Through Xi Zhicai's introduction, Hachi, now known as the Protestant Venerable, also met with Damoti the following day.

In Protestant terms, the gods and Buddhas in heaven do not lack the material offerings from believers; what they care about more is the kind and pragmatic heart of the believers.

As long as you have a kind heart and put it into action, you will receive the protection of gods and Buddhas, instead of relying on offerings of money to cover up the sins you have committed.

Of course, after Hachi and his companions arrived in Kushan, while spreading the new teachings, they also continuously helped the people by providing free medical treatment and often giving them food.

The Protestant practice of leading by example and helping others stands in stark contrast to the Buddhist practice of simply begging for alms from the people.

Therefore, in just one year, Hachi and his people gained a lot of support among the Kushan people.

Many people also abandoned their old beliefs and turned to Protestantism.

Even within the Buddhist community, many open-minded monks became staunch supporters of Hachi.

After learning about the momentum of this Protestant movement through his conversation with Hachi, Damoti immediately expressed his full support for the Protestantism.

Of course, the main reason is that this Protestantism not only has no taboos such as eating meat, drinking alcohol, or having sex, but also strongly encourages believers to abide by the law.

This doctrine is undoubtedly in line with the interests of the rulers.

After some discussion, Damothi promised to build a brand new temple for Protestants outside the city.

Hachi agreed to Damoti's request to lead his followers in spreading the word about the threats posed by the Xianbei and Xiongnu.

While Damotti was busy making plans, the eldest and third princes were not idle either.

For them, this incident was also an opportunity to rise to power.

The Crown Prince's residence.

Jia Xu sat alone in an inconspicuous side room, reviewing the various intelligence reports recently sent by his subordinates.

Compared to Xi Zhicai, Jia Xu arrived in Kushan earlier and joined the ranks of the eldest prince.

The destruction of the Molin family was orchestrated by Jia Xu.

In Kushan, besides the Morin family, there are two other major families: the Nami family and the Kate family.

These three families not only controlled all commercial trade within the Kushan Empire, but also owned vast tracts of land, employing more than two million tenant farmers.

In addition, the three families have been constantly infiltrating the Kushan court, and countless officials have been bribed by them.

It is no exaggeration to say that these three families had previously greatly influenced the political, economic, and agricultural stability of the Kushan Empire.

Such a large number of families naturally aroused the suspicion of the old Kushan king.

Fortunately, these three families had always been relatively law-abiding, and their bribery of officials was merely for the purpose of making more money, so the old king of Kushan did not target them much.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, the Morin family began to support the eldest prince and participate in the struggle for the throne.

This undoubtedly offended the old king.

After all, the influence of these three families is too great. If the person they support were to ascend the throne, he would definitely be controlled by them in the future. At that time, the Kushan Empire would truly belong to the three families.

Therefore, in addition to Jia Xu's covert machinations, the old Kushan king also played a significant role in the downfall of the Morin family.

Otherwise, how could the eldest prince have managed to abandon the Morin family while simultaneously taking over all of the Morin family's assets and controlling the Kushan Empire's finances?

Let's go back to Jia Xu.

After more than a year of planning by Jia Xu, the Investigation Bureau in Kushan has developed to a considerable scale.

Apart from the Nami and Kate families, nearly half of the officials in the Kushan court had their homes monitored by secret agents from the Bureau of Investigation.

The intelligence Jia Xu currently possessed concerned the situation of the other two major Kushan families.

In fact, as early as when he first arrived in Kushan, Jia Xu had already made a judgment about the future advance of the Han Dynasty into Kushan.

In his view, the biggest obstacles for the Han Dynasty to defeat the Kushans in the future are only three: the first is the hearts of the Kushan people, the second is Buddhism, and the third is the three major families.

Although the power of popular support is paramount, it would be quite easy to make the Kushan Empire lose popular support, which is not something Jia Xu could consider.

As for the Buddhist sect, it was a matter of religion, and Jia Xu dared not interfere.

Therefore, Jia Xu's biggest goal at present is to first eliminate the three major families of the Kushan Empire, thereby plunging the Kushan economy and agriculture into chaos.

According to intelligence, the Nami and Kate families have recently been getting closer to the third prince, and it seems they are also preparing to participate in the succession struggle.

As for why they chose the third prince, it's not hard to understand.

The eldest prince is cold-hearted, and the second prince is cruel and ruthless; neither of them are ideal candidates to serve.

The third prince was a devout follower of Buddhism and had a relatively gentle personality.

Of course, the most important factor is that the third prince's power is the weakest. If they are supported by him, he will be easier to control.

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Jia Xu's expression remained unchanged, but a dangerous glint flashed deep in his eyes.

"Knock knock knock!"

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted Jia Xu's thoughts.

Placing the intelligence report on the table, Jia Xu looked towards the door and said, "Please come in!"

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and the eldest prince walked in from outside.

"gentlemen!"

As soon as he entered, the eldest prince bowed to Jia Xu.

"Your Highness, please have a seat!"

Jia Xu nodded slightly and pointed to a futon on the opposite side of the table.

The eldest prince then walked over and knelt on the prayer mat.

"Sir, I have come here to ask you how to persuade the Xianbei and Xiongnu to leave the northwest through negotiations?"

After sitting down, the eldest prince didn't waste any time and directly stated his question.

Jia Xu glanced at the eldest prince and uttered a single word: "Delay!"

"drag?"

Upon hearing Jia Xu's reply, the eldest prince was slightly taken aback.

"Indeed, the Xianbei and Xiongnu, along with all their tribes, came to the Kushan Empire, but they were merely passing through..."

Subsequently, Jia Xu also told the eldest prince about the situation of the Xianbei and Xiongnu people, and his analysis was exactly the same as that of Xi Zhicai.

The eldest prince's eyes lit up: "So, we don't need to do anything, we just need to wait for the Xianbei and Xiongnu to leave?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu glanced at the eldest prince, a hint of disdain flashing deep in his eyes.

This guy is incredibly stupid!

However, this was actually a good thing for Jia Xu.

Jia Xu shook his head slightly: "Your Highness's idea is good, but some people won't give you the chance to wait!"