Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 349 Ban Chao Changes a State to a County! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Wu Meiniang placed the lance in the palace of King Wucheng, and told Zhao Xu to take it back as a weapon when he arrived.

This emperor rode the Ferghana horse gifted by Ban Chao and held the same lance used by Li Shimin. With the buffs of both the Han and Tang dynasties, it would be a shame if he didn't achieve something in this battle.

At this moment, Li Yongkang delivered ten shortwave radios. Zhou Yi looked at the instructions and found that hundreds of channels were already preset. As long as he tuned to the corresponding channel, he could have a conversation. It was a typical foolproof operation.

Wu Zetian brought two radio sets and three streetlights back to the Zhenguan world, and had the people in the palace set up the antennas for the shortwave radios first.

To power the radio, Zhou Yi specially equipped it with a solar panel and a 20-degree power supply, allowing the radio to be on standby 24 hours a day and receive intelligence at any time.

However, there is only one station at present. The ionosphere is cleaner than pure water. Wu Zetian tried around but couldn't find any regular electromagnetic fluctuations. Only when the Liaodong Radio Station or the Western Regions Radio Station is built can the two sides communicate.

Li Shimin, like a curious child, looked around the radio station from left to right, and even put on headphones to listen to the static. Then he called over Qin Huaidao, Qin Qiong's son and the Crown Prince's bodyguard, and asked him to be in charge of learning how to operate the radio station. Once the Liaodong and Western Regions radio stations were established, Qin Huaidao would be in charge of communication.

The Tang Dynasty has reached a critical period of strategic transformation, which is even more dangerous than when the Tang Dynasty was founded thirty years ago. Therefore, it is necessary to make full use of the descendants of famous generals and increase the proportion of Han generals.

The famous general Qin Qiong has been gone for six years, and his son has just turned twenty, which is the perfect time for him to serve his country.

As for the Western Regions, Li Ji's eldest son, Li Zhen, a city gatekeeper, was responsible for sending it to the Western Regions and served as an intelligence officer with the army.

Of course, before setting off, Li Zhen had to thoroughly study the radio station. He also had to take good care of it along the way, wrapping the box containing the radio station in layers of fur to prevent it from being bumped along the road.

Li Zhen is not well-known in history, but his son Li Jingye is quite famous. In order to oppose Wu Zetian, he openly rebelled and changed his name to Xu Jingye, restoring his ancestral surname.

Now that Wu Zetian is about to settle in another world, the incident of Li Jingye changing his name and rebelling will no longer occur.

After arranging the radio station, Wu Meiniang bid farewell to Li Mingda and Li Shimin, boarded a palace carriage, and set off for Liaodong under the escort of a troop of Tang Dynasty cavalry.

As soon as the carriage left Chang'an, Wu Meiniang returned to Hunyuan Palace... With the leaves given to her by Emperor Gouchen, she could travel to and from Hunyuan Palace five times a day. If she traveled more than five times, the color of the leaves would lighten, and they would return to their original color the next day.

Wu Zetian suspected that the number of times the leaves could travel back and forth was related to the wars in different worlds. The more intense the war, the more times the leaves could travel back and forth. Conversely, the fewer times they could travel back and forth, the fewer times they could travel back and forth... Fortunately, five times was not bad. It was enough to do a lot of things and it wouldn't delay the progress of exchanging household registrations. She was very happy.

Xi Shi rode her electric scooter around town and brought back some freshly baked mooncakes:
"Master, I see slogans celebrating National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival posted everywhere on the streets. How many days until Mid-Autumn Festival? Are we only eating mooncakes?"

The Book of Changes says:

"It's tomorrow. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival for family reunion. In addition to eating mooncakes, we also make brown sugar sesame potstickers, eat roast chicken, and so on... I'll arrange a table for us to have a family reunion tomorrow."

It's a pity everyone left, leaving only four beautiful women, two adults and two children, which made the holiday less than perfect. We'll have to inform everyone in advance about the Spring Festival so we can set off firecrackers and have New Year's Eve dinner together.

While he was planning the Mid-Autumn Festival, during the reign of Emperor Zhang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Chao led the assembled "United Nations forces" to Shule Kingdom and set up camp as a temporary command post.

The proclamation has been issued, but we have to wait for the small countries that are far away to come, such as the two small countries of Xiuxun and Juandu to the west of Shule. Dayuan is sandwiched between Kangju and Wusun and has not come to participate in the war, but it sent a batch of warhorses.

The Wusun and Kangju had always been resistant to the Han Dynasty and stood firmly on the side of Kucha. They not only sent grain and fodder but also dispatched troops to help, intending to drive the Han Dynasty's forces out of the Western Regions.

They felt that even the Protectorate General's Office had been demolished, and with only Ban Chao and his few dozen men, they were like meat on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.

Unfortunately, these people are very wrong. In history, Ban Chao conquered the Western Regions without any help. Now, with the support of Hunyuan Palace, the Western Regions can no longer contain the ambitions of Marquis Dingyuan.

Upon learning that Kangju and Wusun were helping Kucha, Ban Chao took out a small notebook from his pocket and solemnly wrote down the names of these two countries, adding a parenthesis after them:
[Zhucheng Human Resources]

Well, Ban Chao didn't take the war to destroy Kucha to heart. Now he was focused on planning the construction of Yili City. Kangju and Wusun sent troops, giving him a reason to destroy these two countries.

At that time, all the nobles and subjects of both countries will be sent to the Ili River Valley to participate in building cities, repairing roads, digging canals, and reclaiming wasteland... To transform the Ili River Valley into a land of plenty, more than 100,000 laborers will be needed, so we can only make things difficult for the foreign tribes.

After noting down the names of Kangju and Wusun, which were quite conspicuous, Ban Chao opened the map saved on his tablet and began to plan the attack tactics.

The distance from Shule to Yancheng, the capital of Kucha, is 1,500 li. Even with a forced march, it would take nearly a month... In the past, Ban Chao, who believed in the importance of speed in warfare, would travel day and night to deliver a thunderous blow.

But this time he acted out of character, using the pretext of waiting for someone to arrive, and delayed sending troops.

The rulers of various countries were somewhat puzzled, and Gan Ying and the others were also surprised:

"My lord, why haven't we sent troops yet?" Ban Chao put down his tablet and said.

"I am not sending troops for three reasons. Gan Ying, you might as well guess... The Immortal Master said that one should be a thoughtful person. Today I will test you."

Gan Ying stared at the map for a moment, then made a bold guess:
"Are you waiting for the people of Wensu and Gumo to escape to Kucha, so you can wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

Ban Chao shook his head:

"The fate of these two small countries, which previously sent troops to help Shache, was already sealed. Whether they help Kucha or not will not have much impact."

Gan Ying was now completely baffled; he hadn't guessed a single one of the three layers of meaning.

Ban Chao pointed to the map and explained:
“The kingdoms north of Tianshan are all vassals of the Xiongnu. When Kucha hears that we are going to attack, it will definitely ask these kingdoms for help. When they send troops to help us, it will give us a reason to sweep across the area north of Tianshan. That is one reason.”

At this point, Ban Chao unscrewed the thermos, took a sip of tea, and continued:

"Secondly, the King of Shule rebelled just a few months ago. Although a new King of Shule has been appointed here, it remains to be seen whether he is loyal to our Great Han. Now that our army is stationed here, he will be nervous. Once he is nervous, he will easily reveal his true colors... If Shule makes any move, I would not mind adding another SL county to the Great Han."

Finally, Ban Chao gave a third reason:
“Shache has just been changed from a kingdom to a county. Although all the powerful people in the city have sworn an oath before the token, it still needs to be observed whether the people of Shache truly want to become Han Chinese. We have been staying here for several days to guard against the people of Shache changing their minds.”

Shache was the first small kingdom in the Western Regions to be changed from a kingdom to a county. If someone rebelled, it would affect the prestige of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions. Therefore, Ban Chao did not go too far so that he could lead his troops to quickly quell the rebellion.

The reorganization of SC County went smoothly. The local people had always dreamed of becoming Han Chinese, and now their dream has finally come true.

Before leaving, Ban Chao had already arranged for the positions of magistrate and county commandant of SC County, which can be considered as the prototype of the county government. At the same time, he also wrote to the court, explaining the reasons for the matter clearly... With modern paper, Ban Chao no longer had to write on bamboo slips as sparingly as he used to.

In his memorial, he also requested the court to send some scholars to guide the Western Regions countries in Sinicization.

Regarding the selection of personnel, he specifically emphasized that he hoped the court would send someone who was determined to make a difference in the Western Regions, rather than someone who came to travel around and gain prestige.

After hearing Ban Chao's three reasons, Gan Ying suddenly felt enlightened:
"As expected of the magistrate, he thinks things through carefully before acting. It was I who was short-sighted."

Ban Chao said:

"When you encounter problems, think more, think more, break free from mental constraints, and consider the problem from a macro perspective."

As the two were talking, Xu Gan rushed in and reported some news:
"My lord, just now, the Kingdom of Wulei in the Pamir Mountains sent someone over, saying that the Kushan soldiers have been frequently gathering intelligence about the Pamir Mountains recently, and it seems that they want to cross the Pamir Mountains to attack the Western Regions."

The Kushan Empire originated from the Yuezhi people who fled west during the reign of Emperor Wu. After leaving the Western Regions, they drove out the Bactrian people who had occupied the Middle East and gradually grew stronger.

Later, the Yuezhi divided the territory of Bactria into five tribes, and appointed a chieftain for each tribe. Soon after, the Kushan tribe secretly defeated the other four tribes and became the Kushan Empire.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Kushan Empire was quite powerful, especially towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the Kushan population exceeded ten million, and it was known as one of the four great empires along with the Eastern Han Dynasty, Rome, and Parthia.

Of course, when Ban Chao was in the Western Regions, the Kushan Empire was not so strong. It once led troops to attack the Western Regions, but was awakened by Ban Chao's defeat and became a member of the Western Regions Protectorate. Every year, it voluntarily paid tribute to the Han Dynasty.

Their reason for sending troops was also quite ridiculous. The Kushans thought they were very strong and could rival the Wusun of the Western Han Dynasty, so they wanted to marry a Han princess just like the Wusun married Princess Wuyou.

Ban Chao, however, thought this was like a toad trying to eat swan meat and sent the Kushan envoys away. Enraged, the Kushan emperor chose to send troops to resist, but ended up suffering the greatest defeat since the founding of the kingdom.

It can be said that Ban Chao was a god-like figure during his time in the Western Regions. Without his permission, these small countries did not even have the opportunity to go to Luoyang to pay homage.

However, from the perspective of Princess Wuyou's analysis of the Wusun, if a Han Dynasty princess had actually married into the Kushan Empire at that time, the Kushan Empire in history would most likely not have existed.

After all, the Han Dynasty people were incredibly skilled at cell division. With the Han Dynasty around, the surrounding foreign tribes would never be able to live a good life.

Ban Chao looked at the map and said:
"It's already a struggle for caravans to cross the Pamir Pass. If the Kushans attack, they will be hampered by food shortages. Don't worry about them. Once we've dealt with Kangju and Wusun, we'll take care of them."

The so-called Four Great Empires will cease to exist. East of the Mediterranean, only the Han Dynasty will be allowed to exist. If any foreign tribes want to establish an empire, they should hurry up and go to Europe to seize Rome's territory.

Although the Han Dynasty was vast, not an inch of its land was superfluous!
(End of this chapter)