At sunset, Lü Bu and Huang Zhong led their army, escorting the prisoners back to the capital of Shanshan.

Shortly after returning to the city, Dong Zhuo, who was in charge of intercepting and killing Xiaowan and Qiemo, also led his army back.

However, Dong Zhuo brought back far fewer prisoners than he had. Of the 20,000 soldiers from Xiaowan and Jingjue, he only brought back 10,000.

Of the five thousand Xiliang cavalry led by Dong Zhuo, more than two hundred were killed in battle, indicating that Dong Zhuo had chosen to charge head-on.

More than 30,000 prisoners were held in the camp west of the city.

Upon entering the city, Huang Zhong, Lü Bu, and the others frowned as they looked at the ruins of Shanshan, a place resembling a ghost town.

As fellow kingdoms of the Western Regions, they couldn't understand where such deep-seated hatred came from between them, leading to such ruthless actions.

As the Han army entered the city, the surviving people of Shanshan emerged from their hiding places and looked at the Han army, which had driven away the four-nation coalition, as if they were looking at saviors.

The political instructors in the army also immediately began to organize soldiers and laborers to deliver food to the surviving people of Shanshan.

The people of Shanshan were moved to tears as they received the food from the Han army. In their memory, they had never seen soldiers who were so kind to the people, and these soldiers were also so powerful.

The gentleness that comes from the strong is the most touching, and this is the sentiment of the surviving people of Shanshan.

Immediately afterwards, the Taoist priests of the Taiping Sect, who mingled among the laborers, also took to the streets to treat the injured people of Shanshan.

While treating patients, the Taoist priests did not forget their primary duty: to spread the fame of the Han emperor to the people of Shanshan.

Upon learning that it was the Emperor of Han who had seen their suffering and sent people to rescue them, the people of Shanshan knelt down and kowtowed to the Emperor of Han.

At that time, the kingdoms of the Western Regions did not yet possess any sense of national identity.

People from Shanshan, Qiemo, Jingjue, and Cheshi were simply referred to by the Han Dynasty in the eyes of these common people, and they accepted these names.

Therefore, they don't care who their ruler is; it would be best if they could become a member of the Han Dynasty.

Faced with this situation in the Western Regions, Xun You and Cheng Yu had already made arrangements.

Therefore, the officials who accompanied the army and the instructors in the army invited Huang Zhong, Lü Bu, and Dong Zhuo together to discuss the action against the Western Regions.

Zhang Li, the Prefect of Dunhuang, was appointed by Xun You to take charge of the administration of Shanshan Kingdom and was also the initiator of this gathering.

After everyone exchanged greetings, Zhang Li spoke first: "Gentlemen, the four-nation allied forces have now been defeated, and Shanshan has come under the control of the Han Dynasty."

However, Prefect Xun once said that given the current national strength and finances of the Han Dynasty, it was not yet able to send a large number of troops and garrisons to the Western Regions. It would be better to keep them, allowing the Han Dynasty to earn enough money while weakening them, so that when the time was right, they could be completely annexed.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. There were many kingdoms in the Western Regions. If they wanted to wipe them out and assimilate them all at once, they would need at least 50,000 troops to fight and garrison them.

But an expedition of 50,000 troops is no joke; the cost of supplies alone is astronomical.

It should be noted that this expedition alone emptied more than half of the treasuries of several prefectures, including Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Wuwei.

Although the spoils were plentiful, the biggest problem was the supply of provisions, as the Han Dynasty did not yet have the capability for long-distance transportation.

Lü Bu looked at Zhang Li and asked, "Then, Prefect Xun, what are your plans regarding the Western Regions?"

Zhang Li laughed and said, "As you all have seen, the Han Dynasty still has considerable influence in the Western Regions. In addition, the recent defeat of the 50,000-strong allied army of the four countries will surely shake the nations and fill them with fear."

Moreover, the majority of the people in the Western Regions still favored the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the only key to completely conquering and annexing the Western Regions was to eliminate the kings and nobles.

"How do we solve this? Kill them all?"

Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo asked in unison, as politics had entered their blind spot.

Zhang Li said helplessly, "That won't do. If we kill them all, the Western Regions will be in chaos. If the Xiongnu Left Wise King and the Xianbei invade, it will only benefit others for nothing."

Dong Zhuo turned his face away: "Then just tell me your plan. Why beat around the bush? Do you think I, Old Dong, am uneducated?"

"Zhongying, don't be rude!" Huang Zhong quickly pulled Dong Zhuo back.

Seeing this, Zhang Li didn't waste any time and immediately said, "According to the court and Prefect Xun, the intention is to divide and win over the nobles of the Western Regions, incite them to fight among themselves, and support those nobles who have submitted to the Han Dynasty to rise to power."

Dong Zhuo couldn't help but say, "This is a matter for you civil officials. Just tell me, what can we do?"

Zhang Li smiled and said, "General Dong, you are mistaken. The confidence of us civil officials comes from the generals and soldiers of the Han Dynasty. With you all here, we can carry out our duties."

Therefore, after discussion, we have decided to make some demands and conditions to the kingdoms of the Western Regions. If any of them refuse, then the three generals will need to take action.

"That's natural."

Huang Zhong, Dong Zhuo, and Lü Bu nodded.

The next morning, after a search, all the nobles and officials in Shanshan were found dead, and Mulang, the only survivor, was naturally put on the throne.

Meanwhile, some officials and teachers who accompanied him assisted Mulang in handling the affairs of Shanshan.

Subsequently, Mulang issued a proclamation in the name of the King.

First, Shanshan officially became a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. As long as one learned the Chinese language and made contributions to the Han Dynasty, one could apply to become a Han citizen and a true citizen of the Han Dynasty.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!