During this time, I received education from Li Ru.

Whether it was Li Jue and Guo Fan, or Hua Xiong and Hu Zhen, they all already knew.

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru have brought this situation upon themselves, much of it being their own doing.

Under Zhao Hao's command, the people lived in peace and prosperity, officials were fair in their rewards and punishments, and corruption was rampant. This made the people yearn for and sincerely submit to him.

Although Li Jue and his companions still harbored feelings for Dong Zhuo, they could not bring themselves to rebel against Zhao Hao.

Thus, Li Jue and Guo Fan, dressed in hemp clothing, walked into the main hall with their heads held high and chests out, knelt on one knee, and performed the salute of military officers.

"Reporting to Duke Qin, reporting to the ministers, reporting to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

Li Jue/Guo Fan knew his sins were grave and regretted that he could not undo his mistakes.

Now, thanks to the Duke of Meng Qin's high regard and willingness to grant this disgraced subject a chance to atone for his crimes, I will certainly bring the entire Western Regions back under the rule of the King, and live up to His Majesty's grace!

Before his death, Dong Zhuo told them to listen to Zhao Hao from now on.

Zhao Hao had said that he would avenge Dong Zhuo and kill the treacherous man who was secretly instigating the incident.

All of this has brought me home.

However, the people of Xiliang have a bad reputation, and it would be inappropriate for them all to stay on Zhao Hao's territory.

The question of who should stay and who should leave was debated for a long time, but in the end, it was Li Ru who made the final decision.

"Hmph, how can you believe such blatant lies?"

Of all these people, Huangfu Song harbored the deepest prejudice against the Xiliang army. He certainly wouldn't believe the nonsense that Li Jue and Guo Fan were spouting.

"General, don't be anxious."

Zhao Hao stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said.

"My wish is that my culture, my people, my etiquette, my clothing, my laws, and my language will spread throughout the world!"

In the past, the process of annihilating the northern barbarians was exactly like this.

Now, aren't the people of Xiliang also sons and daughters of my great Han Dynasty and my Chinese nation?

As long as they have a shred of courage and conscience, they will know.

Since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the countries of the Western Regions have ceased paying tribute, expelled Han merchants, and attacked and killed Han citizens.

Such defiant barbarians, they'd be more than happy to kill them, let alone lead them in a counterattack? Ask them if they have the guts, if they're so ungrateful!

Zhao Hao's words stirred the blood of all the martial arts practitioners present.

Admittedly, although the Han Dynasty had not weakened, it had been looked down upon by the surrounding countries.

Otherwise, not to mention the southeast, northwest, and even the central areas, there have been many rebellions over the years.

If the world were at peace and the court were efficient and honest, how could there be so many people like Li Jue and Guo Fan?

"What Duke Qin said was piercing to the heart!"

This is how the men of China, the men of the Han Dynasty, should be!

Li Jue and Guo Fan were still immersed in Zhao Hao's grand ideals.

The usually timid Liu Bian suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up, pointing directly at Guo Fan and Li Jue and asking them questions.

"Li and Guo, you are both criminals, yet you were appreciated by Duke Qin for your talents and were appointed as Protectors of the Western Regions."

"Are you all willing to do as the Duke of Qin has said, to wipe out the rebellious states of the Western Regions, and to make all the people of the Western Regions learn the Han language and script, wear Han clothing, and practice Han etiquette?"

The two of them came to their senses and quickly bowed their heads.

"This guilty subject will certainly not fail Your Majesty, nor will he fail the trust placed in him by the Duke of Qin!"

Zhao Hao was also stunned. When did Liu Bian acquire such insight?

Seeing that Li and Guo had accepted the order, Liu Bian then gave the next command.

"In that case, does Duke Qin have a fixed number of supplies and people to carry?"

"Your Majesty, everything has been arranged."

"Alright, then go. When you achieve merit in the future, I will bestow official titles and ranks upon you!"

...

The decision to send the Xiliang army to garrison the Western Regions was made in a rather haphazard manner.

Except for Hua Xiong, all the people from Xiliang were sent to the Western Regions.

The former troops of Xiliang were not limited to those 30,000 surrendered soldiers. Those who committed the most heinous crimes among the surrendered soldiers were left to undergo labor reform.

The remaining 15,000 people, along with more than 30,000 Qiang followers, set off for the Western Regions.

If you include their relatives and family members, the group would number nearly 50,000.

Of course, Zhao Hao couldn't possibly not send someone over.

With Lu Junyi as the military officer and Pei Ju as the civil officer, they led three thousand guards and Jia Sixie on a journey to the Western Regions to study agriculture there.

Although the loyalty of the people of Xiliang is not low now, thanks to Dong Zhuo's death and Li Ru's education.

However, one should always be wary of others, especially since Dong Zhuo's son, Dong Fei, has gone missing. Zhao Hao also wants to see if Dong Fei will go to the Western Regions to find his old uncles, so of course he has to be careful.

"Wenyou, has Wenhe sent any letters?"

After the court session, Zhao Hao summoned Wang Meng, Gongsun Yang, and Li Ru to his residence to discuss matters.

"General..."

"They'll call him 'Young Master' just like they do."

"Yes, young master, Wenhe has sent a letter. Although Zhang Ji's troops have occupied all of Nanyang, the Xiliang soldiers are not good at farming and do not engage in production. Now, the 50,000 Xiliang soldiers are already short of food."

I've heard that you, young master, treat the former subordinates of Xiliang well, and that you intend to surrender."

Li Ru actually had many countermeasures in place regardless of whether Zhao Hao accepted Zhang Ji's surrender.

But now that Zhao Hao is the ruler and he is the subject, Zhao Hao hasn't spoken, so he can't say anything more.

Otherwise, it would be an overstepping of authority.

"Hehe, Wenhe, that scoundrel, are you having a headache yet?"

Li Ru was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

"He must be having a terrible headache. Who knew Zhang Ji would pull something like this?"

"Hahaha!"

After Zhao Hao said that, the atmosphere among the three of them became much more relaxed, no longer as oppressive as it had been at the beginning.

"It's impossible to make them surrender. Send a message to Wenhe that we can let Zhang Ji off the hook and give him back the position of governor of Nanyang."

However, he wants to do business with us.

"Doing business?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!