Chapter 2322 - 2061: Intimidation

Cao Cao looked at Liu Tong, and was quite satisfied with this judgment. He was also very pleased with Liu Tong’s decisiveness. After all, compared to Liu Xie, who was always hesitant, Liu Tong at least showed courage in making decisions and could distinguish between the important and trivial matters.

After this event, Liu Tong’s goodwill towards the Great Yuezhi directly turned negative. If she didn’t have to represent the country in her every action and word while sitting in this position, she would definitely teach the Great Yuezhi a lesson.

"Scoundrels, one day I’ll teach the King of the Yuezhi a lesson!" After returning to Changle Palace, Liu Tong was utterly enraged.

"Don’t worry, Cao Sikong is more enthusiastic than you," remarked Silk Lady wearily. "But the Great Yuezhi is really crazy to speak to their suzerain state like that."

"Their wings have hardened, and they think they can fly," Liu Tong sneered. "With such insolence, they will surely realize their limitations this time."

"So what do you plan to do?" Silk Lady asked with interest.

"It’s not about what I plan, but what this country plans. Even if I could mobilize troops, they would be the ones going to war, and I am clueless," Liu Tong said with frustration. "The Great Yuezhi isn’t close to us, so they may be counting on us being unable to do anything to them, hence their arrogance."

While it was calm on Liu Tong’s side, everyone who participated in the court assembly knew that a war was imminent for the Han Empire. If the King of the Yuezhi couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation to the Han, the Han Empire would have to teach the Great Yuezhi a lesson, even if it required a long expedition.

This was different from domestic warfare; this was a foreign war. Since the founding of the Han, almost every foreign war meant a pile of meritorious achievements and glory.

So, naturally, everyone at the assembly began to think about what role they should play in the upcoming future. As for the related intelligence, it was quickly relayed through various channels to three main places: the Northeast, Ye City, and Eastern Wu.

The Northeast, at the time of receiving this intelligence, was engaged in intensive land reclamation. Chen Xi’s shameless demand for everyone to either farm half the time and grow grass half the time or alternate annually between farming and planting grass left all the reclaimers helpless.

Fortunately, as an exchange, the land for each household expanded significantly, bringing both pain and joy. Hence, when the message reached the Northeast, the aristocratic families felt no disturbance and said they could support grain supplies if they wanted to fight, but they had to deal with the farming first.

On Liu Bei’s side, Li You glanced at the intelligence and thought, well, this isn’t a big issue for now. If something really happens and action is needed, they would parade the troops publicly and immediately march the army to the Southwest. No worries!

Meanwhile, on Sun Ce’s side, he thought, oh, the Great Yuezhi is so far away, it’s basically none of our business. But speaking of which, wasn’t the Great Yuezhi in the Western Regions? How come they heard of them being in the Southwest now? But none of that matters. The mere Great Yuezhi, Cao Cao could probably handle them on his own.

The Kushan diplomat, after all, was here to renew the alliance, so the alliance charter was still the one from the Great Yuezhi years ago. Therefore, even though the Kushan diplomat explained several times that they now called themselves Kushan and were an empire, the Han still perceived them as the Great Yuezhi, who had their king’s head cut off by the Huns and made into a drinking vessel.

This misconception led Cao Cao not to take them seriously. Indeed, Cao Cao was unaware of the depth of Kushan Empire, and Sun Ce didn’t have much interest when hearing about the Great Yuezhi. Ultimately, only Liu Bei truly recognized that they were confronting a formidable opponent.

After all, when Liu Zhang came to Chang’an, he claimed they easily handled the Kushan Land Army in the Central South Peninsula, so Cao Cao really did not treat Kushan as an empire — he merely thought the Great Yuezhi hadn’t woken up, and changing their country’s name made them believe they had grown stronger.

As for claims of an army of a million armored soldiers, Cao Cao just thought the other side was boasting. Perhaps they had a million people, all becoming soldiers, and boasting about an army of a million was no problem.

In fact, it wasn’t just Cao Cao — others also thought the Great Yuezhi was just acting up and needed a beating. They genuinely didn’t consider the Great Yuezhi a big deal, retaining an impression of them being easily wiped out by the Huns, having their king’s head made into a drinking tool, and serving as a Silk Road intermediary for the Han.

"Inform Liu Jiyu that we will also send someone to Kushan to demand an explanation," Cao Cao ordered after returning to the Ministry of Works Office.

After all, since Chang’an was essentially under Cao Cao’s control, and Liu Tong represented the Han’s face, Kushan brazenly did such a thing, leaving Cao Cao no face to show after letting it go.

"Lord, should our army prepare for war? Given today’s situation, the Great Yuezhi is probably really fearless. Without severely dealing with them, they might forget the Han’s former prestige," Cheng Yu coldly stated. Liu Xuande’s goal was to strike outside the borders, and since they knew the situation now, why would tiny Yuezhi block their path?

"Liu Jiyu has a hard time too. Inform him of what’s happening in Chang’an and then pressure him in the Central South Peninsula. Tell him if the troops are insufficient, I’ll lend him thirty thousand elite soldiers! Prepare for Wen Lie, and if that doesn’t work, send the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry over." Cao Cao was furious, genuinely preparing to crush the Great Yuezhi this time.

Of course, Cao Cao had no idea about the Great Yuezhi’s current situation. The Kushan was not lying about their army — they did have a million armored soldiers. Though some parts of the land forces in the South Asian Subcontinent were indeed weak, it didn’t mean the Yuezhi’s land army couldn’t fight. They also had several Dual Talent Legions.

However, given the troublesome geographical environment of Sichuan and Shu, expecting an urgent delivery within eight hundred miles was wishful thinking. By the time the message successfully reached its destination after half a month, Liu Zhang had already taken a ship to Ye City, and Zhang Song had taken over the governance of Sichuan and Shu.

Upon reading the letter, Zhang Song felt that the Great Yuezhi were looking for trouble. Didn’t they realize he was already overwhelmed with work? Yet, they were still causing disruption. Zhang Song expressed that they might as well go to their doom if they wished.

In the midst of his busy days, Zhang Song finally saw the communication from Cao Cao about the Chang’an incident. He replied to Cao Cao, expressing gratitude but assuring that their forces were sufficient, and also stated that they would soon deal with the foolish Great Yuezhi. After all, for Yizhou, they had won the previous round, so there’s nothing to fear in this round either.

However, what happened in the following nine months was utterly shocking for the people of Sichuan and Shu in Yizhou and Chang’an. The combat power displayed by the Kushan Empire was simply terrifying.

Yet, at this moment, they were already riding a tiger and couldn’t back down. Although the Han Dynasty was shocked by the incredible combat power of the Kushan Empire, the idea floated by Zhu Helai to gracefully end the war after Kushan gained a significant advantage was definitely wishful thinking.

Initiating the war was your decision, but the ceasefire will certainly be ours. Unless you’re completely paralyzed, you have no right to ask for a truce. What a joke.

In short, the Han Dynasty had not anticipated that they would genuinely clash with the Kushan Empire, and it was no longer in the previous manner of probing, play, and military drills, but a standard warfare mode. Vasu Deva I came with two "Dual Talent Super Elite" units, practically unbeatable when coordinated.

On the other hand, Vasu Deva I was unaware of what was happening in Chang’an. He was currently waiting in Baiwasha for replies from both Rome and the Han Dynasty.

As for the Han Dynasty, Vasu Deva I hoped to obtain a princess, while for Rome, his goal was to acquire an equal alliance charter.

For the Kushan Empire, this era indeed presented an opportunity because of special attention to certain matters. Vasu Deva I had already gathered that the Han Dynasty, along with Parthia, had blown apart the Roman Eastern Province, and this was indeed good news for Kushan.

The reality was indeed as Vasu Deva I had expected. The Kushan envoy, entering the Red Sea from the Persian Gulf, landed in Egypt, and then went by ship across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, were indeed initially overlooked by the Romans.

Even though Zhu Helai instructed the Kushan diplomat to boast upon arrival in Rome that Rome would become a fool against Parthia, without evidence, it would be useless.

Because there was no evidence, the boasting by the Kushan diplomat irked the Romans considerably. As a result, initially, the Roman Parliament didn’t even meet the Kushan diplomat, and Kushan wasn’t worried, as they were prepared for this scenario upon arrival.

It wasn’t until the complete annihilation of the Thirteen Roses Legion, and the near-total collapse of the entire Eastern Province, that the Romans began to consider the Kushan diplomat. Of course, at the time, many irrational Romans wanted to vent their anger on Kushan, intending to execute the entire group of Kushan diplomats.

Fortunately, Rome had its share of sensible minds. After determining the situation in Judea Province and Asia Minor, Chief Justice Papinian first received the Kushan diplomat, then led him into the Roman Parliament.

After the Kushan diplomat had elaborately spun out his imaginative account of the Han Dynasty, Rome questioned if such a country truly existed.

"Regardless of whether you believe it or not, our records in Kushan indicate that the Han Dynasty should have at least six ’Military Spirit Legions’, along with tens of thousands of various ’Dual Talent Legions.’" Dilip smirked as he retorted before the numerous elders of the Roman Parliament.

"Six Military Spirit Legions? How is that possible?" At this point, Papinian had not yet received Ganasis’s urgent dispatch from the front lines, so he couldn’t possibly believe such an absurd account.

"No, I mean at least six!" Dilip smirked as he spoke, causing uproar in the Roman Senate.

"That’s absolutely impossible. If you had such strength, you would have been annihilated long ago!" Papinian raved. Six Military Spirit Legions, with that as the apex, required an immense number of troops as the foundation.

"The Huns, you’re familiar with them, aren’t you?" Dilip smirked as he spoke.

Although Rome was far from the Central Plains, during the explosive era of the Huns, their forces split into two, heading south and west, with Chanyu waving the banner of "Non-Han shall unite; Hu people are one family," nearly creating the "Hu" ethnicity based on their formidable power.

If they succeeded, with the Hun’s capabilities back then, they could have established an ultimate ethnicity spanning Northeast Asia, Central Asia, Western Asia, and South Asia.