Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 366 The Covenant of Constantinople (Special thanks to book friend 2017…2518 for 2 monthly tickets!)

Therefore, after several days of negotiations, Kou Zhun, on behalf of the Great Zhou Empire, exchanged letters and signed the "Treaty of Alliance and Peace between the Great Zhou and Rome" in Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, on March 28, the 28th year of Kaixi. It was later called the "Covenant of Constantinople".

The signing of this treaty marked the beginning of the Great Zhou's influence entering Europe and the beginning of the Great Zhou's becoming the world hegemon.

After the treaty was signed, Hu Lian, the pacification envoy of Longxiang Guard, immediately sent several of his men to convey the news back to the country.

After the Roman Emperor Basil warmly received the Great Zhou envoy Kou Zhun and others for half a month, in order to strengthen the relationship between the two countries, he married his sister, the 18-year-old Princess Anna, into the Great Zhou imperial family and made her the concubine of Chai Zongxun. He also sent a team of 10,000 soldiers to escort Kou Zhun and others from the northern wilderness of Khwarezm back to the Great Zhou's Central Asian territory.

In April of the 28th year of Kaixi, Basil privately learned that the second batch of five corps of the Great Zhou Dynasty that were sent to fight in West Asia had entered Basharagun. Seeing that the Great Zhou Dynasty had gained the upper hand in the war, Basil sent an army of 700,000 to attack the Samanid Dynasty in the east to fulfill the alliance with the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Kou Zhun returned to Bian Jing half a year later, and wrote "The Roman Mission" a year later in the 29th year of Kaixi. The book detailed the customs, political and religious systems of the countries he visited during his mission to Rome, and it set off a wave of research on West Asia and Europe among the scholars and common people of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

On May 15, the 28th year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun received information from Longxiang Guard, and learned that Kou Zhun had signed an alliance treaty with the Roman Empire and escorted Princess Anna to Bianliang for marriage. He was very happy.

The Roman Empire had a population of 20 million and an army of nearly 2 million. With its troops sent to help and distribute the military forces of various countries, the pressure on the Great Zhou to fight in Central and West Asia far away from its homeland would be greatly reduced.

After the Roman Empire sent troops, Mansur, the king of the Samanid dynasty, was horrified and had to send envoys to offer generous gifts to the Black Caliphate, Ghaznavidad and other countries. He finally persuaded them to jointly send 800,000 troops to the west to resist the Roman army.

Just when the Samanid Empire and other Star Religious coalition forces had managed to stabilize the war on the eastern and western fronts, a shocking news spread: the second batch of five corps of the Great Zhou Empire, with 450,000 people, had invaded Kunduz Province in the northeast of the Ghaznavid Empire on June 7.

With thousands of artillery pieces firing simultaneously, the local defenders of the Ghaznavid Dynasty were defeated and several states in the northeast were quickly captured by the Zhou Dynasty. Ten days later, on June 17, the five major corps led by Huyan Zan were less than 300 miles away from the Ghaznavid city.

After receiving the report, the Ghaznavid Privy Envoy, who was leading an army of 300,000 to fight against the Great Zhou in the territory of the Samanid Empire, hurriedly informed Mansur and immediately led his army to the city of Ghazni.

The Starry Sky Alliance thought that it was a "holy war" that would surely win by gathering ten times the number of troops to conquer the Great Zhou and recapture the former territory of the Karakhanid Khanate. However, in less than a year, the situation on the battlefield was reversed and it became a "patriotic war" in which the Starry Sky Alliance fought on three fronts in the world against the two great powers of the time, the Great Zhou Empire and the Roman Empire.

The army of the Roman Empire was fine, it was just plate-armored cavalry. The army of the Great Zhou Empire had artillery that was so powerful that it could destroy cities and the earth. It was extremely terrifying. No wonder it was the first country in the world to invent gunpowder.

After the Ghaznavid army withdrew from the Samanid Empire, the morale of the coalition forces of the Star Sect was inevitably shaken. Faced with the fierce offensive of the five major corps led by Jingsheng of the Great Zhou, the armies of small countries withdrew from the battlefield one after another and fled back to their own countries.

After receiving battlefield intelligence in Bian Jing in July, Chai Zongxun knew that the balance of victory had decisively tilted towards his Great Zhou side.

Coincidentally, the Ministry of Works reported that the Great Zhou Straight Road had taken the lead in completing the construction of the national highway from Bian Jing to Linhuang Prefecture.

Chai Zongxun saw that the world was at peace and he was confident of victory in the war against the Star Sect, and the summer in Bianjing was really hot.

Therefore, in order to fulfill the long-cherished wish of Concubine Shu, Yelu and Gudian, Chai Zongxun decided to take the imperial family to the cool climate of Linhuang Prefecture and other Liao areas in late July to escape the summer heat.

In order to train Crown Prince Chai Jiyu, Chai Zongxun left the crown prince in Bian Jing to supervise the country during this tour.

After dinner on the day when the imperial edict for the tour was issued, Chai Zongxun came to Huining Palace where Empress Shengyi had her fifth morning dew, and specially summoned the crown prince from Duanben Palace.

After seeing the ceremony, Chai Zongxun said:

"Yu'er is almost an adult now. This time your father is going on tour with the imperial family, so you will be left in Bianjing to supervise the country.

This is a rare opportunity for training. Yu'er must be diligent and alert, and make great progress to become a qualified crown prince in the future."

After Chai Jiyu paid a great tribute to express his gratitude, he knew that his father must have some arrangements for the government, so he stood quietly and waited for his father to speak. Chai Zongxun nodded slightly, and his second son's cold and steady aura was very similar to his own.

Chai Zongxun said:

"Yu'er, your father has already arranged all the important state affairs, you don't need to ask, just follow the rules.

The most important national priority for our Great Zhou at present is to ensure victory in the war against the Star Religion countries.

As for daily internal affairs, I allow you to make your own decisions, but you must not neglect the memorials from local sages."

Chai Jiyu said:

"Father, I understand. If I do something wrong, please guide me."

Chai Zongxun nodded.

The fifth Chaolu said:
"Yu'er, you must understand that this time your father wants to test your ability to govern and give you a chance to improve.

You must remember what your father always said: The people are the foundation of the country, and the imperial family should represent the interests of the vast majority of the people. Only in this way can the country be forever stable. "

Chai Jiyu said:

"Thank you for your guidance, mother. I understand and will not let you down."

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"very good.

Yu'er, your father has been on tour these days. If you have any questions about matters outside the court, ask Li Hang; if you have any questions about matters inside the court, ask Tang Qi. "

After several days of preparation, except for a few pregnant concubines who stayed in Bian Jing, Chai Zongxun and more than a thousand members of the imperial family traveled from Bian Jing to Linhuang Prefecture on July 22, the 28th year of Kaixi.

Sixty thousand imperial guards, the Wude Division, and the Longxiang Guard accompanied the emperor to protect him. Together with eunuchs, palace maids, imperial chefs, imperial physicians and other attendants, the number of horse-drawn carriages for the trip reached three thousand.

When he left Bian Jing, the common people he met on the road all performed grand ceremonies to see him off.

Chai Zongxun, along with the two queens, Diwu Chaolu and Fu Zhenzhen, rode in the carriage at the front of the team.

Empress Dowager Fu and the eldest son, Prince Song, each rode in a carriage not far in front or behind Chai Zongxun's carriage.

The Great Zhou Straight Road was made of glutinous rice mixed with clay and lime paste, and its color was light green. Extending from Bianjing in all directions were national highways leading to the capitals of various states.

Because Chai Zongxun had given instructions before construction began, the "national highway" from Bianjing to Linhuang Prefecture was the first to be repaired and completed. With a six-year construction period, it was completed in just over three years.

The carriage was running on the newly built Da Zhou Straight Road, which was open to traffic not long ago. It was moving at a high speed and was extremely stable. Chai Zongxun looked at the trees and fields passing by outside the window, hugged the delicate bodies of Diwu Chaolu and Fu Zhenzhen, and felt extremely happy in his heart.

(End of this chapter)