Seeing the constables taking direct action, the abbot and monks of Baima Temple were very indignant, but there was nothing they could do.
Times have changed. Since ascending the throne, the current emperor has not only refrained from visiting the Buddha to offer prayers and bestow gifts as previous emperors had done, but has also sent people to collect various taxes. As a result, people believe that the emperor dislikes Buddhism.
Therefore, they had no way to deal with these troublesome constables.
Soon, a constable came to Liu Biao and said loudly, "Reporting, our subordinates have discovered a large number of gold artifacts in the temple."
Liu Biao nodded: "Bring them all here!"
"yes!"
Soon, the constables arrived before Liu Biao with staffs, lampstands, alms bowls, copper hammers, and various Buddhist ritual implements. There were hundreds of these items in total.
Liu Biao sneered, "May I ask, Abbot, what is the purpose of your temple's collection of so many gold artifacts?"
The abbot quickly explained, "These are just everyday items; we have no ulterior motives!"
Liu's expression darkened: "Since you have no ulterior motives, why not use iron and wooden products like the Taiping Rebellion, instead of using gold products which are explicitly prohibited by the imperial court?"
"this......"
Upon hearing this, the host was taken aback. The usually eloquent host was momentarily speechless.
You can't very well say that iron and wooden objects are too ordinary and not worthy of the Buddha's status, can you?
Just then, an imperial censor came to Liu Biao and said, "Reporting to Lord Liu, I have discovered a Buddha statue made of pure gold in the main hall. It is too huge to be moved out!"
Liu said expressionlessly, "Then dismantle the main hall and drag it out with logs and ropes!"
"yes!"
The censor nodded, and then led over a hundred people toward the main hall of the temple.
"No!!"
Upon seeing this, the abbot panicked. Other things were one thing, but if they knocked down the Buddha statue, the temple would be truly doomed.
The abbot ran up to the crowd and shouted, "That Buddha statue was bestowed by the emperors of past dynasties. If you touch it, you will be showing great disrespect to them!"
Upon hearing this, the menacing bailiffs paused in their tracks and all stopped.
"The emperors of past dynasties?"
Liu Biao sneered: "Your use of gold objects violates the current emperor's decree. As for the rewards you mentioned, that was the business of previous emperors. What does it have to do with us?"
If you are dissatisfied, I wouldn't mind sending you to appeal to the emperors of past dynasties!
"you......"
The abbot was stunned by what he saw; he never expected Liu Biao to say such disrespectful words.
This was completely contrary to common sense in the Han Dynasty, which had always governed the country with filial piety as its guiding principle.
But little did he know that the current emperor and even the current empress dowager had expressed their dissatisfaction with the late emperor in front of all the civil and military officials on more than one occasion, precisely to prevent the officials from bringing up ancestral rules.
The officials below naturally followed suit, since, for the pragmatic officials, with the late emperor gone, everything was decided by the current emperor.
Therefore, no one would defy the will of the current emperor for the sake of a vague and uncertain former emperor.
Liu Biao, too lazy to pay any more attention, then looked at the constables and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Why aren't you doing anything?"
"yes!!"
The constables responded loudly, drew their long swords, and rushed towards the main hall of the temple.
Soon, the sound of "clinking" reached everyone's ears.
Seeing the constables wielding long swords and hacking wildly at the temple gate and pillars inside, the abbot and the monks in the temple closed their eyes in pain and kept chanting Buddhist mantras.
The commotion inside the temple also alerted Hachi, Samo, and Sigya, who were translating scriptures in the backyard.
The three arrived at the front yard and saw a group of constables causing destruction everywhere. Their expressions changed, and they hurriedly walked towards Liu Biao.
Upon learning that the Buddha statue they were worshipping had violated the laws of the Han Dynasty, Hachi and his two companions stood helplessly to the side, remaining silent.
The White Horse Temple was already struggling, and now that even the Buddha statues are gone, it seems the temple will have to close its gates and dismiss its monks.
If you travel thousands of miles to the Han Dynasty after such a difficult journey, wouldn't it be a waste of your time?
The three of them were exceptionally intelligent and profound in Buddhist teachings. They were originally master-level figures in the ancestral temple of the Kushan Empire and were deeply admired by the Kushan monks.
Later, because they developed some new ideas and insights that conflicted with the original doctrines and caused many disagreements with the monks in the Kushan ancestral temple, they came to the Han Dynasty to develop their own followers, hoping to use their own abilities to rival the Kushan monks.
Unfortunately, his research on the doctrine was cut short before it could be translated.
Thinking of this, Hachi and the other two also showed a look of disappointment on their faces, and deep down, they couldn't help but waver a little about the path they had insisted on.
They also realized that with the Taiping Sect in the Han Dynasty, the Futu Sect simply couldn't survive.
But if they can't make it here, where can they go? If they go back to Kushan, they might be burned to death by those monks who are hostile to them.
"Buddha, Buddha, have we really been wrong?"
Hachi kept his eyes tightly closed, his mind constantly asking questions, hoping that the so-called Buddha could give him an answer.
"boom!!"
A loud crash was heard, and Hachi opened his eyes to see the golden Buddha statue in the hall collapsing with a thud as it was pulled down by a group of servants.
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