Han Khan

Chapter 60: Soldiers' life and death in front of the army
Zhang Sheng was already clear at this time that although the new Holy Religion was not inferior to those sects with a long history in core beliefs, the gap in ideas, rituals and ceremonies should not be underestimated.

The core idea promoted by the current Holy Religion is a complete inheritance of the Confucian philosophy of Shintoism. This is far from enough for a religion and lacks appeal.

He also deeply realized that his knowledge reserves in theology were seriously lacking.

However, he will never give up on the continuous improvement of the holy religion, nor will he become discouraged.

Although there are thousands of paths in the world, they all lead to the same destination in the end.

At this time, he was full of confidence in the future of the Holy Religion.

Because at this moment, Jin Han captured two clergymen from Yizhou City who had extensive theological experience and joined the Holy Church.

Aronben, well, now we should call him Ben Zhengyuan. Ben Zhengyuan and Huineng, two priests from Nestorianism and Buddhism, converted to the holy religion.

It will bring various rituals and more sophisticated ideas to the newly established holy religion, as long as those that Zhang Sheng cannot accept are removed and Confucian ideas are integrated into it.

In this way, a new holy religion that integrates the three religions, reveres the Lord of Heaven, has richer ideas and ritual systems, and is more attractive will surely emerge.

Because he understood that it was necessary to integrate some of the knowledge and ideas of many different sects, such as Buddhism and Nestorianism, into the Holy Religion, so as to make up for the relevant concepts that the Holy Religion now lacked.

With a comprehensive understanding, and in time, the religion that absorbs Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, thoughts, rituals and rites, and worships only one God, will surely become more powerful!

Zhang Sheng looked at Zhang Zhongxian and the two of them in front of him, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes. He knew that the arrival of these two people would inject new vitality into the Holy Church.

Afterwards, Zhang Sheng, the emperor of the Holy Religion, together with Zhang Zhongxian, the cardinal priest of the Holy Religion, performed the Holy Religion's exclusive "baptism" conversion ceremony for Ben Zhengyuan and Huineng, the two new members of the Holy Religion.

Under Zhang Sheng's guidance, they bowed devoutly to the holy flag and Zhang Sheng, chanted holy prayers, and swore and made vows.

Then the names of the two were registered in the Holy Register, their hair was cut into ashes, and they were given the ceremony of becoming the main priests with blue robes with gold edges.

This symbolizes the new life of the two and the consecration ceremony of the priests of the Holy Church.

Then Zhang Zhongxian stepped aside, and Zhang Sheng said to them:
"Ben Zhengyuan, Huineng, from today on, you are members of my Holy Church. I hope you two can share what you have learned with other high priests to make the Holy Church more prosperous. In the future, you two will be saints under the Emperor of the Holy Church." Zhang Sheng said slowly with a gloomy face.

At this time, Ben Zhengyuan, the new chief priest of the Holy Religion, said solemnly: "I will follow your will, respected emperor. Chief Priest Huineng and I will do our best. However, we still have a shallow understanding of the Holy Religion..."

Zhang Sheng nodded slightly and said, "It's okay. In the future, the other four chief priests will guide and communicate with you two respectively, and pass on the knowledge to you, and you will naturally know it!
I only need you to teach other priests what you have learned, and work together with other priests to improve the teachings of the Holy Church, so that the Holy Church can attract more believers to join it. "

Huineng nodded and said, "Thank you for your trust. We will definitely fulfill our mission."

At this moment, the two men, as new converts to the Holy Religion, looked solemn, as if they had a new mission, forgetting their previous beliefs. They nodded solemnly, expressing their willingness to devote all their efforts to the Holy Religion.

This may be called the frenzy of a convert, abandoning the past and respecting the new!
Zhang Sheng nodded with satisfaction, then looked at the people outside the big tent, a feeling of pride surging in his heart.

He knows very well that the road ahead is still long, but he is confident that he can lead Jinhan to glory.

With the participation of these two religious leaders of Illinois, the Holy Religion will surely be spread more widely and will bring about the submission and stability of the newly conquered people of Illinois.

So he patted their shoulders with satisfaction, with a sly look in his eyes.

At this time, he had already begun to plan in his mind how to use these two religious leaders to further expand the influence of the Holy Religion.

He planned to let Huineng and Ben Zhengyuan preach the holy teachings in front of all the Jinhan people and Yizhou people respectively, and guide more believers to join.

At this time, several people stood outside the tent. Huineng looked at Yizhou behind him and sighed, "This city has experienced war and the people are suffering. I wonder what plans the noble emperor has for the future?"

Zhang Sheng raised his head and looked towards the north, and said firmly: "I will take you away from here to conquer Mobei, so that the people of the grassland can also bathe in the glory of the Lord Haotian!

As for Yizhou, since it cannot support all the people of Jinhan tribe, someone will come here to settle down and live happily. But I will take everything from Yizhou away."

Huineng's eyes flashed with a trace of pity and admiration, "Your Highness has such great ambitions, which is a blessing for the people. If Your Highness does not mind, I will bring other monks from Yizhou Temple with me to assist Your Highness in completing the compilation and preaching of the Bible together."

Zhang Sheng readily agreed. At this time, Ben Zhengyuan also stepped forward and said that he would bring other priests to work together for the affairs of the Holy Church.

Zhang Sheng said: "With the help of the two priests Hui Neng and Ben Zhengyuan, the compilation of the Holy Bible will be twice as effective with half the effort."

Then he asked, "What do the two priests think of the holy religion I founded?"

Ben Zhengyuan pondered for a moment and replied, "God's envoy, although our holy religion is different from Christianity, Dashi Christianity and Buddhism, they are all religions that lead people to goodness. Although the doctrines vary greatly, they do have the same goal. I have been preaching in Yizhou for many years and found that whether it is the Uighurs, Sai people, Tatars or Turks here, they are particularly eager for spiritual sustenance, especially those lower-class people, because their lives are really difficult.

Perhaps the Holy Church and your arrival can bring them new hope...

Zhang Sheng showed a satisfied smile, he stood up, walked up to the two of them and said.

“You are absolutely right, Priests Ben Zhengyuan and Huineng, I hope that we can work together to spread the love of the Lord of Heaven for mankind and His will, so that more people can understand the teachings of the Holy Religion, get rid of suffering, and gain inner peace.

Maybe in the future, because of your contributions, you will be able to ascend to the sacred heaven and enjoy eternal bliss."

The two men knelt down excitedly and humbly bowed to Zhang Sheng, with a determined light in their eyes: "May God be with us, Lord Messenger of God. We are willing to contribute our strength to the development of the Holy Religion."

At this moment, Zhang Sheng felt an inexplicable sense of mission. He knew that the road ahead was bumpy, but he firmly believed that the Holy Church would thrive in this land.

Zhang Sheng helped the two of them up and looked into the distance with a firm gaze, as if he saw the bright future of the Holy Church.

“We must not only let the Holy Religion take root in Jinhan, but also let it spread throughout the world and become the faith of the world.”

Ben Zhengyuan and Huineng looked at each other and said in unison: "We are willing to follow the Lord of God until death and create the glory of the Holy Religion together!"

........................

On the first day of August, dusk gradually deepened.

The camp became busy again. Carts of food, books, armor, weapons, cotton cloth, furs, pots and pans, gold, silver and iron ingots, as well as large quantities of clothes, wood, bottles and jars, were continuously transported into the camp.

Zhang Sheng looked at all this and felt a little embarrassed. The Jinhan tribe was like a group of beggars, directly emptied Yizhou and transported everything to the camp.

"Your Highness!" The imperial guard Koza and the judge and chief priest Zhang Jinda walked quickly towards Zhang Sheng.

The two men bowed and reported: "I and Chief Priest Zhang Jinda have led our people and slaves to move 10,000 dan of grain, more than 6,000 sheep, more than 500 cattle, and more than 700 horses and camels from Yizhou.

Twelve carts of iron, three carts of gold and silver, more than 1,200 sets of iron armor, more than 2,000 sets of leather armor, three carts of paper and sheepskin books, and thirty carts of furs, cotton cloth, and clothes.

Hearing about such a rich spoils, Zhang Sheng thought to himself, let me be a beggar, no matter what others think.

At least the 10,000 dan of food would allow the Jinhan tribe to replenish their food during the migration, so that no soldiers or tribesmen would starve to death. Slaves? Slaves had to wait until their masters were full before they could eat.

So he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Well done. Send soldiers to take care of these supplies and distribute them to the warriors who have killed the enemy and made meritorious contributions before the migration tomorrow as rewards of spoils of war."

"Yes, Your Highness!" The two of them went back to work.

Zhang Sheng led Ben Zhengyuan and Huineng to inspect the camp on horseback, and said to them in a serious tone: "In the future, you need to work with me to preach the teachings of the Holy Religion to the people of Jinhan, so that they can convert to the Holy Religion and become believers of the Lord of Heaven!

There are special holy tents for sacrifices and prayers, which are managed by Cardinal Zhang Zhongxian, the presiding priest. The two of you must also lead the monks under your command and join the hundred priests.

Believers go there for prayers, weddings, funerals, healing and comfort.

At the same time, each priest household has its own special subjects, and believers will also give alms to the priests. I will not levy taxes on the priest households, so you don't have to worry about your livelihood, and just focus on handling the affairs of the holy religion.

When we have a foothold in the future, the Holy Church will build a fixed temple for people to worship. "

Huineng suggested: "We can temporarily build a largest, movable felt tent in the center of the camp so that the tribesmen can gather and pray during the migration." Ben Zhengyuan also agreed.

Zhang Zhongxian nodded and said, "Okay, the materials are ready, you will see it tomorrow!"

In this way, several people walked and stopped, inspecting the camp of the Jinhan tribe. A large amount of supplies, livestock and prisoners were constantly being brought into the camp.

At this time, Wuzur, who was in charge of treating the wounded and counting the dead Jinhan soldiers, walked towards Zhang Sheng with a serious face. He held a stack of names in his hand, which was the list of the dead.

Behind them, nearly a thousand people stood silently, each holding a pottery jar in their hands. Zhang Sheng and Jin Hanren looked at them with heavy hearts at this moment.

"Your Highness, 127 guards were killed, 22 were injured, 482 centurions were killed, 121 were injured...

To be continued! ! !

(End of this chapter)