Chapter 320
Hailing from Donghai Commandery, Wu Ying was a loyal subject whose upright conduct and profound filial piety had kept him in the post of Guangluxun for years.
Having married Emperor Xiaoxuan's eldest daughter, he had never lost his humility—a trait that earned him Wang Mang's deep trust and continued patronage.
Now quite advanced in age, he had been weighing when to retire from office, only to be dragged back to the front lines by the untimely Xiongnu invasion.
Despite the prestige of overseeing the palace's internal affairs, the Guangluxun historically handled a relatively light workload.
It was an easy enough role for an elderly man to manage, but Wang Mang had assigned him a highly unusual mission.
To travel to Rome as an envoy and secure a pledge of military support.
Dispatching the Guangluxun—one of the Nine Ministers—as a mere envoy starkly illustrated just how anxious Wang Mang had become.
"Rome demanded I come in person, but with the Xiongnu war raging, I cannot abandon my post. Explain our situation. Tell them that you, the late Emperor's son-in-law and the current Guangluxun, have come in my stead. Rome will not be able to fault us for that."
Though he did not voice it aloud, deliberately sending the elderly Wu Ying was a calculated move to subtly emphasize the hardships Han had endured to make this journey.
Wu Ying found Wang Mang's scheming distasteful, but he complied in silence.
He did it not for Wang Mang, but to save Han from the Xiongnu invasion.
The most perceptive minds in the court were already calling this the greatest crisis since the empire's founding.
The Xiongnu forces that had breached the borders were confirmed to number one hundred thousand.
Naturally, if Han committed its entire military might, they could repel a force of this size.
Nobody knew why the Xiongnu were leisurely biding their time after occupying the northeast, but it was a fact that nomadic cavalry struggled to leverage their strengths in defensive warfare.
The real problem was that driving out nearly one hundred thousand Xiongnu tribe warriors would force Han to expend a catastrophic amount of strength.
And these forces were not the entirety of the Xiongnu's power.
Beyond the Great Wall, the steppes were still swarming with those repulsive nomadic barbarians.
The Han Dynasty's current strength alone simply was not enough to completely suppress the nomads in the aftermath of this war.
They had to rope Rome into this conflict to stabilize at least the west.
If the nomads choked off Han's Silk Road, the empire's already precarious finances would almost certainly plunge into the abyss.
They could no longer afford to be dragged around by the nomads.
They needed to take preemptive measures to stay one step ahead.
The only silver lining was that Wu Ying did not have to travel all the way to Rome proper.
According to a previous envoy who had made the trip, reaching the Roman capital required months of overland travel followed by a lengthy sea voyage.
Instead of journeying to the Italian peninsula, however, Wu Ying was granted an audience with the Crown Princess of Rome right here in Marcopolis.
Given the empire's sheer size, it seemed the Emperor remained in the mainland capital while the Crown Princess oversaw state affairs in the east.
Or perhaps, with an abdication looming, she was being allowed to build practical experience in ruling the empire.
Whatever the reason, not having to cross the sea was nothing but a blessing for Wu Ying.
After resting for a few days to shake off the fatigue of his long journey, Wu Ying finally stood before Sophia.
Beside him, the Roman interpreter issued a final reminder regarding the necessary protocols.
"Lady Sophia is the one who will inherit everything from Augustus and become Augusta. Pharaoh of Egypt, Shahanshah of Persia, Guardian of the Mediterranean, Protector of India, and First Citizen of Rome. These are the titles Lady Sophia Julia Licinia Crassis Caesaria will receive.
Once the succession is complete, Augusta will be added to the end. Do not make a mistake."
He had heard this litany enough to make his ears bleed, yet every repetition only reinforced his thought that the name was absurdly long.
‘So she is the owner of that grandiose name...’
In Wu Ying's eyes, Sophia's first impression was one of elegant beauty.
Old age had not robbed him of his manhood; it was only natural for his gaze to be drawn to such an attractive woman.
Her makeup style was completely alien to the Central Plains, and her clothing and jewelry were entirely exotic, yet this very foreign beauty commanded his attention.
"I greet the Crown Princess of Rome. I am Wu Ying, the Guangluxun of Han and the head of this diplomatic mission. Before his passing, my father held the position of Chancellor."
After hearing his credentials relayed by the interpreter, Sophia gave a curt nod.
"A key minister of the current court and the son of the former Chancellor—you certainly meet the requirements. I considered turning you away when the man named Wang Mang failed to appear in person, but your status seems sufficient. That is why I permitted this audience."
"I am deeply grateful for your boundless generosity."
As he bowed his head in rising awkwardness, Wu Ying's voice trembled slightly.
As the Guangluxun of Han, never once in his life had he been forced to act so submissively in a foreign land.
He was the son of a Chancellor and the son-in-law of the late Emperor.
Coupled with his own position, his standing commanded more respect than even the kings of Han's neighboring vassal states.
Yet here he was in a distant country, bowing his head not to a ruler but to a mere successor—and a woman, at that. It made his stomach churn with indignation.
He endured it because he had no choice, but suppressing his irritation was growing harder by the second.
"Now, tell me what brings you here today. In truth, I already have a rough idea. It is about the Xiongnu tribe, is it not?"
"Yes. My purpose is not much different from that of the previous envoy. At that time, Your Highness determined that he lacked the proper standing for such talks and sent him back."
"I did not turn him away out of simple arrogance. I sent him packing because a lowly envoy could not possibly possess the authority to review my demands. To be frank, even you are barely scraping by."
In stark contrast to Sophia's slightly languid tone, cold sweat raced down Wu Ying's spine.
If even he—the man who oversaw the inner palace—was barely qualified, just what kind of outrageous demands was she planning to make?
"If the matter falls within my authority, I shall give you an immediate answer right here and now."
"Is that so? Then let us hear your demands first."
"Our request is simple. We ask that Rome lend us its military strength in the war against the Xiongnu."
"That is impossible."
Wu Ying's face contorted at the razor-sharp rejection.
Hastily smoothing over his expression, he asked in the most polite tone he could muster.
"May I hear the reason?"
"How are we supposed to lend you our strength when we do not even know where these Xiongnu bastards are encamped?"
"I can explain that. Right now, they are operating in the directions of Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou..."
"Do you think saying that means anything to me? Point it out yourself on this map."
Sophia flicked a finger, and her attendants unrolled a massive map.
It was an enormous map, taller than a grown man.
Yet Wu Ying was far more astounded by the map's astonishing detail than its sheer size.
To his shock, the map comprehensively covered not just the entirety of Han, but its surrounding territories as well.
Furthermore, the shape of the map was completely different from anything used in Han.
In other words, it had not been drawn from stolen domestic data. Somehow, Rome had charted this map themselves.
‘How is this possible...? Just how much information do these people possess?’
Struggling to conceal his emotions as much as possible, Wu Ying pointed to the northeast section of the map, indicating the Xiongnu's position.
Sophia sneered at the spot Wu Ying pointed out.
"They have holed up entirely in the northeast corner. Look at this. How exactly are we supposed to help you catch an enemy entrenched all the way over there? Whether we go by land or sea, I cannot even fathom how long it would take."
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. The invaders gathered there do not represent the Xiongnu's full strength. Countless forces are still highly active across the western and northern steppes. We will drive out the Xiongnu tribe in the northeast with our own hands. We ask only that your nation lend us its military might to subjugate the barbarians in the west."
"Well..."
"If the Xiongnu are left to their own devices, the Silk Road in the west may be severed. Would that not deal a massive blow to Rome as well? If the Xiongnu begin extorting tolls, your merchants will face unnecessary expenses."
By any logical standard, Rome could not possibly be pleased to see the Xiongnu's power expand.
They had already fought one war against them; they knew full well how terrifying the Xiongnu could be.
And from Rome's perspective, they could never simply abandon the income generated by the Silk Road trade.
To anyone with eyes, joining forces was the most mutually beneficial move.
A stronger Xiongnu tribe would be just as much of a headache for Rome.
Yet, completely defying Wu Ying's expectations, Sophia still remained coldly unimpressed.
"You know one thing, but not the other."
"Pardon?"
"Let us assume the Xiongnu do take control of the Silk Road. Why exactly would that harm us?"
"Because they will obviously extort massive tolls from both sides..."
"Unless they have a death wish, do you really think they would dare make excessive demands of Rome? If you ask me, they will only levy those tolls against your side. From Roman merchants, they might collect a meager security fee at best. You are the desperate ones here, not us. Am I wrong?"
Wu Ying was momentarily struck dumb by the valid counterargument.
Just as Sophia pointed out, the Han Dynasty was the desperate one, not Rome.
Rome would not be completely unaffected, of course, but it was also true that they faced no immediate peril.
In other words, she was telling him to drop any clumsy attempts to ride on their coattails.
Put another way, it seemed she was demanding they pay a fitting price.
"If you look at it in fragments, that is certainly true. But Rome has fought the Xiongnu before and suffered heavy casualties in the process. If we fail to contain them now, they might grow even stronger than they were in the past. By then, it will be too late."
"And do you think we will just sit idle in the meantime? Nomads pose no meaningful threat to Rome."
Just where did this boundless confidence come from?
Wu Ying began to doubt if Sophia properly grasped the reality of the international political landscape.
He had heard the current Emperor possessed god-given wisdom, but it was hardly uncommon for a successor to fall short of such a legacy.
He even began to suspect that the woman sitting before him was nothing more than a pretty face devoid of any real competence.
"You cannot be so certain of that! By their very nature, nomads can either be a catastrophic threat or a trivial nuisance depending entirely on who leads them. The man currently leading the Xiongnu has styled himself the Grand Chanyu following Baghatur, unifying the steppes with astonishing leadership. If he continues to gain power, no one can predict how monstrous a threat the nomads might become—"
"No, I know. Let me make this absolutely clear. The current Grand Chanyu of the Xiongnu will never pose a threat to Rome."
"How can you be so certain...?"
Instead of answering, Sophia merely crossed her legs upon the throne and offered a shrug.
Wu Ying knew all too well what that attitude meant.
Across all ages and all nations, it was the universal reaction of someone flaunting a sense of superiority from an advantage in information.
Rome knew something about the man leading the Xiongnu.
He suddenly realized they might possess even more detailed intelligence than Han did.
Sophia watched Wu Ying's reeling confusion with visible amusement before speaking again.
"Still, in recognition of the sincerity you have shown by dragging your aged body to this distant land, I will offer a proposal. Meet my condition, and I will ensure your nation never has to worry about the Xiongnu threat again."
Finally, the moment had arrived.
Wu Ying asked with a tense face.
"I will hear this condition before making my decision."
"Very well. Decide right here and now, if you have the authority to do so. I will stabilize the Silk Road and completely leash the Xiongnu so they can never strike at you again. And in return, you will..."
Sophia deliberately trailed off, pausing for breath.
With sweaty palms, Wu Ying waited for her next words, only to drop his jaw at a final decree that made him doubt his own ears.
"Forbid the title of Son of Heaven for all eternity, and kiss the foot of the Crown Princess of Rome."