In mid-June of the eleventh year of the Kaiyuan era, inside the Deyang Palace.

Liu Hong was engrossed in reading a secret report, which was sent by Cao Cao, who was stationed in the Western Regions.

According to the secret report, Cao Cao had been stationed in Dayuan since last year, and with the cooperation of Li Ru, he had been leading Xianbei and Xiongnu cavalry to harass the Kushan border under the pretext of training troops.

Today, the Kushan people, who have been harassed by the attacks, have migrated inland, and the northeastern border area within a hundred miles has become a no-man's land.

With the influx of nearly 300,000 border refugees, the Kushan border troops were left with no time to spare, and the Kushan government was also preoccupied with a great deal of energy.

This completely exposed the Kangju Kingdom, located in the northern part of the Kushan Empire.

Kangju was a crucial passage for the Xianbei and Xiongnu as they advanced westward.

Therefore, Cao Cao requested permission from Liu Hong in a secret report to capture Kangju and open up the westward route for the Xianbei and Xiongnu so that they could leave the Western Regions as soon as possible.

In the past two years, in order to strengthen the Han Dynasty's control over the Western Regions, Liu Hong has dispatched a large number of officials to serve in various countries in the Western Regions.

Today, although the Western Regions still bear the name of a nation, their actual control is entirely in the hands of the Han Dynasty, and the people of these nations only know the Han Dynasty and not their respective nations.

With just one imperial edict, Liu Hong could depose those kings and truly bring the Western Regions into the territory of the Han Dynasty.

Of course, this has always been something that the imperial court and the people of the Western Regions have been hoping for.

The only problem now is the Xianbei and Xiongnu people stationed in Wusun and Dayuan.

If the Han Dynasty incorporated the Western Regions into its territory, the Xianbei and Xiongnu people would have to leave.

After all, it is the territory of the Han Dynasty, and foreign troops are not allowed to be stationed there, even if they have already submitted to the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, it was still very necessary to take Kangju and open up the westward route for the Xianbei and Xiongnu people.

Only in this way could the Xianbei and Xiongnu leave the Western Regions, and the Han Dynasty bring the Western Regions into its territory. Only then could Cao Cao and the generals stationed in the Western Regions gain the glory and rewards of territorial expansion.

This is also the main reason why Cao Cao sent a secret report wanting to take Kangju.

"Wenruo, come and take a look too!"

After reading Cao Cao's secret report, Liu Hong chuckled and handed it to Xun Yu, who was standing nearby.

After reading it, Xun Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, it seems General Cao is getting a little anxious!"

Liu Hong waved his hand with a smile: "Yes, he's feeling a bit resentful because he heard that I sent Xuande and Wentai overseas!"

The prospect of venturing to other countries, building up power, and establishing a dominant territory was undeniably alluring to Cao Cao.

Therefore, Cao Cao was eager to resolve the matter in the Western Regions so that he could free up his hands to go overseas and create a new world for the Han Dynasty, just like Liu Bei and others.

Xun Yu, who was standing to the side, pondered for a moment and suggested, "Your Majesty, I think this is a good idea. Now, the Kushan Empire has been caught in a vortex of succession struggle due to the meddling of Yuan Shao, Xi Zhicai, and Jia Xu."

Everyone's attention was focused on the imperial court, and no one had the extra energy to interfere in the affairs of the Western Regions and Kangju.

The sooner the imperial court incorporates the Western Regions into its territory, the more time it has to mobilize troops and prepare for future expeditions!

"Excellent, Wenruo's suggestion is very good. The Western Regions are now in the hands of our Great Han. The sooner we take them, the sooner we can feel at ease!"

After listening to Xun Yu's suggestion, Liu Hong nodded in agreement.

Although the Western Regions still faced various problems at this time, such as the estrangement between people from different countries, the different policies implemented in different regions, and the education of the people in the Western Regions.

These problems cannot be solved by taking things slowly, so there is no point in delaying them any longer.

Sometimes you can slowly boil a frog in water, but other times you need to cut the Gordian knot.

In any case, let's annex the Western Regions first. As for the various potential problems, let's just deal with them decisively. If diplomacy doesn't work, then let's use force. Anyway, apart from the Eastern Qiang in the northwest, the Han Dynasty has no other border troubles and has the energy to solve these problems.

After figuring this out, Liu Hong immediately approved Cao Cao's secret report with the word "Approved".

Then, Liu Hong wrote a line of smaller characters below: Stay put and guard the post, do not have any other thoughts!

After approving the report, Liu Hong handed the secret report to Xun Yu and instructed him: "Go and send this secret report to the Privy Council, and have the General Staff send a team of advisors to Cao Cao to take orders!"

He also ordered the cabinet to bestow upon Cao Cao the title of General Who Guards the West, allowing him to continue guarding the Western Regions!

"Your Majesty, why...?"

Xun Yu was slightly taken aback and looked at Liu Hong with some confusion.

Based on his understanding of the emperor, Cao Cao is the most favored by His Majesty among all the civil and military officials in the court.

He originally thought that the emperor would understand Cao Cao's intentions and, after resolving the Western Regions issue, would send him overseas to create a new world like Liu Bei and his comrades.

As it turned out, the emperor not only didn't mean that, but also made it clear that he wanted Cao Cao to continue guarding the Western Regions, which made Xun Yu somewhat puzzled.

Seeing Xun Yu's puzzled look, Liu Hong shook his head and said helplessly, "It seems that Wenruo has also misunderstood my thoughts?"

"this……"

Xun Yu was slightly taken aback, then bowed deeply: "I hope Your Majesty will enlighten me!"

Liu Hong gestured for Xun Yu to sit down, then said slowly, "I sent Xuande and Wentai out to build up their forces, but only as a backup plan."

The Han Dynasty is unable to do anything to Rome and Parthia in the short term; its primary target at present is the Kushan Empire.

In addition, there are many countries and islands in the southeast and southwest sea areas. Solving these problems alone could take decades or even centuries.

As for Rome and Parthia, they can only be treated as concessions and colonies; it would be very difficult to occupy them.

Therefore, Xuande and Wentai are sufficient; sending more people would be of no use.

After listening to Liu Hong's explanation, Xun Yu couldn't help but look up at the map hanging behind the emperor.

This map was re-surveyed and marked this year, with the southeastern sea area of ​​the Great Han Dynasty and the southwestern kingdoms marked particularly clearly.

Xun Yu suddenly realized that His Majesty's focus was still on the Southeast Asia and the southwestern countries.

After all, these are all on their own doorstep, so it's still feasible to take control and dominate them.

As for Rome and Parthia, the Han Dynasty could at most fragment them and occupy a part of them to maintain its influence. It was clearly unrealistic to want to occupy them all.

"Well, Wenruo, have you figured it out yet?"

"Your Majesty, I understand!"

"That's good. It's good to think ahead, but when it comes to doing things, we still need to focus on the present!"

"yes!"