What About Li Bai? (Thanks to Ai Ai for Becoming This Book's Alliance Leader)

The Wusun Kingdom lay at the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. At its height, it occupied the entire Ili River basin and vast lands in the western Tianshan. Its royal court was based in Chigu City, not far from the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. The Wusun Kingdom bordered the Xiongnu, and its territory included what is now northwestern Xinjiang, southeastern Kazakhstan, and eastern and central Kyrgyzstan.

The Xiongnu had two reasons for attacking the Wusun. First, the Wusun had previously joined forces with the Great Han Dynasty to attack the Xiongnu and had nearly wiped them out. That was a blood feud. Now that Great Han had declined, the Xiongnu naturally sought revenge.

The second reason was strategic. The Wusun lay at the border between the Xiongnu and the Western Regions. Controlling the Wusun would allow them to better control the Western Regions as well. The Xiongnu had never lacked ambition; after taking the Wusun, they could extend their reach to Dayuan, and then the Kushan Kingdom.

Fifty thousand troops set out, their momentum shaking the heavens.

This time, Kucha and Shache sent thirty thousand troops, while the other kingdoms jointly contributed twenty thousand. Jiang Hao had made it clear that this was their first joint operation, and any gains would be distributed according to each kingdom's proportion of troops. All the kingdoms agreed.

Jiang Hao had originally intended for Her Majesty the Queen to remain behind and continue presiding over Kucha's state affairs. But she clung stubbornly to him, leaving him no choice but to bring along this little secretary. He assigned the prime ministers of Kucha and Shache to watch over the affairs of both kingdoms.

Jiang Hao already had the authority to establish his own administrative court. He set up the Western King's Court and