War makes people rich, this is not a saying that is blown. The two battles and the looting of the occupied areas allowed the Anxi army under Li Siye to obtain 10,000 Arab horses and 20,000 camels, as well as countless gold, silver, and spices.

Li Siye attached great importance to horses, and he gave some of these captured horses to Ning Yuanguo, who was in charge of logistics, and some to Ge Lulu, and most of the rest were temporarily distributed to various soldiers, allowing them to feed and increase their mobility at the same time.

To develop at this rate, sooner or later the Anxi Army will usher in the era of the whole cavalry, Li Siye pondered, when the time comes, he can try to take out the fish scale array that Genghis Khan played, and comprehensively explore ways to deal with the infantry phalanx and the cavalry phalanx. Or when he returned to Anxi, he brought out artillery and muskets, using cavalry as spears and infantry phalanxes as shields.

Standing on the roof of a flat-roofed house, his thoughts diverged, and camels and horses were being distributed in the barracks below him. The crowd quarreled for three days about the distribution of these great wealths. The cavalry faction represented by Tian Zhen, Wang Zhengjian, and Ma Phosphorus advocated expanding the cavalry of 5,000 men in the Anxi Army, and the logistics faction, dominated by Duan Xiushi and others, believed that these horses should be evenly distributed to each regiment and team of the Tang Army, so as to increase the ability to run long distances while carrying provisions, and this was the most important measure needed to cross the desert.

Li Siye finally made the final decision, and the camels could be distributed to the low-level soldiers to carry supplies, but not the Arabian horse, which is the second best breed in the world. He allowed the generals to temporarily distribute the Arabian horses, but only by borrowing, and when they returned to Anxi after the battle, they had to hand them over, and the Imperial Protectorate arranged for them to open up horse farms around the Erie River for feeding and breeding.

He also issued a proclamation warning to the chiefs who had been given the horses, not to starve them to death or lose them, and that all of them were to be named, and that they could not hand over their horses when they returned to Anxi, and that they would be deducted from their salaries and rewards of equal value.

You must know that Arabian horses have always been priceless, and the big cannibals are very strict in the management of their own horses, just like a foreign arms sales at the secret level of a large country. These horses are never sold to foreign countries, and even with exceptions, they are valued at more than 90,000 yuan in the markets of Kangju, Qiuzi, and other places. You must know that it is also a Turkic Dun horse, and its price is only 9,400 yuan, a difference of ten times.

If they lose one of these horses, they will have to pay for it with all their fortunes. Originally, the soldiers were quite looking forward to the division of the horse, but when they heard that the horse was not their own, and they had to compensate for the accident, they seemed to have been poured a basin of cold water on their heads, and they felt that this was an ancestor for themselves, and they needed to serve with all their heart.

……

He turned his gaze to the side of Kangju City again, and suddenly hundreds of people poured out of nowhere, holding torches and long and short weapons, and rushed towards a mosque temple in the west of the city.

The Tang army guarding the door of the official residence was like a great enemy, thinking that it was the people's rebellion that wanted to cause the Tang army to rebel, so they drew their horizontal knives and leveled their bows and crossbows.

Fortunately, the direction of attack of these people was not the camp of the Tang army, but the temple built by the big cannibals here, they rushed into the temple, dragged all the people inside, threw the torches in their hands along the windows, and soon the magnificent and tall big food temple was lit up with fierce flames, engulfing the entire stone hall. It's a shame to look at.

Yan Xiaosi had never seen such a scene, so he hurriedly rushed out of the gate with someone and ran to the street. He looked back at the roof and asked Li Siye for instructions: "Doctor, how to deal with it, do you want me to bring someone over to play it!" ”

Li Siye waved his hand with interest: "No, no, this is a sectarian conflict, a contradiction between Zoroastrianism and the Great Food Sect." You don't have to interfere with it, you can bring people over and keep it, don't cause more disturbance, and don't attack the parishioners. ”

Yan Xiaosi nodded ignorantly and arrived at the scene with a team of people. Seeing the arrival of the Tang Army, the sect members shrank for a while, but the Tang Army just gathered around to watch the play, and their fanatical emotions ignited again, and they beat several big food cultists socially.

The big food cultists have long since run out, and the few people who have been beaten are only the members of the local sect. This is understandable, because during the occupation of Kangju by the Great Food Army, they vigorously promoted the Great Food Religion, suppressed Zoroastrianism, and imposed heavy taxes on non-Great Food Cultists, and at the same time the military occupation also wanted to propagate the teachings, this kind of compulsive propaganda method will of course cause a backlash from the locals and Zoroastrians.

Zoroastrianism was very popular in the Tang Dynasty and was the most basic belief of all Sogdians, and it was also the oldest and most influential religion in Central Asia before the birth of the three major religions. Historians call the founder of this religion Zoroastrianism, and the believers believe in Ahura Mazda, the god of wisdom and light. As for why it is called Zoroastrianism, it is because the doctrine believes that fire is the son of Mazda, the only friend of the created man.

Zoroastrianism was suppressed in the Khorasan region, but in the vast Transoxiana region, its position of influence was unshakable, even when the Great Cannibals came in. Thinking of this, Li Siye had a clear and clear idea in his mind.

Some of the teachings and rituals of Zoroastrianism are very righteous, and the worship of the fire god and the fire ceremony of the shrine are basically in line with his three views. In addition to the unbearable nature of the vulture's pecking at the corpse of the vulture, it seems that this rule has also been reformed decades ago, and he heard that only Sabao and the most devout believers in the sect are eligible for the sky burial, and he really doesn't understand that there are still people rushing to enjoy this thing.

In the eyes of the wise, all religions and beliefs are in the service of politics, and if they have modern knowledge, they know that they are tools for the rulers to govern the people. Some simply express a political opinion, or move closer to a certain power, such as the unscrupulous person who keeps a diary and is baptized into Christianity, just to curry favor with his benefactor.

Therefore, Li Siye thought about it, and before crossing the desert to attack Mulu City, he would choose a grand and suitable day to go to the largest Zoroastery in Kangju City to pay homage to the god Mazdama.

He instructed Cen Shen, who was in charge of foreign relations, to Cen Shen, anyway, this kid has a smart brain, he can't forget, and he will learn it as soon as he learns it, he has learned Sogdian in the Western Regions in the past few years, and he can just negotiate with these Zoroastrian Sabuzers.

When Cen Shenyi heard that Li Siye was going to worship the gods in the Zoroastrian Temple, he said that he couldn't understand on the spot: "Why, you are a Han person, how can you worship the god of the Hu people?" ”

Li Siye immediately asked him: "That Sakyamuni is still the Buddha of the Hu people, why does Xuanzang still go west to seek scriptures, and we Han people still want to build Buddhist temples, eat fasting and recite Buddha." ”

"That's different, chanting Buddha is a real belief, you don't believe in this at all."

"Who said I don't believe that there are gods in the first three feet, and I follow the customs of the country, and wherever I go, I will worship the gods wherever I go. Besides, since Gao Xianzhi plundered the Shi Kingdom, the prestige of our Tang army in these nine kingdoms in the river has fallen to a low point, if it weren't for the Great Cannibals forcing these Sogdians to convert to the Great Food Sect and making them resist, they would have helped the Great Cannibals to fight with us. ”

"Of course, my worship of Zoroastrianism has a purpose, that is, to tell the Sogdians and the Zoroastrians that the Tang Army supports them and opposes the Great Food Religion, and we stand on the same position and are united with the outside world. It is possible to unite all the Sogdian people who can be united, and to consolidate our control over the Transoxiana region. It's also okay for me to fully join Zoroastrianism if necessary. ”

Cen Shen's mouth opened wide in surprise: "In order to achieve your goal, you can even change your faith?" ”

"You're wrong, because I don't believe it, that's why I'm joining Zoroastrianism."

"What does that mean?"

Li Siye smiled and glanced at him: "I don't even know this, and I dare to claim to be a scholar, let me tell you a little more clearly, using faith to deal with faith is my biggest belief in itself." Think about it and figure it out for yourself. ”