Chapter 435

Chapter 435

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Side Story: The Western Regions Storm (4)

Belonging to the book:


Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 435 Side Story (4) (Part 1)

With the carving skills of the craftsmen in Chang’an, this jade Victory Coin can be made temporarily, even if this is a sudden change, it is still in time.

However, regarding this change, Cai Zhaoji couldn’t help but ask: “Your Majesty, do you want to change only the material, or should the design also be changed to match the occasion?”

This expedition to the Western Regions was sudden, but fortunately, their marching efficiency was equally astonishing, achieving a phased result just before the New Year.

The proposal by the Queen of Jingjue to act as the vanguard is indeed feasible!

For many years, the people of Jingjue have hidden in the marshes and reeds to preserve themselves, making people almost forget that they also inherited the wild and fierce style of the Western Regions countries.

They only chose to bide their time when their strength was inferior to others, but it does not mean that they would back down when the hope of tribal rise is before them.

Since the fourth year of Xiping, when the Han Dynasty failed to support the King of Jumi, allowing Yutian to annex Jumi, the ambition of the Western Regions countries has been growing, and they have become increasingly arrogant.

So much so that they have long regarded the further annexation of the southern countries as a matter of course. When the Queen of Jingjue led her troops here, the King of Yutian not only had no suspicions but also planned to eliminate the Queen of Jingjue and completely take over her forces after settling them in a nearby city.

It would have been fine to act directly, but with 30,000 troops, a historic breakthrough for Yutian, which had barely 10,000 troops in the past, he could not bear to see any irreparable losses.

But it was precisely this arrogance that led him to suffer a devastating blow from the Da Yong army, led by the Queen of Jingjue.

When the Da Yong army passed through the Jingjue marshes and reeds, and through the barrier of tamarisk and poplar forests, the King of Yutian was still immersed in the dream of conquering another country and adding 2,000 soldiers.

But this dream will probably never come true.

In the sound of the hooves breaking the capital, the King of Yutian fled north under the protection of his subordinates, trying to block the enemy’s advance through the northern white grass land.

However, this well-prepared attack would never give him a chance to escape!

Fu Gan, who had been waiting in this direction, happened to encounter these fleeing people and, according to the strategy decided before the march, killed them all on the spot.

Poor King of Yutian, he never got a complete explanation before his death, what the soldiers shouted “Da Yong must win” meant.

But from the perspective of maintaining the first step of rule in the Western Regions, Lu Yuan’s decision, which had to be made before receiving Qiao Yan’s reply, was not wrong.

The King of Yutian could defy the Han Dynasty’s orders, and he could also defy Da Yong.

When Lu Yuan and others’ troops needed to pass through Yutian to advance to Kushan, they could not leave such a hidden danger on the rear road.

This is very different from the situation in Shanshan and Jingjue.

Kill when necessary!

So when the battle in the capital was settled, the royal family, auxiliary marquises, and left and right generals in Yutian had all been killed by the Da Yong army, leaving only the left cavalry officer temporarily detained as a hostage, ordering his subordinates to take charge of stabilizing the people in Yutian.

Within three days, this top-down purge was completely completed, and the Hetian jade was sent back to Chang’an through the half-opened Silk Road.

With this phased result, it is okay to reflect it in the Victory Coin, making the Western Regions war situation a symbol of the next year.

“Match the occasion…” Qiao Yan suddenly thought of something and said, “No, let’s not change the Victory Coin, the original Victory Coin will be issued normally, but use this Hetian jade to make a peace buckle for officials with a salary of 600 stones or more. The hanging chain is made of gold and sent to all sides. Today’s expansion of territory and striving for merit is important, but please take care of yourself first and follow the long-term path.”

The peace buckle is simple to make, and the pattern between the gold chain and the buckle was decided after several rounds of discussion in the Chang’an Painting Academy, finally deciding to use the white grass of the Western Regions as the pattern to show the toughness of the reed.

Due to the overtime work in the past few days, this peace buckle gift was sent out to all sides when the New Year arrived.

The farthest place from Chang’an also received this special gift within ten days.

Gan Ning, who was recruiting sailors in Yang Province at the moment, was among them.

Thinking of the good luck this Emperor has always had, Gan Ning did not hesitate to hang it on himself.

I don’t know if there is really something mysterious in it, but two days after receiving this concern from Chang’an, he dug up an interesting guy from under the hands of Yang Province Governor Zhang Zhao.

Gan Ning still has some of the early days’ Jin Fan Thief style, directly grabbing the person to be his subordinate, which made Zhang Zhao, who follows the rules, very angry.

As a result, Gan Ning said, if Zhang Zhao paid more attention to the situation, he would know that this cannot be called forcibly grabbing a subordinate, but should be called a perfect match.

Lu Meng is obviously not satisfied with being just an ordinary subordinate. Under the condition that his conditions are not outstanding, he chose to borrow some money to prepare uniforms for his subordinates and train them intensively, and used brown ropes tied with stones as anchors to anchor the ships’ positions, making the small boats more orderly.

When talking about maritime affairs, he can also recount his conversations with fishermen and dock workers as if they were treasures.

What surprised Gan Ning even more is that although Lu Meng is young and has some immature ideas due to his early experiences, he is willing to learn and read, and he looks like a good seedling with ambition and execution.

Isn’t it better to grab such a person during this selection and help him manage the maritime business together, rather than waiting for him to show his talent in the battle against the Shanyue and be taken away by other generals, or even directly ordered by Qiao Yan to guard a place?

This is indeed the blessing bestowed by the Emperor.

On the other hand, this peace buckle gift also went out from the Yumen Pass in Liang Province, passed through the yellow sand again, and was sent to Lu Yuan and others.

The connection between the small countries in the Western Regions is somewhat subtle.

Countries like Puli, which need to farm on the land of Shache, and Xiyue, which is more like the Qiang people’s way of grazing by water, have slightly closer ties with neighboring countries.

For Yutian, which can meet its own needs internally, if there are exchanges with other parties, it may also suspect whether there is a suspicion of sending troops to conquer.

Of course, the language barrier between countries due to regional differences is also an important reason for the occurrence of such communication breakdowns.








This was not good news for the already buried King of Yutian, but it was clearly good news for the troops of Da Yong.

In the month of exchanging jade pendants, the troops of Da Yong blocked the westward path of the Yutian people, surprisingly without drawing the attention of the western countries.

This also gave them time to replenish their forces with soldiers from Yutian, Jingjue, Qiemo, and Shanshan, and to disperse their own troops within these territories for defense.

When this peace offering arrived, the various generals were training their newly acquired soldiers, while Lu Yuan, along with Jiang Tang, was visiting the farmlands in this area.

The diversion of Shanshan’s waterways had caused desertification, making the crops in this area appear barren. Jingjue, situated among the wetlands and reeds, had limited arable land. However, Yutian, having annexed various regions and needing to support a population of 100,000, inevitably required sufficient internal cultivation.

Apart from the tamarisk and poplar trees serving as a barrier, there was also a specialty of this region: grapes.

Previously, when Xu Rong and Ma Teng reopened the Silk Road and engaged in trade, they had purchased a batch of fine grape seeds from the Shule region along the northern Silk Road and sent them to Liangzhou for cultivation. This became a source of income for the region and successfully ensured that Qiao Yan had an ample supply of wine, unlike during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, when wine could be used as a bribe in official transactions.

However, when Lu Yuan tasted the grapes grown here, she suddenly realized the difference.

The grapes from the Western Regions were far sweeter than those from Liangzhou. The same was true for the other fruits of this land.

Even though it was the depths of winter and these fruits and vegetables were stored in cellars, far from their freshness when just picked, it did not affect Lu Yuan’s judgment at this moment.

After being caught off guard by a four-sided siege and forced to surrender, the King of Shanshan, who had been overshadowed by the proactive Queen of Jingjue, finally found a place to shine.

“This matter was compared when Han envoys came to the Western Regions many years ago, as mentioned in the records of Shanshan, stating that it is because our Western Regions have exceptionally long hours of sunlight and significant temperature differences between day and night, making it extremely suitable for growing fruits. If His Majesty from the Central Plains requires our tribute, we will surely send it to the capital after this year’s harvest.”

The words “this year” made Lu Yuan realize belatedly that December had passed unnoticed, and it was now the third year of Yuan Zhao.

She stroked the peace pendant in her hand, looked towards the land pointed out by the King of Shanshan, and a thoughtful expression flashed across her face.

Long hours of sunlight, suitable for fruit growth, loose soil…

It seemed a bit wasteful to only use this land for growing fruits.

After all, cotton also requires these very conditions!

Bingzhou originally did not fully meet the requirements for cotton cultivation, as clearly stated in the cotton cultivation manual that His Majesty had obtained from somewhere. However, because Bingzhou was His Majesty’s place of origin, it was the most suitable place at that time to meet the needs of cotton secrecy and expansion.

Now that the world was settled, and there was no territory that could not be under His Majesty’s control, there was no longer a need to confine cotton cultivation to the Shangjun area of Bingzhou.

If the conditions here were truly as superior as the King of Shanshan said, it could completely replace Shangjun and become a place for large-scale cotton cultivation!

When the cotton farmers and textile workers from Bingzhou migrated to the Western Regions, the subsequent stationing of troops in the name of Da Yong would also have a smooth transition!

Unfortunately, cotton growth also requires water sources.

The Yutian River basin was already at its limit in providing for the people’s needs, so it was probably better to focus on the great river in the north.

The confluence of the Yutian River and the Congling River, where the waterways widened, was also the most suitable place for cultivation and survival in the Western Regions.

And that basin was on the northern route of the Silk Road.

Lu Yuan secretly told herself that she could not rush.

Maintaining a composed expression, she did not reveal that she had already extended her plans to more distant places, but tacitly approved the King of Shanshan’s proposal to offer tribute.

After returning to the capital of Yutian for a joint military council, she immediately summoned all the generals.

To completely take control of the northern route of the Silk Road as His Majesty’s farmland, they must first cut off the attempts of the Kushan, Kangju, and Northern Xiongnu to spy on and control the northern route countries.

A month might not seem long, but it was the limit of what they could afford to delay here. It was time to move on to the next step.

Whether it was His Majesty’s affirmation in his reply of their decisive killing of the King of Yutian to control the situation, or the gift of the Hetian jade peace pendant to ensure their safety, it all gave them more confidence and assurance in winning the battle against the Kushan.

Thinking that although they were thousands of miles away from Da Yong, there were still people in Liangzhou as their support, and His Majesty in Chang’an as their backing, there was no hardship in a foreign land that could stop them.

“West of Yutian, the countries of Xiye, Zihe, Shache, and Wucha are mostly located in mountainous and valley areas, making it increasingly difficult to advance.”

Lu Yuan looked at the people below and, unsurprisingly, saw no signs of difficulty on their faces, so she continued, “But since we have come this far, there is no possibility of retreating. Therefore, I just want to ask, which of the two paths before us do you wish to choose.”

“One is to cross the Congling Mountains, attack the Wulei Kingdom, and then cross the Panj River to enter Kushan territory.”

“The other is to advance into Wucha and then head southwest through the Xuandu Mountains into Kushan.”

The former path was slightly easier, but passing through these small countries, already close to the intersection with the northern Silk Road, could not guarantee that their expedition abroad would continue to remain undetected by outsiders.

But what kind of place was Xuandu Mountain?

The Xuandu Stone Mountain had extremely deep valleys, almost impassable, requiring ropes to cross, hence its name.

If they were to take this path, although they might deliver a sudden blow to the Kushan, they would almost certainly have to abandon their cavalry.

Crossing Xuandu Mountain was a shortcut, but also an absolutely perilous journey.

Yet when Lu Yuan laid out the pros and cons of these two paths, both Ma Chao and Yan Xing, skilled horsemen, almost simultaneously gave the same answer: “Take Xuandu Mountain.”

As long as they could cross this place, they would be just one step away from their destination!

Author’s note:

A group of generals each showing their prowess to earn merits, but unfortunately, Qiao Qiao can only buff them remotely, unable to come in person.

PS: The King of Yutian began annexing neighboring regions in the fourth year of Xiping, that is, 175 AD, subsequently annexing four countries, becoming one of the destabilizing factors in the Western Regions. Killing him was justified; if he could defy the Han then, he could defy Da Yong now.

See you at 9 PM!