Dong Zhuo's words were almost shouted out, which stunned not only the residents of the town, but also the guards who were with him.

"The Xiongnu stopped raiding because of us? What did we do? Did we fight them? Or did we offer them love and warmth?"

This was the shared thought of all the guards present...

The town's residents, however, looked bewildered, clearly not understanding what Dong Zhuo meant.

Seeing everyone's bewildered expressions, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but grin, finally experiencing the self-satisfied smugness of the civil officials.

"Ahem, you shall all listen to my explanation in detail..."

Dong Zhuo then cleared his throat and said loudly, "The reason why the Xiongnu did not plunder you when they passed through here is because our Han army had an agreement with them before."

Although you are people from the Western Regions, you are also subjects of my Great Han. The Xiongnu people must not plunder, otherwise they will be enemies of my Great Han!

They are afraid of our great Han Dynasty, that's why they dare not act rashly against you, do you all understand?

Upon hearing this, the residents below the stage immediately understood and all looked enlightened.

"So that's how it is! No wonder the Xiongnu were so obedient!"

"The Han Dynasty is truly powerful; it has managed to keep these Xiongnu wolves so well-behaved!"

"That's right, only with the protection of the Han Dynasty can we live a peaceful life..."

The town's residents were discussing the matter animatedly, their faces beaming with joy.

They clearly approved of becoming subjects of the Han Dynasty as described by Dong Zhuo.

Seeing the residents below the stage so excited, Dong Zhuo on the stage was overjoyed.

He was extremely proud of himself for taking advantage of the fact that the Xiongnu had not plundered and attributed it to the Han Dynasty, thus successfully winning over the hearts of the people.

Whether the agreement he mentioned actually exists is no longer important.

After all, with Yuan Shao's brilliant example before him, Dong Zhuo was also able to secretly sign an agreement with the Xiongnu.

If I didn't sign it before, can I sign it later...?

Then, Dong Zhuo laughed and shouted, "Alright, you all know what happened, so disperse. Remember, from now on you are subjects of the Han Dynasty, and no one will be able to bully you anymore!"

"Thank you, great man! Thank you, general!"

Upon hearing this, the residents below the stage smiled with excitement, bowed repeatedly to Dong Zhuo to express their gratitude, and then dispersed.

After the town's residents had dispersed, Dong Zhuo also summoned the several burly merchants.

"We have met the general. What are your orders?"

Several merchants bowed respectfully to Dong Zhuo, their voices trembling slightly with excitement.

The excitement of seeing one's own army in a distant land is indescribable.

Dong Zhuo asked with a friendly expression, "Where are you all from? How long have you been in the Western Regions?"

"Reporting to the General, we are all from Yangzhou. Since the imperial court completed the Grand Canal, we have frequently traveled to the Chang'an area to do business."

Hearing that there were many good things in the Western Regions, we came here together, and it's been more than two years now…!

One of the middle-aged men recounted his arrival to Dong Zhuo in detail.

Dong Zhuo raised an eyebrow: "I didn't expect the Grand Canal to be so convenient. Even people from Jiangnan are coming to the Western Regions?"

"Yes, starting from Yangzhou, traveling north by boat along the canal is more than twenty times faster than before, and the amount of goods transported is more than five times greater."

The man smiled happily as he spoke of the Grand Canal.

With the Grand Canal now in existence, true north-south connectivity has been achieved, and the first to benefit were these merchants.

Dong Zhuo smiled and then asked, "What I'm curious about is that the imperial court is currently promoting maritime trade. Why are you people from Jiangnan coming here instead of engaging in maritime business?"

"We're all Han people, so why distinguish between Jiangnan and Jiangbei? As for where to do business, it all depends on what goods you need!"

"Haha~, well said, but let's not talk about that today. I have some things to tell you!"

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's words, Dong Zhuo laughed loudly and steered the conversation back on track.

"General, please give your orders. It is our honor to do something for the Han army. We will never back down, even if it means going through fire and water!"

Upon hearing that Dong Zhuo had something he needed them to do, the merchants quickly nodded excitedly and agreed.

Dong Zhuo waved his hand with a smile: "Haha, I won't need to go through fire and water for you, it's just to deliver a message!"

"Pass on a message?"

The merchants were stunned for a moment, then looked at Dong Zhuo with puzzled expressions.

"Nothing else. It's just that while you're doing business, you should relay what I just said to the people of Kucha in other towns, telling them that it was our Han Dynasty that took them in as its subjects and protected them, thus saving them from being plundered by the Xiongnu..."

"I see. Please rest assured, General. We are merchants, and we are quite skilled in rhetoric. We will surely make those people of Kucha regard the Han Dynasty as our benefactors..."

Upon hearing Dong Zhuo's instructions, the merchants boasted and patted their chests as they made their promises.

Seeing this, Dong Zhuo laughed and said, "Very well, if this matter is accomplished, I will record a merit for you and grant you the status of military merchants. That's not out of the question!"

"Thank you, General!"

Upon hearing Dong Zhuo mention "military merchants," the merchants were overjoyed and immediately bowed to Dong Zhuo in gratitude.

The term "military merchant" refers to merchants who cooperate with the military, specializing in trading with the military and providing military supplies such as uniforms, cloth, food and drink, and various daily necessities.

Although the military has strict requirements and the profits are not very high, that identity is the most important thing.

With the identity of a military merchant, wherever they went, as long as they could find the Han army, they could receive the Han army's protection, or even hire the Han army to protect their caravans. For merchants who frequently traded abroad, this was a rare and desirable opportunity.

Subsequently, Dong Zhuo selected five hundred Imperial Guard soldiers to escort these individuals, and they set off in different directions.

After arranging everything, Dong Zhuo did not linger and led his army to continue marching towards the capital of Kucha.

Seeing the Han army leave, the residents of the small town spontaneously came out of their homes to see them off.

"Brother Dong's plan is truly brilliant! The Xiongnu did a good deed, but all the credit goes to our Han Dynasty. Tsk tsk tsk, amazing!!"

Li Jue turned his head and looked at the residents who were seeing off the Han army behind him, and couldn't help but praise Dong Zhuo.

Dong Zhuo laughed loudly and said smugly, "Haha, this is the benefit of reading more books! You all should learn more from this in the future!"