Chapter 10 The Soul of the Nation That Will Not Give in
Slowly, more and more people gathered in front of the statue, including the woman in charge of sweeping the temple, Yin Yaozi, and a few young children under the command of Zhou Xianghu who looked at Zhang Chao with a complicated look, and the children who were running around just now.
Including Mrs. Cao Sanniang, they all came over with the support of Shan Niang. Amidst the proud words of the old loyal man, some people were already kneeling in front of the statue of Zhang Yichao and sobbing softly.
In fact, these people, including Qi Xiaohu, were all former subordinates and supporters of Zhang Chengfeng. After Cao replaced Zhang, you can imagine that their life was difficult, otherwise they would not have been fooled by this old loyal man's stupid plan.
Move because I really can’t go on.
What a shame! Considering the strength of Zhang's rebel army in the past and looking at today's decline, no one can hold back the tears in their eyes.
In fact, not only the powerful Guiyi Army, but also the Tang Dynasty, which made thousands of Han people proud, and the Chang'an, which is haunted by dreams, are all gone.
In the past, one Han conquered ten barbarians, but now, there are only two places in the northwest, Guasha, and they are still being infiltrated by the Uighurs.
Zhang Chao stood solemnly in front of the statue of Zhang Yichao, and his heart was filled with excitement. If you don't understand the suffering of the Han people in the Hexi Corridor after the Anshi Rebellion, you can't understand their current weeping.
According to historical records, after the Tibetans occupied the Hexi Corridor, they abandoned the administrative system of the Tang Dynasty and replaced it with a tribal system. At the same time, they vigorously implemented the policy of Tibetanization, allowing the Han people in Hexi to change their clothes, learn the Tibetan language, and get ocher tattoos.
These soldiers and civilians of the Tang Dynasty who were trapped in Hexi not only became slaves of the subjugated country, they could not even retain the customs and habits of the Han people, and in fact became slaves of the Tubo nobles.
They could only sacrifice their fathers and ancestors every year, wear Chinese clothes, mourn and hide them. That is to say, they only dare to secretly take out their treasured Han costumes and put them on during festivals. After weeping and offering sacrifices, they had to put away their clothes.
Hidden, because if the Tubo people find out, their lives will be in danger.
A large number of Han people in Hexi have struggled to maintain their psychological destiny as Han people by relying on such a small amount of time.
In the first year of Changqing (821), Emperor Muzong of the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yuanding, the Tang envoy, went to Lhasa to participate in the Changqing Alliance. When passing through Longzhi City (an ancient city in the north of Minhe County, Qinghai), thousands of old people looked at the Tang flag and cried in obeisance. Weepingly asked if the emperor was okay.
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"The army has not been here for a while, but today's descendants can't bear to forget the Tang Dynasty uniforms. Does the court still miss it? When will the soldiers come?"
At this time, fifty-seven years had passed since the fall of the Hexi Corridor. Almost all those who were born and raised in the Tang Dynasty were about to die.
But the people in Hexi still know the flag of the Tang Dynasty, still remember their homeland, and still hope that the emperor of Chang'an will regain Hexi and save them from disaster.
However, they did not wait for the troops from the court. Instead, twenty-seven years later, at the age of forty-nine, Zhang Yichao, who came from a well-known family in Shazhou, led the people to revolt and regained the Hexi Corridor including Guasha, Gansu, Liang and other prefectures.
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Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Times have changed, and the Han'er in Hexi have reached the last moment. Now they only have a land of melons and sands. Not to mention restoring Hexi again, it is not even enough to protect themselves.
So what they cried was not just the death of Zhang Yichao, but what they missed was not just the Tang Dynasty, but the fiery national soul in their hearts that refused to succumb to the barbarians and never forgot their ancestors.
"It ends with Yiwu in the west and Lingwu in the east; it acquires more than 4,000 miles of land and a family with a household registration of one million; the mountains and rivers of the six counties are like a return." Zhang Chao chanted softly, and then looked at the old loyal man.
"Having such ancestors and being the descendant of such heroes in the world, Zhong Weng, do you think that I, Zhang Zhao, would collude with the Uighurs to cause chaos to my compatriots? Would I give up my own woman? If I were like this, I would be under the fire of Jiuquan.
How else can you go to see Taibao Gong?"
Hearing her woman's words, Mrs. Cao Sanniang's face turned red, and she became unnatural for a moment. Did I say that I would marry you, a little boy?
However, Zhang Chao's statement made her feel particularly pleased. This is the son of the Han family!
"Er Langjun said it well! Although my Cao family has the power of the Guiyi Army, it is still under the cover of Taibao Gong. My grandfather, King Linggong (Cao Yijin), did not treat the Zhang family badly. He himself is Taibao's grandson-in-law!"
This is true. Zhang Zhao and Zhang Chengfeng's direct bloodline are definitely not popular. There is no time to be soft-hearted in political struggles.
However, the entire Longtoni Zhang family was not greatly affected by the Cao family's donation. After all, there were only so many Han people in Guasha and Shazhou, and they had already been closely related to each other through marriage.
Zhang Chao did not answer, but knelt on his knees under the statue of Zhang Yichao. In his dream, he saw golden light emitting from the eyes and abdomen of the statue, as if there was something hidden inside.
If this time-travel was caused by Zhang Yichao's heroic spirit in heaven, Zhang Zhao prayed day and night for him to save the people in the valley, and he was specifically allowed to see the statue of the god, then there must be some truth to it.
"Isn't it strange, Mr. Zhong, why I, Zhang Zhao, changed from a silly boy who only knew how to recite Buddha's name to Zhang Erlang today?" Zhang Chao looked at the old Zhang Zhong behind him.
Zhang Zhong smacked his lips twice, and he thought it was right! These days, he was just worried that he would cause trouble, and he didn't even think about why Erlangjun suddenly seemed to be a different person?
"That's because! Taibao Gong entrusted me with a dream! Taibao Gong couldn't bear to see the Zhang family die, and he couldn't bear to see Tang'er's last home in Hexi also collapse, so he met me in a dream and told me that he had commanded me fifty years ago.
My grandfather made a pair of gold armor, which is invulnerable and can help future generations kill their enemies in times of crisis!"
Ugh! Madam Cao, who had just felt relieved and admired, was dumbfounded again, the old loyal man was also dumbfounded, and everyone in the room was dumbfounded.
At this time, they don’t know what to do but ask their ancestors to entrust them with dreams? If the ancestors of the clay sculptures were useful, they would have smashed their heads and asked the ancestors to help them fight back to Chang’an and revive the Tang Dynasty. This temple of Qixiaohu is more than ten years old
It was built years ago. Fifty years ago, there was nothing here!
Zhang Chao didn't pay attention to everyone's looks, but picked up a hammer and started to smash the dilapidated statue of Zhang Yichao. He didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but at this moment, he always felt that this statue and his time travel must be the same.
related.
Zhang Zhong cried and howled like Zhang Chao and rushed towards him. He wanted to stop Erlangjun. How could any of his descendants smash the statues of their ancestors? This is extremely unfilial!
‘Boom!’ But before he could get close, the statue was smashed by Zhang Chao, and... there seemed to be something really inside!
The rising sun shone in through the dilapidated window, and countless golden lights suddenly burst out from the statue. After a burst of smoke and dust, the statue was completely shattered. People stared with wide eyes, and a set of dark golden light armor appeared in everyone's eyes.
Phoenix wings, diamond face armor, tiger head and shoulder armor, flashing golden breast mirror, armor for arms, armor for arms, rhinoceros armor, leather belt, waistcoat armor, and skirt armor are all available.
On the left side of the armor is a horse spear more than six feet long, with a black shaft and a white spearhead flashing cold light. On the right side is a horizontal knife more than two feet long, with a green shell and white blade dotted with faint light!
Everyone was dumbfounded. They looked at Zhang Chao like a god.
There are really ancestors who show their holiness!
At this time, Dunhuang believed in Buddhism and often called gods and ghosts. People were already very superstitious. Seeing such a scene, it was even more difficult to control themselves. Everyone was thinking, could it be that Taibao Gong was really protecting his descendants in heaven?
"Tai Bao Gong! Please save us Hexi Han'er! The Tang Dynasty is gone! You have also passed away! It's so hard for us to support you!
What Shaolangjun thought about day and night was how to revive the Han family. Did you know that Shaolangjun (Zhang Chengfeng) only lived for twenty-three years? He died of suffocation!
Now I am the only old slave left in the Longtoni Zhang family who still remembers your will! Please save us!"
The old man, Zhong Weng, finally broke through. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed as if pounding garlic. The rest of the people, including Madam Cao, also kowtowed and begged Taibao Gong for protection!
"Hahaha!" Zhang Chao looked up to the sky and laughed. He knew why this statue appeared in his dream.
Isn't the armor in the statue his own masterpiece, the set of imitation Tang Dynasty Mingguang armor that took two and a half years to make?
He insisted on getting the two large steel plates on the breastplate, and he almost got sprayed to death by a group of people who strictly made ancient armor!
It seems that God has asked me to restore the glory of the Tang Dynasty!
Zhang Chao looked back at everyone, wondering what kind of pain the people in the valley and Lady Cao had suffered in history, but from this moment on, everything has changed. There will be no more suffering, only the glory of reviving the country.
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From now on, the Republic loses Zhang Chao, a cold weapon enthusiast, and the Tang Dynasty gains Zhang Zhao!