During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Western Regions were a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. By the time of Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping, they had split into fifty-five kingdoms, which later fought against each other, some of which were destroyed and others were re-established.

At this time, there were more than forty kingdoms in the Western Regions. The major kingdoms were located further west, while the smaller kingdoms were closer to the Han Dynasty and the grasslands.

Wutan Kingdom was located in the northeastern part of the Western Regions, separated from Dunhuang Prefecture by a vast desert, and had little contact with the Han Dynasty.

Since last year, after Xie Zhiyu's defeat in the decisive battle with Tan Shihuai, he led his 30,000 soldiers and 100,000 herdsmen westward to this place.

After conquering the Kingdom of Wutan, Xie Zhi killed the King of Wutan and the officials and nobles of the country, and incorporated all five thousand able-bodied men of Wutan into his own army.

Now that spring has arrived, and after several months of rest, his soldiers have regained some of their fighting strength, so Xie Zhiyu is no longer willing to wait.

Xie Zhiyu's plan was to quickly occupy the Western Regions with an overwhelming military advantage in a short period of time, then gradually consolidate his power and return to the grasslands after recovering his strength.

April 1st.

A warm morning breeze swept across the sky above the Kingdom of Wutan. As the urgent bugle calls sounded, the 30,000 Xiongnu cavalry and 5,000 Wutan soldiers stationed there quickly gathered on a huge training ground in the west of the city.

During his recuperation there, Xie Zhiyu also kept sending people to inquire about the surrounding situation.

In the region west of Wutan, extending to the north of Gaochang and the east of Houcheshi, there were thirteen small kingdoms, the largest with a population of only 20,000 and the smallest with less than 2,000.

Standing on the command platform, Xie Zhi looked at the soldiers under his command and, thinking about the current situation in the Western Regions, a glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart.

Although he had been defeated by Tan Shihuai time and time again on the grasslands, in the Western Regions, these 30,000 soldiers were invincible.

Subsequently, Xie Zhiyu ordered his army to split into three routes to attack various small countries in the west, in order to annex the surrounding countries in the shortest possible time.

Soon, the three Xiongnu armies set out of their camps and marched in the southwest, east, and northwest directions respectively.

Xie Zhiyu personally led the troops from the east, heading straight for a country called Pulei.

After a day of rapid travel, Xie Zhiyu's army arrived at the city walls of Pulei before sunset.

Upon learning of the approaching Xiongnu army, the King of Pulei was so frightened that he almost wet himself and hurriedly dispatched the only thousand soldiers in the city to the city walls.

When the soldiers of Pulei climbed to the top of the city wall and saw the densely packed Xiongnu army outside the city, they couldn't help but feel their legs go weak with fear.

Pulai is just a small country with a population of only about 10,000. How could it have ever seen such a large-scale event?

Xie Zhiyu, standing outside the city, looked at the city wall, which was no more than ten feet high, and the terrified Pu soldiers, and couldn't help but sneer.

In the Western Regions, due to the early influence of the Han Dynasty, their culture and systems were quite similar to those of the Han Dynasty. However, due to limited national strength, their city construction was far inferior to that of the Han Dynasty.

In his early years, Xie Zhiyu had repeatedly plundered the border counties of the Han Dynasty. In his eyes, the Pulei Royal City in front of him was not even as good as a dilapidated county town of the Han Dynasty, and was only slightly better than Juyan in the past.

Xie Zhiyu turned to the messenger beside him and said, "By my order, three thousand Wutan men will lead the attack, followed by two thousand Xiongnu warriors, and we shall immediately attack the city!"

"yes!"

The messenger responded loudly and then rode quickly towards the rear guard.

Soon, the drums of the army sounded loudly, and three thousand Wutan soldiers, carrying scimitars and hundreds of wooden ladders, rushed towards the capital of Pulei, while two thousand Xiongnu soldiers followed closely behind with bows and arrows in hand.

The Xiongnu's attack went very smoothly, and the three thousand Wutan soldiers rushed to the walls of Pulei City in one go.

The defenders on the city walls also hurriedly raised stones and logs and threw them down from the city walls. In an instant, hundreds of Wu Tan soldiers who were running at the front let out miserable groans, their heads were smashed and they fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

However, this counterattack by the defending troops did not stop the advance of the Ukrainian soldiers.

Soon, dozens of wooden ladders were placed against the city wall, and the Wutan soldiers, biting their scimitars, climbed up using both their hands and feet.

Just as the defending soldiers raised stones and logs to throw down again, the two thousand Xiongnu soldiers behind them also drew their bows and launched an attack on the defenders.

With a whistling sound, two thousand arrows shot out of the air, heading straight for the defending troops on the city wall.

Although the Xiongnu soldiers fired from below, the power of the Xiongnu arrows was not significantly reduced because the walls of Pulei were only about ten feet high and the distance was not far.

In an instant, more than two hundred Pulei defenders carrying stones and logs were hit by whistling arrows. They screamed and threw themselves down the city walls along with the stones and logs in their hands. The other defenders immediately crouched down when they saw this.

After a volley of arrows, the crouching defenders stood up, ready to fight back. However, the Huns were clearly faster. Before the defenders could even raise their stones, they were once again bombarded with arrows, and this time more than a hundred more were killed.

In just two waves of attacks, the defending soldiers lost nearly 30% of their strength. The remaining defenders lost all courage to fight back and were pinned behind the battlements, unable to raise their heads.

At the same time, hundreds of Wutan soldiers responsible for the siege also climbed up the wooden ladders to the top of Pulei's city wall.

Although they were all from the Western Regions, the relationship between the two countries was not very good.

Therefore, the Wutan soldiers who were incorporated into the Xiongnu showed no mercy to the Pulei soldiers. Of course, with the Xiongnu watching from behind, these Wutan soldiers dared not not fight desperately.

Soon, a fierce battle broke out around the hundreds of wooden ladders, and more and more Wu Tan soldiers climbed up the ladders from behind.

The battle lasted only a short while before the defending soldiers lost more than half their number. The remaining soldiers had lost the courage to resist and surrendered on their knees.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the Xiongnu army captured Pulei City without losing a single soldier.

After the army entered the city, Xie Zhiyu only ordered the killing of all the royal family, officials and nobles of Pulei, and did not make things too difficult for the people of Pulei.

At this moment, Xie Zhiyu also realized that if he wanted to gain a foothold in the Western Regions and expand his power in a short period of time, the old method of plundering was obviously no longer acceptable.

Killing the royal family and nobles was to prevent them from betraying him. The people of the Western Regions were crucial to replenishing his military strength, and they absolutely could not be touched again.

Early the next morning, Xie Zhiyu conscripted a thousand able-bodied men from among the people of Pulei, along with the five hundred Pulei soldiers who had surrendered earlier, and incorporated them into the Wutan army. He also followed the example of the Han Dynasty and named this force the Xiongnu Subordinate Army.

After settling in, Xie Zhiyu led 10,000 Xiongnu cavalry and more than 4,000 Xiongnu subordinates to continue westward.

Along the way, Xie Zhiyu's Xiongnu army advanced with unstoppable momentum, conquering four small kingdoms in succession, and his Xiongnu troops numbered ten thousand.

Ten days later, Xie Zhiyu led the first group from the east to the border of the Houcheshi Kingdom, which was only about thirty miles away from the capital of Houcheshi.

The other two Xiongnu armies are also making good progress and are heading this way.