Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 173 The Dream of a Small Country

The desire to recall Huo Shan from the Western Regions to Chang'an is also in line with the views of some people, who think that this is a way to seek stability.

In the final analysis, it is true that the Grand Marshal Hussar General can win battles, but he is also a man who likes to make trouble. It would be best to follow the previously formulated strategies and return home as soon as possible after defeating Cheshi.

But now, it is true that Huo Xian attacked Cheshi, but he did not just attack Cheshi. The emperor gave him too much autonomy, so this champion marquis was fearless.

For many people, starting a war without authorization is definitely a huge crime, but the Champion Marquis did not care.

Wei Qing was supported into the palace. After reading the military report carefully, he was a little embarrassed. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the Marquis of Guanjun wants to take over the Western Regions in one fell swoop, right?"

Liu Che looked at Liu Ju and said, "Although people outside say that you are virtuous, you must not be complacent. The general can see through Xian'er's intentions at a glance, why can't you see it?"

Liu Ju stood up awkwardly and said, "I know I was wrong."

Liu Che continued to lecture him, "Why did you want to attack Cheshi this time? In addition to showing off your power, it is also because the Western Regions are beneficial to our Han Dynasty. Do you think that sending troops to kill tens of thousands of people is enough? Then I ask you, what benefits did the court get?"

Liu Ju was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to say that this expedition was to suppress the disobedience, which was also the most fundamental reason.

But if you think about it carefully, what the emperor said makes a lot of sense. This time it seems that he was just conquering the disobedient and it seems that he didn't get any real benefits.

Liu Che looked at Liu Ju and said, "There is one good thing about Shan'er's leading the army. Every time he leads the army to fight, he always thinks about reducing the court's expenses. Look at the several times he has led the army, he has captured a lot of prisoners every time."

Others couldn't say much because that was the reality.

Although not every war could make money, Huo Xian did have a lot of captives every time he fought. Every time he destroyed a country or defeated an enemy, he basically brought back everything he could.

This is certainly a good thing for the Han Dynasty. A cannon shot is worth a ton of gold. The Han Dynasty must be feeling a lot of pressure from organizing several large-scale wars.

Wei Qing also spoke up to help Liu Ju out, "Your Majesty, I think the Marquis of Guanjun should be thinking about next year."

Liu Che was also well aware of this. "I think so too. I told him before that the most difficult part of fighting the Huns is that it is difficult to find the main force of the Huns. He is reducing the range of the Huns' activities."

Wei Qing nodded and said, "It seems that the Marquis of Guanjun wants to destroy the Xiongnu Right Wise King first. If the court can destroy the Right Wise King in one fell swoop, that would be a good thing."

Liu Ju, Gongsun He and others were extremely shocked. Huo Xian had captured the Left Wise King of the Xiongnu a few years ago, and now he was targeting the Right Wise King.

It must be said that there is nothing that this Champion Marquis dare not think of, and nothing that he dare not do. As long as he is allowed to fight, the scale of the war will surely be infinite.

Liu Che looked at Wei Qing and asked, "Do you think it's time to ask Marquis Xuye to send out troops? Drive out the Right Wise King this fall and winter, and fight in the spring of next year."

Wei Qing thought about it carefully and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I have thought about this before. It may be too late this autumn or winter, but Hou Ye and others should also make preparations."

Liu Che knew this clearly and asked with a smile, "Marquis Haixi should not stay in Dunhuang any longer. If he cooperates with Shan'er in military operations, he should have at least two armies to help drive away the Xiongnu."

The emperor and the general's thoughts were moving so fast that everyone else could hardly keep up.

But all this is naturally very normal. After all, Liu Che and Wei Qing had carefully discussed some previous strategies, so it is normal that others cannot keep up at this time.

Wei Qing then said with some concern, "Your Majesty, this battle was not originally planned. If the court sends more troops, the Marquis of Guanjun will still have to establish a foothold in the Western Regions."

Liu Che was also quite worried about this. "Xian'er doesn't have many soldiers with him. If the Xiongnu use the army, it will be difficult. The court's baggage supply can't keep up, and it's not convenient to get food locally."

Although Huo Xian won a game, everyone knew it, but they must not become proud and complacent just because of this slight advantage.

Liu Ju immediately said, "Father, I think that if the Marquis of Guanjun is to use his troops against the Xiongnu, he should be supported by a large force. We are exhausted from the expedition of thousands of miles, so we need to send arrows, cloth, etc."

Liu Ju's attitude towards some of Huo Xian's needs was actually very simple, which was to support him to the best of his ability.

In the final analysis, Huo Shan's status and position are there. Huo Shan maintains sufficient status and prestige, which is only beneficial and has no disadvantages for Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Liu Che naturally understood this. Huo Xian did not ask for food or horses, but only for arrows, warm clothes, salt, etc., which meant that there was no pressure on baggage and so on.

Otherwise, with Huo Xian's personality, he would definitely cry and scream if he suffered a little bit of hardship. It seems that this child cannot bear hardship.

Liu Ju continued, "But if we send troops to attack the Xiongnu, I still think we should be cautious. At least we should find out the Xiongnu's movements first."

Liu Che and Wei Qing looked at each other. Sometimes they were helpless about some of the prince's insistence. After all, the prince was too opinionated most of the time and could not be easily convinced.

To a certain extent, this is not a good thing because it is easy for political disagreements to arise and misunderstandings may occur at times.

But this is also a good thing. The prince has his own ideas, which means that if he becomes emperor in the future, he can better control the court. The emperor should not be without opinions and blindly follow others.

Liu Che said irritably, "Don't worry about this for now. Work with the Prime Minister to prepare for the baggage supply. The military reports from Marquis Guanjun must continue to be delivered in the next few days."

Liu Ju was helpless at this time, because he was obviously isolated from some things. He was not allowed to do more things or have more say in some things.

However, all this is not completely unacceptable. After all, as the crown prince, he can actually do a lot of things and has considerable power in his hands.

The emperor and his ministers in Chang'an naturally have a lot of things to consider and a lot of things to do. This is what they should do.

Huo Xian, who was thousands of miles away, was also busy with his own affairs and had his own responsibilities.

Carefully inquiring about the intelligence obtained by the scouts gave Huo Xian and others a headache. The situation was indeed a bit bad.

Li Ling was summoned to the royal city again. He got straight to the point. "Grand Marshal, if we continue to wait, I think the weather will be bad for us." Huo Xian also understood this. "Your troops should try to advance a little bit first. Be sure to check if there are any ambushes on both sides of the valley. Don't act rashly."

Li Ling was naturally well aware of this, and since the valley was blocked by the Mi people, there must be ambushes on both sides of the valley. The ambushes did not need too many people, but there was a chance to cause huge casualties.

Gongsun Ao also said, "I think most of these people are still stalling, and the other one probably thinks that my Han army's supply is difficult to keep up, so they are fearless."

"I'm afraid they have miscalculated. My army already has a lot of baggage, not to mention that we can get a lot of supplies by defeating two countries." Huo Xian said with a smile, "It will be bad for us if we delay it any longer, and they won't have an easy time either."

Gongsun Ao and others all agreed with this statement. If it was just the initial time when the army went out of the pass, the logistics would definitely be a bit stressful. But now, the pressure is obviously not that great.

In the final analysis, it is just about eating locally. There is no need to worry too much about the lives of the Cheshi people. The Han army will not be under too much pressure now. These are the things that deserve everyone's attention and concern. The rest are just details.

Zhao Anguo said, "Lord, if the Qiemi people continue to block us, I'm afraid we'll have to give them a beating. These people are the most annoying right now."

It was really annoying. They neither advanced nor retreated, just like a nail stuck in the valley. The Han army had no choice but to stop passively, which completely disrupted the plan.

But there is nothing we can do about it. This is how war works. It is impossible for every aspect to conform to the tactics formulated at the beginning. It is very normal to have some unexpected things.

What Huo Xian can do now is to continue investigating and tentatively attack Qie Mi. The most important thing is to wait until the army has rested before preparing for the next war.

If the nails were really pulled out, they might just rush forward. They had to push the war to the grassland before the snow fell and give the Huns some deterrence in advance.

It is not a very realistic idea to force the Huns to send out their main forces directly. The best way is to advance step by step and force the Huns to shrink their defense.

What's more, although the current Han army seems powerful, if it really encounters the main force of the Huns, it may not be able to win.

Just when Huo Xian and the others were still discussing countermeasures, Chen Ju suddenly came in a hurry, "My lord, Princess Jieyou is here!"

Huo Xian was stunned for a moment, and quickly stood up, "Where is His Highness now?"

"They should be entering the city. We encountered a scout earlier and they are heading towards the city." Chen Ju quickly explained, "My Lord, the one in front said that Her Royal Highness the Princess is riding alone and rushing here in a hurry."

Huo Xian felt even more uneasy now. He took the reins handed to him by Feng Wu, jumped on his horse, and led dozens of troops in a hurry towards the outside of the city.

Huo Xian and others galloped all the way and soon saw a small group of cavalrymen who were accompanying Liu Jieyou.

Liu Jieyou couldn't hide the fatigue on his face. When he saw Huo Xian, he said directly, "Marquis Guanjun, please prepare for battle quickly. The Xiongnu will be here soon."

Huo Xian was immediately shocked when he heard this, "Princess, where did you get this information?"

Liu Jieyou said angrily, "Of course it's Wusun! That Junxumi has evil intentions. He said he would not help either side, but in his heart he is close to the Xiongnu."

Huo Xian had no doubt at all about Liu Jieyou's evaluation. Whether it was Liejiaomi or Junxumi, it was actually the same. They were still pro-Xiongnu in their bones.

Liu Jieyou continued, "When the Xiongnu passed through Wusun, Liejiaomi and Junxumi pretended to be deaf and dumb, pretending they knew nothing. Wusun Dalu also pretended to be deaf and dumb, but his troops gave way."

Huo Xian's expression immediately turned ugly. "Great! This Wusun has a really good idea! If we don't give him the chariot master, he will profit from it later!"

Liu Jieyou said immediately, "My Lord, I have to go back. Feng Ling is a smart girl. She got the news from her husband and told me. I have to go back quickly. It's not good to wait too long."

Huo Xian immediately looked at Chen Ju and said, "You lead ten riders to personally escort His Highness back to Wusun, and then hurry back!"

Liu Jieyou smiled and said to Huo Xian, "Your Excellency is thoughtful!"

Huo Xian was quick to be polite, and he was full of admiration. "Your Highness is really loyal to the emperor and the country. We are still worried about the Xiongnu."

Liu Jieyou smiled and said, "It is what I should do! My Lord, please be very careful. It's a pity that we still haven't found out how many soldiers and horses the Xiongnu have and which route they are taking!"

Huo Xian said seriously, "Your Highness, there is no need to deliberately investigate Wusun. After I destroy the Xiongnu, I will definitely find Wusun Kunmi to discuss today's events!"

Liu Jieyou was stunned for a moment, then said, "We should have a good talk with them. Since they are not helping each other, they should stay neutral. Now that they have done this, they should tell us the reason!"

Wusun was unreliable. This was Huo Xian's idea from the beginning, and he did not have high expectations for Wusun.

However, this time he obviously underestimated some pro-Xiongnu forces within Wusun, and also underestimated the fear of the Xiongnu by Liejiaomi, Junxumi and others.

I originally thought that Wusun really chose not to help either the Han Dynasty or the Xiongnu. But now it seems that Wusun will definitely not let go of the idea of ​​rapidly strengthening its own strength.

They were also eyeing the territories of Cheshi and other countries. As long as the Han Dynasty was driven away by the Xiongnu, as long as the two countries fought each other in the Western Regions and suffered heavy casualties, Wusun could take the opportunity to easily strengthen itself.

In fact, in the minds of Liejiaomi and Junxumi, they not only wanted to annex the pastures that originally belonged to Cheshi, but also did not want the power of the Han or Xiongnu to expand in the Western Regions.

Wusun is not Loulan. They are a powerful country in the Western Regions, so they naturally want to further strengthen their own strength. Now that the opportunity has come, we must work hard to grasp it.

As for offending the Han Dynasty or the Xiongnu, it didn't matter. They were waiting for the right price, knowing for sure that neither the Han Dynasty nor the Xiongnu wanted to push Wusun to the other side.

Being fickle and wavering between Qin and Chu are all illusions. The goal of Wusun is to become the strongest country in the Western Regions and make both the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu truly fear them!
Even a small country has dreams.

What's more, Wusun is not a real small country!

(End of this chapter)