Chapter 335 This Religion Cannot Be Spread in Great Qin
On the other side, in the Great Qin Palace, Zhangtai Palace, the First Emperor, Li Nian and others were meeting with Gan Yu and others, listening to them talk about their mission.

In fact, before I returned to Xianyang, the information recorded by Gan Yu and others was sent back to Xianyang in advance, along with various things they obtained along the way, such as Peacock Country cotton seeds and new crops discovered on the road.

However, the data may be incomplete, and the data cannot answer questions or resolve doubts. How can it be simple and direct as having someone explain it to you in person and then asking in person?
Gan Yuzheng was talking about the change in attitude of Master Moye and others towards them, and said with a smile: “The people of the Peacock Country are quite arrogant. Although they did not say it directly to us, their attitude was that ‘we are the Celestial Empire and you are small barbarians.’ They think we are from foreign barbarians and look down on us. In their daily interactions with us, they are also arrogant and contemptuous.”

“I feel that what we said was all deceiving them. Their country is the strongest in the world. What other country can compare to it? They think that their country is advanced and strong, while our Great Qin is backward and ignorant. That is why they came here. They went from a strong country to a weak country, and from an advanced country to a backward country.”

“Therefore, in their minds, they think that they came to Daqin to support a weak barbarian country to become strong and help us escape from barbarism and ignorance, and thus they are proud of their superiority!”

Li Nian heard this and laughed, “They think they are from the powerful and advanced Celestial Empire, and that they are here to help us, the ignorant and backward barbarians. This is our blessing, and we should be especially grateful to them. This is in line with the temperament of the Peacocks, who are often so arrogant!”

Not to mention this era, even in later generations, the third brother was a little arrogant, otherwise he would not have provoked the neighbor to the east, and then he was severely beaten. But even after being beaten, the third brother still felt that he was very powerful and was not inferior to the eagle and rabbit.

The third brother always has a very strange and mysterious self-confidence. The third brother’s ability is not bad, but his mysterious self-confidence lies more in his strength. As the saying goes, when the rain stops and the sky clears, the third brother feels that he is fine again!

Coupled with the work that Third Brother sometimes does, it is very puzzling. Why is Third Brother so confident? Is Third Brother already so powerful?

Gan Yu nodded and smiled, “Just as you said, they obviously think so, so they have a sense of superiority towards us. But after leaving Tanmo Lidi and entering the land of Baiyue, they gradually understand the strength of our Great Qin…”

Gan Yu smiled and explained in detail the change in attitude of Master Moye and others, filling the Zhangtai Palace with a happy atmosphere.

“After learning that our Great Qin is more powerful than their Peacock Country, they no longer dare to act like the ‘Heavenly Kingdom’ to us, and are more respectful to us. It’s quite interesting…”

Li Nian then continued, “Being arrogant at first and respectful later, it makes me laugh when I think about it?”

Gan Yu’s eyes lit up when he heard that. As expected, it was the Young Master who accurately described their feelings at the time in one sentence. He nodded and smiled, “Yes, the Young Master said what we were thinking at the time. At that time, his attitude changed, and we were a little uncomfortable for a while…”

Li Nian smiled and said, “You still like their original unruly look, and hope they can recover?”

How did you accurately describe their thoughts at that time?

Gan Yu said a little embarrassedly: “Don’t mention it, I really thought about talking to them like this at that time.”

But the joy ended here, Gan Yu’s expression became serious, he said: “Your Majesty, Prince, and gentlemen, although the people of Peacock Country are arrogant, their country does have some capabilities and should not be underestimated.”

Yes, being able to establish a country and develop its own culture, even if it is not as good as the Qin Dynasty, cannot be treated as ignorant barbarians and should be given a certain amount of attention.

This is no longer an ordinary barbarian country, we must strike hard!

“It is said that more than a hundred years ago, a king led his army from the west and invaded the border of Yangzhou (India). Someone in the area took the opportunity to build an army and defeated the army left by the king of the west. Then this person defeated all enemies and established a country. The country he established is now the Maurya Kingdom. This person is the first king of the Maurya Kingdom, King Yuehu.”

After Gan Yu finished speaking, the other ministers in the palace looked at Li Nian. This matched something Li Nian had told them before, so Li Nian was not making up a story to deceive them.

Today in Zhangtai Palace, I heard Gan Yu say that the envoys were not only the First Emperor and Li Nian, but also important ministers such as Wang Wan, Wang Jian, Wei Liao, and Li Si.

Gan Yu continued, “King Yuehu is considered by the Maurya people to be a wise and powerful king who is good at fighting. However, compared with King Ashoka, he is still far behind in the hearts of the Maurya people.”

“Ashoka is the grandson of Chandrakirtan. If Chandrakirtan is a powerful king in the eyes of the Maurya people, then Ashoka is great! The Maurya people divide the period when Ashoka governed the Maurya Kingdom into the era of ‘Black Ashoka’ and ‘White Ashoka’…”

“During the ‘Black Ashoka’ era, Ashoka led his army to expand the territory of the Maurya Kingdom. Because he committed many massacres during this era, he is considered the ‘Black Ashoka’.”

“Afterwards, he felt that he had killed too many people in the first half of his life, and he deeply regretted it. So he stopped fighting, turned to Buddhism, and vigorously promoted Buddhism. Therefore, he was called ‘White Ashoka’!”

At this point, Gan Yu said: “According to the Maurya people, Ashoka became the ‘White Ashoka’ because he caused hundreds of thousands of casualties when he conquered a country called ‘Kalinga’. Seeing the tragic scene, he repented.”

“But when the Maurya people told us about this, they did not think that Ashoka had repented. Instead, they took it as an achievement of Ashoka and showed it off to us, letting us know how great Ashoka’s achievements were!”

This achievement is actually not bad, but if it is placed in the history of Daqin and China, it is not very impressive. However, he showed it off to Gan Yu and others from Daqin, which gave him a kind of arrogant beauty.

Wang Jian didn’t care about these. He was more concerned about the Buddhism mentioned in Gan Yu’s words. He asked curiously, “You said that King Ashoka believed in Buddhism and promoted Buddhism vigorously. What is this Buddhism?”

Seeing that it was Wang Jian who asked the question, Gan Yu said sternly: “I was just about to ask Your Majesty, Prince, and the others to come. Buddhism is a sect in the Peacock Kingdom…”

Gan Yu was thinking about what words to use to describe Buddhism so that everyone could understand it better, but he heard Li Nian speak for him: “Buddhism is a religious sect, similar to the Hundred Schools of Thought, but different. It has its own doctrines and ideas, that is, doctrines.”

“Buddhism teaches about karma and reincarnation, doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, and advocates equality for all living beings. In Buddhism, the deity is believed to be the ‘Buddha’, who is a person of great wisdom and enlightenment.”

“The so-called ‘karma and reincarnation’ basically means that the good and evil deeds you do in this life will be recorded in the underworld. For example, killing people is evil, and saving people is good. After death, you will be judged for the evil and good deeds you did in your lifetime. For example, it will determine whether you will continue to be reborn as a human to enjoy happiness in the next life, or become a pig or dog to suffer.”

Wang Jian was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then pointed at himself and said with a smile: “According to the Buddhist teachings, will I be transformed into a pig-dog in my next life?”

This Buddhism is obviously trying to scare people with the illusory afterlife, so that they will obey their teachings, so as to reduce sins and gain benefits after death. Li Nian said: “What the old general did was beneficial to the country and the people, how could it be evil? Moreover, is good and evil determined by Buddhism?”

“This is the act of ignorant people. They use the uncertainty of reincarnation to scare people and make them believe in their lies. If this were to be spread out, some people would actually believe it.”

Even in later generations, there are still many people who believe in the Buddhist theory of cause and effect and reincarnation, and then they come up with some bizarre events of releasing animals into the wild, such as releasing alien species and releasing marine fish into fresh water.

Li Nian’s words, “How can good and evil be determined by Buddhism?” went straight into the minds of the ministers in the hall. Buddhism was definitely not a good thing. If it was allowed to determine good and evil, merits and demerits, what was the point of having laws and the court?
Gan Yu said: “My Lord, what you said is absolutely right. Buddhism is the largest religion in the Peacock Kingdom today. Its followers are all over the Peacock Kingdom, from the princes of the Peacock Kingdom to the peddlers of the Peacock Kingdom. Its temples are also spread all over the Peacock Kingdom, occupying a large amount of land and population!”

“The reason why Ashoka was respected by the monks of Maurya Kingdom was that when he ruled Maurya Kingdom, Buddhism flourished in Maurya Kingdom and spread from Maurya Kingdom to foreign countries.”

“The group of Peacock people who came to our Great Qin this time are actually Peacock monks. They came here to spread Buddhism. They want our Great Qin to become another Peacock Country and turn it into their Buddhist paradise!”

Gan Yu looked very serious. He took a deep breath and said solemnly: “Your Majesty, Prince, and all the gentlemen, you must not allow Buddhism to spread in our Great Qin, otherwise it will cause endless disasters!”

Seeing Gan Yu speaking so seriously, Wang Wan asked, “Why do you say that?”

Gan Yu said: “Buddhism seems to be a good religion that teaches people to do good deeds and accumulate virtues, but in fact it is a religion that brings disaster to the country and the people. If we allow it to spread, the country will decline!”

“First, Buddhism makes people lazy and weak, and they lose their courage and bravery. It advocates non-violence and non-killing. Even if bullies come to your doorstep and abuse you, you should not resist.”

This is actually beneficial to the king’s internal rule. When the people believe in Buddhism, they lose their bloodiness and courage and become docile little lambs. Naturally, they will not jump out to rebel, and the country can prosper for a long time.

This is good for internal governance, but if there is an invasion by foreign enemies, how can we expect a group of people who have no blood and have been trained to be as docile as sheep to defend their country? Non-violent non-cooperation, lining up to let the enemy chop off their heads, and letting the enemy’s swords chop them until the blades are bent?

This may seem absurd and funny, but an unknown saint actually proposed this to “Bobo Shengji”, and “Bobo Shengji” thought this guy was a lunatic.

It can only be said that it is a continuation of the tradition and has existed in the history of India a long time ago. It is not worth being too surprised!
After hearing Gan Yu’s words, the First Emperor and his ministers immediately thought of the harm of Buddhism in this regard. Buddhist thought could indeed be of some use in internal governance, but for external governance it was equivalent to actively removing the minions. Once a powerful foreign enemy invaded, they would only be put on the chopping block and slaughtered.

Now, Buddhism is the largest religion in the Peacock Kingdom, with many followers. Doesn’t this mean that the Peacock Kingdom…

This is very good, this is very good. As long as Daqin itself does not become like that, it would be even better if other countries became like that. If they all lose their blood and become sheep, it will be easier for Daqin, the tiger, to hunt.

But the people of Daqin must not lose their bloodiness, courage and enterprising spirit. They must continue to maintain their martial spirit like tigers and wolves and stand tall. Only in this way can they continue to prosper and stand among the nations of the world!

This alone would not allow Buddhism to spread in Daqin. Gan Yu continued, “Secondly, Buddhist monks do not engage in production. According to their teachings, farming is something that will create cause and effect with other people, other creatures, and other things, which is not conducive to their accumulation of merit and reincarnation.”

The native Buddhism of the Maurya Kingdom at this time did not advocate childbirth among monks, and this was not the case until it was introduced into China.

In fact, not only Buddhism in the Maurya Empire does not engage in production, but Jainism in the Maurya Empire also advocates not farming. They believe that farming will kill, and Jainism is against killing, so most Jains are businessmen.

Li Si asked: “If they don’t farm or produce, how can they get food?”

Li Si had already thought of the answer to this question, but he asked it anyway. Gan Yu said, “Of course it is begging for food or accepting donations from others. The Buddhist monks of the Peacock Kingdom believe that farming will create karma, but begging for food and accepting donations from others will only create very small karma. Moreover…”

Gan Yu changed the subject and said, “The ideas of the monks in the Peacock Kingdom are very special. They not only think that begging for food and accepting donations from others is shameful, but they give donors a chance to do good deeds and accumulate virtue, and the donors should be grateful to them.”

In short, I am not begging for food from you, nor am I asking for offerings from you, but I am merciful and giving you the opportunity to provide me with food and make donations.

So, it is not me who should thank you, but you should take the initiative to thank me for my great kindness. We are the disciples of Buddha. Your donation to me is a merit in front of Buddha. How can the benefits be compared with some worldly things?
Wang Ben was amused and shook his head, saying, “What a shameless teaching, begging for food, not thanking the donor, but asking the donor to thank them instead!”

None of the hundreds of schools of thought have such shameless doctrines and ideas. What’s even more outrageous is that the people of the Peacock Kingdom seem to have accepted this.

Gan Yu said: “Not only that, the monks of the Peacock Kingdom own a lot of land and people. Although they don’t farm, they only worship Buddha and chant scriptures in the temples, but they can leave the land for others to farm.”

Li Si keenly understood what Gan Yu wanted to say and asked in a deep voice, “Don’t these monks need to perform corvée labor and pay taxes?”

After hearing Li Si’s words, others immediately understood that the Buddhist monks of the Maurya Kingdom did not need to perform labor service or pay taxes, but they still had a large amount of land and population, which meant that the country lost a large number of manpower and a large amount of taxes.

No, not only that, after learning that the land and people registered under the name of monks do not need to perform labor service or pay taxes, more people will register their land under the name of monks, and more people will become monks.

This will cause the country to lose more land and population, and more tax revenue. This situation has occurred not only in the Maurya Kingdom, but also in China.

After Li Si pointed out this problem, the First Emperor and his ministers truly felt the harm that Buddhism could bring and their expressions became serious.

Originally, I thought that even if there were problems with Buddhism in the Maurya Kingdom, that was all. But now, the problem could directly endanger a country’s taxes and corvee. That was a huge problem. They understood very well how important corvee and taxes were!

(End of this chapter)