Chapter 199: Dayuan Kingdom

Hanzhong City is very large.

Liu Zheng can be considered to have truly seen a big city in this world.

The scale of this city of Hanzhong is something even a capital city like Liangzhou cannot compare to.

Prosperous!

As beautiful as a brocade of flowers.

A land of fish and rice, it is truly no exaggeration.

Liu Zheng could still see some people in tattered clothes in Liangzhou, but in Hanzhong, he sees none at all.

It is easy to tell.

Although the Feudatory King of Yong is cowardly toward the outside world, he is quite capable of governing his own territory.

In other words.

The people have a strong sense of well-being. So no matter how cowardly he is toward the outside world, or how lacking in temper he may be, his rule remains very stable.

"Today, in this installment, let us talk about those Yinzhou Ships, appearing like ghosts, launching a night raid on the Shu Army, a Lightning War that shocked the world, and the rescue of Hanzhong City!"

These past few days.

Liu Zheng has also managed to expand his business to Hanzhong; his Fengming Tower branch has officially been established in Hanzhong. After all, as a "family member" of Qin Zhangfeng's side for the wedding, he was very willing to help Jiang Xuan manage some matters. Not only for the sake of the lively atmosphere, but also to fulfill his duty as a brother. Therefore, during his stay in Hanzhong, he chose a restaurant, took it over, and the Fengming Tower Hanzhong City branch was officially established.

However, this Fengming Tower in Hanzhong is purely a proper restaurant.

There are no singing girls, no courtesans.

Opening the doors with good wine and good food to welcome guests from all over the world.

"Good!"

"Splendid!"

At this moment, Fengming Tower is exceptionally lively, and the storyteller is spitting with excitement, causing this group of drinkers to applaud in unison.

A child suddenly shouts at this time: "I saw that ghost ship yesterday, it was huge!"

The whole room bursts into laughter.

The storyteller laughs: "Little one, that is not a ghost ship, that is a Yinzhou Ship, gifted to us in Hanzhong by Prefect Liu!"

At this time, sitting in the pavilion, Liu Zheng smiles slightly upon hearing this.

The Feudatory King of Yong is also sitting nearby, laughing heartily: "Prefect Liu is famous throughout the world; women and children all know you."

Liu Zheng smiles bitterly: "The Feudatory King's grand procession has caused me quite a bit of trouble. Being famous throughout the world is not necessarily a good thing."

These days, Liu Zheng's handling of Qin Zhangfeng's wedding has truly opened the eyes of the Feudatory King of Yong. Hanzhong is rich enough, right? But where has he ever seen such a generous person? For the sake of a brother's wedding, all those Weaponry and Equipment, Perfume, Soap, and various fine wines were hauled into Hanzhong as if they cost nothing. Because of this, the Feudatory King of Yong's inner resentment toward Liu Zheng has truly been eliminated.

Magnanimous.

Generous.

With such a Prefect Liu, the Feudatory King of Yong now only has thoughts of forming an alliance, not of becoming an enemy.

Looking at his own hundred-plus sons...

Added together, they probably cannot compare to this one Prefect Liu.

The Feudatory King of Yong takes a sip of wine and chuckles: "Prefect Liu has also reached the age of capping; I wonder if you see any of the daughters in my mansion that you fancy?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng smiles bitterly again and again.

He glances strangely at the Feudatory King of Yong's bloated figure, and Liu Zheng feels a shiver run through his entire body.

The Feudatory King of Yong's expression changes instantly: "Prefect Liu, what kind of look is that? My daughters are all beauties! Heh, back in my day, I was also a dashing and elegant man..."

The corner of Liu Zheng's mouth twitches.

The Feudatory King of Yong also knows he has strayed from the topic, pours another cup of wine for each of them, and then laughs: "But never mind. Those daughters of mine are all a bit silly; they certainly wouldn't be able to compete with that world-famous zither player Shen Manqing. It is better not to go to your Liu Family and suffer."

Liu Zheng smiles bitterly, not knowing what to say.

Suddenly, at this moment, the Feudatory King of Yong says calmly: "Young Master Liu, there is only half a month left until the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Liu Zheng is startled and looks over in confusion.

The Feudatory King of Yong smiles dashingly: "Your esteemed father should be going to that Western Regions Protectorate."

Liu Zheng knows this Feudatory King of Yong is full of hidden depths, and he says with a serious face: "What instruction does the Feudatory King have for me?"

The Feudatory King of Yong rolls his eyes: "Involving imperial secrets, I dare not say too much."

Liu Zheng is left between laughter and tears: "Then the two Yinzhou Ships that the Feudatory King ordered at a high price will likely have their delivery delayed."

The Feudatory King of Yong becomes anxious upon hearing this: "Don't, don't, don't! Oh my, Prefect Liu, only you would dare to hold me to ransom like this. What kind of look is that? I was talking about this Hanzhong City!"

He changes his tone and looks at Liu Zheng with burning eyes: "Does the young master know of the Dayuan Kingdom in the Western Regions?"

Liu Zheng is taken aback: "Naturally, I know of it."

This Dayuan Kingdom is quite famous in history. It is known as the hometown of the Heavenly Horse; that is to say, this Dayuan Kingdom is also a place that produces War Horses, and the quality of the War Horses is even higher than those in Liangzhou! Since ancient times, the so-called Dayuan Horse has originated from here.

The Sweat-Blood Horse among the Dayuan Horses is something often heard of even in later generations.

According to the *Book of Han*, there was a high mountain near the Dayuan Kingdom with wild horses on it that were full of wild spirit and not easily captured. Every spring, the people of the Dayuan Kingdom would release mares into the mountains to mate with the wild horses, and then bring the mares back. The horses born from this would sweat blood-red from their shoulders, their hooves would be like the wind, and they could travel a thousand miles a day; they were called "Sweat-Blood Horses"!

During the flourishing Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han learned of this and sent Hanbuhai with gold and silver to seek the precious horses. As a result, the Dayuan Kingdom coveted the gold and silver and killed Hanbuhai and all his accompanying personnel.

After Emperor Wu of Han learned of this, he was furious and sent troops to punish them.

However, the powerful Han Army of that time actually lost their first expedition. In the end, Emperor Wu of Han seemed to feel he had lost face, so he dispatched an army of two hundred thousand to conquer such a tiny place, and only then did he manage to seize a few thousand Sweat-Blood Horses.

This was the famous Heavenly Horse War of that time.

Later.

Many historians believe that this Dayuan Kingdom had been ruled by Western countries since ancient times, having experienced the period of Greece's rule, the Xia's rule, and the Scythians' rule. Finally, the Dayuezhi also briefly ruled this Dayuan Kingdom.

The Dayuezhi, there is no need to say more about them.

The Kushan Empire was founded by the Dayuezhi.

Note, the pronunciation of this "Dayuezhi" should be a homophone for "meat juice"...

Therefore.

As for what kind of bloodline the Dayuan Kingdom eventually had, Liu Zheng did not understand either; it was said there was even Iranian bloodline...

Liu Zheng asked curiously, "How does the Dayuan Kingdom involve imperial secrets?"

Prince Yong laughed heartily, "Since ancient times, the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions have continued to this day, but after the current Emperor's campaign against the Western Regions failed, no one knows what this Western Region looks like anymore."

"However..."

"According to traveling merchants, this Dayuan Kingdom has already become a powerful nation in the Western Regions, even surpassing Loulan!"

"What?"

Liu Zheng was shocked to his core upon hearing this.

This statement contained a massive amount of information.

The Emperor's campaign against the Western Regions ended in defeat?

Why had he never heard of this matter? It seemed it had been deliberately covered up by some people.

And among these Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, a country even more powerful than Loulan had actually emerged? Why had he not heard of it when he was in Loulan?

What had this Dayuan Kingdom, which was once heavily defeated by Emperor Wu of Han, become today?

Prince Yong glanced around, then lowered his head and whispered, "That Dayuan Kingdom is now ruled by the Longyan people!"

Liu Zheng was stunned again.

And then.

"It is the current Emperor's own younger brother!"

"What?"

Liu Zheng was so shocked that he stood up abruptly, his expression changing drastically.