Chapter 546 Returning to the Western Regions (Four thousand recommended votes plus more!)
"That's natural."

Tianxuan's gaze turned to Princess Yangzi in the crowd. This innocent, lively and lovely imperial princess was wearing a floor-length peony dress as bright as blood today. At the moment, she was surrounded by Meng Yi, Wang Li, Li You and other young talents of the empire. Surrounded by a group of suitors, Princess Yangzi had a sincere smile on her face. Her pretty face, which was inherited from her mother: a princess of the Wei Kingdom, showed a look of happiness from the bottom of her heart.

Although Tianxuan's attention was mainly on Princess Yangzi, he noticed Hu Hai not far away.

Two years ago, Hu Hai was the most favored prince in the empire. His mother, Lady Mingzhu, was Zheng Ge's favorite concubine. His teacher of criminal law, Zhao Gao, was Zheng Ge's number one lackey. As a result, some people who wanted to stir up trouble bet on him, and he was on par with Tianxuan and Fusu to compete for the throne of the empire.

In just two years, Madam Mingzhu was sentenced to death by Zheng Ge. Although she was not actually dead, in most people's minds, she was already dead. The leader of Luowang, the commander of the Central Chariot House, Zhao Gao, was killed for treason. Zhao Gao's team in Luowang was uprooted, and the remnants of Luowang and Yexiao formed a new government office, the Black Ice Platform.

Due to the involvement of his mother and teacher, Hu Hai went from being a popular prince in the empire to a lost dog that almost no one wanted to pay attention to. In this festive and lively atmosphere, this eighteenth prince was clearly in the crowd, but no one took the initiative to approach him, like an abandoned puppy.

Although they were far apart, Tianxuan could sense the hatred in Hu Hai's yin-yang pupils that was as deep as the mountains and the sea. What he hated was not a specific person, but everything. The seeds of destruction had begun to sprout in the heart of this notorious prodigal. Once given the opportunity, they would grow into a towering tree.

"Brother, if I am the successor to the throne in the future, the first decree I will issue will be to sentence Hu Hai to death!" Realizing that Hu Hai's already twisted and sick heart had become even more terrifying because of his own circumstances, Tianxuan retracted his gaze and turned his head to Fusu beside him.

Fusu asked in confusion: "Fourth brother, why? He is no longer a threat to you and me!"

"That may not be the case." Tian Xuan shook his head. "Brother, Hu Hai's heart has become twisted and sick, and he has become a demon in human skin. As long as he is given a chance, he can do anything! If you don't believe it, you can send someone to monitor him and see if he is like what I said?"

"All right!"

Fusu already knew who Hu Hai's mother was, the peerless enchantress who appeared in the skin of Lady Mingzhu. A son born from a monster in human skin really makes people wary. Hearing Tianxuan's words, Fusu nodded heavily, indicating that he understood.

After saying a few words to his brother and sister-in-law, Fusu suddenly picked up the wine jug and refilled his and Tianxuan's wine bottles.

"Fourth brother, you will leave Guanzhong the day after tomorrow. I would like to offer you a toast and wish you a successful start and a triumphant return soon."

As he spoke, Fusu's eyes were extremely complicated, with helplessness, loss, blessings, hopes and other emotions intertwined together, so much so that he himself couldn't figure out whether he hoped Tianxuan would win or lose.

"Brother, Meng Tian is your supporter." Their eyes crossed, Tian Xuan understood why Fusu had such complicated emotions in his eyes, and smiled freely, "Although General Meng Wu did not express his position directly, he also half supports you. The fight between you and me is far from over."

"I hope so." Fusu said with some self-mockery.

………………

'The prince of the empire, the peerless prince Tianxuanzi, will personally lead an army of 30,000 back to the Western Regions to preside over the final battle of the empire's conquest of the Western Regions!'

Thanks to the empire's construction of cement-reinforced roads, post stations every ten miles on both sides of the roads, and even the mechanical bats developed by Gongshujia and the mechanical Suzaku invented by Mohism, any news, unless the empire deliberately concealed it, would quickly spread throughout the world with the help of these tools. Similarly, with the help of these things, the empire's dominance over the vast territory continued to increase.

Tianxuan had not yet returned to the Western Regions. He left Xianyang with the 30,000 troops assigned to him by Zhengge and marched towards the Western Regions along the Hexi Corridor. Xiao He, Liu Ji, Zhou Bo, Chen Ping and others who were stationed in the Western Regions on behalf of Tianxuan got the news first.

Unparalleled city.

Wushuang City, built by Tianxuan, has become the seat of the Western Regions Protectorate. Over the years, Wushuang City, which serves as a commodity exchange point between the Western Regions and the Central Plains and guards the Hexi Corridor, has become increasingly prosperous. The city wall is ten feet high, and the cement wall surface is shining in the sun.

Caravans from the Central Plains and the Western Regions shuttled through the city gates on all four sides. Some Westerners with high noses and deep eyes took off their Western-style clothes and put on the wide-sleeved robes of the Central Plains; some Central Plains women also put on the gauze skirts of the Western Regions. The Central Plains and the Western Regions, two ethnic groups with different cultures and ancestral origins, began to influence each other in frequent commercial exchanges.

Tianxuan Temple.

The Tianxuan Temple in Wushuang City was built in imitation of the Tianxuan Temple in Xianyang. After Tianxuan was transferred back to Guanzhong, this Taoist temple became the official residence of the Protector General of the Western Regions, but because Tianxuan was far away in Xianyang, it was not occupied by others. Xiao He, Liu Ji, Cao Shen, Chen Ping and others simply used this mansion as their meeting place.

After the matter was discussed, everyone returned to their residences without staying any longer.

Wow!
When the news came, the elders who followed Tianxuan to conquer the Western Regions Protectorate rushed here as soon as possible. According to the level of their official positions, everyone sat down on the chairs under the statues of Hongjun Daozu and Sanqing, and excitement appeared on their weathered faces.

Liu Ji, who loved gambling, stuffed several dice into the gambling cup and shook it up and down, making a clear sound like the sound of spring water.

"Everyone," Xiao He cleared his throat and said seriously as Liu Ji shook the dice, "The Lord is coming back. How should we welcome him?"

"Need I say more?" Before Xiao He finished speaking, Fan Kuai said impatiently, "Of course, we should mobilize all the troops under the Western Regions Protectorate to welcome His Majesty home with the most grand ceremony."

Zhou Bo, who was sitting next to Fan Kuai, glared at him angrily when he heard what Fan Kuai said. "Fan Kuai, according to what you said, are we welcoming His Majesty or are we trying to intimidate His Majesty? The troops of the Western Regions Protectorate all belong to His Majesty. If His Majesty is not here, we can just discuss it."

"Your Majesty is back, and you dare to mobilize troops without authorization. Don't you want your head?"

"Eh?" After hearing what Zhou Bo said, Fan Kuai also realized it. He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head with a hairy arm. "Zhou Bo, you are smarter than me. What do you think we should do?"

Zhou Bo said: "In my opinion, the most important thing we should do now is to suppress the bandits!"

(End of this chapter)