Chapter 272 Everyone, follow me out of Yumen! (Must read)

Chapter 271: Follow me west out of Yumen! (Must read)

In the endless wilderness, a khaki city stands tall.

In the distance, there were cavalrymen wandering around, driving herds of camels and gathering here.

Ma Chao climbed up to the top of the city wall and looked around. Seeing the camel caravans coming from all directions, he asked, "How many are there?"

Someone in the back called back: "Brother, we have gathered more than a thousand camels now."

"If we continue searching, I'm afraid the camels in Liangzhou will become extinct like the Qiang people..."

However, Ma Chao's answer was just two words: "Not enough!"

Ma Kang shook his head: "Brother, this is already the limit. Where can we get so many camels?"

Ma Chao looked back to the east and said, "The most difficult part of the Han Dynasty's expedition to the Western Regions was crossing several deserts. The casualties among the soldiers were severe. I'm afraid we won't be able to reach the Western Regions and will be stopped by the desert."

"And we are all going to follow the King of Chu on his expedition to the west!"

"Collect camels. This is the order of the King of Chu. It is also to save our lives in the desert. Two thousand camels, the number must not be less than this."

"Well, I'll take the men to plunder."

Hearing that Ma Chao was going to go in person, Ma Kang was helpless: "Brother, the area within a few hundred miles is empty, where can we find camels?"

Ma Chao had already descended from the top of Dunhuang City Wall with his spear in hand: "Let's go and rob somewhere farther away."

Dunhuang!

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian made a pioneering journey to the Western Regions, which led to the establishment of the Silk Road.

Since then, Dunhuang has become an important channel connecting the Central Plains and the Western Regions.

The imperial court established Yangguan and Yumenguan in Dunhuang successively, indicating the importance of Dunhuang in military and trade.

However, with the century-long Qiang Rebellion, Liangzhou, which maintained communication between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, instead blocked the Central Plains dynasty from the Western Regions.

Herod! ~
More than a hundred cavalrymen set out and, led by Ma Chao, disappeared into the vast desert.

……

……

Xudu!

Prince Wei's Mansion!
"Wine and song, life geometry?"

"Like the morning dew, the past days are full of suffering..."

"When you are sad, you should be generous. When you are worried, you can't forget it. How can you relieve your worries? Only Du Kang can do it!"

Chanting, the already drunk Cao Mengde picked up the wine jar and drank it all in one gulp: "I still remember the first time I met Liu Wu, he was trapped by me on the top of Xiling City, dancing with his halberd in the snowy night."

"At that time, Liu Zilie was probably as depressed as I was, right?"

"Destroy Liangzhou, put down the century-long Qiang rebellion, slaughter millions, slaughter millions...eliminate the threat to the northwest forever!"

Cao Pi stepped forward and tremblingly advised: "Father, please stop drinking. You have drunk too much today."

Hooray! ~
Cao Cao fell to the ground with his legs up in the air, still shouting: "Why can't I give birth to a son like Liu Zilie, Liu Wu is such a hero!"

……

……

In the Prime Minister's Mansion,

Kong Ming sat on the cushion, silent.

It has been like this for a long, long time...

"I've known he was such a person..." Kong Ming closed his eyes, as if he had seen how Liu Wu burned the Qiang people in Liangzhou, and as if he had seen the countless corpses floating in the Tao River.

If Kong Ming did such a thing, he would definitely feel pressured. After seeing the river of blood, he would regret it and would say to the people around him that his life span would be shortened.

But Liu Wu was different. Kong Ming knew that killing a million people, even tens of millions, would not shorten Liu Wu's lifespan by even ten days.

Why did Kong Ming shorten his life span? Isn't he guilty? He won't live long like this...

But Liu Wu has no regrets.

He and Kong Ming are not ordinary people...

"Ah~"

With a sigh, Kong Ming picked up the feather fan and waved it slowly: "But he has put an end to the troubles in the northwest forever..."

Why did the Han Dynasty decline?

A hundred years of Qiang rebellion.

Countless men were killed, huge amounts of money and grain were wasted, the Guanzhong imperial base was reduced to a frontier, and was even assigned to the Liangzhou governor's office. The Qiang people invaded Hebei, the people were living in poverty, the court completely collapsed, and only then did the Yellow Turban Rebellion occur...

Kong Ming stood up and looked out the window.

The young man who was kneeling outside Wolonggang and unable to get up seemed to reappear in front of his eyes.

"Step out of Qi City Gate~"

"Looking at Dangyinli from afar~"

He strode out of the door, waving his feather fan.

"There are three tombs in the village~"

"Lilelei is just like that~"

"Whose tomb is it?"

"Tianjiang Guyezi."

"The power can surpass Nanshan Mountain,"

"The Jedi Era again..."

On this day in the city of Xudu, there was a man dancing with a feather fan and singing Liangfu Opera loudly.

On this day in the city of Xudu, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang, seemed to have returned to the past, tilling the land in Nanyang, cultivating his knowledge in Longzhong, and waiting for a wise master in thatched cottage.

Today, he came out.

"...

……

In the Palace of the Chief Censor,

Jian Yong, the Minister of State Affairs who was loyal to Liu Wu, was drinking with Xu Shu, the Right General appointed by Cao Cao.

The two of them celebrated.

Xu Shu, who was born as a knight-errant, was already drunk: "We have wiped out the twelve counties of Liangzhou, and the northwest is now free of Qiang and Hu. What a pleasure! What a pleasure!"

Jian Yong staggered to his feet and said, "Congratulations to the King of Chu!"

……

……

inside the palace,
A courtyard,
Zhao Yun stood with a spear in hand, and the emperor he was protecting was lighting incense...

"Huh!~"

The emperor let out a long breath and slowly inserted the golden bottle. His voice was trembling: "Liu Xie, I dare to report to the ancestors of Yu He, An Shun, Huan and Ling."

"The Qiang people have all been killed by Awu..."

……

……

Hanzhong,

Nanzheng!

In the palace,

"When Zhang Lu was in Hanzhong, he had long heard of Mr. Fengchu's name!"

"Mr. Fengchu is the teacher of the King of Chu, but he has condescended to come to Xinzheng. Zhang Lu is really terrified..."

Pang Shiyuan laughed and said, "Why is the Heavenly Master like this?"

"You know, my King Chu admires the Heavenly Master very much!"

Zhang Lu was overjoyed when he heard this: "Is what Mr. Fengchu said true?"

Pang Tong immediately rolled his eyes at him: "Otherwise, why would I, Pang Tong, come to Hanzhong to show such respect to the wise and humble?"

"If you don't believe me, you can go outside and ask around. What kind of crazy person am I, Pang Shiyuan?"

"If the King of Chu didn't respect you, why would I, Pang Tong, wrong myself like this?"

Zhang Lu took a long breath, sat down solemnly, and said hopefully, "Zhang Lu lives in a small corner of Hanzhong. How can I deserve the respect of the King of Chu? I am really worried..."

"Hey! Heavenly Master, you must not humiliate yourself." Pang Tong said: "The King of Chu said that the world was in turmoil and the people were suffering. Heavenly Master Zhang taught the people in Hanzhong with five dou of rice. He governed Hanzhong well and had millions of followers. Over the past few decades, he has helped more than a million people..."

Zhang Lu cried, although there was some acting involved: "When the world was in turmoil, I, Zhang Lu, lived in a corner of Hanzhong, protecting the people and struggling to survive. Now I finally meet a wise leader!"

……

……

Hefei.

Guan Yu rode his horse back to the city, his Red Hare galloping as fast as the wind, his Green Dragon Sword as sharp as ever. To this day, he is no less powerful than the horse archer who stood at Hulao Pass back then.

"Hey!~"

Guan Yu stopped Red Hare because there was someone standing in front, waiting for him for a long time.

After getting off his horse, Guan Yu said cheerfully, "Wenyuan, you finally got off the ground."

Zhang Liao smiled bitterly: "Yes, the injury has almost recovered."

……

……

Koto!

Jianye City!
King Sun Zhongmou of Wu looked into the distance with a complicated expression.

"Really, what can I do~"

He flicked his sleeves and walked away.

On the remaining table were two military reports from the northwest...

first set:
[…Zhou Gongjin pays homage to the King of Wu…]

[…Liu Zilie rose from Xiling and soared to the sky. Until now, no one can check and balance him. When he returns to the Central Plains, I am afraid that even Cao Mengde will have to avoid his edge…]

[…My Lord, if I leave now, I’m afraid that Jiangdong’s hegemony will be completely in vain…]

[…My Lord, it’s time to think about where Jiangdong will go in the future…]

Second copy:
[Uncle, Liangzhou has been settled...]

[My wife is pregnant, and Zilie cannot come home yet. I would like to trouble you to take care of her. She is the Queen of Chu, but she is also the Princess of Jiangdong, my uncle’s younger sister…]

……

Liangzhou,

The endless expeditionary army set out from Longxi City, passing through Jincheng, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and all the way to Dunhuang, crossing thousands of miles...

Liu Wu raised his whip and pointed to the majestic pass ahead and asked, "Mengqi, is this Yumen Pass?"

Ma Chao rode over and said, "That's right!"

"Before Emperor Wu conquered Hexi, the Yumen area had always been a grazing area for groups of Hu people, including the Qiang, Quanrong, Yuezhi, Wusun and Xiongnu."

Liu Wu stopped, then looked back eastward toward the Central Plains. After a long while, he turned his head and looked at Ma Chao, Gao Shun, Zhou Yu, Chen Dao, Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, Lu Meng and others.

"Let's go."

"Everyone, follow me out of Yumen Gate to the west!"

　There is more to come. Don't wait any longer, you will see it tomorrow morning.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)