Sun Ce couldn't trust the guards of Shanshan Palace, and when Liu Xin entered the palace for a banquet, he let his Feihu guards take over the entire palace, and even the things reported were overstepped. Hearing that Tubro asked to see him, Liu Xin smiled and said, "Xuan." ”

Tubro was the first merchant in the Western Regions that Liu Xin came into contact with, when he was on the verge of bankruptcy, and even the shop left by his father was subleased, if it wasn't for Liu Xin buying all his Great Qin weapons and armor, and providing him with high-quality silk and porcelain, he would definitely not survive today.

As soon as he entered the hall, Tubro made a big salute, and then walked up to Liu Xin, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, Xiaomin is very happy to hear that you have come to Shanshan again, and I have come to meet you." Xiaomin wishes His Majesty eternal stability and longevity. ”

Businessmen always have more news channels than ordinary people, and even Tubro has heard about Liu Xin's self-proclaimed emperor in Chang'an, but businessmen always like to talk about lotus flowers, saying that the bad are good, and the dead are alive. Therefore, Liu Xin didn't take Tubro's blessing to heart, but just laughed it off and said, "Hehe, it's Tubro." I haven't seen you for a long time, but business is good? ”

When it came to his business, Tubro's face suddenly showed a strange look, and he said proudly: "Thanks to Your Majesty Hongfu, Xiaomin is now making money every day!" ”

The Han people pay attention to wealth and do not show it, but the Hu people can't wait for others to think that he is the richest man in the world, this is the cultural difference, and Liu Xin doesn't think it's so strange. However, Liu Xin didn't think that Tubro came here just to say a few words of blessing to himself, he must have other intentions, and couldn't help laughing: "Since it was the blessing of Tuo I that made you rich, how are you going to thank me?" ”

Tubro said solemnly: "Your Majesty the Emperor, the people are here, there are a few gifts to give to Your Majesty, Your Majesty will like it when you see it." ”

Liu Xin saw that Tubro was empty-handed, and asked with a smile, "What about your gift?" ”

Tubro spread his hands and said, "When the people heard that His Majesty had arrived in the mud city, they were worried that they would not be able to touch His Majesty, so they hurried over, and the gifts came later. ”

Because Tubro had already entered the palace, it was impossible for him to have a chance to pass on the news, and if he did not prepare a gift, he would be exposed immediately, so it was impossible for Tubro to lie about it.

Indeed, what Tublo said was true. Over the past year, his business has grown bigger and bigger, not only in the mud, but also in Wujicheng and Maoling. In addition to these shops, he also did the business of merchants. A few months ago, he made a special trip to Daqin, and only returned to Huni yesterday. Just now he was still in the store dealing with the goods shipped back from Daqin, when he heard that Liu Xin had arrived in the mud, so he hurried to ask for a meeting.

Liu Xin thought that Tubro was just saying it casually, but he didn't expect that he really prepared a gift, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised. Suddenly, another guard outside the door came to report, saying that the slave of the merchant from the Western Regions had just come and brought a gift. Liu Xin was not hypocritical, waved his hand, and asked them to present the gifts.

Several strong bearded men walked in carrying four large chests, all of whom were newly purchased slaves by Tubro and his men.

Tubu opened the first box with great diligence and said, "Your Majesty, please see, these are rare jewels in the world, and all of them are dedicated to Your Majesty by the small people. ”

The lid was opened, and the hall was filled with jewels. Liu Xin took a closer look, there were no gold and silver ornaments in it, all kinds of gems and pearls, including sapphires, rubies, turquoise, cat's eyes, agate, and pearls the size of pigeon eggs. The most rare thing is that there are actually two fist-sized night pearls and dozens of diamonds of different sizes inside. Diamonds are so hard that they cannot be cut at the level of craftsmanship of this age, and they remain in the condition in which they were mined, but they still do not hide their magnificence.

At the beginning of the Taishi Mansion in Chang'an City, Liu Xin had seen too many jewels. Although the jewels sent by Tubro were priceless, Liu Xin was not surprised, but lightly pointed to the other three boxes and asked, "What's in there?" ”

The Great Han is one of the greatest empires in the world, and as the emperor of the Great Han, Liu Xin has never seen anything. Therefore, Liu Xin's performance did not surprise Tubro, he pretended to be mysterious and said: "Xiaomin bet that His Majesty will like the things in this." If you don't believe it, Your Majesty will open it and take a look. ”

Liu Xin waved his hand, and the two guards stepped forward to open the second box. The inside of the chest was swarthy, but it was a pair of armor. The third and fourth chests were also opened in turn, and inside were heavy swords and broadaxes, as well as several pairs of bows and crossbows.

Tubro smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is the latest weapon and armor of the Great Qin army brought back by Xiaomin, Your Majesty is still satisfied." ”

Liu Xin nodded and asked, "Have you gone to Daqin?" ”

Tubro replied, "Xiaomin just returned from Great Qin yesterday. ”

This Tuburo is very hearted, last year Liu Xin bought all the Great Qin weapons and armor in his shop, and wanted to go to the human market to buy Great Qin slaves, he knew that Liu Xin attached great importance to the news from Great Qin, so after the business gradually stabilized, he personally went to Great Qin and brought back these latest weapons and armor of Great Qin.

Liu Xin knew that businessmen were profitable, and Tubro was no exception, and he tried his best to please himself, and he would never really do it to express his gratitude, so he couldn't help but smile and said, "Say, what reward do you want?" ”

Tubro waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, Xiaomin has other gifts. ”

As he spoke, another domestic slave walked in, holding a chain to which a young woman with blond hair and blue eyes was attached.

Tubro explained, "Your Majesty, these twelve people are all slave girls of Great Qin. They were originally from noble backgrounds and were sold into slavery for various reasons. Didn't Your Majesty want to know about the situation in Great Qin? Just ask them and you'll know. ”

Liu Xin was not surprised that these nobles were reduced to slaves, this situation often happened in the Han Dynasty, and there were many palace maids and chamberlains in the palace who were originally from the scholar clan, but now they have also become slaves? However, Liu Xin is not sure how much the women of Great Qin can know about the inside story of the Great Qin Empire, and of course she will not be overwhelmed by Tuburo's kindness. With a wave of his hand, he asked the guards to step forward and take the chains and lead the twelve women down.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the palace. Tubro said, "Your Majesty, it must be the gifts of the little people who were stopped outside by them. ”

"What kind of gifts will be left outside?" Liu Xin didn't feel a little strange and said, "Come on, let them in." ”

I heard a dull rumbling sound, and two cars were pushed outside, and two iron cages were placed on them. The cages were made of iron bars as thick as a child's arm, and each contained a humanoid animal.

Liu Xin took a step closer, and he smelled a foul smell, and couldn't help frowning. But he knew that Tubro would not give him these two things for no reason, so he patiently took a closer look, and it was clearly two women who were humanoids.

Unlike the group of slave girls who only covered their shame with a few pitiful rags, the two women were wrapped in an ankle-length robe, but the robe was already dirty, and it was impossible to tell what color it was. Both women had long blond hair and dirt on their faces, but their blue eyes were quite bright. Presumably, along the way, they eat, drink, and sleep in this iron cage, which is why it emits a disgusting stench.

Liu Xin saw that these two women must have been abused and tortured a lot. Although he had long been accustomed to the distinction between people and inferiority, he did not like to bully women, and he suddenly became displeased, and said, "Tubro, what do you mean by this? ”

Tubro sensed that Liu Xin's tone was not good, and hurriedly said, "Didn't Your Majesty always want to know about the situation in Great Qin? I wonder if Your Majesty has ever heard of gladiators? ”

The gladiators of ancient Rome, Liu Xin had certainly heard of them. Hearing Tublo ask about this, he couldn't help but glance at the two women locked in the iron cage again, seeing that they were curled up in a corner, their bodies seemed to be extremely weak, and they didn't look like gladiators. And in Liu Xin's impression, gladiators should be strong male slaves, how can they be women?

Liu Xin lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I have heard that the nobles of the Great Qin Empire built a huge Colosseum in their capital, which raised many fierce beasts such as lions, tigers, and leopards, and then let some slaves or prisoners of war fight these fierce beasts. The aristocrats sat in the high stands and enjoyed the bloody scenes. But what does the gladiator have to do with these two women? ”

In the past, although Tubro had dealt in some goods from Daqin, they were either brought from other Daqin merchants, or his father had accumulated the backlog of goods that he had purchased back then, and he had not been to Daqin himself, and this was his first time to Daqin.

Don't look at Tuburo as just a merchant, but in the Great Qin Empire, the status of a merchant is not low, and Tuburo also brought a lot of silk and porcelain this time. Since the Silk Road was broken, the price of silk in Daqin has skyrocketed, and even then, it is difficult to buy it with money. So, when Tubro appeared in Rome with these silks, he was immediately invited by the nobles. Not only the silk, but also the porcelain he brought was even more amazing by the nobles of the Great Qin, and the price exceeded that of gold dozens of times.

Not only did he make a lot of money from his trip to Daqin, but he was also fortunate enough to be invited to the Colosseum in Rome to watch the bloody gladiator performances.

Not everyone can enter the Colosseum, even the civilians of Rome can enter every game, and merchants from other places are not qualified to do so. Tubro was about to brag about what he had seen and heard in front of everyone, but he didn't expect Liu Xin to know about it, and he couldn't help but be disappointed.