Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Xiao Fang had a solemn and humble look. He clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Huo Jun.

This bow seemed to contain great respect, and also seemed to carry gratitude for fighting side by side in the past.

Huo Jun was greatly surprised when he saw this. He never expected that Xiao Fang, the prime minister, would be so open-minded and generous.

He hurriedly returned the greeting, his movements a little flustered.

"Although the territory of the Han Dynasty is vast, every inch of land must not be easily abandoned."

Xiao Fang's eyes were determined and his tone was sonorous and powerful, and every word seemed to carry a thousand pounds of force as it echoed in the hall.

Huo Jun hurriedly bowed in return, and said with great fear and trepidation:

"Jun is just fulfilling his duty. I really don't dare to accept such a grand gift from Prime Minister Xiao."

After saying this, Huo Jun bowed respectfully to Xiao Fang again to show his respect.

His forehead lightly touched the ground, showing his humility.

Seeing this, Xiao Fang hurried forward and helped Huo Jun up steadily with both hands.

He patted Huo Jun on the shoulder, as if giving him silent encouragement.

Then Xiao Fang's gaze slowly turned to Huo Du standing beside him, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a gentle smile:

"Huo Du, what do you think? I haven't broken my promise.

All the promises made at the beginning have now been fulfilled one by one."

Huo Du's eyes were full of admiration. He clasped his hands together and said:
"Prime Minister Xiao has always kept his word and is an expert in commanding troops. It is a blessing for the people of the Han Dynasty to have Prime Minister Xiao!"

Xiao Fang laughed heartily upon hearing this. He waved his hand and said:
"Let's go into Gaochang City.

We have won a great victory today, I want to have a drink with you guys, and we won’t stop until we are drunk!"

The Huo Jun brothers hurriedly stepped aside and respectfully welcomed Xiao Fang into the city.

At this time, the victorious Han army was stationed outside Gaochang City with high morale and strict military discipline.

The flags fluttered in the wind.

Xiao Fang ordered that all the seized materials be taken out and rewarded to the soldiers of the three armies.

This battle with the Yuezhi army was fruitful. Tens of thousands of Yuezhi soldiers were defeated, and countless wine, meat, military supplies and other materials fell into Xiao Fang's hands.

The soldiers cheered and were grateful for Xiao Fang's reward.

That night, there was joy inside and outside Gaochang City, with singing and laughter heard one after another.

The soldiers enjoyed the joy of victory to their heart's content and celebrated this hard-earned victory.

They sang and danced around the bonfire.

The main hall was brightly lit and the atmosphere was warm.

Xiao Fang and Huo Jun sat opposite each other, raised their glasses and drank deeply. The aroma of wine filled the entire hall.

While drinking, they discussed the situation in the Western Region and future strategies.

Huo Jun pointed at the map on the wall and analyzed it with a focused look:
“Prime Minister Xiao, it seems that most of the countries west of Gaochang have submitted to the Yuezhi army.

Apart from the enemy troops killed by Xiao Xiang, there are only tens of thousands of soldiers left in the Yuezhi army.

With Prime Minister Xiao's heroic spirit, he will surely be able to defeat the Yuezhi army and recover the Western Regions!"

His finger moved across the map, outlining a blueprint for the future.

Huo Du also saluted and said excitedly:

"Prime Minister Xiao is a master at using troops. I, Huo Du, am willing to be the vanguard and do my part to recover the Western Regions!"

He seemed ready to go to the battlefield at any time.

The two of them were looking forward to Xiao Fang's being able to lead his troops westward and recapture the Western Regions in one fell swoop, thus expanding the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Xiao Fang stared at the map quietly, without saying a word.

In fact, he already had the confidence to recover the Western Regions and defeat the remaining troops.

However, a serious problem lay before him, that was the food supply.

The Han army's food supply route has now extended to Gaochang City, which in itself is beyond the Han Dynasty's national strength.

The Western Regions are vast, thousands of miles away. If the army continues to march westward, the pressure on the grain route will be even greater. With the existing national strength of the Han Dynasty, it is simply unable to support such a long transportation pressure for grain and grass.

The transportation of food and fodder was difficult, and the journey was tiring and the losses were huge.

At this time, Ma Su reminded:

"Prime Minister Xiao, our army's food supply has reached its limit. It would not be wise to continue advancing westward.

If there is a problem with the food supply, the consequences will be disastrous."

Ma Su was thoughtful and considered things very carefully.

He knew how important food and fodder were to war. Once the food and fodder were cut off, the army would collapse without a fight.

After hearing this, Huo Jun suddenly realized that the Han army was now troubled by the problem of long food routes, and it was indeed not advisable to advance westward rashly.

Huo Jun regained his senses, cupped his hands and said:
“I neglected to consider it.

Recovering the Western Regions is certainly important, but the risks are too great if we rashly advance westward without considering the issue of food supply.

Jun retracts his previous request, and hopes that Xiao Xiang will take the overall situation into consideration and make a prudent decision."

Xiao Fang raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a sneer, and said confidently:
"Don't worry, within a year, I will definitely defeat the Yuezhi and recover the Western Regions!
Let the Western Regions return to the embrace of the Han Dynasty."

Huo Jun's spirits lifted, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.

Huo Du frowned and said worriedly:

"It's been a year, and the supply of food and grass during this period may be difficult to guarantee!"

There are too many variables in a year.

All the generals nodded in agreement, and were all worried about the problem of food and fodder.

They discussed with each other, trying to find a solution to the food problem.

Xiao Fang, however, looked calm, with a hint of confidence between his brows:
“You don’t need to worry too much.

The Prime Minister has already secretly ordered the creation of a divine weapon. Once this divine weapon is released, it will surely solve the problem of transporting grain and grass."

Huo Du showed surprise on his face.

Ma Su and others were also secretly wondering in their hearts what kind of magic weapon could solve the problem of thousands of miles of grain routes?

They speculated that this artifact might be a new type of transportation, or perhaps a device that could improve transportation efficiency.

Xiao Fang did not explain much. He began to arrange the return to Han and consider who to leave to guard Gaochang.

As an important stronghold in the Western Regions, Gaochang must be guarded by a capable general.

Huo Jun was naturally the first to step forward and volunteered. He said with a firm expression:
"Prime Minister Xiao, I want to ask His Majesty to continue guarding the Western Regions!"

Xiao Fang shook his head and said:

"Huo Jun, you have made great contributions in defending Gaochang, and it is time for you to return to the Han Dynasty and enjoy a peaceful life.

The situation in the Western Region is complex and changing, and there are still many things to deal with. You don't need to worry about it anymore."

He also hopes that he can return to Central China to reunite with his family.

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Huo Jun was even more puzzled and asked hurriedly:

"Prime Minister Xiao said he wanted to recover the Western Regions, so why did he want me to return to the Central Plains?

Isn't it necessary to set up the Western Regions Protectorate to manage the Western Regions?"

Xiao Fang looked determined and said proudly:

“I want to turn the Western Regions into a state of the Han Dynasty and incorporate it into the territory of the Han Dynasty.

In this way, the Western Regions can be treated like other states of the Han Dynasty, so there is no need to establish a Western Regions Protectorate. "

Huo Jun suddenly understood, his eyes full of admiration.

All the generals were shocked when they heard this.

None of them expected that Xiao Fang had such great ambition and courage.

They actually want to turn the Western Regions into one of the states of the Han Dynasty! (End of this chapter)