Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 485 (Extra) The Thirty-first Year of Jianxing

In the early spring of the 228st year of Jianxing (), as the rain fell heavily in Luoyang City, in Gaochang in the Western Regions, where the sky was filled with yellow sand, a Hu merchant with his head wrapped in sackcloth looked up to the east, following the guidance of his guide.

"It's more than 9,120 miles east of here, and you'll reach Luoyang!"

"That is the most populous and richest place in the world. Even the Qin Dynasty, far away in the West Sea, sent envoys to cross the sea after going through hardships just to obtain Shu brocade and tea and to trade with our Han Dynasty."

The Han guide, who was about forty years old, stroked his beard and said with a smile.

As he spoke, he could not help but straighten his back, looking extremely proud, and glanced at the Persian delegation in front of him.

A few years ago, they called themselves the Parthian Empire, but they exhausted their national strength in the long-term war with Western Qin and finally ended up overthrown.

It is said that the King of Parthia also sent a letter to the Han Dynasty, requesting the Han army in the Western Regions to march to Parthia to quell the rebellion in order to maintain the stability of the Silk Road.

The Protectorate also submitted the document to Luoyang. It is said that the emperor was delighted when he learned about it.

He chuckled and waved his hand, asking the Ministry of War to calculate the amount of money and food that the Han army would consume in crossing the Pamir Mountains to fight the Parthian rebels, and then write back to the King of Parthia, saying that as long as the King of Parthia was willing to pay the fee, the Han Dynasty, as the overlord of the Silk Road, would definitely persuade the Kushan Kingdom to send troops together.

But when the Parthian king saw the amount of money and treasure that the Han Dynasty demanded, he immediately stopped his efforts and never mentioned the matter of sending Han troops to help.

Even if the money in his treasury was exchanged for Wuzhu coins and grain, he would not be able to pay even the change even if he sold everything he had. Even though the Han Dynasty was the strongest country in the world in the eyes of the Parthians, the price they asked was too high.

Even though the Han people believed in Confucianism and were less likely to occupy their land than the Kushans, they did not dare to think of hiring Han troops to help.

Until the country was on the verge of destruction, Anxi gritted its teeth and remained silent.

"I have heard that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty conquered many other countries with his army. Almost everyone from Persia to Rome knows about this. Now that Persia has established itself as a nation, we are willing to resume trade with the Han Dynasty and restore friendly relations."

The Persian envoy Mofentijin, who was wearing a loose robe and a turban, explained to the guide sent by the Western Regions Protectorate with Persian etiquette.

Since the Han army recovered the Western Regions and stationed troops in the five countries of Qiuci, Khotan, Yanqi, Shule, and Shache, it made the Wusun and Dayuan in the north surrender, and also caused the northern Xiongnu tribes to continue to migrate westward.

Especially after the Han army defeated the Xianbei tribes such as Budugen and Kebi Neng, the entire south of the desert was reunified under the Han Dynasty.

The Xianbei people, who were unwilling to surrender, also followed the example of the Xiongnu and migrated northward or westward, but this move not only brought disaster to many small countries.

Even the Kushan Empire and the Parthian Empire were affected and were plundered by the Xiongnu and Xianbei respectively. The Kushan king even wanted to hold the Han Dynasty accountable, threatening to cut off the silk trade route if the Han Dynasty did not send its princess to marry and compensate the Kushan Empire for its losses.

Faced with such domineering and arrogant words, he dared to threaten the Han Dynasty and disturb the borders.

As soon as this word spread, all the officials in the court were outraged. They jumped up and down and cursed the King of Dayuezhi. In the past, Yuezhi was destroyed by Xiongnu, so they moved to Daxia and never dared to be the enemy of Xiongnu for the rest of their lives.

Now the Han Dynasty has completely subdued the Xiongnu, and the entire northern grasslands are all in submission. The emperor is the true ruler of all countries.

The King of Dayuezhi, a mere man, thought that the road was too far and the Han army could not reach him, so he dared to treat the Han Dynasty in such a way. If we do not defeat him, how can we lead all the nations?

Even as all the ministers were discussing the matter with gnashing teeth, Liu Bei did not tolerate the Kushans and directly ordered Fu Gan, Gan Ning, Zhang He, Xu Huang and other generals and captains to use the soldiers stationed in the Western Regions and the armies of various countries. He also ordered Wusun and Dayuan to send troops to assist, and cooperate with light and heavy cavalry to cross the Pamir Mountains to attack the Kushans in August of the 17th year of Jianxing.

The Kushan king never dreamed that the Han army would actually dare to take the risk and cross the Pamir Plateau to attack him.

This is not like attacking Dayuan. The plateau east of Kushan is dangerous and there is a danger of annihilation of the entire army if one is not careful. It is totally not worth the loss. How can the Han soldiers just come here as they please?
The Kushans led more than 40,000 elite cavalrymen to fight against the 8,000 Han army, but the battle was unfavorable. The Han army was extremely powerful in both armor and crossbows, especially the crossbows that could fire continuously, which was daunting. After several battles, unrest broke out in various places. The Kushan king was horrified to find that if he really went against the Han Dynasty and faced the threat of the coalition forces of the Western Regions all day long, the Kushans would be torn apart.

Today, the neighboring Parthia has gradually declined, and the Kushan Empire is far less powerful than it used to be. Only the Han Dynasty in the east is still on the rise, expanding the Silk Road with its powerful military force.

Just like an old man on his deathbed, there is no way he can beat a strong man.

The only way is to follow them and get a bite of food instead of competing with them for the dominant position.

After thinking through the key issues, the Kushan king decisively sent people to ask for surrender, and it no longer mattered whether the Han army would be wiped out.

If more than half of the 40,000 Kushans were lost, it would be equivalent to losing half a life.

The once vast empire relied on these tens of thousands of troops to maintain its stability. If they were destroyed, the happiest people would undoubtedly be the governors of various places.

As the Kushan and Parthian kings surrendered one after another, the strong reputation of the Han Dynasty spread through word of mouth among the Hu merchants and became a sensation in the West within a few years.

Many countries were very relieved. They originally thought that Seres would gradually decline and no silk would be sold to the west. Unexpectedly, Seres rose again and became more powerful than before.

Fortunately, it was far away from them and avoided the terrifying monster.

The middle-aged guide didn't know what the Persian was thinking. He still pointed forward and said with a smile: "To enter Dunhuang Yumen Pass from the Western Regions, in addition to the inspection stations of various places, you also need officials and soldiers from the Protectorate to serve as guides."

"When you arrive in Dunhuang, you need to submit a letter to the court and wait for more than a month for the document to be approved. During this period, the Dunhuang doctors will check if there is any epidemic. Otherwise, you cannot pass Jiuquan County..."

Even though the Persian delegation and others had known about this for a long time, they were still dumbfounded when they heard it again.

The Han Dynasty's system was simply unheard of. It was not like they had not been to Rome before, but they had never heard of anyone checking the physical condition of the delegation members.

The guide stroked his beard, ignored the dumbfounded Hu people, and continued: "If you want to enter the Han Dynasty's Yumen Pass, one way is to go through Dayuezhi through Xiandu, then cross the Pamir Mountains to learn from Ruoqiang and turn east.

The second route is from Pamirs to Qiuci and then to Shanshan, passing Bailongdui to Shaxijing, passing Julucang to the north end of Sanlongsha, where you can see Duhujing and Yumenguan in the distance.

"These two roads are dangerous. If you take the wrong one, you will die..."

After the translator's message was conveyed, the Persians who had never been there before were suddenly horrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

Crossing the Pamir Mountains almost cost them half their lives, and they didn't expect that the journey ahead would become even more difficult. How did the Han people conquer the Western Regions across thousands of miles?

Fortunately, the guide had not finished speaking, and then he smiled and said: "Fortunately, the Han Dynasty has opened up a new road. You can go from Qiuci along the Tianshan Mountains to Gaochang City in the former Cheshi Kingdom, and then go north from Wuchuan Road through Hengkeng to Yumen Pass."

"The second is the Yiwu Road, which goes southeast through Yumen Pass."

"We are now taking the third route, so we don't need to cross Shanshan. You don't need to worry!"

As soon as these words fell, the Persians cursed in their hearts, saying, "If we don't take those two roads, why are you introducing them?"

When Persia was first established, it came to meet the Han emperor and brought with it Roman corals, various exotic treasures and carefully selected young girls.

The two families just wanted to be friendly neighbors, work together to earn Rome's money, and form an alliance to fight against the vicious Huns in the north. This was such an important thing, so why couldn't we feel the Han Dynasty's respect for Persia?
(End of this chapter)