I, a useless prince, started with the Xiang Yu template.

The scene changes.

Western Regions.

On the vast plateau, yellow sand fills the sky, and fierce winds whip up gravel, blowing incessantly year-round.

Once upon a time, five countries stood on this barren land, constantly fighting each other, none able to subdue the others.

Later, the Kingdom of Xiaochi was destroyed by the Great Qian Dynasty, which launched an eastern expedition.

The remaining four countries didn't last much longer either.

In the Western Regions today, the four kingdoms are long gone, replaced by a newly rising and powerful kingdom—the Black Dragon Kingdom.

And the founder of this kingdom was none other than...

It was Zhang Long, the leader of the Black Dragon Army who fled westward from the Great Qian Dynasty.

……

Back then, Zhang Long raised a flag of rebellion within the territory of Daqian and went against Chu Yun, but he was utterly defeated and lost everything, leaving him with nothing.

With his last remaining troops, he fled westward like a stray dog, terrified, into the Western Regions.

At that time, he only had a few thousand men left.

Lacking food and clothing, dressed in rags, with the swords of the Great Qian pursuers behind him; and unfamiliar cities of the Western Regions before him.

Everyone thought that this remnant army, having entered the cannibalistic Western Regions, would not last more than three months before being devoured whole by the locals.

But no one expected that Zhang Long was actually quite capable.

After escaping into the Western Regions, Zhang Long did not rush to find someone to fight.

He first found a no-man's-land bordering several countries, a place no one bothered to care about, and settled his team there to gain a foothold.

Although his troops were defeated soldiers, they were still the elite of the Black Dragon Army.

Whether it's their equipment or their fighting skills, they are far superior to the soldiers in those small kingdoms of the Western Regions who wield rusty scimitars and charge into battle in droves.

They were nothing in front of the Qin army.

But once they arrived in the Western Regions...

That's a complete and utter dimensional reduction attack.

Zhang Long knew perfectly well that these few thousand people alone wouldn't amount to much.

He began recruiting locals into the army on a large scale.

The conditions were simple and straightforward: as long as you were willing to join the army, you would have enough to eat and receive military pay; if you won a battle, you would be rewarded, and the heads taken and the property seized would be distributed according to your merits without delay.

The Western Regions are such a terrible place, bitterly cold and barren. What kind of life do the people there live?

They don't know where their next meal will come from; their lives are worth less than a sheep's.

Being able to eat a stable meal is already a blessing from one's ancestors.

The conditions Zhang Long offered were like a windfall to them.

In no time, herders, refugees, and outlaws from the surrounding areas who could no longer make a living called upon their friends and came in droves to join the army.

The Black Dragon Army's forces grew rapidly, like a snowball rolling downhill, at an astonishing pace.

……

Having people is not enough.

You also need a powerful backer.

Zhang Long then offered incentives to win over several major local tribes.

He swore a blood oath with the tribal chiefs: they would go to war together, fight together, divide the conquered territories, and share the gold, silver, treasures, cattle, sheep, and slaves they plundered.

Those tribal chiefs were all people who wouldn't do anything without a profit. As soon as they heard that there was territory and treasure to share, their eyes lit up. How could they possibly refuse?

They all formed an alliance with Zhang Long, some sending troops and others providing provisions, wholeheartedly helping him fight the war.

With people and allies, Zhang Long finally felt much more confident.

He personally led the Black Dragon Army, beginning a campaign of conquering cities and capturing strongholds.

How could the armies of small kingdoms in the Western Regions be a match for the Black Dragon Army?

Often, after a battle, the Black Dragon Army suffers few casualties, while the opposing side is littered with corpses.

In less than six months, Zhang Long swallowed up the first kingdom in one gulp.

……

After conquering the first kingdom, the Black Dragon Army's strength increased dramatically, as if it had been inflated.

With a population, territory, mountains of money and grain, and inexhaustible resources, they had land.

Zhang Long seized the opportunity and turned his blade to attack the other three kingdoms.

Only then did the remaining three kings belatedly realize the smell of death and understand that this was a vicious wolf that wanted to devour people.

They hastily united, hoping to combine the strength of the three kingdoms to fight against the Black Dragon Army.

But it's too late.

The Black Dragon Army at this moment is no longer the defeated and remnant force of a few thousand men it once was.

It was a formidable army of tens of thousands, well-equipped, and tactically advanced, having fought its way to victory in countless battles.

The allied forces of the three countries fought several battles against the Black Dragon Army despite their difficulties.

Every battle ended in utter defeat, with soldiers fleeing in disarray and rivers of blood flowing.

Zhang Long gave them no chance to catch their breath. His army pressed in, relentlessly pursuing and attacking them relentlessly.

A country can be destroyed in three months.

Two months later, another country was destroyed.

……

From Zhang Long's desperate escape into the Western Regions with a few thousand remaining soldiers to his unification of the entire Western Regions with his iron cavalry.

All in all, it took less than three years.

He conquered four kingdoms in three years.

This speed and this combat power shocked the entire Western Regions from top to bottom, leaving them completely subdued.

Zhang Long officially proclaimed himself king in the largest of the four kingdoms in the Western Regions.

The country's name is Heilong.

He, Zhang Long, was the founding king of the Black Dragon Kingdom.

He conscripted laborers to completely renovate the royal city.

The city walls were heightened and thickened, and covered with blue bricks; the royal palace was demolished and rebuilt, with flying eaves and brackets, all in accordance with the style of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The entire city has been completely transformed, and its appearance is magnificent.

On the city wall, rows of black flags fluttered in the wind, each embroidered with a menacing black dragon.

……

Royal Palace Hall.

Zhang Long sat high on the throne, looking down at the vast number of civil and military officials kneeling on the steps below, a smug smile on his face.

Back in the Great Qian Dynasty, he was beaten like a dog by Chu Yun and fled westward in panic, with only a few thousand remnants of his army by his side, unable to even get a hot meal.

At that time, he truly thought his life was over.

His final fate was to be buried in a foreign land.

But to his surprise, there was always a way out.

Although the Western Regions were barren and harsh, they provided him with fertile ground for a comeback.

Now, he is the king of the Black Dragon Kingdom, ruling over the entire Western Regions and commanding an army of hundreds of thousands.

He is no longer the stray dog ​​who was chased and beaten.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Under the leadership of our King, my Black Dragon Kingdom will surely grow stronger day by day, its power extending throughout the Western Regions!"

Beneath the imperial steps, the courtiers bowed their heads, their flattery deafening.

Hearing these words, Zhang Long felt a sense of comfort emanating from every pore of his body.

.......