear a little bit.

“Buddha warned them.”

"They persecuted Buddhism; they will surely face retribution..."

After cleaning the wound, Xiao Yi pulled over the bandage and was about to wrap it around his elbow when Fan Zhi reached out and took it from him, wrapping it for him.

He also helped Fan Zhi bandage his wounds.

"Young Master Xiao, are you afraid that this fire is truly a punishment from Buddha?"

Where is Lord Fan?

I believe in the saying, "Those who survive a great calamity are sure to be blessed with good fortune."

“Then I am fortunate to share this good fortune with Lord Fan.”

"The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. However, today the monks are so resolute in defending Buddhism. When people talk about suppressing Buddhism, they will inevitably mention this matter. You have become a target and will inevitably be regarded as an enemy by the Buddhist community. Are you afraid, Xiao Lang?"

“What is there to fear?” Xiao Yi said, “People will know that what we have done is beneficial to the world. I would be very happy if they could remember my name.”

"You are so young, yet you have such vision and perspective."

"Fan Gong is too kind; I am simply ignorant and fearless."

"Your imperial edict is well written. What books have you read?"

"I haven't read the Four Books and Five Classics, nor the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections; I've only read some miscellaneous books."

"As you hold an important position and become increasingly involved in government affairs, do you plan to make up for this deficiency?"

"Would you be willing to teach me, sir?"

Fan Zhi quickly waved his hand and said, "I am not worthy of being called your teacher. If you are interested, you are welcome to come to my home at any time to view my collection of books and discuss them with me."

“I am deeply grateful for Lord Fan’s kindness and will definitely visit him to seek his guidance.”

As the fire drew near, the two men exchanged knowing smiles before rising to join the firefighting efforts.

After this incident, it is unlikely that there will be any further major setbacks for Buddhism.

As a result, Xiao Yi also bore more of the negative and positive effects of suppressing Buddhism.

(End of this chapter)