"The preacher is dead!" "The wise man is dead!" "Avenge the wise!" As soon as the explosion of the "martyrdom ......" fell, desperate cries rang out from the mountain road. More than a dozen big food bandits took the initiative to climb over the stone wall and rushed towards the Tang army like crazy, like moths to a fire.

Luo Huaizu did not hesitate to give the order to release the arrows, and the veterans and recruits greeted each other with bows and arrows and crossbow arrows, and in the blink of an eye, they all shot the big food bandits who rushed down into hedgehogs.

The battle situation became clear in an instant, and there was no need to waste grenades, Luo Huaizu personally led the team and rushed forward quickly along the mountain road. Leapfrogging the hastily erected obstacles of the Great Food Bandits, kicking away several mutilated corpses, and soon, in a short time, advancing to the top of the mountain.

The resistance encountered along the way was negligible, and the remaining big food bandits were either killed or captured. Luo Huaizu was cautious, scattered the brothers in groups, searched down along the top of the mountain, and searched the entire hill like a net. It was only when he was sure that no enemy had escaped the net that he ordered the prisoners to be pressed in front of him for interrogation.

He originally thought that the bandits were so disregarding their lives that they must be protecting a certain big man in the Stone Kingdom. Unexpectedly, the confessions of the captives after their separate interrogation, after being explained and compared by the brothers who served as interpreters for a while, all expressed the same meaning: the preacher had been killed, and he did not want to live anymore. According to the scriptures, a person who commits suicide is not allowed to ascend to heaven after death. So, it is better to be put to death.

"Isn't the preacher a monk? When did the Great Food Monk become so demagogic that he could deceive so many people into dying for him?! Luo Huaizu was stunned, and the benevolent appearance of those Crescent Sect elders in Chang'an, Luoyang and other places flashed in front of him, and he blurted out the words of questioning.

"In the Western Regions, the Great Food Monk has always been like this, no matter where he goes, he is always accompanied by a group of followers from the Great Food. often draws knives with others, and claims to be kind and kind. "The brother who served as the interpreter on a temporary basis, before the rebellion of Suoge, had worked as a merchant in Broken Leaf for a period of time, and was familiar with the local situation. After listening to Luo Huaizu's question, he immediately reported in a low voice with red eyes.

"After Suoge rebelled, he was accompanied by a group of big cannibals. He brought a lot of weapons, camels, and fire oil. He was also said to have been given a lot of money. A captain of the Hosoliu battalion, who was also a native of Broken Leaves, added indignantly beside him.

"No wonder before leaving, Yong Zhao repeatedly ordered me and Ren Wu to try our best to find a brother who can speak big food as an interpreter! It turned out that he already knew who Yihu was instigated by! Luo Huaizu suddenly realized, and muttered softly. Immediately, he instructed the brothers who were acting as interpreters, "Take them to identify the bodies, which one is the preacher?" ”

When the interpreter heard this, he immediately took the order and left. After a while, he hurried back to report, "Secretary Qiqi, they have already confessed, and the one whose head was blown up is the one." It is said that it is called Ali, the capital of the Great Food Country, and it is of a high rank in its country. ”

Luo Huaizu immediately lost interest and ordered casually. "Carry Ali's body on horseback and take it with you. The rest of the corpses were set on fire! As for the captives......"

After a moment's hesitation, he waved his hand vigorously, "Fulfill them!" And then burned together! ”

"Yes!" The brothers agreed and quickly carried out the order. In a short time, there were sounds of begging for mercy and cries on the mountain road. But soon, all the sounds were gone. The men tied Ali's body to their horses with straw ropes, then jumped back on their mounts and chased after the group in the moonlight.

The excitement of victory made everyone forget about the tiredness. The group kept changing mounts along the way, and at the same time gathered the ownerless animals abandoned by the enemy, and actually drove more than 100 miles that night. In the early hours of the next morning, they reunited with the group of men and horses beside an unnamed hill.

"Why are they all stopped here, could it be that there are some big people trapped on the mountain? Or did the town guard make other arrangements? "Luo Huaizu's public identity is the secretary of the Broken Leaf Town Guard, and his position is transcendent. Therefore, seeing that the team of men and horses all stayed at the foot of the mountain and did not continue to pursue and kill the enemy, he immediately whispered to Ren Liu, who came to greet him into the camp.

"Yihu, Yihu is on the mountain. The guy fled too slowly, and was besieged by us in the middle of the night yesterday. The town guard was worried that it was too dark and the brothers would be easily injured, so he ordered all the intersections of the descent mountain to be sealed and told everyone to regain their strength while waiting for the dawn! When Ren Liu heard this, he immediately responded with a fluttering eyebrow.

"Trapped Yihu? This waste, who can't even run for his life, actually dares to smash Ye Cheng's idea! Luo Huaizu spat on the ground and counted it with disdain on his face.

Yesterday, from the situation that the stone army was about to collapse at the touch of a button, he expected that Yihu might be in danger of disaster this time! Unexpectedly, Yihu would become a turtle in an urn so quickly! However, thinking about Yihu's strength and the approximate time of sending troops, his heart was also clear.

This kind of small state takes the initiative to attack a big country that is 100 times more powerful than itself, which is itself a kind of death-seeking behavior. Yihu is not even a king, how can he be a smart person if he was fooled by the monk of Dashi and dared to lead his private soldiers to risk attacking Broken Leaves?

Since it's a fool who is making a fool's errand, it's normal to lose all his family and his own life later. It's a pity that those Shiguo soldiers were sent into a war with no hope of winning at all, and no one even collected their bones after death.

Just as he was sighing, he suddenly heard a low horn sound in his ears. Immediately after, a large group of cavalry, under the leadership of Zhang Baosheng, rushed to the hillside not far away.

"Could it be that he is desperate and ready to fight to the death?" Luo Huaizu froze, instinctively raised his head, and looked at the blades of the cavalry with his eyes. But to his astonishment, he found that a small group of Sogdians, carrying a white kudzu cloth on a flagpole, stumbled closer to the cavalry.

"Damn, it's a shame." Luo Huaizu immediately understood the Sogdians' intentions, and couldn't help but slam on the ground again!

As the head of Qi Mo, although he has a darker belly and likes to fool others into making a fool of himself, he has at least the consciousness of not succeeding in a big event and dying. This kind of behavior of provoking a war without considering strength, and kneeling immediately if he can't win a battle, really can't be understood and accepted by him.

Worried that Zhang Qian's heart would be soft-hearted, he would easily let the enemy chief survive. After scolding, he hurriedly arranged for his two lieutenants to take the brothers to settle down in the camp. Then he ignored his exhaustion, packed up his clothes haphazardly, and went straight to the Chinese army. When he entered the tent door of the Chinese army, he heard Zhang Qian say softly to people: "Since Yihu Special Service was deceived by others and made such a big mistake, Ben Shuai should indeed give him a chance to reform himself." However, the brothers fought hard, and Ben Shuai could not let them work in vain. In this way, you bring a message to Yihu, saying that Ben Shuai allowed him to redeem himself. He himself had two thousand taels of gold, and his brothers, and he wanted to take one for twenty taels of gold. As soon as he paid the full amount, Ben Shuai immediately asked the brothers to get out of the way and let him go......"

"No!" Luo Huaizu was in a hurry, rushed to the front of the handsome case in three steps and two steps, and shouted to dissuade: "The town guard, let him go for two thousand taels, isn't it too cheap for him?!" Later, the other small countries learned that it was so cheap to invade Broken Leaf Town, even if they lost the battle, they could get out by paying only two thousand taels of gold, wouldn't they be ...... as soon as someone instigated it?"

"Secretary Zhang, don't be impatient!" Zhang Qian waved his hand with a smile and interrupted softly, "You came back just in time, She Tuo Dagan under Yihu said that the reason why they invaded Broken Leaf was because of the big food lecturer." I remember leaving you behind to capture a gang of food bandits. But I don't know if the preacher is among them? ”

"Yes, I blew it up with a grenade, leaving only a headless corpse!" Luo Huaizu was stunned again, and responded angrily, "I also brought the corpse here, for fear that it would rot and cause a plague, I have already sent the brothers to deal with it with sulfur and salt!" ”

"Leave him to do what he wants, burn it, burn it quickly. Zhang Gui, you go! Zhang Qian heard this and waved his hand lightly again. It's as if it doesn't matter whether Ali is dead or alive.

"Yes!" Zhang Gui agreed and walked out of the account quickly. When he passed by Luo Huaizu's side, he quietly touched the latter's shoulder with his arm.

Luo Huaizu had already doubted Zhang Qian's performance, and suddenly understood. But he didn't dare to change his attitude too quickly, continued to pretend to be dissatisfied, and reminded with his crossed hands: "The town guard, the person who preached the scriptures is dead, of course Yihu can push any responsibility on his head!" However, as the lord of Talas and the younger brother of the king of Shiguo, if he didn't have the slightest ill intentions towards us Broken Leaf in his heart, then the Great Food Lecturer could still use sweat medicine to stun him, and then send troops instead of him to attack the territory of Broken Leaf? ”

"That's right, when he killed people and set fires, why didn't he realize that he was fooled, and he realized when he lost?"

"If he enters Shattered Leaf City at this moment, will he be able to repent?"

"The secretary is right, the town guard, the thieves are cunning, don't believe their rhetoric."

"Keeper, don't talk nonsense to them. Ordered to attack the mountain, the last general is willing to be a pioneer! ”

……

The generals present were not slow to react. They waved their arms and shouted loudly. It was as if Zhang Qian would have mutiny if he didn't agree with the group to continue the attack.

"Boss, please listen to the explanation! Generals, please allow me to explain. Shi Guodagan She Tuo, who came down the mountain to beg for mercy, heard this, and hurriedly smiled and bowed his hand to the four sides, "Shi Guoda Gan She Tuo, who came down to the mountain to beg for mercy, has seen the secretary in charge." The secretary in charge and the generals didn't know that the dispatch of troops and horses to attack Broken Leaf was indeed an order personally given by my family's special services. However, my family was young, and I didn't know that people's hearts were sinister, and unfortunately I worshipped Ali, a great food sage, as a teacher. That's why this person made such a big mistake under the coaxing. My family is a spy and knows that my sin is unforgivable. However, after all, the Tang Dynasty is the upper kingdom of the Celestial Empire, and it will not be as knowledgeable as us barbarians. If the town guard can let my family spy have a way out, not only the surname Zhaowu Jiu, but also the name of the town guard envoy will be widely praised, and my family spy will also be willing to pay enough compensation to show the sincerity of repentance! ”

"Turning into a barbarian? You're right. Barbarians can do anything wrong, in this way, everyone should be barbarians! In the future, Lao Tzu will take people to your stone country to kill people and set fires, and I will also say that I am a foreign barbarian, so I can not be subject to any constraints! Luo Huaizu pouted again and again when he heard this, but his voice was still much quieter than before.

"The secretary in charge is a nobleman of the Heavenly Empire, how can it be a barbarian?!" That Shi Guoda is also thick-skinned enough, in order to keep Yihu alive, he can say anything contemptuous and despying, "Only those of us who don't read and don't know what to do are barbarians." But we, the barbarians, also know that Datang has always been generous to neighboring countries. Therefore, after discovering that he had made a big mistake, he asked for the forgiveness of General Datang with a trace of luck. Instead of choosing to resist to the end, fight with the Datang soldiers to lose both. ”

"You're fighting, let's see if you have the ability to fight and lose?!" Ren Wu was furious when he heard this, frowning and shouting.

"You'd better spell it out, see how many you can spell!"

"Come on, come on, hurry back, let your special service department rush down, and everyone will lose!"

……

Zhang Gui, Shi Jin and other generals also spoke one after another, disdainful of Shi Guoda's threat to She Tuo.

"Don't dare, don't dare, I just, I just don't want that. My family's secret service is now, and I don't have the ability to hurt you on one of your toes! That Shi Guoda Gan She Tuo immediately realized that he had made a mistake and decisively bowed down to apologize.

"Okay, he's already succumbed, there's no need for everyone to be unrelenting!" Seeing that She Tuo's attitude was submissive, Zhang Qian was not too concerned, smiled, and waved his hand to stop everyone from "beating" the water dog.

"Yes!" The generals retreated, and stood on both sides with their hands on the hilt of the knife, one by one, looking at Shi Guoda's neck and eager to try.

She Tuo was numb when he saw it, and hurriedly smiled and arched his hand: "Thank you for the magnanimity of the town guard, and thank you for the generosity of the generals." When we return to Shiguo, we will definitely send something to make amends for our sins as a thank you for not killing today. ”

"I'll talk about the future. You go back and tell Yihu that he himself has two thousand taels, and the soldiers under his command, regardless of their official positions, are all twenty-one taels. I want gold, or jewels that are worth as much as gold. He wants to redeem as many people as he wants. When will it be all handed over, and when will I let him go down the mountain and go home. ”

"Thank you, the town guard! Thank you, Keeper! That Shi Guoda Gan She Tuo first knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Zhang Qian with a thousand thanks, and then refused to leave immediately, but bargained with a dead smile, "The town guard envoy Rong Yu, although two thousand taels of gold is not much, but if my family secret service only goes down the mountain alone, it will definitely not be able to return to Talas alive." And if I redeem the lives of other soldiers, I will wait for the hand, and I will wait for the hand for a while, and I am afraid that I will not be able to make up much money. ”

"Twenty taels of gold for one person, you are still too expensive. You say that you yourself are not worth twenty taels of gold! Zhang Qian immediately frowned and patted the case with his hand.

"Not expensive, not expensive, absolutely, absolutely!" She Tuo was so frightened that he fell to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "It's just that the town guard, I lost too badly yesterday, and I lost all my baggage." To be able to make up the ransom of one agent, it is already necessary to search all the belongings on everyone on the mountain. It's simply impossible to make up more. And if there are too few people to protect, and the secret service makes a mistake on the way home, I am afraid that it will affect your prestige. ”

"So, the town guard still has the responsibility to send Yihu back to Talas safely?" Zhang Qian was angry and funny when he heard it, and he couldn't help but pout and question.

"Don't dare, don't dare. But, within the stone country, maybe there are people who don't want the secret service to go back. And if they do evil, they will definitely plant it indiscriminately! She Tuo's eloquence was indeed convenient, and he immediately cried and gave the latest explanation. At that time, my special service will not have the opportunity to truly reform himself. The town guard is obviously benevolent and righteous, but he will also bear a notoriety. Therefore, please let me wait for some less ransom first, and then find a way to make up for the town guard after returning to Talus! ”

"So?" Zhang Qian was suspicious, frowned and thought for a moment, and finally nodded reluctantly, "Okay, I will allow your family's special service, and after paying his own ransom fee, I will take a thousand cronies down the mountain and leave." Those 1,000 people can carry armor and weapons together, I don't take his ransom, he owes me, you can make an IOU! The rest of the Sogdians, at this price, could come and redeem them at any time when he returned to Talas! ”

This concession is huge enough. When you landed, you Shi Guoda did She Tuo, and you kowtowed gratefully.

"But if you owe money, you have to pay interest!" Zhang Qian smiled and added confidently. "And the interest, I say!"

"That's nature, that's nature!" Shi Guoda was afraid that Zhang Qian would return, so he agreed repeatedly, "Although the town guard envoy said, we will never bargain." ”

Twenty thousand taels of gold is not a small amount for ordinary people. However, for a country's special services, it is a drop in the bucket. Therefore, in order to get out as soon as possible, of course, he dared to agree to any interest.

Zhang Qian wanted this sentence, smiled, and said heartily: "I put the conditions here, you can let Yihu think about it, and if you are willing to agree, you will agree, if you are not, I will not be reluctant." He took a thousand men with him, and he owed me twenty thousand gold. From today onwards, the daily interest is double the principal. From here to Talas, it will take less than six days to get to Talas. Ten days later, if he can send me the arrears and the principal to Ashbrosorg, the crime of this invasion will be written off! If you agree, but you don't do it, I will ask the king of Shiguo for this debt, no matter how many days it takes to get it, the interest will remain the same! ”

"This, thank you to the town guard, I will go and persuade my family to agree. Let's go back. Please wait a moment. Dagan Shetuo blinked his eyes for a long time, and he didn't calculate how much 20,000 taels of gold would become in twelve days. Hesitantly, he gave up his hand and asked Zhang Qian for permission to go back and ask for instructions from the special service Yihu.

"You can go, but within an hour, if Ben Shuai doesn't get a return, he will directly blow up this mountain!" Zhang Qian put away his smile, his face sinking like water.

"Thank you, the Guard, please wait, please wait!" Dagan She Tuo was so frightened that his feet were weak, and he crawled away with a roll, leaving behind him a burst of laughter.

"Will they say yes, Keeper? More than 90 million taels of gold, I am afraid it will not be enough to sell the entire stone country of Shi country. After everyone's laughter subsided, Luo Huaizu walked to the handsome case and asked with a gloating face.

"Hiss-" In the tent of the Chinese army, the sound of gasping cold air immediately rang out. The generals present only knew that Shi Guo would definitely have to pay a huge amount of money. But he didn't expect that 20,000 taels of gold would become more than 90 million taels after 12 days, and they were dumbfounded.

"He will definitely agree, however, he will definitely not pay!" Zhang Qian already had the answer in his heart, smiled, and responded loudly.

"Will you let him go?" Luo Huaizu didn't understand what Zhang Qian meant, and continued to ask with a frown.

"Put it, of course you have to put it!" Zhang Qian smiled again and patted the case gently, "You can run away from the monk, but you can't run away from the temple." If you don't let him go, who am I going to ask for money?! ”

Indeed, the Tang Dynasty did not have a sufficient population base to occupy the vast land west of the Green Mountains for a long time.

However, in another time and space, there was a small state with a population base far less than that of the Tang Dynasty, and the sun never set empire.

It's easy to learn. As long as the people of the occupied areas are not treated as their own citizens, and they can control a strong army in their hands that is ahead of the colonies.

And now, the Broken Leaf Army in Zhang Qian's hands just meets the conditions!