I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1091 The Great Han Monthly Report
At the Jade Gate Pass, Su Yao's return caused an astonishing sensation.

No one expected that the great general who was on a campaign in Parthia would return so quickly, and even ride a divine bird back!

"Not bad."

"General Hou is loyal to his duty in guarding the pass. Even if I were to personally knock on the pass, you would still resolutely fire arrows. Your courage is commendable, truly commendable."

As the Griffin slowly descended, Su Yao and a beautifully dressed young woman gradually came into view. The woman was none other than Safia, dressed in a Han-style brocade dress, her black hair adorned with several lustrous pearls, making her appear even more charming amidst the sandstorm. Seeing the people kneeling and bowing respectfully on the city wall, she instinctively shrank behind Su Yao, only to have her hand gently grasped by him.

"Get up, all of you." Su Yao stepped onto the solid yellow earth, his black dragon-patterned boots crunching over a few grains of sand. "Hou Cheng, you did a good job guarding this pass, and your archery skills haven't deteriorated either."

Hou Cheng's face flushed red, and his knees were still trembling: "This humble general was blind and did not recognize a great man, and almost accidentally injured the Prince of Tang..."

"It's alright." Su Yao patted his shoulder, the force making the armor groan. "I came back in a hurry and didn't send you a message. But you, those words you were muttering on the city wall just now, they all went with the wind to my ears."

Hou Cheng was instantly terrified and fell to his knees with a thud: "This humble servant deserves to die! This humble servant spoke nonsense while drunk..."

"Get up." Su Yao's voice was filled with laughter. "You've been with me for a long time, how could I forget you when something good happens? Don't worry, I'm back this time to mobilize the second wave of troops for the expedition, so that all the soldiers can have a good record."

Hou Cheng suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing with joy: "Is Your Highness really telling the truth?!"

“Of course.” As he spoke, Su Yao turned to look at the western horizon: “The western world is vast, much larger than the land beneath our feet. The Kushan Empire is just an appetizer, Parthia will soon submit to the Han Dynasty, and further west is Rome, an empire whose territory and population are no less than that of the Han Dynasty. You will have plenty of opportunities to make a name for yourself.”

Hou Cheng was filled with fervor upon hearing this, and repeatedly pledged his loyalty and volunteered to fight, begging Su Yao to take him along no matter what.

Hou Cheng's voice trembled with excitement as he knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist, and said, "This humble general is willing to be Your Highness's vanguard! Even if it means facing mountains of knives and seas of fire, I will not flinch!"

Su Yao laughed heartily and helped him up, saying, "Good! Your kindness is enough. I will definitely reserve a place for you in the Western Expeditionary Army in the future. But for now, let us settle down first and tell me about the situation in the court."

"It's been almost a year since we last met. How have you been, Wan Nian? What major events have occurred in the court? Is the expansion into the South China Sea going smoothly? Tell me all about it tonight, without omitting anything."

"in addition."

After saying this, Su Yao grabbed a man from behind him and threw him down from mid-air: "This is King Vologasis V of Parthia. You take care of him for now and don't let him escape. Tomorrow I will take him to Luoyang to present him as a prisoner."

"King Anxi?!"

Hou Cheng frantically caught the middle-aged man, who was bound like a dumpling and looked terrified, nearly biting his tongue in the process. He looked down at this once mighty king of the Western Regions, now trembling like a lamb to the slaughter, and swallowed hard: "Your Highness, have you... already taken control of Parthia?"

"It'll be soon." Su Yao waved his hand casually. "Eastern Parthia is now entirely under my control; it's just a matter of time. I've returned this time to gather more troops and crush Taisifeng in one fell swoop."

Hou Cheng was stunned, his breathing quickening. He had originally thought Su Yao's western expedition was merely to teach the restless Kushans a lesson, but he hadn't expected them to have reached the heart of Parthia and even capture their king! This achievement would likely put even Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to shame! "This subordinate will make the arrangements immediately!" Hou Cheng's voice trembled with excitement as he turned to prepare. "Your Highness has returned from afar; this subordinate will immediately order hot water and food to be prepared, and then send a fast horse to Dunhuang to deliver the news."

"There's no need to send a message." Su Yao jumped down with Safia in his arms and said calmly, "My mount can travel a thousand miles a day. Your messenger can't even get here as fast as I can by myself."

Traveling a thousand miles a day is not an exaggeration. After all, with four people on board, Griffin can already travel more than 600 miles a day by flying during the daytime alone. If there is a tailwind the whole way, it can be even faster.
However, these details are not important.

Soon after a brief commotion, Su Yao and Hou Cheng met again at the garrison commander's residence to exchange intelligence.

Hou Cheng listened to Su Yao's brief account and was so shocked that his eyes widened and he almost prostrated himself. He never expected that they could achieve such a brilliant result and even subdue a sacred beast from a foreign land.

As for Su Yao, listening to Hou Cheng's description, he could only feel bored.

According to Hou Cheng, the information reported was basically all gossip from censors and officials; not a single decent or reliable opponent could be found.

"That's all? In a year, there haven't been any major changes in the court?" Su Yao looked at Hou Cheng suspiciously, wondering if this guy didn't care about national affairs at all.

Hou Cheng felt a pang of anxiety under Su Yao's gaze and quickly waved his hand, "Your Highness, please calm down! It's not that there are no major issues in the court, it's just... it's just that compared to your ruthless methods in the Western Regions, things in the court are indeed much more stable."

Seeing that Su Yao seemed unconvinced, he scratched his head, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He hurriedly ran a few steps and took out several documents from the bookshelf: "Your Highness, look, this is the official gazette you reformed and issued before. I read every issue. Look, this is a bound volume of the last six months. All the important events are recorded in it." Hou Cheng presented the several thick volumes to Su Yao like treasures.

Su Yao took the booklet and glanced at it; it was the Great Han Monthly, which he had commissioned to be published when he was in Luoyang.

Compared to the various "palace gate reports" and "camp gate reports" that were only published when there was a specific incident, the "Great Han Monthly" founded by Su Yao was published regularly every month. Its content covered all aspects of the court, including important news, legal changes, agricultural seasons, and trade information. It was sent to counties and prefectures throughout the country through the postal system, and even as far as the border fortresses.

"Oh? This is starting to look quite professional."

Su Yao opened the latest issue and saw the headline "Great Victory in the Western Regions! The General Slays the Kushan King" on the front page, accompanied by a slightly rough but magnificent woodblock print—Su Yao was wearing red armor, holding a horse spear with the Kushan King's head on the tip, his warhorse trampling the enemy formation, and the red flags of the Han army fluttering behind him.

"This artist does have some skill." Su Yao's lips curled up slightly, but as he glanced at the content, his brows furrowed, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

It turned out that, aside from the clearly censored official rhetoric, the majority of the content focused on the stock price performance of the Western Regions Development Company. Various high-ranking officials and scholars vied to speak, discussing the benefits the pacification of the Kushan Empire would bring to the Central Plains. The most significant piece was Yuan Shao's "On the Boost to the Central Plains Economy from the Pacification of the Western Regions," a lengthy essay of over a thousand words. It analyzed everything from silk trade to jade mining, from the introduction of warhorses to trade route taxes, presenting a detailed and logical analysis. Finally, it included the latest stock price of the Western Regions Development Company, which had increased more than tenfold since its initial offering!
These editorials clearly represented the focus of attention in the Han Dynasty at that time, so much so that even his affair with Queen Samira of the Kushan Empire was pushed off the front page and written in the gossip section at the back of the second page, taking up only a small space.

Aside from that, the newspapers were mostly filled with local trivia such as a bumper harvest in a certain place, auspicious omens in a certain place, and local tidbits like a prefect building water conservancy projects or a county magistrate apprehending notorious bandits. Su Yao's fingertips traced the densely packed printed words as he quickly flipped through past issues of the newspapers, and soon his attention was drawn to a front page—"Dragon and Phoenix Bring Auspiciousness, Her Majesty the Empress and Her Child Are Safe."

It seems that Wan Nian has successfully given him another pair of babies. Su Yao's lips had just curled up when he suddenly noticed an inconspicuous text message in the corner of his hand - "Japan sends envoys to pay tribute, offering hundreds of live people."

"The Japanese have arrived?"

(End of this chapter)