I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Li Shen looked back at Changsun Wuji, the old villain.

If it weren't for the Queen and Princess Changle, I would have imposed sanctions on the Duke Zhao's Mansion long ago.

He distributed nearly 100,000 strings of cash as dividends to Princess Changle every year, and he didn't know how much of it went into the warehouse of Duke Zhao's mansion.

Changle is a good wife and mother with a gentle and kind personality.

Even if she looked down on Chang Sun Chong, she still treated herself as the daughter-in-law of the Chang Sun family.

Sometimes when he had more money than he could spend, he would send it to the warehouse of Duke Zhao's mansion.

This also greatly increased the wealth of Duke Zhao's Mansion.

Logically, Changsun Wuji should thank Li Shen, but something went against his wishes.

I don't know why I just can't get along with Li Shen.

"Li Shen, explain yourself clearly today, or I'll take you to the Ministry of Justice."

Li Shimin seemed to be in a better mood. Although his face was still ugly, his tone was relaxed.

"Oh, well, actually this sentence is easy to explain if you listen to it together with the following words."

Li Shen sighed and spoke in a deep voice.

"Why don't you tell me quickly? Everyone is waiting for you here." Li Shimin immediately scolded.

"Hey, hey, tell me right away." Li Shen nodded embarrassedly.

I originally wanted to show off, but I didn’t expect my dad would not give me face.

"Everyone, I said something at that time.

I wonder if you all know that Hongfu Temple has 300,000 mu of fertile land outside Chang'an City, and the incense money donated by pilgrims every year is as high as hundreds of thousands of strings of cash."

"Three hundred thousand acres?"

"Hundreds of thousands of strings of cash?"

"real or fake?"

“Your Highness Prince Ji, I don’t know whether what you said is true or false.

It's just a temple, why does it have 300,000 acres of fertile land?"

An official stood up and asked, he found it a little unbelievable.

Three hundred thousand acres of fertile land! Even these so-called high-ranking officials don’t have enough land to pay for it.

Even the prince's salary was only ten thousand acres.

It is hard to believe that such a small temple has so many fields.

“Of course it’s true, you can check it out, there’s no need for me to deceive you about this.

Ladies and gentlemen, just think about it, this is such a huge fortune.

Over the years, Hongfu Temple has become truly wealthy enough to rival a country.

I have calculated for them, and the amount of incense money they collected over the years is almost 500,000 to 600,000 strings of cash.

Apart from repairing the temple and daily food and maintenance, there are no other major expenses.

At least hundreds of thousands of them will survive.

And what about the income from the good farmland?"

When Li Shen said this, he looked around the room and everyone was shocked.

A temple is so profitable.

"Your Highness Prince Ji, what does this have to do with you?"

Gao Jifu asked coldly.

"Of course it is related, didn't you ask me why I would ask about treason?

Isn't that the reason?

Think about it, they can do a lot of things with this money, such as rebellion.

Don't forget, this is still a temple, and there are more than a dozen of them in Chang'an City alone.

How many temples are there in this world?

How much wealth do they have?

If all the temples in the world united, imagine what would happen if they had ulterior motives and plotted something bad.

How many people can they secretly support with the wealth in their hands?

If they are belittled and suspected by then, it will be disadvantageous to the court.

That is why I asked Xuanzang how to succeed in the rebellion. First, knowing yourself and the enemy will ensure victory in every battle. Second, it was just to warn Xuanzang.

Today, Xuanzang is a famous master in the Buddhist world, and his appeal is very great.

If you don’t believe me, you can ask Xuanzang to come over and confront me to see if what I said is true.”

After Li Shen finished speaking, he looked at everyone. Although the reason was a bit far-fetched, it was still acceptable.

If what Prince Ji said is true, then it is acceptable.

Most people still believed what Li Shen said. After all, such things could be known by asking, so there was no need to lie.

"There is no need to verify this. I was there at the time, and what Prince Ji said was indeed true."

At this time Li Shimin spoke up to confirm.

This surprised Li Shen somewhat.

"Aye, I was just about to report this matter. The Buddhist community has grown stronger because of Xuanzang, and many good men and women have donated money and materials to fulfill their wishes.

The wealth they have accumulated over the years is unimaginable. If it were used by someone with ulterior motives, the consequences would be disastrous.

There are thirteen regions and more than two thousand counties in the Tang Dynasty, and most of them have temples, and they are all very popular.

Especially in some big states, the incense is even more prosperous.

The land and wealth under their names combined are greater than the national treasury.

This situation will become more and more serious in the future. If we don’t take precautions in advance, it may cause changes in the future.”

Li Shen bowed deeply, his face looking solemn.

This was the first time Li Shen reported something in the court.

In the past, he was either impeaching others or being impeached by others, but never once did he talk about serious matters.

After hearing this, Li Shimin and his ministers fell into deep thought.

After hearing what Li Shen said, it was true. No one cared about the temple. It was an insignificant place to them.

But only today did they realize that there was such great wealth in the temple.

At this time Li Shen said:

"Aye, these temples are not just rich; they do not pay taxes, perform corvee labor, or engage in production.

Not only that, they also had a large number of servants who did not have to pay taxes or perform labor service.

In recent years, as Buddhism has become more and more popular, many people want to join Buddhism.

The purpose is to evade taxes and labor service.

If this continues, the population will increase. How many people will be left to farm and produce, and how much tax can the treasury collect?"

“Your Highness Prince Ji, your words are too serious. Buddhism is a temporary phenomenon, but its teachings guide people to be good, which is helpful to the court’s governance.

Moreover, there are not so many people joining Buddhism at present. I think His Royal Highness Prince Ji is worrying too much.

Even if they become stronger, can they still rebel?

They are monks with no desires or requests, so how could they have such great ambitions? "

Xiao Rui stood up and said that he was a believer and of course he had to speak out for his faith at this time.

"Your Majesty, I think so too. Buddhism has always been aloof from worldly affairs.

Educate the world and guide people to be good, why should we be afraid? "

An official who was also a Buddhist came out to agree.

"Huh, why are you afraid?

Did you know that Buddhism originated from the Western Regions?"

Li Shen snorted and looked at everyone coldly.

"Of course I know this. It has been passed down in my Central Plains for thousands of years."

Xiao Rui replied.

“Since you know this, do you know that Buddhism originated from India?

In India, their influence was so great that it was called the Buddhist Kingdom.

The status of eminent monks is much higher than that of nobles, so they are all noble and believe in Buddhism.

Even their king is a Buddhist.

I am telling you something, there is a country in the far west.

The religious sects in the country grew strong enough to rival the imperial court.

Even religion is greater than imperial power."

(The Olympics made me hold my breath.)