The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 61 Whose General

As the court assembly began, Jiang Feng followed Yang Guang into the main hall.

This was Jiang Feng's first time attending a court assembly, and he found it all very novel. He looked at the officials participating in the assembly and compared their identities with the portraits he had seen.

Then Jiang Feng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Of the many officials in the imperial court, a staggering 70% were founding ministers of the Tang Dynasty! Of the remaining 30%, half perished in the chaos of war…

He felt that even if Li Yuan were to ascend the steps and sit on the dragon throne right now, it wouldn't feel out of place at all!

Today, Gao Jiong and Yang Su are in much better health and are able to attend court, but they are so weak that they need to be helped to enter the palace.

Yang Jian glanced at his court officials and noticed that a few more were missing, causing him to frown slightly.

Upon inquiry, he learned that eight ministers had fallen ill the previous day. He sighed, granted seats to Gao and Yang, and then announced the start of the court session.

After several people presented their memorials, Yang Guang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, since the end of the Jin Dynasty, wars have broken out all over the world, and the people have suffered greatly. Countless lonely souls and corpses have been left to rot in the wilderness, causing the aura of bloodlust to fill the sky."

Your Majesty has worked diligently to govern the country and has restored unity to the world. Your achievements in both civil administration and military affairs are comparable to those of Yao and Shun.

But the unclaimed souls who died in the war still wander the earth, unable to be reborn.

Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty summon virtuous monks and Taoist priests to the capital to hold a Buddhist ceremony to deliver the souls of the wandering spirits of the world.

Yang Jian glanced at Yang Guang and saw that he did not immediately demand the punishment of the crown prince, but instead prioritized his own safety and wanted to fundamentally resolve the Emperor Jing's entanglement with him. He was immediately moved by his filial piety.

"The Prince of Jin is right. In the opinion of my esteemed ministers, who is suitable to preside over this grand Dharma assembly?"

A young official stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Buddhism has flourished since the beginning of dynasties, promoting good and suppressing evil, and silently aiding the nation. This Dharma assembly should be honored by the Buddhist community. I hereby recommend Master Zhiyi of Tiantai Mountain to preside over the Water and Land Dharma Assembly to deliver the souls of the unclaimed dead throughout the world!"

Jiang Feng frowned and asked in a low voice, "Whose subordinate is this? He's so brave! Is he one of the Crown Prince's men?"

Yang Guang said with a dark face, "He is my brother-in-law, Xiao Yu..."

Jiang Feng's eyes widened: "Is he alright? Does he need me to perform brain surgery to drain the fluid?"

He's so blatantly going against you, he's got some nerve!

Yang Guang sighed, "This kid has gone crazy from studying Buddhism. It's also my fault; I forgot to inform him beforehand."

At this moment, a middle-aged man stood up and retorted: "Your Majesty, Buddhism does not advocate the relationship between ruler and subject, father and son. It is disloyal to the ruler and unfilial to the father!"

They idle away their time, refusing to engage in production! They shave their heads and change their clothes to evade taxes and corvée labor! They exploit the people and seize the national treasury! They preach heretical books and evil doctrines, frighten the ignorant, and swindle money and goods from them!

Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty issue an edict to confiscate the property of all Buddhist temples in the land, convert them into schools, and order monks and nuns to return to secular life, marry, and have children, so as to rectify the social atmosphere!

To set things right, this memorial service should be a grand ceremony hosted by the Taoist community, and I hereby recommend Abbot Wang Yuanzhi of the Shangqing School to preside over it!

Jiang Feng gasped: "Whose subordinate is this? His bravery is no less than Xiao Yu's!"

Good heavens, to arrange a marriage between a nun and a monk—how could he even think of that? If he actually succeeds, wouldn't I also be assigned a nun?

Didn't he know that the emperor promoted Buddhism in order to win over the people?

Yang Guang said with amusement, "This man is called Fu Yi, a general under my fifth brother, Prince Yang Liang of Han. I only just learned that my fifth brother's generals are so brave."

Jiang Feng asked curiously, "Where are your subordinates? Why haven't they come out yet?"

Yang Guang, looking completely confident, said, "I didn't arrange for anyone to speak. Don't worry, someone else is in a hurry."

As they spoke, Fu Yi and Xiao Yu began to argue fiercely.

Xiao Yu, still young, was rendered speechless by Fu Yi's rebuttal. Finally, she clasped her hands together and angrily said, "The reason Buddha established hell is precisely because there are people like you in this world!"

Hearing the two arguing, Yang Jian on the dragon throne darkened his face.

Is now the time to provoke a conflict between Buddhism and Taoism?

My life is in danger! I don't care who's in charge of the meeting, as long as it can save my life!

Yang Su and Gao Jiong also looked grim. The two sat on the stools and exchanged a glance, as if they had reached a consensus.

Gao Jiong stood up with difficulty and said, "Your Majesty, I suggest that the Grand Prayer Ceremony and the Water and Land Dharma Assembly be held together, so that eminent figures from both Buddhism and Taoism can pray for the well-being of all beings."

Yang Su also stood up weakly: "I second that! Whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, the goal is the same; there's no need for verbal disputes!"

At this moment, Yang Guang slowly walked out and said, "Your Majesty also agrees. Your Majesty can appoint Jiang Feng, the chief monk and Taoist priest of the realm, to preside over the grand assembly, with two venues: the Water and Land Dharma Assembly and the Universal Grand Ritual, and let Jiang Feng coordinate in the middle."

Yang Jian nodded and said, "Granted!"

Now, the ministers in the court finally saw the situation clearly.

It turns out that the three major powers in the imperial court had already reached a consensus that, in any case, this memorial service must be held as soon as possible.

The seemingly fierce Buddhist-Taoist conflict between Xiao Yu and Fu Yi was nothing more than a farce...

With just a few words, Yang Guang secured the leadership of the conference for Jiang Feng, demonstrating a masterful ability to leverage external forces.

Only Xiao Yu and Fu Yi looked embarrassed, staring down at their toes as if they wished they could disappear into the ground.

After the court assembly, Jiang Feng returned to Cui Peng's residence.

Seeing Jiang Feng return, Cui Peng lay sprawled on the soft couch, gritting his teeth as he said, "You're finally back!"

Seeing his angry expression, Jiang Feng asked in confusion, "Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't offend you, did I?"

Cui Peng said with deep sorrow, "You said you hadn't offended me? Didn't you say yesterday that His Majesty wanted me to come to the palace to serve him in bed?"

Jiang Feng was stunned for a moment, then his mouth dropped open in shock: "No way, you didn't actually go?!"

Cui Peng remained silent, only staring at Jiang Feng with hatred: "..."

Guess who hit me on the butt with the paddle?!

They ate my food and drank my water, and then they lied to me! They're utterly beasts!

Jiang Feng looked embarrassed and then looked at Cui Ying with pleading eyes.

Cui Ying said helplessly, "You brought this trouble upon yourself, so there's no use looking at me. My cousin was beaten eighty times by His Majesty and then thrown out of the palace for unwarranted insubordination."

His Majesty probably never imagined that, even at over sixty years old, someone would still covet his unparalleled imperial beauty…

As she spoke, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. Glancing at Cui Peng out of the corner of her eye, she quickly pinched her thigh, feigning grief, and said, "My cousin is innocent! Hahaha...innocent!"

Cui Peng: "@#￥%￥#@……"

You can laugh freely, so as not to hurt your health!

At this moment, the Dragon King of the Jing River walked in from the doorway, glanced at the strange atmosphere in the room, and said solemnly, "Something terrible has happened!"

I went to the underworld and found out that Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou couldn't get through the gates of hell because there were too many wandering souls going there.

"If this continues, the world will descend into chaos!"