Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 577 Tang Qi Retires (Special thanks to the book friend $平常￥ for 2 monthly tickets!)

Constantine VIII said angrily:

"Minister Xue, our Eastern Roman Empire and the Great Zhou are allies. This Caesar (the Roman emperor called himself "Caesar") attacked the Green Arabs, who are the common enemy of our two countries.

Your country did not send troops to help, but how can you persuade Caesar to give up attacking the Green Caliphate and withdraw troops back home? "

Xue Ying said:
"Your Majesty, although the Green-clad Caliphate is a common enemy of our two countries, it is located in the Misir area and is difficult to rule. Therefore, when our emperor destroyed the Star Religion countries, he did not continue to attack it.

Today, the power of the Star Cult has declined, and the people are exhausted by years of war. Your country and my country are the largest countries in the East and the West respectively. We should vigorously develop people's livelihood and should not start regional wars again.

Moreover, the Green-clad Arabs have already paid tribute to our emperor and sought refuge in our country. Please withdraw your troops and return home to share peace!"

Constantine VIII was even more angry. The Green Caliphs paid tribute to the Great Zhou, but his Eastern Roman Empire did not gain any benefit at all and only wasted military supplies and fodder and mobilized troops.

Constantine VIII snorted coldly:
"The Green Caliphs are the eternal enemies of our Eastern Roman Empire. Now that our army has gained a great advantage, we should seize the opportunity to pursue them and destroy them.

How can we give up this God-given opportunity to destroy the Green Caliphate just because of a few words from your country? "

Xue Ying sighed:

"Your Majesty, don't forget the predicament that Basil II faced ten years ago when he was attacked from three sides.

If it weren’t for the fact that our emperor stepped in to mediate the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and Bulgaria because of the alliance between our two countries, I’m afraid the Eastern Roman Empire would have been in danger!

If this angers His Majesty and causes war between our two countries, your country will bear all the consequences!"

Constantine VIII was furious and was about to order the imperial guards to arrest Xue Ying, but Prime Minister Uranus stepped out and advised:
"Your Majesty, when two countries interact, envoys should not be killed! Moreover, the Great Zhou Empire is our Eastern Roman ally and once helped our country during the time of the previous emperor.

This matter should be returned to the Zhou envoy and discussed in detail!"

Many other ministers in the palace also came out to advise him.

Constantine VIII calmed down a little and said:

"The Great Zhou is too rude! Expel the envoy from the country immediately!
How can I give up my plan of conquering the Green Caliphate, which has cost me a lot of money and military power, just because of a few words from the Great Zhou?"

Xue Ying was a civil servant after all, so his face turned pale and he dared not say anything. He was immediately driven out of the palace by the Eastern Roman Guards.

After receiving the report, Yang Yanzhao, the commander-in-chief of the 4th Corps of the Longxiang Army stationed in West Asia, immediately deployed troops according to the plan in the emperor's edict, and prepared to enter the Eastern Roman Empire in the name of suppressing the rebels of the Star Sect who had fled to the southern border of the Eastern Roman Empire.

On August 2, the 61st year of Kaixi, Yang Yanzhao led the 4th Corps of the Longxiang Army into the southern border of the Eastern Roman Empire and met with the 300,000-strong army led by General Galatea sent by the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VIII on a plain 30 miles below the city of Ella.

After several negotiations on the battlefield, the two sides failed to reach an agreement and started fighting at noon on August 3rd.

In order to deal with the Eastern Roman army, Yang Yanzhao equipped the entire army with plate armor during this expedition.

Under the fierce attack of the Great Zhou Army's "Yansu Cannon" and "Kaixi No. 7", the Eastern Roman army, which had a great advantage in manpower, suffered more than casualties after two days of fierce fighting and the entire army collapsed.

After Yang Yanzhao defeated the enemy, he surrounded the city of Aila and captured it on 12 days. The troops under Qianhu Di Qing were the first to reach the top of the city.

The Battle of the Plain of Ella between the Great Zhou Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire lasted for half a month, during which 160,000 enemies were killed, 70,000 were captured, and more than 60,000 people escaped back to Constantinople.

The Great Zhou suffered no more than 10,000 casualties, most of which were incurred in sieges and street fighting.

After Yang Yanzhao captured the city of Ayla, he stationed his troops there, and intimidated the Eastern Roman Empire. After this battle, the people of the Eastern Roman Empire were terrified, and Constantine VIII immediately calmed down. Only then did he know why most of the civil and military officials in the court opposed going to war with the Great Zhou.

Under the strong persuasion of Prime Minister Uranus and others, Constantine VIII finally decided to send an envoy group to the Great Zhou to seek peace.

On the afternoon of November 5, the 61st year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun received the victory report from Yang Yanzhao in the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Imperial Palace.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"Constantine VIII is young and full of vigor after all, and he doesn't know how powerful our Great Zhou is. Yang Yanzhao lives up to my expectations and is as talented as his father!

Since Constantine VIII has sent envoys to ask for peace, I do not want to engage in a war with him, which would lead to a protracted war and many casualties among the soldiers.

I have ordered Yang Yanzhao to temporarily stay in Aila City and wait for the two countries to reach a peace agreement before obeying my imperial decree.

Qing'er has made great contributions in this battle, but I want to convey his message to him that he should not lead the troops in every battle and that safety should be his first priority. "

Tang Qiying said:

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will order the Ministry of Heavenly Secrets to draft an order."

Tang Qi hesitated for a moment and said:

"Your Majesty, I feel that my energy has declined and my body is sick. I am afraid that I will delay your Majesty's important affairs!

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I will now bid farewell to Your Majesty and return home."

Tang Qi was a trusted eunuch sent by Emperor Taizong Guo Rong to take care of Chai Zongxun shortly after he was born.

Tang Qi was born in the seventh year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty (942). As of this year, the sixty-first year of Kaixi (1020), he is already 78 years old.

Chai Zongxun sighed:
"General Manager Tang is my confidant who has served me since childhood and is the one I like best.

When I killed the traitor Zhao, his contribution was no less than Han Tong's!
More than sixty years have passed in a flash, and unexpectedly, Chief Steward Tang is about to leave me too! "

Tang Qi was filled with gratitude and immediately bowed deeply, saying:

"I have been favored by Your Majesty and have served Your Majesty as a close minister for decades. I have also been granted a mansion by Your Majesty and have adopted three sons to inherit the family line. This is an honor!

I am honored to serve Your Majesty and witness with my own eyes Your Majesty's wisdom and bravery in unifying the world from a small country in the Central Plains, expanding our territory, making our people rich and our country strong, and building it into the world's most powerful empire!

I am old and can no longer hold the reins for Your Majesty. I only hope that you can continue to serve Your Majesty like a dog or a horse!"

In the sixth year of Xian De, when Chai Zongxun had just ascended the throne, Tang Qi was honored as the chief eunuch in front of the palace, with a monthly salary of only ten taels of silver.

In the sixty years since Chai Zongxun took charge of government affairs, Tang Qi has not only been appointed as the Grand Chamberlain, the Eunuch in Charge of the Secret Department and the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Virtue Department, a high-ranking official who is the most powerful person in the inner court of the Great Zhou Empire, but his salary has also been raised to an annual salary of 20,000 taels, which is equivalent to that of a first-rank official in the court.

Although Tang Qi never asked for bribes from anyone over the years, the gifts he received from officials during festivals and social interactions amounted to over a million taels of silver, and his family wealth was at least three or four million taels of silver.

What made Tang Qi even more excited and grateful was that Emperor Chai Zongxun gave him a house where he could set up a home and adopt children to carry on the family line. In that era, this was the greatest honor a eunuch could receive.

Tang Qi's three sons were all adopted as blood relatives. Now two of his sons have passed the imperial examinations and become officials in the court.

The other son runs a horse business. Although he is not the best in the industry, he can easily make tens of thousands of taels a year.

(End of this chapter)