Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 449: Crying in the Desert at Night
The spring drizzle covered Jiaohe City of the former Cheshi Kingdom. The King of Cheshi, who was enthroned by the Han Emperor three years ago, lay on the wool carpet in the palace, quietly watching the raindrops fall.

His face with a short and thick beard revealed a subtle expression of contradiction and regret. Although the rainy season was originally his favorite season, it was difficult to make him happy at this moment.

The King of Cheshi, who was about forty years old, scratched his hair in regret, pounded the carpet, sat up and sighed.

After the Han Dynasty withdrew from the Western Regions, the countries in the Western Regions gradually moved closer to the Xianbei people in the north. They were also afraid that the Han people would come back to attack them every few decades and pick out small countries to make an example of them. Now the kings of each country have learned their lesson and have an unwritten agreement, that is, they would serve the Xianbei but not cut off the Han, and they would serve the Han but not cut off the Xianbei.

Anyway, we must not offend the two families to death, and we can't afford to offend them.

Especially for those countries close to the east, sandwiched between the Xianbei and the Han Dynasty, they are in a dilemma.

Why was the Cheshi Kingdom divided into the front and rear parts? Wasn't it because of the Han general Zhao Po Nu? Why was the Loulan Kingdom renamed Shanshan? Wasn't it because the Han envoy Fu Jiezi assassinated the King of Loulan and changed the country's name, and then stationed troops in Yixun City.

Wasn't it a helpless move by the Cheshi front to move their capital to Jiaohe in order to avoid the attack of the Han army?

As a result, the Han Dynasty opened up the Yiwulu Road from Dunhuang, which enabled it to control all the countries under the Tianshan Mountains and station troops directly near Jiaohe City.

Just like in Shanshan, a sharp blade was placed against their necks.

The various countries became prison cities against the Northern Huns, and after the Huns were defeated, the Xianbei came. Not long after the Xianbei arrived, the Han people withdrew back to Dunhuang.

If the Xianbei people had not been thinking of attacking Dayuan for some unknown reason and wanted Wusun to provide food and fodder, but had not been unable to reach an agreement and instead stayed near their Cheshi State, plundering their food and ironware, making the neighboring countries suffer, they would not have wanted to ask the Han Dynasty to return to the Western Regions.

At this moment, the Xianbei suddenly retreated eastward for unknown reasons. At the same time, the Han Dynasty heard the "good news" from the minister Alana that the Han Dynasty would send envoys to the Western Regions, intending to re-establish a protectorate in the Western Regions to protect the various countries from being humiliated by the Xianbei and to maintain the safety of the trade routes.

Upon hearing this news, the King of Cheshi suddenly felt dizzy. The Xianbei withdrew, hoping that the Han army would never come.

Even if they come, it is best to station them in Dunhuang County and not come further west. The psychological trauma inflicted by the Han Dynasty on the kings is no less than that inflicted by the Xiongnu. A few hundred Han cavalrymen can destroy a country, behead the king, and hang his head.

At this moment, not only was the King of Cheshi upset, but the ministers who were discussing something on the other side of the palace were also frowning and worried, not knowing what to do.

"Perhaps the Han envoys may not come so soon, and the Han may not necessarily choose our Cheshi Kingdom as the place to station troops. Didn't Shanshan Kingdom previously request the Han Dynasty to re-establish the Protectorate? Who knows if the Han emperor will agree to their request and station troops in Yixun."

A minister with pale skin and a high nose bridge frowned slightly and spoke tentatively.

The other ministers could not help but nod their heads upon hearing this. The Shanshan Kingdom had been taught by the Han Dynasty for many years and had long ago not dared to betray it easily. If there was any unusual movement, their king might be killed.

With so many counterexamples before him, how could the King of Shanshan have the courage to refuse?

"According to the merchants' reports from Dunhuang, the Han Dynasty was almost destroyed just like it was when the ministers usurped the throne. Fortunately, the new emperor reorganized the country and restored the Han Dynasty to its original state. I think the Han army withdrew from the Western Regions decades ago, not because the Xiongnu were unable to move south, as they said. Instead, the Han Dynasty was seriously ill and could not look west."

"It seems that even if a seriously ill person recovers, he will remain weak for a period of time. I guess even if a Han envoy comes with an imperial edict, it will take 10 to 20 years for the Han army to actually set foot in the Western Regions."

Seeing everyone bowing their heads in deep thought, a minister with sparse hair coughed to attract attention and continued. Dozens of ministers from Cheshi discussed the matter and finally agreed that there was no need to worry too much even if a Han envoy came to Jiaohe City.

What was to come could not be avoided. Even if they had not previously sent people to ask for help from the Han Dynasty together with the Shanshan Kingdom, the Han Dynasty would have extended its hand to the Western Regions once it had recovered.

But now they have taken the lead among the other countries in the Western Regions and submitted themselves to the Han emperor first. They have been rewarded with the tortoise-shaped ribbon and the title of King of the Hanchang Cheshi Front by the emperor. There is no doubt that with such a title in hand, even if a protectorate is re-established next to the capital in the future, the garrison captains, chief secretaries, Sima, Gongcao and other officials will not dare to force them too much.

After the discussion, everyone informed the King of Cheshi of the result. When the King heard it, he forced a smile and looked at the fine rain outside dripping on the ground. He felt as if the weather was chilly at the moment.

"In that case, let's just wait and see what happens."

The King of Cheshi sighed slightly and could only accept his fate.

The country is small and its people are weak. The entire Cheshi former state now has only more than 1,900 households and a population of less than 10,000. There are no more than 2,000 soldiers who can fight on horseback. How can they have the courage to resist the Han army which has a million strong troops, piles of armor like mountains, and stretches for an unknown distance beside them.

The presence of such a huge country next to them is simply a continuous disaster.

Fortunately, the Huns, who also occupied tens of thousands of miles of land, were defeated by the Han Dynasty and no longer existed. Otherwise, these countries would have been sandwiched between the two powers, which would have been even more miserable.

The King of Cheshi secretly sighed: "It would be great if the Han Dynasty could also become a small country!"

In this way, you can get close to him/her without worrying about him/her reaching out his/her hand.

……

Fu Gan, Gan Ning and dozens of other people, carrying horses and camels purchased from Dunhuang, set out from Yumen Pass in the howling cold wind, heading north along the Yiwu Road to the front state of Cheshi.

"Captain Fu, follow this old road north and west for about 1,300 miles. You will pass through a sandy area with little water and grass. Whenever there is a strong wind, the road cannot be accurately marked. Travelers can only use human and animal bones and camel and horse dung as markers to avoid getting lost along the way."

"The roads in this area are evil and few animals are seen. If you hear someone crying or shouting in the distance, you must warn everyone not to approach to check. Just scare them away with the sound of bows and crossbows."

A Western Hu man with deep and strange eyes in the delegation found the Han envoy Fu Gan, put his hand on his chest and bowed, then spoke to him with a serious look.

The legend of ghosts in the desert is so real that it is difficult for passing caravans to tell whether they are real or not, but people often disappear inexplicably at night. Some people even hear someone calling their names in the daytime, and go to the sand dunes with knives in hand to look around, and then disappear in an instant. Their bodies are only seen by their companions several days later. All these strange things are daunting.

Even he himself had encountered a strange thing. There were singing and crying sounds at night, but no one was seen. The guards of the caravan were afraid that there might be thieves, so they sent several people with torches to search for them, but they never returned and the crying stopped.

It is better to believe in such things than not to believe them. The guides in the Western Regions were most afraid that the Han envoys would not believe them, thus causing unnecessary reduction in personnel.

(End of this chapter)