Chapter 40: The Shattering of the Buddha Statue

  The horse's hearing is extremely sensitive, especially to loud and strong sounds. The horse that carried Han Changyuan was startled by the sudden noise and let out a terrified whinny as it turned its head and galloped away in the opposite direction. The two guards who were standing around the carriage were caught off guard and were knocked to the ground by the runaway carriage.

  A deafening crash, lasting for about half a minute before it finally stopped, and the ground also stopped shaking.

  "What happened?" The sudden change made everyone cast their surprised and puzzled eyes on Xunyang City, Gao Chang furrowed his brow, quickly stood up from the ground, looked back at the crowd, especially lingering on the excited faces.

  Everyone on the scene was shocked and confused, how could they answer his question? Gao Xing knew, but at this moment he also stood up from the ground, frowning deeply, with a look of astonishment.

  Han Changyuan stood up, his center of gravity was low, so he was most affected by the earthquake. He had been thinking about looking at Gao Changgong's pale face with a swollen belly standing there, who would have thought that at this time he was the most disheveled person on the scene, not only did the imperial edict fall to the ground, but he also stumbled backward several steps before standing firm, and his hat fell to the ground. If he hadn't practiced before, he would have fallen to the ground and gotten a mouthful of mud.

  "What's going on?" Han Changyuan, who felt extremely embarrassed, looked very ugly and hastily picked up the imperial edict. He slightly adjusted his clothes and stared at Gao Zhanggong tightly.

  Gao Chang hurriedly cupped his hands and apologized, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, for startling you. As for the specifics, I am also unaware. Let me investigate carefully."

  "That's good, I'd like to see who has the audacity to be so disrespectful to His Majesty!" Han Changyuan snorted in anger, losing his dignity in front of so many "lowly Han people", which made him very annoyed.

  Gao Changgong looked at Han Changyuan with a face full of anger, dust on his hat, secretly laughing in his heart, but with an apologetic smile on his face, he ordered Gao Xing: "Xing'er, quickly go and see what happened in the city?"

  Delighted to hear the news, he was just about to go and investigate when he saw Shang Buqi rushing towards him with an excited face. His agitated voice came from afar: "Lord Hou, good news, good news!" Soon, Shang Buqi rushed out of the city and arrived in front of Gao Changgong.

  "Good news?" Gao Changgong was even more surprised, he had not expected to come so calmly and quietly at this time, but now it seemed that the good news was not small.

  "What great joy! Master Hou, what great joy!" Shang Buqi exclaimed excitedly, but his words were somewhat incoherent.

  "Calm down, what's the point of shouting like this in front of the prince? Is there anything more surprising than the emperor's reward?" Gao Changgong's face sank, and he looked at Shang Buqi with suspicion.

  "Lord Hou, please calm down!" Shang Buqi's whole body shook violently, and he suddenly fell to the ground, but his eyes still showed excitement and agitation. He secretly glanced at Gao Changgong behind him, who revealed a deep smile.

  Gao Chang hummed and said: "Get up and talk, what happened in the city?"

  He slowly got up, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, slightly calmed his surging emotions, and stared at Gao Zhangong with an astonished face: "Your Excellency, the Buddha has descended, and Great Qi will rise!"

  "What?" Everyone, including Han Changyuan, stared at Shang Buzi in astonishment. The crowd that was originally noisy and discussing also quickly quieted down, with tens of thousands of eyes focusing on Shang Buzi, making this iron man feel uneasy for a moment.

  Gao Chang Gong was the first to wake up and asked in a low voice: "What happened? Tell Ben Hou the truth!"

  "Yes, Master Hou." Shang Buqi responded with a single word, then continued slowly: "Just now, all the Buddha statues in every temple within the city suddenly shattered to pieces!"

  "What!" Gao Chang Gong's face changed greatly, his voice rose an octave, somewhat losing its composure.

  "Ah!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

  "How can this be?! The temple's precious relic, blessed by the Buddha's power, how could it shatter for no reason?! You're spouting nonsense, stirring up trouble among the people, what's your intention?! Guards, take down this official and execute him on the spot!" High General Gao's face was dark and ominous, his entire body radiating a fierce and intimidating aura.

  Since the collapse of the Eastern Han, the entire Divine Land has been plunged into hundreds of years of turmoil and war, with dynasties changing frequently, human life being cheaper than pigs and dogs, and the people's lives being extremely difficult, with no guarantee of survival from morning to night. In such an environment, Buddhism became the faith and reliance of helpless and desperate people.

  Buddhism teaches people to be kind, learn to tolerate, and place their hopes in the afterlife. In order to make the territory stable and peaceful, the rulers would naturally not give up this religion that can help them consolidate their power. As a result, both parties reached an agreement, and under the support of those in power, Buddhism flourished and soon caught up with Taoism and Confucianism in China.

  During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism was extremely prosperous, with many emperors being very devout, such as Gao Wei. This tyrannical and cruel emperor, who was a perverted murderer, would shout "Amitabha" every day, which is a ridiculous and laughable thing.

  For those who believe in Buddhism, the shattering of a Buddha statue is absolutely not an auspicious sign, but rather a most ominous one!

  Gao Changgong was very angry, extremely angry, and there was still a hint of incomprehension in his heart. Originally, Han Changyan came to announce the imperial edict, which meant that it was not going to be anything good. He seemed to have felt the chill of the steel knife on his neck. Shang Buqi said again, towards Buddhism, Gao Wei had a strong faith, he would absolutely not let go of himself and his family of three, maybe even without having to go to Ye City. What made him wonder was that Shang Buqi was a highly qualified military man, doing things steadily, and would never be so reckless.

  The soldiers at the city gate were stunned for a moment and did not dare to put their hands on their instructor.

  "What are you still standing there for?" Gao Changgong saw the soldiers stunned, and he couldn't help but get furious. His face turned even darker, and his whole body burst with murderous aura, causing some of the weaker officials beside him to tremble all over and involuntarily take a step back, not even daring to breathe loudly.

  Those soldiers were terrified in their hearts and didn't dare to slack off. They quickly rushed forward to capture Shang Buqi.

  "Your Excellency, please calm down and allow me to finish speaking!" Shang Buqi knelt down on the ground with a thud, looking at Gao Changgong sincerely, but without any fear on his face.

  Han Changyuan stood behind Gao Zhanggong, with a cold smile on his face. He pretended to be a devout Buddhist, but in fact, he was just trying to find common ground with Gao Wei. A person who advocates for timely pleasure, how could he be a sincere believer of Buddhism? As for Gao Wei, Han Changyuan saw him very clearly, knowing that he had no great ambitions and only knew how to indulge in sensual pleasures, which was a great advantage for Han Changyuan. Treacherous officials would never like a wise and powerful monarch, and a foolish ruler would also not like loyal and upright officials.

  The more solid Gao Wei's position is, the stronger Han Changyuan's power will be. For this handsome and elegant man, Gao Changgong, who is both civil and military, and has a high reputation, Han Changyuan does not have a single good feeling. The broken Buddha statue is an extremely useful excuse.

  "Halt!" The excited voice rang out, and the soldiers who were executing Gao Chang Gong's orders simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. Shang Buqi was still their training instructor, although he was strict in his daily life, but he was actually a cold-faced and warm-hearted person, eating and living with them, and treating them quite well, making the soldiers feel grateful. Letting them take him away, it really wasn't easy to do. At this moment, seeing Gao Xing speak out to stop them, they couldn't help but relax, and were also happy for Shang Buqi.

  He has always been fond of his soldiers, especially those who have not abandoned him. He loves them dearly and values them highly. With him around, they will never be in any danger.

  "Good boy!" Gao Chang Gong looked at Gao Xing, his eyes slightly softened.

  "Dad, let Shang Buqi finish speaking!" The excited eyes were very gentle, as if still conveying some message.

  Gao Changgong was taken aback, furrowed his brow, and then said to Shang Buqi, "Speak!"

  "Yes." Shang Buqi responded with a single word, not daring to stand up, and quickly said: "Last month, the king ordered the city's hundred craftsmen to cast a large Buddha statue. It just so happened that it was completed just now, but all the other Buddha statues in the city suddenly burst and made a huge noise."

  Kao Chiang was taken aback, wondering when he had ever ordered the construction of a Buddha statue. Just as he was about to ask, he saw Kao Hsing shaking his head at him, and the words that were on his lips were swallowed back into his belly. Kao Hsing looked at Kao Chiang in surprise, but the latter just smiled as usual, giving Kao Chiang a reassuring smile.