Zhang He, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and other generals who rushed into the city headed straight for the Third Prince's palace.

Their goal was clear: the third prince. This would be a great achievement, and everyone wanted it.

On the palace square, the three prince's five thousand personal guards were being slaughtered and forced to retreat under the attack of a group of fierce generals.

Finally, when Zhang He and his men found the third prince, he had already been tied up by several of his ministers.

"Hmph, take him away!"

Looking at the group of Kushan ministers kneeling on the ground begging for surrender, Zhang He snorted coldly and turned to leave. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would not be able to resist killing these cowardly fellows.

Outside the Eastern Capital, in the Han army camp, inside the central command tent.

Liu Hong looked at the third prince kneeling on the ground and asked expressionlessly, "Do you plead guilty?"

"Your subject confesses!"

Although he did not know what crime he had committed, the third prince still lowered his head.

Liu Hong raised an eyelid: "From this day forward, I hereby demote you to the title of Marquis of Hunli and send you to the Great Han to guard the tombs of my soldiers!"

Upon hearing this, the third prince trembled, his eyes fixed on the ground. Finally, he closed his eyes and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you for Your Majesty's grace!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Hong immediately waved his hand, ordering two guards to take the third prince away.

Shortly after Liu Hong's army captured the eastern capital, generals such as Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, Xu Huang, and Xu Chu also reported their victories, with the eldest and second princes captured alive.

Zhang Jiao's Taiping Rebellion Army also announced that it was disbanding its troops and that all cities, lands, and people under its control would be under the administration of the Han Dynasty.

Subsequently, Hachi, the new leader of the Buddhist sect, also declared that the Great Han was a celestial empire and that the Kushan should be under the rule of the Great Han.

With the support of the Taiping and Futu sects, and the continuous propaganda of the Salvation Army, the surviving people in the Kushan Empire also accepted the rule of the Han Dynasty.

Thus, after half a year, the Kushan Empire was completely destroyed.

After the war, Liu Hong did not rush to leave, but stayed there temporarily to guide the post-war affairs.

First, Liu Hong drafted an edict granting the Kushan Kingdom to his second son, Liu Xuan, and appointed Yuan Shao as the acting prime minister of the Kushan Kingdom.

In this campaign, the Han army captured nearly 400,000 Kushan soldiers, and Liu Hong enslaved all of them to build a passage connecting Xinzhou with Kushan.

Subsequently, Liu Hong issued an urgent edict to the court, ordering it to organize immigration and arrange for aristocratic families, merchants, workshop owners, and others to settle and produce goods in the Kushan Empire.

After everything was arranged, the rewarding of merits, which the soldiers had been eagerly anticipating, began.

In the Kushan capital, in front of a wide square, a group of military officers, all dressed in brand-new uniforms, stood upright in the center of the square.

In front of the square, on a temporary high platform, Liu Hong sat upright on the imperial throne, his face slightly flushed.

After glancing at the generals below the platform, Liu Hong looked at his personal guards and said in a deep voice, "Let's begin!"

"Here you go!"

The guard agreed, then took out an imperial edict from a tray and announced loudly, "Lu Bu, step forward to receive your investiture!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Lu Bu, whose name was called first, took a step forward with excitement.

The guard unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud: "Lu Bu of Jiuyuan is a loyal and brave man. He joined the army when he was young and has made great achievements in battle over the past twenty years. Now he has captured the enemy leader alive in Kushan. His merit is great. He is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Champion!"

"The Marquis of Champion...!"

Upon hearing the imperial decree delivered by the guards, the scene erupted in uproar. No one had expected that the emperor would actually release the title of Marquis of Champion.

For a moment, all the generals looked at Lü Bu, the protagonist, with envy.

These military officers all came from the Imperial Guard. Under Liu Hong's deliberate guidance, they all regarded the Marquis of Champion as their idol and worked tirelessly for him.

"This humble general thanks Your Majesty for your divine grace!!"

Lu Bu, who was standing in front, could not hide his excitement and immediately bowed deeply to Liu Hong.

After years of pursuing his dream, Lü Bu, who was over thirty years old and had served in the army for many years, could not contain his excitement.

Subsequently, Liu Hong personally pinned the medal on Lü Bu and bestowed upon him an official seal.

Next was Cao Cao, who was promoted to First-Class Marquis of Dongdu; Yuan Shao was promoted to First-Class Marquis of Xicheng; and other generals such as Zhang He, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, and Yu Jin were also rewarded.

In addition to the generals, Liu Hong also bestowed rewards upon the 300,000 Han soldiers who participated in the battle.

Due to the successive battles between the three princes, more than 70% of the Kushan lands became unclaimed.

Liu Hong divided these lands into two parts: half was sold to powerful families and merchants who came to set up manors and workshops, while the other half was awarded to meritorious soldiers.

For Liu Hong, completely annexing the Kushan Empire was extremely difficult. The only solution he could think of was to distribute the land among the fiefdoms and allow those who received the fiefdoms to govern the region on behalf of the imperial court.

Moreover, by rewarding those lands to the soldiers, they can better protect the land and prevent it from being taken away by others in the future.

As winter approached, Liu Hong returned to Luoyang, while Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Lü Bu, Xu Huang, and the 300,000-strong army that had set out on the expedition remained in Kushan to oversee local security and reconstruction.

...

On the streets of Luoyang, countless students from the Imperial Academy and other colleges spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate the Han Dynasty's great achievement of conquering the Kushan Empire.

Twenty-two years have passed since Liu Hong ascended the throne. During these years, various reform policies have been introduced and various inventions and creations have emerged.

The promotion of papermaking and printing, in particular, led to a leap in the number of intellectuals in the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, through the continuous influence of new learning, these new generation students have a broader perspective than their predecessors.

Therefore, these students were able to better understand the unimaginable benefits and impacts that came with the Han Dynasty conquering the Kushan Empire.

Everyone is genuinely delighted to live in such an era.

Compared to the students, the ordinary people within the Great Han territory had little understanding of conquering the Kushan Empire, but they knew it was a good thing.

Over the past two decades, people's lives have improved more and more. From no longer worrying about hunger at the beginning to having no worries about food and clothing later, it can be described as an unprecedented golden age for the people.

Therefore, no matter what the emperor and the court do, the people will unconditionally support and endorse them.