"But whatever you have to say, feel free to speak your mind," Qin Chuan said.
An Dingguo then bluntly stated: "If we want to enter the Western Regions, we must either go through Dajiang, or go west to Loulan and then south. However, going to Loulan requires traversing the desert, and only camels can cross these hundreds of miles of desert. In this way, our army's iron horses will not be able to exert their advantages."
Qin Chuan thought for a moment and said, "Didn't we seize some camels from the Southern Xiongnu?"
An Dingguo said, "After all, the quantity is too small, only two or three thousand horses, I'm afraid it won't be enough..."
Qin Chuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, lost in thought.
An Dingguo was absolutely right. If they wanted to send the army to the Western Regions, the only way was through Loulan, but Loulan was hundreds of miles of desert, and camels were needed to cross it. Motorcycles would be of no use whatsoever.
Thinking of this, a sudden inspiration struck him, and his eyes lit up: "General An, no, our iron cavalry can go directly into the Western Regions!"
"How did the iron horses enter the Western Regions?" An Dingguo asked, puzzled.
Qin Chuan had someone bring over a larger map of the overall situation, and pointing to it, he said, "When we previously campaigned against the Southern Xiongnu, we directly raided the border city of Loulan. We can easily follow the old route to Loulan, and then head south to the Western Regions..."
Upon hearing this, An Dingguo's eyes widened in shock, and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Brilliant! The Prince of Yan is truly astute!"
"In this way, our army can directly take over all thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions, and then besiege Da Jiang..."
At this point, An Dingguo asked with a flicker in his eyes, "But will Loulan be willing to let us pass through?"
Qin Chuan slammed his hand on the table, his tone solemn: "How dare he refuse? At the beginning of this year, it was my Great Gan that saved Loulan from destruction. Regardless of whether Loulan lends the way or not, it must be incorporated into my Great Gan territory before the New Year! If he dares to mention diplomatic relations or marriage alliances to me again, I will slaughter him without leaving a single survivor!"
Upon hearing this, An, Ma, and Zhang were all shocked, and the hair on their bodies stood on end.
The Prince of Yan's boldness is truly remarkable!
Before, no one dared to mention destroying Loulan, or even offend Loulan!
Now, His Highness the Prince of Yan has actually spoken frankly about wanting to destroy Loulan, which is truly satisfying!
Qin Chuan also felt resentful when he recalled Lou Shishi's self-righteous attitude. The small Loulan Kingdom had saved him, yet it had not repaid the Great Gan Kingdom for so long...
Barbarians are barbarians, so there's no need to be polite to them anymore!
Thinking of this, Qin Chuan continued, "However, we haven't conquered the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions yet. We still need to maintain a facade of respect towards Loulan. When we pass through their territory, we should give them some money and goods as a token of courtesy. Although Loulan owes us, we can settle the score with them after we've finished conquering the Western Regions and Da Jiang..."
Upon hearing this, An, Ma, and Zhang's gazes sharpened.
Zhang Chaozong clasped his hands and said, "The Prince of Yan has the ambition to encompass the world and the will to unify the land. This is truly a great fortune for our cause!"
An Dingguo laughed loudly, "Haha, Your Highness the Prince of Yan is wise and powerful, with lofty aspirations. I have great potential for a bright future!"
Ma Yuxiang flattered, "The Prince of Yan is incredibly powerful, unmatched throughout the land. His wisdom surpasses that of His Highness the Prince of Yan. I await the day when I will conquer the world!"
Hearing this flattery, Qin Chuan quickly waved his hand and asked An Dingguo, "General An, you know about the Western Regions. I'm afraid you'll have to make a trip there this time, which will be a lot of trouble for you..."
An Dingguo laughed heartily: "With iron horses! What is this humble general afraid of? We can roam freely for thousands of miles, going wherever we want! Not tired at all! Your Highness, please rest assured, this humble general will certainly not fail in his mission!"
Ma Yuxiang said with a slightly bitter expression, "Your Highness, this iron horse is good, but it uses a lot of fuel. It looks like it's about to run out of fuel again, and I don't know where to get more..."
Qin Chuan calmly raised his hand, interrupting Ma Yuxiang, and said, "I will take care of the oil matter; there will be as much as you need..."
Upon hearing this, An and Ma were overjoyed.
The two immediately rubbed their hands together, eager to try their skills and wishing they could set off immediately.
Qin Chuan looked at the relatively calm Zhang Chaozong and asked, "General Zhang, for this campaign against the Western Regions and the Jiang Kingdom, I have appointed you as the commander-in-chief. Tell me... how many troops are needed?"
Zhang Chaozong thought for a moment. With iron horses, divine bows, long-range eyes, and ample military rations (instant noodles, compressed rations, etc.), 30,000 men would actually be enough. However, since the Prince of Yan had pacified the Southern Xiongnu with 30,000 infantrymen, he naturally could not surpass the Prince of Yan in merit. So he held up five fingers and said, "Your Highness, 50,000 men are enough!"
"I will give you 150,000!"
Qin Chuan waved his hand and said with great pride.
We have plenty of money now, and training troops is a piece of cake. Let alone 150,000, we could train them with 1.5 million; it's just a matter of time.
"yes!"
After bowing with clasped hands, Zhang Chaozong said, "Your Highness, this humble general believes that we can have General Ma launch a feint attack on the Jiang Kingdom from the front to confuse the Jiang army. By combining the real attack with the feint, we can catch them off guard and defeat them in one fell swoop!"
"Yes, very good!"
Qin Chuan nodded, "Then let General Ma launch a feint attack from the front. Wait, no, wait a minute!"
As he spoke, he shook his head and continued, "If the Jiang army sees that it is General Ma attacking from the front, but you, General Zhang, are nowhere to be seen, they will definitely become suspicious and will investigate your whereabouts."
"Therefore, I think it would be better for you, General Zhang, to attack from the front, while General Ma and General An flank from the rear. This is the only way to achieve a true 'surprise attack'!"
“That makes sense!” Zhang Chaozong nodded solemnly.
"Brilliant! Your Highness is brilliant!" Ma Yuxiang exclaimed.
"Hmm...this plan can be described as a complete deception!" An Dingguo nodded slowly.
The matter of conquering the Western Regions and the Jiang Kingdom was thus agreed upon.
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