"Oh? You can represent all Persians?"
Upon hearing the words of the Persian caravan leader, Liu Cheng raised an eyebrow and stared intently at him.
"To be honest, Your Highness, I am the second son of the King of Persia, named Thiramai. I am here on orders to trade with the Kushans in order to earn a living for the Persians!"
Liu Cheng asked in bewilderment, "Have you Persians fallen into such dire straits that you actually need a prince to go out and do business?"
"After the Parthians were defeated by the Han Dynasty and Rome, they increased their taxes and exploitation of us Persians and other races in order to recover their strength as soon as possible."
Now, we Persians have to pay more than five times the taxes we used to. Our entire nation's annual output isn't even enough. Left with no other choice, we have to rely on commerce to earn some money…!
Tiramai also recounted the Persians' plight with a bitter expression, his words filled with hatred for the Parthians.
Liu Cheng smiled slightly: "So, you want to make peace with the Han Dynasty and then borrow the power of the Han Dynasty to help you?"
"Yes, Your Highness, as long as the Great Han is willing to lend a helping hand, all four million Persians are willing to submit to the Great Han and accept its rule!"
As he spoke, Tiramay also prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed to Liu Cheng.
"Helping the weak and resisting power and oppression has always been the principle of our Great Han. As for you Persians, our Great Han can naturally provide some assistance..."
Tira Mai's face lit up with joy: "Thank you, Great Man! Thank you, Your Highness!!"
"Don't be in such a hurry to thank me. The help I'm talking about doesn't mean sending troops!"
"this……"
Liu Cheng's words surprised Tira Mai, who didn't quite understand what he meant.
Liu Cheng said in a deep voice: "At present, our Great Han has just pacified the Kushan Empire and has no spare strength to send troops."
Therefore, if you Persians wish to escape the oppression of the Parthians, you must rely on yourselves. Our Great Han can only provide you with some military equipment and supplies to the best of our ability!
"Your Highness, these are enough. With the weapons of the Great Han, we will surely defeat those damned Parthians!"
Although we didn't receive military assistance from the Han Dynasty, having their military equipment was enough.
"Alright, then come with us to Linhai City. We'll discuss things in more detail once we get there!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
...
Five days later, Liu Cheng and his party arrived at a small county town in eastern Yizhou.
The county was managed by an official from the Han Dynasty. In addition to a few students and medical students in charge of education, a thousand local soldiers were stationed in the county.
Before entering the city, Liu Cheng and his entourage received a grand welcome.
Almost all the people in the city rushed outside the city to welcome him.
For these people who identify themselves as Han Chinese, His Highness the Crown Prince is their future emperor, and to be able to meet him is a blessing earned over many lifetimes.
At first, Liu Cheng was not quite used to the enthusiasm of the local people, but after learning that the local people were living a more prosperous life after accepting the rule of the Han Dynasty, he suddenly understood.
In this world, people are the same everywhere. As long as you can bring them a stable life, they will support you.
The Han Dynasty's policies were friendly to the people, so the people naturally supported the Han Dynasty's rule.
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the people, Liu Cheng and his entourage slowly entered the city.
For these local people, the arrival of the crown prince signified the Han Dynasty's recognition of their identity, and the barriers stemming from blood ties dissipated considerably.
After all, Yizhou was just an exclave, and its relationship with the Han Dynasty was not even as close as that with the Kushan Empire.
Of course, Liu Cheng's arrival is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those who come to Illinois to develop their careers.
Back when Chu Qian and others occupied Yizhou, Liu Hong and the imperial court, in order to consolidate their rule there, not only dispatched a large number of officials and students, but also used the method of profit sharing to get the powerful families of the Han Dynasty to invest a lot of money in developing Yizhou.
However, most of the young men sent by those powerful families were born out of wedlock or from collateral branches. These people had little influence in their original families, which is why they were exiled to this remote place.
Although these people have now become plantation owners or wealthy merchants who control a region in Illinois, they are not willing to just stay here as local tycoons.
As the saying goes, "Wealth and honor should not be returned to one's hometown, for it is like wearing fine clothes at night." Deep down, they still long to return to their homeland and compete with those so-called direct descendants.
The arrival of the crown prince became Tan's only chance to realize his dream.
Therefore, shortly after Liu Cheng moved into the county government office, those people also came to pay their respects.
Most people directly expressed their willingness to devote all their wealth to helping Liu Cheng with his work here.
Liu Cheng was well aware of these people's thoughts, and at the same time, he felt a touch of sympathy for them.
In his eyes, these people's situation was just like that of his younger brothers who would be enfeoffed in various places in the future.
However, despite his sympathy, Liu Cheng did not respond to these people's demands.
There was no other way; if the Han Dynasty wanted to rule all directions, the sacrifices of these people, including his own brothers, were indispensable.
At noon that day, Liu Cheng specially set up a banquet in the government office and invited all those who came to pay their respects.
After several rounds of drinks, Liu Cheng picked up his wine glass and stood up from his seat.
Seeing this, everyone knew that the Crown Prince had something to say, and they immediately fell silent.
Liu Cheng slowly glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Some of you have been in Yizhou for one or two years, while others have been here for three or five years."
On behalf of my father, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your contributions to the development of Illinois!
With that, Liu Cheng picked up his wine cup and drank the wine in one gulp.
Seeing this, everyone politely raised their glasses and toasted Liu Cheng in return.
After finishing his drink, Liu Chengxuan said loudly, "I understand and appreciate your desire to go home."
However, I do not agree with what you are doing, and I will not help you.
"this……"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed immediately, and many of them showed a hint of incomprehension.
"I know that you consider yourselves to be illegitimate children or members of a collateral branch of the family, and that you were exiled here. If you really think that way, you are sorely mistaken."
I tell you, this whole world belongs to the Han people, and anywhere can be home.
While our homeland is good, we must not abandon foreign lands either!
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