Monk Yuantong, who stayed in Tianqian City to inquire about the news, immediately set out to meet Qinchuan with the inner guard players who had also sneaked into the Tubo East Road after receiving the news of Qinchuan's departure.
"Our mission is to contact the nearby Qiang, Han, and Xianbei people as much as possible to start a rebellion and draw attention from the rear!"
In order to meet Qinchuan's army, Monk Yuantong left Tianqian City overnight and returned to his temple.
Shang Qixin'er had just converted to Buddhism, and these monks had legal ultimatums, which naturally allowed them to travel unhindered in Tubo territory.
In fact, there are no obstacles within Tubo. There are only tax cards set up privately by the castle owners along the way. As long as you pay the money, you can pass easily.
Along the way, Monk Yuantong could only sigh with emotion. Not only was Tubo's rule unpopular, it could also be said that people had deserted their relatives.
Going west from Tianqian City, in Kuarima Township not far from Tianqian City, the castle owner Ergitai is having a headache dealing with the rising rebellions in his territory.
These damn slaves!
Ergitai is already fifty years old, which is an age where he can go to see Lao Zanpu at any time.
Ergitai was one of the first batch of warriors who followed Shang Qixin'er to Tuyuhun, which is now the eastern part of Tubo.
Under the guidance of Shang Qixin'er, Ergitai accumulated military exploits and became a castle master.
This time Shang Qixin'er went to the north of Hexi, and Ergitai couldn't ride the horse anymore. He ordered his legitimate son to lead the family's manor owners and free people to follow Shang Qixin'er in the expedition.
After his son left with his army, a rebellion broke out under Ergitai's rule.
Ergitai could no longer remember the cause of the rebellion. It should have been that a certain manor owner oppressed the serfs too harshly. The serfs escaped from the manor and colluded with bandits in the wilderness to attack the manor.
As the lord of the manor owners, the castle owner of Ergitai not only enjoys the taxes provided by the manor owner, but also has the obligation to protect the manor owner.
According to the ancient agreement between the lord and his vassals, Ergitai dragged his old body and led the remaining troops to set off to wipe out the bandits in the wilderness.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ergitai's troops arrived at the manor that was attacked, the bandits withdrew.
The owner of the manor, which had been completely robbed, knelt on the ground and begged Ergitai to exempt him from this year's taxes.
Ergitai had a sullen expression and did not comment. In order to go to Hexi this year, Ergitai also paid a large amount of taxes.
The life of the castle owner is not easy either!
Ergitai did not agree to exempt the manor owner from paying taxes, but instead led his army to live in the manor owner's manor.
This was so frustrating for the manor owner that he had to slaughter the remaining cattle and sheep in the manor to entertain Ergitai's army.
The owner of the manor took out the highland barley from the cellar, which was reserved as seed for the next year.
Ergitai lived in the manor owner's manor for three days, ate up the manor owner's last savings, and finally relented and exempted the manor owner from half of the taxes.
Then came the news that another manor had been attacked.
Ergitai hurriedly led the army towards another manor.
Ergitai walked around in his tie like this for half a month without even seeing the shadow of a bandit.
Three manors were destroyed, and Ergitai dragged his exhausted troops in circles in the wilderness.
But soon he heard another shocking news: these bandits had begun to attack his castle!
Ergitai quickly led his troops to fight back, and God Zanpu protected him. Because Ergitai rescued him in time, the bandits only plundered the farms around the castle and did not attack the castle.
Ergitai also captured some livestock left by the bandits, but his mood became even worse.
He has never seen such a cunning bandit, and he has fought two battles from last year to this year.
When many Tibetan heroes were killed in the Battle of Jinshankou, they did not gain any advantage from the Tang Dynasty. Instead, they lost a large amount of supplies.
Now we have to attack Hexi again. Not only the manor owners, but also the castle owners like Ergitai have been hollowed out by Shang Qixin'er's tax collectors.
He can exempt the owners of his manor from taxes, but who will exempt himself from taxes?
Ergitai was so worried that he could only write down orders in wooden sketches, asking all manor owners to help each other and not always count on his own rescue.
This order spread throughout Kuarima Township, and Ergitai was completely tired. He ordered his youngest son to lead troops to guard the castle.
Ergitai left all affairs to his retainers and hid in his castle drinking every day.
This Datang wine is so delicious!
What Ergitai drank was Shazhou roast bought at a high price from Longyou.
Nowadays, there are many varieties of alcohol in Longyou, but simple spirits like Shazhou Shao are not popular in Shazhou.
Nowadays, Shazhou has various types of alcohol. Shazhou Shao, a strong liquor, has become a favorite drink of people who do physical work.
However, Shazhou Shaosha is very popular in Tibet and Uighurs.
It's bitter cold on the plateau, and a simple strong drink like Shazhou Shao can dispel the chill in your bones.
When Ergitai was young, he fought with Shang Qixin'er and was hit by an arrow in his ribs.
Although the arrow did not damage the internal organs, there was still a dull pain every time it was cloudy.
When he drank Shazhoushao, the strong alcohol paralyzed Ergitai's old body, making him feel intoxicated in the alcohol.
The Tang Dynasty was really rich.
Every time he drank, Ergitai couldn't help but sigh.
Rice cannot be grown on the bitterly cold plateau, and only cold-resistant crops such as wheat and highland barley can be grown.
The food on the plateau was not even enough to feed herself. Shang Qixin'er had already issued a ban on alcohol before going on the expedition, and it was strictly forbidden to use food to make wine.
If we can capture Hexi and occupy Longyou, then I can also be assigned a castle in Longyou, right?
In Longyou, the fertile land is covered with crops, and there are sheep and cattle everywhere.
There are also countless Longyou Han people who can become slaves in the manor!
Ergitai, who was already a little drunk, seemed to see this beautiful scene like heaven, and couldn't help but hum.
But just when Ergitai was about to fall asleep with a sweet dream, the housekeeper found him and told him a piece of news.
A group of monks came to Ergitai's territory.
As an old Tibetan nobleman, Ergitai did not like monks.
He preferred Bon, Tibet's native faith.
However, Shang Qixin'er converted to Buddhism and ordered that every seven households should worship a monk. Ergitai also showed his respect for Buddhism in public.
The monks who came from Tianqian City, Ergitai could only brace themselves up and received these monks.
The leader of this group of monks is the player, Monk Yuantong. Since Shang Qixin'er went on the expedition, Monk Yuantong finally got this job by continuously bribing the great monks of Tianqian City.
Inspect the situation of monks worshiping in various places west of Tianqian City.
In order to promote Buddhism in Tubo East Road, a large number of monks poured into Tubo East Road.
Shang Qixin'er asked seven families to support a monk, and asked each manor owner to build a Buddhist temple at home.
Most castle owners built a Buddhist temple symbolically. For example, castle owners like Ergitai, who had no good impression of monks, simply didn't even make a show of it.
"Are you sent by the chief monk of Tianqian City?" Ergitai checked the wooden slip of Monk Yuantong, which was stamped with Shang Qixin'er's seal, confirming that it was the official wooden slip signed by the chief monk of Tianqian City.
Shang Qixin'er established a senior monk official in Tianqian City to be responsible for managing Buddhist affairs in the eastern part of Tubo.
The great monk is naturally the Shantarakshita guru who came from Nepal to teach the Dharma in Tubo. However, now the guru Shantarakshita is accompanying Shang Qixin'er, and the great monk is being taken care of by his disciples.
"Before the expedition, the great monk told us that we must persist in promoting Buddhism. As long as more people worship the Buddha devoutly, we will be able to be invincible in all battles!"
Ergitai did not believe that the monk could make Shang Qi Xin'er invincible by reciting two verses of scripture, but he still understood Shang Qi Xin'er's intention of promoting Buddhism, so he also pretended to be pious and said:
"Then what do you masters come to my castle to do?"
Only to see Monk Yuantong suddenly say: "Dear Lord of the Castle, the young monk saw that there is a filthy air above your castle, and it seems that there is a disaster of war."
Ergitai looked at Monk Yuantong with some surprise, and he quickly asked: "What is the disaster of war?"
Monk Yuantong put his hands together and said: "War is the blade of a weapon. Your castle is not on the border. The disaster caused by war means that bandits are causing trouble in your territory."
Ergitai looked at Monk Yuantong in surprise. Could this great monk really have magic power?
But then I thought about it, everyone in the entire territory knew about the banditry, and maybe these monks heard about it along the way.
But let's hear what this monk has to say.
I only heard Yuantong say: "Please prepare a Buddhist temple for the owner of the castle, and let the monks open the altar and perform rituals to dispel the filthy atmosphere in the castle. This war disaster will naturally be eliminated!"
And such good things?
Is it possible to quell banditry by doing just this?
Ergitai was a little unbelieving, so he asked: "Excuse me, Master, how many days does it take for the altar opening method to take effect?"
Monk Yuantong immediately said: "It will be effective in one day!"
Ergitai was overjoyed when he heard this and said: "Then please ask the master to open an altar to help me dispel this war spirit! If the bandit chaos can be quelled, I am willing to build a golden body for the Buddhist hall!"
"Your piety will surely bless your territory."
Monk Yuantong kowtowed in thanks.
Next, he played tricks in the Buddhist hall for a whole day, but there was no good sign that the Buddha's light would appear.
Originally, Ergitai thought that these monks were just here to get food and drink, so he was going to send them on their way.
But on the evening of the third day, one of Ergitai's manor owners hurriedly came to report that the bandits had retreated!
Ergitai quickly summoned the manor owner, and he hurriedly asked: "How did the bandits retreat?"
The manor owner immediately said: "Yesterday these bandits were still attacking my manor, but this morning they all suddenly disappeared!"
"Disappeared!?"
"Yes, all their weapons camps are there, but everyone in the camp has disappeared. I personally led my men to check the camp, and there was not a single bandit left."
Ergitai exclaimed in surprise, but he still did not completely believe Monk Yuantong. What if the bandits just happened to retreat?
He ordered all the manor owners to inquire about the bandit army. Three days later, he received a shocking news. The bandit army that had been raging in his territory for half a month had really disappeared out of thin air!