Upon learning that the Han army had finally left Dunhuang, the Yuezhi, who had been living in constant fear, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out that when Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo were stationed in Dunhuang, they were extremely bored, so they turned their attention to the Lesser Yuezhi south of Dunhuang.

It was Dong Zhuo who, for some unknown reason, got completely drunk and, riding a horse unsteadily, led five thousand Xiliang cavalry into the territory of the Lesser Yuezhi.

Upon learning of the sudden attack by the Han army, the Lesser Yuezhi did not hesitate and immediately organized their forces to resist.

As a result, the 20,000 troops that the Lesser Yuezhi had painstakingly organized were ambushed by the Xiliang cavalry before they even saw the Han army, and were routed.

While Dong Zhuo was drunk, he was hacking and slashing, and he was also shouting that he wanted to cut off the head of the Left Wise King and make it into a wine cup.

In the battle, more than 2,000 soldiers of the Lesser Yuezhi were killed, and their leader was also beheaded by Dong Zhuo.

After sobering up and seeing the head of the Yuezhi leader, Dong Zhuo slapped his forehead and shouted: "I was drunk and went the wrong way!"

Dong Zhuo then randomly appointed a nobleman from the Lesser Yuezhi as their leader, and then led his army away. Of course, before leaving, Dong Zhuo also took away a large amount of money and women.

Then it was Lü Bu's turn. During a general's review, he noticed that several of his soldiers were wounded. Upon questioning them, he learned that they had been attacked by the Yuezhi people.

The impatient Lü Bu immediately flew into a rage and, without saying a word, mustered five thousand Bingzhou wolf cavalry and charged towards the Lesser Yuezhi.

After a battle, more than two thousand Yuezhi soldiers died at the hands of the Bingzhou wolf cavalry. The leader appointed by Dong Zhuo was killed by Lü Bu with a single halberd, and a new leader was appointed.

Of course, Lü Bu didn't leave empty-handed; he also took a large amount of money and women with him.

Later, for some unknown reason, Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo suddenly started fighting while drinking. However, Dong Zhuo was no match for Lü Bu and was beaten so badly that he cried out in pain.

Having been soundly beaten, Dong Zhuo was naturally unwilling to accept it. So, following the principle of "if you can't beat your master, beat the dog," Dong Zhuo led the Xiliang cavalry to attack the Lesser Yuezhi, killed the leader appointed by Lü Bu, and appointed a new one for himself.

Before leaving, he once again took a large amount of money and women with him.

Upon learning the news, Lü Bu was furious. He said, "You attacked my men, so I'll attack yours." He then led the Bingzhou wolf cavalry into the Lesser Yuezhi once again, killing Dong Zhuo's newly appointed leader with a single halberd strike, and then installing another one in his place.

After finishing his business, Lü Bu also returned with a full load of spoils.

And so, Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo got carried away, and whenever they had a disagreement, or even just a quarrel, they would make a trip to Xiaoyuezhi.

As a result, after Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu visited in turn, becoming the leader of the Lesser Yuezhi became a high-risk profession.

The Lesser Yuezhi tribes lost 80% of the wealth they had accumulated over the years, and about 70% of the women in the tribes were taken away, mostly young women, leaving most of the Lesser Yuezhi men single.

Forced into a corner, the Yuezhi people sought help from Ma Yi of the Eastern Qiang, hoping that Ma Yi could step in and assist them.

However, under the instigation of Qian Lai, a secret agent of the Investigation Bureau, Ma Yi not only failed to send troops to help, but also sent troops to invade the Lesser Yuezhi, capturing a large number of bachelors and selling them to Jincheng.

The reason is: You're not a member of the Han Dynasty, why should I help you?

In just five months, the Yuezhi, which originally had dozens of tribes and nearly 300,000 people, was reduced to less than 50,000 people by Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu. It was only a matter of time before they were annexed.

The Bai Ma clan and Bai Hu people, who lived next to the Yuezhi, were also terrified by the brutal Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, and sent envoys to the Han Dynasty to beg for its protection.

Did Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu really have a conflict?

Of course not, all of this was the work of Xun You and Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu originally intended to destroy the Lesser Yuezhi, but Xun You felt that the Han Dynasty at present did not have the energy to absorb the Lesser Yuezhi's territory, so it would be better to leave them behind.

Firstly, it could serve as a buffer between Dunhuang and Dongqiang; secondly, it could be used as a pasture for the Han Dynasty to raise cattle, sheep, and horses.

Cheng Yu accepted Xun You's suggestion. After making some arrangements, Cheng Yu led the intelligence officers and followed the army to the Western Regions to lay out their plans.

April 1st.

After a 25-day march, Liu Hong's army passed through Xuantu, Liaodong, Liaoxi, Liaodong Commandery, and Youbeiping, and arrived in Yuyang territory.

As soon as they arrived, officials and wealthy merchants from various prefectures actively organized local people and laborers to build roads leading to the prefectures of Liaozhou, and caravans continued to enter Liaozhou.

The Royal Trading Company, along with its member families, began to vigorously build supporting factories such as cement plants, steel mills, coal washing plants, paper mills, printing plants, agricultural implement factories, and coal furnace factories in each border town of the prefecture, so as to take advantage of the economic situation and develop the Northeast as soon as possible.

With the involvement of royal merchants and prominent families from Luoyang, commercial activities in the various prefectures of Youzhou developed rapidly, and the lives of the local people were significantly improved.

The commercial exchanges between Luoyang and Youzhou also boosted transportation and trade in the surrounding counties.

Liu Hong's business blueprint has finally expanded beyond Luoyang, reaching the entire north.

Seeing the bustling scenes in each county, Liu Hong smiled with satisfaction.

Just as the army arrived at Yuyang, they received news that the 30,000 Southern Wuhuan cavalry led by Qiuliju, Nanlou, and Wuyan had fallen into an ambush by Shefu, suffering more than 28,000 casualties.

Nanlou and Wuyan were killed in battle, and Qiuliju was seriously wounded. He managed to escape back to his tribe with only two thousand men.

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