Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 438: The Strategy of Xiajiasi (Special thanks to the book friend 2021…0300 for the 2 monthly tickets!)

Li Jiqian saw Zhang Yong nod and said with emotion:

"Thank you, Commander Zhang!

If I, Li Jiqian, could not defeat the rebels and become a hero who restored my country while I was alive, how could I, Li Jiqian, submit to being transported into a prison cart and travel thousands of miles to Bianliang after my death?

"It is difficult to achieve one's ambitions, and the only thing left is death!"

After Li Jiqian finished speaking, he raised the knife and held it across his neck. Blood splattered and he fell on the eaves and died.

Dozens of Tangut warriors who had been following him, seeing that their leader was dead, also committed suicide with their swords. The remaining hundred or so people instantly laid down their weapons and surrendered.

After Zhang Yong led his troops to clear the battlefield, they found the bodies of Li Jiqian and 36 of his warriors, and buried them together ten miles outside the city.

Later generations called it the "Tomb of Thirty-Seven Dangxiang Warriors" and it became one of the major tourist attractions in the Beiming region of the Great Zhou Empire.

Seeing that the Khitans had been completely pacified, Zhang Yong immediately submitted a memorial to the emperor Chai Zongxun. While he and Cao Can led the army to eliminate the resistance forces in the Khitan Kingdom, they waited for the emperor Chai Zongxun's imperial edict.

After receiving Zhang Yong's memorial, Chai Zongxun considered it for a long time and discussed it with his ministers at the morning court on the next day, July 8.

The dispute among the ministers in the palace was whether to incorporate Khitan into the territory of the Great Zhou, or to support King Reina of the West, who had the blood of the Black Hair Tribe, as the king and make it a vassal state of the Great Zhou.

Minister of War Li Fang came out and said:
“Your Majesty, I think that since the thief Li Jiqian has been captured and the entire Khitan region is under the control of our Longxiang Army, we should incorporate Khitan into our territory.

The black-haired tribes in the Khitan Kingdom account for about 30% of its people. They claim to be descendants of Han General Li Ling, which means they are descendants of the Chinese people."

The Prime Minister Li Hang came out and said:
“Your Majesty, it is not impossible to include Khitan as your territory, but Khitan is a vast land with a sparse population. The people are all nomadic tribes and have no fixed place to live for a long time.

Moreover, the people are cruel and brutal. If Your Majesty wants to establish a stable rule here and make the people change their nomadic habits and settle down, the garrison must have a corps of troops. "

The new Minister of Justice Xiang Minzhong came out and said:

“Your Majesty, if you want to take Khitan as your territory, you must not only send a corps of troops to be stationed there permanently, but also follow the example of the Samanids and Ghaznis and move a large number of Han people from our inland areas to Khitan.

Over the years, the Ministry of Justice has sent nearly two million prisoners to the Northern Ocean for development, and there are not many prisoners available to be sent to the Khitans."

Xiang Minzhong was born in the second year of Qianyou in the Later Han Dynasty (949), with the courtesy name Changzhi. He was born in Bian Jing. His father was Xiang Yu, the magistrate of Fuli in the Later Han Dynasty.

In the 21st year of Kaixi (980), he passed the imperial examination and was selected as the magistrate of Changzhou County.

After several excellent assessments, he was promoted to the positions of Jieshi Zhong of the Ministry of Works and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice in the 28th year of Kaizhao.

This time, the Minister of Punishment Li Fang was promoted to the Minister of War. Chai Zongxun promoted Xiang Minzhong to the position of Minister of Punishment because he had always been honest and self-disciplined as an official and never received visits from officials or civilians at his residence.

Chai Zongxun knew that his ministers had considered everything carefully. They were worried that given the barbaric and cruel customs of the local people in Khitan, if the Great Zhou wanted to establish a stable rule and change the nomadic lifestyle of the people there, it would inevitably take several years of war to quell the rebellion. In addition, it would be difficult to implement Chai Zongxun's new policies on agriculture, industry and commerce without a sufficient number of Han immigrants.

Minister of Rites Kou Zhun came out and said:
“Your Majesty, the northwest of Khitan borders Khwarezm. Now that our Great Zhou is at war with the countries of the Star Religion world, the next strategic target of attack is the two Star Religion powers of the Black-robed Arabs and Khwarezm.

I think that our Great Zhou should annex Khirakis as its territory, and send new troops from Khirakis to attack Khwarezm from the east, forming a pincer attack with the troops currently attacking Central and West Asia. Khwarezm is much weaker than the Samanid Empire, so if our Great Zhou attacks it from both sides, we will surely be able to win quickly.

Then, only the Black-clad Arabs and the Green-clad Arabs far away in the Mishir area are left, and we can defeat them in one fell swoop! "

Chai Zongxun was quite excited. The war between the Great Zhou Empire and the Star Religion world began in July of the 27th year of Kaixi with the "Battle of Bekara", and this year is the 32nd year of Kaixi, which is already the sixth year.

In order to ensure victory in this battle for national destiny, Chai Zongxun's Great Zhou court invested enormous manpower and financial resources every year, with an average annual expenditure of over 120 million taels of silver.

Up to now, although the Great Zhou had a great advantage in the war due to its weapon superiority, with a casualty ratio of 1 to with the Star Sect coalition, after six years of fighting, more than Longxiang soldiers were killed and more than were injured or disabled.

Being able to open up a new front in the land of Kyrgyzstan and quickly destroy the Khwarezmian Empire is naturally of great strategic significance for winning the war with the Star Religion world as soon as possible.

Chai Zongxun pondered for a while, looked at the Minister of Revenue Wang Dan, and said:

"Lord Wang, how much silver is left in the national treasury?"

Wang Dan left the class and said:
“Reporting to Your Majesty, at the beginning of this year, the national treasury had 180 million taels of silver, and the annual surplus is 120 million taels based on the current state of treasury expenditure.

Your Majesty spent a total of 55,000,000 taels on rewarding the soldiers who had made contributions in the wars in Central and West Asia and in the destruction of Gaochang and Khotan, and on paying pensions.

The imperial court migrated more than 3 million households and 20 million Han people to the Samanid Empire and Ghazni. The cost of settling down and traveling was huge. The court prepared 60 million taels of silver, and 35 million taels of silver had been used.

Your Majesty, there are still 65 million taels of silver available for use in the treasury."

Chai Zongxun pondered for a moment and said:
“Now, our Great Zhou’s war against the countries of the Star Sect has entered the final stage after the decisive victory, and future military expenditures will inevitably decrease year by year.

Khitan is located in the southwest of the Northern Ocean and borders Khwarezm. It has an important geographical location and must be incorporated into our territory this time!"

The territory of Khitan is about 2.2 million square kilometers, with a population of more than 6 million. The iron smelting technology is unique, and the people make a living by nomadism.

Chai Zongxun took the tea bowl handed to him by Tang Qi, the chief eunuch beside him, took a few sips, and continued:

“Although the national treasury is a little tight at the moment, occupying Khitan and opening up an eastern front against Khwarezm will greatly speed up the process of our Great Zhou’s victory over the Star Religion coalition, and the annual war expenditure in the future will be greatly reduced.

I have decided to recruit another 5 million Han people from the public and immigrate them to the land of Khitan to consolidate the government's rule.

Each household was given 20 taels of silver for settling down, and the land they reclaimed became their own. They were also rewarded with 100 acres of good farmland or pasture, and two local captives were taken as slaves.

Yang Ye will lead the Eighth Corps to the Khitan area. After clearing out the local area, he will attack Khwarezm from the southeast, coordinating with the offensive of Jingsheng and other corps of the Second Central Asian Front Army, and strive to pacify it within a year! "

Yang Ye, who was among the generals, was overjoyed.

From the 27th to the 28th year of Kaixi, the 4th and 8th Corps fought against the ten-fold larger Star Cult coalition in the "Battle of Bekara" and defended Bekara for nearly half a year, suffering heavy losses. The two corps lost more than 110,000 soldiers.

After paying the heaviest price in the history of the Longxiang Army in terms of casualties, they finally held out until reinforcements were sent from home, thus turning the tide of the war.

(End of this chapter)