Chapter 82

"Your Majesty, please stop here!" Ten miles outside the city, Li You reined in his horse, dismounted, and walked up to the Yuezhi King, bowing and saying, "This time, our return to Chang'an will take one year at the earliest and three years at the latest. We will definitely send envoys again! By then, our Great Han will launch an offensive from the east against the Xiongnu. With the pressure of our hundreds of thousands of troops, the Xiongnu will likely have no time to focus on the Western Regions!"

"The King of Yuezhi will await the arrival of the Great Han envoys in the Western Regions!" The Yuezhi King also quickly dismounted, saying with reluctance, "Now, although Wusun has lost most of its troops, Lijiao Mi has escaped. It won't be long before he brings a large number of Xiongnu cavalry to attack the Great Yuezhi again. At such a time, I need the assistance of the Great Han even more."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to Hu Weishika behind Li You, "General Hu Weishika, you must escort the Great Han envoys back to Chang'an!"

When Li You set out from Chang'an, he had over a hundred attendants, but after a series of battles, crossing the snow-capped mountains, and traversing the desert, only about thirty remained! Therefore, the Yuezhi King dispatched Hu Weishika to lead three hundred cavalry to escort Li You back to the capital, both to ensure their safety and to have Hu Weishika serve as an envoy from the Great Yuezhi to meet the Emperor of the Great Han.

"Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will protect the envoys and General Chen!" Hu Weishika replied respectfully. He was feeling quite conflicted, on one hand regretting missing the pursuit of the Wusun remnants, and on the other hand, being fascinated by the dream-like city of Chang'an. Is Chang'an really as great as Li You described?

"Remember your words today. If anything happens to the envoys and General Chen, I won't let you off even without the Emperor's command!" Wei Xishika's eyes flashed with a hint of jealousy. He also wanted to see if the soldiers of the Great Han were as brave and skilled as Li You described, and if the generals of the Great Han were as great as General Chen!

After bidding farewell to the Yuezhi King, Wei Xishika, and the other nobles who came to see them off, Li You led the envoy group on the journey back to Chang'an in the eastern lands. The size of this group was more than twice what it was when they set out from Chang'an. Besides Li You, Chen Qingzhi, Tang Yifu, Pan Feng, and the remaining thirty soldiers, doctors, and officials, there were also the Yuezhi envoy Hu Weishika and his three hundred cavalry, as well as the second prince of Loulan, Fumituo, and his entourage. This small group included representatives from three countries.

This time, Li You did not plan to return along the same route. Instead, he chose another path. They would turn south to reach the kingdom of Shache, then cross the Onion Range to the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains, and head west through the kingdoms of Yutian, Jingjue, and Qiemo, returning to the territory of Loulan, and then enter the Xiongnu territory from Dunhuang, breaking through the Xiongnu's pursuit and interception to return to Chang'an along the Hexi Corridor.

This route was almost parallel to the one they took to Shache, Yanqi, Kucha, Wensu, Guemu, and Shule, but the return route was on the southern side of the Taklamakan Desert, while the outbound route was on the northern side.

The reason for this choice was that Li You wanted to take this opportunity to meet more of the Western Regions' countries, gather information about them, and provide more references for the Great Han's advance into the Western Regions. If not for the fear of unexpected complications, Li You would even have wanted to visit the more western countries like Kangju and Dayuan!

Moreover, Wusun was located in the northern part of the Western Regions. If he returned along the original route, he might encounter Lijiao Mi's reinforcements from the Xiongnu. These unnecessary wars should be avoided as much as possible. He still needed to preserve enough strength to face the Xiongnu's interception in the Hexi Corridor. For some reason, he felt that Zhong Xing would not give up and would appear before him again.

Li You turned to look at the long line of the group. When they set out from Chang'an, the Great Han envoy group carried silk, lacquerware, tea, bronze mirrors, and other products from the Central Plains. Although most of the goods were lost during the breakthrough of the Xiongnu's interception and the crossing of the high mountains, the remaining items still left the kings and nobles of the Western Regions in awe.

This time, they were not returning empty-handed. The horses in the middle of the group carried the specialties Li You had collected from the Western Regions. Compared to silk and bronze mirrors, the items Li You brought back were not particularly eye-catching, but their future value would far exceed these. Of course, the most precious thing was the map of the Western Regions he kept close to his chest. With this map, the Great Han's future advance into the Western Regions would be much easier!

After several days of travel, they arrived at the capital of Shache, Shache City. Shache had a population of 16,373, with 3,490 able-bodied soldiers, and it had iron mountains and produced blue jade! In the future, Ban Chao would lead 25,000 troops from Yutian and others to defeat the 50,000 combined forces of Shache and Kucha. After this battle, Ban Chao's name would be renowned in the Western Regions, and Shache would surrender to the Great Han.

After meeting with the King of Shache and collecting local specialties, the envoy group continued southeast into the territory of Yutian. Yutian had a population of 19,300, with 2,400 able-bodied soldiers. Its ruler was from the Weichi family, and its people were skilled in farming. Yutian's geographical location was extremely important, serving as a hub for Western trade and a crossroads of Eastern and Western cultures. In the future, it would become one of the four garrisons of the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Li You stayed here for several days, completing a detailed map of Yutian, before collecting various seeds and heading to Jingjue.

This country, known for the Queen of Jingjue, was located on an oasis by the Niya River, with a population of 3,360 and 500 able-bodied soldiers. Although prosperous and wealthy, it was also very fragile and would be annexed by the neighboring Shanshan Kingdom a few hundred years later.

To the east of Jingjue was Qiemo, which was even smaller, with only 1,600 people and 300 soldiers. Its people lived on the desert oasis, relying on the cultivation of grapes and grains. Li You specially collected various grape seeds to bring back to Chang'an. Although grape cultivation mainly relies on cuttings, seeds can also be used.

After leaving Qiemo and turning northeast, they followed the edge of the Taklamakan Desert and the northern foot of the Altun Mountains. After a difficult and arduous journey, they finally returned to the territory of Loulan, where Fumituo was born. By this time, Fumituo no longer doubted the strength of the Great Han. With his cooperation and guidance, the envoy group easily avoided the large forces of Loulan and entered the territory of Dunhuang.

During the journey, dozens of people had died in the desert and battles. Now, the envoy group had only about 240 members left. They had to rely on these people and horses to break through the Xiongnu's pursuit and interception and return to Chang'an! It was unknown where Zhong Xing would be waiting for them!

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