Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 448 The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass!
In February of the fourth year of Jianxing, when the eyes of the scholars in the world and the Hu people near the Great Wall were all focused on Bingzhou.

Outside the Yumen Pass in Dunhuang County of the Han Dynasty, looking out, you can see endless yellow sand reaching the horizon. It is a desolate place with no oasis in sight.

Gan Ning, wearing a pointed round hat to block the wind and sand, rode on the back of a camel, looking at the rough and desolate scene in front of him, then turned back to look at the lonely city of Yumen Pass standing in the distance in the yellow sand.

It was as if heaven and earth had suddenly isolated him from the Han territory, and an inexplicable feeling of sadness surged in his heart.

Gan Ning, who had lived in Yizhou and Jingzhou for many years, never thought that he would miss his hometown so much and miss every tree and blade of grass nearly ten thousand miles away.

He looked at Fu Gan, who was also thinking about something, and couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Marquis Dingyuan once said: I dare not hope to reach Jiuquan County, but I hope to enter Yumen Pass in my lifetime."

"Looking towards Yumen Pass from afar, Ning finally felt the generosity and indomitable spirit of Marquis Dingyuan, which was truly incomparable to ordinary people."

Gan Ning then looked at his delegation of dozens of people. There were Western Hu people with deep and colorful eyes, Qiang people who were tall and proficient in riding and shooting, Guanzhong rangers with broad cheeks and love of adventure, and some clerks and translators who were familiar with the languages ​​of several countries in the Western Regions.

There were also selected comrades-in-arms and squad leaders who were good at using horse lances. Many horses had lances of varying lengths tied to their backs, as well as bows and arrows, leather and iron armor, as well as important dry food, water, black clothes, cloaks, battle robes, and money.

The team also included doctors, grooms, cooks, guides to the Western Regions, and two sword-wielding monks who had rushed over from Luoyang upon hearing that the imperial court was sending envoys to the Western Regions.

They all traveled from Chang'an across 2,000 miles of clouds and moon, braving the biting west wind, and across states and counties all the way to Dunhuang.

Although there were only dozens of people in the delegation, even if there were hundreds of bandits in the desert, they would not be able to easily swallow up these dozens of Han people.

As the chief envoy of the Han Dynasty to various countries, Fu Gan was worried inside, but at this time he had to appear calmer than anyone else so that everyone could have a backbone.

Moreover, there was a token on the back of his horse, representing the presence of the Han emperor. Losing his life was a small matter, but losing the integrity of the Han Dynasty was a big deal.

So Fu Gan smiled and comforted him, "Xingba, don't worry. We have stayed in Dunhuang for several months and are familiar with how to cross the desert and withstand the scorching sun and severe cold. How can we not be able to pass Yumen Pass again?"

"Don't forget that if you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger cub. This is also what Dingyuan Hou said."

During the first month of the year, heavy snow fell, covering the yellow sand near Yumen Pass and dyeing everywhere white.

But so what? The Han family has made up their minds, and the Han envoys will go forward regardless of wind or snow.

Their plan was to first go to the Cheshi Front State to persuade its king to use the former Liuzhong City to re-establish the Han Dynasty's Western Regions Chief Secretary's Office, and set up a chief secretary, Sima, chief clerk, Gongcao, recorder, military officer, and secretary to protect the envoys from the Western Regions countries and the horse caravans and merchants passing by on the Silk Road.

Fu Gan planned to borrow troops from the front state of Cheshi to march eastward to destroy the Pulei state, and then work with the Dunhuang garrison to drive out the Xianbei tribes that occupied the area. The people of Pulei often made bows and arrows for the Xianbei, raised war horses, and even foraged for grass and grain to invade Dunhuang County.

A small country with only 300 households and less than 3,000 people dared to rely on the Xianbei to rob the border against the Han Dynasty. At that time, after Fu Gan and Gan Ning discussed in Dunhuang, they presented the method of destroying the country to deter the Western Regions to the emperor. After Liu Bei read the memorial in Jinyang, he smiled and wrote a reply with one word - "Yes!"

Even though the two mentioned in the table that in addition to destroying the Pule Kingdom, they also had to destroy the Cheshi Houbu Kingdom, which was close to the Xianbei.

The former was to open up the trade route between the Western Regions and Dunhuang and prevent the Xianbei from having the opportunity to plunder the Silk Road on horseback from Shuyu Valley in the west of Tianshan Mountains. Therefore, they took the initiative and, after destroying this country, used the royal capital of Pule Kingdom as a county for the Han army to be stationed.

This oasis water source was used to prevent the Xianbei herdsmen from easily crossing the Tianshan Mountains, forcing them to either bring more water if they wanted to cross the desert, or risk water shortages by robbing caravans.

If the Han Dynasty could take advantage of the terrain, it would be able to block the Xianbei people north of the Tianshan Mountains. Only in this way could it bring the more than 20 countries in the Western Regions into the arms of the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, destroying the Cheshi Kingdom that controlled the north-south passages of the Tianshan Mountains would not only completely shock the Western Regions, but also connect it with the Shuyu Valley. It would also let the neighboring Wusun Kingdom, the Northern Xiongnu to the north, and the Xianbei to the east understand that the Han Dynasty's arm had extended to the east of the Tianshan Mountains.

The Han Dynasty is more determined than ever to open up the Western Regions. Anyone who dreams of getting a piece of the pie will only be wiped out.

"The emperor ordered us to reopen the Western Regions and keep the Silk Road open. However, the front of Cheshi is a small country with poor land, so we cannot station troops here for a long time."

"Establishing the Chief Secretary's Mansion in Liuzhong City can only be a temporary expedient. I wonder where Mr. Fu plans to take as our foothold in the future?"

Gan Ning couldn't help but frowned, then asked.

The Han Dynasty had been managing the Western Regions for a long time and had set up the Chief Secretary's Office in many places. The farthest one was the Taqian City in Qiuci chosen by Marquis Dingyuan. At that time, with the support of Wusun and Qiuci and other places in hand, all the countries in the Western Regions surrendered. But at this time, the Han Dynasty had withdrawn from the Western Regions for many years, and everything had to start from scratch.

I'm afraid even the Qiancheng city may have been abandoned long ago.

"To establish hegemony, this matter is not urgent." Fu Gan sorted out his thoughts and said, "The Han Dynasty does need to choose another place with rich soil and water to re-establish the Han Protectorate. Princess Kehan ​​of Shanshan said: In terms of fertile fields and abundant pastures in the Western Regions, the five countries of Qiuci, Yutian, Yanqi, Shule and Shache are the best. They all grow rice, millet and wheat, as well as various plants grown by the Hu people from countries such as Parthia and Kushan."

"If we can make the five nations obey the Han Dynasty and station troops here to establish a Protectorate, even if Qiancheng is abandoned, we can still place the Protectorate in Shule City. With a land area that is not less than that of Dunhuang and Jiuquan counties, we can threaten Wusun and Dayuan to the north and connect to the Kushan Kingdom to the west. Then we can send an envoy to continue traveling west for another 20,000 miles to all the western nations and find the plants that Your Majesty wants."

"With such merits, you will surely be granted the title of Marquis of Wanli..."

Fu Gan listened to the melodious shepherd's flute played by the Qiang people in the delegation, and his boredom was immediately relieved. He smiled and said to Gan Ning.

Perhaps it would require them to fight desperately in the Western Regions for several years before they have a chance to achieve such a feat.

But as long as they can achieve it, their reputation will surely catch up with Marquis Bowang, Marquis Dingyuan, and their ancestors Marquis Yiyang and Marquis Zhuangwu!
With such fame and honor in this life, what else could I ask for?
Fu Gan turned his head and looked at the endless yellow sand in front of him. Since the Han Dynasty, there have been Zhang Qian, Chang Hui, Chen Tang, Ban Chao and his son, and Princess Jieyou of the Han family, all of whom have devoted their efforts to the Han Dynasty. Now it is his and Gan Ning's turn.

A real man has no other ambition but to make merit in a foreign land and be awarded a title of nobility, so as not to live in vain. How wonderful it is! How wonderful!
(End of this chapter)