The north wind from Siberia howls in the city of Malahanda, and in winter, it is bitterly cold. This bone-chilling cold has always made the Greeks who settled here miss the warm Aegean Sea. As the most knowledgeable scholar of Sogdiana, and indeed of the entire kingdom of Bactria, the conscientious Aristotle IV braved the cold and toiled hard.

In the tower illuminated by oil lamps, in a tent made of Egyptian linen, he was riding a naked maiden. The girl had a leather collar around her neck, and the strap of the collar was pulled in the palm of her hand by Aristotle IV. As if on horseback, every few times he tugged at the strap and pulled the wheezing girl's head high up.

Rational thinking was the specialty of the Greeks, as was sexual abuse. And in the eyes of many people, this is not a shameful thing, and some kings even cast pictures of **** on silver coins. For Aristotle IV, whenever he was irritable at the thought of it, he would find a young girl to work on once. When all this is over, he will not only be relaxed when he enters the sage mode, but also solve problems that he couldn't think of.

'Bang bang-' Before it was over, there was a knock at the door, and Aristotle IV had no time to deal with the servants outside.

"Bang, bang, bang—" The knock on the door was louder, and the servant's voice rang out outside the door, but his voice was choppy. Aristotle IV, who was sprinting, was finally disturbed, and he had to put on a transparent Indian robe and open the door angrily.

"Cheap people! What the hell are you bothering me at this time? Saliva sprayed in the servant's face, but the servant was not alone outside the door. Outside the door stood Dikeopolis, his eyes peeking inadvertently into the room, and saw the girl's naked back. The women on Aristotle IV's bed were the best choice, and Dicayópolis finally looked away and said, "Latest report: Seleucid envoys have arrived at Chuni by boat. ”

"What?" Aristotle IV was closing the door of his house when he was astonished to hear the words of Dicayópolis.

"It can't be. That's impossible. He said it twice. The most knowledgeable scholars know that the easternmost sea of the world is in India, and from the Indian Ocean it is possible to return to Persia and even the Red Sea, but it is absolutely impossible to reach Chuni.

"Nope. The envoys had reached the capital of the state of Chuni. "Dekaiopolis, who can't see the naked girl, is a little stupid." Your Excellency the Governor needs you to go to the Council Chamber immediately. ”

"Now?" Aristotle IV, who had not yet entered the sage mode, was somewhat reluctant, and his mind was still full of desire.

"You can ......," said Decayopolis with a meaningful smile, "but not too long, for this evening His Excellency the Governor will be on his way to Bhaktra (the capital of Bactria, present-day Balkh, Afghanistan). ”

Decayópolis bowed and left, and the door was closed again. After a long time, Aristotle IV, who had finally become a sage, appeared in the chamber of the Doge's Palace.

The governor Eutydemus was the first to hear the news of the arrival of the Seleucid envoys in Chuni. The pigeon's nest was located in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace, and the news of the state of Chuni was supposed to be handled by Aristotle IV, but the clerk saw this terrible news and had to inform the governor in advance.

Although both Greeks, Seleucus belonged to the Kingdom of Bactria. The last time Seleucid troops were on the border, King Theodorus II even allied with the barbarians of the steppe. The importance of Chuni Iron is self-evident, originally it was only something unique to Bactria, but now the Seleucid Empire also has it.

"The Chuni have found a new route." After reading the letter quietly, Aristotle IV was not worried, but excited, excited for all mankind. The Far East is finally connected to the known world and is about to become part of the entire Greek world. "I must tell all Greece about this great thing......"

"No, no." Stopping Aristotle IV, who was a little excited, Eutydemus said: "Seleucus is about to get the armor and weapons of the Chuni, as well as a large amount of Chuni iron, we ...... We have to stop this. ”

"It can't be." Aristotle IV suppressed his excitement, knowing the known map of the world that the kingdom of Bactria could do nothing. "It can't be done. We can't even go to the country of Chuni. Nissama is the best horse in the known world, and even the Sogdiana horse cannot be compared to him. In order to get Nisama, the Chuni would have agreed to all the demands of the Seleucid envoys. According to previous reports, there are only ponies in the whole of the East. ”

"If I order the Sogdianas to sell their horses, before the Seleucid Nissa's horses are transported to the kingdom of Chuni......," before Aristotle IV came to the Doge's Palace, Eutidemus had discussed a number of countermeasures, one of which was to force the Sogdians to sell their horses.

"Your Excellency the Governor, what we need to be clear is this: there is no way we can tell the Chuni right now that we are ready to sell the Sogdiana horses that they have been buying and have always wanted to buy." Aristotle IV said. "It is very likely that when the caravan transported the Sogdiana horse to the kingdom of Chuni, the king of Chuni had already agreed to the request of the Seleucid envoys."

"You can go back on your promise." Dicayópolis interjected. "It can take years to transport horses by sea, and it only takes a year for a caravan of the Sogdiana to reach Chuni."

"I still don't agree with this approach. According to the report, "Aristotle IV recalled a little:" The king of Chuni was very committed to promises, and if he had promised the Seleucid envoys, he would not have repented. Moreover, it was dangerous to transport thousands of tall Sogdiana horses from the steppe to the East. ”

More than 90 years ago, Alexander stopped at Sogdiana, and more than 90 years later, the Greeks still stopped at Sogdiana.

"But what should we always do?" Eutydemus clenched his fists, and then had to put them down. If he could, he would love to teach the Cuni some unforgettable lessons.

"The only way is to buy back more Chuni armor and Chuni treasure knives." The hard work just now was not in vain, and Aristotle IV was now very clear-headed. "As soon as possible, definitely as soon as possible!"

"Could Seleucus make the Chuni ......?" Eutydemus couldn't believe it, but it was entirely possible.

"Those damned merchants! Those ignorant barbarians! "Eutidemus cursed the Sogdians with the same curse. Chuni, a country so far away from Bactria, would not do much harm to Bactria by selling horses.

"What should we do?" Dicayópolis asked.

"Sell Sogdiana horses to the Chuni." Aristotle IV said. "And as much as he can, bring back the Chuni armor, the Chuni sword, and the Chuni iron. We must also send envoys to Parthia at once, and tell them that the Seleucid army will soon attack Parthia, preferably," Aristotle IV hesitated suddenly, but he advised: "...... It would be better to be able to sell some Chuni armor to Parthia, which doesn't need much, three hundred, five hundred sets will do. Chuni's best weapon is the Chuni Treasure Knife, as well as the Chuni-style Sarisa Spear. ”

"I will never sell armor to the Pani." Eutidemus did not approve of Aristotle IV's proposal. Since the signing of the agreement between Diodortos II and the Panis, the Greeks in the country have become increasingly opposed to the agreement. "But I will let the Sogdianas sell their horses to Chuni, but I don't know how these horses will get there safely. There are many robbers in the steppe, should we send an army to cross the Syr Darya River and enter the territory of the Sakhas? ”

"The Sogdiana merchants will always have their own way. Your Excellency," Aristotle IV reminded. "This is probably our only chance. The Chuni could reach India and Seleucus by sea, and Bactria was already isolated. In the Aegean Sea, no one would be stupid enough to traffic large quantities of wheat in horse-drawn carts, only by boats. Perhaps in another ten years, the trade routes to the East will be extinct, and the silk of the Qini and Chuni will be transported by sea to India and the Seleucid ......"

Originally, it was only about armor and weapons, but under the depiction of Aristotle IV, Bactria lost not only these, but also beautiful silk. And if the silk of the East could be transported directly to Seleucus by sea, then Seleucid goods would also be transported directly to the East by sea.

Lapis lazuli was mined in Bactria throughout the known world, and although Seleucus forbade Sogdiana merchants to enter the country, merchants could reach the Black Sea from the north and from the Black Sea to Greece. The trade of the Kingdom of Bactria would be depressed by the loss of the East, but only by the Hindrian Kingdom. Lapis lazuli, Siberian gold, amber, furs, and many other products of India were to be shipped through the kingdom.

However, although Aristotle IV accurately judged the consequences of connecting the East to West Asia by sea, he never saw the merchant ships of Chu, let alone the second letter of Wuji. He only judged the right direction, not the degree of correctness.

In this era, the Mediterranean merchant ships were mostly coastal routes, and the merchant ships of the Chu State of four or five hundred tons sailed directly across the ocean, and they could travel back and forth between India and Seleucus in one year, and India would not have any goods going north after ten years. Because it is easier and cheaper to transport south from the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf, or to bypass the Cape of Good Hope and enter the Mediterranean Sea from the Dakhlacles Pillars, than to transport it overland to West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean. In the end, Bactria is only left with lapis lazuli and Siberian specialties.

For the Greeks of Bactria, the effect was not great, after all, they were the rulers here; But for the ruled Sogdians, when the first silk from the Indian Ocean arrived in the city of Malahanda, the merchants panicked.

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