Originally a soldier, Putimius had always been arbitrary, replacing all the elders of the Senate with uneducated knights. On the other hand, Putimius's rule was also backed by an army, and after his accession to the throne, he greatly expanded the size of the Great Qin army, most of which were foreigners. Ptimius did everything possible to entrap the army, paid high salaries, and rewarded him with great rewards after each victory, for which he won the loyal support of the army.

It was this strategy of superior military that allowed Ptimius to achieve great military success, and the Great Qin Empire continued to expand, becoming the most extensive country in the world, with a population of more than 45 million, which was basically the same as the Han Dynasty after the war. As a result, Ptimius's desires swelled day by day, and he raised the imperial power to the supreme position, and he himself was not bound by all laws, he was the master of anyone, and the empire was his property.

Now, with his eyes set to the far east, the mighty war machine began to work at a rapid pace, and large numbers of freedmen were mobilized into the army. The army of the Great Qin also adopted the corps system, however, because the composition of the army of the Great Qin was complex and came from different ethnic groups, rather than the Han army, which was mainly composed of Han Chinese. In order to facilitate management, the various legions of Great Qin were organized according to different provinces. The size of the entire Great Qin army reached one million people, organized into twenty legions, and this time Putimius mobilized the army to prepare for the eastward expedition as many as eight legions, 400,000 people, and a large number of slaves to serve as transportation and logistics tasks, the team was very large.

After all, Ptimius was a soldier and knew the truth of knowing himself and his enemy, so he did not immediately order the army, but began to understand the situation in the East first. It was only then that Putimius discovered that the tea, silk, and porcelain he wanted to loot were produced in a far, far away place called the Great Han. A few decades ago, the then Great Qin Senate had sent an envoy to the Han Dynasty and met with the Han Emperor. It's just that the old elders have been driven away by Putimius, and now all the knights who have come to power are uneducated, and they can't find the files of the year at all.

At this time, Ptimius remembered the caravans that had traveled from north to south. However, the foreign caravans in Daqin had already been cleaned by him, and all the merchants were also treated by him as gladiators, and it was not easy to find someone who had been to Dahan. Although there were many merchants in Daqin, there were not many merchants who had been to the Han Dynasty, and even the fine works sent by the Senate had only been to the Western Regions.

Still, Putimius found someone. This man was the only merchant who survived the last gladiatorial performance, and he was from Kangju and was also a partner of the Qiuzi merchant Tuburo, who lived in Shanshan.

In fact, before Liu Xin issued the decree that the Han caravans were not allowed to continue westward through Chikangju and other countries, Tuburo had done business in the city of Rome and had dealings with many Roman nobles. It's just that although he is not a Han Chinese, the Western Regions have also been incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty, and unless he gives up his identity as a Han national, he will be subject to the laws of the Han Dynasty. Tubro relied on the sale of Han goods, how could he give up his status as a Han national? So Tublo approached a businessman, Crean, to cooperate.

Although Crean was a merchant, he was born into a nomadic people in Kangju and was relatively strong, so he won the last gladiatorial battle and survived. According to Daqin's rules, Crean had been freed, but he was bruised in the gladiatorial battle and couldn't travel far, so he had to stay in an inn in Rome first.

At this time, Crean was already at the end of his rope, and all his property had been confiscated by the Great Qin Mansion, and it was only because the owner of the inn had business dealings with him and was more sympathetic to his plight that he took him in.

However, after that chaotic "gladiator" battle, Crean had become a celebrity in the city of Rome. From time to time, Roman nobles and freedmen came to visit him, and even Ptimius knew about him. Desperate to find out about the Great Han, Putimius sent for Crean to be brought to the palace.

After all, he is a nomad, his body is relatively strong, and after a period of recuperation, Crean's injuries have healed a lot, but he still walks with a little limp. Hearing the call of Putimius, he did not hesitate at all, and hurried over with a small branch. For Ptimius, Crean was both respectful and hateful. What I hate is that I have suffered humiliation for no reason, and so many compatriots have died. Respectfully, Putimius was a man of his word, and he really regained his freedom. I'm afraid that this person is a demon at all, who knows if he invited himself to settle down today. With extremely complicated feelings, Crean came to the Great Qin Imperial Palace.

But Ptimius was very enthusiastic, beckoned Crean to sit down, and ordered people to serve delicious food and wine, arrange drum music and dance, and then said: "Now that you are a free citizen of my Great Qin, there is no need to be formal." I invited you here today to inquire about the situation of the big man who produces tea? ”

Crean shook his head and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, I am from Kangju Country and have never been to Dahan. ”

Putimius's face suddenly changed, and he asked sharply, "Then where did your tea, silk, and porcelain come from?" I have heard that you have the most abundant supply in this Roman city, but you say that you have never been to Dahan, will I believe it? ”

Thinking of the bloody scene that day, Krian couldn't help but shudder, bowed down and said: "Back to Your Majesty, Xiaomin has a companion, who is a native of Qiuzi in the Western Regions, he has some connections in Dahan, ordinary people really can't get so many goods, those tea, silk and porcelain are all provided to Xiaomin by him, and Xiaomin has indeed never been to Dahan." ”

"Your companion has died in the Colosseum?" Putimius asked, feeling sorry for the fact that if he had known this, he would have been able to know many secrets about the Great Han by leaving Crean's companion behind.

But I heard Crean say: "Back to Your Majesty, that companion of Xiaomin did not come to Daqin. Every time, he transports the goods to Kangju, and then the little ** comes here. ”

Hearing this, Putimius was in high spirits and said in a loud voice: "So, your companion is not dead? Well, you'll find a way to get him to Daqin! ”

Crean hurriedly said, "Your Majesty doesn't know, my companion's name is Tubro. According to his own words, he had some friendship with the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, which is why there were so many sources of goods. Now that his business is getting bigger and bigger, he won't even deliver goods to Kangju by himself, where is he willing to come so far away from Daqin? ”

Ptimius knew that Crian was telling the truth, it had been half a year since he had bloodied the foreign caravans in Rome, and the news must have spread, and which merchant was willing to come to Daqin at this time? Putimius had no choice but to retreat and say kindly: "So how much do you know about the path of the Great Han?" ”

Crean thought for a moment and said, "Although Xiaomin has never been to Dahan, he has heard that companion talk about the prosperity of Dahan. It's just that the Han is far away from here, and my companion has actually not been to the capital of the Han Dynasty, and he has only been to a place called Maoling at the farthest, and then from Maoling to the Western Regions through Liangzhou, and then to the country of Xiaomin after passing through the Western Regions and continuing to the west through the Dawan Kingdom. ”

Putimius laughed and said, "I remember that there is only one Parthia between Daqin and your Kangju, so it's not too far." ”

Crean shook his head again and said, "Back to Your Majesty, when Xiaomin came, he used to be Parthia, and it was also a powerful empire, and the territory was no less extensive than that of Great Qin. It takes more than a month for Xiaomin to cross the border once, and it takes two months to come to Rome again, and if you count the time to go to Dahan, it will be about four months. That's why the price of small people's goods is so high. ”

Putimius waved his hand and said, "What powerful empire, isn't it Vologis V?" I've wanted to clean them up for a long time. Alright, there's nothing to do here, you can go. ”

As if he had been pardoned, Crean quickly bowed down and withdrew, reaching out and touching his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat. At this time, he finally came to his senses, and Ptimius invited him, apparently intending to conquer the Great Han.

After many years of business in Daqin, Crean knew what kind of person Putimius was, but at the same time, he had heard Tubro boast many times about how powerful the Great Han was. With the shrewdness of a businessman, Crian knew very well that he must not be caught between such two great powers, otherwise he would not even know how to die when the time came.

After leaving the Great Qin Palace, Kerian couldn't take care of his body anymore, and he didn't even dare to go back to the inn, so he limped directly to the outside of Rome. Before he reached the city gate, he suddenly saw two people bumping into him head-on. Crean subconsciously flashed to the side, only to find that his two arms had been firmly grasped, and it turned out that two people had been following him since he left the palace.

At this moment, a carriage drove up at a high speed. The two men who grabbed Crean stuffed him into the carriage and drove away. The whole process was very fast, and by the time Crean understood and wanted to scream, he had already received a heavy blow to the neck, and his eyes were black and he fainted.

After a while, Crean woke up, but found that his hands and feet had been tied, his eyes were covered with black cloth, and his mouth was stuffed with walnuts, and he couldn't make a sound. But he could feel that the carriage would jolt twice from time to time as it galloped. The roads in Rome were extremely smooth, which meant that the carriage had left the city and was not sure where it was going.