Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 333 Western Envoys
The autumn wind turned cold. When we woke up in the morning, the courtyard was full of fallen golden leaves, which was a bleak scene. However, Suqi and the others were very happy. They played and chased each other with leaves flying, and the sound of their voices was like that of a happy lark.

More than ten days have passed, and the frame of the luxury ship has been almost built. It will be completed in a few days. This ship is bigger than the previous one and has sails because it is used to cross the sea.

Xiao He was indeed very capable in handling affairs. He managed the mansion in an orderly manner and the construction of the mansion was also carried out in an orderly manner.

During this period, Meng Yi came several times. Prime Minister Li Si, Feng Quji, Imperial Censor Feng Jie, and Court Justice Wei Liao all brought people to visit Wuzhan one after another. Li Si just said some polite words. He was already the head of all officials, and being able to visit Wuzhan was already giving him enough face.

The purpose of Feng Quji, Feng Jie, Wei Liao and other old ministers was to join forces with Wuzhan to dissuade His Majesty from carrying out those two things. Of course, Wuzhan politely refused on the grounds that he had no official position, and those old ministers could only shake their heads and sigh.

However, those old ministers could also see that he and Xiandaoyuan were at loggerheads, and they all hoped that he could one day overthrow Xiandaoyuan, so they were not overly disappointed in Wuzhan.

After breakfast, when the sun was high in the sky, Meng Yi hurried to the palace on horseback and conveyed the emperor's oral order, asking Wuzhan to come to the court to discuss matters. He said that envoys from the western kingdom of Magadha had arrived and presented a letter of credence, urging the emperor to establish Buddhism as the state religion, build temples in various places, spread Buddhism, and cast Buddha statues for the people to believe in and worship.

Of course, this was strongly opposed by the ministers. They already had a Taoist temple, which made them swallow their anger. If they worshipped Western Buddhism, the Qin State would never have peace.

Wuzhan naturally thought that this person must be Srivijaya, so he followed Meng Yi on horseback to the palace and entered the main hall.

Sure enough, Sri Lankan Prime Minister was standing in the center of the hall, with two followers behind him. The ministers around him were staring at the foreign envoy and talking about him. Obviously, Sri Lankan Prime Minister had a heated debate with the ministers before he entered.

When Sri Fang saw Wuzhan entering the temple and passing by him, he clasped his hands together as a greeting. Wuzhan looked at him and nodded slightly, as if they were acquaintances.

Shilifang originally wanted to get close to Wuzhan when he was in Huangshan to make plans for today, but he never had the chance and so many things happened, and he almost joined those famous families to get rid of the 'evil demon'. However, he clearly felt that Wuzhan did not want to have anything to do with him.

Xu Shi was also in the hall, with his eyes slightly closed. He was the second person sitting there, looking as if he was staying out of the matter. He sat on the left side under the hall platform, some distance away from the ministers in the court. This shows his status in Ying Zheng's mind.

When Xu Shi saw Wuzhan, he opened his eyes and looked at him with a smile. There was no sign that he had any hostility towards Wuzhan.

Wuzhan stepped forward and kowtowed, and the hall became quiet. Ying Zheng also granted him a seat, sitting opposite Xu Shi. This was something Wuzhan had not expected. He wondered whether Ying Zheng really valued him or had other intentions.

After Wuzhan sat down, he was met with Wang Ben's cold gaze. His hair was already gray. Although he was the Grand Marshal, the head of the military generals, he was still standing. In terms of achievements, he and his father Wang Jian led troops to pacify the six kingdoms and made unprecedented contributions to the Qin Dynasty. Their glory was the most dazzling, but that was now the past. The glory of the past had been replaced by Wuzhan in front of him, and Ying Zheng no longer needed him.

He thought that His Majesty would send him to fight in Southern Xinjiang this time, but he did not expect Wuzhan to suddenly appear and take away his chance to make merit again. In fact, he did not know that even if Wuzhan had not appeared, Ying Zheng would not use him, because his contribution could not be greater. His father Wang Jian saw this very clearly. Although he had heard the dying warning, he still could not let it go and was unwilling to accept it.

Wuzhan's idea is exactly what his father thought back then, that only by being indifferent to achievements and status and retiring at the right time can he protect himself.

All the ministers fell silent, and Ying Zheng said, "I have called the Imperial Master and Master here to hear your opinions on the Western Buddhism."

Xu Shi smiled at Wuzhan and said, "I believe you must have heard some Buddhist teachings in Huangshan and you should have some understanding of Buddhism. I would like to know what you think."

Wuzhan said: "It is true that I have heard Master Srivijaya talk about Buddhism, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. I cannot say that I understand it, and I have no right to express my opinion. The Imperial Master is knowledgeable and has a better understanding of Buddhism than I do. What is your opinion?"

Xu Shi said: "Sir, you overestimate me. I am asking for your advice precisely because I do not understand."

Wuzhan smiled and said, "I'm afraid the Imperial Master has asked the wrong person. Master Sri Fang is right here. Why doesn't the Imperial Master ask him directly?"

"I am not interested in Buddhism, I am only interested in your opinion."

"As soon as I heard that Buddhism is about cutting off delusions, I lost interest, so I don't have any objections."

The ministers saw that the two men were arguing with each other and did not want to express their opinions. They all felt that this was the best way. As long as the two men did not express their opinions, His Majesty would listen to them.

Sri Lanka smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I came all the way to Xianyang and saw that the people of Qin were in decline and their hearts were evil. I heard that Qin had just unified the countries after years of war, which was similar to the beginning of the founding of Magadha. If Buddhism is adopted as the state religion, it will surely make people's hearts good and the people live in peace."

Ying Zheng suppressed his anger, but his face changed color. He was the ruler of the largest country in history, called the First Emperor. He usually heard praises of his achievements. How could he be willing to listen to Sri Lanka saying that the people's livelihood was in decline and the people were evil?

Upon hearing this, Wuzhan secretly sighed that the Western way of speaking, which did not tell lies, would not work in the Qin State, let alone persuading the ministers in front of them.

Hu Wujing, the imperial attendant, snorted coldly and said to Shilifang, "Let alone the fact that our Qin State has its own laws and believes in freedom, the issue of shaving the head as mentioned earlier is not allowed in our Great Qin. The hair and skin on our bodies are given by our parents, and we dare not damage them. It is the beginning of filial piety. Shaving the head as a decree is no different from beheading in our Great Qin."

Sri Bhandari said: "If you want to achieve the right result through practice, you must cut off worldly ties and devote your mind to the Buddha. If you don't take the tonsure, it means that your worldly ties have not been cut off."

Hu Wujing said: "The envoy wants the people of our Great Qin to sever all family ties and recite those obscure scriptures every day. It is really ridiculous. And what about severing all seven emotions and six desires and not being close to women? We have a saying in our Great Qin, 'There are three unfilial acts and the worst is to have no descendants. May I ask the envoy, if the people of your country don't have access to women, how can they reproduce? Do you want our Great Qin to join your country in cutting off our descendants? Since we don't even have descendants, how can we talk about people's livelihood? Just based on the precepts, it is clear that the envoy is not here to preach the Dharma, but to deceive people and want to destroy our Great Qin!" This accusation was very heavy, and immediately some ministers seconded the proposal, and even demanded that Sri Lanka be dragged out and executed.

Sri Fang said calmly, "Establishing Buddhism as the state religion does not mean that all people must renounce worldly ties. Doing so will allow Buddhism to spread faster in your country. As long as people have Buddha in their hearts, they will be able to be kind. Your Excellency's words are a bit one-sided." Hu Wujing said, "The envoy thinks that the people of our Qin are in decline. I would like to ask the envoy, what do you mean by prosperity? Can your country eat just by reciting scriptures? If people don't work in the fields, I don't see how your country can be prosperous?"

Sri Prabhu said: "Buddhism also encourages people to farm and work, and work is a good deed."

"But the envoy just mentioned that he wants to build a temple. Not only does he need to enshrine Buddha statues, but he also needs to support a group of Buddhist disciples to spread the Dharma. So how will the daily expenses of these people come from?"

"Depend on believers to give alms and accumulate merit for them."

Hu Wujing laughed and said, "It seems that Buddhism is nothing more than making people become beggars who get something for nothing?" Everyone laughed when they heard this, and even Ying Zheng stroked his beard and watched the fun.

Sri Lanka said: "This is naturally different."

"What is the difference?"

Sripatthana said: "Beggars have no Buddha in their hearts, and they cannot convert donors and make them good."

Hu Wujing asked, "Can reciting a scripture convert me? Well, how about you, envoy, convert me?"

"Since there is no Buddha in your heart, I cannot save you."

"Then the envoy, take a look inside this hall and see who can be saved?"

Sri Prabhu looked around, showing helplessness, shook his head and sighed, "You are all too obsessed, how can you be enlightened by just listening to a passage of scripture?"

Li Si stepped forward and said, "The envoy said that all living beings have Buddha nature. Even if they have done something wrong, as long as they cut off their worldly ties and sincerely repent, they can achieve enlightenment. Is that right?"

Sri Fang put his hands together and said, "That's right!"

Li Si said: "If this is the case, then the temples will become a refuge for criminals on death row. As long as they hide in the temples, they can escape punishment. In this way, how can the people be at peace? Wouldn't the law be meaningless?"

Sri Fang said: "I have heard that your country has strict laws. May I ask if the people are at peace?"

Li Si said: "Law is the foundation of the country and the protection of the people. Only strict laws can restrain those evil and greedy hearts."

It has to be said that Srivijaya was facing a group of eloquent ministers. No matter what he said, there would be at least a dozen mouths waiting for him. Moreover, the cultural differences between the two sides were too great. If he wanted to spread Buddhism from the upper level, it would be difficult to make any progress.

As for Ying Zheng, he had already made up his mind. It was impossible for him to believe in Western Buddhism, let alone think that the Western Magadha Kingdom would be more prosperous than the current Qin Dynasty. Letting his ministers discuss it was nothing more than amusement.

Sri Lanka sighed and said: "Your country's rulers and ministers are too obsessed with ideas and have no good intentions. Suffering will ensue."

After these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent. All the ministers were looking at someone who was about to die. Insulting His Majesty was a capital crime, not to mention that it was no different from a curse. No one had expected that the Western envoy would dare to say such words.

Wuzhan also frowned and looked at Shilifang. Xu Shi opened his eyes and laughed.

"What a bold envoy! How dare he offend Your Majesty? Come, drag him out and behead him!" These words were shouted by the Imperial Censor Feng Jie.

Ying Zheng's face also changed. He hadn't heard such desperate words for a long time. He was in no mood to listen any more and shouted, "Just do as the Imperial Censor ordered. Drag him out and behead him."

Upon hearing the order, more than a dozen guards with swords came up and tied up Sri Fang and his two followers with ropes.

Sri Fang said in a deep voice: "I am an envoy of Magadha. If the Emperor of Qin executes me, then the two countries will surely go to war. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

All the ministers shouted in unison: "Kill! Kill! Kill!..." Only by killing this arrogant envoy can the national prestige of Qin be demonstrated.

Four guards tied up Sri Fang and two followers, but they couldn't pull them away. Sri Fang's body was like a mountain. "Bang..." The rope broke and all the guards flew out.

The ministers retreated in panic and shouted, "Come, protect His Majesty!" More than forty guards surrounded him in an instant, pointing swords at Sribang, and archers rushed in and aimed at Sribang and his two followers.

(End of this chapter)