The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 377: Starting with the looting of the temple, 30,000 taels of gold are unearthed.
Lahore is located 1,500 miles southeast of the Khyber Pass.

It is the current capital of the Delhi Sultanate. Under normal circumstances, the capital will not be moved to Delhi, which is further south, until two years later.

Therefore, the Delhi Sultanate at this time should be called the "Lahore Sultanate".

As dusk fell, the Sultan's palace was brightly lit.

Sultan Qutb al-Din sat in the main seat, dressed in a black robe embroidered with gold, with a jewel-encrusted scimitar at his waist, his dark face full of arrogance.

Although he was born a slave, he rose to power after the Kingdom of Gur split due to his ruthlessness and wisdom. Now he has a strong army and is the most powerful force in the north.

On either side of the hall sat the generals and officials of the Sultanate, all dressed in magnificent attire.

On the left side of the hall, two envoys from the Kingdom of Johan stood out.

The Chauhan Sultanate was a neighbor of the Delhi Sultanate to the south, geographically located roughly in the same region as Rajasthan, which later became India. It was a Brahmanical country.

During this period, India's territory was fragmented, with numerous kingdoms, and some kingdoms dared to call themselves kings simply because they owned a few small cities.

The Kingdom of Johan was already considered a relatively large local power, but it was still in a weak position compared to the Delhi Sultanate, which inherited half of the power of the Kingdom of Ghur.

Prince Vijay of the Kingdom of Johan was only twenty years old. He wore an ivory-white silk robe and a white turban adorned with pearls. His face was fair and handsome, but he could not hide the unease and anxiety between his brows.

The Brahmanical master Shankara beside him, however, was a completely different person.

He was nearly sixty years old, thin, wearing an ochre linen robe, with a string of sandalwood prayer beads hanging from his waist. His head was bald except for a vermilion auspicious mole on his forehead.

He clasped his hands together, closed his eyes to rest, and appeared calm and composed, but the occasional trembling of his fingertips still betrayed his inner tension.

This religious leader, who was renowned in India, now seemed more like a figurehead with no real authority, lacking any courage to deal with the crisis.

"Prince Vijay, you've come from afar, why not try some Lahore's roasted meat?"

Kutbudin picked up the golden glass in front of him, took a sip of wine, and spoke in a loud voice, carrying an unquestionable air of authority.

"Or is it that the prince of the Kingdom of Johan looks down on the food made by people like us who were 'born as slaves'?"

These words were like a thorn, making Prince Vijay stiffen.

He quickly stood up, put his hands together, bowed, and said in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Sultan is too kind. Lahore's cuisine is renowned, but I am preoccupied with matters between our two countries and have lost my appetite."

Kutbudin scoffed, set down his golden cup, and glanced at Prince Vijay with disdain: "Concerned about the affairs of two countries? Are you worried about when this Sultan will send troops south to raze the Kingdom of Johan?"

The generals in the hall burst into laughter, their laughter filled with sarcasm.

Prince Vijay's face flushed instantly, but he could only suppress his humiliation and whisper, "Sultan, the Kingdom of Johan wishes to maintain friendly relations with you for generations to come and will offer tribute every year, only asking that you abandon your idea of ​​conquering the south..."

"Tribute?"

Kutbudin laughed and said arrogantly, "My army can conquer the entire Kingdom of Ghur. Do I need your tribute?"

He stood up, walked up to Prince Vijay, and looked down at him: "Let me tell you, what this Sultan wants is every place where the sun shines."

"The Kingdom of Johan must submit to my Sultanate."

Shankara finally opened his eyes, clasped his hands together, and spoke with a deliberately calm tone.

"Sultan, the Kingdom of Chauhan has millions of Brahmin followers. If you insist on launching a southern expedition, it may provoke resistance from all the Brahmin followers..."

"Resist?"

Kutbudin laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, pointing at Shankara and saying, "You Brahmins, all you do is hide in temples chanting sutras. When faced with real swords and spears, aren't you scared like rabbits?"

"When the Ghurids came, didn't your followers surrender obediently? Now my army is ten times stronger than the Ghurids', what do you have to resist?"

Shankara continued to refute, but this only revealed his outward strength but inner weakness.

He usually preached his doctrines throughout India and had countless followers, but in front of Kutbdin, who held a large army, he was like a scholar meeting a soldier.

Prince Vijay looked at Shankara's cowardly appearance and was filled with disappointment. He took a deep breath and bowed again: "Sultan, the Kingdom of Johan is willing to form an alliance with you to fight against the enemy in the north."

"I heard you are preparing to launch a northern expedition against the Kingdom of Gur..."

"The Kingdom of Gur?"

Kutbudin waved his hand dismissively, his dark face full of arrogance: "They're nothing but a bunch of defeated soldiers."

"My army has already assembled at the border. In less than three months, we will surely capture Ghazni and hang that old bastard Raldus on the city gate."

"At that time, the entire Kingdom of Ghur will become the territory of my Sultanate."

The generals in the hall immediately echoed, some patting their chests and boasting about the bravery of their own troops, while others shouted that they would "flatten the heartland of Gur." For a moment, the room was filled with noise, as if the Kingdom of Gur was already in their grasp.

Prince Vijaya and Shankara exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.

Any rational persuasion is futile in the face of this group of arrogant heretics.

Kutbudin was a slave, and his men were an even more arrogant and ignorant bunch of lowly people.

Some of them were originally Shudras or even Dalits, but were reduced to the lowest of the low, like dirt.

But just because they sided with these heretics, they dared to offend the noble Brahmins; they deserve to die!

Just then, a Sultan's personal guard suddenly appeared outside the banquet hall. He cautiously peeked inside, then ran in and knelt on one knee.

"Sultan, Peshawar has sent someone to deliver an urgent military message."

"Twenty days ago, Peshawar was attacked by an unidentified army. The defending troops could not withstand the attack and urgently needed reinforcements."

"what?"

Kutbudin's smile froze instantly. He stood up abruptly, smashing his golden cup on the ground with a crash, spilling wine everywhere: "Peshawar has been attacked?"

Peshawar is a major northern town in the Delhi Sultanate, about 1,000 kilometers from Lahore and about 500 kilometers southeast of the Khyber Pass.

The news of the attack took twenty days to reach Lahore, an absurdly slow process.

The entire banquet hall fell silent instantly, and the smugness on the faces of the officials and generals vanished.

Kutbudin strode up to his personal guard, grabbed him by the collar, and asked fiercely, "Who attacked Peshawar? Was it the Guge Kingdom in the east, or the Ghurs in the north?"

The guard trembled with fear and hurriedly replied, "Report...report to the Sultan, the messenger sent by Peshawar says that there are many Ghurs in the attacking army."

"In addition, there were a large number of cavalrymen dressed in red, carrying red flags with sun and moon patterns on them."

"The red sun and crescent flag?"

Kutbudin frowned. He had never heard of such a power before, but that did not stop him from venting his anger on the Kingdom of Gur.

He abruptly released his personal guards, turned around and roared at the generals in the hall: "What a terrible Kingdom of Gur! I haven't even settled accounts with them yet, and they dare to offend me first."

"Didn't they say they were going to launch a northern expedition against Samarkand? Why are they sending troops to attack my Peshawar instead?"

"That damned Muhammad, he actually sent false information to this Sultan!" Qutbdin cursed at the traitor he had bribed in the Kingdom of Ghurid.

"There's been no news from the northern cities of Kapar and Kabul; they must have been occupied by the Ghurs long ago."

"These ignorant fools, do they really think I, the Sultan, am easy to bully?"

The generals all stood up, each filled with righteous indignation.

“Sultan, let’s muster our troops now, head north and teach the Ghurs a lesson, capture the Rdus, and skin them alive.”

"Yes, destroy the Kingdom of Ghur and let them know the power of the Sultanate of Lahore."

Shouts erupted in the hall again, but this time there was more panic involved.

No one expected that the Ghurs, whom they had always regarded as "defeated troops," would dare to launch an attack.

Prince Vijaya and Shankara stood aside, outwardly frowning and feigning indignation, but inwardly they were secretly delighted.

Kutbudin was just thinking about conquering the Kingdom of Johan in the south, but now that his important northern town has been attacked, he is probably too busy to take care of himself.

The crisis facing the Kingdom of Johan was averted by this unexpected military intelligence.

Prince Vijay cleared his throat, stepped forward, and clasped his hands together, saying, "Sultan, the Kingdom of Ghur is so treacherous and despicable."

"The Kingdom of Johan is willing to join forces with you to punish this traitor. I am already aware of the Sultan's conditions, but I must first return to the kingdom and consult with my father regarding the alliance..."

"go back?"

Kutbudin turned his head sharply, his eyes filled with anger and resentment.

He had just been boasting about his control over the Kingdom of Gur, but in the blink of an eye, military intelligence slapped him in the face. He felt he had lost all face and was unwilling to let Prince Vijay and Shankara leave just like that.

He stepped forward, grabbed Prince Vijay's wrist, and said in a domineering tone, "No, this Sultan is taking you all north with him."

"I will show you with your own eyes how I, the Sultan, annihilate the Ghur army and flatten their cities."

"It will also let you know that allying with the Sultanate is a blessing for your Kingdom of Johan."

Prince Vijay's wrist ached from being gripped so tightly, but he dared not resist.

The man before me, Kutbudin, had lost all semblance of a sultan; he was nothing more than an unreasonable tyrant.

Shankara wanted to step forward and persuade him, but seeing Kutbudin's fierce eyes, he swallowed his words and could only sigh helplessly.

Kutbdin gave them no chance to object, and ordered his personal guards: "Pass on my order, the entire army shall assemble immediately and march north to Peshawar in three days."

"Keep a close eye on Prince Johan and this 'master,' don't let them get away."

"Yes, sir." The guard obeyed and left.

……

The Delhi Sultanate's military and political system is too inefficient. In fact, twenty days earlier, the Qin army had captured Peshawar in just one day.

The entire city was instantly engulfed in a frenzy of looting.

The red cavalrymen weaved through the streets and alleys, their scimitars flashing incessantly, and almost every fair-skinned person fell victim to their blades.

The once proud Brahmin woman was now bound by ropes and piled on the back of a horse like cargo, reduced to a plaything for the Qin soldiers to enjoy at will.

Those dark-skinned, short black people knelt on the ground early on, their hands covering their heads, constantly muttering words of begging for mercy; their servility was ingrained in their very bones.

The Qin soldiers, seeing their docile appearance, didn't bother to take any action.

These people are still useful; they can be used to do the dirty and hard work.

However, the weather in Peshawar caused considerable trouble for the Qin army.

It was already October, and snow had begun to fall in Jinzhou, but the heat was still unbearable. The scorching sun made the ground burn, and the air was filled with a humid and hot atmosphere.

Those Qin men who had endured the harsh, cold winds of the northern frontier were completely unable to adapt to the climate. Many began to experience dizziness and diarrhea, and some even collapsed from heatstroke. "General, more than a dozen brothers have fallen ill today, and two haven't made it..."

The military doctor stood in front of Erhu, his tone heavy.

With non-combat casualties increasing, the army's combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced even without encountering the enemy.

Erhu frowned, his heart filled with worry.

He walked outside the military camp, looked at the soldiers' listless appearance, and said in a deep voice, "Pass on my orders."

"No soldier may go out at noon, and water must be boiled before it can be drunk."

"The dirty and hard work, and the moving of corpses, were all left to the prisoners of war and the subjugated Negritos."

“We hung damp linen in each tent and brewed extra herbal tea every day to cool off in the heat.”

"In addition, have the doctors collect more heat-clearing herbs and boil them into a decoction for the brothers to drink, so as to keep non-combat casualties under control."

"Follow the order."

The guards obeyed and left. Erhu gazed at the distant city wall, a hint of hesitation in his heart.

If the soldiers continue to be in poor condition, it might be time to consider withdrawing the troops.

After all, Erhu led his army south to plunder and hunt down Yelü Hongxin, neither of which were essential tasks.

We can't let our army be wiped out in this awful weather.

Just then, a messenger galloped up, dismounted, and handed over a secret letter: "General, a message from the King."

Erhu quickly opened the secret letter, which first praised his achievements in conquering Barihei and capturing Peshawar.

He then instructed him to take precautions against heatstroke and the soldiers' injuries and illnesses. He said that if there were too many non-combat casualties or the soldiers were not in good condition, the troops could be withdrawn and returned to Samarkand at any time, as the current results were already quite substantial.

Finally, Li Xiao specifically mentioned that if a temple is discovered in the area, people can be sent to excavate it, as these temples often contain large amounts of gold underground.

Upon seeing the word "gold," Erhu instantly perked up, and his previous hesitation and worry vanished.

He bare-chested, put on his cloth armor, strode out of the tent, and shouted to his personal guards, "Assemble! Follow me to the largest temple in the city!"

Peshawar is too far from Samarkand, and the cost of ruling it would be too high, so Li Xiao did not intend to establish a rule there.

Therefore, they did not care about local religious beliefs before, and neither destroyed temples as they did in the Qin state, nor confiscated religious land and distributed it to the people.

But now that we know there's gold hidden beneath the temple, the temple has no choice but to be destroyed.

Erhu led his personal guards to the largest Brahman temple in the city. The temple was built of white stone blocks, and two huge statues of Shiva stood at the entrance, looking solemn and dignified.

The temple had already been looted twice by the Qin army, who had taken away all the valuables and rare items inside.

Only a group of monks remained in the temple, denouncing the Qin army's atrocities to Shiva while sadly cleaning up the temple.

Although everything has been looted, as long as the temple remains, a large number of believers will donate gold and silver, and it will recover in a few years.

But before they could even tidy up the mess, the Qin army came for the third time.

The monk trembled with fear, but still mustered his courage to step forward and stop him: "Sir, this is a sacred temple, you cannot..."

Before he could finish speaking, Erhu waved to the prisoners of war behind him, Gur, to come forward: "Push them aside, dig three feet into the ground, and find the gold."

The prisoners of war dared not disobey and immediately rushed toward the temple with their tools.

The monks tried in panic to stop them, but were immediately killed by the Gur prisoners of war.

The demolition of the temple quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding believers.

The previously timid and submissive Negritos became excited upon seeing the Qin army about to demolish the temple, and they all stood up and stood in front of the temple.

They shouted incomprehensible words, and some even picked up stones and threw them at the Qin army.

"Don't tear down the temple."

“Protect Shiva.”

"You have offended Shiva and will go to hell."

……

Anger and curses rose and fell. Erhu frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "This sect is a bit strange. They can control people's minds even better than the bald monks of Buddhism."

These lowly people, exploited by the powerful and wealthy to the point of starvation, are now risking their lives for a dilapidated temple.
Erhu had to admit that the local powerful figures were indeed adept at ruling and exploiting the common people.

Demolishing the temple was clearly a way to break the shackles that bound them, yet they insisted on resisting it to the death, as if they had worn the collar around their necks for so long that they truly considered themselves dogs to be manipulated by others.

"Since they don't know what's good for them, then kill them." Erhu's eyes turned cold as he gave the order to the prisoners of war, Gur.

The prisoners of war immediately raised their tools and began hacking at the Negritos.

When the excited Negritos realized they were really going to kill people, they instantly regained their senses, turned around and ran away, showing both madness and cowardice.

But Erhu wouldn't give them a chance. Since they had already attacked the Qin army, they had to bear the consequences.

He said coldly, "Not a single one of them shall be spared."

In an instant, blood flowed like a river in front of the temple.

After dealing with the people who were blocking their way, the prisoners of war, Gur, began to demolish the temple with all their might, and then dug through the ruins with hoes and shovels.

Erhu stood to the side, arms crossed, patiently waiting.

The next day, the excavation finally yielded results.

When the boxes of gold were carried out, Erhu's eyes lit up instantly.

Crowns, gold coins, gold statues, gold chains, and all sorts of gold ornaments were piled together, glittering brightly.

After counting, the guards reported: "General, there are more than 30,000 taels of gold."

"Hahaha~" Erhu couldn't help but grin and laugh, his mouth almost reaching his ears.

"I never imagined there was so much gold in India."

"What we robbed from the noble mansions before wasn't enough, and now there's so much gold in this temple too."

He slapped his thigh, a decision forming in his mind in an instant: withdraw troops? No way.

With so much gold, we have to keep working, no matter how hot the weather is.

Immediately, Erhu ordered: "All departments should immediately go and search for other temples. Wherever there is a temple, dig it up."

"In addition, select men from the personal guards to form a special 'treasure hunters' team, responsible for digging up gold."

"Kill anyone who dares to stop us."

After the order was issued, the Qin army launched a large-scale "gold mining operation" in major cities in the northern part of the Delhi Sultanate.

Although it sparked many popular uprisings, all resistance was brutally suppressed by the Qin army's swords, and the city was littered with corpses.

But Erhu didn't care at all; all he could see were those glittering gold pieces.

I must visit this land rich in gold often in the future.

Meanwhile, Lahore's army had already begun its northern expedition.

They not only assembled 50,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, but also deployed their strongest elephant corps.

They forcibly dragged Prince Vijay and Shankara to accompany the army, ostensibly to "let them witness the military might of the Sultanate of Lahore."

Kutbudin roared, "Full speed north! I, the Sultan, will personally behead Raldus and make those who dare to offend Lahore pay the price!"

At this time, the Qin army was completely unaware of this.

They were scattered throughout the cities and towns in the north, searching for Yelü Hongxin's whereabouts while frantically digging up temples and looting noble residences.

Erhu tripled the scale of the "tomb raiding team." As soon as they learned of a temple, or even a small shrine in a remote mountain village, they would immediately rush to dig it up.

Gold was continuously transported back to Baishawa and piled up in the Qin army's camp, gleaming with an alluring light.

November arrived quietly, and winter finally descended upon the subcontinent.

Although the temperature did not reach freezing point, it did relieve the summer heat, finally freeing the Qin soldiers from the torment of the humid heat.

Non-combat casualties have decreased significantly, and the soldiers are looting even more vigorously.

On this day, Zhang Yue, the sixth commander, led a thousand cavalrymen and captured a small town called "Kohat".

A scout team discovered a large army at the edge of a forest twenty miles away.

On the distant plains, a dense cluster of tents dotted the landscape, and amidst the fluttering flags, the insignia of the "Sultanate" could be faintly discerned.

Outside the tents, the soldiers were resting lazily. A rough estimate puts them at nearly three thousand men, mostly infantry with fewer cavalry.

"It should be reinforcements from the Delhi Sultanate. Go back and report to the commander."

The scouts dared not linger and spurred their horses back to Kohart.

After learning about the situation, Zhang Yue personally led a team to investigate. After observing the surrounding terrain and the situation of the Delhi Sultanate army, he immediately made a decision.

The next morning, a thousand Qin cavalrymen stormed into the vanguard camp of the Delhi Sultanate.

Although the vanguard general of the Delhi Sultanate had already learned of the fall of Kohat, he was preparing to continue his advance today, besiege Kohat, and await the arrival of reinforcements to recapture the city.

They never expected that the Qin army would launch a surprise attack on the Delhi army at dawn.

The armies in India were mostly incompetent, and the soldiers' combat effectiveness and quality were simply not up to the task of supporting such efficient tactics.

Most of the soldiers were asleep when the Qin army attacked, plunging the camp into chaos.

The Qin soldiers swung their swords and shot arrows relentlessly, and screams of agony filled the air. The three thousand vanguard troops of Deli collapsed instantly.

Vanguard General Komor was captured alive.

When the news reached the main force of Delhi, Qutbushdin was furious.

"Shameless Ledus, how dare you launch a sneak attack?"

"I, the Sultan, will personally cut off his head."

(End of this chapter)