Gaochang Kingdom.

Squads of soldiers patrolled the city walls. Yuan Shao, clad in armor, gazed northward with a grave expression.

After a long period of fighting with the Xiongnu, only more than 30,000 troops remain to defend Gaochang.

He had already recruited almost all of the more than 200,000 men from the eastern kingdoms of the Western Regions.

If there are a few more major wars, the men in these countries will probably all die out.

Fortunately, since the weather turned cold, Xie Zhiyu, who had been constantly sending troops to attack Gaochang, has stopped.

This allowed the Western Regions garrison, which had been under high tension, to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, for Yuan Shao now, his greatest enemy in the Western Regions is no longer the Xiongnu people of Xiezhiyu, but the powerful states of the Western Regions such as Kucha, Wusun, and Dayuan.

The reason why Xie Zhiyu stopped attacking Gaochang was probably because he noticed the abnormalities of those major powers.

"Benchu, news has arrived from Yangguan!"

Just as Yuan Shao was deep in thought, Dong Zhuo ran up from below the city wall, holding a letter in his hand.

"Phew, they've finally arrived!"

Yuan Shao took the letter and glanced at it; his previously grave expression immediately eased.

According to the report from the garrison commander of Yangguan, just the day before yesterday, a Xianbei cavalry force of 20,000 men passed through Yangguan. Behind them, nearly 60,000 Xianbei people were marching westward. It was expected that all of these Xianbei people would enter the Western Regions before winter.

As one of the emperor's confidants, Yuan Shao naturally knew about Liu Hong's expulsion plan.

Now that the Xianbei people have arrived in the Western Regions as planned, the problems I was worried about will be solved.

After putting the letter away, Yuan Shao turned to Dong Zhuo beside him and said in a deep voice, "General Zhongying, please send someone to contact the Xianbei people ahead immediately and see if they need any help. We can then lend a hand and help them continue westward as soon as possible!"

"Benchu, shouldn't we obtain His Majesty's permission for such a matter?"

Dong Zhuo frowned as he looked at Yuan Shao. Although he knew some things about the expulsion plan, he still had some reservations about helping the former enemy of the Han Dynasty.

Yuan Shao smiled and said, "Don't worry, His Majesty will agree. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let them come over from Yangguan!"

Despite Yuan Shao's confident demeanor, Dong Zhuo still showed a hint of hesitation. Just as he was about to say something, a soldier rushed over.

"General Yuan, His Majesty has sent an imperial edict!"

Yuan Shao smiled and looked at Dong Zhuo: "General Zhongying, let's go and receive His Majesty's edict first!"

"good!"

Dong Zhuo nodded, then he and Yuan Shao descended from the city wall and headed towards the government office.

Soon, Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo arrived at the government office, where a member of the Imperial Guard responsible for delivering imperial edicts was standing in the front hall holding a decree.

Zhang Xiu, Li Jue, Guo Si, Hua Xiong, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and others stood respectfully on both sides of the front hall.

Upon seeing Yuan Shao arrive, the Imperial Guard immediately raised the imperial edict high and proclaimed, "The Emperor's edict has been issued; Yuan Shao, receive the decree!"

"Your subject, Yuan Shao, has received the imperial edict!!"

Yuan Shao shouted and immediately bowed to the imperial edict. Dong Zhuo, Zhang Xiu, and others also bowed.

Then, the Imperial Guards opened the imperial edict and read it aloud: "Now, a powerful force has entered the Western Regions, causing instability and unrest in the region. In order to relieve the worries of the Western Regions, the Great Han has re-established the Protectorate, appointing Liu Yu as the Protector-General of the Western Regions and Yuan Shao as his assistant. The two will be in charge of the political and military affairs of the Western Regions respectively. All other generals must do their best to assist him and ensure that the Western Regions are stabilized as soon as possible!"

"My lord, I obey the order!"

Upon hearing the contents of the imperial edict, Yuan Shao's face lit up with joy. He shouted loudly and respectfully accepted the edict into his hands.

After handing the imperial edict to Yuan Shao, the imperial guard took out a letter from his bosom: "General Yuan, this is a personal letter from His Majesty!"

Thank you.

Upon hearing that it was a letter written in the Emperor's own hand, Yuan Shao's face lit up with even greater joy. After thanking the Imperial Guards, he respectfully accepted the letter.

After opening the envelope, Yuan Shao read it in front of everyone.

In this letter, Liu Hong also truthfully told Yuan Shao about Li Ru's identity, and asked Yuan Shao to help Li Ru while also cooperating with Li Ru's actions in the Western Regions.

"I never imagined there could be such a loyal person, willing to give up everything for the Han Dynasty!"

After reading the letter, Yuan Shao was deeply moved and held Li Ru in the highest esteem.

After having the letter circulated among his generals, Yuan Shao burned it in front of his personal guards.

After seeing off the Imperial Guards, Yuan Shao immediately turned to look at Li Jue, who was in charge of military supplies.

"General Li, what is the situation regarding food supplies in the city?"

Li Jue said with a smile, "The city has ample food supplies, enough for all the soldiers and civilians in the city for five years!"

"good!"

Yuan Shao nodded and then said, "I would trouble General Li to immediately arrange for half of the grain to be transported to a location fifty li east of the city!"

"clear!"

Li Jue nodded, cupped his hands in greeting to Yuan Shao, and then strode out.

Yuan Shao then looked at Guo Si and said in a deep voice, "I request that you immediately summon the artisans in the army to manufacture a batch of siege weapons, making them as easy to disassemble and transport as possible!"

"yes!"

Guo Si agreed and turned to walk quickly outside.

"General Zhang Xiu!"

After taking Li Jue and Guo Si away, Yuan Shao turned to Zhang Xiu beside him and said, "Please go to the palace immediately and find Queen Lanzhi. Ask her to mobilize all the women in the city to quickly make a batch of cotton clothes!"

Zhang Xiu: "Yes!"

"Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Hua Xiong, the three of you will each go to Shanshan, Xiaowan, and Qiemo to requisition a batch of cotton and some skilled Han immigrants!"

"Here you go!"

The three responded in unison and then quickly left.

After everyone had left, Yuan Shao turned to look at Dong Zhuo.

Before Yuan Shao could speak, Dong Zhuo interjected, "Benchu, I wish to personally visit the Xianbei people!"

Yuan Shao was slightly taken aback: "Zhongying wants to go in person...?"

"Benchu, this Li Ru has been hiding alone in the enemy camp for so many years, and will continue to do so in the future. His loneliness is unimaginable. I want to go and have a good drink with him, so that he can also experience the camaraderie between comrades...!"

Dong Zhuo paused for a moment, then continued, "Rest assured, Benchu, I will absolutely not reveal his identity!"

"No...Zhongying has misunderstood!"

Upon hearing Dong Zhuo's last words, Yuan Shao smiled and shook his head: "Actually, I also want to go there myself and have a good talk with him!"

"Haha, I, Benchu, bear a heavy responsibility; how could I leave so easily? I will convey your message for you!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo burst into laughter and rushed out before Yuan Shao could react.