In front of it is the Thousand Buddha Caves (Kizil Caves)? ”

Standing on the majestic Ming Wudag Mountain, raise your eyes and look into the distance, only to see that the opposite mountain wall cliff is densely covered with grottoes, these stone caves are stacked on top of each other, row upon row, magnificent, and show a unique kind of peace and tranquility of Buddhism, like a layer of shining Buddha light under the golden sunshine.

"The light of the Buddha has gone, and the Western Regions will be the new victors - the world of Beifu and the Holy Religion." Xiang Ze sighed secretly in his heart, but he didn't dare to slack off Zeng Hua's questioning.

"General Hui, this is the Thousand Buddha Cave."

Seeing that Zeng Hua was more interested, Xiang Ze thought about it for a while, and he didn't know what the general of Beifu thought, but judging from his smile and peace, there shouldn't be anything bad, so he cautiously introduced the Thousand Buddha Cave.

"The era of the Thousand Buddha Cave began in the Later Han Dynasty, and the kings of Qiuci in my past generations attached great importance to this place, and spared no expense and manpower to dig and repair it."

"Oh," Zeng Hua nodded, was silent for a while, and suddenly said, "Okay, then let's go there and have a look!" ”

After that, Zeng Hua pulled his legs and left, took the lead down the mountain, and walked towards the Thousand Buddha Cave on the opposite side, and the people next to him hurriedly followed, the formation was a little chaotic, but there was no messy sound.

The people behind Zeng Hua are obviously divided into two groups, on the left are Le Changshan, Wei Xingguo and other Zeng Hua's subordinates, Qian Fugui is also among them, except for him, the expressions of this group of people are much more relaxed, after all, they are the victors in the real sense.

On the right are Xiang Nori, Nan Mi and others. After the decisive battle of Yancheng, he returned to Quci City and listened to Bai Chun's advice. Immediately send someone to ask for surrender from the fox slave shelter that was rapidly approaching Quci City. And the king of Shule country, Nan Mi and others, were even more simply, they were originally outsiders who came to help the country of Qiuzi, and they were not familiar with the place in this place, and they were quickly caught up by the fox slave breeding department after running around for a while, so they knelt on the side of the road and asked for surrender.

As Bai Chun expected, Zeng Hua pardoned the royal nobles such as Xiang Ze and Nan Mi, but concentrated them in Quci City, and sent Mao Qiling, Wei Jin, Qi Gu, Wang Xianqian, and Chen Guan to lead a 30,000-step army to march westward quickly. Took the almost undefended Shule, Shache and other countries.

More than half of the kings and nobles of more than 30 countries in the Western Regions, who were once allied with Wusun Gui'a, now gather here. However, among them were missing some people, such as the Cheshi King Nongqi, the Yuli King Baitou, the Yanqi King Long'an, and the Khotanese King Damu. The first three had already been wiped out in the early stage of the Beifu Western Expedition. The king of Yu was the king of Yu because his Khotanese coalition army was unable to support the 30,000 Qiang cavalry led by Xian Lingbo, the deputy commander of the march on the south road of the Green Lingnan, and finally defeated the city. Xian Lingbo, who has always been arrogant, is not as "kind" as Zeng Hua, and he raised the butcher knife without hesitation for those enemies who dared to carry it with him.

Thousands of royal nobles from the southern provinces of Khotan, including the king of Khotan, were killed by Xian Lingbo after the defeat, and a large amount of treasure was also loaded onto carts and pack horses, and transported to the city of Kuzküci in an endless stream, waiting to be disposed of.

Among this group of people, Lou Zheng, the king of Shanguo, can be regarded as a high-spirited one. Because of its proximity to the Qinghai General District. The Qiang government soldiers came relatively "diligently," so the "tireless" Shanguo had already secretly taken refuge in the Beifu forces. Therefore, when the Beifu expedition to the west, he immediately stood on the side of the Beifu with a "clear banner". When the decisive battle of Yancheng was won by the Beifu army and the situation in the Western Regions was settled, Shanguo won the first prize.

Like Xiang Ze and Nanmi, Lou Zheng was also listed as a county marquis, and his family was also moved to Chang'an, but he had already been established by Zeng Hua as the Beifu court. Although Lou Zheng, like Xiang Ze and others, didn't know what this official position was for, he heard Zeng Hua explain that it should be under Che Yin, an important minister in Beifu. You can participate in the political affairs of the North Prefecture. Moreover, Lou Zheng's most promising son, Lou Fan, has been fighting with the Beifu army many times. can be regarded as a high level of hard work, and has been listed by Zeng Hua as a captain of the government soldiers, although he was pointed out to be under the governor of Liangzhou. But this is already very good, it can be regarded as officially receiving the official position of Beifu, which is obviously different from Xiang Ze and others, who are the head of the Hou of the top empty county. No wonder Lou Zheng is triumphant.

Seeing Lou Zheng's appearance, Xiang Ze and the others secretly hated it in their hearts, but what they hated most in their hearts should be Wusun's Gui'a. This waste is too self-conscious, and before he understands the true strength of Beifu, he jumps out of the finger and treats others as deflated three, who knows that he was beaten by others. It doesn't matter if Wusun is destroyed, the most hateful thing is that it has pulled the countries of the Western Regions as a backstop.

But Xiang Ze and the others have long forgotten how jubilant they were when Gui A proposed the alliance, and perhaps their alliance with their own hearts has long doomed them to failure today. But there is no need for Xiang Ze and others to curse Guia, he is now trapped in Akiti City, and he can count the days with his fingers.

To the north, the Mobei and Yueban coalition forces led by Jiang Nan occupied the Yilie Water Basin, and the army was under Chigu City. In the south, Zeng Hua sent Tang Yu to lead 10,000 infantry troops to attack Chigu City from the south, and Gui A hurriedly sent troops to Bodaling (today's Shanmu Zart Daban) to defend the Tianshan Pass. Tang Yu originally had no intention of going north to Chigu, so he retreated to Lingshan Fort to confront him. But this made it difficult for Wusun Guia to take half a step south, and he was completely surrounded.

In the midst of everyone's own thoughts, Zeng Hua took the lead in coming to the Thousand Buddha Caves and began to visit this Buddhist resort in the Western Regions with great interest.

After a preliminary observation, Zeng Hua found that the murals here not only include the flying sky, the joy of heaven, the pagoda, the Bodhisattva, the Arhat, the eight parts of the heavenly dragon, the story of the Buddha's birth, the story of the Buddha, and the pictures of the scriptures, but also a large number of folk customs paintings of the Western Regions, such as production and life scenes, landscapes of the Western Regions, offerings, and flying

Wait a minute.

Walking into one of the largest grottoes, Zeng Hua found that the four walls, the roof of the cave, the corridor, and the niche frieze here were different from other grottoes, and there were colorful murals everywhere. One of them was particularly eye-catching, allowing Zeng Hua to stand there and stop.

I saw a camel full of goods, standing with its head held high, looking into the distance. The two porters in front of the camel wore small peaked hats, deep-waisted leather boots, and collarless robes. His beard was facing forward, and he was cheering with his arms raised. Why are they so excited? With his eyes slightly closed, his expression was calm, and he held his burning hands high, pointing out the direction of the camel caravan!

"What does that mean?" Zeng Hua turned his head and asked.

"General Hui, this painting is what the Buddhist scriptures say: 'Sa thin white felt binds arms, and Su oil pours it.'" Ignite the Bunsen story of 'Guiding the Way'. ”

Zeng Hua nodded. Understood the meaning of the painting.

Zeng Hua is not only a religious person. He is more of a "politician". After seeing this painting, Zeng Hua not only considered its religious overtones, but also saw the close relationship between camel caravans and Buddhist monks on the Silk Road. Merchants and porters needed monks and nuns to pray for their safety, while monks and nuns needed not only caravanserai goods and alms, but also often traveled in company with huge camel caravans, or traveled west to Tianzhu to seek the Dharma. Or go east to Chang'an and Luoyang in the Central Plains to preach the scriptures. The Holy Religion and the Beifu caravan are also in this pattern at present, and it seems that the relationship between religion and trade has been like this since ancient times, and the European merchants, colonists, and missionaries in recent history have also made full use of the glorious traditions of their ancestors

After a visit, Zeng Hua couldn't help but sigh after a series of praises: "After reading this, I finally understand what Fugui said, the prosperity of the Western Regions is all in Qiuzi." ”

Hearing this, Xiang Ze and the others couldn't help but cast a grateful look at Qian Fugui, but more kings and nobles cast a look of flattery, especially King Puwei. Qian Fugui's uncle is even worse. At that time, the nobles of the royal family of Puwei were captured by Xian Lingbo. Just as he was about to follow in the footsteps of the royal family of the king of Khotan, he found that he was very lucky to be spared his life, and he was also sent to the city of Kuzküc, and was eligible to be knighted. And the reason for all this is that Qian Fugui pleaded with Zeng Hua and got a letter of pardon to repay his mother's nurturing grace and leave a bloodline for his mother's family. Zeng Hua very generously released the Puwei royal family, and also showed the matter to the countries of the Western Regions. After hearing about it, all kinds of people don't know how to envy the new favorite of Beifu.

In addition to the king of Puwei Kingdom, many other kings and nobles have seen or heard of this legendary young merchant, who used to be a business genius in their eyes, traveling between the Western Regions and Beifu, and has a little enviable wealth, but now he has become the favorite of the general of Beifu, and I heard that he is taking full charge of the logistics and property of the Beifu Western Expeditionary Army.

After visiting the Thousand Buddha Cave, Zeng Hua led everyone down the mountain, preparing to return to the Qiuzi Palace, where Zeng Hua's camp is now, and Zeng Hua set up a sumptuous banquet there.

As we walked through the north of the city, I heard a commotion in the distance, and I saw a large number of people gathered in the distance, doing something lively.

"What is this for?" Zeng Hua turned his head and asked.

"General Hui, this is our auction of loot." Qian Fugui, who knew the inside story, replied.

"Auction loot." Zeng Hua understood that the movement of the Beifu army was very fast, and less than two months after the decisive battle of Yancheng, they had already collected all the treasury of Shule, Khotan and other countries, as well as the money and wealth of the royal family and nobles, and transported it to Qiuziquci City, and then the officials and personnel of the grain platform led by Qian Fugui were registered and registered.

Now this auction is to auction the treasures and utensils from the royal families and nobles of the Western Regions, these items that cannot be directly turned into gold and silver currency, and the buyers are all representatives of the major trading companies in Beifu who followed. At this very moment, the price of these precious vessels is only 3 or 40% of the usual price, and it is the time for each trading company to make a move.

The Beifu Western Expeditionary Army Grain Station will collect the money obtained from the auction of these treasures and the gold and silver property collected and exchange them for "currency" to reward soldiers and repay the principal and interest of the bonds of the Western Expedition.

Zeng Hua swept away the embarrassed and disappointed Xiang Ze and the others, and laughed in his heart. It's good that these people can save their lives, they shouldn't take money and other things outside their bodies to their hearts, and they also left them some money, which is enough for them to live a rich life in Chang'an.

According to the preliminary calculations of Qian Fugui, the money obtained from this expedition to the west is as huge as 10 million silver dollars, and after this auction, this number may increase by one or two percent.

Lou Zheng was even more proud in his heart, Shanguo and other southeastern countries in the Western Regions had long been robbed of "one poor and two white", and now seeing that the kings of these central and western countries are even poorer than themselves, and he can also get a batch of military rewards, how can he not make Lou Zheng happy in comparison?

At the banquet, after several toasts. The atmosphere was lively, but Zeng Hua's mind turned to another aspect. After a while, he suddenly turned to Qian Fugui and asked, "Fugui, how do you say this Western Regions should be governed and rectified?" ”

This question was so sensitive that not only Qian Fugui was startled, but even Xiang Ze and others, who had "keen" ears, couldn't help but listen carefully.

Qian Fugui is a practical businessman, and he has no feelings for the countries of the Western Regions, so after Zeng Hua asked. After thinking about it for a while, he cautiously replied from a "fair" angle: "Return to the general." According to the humble opinion of subordinates. The method of governing the Western Regions is nothing more than immigration and reclamation. ”

"Fugui's words are very much in line with my wishes, if the Western Regions are stable and prosperous for a long time, it should be the first credit." Speaking of which

Hua suddenly said again: "Last time, you said that the northern foot of Kunlun Mountain, from Yumen to Green Ridge, is mostly the tribe of the Qiang people, such as Green Flower Qiang, White Horse, Yellow Cow Qiang and Wuqiang Kingdom. Among the rest of the countries, the Wugu and Lili countries were the Xiongnu tribes. The good country, the Xiuxun country, and the drug donation country are the tribes of the Cypriots, and the Qiuzi country and so on are all Tocharian people. At present, more than half of the Qiang and Xiongnu people here have believed in our holy religion, and most of the rest of the countries still believe in the Buddha. ”

Speaking of which, not only did Xiang Ze become nervous, but even Qian Fugui was a little nervous, after all, he was also a devout Buddhist.

"Wang Ji, you should continue to work hard, for example, seminaries and churches should be established as soon as possible. The institutions and staffing of the dioceses should also be improved as soon as possible. It is even one step ahead of the local government to help stabilize the local people. Zeng Hua turned his head and said to Wang Ji next to him.

Wang Ji was the first to join the Holy Land, and is now one of the seven archbishops of the Archbishopric. After all, Zeng Huadi's prophetic identity is there. If it weren't for Zeng Hua's persuasion, Chief Archbishop Fan Zhe would have followed.

Seeing Wang Ji nodding and agreeing, Zeng Hua continued: "I promised Qian Fugui and Huida monks that I would not kill any Buddhists in vain, nor would I close any Buddhist monastery without permission, and I will keep this promise." ”

Hearing this, Xiang Ze, Qian Fugui and the others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, since Zeng Hua said this on this occasion, then he would not easily break his promise.

"However, there will still be restrictions on Buddhism, many Shamen monks and nuns will be persuaded to return to the world, there are few people in the Western Regions, and they can't support too many people who eat idle food, and the people who will migrate over in the future are all saints, I don't think they will be willing to support these monks, it is better to make a decision as soon as possible, so as not to cause unnecessary disputes and tragedies."

Zeng Huadi's words were righteous and awe-inspiring, and it was completely for the country and the people. And Xiang Ze, Qian Fugui and others have long known this kind of result, so there is not much fluctuation.

"In addition, in addition to the normal taxes paid by my northern prefecture, the Buddhists of the Western Regions countries must also pay a certain amount of human tax, and this tax amount is set by the rich and wealthy people such as the grain platform."

As soon as Zeng Hua's words came out, everyone was in an uproar, and the shackles that were set on the Buddhist gate finally fell. In addition to restricting Buddhists financially, this additional tax also shows the government's attitude towards Buddhists. Buddhism originally lacked the strict organization and system of the Holy Religion, nor did it have more and more flexible means of preaching. Therefore, the two rival Buddhism originally had the upper hand, completely relying on the long history and foundation to fight, and now that the government is so obviously helping the Holy Religion, those Buddhists will definitely be shaken, and in the long run, Buddhism will gradually be expelled from this area.

In December of the first year of Shengping, Zeng Hua announced the completion of the first western expedition to the north of the province, and all parts of the country entered the stage of counterinsurgency, so the two marching chiefs of the south and north of the green mountains were abolished.

Zeng Hua announced that the entire Western Regions would be divided into two, with the Tianshan Mountains dividing the north and south, the south road to Yumen Pass in the east, Kunlun Mountain and Altun Mountain in the south, and the Geluo Mountains in the west, including the Green Ridge area, this area was set up as Shazhou, and the state was renamed Quci City of Anxi City, which was divided into five counties: Gaochang, Shan, Khotan, Qiuci, and Shule; The north road reaches Jinshan and Yiwu in the east, Yibohai (Lake Balkhash) and Xuanchi (Zhaisangbo) in the north, Qianquan Snow Mountain (Kyrgyz Mountain) and Pearl River (Nalun River) in the west, near Kangju and Dawan, and Tianshan in the south.

Zeng Hua then promulgated the decree, 150,000 Xiang troops, 40,000 Mobei soldiers, and 30,000 Qinghai soldiers were stationed in various places, and in addition to the rewards for their victories, they also got a good piece of land in the counties of the two states, and the size of the area was judged according to the level of military merit. The land was at the disposal of each sergeant, whether for cattle or farming, and could also be transferred to his relatives and friends. That is to say, after the expiration of the garrison period, if these soldiers do not want to stay in Shazhou and Xizhou, they can transfer the land under their respective names to their brothers and relatives who are willing to migrate.

This policy may not be attractive to soldiers from the "hinterland" such as Guan Long, but it is very attractive to soldiers from Xiqiang, Mobei, Shannan, Hexi and other places, where the conditions are difficult and the environment is harsh, far inferior to the counties of Shazhou and Xizhou, which are still an oasis, once they have to go back to inherit the family business, they can transfer the land here to their brothers or nephews, so that they can have an extra straight road.

The royal families and nobles of the Western Regions also received a "reward", especially the two countries of Shan and Yue, who accompanied the army and contributed their efforts, and naturally received great benefits. Not to mention the good country, just the Yueban country, its subordinates were allowed to occupy the fertile water and grass land in the old land of Wusun together with the soldiers of Mobei Prefecture. Since the defeat of Gui'a, half of his troops surrendered to Jiang Nan and others, and some people, led by some nobles, fled westward, following in the footsteps of the Sai and Yueshi people, and only a small number of people retreated to the Chigu area, waiting for the final destruction.

So these vacant land is cheaper than the Yueban tribes, but the royal family and dignitaries of the Yueban country thousands of people because of "too much merit", were warmly invited to Chang'an to enjoy the blessings, Zeng Hua was ready to let them move to Qinzhou and other "rich places", under the power of the Beifu army's victory, the royal family and dignitaries of Yueban did not dare to say a word, so they had to pack their luggage, and in the spring of the second year of Shengping, they went east with the royal families and nobles of the Western Regions to enjoy the rewards of the Celestial Empire. It was the practice of the Beifu to move the local nobles and the powerful and powerful, and it was also an extremely effective means for the Beifu to stabilize and rule the "new land".

After clearing out the royal family and nobles of the Western Regions, Zeng Hua began to focus on governing the newly established Shazhou and Xizhou in the spring of the second year of Shengping, and tried to turn this place into a real state and county in Beifu.