Chapter 28 Dissecting Religion

Pei Min flipped through the monks' registry, a wider smile blooming on his face.

The anonymous tip he received today had been utterly useless, but it had unexpectedly brought Huifan to his mind, and with him, those historical crackdowns on Buddhism known as the Calamities of the Three Wus and One Zong. The Three Wus and One Zong referred to Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei (Tuoba Tao), Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou (Yuwen Yong), along with the later Emperor Wuzong of Tang (Li Yan) and Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou (Chai Rong).

Whether it was Tuoba Tao, Yuwen Yong, Li Yan, or Chai Rong, these four emperors possessed extraordinary capabilities. They were not simply idle men looking for trouble with religious faiths for no reason; rather, a group of monks and nuns who ought to have kept to their proper bounds had begun to threaten their very existence. Due to the rapid development of Buddhism, temples and monks had amassed enormous economic privileges. Coupled with the fact that Buddhist temples enjoyed exemptions from taxes, alongside privileges involving farmland, maidservants, and slaves, national wealth was heavily concentrated into the Buddhist monasteries, falling directly into the pockets of monks. This severely crippled the development of the national economy—so much so that a century later, during the Huichang persecution of Buddhism, it was said that "ten parts of the empire's wealth are held by Buddhism by seven or eight parts." Furthermore, because monks engaged in no productive labor nor performed corvée labor, yet possessed vast numbers of servants and maidservants, this phenomenon inflicted even more devastating blows on the nation's economy and military resources during an era of acute labor shortages. Such a situation was entirely intolerable to rulers, which explained why these repeated persecutions of Buddhism occurred time and again.

In Pei Min's memory, there was another recorded incident: during the later stages of the An Lushan Rebellion, the imperial court lacked the funds to pay military salaries, so they demanded incense money from the monks, harvesting millions in cash within a mere ten days. This proved that nothing in the world was wealthier than temples and monks—a statement that was utterly true. A group of people who produced nothing and paid no taxes enjoyed vast farmlands, maidservants, and slaves. All these heavenly blessings were enjoyed solely by a bunch of scripture-chanting monks; how could such logic possibly stand?

Pei Min had nothing against personal faith, but since Buddhism preached that all earthly things are empty and illusory, everything being external, they should simply focus on chanting their scriptures and comforting those in need of spiritual solace in their spare time. What did they need so many privileges for?

Just as he was worrying about a lack of opportunities to distinguish himself, the thought crossed his mind, and he decisively resolved to take action against the temples and monks, rectifying this major administrative vice of religion. He would no longer allow monks, nuns, and temples to run amok under the guise of religious faith.

The Bureau of Taoist and Buddhist Affairs held the registries of all monks and nuns in the capital. That was why he had come here to see how Buddhism had developed in this era and how severe its threat to the Tang Dynasty truly was.

Thus came his visit to the Court of State Ceremonies today.

Yet this casual check unexpectedly uncovered a scandal. Ever since the Xiantian Coup, when Li Longji officially seized power, a little more than ten days had passed. In these mere ten days, a total of eleven new monks had been officially registered.

One must realize that the scourge of monks had long been taken seriously by the rulers. Two previous persecutions of Buddhism had already occurred to curb its growth. To restrict the expansion of Buddhism, successive dynasties had established explicit regulations regarding the selection of monks, and the Tang Dynasty enforced ten specific rules:

First, the candidate must neither be too old nor too young, and must be entirely self-sufficient in daily life.
Second, they must possess an iron will, be capable of enduring hardship and toil, and withstand the privations of sparse meals, simple lodging, minimal sleep, and reduced sustenance.
Third, they must have parental permission.
Fourth, they must not have a criminal record of the four grave offenses: lust, murder, theft, and lying.
Fifth, their motive for entering monastic life must be pure, rather than harboring a thief's heart while entering the Dao.
Sixth, their determination must be firm and their faith unambiguous.
Seventh, they must be free of personal debts, and not entering the monastic life merely to escape creditors under a pseudonym.
Eighth, they must be in good health. Those suffering from scabies, festering sores, leprosy, carbuncles, hemorrhoids, incontinence, jaundice, malaria, chronic coughs, insanity, fevers, wind-induced edema, dropsy, or abdominal swelling were forbidden from taking monastic vows.
Ninth, they must possess fully intact limbs and regular facial features. Anyone with impaired hands or feet, or who was deaf, mute, blind, crippled, hunchbacked, a dwarf, or extremely disfigured was barred from entering the monastic life.
Tenth, serving court officials were strictly prohibited from becoming monks.

These ten rules were mandatory and non-negotiable. Becoming a monk was arguably no easier than passing the imperial civil service examinations of later generations. Yet, eleven tonsuro-certificates had been issued in this short span of time; something was definitely rotten here.

Not only was the situation regarding monks and nuns grave, but officialdom was also issuing tonsuro-certificates indiscriminately. Such reckless issuance had been rampant during the earlier period when the Taiping faction held power, and the corrupt monk Huifan in particular loved engaging in such practices. Because of this, when Huifan's estate was confiscated, a staggering thirteen million guan of wealth was seized at once—enough to fund the Tang military for several years.

Previously, as Pei Min was not in that position, he did not meddle in its affairs, lacking the authority to intervene. But now a new era had dawned, the Taiping faction had been largely eradicated, and yet petty villains were still exploiting this to line their own pockets!

Pei Min tapped the recent registries against his hand rhythmically, producing a series of sharp thuds.

Lü Li felt his heart pounding in time with the rhythmic sounds, breaking out into a cold sweat as he thought of the notorious reputation of the Censorate.

"Anything you wish to say? In my Censorate, we have a saying: leniency for confession, severity for resistance. Only those who are obedient are spared the tortures," Pei Min stopped his tapping and said with a smiling expression.

As the sound ceased, Lü Li felt as though his heart had stopped beating as well. Terrified, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed, pleading, "I am wronged! I am merely a minor official with no power to intervene, and I never colluded with them."

Pei Min asked, "Who are they?"

Not daring to conceal the truth, Lü Li blurted out, "Minister of the Ministry of祠部, Ren Lin; Director of the Ministry of 祠部, Ruan Song..."

Hearing these two names, Pei Min's eyes lit up. He had truly caught a big fish. The Ministry of祠部 held sole responsibility for issuing certificates to monks and Daoist priests, which was why tonsuro-certificates were also known as Ministry certificates. It was entirely reasonable that the Ministry of祠部 could not escape blame in this matter. Yet he never imagined that, amidst the new era and new atmosphere, the highest-ranking official of the Ministry of祠部 would still be so uninhibited; they were simply courting death.

Pei Min gave Lü Li a gentle smile and said, "I shall believe your words for now. Remember, do not breathe a word of today's events to anyone, or else a cell in the Censorate's prison will have your name on it." Through today's events, he realized that the Censorate's prison was viewed by the world as terrifying beyond measure—unquestionably the most formidable threat imaginable. Many eyes were on him right now; news of his intrusion into the Court of State Ceremonies would soon spread to all government offices outside the imperial city, and the Ministry of祠部 would surely hear of it. If he took Lü Li back with him now, it would risk alerting the enemy prematurely.

The Ministry of祠部 was a subordinate department of the Ministry of Rites. While the Ministry of Rites lacked substantial executive power, its connections were the most extensive among the Six Ministries. Allowing them time to prepare would create endless trouble, which was why high-profile crackdowns were difficult to handle.

What Pei Min wanted was a fatal, decisive blow, not complications arising from side issues. Lü Li was merely a minor official in charge of records; arresting him immediately held little significance.

"Understood! Understood!" Lü Li nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice, not daring to harbor the slightest doubt.

Stepping out of the Court of State Ceremonies, Pei Min could not help asking, "Is the Censorate's prison really that terrifying?"

Wang Xiaobai nodded very solemnly and said cautiously, "Even someone as prestigious as Lord Di was broken into confessing to treason once he entered the Censorate's prison. What about anyone else?"

Pei Min massaged his forehead and sighed, recalling that such a thing indeed seemed to have happened in his memory.

Returning to the Censorate, Pei Min immediately issued orders.

The eleven recently registered monks—regardless of whether they were genuine or fake—were to be "invited" to the Censorate en masse.

Wang Xiaobai and the other inspecting censors responded with high spirits and dispersed in all directions.

The archives of the Court of State Ceremonies were kept in meticulous detail: the temple where the monk was ordained, his name prior to ordination, and his home address were all recorded with absolute clarity. Over a long period, records might become inaccurate, but for matters spanning just the last ten days or so, the archival records were flawless.

In less than two hours, all eleven registered monks had been "invited" to the Censorate.

Pei Min looked at the monks before him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Eight of them had slicked-back, greasy hair; far from taking monastic vows, they had not even performed the most basic task of shaving their heads. Their hair grew thickly on top of their heads, and a single glance revealed them to be well-fed men of wealth.

"Do you know what kind of place this is?" Pei Min asked, wearing an amiable smile while uttering terrifying words. "Lai Junchen wrote a book called *The Catalog of Webbed Traps*, which details the torture methods he invented. I've only recently taken office and haven't tried them out yet. Which of you would like to be the first to try..."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before Pei Min could finish speaking, the monks dropped to their knees one by one, weeping bitterly. Some were even so terrified they lost control of their bowels.

The Censorate, Lai Junchen, torture!

Every single word was as terrifying as an evil ghost.

No interrogation was needed; the fearsome reputation of the Censorate had already broken them, causing them to confess to everything.

Not a single one of the eleven ordained monks was a legitimate holy man; their tonsuro-certificates had all been purchased with money to evade taxes. The certificate of the wealthiest fake monk among them had cost a staggering forty thousand guan.

The value of forty thousand guan converted to modern currency would be well over several million.

The fake monk was willing to spend such a massive sum on a tonsuro-certificate precisely because holding the status of a monk allowed him to be exempted from even greater taxes. Under questioning, they confessed that their certificates had all been purchased through intermediaries from Ren Lin and Ruan Song. Combined with Lü Li's testimony, the charges against the two officials were airtight.

"Xiaobai! Take a team of men and arrest the intermediaries who peddled these tonsuro-certificates and bring them to the Censorate. The rest of you, come with me to the Ministry of Rites to apprehend Ren Lin and Ruan Song..."

Backed by the formidable authority of the Censorate, Pei Min expended almost no effort in dragging Ren Lin and Ruan Song back to their headquarters.

Wang Xiaobai likewise successfully rounded up the family members of Ren Lin and Ruan Song.

During the formal trial, faced with overwhelming evidence, Ren Lin and Ruan Song knew there was no room for maneuver and confessed without reservation.

Pei Min submitted the interrogation results in a memorial to Li Longji, asking him to hand down a verdict for Ren Lin and Ruan Song. Since the Censorate's procedures for handling criminals answered directly to the emperor, he submitted the trial results straight to Li Longji. Simultaneously, he drafted another memorial detailing the scourge of the Buddhist temples, submitting it through the Secretariat to be reviewed by the Department of State Affairs.

Having completed these two official documents, Pei Min finally stretched lazily in satisfaction, looking forward to tomorrow's grand imperial court assembly.

Meanwhile, upon learning that Pei Min had run amok in the Court of State Ceremonies merely to settle a score with an old enemy, the Chief of the Court of State Ceremonies was so infuriated that his mustache bristled. What had initially been casual grumbling now drove him directly into his inner chambers, where he began grinding ink and weighing his phrasing to draft a memorial impeaching Pei Min.

When news of Pei Min apprehending Ren Lin and Ruan Song reached the Junior Chief of the Court of State Ceremonies, he connected it with Pei Min's earlier move to inspect the Bureau of Taoist and Buddhist Affairs. A thoughtful look crossed his face, followed by a sudden smile as he instructed, "Lord Cui is in a towering rage. Pass the word down: no one is to mention Pei Min, lest it provoke his temper further."