Zhao Xing and Zhou Cang separated outside the Yumen Pass. With only 5,000 brothers from the Han cavalry division of the Dingyuan Army, they slowly came in the direction of Dunhuang.

Since it was a big drama directed and acted by him, it was fake that Ma Dai and Ma Wan led the troops to attack Yumen Pass that day, as for staying in Dunhuang City and covering Hua Weiguo, they carried the 2,000 cavalry of Zhao Xing's retreat, and after the play was over, they merged with the 3,000 cavalry taken away by Zhao Xing.

A large number of military supplies stored in Dunhuang City were transferred out of the customs by Ma Dai and Ma Wan, and the destination of these materials was naturally Yuanqu City, the capital of Yanqi State. In the next step, Yanqi will be an important base for Zhao Xing to conquer the Western Regions, and now it is guarded by Ma Chao and Tian Yu personally, and the arrival of these military supplies will become the guarantee and foundation for the Western Legion to achieve victory after victory.

Tens of thousands of craftsmen and laborers in Dunhuang City, who were originally busy building the new city, were attracted to Yuanqu City by Zhao Xing's double salary. There are no craftsmen in Yumen Pass, and the next step can be recruited and mobilized from various states, but Yanqi, which is not good at building fortifications, is in great need of this group of skilled construction craftsmen.

The Han Dynasty originally set up the Western Regions Changshi Mansion Office, located between Yihe Duweicheng and the former Cheshi State, which was very close to Yumen Pass, but it was obviously not conducive to the management and rule of the more westerly Zhufan Kingdom, so Zhao Xing planned to build the Yuanqu City of Yanqi State as a new political and cultural and even economic center of the Western Regions.

Yuanqu City is blessed with a unique location (refer to the location of Yanqi Hui Autonomous County in Xinjiang Autonomous Prefecture today), with the Green Ridge River flowing from the side, close to the Qinhai Sea (now Bosten Lake), and in the heart of the Yanqi Basin, the surrounding agriculture and animal husbandry are very developed, which can accommodate and feed a large number of people. If a central city similar to Crouching Tiger City is built in such a place, it can effectively control the entire territory of the Western Regions, and reserve enough strategic space for further westward expansion in the future.

Until now, many generals who have participated in the "Yumen Pass Incident" still can't figure out what Zhao Xing is trying to toss back and forth, but Zhao Xing himself has a very clear goal from the beginning!

This time, Zhao Xing not only wanted to let Gongsun Du of Liaodong fight with the Karasuma clan and Goguryeo, but also thoroughly test the ability of each army to independently deal with major crises, and most importantly, he wanted to force the imperial court to crown himself king! Yes, he must be crowned the biggest king!

In fact, even if the imperial court did not give Zhao Xing the title of king, it would still be difficult to stop him from conquering the east and west, but this would invisibly reduce Zhao Xing's prestige in the eyes of the people.

When the 500,000-strong army besieged the state, Zhao Xing could mobilize the power of the whole state to resist the invasion from all directions. At that time, he stood on the moral high ground. The common people were fighting to protect their homes and property, and such a war would not only not diminish Zhao Xing's prestige, but would on the contrary strengthen his position as the core of his leadership.

Later, the salt ban movement broke out, the goods produced by the people of the Jin State were seized and confiscated, and the merchants of the Jin State were arrested and even killed. Zhao Xing then launched another large-scale war, this time occupying the name of revenge, and still won the full support and support of the people.

But then, whether it is the use of troops in the Western Regions or the campaign against Liaodong, it has little to do with defending the country and revenge. Are the people of the Jin Kingdom, who have become accustomed to a comfortable life, really so willing to send their children to dangerous battlefields in their hearts? Are they really so enthusiastic about occupying those cold and bitter cold places?

Of course, Zhao Xing's status and prestige in the eyes of the people of the Northland could not collapse in one day, just as his prestige was not established in one day. However, no matter how obedient the people are, they also have a heartfelt appeal, and no matter how good the fighting troops are, there are times when they are war-weary. Therefore, Zhao Xing must find a new moral high ground and a new increase in prestige.

Zhao Xing wanted the court to call him the king "King of Pingxi", this title was used by someone in later generations, that person became a traitor to the Han people and became a lackey of the Manchus, and his name was Wu Sangui. Zhao Xing didn't want to be a lackey, he wanted others to be a lackey for Dahan, so the title of "King of Pingxi" must be obtained.

From the Yumen Pass, the Han Dynasty called it the "Western Regions", but many people don't know how big the Western Regions are. In Zhao Xing's eyes, the Western Regions Protectorate is just such a place in Xinjiang, but the territory west of Yumen Pass is as big as several big men, except for Zhao Xing who is now qualified and capable of being the "King of Pingxi", who else in the world has this strength and ambition?

Once the imperial court was forced to seal Zhao Xing as the "King of Pingxi", then many things would be logical next. In the future, with Yumen Pass as the boundary, the things inside the pass belong to the Han Dynasty, and the things outside the pass have little to do with the people from now on.

Of course, Zhao Xing will not give up the two big hats of Jin Wang Fu and Liang Wang Fu on his head, and he will not give up the supreme status and honor of the Crouching Tiger City Lord. What Zhao Xing wants is the whole world, and in the process of realizing this ideal, it is divided into two parts: inside the Han and outside the Han.

The reason is as simple as that, to use a foul phrase, it is to take off your pants and fart. However, the Han people like to pay attention to a "famous teacher", and if the name is not right, it is not good, and it seems that everything must be made for a high-sounding reason, even if it is to prepare for invasion and conquest, otherwise they will feel that their confidence and confidence are insufficient.

Since everyone needs a reason, Zhao Xing will discharge one of the most luxurious scenes in the world, so that the people of the world can watch him walk on the moral high ground again.

Lao Tzu is the "King of Pingxi" Zhao Xing! All the territory west of Yumen Pass has to be decided by me! Wusun, Guishuang, Kangju, and Dawan, do you surrender or not? Then I'm sorry, let my eldest brother Guan Yu bring his brothers to clean you up! If anyone can withstand the roar of the Qinglong Yanyue Knife, and whoever can win against Ma Chao, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou, Lao Tzu will spare you from death!

A crazy plan, a crazy ideal.

So, how should we force the imperial court to commit crimes? Today, there are a group of people who understand, such as Lu Zhi, Liu Bei, Zhong Xuan, and Zhuge Liang. Although the power of the imperial court is constantly being encroached upon and squeezed, they always occupy a position of righteousness and orthodoxy, and they want to snatch this throne by force, unless Zhao Xing enters Luoyang like Dong Zhuo and plays the emperor in the palm of his hand.

Zhao Xing's plan is huge, he plans to use the reserve troops urgently mobilized from various states in Guannai to Dunhuang to replace the cavalry of Ma Chao and Yanqi, and then unify these cavalry as Hu people, and "fight" from the undefended Yumen Pass to Guanzhong in one go, and then surround Chang'an and force Huangfu Song back to Luoyang!

And in this process, Zhao Xing continued to pretend to be missing and never showed up, so that the nervous court begged the Jin State to send troops to drive the Hu people back to the Guanwai. At this time, Wang Xiangguo, who was naturally good at bargaining (Wang Yun replaced Liu Dai as the minister of Jin), proposed that only by supporting Zhao Xing as the "King of Pingxi" and dividing the territory of the Western Regions that did not belong to the Han Dynasty to Zhao Xing could he calm the resentment of the Jin Kingdom, win the support and support of several large armies, and finally borrow a large army to protect the safety of Luoyang.

As for what unwise choices Gongsun Du and some other forces in Liaodong would make during the period when the Jin State mobilized troops from the Eastern Front to the direction of Liang to defeat the Hu people in the Western Regions, it is impossible to speculate.

However, according to Zhao Xing's meaning, it is best to jump out of everything that can be jumped, so that everyone can completely distinguish friend from foe, and also find good reasons and excuses for the next step in advance!

PS: Friends, now you can see what Zhao Xing wants to do when he digs this big pit? How can you still understand it? Oh, it's really stupid, even more stupid than Zhou Cang! Zhao Xing is ready to open a sub-base! The countries of the Western Regions are no longer part of the territory of the Han Dynasty, except for Zhao Xing to be the co-master, who will be convinced when the others go to the Western Regions? Not to mention that Zhao Xing also wants to drink the Mediterranean Sea and cross England, where can he be frightened by the name of a Taifu!