Han Shizu

Chapter 2145: Emperor Shizong 20 Liu Min is gone
During the reign of Khotan, Hotan was undoubtedly a Buddhist city, with Buddhist cultural atmosphere and imprints everywhere, both inside and outside the city. Of course, this situation changed significantly after the Kang army entered.

The 50,000 people Liu Ye moved to Feizhou and Longzhou were mostly nobles, craftsmen, civilians from Hotan and its surrounding areas, and of course, there were also a large number of monks and Buddhists. He also transferred two camps and their 10,000 soldiers and servants (essentially slaves, renamed for political reasons) from the "central military base" of Kangju (camps, troops, population and land directly under the royal family) to strengthen his rule and control and integrate and transform customs.

In the rectification and reform of local Buddhism, the migration of Buddhists and the merger of Buddhist temples were relatively large actions, especially the centralized management of tens of thousands of monks in large temples.

Lawak Temple is a well-known temple among the many temples in Khotan. It has many believers on weekdays. During this inspection, Liu Ye specially asked Liu Wenqian to accompany him to visit this famous temple. The reason is certainly not that Liu Ye suddenly became interested in Buddhist teachings and wanted to listen to the lectures of the great monks here, but because Liu Wenqian renamed this Buddhist temple "Shengwang Temple" and engraved a stele in it to record Liu Ye's great achievements and virtues.

Inside the square Buddhist temple, there were bursts of Zen sounds. Under the round pagoda-style Buddhist hall, a group of eminent monks were waiting respectfully and with bated breath. Lined up beside them were monk disciples of all sizes. However, Liu Ye was obviously disdainful of these people.

Walking along the prayer path, passing by the golden, lifelike statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, and Heavenly Kings with different expressions, Liu Ye naturally did not show the slightest reverence on his face. He just said to Liu Wenqian with emotion: "These Buddhists can still be used. To deal with Islamic people, it is not enough to rely on swords and weapons. Religious weapons must be used. Fight poison with poison and suppress religion with religion.

Only by fundamentally expelling the legacy of Islam from the people of all ethnic groups and factions under our rule can our rule be long-lasting and stable, and we can truly gain a firm foothold in this land of the Western Regions and take root there for generations to come, instead of constantly fearing the counterattack of the Arabs and the Islamic army's eastward expedition as we have done in the past few decades."

Liu Ye always showed his strength, but at this moment, his tone revealed a hint of loss and sadness, which surprised Liu Wenqian. However, facing his father's gaze, he did not dare to neglect it and responded very quickly: "I remember my father's teachings!"

After thinking for a while, Liu Wenqian reported again: "I have discussed with the officials of Hezhou and the Buddhist temples and decided to send some monks to move west and build temples there for them to preach the scriptures."

Hearing what he said, Liu Ye glanced at Liu Wenqian and nodded, "Those who are willing to go there to preach will be given the fame and fortune they deserve, and the government must guarantee it!"

"Yes!"

Since he was already there, Liu Ye still politely met with the monks in the temple, tried to comfort them with words, and enjoyed a vegetarian meal in the temple. However, from beginning to end, Liu Ye was wearing a suit of armor. His cold and murderous temperament formed an eerie harmony with the solemn atmosphere of the temple.

Before leaving, Liu Ye pointed at the mountain gate and said that he was not worthy of the word "holy" in Shengwang Temple and asked the temple to change its name. So, under the guidance of the king's order, Shengwang Temple was renamed "Mingwang Temple".

After three days of inspection, Liu Ye decided to return to Shule and prepare to embark on a long journey east to Luoyang. However, after packing up and before leaving, Liu Ye had to change his itinerary because of a piece of news.

The news came from Hezhong City in Anxi State that Liu Min, the King of Wei and King of Anxi of the Han Empire, died of illness in Hezhong City (Bukhara) on November 11, the first year of Jianlong.
After the fifth Han-Iranian war, under the rule of Liu Min, the Anxi Kingdom adopted a "conservative expansion" attitude towards the Islamic forces in West Asia. On the one hand, it maintained offensive pressure on the neighboring Ghazni and Ziyarid states, repeatedly invaded Persia, and plundered the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, but it also maintained considerable restraint, often engaging in small wars but not major ones.

At the same time, Liu Min spent most of his energy on internal rectification and reform, especially the in-depth reform of the Hezhong region. In order to consolidate and strengthen his rule, Liu Min implemented a set of policies and measures in politics, military, economy and other aspects, set rules for everyone from powerful generals to civilian slaves, and officially promulgated the "Great Code" belonging to the Anxi State in the first year of Pingkang.

What Liu Min did in Anxi State was actually not fundamentally different from what Emperor Shizu did in the early period of his reign. Both were reforms, integrations and innovations based on existing systems. It took several decades to turn the Han Empire into a "stitched together" autocratic feudal dynasty. Although Emperor Shizu's empire had all the fundamental contradictions and problems of a feudal dynasty, its policy essence and ruling philosophy were carried forward, and its rule was maintained and consolidated for a considerable period of time.

In comparison, Liu Min's Anxi Kingdom was a complete "patchwork". It was a brand new kingdom that was full of contradictions and conflicts from top to bottom.

Ethnic issues, cultural issues, religious issues, institutional issues, economic issues...all problems are the shocking seams on this "stitched monster."

In this country, centralization and local autonomy, feudal autocracy and slavery, Han culture and Central Asian Islamic culture, East Asian race and Central and West Asian race and even a part of white people, all reasonable and unreasonable things are gathered together.

It is conceivable how difficult it is to integrate these contradictory people and things, make them harmonious, and keep them under the rule of the kingdom. To a certain extent, it can be said that it is more difficult than what Emperor Taizu did to the Han Empire.

After all, although Emperor Shizu made many reforms and changes to the Han Empire, some fundamental things did not change. The core of the empire's rule did not change. The form changed, but the essence remained the same. Many policies, methods, reform regulations and measures were just means of ruling. Moreover, there were so many things that Emperor Shizu could learn from.

In contrast, Liu Min's operation in Anxi was a groundbreaking and unprecedented "revolution", which was destined to be a difficult road. The "Yingsuo System" proposed at the end of Kaibao was the official path he took. The decades of wars in the west were the process of broadening this path and overcoming difficulties. When the "Great Law Code" was born, Liu Min achieved a small goal on the road of sinicization and integration, and built a new Central Asian dynasty belonging to the Han people.

At least, the "Great Law Code" can be used as the highest legal basis for the dynasty's rule. It is recognized by all people and is a general constraint on people of all classes and nationalities under the Anxi system. Of course, this constraint was formed under the powerful prestige of Liu Min and the deterrence of the military force centered on the Han armed forces under the camp system.

Even so, the "Anxi System" created by Liu Min himself was not perfect, with numerous contradictions, sharp conflicts, and top-down confrontations. If one of them was not handled properly, big problems might arise.

But none of these hindered Liu Min's lofty achievements in Central and West Asia, and the new chapter in Central Asian history that he opened with his own efforts. At the same time, even if we look at Liu Min from the most traditional perspective, his expansion of territory and countless conquests are enough to demonstrate his illustrious military achievements.

By the first year of Jianlong, the Anxi State founded by Liu Min had become a large Central Asian country that encompassed Zhuhai (Lake Issyk-Kul) in the east, the Aral Sea in the north, the Caspian Sea in the west, and Persia in the south. It was a military power with a population of more than five million and the ability to organize hundreds of thousands of troops. Its existence dealt a severe blow to the development and expansion of Islam in Central and West Asia, and for twenty years, it suppressed the Islamic world.

To date, its founder, Liu Min, who was called the "King of Central Asia" by the Islamic world and more western countries, finally could not withstand the invasion of time and the torture of disease, and passed away suddenly, leaving this world with regret and bidding farewell to his unfinished career.

Liu Min was born in the seventh year of Qianyou (954 AD) and had just celebrated his th birthday before his death. However, considering that he had been busy with state affairs and wars throughout his life, he was not short-lived to live to that age.

Due to long-term fatigue and the sequelae of war, Liu Min suffered from illness in the last few years of his life. This is also a very important reason why the Anxi Kingdom has been relatively peaceful in the past ten years and both the upper and lower levels have restrained their desire for expansion. After all, the lion who led them to fight all over the world has grown old.

Although Liu Min is gone, he has left a unique mark of glory in the long river of history, and what he left to future generations is also a strong and civilized country. If we sublimate the significance, that is, the Anxi Dynasty, a country with Han civilization as its core and many local cultures and customs, is a great practice of the intersection and integration of Eastern and Western civilizations in the history of Central and West Asia, and has played a significant role in promoting the progress of world civilization.
It's not a spoiler, but I still have to say in advance that the Anxi Dynasty during the Liu Min era was at its peak, at least in terms of military and suppression of the ysl world. The Liu Min era was its peak.

With the passing of Liu Min, where will the future of the Anxi Kingdom go, what will be the future of Liu's descendants, and how will nearly 600,000 Han people survive and develop in Central Asia? These can only be concluded after experiencing the tide of history.

Hezhong City, known as Zhongjing in Anxi, is a famous and majestic city with a long history. It is the capital of the Samanid Dynasty. With the arrival of the Han people, it has undergone a series of Han-style and Sinic transformations and now appears before the world in a brand new look.

The architectural style is a mixture of brick and wood, and the cultural color is the fusion of Han and Yi. Hezhong City is like a melting pot, and Liu Min is a powerful and superb craftsman. After adding all the human elements, he forged a brilliant "new Hezhong civilization".

The royal city in the center was a sub-city built on the basis of the original Puhualuo City, used by the royal family, the royal court, and the nobles. At this moment, the original black and red flags were all dropped, replaced by white and plain flags, whistling in the cold wind.

In the center of the royal city is the palace. The main hall in the center is called the Dacheng Hall. It is the most magnificent palace in the entire Central Asia and it is also where the upper class of Anxi hold meetings on weekdays.

However, the Dacheng Hall was shrouded in a sad atmosphere at this time. The coffin of Anxi King Liu Min was quietly placed in the center of the hall. The hall was crowded with people, all wearing mourning clothes to express their condolences and crying. However, after a month of mourning, the crying inevitably lacked some emotion.

The impact of Liu Min's death on Anxi can be referred to the death of Emperor Shizu. Therefore, in the sad atmosphere, there is inevitably a sense of anxiety, and most of the hesitant eyes are directed towards a middle-aged man kneeling in front of the coffin, Liu Wenzhe, the fifth son of King Anxi Liu Min.

Liu Wen Ze was born in the 986th year of Kaibao (). His mother was Concubine Kang (daughter of the prominent Kang family in Anxi and granddaughter of the old general Kang Zaiyu). In the th year of Yongxi, he was conferred the title of Marquis An. He served as the camp leader of the Suiye Army, the Defense Envoy of Guocheng, the Prefect of Suiye, the Inspector of Haidong, and the Governor-General of Khorasan.

Unlike the Kangguo side, where Liu Ye had almost no choice, Liu Min had many children, including eight sons. In addition to the eldest son Liu Wenmiao and the seventh son Liu Wenyi who died young, six of them grew up. But in the same way, he did not follow the system of primogeniture in choosing an heir, but chose to choose a virtuous person. However, the standard of "virtue" was determined by Liu Min himself.

With the king's attitude, the princes naturally started a fierce struggle for the throne, and Liu Wenze was the winner. In fact, he had only two main competitors, the second prince, Gan Hou Liu Wenli, and the third prince, Ji Hou Liu Wenmin. The three of them had similar backgrounds. Their mothers were all from the upper military nobles of Anxi. For example, Ji Hou Liu Wenmin's mother was from the Yang family, the "Yang" of the old Grand Tutor Yang Ye.

Under Liu Min's power, external factors had little influence on the selection of successors. Everything depended on the performance of the sons and Liu Min's final judgment. Liu Min gave everyone opportunities, allowing them to rotate positions in the Anxi military and political system, observe and test them silently, and encourage them to compete.

Under the high-intensity and high-pressure competition, the weak ones gradually exposed their shortcomings and were crossed off Liu Min's list. Although Gan Hou Liu Wenli was older and had a strong character, he was violent and violent. Although he had strong means, he never understood the principle that strength is easy to break. He was also arrogant to his subordinates and killed slaves. When these faults were exposed one by one, he was also eliminated.

Next is Ji Hou Liu Wenmin, who is too scheming, likes to collude, seeks false reputation, is good at governing, but has no military talent, which reminds Liu Min of the former King of Wu Liu Hui. The complete loss of points is that in the first year of Duangong, Liu Min fell ill. At that time, Liu Wenmin, who was stationed in Samogan, rushed to Hezhong before his brothers without seeing the king's edict. His actions and intentions are obvious. Although Liu Min wants to choose a wolf king for Anxi, he does not pay no attention to filial piety. Liu Wenmin's performance is too explicit and utilitarian.

So, when competitors made mistakes one after another, Liu Wen Ze gradually stood out. Of course, the throne was not so easy to fall on him. Liu Min was tested in many aspects and in all directions. His own qualities and his performance in important military and political positions in Anxi for many years were the most fundamental. He may not be so outstanding, but he has made some achievements and has many bright spots.

In the second year of Duangong, Liu Wenzhe was recalled to Hezhong by Liu Min from Khorasan. Before that, Liu Wenzhe had served as governor of Khorasan for four years.

The Governorate of Khorasan was established by Liu Min after the "Fifth World War". By the second year of Duangong, it had jurisdiction over only a dozen towns and a population of less than 200,000. However, it faced the Islamic world directly and was the place where Anxi and Ghazni competed most fiercely, with conflicts every year and bloodshed every month.

Such a complex situation with sharp contradictions is also extremely challenging. Although Liu Wenzhe did not further expand the territory during his four years in office, he managed the people's livelihood and developed the economy on the one hand, and on the other hand, without strong support from Central Asia, he still stubbornly resisted the overt and covert counterattacks from Ghazni and repelled more than ten attacks by thousands of people, including three attacks by more than ten thousand people.

After resigning from Khorasan and returning to Hezhong, Liu Wen Ze was appointed by Liu Min as the prefect of Hezhong and the recorder of the Shangshu affairs, which was the final test. In the third year of Duangong, he went one step further and was appointed as the inspector of the inner and outer imperial guards and the commander-in-chief of military camps throughout the country, which completely established Liu Wen Ze's status as the successor to the throne.

Now that Liu Min has passed away, Liu Wen Ze has naturally taken over the supreme power in Anxi. At least Hezhong City, the heart of the kingdom, the central government, and the imperial guards are all under his control.

Of course, the brothers who rushed back to Hezhong to mourn would not be so calm, and there would inevitably be some disturbances before the official succession. However, as long as Liu Wenzhe, who already had actual power, did not lose his head, his position would not be shaken. However, for the Anxi subjects who were accustomed to Liu Min's rule, Liu Wenzhe, the new king, was not so trusted.
In the Dacheng Hall, Liu Wenzhe knelt silently with a deep and reserved look, his red eyes showing his sadness. An attendant hurried in and whispered something to him, which attracted the attention of many people.

After listening to the report, Liu Wenzhe quickly stood up, waved his hand, and said, "I will personally welcome you." Not long after, the answer was revealed: it was King Kang Liu Ye who came in person to pay his respects.

The journey from Shule to Hezhong was more than 2,000 miles. Despite his old age and illness, Liu Ye traveled day and night to get there. His face was weather-beaten and his expression was tired, which showed his hard work.

Without paying any attention to the Anxi dignitaries in the hall, Liu Ye broke away from the support of his attendants, walked slowly to the coffin, looked at the coffin, and then looked at the spirit tablet shrouded in curling smoke. His old eyes were filled with sorrow and sadness, which he revealed unconsciously.

After receiving the incense and candles, Liu Ye bowed to the coffin solemnly. After offering the incense, Liu Ye stared at the spirit tablet for a long time before he said in a low voice with disappointment: "Sixth brother, I have never been convinced by you. You left like this because you don't want to give me, your younger brother, another chance to catch up."

As he spoke, tears unconsciously flowed from Liu Ye's eyes.
When Liu Ye was paying his respects, everyone in the hall was silent and dared not look sideways, including Liu Wenzhe who also had a respectful attitude. Although Liu Ye was not the king of Anxi, his identity, his achievements, and the connection between the two countries were enough to make these Anxi dignitaries bow their heads in admiration.

After standing there for a long time, Liu Ye raised his hand and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with silk, but his red eyes were still memorable. He turned his head and looked around, his eyes fell on Liu Wen Ze, and Liu Ye's voice was tired and old: "Are you the prince chosen by the sixth brother?"

Upon hearing the question, Liu Wen Ze's heart moved, and he immediately bowed and humbly said: "My nephew Wen Ze greets Uncle King Kang. My father has entrusted me with a heavy responsibility, and I am deeply terrified and treading on thin ice."

"You don't need to pretend to be humble and talk to me!" Liu Ye interrupted Liu Wen Ze directly, stared at him and said: "Sixth Brother chose you for his own reasons. I just hope that you can manage the country well and don't forget your father's aspirations!"

After saying that, he left the somewhat embarrassed Liu Wen Ze behind and walked away slowly in front of everyone. Braving the cold winter snow, running two or three thousand miles, he only said these two sentences in the Dacheng Hall, and then Liu Ye embarked on the journey to Luoyang, which was another arduous journey of tens of thousands of miles.

At the same time, although Liu Wen Ze was not given face, Liu Ye's words were obviously beneficial to his succession, which was equivalent to adding another "legal principle".

(End of this chapter)