The Anxi and Hexi Buddhist sects who bathed and purified themselves, fasted and observed the precepts, and recited the Buddha's name with a pure heart were shocked by Zhang Zhao. Although they were covetous of Zhang Zhao's treasures and feared Zhang Zhao's power, they did not want to admit Zhang Zhao so readily. The title of Yinlun Dharma King.
Just kidding, this is the Dharma King! If you really want to admit it, from now on no matter which temple you are the abbot or head of, when you meet Zhang Zhao, you will all address him as Dharma King.
In particular, several eminent monks from Kaiyuan Temple in Shazhou and other Jialan monks were even more uneasy. In the future, Zhang Erlangjun regained the power of the Guiyi Army. With both divine and royal power in his hands, how could they maintain their transcendent status?
However, Buddhism has a very big weakness, that is, it is easy to compromise. This is the temperament brought by the teachings and cannot be solved.
Zhang Zhao tempted them with treasures and deployed heavy troops outside. Although they knew that Zhang Zhao did not dare to use swords and axes on them, they could trap them and grind them down.
In the end, after weighing the pros and cons, the two sides reached a condition that Zhang Zhao would distribute all the holy objects in his hands and the Buddha relics obtained from Kaiyuan Temple in Shule, and half of them would be distributed to various places to worship Buddha. The masters finally agreed. Zhang Zhao’s identity.
However, they had a condition, which was that Zhang Zhao could fast and observe the precepts for seven days in the Buddhist hall of Samaro Temple.
This is not an easy condition. The fasting meal during the fast is just three meals a day of gruel and a little bread. The bread is baked without any oil at all, and pickles are not provided.
If you observe the precepts, you must not make any sound except when chanting sutras throughout the day, and no one is allowed to approach you.
It is equivalent to locking a normal person in a small Buddhist hall that has been set up, facing the wall for seven days, with no food or salt coming in. It is like being in solitary confinement.
There is also a circle of famous temples outside. The abbots chant sutras around this temple and hold grand Dharma meetings.
Zhang Zhao gritted his teeth and persisted, because he knew that this was the last stubbornness of Anxi and Hexi Buddhists, and it was also their downhill step. After passing this test, they must recognize Zhang Zhao's identity.
Of course, this is what Zhang Zhao wants. If he doesn't want to, there are ways to make these bald heads compromise.
The reason why Zhang Zhao chose to fast and observe the precepts was because although he would have to suffer for seven days, this suffering would put a more solid seal on his title of Yinlun Dharma King and prevent anyone from using this as an excuse in the future.
Seven days later, the grand ceremony ended. Zhang Zhao was not only recognized by most Jialan temples in Anxi and Hexi, but also in the eyes of 70,000 to 80,000 Khotan people, his identity as Yinlun Dharma King was completely confirmed.
During the seven days that Zhang Zhao fasted and observed the precepts, even the Tibetan people on Qiangtang heard about it and came down from the ice and snow, risking their lives, to worship.
Not to mention the believers in other towns in Khotan, the Royal City of Khotan, with only 50,000 people, quickly swelled to more than 80,000 people in these seven days.
This made this Dharma Assembly not only a fasting Dharma assembly for Buddhists in Anxi and Hexi to recognize Zhang Zhao's identity, but also became a famous grand Dharma assembly in Anxi.
Li Shengtian also helped Zhang Zhao at this time. Zhang Zhao didn't know what was going on outside in the Buddhist hall, so Li Shengtian made a decision and used money from his private treasury to entertain all the people who came to attend the ceremony. The fact that Zhang Zhao was protecting Dharma in Tianzhu was spread widely with people adding fuel to the fire.
Since then, the identity of His Holiness Zhang Zhaoyinlun has not only become known in Khotan, but has even spread throughout the snow-covered plateau and north of the Tianshan Mountains, which is an unexpected surprise.
Outside the Samaroo Temple, as soon as Zhang Zhao left the temple, he saw several people in cotton-padded clothes kneeling outside the door.
Judging from the thickness of the snow on his body, he must have been kneeling for a long time, otherwise his eyebrows and beard would have been frozen, like a snowman.
Zhang Zhao looked carefully. Isn't the leader his cousin Song Zhongyi? What are you doing kneeling here like this?
"Your Majesty, Song Dutou has been kneeling here all day. No matter how much his servants persuade him, he won't get up. He must wait until you come out!" Guo Tiance came closer and whispered.
"Are you so stubborn? What are you doing? Kneel down like this. What should I do if I kneel down?
Quickly go to the nearby food shop, light a fire, boil some ginger syrup, and ask Wan'er to deliver some fur coats quickly! "
"Your Majesty! You are more kind to the general than the mountain, but the general is sorry for you!
At the end of the year, I am getting older and my legs are injured, making it difficult for me to walk. I may not be able to return eastward with the king, woo woo woo! "
Zhang Zhao was about to help Song Zhongyi up, but Song Zhongyi burst out crying.
"Get up! What should I do if my body is frozen? Man, why are you crying? You have something to say!"
Zhang Zhao's heart sank. Song Zhongyi and the people behind him should have made a decision and would not return eastward with him.
"Your Majesty, I am really sorry for you. In the past in Dunhuang, a certain Song Zhongyi was just a soldier in the Yajun Army. His monthly salary was only enough for himself. He was favored by the King and promoted. A certain talented person is now among the five and six. .”
Although Song Zhongyi got up, he was still crying towards Zhang Zhao with tears in his eyes.
"But this year, a certain general is already thirty-three, and he only has more than ten years of good life left. He has wasted so much time and has no descendants. Now his leg is injured again, and it is even more difficult to travel.
After the First World War outside the city of Kesei, thanks to the kindness of the king, he settled in Xijiangwanbao in the Ningyuan Governor-General's District. He was given a thousand acres of fertile land, a compound for three years, and thirty-five Tianzhu tenant farmers. He also married two Ningyuan Hujis. I really can’t bear to travel far! "
Zhang Zhao took a long breath. Song Zhongyi was stabbed in the thigh during a battle with the Persians at Sanshui Bay south of Kesai City, so Zhang Zhao arranged for him on the spot and did not let him follow him to Tianzhu.
However, he did not want to leave Song Zhongyi in Ningyuan. This person had some biological relationship with him and was the son of his biological mother's cousin.
He is very brave in combat and is also famous as a fierce general in the capital of Hanshan, only behind a few such as Manxiong, Dunzhu and Wang Tongtong.
In Zhang Zhao's plan, such a warrior would definitely follow him back east.
However, when he glanced at Song Zhongyi and several others, the common feature of these people was that they were relatively old, basically around thirty years old, and they had suffered some injuries in previous battles. Once I settled down in Ningyuan, I naturally didn’t want to leave.
Zhang Zhao stepped in and realized that if he were Song Zhongyi, he would definitely not want to leave.
They have a thousand acres of fertile land in Ningyuan, and have thirty or forty tenant farmers and servants, as well as two wives and concubines. They also serve as magistrates of the surrounding towns, and they can earn more than ten thousand dollars a month.
In Ningyuan, they were the great masters of the Celestial Dynasty who came from Khotan. They were born in Shandu, and they were cousins of King Zhang. No matter who they were, they had to give him three respects.
Here, you don't have to work and have someone to take care of you, and you can sleep with your lovely wife and concubine in your arms every night, and you don't want to leave until you are stupid.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhao's discomfort just now suddenly subsided a lot.
It's not easy for him to fight with him for several years. It's understandable that he wants to live a stable and good life as he gets older.
"You guys all want to settle down in Ningyuan, right?" Zhang Zhao asked the people behind Song Zhongyi.
Several people knelt down again with a pop, their eyes full of apologies, but this could not stop their desire to live a good life.
"We all thought so, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"You have followed me to fight with almost death, what crime have you committed?" Zhang Zhao shook his head and motioned for them to get up.
"You are all my loyal ministers and warriors, Zhang Zhao! Tiance, each of you will be given another 500 acres of fertile land.
You can make statistics with Wu Yuan'er and Zhu Qingquan. There are indeed some who are old and injured and are willing to settle down in Ningyuan. Draw up a list! "
With that said, Zhang Zhao patted Song Zhongyi on the shoulder and got on the carriage. He was going to Taihe Palace to meet Li Shengtian!
"Your Majesty is kind and virtuous. I have nothing to repay in this life. I wish to be your Majesty's minion again in the next life, life and death!" On both sides of the carriage, Song Zhongyi once again prostrated himself on the roadside.
In the heavy snow, Zhang Zhao on the carriage stretched out a hand and waved. This was considered farewell. They chose to settle down in Ningyuan. Unless something unexpected happened in this life, they would never see each other again.
. . . . .
"Have you encountered a problem?" In the Taihe Palace, Li Shengtian was personally making tea for Zhang Zhao. Of course he knew about Song Zhongyi's kneeling outside the Samaroo Temple for a whole day.
"It is indeed difficult! The desire to live a good life is everyone's deepest desire, and they are indeed entitled to enjoy it.
The nephew has decided that anyone over the age of twenty-eight can settle down in Ningyuan as long as they really want to. "
Zhang Zhao nodded. Song Zhongyi and the others were not only soldiers under his command, they were also members of Zhang Zhao's team in the beginning.
At that time, 107 people from Shandu followed Zhang Zhaoxi. Thirty-three people died in the four years of fighting. Eleven people were too disabled to continue fighting. Two people died of illness. Now there are 61 people who are still healthy. Song Zhongyi Once they left, there were only fifty-five people left.
Li Shengtian didn't expect Zhang Zhao to be so open-minded, so he glanced at Zhang Zhao in surprise.
"If this is the case, of the two thousand one hundred and twenty people in the Fengtian Army, I estimate that you will not be able to bring back more than fifteen hundred people.
A mere 1,500 people, even if all are in armor, are still not enough to support you in taking back the rebels, at least not that easily. As for the Ganzhou Uighurs, they may be even more difficult to deal with. "
"Why is there only the Fengtian Army?" Zhang Zhao pretended to be surprised and looked at Li Shengtian.
"At least two thousand people can be taken away from the Persian troops. If we recruit the tribes from Suiye and Shule, it shouldn't be difficult to get 1,500 people. In this way, there will be 5,000 people. There is a lot to do when we return to Hexi!"
"Still pretending!" Li Shengtian sneered at Zhang Zhao's pretense.
"Uncle, I don't know you yet? You have never thought about bringing many Persians and Suiye tribes back to Hexi.
The Nine Bends of the Yellow River returned to the Han Dynasty, and you returned to the Central Plains as the Gu Zhong of the Tang Dynasty. What you want to do is to win people's hearts with righteousness in hand. Therefore, there will definitely not be too many barbarians in your team, Zhang Erlang! "
Zhang Zhao didn't expect that Li Shengtian knew him so well, so he could only take off his usual disguise and nodded his head dejectedly.
"It's really troublesome! I can't take them away forcibly. Not only is it unethical, but even if they are taken back, it's useless to go back if they don't have the same heart with me!"
"come in!"
Li Shengtian suddenly shouted incoherently. Monk Zhang Zhaozhang was confused, what's going on? Who comes in?
'Squeak! There were footsteps outside the door. Zhang Zhao looked towards the door in shock.
Liu Zaisheng, who was wearing a green robe, and three men who also wore round-neck robes and looked like generals walked in. They all had Han faces, and one of them looked familiar.
"My minister Li Ruoyu, the last general Liu Zaisheng, Zhao Cunyi, and Er Zhujing went to see the Great Sage and the Emperor, and paid homage to King Zhang!"
It turned out that this very familiar face was the cheap uncle whom Zhang Zhao had only met once, that is, Li Ruoyu, the eldest brother of Li Ruotai and Queen Zhongyun's aunt Li Ruoliu.
The remaining short and stocky one is called Ma Cunyi, and the square-faced one is called Er Zhujing. As for Liu Zaisheng, he is very familiar.
"A certain Yu Yu summoned Tang'er from the Governor-General's District of Wangcheng and Shule in the Khotan Kingdom, and got 3,340 strong men. Eighty-two thousand were able to use them.
Among them, if the father and son are both present, if the father is gone, the son will remain, if the brothers are all present, if the older brother is gone, the younger brother will remain, and there are 1,780 Xionghu warriors. Liu Zaisheng has been ordered to practice day and night for more than five months.
I will allocate more than 900 people from the palace guards. My brother Ruoyu is also willing to follow you back eastward and get 300 of his elite troops, totaling 3,000, to follow you back eastward! "
This is? Zhang Zhao was stunned for a moment, as if there was a big drum beating in his head, and the world became unreal. Is Li Shengtian going to give him all the Tang children in Khotan Jin?
Zhang Zhao felt his eyes heat up, and he knelt down with a pop, "Uncle, how can my nephew repay me for your kindness?"
Li Shengtian stood up, walked to Zhang Zhao, and gently helped him up.
"If you can really conquer the Central Plains of Ding the next day, remember to take care of Cong De when he is in trouble. He is not as good as you, and he may not be able to control the prosperous Anxi country of Khotan. If there is no hope, you can come back to your uncle and guard it for him. Ningyuan."
"My uncle's kindness is as great as the sky. It's hard to repay my nephew. If there is a day when the Central Plains will be conquered, the Khotan Li family will die with the great dynasty! But if my nephew takes them away, what will happen to the Kingdom of Jin?" "
Zhang Zhao knew that Li Shengtian had definitely spent a lot of money. If the Jin Kingdom of Khotan wanted to control such a large place, Dingkou and the army were extremely valuable.
You must know that Saktu in the north is deliberately trying to make a comeback, and the Gaochang Uighur Khanate has also been coveting the benefits of Khotan for a long time.
At the same time, they must maintain the suppression of Saman Persia. Their own military strength is no longer sufficient, and now they have sent so many to Zhang Zhao.
Especially the more than 900 Khotan palace guards among them, these people have fought with him for several years, and their combat effectiveness is quite good.
On the way back, Zhang Zhao actually thought about asking Li Shengtian for some Khotan palace guards, but he thought about it for a long time and felt it was hard to ask, so he didn't mention it.
Unexpectedly, Li Shengtian was so willing to give away more than 900 in one go. Even a good general like Liu Zaisheng was willing to part with him.
"If Liu Liu arrived at the royal city late the day before yesterday, she has agreed to hand over Zhongyun Kingdom and follow you back to Dunhuang. Zhongyun Kingdom has more than 80,000 people, and I am planning to move 30,000 people to Shule.
In the future, after you defeat the Uighurs in Ganzhou, you can move the 40,000 Yanqilong family in Suzhou back to Anxi!
You don’t have to worry about the rest. My uncle is also the Son of Heaven after all. Saktu is still alive, the Khan of Gaochangwu has recently died, and all his sons are mediocre. If this good situation cannot be maintained, my position as Son of Heaven will be in vain. I have been here for more than 20 years. "
Zhang Zhao could only nod his head, because he was really reluctant to refuse Li Shengtian's three thousand troops.
In particular, the more than 900 Khotan palace guards not only had their fighting skills greatly improved, but also cooperated with Zhang Zhao tacitly and were accustomed to obeying Zhang Zhao's orders.
What's more, bringing back more than 1,000 people and bringing back more than 4,000 people are two completely different situations.
In fact, Li Shengtian guessed something wrong. Zhang Zhao was really prepared to take some of the Persian surrendered troops back when there was no other way.
"My uncle's great kindness is like rebirth. Please accept my three thanks from my nephew! My nephew will definitely move the family of Yan Qilong in Suzhou back to Anxi as soon as possible!"
Li Ruoyu, Liu Zaisheng and the other four people hurried out, leaving Li Shengtian and Zhang Zhao alone in the house.
Zhang Zhao respectfully kowtowed to Li Shengtian three times. His uncle, the emperor, was indeed very kind to him.
"Although you and I are not related by blood, we share the same affection as father and son. I fear we will never see each other again!"
I only hope that Erlang will be successful once he is gone. He will live up to the heroic spirit of his ancestors and show his glory as a man from Anxi and Hexi! "
After Li Shengtian finished speaking, he suddenly turned around, his back to Zhang Zhao and waved his hand.
"Ruoliu is back with your eldest son, let's go see him!"
Zhang Zhao bowed his head respectfully to Li Shengtian's back again, feeling very complicated in his heart, just like an adult eagle that had fully fledged and was about to leave his father for a long journey.
. . . .
At the deputy prince's residence, Zhang Zhao met his eldest son for the first time. As soon as he saw the little guy's appearance, he knew that this was definitely his son, the real son.
Because his appearance is very similar to Zhang Zhao's when he was young, there should be no need for private investigation.
The little guy was wearing a small purple robe, a kimono on his head, and a small sword hanging from his waist.
The sword was not made of wood, but a real iron sword. It was difficult for him to be able to bear the weight of this iron sword at such a young age.
The little guy seemed a little scared when he saw Zhang Zhao coming in. His body shook a little, and then he seemed to have remembered something, so he held back and didn't move.
But the eyes on her little face were slightly red, and her mouth was pursed tightly, trying not to cry, which was particularly distressing.
"Li Zhun! Mother taught you what to do when you see your father?" Just when the little guy was about to cry, Li Ruoliu, who was sitting upright behind him, suddenly spoke up.
"My child pays homage to his father, may he be blessed with peace and happiness!"
The little guy has a crisp voice. Although he is about to cry, he speaks in a slow and rhythmic manner. His kowtow is even more meticulous. Every movement is very standard. He has obviously been trained for a long time. .
After the kowtow ceremony, Zhang Zhao hurriedly walked over and held the little guy in his hands. He was only over three years old, but he already knew so much. I'm afraid that once he could understand words, he would never live a good life again!
"Little aunt, what kind of trouble are you causing? Why is someone's son's surname Li?"
"You! Why are you still talking about something?" Li Ruoliu's serious face dropped for a long time, but Zhang Zhao's words directly broke his defense.
"This is my child. His name can be whatever I want him to be."
"Your child? You can give birth to a child out of thin air? This is my seed!"
Men generally have little room for discussion in this place, and Zhang Zhao is certainly no exception, but he can also clearly feel the resentment in Li Ruoliu.
It is not difficult to understand that in the presence of the good Queen Zhongyun, almost half of the citizens were taken away at once, and the decent Zhongyun Kingdom became a city-state. It would be fake if there was no resentment.
"I want to take Zhun'er to meet everyone. Are your houses and land in Wuni City ready? I have more than ten thousand Anxi Tang'er descendants, and I plan to let them live in Wuni City first!"
Zhang Zhao plans to first arrange for the three surnamed people from New Kucha and the Han people from Anxi who are willing to return eastward with him to Zhongyun State, so that Ding Zhuang who joins the army can feel at ease.
"Really! That's great. Go quickly, the other slaves have already made arrangements!"
Li Ruoliu was overjoyed when he heard this, because he knew what it meant to bring Zhang Zhao for a meeting. This was the treatment of the young master.
Zhang Zhao now only has two sons. Ayiguli is a Hu Ji and a widow. The son he gave birth to has a low status. He was prepared by Zhang Zhao in order to control the Talas area in the future.
But as a king-like figure, having a successor is a very important indicator, so Zhang Zhao decided to take the eldest son born to him by Li Ruoliu.
In the main hall of the deputy prince's palace, there were officers above the rank of the Fengtian army, officers above the fire chief of Zhang Zhao's personal guard Hanshan, and officers above the rank of the captain of the Yucheng army formed by Li Shengtian for him.
It seems that it means that hardships have made you successful, and it also implies that Li Shengtian has made him successful.
This is all Zhang Zhao's current team. The Fengtian Army can take away about 1,500 people, the Hanshan Army has 300 people, the Yucheng Army has 3,000 people, and the Jindu who belong to Huolei Yamen are 200 people, a total of just five Thousands of people.
Among them were 600 armored cavalry, 1,500 light-armored horse archers, and 2,700 mounted heavy infantry.
In terms of equipment, there are 900 sets of cotton armor, 2,100 sets of iron armor, 1,100 sets of chain mail and chain mail, 120 divine arm bows, and 1,000 pear-shaped spears.
There are 3,000 Dawan horses of various types with blood horse blood, more than 5,000 Tianzhu fold-eared horses, and more than 20,000 other draft and riding horses of various types.
However, although there were many horses, he could not take them all away, otherwise he would not be able to feed them at all.
Therefore, there are still some left in Ningyuan and Shule, but even so, Zhang Zhao's war horses are still very abundant.
"I congratulate your Majesty!"
When Li Zhun knelt down beside Zhang Zhao obediently and curiously, everyone's eyes were attracted.
After a few seconds, congratulations came from the mountain and the tsunami, and most of them were sincere. Zhang Zhao was too lazy to change his name now. He would wait until he returned from the east.
If the king has a successor, it means that the king's ability in this regard is no problem. From now on, the world they conquer will be enjoyed by their sons and grandchildren, and they will not fall into chaos again because the king's death has no heirs.
"Zhang Zhong!" Zhang Zhao shouted.
"I'm here!" Old Zhang Zhong, who has become a father, came out with a bright face.
"You have been ordered to stay in Ningyuan as a long history officer, tame the war horses, and take good care of the soldiers who are willing to settle in Ningyuan, and the rewards and pensions must be fulfilled!"
"I obey!" Old Zhang Zhong finally stopped running around because he had a child and was not in good health. He might return to Dunhuang in the future, but not now. Zhang Zhao simply asked him to stay in Ningyuan.
"Gentlemen! Be prepared to return eastward! If you need any preparation or equipment, please report it as soon as possible, and the soldiers, households, and workers will immediately make up for it.
Three days later, a certain person inspected the school personally! Let’s set off and return eastward! Go back to Dunhuang! Go back to Liangzhou! Go back to Chang'an, the place we dream about.
Go and see the Tang Dynasty that our ancestors were proud of and loyal to for their whole lives! "
"Go back east! Go back east! Go back to the Tang Dynasty! Go back to the Tang Dynasty!"
Except for Zhang Zhao’s Han Shandu, almost all of the people present were descendants of Anxi Tang’er. They half-knelt down in front of Zhang Zhao and shouted in unison!
Guo Tiance, Li Qilang, Huitong, monk Zheng Tong, Yang Shouyi, Xue Shouyi, Zheng Shouyi, and even Lu Sanlang all looked eastward with tears in their eyes.
