Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

No meals provided?

Cui Xiaoguo was taken aback, but then he understood what his Crown Prince meant.

He immediately and respectfully accepted the order.

"Your Highness, rest assured! We guarantee that these bald monks will not get a single grain of food!"

Li Chengqian was speechless, sighed, and patted the other person on the shoulder.

“Xiaoguo, when did I ever say that they couldn’t eat a single grain of food? They are sitting here to pray for the souls of these poor people, which is to enter hell with their own bodies to atone for the sins of Buddhism. Of course they cannot eat anything.”

"But if they are afraid of death and don't want to go to hell, would I force them?"

Cui Xiaoguo was taken aback, somewhat understanding but not quite, when he suddenly noticed the look in his commander's eyes and a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Understood! Fear of death is human nature. I will have the Embroidered Uniform Guard clear the names of those masters. Even Buddhist monks are human, not Buddhas!"

"Haha! He's a clever one!"

The conversation between the two monks reached everyone's ears without them having to listen.

The Tzu Chi monk took a deep breath and looked at the thirty-odd pairs of eyes in front of him, some lifeless, others filled with hatred so intense they wished they could eat their flesh and drink their blood.

He slowly sat down on a futon surrounding those who had been mutilated and tortured.

After calming down and focusing for a long time.

"Namo Amitabha Ye, Duo Taka Duo Ye, Duo Di Tu Maiqie Ye he..."

A series of chants of Buddhist hymns emanated from the mouth of Abbot Cijing, and then one by one, the eminent Buddhist monks around him entered into meditation and began chanting scriptures.

The Buddha statue, which had been stripped of its gold, now finally possessed a sense of sacred majesty.

only.

The imposing presence of the Imperial Guards was met with disdain.

The Crown Prince's six guards disdained them.

Those poor people who were harmed by evil monks in the Buddhist community glared at them with hatred and anger.

On the carriage returning to the imperial palace in Chang'an.

Li Chengqian closed his eyes to rest.

Li Ke, who was also sitting in the carriage, frowned slightly.

"Your Majesty, should we suppress Buddhism or not? Why am I so confused now?"

Li Chengqian gave a soft hum, his eyes still closed.

"Is this already too difficult for you? So what if you suppress Buddhism? So what if you don't?"

Li Ke gritted his teeth: "Those Buddhist sects are insatiable; keeping them around will only bring trouble. There's still a huge hole in the Yellow River water conservancy funds—ten million strings of cash, Your Majesty! Even if we now have the power to control Lingzhou and Liangzhou..."

"But even if we sold all the people of the Tuyuhun Kingdom by weight, we still wouldn't get ten million strings of cash."

Li Chengqian sighed and finally slowly opened his eyes.

"Third brother, why are you always so impatient lately? As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you need to be even more composed. I never said I wouldn't destroy Buddhism."

Li Ke was truly getting numb from his elder brother's repeated words.

"No, Your Majesty, you..."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and shook his head slightly.

"Let me ask you this: Is Buddhism of any use to the nation?"

Li Ke frowned and pondered for a moment: "There are some exceptions. People who believe in Buddhism are more likely to choose to accept their fate, which makes it easier for local officials to manage them."

Li Chengqian did not want to correct his younger brother's slight verbal errors.

"Then, I ask you again, what is Buddha?"

Li Ke was speechless: "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no interest in these bald monks' nonsense. How could I possibly know anything about Zen meditation?"

Li Chengqian reached out and patted the other person on the shoulder, his expression solemn and his words earnest.

"Those who obey me are Buddhas, those who defy me are demons!"

Li Ke's eyes widened, and he seemed to suddenly understand something, but then he became somewhat confused again.

“But, Your Majesty, the imperial physicians you arranged to treat these patients are all from the Taoist sect. With them around, and with someone specifically taking care of their food and drink, and those people hating Buddhism to the core.”

"How could they willingly close their eyes? This...this is a dead end!"

Li Chengqian gave a cold laugh and closed his eyes again.

In the carriage outside Chang'an late at night, Li Chengqian's voice was cold and gloomy.

"If we don't let them fight for their lives, how can they appreciate the joy of being alive? Even if it's a dead end, it's a gift from me!"

The affairs of Buddhism did not affect Li Chengqian's ability to spend his first New Year in the Tang Dynasty.

The last day of the ninth year of the Wude era, the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Lizheng Hall.

"Brother, brother, hurry up, it's your turn!"

"Brother, you must believe me! I'm truly a loyal subject~ Waaaaah, I'm out of cards, I don't have a single card left, waaaaah~"

"Hehehe, Imperial Brother, quick, kill Zhinu! His crying is too fake!"

Li Chengqian smiled gently, and amidst the cheerful laughter of Chang Le, he looked at the two little devils, Li Zhi and Li Zhen, who were chained together with iron chains. His smile was full of affection.

Silently, he pulled out two cards from a stack of wooden plaques in front of him.

Then, the smile on his face instantly changed the minds of Lee Jung and Lee Ji, who were practically openly rebels and traitors.

"I'm equipped with a Zhuge Repeating Crossbow."

Li Zhen and Li Zhi's expressions froze instantly.

Li Zhi tried to peek, but was stopped by Chang Le, who was sitting next to Li Chengqian and was described as "Hua Tuo" (a legendary physician).

"No way, Your Majesty, you can have three Fire Attack cards?"

Li Zhi looked at the "Guan Yu" character in front of him, who still had three bars of health remaining, with a worried expression.

Li Chengqian smiled strangely and shook his head slightly: "Don't worry, I only have one Fire Attack card."

As he spoke, he drew a card from his hand and threw it into the middle of the table.

Wang De, who was acting as the referee, immediately struck a gong on the side.

"Bang! His Highness the Prince of Yue and His Highness the Prince of Jin have lost one drop of health!"

Li Zhi, however, was visibly excited, as if he had been reborn, and laughed heartily.

"I'm alive! I'm alive!"

However, just when he thought his elder brother was about to finish, Li Chengqian suddenly threw four different suited cards into the middle of his hand.

He slowly extended a finger and tapped it on the "God Zhou Yu" card in front of him.

“Child slave, you seem to be celebrating too soon. Even without Fire Kill, do you think I can't set myself on fire? Limited skill, Karmic Flame, I can discard four cards of different suits and lose 3 health points to deal up to three points of fire damage to a designated target.”

"Hahahaha! So spicy! Even the young slave is so spicy!" The princesses of Yuzhang and Chengyang burst into laughter.

Li Zhen, who was standing to the side, suddenly had a change of heart.

"No, Your Majesty, if you lose three points of stamina, you're finished!"

Just then, "Hua Tuo" Chang Le, who was standing to the side, pulled out a red card with a grin.

"I am Hua Tuo reincarnated! Hmph, a red card is the peach of immortality, emergency treatment!"

"Brother, you've recovered a drop of health!"

Li Chengqian chuckled, and the three health bars he had just deleted were immediately moved back to one bar.

"Hey, eighth and ninth brothers, isn't it a coincidence that I've come back to life like this!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhen, the "traitor" who was burned to death along with the "traitor" Li Zhi, who was chained together with the iron chains, suddenly went berserk.

"Ugh! Li Zhi, I'm never going to be on your side again! If you were a traitor, everyone here would be able to tell. You... you're really awful!"

"Can you blame me? Why is it that every time, my elder sister Chang Le is the wet nurse? She always sides with my elder brother."

"Then why didn't you kill her? You clearly had several 'kill' cards in your hand just now, why didn't you kill the healer!"

Li Zhi: "......"

Li Shimin stood aside, holding another set of cards made by his own crown prince, called "Three Kingdoms Kill," looking amazed and exclaiming how interesting it was.

"These different generals not only have different skills, but generals with historical anecdotes can also form bonds... hiss."

Beside her, Empress Zhangsun looked on with a gentle expression at the noisy scene in the hall.

Such a heartwarming scene is truly rare even among royalty.

not to mention......

"Young slave, step aside! Let me dampen the Crown Prince's arrogance!"

Li Chengqian smiled faintly as he watched Li Zhi being lifted up as if he were a chick and tossed onto a soft couch, where Li Shimin had been sitting.

"Father, this thing is simple in some ways, but it's also quite difficult in others."

Li Shimin smiled smugly and waved his hand.

"No problem! Let's fight!"

As he spoke, he seemed to feel that something was missing, and suddenly pulled out a gold ingot from his waist.

"Come, beat me, and this ingot of gold is yours!"

Li Chengqian curled his lips. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's pity on you, would you have such a bold spirit now?

"Wang De! Shuffle the cards!"

Li Shimin and his son Li Chengqian stared at each other, and an invisible flame ignited between them.

"Hahaha! My first choice is Zhuge Liang! As expected! As expected!"

Li Shimin looked at the three hero cards he was given and chose Zhuge Liang without hesitation.

then.

A faint voice came from the other side.

"Hehe, Father, isn't it a coincidence... In this round, I chose Sima Yi!"

Empress Zhangsun's hands, which were knitting wool yarn, suddenly stopped.

Sitting at the table in front of her, facing Consort Yang and Consort Yin, who were also struggling with a ball of wool, her expression stiffened slightly.

The New Year's Eve family banquet of the Li Tang royal family was held very hastily that night.

As the time for the family banquet approached, Li Shimin and Li Chengqian moved the battle to the palace where the banquet was to be held.

The situation gradually became outrageous.

Li Yuan: "Second Brother, are you stupid? Didn't you see that Gao Ming has already obtained the lightning? Why did you throw out Invincible!"

Li Xiaogong: "Your Majesty, it's time to regroup; things are about to get cold."

Chang Le: "Brother, hurry! I can hold on! Kill! Kill! Father is not dead yet! Keep killing!"

Li Ke: "Father, I'm on your side, why are you killing me?"

It was an extremely fierce battle. The court dancers who were originally arranged to entertain were no longer there to appreciate it; they were all gathered around a table.

Shouts of battle echoed continuously.

When Wang De came running over to report that it was almost midnight and they should prepare to stay up all night to welcome the New Year.

In the small wooden box in front of Li Chengqian, there were already more than a dozen ingots of gold that he had won.

"Haha, Father, you should practice some more. This game was designed by your son. Do you really think that just looking at the cards and familiarizing yourself with the rules will make you a match for me?"

Li Chengqian laughed loudly and went out the door, followed closely by Prince Wei, Li Tai.

On an open space in front of the palace, figures moved swiftly.

Scatter the square objects at fixed intervals.

Behind.

Li Shimin chased after them, somewhat displeased.

"Your Highness, how can you run away after winning? Come, fight me a few more rounds, and I'll make sure you lose so badly that you even have to leave your clothes here with me. You..."

The voice just fell.

suddenly.

"call out!"

A sharp whistling sound was accompanied by a bright streak of fire, like a shooting star, shooting straight up from the ground.

"boom!"

The dazzling fireworks were like a fiery tree blooming in the night sky of Chang'an, brilliant and magnificent.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

The commotion drew everyone out of the hall.

When they saw the dazzling, almost miraculous fireworks, even these well-traveled members of the royal family were stunned and gaped in astonishment.

Princesses like Chang Le, Cheng Yang, and Yu Zhang had already been launched into the sky one after another, their eyes filled with dazzling light as the fireworks exploded.

Li Tai laughed heartily, winking at his elder brother.

These are all excellent products that he and those gunpowder-related talents have worked day and night to create.

Li Tai has suffered a lot these past few days in order to make these things.

"This, what is this?"

Li Shimin was the first to recover from his shock and looked at his crown prince.

"Heh, it's just fireworks, a pastime, like the thunderbolts that Jieli and his men used when they were defeated at the Wei River."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's breathing quickened slightly.

"That thing can fly out on its own? Then, wouldn't it be able to charge into the enemy lines and then explode with a bang?"

Li Chengqian was somewhat surprised by his father's keen insight into firearms.

He smiled and nodded: "With some time and effort, it is certainly possible, and... as for the kind of usage that Father Emperor mentioned, I have already ordered people to begin researching it."

“If all goes well…” Li Chengqian paused slightly.

"From now on, any country that offends our Great Tang will find its so-called city walls useless, rendered mere window dressing!"

On New Year's Eve, the people of Chang'an were captivated by the magnificent fireworks that lit up the sky above the imperial palace.

Although it lacks the fancy and varied characters and shapes of later generations.

However, for the Tang people who had never seen fireworks before, this was dazzling enough.

And just two or three days after New Year's Eve.

An order from the Crown Prince's Palace was sent to the Chang'an Bureau of Rites.

Even though it was still his day off, Ma Zhou, who had been called back to work, took a deep breath as he looked at the order.

"The Buddhist sect, this time, they're likely going to die from the fall..."

The newspapers "Da Tang Daily," "Da Tang Commercial Daily," and "Da Tang Official Gazette," which the Crown Prince had ordered to be printed at full speed before the new year, were released as the warehouse was opened.

Boxes of newspapers were carried out and loaded onto the carriage.

They were then delivered to newspaper offices and newsboys.

at the same time.

Luoyang, the eastern capital.

"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! A shocking scam within the Buddhist community, raking in over 700 million strings of cash in three years!"

"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! His Majesty is furious! The Buddhist sect has persecuted the people with countless cruel and unspeakable methods!"

"Newspaper! Newspaper! Over 500 temples have been found to house at least 30 wanted fugitives with a long list of crimes..."