Ever since Ma Chao rescued Tuoba Jun from the territory of Great Qin, Liu Xin had already realized that the matter of letting the nomadic cavalry pretend to be horse bandits would be discovered sooner or later, and he had to seriously consider how to deal with the aftermath. The Han people have a good face, but it does not mean that other ethnic groups have a bad face. Tuoba Jun has killed so many Parthians, and he always has to give others an explanation before he can make sense, and he has a suitable person in his hands.

Soon, a team of guards escorted a prisoner van, and in the prisoner van stood a tall, handcuffed and shackled blonde man. Seeing this blonde man, Sister Cleya's eyes were suddenly filled with anger, and they shouted in unison, "Serica! It's Serica! ”

Liu Xin raised his hand and motioned for the two sisters to be quiet, then turned to the Parthian envoys and said, "Those horse thieves came from the grasslands in the north of the Han Dynasty, and they were originally simple men, but it was at the instigation of this person that they became what they are now. Do you know this person? ”

The Parthian envoys all shook their heads blankly.

Liu Xin beckoned to Clea and said, "You come and tell them." ”

Cleya gritted her teeth and said, "He is the elder of the Senate of the Great Qin Empire, Duke Serica, even if he is burned to ashes, I will recognize him!" ”

Since Serika was captured by the Han Dynasty, Liu Xin has treated him favorably. Instead of being held in a dark prison, Serica was kept in solitary confinement in the barracks guarded by the Flying Tigers, so few outsiders knew about Serika's existence.

The food of the Han army was very good, even more than many well-being homes, and the treatment of the Flying Tiger guards was the highest in the army. Serika eats the same food as the Flying Tiger guards every day, and lacks exercise, and is already much fatter than when he was captured. And in order to solve his physical needs, Liu Xin also asked people to buy two female slaves from Daqin, and they came to accompany him every night.

Despite this, Serika was still thinking about being able to return to Daqin one day. But the barracks were heavily guarded, and he couldn't find any chance. Suddenly, just a few days ago, the guards brought in a prisoner cart, handcuffed him and shackled him, and escorted him out. But he didn't expect to come all the way to the west, and he actually arrived in Parthia, which was only a stone's throw away from his hometown. Last night, Liu Xin deliberately talked with him for a long time, and promised that as long as he was willing to bow his head and confess his guilt, he would be sent back to the West.

After all these years of being imprisoned in Chang'an, Serika has been able to speak fluent Chinese, but she does not understand many of the meanings in Chinese. In his mind, returning to the West and returning to the West means the same thing, how can there be any reason not to agree? Therefore, even in the face of the Parthian envoys, Serica confessed his guilt and took everything on himself.

Liu Xin was very satisfied with Serica's performance, and he quietly glanced at the guards behind him. The guards stepped forward and dragged Serika out of the prisoner's van. Serika thought that Liu Xin was going to fulfill his promise and let him "return to the west", but unexpectedly, the guards pried open his mouth, stuffed him into the walnut, and then found a long iron chain to hang him under the gate.

Serica knew that something was wrong and struggled desperately, but to no avail.

Liu Xin turned to Sister Cleya and said, "Do you want revenge?" ”

Sister Cleya said in unison, "Your Majesty, please allow us to cut off his head with our own hands, so as to comfort the spirits of my parents in heaven!" ”

Liu Xin smiled and said, "You follow the Queen Mother Kangju to practice riding and archery, and I want to test your skills today to see how your skills are progressing." Come, take a bow and arrow! ”

For the Cleya sisters, hand-to-hand combat is their strong point, and although they have been practicing archery for more than a year, they have not made rapid progress. Seeing Liu Xin's posture, wanting them to take revenge with bows and arrows, Cleya couldn't help but get nervous and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the slave maid will be difficult to hit with an arrow, so let the slave and maid use a knife." ”

Liu Xin laughed and said, "It's okay, it's okay." If one arrow misses, shoot two arrows, and if two arrows miss, shoot three arrows. I'll give each of you a pot of arrows, and you won't miss both of them. In that case, he should not die. ”

The Cleya sisters couldn't help but be overjoyed, thanked Liu Xin, and each took a bow and arrow and aimed at Serika, who was hanging under the gate. There was a bang, and the two sisters let go, and both arrows shot at Serica at the same time. The two sisters' archery skills were indeed flattering, and after only fifty paces away, Clea still shot an arrow into the air, and Maria shot an arrow into Serica's calf. However, the strength of both men was surprisingly great, and Maria's arrow actually passed through Serica's calf, leaving a huge bloody hole.

The two sisters did not stop, and one after another arrows full of hatred were fired at Serica, a full sixty arrows, but there were more than forty arrows. Serika's body was covered with feathered arrows, like a hedgehog. Although not a single arrow hit the vital point, he was covered in wounds, and Serika's blood was almost dry, and he did not see that he could survive.

Liu Xin slapped his face lightly and said to several Parthian envoys: "The first evildoer, Serica, is dead, and I can be regarded as having an explanation for you." ”

A Parthian envoy suddenly said, "Your Majesty, you said that this person is a nobleman of Great Qin, but what evidence do you have?" Who can guarantee that he is not someone you just pretended to be? ”

Originally, everyone was going to get under the stairs with each other, but this envoy had to get to the bottom of it, and his face suddenly changed, and he shouted loudly: "Bold! It is rude to dare to question what our Majesty said! Come on, drag him ......"

"Forget it." Liu Xin waved his hand, and retreated from the guards who were about to step forward to take people, and said with his chin bowed, "Gonghe, we are in the Heavenly Empire, why should we be familiar with these villains?" Serica is an elder of the Great Qin Empire, and he is a duke, so there should be many people who know him. Let them take Serika's head back and find someone to identify it themselves, won't they know the authenticity? ”

The Parthian envoys did not dare to say anything more, so they took up the burden of the head of Serika and hurried back to Ekbatana overnight. Remitu picked up this bloody head and looked at it for a long time, and finally nodded and said, "Your Highness, this person is indeed the elder Serika of the Great Qin Empire!" Could it be that the news that Ardaban got was wrong, and we were wrong to blame the Han Chinese? ”

It turned out that Remitu had been the minister of state for many years, and he had a lot of dealings with the powerful neighbor of the Great Qin Empire, and he knew Serica. Although Serica was hit by many arrows, none of the Clea sisters hit his head, so Serica's face was quite well preserved, except for a pair of eyes that were round as if they were about to fall out, there was nothing suspicious about it.

Arshak didn't want to meet with the Han Dynasty, but after Remitu confirmed Serika's head, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and said, "It seems that the army can now be withdrawn to the camp. ”

"This must not happen!" But seeing Remitu shaking his head and saying, "Whether those horse thieves were really bewitched by Serica or pretended to be by the Han army, they have all been defeated by the hands of the Great Qin army. Now, the war between the Han and the Great Qin is on the verge of breaking out, and it is still unknown who will win and who will lose. His Royal Highness could take advantage of the defeat of both of them to recover the concession in one fell swoop. Therefore, the army should not only not be withdrawn, but should also send more detailed work and horses! ”

Remitu was actually much more competent than Vologis and his sons, and he was bent on recovering the concession and giving Parthia a complete territory. But he ignored one thing, even if Liu Xinken returned the concession, he was afraid that the people in the concession would be used to living a good life, and I am afraid that no one would want to be a Parthian citizen now.

In fact, Liu Xin never considered returning the concession to Parthia.

Even when he was actively preparing for a war with the Great Qin Empire, the construction of the concession did not stop for a day. The infrastructure of the entire concession was completed by the professional team of the engineering corps, and more than a dozen castles were built around the first three new towns, and the scale of the three new cities was also expanded. In order to protect the fragile ecology of the local area, all the masonry and wood needed for the construction were transported from the Central Plains, and the freight alone was a huge expense. It took a staggering price to transform the concession from a wild place into a commercial center today. In the place where he has worked so hard to develop, how can Liu Xin give it away?

On the other hand, the strategic location of the concession is also very important. It has become a springboard for the Han army to advance westward, and all kinds of grain, grass, and baggage were first concentrated in Chang'an from all parts of the country, and then transported from Chang'an to the Uzberi fortress, and finally transported to the concession through the city of Khotan, which has become a huge military base. At the same time, the concession is an important barrier for Gongwei Kangju, whether it is Parthia or Daqin, if they want to invade Kangju in the south, the concession is a hurdle that they can't bypass.

Liu Xin was not worried about Parthia's possible moves. Because he was well aware that the Parthian army was not even as effective as a paramilitary unit like the Engineer Corps. Now there are not only 60,000 engineers in the concession, but also 20,000 elite infantry of the Third Army, and it is not a problem to resist the attack of 200,000 Parthian troops.

Therefore, after sending away the Parthian envoys, Liu Xin personally led the army to the north. This road to the border of Daqin has been controlled by the Han army, and the cavalry of the 40,000 Western Regions Legion led by Ma Chao is responsible for defense. However, this passage was too narrow and long, and Liu Xin was still a little worried, and transferred 20,000 infantry and 10,000 light cavalry from the Third Army to fortify along the way.

In Liu Xin's original plan, Parthia was still in the position of allies, but the plan could not keep up with the rapid change, and now Liu Xin had to divide a part of his forces to guard against Parthia, which directly led to the final arrival of only 300,000 regular troops and 60,000 nomadic cavalry from the steppe to the border of Daqin. The new situation of as many as 400,000 Great Qin troops in Asia Minor Province also forced Liu Xin to readjust his battle plan.