"I wonder what request the Han envoy has? Please speak frankly, and I will certainly grant it!"

Upon hearing that the remaining 20% ​​of the fee could be waived, the eldest prince agreed without hesitation, without considering what conditions Yuan Shao might impose.

Currently, the eldest prince has suffered a crushing defeat, and a plague has broken out in his territory. His strength is now inferior to that of the second prince.

Now, all he wants is to get the weapons provided by the Han army as soon as possible, and then organize a large army to plunder the Third Prince's territory to make up for the previous losses. He doesn't care about anything else.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Shao immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Taiping Religion, the state religion of our Great Han, is currently preaching within the territory of the Kushan Empire."

"We hope Your Majesty will issue an edict ordering local officials not to obstruct the spread of the Taiping Rebellion and to provide them with support and cooperation."

“That’s no problem. If the Taiping Sect doesn’t mind, I am willing to make it the state religion of the Kushan Empire, build a temple for it, and expel all the Buddhist monks from the territory, allowing only the Taiping Sect to spread its teachings!”

After hearing Yuan Shao's request, the eldest prince not only agreed immediately, but also added some conditions.

In his view, since the Taiping Sect was the state religion of the Han Dynasty, it must be highly valued by the Han Dynasty. He could use the Taiping Sect to build relations with the Han Dynasty and gain more support.

Of course, most importantly, the eldest prince also planned to use the Taiping Sect to strike at the power of the Futu Sect.

After all, the Buddha Sect is now fully supporting the Third Prince and has become its enemy. With the Taiping Sect as an ally, it can take the opportunity to weaken the Buddha Sect.

Hearing the eldest prince's words, Yuan Shao nodded in satisfaction. "In that case, thank you very much, Your Majesty. I can make the decision. You can send someone to receive that batch of military equipment now!"

"Very well, thank you for your trouble, Han envoy!"

Upon hearing Yuan Shao's promise, the eldest prince nodded with delight.

After Yuan Shao left, a decree was issued from the palace, recognizing the Taiping Religion as the state religion of the Kushan Empire. Cities throughout the land were required to fully support the spread of the Taiping Religion and expel all Buddhist monks from their territories.

As soon as the Crown Prince's decree was issued, his nobles and officials immediately abandoned their past faith in Buddhism and began to worship the God of Taiyi.

For these nobles and officials, it didn't matter which religion they believed in, whether it was Buddhism or Taoism, as long as they could preserve their wealth and status.

Moreover, the doctrines of the Taiping Religion, which taught people to abide by the law, respect Heaven, and be self-reliant, were in line with the interests and needs of noble officials.

At the same time, to show his sincerity, the eldest prince personally issued an edict appointing Zhang Jiao as the Grand Preceptor of the Kushan Empire.

Yuan Shao also used a sum of money meant for the eldest prince's purchase of military equipment to buy food and medicine in order to support the development of the Taiping Religion.

In just three months, under Zhang Jiao's leadership, the number of Kushan people who joined the Taiping Religion surged to more than 30,000, and the number of believers was growing rapidly, even in the form of city splits.

A brand-new Taoist temple also stood in the east of the capital city, and was regarded as a Taoist holy site by the Kushan people.

Zhang Jiao then divided the hundreds of disciples and newly joined believers he had brought into four major groups, and then, with the capital as the center, they went out in four directions to continue spreading the word.

In the eighth month of the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, inside the Kushan royal palace.

The eldest prince, full of confidence, sent someone to summon Jia Xu to discuss the matter of sending troops.

"Sir, now that the autumn harvest is over, our army has stockpiled enough food to feed 100,000 troops for half a year. Shouldn't we be able to send out troops now?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said solemnly, "It is possible, but Your Highness must remember that this time you are sending troops, your only purpose should be to plunder people and destroy the enemy's villages. Try your best to avoid conflict with the Third Prince's forces."

After all, the Third Prince also had a considerable amount of Han army weaponry…

Upon hearing Jia Xu's reminder, the eldest prince nodded. "What you say is true, sir. I wonder where you think our army should set out from?"

Jia Xu thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, let's advance from the northeast. That's where the three forces meet. Your Highness can order the soldiers to fly the Second Prince's banner and go there to plunder."

"It would be best to find a way to incite conflict between the second and third princes, so you can profit from it!"

"That's a good idea, let's do it that way!"

Upon hearing Jia Xu's suggestion, the eldest prince's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, with Jia Xu's assistance, the eldest prince dispatched 100,000 troops in batches to the territory under the command of the third prince.

According to Jia Xu's plan, the eldest prince's main purpose in this operation was to plunder people and food, and thereby weaken the third prince's rear strength.

Therefore, the soldiers' actions were very steady, accurate and ruthless. They only focused on the rural areas. Wherever the army passed, it was like a locust swarm. People, food, livestock, and property—everything that could be taken away was packed up and taken away. What could not be taken away was burned.

In just two months, the Third Prince's vast northern territory, nearly 500,000 able-bodied men, and countless grains and valuables were plundered.

Following the Xianbei and Xiongnu, the territory under the command of the third prince suffered another heavy blow.

Upon learning the news, the third prince was furious and immediately dispatched a large army to pursue these locust-like swarms.

Higashiyama Castle, located in the northeastern part of the Kushan region, is a medium-sized city with a population of about 100,000 and is under the control of the third prince.

The pursuing army dispatched by the Third Prince was stationed here.

The eldest prince's raiding party, however, was spread across a large area north of Dongshan Mountain City.

"How is the situation regarding the enemy?"

Inside Dongshan City, the general in charge of leading the army looked at the scout and asked.

"General, the enemy forces have been divided into large and small groups of one to five thousand men, scattered across various places, to plunder the villages and towns under our control."

During this period, I also sent men to encircle and suppress them.

However, these enemy troops are extremely cunning. Upon seeing our army, they immediately dispersed and fled. After escaping, they regrouped and continued to plunder other areas, causing us considerable trouble!

The commander frowned: "Hmph, can't you split your forces to pursue them?"

"General, I have tried to divide my forces to pursue them, but the enemy is too difficult to deal with."

When pursued by many, they flee. When pursued by few, they attack. Moreover, they frequently use the people under our jurisdiction as bait, luring our brothers into their traps, causing considerable losses…”

The scout captain, with a bitter expression, explained this unique tactic of the enemy to his general.

"These bastards, is there no way to deal with them?" Upon hearing his subordinate's report, the commander roared angrily.

"General, those guys are operating on our own soil. No matter what we do, we'll always be the ones who suffer."

In my opinion, we might as well do what they did and go to their territory to cause trouble.

Finally, even if we can't wipe them out, we can still reclaim the people and food we've lost from their territory..."