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Chapter 1285 A Wish Fulfilled, Return

Lin Hao led this army on another westward journey, but this time, they no longer needed to detour through the Uyghurs.

With the Silk Road now open, the army only needed to march westward along the newly reopened Longyou Road and Hexi Corridor.

Behind their caravan was an even larger torrent of caravans from various countries.

The bells under the camels' necks jingled melodiously, and wagons laden with silk, porcelain, and tea came and went in an endless stream.

The merchants' faces beamed with excitement; the revival of the Silk Road meant endless wealth and opportunities.

The pulsation of this vital economic artery will bring a continuous stream of vitality to the Western Regions, and through its strong bonds of interest, it will bind the various countries of the Western Regions more closely to the chariot of the Tang Dynasty.

After passing through Shazhou and Yizhou, the army finally arrived in Luntai.

At this time, Luntai was vastly different from what it used to be. It was a bustling hub of merchants, with warehouses lining the streets and various languages ​​mingling together, presenting a scene of prosperity.

Merchants from the Western Regions surrounded the Tang Dynasty caravan, offering astonishingly high prices for the exquisite goods from the East.

Looking at the 30,000 spirited new recruits, Guo Xin felt greatly relieved. He could finally entrust the defense of the Western Regions to them with peace of mind and set off for Chang'an to take up his post.

Guo Xin's achievements were not overlooked just because he was not in Chang'an, especially since the Guo family already wielded considerable influence in Chang'an.

According to Lin Hao's estimation, the position of Grand Commandant would be indispensable.

As Lin Hao had predicted, after returning to Chang'an, Guo Xin was appointed as Grand Commandant and was also tasked with expanding the Shence Army using the Western Region soldiers left behind by Lin Hao.

Lin Hao, now the most powerful person in the entire Western Regions, did not delay at all. He stood in the hall and glanced at the assembled generals under his command—veterans such as Lu Ziming, allied leaders such as Gudulu and Prince Ferghana, and newly appointed officers such as Lu Shisi.

His voice was clear and firm as he issued his first order as the Grand Protector-General of Anxi, sounding the clarion call for the final battle to unify the Western Regions:

"Order the entire army! Rest for three days and inspect your weaponry!"

"Our goal: to reclaim Khotan."

"Let the banners of the Great Tang be forever planted atop the city walls of Khotan, and may the lands of the Western Regions forever be secure and unified!"

Khotan, the southernmost pearl of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, is also the last missing piece of the puzzle in the map of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty.

Located south of Kucha, it, together with Yanqi, Kucha, and Shule, forms the four strategic strongholds surrounding the Taklamakan Desert.

The recapture of Khotan meant that the Tang Dynasty would have complete control over the southern route of the Tianshan Mountains, completely blocking the Tibetans' northward and eastward expansion, and the territory of the Anxi Protectorate would achieve unprecedented closure and stability.

The expedition route was long and tedious. The army marched west from Kucha to Shule, then south across the turbulent Xiduo River (now the Yarkand River), and then eastward along the ancient road on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, which had been eroded by wind and sand for thousands of years.

Most of the journey was spent traveling, and the vast desert and yellow sand tested the will of the new army.

Lin Hao's purpose in this expedition was to train his troops. He only brought Lu Shisi's newly formed Xuanwei Army, as well as some newly recruited auxiliary troops who were eager to make a name for themselves.

The main force remained in key locations to deter all sides.

For the Anxi Protectorate today, attacking the isolated and helpless Khotan is more like an armed march and a live-fire exercise.

The Karakoram Mountains acted as a natural barrier, blocking any possible (and incapable) reinforcements from Tibet, leaving the Khotan garrison trapped.

With the enemy at the gates, Lin Hao did not even personally go to the front lines to command.

He simply stood on the high ground at the rear, observing the battle unfold.

Lu Shisi, who had once again raised the banner of the Xuanwei Army, was like a vengeful tiger, personally leading his troops to attack the city.

The battle was largely predictable; gunpowder wasn't even used, and the city of Khotan was easily captured.

Driven by the belief of avenging their former comrades, the soldiers of Xuanwei Army bravely charged forward and swiftly stormed into the city.

After the city fell, Lu Shisi refused to immediately take stock of the spoils of war. Instead, he led a few personal guards and frantically searched through the ruined streets and alleys for the barracks and drill grounds he remembered.

He harbored a sliver of hope, but was also prepared for the worst.

Miracles always happen in times of despair. In a dilapidated courtyard that had been used as a labor camp by the Tibetans, Lu Shisi found his former colleagues and comrades.

Dozens of survivors, dressed in rags, emaciated, and almost unrecognizable.

They were the Xuanwei Army comrades who fought to the last moment when Khotan fell, and were captured due to injuries or being surrounded.

"Captain Liu, Wang Laosan, it really is you~!" Lu Shisi's voice trembled so much that he could barely form a sentence.

He could hardly recognize these once vibrant brothers; the years and hardships had etched cruel marks upon them.

Their hands and feet were deformed and hunched from years of heavy labor, and long-term malnutrition made their eye sockets sunken and their skin rough like tree bark.

"Shisi Lang? Yes, it's you back?" An old soldier with only one arm struggled to stand up, and murky tears instantly welled up in his eyes:

"We, we knew it! The Great Tang! The Great Tang will definitely fight back!"

There were no cheers, only heart-wrenching cries of survivors and incoherent outpourings of grief.

The tragedy lies in the years of torment that felt like living hell, but the joy lies in the fact that the royal army finally came from the east, and we finally saw the light of day again.

Lu Shisi held the last strong hands of his brothers tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. Living was better than anything else.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Hao personally visited the labor camp and ordered that these veterans be given the best medical treatment and care, while also using prisoners to help them regain their youth.

After capturing Khotan, Lin Hao appointed Lu Shisi as the garrison commander of Khotan, ordering him to lead troops to defend the city.

Lu Shisi was left behind to pacify the local area and rebuild the city's defenses, while Lin Hao did not return immediately.

He led his victorious army eastward along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, preparing for a campaign to establish his authority around the desert.

From Kancheng to Lancheng, Qiemo, and Putuo, the Tang army advanced in all directions, and the scattered Tibetan garrisons fled at the mere sight of them, or surrendered their cities.

This was not a fierce conquest, but more like a grand armed parade.

Lin Hao intended to once again demonstrate the mighty military power of the Tang Dynasty to all the city-states and nomadic tribes living on the oasis.

He wanted everyone to understand that from this day forward, this land would forever be under the protection and rule of the Tang Dynasty's Eagle Banner.

The army marched all the way to Shazhou on the eastern edge of the desert before turning north and finally returning to Tingzhou.

This circumnavigation of the Sea of ​​Death completely eradicated the remaining influence of Tibet in the Western Regions and deeply imprinted the prestige of the Tang Dynasty in the hearts of every living being in the Western Regions.

After recovering Khotan and establishing its prestige around the Pagoda, the Western Regions Grand Protectorate was fully formed, and its territory reached an unprecedented scale.

It stretches from Yizhou in the east to Suyab in the west, from Yutian in the south to the Ili River Valley in the north.

The vast territory within its borders, dotted with oases and pastures, all came under the banner of the Tang Dynasty.

The tribes under its indirect jurisdiction extended far beyond the Pamir Mountains, and its influence reached as far as the borders of the Abbasid Caliphate.

However, Lin Hao understood that in feudal times, managing territory beyond one's control was not an easy task.

In an era when communication and transportation still relied on horses and camels, excessive territorial expansion was not a blessing, but rather a burden that could drag down an empire.

Therefore, even though Tibet remains the biggest enemy at present, Lin Hao has still pressed the pause button on expansion.

The Anxi Protectorate shifted its focus entirely to internal development.

The first step was to establish military farms, promoting improved high-yield crops and advanced farming techniques on a large scale in strategic locations and areas with abundant water resources, striving to achieve self-sufficiency or even a surplus in military food supplies.

In the industrial sector, taking the Luntai City Industrial Zone as a model, regional workshop systems were gradually established in Tingzhou and Kucha, relying on the abundant coal and iron resources of the Western Regions, to mass-produce standardized military equipment, agricultural tools, and even some civilian ironware.

At the same time, people were dispatched to control the trade routes and heavy troops were deployed to ensure the absolute safety and smooth flow of the northern and southern routes of the Silk Road.

As long as this economic lifeline between East and West is firmly controlled, the Western Regions will be able to continuously acquire wealth.

And by forming an unbreakable community of interests with the Tang Dynasty, this became the cornerstone of its long-term rule.

At the same time, he established a sound system for rotating soldiers, and soldiers who had guarded the Western Regions for several years returned to Chang'an with their merits, rewards, and valuable combat experience.

These people were no longer ordinary veterans who had retired from the military, but became the backbone and seeds for protecting the central government and training the new army.

Just as Lin Hao was consolidating his foundation in the Western Regions, in distant Chang'an, a profound transformation that would affect the fate of the empire was unfolding with the help of forces from the Western Regions.

Grand Commandant Guo Xin, the pillar of the central government, wields the sharpest sword in his hand: the veteran soldiers from the Western Regions who are rotated back to the capital.

He used these battle-hardened elites as the core to train a new imperial guard that was completely loyal to the court, well-equipped, and tactically advanced.

This sharp sword was wielded without hesitation against the tumor that entrenched the region—the regional military governors.

Weibo, Chengde, Lulong (the three towns of Hebei), Ziqing, Huaixi... these once powerful and unruly regional warlords are the next key targets of the Shence Army, which was expanded from the Western Regions Army.

Chang'an, Daming Palace.

Guo Xin stood ramrod straight as a pine tree, handing a military report to Emperor Dezong of Tang on his throne:
"Your Majesty, Tian Ji'an of Weibo is unruly and has coveted the imperial regalia; his crime deserves death!"

The court was silent. The ministers had been advocating for the reduction of the power of the regional military governors for decades, but their proposals had been repeatedly thwarted.

But the certainty in Guo Xin's tone at that moment was startling.

"Minister Guo, how confident are you?" Emperor Dezong asked in a low voice.

After a full year of forbearance and Guo Xin's year of reorganization and preparation, the new Shence Army is now complete.

Therefore, Emperor Dezong stopped pretending and directly revealed his true colors, preparing to resolve the problem of regional military governors in one fell swoop.

"Perfect!" Guo Xin's tone was calm, yet carried immense weight: "The newly trained Shence Army can be the sharpest weapon of the dynasty!"

"In addition, the Western Regions Grand General's Office has also dispatched 20,000 troops as reinforcements, and the Northern Uyghurs will also march south to provide support!"

As soon as Guo Xin finished speaking, Yang Xigu immediately reported: "The Grand Commander of the Western Regions and the Uyghur reinforcements will arrive in three days."

"The Western Regions have dispatched 30,000 troops, and Princess Xian'an has sent 20,000 elite cavalry to assist the Celestial Dynasty in suppressing the rebellion!"

The court was shaken. No one knew when Guo Xin and Yang Xigu had reached such a tacit understanding with the Western Regions and the Uyghurs.

Only a few key figures knew that this was a chain reaction brought about by Lin Hao's management of the Western Regions.

Princess Xian'an had solidified her power by leveraging the trade interests in the Western Regions and the military might of the Tang Dynasty.

Even if there were dissent within the Uyghurs, they could still think of the Grand Commander Lin who controlled the Western Regions.

And the Tang Dynasty to the south, which was rebuilding its strength, had any thoughts of making a move forcibly suppressed.

The course of the war was a foregone conclusion. The new army, with retired veterans from the Western Regions as its backbone, was equipped with standardized bright armor and sharp swords produced in Luntai.

Under Guo Xin's command, they cut through the enemy lines like a hot knife through butter, successively defeating the stubborn resistance of the Wei Bo and Huai Xi warlords.

On the battlefield, the once invincible military forces of the regional military governors appeared utterly vulnerable in the face of these elite troops who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

The military governors were either killed in battle or captured and escorted to Chang'an to be executed. With the prestige of his uncle Guo Ziyi and even more decisive methods, Guo Xin accomplished the long-cherished task of weakening the power of the regional military governors that had been the dream of emperors since the mid-Tang Dynasty.

The transfer of power was smooth and stable. Guo Xin and Yang Xigu became the new regents, and with their steady and prudent approach, they continued to safeguard the hard-won situation of national revival.

Lin Hao, on the other hand, remained firmly in the Western Regions, serving as the western pillar of the empire. He echoed Yang Xigu in Chang'an, forming a stable internal and external balance.

Inside the residence of the Grand Governor of the Western Regions, Lin Hao put down the private letter from Chang'an, stamped with the seals of the Grand Commandant and the Ministry of War.

Now that the problem of regional military governors within the Tang Dynasty has been resolved, the court has turned its attention to internal reforms, but Tibet remains a huge hidden danger.

Even Lin Hao, the Grand Governor of the Western Regions, was himself a powerful hidden danger that could rival the Tang Dynasty.

However, Lin Hao will not stay here forever. Once the threat from the Tang Dynasty is resolved, Lin Hao should return, and this problem will naturally be solved.

As for what happens after Lin Hao leaves, who cares about the raging flood?

"Now that the Tang Dynasty needs to recuperate in peace, it must eliminate the threat of Tibet forever!" Lin Hao muttered to himself.

His gaze swept across the massive map of the Western Regions behind him, finally settling on the vast Tibetan plateau.

"Without destroying its foundation, Tibet cannot maintain peace for a hundred years."

Although the Tubo regime had recaptured Hexi and severely damaged its army in previous battles, its foundation remained unshaken, and its population, livestock, and aristocratic system remained intact.

They are like wildfires deep in the grasslands, which can be reignited with the spring breeze.

Therefore, what Lin Hao needs to do is no longer to conquer cities and seize territories, but to eliminate the root of the problem and destroy Tibet's war potential and population base to the greatest extent possible.

In the autumn of the ninth year of Zhenyuan (793), Lin Hao swore an oath in Tingzhou.

Having plundered Hexi for years and isolated Anxi from the threat, the Tibetans decided to take advantage of the Tibetans' internal strife (the young Zanpu and the recent defeat of Lun Mangre in Xichuan) to launch a western expedition against Tibet with the slogan of "avenging the blood feud in Anxi and opening the throat of the Silk Road".

Before the oath-taking ceremony, Lin Hao coldly addressed the Tang soldiers:

"This western expedition is not for the purpose of conquest. Wherever we encounter Tibetan tribes, military towns, fields, or livestock, we will destroy them to the greatest extent possible. I want to ensure that Tibet will be unable to look eastward for a hundred years!"

The army then split into two routes again. The northern route was personally commanded by Lin Hao, consisting of 15,000 heavily armored cavalry, 20,000 Han naval troops, and some miscellaneous Hu tribes. They followed a familiar route—Pulei Sea, Lop Nur, and Khotan.

After crossing the Kunlun Mountain pass, their target was the Qiangtang region, the heartland of Tibet. Their mission was not a swift attack, but a "mopping-up" operation.

The Western Route Army, led by the valiant general Guo Yuanzheng, consisted of 15,000 heavy cavalry from the Tang Dynasty, 30,000 Han naval troops, and troops from various small states and tribes, and also carried some explosives.

The objective was not a feint attack, but to completely destroy the Tibetan passages connecting Tibet with the West through mountain passes such as Bolu, and to clear out Tibetan strongholds south of the Kunlun Mountains and west of Khotan.

The Northern Route Army appeared once again as if descending from the heavens on the Qiangtang Plateau.

Unlike the previous swift incursion, this time the Tang army transformed into a moving tide of death, no longer avoiding the Tibetan nomadic tribes, but actively seeking them out.

All the tribes they encountered along the way had their pastures destroyed. The cavalry first dispersed the herders' guards, while the follow-up troops set fire to the grasslands, making it difficult for them to recover for several years.

Originally, they wanted to follow the grassland customs and implement the wheel policy. After all, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. They wanted to retaliate against how these people had treated the Tang people.

However, Lin Hao needed a large number of prisoners as raw materials to restore his youth, so he did not implement the "wheel policy" but instead plundered livestock.

Tens of thousands of sheep, yaks, and warhorses were captured; some were slaughtered on the spot as military rations, while the majority were driven south.

They either bribed or won over tribes with a long-standing feud with Tibet, conscripted young men on the spot, and joined forces to deal with Tibet, thus disrupting Tibet's already fragile logistical chain.

The Tang army showed no mercy to the resisting tribes, and after defeating their armed forces, captured as many able-bodied men as possible.

Of course, the elderly and weak were not spared either. Lin Hao divided his troops into several groups, like a comb, and repeatedly combed through the northern part of Qiangtang to ensure that no corner was left untouched.

Several medium and large Tibetan tribes never recovered after this battle.

Under Guo Yuanzheng's command and following Lin Hao's strategy, the Western Route Army also displayed terrifying destructive power.

In places like Bolu, Tang engineers used gunpowder to blast mountain roads and plank roads on a large scale, completely blocking the trade and military routes of Tibet to Central Asia, thus depriving Tibet of an important external supply channel.

Guo Yuanzheng no longer launched direct attacks on the Tibetan military fortresses located on the southern slopes of the Kunlun Mountains. Instead, he used crossbows to launch oil canisters and thunderclap bombs, often burning the fortresses, along with the garrison and provisions inside, to ashes.

The thick smoke lingered day and night, resembling a scene from hell.

The western route army thoroughly purged the area west of Khotan, which was originally in a tug-of-war between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty, and uprooted any forces suspected of colluding with Tibet.

Faced with Lin Hao's brutal tactics, which aimed not at conquest but purely at destruction and attrition, the Tubo regime was plunged into an unprecedented predicament.

Despite possessing overwhelming military strength, the Tang army, having assembled a large force for a decisive battle, deliberately used its mobility to avoid direct confrontation and continue sweeping through the rear.

The Tibetans were forced to divide their forces for defense, thus becoming passive in every situation and were defeated one by one by the Tang army.

Lin Hao learned that the Tubo (Tibetan) forces were gathering ships in the Namtso Lake area, attempting to transport troops and supplies.

Subsequently, an elite force was dispatched to launch a nighttime raid on rafts, using oil to ignite the Tibetan fleet. The fire on the lake raged for three days, completely thwarting the Tibetans' attempt to maneuver by water.

Guo Yuanzheng's scouts in the western route army discovered that the Tibetans possessed a huge secret granary in Tsetang, a major town on the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River.

Therefore, he made a decisive decision and personally led the main force on a forced march to attack Zetang.

After a fierce battle, the Tang army broke through the outer defenses and burned all the grain that could not be transported, with flames soaring into the sky visible for miles around.

This battle dealt a heavy blow to Tibet's grain reserves, directly triggering famine in the areas under its control.

In the spring of the tenth year of Zhenyuan (794), after more than half a year of fighting, Lin Hao finally brought his army to the gates of Luosuo City.

However, Lin Hao did not launch a general offensive. Instead, he surrounded the city on all sides and sent out cavalry to sweep through all the surrounding villages and farmlands.

The mature barley was either harvested and transported away, or burned.

Within the city of Lhasa, famine began to spread, and panic spread like a plague.

The Tibetan king and his nobles were trapped in an isolated city, watching helplessly as their foundations were gradually eroded.

As autumn arrived, the devastating war, which had lasted for nearly a year, inflicted wounds on Tibet far exceeding the sum of all previous Tang-Tibet wars.

The population within its borders plummeted. It is estimated that more than 30% to 40% of the Tibetan population died directly in battle, died from famine and plague, or were captured and moved to Hexi or the Western Regions. The loss of young and able-bodied laborers and soldiers was particularly severe.

The economy collapsed completely, more than half of the livestock were looted and slaughtered, pastures were destroyed, and farmland was abandoned.

The handicraft centers, such as the ironworks in Lhasa, had been destroyed, all the artisans had been taken away, and all the books had been destroyed.

The trade routes upon which Tibet depended for survival were also cut off, and the source of revenue for the Tibetan regime dried up.

Internal conflicts intensified due to defeat and hardship, the nobility became disaffected, the emperor's authority plummeted, and the unified regime established by Songtsen Gampo was effectively destroyed.

Seeing that his strategic objective had been achieved, Lin Hao finally agreed outside the city of Lhasa to accept the Tibetan envoy's request for peace.

In the autumn of the tenth year of Zhenyuan, Lin Hao led his army back north, carrying a heavy harvest of war to Chang'an, leaving behind a devastated and severely weakened Tubo Plateau.

······
When Lin Hao arrived in Chang'an with his army, everyone was on edge. Lin Hao had brought a full 50,000 heavily armored cavalry of the Tang Dynasty to Chang'an, and everyone was nervous.

There's a joke circulating online that if you're found to be privately keeping five heavy cavalrymen, the news most likely won't reach the emperor's ears.

The local county government used a clever trick to set up a trap, taking advantage of your moment of retirement to kill you. Your fine horses were confiscated and eventually fell into the hands of local powerful figures.

When you had amassed five hundred cavalrymen, you had already become a mountain king. The emperor was furious when he heard this and issued three imperial edicts ordering the local authorities to quell the rebellion within three days.

When you have five thousand cavalry, you can become a regional warlord, and the imperial court will try to entice you to surrender with high-ranking official positions and salaries.

Unless absolutely necessary, if the emperor truly doesn't want to be your enemy, offering amnesty is the best option.

If you remain unmoved, turn your back to the messenger, stand with your hands behind your back, and shout: "A true man lives between heaven and earth; how can he live a life of melancholy and subservience to others?"
Only when it really comes to that will the emperor grit his teeth and send an army of 100,000 to deal with you.

But if you lead 50,000 heavy cavalry, then congratulations! The civil and military officials of the court, including the emperor, all declare that your destiny is sealed, and the imperial regalia will be transferred to a virtuous person.

Although it's a joke, the meaning is indeed very apt: when you have 50,000 heavy cavalry, who wouldn't be afraid?

Therefore, when Lin Hao arrived in Chang'an, the emperor personally greeted him outside the city gate.

Lin Hao was very accommodating, mainly because he had already been an emperor and had no lingering attachment to it. Besides, he was leaving soon and there was no need for it.

After a series of exchanges between the emperor and his ministers, Lin Hao ordered the army to wait outside the city, and then had the emperor follow him up to the Kaiyuan Gate tower to inspect this formidable Tang army.

Looking out from the high vantage point, Lin Hao gazed down at the bustling metropolis below, a city teeming with merchants and travelers, where all industries thrived.

In the distance lies the Silk Road, where horses gallop freely and without obstruction; further still lies the vast and impregnable territory.

He saw a Tang Dynasty that was completely different from the original historical trajectory:
Internally, the deep-rooted problem of regional warlordism has been eradicated, and a strong central government has been established.

Externally, Tibet was severely weakened, and the Uyghurs became its allies, thus securing the Western Regions and bringing peace to all surrounding regions.

Economically, high-yield crops solved the most basic survival problem; politically, a capable monarch was leading the empire toward revival!

Meanwhile, rows of elite cavalry from the Western Regions passed through Kaiyuan Gate, receiving inspection from Lin Hao and the emperor.

Seeing the emperor's pale face, Lin Hao said with a smile, "Your Majesty, are you satisfied with the Tang Dynasty I have given you?"

Emperor Dezong was taken aback upon hearing this, but instantly understood the meaning behind Lin Hao's words. Then, as if he had drunk strong liquor, his face turned red instantly.

Then, looking at Lin Hao in surprise, he said in disbelief, "What do you mean by this, my dear minister?"

Looking at the thriving scene before me, an unprecedented sense of accomplishment welled up within me.

Lin Hao then said calmly:
"Perhaps one day in the future, the Tang Dynasty will experience growing pains due to new internal conflicts!"

"But we will never again be wantonly trampled by the iron hooves of the grasslands, and the flame of Chinese civilization will be passed on for an even longer time!"

After the inspection was completed, Lin Hao said to Emperor Dezong, "Your Majesty, from now on, treat the people of the Tang Dynasty well!"

After speaking, Lin Hao used his skill to slowly ascend, while simultaneously shouting loudly to the elite troops of the Western Regions below:
"Soldiers, I, the Grand Commander, am about to ascend to heaven today. From now on, you will obey the Emperor's orders and safeguard the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. I will be waiting for you up there!"

Lin Hao's figure gradually disappeared into the air, followed by a burst of bright light in the sky, after which the sky fell completely silent, leaving the Tang Dynasty crowd dumbfounded.

"God, a god!"

"We've ascended!"

"Grand Commander Lin has become a deity!"

Lin Hao changed the fate of the Anxi Army, the fate of the Western Regions, and ultimately, fundamentally reversed the destiny of the Tang Dynasty.

The glory of the Tang Dynasty will shine on forever, like the ever-shining sun over the Western Regions.

Even if he doesn't get many Fate Points this time, he's happy to extend the life of the Tang Dynasty.

The details of the conquests are not elaborated.