Historically, the Han Dynasty established "protectors" in the Western Regions, decades later than now.

The Duhu was the highest official of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, equivalent to the "prefecture captain" in the Han region.

"Duwei" is the deputy position of the prefect of a county and is in charge of military affairs.

Its main responsibilities are to protect the territory, coordinate conflicts and disputes among countries in the Western Region, stop external forces, and ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road.

The "protectors" sent by the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions were in charge of more than thirty countries east of Dawan and south of Wusun.

In all countries, from the post commander to the top, all levels of supervisors, officials, hundred chiefs, thousand chiefs, Qiqu, households, generals, ministers and princes must wear Han seals and ribbons to confirm that they are Han officials.

But in history, the countries in the Western Regions maintained self-control and did not reduce their national titles, so there were many rebellions later.

Among them, Yanqi, Qiuci and other countries even sent troops to attack the Duhufu, killed the Han Duhu and regained their independence.

The current situation in Chang'an is very different from that in history.

In the Battle of Hexi, the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu and intimidated the countries in the Western Regions. The process consumed less money and achieved greater results than in history. After the Western Xiongnu completely surrendered, the emperors, including Huo Qubing, wanted to do more thoroughly and completely annex the Western Regions.

Cut off their country names and do not allow subordinate countries to call themselves countries.

From then on, there was only one strong Han Dynasty, and the Western Regions were all Han people.

And we must disrupt their regional gathering methods so that the countries in the Western Regions lose the basis for independence and self-control.

Of course, things have to be done step by step.

In the evening in Chang'an, the summer breeze blows slowly.

The Champion's House has become the busiest place in Chang'an, with cars and horses everywhere and guests in the clouds.

In the mansion, Dong Zhongshu, Taichang Zhouping, Li Cai and others came over in advance and gathered in a side hall of the Hou Mansion.

A banquet was held at the Marquis Mansion, and everyone knew the reason.

The people involved are destined to leave their names in history with the return of the Western Regions.

Dong Zhongshu and others showed unprecedented enthusiasm.

You must know that the return of the Western Regions to the Han Dynasty is, in a sense, equivalent to the founding of the country.

There are so many countries in the Western Region, and the impact of the population, trade and other income involved is indeed no less than opening up a new country.

Being able to participate in the process of the return of the Western Regions and share in the luck will also be of great benefit to your practice.

Dong Zhongshu even regretted not pushing for participation earlier and with greater strength.

No one in ancient and modern times has expanded a country thousands of miles. Except for the emperor, Huo Qubing has the greatest luck.

When the Western Regions officially return to the Han Dynasty, what will Huo Qubing gain from this?

Every time Dong Zhongshu thinks about it, his heart feels warm.

"The countries in the Western Regions can probably be divided into five regional groups due to geographical relationships.

Among them, Qiuci, Gumo, Wensu and other countries are located in the center of the Western Region. Huo Hou's actions have made these countries agree to return to the Han Dynasty. The remaining countries can be divided according to the four directions of southeast, northwest and northwest.

At present, the four kingdoms of Yanqi, Wutanzi, Cheshiqian and Cheshihou, which are located in the north, are relatively important."

Dong Zhongshu sat in the side hall and expressed his opinion:

"Yanqi, Wutanzi, Cheshi are connected to the front and rear countries, forming a barrier for Wusun. With these four countries, Wusun can be strategically contained and forced to surrender.

And Wusun is the most powerful country in the Western Region. If Wusun returns to the Han Dynasty, all other countries will follow, and they will no longer be qualified to wait and see."

Dong Zhongshu glanced at Huo Qubing, who was in charge: "Huo Hou, do you think what I said is right?"

Huo Qubing was dressed in military uniform and said: "Master is right."

"However, it can be more direct.

Without taking practical actions, it would be difficult for the countries in the Western Regions to completely return to the Han Dynasty. Even if the situation forced them to do so, it would be difficult to find stability after returning to the Han Dynasty.

Today's banquet is actually a game. The battlefield is in the Western Regions, but the decisive victory is in Chang'an!

With the national strength of Wusun, they will not surrender voluntarily. In this case, we can directly send troops to defeat it."

Zhou Ping smiled and said: "Huo Hou thinks too simply. Not everything must be solved by using force. After all, we will rule the Western Region in the future. Using weapons rashly now will not be conducive to your Majesty's rule.

We have new Han people from the Western Regions, so we still need to talk about some truths."

"Be reasonable?"

Huo Qubing said: "Taichang is because the Xiongnu were bullied by the Huns in the Western Regions. They thought they were weak and thought too well of them. In fact, the countries in the Western Regions also fought against each other in the past, and there were constant swords and swords. No one was a kind person."

Zhou Ping said: "But Your Majesty also hopes to try his best to persuade these people from the Western Regions?"

Huo Qubing: "His Majesty said that he should try not to use weapons as much as possible, but at the same time he should suppress some people and use both kindness and force, instead of just trying to persuade them to surrender and negotiate with them.

If we can take back the Western Regions through negotiation alone, why should we leave 40,000 troops in Yumen without taking them back?

The last word is that political power comes from the barrel of a gun, the rest are all false."

Zhou Ping opened his mouth.

He did not agree with Huo Qubing's suggestion of "using force" directly.

But now that the champion Hou Feng was at his peak, he conquered the Western Regions with all his strength. Zhou Ping did not dare to refute in public, and turned his eyes to Dong Zhongshu for help.

Dong Zhongshu, however, had some taste for it and whispered twice that power is the last word to be brought about by the barrel of a gun:

"This is correct. Our negotiations and collaboration with the countries in the Western Region are indeed based on the premise of strong force.

If Huo Hou hadn't defeated the Xiongnu first, no ruler of the Western Regions would have taken the initiative to come to Chang'an.

So, Huo Hou has other arrangements?"

Huo Qubing nodded: "It's almost time. People from all the countries in the Western Region have gathered together. Let's go out too."

……

Muheche is an envoy from the Yanqi Kingdom to Chang'an among the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions.

He was riding in a chariot and had just arrived outside the champion's mansion.

Coming next to him in the same car was Asher, the envoy of Wu Tan Zi.

There are also the leaders of the two countries, the former country and the latter country.

This time when all the countries from the Western Regions came to Chang'an as envoys, not all of them came personally.

Some are important figures in their respective countries who are second only to the king, and can represent the opinions of the king to a certain extent.

Muheche and Asher are two of them.

The four countries of Yanqi, Wutanzi, Cheshiqian and Cheshihou are adjacent to each other in the Western Region.

In the Western Region, Yanqi's national power is second only to Wusun and Qiuci, and roughly equal to Gumo, ranking among the top five.

Yanqi is located to the north of Qiuci, and Pulei, which was defeated by the Han, is due east of Yanqi Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Cheshi and the Country Behind Cheshi are located between Pulei and Yanqi.

Further north from Yanqi is Wu Tan Zi.

In other words, Yanqi and Wutanzi are connected by a cross section, located east of Wusun, a country with a huge border.

If the Han wanted to attack Wusun and send troops from east to west, they would either choose to go to Qiuci and Gumo first, and then push north. Or they would have to pass through Yanqi and Wutanzi, otherwise they would not be able to threaten Wusun.

The geographical proximity made Yanqi's envoy Mu Hecha, together with Wu Tanzi's envoy Asher, and the king of the country before and after the chariot. The four of them worked together to advance and retreat together in the Western Regions' surrender to the Han Dynasty.

Mu Heche is nearly fifty years old, with a short and stocky build, dark skin, and very deep nasolabial folds on his face, showing his extraordinary decisiveness.

The four people in the car arrived at the Champion's Mansion. Before getting off the car, Mu Heche said to the other three:

"The emperor of the Han people wants all the countries in the Western Region to surrender to me, but he doesn't want to give him any benefits.

You all need to remember that only by standing together can we make the situation favorable to us, and we must not compromise easily."

The other three nodded, this was something we had discussed on the way to Han.

"Let's go in first and then look at the situation."

The four people got off the car and were led into the Hou Mansion by the servants.

The Marquis' Mansion is as spacious as a small city in the Western Regions, and its magnificence is unprecedented in the Western Regions, which is an eye-opener for several people.

The venue for the banquet in the mansion is located in the front hall of the Marquis Mansion and the viewing lake area connected to it.

When Huo Qubing, as the host, came to the front hall where the banquet was held, seventy to eighty percent of the guests had already arrived.

The palace is built with huge and thick wooden beams. It has a square shape and the top wall is three feet high from the ground. It looks impressive.

At this time, the front hall and the two side halls on the left and right, which were used for entertaining guests, were full of people.

Dong Zhongshu, Zhou Ping, Li Cai and others came out first and had a pleasant conversation with Gu Mo, Qiuci and other state leaders who were inclined to defect to the Han.

Envoys from various countries, heads of state, and civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty also sat on low seats and talked nearby.

"Master Hou."

When Huo Qubing came out, no matter where he came from, hundreds of people in the hall stood up at the same time to perform the ceremony.

After Huo Qubing sat down at the main seat, the others followed him and sat down again.
To be continued...