Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 21 The Sky of the Western Regions, Only the Han
Water control on such a large scale is naturally not something that can be accomplished overnight.

After leaving Luoyang, Gu Kang personally led a group of people to the Yellow River and the Bian Canal for an on-site inspection to make final preparations for the water control project.

This is destined to be a big project.

Even though he had imagined it countless times in his mind, when he personally conducted a more detailed investigation, Gu Kang still felt that the task was arduous.

What he was planning was not just to control the flood, but also to benefit the people of the world.

In fact, Gu Kang has always been like this.

Whether he was in Julu or in charge of the fields of the world in recent years, he always helped the people develop water conservancy projects.

However, the scale and difficulty of this water control project are far beyond the reach of previous water conservancy projects.

Gu Kang had to think carefully.

After the investigation, he began a more detailed and comprehensive plan with Wang Jing, Wang Wu and other talented water conservancy experts.

This matter cannot tolerate any carelessness.

If something goes wrong, causing the Yellow River to change its course and the Bian Canal to burst its banks, the impact will be unimaginable.

Fortunately, Liu Zhuang is not a foolish ruler. Once a decision is made, he will give the greatest support.

Don’t say anything else.

The minimum budget has been raised to the highest level, and the people are very supportive of it.

The right time and people are all what Gu Kang needs

In this situation, after several days of discussion.

Gu Kang and others finally formulated a final plan.

- First, reinforce the old dike;

And build strong new dams according to the terrain and water flow conditions.

At the same time, new river channels must be dug and dredged.

The Yellow River and the Bian Canal will be separated so that they can flow into the sea more smoothly. Irrigation canals will also be set up to ensure the navigation and irrigation functions of the Bian Canal.

When all plans were completed, in the summer of the eleventh year of Yongping.

The water control project officially broke ground.

Yanzhou, Yuzhou and other areas were the hardest hit.

The people here naturally pay more attention to flood control.

They have been looking forward to this day for too long.

Now that day has finally arrived.

They naturally gave their greatest support.

Even the powerful families in the two places made great efforts.

In addition, Liu Zhuang also directly issued an order to mobilize troops and civilians from Jizhou, Qingzhou and other places.

The entire Han Dynasty was in motion.

Crowds of people are surging and people are responding from all over the world.

Gu Kang's experience in managing the world's fields in the past few years came in handy at this moment.

To avoid the confusion caused by a large number of people and the side effects of uneven distribution.

He quickly made a series of more detailed plans.

Corresponding arrangements have been made for all the details such as division of labor and rotation.

For a moment, the entire Han Dynasty focused their attention here.

In comparison, the news from the Western Regions seemed less eye-catching.

After all, there is a huge difference in the investment of manpower and material resources between the two, not to mention that water control is related to the vital interests of people all over the world!

Yiwulu City.

Gu Sheng was discussing the issue of sending troops with Dou Gu.

Dou Gu was quite shocked when he heard Gu Sheng's plan to send troops.

Now the Han Dynasty is consolidating its efforts on flood control, and this is known to the whole world.

If we send out troops at this time, wouldn't it be doomed to have difficulty in obtaining reinforcements?

But Gu Sheng had his own reasons. He said to Dou Gu with a serious expression: "General, if even you have such thoughts, what about the Northern Xiongnu?"

"Now Zhongsheng is on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions."

"If we want to achieve our goal, our army cannot afford to slack off or give up any opportunities."

"The Northern Xiongnu have been rampant in the Western Regions for many years. Although we were defeated recently, our army's prestige is still insufficient in the entire Western Regions."

"Now that the Han are busy with flood control, the Northern Xiongnu will surely think that our army would never dare to act rashly."

"How could this not be a good opportunity?"

"If our army really doesn't move, it will definitely increase the difficulties and dangers of Zhongsheng's journey."

"Mobilizing troops at this time will not only catch the enemy by surprise, but will also build momentum for Zhongsheng, allowing him to fulfill His Majesty's wish to pacify the Western Regions sooner!"

"The most important thing is that I understand the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

Gu Sheng's expression was extremely serious. He looked at Dou Gu and said, "If the Han Dynasty is truly unable to mobilize troops, the Minister of Agriculture will definitely let me return to the capital."

This is the key reason why Gu Sheng insisted on sending troops.

He knew his brother too well.

Gu Kang acted calmly and knew his temper well.

Whenever the Han Dynasty found it inappropriate to mobilize troops, it would definitely summon him back to Luoyang, instead of doing so now.

Gu Sheng even suspected that Gu Kang wanted him to go and do it himself.

The greater your ability, the greater your achievements.

Upon hearing this, Dou Gu's expression also became solemn.

He had to admit that Gu Sheng's analysis made sense, but he couldn't make a decision easily.

Although after all these years of contact, I have some understanding of Gu Kang's character.

But to say that he can be like his biological brother Gu Sheng is naturally impossible.

He always seeks stability when employing his troops.

Moreover, since Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, the entire Dou family has suffered an unprecedented blow.

It has just been put into use.

If something goes wrong at this time and he loses the battle, he will never have another chance.

After thinking about this, Dou Gu had made up his mind. He looked at Gu Sheng and said, "Zhenyu, don't be anxious."

"Why not report this to the court and let His Majesty decide?"

"Opportunities for battle are fleeting, how can we afford to send letters back and forth?" Gu Sheng didn't insist, but simply shook his head and said, "In that case, General, please stay."

"I will personally lead the troops to attack!"

"If there are any mistakes, the general will never be implicated."

As they were both generals of miscellaneous rank, Gu Sheng naturally did not need to get Dou Gu's consent.

If it were someone else, they might still consider Dou Gu's identity.

But he is a member of the Gu family.

Whether it is the merits of his ancestors or his current position in the court, they are not comparable to Dou Gu.

What does he have to worry about?
After bowing to Dou Gu, Gu Sheng walked out directly.

The more than 5,000 troops who had been prepared in advance directly broke out of Yiwulu City on the same day.

But Dou Gu did not get angry about this.

He simply wrote a letter and had it sent back to Luoyang at an accelerated speed of eight hundred miles.

Afterwards, they continued to train soldiers and cultivate land as usual.

Gu Sheng’s target this time is Cheshi.

The Western Regions are vast.

In addition to the normal use of military deterrence, the Northern Xiongnu's way of controlling the Western Regions was to support pro-Xiongnu forces to come to power and control the main transportation routes in various places.

And then control the economy of the entire Western Region.

And this is the case with Che Shi today.

In fact, Gu Sheng’s grasp of the fighter opportunities was indeed very accurate.

After the previous defeat of King Hu Yan, the entire Northern Xiongnu immediately became alert, always guarding against the Han Dynasty sending a large army to compete for the fat piece of meat in the Western Regions.

But when they heard that the Han Dynasty had actually begun to control the Yellow River.

Everyone relaxed their vigilance a little.

Which country can handle such a severe flood and send a large army at the same time?

This is a problem that everyone can see.

As long as the army does not come, given the vastness of the Western Regions, how could the Han Dynasty easily destroy everything they have managed in the Western Regions for so many years?
I have to say that this is a very correct judgment.

The Han Dynasty really cannot mobilize a large-scale military force now.

Most generals would not choose to take risks at such a time.

But Gu Sheng is different.

But don’t forget how Gu Xiao started his family!
Although there was Gu Yi's interference.

But those legendary stories have influenced Gu Sheng since he was a child.

He has accurate judgment on any fighter plane.

He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to win another beautiful victory. The army galloped all the way towards Cheshi.

Today, Cheshi is divided into two parts, north and south, with the Tianshan Mountains as the boundary.

The southern part, with Jiaohe City as its center, has fertile land and is the front of the Cheshi Army.

The northern grasslands are vast and the climate is relatively cold, which is the rear of Cheshi.

The current former king of Cheshi is the son of the latter king of Cheshi, and the two royal courts are more than 500 miles apart.

In fact, normally speaking, if there are enough troops, one should first attack the front of Cheshi, because its land is fertile and one can fight to support the war.

But given Gu Sheng's current situation, he simply cannot do that.

His only way of fighting was to concentrate his forces to launch a surprise attack on the rear of Cheshi, using the prestige of the Han Dynasty and the relationship between father and son to force the former king of Cheshi to surrender.

This style of play is risky.

But as long as you can really seize the opportunity, you can achieve great success!

In this situation, the one thousand highly obedient soldiers in the central army led by Gu Sheng played a big role.

Although this is only a thousand people.

But in this relatively small army, the influence that these thousand people can have cannot be underestimated.

People are often influenced by their environment.

When seeing so many soldiers and General Gu Sheng marching forward bravely, this army was destined to be unstoppable.

No one could have imagined that the Han Dynasty would mobilize troops under such circumstances.

When the leaders of the Northern Xiongnu and the King of Cheshi realized this, the situation was already difficult to change.

After Gu Sheng led his troops and killed nearly a thousand people.

The King of Cheshi finally could no longer suppress the fear in his heart. He personally greeted Gu Sheng outside the city, took off the crown, hugged the horse's foot, and surrendered to the Han Dynasty!

Gu Sheng didn't waste any time and immediately released the news.

He wanted to take advantage of the information gap caused by the successful surprise attack and two great victories to make it difficult for the Western Regions and the Northern Huns to understand the strength of the Han Dynasty at this time, so as to gain the greatest benefits for the Han Dynasty.

And it didn't go beyond his expectations.

From the moment the rear of the Cheshi army was attacked, the entire front of the Cheshi army was in danger of being surrounded by the Han army.

The former king of Cheshi no longer had any desire to resist and immediately came to surrender.

At this point, Cheshi was pacified!
The Kingdom of Khotan.

Ban Chao has arrived here for some time.

However, facing this envoy from the Han Dynasty, King Guangde of Khotan had a rather cold attitude and has not shown up to date.

Ban Chao was also quite helpless about this.

The Northern Xiongnu had such deep control over the entire Kingdom of Khotan that even now there are still envoys staying in Khotan.

It is called guardianship, but in reality it is control and power in secret.

Now the King of Khotan obviously wanted him to give up, not wanting to completely offend the Han Dynasty nor going against the will of the Northern Xiongnu.

It was precisely because of this that he didn't even have the chance to repeat what he did in Shanshan.

At this time, inside the luxurious palace.

"Your Majesty, although the Han Kingdom has just won a victory, I have heard that they are currently working on taming the river at home."

"Under such circumstances, it is impossible for the emperor of the Han Dynasty to send a large army to the Western Regions."

"The envoys from the Northern Xiongnu are in our country right now."

"How can Your Majesty wish to submit to the Han Empire at this time?"

The Prime Minister Si Lai Bi was discussing his ideas with King Guangde of Khotan.

But Guangde's expression was still very hesitant.

Seeing this, Silai Bi didn't say anything nonsense, but just called the wizard.

The witchcraft culture flourished in Khotan.

The status of wizards in the whole of Khotan is very extraordinary.

After a series of complicated rituals, the wizard looked at King Guangde of Khotan and said sternly, "The gods are angry!"

"Why would you, my king, want to be attached to the Han?"

"The gods told me."

"The Han envoy has a fine horse with a black mouth and yellow fur. He asked me to use it for the sacrifice."

Kill the horse!
This is a great humiliation!
Upon hearing this, King Guangde of Khotan's expression suddenly changed.

But it was not because of the big man, but because of the so-called god.

He is indeed a person who believes in these things very much.

"The gods are angry?"

He repeated softly, his fat face full of fear, no longer hesitating, and said hurriedly: "In that case."

"Let the Prime Minister handle this matter. Make sure the gods are appeased!"

Come here privately and leave after receiving orders.

That night, he went straight to Ban Chao and asked him for his mount.

Faced with this unreasonable request, Ban Chao did not get angry. After learning the reason, he thought about it for a while and said:
"Since the Prime Minister says so, please ask the wizard to come and lead the horse himself."

"it is good!"

He came privately and left with a big laugh, his face full of pride.

He suddenly felt that the big man was not as powerful as he had imagined.

The envoy didn't even think of resisting and directly agreed to his request and gave away his mount.

Soon, the wizard followed the privateer and came over.

He didn't even look at Ban Chao and went straight to lead his mount.

At this moment, Ban Chao did not hesitate, drew the sword from his waist, and slashed forward fiercely.

puff
All this happened so suddenly, so fast that even the privateer next to the wizard didn't react.

Until the moment the hot blood spilled on him.

Only then did he realize what was happening.

In an instant, his face changed drastically and he turned around and tried to escape.

But how could Ban Chao give him such an opportunity?
He kicked him to the ground, threw down the knife in his hand, picked up the horse whip and started whipping him, cursing as he whipped him:

"Is the God angry?"

"Today I will let you know that the sky of the Western Region belongs only to me, the Han Dynasty!"

"This is the true wrath of the gods!!"

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
Ban Chao showed no mercy and whipped Si Lai Bi again and again until he had whipped him more than a hundred times before stopping.

He immediately cut off the wizard's head and threw it in front of the nearly unconscious Silaibi, saying sternly, "Tell the King of Khotan that this is a gift from me."

"This is also the last chance that the Han Dynasty gives to Khotan!"

Ban Chao knew it very well.

Being weak all the time will only make people feel that the man is no longer capable.

Only by being tough can we bring about a turning point.

Sure enough, King Guangde of Khotan was not angry because of Ban Chao's action.

Especially after hearing the news that Gu Sheng had defeated Cheshi, he did not dare to hesitate any longer and went directly to meet Ban Chao. He killed the envoy of the Northern Huns in front of him and returned to the Han Dynasty!

When Liu Zhuang received the news, he was stunned.

When the news about Dou Gu came back, he was still wondering whether Gu Sheng was eager to make a contribution, so he chose to mobilize troops at this time.

I never expected things to turn out like this.

He suddenly remembered Liu Xiu's comments on Gu Xiao in the past, and thought about the two brothers Gu Kang and Gu Sheng today.

Control water threats
Is this the help that a wise minister can provide to an emperor?
Shanshan is the only way to the Central Plains.

Yiwulu could control the Northern Xiongnu's infiltration into the entire Western Regions.

Cheshi and Yutian were both key points guarding the Silk Road. Controlling these two places was like controlling the transportation hub of the entire Western Regions.

Putting all these things together, doesn't it mean that the Han Dynasty now has the conditions to regain control of the Western Regions?

Even if we don't send heavy troops at this moment.

But isn't it also an opportunity to use the influence of the Han Dynasty and slowly expand to all directions through these small countries?
The people of the Western Regions have suffered from the Xiongnu for a long time!

At this moment, Liu Zhuang suddenly felt that he might really be able to accomplish the great cause in his life.

"Western Regions Protectorate"

He murmured softly, his eyes becoming brighter at this moment.
-------

"It is hard to imagine how Gu Kang could have managed the farmland in a scientific way in an era when superstition and prophecy were prevalent.

But there is no doubt that the appearance of Gu Kang completely changed the situation of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty at that time.

The entire Eastern Han Dynasty recovered quickly after the war.

When the Eastern Han Dynasty had the strength to simultaneously control the Yellow River and compete with the Northern Xiongnu for the Western Regions,
Obviously, the power of the Eastern Han Dynasty at this time far surpassed that of all previous dynasties."

———History of the Rise and Fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty

　This chapter is horribly long.
　　I also hope that my brothers will support me, and do not hesitate to give up the book, and help Yu Chong to recommend it.

　　In addition, there are recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. If you move your hands, I will be more motivated to write! ! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)