Chapter 206: Kucha and Jushi

"No!"

"Do not kill Me!"

"No! I am the one to whom Heaven's mandate belongs, not that Xie Lao'er!"

At night.

Jinghua Imperial Palace.

A shrill, harrowing sound rang out once again.

Footsteps approached as Grand Eunuch Zhou, leading a group of young eunuchs, arrived at the old Emperor's bedside.

He saw the old Emperor drenched in sweat, trembling all over, his eyes filled with terror.

Grand Eunuch Zhou, well-accustomed to this, said, "Quick, quick, quick, bring the medicine, bring the Immortal Pill!"

"Emperor, Emperor, it is over, it is over, we have already returned, we have returned..."

Grand Eunuch Zhou coaxed the old Emperor as if he were a child, pried open his mouth, and fed him an "Immortal Pill"...

"Returned?"

"Returned..."

"Where is My army? Where is My army of five hundred thousand? Were they all eaten by that pack of evil ghosts?"

"Were they?"

Xie Tianyao remained delirious.

Grand Eunuch Zhou lowered his head in silence, not knowing how to answer.

The battle in the Western Regions back then had left the old Emperor with deep psychological trauma. The Ghost Army in that desert had dealt a fatal blow to the Longyan Army, which had first suffered from the climate and then lost its way in the wilderness.

His psychological defenses had completely collapsed.

Xie Tianyao had only fought one war in his entire life, and that was when he led the campaign himself.

Who would have thought...

That battle at the Ghost City in the desert had lasted for three months.

The army of five hundred thousand was completely wiped out!

If not for the timely arrival of the Prince of Wei, it is feared that Xie Tianyao would not have returned to Longyan either.

Gradually.

Under Grand Eunuch Zhou's soothing, the Emperor slowly returned to normal, his lips trembling as he said weakly, "Did I have a nightmare again?"

"Emperor..."

Grand Eunuch Zhou sighed.

Xie Tianyao gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Lao Zhou, everyone says I am the one to whom Heaven's mandate belongs, says I am the Son of Heaven. Why is it that even though I am the Son of Heaven, I cannot overcome those lonely ghosts and wild spirits, hmm?"

"Should the Son of Heaven not be able to kill gods if he meets gods, and kill Buddhas if he meets Buddhas?"

"Hmm? Why? Could it be that My struggle for power and the throne back then was truly wrong?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou knelt on the ground: "Emperor, those are crooked paths and evil ways; they do not count, they do not count!"

Xie Tianyao laughed heartily: "Tell me, that Prefect Liu, who claims his Yinzhou Army is invincible under heaven—how would they fare against that Ghost Army?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou was shaken to his core, not knowing how to answer.

In truth, he only wanted to say...

Emperor, you are truly too cruel!

Fifteen thousand Yinzhou Army soldiers?

Your five hundred thousand all perished in the desert, let alone these fifteen thousand?

"Forget it, forget it. What was I expecting anyway..."

"A mere callow youth."

"Hmm, consider it My final act of clearing the path for My two sons..."

"The Prince of Wei is old, and his son is not worth fearing."

"But these young people will not do, they will not do... I cannot let them be!"

Grand Eunuch Zhou sighed.

The old Emperor had fallen asleep again.

Liu Zheng was stunned: "What did you say? You are leading troops on an expedition? Are you crazy?"

Reguli pouted, looking unhappy: "Is Young Master looking down on Reguli? Do you know that ever since you left, Reguli has read your Longyan Art of War thoroughly, and has long been itching to practice on the battlefield!"

Everyone who heard this had black lines on their faces.

Is this what they call armchair strategy?

"Don't mess around, you cannot go."

Liu Zheng shook his head decisively.

Reguli would not have it; she shook Liu Zheng's arm and coquettishly said, "Why? I want to go, I really want to go..."

Everyone held back their laughter.

Liu Dahao was drooling as he watched.

Who could withstand this?

Even though her son was already a king, she herself remained incredibly young, with the appearance of a little girl. Yet, this demeanor made one feel it was pleasing to the eye, without a hint of awkwardness or affectation, as if everything were perfectly natural, making one feel a sense of affection.

A demon!

This is a demon!

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly: "Woman, please stay away from war."

"I don't care, I don't care, I just want to go!"

Reguli almost hung herself onto Liu Zheng, refusing to let go.

Liu Zheng still wanted to refuse, but Qingyang Shuo smiled from the side: "Since the Empress Dowager has the intention, going together is not impossible. After all, with fifty thousand more troops, there is one more point of winning chance. We people of Yinzhou indeed do not know enough about the Western Regions and need sufficient guides."

Liu Zheng looked over in surprise, but Qingyang Shuo only wore a smile.

"Fine."

Liu Zheng said helplessly.

Reguli was extremely happy.

The one hundred and fifty thousand troops camped right here in Shancheng. The goal of Liu Zheng's trip was not Loulan, and furthermore, he had no interest in Loulan; he was only here to make money. Therefore, no matter how Reguli invited him, Liu Zheng would not take another step forward.

On the map in the military tent.

It could be seen that Shancheng itself was the gateway to these Western Regions, the first stop of this Silk Road in the Western Regions. To the north was Cheshi, which was the Turpan of later generations. To the west was Loulan, to the northwest was Qiuci, and to the south were Qiemo and Jingjue. The Western Regions Protectorate in history was located in the very center of these Western Regions, which was Yanqi near Qiuci.

The purpose of Liu Zheng's trip was this place!

This was also the task the old emperor had given to him and his father.

However...

This Yanqi had previously been between the two great Western Regions powers of Qiuci and Cheshi. Both Qiuci and Cheshi had once been at their peak, so ever since it broke away from the Longyan Dynasty, this Western Regions Protectorate naturally became a mere ornament.

Rebuilding the Protectorate!

Was equivalent to declaring war on Qiuci and Cheshi at the same time.

"From Shancheng to Cheshi, this stretch of desert is the only way through. If Liu Zheng guesses correctly, this is the Ghost City rumored in your Western Regions, right?"

In the military tent.

Liu Zheng looked at Reguli with a smile.

Reguli was shocked: "Young Master, we... can we not go around it? Why don't we take the route through Loulan and head up to Qiuci?"

Several people looked over at the same time.

This naive girl actually had some real ability.

Before coming to Loulan, their group of generals had studied the layout of these Western Regions. To head north, there were only two roads: one was Qiuci, and the other was Cheshi.

But...

The national strength of this Qiuci was powerful, comparable to Loulan.

Cheshi was slightly inferior.

This was what had caused the situation for so many years: wanting to go through Qiuci but lacking the strength, and wanting to go through Cheshi but being swallowed by the Ghost City.

Qingyang Shuo chuckled.

As soon as Liu Zheng saw this expression of his, he realized that this Reguli had been calculating this from the very beginning. She wanted to borrow his one hundred and fifty thousand Yinzhou troops to conquer Qiuci?

He gave Reguli a playful look.

Who would have thought that Reguli would not hide it either, sticking out her tongue: "With our allied forces, we could sweep across everything. What is there to fear from a mere Northern Western Regions?"

Everyone laughed out loud.

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly: "Empress Dowager, if things were as simple as you say, that would be great."

Reguli looked puzzled: "Is it very complicated?"

Liu Zheng pointed at the map of the Western Regions, drew a circle on the north with his hand, and asked: "Empress Dowager, please look. Have you ever thought that in this Northern Western Regions, there are many kingdoms: Wusun, Hami, Cheshi, Shanguo, Dayuan Kingdom..."

"However..."

"If this entire Northern Western Regions were now ruled by one kingdom, what does the Empress Dowager think?"

"What?"

Reguli's pretty face changed slightly.

The Loulan soldiers following Reguli also shook their heads one after another.

"Impossible!"

"Protector of the State, this is absolutely impossible!"

"The Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions have never seen a unification, not even in the Northern Western Regions."

How could this be possible?

Even powers as strong as Anxi, Yutian, Qiuci, Shancheng, and Dayuezhi in history had never achieved a unification of the Western Regions, not even of the Southern Western Regions or the Northern Western Regions.

Liu Zheng smiled faintly: "It is just a hypothesis for now."

Reguli said: "If it were really like that, then this Northern Western Regions would definitely station heavy troops in Qiuci and build magnificent cities to prevent conquest. Looking at it this way, the Ghost City has the least defense..."

The whole room was shocked.

The Loulan generals looked at each other in dismay.

How could they fight this?

On one side, there was likely the entire defensive military strength of the Northern Western Regions.

On the other side was the Ghost City?

No wonder they hadn't been able to fight into the Northern Western Regions for so many years!

"Impossible!"

"I still don't believe it!"

"How could the Northern Western Regions be unified!"

Everyone shook their heads.

Reguli also looked unconvinced, and she huffed: "Young Master Liu, you just don't want to help my Loulan conquer Qiuci, is that it?"

Yo.

She started acting shamelessly!

Liu Zheng chuckled and said, "Everyone, if you do not believe me, I have a plan."

The crowd looked over.

He said, "We shall split into two paths; the Yinzhou army will go through Ghost City and Loulan, feigning an attack on Qiuci, and be ready to retreat at any time."

"If the defenses of Qiuci are strong, the Empress Dowager will know whether Liu Zheng's prediction is true or false."

"You can then take the route through the desert and rendezvous with my Yinzhou army at Ghost City; what does the Empress Dowager think?"

Reguli and the generals looked at each other in dismay.

In their hearts, they actually did not believe that the Northern Western Regions had been unified. In their hearts, they were also unwilling to go to the legendary Ghost City, which was even more terrifying than Hell.

Seeing Reguli hesitating, Liu Zheng smiled and said, "Rest assured, Empress Dowager. If you truly take the desert route and rendezvous with me, Liu Zheng guarantees that I will surely annihilate that Ghost Army!"

"What?"

"Protector of the State..."

"That is Ghost City we are talking about!"

The people from Loulan did not believe it at all; although this Protector of the State was formidable, Ghost City and the Ghost Army were things that even the Longyan Dynasty had never broken through, and they made everyone in the world tremble with fear.

Such big talk...

How could he say such a thing?

Liu Zheng smiled faintly: "Empress Dowager, just trust me for now. If I can break the Ghost Army, the Empress Dowager must grant me one request."

Reguli cast a flirtatious glance, as if to say, go ahead and say it; anyway, I will be yours sooner or later...

Liu Zheng shuddered all over, took a deep breath, and said: "My Yinzhou and the Empress Dowager shall split the Western Regions equally!"

The crowd's expressions changed instantly.

The entire room was deathly silent.

Reguli's delicate body trembled even more; this sentence contained too much information. She looked at Liu Zheng suddenly: "Protector of the State, do you intend to rebel against Longyan?"

【Author's Note】

Don't stop the pacing, don't stop the tips. There are only four hours left, it's the end of the month, brothers...