After admiring the scenery in the city, Liu Min and his party quickly went down to the city and went straight to the former Black Khan's palace in Suiye City. Even the old capital of an enemy country that had been operating for a long time was just an overcrowded small town or rural place in the eyes of Liu Min and others. What they valued was the significance of setting foot here.
The palace is also ordinary. It just has some local characteristics and highlights some architectural styles that are very different from those in the Central Plains. I don't understand it, don't pay attention to it, and it is even a bit annoying.
Before entering the palace, Liu Min suddenly reined in his horse, put his finger close to a dome building in the Black Khan's Palace, and said, "That must be the Black Khan's mosque!"
Compared with the palace, the temple appears to be more delicate. The white main body makes it more beautiful, and you can also get a glimpse of the meaning behind it. Since Satuk Bogra Khan started the rule of Islamic law, the Black Khan has been on the road to Islamization forever. By the time of his son Baitash, it officially became the state religion of the Black Khan, and by the time of Alimusa , the Black Khanate has completely completed the evolution of the YSL dynasty, and YSL's status in its country can no longer be shaken. Other religions such as shamanism, fire worship, Manichae, and Buddhism have been suppressed or even eliminated.
"Back to Your Highness, this is the largest mosque in Suiye City. It is used for daily worship and homework activities by YSL believers!" Yang Yanzhao replied, obviously understanding.
The gorgeous mosque in front of him obviously brought back some not-so-good memories for Liu Min, and his expression became a bit gloomy. He waved to Yuchi Guli, the Khotan general who was accompanying him, and asked him to tell everyone about YSL.
Yuchi Guli, also known as Li Congzhen, was a member of the Khotan clan. This time, he was ordered by the king to lead the army to assist in the battle. Khotan is a Buddhist country, and everyone believes in Buddhism from top to bottom, but in terms of religious beliefs, there is often no reason to explain.
When mentioning YSL, Yuchi Guli showed obvious disgust on his face, and he also attacked it vigorously, treating it as a cult. His descriptions were full of words such as barbaric, violent, cruel, evil, terrifying, and ignorant.
Regarding these, Liu Min was noncommittal, but when he heard about YSL's powerful influence and control over the secular government and the people, he finally no longer concealed his heartfelt disgust.
The Han Dynasty was a system where imperial power was supreme. How well it managed and controlled religion can be seen from the past experiences of Buddhism and Taoism and the strict and detailed laws and regulations.
The religious authority can actually influence the political power. This ysl is indeed an evil thing!
"In the past hundreds of years, YSL has continued to spread to all directions, and the East is also its target. The Black Khanate is the bridgehead for spreading teachings to the East. The Black Khanate officially became its state religion more than 20 years ago.
Those fanatical YSL believers once threatened that all heretics who do not convert to YSL teachings are the most ferocious enemies of YSL..." Yuchi Guli continued to introduce.
When he finished saying this, not to mention Liu Min, even the other generals showed disgust on their faces. Kang Baoyi couldn't help but said: "Compared with these arrogant YSL believers, the Buddhists in China are really much more docile!"
Yuchi Guli quickly agreed, thinking that Kang Baoyi was right, and everyone else nodded in approval. They marched westward, but they were attacked by those YSL believers, those fanatical believers who were not afraid of death and clamored for "holy war". It's really impressive, and it also makes people fearful, and they wish they could eradicate them all.
"How can such evil cults be allowed to flourish in the land of the Han Dynasty!" Liu Min said coldly: "General Yuchi, I give you a task to demolish the Yin Temple in front of you and arrest all the clergy members. Burn all scriptures and dogmas!"
"Follow the order!" Yuchi Guli replied simply, without any hesitation or burden. He was thinking in his heart that this temple is so beautiful, and there should be a lot of good things inside.
Liu Min seemed to see his thoughts, but he didn't care. He cared about the results. After thinking for a while, he called out again: "Chang Guzhen!"
"The general is here!" A Han general stood up.
Due to his outstanding performance in the bloody battle of Kucha, Chang Guzhen was promoted to lieutenant general after recovering from his injuries. He had a total of 2,500 men under his command, which was considered to be the level of a backbone general. In addition, this is a person of the prince. Of course, because of the hatred of the Xue family, he personally captured his enemy and sent him to the official position. Later, he redressed his injustice and got Xue. Because of his performance in the process, Liu Yang expressed his appreciation after hearing this and awarded him
He had a good background and has been working hard in the military since then.
Liu Min directly ordered: "Lead your men and assist General Yuchi in handling this matter. Not only will this mosque be demolished, but also the ysl buildings on the land I captured will be disposed of as well!"
"yes!"
Obviously, Liu Min's rule over the newly occupied Black Khan lands started with de-YSLization.
Due to the national mourning, even if they were stationed in the enemy's capital, they could not celebrate grandly. However, each army and each battalion were still rewarded with a large amount of materials, allowing the soldiers to have a good meal. Even if they could not drink alcohol or have women, they could still get a good rest.
In the palace, the main generals from the Western Expedition two years ago gathered together to make arrangements for the current military affairs, but the most important thing was the current situation of the Black Khanate and the next move of the Western Expedition.
The fall of Suiye City and the death of Alimusa Khan almost announced the demise of the Black Khanate. However, there were still some cities in the west that were too late to be conquered, as well as organized resistance forces.
The most important of them was the resistance army led by Deputy Khan Hassan Bogra Khan. Originally, Hassan was guarding Suiye, but after Yang Yanzhao's troops came to the city, he saw that the situation was not good, but he fled westward and could not be caught.
When the news was received again, Hassan had already led his men to retreat to Talas, an important town in the west of Black Khan. Relying on Talas, Hassan had reorganized a resistance force.
And if Talas is not captured, then the Black Khan will not be completely destroyed. After the arrival of the Han army, a large number of Black Khans who were unwilling to surrender fled westward and defected to Talas. If we ignore it, let it take a breather, and then rely on the power of Central Asia, it will definitely cause trouble in the future.
Liu Min wanted to finish his work in one battle, continue to the west, conquer Talas, and eliminate the last remaining army of the Black Khan. However, this idea did not gain the support of the generals.
Even Yang Yanzhao remained silent. The reasons given by the generals were also very reasonable. The expedition lasted for half a year and after several hard battles, the divisions and veterans were exhausted. In addition, there were heavy casualties. Although the morale of the army was firm, the fighting spirit had faded and the army also needed to rest and replenish.
In fact, there are two key points. One is that the strength is insufficient, and the other is that the soldiers' willingness to fight is not strong. Talos is still about 600 miles away from Suiye City. Considering the current state of the Western Expeditionary Army, it would be really difficult to continue to mobilize troops. In fact, Guo Yi even used the defeat of Gao Xianzhi and Talos more than two hundred years ago as a warning to Liu Min, so he gave up and temporarily stopped fighting.
After the discussion was over, the generals withdrew, leaving Liu Min alone with Yang Yanzhao. In front of Yang Yanzhao, Liu Min did not suppress his disappointment and said: "The generals don't want to fight anymore. I'm afraid the soldiers below have similar thoughts! Just at the top of the city, I have already noticed that it seems that everyone Everyone thinks that once we reach Suiye City, we can withdraw our troops. However, if you don’t kill the snake, you will only be afraid of trouble in the future!”
After hearing this, Yang Yanzhao pondered for a moment and said: "The generals are not timid, and their concerns are justified. We have crossed the Tianshan Mountains and penetrated deep into the territory of the Black Khanate to supply military supplies. The difficulties have increased sharply, and the newly occupied land is uneven, but The food and salary available for use is limited.
After several fierce battles, the troops from the north and the south suffered heavy casualties and their strength was greatly reduced. It was not easy to control the current situation. After all, we are unfamiliar with the situation in Talas. We have no peace of mind and it is really risky to rush 600 miles away. What's more, it's already winter and it's inconvenient to continue fighting.
Furthermore, even if some of the soldiers of the Western Expedition were rotated and replenished, most of them had already been in Anxi for two years. It is human nature for soldiers to want to return home. Soldiers, they really need some more rest! "
After Yang Yanzhao finished speaking, Liu Min was silent for a long time before sighing: "It's not that I don't know what you are worried about, I just feel unwilling to do so!"
While the two were discussing, a burst of fierce noise suddenly erupted in Suiye City. It sounded so chaotic that it could be faintly heard in the palace. An officer hurriedly entered, and Liu Min frowned: "What happened in the city?"
The officer reported: "Your Highness, General Chang Gu reported that the demolition of the temple caused dissatisfaction among the YSL believers, who stopped them one after another. The believers in the city gathered in chaos and attacked the executing officers! General Chang asked for instructions, how to deal with it?"
Hearing this, Liu Min didn't say anything for a while, but his face became more and more grim, no matter it was the previous tragic victory or the collapse of Empress Fu.
, or the opposition from the generals just now, all made him accumulate a lot of negative emotions in his heart.
At this time, he finally lost control. He turned his head and said to Yang Yanzhao: "You are right. The road ahead is unstable and it is difficult to start the expedition. We really need to stop and rest for some time... "
After saying this, he immediately ordered to the officer: "Send the order, anyone who blocks my military order and attacks the army will be killed!"
"Yes!" The officer received the order and went to deliver the order resolutely.
Following Liu Min's fluttering military order, Suiye City, which had been peaceful for a while, once again became chaotic. The killing and death that permeated this important Silk Road town seemed even more intense than when Yang Yanzhao entered the city.
Three days later, there were less than 3,000 residents left in the city. Almost none of those who insisted on defending the city survived. The mosque was eventually violently demolished...
