The court's decree naturally traveled all the way from Luoyang toward the Western Regions. The decree calling for aid to the emperor would certainly be circulated throughout every province and commandery.
Even the nearest kingdom in the Western Regions was thousands of li from Luoyang, and the route was fraught with danger. The only saving grace was that Liangzhou and Sili had no followers of the Way of Great Peace.
Eastward from Yumen Pass and Yang Pass in Dunhuang Commandery lay the Western Regions Kingdoms.
To the people of the realm today, the Western Regions stood in relation to Great Han much as Chu State had to the Zhou State. Deep down, they acknowledged the Western Regions as part of All Xia, but their words dripped with contempt of every kind. Some went so far as to call them the Western Yi.
Even the feudal kings who came to Luoyang to present tribute were mocked by its powerful elite, which offered a glimpse of the situation.
The Marquis of Unshuang came from the Luo Clan. With his brothers in the Central Plains supporting him, he had never experienced such things, but his influence in the Central Plains remained limited.
His influence was greater, however, in commanderies such as the Four Hexi Commanderies, which bordered closely on the Western Regions.
The greatest difference between the Western Regions Kingdoms and the Central Plains was that Daoism and Buddhism flourished throughout the Western Regions.
The Sage King Sovereign was the supreme object of faith, but that faith did not count as a religion.
Daoism and Buddhism, however, were true religions, well suited to spreading, and the two faiths plagiarized each other's scriptures.
Buddhism excelled at absorbing local culture and thereby adapting to its surroundings, while Daoism was the closest fit for the people