Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 494 A Model for the Future
At the foot of Mount Wusun lies the Rouran Khanate.

Li Shuang's letter, sent from Guanzhong, traveled thousands of miles to reach the Western Regions, into the hands of Yujiulü Anagui.

Two months ago, Yujiulü Anagui already knew that the Rouran troops he had left behind in Juyanze had been completely wiped out.

Yujiulü Anagui felt a little regretful about this, but it didn't affect him much.

The reason is simple: the situation in the northern desert was changing too rapidly, and with the Tuyuhun choosing to submit, the Rouran army in Juyanze was already an isolated force due to the combined effects of these two factors.

Even if they chose to surrender, Anagui was neither surprised nor angry.

But when the letter reached him, Anagui was genuinely shocked and furious.

The Prime Minister of Rouran, Tutujia, watched as Anagui put down the letter in his hand, his face showing melancholy, and couldn't help but ask.

"Khan, what did Ōnosō say in his letter?"

"Ono Sō said he was going to attack Goguryeo, and that we should take this opportunity to head east, otherwise we would miss our chance."

After hearing this, Tutujia cursed:

"What nonsense! We're locked in a fierce battle with the Hephthalites, how could we possibly go back now!"

Anagui shook his head. Just then, Ashina Tumen came to see him from outside.

Anagui let his son-in-law in, handed the letter to Tumen, and told him about the messenger's arrival. After Tumen finished reading, Anagui asked:
"What do you think Ohno Sō meant?"

After reading it, Ashina Tumen was not as angry as Tutujia.

"I believe the answer is not in this letter."

Anagui smiled slightly and asked:

"what for?"

"The three envoys from the southern desert have traveled thousands of miles to bring this letter here, which shows that the name of the Heavenly Khan can travel freely in the southern desert, the northern desert, and even the western regions."

After hearing this, Tu Tujia realized what was going on.

"Is Ohno Sōda protesting?"

Anagui gritted his teeth, with a hint of resentment, and said:
"He is telling us that this eastern grassland no longer belongs to the Rouran."

Anagui, who had been lost in melancholy, quickly came to his senses, looked at Ashina Tumen, and asked:

"How is it?"

"The horses of the Tiele tribes have already been collected."

The Turks contributed greatly to the war against the Hephthalites.

Yujiulü Anagui offered words of encouragement to the young Turkic leader, but after he left, a deep sense of wariness appeared in his eyes.

Young, brave, and exceptionally talented!
As the war in the Western Regions deepened, his prestige grew higher and higher.

Among the Rouran, who can compare?
This is a double-edged sword.

Yujiulü Anagui was very worried that once he was gone, there would be no one in the Rouran who could control them.

"Ohno Sawa, you've found me a wonderful son-in-law!"

……

Changan.

In the fifth year of the Datong era (539), Li Shuang, who was in Chang'an, received two important pieces of news, one from the east and one from the south.

King Go Bo-yeon of Anwon in Goguryeo, moved by the edicts of the emperors of Wei and Liang, is said to have suddenly repented, wept bitterly, and sent envoys with generous tribute to Luoyang to express his wrongdoing as a subject and beg for forgiveness.

As for the land west of the Liao River that was occupied, Gao Baoyan said, "What do you mean by 'occupied'? Isn't that what should be done?"
If the emperor wants it, how can he, as a subject, refuse?
However, Goguryeo's attitude towards Liaodong remained ambiguous. After all, having managed the region for a century, Goguryeo held considerable control over it.

In the cities of Liaodong, Goguryeo could muster an army of 60,000. Gao Baoyan could not fully mobilize these 60,000 troops, but if Li Shuang wanted to attack Liaodong, the city lords of the cities in Liaodong would spontaneously gather to protect themselves.

Li Shuang did not take this further. Instead, he renamed Wuliluo to Tongding Town, and then established Huaiyuan Town on the opposite bank of the Liao River, between Tongding Town and Xiandu City, on the other side of Liaodong City. He then stationed troops and fortified the territory he had gained.

Yingzhou and Dunhuang, one in the east and one in the west, are both strategic locations with both commercial and military value; one connects to the Northeast and the other leads to the Western Regions.

The two regions were bustling with trade and had a large population of Sogdians from the Western Regions.

With the imperial court expressing its forgiveness for Gao Baoyan once again, caravans from Yingzhou re-entered Liaodong City, and the smoke of war on the front lines temporarily disappeared.

The city lords of various cities in Liaodong finally felt relieved, as if they had returned to the peaceful days of the past.

As for the south, the first person eliminated in the Zhuxiao PUBG tournament has appeared.

Prince Xiao Ji of Wuling!
The once powerful Prince Xiao Ji of Wuling, who commanded 100,000 imperial guards, became the first to be eliminated. The reason was simple: the territory he controlled was far too barren.

Xiao Ji's territory seems to stretch for thousands of miles from east to west, from Jiangzhou City in the east to Yiling in the west, but all along the way are towering mountains and steep ridges. The only places suitable for farming are the river valleys along the river, which produce little.

In the past, Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji had a falling out over the control of the 100,000 Imperial Guards.

Later, Xiao Ji, unable to defeat Xiao Yi, wrote a proclamation accusing Xiao Yi, which drew the intervention of the Xiao clan princes.

Xiao Yi dared not offend the public, and ultimately divided the 100,000 imperial guards among himself.

Xiao Gang, who was in Jiankang, seized the moral high ground and got the lion's share, receiving 50,000 imperial guards and valiant generals such as Chen Baxian.

Xiao Yi, Xiao Lun, Xiao Xu, and others were assigned to the remaining army.

Xiao Ji received the fewest, only a few thousand people, because he couldn't afford to support more.

But the matter did not end there. Xiao Ji's actions incurred Xiao Yi's deep resentment.

Therefore, after that, Xiao Yi repeatedly caused trouble for Xiao Ji.

Xiao Yi, who controlled Jiangling, was powerful, and conflicts between the two were constant, but Xiao Yi did not gain much advantage.

Just as Xiao Ji couldn't get past Yiling back then, Xiao Yi is now unable to conquer Baidi City.

When Xiao Yi realized that force wouldn't work, he resorted to underhanded tactics, spending money to bribe Xiao Ji's close attendants and subordinates to plot Xiao Ji's assassination.

Fearing for his life day and night, Xiao Ji resorted to his old tricks again, issuing a proclamation to accuse Xiao Ji.

This time, however, the Xiao family princes reacted indifferently.

Some people are nice enough to write a letter of condolence, while others simply ignore it completely.

Seeing that things were going to continue like this, Xiao Ji decided to take drastic measures.

Voted!

Xiao Ji presented the five prefectures of Fuling, Linjiang, Badong, Jianping, and Xinling as a token of his allegiance, and led several hundred subordinate officials and generals northward to Guanzhong.

In the early part of the fifth year of the Datong era, Xiao Ji led a large army to the south of Chang'an.

Li Shuang, accompanied by his officials from Chang'an, went out of the city to greet them.

Xiao Ji's defection not only pushed the defense line of Bashu forward by a thousand miles and secured Baidi City, the gateway to fortune and misfortune in Yizhou, greatly reducing the defensive pressure on Bashu, but also set a model for the people of the Southern Dynasty.

What do you do if you get eliminated in PUBG?
You can vote!
In the vast crowd, Li Shuang spotted a familiar figure.

Hebasheng!
Hsiao Chin-neng made up his mind to go north, and Ho Pa-sheng naturally contributed a lot to that. In fact, it could be said that he was the main driving force behind it.

He stood not far from Xiao Ji, looking somewhat apprehensive about returning home.

Li Shuang smiled, looked at him, and asked:
"Po Hu, how have you been?"

Upon hearing this, Hebasheng trembled slightly, a complex mix of emotions welling up within him.

……

(End of this chapter)