Indeed, the air was not as cold and dry as in the canyon, and Lao Luo could even feel the smell of the sea with a little saltiness in the air, which should be the water vapor wafting from the Caspian Sea.

When they arrived in the plains, although they could not camp on the spot, everyone's complexion looked much better, and the fatigue on their faces after days of walking dissipated a little.

It was past noon, and there were still about thirty miles away from the gathering place of the Tang artisan camp (Zhang Lu said Rome), Zhang Lu sent his guards Pei Hong and An Sishun out, saying that they would inform the old people in the camp in advance and arrange a suitable campsite - Baku does not have so many buildings, let alone suitable hotels, even if the team to order and pick up goods there is to camp.

Lao Luo had expected this, and even if there was a suitable hotel at this time, Lao Luo would not go to live, more than 100 soldiers and more than 1,000 camels and horses, surrounded in an unclear environment, was in the place of death. Even if these Tang people were his own people, Lao Luo would not be defenseless against them.

In the plains, where you can see herds of cattle and sheep and shepherds in pointed hats, and there is always sparse arable land near the small villages, and now it is the middle of March, and there are industrious peasants busy in the fields, in addition to the Persians whose eyebrows are about to be linked, there are also hook-nosed guys with obvious Arab ancestry, and there are also flat-faced Oriental mestizos, and it is difficult for Lao Luo to determine their ethnicity according to his experience.

In this regard, Li Ji's introduction is: "The people here are very complicated, my teacher said that some of them look very similar to the Persians, in fact, they are Scythians, and some look very much like the Turks, but they are actually descendants of the Huns, that is, the branch of the Huns, and there are blue-eyed and green-eyed guys, what are they Medes or Casbians, and very old Albanians. Of course, there are still mixed races of the Tang people, and many of them don't speak our words anymore. ”

Lao Luo understood this, and in later generations, it was very complicated, from east to west or from west to east, it was difficult to count the tribes that migrated back and forth, and many passing tribes would leave their ethnicity here, and later Azerbaijan was actually a multi-ethnic country.

As for the mixed blood of many Tang people, it is even simpler, the caravans that migrated along the Silk Road began during the Warring States period and were never really interrupted. Later generations of Orientals said that they had flat faces, but there were also many people with high eyebrows; It is said that Westerners are fair-skinned, but in fact, except for people in Scandinavia, who have white skin, the skin color of people in other places is not necessarily so consistent.

What's more, the descendants of the Tang artisan battalion have been living on this land for more than two hundred years, and there will always be some bloodline integrated into this land.

Thirty Roman miles, that is, almost fifty kilometers, and the pace of horses and camels was about twenty kilometers per hour, so that it was about three o'clock in the afternoon when Lao Luo's team reached the outskirts of the artisan camp.

Pei Hong and An Sishun waited in an open highland with some local reception staff, Lao Luo understood that this was the location of the campsite, and trivial things were naturally arranged, Lao Luo didn't care about this anymore, but just told a few responsible warrior leaders to pay attention to the timeliness of the camp defense facilities, because to integrate tens of thousands of people to return to the east together, it is destined not to be done in a short time.

He told Alc to send people to look around, and then arranged for Helton to go to the camp and the surrounding localities to make some trade, and Lao Luo was going to sell the camels and some ordinary horses, and then buy some supplies from the Persians not far away. As for himself, it would be better to sit in the camp.

Lao Luo stood on the high ground, looking at the artisan camp about a thousand meters away. There is a wall made of earth and stone around the station, the thickness of the wall can not be seen from a distance, the height is about four or five meters, there are arrow stacks on the wall, there are also higher wooden arrow towers and watchtowers, and the flagpole is hung with a triangular seal written Tang character flag, there is no moat and suspension bridge. There were a lot of people coming and going, but there were not many Arabs dressed up, but mostly Tang costumes or Persian clothes.

"Is the third brother a little confused?" Li Ji didn't go straight home as soon as she arrived here, but was waiting to explain some things that Lao Luo didn't know here. At this time, I saw Lao Luo staring blankly into the distance, and asked understandingly.

"Here...... It seems that there are not many Arabs? That's what Lao Luo wondered about.

"That's right. In fact, the Abbasids did not control the area more than 100 years ago, and now we rely mainly on the Samanids. ”

"Samanids? Oh, come to think of it, you're talking about the Persians. They don't seem to have the power to control the entire region. ”

"Yes, so now the Turks, as well as the Qarluqs you captured a few days ago, are eyeing our people."

"In this world, wealth cannot be guaranteed without force."

"The third brother is right, but it's a pity that all of us combined only managed to make up less than 2,000 warriors, and we couldn't defeat the Turks at all. Although the Hilvans had good warriors, their king was a waste. ”

"Relying on others is not a long-term solution, and the key strength is to have it yourself."

"That's why you can meet me in the city of the Romans, third brother!" Li Ji stared at the tall old Luo with sparkling eyes.

"Hehe, according to the words of our hometown, this is fate." Lao Luo turned his head to look at the little woman and responded casually.

"Fate...... Li Ji's gaze was a little stupid.

"Yes, there is a fate to meet thousands of miles away, but there is no chance to meet on the other side." When he said this, Lao Luo also felt a little incredible.

"Ah......" Li Ji whispered in surprise before she slowly realized the meaning of the words, "The third brother said it really well, this is also the fate of our fellow people." ”

"Siniang, go back and tell your uncle that it's true that everyone will go back to their hometown together, at least for now, this land is not a place for us Chinese to live." Lao Luo is also a little surprised by Li Ji's surprise, can a very common saying also cause surprise? Of course, he didn't know that what he was talking about was actually the earliest "Zhang Xie Zhuangyuan" from the Song Dynasty, where would the descendants of the Tang people in this part of West Asia have heard of this.

"Okay, third brother. I'll tell Grandpa, third brother, do you need my help with anything? Li Ji was a little reluctant, although it was not that she couldn't see each other, but the journey together for several months in a row still made her very nostalgic.

Lao Luo thought about it carefully, and Li Zhan and Zhang Lu must have been contacted as intermediaries in the negotiation with the decision-making level of the craftsman battalion, "In this way, Siniang, you can find some people who know Roman or Greek over there, and I need them to teach my subordinates to speak our language." ”

What Lao Luo said is very practical, in fact, there are still many soldiers in the team who do not know Chinese, and there is no need to mention that in the future, it is a big problem to integrate personnel and cooperate.

"Okay, it's very simple, there are a lot of Romans in the camp, and there are a lot of people who can speak Roman." Li Ji was very excited, she could come over casually and be unrestrained if she had something.

After Lao Luo and Li Ji finished explaining, Li Zhan and Zhang Lu also came over, "San Lang, why don't you go to the camp with us?" Too many people to do, but you can still take a few people with you. ”

"Thank you, Uncle Zhan, it's not necessary, it's just as good as living in a tent." Lao Luo was reluctant to leave his own people, in addition to safety, there was also the problem of the team's popularity, "Uncle Zhan and Uncle Long Ping still remember to hand over the drawings to the clan elders, and the most important thing is to smooth out the people's hearts first." ”

"It's okay," Li Zhan also understood Lao Luo's scruples, there is no need to talk about this matter, as for the drawings mentioned by Lao Luo are the drawings of the partial van, "After I go back, I will hand over the drawings to the clan elders, I believe that things will come to an end soon." ”

Lao Luo looked at the two in front of him very solemnly, "It's mid-March now, and we must cross the green ridge in July, otherwise when winter comes, things will be delayed until next year." Before leaving, there is still a need to prepare manpower and make equipment, and the time is very short, so please explain it to the clan elder in detail. ”

Although Li Zhan is conservative in looking at things, this kind of thing is still very clear, not to mention that with Zhang Lu on his side, he can be regarded as a person who understands, and Lao Luo's words are to the point.

This kind of thing is reluctant, if the descendants of these artisan battalions still want to return to their homeland, then they will take the initiative to find a way without Lao Luo saying anything, otherwise, no matter how much Lao Luo says, it will only be difficult for a strong man.

Of course, at this time, Lao Luo did not necessarily have to return with tens of thousands of people, on the contrary, if there were no people, it would be easier for his team of more than 100 people to return to the east.

After sending Li Zhan and Zhang Lu away, Al Heisien walked beside Lao Luo and said with some sighs: "Bartol, I feel that you have found yourself a huge trouble. ”

"No way, this is my people, I can't watch them wander in a foreign land." Lao Luo did not deny the other party's judgment, "However, if we gather the people here, we will soon find a suitable piece of land in the east." ”

"Bartol, I remember you said you were going to be a lord." Al Hesine has a good memory, and now she will test him with what Lao Luo said.

"Lord? Hehe," Lao Luo said with some pride, "Al, if I say that I can be a great king, do you believe me?" ”

"The King?" Al Hesian was a little surprised, "Bartol, you're not kidding?" Being a king is not an easy task. ”

"Yes," of course Lao Luo knew that casual words were difficult to be taken seriously, although Al Hesian was not involved in politics, he was by no means a nerd who didn't know anything, but his communication with Al was always outspoken, so he continued, "The king doesn't actually do it in a day, take your time, isn't it quite fun to be a small lord?" As for whether it can be done, it depends on the arrangement of fate. ”

When he said this, Lao Luo actually didn't know what to do, but Al agreed with Lao Luo's statement, "Bartol, you're right, even Alexander didn't become a king in a day. ”

In fact, the two of them didn't take this conversation to heart, only the guards around them memorized it, and it later spread among the soldiers, which can be said to have played an immeasurable role in Lao Luo's later development.