Chương 732: Yuezhi Protectorate

Qin Qiong stood to the side, rubbing his forehead, pretending not to recognize him, turning his face to the side, silently thinking: I don't know this fat man, I don't know him.

Guan Yu, on the other hand, sat upright on his horse with a serious expression, his eyes fixed straight ahead, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, exuding a powerful aura.

The people remained enthusiastic, calling out "General Guan." One student even held up a copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals and insisted on handing it to him. Guan Yu's lips twitched slightly, and he nodded in thanks.

They marched along, cheering and setting off firecrackers all the way.

What should have been a 25-minute walk took a full half hour.

When Liu Ce reached the gate of the imperial city, he looked back... The people on the street had not yet dispersed, and they were gazing at this place from afar, waving their hands and shouting "Long live the Emperor!" Their voices carried far away.

The setting sun shone on the streets, on the smiling faces of the people, and on the fluttering black dragon flags, creating a warm and gentle atmosphere, even the wind felt soft.

Liu Ce felt a pang of tenderness in his heart and whispered to the people around him:

"I fought battles my whole life, fought for the world my whole life, what was it all for? This is what I'm after."

The people live in peace and contentment, always smiling, without fear of war or hunger, and with hope for the future.

This is the peaceful and prosperous world we want.

Everyone bowed respectfully, their expressions solemn: "Your Majesty is wise."

Liu Ce smiled, turned his horse around, and waved towards the palace gate:

"Let's go into town. Take a few days to rest; we'll have a lot to do next."

The city gates of the imperial city slowly opened, and Liu Ce rode in on horseback, followed by civil and military officials, carrying with him the glory of his triumphant return, and also a grander future.

..................

March 15th, the 21st year of the Shenwu era.

Luoyang, Liangyi Hall.

The initial excitement of the great victory in the western expedition had barely worn off when a series of troublesome issues came to the fore.

Three vast empires spanning Eurasia and Africa were all defeated by the Han army in just three years. It sounds impressive, but in reality, it was a lot of trouble.

Early in the morning, all the main officials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Colonial Affairs Bureau were summoned and filled the entire hall.

Fang Xuanling, the Minister of Personnel (who also held the position), was the first to step forward and immediately began to pour out his grievances:

"Your Majesty, the combined territories of these three kingdoms are roughly the same size as the current territory of our Great Han. They span thousands of miles, have many ethnic groups, speak different languages, and have diverse customs."

If we were to send officials from all over the country to govern, not only would the Ministry of Personnel be short of people, but even if we sent all the college students and yamen runners from various places, it still wouldn't be enough!

The language barrier alone is a major headache; you can't possibly assign three translators to every official, can you?

Minister of Revenue Shen Wansan quickly added, his abacus clicking away, a pained expression on his face:

"It's not just a matter of not having enough officials! The cost of stationing troops, supplies, salaries, post stations, and road construction would easily exceed 100 million yuan a year, and that's a conservative estimate."

We haven't even recouped the military expenses we've incurred in this war yet. If we keep throwing money into it, the national treasury will be depleted!

The taxes collected over there probably aren't even enough to support the officials and soldiers; it's a complete loss-making business, Your Majesty!

The officers below, still brimming with the excitement of a victorious battle, erupted in a cacophony of voices, each louder than the last, upon hearing this:

"What are you afraid of! If they don't submit, kill them! Kill them until they submit!"

"That's right! Anyone who dares to rebel will be massacred! Let's see who dares to disobey!"

"I, Old Zhang, will lead ten thousand men there; I guarantee we'll keep them in line!"

"Shut up, all of you."

Liu Ce tapped on the dragon table, his tone slow and leisurely, which immediately silenced the hall.

"Conquering the world requires swords, governing the world requires brains. If we rely entirely on killing and managing things ourselves, that's a stupid approach, a losing proposition, a waste of manpower and money, and it won't even please anyone."

He got up and walked to the three-zhang-long map of the world, and the eunuch quickly handed him a vermilion brush.

Liu Ce took a pen and circled the three places—Kushan, Parthia, and Rome—with just the right amount of pressure:

"These three families have different backgrounds, different customs, and different levels of development, so their ways of eating are naturally different as well."

Today I will break it down for you in detail how to use the fewest people and spend the least amount of money to make them obediently serve as slaves for our Han Dynasty, while still making money flow into Luoyang.

Remember, what we want isn't empty fame on the map, but real, tangible benefits.

The ministers all pricked up their ears and leaned forward, knowing that His Majesty was about to reveal something real.

Liu Ce's vermilion brush first landed on the Kushan territory south of the Pamir Mountains.

"Let's start with the Kusang Kingdom. It's the easiest to manage because it's close to us and has a loose foundation."

Liu Ce touched the "Ganges Plain" with the tip of his pen and then sketched the surrounding mountainous area:

"The place looks big, but it's actually a disorganized mess... Dozens of tribal chiefs each run their own thing, and the king only controls a core territory..."

There are also long-standing feuds between tribes; today you fight me, tomorrow I fight you, it's a complete mess.

Zhang Fei paused for a moment, then interjected, "Your Majesty, that's perfect! Wouldn't it be wonderful to change them all to provinces, prefectures, and counties?"

"Duan? You want to become an official?" Liu Ce glanced at him and scoffed.

"That place is unbearably hot; mosquitoes can carry you away. There's a language barrier and different customs. If you send an official there, he won't understand what they're saying, and they won't listen to him. He'll be driven crazy in less than six months."

Besides, the taxes you collect from tribes deep in the mountains and forests aren't even enough to support their officials and soldiers; it's a pure loss.

Zhang Fei scratched his head and remained silent.

"So let's go along with his approach and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach." Liu Ce held up two fingers.

"Two layers of pipe:" The first layer, the core area, is directly controlled. The most fertile places, such as Gandhara, Punjab, and the upper reaches of the Ganges, have flat land, abundant grain production, trade routes, and gem mines, and the "Yuezhi Protectorate" is established there.

"Send a governor-general and station troops in Hanzhong, and we'll have complete control over taxation, laws, and military power. This place is our purse strings and our grain supply; we absolutely cannot let go of it, we must govern it directly."

Everyone nodded in agreement... It makes sense to keep the fatty meat in your own mouth.

"The second layer, the remaining dozens of tribes and mountain states, will all be under indirect rule." Liu Ce smiled, his tone relaxed.

"The original leaders, as long as they surrender and hand over the surrender document, will be granted the titles of 'Marquis of Guiyi' or 'Earl of Shunhua,' their territory will be returned to them, and they will still be allowed to govern the people as before."

There are three rules: pay taxes on time, obey the orders of the Protectorate General, and do not fight wars on your own.

Apart from these three points, they can do whatever they want; we don't care.

Zhang Fei couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Your Majesty, are we just going to let them run rampant like this? What if they band together and rebel? Dozens of tribes combined would number in the tens of thousands!"

"Idiot." Liu Ce scoffed, pointing to two adjacent tribes on the map.

"Can't you find them something to do?"

For example, if a tribe in the east and a tribe in the west have a long-standing feud and have been fighting over a piece of grassland for hundreds of years, you could deliberately allocate the disputed territory to the weaker tribe and reward the stronger tribe with some silk and weapons, so that they would keep an eye on each other and fight each other every day.

There are also Brahmins and Buddhists who are not on good terms to begin with. If you give both sides some benefits, support one today and pull in the other tomorrow, they will be too busy fighting among themselves to have time to band together against us.

The fiercer they fight, the more they'll need our support, and the more secure our position will be.

Do you understand? This is called divide and conquer.