A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Granted."

Emperor Zhao of Han granted Wei Qi's request and gave him the power of life and death in the Western Regions.

"How many troops do you need?"

"10 elite cavalry."

Wei Qi replied.

His trip there will inevitably involve destroying mountains and temples, and exterminating the royal family.

It could even provoke many countries in the Western Regions and the Western Xiongnu; a few thousand soldiers would not be enough.

Especially against the Western Xiongnu, it would take a lot of elite cavalry to stop them.

"Granted."

With the 10-strong army of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty could reduce its troop strength on the border.

In addition to the current grain production and population of the Han Dynasty, if the Western Regions were not so far away, more troops would be sufficient.

Unfortunately, the costs during transport were too high, forcing them to rely on the Western Regions for sustenance.

Under Wei Sheng's influence, the Imperial Academy had many passionate students.

After hearing about Wei Qi's idea, and with Wei Sheng's secret encouragement, many passionate students were willing to follow Wei Qi to the Western Regions.

He assisted Wei Qi in managing the Western Regions.

Wei Qi personally received these students and treated them with the courtesy due to feudal lords.

They even used bronze tripods that were only permitted for those of the rank of Marquis or higher.

The table was laden with whole sacrificial animals, which thrilled these young people who had yet to experience the harsh realities of society.

What a privilege!

They certainly made the right choice; they should have chosen such a visionary and powerful ruler.

Many people immediately knelt down, willing to become Wei Qi's retainers and advisors.

Wei Qi quickly helped him up, but these were all important bases for his rule over the Western Regions.

They are all precious treasures.

In addition to these students, the various schools of thought also sent their respective representatives.

He wanted to realize his ambitions in the Western Regions, but at the same time, he also wanted to find a new path and overtake others by taking a detour.

In addition, there are some ideas that are difficult to implement in the Han Dynasty today, so why not try your luck in the Western Regions?

Some influential figures sought to emulate the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of the pre-Qin era, each aiming to assist different Western Region states and implement their own ideologies within those states.

While Sinicizing the country, they also competed with countries controlled by other doctrines.

Wei Qi watched this scene with satisfaction, realizing that keeping the Hundred Families around was indeed beneficial.

There must be sufficient competition for progress and motivation.

Wei Qi eventually established the Protectorate of the Western Regions within the territory of their Han Dynasty.

That's right, the Han Dynasty did have legitimate territory in the Western Regions.

That was during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, when some small states, under the influence of the Xiongnu, targeted the Han Dynasty and were subsequently destroyed by it.

This territory then became the territory of the Han Dynasty.

However, since this was an enclave, the Han Dynasty did not directly manage it.

This enclave is now almost a no-man's-land, and is the preferred place for Han merchants to rest and sell their goods.

Among those pitiful countries that were destroyed was the Kingdom of Wulei, whose capital was Wulei City.

Wulei City was located in the center of the northern route of the Tarim Basin. It could connect Loulan and Dunhuang to the east, control Kucha and Shule to the west, and take care of Khotan and other countries to the south. It was an ideal hub for governing the thirty-six countries of the northern and southern routes of the Western Regions.

This also made it easier for them to request food supplies from surrounding countries, reducing losses during food transport.

Moreover, the location of Wulei City is surrounded by abundant water and grass, and the land is fertile, making it a good place for them to settle down and cultivate.

With a whoosh, Wei Qi led an army of 10 to the Western Regions and stationed himself in the Kingdom of Wulei.

It scared a group of people so much that they couldn't sleep.

After all, how many troops were there in the entire Western Regions? Was it really worth the Han Dynasty sending so many people over?

Does the entire army in the Western Regions number 10?

They should have it, but they definitely can't muster 10 cavalry.

As a result, the countries of the Western Regions were all trembling with fear and sent envoys with generous gifts to visit them.

Wei Qi accepted the gifts but said nothing else, only instructing the messengers to convey a message to their king.

A month later, the kings of the various kingdoms of the Western Regions went to Wulei City, where Hai Chao had an important announcement to make.

All the kings who failed to arrive were considered to have colluded with the Xiongnu and were thus destroyed!

The envoys were so frightened that they scrambled back to their own countries, especially those who were far away, who wished their horses had two more legs.

Upon arriving in Wulei City, many of the caravans that had accompanied them also set up stalls there.

Many nobles from the Western Regions deliberately tried to get close to these merchants and travelers, buying their goods in large quantities at high prices, hoping to learn the purpose of this otherworldly army from them.

These merchants, proud to be citizens of a great nation, readily accepted the sweet talk but pushed back the bullets.

They sold the goods to them at high prices, but didn't reveal any actual information.

This made these nobles grit their teeth in hatred.

But when he looked at the 10 troops next to him, all his anger vanished.

The Western Xiongnu in the northwest and the Parthian Empire next door received news of the arrival of 100,000 elite Han cavalry in the Western Regions immediately.

This is 10 troops. What are they here for?

Is there even a question? Both the Western Xiongnu and the Parthian Empire felt that this was aimed at the Western Xiongnu.

The Western Xiongnu then assembled a large army on the border to prevent being caught off guard by the Han army.

They all sent men to Wulei City to see what the Han army was up to.

When they arrived, they discovered that entering Wulei City was not so easy.

It wasn't that the Han army's guard was strict; rather, their guard was very lax, and they didn't conduct much investigation into the identities of those who came.

Are you kidding me? I have 10 troops guarding inside. Do you think I'm afraid of a few of you?!

It was not easy because the Han army set conditions for entering the city: ten taels of gold or treasures of equivalent value were required for one person to enter.

Prices are clearly marked, and there is no deception of the young or old.

Even kings from various countries pay the same price to enter.

If you don't get in by then, well, sorry, you're doomed.

The Han army doesn't care whether you didn't come because you couldn't afford the entrance fee or for other reasons.

They only look at the results.

The spies of the Huns and the Parthian Empire wouldn't have that much money on them.

As for sneaking in, they quickly abandoned that idea.

This small city had 10 Han soldiers, and very few Western Region nobles were allowed to enter.

They are easily recognizable.

The risk is just too great.

They had no choice but to write to the forces behind them, asking them to send money.

This round trip took more than ten days.

Reluctantly handing over the gold, the spies entered the city and realized they had little chance of gaining anything. Moreover, they had a bad feeling that something unpleasant awaited them.

Because Wei Qi had been working with the bigwigs of the Hundred Schools of Thought and the students of the Imperial Academy to research the information of various countries in the Western Regions.

At the same time, these bigwigs each took their students to choose the countries where they would be stationed.

At that time, Wei Qi will also send troops to accompany this group of people to various countries.

This is both to ensure the safety of these people and to deter that country.