If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"What? Zhou Wu sold them out? Your Majesty, Zhou Wu's unauthorized sale of military equipment at a low price is a serious crime of treason. I believe Zhou Wu should be punished."

"Why?"

Li Tiancheng simply stared coldly at the other party, but it was clear that this official had not noticed His Majesty's serious mockery and dissatisfaction with him.

"Selling military equipment at a low price without authorization, shouldn't we be punished?"

"What was the cost of our bows and arrows? If I remember correctly, it was two taels of silver. Do you know how much Zhou Wu sold them for?"

Li Tiancheng glanced at the man, who should have realized by now that His Majesty was angry, and swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Seeing that he did not answer, Li Tiancheng looked at all the civil and military officials.

Everyone here is a seasoned veteran; at this point, they naturally know it's His Majesty's solo performance time. Anyone who dares to speak up would be asking for trouble.

"The cost was two taels of silver, and Zhou Wu sold them for twenty taels of silver. A total of one hundred thousand bows and arrows, a total of two million taels of silver."

"Wow~~~"

The two million taels of silver were like a bomb, directly detonating the entire imperial court.

"Two million taels of silver?"

"What kind of sucker would pay two million taels of silver?"

"Wait, who did Zhou Wu sell it to? Could it be a rival force of our Great Dragon?"

Among the military officers, those who remained clear-headed asked a crucial question.

"Zhou Wu is a small power group that was sold to Japan."

Li Tiancheng immediately answered his question. When everyone heard that it was Fusang, they were relieved, because in everyone's mind, Fusang was an overseas island nation, a barren land, and not a threat.

Everyone was simply curious that in a country that was considered extremely poor by most people, a local power could actually afford to spend two million taels of silver to buy the bows and arrows that Da Long had discarded.

"Could His Majesty be a fraud?"

"The other party has already paid a deposit of 300,000 taels of silver, and the payment will be settled in full later."

Now everyone was completely speechless. He's a fool with too much money, what else is there to say?

Zhou Wu not only cleared out the weapons inventory for Dalong, but also made a fortune. No wonder the emperor suddenly became so protective of him. If anyone else had made two million for the empire, the emperor would probably have protected them just as much.

. . . . . .

South China Sea.

"Your Excellency has a letter for you."

He took the letter from the servant; it was from the capital.

"Your Excellency, as instructed, we are closely monitoring the reaction to 'Journey to the West.' The storyteller's Journey to the West has now concluded, and the complete 'Journey to the West' officially went on sale five days ago. It has already been a huge hit in the market and is now completely sold out. The printing workshop is working hard to print more. The popularity of 'Journey to the West' has reached its peak. We are reporting this to Your Excellency and request your instructions on the next steps."

The letter was written by Hua Rong. Jinshan Temple brought this upon itself by repeatedly slandering Zhou Wu and committing numerous crimes. How could Zhou Wu let it go so easily?

Therefore, when leaving the capital, he specifically instructed Hua Rong to keep a close eye on the popularity of Journey to the West and to have them write to him when Journey to the West was at its peak, so that Zhou Wu could carry out his revenge at that time.

"It seems the time has come."

Zhou Wu took out a letter he had prepared beforehand and had his servants deliver it to the capital. He then personally handed it to Hua Rong and the others. Inside was a letter written by Zhou Wu reflecting on his reading of "Journey to the West".

Indeed, Zhou Wu's revenge was this postscript; he wanted to expose Jinshan Temple and other tainted Buddhist institutions to the light of day.

. . . . . . .

Capital.

"A letter has arrived from the master."

"Brother, what did the master say in his letter?"

Hua Rong took out Zhou Wu's review of "Journey to the West." He had already read the contents, and this made him somewhat fearful, as it was going against the entire Buddhist community.

Wang Cang and Song Gong eagerly read the review, but after finishing it, they both froze, looked at each other in disbelief, and then gave a wry smile.

"As expected of an adult, his courage to oppose the entire Buddhist sect is something we cannot match."

"Alright, since the master has given the instructions, let's make the arrangements. We must not delay the master's important business."

Zhou Wu's plan was to spread this anonymous review so that everyone would know the true face of Buddhism. This was also his original intention in writing Journey to the West. It was not to admit defeat or to use Journey to the West to praise Buddhism. On the contrary, he wanted to use the hidden plot of Journey to the West to expose those who used Buddhism for illicit purposes.

"Remember, do it secretly."

. . . . .

A few days later, a review of Journey to the West spread throughout the capital and surrounding areas, and people were shocked after reading it.

Originally, Journey to the West was just a novel about gods and monsters in everyone's eyes, but it was thoroughly analyzed by a mysterious person.

"What? The journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures was just a conspiracy by Buddhism?"

"Even the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is nothing more than a pawn of Buddhism. That's impossible. I don't believe it."

"The monsters with powerful backers were all rescued, while the monsters without powerful backers were all killed? Now that you think about it, it seems to make sense."

"Oh right, I remember now, when Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived in the Western Paradise, they were extorted by two Buddhas."

"The Lion Camel Ridge is actually located at the foot of the sacred mountain worshipped by thousands of people. My God, how is that possible?"

"The Great Roc is actually a relative of Buddha. He is a monster who can swallow ten thousand people."

. . . . .

The hidden plot was laid bare and exposed to the public, and people finally realized that the revered Buddhist sect was actually the true creator of human suffering.

"I will never believe in Buddhism again."

“I remember now. My neighbor’s family used to be doing well. Although they were poor, they were happy. But I heard that they borrowed some money from a Buddhist temple and couldn’t pay it back.”

"and after?"

"One night, the whole family disappeared without a trace."

"Could they have been...? That's impossible."

"I don't know, but their house and land were taken by the temple to pay off their debts."

"Good heavens, isn't Buddhism all about compassion?"

As time goes by and the reviews of Journey to the West continue to circulate, many previously hidden sordid aspects of Buddhism have been exposed.

However, most people's deeply ingrained beliefs make them simply not believe it's true.

After learning that the loan sharking ledgers of Jinshan Temple had been exposed, the monks instantly became pariahs.

Jinshan Temple.

"Where's the ledger? Where did it go?"

The abbot of Jinshan Temple was routinely checking the loan shark ledgers. These were the temple's prized possessions, and the temple owed its current status primarily to these ledgers.

The jeweled robes he wore, the golden bodies on the Buddha statues, and the towering halls were all made with money earned from loan sharking.

This ledger is both a treasure trove for Jinshan Temple and a death knell for it. If it were exposed by outsiders, Jinshan Temple would collapse immediately.