I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Only now did Qin Feng understand why Qin Li hadn't ordered the army to march into the Buddhist Kingdom immediately.

It wasn't that Qin Li was being slow or overly cautious, but rather that he knew from the beginning that he couldn't rush this battle.

The Buddhist Kingdom was small, occupying only three states. Compared to the behemoth that the Great Zhou Dynasty occupied dozens of states, it was insignificant.

The Buddhist kingdom has prospered in recent years because of its missionary work and widespread fame.

Several more masters and experts emerged within the territory, creating a false impression for the world.

The Great Zhou could easily destroy the Buddhist Kingdom with a mere flick of its wrist!

But the more this is the case, the less careless we should be, as it is easy to capsize in a ditch.

The Buddhist Kingdom is different from other countries. There is no emperor in the Buddhist Kingdom, only the Buddha, who is their emperor.

The Buddhist kingdom does not follow the primogeniture system; instead, whoever has the best Buddhist teachings becomes the next Buddha of the Buddhist kingdom.

However, the Buddha in the Buddhist kingdom is also passed down from generation to generation, and the next Buddha is mostly a disciple of the previous Buddha.

As the Buddha's last disciple, Huikong is very likely to be the next Buddha of the Buddha Kingdom.

The reason why Qin Li did not rush to order his army to march into the Buddhist Kingdom was that although the Buddhist Kingdom was not powerful, its influence was unique.

Buddhism exists in many countries around the world, with countless believers and its influence spreading far and wide.

The fact that even Emperor Xuan of the Great Zhou Dynasty believed in Buddhism speaks volumes.

The Buddhist kingdom is their sacred land.

They would never be happy if their holy site were destroyed.

If the whole world turns against the Great Zhou, Qin Li will have messed things up.

Therefore, Qin Li had to find a way to make the Buddhist Kingdom surrender willingly and offer up its three states.

"Seventh Brother, do you think I should believe in Buddhism, or not?"

Strolling through Pushan Temple, Qin Li suddenly asked a question.

Over the years, Qin Feng had long regarded Qin Li as his own older brother.

Therefore, he will no longer ponder for a long time, afraid of saying the wrong thing and offending people, before answering.

Upon hearing the question, he answered immediately without hesitation:

"Brother, I think you should believe it."

Upon hearing this, Qin Li couldn't help but laugh.

Qin Feng frowned. "Big brother, what are you laughing at?"

Qin Li said, "Everyone knows that I despise Buddhism, otherwise I wouldn't have launched this southern expedition against the Buddhist kingdom. Why do you say that I should believe in Buddhism?"

Over the years, Qin Li not only ordered people to distribute meat at the entrance of Jin Guang Temple, but also strictly limited the number of monks in Jin Guang Temple.

Not only that, but every now and then they would send soldiers to forcibly break into Jinguang Temple to check if they had done anything illegal or disorderly.

Everyone knows that Qin Li despised Buddhism to the extreme.

As soon as Qin Li ascends the throne, he will definitely launch a large-scale anti-Buddhist campaign!

Qin Feng explained, "Brother, no one understands you. Over the years, you have been suppressing Jin Guang Temple in various ways. It's not that you are deliberately picking on them, but Jin Guang Temple really needs to be disciplined."

"Jin Guang Temple, relying on being a temple in a Buddhist country and the fact that my father is a Buddhist, has been doing whatever it wants in our Great Zhou capital."

"Temple land is exempt from taxes, and monks are exempt from corvée labor and military service. This has led to many people in our Great Zhou voluntarily joining temples as monks, nuns, or temple households. A large amount of land and people have flowed into temples, leaving the court short of both people and money."

"Moreover, the Jin Guang Temple also privately amassed armed forces and harbored fugitives, under the guise of 'education'."

"There are countless examples like this."

"If that's the case, then do you still think I should believe in Buddhism?"

Qin Li asked.

Qin Feng smiled slightly, "Brother, believing in Buddhism has both disadvantages and advantages."

"Oh, tell me about it."

Did I really say that?

"explain."

Qin Feng then said, "Brother, you should actually learn more from our father in this respect."

"Why bother imitating him!"

"Brother, you and I both know that our father was not a benevolent ruler. He was ruthless when it came to killing people."

"In previous years, our Great Zhou was weak, surrounded by foreign enemies, and plagued by internal strife. Why were there so few rebellions?"

Why?

Qin Li asked the question knowing the answer already.

"Because our father was a Buddhist, under his leadership and example, the people also began to believe in Buddhism."

"What does Buddhism teach? It teaches cause and effect, reincarnation, patience, submission, and letting go of worldly suffering so that one will have blessings in the next life!"

"It is precisely because of these reasons that the common people at the bottom of society believe that suffering is to be expected, and that is why there are so few rebellions and uprisings."

Qin Li looked like he understood, reached out and patted Qin Feng's shoulder with an ambiguous smile on his face.

Qin Feng immediately became smug.

However, after a while...

He suddenly froze, and his face gradually turned embarrassed.

These are things that the emperor and the crown prince should know.

Who does he think he is, daring to spout such nonsense here?!

Over the years, he and Qin Li finally managed to become like brothers.

What would Qin Li think if he heard this? He would definitely think that he still harbored ambitions to seize the throne!

Thinking of this, Qin Feng really wanted to slap himself a few times; he was so talkative.

He was about to apologize when Qin Li waved his hand and said, "No need, it's good that you understand these things."

"If something were to happen to me, you would be able to shoulder the future of my Great Zhou."

"Brother, please don't say such things. Brother is blessed with boundless good fortune..."

Before Qin Feng could finish speaking, Qin Li interrupted, "Who can say for sure what the future holds?"

What I just said were Qin Li's true feelings.

Honestly, if something were to happen to him, with Qin Feng in Da Zhou, he could leave with peace of mind.

His relationship with Qin Feng was no longer the life-or-death struggle it once was.

Seeing the topic veer off course, Qin Feng quickly brought it back on track:

"Brother, are we just going to let Master Wenzhi and Huikong meet privately and whisper among themselves?"

Ultimately, Venerable Wenzhi is still a "hostage" in their hands.

What if there are secret passages hidden in Pushan Temple, and Huikong escapes with Master Wenzhi through one of them? They would be at a huge loss then.

Although he believed in Master Wenzhi's character and thought he wouldn't escape.

However, the two whispered among themselves, plotting something that was ultimately detrimental to the Great Zhou.

"Why not let them whisper among themselves? If we don't, how will we have a chance?"

Qin Feng was taken aback. What did that mean?

However, Qin Feng quickly figured it out.

He quickly lowered his voice and said, "Brother, do you mean the breakthrough lies with Huikong?"

……

Meanwhile, inside the meditation room.

Before speaking, Huikong deliberately lingered behind the door for a moment, peering out through the crack in the door.

He was afraid that Qin Li and the others would go back on their word and return.

"Huikong, there's no need for that."

Master Wenzhi saw this and smiled slightly.

Based on his understanding of Qin Li, he knew Qin Li wouldn't do such a thing.

Besides, their subsequent conversation wasn't anything shameful.

Upon hearing this, Huikong bowed to Venerable Wenzhi before approaching.

"Uncle-Master, you've suffered so much."

He was imprisoned in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty for three years.

Master Wenzhi must have suffered a lot.

They've all lost weight.

"What do you mean?"

Master Wenzhi frowned, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Uncle-Master, what do you mean? Did they not mistreat you in the capital of Great Zhou?"

As they were talking, Huikong was about to roll up Master Wenzhi's sleeve, revealing that his arm was covered in scars, a shocking sight.

But when the sleeve was rolled up, surprisingly, Master Wenzhi's arm was completely unharmed, without a single injury.

"How is that possible?"

Huikong's eyes widened.

Upon seeing this, Master Wenzhi smiled and lowered his sleeve.

"Huikong, you've misunderstood. The Crown Prince of Great Zhou did not mistreat your uncle."

"On the contrary, they even assigned someone to serve your martial uncle. At first, I really wasn't used to it..."