Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 403: Standards of Worldly Affairs (Special thanks to book friend Cong★zai for his 2 monthly tickets!)

The escort team led by Meng Ming arrived in Bian Jing on March 26, the 31st year of Kaixi.

The avenue from Jinyao Gate, the northwest gate of Bianjing, to Xihua Gate of the imperial palace was filled with people from the Great Zhou who were watching and discussing the matter lively.

"I heard that our Great Zhou's Longxiang Army has conquered the entire territory of the Ghaznavid Empire? The king was so scared that he drank poison and died.

"What is the origin of this country with such a strange name? It sounds like it is no match for our Great Zhou."

"I know this. My second grade teacher said in school that the Ghazni Empire, like the Samanid Empire, is also the descendant of the Turks who were driven away by China to Central and West Asia during the Tang Dynasty.

Your Majesty is an eternal sage, and under your rule, our Great Zhou is strong and powerful, far surpassing all previous dynasties. I see that these star countries dare to invade our Great Zhou, and this time they will suffer the consequences!"

"Of course! Our Great Zhou has well-trained soldiers and ample food supplies. It will only take us a few years to destroy the Liao. Although these Star Sect countries have a large population and military strength, our Great Zhou now has the newly invented "Yansu Cannon". It will be easy to defeat these Star Sect thugs!"

……

“Hey, brothers, I watch almost every triumphant return of the Great Zhou Empire, but this time, why didn’t I see the eunuchs in the palace escorting the beauties from the harem of the Ghaznavid Empire?

Did I arrive too late? But after I arrived for a while, I saw the soldiers from the Wude Division riding over on horseback! "

"Old Xu, how can you be late, you pervert?

I heard that when the Longxiong Army pacified the Ghaznavid Empire this time, the concubines in the palace had already fled in advance!
Governor Huyan and his men were anxious for military intelligence, so they did not send troops to capture him.

It’s a shame that we don’t get to see what the beauties of the Ghaznavid dynasty looked like.”

"It's not that all the beauties in the Ghazni Palace have fled. I heard that it's because their king's name is Qin. Well, the stars have taught people to come up with weird and long-winded names, and I can't remember them.

This king, before drinking the poisoned wine, begged the Grand Commander Huyan to spare his two thousand concubines in exchange for the national treasury treasure!
Governor Huyan saw that he was a brave man who was not afraid of death, so he agreed to his request, so he did not send troops to capture these beauties and spared them. "

"Old Chen, who told you that? It sounds like the truth!
Why haven’t I heard of this?”

"Old Wu, you still don't believe what I said?
My nephew is a sergeant of the Wude Division. I went to his house a few days ago to attend the baby's full moon celebration and heard what he said. How could this be false?"

When the onlookers heard that his nephew was in the Wude Division, many of them believed him and nodded in agreement.

Old Chen immediately became proud and said:

"I am not bragging, my nephew is a real hero!

He passed the military examination at the age of eighteen, but unfortunately, on the day when he was twenty and was going to take the military jinshi examination, he caught a cold the day before and felt weak all over. He did not perform well and failed this time. It was such a pity.

Later, the Wude Division recruited soldiers, and my nephew applied, and was accepted right away! "

After a moment of silence from the people around, one person said:

"I heard that now on the West Asian front, the two major armies of our Great Zhou Longxiang Army have surrounded the Samanid Empire's capital Bukhara. It seems that our Great Zhou is gaining more and more advantages in the war!
If we take Bukhara, I think the Samanid Empire, the leader of the Star Religion, will follow in the footsteps of Ghazni!"

Another citizen said with sadness:
"Alas! It's all the fault of the evil man Ali. He instigated the Star Sect and other countries to invade our Great Zhou, which led to our country being plunged into a war.

My third son died in the Ghazni battlefield last year. Whenever I think of him now, I still shed tears!"

Many people around began to persuade them.

"Old Xie, your third son is a martyr. He sacrificed his life for his country. He died with honor!"

"Yes, Old Xie! I watched San'er grow up under my watch. He has always loved to fight for justice. How can it not be a pity? But the pension given by the court should not be reduced, right?"

Old Xie nodded and said:
"Thanks to your majesty's grace, two months after learning the news, the military officers personally delivered 300 taels of compensation silver.

Alas! Fortunately, after the third son stayed, my daughter-in-law received a pension, so it was not difficult for her to raise my grandson. "

……

Chai Zongxun summoned the military supervisor eunuch Meng Ming in Yanfu Hall.

Seeing that there were no beauties from Ghazni among the captured items, Chai Zongxun felt a little disappointed. After listening to Meng Ming's narration, he finally understood the whole story.

Meng Mingdao:
“Your Majesty, King Mansur of Saman wanted to use the exiled prince Ali of the Karakhanid Khanate to ask the Great Zhou Empire to withdraw its troops. Without Your Majesty’s order, Grand Commander Huyan and others certainly did not agree.

This time when I returned to the capital, I have brought Ali to see the emperor."

Chai Zongxun immediately summoned Ali.

After a while, a Turkic man, about 27 or 28 years old, with a rough appearance and dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, was brought into the palace by the imperial guards.

Seeing that Ali did not immediately pay homage to the Emperor Chai Zongxun, the escorting imperial guards immediately started beating him. After only a few punches and kicks, Ali fell to his knees and kowtowed three times and nine times to Chai Zongxun.

Chai Zongxun looked down from the throne and saw Ali staring at him with a look of extreme hatred.

Chai Zongxun waved his hand to signal the imperial guards to stop beating Ali, and sneered:

"Rebel Ali, you are very dissatisfied, aren't you?"

Ali gritted his teeth and said:
"You destroyed my Karakhanid Khanate, killed my soldiers, murdered my father, mother, and enslaved my people. You are a tyrant!

How could I submit to you? It's a pity that I went through so much trouble to contact all the countries of the Star Sect, and even with an army of three million, I still couldn't defeat you! "

Chai Zong reprimanded:
"I am a tyrant? Just because I sent a large army to defeat you and conquer the Samanid Empire and other countries, I am a tyrant?
Then what about your Xingxing Sect, which has conquered Central Asia with its iron hoofs since the "Battle of Talas" during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, and killed all the people who were unwilling to believe in the Xingxing Sect? What about that?
Ali, you are nothing but a selfish and stupid person! You measure all worldly affairs only by your Star Religion as the standard!

At least I didn't order the army to massacre the people of the Star Religion who didn't resist! I also didn't ban the Star Religion!"

Ali was speechless and could not answer, and his mind suddenly flashed back to the Karakhanid Khanate's cruel treatment of pagans in the country in the past.

Ali said:
"I have fought for the holy war all my life, and I will go to Ahla (heaven) after I die!"

Chai Zongxun sneered:

"Because of you, you instigated many people in Central Asia to defect, causing war between our Great Zhou and the Star Sect, killing millions of people! The place you will go after death should be Balia (Hell)!"

Ali was filled with fear and shouted:
"No! You are talking nonsense! It will never be like this!..."

Chai Zongxun knew that this man's thinking was stubborn, so he waved his hand and ordered the imperial guards to take him away.

In the morning court a few days later, the emperor and his ministers discussed and decided on the governors and other chief officials who would go to Ghazni to establish rule and the garrison of the Longxiang Army.

Ali was tried by the Ministry of Justice and sentenced to "treason". He was beheaded in public on Tongqu Street.

(End of this chapter)