Chapter 24: The Sky of the Western Regions, Only My Great Han

A water control project of this scale naturally could not be accomplished overnight.

After leaving Luoyang, Gu Kang personally led his entourage to the Yellow River and the Bian Canal for on-site inspections, making final preparations for the grand undertaking of water control.

This was destined to be a massive project.

Even though he had imagined it countless times in his mind, after being there in person to conduct a more detailed inspection, Gu Kang still deeply felt the arduousness of the task.

What he sought was not merely to control the flooding, but to use this to benefit the common people of the world.

In fact, Gu Kang had always been this way.

Whether it was back in Julu or during his years of managing the fields of the world, he would always help the common people build water conservancy works.

But the scale and difficulty of this water control project were far beyond those of past projects.

Gu Kang had to think deeply and carefully.

After the inspection, he began even more detailed and comprehensive planning with Wang Jing, Wang Wu, and a group of other talented water conservancy experts.

This matter could not tolerate the slightest bit of carelessness.

Once a mistake occurred, causing the Yellow River to change course or the Bian Canal to burst its banks, the resulting impact would be unimaginable.

Fortunately, Liu Zhuang was not a muddled ruler; once a decision was made, he would provide the greatest support.

To say nothing else.

The minimum budget had already been raised to the maximum, and the common people were also very supportive of this.

The timing and the support of the people were all at Gu Kang's disposal.

Under these circumstances, after many days of discussion.

Gu Kang and the others finally formulated a final plan.

—First, reinforce the old dikes;

and build sturdy new dikes according to the terrain and water flow conditions.

At the same time, it was necessary to dredge and excavate new river channels.

To make the Yellow River and the Bian Canal flow separately and enter the sea more smoothly, and also to set up irrigation channels to ensure the navigation and irrigation functions of the Bian Canal.

Once all plans were complete, in the summer of the eleventh year of Yongping.

The water control project officially broke ground.

Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and other areas were the regions that suffered the most severely.

The common people here were naturally more concerned about the water control project.

They had been looking forward to this day for far, far too long.

Now that this day had finally arrived.

They naturally gave it their greatest support.

Even the powerful clans of the two regions contributed their efforts one after another.

In addition, Liu Zhuang also issued an imperial decree to mobilize troops and commoners from Jizhou, Qingzhou, and other places.

The entire Great Han world was set in motion.

The crowds surged, and the four seas responded.

The experience Gu Kang gained from managing the fields of the world in the previous years proved useful at this moment.

In order to avoid the chaos caused by the large number of people and the side effects brought by uneven distribution.

He quickly made a series of more detailed plans.

Every detail, such as the division of labor and rotations, was arranged accordingly.

For a time, the entire Great Han focused its gaze here.

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

After all, there was a huge difference in the input of manpower and material resources between the two, not to mention that the water control project concerned the vital interests of the common people of the world!

Yiwulu City.

Gu Cheng was discussing the matter of sending troops with Dou Gu.

Hearing Gu Cheng's plan to send troops, Dou Gu was quite shocked.

Now the Great Han was mobilizing the whole country for water control, and the whole world knew it.

To send troops at this time, wouldn't it be destined to be difficult to obtain reinforcements?

But Gu Cheng had his own reasoning; he said to Dou Gu with a serious expression: "General, even you have such thoughts, let alone the Northern Xiongnu?"

"Now Zhong Sheng is on a mission to the Western Regions."

"To achieve complete success, our army cannot have the slightest slack or give up any opportunity."

"The Northern Xiongnu have been running rampant in the Western Regions for many years; although they were defeated before, our army's prestige is still insufficient for the entire Western Regions."

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

"How can this not be a good opportunity?"

"If our army truly does not move, it will surely increase the difficulties and obstacles of Zhong Sheng's journey."

"Moving troops at this time can not only catch them off guard, but also create momentum for Zhong Sheng, allowing him to complete His Majesty's wish to pacify the Western Regions sooner!"

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

Gu Cheng's expression was exceptionally serious as he looked at Dou Gu and said: "If our Great Han were truly unable to move troops, the Minister of Agriculture would definitely have me return to the capital."

This was the key to Gu Cheng's insistence on sending troops.

He understood his older brother too well.

Gu Kang acted with composure and knew his temperament well.

Whenever the Great Han reached a time when it was not suitable to move troops, he would definitely be summoned back to Luoyang, rather than being in this situation now.

Gu Cheng even suspected that Gu Kang was letting him go and stir up trouble on his own.

To achieve as much merit as one had the ability to.

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

He had to admit that Gu Cheng's analysis was very reasonable, but he could not easily make a decision.

Although he had gained some understanding of Gu Kang's character through his contact over these years.

But to say that he could be like Gu Cheng, his own younger brother, was naturally impossible.

He had always sought stability in his use of troops.

Moreover, since Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, the entire Dou family had suffered unprecedented blows.

Now they had only just been re-employed.

If something went wrong at this time and they lost a battle, he would never have another chance.

Thinking of this, Dou Gu had already made a decision in his heart, and looking at Gu Cheng, he said: "Zhenyu, do not be impatient."

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

"Opportunities in war are fleeting; how can we wait for letters to go back and forth?" Gu Cheng did not force him, but just shook his head and said, "In that case, then please, General, stay behind to guard."

"I will personally lead the troops to attack!"

"If there are any mistakes, I will never implicate the General."

As both were Generals of Miscellaneous Titles, the current Gu Cheng naturally did not have to insist on Dou Gu's agreement.

If this were someone else, they might still be wary of Dou Gu's status.

But he was a descendant of the Gu family.

Whether it was the merits of his ancestors or his current status in the imperial court, neither was comparable to Dou Gu.

What did he have to be wary of?

Cupping his hands toward Dou Gu, Gu Cheng then walked straight out.

The army of over five thousand, which had long been prepared, killed their way out of Yiwulu City that very day.

And Dou Gu was not furious about this.

He just wrote a letter and had someone send it back to Luoyang with an eight-hundred-mile urgent dispatch.

Then he continued to train the soldiers and manage the military colonies as usual.

Gu Cheng's target this time was Cheshi.

The Western Regions were vast.

Besides normal military deterrence, the Northern Xiongnu's method of controlling the Western Regions was to support pro-Xiongnu forces to take power and control the traffic arteries of various places.

Thereby controlling the economy of the entire Western Regions.

And Cheshi was like that now.

In fact, Gu Cheng's grasp of the opportunity for battle was indeed very precise.

After the previous defeat of the Huyan King, the entire Northern Xiongnu was indeed immediately on alert, constantly guarding against the Great Han sending a large army to compete for this piece of fat that was the Western Regions.

But when they heard that the Great Han had actually started to control the Yellow River.

One by one, they immediately relaxed their vigilance a little.

How could a country simultaneously control such a massive flood and send a large army?

This was a problem that everyone could see.

As long as the large army did not come, given the vastness of the Western Regions, how could the Great Han easily break everything they had managed in the Western Regions for so many years?

It must be said that this was a very correct judgment.

The Great Han indeed could not move troops on a large scale now.

And an ordinary general would not choose to take the initiative to take risks at such a time.

But, Gu Cheng was different.

Do not forget, in what manner did Gu Xiao originally build his fortune!

Although there was interference from Gu Yi in this.

Yet those legendary stories still influenced Gu Cheng since he was young.

Regarding any opportunity for battle, he possessed a precise judgment.

He intended to use this opportunity to fight another beautiful, victorious battle.

The great army galloped all the way, advancing toward Jushi.

Today's Jushi is divided into northern and southern parts, separated by the Tianshan Mountains.

The southern part, centered on Jiaohe City, has fertile land and is known as the Anterior Jushi;

The northern part has vast grasslands and a relatively cold climate, known as the Posterior Jushi.

The current King of Anterior Jushi is the son of the King of Posterior Jushi, and the two royal courts are over five hundred li apart.

Actually, normally speaking, if one had sufficient troops, one should first attack the Anterior Jushi, because its land is fertile and one could achieve the goal of supporting the war through the war itself.

But given Gu Cheng's current situation, he simply could not do that.

His only method of fighting was to concentrate his strength to launch a surprise attack on the Posterior Jushi, and by utilizing the prestige of the Great Han and the father-son relationship, force the King of Anterior Jushi to surrender.

This method of fighting, however, carried risks.

But as long as one could truly seize the opportunity, one could achieve a miraculous feat!

Under these circumstances, the one thousand highly obedient central army soldiers in the army led by Gu Cheng played a major role.

Although this was only one thousand men.

Yet in this army of not particularly large scale, the influence these one thousand men could produce was still not to be underestimated.

People are often influenced by their environment.

When they saw the many soldiers and the general, Gu Cheng, all charging forward bravely, this great army was destined to be unstoppable.

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

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

After Gu Cheng led his army to behead nearly a thousand men.

The King of Posterior Jushi finally could no longer suppress the fear in his heart; he personally greeted Gu Cheng outside the city, removed his crown, clutched the hooves of Gu Cheng's mount, and surrendered to the Great Han!

And Gu Cheng did not waste a single word, immediately releasing the news.

He wished to use the information gap from the successful surprise attack and the two great victories to make the various countries of the Western Regions and the Northern Xiongnu unable to fathom the current strength of the Great Han, thereby securing the greatest benefits for the Great Han.

And things did not exceed his expectations.

From the moment the Posterior Jushi was taken, the entire Anterior Jushi faced the situation of being surrounded by the Great Han at any moment.

The King of Anterior Jushi no longer had any heart to resist and immediately came to surrender.

With this, Jushi was pacified!

Kingdom of Yutian.

Ban Chao had already arrived here for some time.

But facing him, the envoy of the Great Han, the attitude of King Guangde of Yutian was quite cold, and he had not yet appeared.

Ban Chao was also quite helpless about this.

The Northern Xiongnu's control over the entire Kingdom of Yutian was too deep, to the point that even now, there were still envoys staying within Yutian.

Named as guardians, they were in reality controlling the power from the shadows.

Now, the King of Yutian clearly wanted to make him retreat in the face of difficulties, wanting neither to completely offend the Great Han nor to go against the will of the Northern Xiongnu.

It was precisely because of this that he did not even have the chance to repeat the operation he had performed earlier in the Kingdom of Shanshan.

At this time, inside the luxurious royal palace.

"Great King, although the Great Han has just won a victorious battle, I have already heard that they are currently governing the Dahe within their own country."

"Under these circumstances, the Emperor of the Great Han cannot possibly dispatch a large army to the Western Regions."

"Now, the envoys of the Northern Xiongnu are currently in our country."

"At a time like this, how can you, Great King, want to submit to the Great Han?"

The Prime Minister, Sila Bi, was expressing his thoughts to King Guangde of Yutian.

But Guangde's expression remained very hesitant.

Seeing this, Sila Bi did not say any more nonsense, but simply summoned the shaman.

The shamanistic culture in Yutian was flourishing.

The status of the shaman in all of Yutian was quite extraordinary.

After a series of complex rituals, the shaman looked at King Guangde of Yutian and said solemnly: "The Heavenly God is angry!"

"Great King, how could you think of relying on the Great Han?"

"The Heavenly God told me."

"The Han envoy has a horse with a black mouth and yellow hair; he wants me to use this horse to perform a sacrifice."

Kill the horse!

This was a great humiliation!

Upon hearing this, King Guangde of Yutian's expression changed abruptly.

But it was not because of the Great Han, but because of the so-called Heavenly God.

He was indeed someone who believed in these things very much.

"The Heavenly God is angry?"

He repeated softly, his fat face full of fear, and without any more hesitation, he hurriedly said: "Since that is the case."

"Let this matter be handled by the Prime Minister; you must make the Heavenly God appease his anger!"

Sila Bi accepted the order and left.

That night, he went directly to find Ban Chao and demanded his mount from him.

Facing this unreasonable demand, Ban Chao did not get angry; after learning the reason, he pondered slightly and was silent for a moment, then immediately said:

"Since the Prime Minister says so, then please have the shaman come personally to lead the horse away."

"Good!"

Sila Bi laughed and left, his face full of smugness.

He suddenly felt that the Great Han did not seem as powerful as he had imagined.

This envoy did not even have the thought of resisting and directly agreed to his request to give away his own mount.

Not long after, the shaman followed Sila Bi and hurried over.

He did not even look at Ban Chao, going directly to lead his mount away.

Just at this moment, Ban Chao did not hesitate at all, drew the saber at his waist, and slashed fiercely.

Puchi.

Everything happened too suddenly, so fast that even Sila Bi, who was beside the shaman, did not react.

It was not until the moment the scalding hot blood splashed onto his body.

That he realized what had happened.

In an instant, his face changed drastically, and he turned to run away.

But how could Ban Chao give him such an opportunity?

He kicked him to the ground, threw down the saber in his hand, picked up a horse whip, and lashed down directly, while lashing, he kept cursing loudly:

"The Heavenly God is angry?"

"Today I will let you know that the Heaven of the Western Regions belongs only to my Great Han!"

"This is what the true anger of the Heavenly God is!!"

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Ban Chao showed no mercy, lashing Sila Bi again and again, until he had whipped him over a hundred times, only then did he stop.

Immediately, he severed the shaman's head, threw it in front of the nearly fainting Sila Bi, and said sternly: "Tell the King of Yutian, this is the gift this envoy sends him."

"And it is also the last chance my Great Han gives to the Kingdom of Yutian!"

Ban Chao was very clear.

Blind weakness would only make people feel that the Great Han was no longer capable.

Only toughness could bring about a turning point.

Sure enough, King Guangde of Yutian did not get angry because of this action by Ban Chao.

Especially after hearing the news that Gu Cheng had broken through Jushi, he dared not have any more hesitation, directly met with Ban Chao, killed the Northern Xiongnu envoy in front of him, and re-submitted to the Great Han!

When Liu Zhuang received this news, he was completely stunned.

When the news from Dou Gu came back earlier, he was still wondering if it was because Gu Cheng was eager for merit that he chose to mobilize troops at such a time.

He had not expected at all that things would develop like this.

He suddenly remembered the evaluations Liu Xiu had made of Gu Xiao in the past, and thought of the two brothers, Gu Kang and Gu Cheng, of today.

Controlling the waters and external threats.

Is this the help a virtuous minister provides to an Emperor?

Shanshan is the necessary passage to the Central Plains.

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

Jushi and Yutian are both key points guarding the Silk Road; controlling these two places can be said to be controlling the transportation hub of the entire Western Regions.

Connecting these one by one, does this not mean that the current Great Han already has the conditions to regain control of the Western Regions?

Even if heavy troops are not dispatched at this moment.

But by utilizing the influence of the Great Han to slowly expand in all four directions through these small states, is this not also an opportunity?

The people of the Western Regions have suffered under the Xiongnu for too long!

At this moment, Liu Zhuang suddenly felt that perhaps in this lifetime, he could truly accomplish the great cause in his heart.

"Protectorate General of the Western Regions"

He whispered softly, his eyes becoming increasingly bright at this moment.

———————

"It is hard to imagine, in that era when prophecy and superstition were prevalent, what kind of wisdom Gu Kang possessed to manage the fields in a way that approached science.

But without a doubt, the appearance of Gu Kang completely changed the situation of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty at that time.

It allowed the entire Eastern Han Dynasty to recover rapidly after the chaos of war.

When the Eastern Han had the strength to simultaneously manage the Yellow River and compete with the Northern Xiongnu for the Western Regions,

clearly, the national power of the Eastern Han at this time had already far surpassed all previous dynasties."

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

This chapter is terrifyingly long again.

I hope brothers will support me a lot; please do not hoard the book, and help Yu make a push for recommendations.

Additionally, for recommendation votes and monthly tickets, if you move your little hands, Yu will have even more motivation to type!!!





(End of this chapter)