A great manhunt was launched in the city of Rome, and many foreign merchants, especially those from the East, were reduced to prisoners overnight. Their goods were seized, and they were to be sold into slavery or used as gladiators. This turmoil soon spread to the entire territory of Daqin, and many merchants who had never dealt in tea at all, or even silk and porcelain, were also arrested.

A few days later, a public destruction of tea was held in the Colosseum, the most famous arena in the city of Rome. Hundreds of large wooden chests are piled up in the central square, and it is said that they contain tea sold by oriental merchants. In fact, Putimius himself knew in his heart that in this operation, the entire Great Qin confiscated only a dozen boxes of tea, and deliberately put out hundreds of boxes, just to bluff and explain how much real money the merchants in the East had earned from Great Qin through tea.

In fact, Putimius himself was very fond of tea, and there was not even a tea leaf or two in these chests in the square, but only some dead grass and leaves, and the real tea had been divided between Putimius and his cronies. Of course, the soldiers who were in charge of searching the caravan's quarters did not forget to fill their pockets.

The gladiatorial arena was the favorite entertainment venue for the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Great Qin Empire, and the round grandstand was filled with people early. A column of Great Qin soldiers lined up and walked into the arena, poured pine oil on the pile of wooden boxes, and a fire burst into flames, and the audience erupted in thunderous applause. In fact, most people don't have much interest in burning the tea except for pity, they are waiting for the gladiatorial performance that follows, and the bloody scene is their favorite.

Although gladiator performances were often seen, this is not the case today. This time it was not professionally trained gladiators who appeared, but foreign businessmen who had been arrested. These foreign merchants were not trained in combat at all, and although they also wore armor and carried knives and axes, even the layman could tell at a glance that they were not real warriors.

However, Putimius gave the order, and only one of the hundreds of merchants present would survive. Thus, a bloody scuffle was staged. The merchants clumsily swung their knives and axes in their hands, and the venue was covered in blood and screamed. The VIPs in the stands saw this group of amateur gladiators in full swing, and they laughed one by one, which was more enjoyable than the most popular women's gladiatorial fight some time ago.

When the news came out, Kangju, Dawan, Wusun and other countries were all in mourning. Because Liu Xin had already issued a decree prohibiting the Han caravan from continuing to travel westward, there were no Han Chinese among the merchants captured by Putimius, mainly merchants from several countries around the Western Regions. But the losses of the Han merchants were not small, because at least half of these goods belonged to them.

The Han merchants, who had suffered huge losses, did not dare to count their sufferings to the imperial court, because the "edge ball" they played had violated the rules of the imperial court, on the other hand, they had already made a lot of money some time ago, and this loss was not enough to break their bones, so they would not ask the court for help.

However, although Liu Xin did not allow the Han caravan to make contact with the Great Qin Empire, he himself secretly sent a team to the Great Qin to inquire about the news. This team was actually established mainly by the disbanded Phantom Secret Spy, and was mainly responsible for listening to intelligence outside the borders of the Great Han Dynasty, and in the Great Han Territory, they would not have any privileges, and they would be no different from ordinary Han nationals.

With such a team, Putimius issued a ban on tea and the news of a large-scale raid on foreign caravans soon appeared on Liu Xin's desk. Liu Xin was very angry that such a situation happened.

Although the prices of tea, silk and porcelain sold from Dahan to Daqin were high, they were all fair trade, and one was willing to buy and the other was willing to sell. Although the promulgation of the tea ban on Putimius did not bring much direct loss to the Han Dynasty, and after leaving the Great Qin, these goods were also not sold, but in the long run, it would still have a certain impact on the reputation of the Han Dynasty's goods.

Liu Xin immediately told the cabinet and the sixth ministry the news. After discussing it, Fu Zhi and the others felt that in this incident, neither the merchants of the Han were arrested, nor the Han caravan suffered direct losses, so it should be handled in a low-key manner.

After careful consideration, Liu Xin also felt that the most important thing for the Han Dynasty at present was to recuperate, and it was indeed not appropriate to erect more strong enemies. At the same time, because the Han caravan that suffered losses did not ask the court for help, he could stay out of the matter.

However, Liu Xin has increased his vigilance because of this. Although the distance between Daqin and Dahan was 108,000 miles, Putimius's approach made Liu Xin feel deeply worried, such a domineering person could really do anything, and he had to prepare in advance.

It is undeniable that the changes in the Great Qin Empire still had a certain impact on the Han Dynasty, the most direct manifestation of which was the decrease in the inflow of gold and silver, but the impact on the entire Han economy was still minimal. Without Daqin, the Han Dynasty's tea, silk and porcelain were still sought-after goods in the surrounding countries, and there was no need to worry about sales. The war-torn Han Dynasty is gradually recovering, and the streets of Chang'an are becoming more and more prosperous, with a faint tendency to catch up with Xiangyang. Putimius's small actions did not attract much attention from the Han courtiers, and as the work of the Han court gradually became regular, the courtiers who had a certain amount of leisure began to devote their energy to one thing again, that is, to persuade Liu Xin to become a prince as soon as possible.

In the ancient imperial dynasties, the establishment of the prince can be said to be the top priority, and only when the prince is determined as soon as possible, the ministers will feel at peace in their hearts. But on the question of who to appoint as crown prince, the courtiers were divided into two factions.

One faction is the ministers headed by Chen Gong and Cheng Yu, who proposed that they should adhere to the rule that their ancestors should establish their ancestors and make Liu Bang the crown prince. The other faction is represented by military generals such as Xu Huang and Zhang Fei, as well as Fu Zhu and Tian Feng, who have followed Liu Xin for many years, and believe that Liu Bang should no longer regard himself as the eldest son after he has been succeeded to Liu Chongwei, the Marquis of Juchao.

These two factions have their own opinions, and every time they go to court, they will argue endlessly, which gives Liu Xin a headache. In fact, before this, he had discussed with Ma Yun a charter to establish an heir, that is, to see who made the greatest achievements for the Great Han. However, since the ministers had previously proposed that each of Liu Xin's edicts must be reviewed by the cabinet, the bylaws they had drawn up to establish the heir were not approved because they were too controversial and were shelved.

After Zhang Gou'er sang the cliché of "play early if you have something, and retreat from the dynasty if you have nothing", Guo Jia stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I think I should set the position of the prince early!" ”