The countries in the Western Regions can be said to be an important link in maintaining the Silk Road. The Huns were able to conquer and rule here because they did not need to maintain anything.

Enslaving the Western Regions with killing and fear, if the countries are really devastated and have no hope of survival, the worst they can do is continue to migrate.

However, things were different when the Han Dynasty conquered this place, whether it was to maintain the Silk Road or because of the habit of farming civilization. The Han Dynasty once regarded this place as its own land and the people here as its own people.

It is a pity that compared to being killed and enslaved, the people of the Western Regions are not willing to accept the big man's account. Regardless of the reason why you want to take care of us, you can't do it to me, or you don't dare to do it to me, that's it.

My ability.

The countries in the Western Regions often repeat it. If they are cheated, they will be honest. If they are not cheated, they will bite back.

Going back and forth, over and over again, the big man did not have so much manpower and material resources to take care of this place all the time, so the whole place formed a kind of folk customs like a ruffian who encounters the weak and rude, and the strong and naughty ruffian.

As for the countries in the Western Regions, Liu Cang actually did not dare to massacre here. It would be a thankless task. At least until the Han people have a large enough population and enough people are willing to come here to reproduce and develop, there is no benefit in massacring here.

.

But Loulan is different. First of all, it has a livable natural environment and can be regarded as the starting point of the Western Regions.

Furthermore, this place is relatively close to Xiliang. The Han Gang has been farming here for hundreds of years. Even if it is slaughtered here, it will be easier for people from Liangzhou to settle here.

The number of people in Liangzhou who are suitable for migrating here is relatively limited, but Liu Cang plans to define Loulan as a transit station or distribution center connecting Western trade.

If the Western Region is stable, there should be no shortage of merchants in Han Dynasty who are willing to invest manpower and material resources here. As far as the Loulan Oasis is concerned, there should be no shortage of people to maintain the population here.

Because of this, Liu Cang regarded Loulan as a place to kill chickens to scare monkeys, sent troops to attack Shanshan Kingdom, and launched a near-massacre attack on the nobles and mercenaries here.

"Tyrant! Fight without declaring and attack without justice! You are a tyrant and a murderer! If you slaughter Shanshan, you will be punished by the gods!"

The city of Shanshan was destroyed, even though the city was filled with countless ferocious soldiers, and even though Liu Cang was guarded by two monstrous Nagas, facing Liu Cang, the young Prince An Qie of Shanshan still made angry accusations.

An Qi is not fearless. It's not that he doesn't want to surrender and beg for mercy, but he knows that begging for mercy is useless and may result in more humiliation.

This battle did not come suddenly. When the Han army gathered in Dunhuang, Loulan Oasis had already received the news.

Shanshan Kingdom also took appropriate precautions and planned how to deal with this new emperor of the Han Dynasty.

But there was no communication, no inquiry, no blame, no declaration of war. Liu Cang led his troops out of Yumen Pass and directly launched an attack on Shanshan.

】

There are more than 200,000 Han troops, but the number of mercenaries in Shanshan is less than a fraction of the Han army.

Crushing troops, ferocious beasts, and terrifying dragons, the Han army broke through the city and started killing before the king of Shanshan could even declare his surrender.

The king of Shanshan was killed without mercy or inquiry. The king's family records, including Prince Anqi, were all brought to Liu Cang.

An Qi was aware of Liu Cang's ruthlessness and took things to such an extent. The Loulan people who had been under the rule of the Xiongnu from time to time were very familiar with this situation, and An Qi knew what Liu Cang wanted to do.

"Fighting without justice? The lower-level mercenaries of Loulan are all wearing silk clothes. How did you get your wealth? How many bones of Han merchants have you buried under the yellow sand of the Western Regions!" Liu Cang said coldly.

Loulan, or Shanshan, includes most of the countries in the Western Regions. In addition to bartering, silk and brocade have even become a currency here.

This is enough to show the benefits that the Han Dynasty brought to them. However, no matter how proficient Shanshan was in making money, it was too much for lower-level mercenaries to wear silk clothes. The source of these supplies can be imagined.

"Bang!" The handle of the knife smashed all the teeth in his mouth. An Qie, who wanted to retort, was knocked to his knees by Dafu while Liu Cang waved his hand disdainfully.

An Qie, whose mouth was full of blood, flashed with fear in his eyes. If the previous clamor had some elements of temptation, now An Qie was fully convinced that this Han Dynasty monarch was as cruel as the Huns, and he had no intention of leaving the Loulan royal family behind.

"Ding Cheng, are all King Shanshan's family here?" Liu Cang asked a middle-aged man wearing smart clothes, ignoring An Qe.

"Your Majesty, the third prince of Loulan is still missing. The common people have ordered people to search the city." The middle-aged man said to Liu Cang with respect on his face.

"Well, just find the head and get it." Liu Cang nodded and turned to look at a group of people who were full of fear and were being held in front of him.

There were nearly a hundred people, including men, women, old and young. The men whose armor had been stripped off and the beautiful women in cool and attractive clothes were all members of the Loulan royal family.

Ding Cheng was from the Ding family of Pei State, and was the person in charge of the Ding family's business in the Western Regions. This kind of business leader was more familiar with the situation in the Western Regions than the military scouts.

They are familiar with the nobles of various countries in the Western Regions. They will even try to open safe passages outside the established routes of the Silk Road. Their understanding of some regional details even exceeds that of the locals.

There are many people like Ding Cheng under Liu Cang's command this time. They are all business travelers who come from wealthy families in Han Dynasty. There are even many caravans organized by ordinary people with the attitude of seeking wealth through danger.

They have been exploited by the countries in the Western Regions for a long time, and are accustomed to mediating with the nobles of various countries. There is no shortage of guards under their command who can fight against the horse bandits in the Western Regions. When it was confirmed that the emperor wanted to conquer the Western Regions and suppress the bandits in the Western Regions, these people also formed a group

Zhiyi joined the army and joined Liu Cang's command.

Water seeker!

This is the name Liu Cang gave to this Yicon team. Even though they also had strong combat power after gathering, Liu Cang did not define them as soldiers.

They were dispersed into the army and became the navigators and guides of the Han army in the Western Regions. They were also the absolute support given to Liu Cang by the wealthy families of the Han Dynasty. Without them, the difficulty of conquering the Western Regions would have increased exponentially.

Hatred may be rather inexplicable sometimes, but there is no such thing as love without reason.

Whether it was a private business trip or a caravan of aristocratic families, their support for Liu Cang was mostly due to their long-term interests.

Although saying it this way is less sentimental and less exciting, it is real and makes people feel more at ease.

Of course, the premise is that Liu Cang still has enough credibility, and the Han people will regard themselves and the powerful as a community of interests.

If the powerful become relatively simple exploiters in the eyes of the people, the consequences may be dismal.

"Bear~~" The flames enveloped the Loulan royal family members as Liu Cang waved his hand.

"Ah~~!" The screaming and fleeing crowd was pushed back by spears and halberds, knocked down, and gathered together.

The immortal flames burned away the Loulan royal family, and although the fire spirits derived were clean, this scene was always full of endless cruelty. People who have seen the birth of fire spirits, every time they see these fire spirits, they will inevitably feel that they are like

Full of endless malice.

To collect the fire spirits, Liu Cang selected two women with good looks among the fire spirits, and let the two female fire spirits devour all the other fire spirits.

The number of fire spirits that can be classified as his own is limited. While strengthening the fire spirits, if given a choice, Liu Cang would still prefer to leave a more pleasing existence.

"It's really bad. With this kind of ability, you should be more restrained. You don't have to use your own race to improve the fire spirit. Those cattle and sheep can also become nutrients for the fire spirit." Beside Liu Cang, Ling Lan shook his head and said.

"If you don't want to be one of them, just keep your mouth shut." Liu Cang glanced at Linglan, who shuddered involuntarily.

Liu Cang felt that he had exercised some restraint. He just wanted Ma Chao to occupy the Loulan Oasis. Keeping these Loulan royal family would be too much of a nuisance. They had to be eliminated anyway. Simply killing them would be somewhat wasteful.

After dealing with the Loulan royal family, Liu Cang went straight to the Shanshan Palace. The exquisite and luxurious decorations in the palace would put the princes of the Han Dynasty to shame.
Chapter completed!