"Bring them here!"
Upon hearing the news of the arrival of people from Dayuan, Yuan Shao showed little unusual expression.
Cheng Xu, standing to the side, couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Although the assassination of the Han envoy was strongly opposed at the time, it was ultimately a decision made jointly by the King of Wusun and everyone else. No one could guarantee that the Han Dynasty would not take its anger out on everyone because of this.
Before long, several messengers sent by Camorra arrived, carrying ten wooden boxes and following behind the guards.
As soon as they entered the hall, several messengers from Dayuan bowed to Yuan Shao and said, "We pay our respects to General Yuan!"
Yuan Shao waved his hand: "No need for formalities. What brings you here?"
A messenger from Dayuan respectfully produced a letter and said, "Reporting to General Yuan, we discovered several corpses and a letter on the only road from Wusun to our country. My second prince considers this matter of great importance and has specifically ordered us to deliver the letter and the severed heads..."
Yuan Shao glanced at it and immediately recognized it as the letter he had written to the King of Dayuan, asking him to procure supplies.
Now that the letter has reached the hands of the Dayuan people, it seems that my arrangements are beginning to take effect.
Immediately, Yuan Shao pretended to be puzzled and took the letter. After only glancing at it twice, his face darkened.
Yuan Shao looked at the messenger from Dayuan with a cold expression: "You just said that this letter was found on several corpses. Whose corpses were they?"
"Reporting to General Yuan, those corpses were all Wusun people!"
The messenger from Dayuan replied, then picked up a wooden box and a token and presented them to Yuan Shao.
Upon seeing the head in the wooden box with distinct Western Region features, Yuan Shao's expression softened, and he picked up the token to examine it closely.
Cheng Xu, who was standing to the side, recognized the token as belonging to the guards of the Wusun royal palace at a glance. His expression changed, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.
Yuan Shao, expressionless, examined the token a few times before turning his gaze to Cheng Xu, who was standing to the side.
"Brother Cheng, come and take a look. Is this token real or fake?"
"Ah, yes!"
Coming to his senses, Cheng Xu cautiously stepped forward and took the token from Yuan Shao's hand.
"Replying to General Yuan, this token does indeed belong to the Wusun royal palace guards!" Cheng Xu replied after only glancing at it twice.
Yuan Shao's expression hardened: "Then what's going on? Where is the messenger I sent out? How did this letter end up in the hands of your palace guards?"
"General Yuan... General Yuan, this..."
Upon hearing Yuan Shao's question, Cheng Xu swallowed hard and stammered, unable to speak.
"Bang!" Yuan Shao slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "Speak now!"
Upon seeing this, Cheng Xu trembled and said in a trembling voice, "Replying to General Yuan, that...that was all the Right Chancellor's idea. He suggested to my king that we help Lu intercept and kill the Han messenger and frame Dayuan, so that the Han and Xianbei would launch a war against Dayuan..."
Subsequently, Cheng Xu explained to Yuan Shao in detail the plan to divert the disaster westward that the Right Chancellor had discussed with the King of Wusun and others.
Of course, during his narration, he also emphasized his firm opposition at the time.
"Hmph, the King of Wusun has quite the audacity to plot against my Han Dynasty!"
After listening to Cheng Xu's account, Yuan Shao snorted angrily, his body radiating a murderous aura.
Yuan Shao then ordered the guards, "Go and invite Protector Liu Yu over immediately!"
"Here you go!"
The guard agreed and then quickly ran outside.
After the guards left, Yuan Shao looked at Cheng Xu, who was standing to the side with a nervous expression, and said in a deep voice:
"Brother Cheng, there's no need to overthink it. You couldn't have changed the decision of the King of Wusun and the noble officials back then, so this matter has nothing to do with you!"
"Thank you, General Yuan!!"
Upon hearing Yuan Shao's words, Cheng Xu breathed a sigh of relief, finally putting his mind at ease.
After that, Yuan Shao stopped talking and quietly waited for Liu Yu to come over.
Before long, Liu Yu, dressed in official robes, arrived at the hall under the guidance of the guards. Yuan Shao, seeing this, quickly got up to greet him.
"Benchu, has something happened?"
After glancing at Cheng Xu and several Dayuan messengers in the hall, Liu Yu asked Yuan Shao with a solemn expression.
"Yes, Protector-General. In order to make us and the Xianbei people deal with Your Majesty, the King of Wusun sent men to intercept and kill the messenger I sent to Dayuan. This messenger was discovered by people from Dayuan on the way and sent over!"
As he spoke, Yuan Shao presented Liu Yu with the letter he had written, along with the token of the Wusun royal guards.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yu's expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly took the letter and token.
"You audacious scoundrel, how dare you harm a member of the Han Dynasty!!"
After reading the letter and the token, even the usually good-tempered Liu Yu couldn't help but fly into a rage.
Just as Camorra said before, the messenger was equivalent to the envoy of the Han Dynasty, representing the majesty and face of the Han Dynasty.
To dare to use treacherous schemes to kill the Han envoy is tantamount to slapping the Han face on the ground and stomping on it several times.
For Liu Yu, who was of royal lineage and always regarded the face of the Han Dynasty as his life, Wusun's actions were undoubtedly intolerable.
After his initial rage subsided, Liu Yu turned to Yuan Shao with a grim face and asked, "Benchu, what do you think?!"
“Reporting to the Protector-General, the King of Wusun must be executed!” Yuan Shao said resolutely.
Liu Yu then asked, "I wonder what Benchu plans to do, and what I can do about it?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao first turned his head and made a gesture to the guard.
The guards understood and quickly led Cheng Xu and several messengers from Dayuan out, leaving only Yuan Shao and Liu Yu in the hall.
“Protector, our army is short-handed. Although we are willing to punish Wusun, we are unable to send troops.”
I am worried that if this goes on for too long, it will inevitably cause the dignity of my great Han Dynasty to be swept away and become a laughing stock of the Western Regions!
Therefore, I am thinking of cooperating with the Xianbei people, having them send troops to destroy the Wusun, and then allowing them to stay in Wusun!
"Cooperate with the Xianbei?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yu frowned, a hint of hesitation appearing on his face.
Liu Yu had absolutely no goodwill towards the Xianbei, who had frequently invaded the Han Dynasty in the past. Most importantly, as the Protector-General of the Western Regions, responsible for governing the various states in the Western Regions, his biggest concern was being branded as someone who collaborated with outsiders to attack the vassal states.
This would inevitably create a sense of crisis in other countries, causing them to become disloyal to the Han Dynasty and hindering the implementation of policies in the Western Regions.
"Protector, His Majesty previously issued an edict bestowing upon Helian the title of King of the West. We can let him lead the campaign against Wusun in the name of the Han army, thus preventing any gossip!"
Seemingly sensing Liu Yu's concerns, Yuan Shao also revealed Liu Hong's secret investiture of Helian.
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