April of the 26th year of the Kaiyuan era.

Liu Hong summoned Crown Prince Liu Cheng and his second son Liu Xuan to the Weiyang Palace.

Needless to say, the Crown Prince's assignment to Yizhou has already been put on the agenda, and the second son, Liu Xuan, has turned fourteen this year, reaching the age to take up his fief.

Subsequently, Liu Hong issued an edict, bestowing upon Liu Xuan the title of King of Kushan, and sending him to Kushan to preside over local government affairs.

With Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Lü Bu, Zhang He, and others there, plus the 300,000 troops stationed in Xinjiang, Liu Xuan could settle down there peacefully.

No one, inside or outside the palace, raised any objection to Liu Hong's decision.

This is just the beginning. In the future, the overseas territories of the Han Dynasty will ultimately be overseen by princes.

After all, it is absolutely impossible to directly rule over vast overseas territories.

All Liu Hong could do was to make the occupied territories as Sinicized as possible. Even if the Han colony eventually disintegrated, at least the Han people's system and culture could be preserved.

The limit that Liu Hong could achieve was to spread Han people all over the world; anything more than that was beyond his reach.

As his two sons were about to depart, Liu Hong also held a family banquet in the palace.

Looking at his eldest son, second son, and a host of children surrounding him, Liu Hong also enjoyed this rare moment of family reunion.

Although those born into the imperial family enjoy wealth and privilege that ordinary people cannot attain, they are also destined not to experience the same family happiness as ordinary people.

...

April 15th, west of Luoyang.

A thousand imperial guards from Hejian stood in strict formation on both sides of the road.

Looking at his eldest and second sons, who were fully prepared for the journey, as well as Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, Ma Chao, and others who accompanied them, Liu Hong nodded with a look of satisfaction.

Liu Hong stepped forward and patted his eldest son on the shoulder: "Do your job well, I'm waiting for your good news!"

As he spoke, Liu Hong also cast encouraging glances at his second son and Zhou Yu and the others.

"Father, rest assured, I will never let you down!" Liu Cheng replied loudly, his eyes filled with determination and confidence.

Although Liu Xuan, Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and others behind him did not speak, their faces were flushed, clearly indicating that they were very excited.

Compared to their fathers, these second-generation descendants who grew up alongside the Han Dynasty undoubtedly had a greater reverence for the emperor.

"Alright, let's go!"

Liu Hong waved to the crowd without saying anything more. He believed that these people would not let him down.

Amidst the drifting willow catkins, Liu Cheng and his entourage embarked on a journey to a place thousands of miles away, with a thousand Imperial Guards protecting them on both sides.

Of course, after Liu Cheng and his group set off, another merchant caravan also left Luoyang and followed behind Liu Cheng and his party.

This caravan consisted of about five hundred people. These were the most elite spies carefully selected by Cheng Yu from the Investigation Bureau, and the leader was Chen Gong from Zhongmu County.

It's early November.

After a long journey, Liu Cheng and his party finally arrived in Kushan territory.

After handing Liu Xuan over to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Liu Cheng refused Lü Bu's offer to send troops to escort him, and then led his men and a thousand Imperial Guards to continue their journey towards Yizhou.

Amidst the falling snow, Liu Cheng turned to look at Guo Jia, who was coughing incessantly beside him, his eyes filled with worry.

"Fengxiao, you're not feeling well, why don't you rest in the carriage?"

Among the group, Guo Jia was the youngest, but also the most clever and resourceful, which made him Liu Cheng's favorite. Now that Guo Jia had caught a cold, Liu Cheng was naturally very worried.

"It's alright, I can handle it!"

Guo Jia politely declined Liu Cheng's offer, since His Highness the Crown Prince was traveling on horseback, how could he possibly ride in a carriage?

Furthermore, being naturally proud, he didn't want to be looked down upon by his companions.

"Fengxiao, look at your face, it's as red as a branding iron. Hurry up and go to the carriage to rest, otherwise your condition will worsen and the whole team will have to wait for you!"

In the team, only the straightforward Cao Zhang could speak like that.

Compared to Cao Song and Cao Cao's shrewdness and intelligence, Cao Zhang, with his yellow beard and straightforward nature, was somewhat out of place in the Cao family.

However, this is also why Liu Cheng relied on Cao Zhang the most.

"Fengxiao, listen to His Highness and go back to the carriage to rest. That way, I can take care of you!" Sima Yi, who was standing to the side, also advised, but there was not much concern in his words.

"Zhongda, I think you just want to go back to the carriage and slack off, don't you?"

Sun Jian, who was next to Sima Yi, chuckled, seemingly not too worried about Guo Jia's condition.

This time, in addition to the thousand imperial guards accompanying the emperor, they were also accompanied by several of Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing's most accomplished disciples.

To put it dramatically, as long as someone is still alive, there's basically no one they can't save. Guo Jia's mere cold is naturally no problem for them.

"Sun Bofu, will you die if you don't say anything?" Sima Yi, caught off guard, was immediately embarrassed. "I'm not like Your Highness, with a robust physique. What's wrong with getting in the carriage for a cup of hot tea?"

Liu Cheng, who was in front, waved his hand and said in a way that left no room for refusal: "Alright, stop fooling around. Zhongda, help Fengxiao into the carriage to rest!"

"Yes, sir!"

Sima Yi agreed and then pulled Guo Jia into the carriage behind.

Due to the heavy snow and difficult roads, it was clearly difficult for Liu Cheng and his men, who were on their first march, to cope.

However, these teenagers persevered through gritted teeth, and not one of them suggested taking a break.

“General, should we slow down a bit? We don’t mind, but His Highness the Crown Prince is of noble birth, I’m afraid…” At the front of the group, a member of the Imperial Guard looked hesitantly at the officer leading the group.

"Before I set off, His Majesty summoned me and forbade me from showing any favors to His Highness, except in cases of mortal danger, otherwise..."

In the end, the Imperial Guard officer also had a bitter expression on his face. No matter where he was, he dared not disobey the emperor's orders.

Upon hearing this, the imperial guards around him remained silent and continued on their way.

Just as Liu Cheng and his entourage arrived at the southwestern border of the Kushan Empire and were heading towards Yizhou, news of the Crown Prince's deployment to Yizhou reached Linhai City, the capital of Yizhou.

Upon hearing the news, Chu Qian and Jian Shuo, who were in charge of Yizhou affairs, were also greatly shocked. Neither of them expected that the emperor would dare to send the crown prince to Yizhou, which was thousands of miles away. This was the first time in all the dynasties that such a thing had happened.

Chu Qian and Jian Shuo were both staunch supporters of the imperial party, and naturally showed unwavering loyalty to their future heir.

So, regardless of how bad the weather was, the two immediately ordered the recruitment of laborers and began to work on the construction of a temporary palace for the Crown Prince.