books44 Chapter 250 The Kingdom of Kucha
Chapter 250 The Kingdom of Kucha
Chen Er is currently satisfied with this method of governance, since the nomadic people on the grasslands are not highly civilized, and this system, which is similar to enfeoffment, is more in line with the current reality.
However, as the Sinicization of nomadic peoples on the grasslands increases and their sense of identity with their self-governed territories grows, the county system will replace the current tribal feudal system.
More than 30,000 cavalrymen, along with their supplies of cattle and sheep, marched across the desert and arrived at their first stop on this expedition: the Kingdom of Kucha!
The Kingdom of Kucha, one of the ancient kingdoms of the Western Regions, was once a vital transportation hub connecting the empire with the west. The capital of the Western Regions Protectorate of the empire was once located in Kucha.
As the imperial authorities withdrew from the Western Regions, the Kingdom of Kucha became independent once again. However, at this time, the Kingdom of Kucha actually only consisted of two cities, Kucha City and Wulei, with a population of about 200,000. After the arrival of the Westerners, the strength of the Kingdom of Kucha was greatly enhanced.
In addition, its geographical location was good, and the city was quite wealthy, ranking among the top in terms of strength in the Western Regions' Kucha Kingdom.
King Yelü of Kucha was fifty-seven years old. When he heard that a cavalry force of tens of thousands had appeared in the east, Yelü was shocked. After finding out the banner, Yelü became even more nervous. It was the legendary cavalry force from the Blood Slaughter organization east of the desert!
Don't assume that just because the Kingdom of Kucha and the self-governed region are thousands of miles apart, Yelü was unaware of what was happening in the east. In fact, after a large number of nomadic tribes from the grasslands fled to the Western Regions, Yelü had long been keeping an eye on the rising power of that empire in the east.
That was a massive force; the military strength of one of his organizations was equivalent to the population of his entire city.
Yelü knew very well that he was no match for the self-governed region. So, before Zhao Yun even arrived at Wulei City, the envoy from the Kingdom of Kucha had already come to his door. When he heard that the envoy had brought a letter of surrender from the King of Kucha, Yelü was very surprised.
Zhao Yun was somewhat amused and exasperated. Was this the important task his lord had entrusted to him? It looked more like a victory parade. His large organization hadn't even reached the city gates, and they were already sending people to say they wanted to surrender. This was truly the first time Zhao Yun had ever seen anything like it.
However, being able to conquer a country without losing a single soldier is a wonderful thing, and Zhao Yun would not pass up such a good opportunity. He had the envoy brought up, and after some questioning, he learned that Yelü was afraid.
At the same time, Yelü also wanted to preserve his position, and Zhao Yun agreed to this. In any case, the various kingdoms in the Western Regions would eventually become counties, and if Yelü was sensible, he could probably ask his lord to give him a nominal official position.
After accepting the surrender of the Kingdom of Kucha, Zhao Yun immediately sent a message by carrier pigeon to Yuyang to report the good news. At the same time, he also asked someone to inquire about the location of the previously mentioned independent division. Two cities had already been captured, and he urgently needed to replenish the infantry. He also wanted to establish a stable rear base based on the two cities.
Zhao Yun was not worried about whether the Kingdom of Kucha would have any ulterior motives after surrendering. With the Independent Division on its way and a large number of family members and skilled workers, the Han people would immediately become the largest ethnic group in these two cities. Moreover, with a large organization of 60,000 to 70,000 people here, who in the Kingdom of Kucha would have the audacity to rebel?
Upon receiving Zhao Yun's report, Chen Er smiled. Taking two cities without bloodshed was a good start. He ordered Zhao Yun to continue expanding westward while keeping an eye on Ma Teng's movements in Liangzhou.
What was Ma Teng doing at this time? The Ma family organization had completely ceased its operations and retreated to the Jingjue region. The Ma family organization had a total of 20,000 people in the Western Regions, and was already at a disadvantage in terms of military strength.
When Ma Teng received the news that Zhao Yun had led his organization across the desert and headed directly towards the Kingdom of Kucha, he was both relieved and troubled. This time, it was truly a case of the wolf crying. Although his Ma family organization had allied with Han Sui, Han Sui was not a very good partner. If it weren't for the threats from Guo Si, Li Jue, and others from the Xiliang organization, the Ma family organization and Han Sui might have already started fighting each other.
"Chao'er, what do you think we should do?" This time, when entering the Western Regions, Ma Teng took the initiative to undertake the attack mission, while Han Sui stayed behind to guard the Liangzhou stronghold against the Western Liang organization.
Ma Teng's idea was very clear: to use the Western Regions to expand his own power. However, now that the self-governing region had arrived, Ma Teng immediately backed down. He dared not confront the self-governing region head-on.
The sheer size of the military force in the self-governed region was known throughout the empire, and even Zhao Yun's troops in Kucha now numbered over 30,000.
They were all cavalry, and Ma Teng had no confidence in defeating them. Not to mention the latest news from the east: Chen Er had established a new division called the Anxi Independent Division more than half a month ago. Ma Teng knew very well what the purpose of this division was: "I'm here for the Western Regions."
Ma Chao, the most talented of Ma Teng's sons, was the most gifted commander in the entire Ma family organization. He was known for his bravery, but he also possessed considerable strategic acumen. It was Ma Chao who proposed the idea of entering the Western Regions.
However, Ma Chao never expected that his self-governed region would cross the entire grassland and directly enter the Western Regions of the organization. Moreover, his own side had just sent out troops, and the self-governed region sent out troops at almost the same time, and all of them were cavalry. The Xiliang cavalry was unparalleled in the world, but Ma Chao and his son Ma Teng knew their own situation.
During the long campaign, the elite cavalry of the entire Liangzhou region had been almost completely depleted. At this time, the Ma family organization only had a little over ten thousand cavalry, and even then, three thousand were left behind in their old base. Ma Teng did not completely trust his sworn brother as outsiders might think.
Ma Chao said to his father, "Father, the large organization in our region is coming with great force. Our strength is not enough to contend with them, not to mention that Zhao Yun has a large number of support organizations behind him."
"So what do you think Chen Er's intention was in making this move?" Ma Teng asked.
Ma Chao replied, "I believe that Chen Er's move is aimed at controlling the Western Regions, gradually encroaching on Liangzhou, and squeezing Yuan Shao's living space, ultimately achieving the goal of controlling the entire northern region."
"Chao'er, where do you think the future of our Ma family lies?" Ma Teng said dejectedly, "The times gave us an opportunity, but we didn't seize it in time. Now it's very difficult to rise again."
“Father, have you ever thought about whether our Ma family is really suitable for that position?” Ma Chao asked his father. Ma Teng was stunned and remained silent for a long time.
Silence, still silence. Time passed slowly. Looking at the silent Ma Teng, Ma Chao wondered if he had said something too harsh, making it difficult for his father to accept. But Ma Chao knew very well what was going on.