Wuwei meant martial prowess that shook the world with its might.
Those words embodied the spirit of the Han.
Emperor Wu established the Four Hexi Commanderies, severing the Xiongnu's right arm, and from then on, the name Wuwei stood above the yellow sands.
The Qilian Mountains stretched like a screen across the city's south; around Liangzhou's ancient ramparts, yellow sands spread for a thousand miles.
The city remained the old city, its bricks still Han bricks, yet the banner above its walls had passed through three ruling houses.
The "Account of Dayuan" in the Records of the Grand Historian recorded how Zhang Qian opened the Western Regions and four commanderies were established in Hexi to drive back the Xiongnu.
Wuwei was founded not for the riches of fertile land, but as a lock upon the throat-to lock the Xiongnu beyond the Yin Mountains, and the Western Regions beyond the Jade Gate.
The Han bricks remained, but the Han soldiers had long since rotted away; the Qilian Mountains stood unchanged, while dynasty after dynasty rose in turn.
The banners above the walls changed; the name upon the gate did not.
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the delegation reached Wuwei.
The north wind scoured the earth, yellow dust swallowed the sky, and the snow line of the Qilian Mountains hung low over the battlements like a blade.
Wei Shouzheng reined in his horse and looked up: lofty towers rose high, the battlements stood imposing, yet desolation lay beneath the walls...
No one came to welcome them. No officials, no ceremonial guard, not a single person to offer a word.
Both leaves of the city gate were shut, as though in refusal, as though in silence.
The soldiers on the walls held their spears and looked down at his