Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 478: Triumphant Return from the Western Expedition (Special thanks to book friends 1603…9946 for their 2 monthly tickets!)

On the first day of March in the thirty-fourth year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun received a secret report from the eunuchs and military police who had rushed back earlier in the Bianjing Palace.

After reading it, Chai Zongxun found that all the troops in the Western Expedition were able to strictly abide by military discipline and that violations of the law would be punished. There were only more than a thousand people who violated military discipline and were punished.

Under the mutual checks and balances and supervision of the generals, none of them acted domineeringly or exceeded the rules, so Chai Zongxun felt relieved.

He ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare a grand ceremony to worship the heavens in order to welcome the Western Expedition Army back to Beijing.

On the seventh day of the third month of the thirty-fourth year of Kaixi, after a long journey of more than four months, the ten corps of the Longxiang Army of the Western Expedition of the Great Zhou Empire returned to Bianliang.

Emperor Chai Zongxun set up an altar outside the Wansheng Gate in the west gate to offer sacrifices to heaven and welcomed the triumphant army with a grand ceremony.

After the two sacrifices and six ceremonies were completed, the chief eunuch Tang Qi stood at the foot of Emperor Chai Zongxun and read the imperial edict aloud to the entire army.

After praising the achievements of the Western Expedition Corps, he rewarded the three armies.

The Western Expedition Corps went to fight against the Starry Star Religion from the 27th year of Kaixi to the 34th year of Kaixi this year, a total of more than seven years. The total number of troops defeated in the coalition forces of the Starry Star Religion and other countries was more than five million.

The land area has been expanded to nearly 10 million square kilometers.

During the more than seven years of the ten corps of the Western Expedition, more than six million troops participated in the war between the two sides. The Great Zhou, with ten corps of 900,000 people, annihilated 3.2 million enemy troops and captured more than 600,000.

Its own casualties were only 210,000.

Therefore, the reward set by Chai Zongxun was extremely generous.

Each soldier was rewarded with a minimum of 300 taels of silver, and would be promoted three levels. His family would also be given 50 acres of good land.

The pension for fallen soldiers starts at 600 taels of silver, and disabled soldiers are given 300 taels of retirement pay in addition to the reward silver, and a monthly subsidy of 2 taels of silver, with lifelong support.

A total of five dukes, thirty-six marquises, and 217 earls, vicars, and barons were conferred upon the entire army.

When he set out on the expedition, the Duke had six generals-in-chief of his corps, each of whom was given an additional fief of 5,000 households and a reward of 10,000 taels of silver.

Chai Zongxun also awarded more than 10,000 beauties from the harem captured by the Eighth Corps from conquering the Central and West Asian countries and the Kyrgyz and Khwarezm, except for the more than 200 selected by Chai Zongxun to enter the palace, and the more than 1,000 beauties given to the married princes, three younger brothers, and important officials in the court. All the others were rewarded to the First to Twelfth Corps based on their merits.

After the rewards were announced, all the soldiers in the army cheered and bowed in unison to express their gratitude for the emperor's grace.

Chai Zongxun, standing at the center of the altar, said solemnly:
"More than 20 nations of the Star Sect relied on their strong military forces to brazenly invade our Great Zhou.

At that time, our Central Asian territory was in danger of falling and the people were in dire straits.

Since the Western Expedition, all the soldiers have lived up to my expectations. They were able to defeat the larger force with a smaller one, defeated the Star Cult coalition, expanded the territory by thousands of miles, destroyed many countries, and greatly enhanced the prestige of our Great Zhou to the world!
I hope that the soldiers will continue their efforts, strictly abide by military discipline, and make greater achievements in the future!

I will reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have made mistakes. I will never treat any of my Great Zhou soldiers unfairly!"

The commanders-in-chief of the corps were relieved to see that the emperor had no measures to prevent the generals from seizing power and that the rewards were very generous.

The whole army said in unison:
"We, your Majesty, thank you for your grace! Your Majesty has treated your subjects with such kindness that there has never been such a kindness in the history of the world. Your Majesty is the eternal sage of China, with virtue surpassing the Three Sovereigns and achievements surpassing the Five Emperors! We, your Majesty, are fortunate to have met you at this time, and we dare not fail to be loyal to you and serve our country until our death!"

Chai Zongxun nodded with satisfaction and ordered the Longxiang Guard and the Wude Division to lead the various corps to enter the camp and place them in the six new military camps that were expanded in Bianliang.

Almost all of the more than three million people in the city of Bianjing came to the streets to celebrate the triumphant return of the Western Expedition Army, and the atmosphere was as lively as New Year's Day.

"Your Majesty is truly an eternal saint! The Star Sect's more than twenty countries and millions of troops were all defeated by the Dragon Army sent by your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty allocates huge sums of money every year and orders the Royal Academy of Sciences to develop so many magical weapons. Do you think he is joking?
I heard that His Majesty allocates more than five million taels of silver to the Royal Academy of Sciences every year."

“No wonder my mistress came back from school and told me about ‘science and technology will make the country prosperous’ and ‘industry and commerce will make the country rich’!”

The teacher also encouraged them to study skills, and when they grow up, they can pass the imperial examinations to become an engineering scholar, and make achievements to be admitted to the "Royal Academy of Sciences", which would be a lifetime honor! "

“If it weren’t for the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Yansu Cannon, these magical weapons invented by the Royal Academy of Sciences, it would be very difficult for our Great Zhou to defeat the coalition forces of more than 20 countries and more than 5 million troops of the Star Religion.

Back then, Gao Xianzhi, a famous general of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, could not even defeat the black-clad Arab army of less than 100,000, which led to the defeat of "Talas". From then on, Central Asia, which was originally a "thousand-mile Buddhist country", became the sphere of influence of the Starry Sky Sect, and soon they were forced to convert to the Starry Sky Sect.

Our Great Zhou Emperor has completely defeated the coalition forces of the Star Sect this time, and his achievements are more than ten times those of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang!"

"Of course! I heard that the Black-robed Arabs are the only big country left in the Star Sect world.

Your Majesty sent the 13th to 16th Longxiang Army Corps last year, and with the new weapon "Kaixi No. 33" musket, it is estimated that the Black Arabs will be wiped out soon!"

"Hey! I hope that the Black-robed Arabs can be destroyed soon, and my Great Zhou can completely conquer the Star Religion world, then there will be peace!

When the war first broke out, I sent my two youngest and third sons to enlist in the army. Two years ago, the military commander Wu Desi sent me news that my third son had died for his country during the attack on the Samanid capital, Bu... Bu what the hell!"

"Old Sun, you and your sons are great. You are a heroic family of our Great Zhou! Don't be too sad. The pension given by His Majesty will definitely be sufficient!"

The next day, on the evening of March 8th, Chai Zongxun held a celebratory banquet in the Huangji Hall in the front yard of the imperial palace, and all military officers of the rank of Wanhu and above were allowed to attend.

After a few days of rest, on the morning of March 12, important civil and military officials gathered for the court session.

Chai Zongxun ordered the chief eunuch Tang Qi to read out the imperial edict regarding the rotation and adjustment of senior generals of the Longxiang Army.

The first twelve corps of the Longxiang Army were all elite troops of the Great Zhou Empire, and they were also the main force in unifying China and expanding its territory in the past thirty years.

The commanders of the corps are:
Hu Yanzan of the First Corps, Zhe Yuxun of the Second Corps, Jing Sheng of the Third Corps, Cao Bin of the Fourth Corps, Zhang Ning of the Fifth Corps, Lin Renzhao of the Sixth Corps, Guan Lin of the Seventh Corps, Yang Ye of the Eighth Corps, Gao Hua of the Ninth Corps, Ma Zhijie of the Tenth Corps, Cao Guangshi of the Eleventh Corps, and Liang Ying of the Twelfth Corps.

Except for Yang Ye, the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Corps, who was dismissed and retired at the end of last year, Cao Bin, the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Corps, was born in the second year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (931) and should have retired in the thirty-second year of Kaixi (991). However, Chai Zongxun felt that all the generals were away at the battlefield and someone was needed in the court to protect their interests, so he stayed in Bianliang and delayed his retirement.

Lin Renzhao, commander-in-chief of the Sixth Corps, was born in the third year of Changxing in the Later Tang Dynasty (932). According to the regulations, he should have retired in the thirty-third year of Kaixi (992). However, his retirement was delayed because the Zhengtong Army returned to China at that time.

When the imperial edict was read out, Cao Bin, the Grand Commander of the Fourth Corps, and Lin Renzhao, the Grand Commander of the Sixth Corps, both retired and lived out their lives in their residences in Bianliang. They were given retirement benefits of 100,000 taels of silver each at the rank of Grand Commander.

(End of this chapter)