This cabinet meeting can be described as a pre-battle mobilization.
Soon, under the leadership of Liu Hong and a group of bureaucrats, personnel at all levels began to move in an orderly manner.
The grain and supplies that the Han Dynasty had stockpiled for many years began to be transported to the Western Regions in a steady stream.
According to everyone's plan, apart from the army guarding the Western Regions, the imperial court was to send 200,000 troops and enough military supplies for a year to Dayuan County within half a year, and to eliminate the main force of the three princes of Kushan within a year.
Through Liu Hong's painstaking efforts over the years, the military and economic power of the Han Dynasty has reached an unprecedented level, and it also possesses a terrifying mobilization capacity far exceeding that of this era.
Inside the main tent of the Xinjiang camp in Dayuan City, Cao Cao, the chief of staff of the Xinjiang camp, paced back and forth, his face filled with barely suppressed excitement.
Since the Kushan Empire fell into a tripartite balance of power, Cao Cao had been repeatedly strategizing his future campaign against the Kushan Empire.
Now that the emperor has finally ordered an attack on the Kushans, Cao Cao is naturally very excited.
Although this expedition is led by the emperor himself, given his past temperament, it will at most be just a figurehead campaign.
Lü Bu, the commander of the Xinjiang camp, was not good at large-scale command, so the title of commander-in-chief of this campaign against the Kushans would definitely fall to him.
And he himself would become the first commander-in-chief since the founding of the Han Dynasty to lead a large army and conquer a great nation.
Therefore, as soon as the imperial mobilization order arrived, Cao Cao began preparations to launch a preemptive attack on the Kushan Empire.
In the city of Dayuan today, in addition to the 40,000 cavalrymen left behind by Liu Hong during his last inspection, there are also 20,000 Han infantrymen and 40,000 Western Region auxiliary troops.
After the Kushan Empire became embroiled in a three-way conflict, Cao Cao seized a large amount of money and grain from the Kushan Empire by selling military equipment.
Aside from using the money and provisions for developing the Western Regions, he poured all the rest of it into the 60,000 soldiers.
Therefore, although these 60,000 soldiers did not receive supplies from the imperial court due to the distance, their equipment and combat skills were comparable to those of the elite troops within the Han Dynasty.
Cao Cao was now considering how to enter the Kushan Empire before the Emperor's army arrived, thus creating a favorable situation for the army's subsequent actions.
Just as Cao Cao was pacing back and forth in thought, Xiahou Dun suddenly rushed in.
"Elder brother, a group of Kushan youths have arrived outside the city, saying they wish to petition you for permission!"
"Oh?" Cao Cao raised an eyebrow: "Where did these able-bodied men come from? What orders do they request?"
Xiahou Dun replied, "They are the Kushan refugees who have come to us, saying they want to follow us in our conquest of Dayuan and have volunteered to be our vanguard!"
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's eyes darted around, and then he said in a deep voice, "Go and take a look!"
Under the azure sky, outside the city of Dayuan, about 50,000 Kushan youths had gathered.
Due to constant internal strife within the Kushan Empire, countless Kushan people fled the empire in search of a way to survive. Over the course of several years, approximately two million Kushan people have settled in countries such as Dayuan, Kangju, and Kucha.
When Cao Cao first received these Kushan refugees, he sent people to settle them down and educate them at the same time.
After several years of effort, most of these Kushan people have learned some basic Chinese and have become completely accustomed to the Han Chinese way of life.
Therefore, when they heard that the Han Dynasty was preparing to send troops to Kushan to rescue their suffering compatriots, these people spontaneously rushed over, wanting to join them.
Reaching the city wall, Cao Cao smiled as he looked at the ever-growing Kushan youths gathering in the distance, seemingly having already devised a plan to quickly advance into Kushan and establish a foothold.
Subsequently, Cao Cao led his men out of Dayuan City and accepted the requests of these able-bodied men.
After selecting 30,000 strong men from among these young men, Cao Cao began intensive training for them.
Five months later, after this period of arduous training, the 30,000 young and strong Kushan soldiers were already quite formidable. Although their formation and combat skills were not yet comparable to those of the Han army, they had managed to maintain discipline and order.
This pleased Cao Cao greatly, and during these five months, Cao Cao also sent instructors from the army to provide them with various forms of political education every day.
Today, most of these 30,000 young and strong Kushan men can speak fluent Chinese, and under the tutelage of their instructors, they have sworn allegiance to the Han Dynasty and have established a firm belief in fighting to liberate their countless compatriots.
Cao Cao also gave these 30,000 Kushan youths a new name: the Kushan Salvation Army.
On the other side, after five months of preparation, various war supplies were continuously transported to the vicinity of Dayuan. Liu Hong's 200,000-strong army also arrived in Gaochang County, only a hundred miles away from Dayuan.
At the same time, Cao Cao's memorial to the throne, requesting permission to advance into the Kushan Empire, was also approved by Liu Hong.
After some preparation, Cao Cao immediately dispatched Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Yu Jin with 30,000 Kushan relief troops to march towards the northeast of Kushan.
In the eastern capital of the Kushan Empire, a light snowfall in early winter blanketed the main road outside the city in silver. On the city wall, several Kushan soldiers hunched their shoulders and stretched their bodies.
Suddenly, several rapidly approaching black dots appeared in the sight of the city-guarding soldiers on the distant horizon.
Several warhorses galloped swiftly across the snow, while the Kushan knights on their backs looked disheveled and frantically whipped their horses.
When they arrived at the city gates, the guards on the city walls had already opened the gates for them, seemingly accustomed to such sights.
Over the past ten days or so, urgent messages have been arriving one after another from the northeast.
Meanwhile, the third prince of Kushan had already dispatched 50,000 troops equipped with Han military gear to attack the 30,000-strong relief force that had advanced towards Kushan.
"The entire army of 50,000 has been wiped out!" This was the latest news brought back by the messengers.
The news spread, and soon the entire city was thrown into turmoil.
Neither the Third Prince nor the high-ranking officials of the Eastern Capital expected that the 50,000 elite troops sent to war would be annihilated by 30,000 displaced young men in such a short time.
"I've heard that those young and strong refugees are clad in armor impervious to swords and spears, and wield incredibly sharp weapons; they're practically the guards of the gods!"
Such rumors quickly spread among the people, causing widespread panic.
Within the Kushan Empire, in the northeast.
Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu, and others, who led 30,000 troops to rescue the people and advance into the Kushan Empire, gathered in the main tent, still unable to believe the great victory they had achieved.
Since advancing into the Kushan Empire half a month ago, almost every enemy force encountered along the way has been easily defeated.
Even the anticipated fierce battle with the enemy's elite forces was easily annihilated, which left everyone feeling somewhat incredulous.
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