Khotanese city is located at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains, high glacial meltwater, along the foothills of the mountains into the Tarim Basin of the yellow sand, Khotanese city is built by the river, surrounded by a vast oasis, can grow crops, raise livestock, like such an oasis, there are a lot, along the Kunlun Mountains and the Tianshan Mountains distribution, the oasis is like a natural supply station, all the oases are strung together, is the ancient Silk Road.

Merchants from the Western Regions traveled thousands of miles into the Central Plains, exchanging gold, silver, jewelry, and various spices for silk and porcelain, and then relying on camel caravans to transport them back to the far west.

This journey takes years to count, and it is full of dangers, and it may be buried in the yellow sand at any time.

However, even if it is difficult and dangerous, it cannot stop people from chasing profits.

Brother Guo Xing stood next to a clear spring, the cold mountain spring water washed his face, and he suddenly became much more energetic.

He had heard gentlemen speak about the Western Regions many times in the past, but no matter how brilliant the language was, he could not describe one ten-thousandth of the Western Regions. Behind him is the legendary qanats, and in front of him is a large poplar forest, where cows, horses, and livestock graze leisurely, enjoying a rare peace.

Guo Xingge found a stone tablet, which was erected by an official surnamed Li in the Tang Dynasty, and the mottled inscription on it showed that they spent thirty-six years to repair the karez, and the number of deaths was hundreds!

Every inch of land here is soaked with the countless blood and sweat of our predecessors.

Such a treasure land, how can it be handed over!

Sitting and talking about the Tao is never as strong as being there, and no matter what, you can't lose the Western Regions...... Although the Black Khanate was won, peace was still too far away, and preparations for war must be accelerated, because even bigger battles could break out at any time!

Guo Xingge returned to the city from the foot of the mountain, and he found Chen Shi and Li Shengtian arguing...... Because after the victory in the battle, they captured a large number of prisoners, and Li Shengtian insisted on killing all the prisoners.

Pile up their corpses into a mountain, only in this way can the Black Khanate feel the pain of the skin!

"For decades, it has always been their people, slaughtering our people, and this time we will take revenge on them with even more cruel means! Let them understand that Khotan is not easy to bully! ”

Chen Shi understood Li Shengtian's anger very well, but he always felt that the captives were still of some use, for example, the city had to be strengthened, and a moat had to be built, and there was already a shortage of labor in Khotan, and it was a pity that 20,000 people were wasted in vain.

"There's no way!" Li Shengtian spread his hands out, "General Chen, you have to know our difficulties, there is too little grain in the city, the Black Khanate is constantly invaded, we have lost half of the oasis, they are a group of robbers. In order to be able to break through the city, they will even dig the qanats! ”

The old king, grief-stricken and indignant, for the people of the Western Regions, qanats meant water, and water here meant everything...... For hundreds of years, it has been customary that no matter what kind of battle it is, it cannot destroy the qanats, and whoever destroys them will be punished by God!

But in recent decades, the Black Khanate has sprung up, and they don't care at all, and they are frantically looting and wreaking havoc wherever they pass...... It's especially hateful, even the qanats don't let go!

The Black Khanate knew very well that even in the Western Regions, the Han people could not change their farming habits, as long as the farmland was destroyed, the Han people would not be able to gain a foothold, and the land would be theirs...... These people don't even care that the land becomes a desert, they don't cultivate anyway, they just keep grabbing it.

"Grain, we need food, and in order to survive, we have to hunt yellow sheep, camels, wild horses, and even snow leopards from the mountains!"

Li Shengtian firmly believes in Buddhism, and there is always a trace of awe for living beings, especially the elves on the snowy mountain, and they can't bear to be hurt, but there is no way, they always have to live...... Li Shengtian even thought that after killing the captives, he would sprinkle salt on the corpses, and maybe at some point, he would be able to use them!

Chen Shi's scalp was numb, and even though he had been in the Western Regions for some days, he was still frightened by the terrible situation here.

"Actually, you can exchange prisoners for food!" Brother Guo Xing gritted his teeth and said: "20,000 captives are 20,000 laborers, I think the imperial court is willing to pay a high price!" ”

Li Shengtian frowned, "His Royal Highness the King of Shang, the Central Plains is extremely vast, and there are billions of living beings, so do you care about 20,000 people?" ”

"Of course!" Brother Guo Xing said with a smile: "Brother Huang and Champion Hou are going all out to supervise the repair of Shu Road, such a difficult project, many people will definitely die, if you use prisoners to build the road, you don't have to worry about anything, and you can speed up the progress of the project!" ”

When Li Shengtian heard this, he was overjoyed, the faster the Shu Road was repaired, the faster the heavy troops of the Great Zhou could enter the Western Regions, and they would be able to come back to life!

"If that's the case, it's okay to give it away for free!"

Brother Guo Xing waved his hand, "I have my own way to do this, I guarantee that I can sell it at a good price, just wait and see!" ”

Brother Guo Xing touched the jade card in his arms and showed a sly smile.

When my sister-in-law is leaving, I can't use the baby I give myself.

If the captives were sent to the imperial court, and then the imperial court allocated food and transported it to the Western Regions, not to mention the long distance, the process alone was cumbersome, it was enough to make people despair.

Brother Guo Xing came up with an excellent solution.

He gathered all his captives together and auctioned them off to the merchants, and he did not want money, but only grain, or meat of the same price as grain.

After photographing the slaves, they will get an official document, and with this official document, they can go to Dazhou to participate in the contracting project.

The merchants of the Western Regions are definitely the most cunning group of people, they walk on the most dangerous trade routes all the year round, and everyone has developed a pair of fiery eyes and can smell the business opportunities the most.

Take the present as an example, one stone of grain can be exchanged for a captive, and a captive, in the Great Zhou, can almost be sold for more than fifteen yuan, and it is still in short supply.

The slave trade alone was a huge profit.

Not to mention contracted works.

The imperial court spared no expense to build roads, and took some soup and water casually, which was an astronomical amount. Even if they lose money, some people are willing to do it, because to build the Shu Road, a large number of gunpowder blasting is used, and cement is used to build the road.

Learn these techniques, and there will be a lot of opportunities to make money in the future.

And many businessmen have a dream of Chang'an, during the Tang Dynasty, how many businessmen lived in Chang'an all the year round, indulged in enjoyment, and never thought about it...... The prosperity of Kaifeng is still above Chang'an, how can anyone not covet the truth!

Participate in the project of Da Zhou and obtain the qualification to live in Kaifeng...... Having figured out the key, the businessman took action.

No one knows where they got their food, no one knows what means they used, and in short, in less than a month, the warehouses in Khotan were full.

But when they went to collect the captives, a scene appeared that left them stunned.

The soldier in charge of the guard, tied the prisoner to a stake, stuffed wood in his mouth, then went to his trousers, and with a skillful knife with a dagger, two oval objects fell into the basin, cleanly and without half a moment's hesitation.

Solve one, move on to the next.

Seeing the merchants coming, the soldier smiled and said: "The donor here, please, the donor, these are all wounds recovered, the donor, please count, the donor goodbye, welcome to come again......" The soldier smiled, amiable, and took off his hat, showing his big bald head, and bowed to the merchant.

Almost every merchant had a green face, and fled as if he had left the camp, the sooner the better, and they swore to God that they would never go into the temple to burn incense in this life, it was terrible!

The monks and soldiers of the Western Regions are completely synonymous with the evil ghosts of Shura.

But they don't care, and they are even proud of it.

Although Khotanese believed in Buddhism, most of the children of ordinary people would not go to the temple to become monks, and many monks were orphans, and their parents and relatives died at the hands of barbarians.

Their temple is facing the fate of being destroyed, and in the past they have lowered their eyebrows and seemed to accept their fate. But when they saw a glimmer of hope, these people were crazier than anyone else!

It is merciful enough not to ask for your life, and the root of life must be kept!

The monks even began to hunt on their own, capturing the Tibetans, the Uighurs, and all the barbarians they could see...... The barbarians can exchange food, the barbarians can also build roads, and when the roads are repaired, the aid of the Central Plains will come, and there is nothing more exciting than this.

"I think it might be dangerous if it goes on like this!" Zhao Kuangyi reminded.

Brother Guo Xing shrugged his shoulders, "But we can't stop the enthusiasm of the Khotanese people, let alone pour cold water on the heads of the people of the Western Regions, right, senior brother?" ”

Zhao Er slammed his fist and said angrily: "You are becoming more and more cunning now, you want me to wipe your ass!" ”

Brother Guo Xing showed a big smile, "That's right, who made you my senior brother!" Even Master Hou praised your ability! ”

Zhao Er snorted, "Don't take the master to press me, I know what to do!" Zhao Kuangyi stretched out three fingers, "The Black Khanate, the Xizhou Uighurs, and the Tubo people, they will join forces to kill Khotan, and they will even do it before the Great Zhou sends troops." ”

"So what to do?" Brother Guo Xing asked honestly.

Zhao Er said angrily: "It's not you yet, you're too high-profile, how did the master teach you, you have to keep your eyes on it, make a fortune in a muffled voice, do you understand?" ”

The corners of Guo Xingge's mouth twitched twice, and he was embarrassed: "Senior brother, we have all defeated 50,000 Black Khan cavalry, do you think we can keep a low profile?" ”

This time it was Zhao Er's turn to be speechless, and after a while, he snorted angrily: "No matter, the soldiers will block the water and cover the earth, send a letter to the master first, and see how much he can help, the key is still on us!" ”

"Senior brother has a way?" Brother Guo Xing's eyes are shining!

"Hahaha!" Zhao Kuangyi smiled confidently: "Don't worry, senior brother is doing this!" ”

At about the same time, news of the defeat reached the Black Khanate, and the aged Khan Satuk was furious, and he immediately ordered all his men to be gathered to avenge the defeat of Khotan...... Moreover, he also sent invitations to the Western Uighurs and Tibet, and most importantly, he also sent emissaries to Baghdad...... What Satuq Khan didn't know was that there was a group of people dressed as Khitan warriors and they were not invited.