My Iron Cavalry Rides Only to Trample Buddhist Bones

During the reign of Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, temples across the country occupied a third of all farmland. There were over a million monks and nuns, enjoying exemptions from taxes and labor service. Wealthy families even donated their homes to temples to evade taxes, and ordinary people flocked to the clergy in droves. The state ran short of soldiers and revenue... The Buddhist clergy lived in extravagance... They kept women as offerings, wrote sutras in blood... The poor gave their blood and tears to support them, only to be rewarded with an absurd scam...