Transcaucasia is actually a treasure of feng shui, although the Persian plateau in the south blocks the moisture of the Indian Ocean, but there is sea water on both sides, the sea breeze blowing from the Black Sea and the Magyar Sea is always moistening the green trees and grass here, and the towering Caucasus Mountains in the north block the winter cold current rushing south on the wasteland, so this place can actually be regarded as a rich water and grass, suitable for human survival.

It's just a pity that in this era, in addition to the high mountains in the north that are difficult to cross, there are different ethnic groups in the east, west and south directions to expand here, so the local ethnic groups have always been in passive turmoil.

In this era, although the Russians have not yet touched this land, the Byzantines in the west, the Persians and Arabs in the south, and the Turks in the east are all spying on the richness here.

Just like the Drame people mentioned when Li Ji was in Athens, and what other Emir of Buye, after arriving here, no one talked about it, even the royal family of Hilvan, which was close at hand, was rarely mentioned.

In addition to the aggressive Turkic Turkmen Tugruk, the most talked about is the Georgian new rise of the Grand Duke Bagrat III of the Principality of Taw-Klarzhety, and from various sources it is said that His Excellency Bagrat III is a great man and is expected to unify the whole of Transcaucasia. Maybe the green-eyed Samtz idiot didn't anger Lao Luo and was detained, and he would really win over the Zhang family of the Tang Dynasty, and then, maybe there would be nothing to do with Lao Luo.

It's just a pity that Samtz's greed made him directly hit Lao Luo's hands, and the palace secretary Bahamir could only compromise with him.

Lao Luo, who was walking on the road, couldn't guess the exact mind of the Grand Duke of Bagrat III, thinking that until now his eyes were still locked on the bodies of the other two principalities, and the Tang people's camp, which had less than 20,000 men, was not a choice for scabies in the eyes of a grand duke.

It is true that if Bagrat III had consolidated all the forces of the Georgians, he would have had at least five million people under his command, and no less than 300,000 warriors would be able to muster him.

In the face of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, even if the people of the Tang battalion wanted to return to the east, they could not stop the other party's roundup. No matter how strong Lao Luo's combat power is, coupled with a cheating device like space, he can only be dragged down.

At that time, time will pass, and it will be a different situation.

While hurrying towards Kutaisi, Lao Luo also had to be glad to meet a stupid and greedy Samtz, otherwise Bahamir's 4,000 troops stationed in Mingaichaur would also be a headache for Lao Luo.

Where can the most prestigious Grand Duke of this land be calculated as unnoticed as now?

Bagat III, who can be praised by many people, is definitely not a talented guy, Lao Luo secretly reminded himself that he must be careful, this time will be different from the unrestrained in Constantinople, Bagrat III is a hero, such a person's military strategy should not be underestimated, and can rely on the strength of a principality to fight against the other two principalities and a kingdom, and his subordinates must also be surrounded by many wise men and strategists.

Therefore, it is impossible to expect the other party to make mistakes negligently, even if you secretly calculate the other party, you must be careful. Once exposed, Lao Luo and a few of his subordinates may be able to get out, but the early plan will be completely in vain. If you want to change the fate of the local Tang people, it will take more energy, and maybe there will be an unknown number of human lives.

Lao Luo calculated the reserve strength in his heart, Gonzas on the camp was brave and good at fighting, Siddenk Nord was thoughtful, although Stan could not be the commander of the army, but he was also a brave fighter, Naga and Mnaqi are now gradually in the state, and they will definitely be able to stand alone in the future...... Although the more than 1,000 recruits can't count on the unified battle, they already have a sense of belonging, and they are not helpless scholars, so it is no problem to help guard the camp.

As for the Tang battalion, if you don't expect to take the initiative to attack, there should be no problem guarding the city, although Cheng Shouru is not good at attacking, the defense is still good, that is to say, there is no need to worry about Bahamir mobilizing Mingechaur's garrison in a short time.

Then as long as Bagrat III is hindered in the West, at least he will not be able to end the war against Kakhedia and Elidia in a short time, and it will only take three to four months, and the migration of tens of thousands of people in the Tang camp will no longer be a problem.

As for how to tie the other side's footsteps, Lao Luo can have many plans, whether it is to instruct the warriors of Kakhetia and Elidia, or to destroy or swallow the logistics of Bagrat III, or even to poison the warriors of Bagrat III, or to provoke civil strife in the principality of Tau-Kralzhetty, all of which require different premises, although Alk's scouts can detect some general information, but they do not know the exact information, so they cannot make any specific plans.

Under the constraints of a short period of time, he still has to hide himself, and in order to achieve his goal, the best and fastest way for Lao Luo is to improvise.

Follow the Kura River through the central riverside plain, covered with green grass and wildflowers in early spring, to Tbilisi, the capital of the Principality of Tau-Klarceti. Tbilisi was not the largest city in the industrialized Transcaucasia of later generations, but a complex of buildings centered around the Nariqala fortress.

The Nariqala fortress is built on a hill called Sololaki, the whole fortress is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is the core area of the rule of the Bagrat family, and it is also the royal palace of Bagrat III, the hill is surrounded by a variety of different styles of mixed earth and stone buildings, there are Greek-style white stone buildings, there are Roman-style colonnaded structures, there are Arabic-style square buildings, there are Byzantine style dome buildings, this principality does not have its own mainstream culture, Together with the street plan, it seems very disorganized.

In Lao Luo's eyes, Tbilisi in front of him is more humane than later generations, although there are no motor vehicles running all over the streets, but the scattered chic buildings and various ethnic costumes make it more vibrant.

Of course, without the smell of fossil fuel fumes, the air in the city is just as unclean – full of cows, horses, camels, or human urine, and it is nowhere near as clean and tidy as Helen under the Fatimid kingdom or Constantinople under Eastern Roman rule.

Because he brought a few people to pretend to be Armenian merchants, Lao Luo chose to stay here for two days. Kuksi and Kriot, two Bulgarians who were fluent in Georgian, made the most of this and found a great deal of information in two days.

For example, the five most prestigious families in the Duchy of Taw-Kralzhety, Bagrat III had their full support before choosing to attack the two principalities of Kakhetia and Elidia, which are located on the Black Sea coast, because they preferred to have an outlet to the Black Sea under their control, and of course the Orthodox organization here (the predecessor of Orthodox Christianity) also played a significant role, perhaps this was also what Basil II of Constantine wanted.

At the moment, Bagrat III was organizing a spring offensive, so he did not live in the fortress on the top of the hill. Spring had arrived, preparations were under way for the battle against Kakhedia and Elidia, and Bagrat III was of course to oversee the battle at the front, and now only the direct blood relatives of His Excellency the Grand Duke were in the palace inside the fortress of Nariqala.

Of course, Lao Luo did not have the idea of assassinating the Grand Duke, because as a minority, the Tang people could not dominate here, so his purpose was only to delay the pace of the other party, and it was not in Lao Luo's interests to kill the other party.

"Cliot, you live in this inn, and your mission is to find out the core location of several large families here, and it is best to know where they store food and wealth, and when I return, this information may be used." Lao Luo beckoned the three subordinates to sit around and casually ordered.

"Master, what do you mean by wealth?" Cliot is a brown-haired guy with dark brown eyes and a Persian-like nose that makes him look indistinguishable from the people here.

"Wood, furs, pig iron, weapons, gold, seeds, and fabrics, all you need to do is find out the news, of course, as long as you keep yourself safe, and you don't have to force it... Well, that's funding for you. Lao Luo explained, casually threw two money bags on the table, each containing about three hundred gold coins, and the sound of Jin Augustus and Jin Dinar tapping on the table through the leather bags sounded very pleasant.

"Master, this ...... Thank you for your trust! Cliot's eyes were a little red, and he had never held so many gold coins even before he was a gladiator.

"Money doesn't mean anything, my trust only needs loyalty to be reciprocated." Lao Luo didn't say much about Cliot's excitement, the trust he usually gave to the warriors was enough to illustrate the problem, if the other party betrayed with a few hundred gold coins, it could be regarded as letting him recognize a fact, "Alker and Kuksi and I will go to Kutaisi, and it is estimated that it will take up to fifteen days to go back and forth, Cliot, you have plenty of time." ”

"Yes, master."

After instructing this matter, Lao Luo continued his journey to the west the next day. Staying at Kriot in Tbilisi is an idle move, and when you return from Kutaisi, it may become a supply point for Lao Luo, if time and opportunity permit.

The mentality of taking the sheep and getting something for nothing is sometimes inertia, and it is not different because Lao Luo used to be a professional soldier.

Old Roshi Shiran took Alk and Kuksi on the road, looking very much like small Armenian merchants running around, but no one knew what kind of changes these Armenian businessmen dressed as guys would bring to the war in the west.