The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 512: The Fine Tradition of the Han Envoys

Liu Xie did not have to wait too long for this opportunity.

The Western Regions, the Kingdom of Khotan, and the City of Pishan.

Ma Chao was covered in yellow dust and looked extremely miserable, far from his reputation as "Jin Ma Chao".

Fa Zheng and Meng Da, holding swords and wearing armor, also followed Ma Chao.

Surrounding the three of them were dozens of Western Region soldiers whose appearance and skin color were very different from those of the Central Plains people.

Although one of the Westerners was thin, his clothes were obviously rich and he did not look like an ordinary person.

"Prince, are they really your brother's soldiers?"

Hearing Fa Zheng's question, Yuchi Hangong, the prince of Khotan, also nodded with a wry smile: "That's right! Those soldiers in black clothes and black swords can only be my brother's Shura Guards!"

Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng turned around and said helplessly: "It's troublesome! I just hope Yuan Zhi's reinforcements can come quickly."

Meng Da looked back at Yutian Prince Yuchi Hangong and sighed: "What is going on?"

The old days.

After Ma Chao, Fa Zheng, Meng Da and Xu Shu were ordered to enter the Western Regions, they began to explore the situation in the Western Regions.

Good news: There are still many countries in the Western Regions that support the Han Dynasty.

Bad news: There are also many countries in the Western Regions today that hate the Han Dynasty.

The countries in the Western Regions are mainly distributed along the north-south roads.

The road to the south is the Silk Road in the popular sense. The major countries from east to west are Shanshan (Loulan), Khotan, and Shache.

The big countries along the northern road from east to west are Cheshi, Yanqi, Qiuci and Shule.

Further west of Shache and Shule is Dayuan.

To the north of Dayuan is Wusun.

To the northwest of Dayuan is Kangju.

To the southwest of Dayuan is the legendary Bactria, which was the Kushan Empire established by the Yuezhi people.

Among these countries, Kangju and Kushan were too far away to find out their attitudes towards the Han Dynasty's return to the Western Regions.

Among the countries that have been discovered, they can be roughly divided into pro-Han, anti-Han and neutral factions.

The pro-Han faction included four countries: Shanshan, Khotan, Shache and Qiuci.

The anti-Han faction included two countries, Shule and Wusun.

The neutral faction included Yanqi, Cheshi and Dayuan.

Ma Chao and others received the news and were about to return to Chang'an to report the affairs of the Western Regions to the emperor, but the King of Khotan suddenly died of illness.

Logically speaking, his eldest son Yuchi Han Gong should have ascended the throne.

Yuchi Han Gong himself was extremely friendly to the Han Dynasty and had great respect for Han culture. Fa Zheng believed that Yuchi Han Gong's succession to the throne would be beneficial to the Han Dynasty itself and had no intention of interfering.

However, his younger brother Yuchi Jiumo, instigated and helped by Shule King Hede, suddenly launched a rebellion and surrounded Yuchi Hangong and Ma Chao in Pishan City, intending to trap and kill them!

"Trust Yuanzhi!"

Fortunately, Xu Shu had not been surrounded before, but took Yuchi Han Gong's token to the west city of the capital of Khotan to ask for help, which gave the besieged people a glimmer of hope.

"And no matter what, we must support the prince to succeed to the throne!"

The Kingdom of Khotan was a big country in the Western Regions and controlled the western passage to the Western Regions, so it was extremely important.

If his younger brother, who believed in Buddhism and was close to the Shule Kingdom, was allowed to succeed to the throne, the Kingdom of Khotan would certainly join the anti-Han camp, which would definitely not be a good thing for the Han Dynasty who wanted to return to the Western Regions!
Ma Chao leaned against the city wall, wiped a sticky liquid from his face that was not sure whether it was sweat or blood, and breathed heavily.

The wind and sand of the Western Regions made Ma Chao's skin extremely rough, but at the same time it also made his character more stable.

"It's a pity that the walls of the Western Region are so low, otherwise how could we have run out of ammunition and food?"

The soil in the Western Regions is soft and the population is not large.

Although Pishan City is one of the most famous cities in the Western Regions, its walls are ultimately not as strong as those of any county town in the Han Dynasty.

"Mengqi, focus on defending the city and think positively."

Meng Da was also trying to make the best of a bad situation: "We don't have strong enough walls for protection, but the other side doesn't have siege weapons like battering rams, right?"

"If the other side has a Thunderbolt Chariot or something... hehe! Then I won't defend myself and will definitely be the first to surrender!"

Fa Zheng glared at Meng Da angrily: "Don't say such things at this time!"

"If the other side really has a siege weapon like the Thunderbolt Chariot, then we are really finished!"

However, Fa Zheng was also annoyed: "If I had known earlier, I would have paid a special visit to Zhuge Kongming when I came here to ask him about the craftsmanship of the Thunderbolt Chariot or the Zhuge Crossbow. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so passive!"

……

When Prince Yuchi Han Gong of Khotan heard the three Han envoys talking about the new and interesting things from the Han Dynasty, he naturally wanted to join in the conversation.

"May I ask the Han envoy, what are the Thunderbolt Chariot and Zhuge Crossbow?"

Meng Da was a talkative person, so when he heard the other party's questions, he naturally told them everything.

"I see."

Yuchi Hangong suddenly realized: "The Zhuge Crossbow is really amazing! It can actually fire continuously... Magical! It's really magical!"

"And the Thunderbolt Chariot can actually reach a distance of 200 steps. It is really powerful. It is unlike the Catapult, which can only reach a distance of 50 steps."

"..."

It was just a casual chat, but Meng Da's eyes were clearly panicked! "What did you say? There are catapults in the Western Regions?"

"Yes, I have!"

Yuchi Han Gong nodded.

"But it didn't come from the Han Dynasty, but from the Qin Kingdom in the west."

The Great Qin Empire!
Hearing this, even Ma Chao and Fa Zheng were a little shocked!
The legendary Qin Empire actually had the wisdom to create a siege weapon like the catapult?
Although Ma Chao and others' horizons have been broadened since they came to the Western Regions and saw many new things, they still couldn't help but marvel at the thought that there might be a civilized country similar to the Han Dynasty at the end of the West.

"It would be nice if I could go to Daqin one day and see the scenery there..."

It’s a pity that the road to the west is now blocked by countries like Shule, Wusun, Kushan, and even Parthia.

Just this hurdle in front of us is not easy to overcome!
"boom!"

As if to verify Meng Da's words, a huge roar was heard outside Pishan City!

Catapult!
Ma Chao quietly stuck his head out and saw a weapon that looked similar to the Thunderbolt Chariot being placed about thirty steps outside the city. It was being loaded with stone bullets and fired towards Pishan City.

"Damn it! It's really a catapult!"

Fa Zheng cursed loudly, and at the same time he was unconsciously worried about the future and fate of himself and others.

Ma Chao bit the dry skin on his lower lip and rubbed it with his teeth.

How can I be willing to die here when I haven't regained my position as the pillar of the country yet?
But the walls of Pishan City were too fragile! After just one round of fist-sized stone bullets, they began to crumble.

Three rounds at most!
After three rounds, the wall of Pishan City will definitely collapse!

Seeing this, Ma Chao simply stood up, walked down the city wall which was less than ten feet high, and chose to mount his warhorse.

Upon seeing this, Fa Zheng and Meng Da also understood Ma Chao's intention, and they mounted their horses and drew their swords.

"Han envoys, there is no need to do this! There is no need to do this!"

Yuchi Han Gong saw that the three of them were clearly determined to die, so he quickly persuaded them:

"How can you let the distinguished Han envoy risk his life because of me?"

Ma Chao held the reins and shook his head at Yuchi Han Gong: "Protecting vassal states is the duty of the Han Dynasty."

"I will open the city gate later. You put on civilian clothes and hide when the opportunity arises. Then wait patiently."

Yuchi Hangong was puzzled: "Who are you waiting for? The Han envoy who was replaced by Xu Yuanzhi?"

"No."

Fa Zheng was about to face life and death at this moment, but instead of being afraid, he was extremely excited!
"If we die here, the emperor will definitely send troops to avenge us and conquer the Western Regions!"

"Although Zijing and I are both unknown people in the Han Dynasty, we are Han envoys issued by the emperor. If we die here together, the emperor will surely be furious!"

"Not to mention……"

Fa Zheng rode up to Ma Chao and patted him on the back in a teasing manner: "This guy was once a pillar of the country after all!"

"Even if he was stripped of his title by the emperor, he is still a pillar of the state! And he is one of the earliest pillars of the state in the Han Dynasty!"

"Although we don't know what the Han Dynasty is like now, and we don't know whether the emperor has pacified Yuan Tan, Cao Cao and others, it is absolutely impossible that a pillar of the country died in battle."

The pillars of the Han Dynasty, except for Ma Chao, who was a "relative", were all famous generals who had fought their way out of the bloodbath of the troubled times! Fa Zheng did not believe that after defeating Yuan Shao, there was still anyone who could threaten them.

"If a former pillar of the state really died in the Western Regions, Prince, you might as well guess what scale of troops the court would send to the Western Regions?"

Meng Da also replied cheerfully: "I guess at least two pillars will be sent out! The general of the cavalry is unlikely... but General Guan Yu or General Zhang Liao is possible!"

Fa Zheng laughed and said, "Good of you, Zi Jing! You are actually thinking about it now? Didn't you just say that if the other side uses a trebuchet to bombard the city, you will surrender to them?"

Meng Da said with a playful smile: "If the people on the other side are also Han Chinese, then I will surrender too!"

"But the people besieging the city are just rebels from the Western Regions! If I surrender, my father down there will probably beat me to death!"

When talking about his father Meng Ta, who was once the governor of Liangzhou and had led troops to the Western Regions, Meng Da felt a little melancholy.

"It's a pity that I can't avenge my father and break through Shule's Zhenzhong City myself!"

"..."

Fa Zheng placed his hands on Meng Da's shoulders to give him strength.

"Don't worry! Sooner or later!"

"The imperial court will certainly send troops to avenge us. By then, no one from Shule or Wusun will be able to escape!"

"Too!"

"..."

Yuchi Hangong looked at the three people with a tingling scalp...

Although I knew early on how terrifying this creature was.

However, after seeing the attitude of Ma Chao and others with his own eyes, Yuchi Hangong was still amazed by this fearless spirit.

I might die here.

But I am sure that the big man behind me will avenge me soon!
This kind of confidence in the Han Dynasty's strength was particularly frightening and envious in Yuchi Hangong's eyes.

"The Han people are indeed very powerful!"

There were rumors before that the Han Dynasty was in great chaos and was about to collapse.

But now seeing the reactions of Ma Chao and others, Yuchi Han Gong can assert that those are all fucking rumors!

If Ma Chao and others die here today... then what will greet the Western Regions will be the terrifying and trembling iron hooves of the Han Dynasty!
(End of this chapter)