A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 103 Zongheng
A fallen kingdom, enemies everywhere, tyrannical ministers, and a broken man.

This is almost a true reflection of Zhao Yingqi, the crown prince of the Nanyue Kingdom.

but.

It's all coming to an end.

Liu Ju, the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, agreed to Zhao Yingqi's return to the country to succeed to the throne, and even allowed his wife, Lady Jiu, and son, Zhao Xing, to return to the Nanyue Kingdom together.

Zhao Yingqi immediately declared that after he ascended the throne, Lady Jiu would become the Queen of Nanyue, and Zhao Xing would become the new Crown Prince of Nanyue.

But everyone knows that this is temporary. Zhao Yingqi will eventually become a Marquis of Ten Thousand Households in the Han Dynasty, Lady Jiu will be the wife of a Marquis, and Zhao Xing will be a Junior Marquis.

The Zhao family, the royal family of Nanyue, were actually only marquises of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Ju summoned trusted ministers from both the central and foreign courts to discuss the details of returning to the Nanyue Kingdom in the palace. Zhang Cigong, the Grand Commandant of the Han Dynasty, led two thousand Han soldiers back to Nanyue with Zhao Yingqi and his wife and children, both for protection and as a precaution.

On the day Zhao Yingqi ascends the throne of Nanyue, during the new king's ceremony, the Han army will take over the guards of the Nanyue royal palace. Zhao Yingqi will then announce on the spot that Lü Jia and the Lü clan have rebelled and that Zhang Cigong will be executed. After that, the entire Nanyue kingdom will be purged. At the same time, the Nanyue king will order the removal of all checkpoints bordering the Han Dynasty, causing the Nanyue army to give up resistance and surrender to the nearest Han prefectures and counties. Finally, the Han army, led by Lu Bode, the Han crossbow captain, will officially take over the Nanyue kingdom and carry out a major purge of all subjects in the Nanyue kingdom who oppose submission.

By employing both kindness and severity, the south was brought to peace.

Zhao Yingqi, as a marquis of the Han Dynasty, paid homage to Liu Ju as a subject, and then packed his bags to return to Nanyue as planned.

Zhang Cigong and Lu Bode, following the orders of the Crown Prince of the Great Han Dynasty, prepared their troops for battle. However, there were several other secret orders beyond the plan.

Do everything possible to make His Majesty's efforts of more than a decade a reality, and to ensure that all military achievements and virtues are attributed to the Sovereign.

Inside the Xuan Shi Hall, the lights burned late into the night. The entire plan was archived and sealed away. Zhang Qian, the Grand Commandant who had participated in the entire "Southern Strategy Plan," expressed his deep sympathy for His Majesty and also had a new vision for the Han Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, I wish to make another mission to the Western Regions," Zhang Qian said respectfully after finishing his business with the Nanyue Kingdom.

The emperor and his ministers, who had been feeling a little tired, immediately perked up again, looking at Zhang Qian with a mixture of admiration and skepticism.

In the second year of the Jianyuan era, which was also the second year of His Majesty's reign, Zhang Qian was ordered to set off from Chang'an, with Gan Fu as his guide, leading a delegation of more than one hundred people to the Western Regions.

Its purpose was twofold: first, to open up the route from the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions; and second, to search for the missing Yuezhi people.

First, needless to say, is the "Silk Road".

Second, the Hexi Corridor was not originally within the territory of the Han Dynasty, but was located to the west of the Central Plains Dynasty, and was inhabited by the Yuezhi and Wusun people.

The Wusun were located in the western part of the "corridor" and were relatively weak, while the Yuezhi were located in the eastern part of the "corridor" and were relatively strong. Their northern neighbor was the Xiongnu.

In the course of their development, the Yuezhi first attacked and destroyed the Wusun, occupying their territory. The Wusun people fled to the Xiongnu. Later, the Wusun people and the Xiongnu made a comeback, defeated the Yuezhi people, and forced the Yuezhi to migrate westward, leaving the Hexi Corridor.

At that time, His Majesty and the people of the Han Dynasty believed that the Yuezhi people must deeply hate the Xiongnu. They thought they should find them, persuade them to return to their homeland, form an alliance with the Han Dynasty, and fight the Xiongnu together. From then on, Zhang Qian embarked on the arduous journey to the Western Regions.

But when Zhang Qian finally arrived in Yuezhi after overcoming numerous hardships, he found that things were not as easy as he had imagined.

The Yuezhi people left the Hexi Corridor around the same time the Han Dynasty was established. Although they migrated westward several times, the Yuezhi were a nomadic people who moved with their livestock. Obtaining a suitable territory for nomadic settlement was of utmost importance to them. Fortunately, the location they were in was their long-awaited new homeland, with fertile land and a peaceful life for their people.

Hatred from forced migration? Homeland complex? Don't be ridiculous! Barbarians don't talk about that.

Therefore, no matter how eloquent Zhang Qian was, he could never "get the Yuezhi's mind." After staying in Yuezhi for more than a year, Zhang Qian, unable to persuade them, left Yuezhi in despair.

Judging from the purpose of his journey, Zhang Qian's mission was a failure. However, in recognition of his contributions and hard work on the westward journey, he was specially appointed as a Grand Master of the Palace.

In the sixth year of the Yuanshuo era, Zhang Qian followed General Wei Qing in battle against the Xiongnu and made great contributions. His Majesty, taking the meaning of "broad vision and far-reaching ambitions", conferred upon him the title of Marquis of Bowang.

There were no outsiders in the main hall. Upon hearing this, Imperial Censor Zhang Tang couldn't help but joke, "Marquis of Bowang and Marquis of Champion are about to lead their troops north to conquer the Xiongnu. You can gain countless merits by leading the way for the army. Why bother with this extra journey?"

Zhang Qian's experience is already legendary and enviable. Don't you see some people who served as generals for three dynasties but still didn't receive a title?

Zhang Qian was a member of the Crown Prince's palace. He could have done nothing but accompany the general and the Marquis of Champion on his campaigns, pointing out the way, and thus gain countless merits. Zhang Tang didn't understand, and neither did the others. What was Zhang Qian's fuss about?

"Zhang Qian".

"The minister is here."

“You should understand the importance of having a guide who knows the way during the northern expedition. The Marquis of Champion specifically requested that you accompany the army and guide the way, so I am at ease. If your purpose in going on a mission to the Western Regions is not to destroy the Xiongnu, I think it might be better to postpone it for a while,” Liu said.

"Your Majesty, my purpose in sending an envoy to the Western Regions is to completely annihilate the Xiongnu."

Zhang Qian stepped forward and said, "During my last mission, I was stranded among the Xiongnu and heard about the history between the Wusun and the Xiongnu. The hatred between the two tribes is even greater than that between the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu..."

According to Zhang Qian, after the Wusun and Xiongnu joined forces to drive out the Yuezhi, the Xiongnu Chanyu Modu attacked and killed the Wusun. The infant son of Wusun King Kunmo, Liejiaomi, was abandoned in the wilderness right after birth. However, Liejiaomi did not die. Crows brought meat to feed Liejiaomi, and a mother wolf took the initiative to nurse Liejiaomi.

The Xiongnu were stunned by this miracle, so they adopted Liejiaomi. When he grew up, they even let him lead troops into battle. In the end, they returned all the original Wusun people to him. However, Liejiaomi did not forget the shame of his tribe and immediately migrated westward to avoid it, refusing to go to court with the Xiongnu again.

"I believe that Liejiaomi also harbors a desire for our dynasty's 'great revenge.' Although Liejiaomi was raised by the Xiongnu, his father, Nandoumi Kunmo, was killed by the Xiongnu. The hatred of his father's death and the pain of separation make Liejiaomi's desire for revenge far greater than that of the Yuezhi. Our people are not nomadic, and we are always lacking in our search for the Xiongnu. If we can persuade the Wusun to deliver a fatal blow to the Xiongnu from the rear and capture the Xiongnu in the vast land of the Gobi Desert, that would be the true demise of the Xiongnu!" Zhang Qian proposed the strategy of "using the Wusun to control the Xiongnu."

Since the Han Dynasty lacked the ability to find the Xiongnu tribes in the Gobi Desert, they should send the Wusun people, who were also nomadic tribes, to attack from both sides and capture slaves together.

At this moment, Zhang Qian displayed the formidable brilliance of a strategist.

(End of this chapter)