In the government office of Gaochang City, Yuan Shao put down the letter delivered by Xie Zhiyu, then looked up at the guard beside him.
"Bring the Xiongnu envoy in!"
"Here you go!"
The guard agreed and turned to walk outside.
Soon, Chou Chan followed the guards into the government office.
As soon as he entered the front hall, Chou Chan hurriedly bowed to Yuan Shao behind the table: "I greet General Yuan!"
Yuan Shao smiled and hummed in agreement, then pointed to the seat beside him: "Sit!"
"Thank you, General!"
After expressing his gratitude, Chou Chan sat down respectfully.
Yuan Shao picked up Xie Zhiyu's letter and looked at Chou Chan, saying in a deep voice, "Your king wants to cooperate with us, which is fine. However, there is one condition: he can only attack Kucha. We will make arrangements for Wusun."
"no problem!"
Chou Chan agreed to Yuan Shao's order without hesitation.
Of course, he had no choice...
Yuan Shao nodded in satisfaction with Chou Chan's performance and then ordered someone to bring him a cooperation agreement.
"You deserve credit for persuading Xie Zhiyu to cooperate with us this time. I, Yuan, keep my word. Signing this agreement is enough to guarantee you a higher status and position with Xie Zhiyu!"
With that, Yuan Shao handed the cooperation agreement to Chou Chan.
Chou Chan took the agreement, glanced at it twice, and his face was filled with excitement and joy.
In this agreement, Yuan Shao not only promised, in the name of the Han emperor, to cede a road to Kucha for Xie Zhiyu, but also offered to provide weapons, armor, siege equipment, and winter clothing.
With these promises from the Han army, Xie Zhiyu was assured that he could successfully conquer the Kingdom of Kucha.
"Thank you for your generosity, General Yuan. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"
While expressing his gratitude, Chou Chan signed his name on the agreement.
"Alright, the documents in the agreement are ready. Take them back now and have Xie Zhiyu set off as soon as possible, lest something go wrong!"
"The general is right. I shall take my leave now!"
After carefully accepting the agreement, Chou Chan bowed to Yuan Shao and then withdrew under the guidance of his guards.
Before long, Chou Chanchan left Gaochang City with more than fifty carts of supplies prepared for them by Yuan Shao.
Upon returning to Cheshi Kingdom, Chou Chan didn't rest for a moment. He excitedly took the agreement and went to find Xie Zhiyu.
"Your Majesty, I have successfully fulfilled my mission. I not only persuaded the Han army to cooperate with us, but also obtained some weapons, armor, siege equipment, and other supplies from them..."
With that, Chou Chan presented the agreement to Xie Zhiyu with a joyful expression.
"Great job, very well done!"
Seeing that Chou Chan had brought back so many urgently needed items, Xie Zhiyu was also very excited.
Then Xie Zhiyu looked at Chou Chan and said in a deep voice, "From today onwards, you will be my Left Prime Minister and will handle military and political affairs with me."
"Thank you for your patronage, Your Majesty. I will certainly do my utmost to assist you and repay your kindness!"
Upon hearing Xie Zhiyu's appointment, Chou Chan's face flushed with excitement.
"Your Majesty, now that we have these supplies provided by the Han army, we can surely conquer Kucha in one battle. In my opinion, we should set off as soon as possible and take Kucha before the winter gets cold. After resting for the winter, we can attack other major powers next year."
In his excitement, Chou Chan did not forget Yuan Shao's instructions and suggested to Xie Zhiyu that troops be dispatched as soon as possible.
"That's right!"
Xie Zhiyu nodded, then said in a deep voice, "Immediately issue the order to all warriors to prepare to march towards Kucha in three days!"
"Don't touch the city buildings and the people's property in Cheshi; consider it our return gift to the Han army!"
"I understand!!"
Chou Chan agreed and bowed as he withdrew.
"What exactly does the Han Dynasty want to do?"
Watching Chou Chan's departing figure, Xie Zhi looked down at the cooperation agreement in his hand and murmured softly.
At this point, he had already determined that Yuan Shao was using Chou Chan as a middleman between the two sides, and that Chou Chan was being used to provide him with some aid and supplies.
What he couldn't understand was that the Han Dynasty could have done nothing but wait for him to leave Cheshi. This would have not only relieved him and Kucha of the threat to Gaochang, but also allowed them to take over Cheshi and other countries. They could even have waited for him and Kucha to be exhausted and then profited from the situation. There was absolutely no need for them to provide him with those supplies.
In Xie Zhiyu's view, Yuan Shao's actions seemed illogical.
"Could it be that Yuan Shao and the Han Dynasty have become so confident that they no longer care about us at all?"
After thinking for a long time, Xie Zhiyu could only come up with this barely passable reason.
Stepping outside the tent, Xie Zhiyu was slightly lost in thought as he looked at the fifty large carts loaded with weapons, armor, siege equipment, and cotton-padded clothes.
Can I really go back?
Seeing those precious supplies that they used to desperately want being sent over by the big man like junk, Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but fall into deep suspicion.
Since the Han Dynasty was able to send fifty carts of important supplies to their enemy, it means that they have five hundred, five thousand, or even more carts of supplies, and they don't lack these few things at all.
Faced with such a huge disparity, how could they possibly compete with the Han with their meager resources?
With a deep sigh, Xie Zhi walked dejectedly into the tent.
Soon, Xie Zhiyu's order spread throughout the entire army.
Upon learning that they no longer needed to confront the Han army, the Xiongnu soldiers and the able-bodied men from the Western Regions in their affiliated units cheered.
The standoff had been incredibly difficult for them, and now that they were finally free from this tough nut to crack, everyone was naturally overjoyed.
...
West of Yangguan Pass, on the vast Gobi Desert, a long column of cavalry, braving the swirling yellow sand, struggled westward.
Li Ru rode on horseback at the head of the procession, his sleeves covering his mouth and nose, his eyes slightly narrowed as he gazed at the distant horizon.
For Li Ru, who was used to the grassland climate, the desolate and barren climate of the Gobi Desert was really hard for him to adapt to, both physically and psychologically.
Suddenly, a scout appeared at the front of the column. The deputy general in charge of reconnaissance went up to him, asked a few questions, and then rode up to Li Ru.
"Sir, the scouts ahead report that there is a mud city less than a hundred miles away!"
Li Ru grunted and nodded. "Pass down the order to speed up the march and make sure we reach Tucheng before nightfall!"
"Yes, then should the scouts continue their reconnaissance?"
Li Ru: "Continue, expand the search area to a radius of twenty li around Tucheng, and make sure there are no problems!"
"yes!"
The lieutenant agreed, then rode away, sending the scouts out.
Li Ru turned his head to look in the direction of Yangguan, sighed inwardly, and then led his troops to speed up westward.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
