After packing their luggage, Jiang Hao set out lightly with Queen Dina and fifty guards, returning to the Kucha Kingdom the next day. The journey of over two hundred li would take only two days. The camp supplies were naturally handled by the steward. After traveling a hundred li, night fell, and they made camp beside a small river.
Jiang Hao and Dina walked hand in hand along the shallow river, watching the setting sun. Jiang Hao said softly, "Dina, if I told you I had no great ambitions, no desire to accomplish some earth-shaking feat, would you believe me?"
Dina looked at Jiang Hao. "Unifying the nations of the Western Regions is something countless rulers have wished to accomplish. No one had succeeded for hundreds of years, yet you created a unified Western Regions. That is already an immense achievement!"
"Actually, I would rather live like this—holding your hand, traveling when we have nothing to do, and living quietly together. That would be enough," Jiang Hao said.
Dina moved closer to Jiang Hao and rested her head on his shoulder. "What Dina wants now is to know when she can bear children for her king, children who will inherit the Kucha Kingdom and the Shache Kingdom."
Jiang Hao smiled. "How many should we have?"
"However many my king wants. It is not as though we cannot afford to raise them. When the time comes, all those brothers can become heroes like you. Once they grow up, my king can lead a whole group of sons into battle. How impressive would that be?" Dina said.
"Hahaha, good. Then we shall have several more."
The next day, after returning to the Kucha Kingdom, Jiang Hao threw himself into reorganizing the army. He mobilized the troops of the various nations and prepared