Chapter 331 Maybe, Daqin is very strong?
Another high-ranking official of the Yuechang tribe asked, “Your Excellency, if Buddhism has such flaws, why is it still able to develop in the Peacock Kingdom?”

It is impossible that the people of the Maurya Kingdom are completely blind to the flaws of Buddhism, but if they can see them, why do they allow Buddhism to develop and prosper in their country?
Gan Yu smiled and said, “This is related to the situation in the Peacock Country. First, as I have just said, the products of the Peacock Country are indeed rich. Its land is fertile and only a little cultivation is needed to produce a good harvest. Therefore, even if there are Buddhist monks who do not engage in production, it is not considered a big hindrance.”

“Secondly, Buddhism advocates equality of all beings and advocates benevolence and compassion, which helps the people to be calm and not to engage in war;”

Educating the people to be gentle and respectful and not advocating the use of violence is naturally conducive to stability and high-level rule. After all, managing a group of sheep is much easier than managing a group of wolves.

“The third is that the royal family of the Maurya Kingdom does not seem to have a high-caste Maurya clan. Instead, their ancestors were of a low caste. Although they were promoted to a high caste after their ancestors became kings, they know their own affairs and know that they are not truly a high caste. They are naturally wary of other high castes in the original caste system.”

“The Buddha’s teachings believe that all beings are equal and that caste is irrelevant. This will certainly please King Ashoka, as it will help weaken the influence of the caste system and help him consolidate his throne.”

Ye Zhuo and the others nodded, thinking that this was right. How could a king who had been in battle for half his life suddenly become enlightened? It was reasonable for Ashoka to have his own calculations.

Another high-ranking official of the Yuechang tribe asked, “Your Excellency, since Buddhism is flourishing in the Peacock Kingdom, why did they follow you to… our land? From what I see, the Peacock Kingdom monks seem to want to spread Buddhism to us.”

Gan Yu shook his head and said, “It’s not ‘seemingly’, but they do intend to preach to you. Because the situation in Kongque has changed and is no longer favorable for Buddhism, they want to spread the teachings abroad. While preaching abroad, they can also find another place to stay, which is convenient for them to avoid disasters and difficulties.”

It seems that he can no longer make it in Peacock Country, so he came here to preach!
But this also made Ye Zhuo and others feel even more dissatisfied. They couldn’t even get along in their own country, so how could they dare to come to them and pretend to be the citizens of the Celestial Empire? Did they really think they were ignorant barbarians?

Gan Yu was quite satisfied when he saw the dissatisfaction expressed by Ye Zhuo and others. Although the Yuechang tribe was a little remote among the Hundred Yue tribes, it was now under the influence of the Qin Dynasty and was regarded as its own territory. Naturally, it did not want them to be influenced by the Peacock Kingdom.

In fact, in Gan Yu’s opinion, if Buddhism can be beneficial to Daqin’s governance of the Baiyue tribes, it is not impossible to spread it to the Baiyue tribes, but that has to wait for His Majesty’s decision!

On the other side, in the accommodation arranged for Master Moye and others, Master Moye summoned the senior monks who were traveling with him. More than ten monks made the small room seem a little crowded.

It was a type of building they had never lived in before, made entirely of wood and bamboo, but none of the monks paid attention to the room itself at this moment.

Looking at all the monks in the room, Master Moye asked, “My fellow monks, what do you think of the Yuechang tribe?”

A tall and strong monk commented: “This is a foolish nation, a barbarian tribe, who do not know the true teachings of the superior country, but only know the foolish etiquette of the barbarians!”

They were not stupid, so they could naturally see the attitude of Ye Zhuo and others towards them. When Maya talked about Buddha and Ashoka today, he was disdainful, as if he thought they were bragging.

This made them feel that they were being looked down upon. They came from the Maurya Kingdom, but how could they be looked down upon by a tribe that was not even considered a country?

Another monk laughed and said, “They are ignorant. They don’t know the strength of our country, the wisdom of Buddha, or the greatness of Ashoka. It is normal for them to react like this, just like how a fish in a well can know the greatness of an elephant. There is no need to argue with them!”

The monk continued, “It is precisely because they are ignorant that they need our teaching and enlightenment to remove their ignorance and enable them to listen to our Buddha’s wisdom.”

These words caused many monks in the room to nod their heads: Yes, this is exactly the meaning of their missionary work, to save the world, especially these ignorant people, this is also a kind of practice, which can accumulate many merits.

Therefore, not only should we not despise them or argue with them, but we should also be tolerant and patiently guide them, and help them understand the wisdom of the Buddha.

It’s just that they haven’t thought about some questions, or subconsciously ignored them: Is Buddhism really that good? Do the people here need them to preach?
In their perception, the Peacock Kingdom was powerful and the Buddhist wisdom was beautiful, while other places were barbaric and backward, inferior to them. They represented advanced civilization, and their coming here was naturally to preach to the backward, and to preach to the barbaric.

They are civilized and advanced, so what’s wrong with preaching to these barbaric and ignorant places? What, the people here don’t need it?
Another monk asked, “Is there any Qin trick involved?”

This question made many monks ponder, but soon, one monk shook his head and said: “I don’t think so. Since the Qin people have agreed to let us go to Qin, they will not use such means.”

If the Qin people really didn’t want them to go to Qin, or wanted to murder them, there would be plenty of opportunities on the way and there would be no need to use such means. On the contrary, along the way, the Qin people not only did not murder them, but took good care of them.

Moreover, the performance of the Qin people along the way also made them look at them with new eyes, and their evaluation of Qin also rose to: Although this country is a barbarian country and not as good as the Peacock Country, it also has its merits, such as the Qin people’s various experiences of walking in the mountains and forests, and the Qin people’s methods of treating diseases.

At this time, a monk said: “Brothers and fellow disciples, have you ever thought that perhaps the people in this sect looked at us… not because they thought Brother Moye was lying at the time, but because they thought that Brother Moye’s words were just that, and he dared to take out…”

The monk did not say the words “show off” or “show off”, but the other monks in the room understood his meaning. As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into a strange silence.

This is a very novel point of view: the local natives don’t think that they are showing off, but they think that this is the only way they can show off. How can they have the nerve to show it off?
If this view is true, then what is the problem?
Thinking carefully about what Master Maya said at that time, did he think that their Maurya Kingdom was not strong enough, the Buddha was not wise enough, or that Ashoka’s achievements were not great enough?
And if this view is true, it also means another thing: among the natives here, there are countries stronger than Maurya, people wiser than Buddha, and people with greater achievements than Ashoka…

Combined with the fact that the local people had seen the Qin people at the banquet, the answer is obvious. In the eyes of the local people, the Qin State is stronger than them, and the Qin people’s achievements are greater than Ashoka’s.

Therefore, the reaction of the natives here at that time was so strange. They thought that what Master Moye said could not be compared with what the Qin people said, but he dared to show off in front of the Qin people, so they were disdainful and contemptuous.

We can also guess what the natives here are thinking: their achievements are far less than those of the Qin people, yet they are still showing off in front of the Qin people, which is simply ridiculous!
There were several unsteady breathing sounds in the room, and it was obvious that more than one monk had thought of this.

After a long time, a monk shook his head and retorted: “How is this possible? According to what you said, you must know that there is a country stronger than ours, someone wiser than the Buddha, and someone with greater achievements than Ashoka! The Buddha’s wisdom is unfathomable, and Ashoka’s achievements are beyond even the reach of King Chanprajna and the King of the West. How could anyone surpass him?” These words attracted the agreement of many monks. The Buddha was the greatest wise man in history, and Ashoka was the greatest king in history, bar none.

The monk who expressed the opinion did not respond, allowing other monks to refute.

Because he knew that his views had already been recognized by these fellow brothers and sisters, but they were unwilling to admit it and could not let go of the pride in their hearts.

After all, they have always believed that they came from the Celestial Empire, which is advanced and powerful, and that other places are barbaric and inferior to them. Now there is a country that may be more powerful and advanced than them. Of course, they don’t want to accept it from the bottom of their hearts, even if they are monks who emphasize spiritual practice.

However, the monks have not reached a certain level of practice and cannot get rid of greed, anger, ignorance and hatred. They will only be willing to admit it when solid evidence is presented to them.

However, at this moment, the monk could not provide any solid facts to prove his point.

Seeing that the monk did not respond, the other monks found it meaningless after some rebuttal, as the monk’s words had already entered their hearts.

In fact, when the Qin people arrived at Tamolidi, some people wondered whether the Qin State was stronger than them and whether the Qin people were more civilized and advanced than them. But at that time, they certainly did not want to admit it and thought it was a ridiculous idea.

Although the Qin people once said that their country was very large, with a population of tens of millions, and that there were many wise people like Buddha, they did not take it too seriously.

They thought that the Qin people were so vain that they made up lies on purpose in order not to be looked down upon by others. Moreover, the lies were not even well made and it was obvious that they were imitated from those of the Peacock Kingdom.

There were tens of millions of people in the Peacock Kingdom, and tens of millions of people in the Qin Kingdom. Buddha was a wise man, and there were also wise men in the Qin Kingdom at the same time. They were called “Laozi” and “Confucius”…

How could such a coincidence happen?
This must have been compiled by the Qin people imitating their Peacock Kingdom!
But today, the reactions of these local natives tell them that the Qin people may not have made up the story and what they said may be true, then this has become a horror story!

Being embarrassed and humiliated are minor matters. The more important thing is that if the Qin State is really stronger than their Peacock State, then their mission to the Qin State, which they originally thought would be successful as a mission of civilization to barbarism and of the advanced to the backward, is now hard to say with any certainty.

Moreover, Qin is strong and their Peacock Kingdom is weak. If Qin harbors ill will towards them and wants to conquer the Peacock Kingdom, can their Peacock Kingdom resist given their current situation?
When thinking of these things, the room fell silent again. This time the silence lasted longer and the atmosphere in the room became heavier.

A monk asked Master Moye: “Brother Moye, if this is true, should we still go to Qin to preach?”

What would happen if they went to preach in a country that might be stronger than their Maurya Kingdom?
Master Moye said: “This matter has not been confirmed yet. We cannot stop preaching in Qin State, but we must pay attention to the news from Qin State to confirm this matter on the next journey, and at the same time send someone back to inform others.”

In case the Qin State is really strong, sending people back will allow others to prepare in advance, so that the Qin State will not suddenly attack and catch them off guard.

But there is a problem. A monk said, “Brother Moye’s words are very good, but who should we send back? Not to mention the distance from Tanmolidi, even in the Golden Land, the mountains are high and the roads are long. If we don’t have enough people, how can we return? Moreover, we have been able to travel all the way here with the help of the Qin people. If there were no Qin people to lead the way, I am afraid that many of us would have died in the mountains and forests long ago.”

“And if we send someone back, the Qin people will definitely know about it. Senior Brother Moye, do you think the Qin people will just wait for us to return and report the news?”

These are all problems. There are not enough people in this place to form a team, there are no suitable guides to lead the way, the mountain roads are difficult to travel, and it is easy to die. Moreover, the Qin people are not blind or deaf, so how could they not notice that they asked people to go back?
What’s more, the tribes in this place are obviously on good terms with the Qin people. The Qin people don’t even need to do anything themselves. They only need to order the tribes here to hunt and kill them, which will make it difficult for the people they sent back to return.

Master Moye said: “It seems that we can only confirm the situation of Qin State first, and then make plans. My fellow disciples, please do not worry. Even if Qin State is strong, if it wants to send out a large army, it will not be so easy to reach our country. It is easy for one person to cross the mountain, but it is difficult for a group of people to cross the mountain, let alone a large army!”

“They want to send a large army from Qin to our country, which is much more difficult than it is for us to go from Tanmo Lidi to Qin.”

That’s right. The preparations required for a large army operation are much more complicated and extensive than those required for an individual or a team, and there are more things to pay attention to.

They crossed mountains and rivers and took a lot of effort to get here. The army would have to spend a lot of effort as well. Moreover, the Qin people are still on their way back to Qin. The king of Qin does not know the exact news about their Peacock Kingdom yet, and he certainly will not send troops.

This gives them plenty of time to respond!

The monks also came to their senses and their tense nerves eased a little, but the sense of crisis remained. They could not feel at ease until they understood the specific situation of the Qin State.

Master Moye continued to comfort the monks: “Who knows, the King of Qin may also convert to Buddhism like Ashoka and believe in my teachings. Then, natural disasters will be eliminated and my merits will be endless.”

Indeed, even if the Qin State is really stronger than their Maurya State, as long as they can get the King of Qin to convert, the problems they are worried about will no longer be a problem, and all disasters will no longer exist. This is not impossible to do, and their Buddhism is also beneficial to the monarch.

Master Moye warned again: “My fellow disciples, this matter has not been confirmed yet. Do not tell others about it. Suspicion will lead to fear, and fear will lead to chaos.”

The monks nodded in agreement. It would be best not to let the other monks who came with them know about this. It was not about hiding it, but about not telling others about things that were not confirmed.

After this day, Gan Yu and others found that some monks headed by Master Moye had become more friendly towards them. Although they were originally quite friendly, they always had a sense of superiority that “we are the Celestial Empire, and you are a small barbarian country”. Now this sense of superiority has faded a lot.

(End of this chapter)