Shuhan

In the late autumn of the third year of Yanxing, the biting north wind brought sand and gravel that cut the sky like a sharp blade, and the entire Western Region was shrouded in a dim chaos.

On the Gobi Desert that stretches for thousands of miles, a team of cavalrymen wearing black armor are struggling to move forward.

The gaps between the armor were filled with sand, the salt condensed on the saddles looked like white frost in the sunlight, and the nostrils of the three thousand war horses spewed out billowing white mist, which entangled with the flying sand and dust.

At the front of the team, the second prince Liu Xuan held the reins tightly, his black brocade robe rustling in the strong wind, revealing the darkly embroidered cloud and thunder pattern on the lining - that was a unique pattern of the royal family, but now it was covered with dust from the journey.

The rammed earth walls of the Western Region Governor's Mansion were looming in the wind and sand. The Han flags fluttering between the parapets had faded to dark red, and the corners were torn into tiny cracks by the wind.

When the sound of horse hooves startled the lookouts on the city wall, the heavy city gate slowly opened, and the creaking sound was particularly harsh in the dead silence of the desert.

Liu Xuan narrowed his eyes and saw two generals standing under the city wall: Cao Zhang on the left stood like an iron tower, with blood scabs mixed with mud on his black iron armor, and the edge of his iron halberd still had dark red residue that had not been wiped clean; Su Ze on the right stood with his hands behind his back, the hem of his green battle robe blown up by the wind, and the long sword at his waist was wrapped in a blood-soaked red cloth, like a red snake that could wake up at any time.

"The humble generals Cao Zhang and Su Ze pay their respects to His Royal Highness the Second Prince!" The voice was like a loud bell, startling several vultures circling on the top of the city wall.

When Cao Zhang clasped his fists, the animal heads on his arm armor made a slight clicking sound; Su knelt on one knee, his fingers pressing on the hilt of the sword with the vigilance of years of fighting.

Liu Xuan dismounted from his horse, crushing a piece of frozen camel dung with his boots, which was particularly clear in the silence: "No need to be polite, generals. The wind in the Western Regions is a bit stronger than that in Chang'an."

He glanced at the mottled arrow holes on the city wall, a meaningful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

Inside the central army tent, a cowhide map glowed faintly under the sheep-horn lamp, with the territories of the Western Regions countries marked on it with cinnabar.

Cao Zhang kicked the stool away and sat down with his horse and sword. His iron boots left two deep marks on the carpet. "Your Highness, do you know? The number of troops we have is only 50,000 at most. The Western Regions countries combined have 100,000 young and strong men who can be deployed to the battlefield! Not to mention that the Xianbei and Kushan wolves are watching us!"

He took a big gulp of the kumis in the wine bag, and his Adam's apple rolled violently.

Su Ze stroked his chin and stared at the mark of Kucha Kingdom on the map in a daze.

The candlelight cast a mixture of light and dark shadows on his face. After a while, he spoke: "A strong attack will lead to failure. But the countries in the Western Regions have always been at odds with each other. Qiuci, relying on its strong army, has repeatedly intercepted and killed our caravans; Shanshan and Yutian have been fighting for jade mines; Shule and Yanqi are facing each other across the Tarim River..."

He suddenly drew out the short blade from his waist and cut several cracks on the map. "If we can let them fight each other..."

Liu Xuan pressed his finger heavily on the location of Qiuci, his nails leaving a crescent-shaped indentation on the parchment: "Let's start with Qiuci. General Su sent people to spread rumors that Qiuci wanted to annex Shanshan's pastures; General Cao contacted the nobles of Khotan and Shule and promised them trade privileges." When he raised his head, a wolf-like light flashed in his eyes, "

When they are both defeated, we will send troops in the name of "mediation."

The grassland on the Shanshan border shivered in the cold wind. Tiny ice crystals condensed between the withered and yellow grass stems, emitting a cold light under the setting sun.

Suddenly, a thick smoke rose from the southeast, like a giant black python rushing straight into the sky. In a flash, orange-red tongues of fire licked the night sky, burning half of the sky red.

Liu Xuan held tightly the jade pendant with dragon pattern around his waist and stood on the top of the sand dune.

The black brocade robe was rustling in the north wind, and the darkly embroidered cloud and thunder patterns were faintly visible in the firelight.

His brow bones cast a deep shadow, but his eyes were beating with a light that was hotter than fire.

Cao Zhang beside him could no longer hold back, and slammed his iron halberd heavily on the sand. The splashing sand and gravel hit the armor of the two men, making a crackling sound.

The burly general breathed rapidly, his eyes wide open, looking at the people fighting in the distance, and growled like a trapped beast: "Your Highness, the Qiuci cavalry has broken through the Shanshan defense line! If we wait any longer, all the sheep in Shanshan will be slaughtered!"

"No hurry." Liu Xuan stretched out his slender hand and pressed down Cao Zhang's iron halberd.

His fingertips were white but powerful, gripping the halberd like an eagle's claws.

The hem of his brocade robe was blown up by the wind, sweeping past a dead poplar tree beside him. The crisp sound of dead branches breaking mixed with the shouts of killing in the distance, like a prelude to death.

"Look at the Kucha cavalry, they swing their scimitars too quickly and the cavalry formation is in chaos. Although Shanshan is weak, it has the advantage of terrain." He squinted his eyes, capturing the details of the battlefield in the firelight.

"Let them bleed a little more. When both sides are exhausted, we can kill them with our swords."

At this moment, the battlefield has turned into a hell on earth.

The Kucha cavalry waved their crescent-shaped scimitars and indiscriminately killed the sheep among the flock.

The sharp blade cut across the sheep's throat, and blood splattered on the frozen ground, instantly solidifying into dark red ice.

The frightened snow hare jumped out from the grass and ran around in the firelight, but was trampled into a pulp by the galloping horses' hooves.

The Shanshan soldiers held up simple wooden shields, and in the light of the fire, the fear and anger on their faces were clearly visible.

Some were hit on the head by scimitars, and their brains mixed with blood were splattered on their companions; some were knocked down by war horses, and then trampled by countless iron hooves, letting out shrill screams.

Cao Zhang’s nails almost dug into his palms, and the iron halberd cut a half-foot deep groove in the sand: “Your Highness! Shanshan’s defense line is about to collapse!”

There was an anxiety and unwillingness that was hard to conceal in his voice, as if he was a tied tiger, ready to break free and pounce on his prey at any time.

Liu Xuan remained calm, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's as he scanned the battlefield.

Finally, he saw that the offensive of the Qiuci cavalry had obviously weakened, the horses were foaming at the mouth, and the knights began to pant; and the Shanshan soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and their formation was shaky.

Pass the order down, prepare to attack." His voice was low and firm, like thunder coming from deep in his chest.

As a long horn blasted through the night sky, the Han army's war drums sounded like thunder.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The sound of the drums caused the ground to tremble slightly, stirring up countless gravel.

Cao Zhang rushed down the sand dune like an arrow from a bow. His iron halberd flashed a cold light in the firelight and rushed straight towards a Kucha centurion.

"Kill!" He roared, and stabbed out with his iron spear, instantly knocking the centurion's helmet off.

Brain matter splashed on his breastplate like a fountain, and the warm liquid flowed down the gaps in his armor, but it did not affect his fighting spirit at all.

The light cavalry led by Su Ze went around the enemy's rear like ghosts.

They were dressed in black leather armor that almost blended into the darkness at night.

The scimitar was unsheathed, flashing with a cold light, and in the blink of an eye it cut off the food and supplies of the Qiuci army.

The Kucha soldiers who were in charge of escorting the grain had their throats cut before they could react. Blood gushed out, staining the carts of grain red.

The situation on the battlefield was reversed in an instant. The Qiuci army was attacked from both sides by the Han army and was thrown into chaos.

The soldiers panicked and fled in all directions, trampling over each other.

The King of Kucha rode a tall Arabian horse and tried to stabilize the morale of the army, but his mount was hit by arrows.

The warhorse let out a mournful cry, fell to the ground with a bang, and threw the King of Kucha out.

The King of Qiuci fell to the ground, feeling dizzy. When he raised his head with difficulty, he saw Liu Xuan riding a tall horse slowly approaching.

The horse's hooves stomped on the sand, making a "crunching" sound, and every step seemed to be stepping on his heart. Liu Xuan's black brocade robe rustled in the firelight, and the jade pendant with dragon pattern on his waist glowed coldly, like a token of death.

"King of Kucha, do you still remember the massacre of my Han merchant caravan three years ago?" Liu Xuan leaned over and lifted the other's crown with his fingertips.

The inlaid sapphire hurt the King of Kucha’s forehead. He tried to struggle, but found that his whole body was powerless. “That day, you beheaded the caravan members one by one and hung them on the city wall for public display.

Some of those people are my people, and some are envoys of the Han Dynasty." Liu Xuan's voice was as cold as a knife, and the flame of revenge burned in his eyes.

"Today is the time of reckoning."

A cold light flashed, and Liu Xuan's sword was unsheathed, accurately slashing the throat of the King of Kucha. Blood gushed out, splashing on the crown, dyeing the sapphire dark red.

The crown rolled onto the sand, tumbled a few times in the firelight, and finally came to rest beside a dead red willow.

The King of Kucha's wide-open eyes were forever fixed on the yellow sand, and his face still showed fear and unwillingness that had not dissipated.

Liu Xuan put away his sword and wiped the blood off his face.

He looked at the corpses and burning grasslands without any mercy. This carefully planned war was just the first step for him to control the Western Regions.

"Pass the order down to appease the people of Shanshan and divide half of the land of Qiuci to Shanshan, Khotan and other countries." His voice echoed in the night with unquestionable majesty.

"Remember, from now on, the Western Regions will have only one master—the Han people."

In the distance, the eastern sky has begun to turn pale, and a new day is about to come.

And this land of the Western Regions, soaked in blood, will also usher in a new order and destiny under the iron hoof of the Han Dynasty.

A few days later.

The biting north wind, carrying broken snow, swept across the ruins of the old city of Qiuci. The once majestic city walls were now only left with charred beams and pillars, whimpering in the cold wind.

Liu Xuan stood on the top of the city wall wearing a black cloak. The hem of his brocade robe was lifted by the wind, revealing the darkly embroidered cloud and thunder patterns that were faintly visible under the bloody setting sun.

He looked at the military camps that stretched for hundreds of miles outside the city. The smoke and dust intertwined into a gray mist, shrouding the entire Western Regions in the power of the Han Dynasty.

"Report - envoys from Shanshan, Yutian and Shule are seeking a meeting!" The shouts of the personal guards pierced through the whistling wind.

When Liu Xuan turned around, the sable collar of his black cloak brushed against the battlements, startling a few vultures that were pecking at carrion. A huge black shadow swept across the square below and fell on the nobles holding the covenant, causing everyone to shrink subconsciously.

Inside the meeting tent, sheepskin carpets covered the entire floor. The burning sandalwood in the four-cornered copper stoves mixed with the smell of blood choked the old nobles of the Shanshan royal court and made them cough continuously.

Liu Xuan sat upright on a Hu bed, stroking the jade pendant with a dragon pattern with his right hand, listening to the shouts and cries of the Han army's training outside the tent coming closer and closer.

When the Khotanese prince held the golden bowl inlaid with turquoise and tremblingly handed over the treaty, he suddenly chuckled, and the sound echoed in the empty tent: "Three years ago, the King of Kucha was also like this, but he held the head of my Han merchant caravan."

The air in the tent froze instantly. The goat beard of the Prime Minister of Shule trembled, and he stole a glance at the long sword on Liu Xuan's waist that had never been unsheathed. It was rumored that this sword had drunk the blood of the King of Qiuci, and the blood stains on the scabbard glowed a strange purple-black color under the candlelight.

Liu Xuan stood up as if nothing had happened, picked up the wine jar with his white fingers, and the amber wine poured down the gilded spout, creating blood-red ripples in the luminous cup.

"Everyone, please look." He raised the wine glass, letting the light and shadow reflected by the wine sweep across everyone's faces, "Does the wine in this glass look like the blood gushing from the neck of the King of Kucha?"

The Adam's apple of the Khotan prince rolled up and down, and the old Shanshan noble dug his nails deep into his palms. Only the Prime Minister of Shule tried to remain calm: "Your Highness the Second Prince is kind and benevolent. I am willing to give you land to enfeoff the various states."

"Benevolence?" Liu Xuan suddenly slammed the wine glass heavily on the table, and the wine splashed on the covenant document, spreading a large dark red stain.

"When Kucha slaughtered 300 of my caravan members, did they ever talk about benevolence?"

He strode up to the Prime Minister of Shule State and looked down at him from above.

"Do you think this prince doesn't know? Every time Kucha plunders, your caravan gets a share of the spoils!"

The prime minister's face turned pale in an instant, and he knocked over the bronze lamp beside him when he fell to his knees.

The flames leapt onto the curtain, illuminating Liu Xuan's suddenly cold eyes.

Cao Zhang rushed into the tent with an iron halberd in his hand. The animal heads on his armor made clicking sounds as he moved, adding a bit of murderous aura.

"Your Highness! The Northern Hun scouts are wandering a hundred miles away!" His voice made the cowhide on the tent ceiling rustle.

Liu Xuan raised his hand to signal for peace of mind, then turned around and took a sheepskin map from his personal guard.

The old site of Kucha is circled in cinnabar on the map, and densely packed red dots mark the beacons newly set up by the Han army.

"See these?" His fingertips passed over the Shanshan border.

"I gave you land not to make you feel grateful."

The map was slammed heavily on the table.

The second prince said sternly: "I want you to be the barrier of the Han Dynasty!"

The Prince of Khotan stared at the oasis that had appeared in his territory on the map, swallowing with a dry sound in his throat.

These newly acquired lands not only meant water sources and pastures, but were more like a sword hanging over their heads - if they showed any disloyalty, the Han cavalry would be able to flatten their capital.

Liu Xuan suddenly put on a gentle smile and personally helped the Prime Minister of Shule up: "Of course, as long as you are loyal, there will be no shortage of benefits."

He signaled to the maid to present the wooden box. The moment the lid was opened, the dazzling South China pearls and exquisite Shu brocade dazzled everyone.

"This is a treasure brought from Chang'an," Liu Xuan picked up a string of Dong pearls and let the beads roll down his fingertips.

"Every year from now on, as long as your caravans go west loaded with silk, all of this will be yours."

The eyes of the old Shanshan nobles lit up. As the hub of the Southern Silk Road, they knew too well the value of silk in the West.

But the lesson of Qiuci was still fresh in his mind, so he cautiously asked: "I wonder if Your Highness has any opinion on commercial taxes."

"This prince only wants 30%." Liu Xuan interrupted him.

“The rest, whatever you earn from trade with the Kushans and Romans, is yours.” He raised his refilled glass.

"Come, let's drink this cup to the new order in the Western Regions!"

Amid the crisp sound of the luminous cups colliding, Cao Zhang suddenly laughed out loud: "What a joy! If anyone dares to trip you up on the Silk Road, my iron halberd won't recognize anyone!"

He deliberately shook the iron halberd, and the cold light from the blade swept over everyone, shocking the prime minister of Shule so much that his wine glass almost fell out of his hand.

When the nobles left with the covenant and rewards, night had completely enveloped the Western Region.

Liu Xuan stood outside the tent, watching their torches gradually fade into the darkness. He turned to Su Ze and whispered, "Send someone to watch over anyone who has any secret correspondence with the Xianbei."

He made a gesture of wiping his throat.

“No need to ask.”

The cold wind blew up sand and gravel that hit his face, but Liu Xuan was completely unaware.

He looked at the newly raised Han army flag under the starry sky and remembered his father's advice before the expedition: "If the Western Regions are unstable and the Silk Road is blocked, the majesty of the Han Dynasty will not reach the Western Sea."

At this moment, those Western Regions countries that were still watching must have heard the footsteps of the Han cavalry - not as invaders, but as the new masters of this land.

The melodious sound of Qiang flutes came from afar, and the desolate tune was mixed with the horns of the Han army.

Liu Xuan tightly grasped the sword at his waist, and the bloodstains on the scabbard glowed dark red in the moonlight.

This bloody covenant will eventually become a shackle that the Western Regions will find difficult to break free of, and the sound of camel bells on the Silk Road will once again resound throughout this ancient land under the banner of the Han Dynasty. (End of this chapter)