Emperor Wu of Liang had genuinely championed it before seeing its enormous drawbacks, which was why he made this choice.
As for the other emperors, only those who believed in Daoism ever did so. Not one of them believed in Buddhism!
Believing in Daoism might have been for a longer life or to seek immortality, but more often, it was because true Daoism was actually an extension and development of Taoist philosophy.
Taoist philosophy was extremely profound. It was a philosophical school of thought capable of inspiring and provoking reflection in people.
Because of this, quite a few emperors during the Han Dynasty believed in Taoism. It was not until the time of Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che that the other schools were rejected in favor of Confucianism. He wanted to raise armies, and Taoist philosophy was somewhat too inclined toward non-action, so a more radical Confucian ideology was needed to shape the nation's atmosphere!
What one believed in was unimportant. As long as it benefited the ruler, and the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, that was enough!
Confucian philosophy was clearly just that!
That was why Li Shimin was so delighted to let Tang Sanzang undertake the Journey to the West. In reality, it was an act of reconnaissance.
The true target was the Silk Road. He hoped to expand the territory of the Great Tang into the broader world of the Western Regions.
Placed within the Primordial World region, he hoped to extend his reach into the Western Ox Continent!
Then it should not have been merely a matter of territory. There had to be other considerations as well.
That era had not yet arrived. Before then, if nothing unexpected happened, Sun Wukong would cause Havoc in Heaven, then be suppressed by Sakyamuni Buddha. Only after that would