After several months of hard work, with the assistance of veteran officials such as Cao Song and Yuan Feng, all the tribes and people south of the Qilian Mountains and around the Western Sea began to migrate into the territory of the Han Dynasty.

As for Qinghai and Tibet, Liu Hong plans to relocate Han Chinese there for development and grazing.

They relocated the local inhabitants to the territory of the Han Dynasty, and then moved some people from the Han Dynasty to develop the area.

This not only greatly saves time and costs in assimilation and transformation, but also ensures peace between regions to the greatest extent.

After everything was arranged, Liu Hong led his army back to Jincheng.

After staying in Jincheng for a few days, Liu Hong suddenly issued an unexpected order—to go to the Western Regions.

"Your Majesty, you have been away from court for nearly half a year now. It is really not appropriate for you to stay away any longer. You should return to court as soon as possible and take charge of state affairs!"

Inside the council hall, Cao Song, who always followed the emperor's lead, unusually contradicted Liu Hong.

“Yes, Your Majesty, it is really inappropriate for the Emperor to be away from court for so long!” Yuan Feng, who rarely agreed with Cao Song, began to advise Liu Hong.

Liu Hong said with a serious expression, "My two ministers, the affairs of the court are stable now, and there are no major matters that require my attention. On the contrary, the Western Regions require my attention due to political factors!"

"Uh...political factors?"

Cao Song was slightly taken aback, and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, could it be that you wish to go to the Western Regions to try their local specialties...?"

In Cao Song's view, everything in the Western Regions is stable now, and it will only be a matter of one or two years before it is incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty. Apart from taking a few women from the Western Regions to stabilize the people's hearts, the emperor's trip seems to have no other political reasons.

"Minister Cao, you mustn't speak nonsense!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong's face darkened, and he glared at Cao Song with annoyance.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was being presumptuous!"

Seeing the emperor's displeasure, Cao Song awkwardly retreated.

Liu Hong shook his head helplessly, then looked at Xun Yu beside him: "Wenruo, why don't you explain this to our ministers?"

"Here you go!"

Xun Yu agreed, then bowed to Cao Song and the others, and said slowly, "Gentlemen, you must know that the discord between Shandong and Shanxi in our Great Han Dynasty has a long history."

It wasn't until His Majesty ascended the throne and everyone focused all their efforts on external affairs that this situation was gradually corrected.

Beyond the struggle for the right to speak, this conflict is primarily a struggle for identity.

If the capital is established in Luoyang, people from Guandong will unconsciously center themselves out and marginalize people from Guanxi. Over time, this will inevitably lead to instability and create estrangement.

The reason why the people of Kansai had always hoped that His Majesty would return the capital to Chang'an was precisely because of this.

This situation only improved after the roads and canals between Chang'an and Luoyang were connected!

Xun Yu spoke eloquently, while the ministers listened attentively.

Although what Xun Yu said was unrelated to the initial topic, everyone believed that Xun Yu would not speak without reason.

"The Western Regions have only been effectively brought under the rule of the Han Dynasty in recent years. For the Han people who migrated to the Western Regions and the locals who joined the Han nationality, they are actually very sensitive about their identity and status."

Due to the distance, this place is much farther from the imperial court than Kansai, and they are actually more afraid of being marginalized.

Once a rift develops in their hearts, even if the Western Regions are incorporated into the Han Dynasty's territory, they will eventually slip out of control.

"Your Majesty's trip to the Western Regions is less of an inspection tour and less of a pacification effort. It's about showing the people of the Western Regions that Your Majesty and the court still value them greatly!"

Xun Yu paused slightly at this point, then continued, "Your Majesty's plans have always been far-sighted. Apart from appeasing the people and eliminating estrangement, your primary objective is still the Kushan Empire."

Not long ago, General Cao Mengde received a large number of refugees and women from the Kushans, and he needs to be properly appeased..."

At this point, Xun Yu wisely shut his mouth and said no more.

Understanding the thoughts of one's superior is an essential skill for a subject, but trying to decipher the superior's intentions is not so good.

Sure enough, upon hearing Xun Yu's words, everyone present immediately understood.

The emperor's trip was likely intended to leave a good reputation among the Kushan people through political propaganda.

In this way, when the Han army invades the Kushan Empire in the future, this seemingly insignificant reputation may play a crucial role.

Cao Song, Yuan Feng, and other veteran officials quietly left and began preparations for the emperor's western tour.

Half a month later, Liu Hong, riding in the emperor's carriage, arrived at Yangguan, west of Dunhuang.

Accompanying Liu Hong were 10,000 Imperial Guards, Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Yu Jin, and 40,000 Liangzhou soldiers.

"Wasn't this where Wenyou left from back then?"

Stepping onto the city wall of Yangguan and looking at the vast wilderness beyond the pass, Liu Hong couldn't help but feel a touch of melancholy.

"Your Majesty, Wenyou once said that he would come back!" Lü Bu, who was standing beside Liu Hong, stepped forward to comfort him.

"If that's the case, I will definitely come personally to take him home!"

As he spoke, Liu Hong smiled slightly, his eyes filled with anticipation and hope.

After staying in Yangguan for two days, the group officially set foot on the land of the Western Regions.

Both the Han Chinese who had migrated there and the local people who had already been registered as citizens showed great enthusiasm for the arrival of the emperor.

Wherever the procession went, the roadsides were packed with people who came to pay their respects.

Many civilians also spontaneously brought their treasured food and wine to entertain the soldiers, relieving the army of worries about replenishing supplies.

Just as he had done when he ascended the throne, Liu Hong ordered the removal of the canopy and curtains from his carriage so that the people could see him more clearly.

After another half month of travel, Liu Hong and his party finally arrived at Gaochang Kingdom, the location of the new Protectorate of the Western Regions.

Here, Liu Hong once again received a grand welcome. Seventy percent of the people within a two-hundred-mile radius spontaneously came to welcome the emperor.

After all, Liu Hong was the first emperor in the history of the Han Dynasty to come to the Western Regions, which is enough to show the importance that the emperor and the court attached to the Western Regions, and further strengthened the cohesion of the local military and civilians.

Of course, the people most excited about Liu Hong's arrival were the estate owners from the Western Regions.

Most of these estate owners were illegitimate or collateral descendants of prominent families.

These people had no power in their original families, which is why they were "exiled" to this western land.

As the Silk Road flourished, these estate owners naturally began to think about competing with their direct descendants.

All they could do was show the emperor and his ministers that they were doing a great job here, even more so than the direct descendants of the emperor.