Xian Xiang couldn't help turning his head to look at Liu Xin, but saw that Liu Xin just smiled and said nothing, and didn't ask him what happened. He looked like he had great trust in him. The envoys from Wan, Shule, and Yarkand came to Xicheng to ask for your instructions."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said: "It's up to you to decide whether to see you in Khotan or not."
Xian Xiang shook his head and said: "Xiao Wang was about to report to your lord. A few days ago, Dawan Kingdom sent an envoy to invite Xiao Wang to jointly send troops to attack your caravan along the way. Xiao Wang politely refused. Now that these three countries have sent envoys at the same time, they may have bad intentions. Xiao Wang has decided to submit to the big man. Naturally, he will not see them again. Xiao Wang will send people to arrest them all and hand them over to the adults."
"If the two countries are at war, what are you going to do to arrest them?" Liu Xin smiled and said, "Since they are here, let's invite them to a banquet."
The sweat on Xian Xiang's forehead dropped. He knew better than anyone else what the envoys from the three kingdoms of Dayuan, Shule and Yarkand were doing.
Now the Han Dynasty is like a big tree, and the countries in the Western Regions are like small trees hiding in the shade. Although it is easy to enjoy the shade under the big tree, it can never grow taller than the big tree. Only this big tree provides shade. Only by knocking them down can small trees like these grow vigorously and even take the place of the original big trees.
Some time ago, the big tree seemed a little unstable due to the wind and rain. It was a good opportunity for the small tree to thrive. All the countries in the Western Region were ready to move. It was not that he had not made up his mind to offer the elephant. Last time, he did not immediately agree to Jia Xu. Now the wind seems to have stopped. The tree is still standing there, so the elephant will naturally continue to hide under its shade.
But Dawan is different. He is not under the shade of this tree, so he still has the opportunity to continue to grow taller. But the big tree of the Han Dynasty is preparing to extend its shade to where he is, so naturally he will not give in.
After Jia Xu returned to Chang'an last time, the King of Dayuan gathered with Shache and Shule and organized a cavalry of more than 3,000 people to go deep into the desert in the north of Shanshan to rob and kill the envoys from the Han Dynasty. Who knew the envoys from the Han Dynasty this time? However, Liu Xin personally led the regiment and was accompanied by an army of more than 10,000 people. Instead, the ambush of more than 3,000 people was completely wiped out.
The prisoners released by Liu Xin have now returned to their respective countries one after another to report their failure experiences to their kings. However, the greedy King of Dayuan did not learn from this disparity in strength. Instead, his mind was filled with Liu Xin's entourage. He was jealous of the large amount of precious goods such as silk and white porcelain he carried. When he learned from the defeated soldiers that this Han army only had 15,000 people in total, and part of the army was stationed in Wanni City and several surrounding villages. At that time, the King of Dayuan was moved because as these defeated soldiers said, by the time Liu Xin's team arrived in Khotan, there would probably be only a few thousand people left.
Dawan is a farming country located to the west of Congling. It has a population of more than 300,000 and is rich in grain, grapes and fine horses. However, Dawan, a farming country, is different from the Han Dynasty. It implements a policy of all-people soldiers similar to the nomadic tribes, so it can be used in a short period of time. King Lanfeng of Dayuan, who assembled an army of 60,000, was very ambitious and crossed the Uzbeli Pass many times to invade the territory of Yarkand and Shule. The two armies were defeated repeatedly. Now, both Yarkand and Shule have claimed vassalage and paid tribute to Dayuan. But if Liu If Xin's plan to rebuild the Western Region Protectorate succeeds, it will be impossible for Dawan to control Yarkand and Shule. This is also the main reason why Lan Feng wants to rob and kill the Han mission.
Although the previous ambush ended in failure, a better opportunity is in front of us. The number of escorts of the Han mission is getting smaller and smaller, and it is getting closer and closer to Dawan. At this time, if Lan Feng gathers the army from all over the country and adds Yarkand, the sparse With the help of the three kingdoms of Lehe and Khotan, with dozens of times the military strength, it can be said that it is a guaranteed victory. As long as the Han army is defeated and even the Han army's general Liu Xin is captured alive, the Han Dynasty's Western Region Protectorate will never be rebuilt. Got it
Although Xianxiang did not agree to send troops to join the coalition organized by Dawan last time, he did not notify the Han people of the matter so that the Han people could be prepared in advance, so Lan Feng sent an envoy again.
Last time, these three envoys came to Xicheng to ask Xianxiang to send troops to help. They heard that Xianxiang had set up a banquet. The three of them were full of joy and arrived at the main hall of the Khotan Palace. However, they found that the person sitting at the head was not Xianxiang. But a young Han man wearing a white robe
Yansai, the envoy from Dayuan, was shocked. He looked around and saw Xianxiang accompanying him on the left side of the table. He couldn't help but press the hilt of his sword and shouted: "Who are you?"
Xianxiang was eager to draw a clear line with Dawan and other countries. He stood up and shouted: "You dare to meet Mr. Liu and don't bow quickly."
Although Liu Xin didn't understand what they were talking about, he could guess what they were saying, so he waved his hand and said: "I am the general manager of the four states of Han Dynasty. Liu Xin is now the general manager of the five states of Si, Liang, Yi, Jing, Yang and the Western Regions." Since you and others are envoys sent by the countries in the Western Regions, I don’t know what is important."
At this time, Xianxiang remembered that Liu Xin did not understand the language and hurriedly saluted Liu Xin. He took the initiative to act as an interpreter and translated Liu Xin's words. Then he said: "Has your king sent you here with any letters? Hurry and submit them." "To your lord"
King Lanfeng of Dayuan sent them as envoys to invite Xianxiang to deal with the young Han Yansai in front of him. How could he hand the letter to him? Why do you want me to come to see the Han envoy? Since the king has other guests here, I will wait for a while and wait for you to come and ask for an audience when the king is free."
Although there is no need to worry that Yansai's words will be heard by Liu Xin, Xianxiang cannot guarantee that Liu Xin does not have any attendants who understand the local language. In order to avoid suspicion, Xianxiang translated Yansai's words exactly and scolded him again. He said: "It's nonsense to say that my country, Khotan, is now under the rule of the Han Dynasty. How can it be possible for me to receive envoys from other countries privately? If you have anything to say, just say it now and get out if you don't want to say it."
Yansai looked around again. In this hall, in addition to the palace guards from Khotan, there were also many Han warriors. They were just three of them. The heroes did not want to suffer the loss in front of them. Since Xianxiang told him to get out of here, he would just come and get off the donkey. Turn around and leave
Liu Xin raised her hand and said, "Wait a minute."
Several of the guards guarding the door pulled out their swords and blocked the way of the three envoys.
Liu Xin said in a deep voice: "It seems that the lesson I gave you last time is not enough to go back and tell you that the King's Western Region Protectorate Liu must be rebuilt. Liu advises them to be aware of current affairs and return to my rule as soon as possible." Otherwise, sooner or later I will let them know the power of my Han army."[
Although the journey has gone smoothly since leaving Yumen Pass, Liu Xin never thought that rebuilding the Western Region Protectorate would be an easy task, otherwise he would not have done it himself. For these countries that were unwilling to surrender, Liu Xin Xin doesn't mind using force
After Xianxiang finished translating what Liu Xin said, several of the guards sheathed their swords and made way for Yansai and the other two envoys to retreat in despair. However, Yansai was very cunning. After leaving the Khotan palace, he did not Immediately returned to Dawan to report to Lan Feng. Instead, he rode his horse around the city while others were in charge. Yansai found the camp where the Han army was stationed. He hid in the dark and watched for a long time. He was convinced that Liu Xin only brought three thousand people. Only then did the people on the left and right whip away.
Yansai didn't know that since the last black whirlwind attack in Muni City, Liu Xin only brought 3,000 men and horses every time he entered the city, while the other 12,000 soldiers launched a search outside the city to prevent horse bandits. The soldiers who were lurking and searching outside the city would not return to the city until evening. The searching team avoided the main road because it was impossible for the horse bandits to appear on the main road during the day. As a result, until Yansai left Xicheng angrily, he always believed that Liu Xin There are only about 3,000 Han troops around.
After driving away the envoys sent by Dayuan and other countries, Xian Xiang had already firmly stood on Liu Xin's side. He learned the etiquette of the Han people and said, "Master Liu, the envoys from Dayuan, Yarkand and Shule came once to think about it." I asked Xiao Wang to send troops to attack the Han envoys with them, but Xiao Wang refused. I am afraid that he will send an envoy again this time, which will be disadvantageous to you. However, Xiao Wang is not willing to raise the troops of the whole country to help you to defeat the bandits together."
Not only did he say this, Liu Xin also knew that Dawan and other countries were very likely to put all their efforts into sacrificing the elephant, but wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. However, Liu Xin did not want Khotan to take the opportunity to conquer Dawan and other countries and take advantage of the opportunity to seize the opportunity. Now the Western Region is divided into Each of the more than thirty countries is not very powerful and is more conducive to controlling Liu Xin. Now he wants to turn these more than thirty countries in the Western Region into more than three hundred countries. How can it be possible for Khotan to participate in the conquest of Dawan? go to war
"What are these small countries like Dawan, Yarkand, and Shule? The light of a firefly dares to compete with the sun and the moon. Liu Xin can just pull out an army under his command and crush them." Liu Xin picked up the wine glass and said, "Do you want to come?" Let these trivial things ruin our drunkenness and let us all get drunk before resting."
This banquet was so enjoyable that everyone went to the moon and treetops before they dispersed and presented their elephants. The most sensible person was that before Liu Xin entered the city, he moved all his concubines and children to the post house temporarily and vacated the palace for Liu Xin.
Liu Xin drank a few more glasses of wine, but without being polite to him, she bowed her hands and entered the harem, treating it as her own home.