Chapter 209: Without Firing a Single Soldier

Wang City of Qiuci!

Ever since he learned that most of the Qiuci nobles were friendly with Han merchants and even wanted to restore friendly trade with the Great Han, Yuliduo had become increasingly irritable and anxious.

But he could not act against his own people now, because even within the Royal Palace Guard that belonged directly to him, many members were nobles.

This measure was originally meant to ensure the guard’s loyalty and his own safety. But now Yuliduo felt completely unsafe even inside the Royal Palace, worrying every day about some sudden change.

In fact, Yuliduo’s worries were not unnecessary. Bai Ba had already held deeper talks with the Luyu, who was disguised as a “Lu family member,” the day after the banquet.

The reason there had been no action until now was simply that Bai Ba was waiting.

He was waiting for the nobles who supported him to spread the “Gold Coin Theory” of Fatty Luyu to the noble groups who followed Yuliduo. At the same time, he was also waiting for the arrival of the Iron Cavalry of the Han Army mentioned by Luyu.

If the Great Han truly sent thousands of Iron Cavalry to sweep through the Western Regions even while fighting a decisive battle against the Xiongnu, then Bai Ba would truly believe that the Great Han court had both the determination and the strength to bring final order to the Western Regions.

Once the order was established, the day of the “Gold Coin Era” for the Western Regions would begin.

Three days later, the two thousand Han Cavalry led by Mo Xiaobai officially stepped into the borders of Qiuci.

After such a long journey on horseback, even the Village Soldiers from Daming Village, who were initially not skilled riders, now looked like qualified Han Cavalry on the surface. This was especially true for the cavalry under Li Guang and those from Jilu Fortress, who could be called the most elite Light Cavalry of the Han Dynasty.

And this force of two thousand cavalry was a military power that no kingdom in the Western Regions could cultivate.

Even for a powerful kingdom on the Northern Silk Road, Wang City of Qiuci only had a mere six thousand soldiers. The number of real Elite Soldiers was perhaps under two thousand, and among them, the elite cavalry did not even reach 500.

After Mo Xiaobai arrived at Wang City of Qiuci, he did not rush to find a way to enter the city. He simply set up a camp outside the city and sent Liu Ye as an envoy to enter the city and deliver an edict to the King of Qiuci.

To deliver an edict was actually just to pressure the palace with Bai Ba and the other nobles.

Mo Xiaobai had originally planned to do this himself, but Guo Jia, Li Ji, and others strongly opposed it. Mo Xiaobai had no choice but to order Li Guang to escort Liu Ye into the city.

As for why they chose Liu Ye instead of Guo Jia, it could only be said that the surname Liu was still an extremely glorious imperial surname of the Han family at this time, so using Liu Ye as an envoy appeared to carry more weight.

“You guys are finally here!”

When Liu Ye and Li Guang met up with Fatty and the others inside the city, Luyu spoke his first words, which carried a hint of relief.

In these past days, even though Fatty still acted confident on the surface, he was worried inside just as much. In case Yuliduo took a dangerous risk and struck first, the city of Qiuci would indeed fall into chaos, and Luyu’s little life would be in danger.

Now it was over. Mo Xiaobai had finally arrived outside the city.

With thousands of Han Army cavalry threatening from the outside, and a group of Qiuci nobles inside who cared about the Great Han, or more honestly, cared about Gold Coins, wanting to change the status quo, the outcome of the palace coup was obvious at this moment.

…

As the scene of the palace coup and the transfer of power played out in the Royal Palace of Qiuci…

Mo Xiaobai, who had been tired out from the continuous travel, was sleeping in the camp, hugging his wolf coat.

He slept for no less than ten hours straight, waking up only at noon the next day.

The first thing he heard upon waking up was that Bai Ba had already sent Yuliduo over.

“Looks like Bai Ba has wanted to sit in that seat for a long time, rushing to send Yuliduo out like this.”

Mo Xiaobai gave a mocking smile and ordered someone to bring Yuliduo to see him. After all, he was once the King of Qiuci, so there was no harm in meeting him.

When Yuliduo appeared before Mo Xiaobai, he had lost the air of a former ruler of a nation.

His hair was messy, his back was bent, looking like a rotten old man on the verge of decay.

This made Mo Xiaobai, who had initially wanted to chat with him, suddenly lose interest. He waved his hand and said, “Maogong, tell Jianli to take him to the kingdom of Shanshan to meet Ban Chao. Now we should enter the city to meet the new King of Qiuci.”

Leading his cavalry into the city, Mo Xiaobai quickly met up with Fatty, who then invited him to the Royal Palace for a banquet along with the new King of Qiuci, Bai Ba.

Seeing the new King of Qiuci for the first time, Mo Xiaobai bowed slightly and said, “Baron Daydreaming of the Great Han, pays respects to the Lord of Qiuci.”

“Baron is polite.”

Bai Ba did not dare to say he understood the Han noble ranks very well, but he knew the basics.

For the young man before him to hold a Noble Rank identity at the age of twenty and even have the right to lead two thousand cavalry, even without him holding a high position, he must certainly have a powerful backer behind him.

So, facing Mo Xiaobai, Bai Ba felt he might be even more difficult to deal with than the Protector of the Western Regions. He dared not act like a King, so he personally guided Mo Xiaobai to his seat before ordering the banquet to begin.

All the tableware at the banquet was still the Linglong white porcelain that Mo Xiaobai had brought from his Instance.

After three rounds of toasts, Bai Ba finally brought up the main business: “Now that my kingdom of Qiuci has corrected the chaos with the help of the Baron, I wish to rebuild friendly relations with the Han dynasty and am willing to pay tribute to the Emperor of the Great Han. May I ask the Baron if he can submit this request to the Celestial Empire on my behalf?”

“Hehe~ It is good that you have this heart, but this matter is not under my jurisdiction. You can send someone to Shanshan; I think they will give you a satisfactory answer.”

Mo Xiaobai smiled slightly, then raised his wine bowl: “As for me, I came here only with the orders from General of the West. To prevent the Xiongnu from fleeing west and re-connecting with the Western Regions, I was specifically sent to pacify and calm the various nations. I just heard that Qiuci has always been a powerful kingdom on the Northern Road, so I came here first. Now that the Lord has restored relations with the Han, if minor states like Gumo and Wensu are sensible, a single edict would be best. If not, I will have to trouble myself again with further action.”

So they sent troops to the Western Regions just to prevent the Xiongnu from fleeing west?

Hearing Mo Xiaobai’s words, the last bit of cunning thought in Bai Ba’s heart also calmed down.

It seemed the Xiongnu were truly finished.

Besides the Xiongnu who had already submitted to the Great Han before, the rest of the Xiongnu might be cut down by the Han People to the last man.

The young cavalry general smiling in front of him was not just here to cut off the Xiongnu’s retreat path, was he?

In other words, the defeat and ruin of the Xiongnu was now certain.

If the Xiongnu were about to lose, how could the various nations of the Western Regions dare to oppose the Great Han?

For such a powerful Han dynasty, which kingdom in the Western Regions could possibly win?

With these thoughts running through his mind, Bai Ba immediately smiled and said, “The Baron need not trouble himself with this matter. Gumo and Wensu have always been friendly with my Qiuci. Since I have submitted to the Han, I imagine they already know how to make their choice.”

“Then I will trouble your Lord to ask them to send envoys to Shanshan as well.” Mo Xiaobai nodded slightly, then added, “If we can bring stability to the three nations without firing a single soldier, I actually do not wish to use weapons either. Once the roads of Gumo and Wensu are open, the Northern Silk Road, which has been abandoned for a long time, should be used again. At that time, the Western Regions might look like a completely different place.”

“My Lord, gentlemen, for the future of the Western Regions, please drink this cup to the brim!”