Seeing Xie Zhiyu's bewildered expression, He Lian's smugness grew even stronger, and then he turned to give Li Ru a wink.

Li Ru understood, and then cupped his hands towards Xie Zhiyu: "Your Majesty Xie Zhiyu, you may not know this, but in the far west there is a country called Da Qin, also known as Rome."

Rome was as wealthy as the Han Dynasty, but its military strength and city wall defenses were far inferior to those of the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, to the north of Rome lay a vast grassland, inhabited only by scattered barbarian tribes, whose strength was inferior to that of the Wuhuan…”

Li Ru then gave Xie Zhiyu a general account of the situation in Rome and the northern grasslands.

"Oh? I didn't expect there to be a place like this?"

Upon hearing Li Ru's description, Xie Zhiyu's expression shifted: "Is your department's goal and direction perhaps Rome and the western grasslands?"

"That's right. According to intelligence, neither Rome nor those steppe barbarians are a match for our Xianbei cavalry. Once we get there, we can take as much of Rome's wealth and beauties as we want."

"With such a fine place available, why should we stay here and get entangled with this great man?"

He Lian said with a smile, his eyes revealing undisguised ambition and greed whenever Rome was mentioned.

"If that's the case, then it is indeed a good place to settle down and make a living!"

Seeing He Lian's appearance, Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but reveal a hint of longing.

Upon seeing this, He Lian laughed loudly, "Haha~, how about it, King Xie Zhiyu, do you want to come with me? It'll be good for us to look after each other on the way!"

"Um?"

Faced with He Lian's sudden invitation, Xie Zhiyu was taken aback and looked at He Lian with suspicion.

He Lian raised his eyes and said with a smile, "What? Does King Xie Zhiyu think I'm joking?"

"good!"

Xie Zhiyu said in a deep voice, "Since Rome is so good, wouldn't it be better for your tribe to occupy it alone? Why invite us? Aren't you afraid that we will compete with your tribe?"

"Haha, Your Majesty Xiezhi, you may not know this, but the vastness of Rome and the western grasslands is much greater than that of the Han Dynasty."

If my unit went alone, we simply couldn't possibly eat in such a large place.

Furthermore, the combined number of soldiers and civilians from both our units is only a little over 200,000. How could we possibly start a conflict?

When the time comes, you and I can simply divide it in two, so that our respective descendants can each have a place to settle down..."

"Hmm~, if that's the case, then it's not bad!"

Hearing what He Lian said, Xie Zhiyu nodded with a look of interest.

"Of course it's good. Although we two groups had disputes before, we have now left our old homes, so we should naturally be of one mind and cooperate with each other!"

To borrow a phrase from the Emperor of Han: "The western lands are rich and prosperous; it would be a real shame to let those foreign people rule them. If we do not take them, we will truly fail our descendants!"

"What King Helian said is absolutely right. Those alien beings are indeed no good!"

Upon hearing the mention of the aliens in Helian's words, Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but think of the Shi Kingdom people who had migrated from the west.

Although the people of the Stone Kingdom were destroyed by the Han Dynasty and Tan Shihuai, Xie Zhiyu's deliberate inaction was also a contributing factor.

This shows that although the Han, Xianbei, and Xiongnu had been hostile to each other in the past, they were still able to unite against those Western peoples who were fundamentally different in appearance, skin color, and pupils.

This is what they call seeking common ground while reserving differences...

Only then did Xie Zhiyu realize that He Lian's invitation was indeed sincere.

Seeing the change in Xie Zhiyu's expression, He Lian also pressed on, saying, "Alright, since King Xie Zhiyu is also interested, how about we form an alliance? I guarantee that as long as our two tribes form an alliance, my soldiers will no longer attack you."

Furthermore, I can propose some conditions to the Great Han, so that the Great Han will provide your tribe with the same support and assistance…!

"Oh? I wonder how much support the Han Dynasty has given your tribe?"

Hearing that the Xianbei had actually gained the support of the Han Dynasty, Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but ask with a curious expression.

"The exact quantities of food, refined iron, armor, weapons, and various combat training materials are hard to say, but the fighting strength of my Xianbei soldiers is now much stronger than before."

Although they still couldn't defeat the Han army, sweeping across the western countries would be no problem at all..."

Speaking of the aid from the Han Dynasty and the changes in the Xianbei army, He Lian couldn't help but show a hint of pride and satisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhiyu's expression shifted, and he looked up at the Xianbei army behind He Lian.

The trained Xianbei soldiers were clearly superior to the Xiongnu warriors behind them, both in terms of their formations and their armor and weapons.

The Xianbei soldiers at this time were much stronger than when Tan Shihuai had led them.

"If the Han Dynasty could also provide such assistance to our tribe, forming an alliance to advance westward wouldn't be out of the question..."

Looking at the current appearance of the Xianbei soldiers, Xie Zhiyu said with envy.

"That's for sure. His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty has a much broader mind than you and I can imagine. As long as you are willing to move west, I believe he will treat you Xiongnu with the same attitude!"

He laughed loudly, and in his words, he made no attempt to hide his reverence for the Emperor of Han.

Seeing the help and support the Han Dynasty had given him during this time, He Lian was also impressed by the magnanimity of the Han emperor.

"Since King Lian has spoken in this way, then I am willing to form an alliance with your tribe. However, after the alliance, we still need to discuss carefully who will be the master and who will be the assistant!"

Although they agreed to the alliance, Xie Zhiyu did not want to submit to Helian and began to discuss the issue of their respective positions.

He Lian raised his eyes and said, "That goes without saying. Naturally, the Xianbei will be the main force, and you Xiongnu will be the auxiliary force!"

Xie Zhiyu frowned: "King Helian, you're wrong to say that. Why can't my Xiongnu be the master?"

He Lian glared at them and said, "Because we Xianbei are stronger than you, we should serve you!"

"Our Xiongnu are not weak either; it's just that we don't have the weapons and armor provided by the Han army!"

Xie Zhiyu stared at He Lian with wide eyes, showing no intention of backing down.

He Lian slammed his fist on the table: "Alright, since you put it that way, let's each choose some warriors, take off our armor, and have a duel to see who is stronger!"

"Come on then, I'm not afraid of you!!"

Xie Zhiyu slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and glared at He Lian without showing any weakness.

The two, who were originally on good terms and negotiating an alliance, suddenly became at odds over the issue of who should take the lead and who should assist.