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

Wei Zhong gave Emperor Wu of Han a detailed introduction to the countries in the Western Regions and Central Asia.

During his year as an envoy, he thoroughly investigated the population, cities, specialties, and military strength of the Pamir Mountains, Central Asia, West Asia, and Parthia.

In particular, the complex relationships and grudges between these countries and the Xiongnu.

He studied all of this thoroughly before he began to make contact with these countries as an envoy of the Han Dynasty.

After learning that the Han Dynasty was the powerful empire that had forced the Xiongnu to flee west in disarray, many of the persecuted Western Region states were overjoyed and secretly received him.

They hoped to use the power of the Han Dynasty to free them from the clutches of the Xiongnu.

There were also those like the Wusun who were determined to follow the Xiongnu, because they had never seen the powerful military strength of the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty was too far away.

They still felt it was better to submit to the Xiongnu.

Not only did they not submit to the Han Dynasty, they also reported the news of the Han delegation to the Xiongnu.

Fortunately, the mission was small and had greater mobility.

With the secret assistance of the various states in the Western Regions that admired the Han Dynasty, they were never captured by the Xiongnu.

Enraged, the Xiongnu dispatched an army of 100,000 men to surround them from ten directions.

Wei Zhong had no choice but to obtain fine horses from Dayuan, a region filled with jealousy and hatred towards the Xiongnu, and then return to Chang'an with these stallions.

"I never imagined that there was such a vast world outside of the Han Dynasty."

"Especially the Parthian Empire, which has tens of millions of people, including a million armored soldiers."

Emperor Wu of Han sighed.

"I have heard that to the west of the Parthian Empire, there is another equally powerful empire called Rome."

"Its territory is no less vast than that of Parthia, and it is equally powerful in military strength and has a large population."

Wei Zhong's introduction completely ignited Emperor Wu of Han's desire for conquest.

How could such a powerful world not belong to our Great Han?

I came, I saw, I conquered!

"How far was the Roman Empire from the Han Dynasty?"

Emperor Wu of Han asked.

"The Western Regions are thousands of kilometers away from here. The Parthian Empire covered a vast area of ​​thousands of miles, and then came the Roman Empire."

Wei Zhong replied.

Then Wei Zhong took out the sketch he had drawn, which was based on what he had seen and heard.

This includes the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, Central Asia, West Asia, and countries near the Mediterranean.

The maps of the Han Dynasty region, the Western Regions, and Central Asia are more detailed, while the maps of West Asia and the Mediterranean region are only rough sketches with only a general outline.

"To travel from the Han Dynasty to Rome, one should start from Chang'an, pass through the Hexi Corridor, and then go through Loulai and Yushen before reaching the Pamir Mountains and entering the region of the Western Regions."

"After passing through the Western Regions and crossing Samarkand, one can reach the Parthian Empire."

"The Xi Empire spans thousands of kilometers and is no weaker than our Han Dynasty."

"After the Parthian Empire, there lies the eastern region of Rome. The eastern region of Rome also stretches for thousands of miles, and after passing through what they called the Mediterranean Sea, one can reach the center of Rome."

Looking at the long distance on the map, Emperor Wu of Han compared it with a map of the Han Dynasty and realized that it would take several Han Dynasty figures to reach the destination.

This instantly chilled his newly risen ambition.

What he desires is for all under heaven to belong to the king, and for all within the borders of the land to be his subjects.

Even if he was confident he could conquer all of these regions, they were too far away.

It cannot be controlled.

Although Emperor Wu of Han did not know the name of the Imperial Wall, he understood the principle behind it.

Due to factors such as communication speed, troop movements, and terrain, Emperor Wu of Han estimated that the limit of the Han Dynasty's rule was near the Pamir Mountains, which encompassed the Western Regions.

Further afield, the cost of governance is extremely high, making it difficult to establish a stable regime.

Unless it is a fiefdom.

There was also a significant problem with enfeoffment: for ambitious and aspiring individuals, it meant venturing far from home. However, this was worthwhile in order to realize their ideals and ambitions.

However, as a citizen of the Great Han Empire, if one wants to rule a country thousands of miles away, one must bring a sufficient number of talented people from within the country to form a solid foundation.

Otherwise, a stable rule could not be established, and the local area could not be integrated into the Han cultural sphere.

Such rule is illusory; after one generation, it may simply revert to its original state.

It requires a capable person to lead a team.

Emperor Wu of Han considered the struggle for the crown prince position.

The victor becomes the crown prince and inherits the throne, while the loser usually faces only death.

Now perhaps we can exile the loser and his forces and distribute them among the various factions.

Of course, Emperor Wu of Han did not want his bloodline to be defeated by the bloodline of others in the future.

The only ones who can be granted fiefdoms are one's own future children.

Don't even think about it with your other siblings.

Put aside your worries; the Han Dynasty is still far from being unable to govern its territory.

The first goal now is to bring all the lands surrounding the Han Dynasty under the control of the Han Dynasty.

A few days later, when Wei Shou took Wei Zifu's pulse, he raised an eyebrow and congratulated Emperor Wu of Han.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on being a princess."

Princess!

Emperor Wu of Han and Empress Wei Zifu were both disappointed; it was not a prince.

Emperor Wu of Han issued an order to bestow upon her the title of Princess Dangli.

As a symbol of Emperor Wu of Han's ability to father children, even if the child was not a prince, it had a very prominent political significance, and Emperor Wu of Han attached great importance to it.

News of Emperor Wu of Han having a grand princess quickly spread throughout the powerful and wealthy of Chang'an. Wei Qing's Changping Marquis residence was bustling with visitors.

Anyone with eyes could see how important this princess was to Emperor Wu of Han. Of all the concubines in Emperor Wu's harem, only Wei Zifu conceived a daughter.

Could it be that the first prince was also conceived by Wei Zifu?

By any measure, Wei Zifu had the highest probability of becoming empress.

If you don't hurry up and curry favor now, when will you ever get the chance?

Must we wait until she actually conceives a prince? By then, it'll be too late.

Although Wei Qing came from a humble background, he was just a stable boy.

But he was very clever and knew that associating with these powerful people was not a good thing.

So he simply shut himself off from visitors, refusing to see anyone except a few acquaintances.

When Wei Qing's response reached Emperor Wu of Han's ears, the emperor nodded in satisfaction.

Knowing when to advance and when to retreat is good.

His impression of Wei Qing improved.

In the ninth year of Emperor Wu of Han's reign, his eldest daughter, Princess Dangli, was born.

Emperor Wu of Han directly granted her a prefecture as her fief.

He also ordered a one-year nationwide tax exemption as a celebration for the eldest princess.

Given the current wealth of the Han Dynasty, a mere year's tax is nothing.

The tenth year of Emperor Wu of Han.

The Xiongnu once again amassed a large force and launched attacks on the Han Dynasty from several different locations.

One force consisted of 10 elite Xiongnu troops and 20 mixed Hu troops disguised as Xiongnu cavalry, intended to attract the attention of the Han army and persuade them to send their main force to Yanmen Pass.

Another force passed through Yunzhong and Shuofang counties and entered the Hetao Plain. This route had flat terrain, which allowed the cavalry to make full use of their advantages.

The third force continued to attack Yumen Pass from the Western Xiongnu side.

The fourth army entered the Youyan region via Shanggu County and Yuyang County.

The fifth army passed through Longxi County and Beidi County and directly attacked Guanzhong.

The sixth force was a joint army of Wiman Joseon and the Xiongnu, which attacked the Liaodong region of the Han Dynasty from Wiman Joseon.

The seventh force consisted of Qiang people who had been subjugated by the Xiongnu. They joined forces with the fifth force from the Qiang region to launch a pincer attack on Longxi Commandery.

With seven armies in total, the Han Dynasty was caught in a dilemma, especially since the Xiongnu only feared the Wei brothers, who could only hold off the Xiongnu armies from two directions.

The Xiongnu kept a tight rein on which of the seven directions was the main force and which was a feint attack.

The idea was to let the Wei brothers encounter a feint attack, so that the other armies could advance unimpeded and trample across the Central Plains.

In order to deplete the Han Dynasty's manpower, they even chose to attack during the autumn harvest season in the Central Plains.