Ephesus, also known as Ephesus, is a famous ancient Greek city located eighty miles south of the Kingdom of Pergamum, an ancient city founded by the Ionians nine hundred years ago. △￠

Walking along the dirt road leading to Ephesus, the Pergamon on two wheels dressed in a strongly exotic style, looked curiously at the travelers wrapped in cloaks, and occasionally encountered travelers from the East every few months, each time causing a small sensation.

"I am Herethus of Seleucus, my companion and the traveler of the East."

The Ephesian guards carefully examined the large caravan, looked down at the parchment of the signed pass of Dmitry II, and said in a heavily accented Greek language: "Open your cargo, and we will inspect your belongings." ”

Khlysis immediately angrily warned: "Absolutely not, Ephesus has no rules for inspecting goods, you cannot inspect our goods, I want to see your consul Hitulus, I want to protest against the barbarism and impudence of your Ephesian guards." ”

"You scare us! I suspect they stole with unclean hands and feet, and arrested everyone! ”

With a wave of his hand, the Pergamon soldiers with spears rushed over like wolves, their eyes bursting with greed and thirst for wealth, but they did not expect that the next moment the little sheep would become a hungry wolf, and the oriental traveler in a linen cloak would lift his robe, and pull out his bright steel knives with a brush, like an agile leopard.

In just a few breaths, the wolf-like Pergamon soldiers who had been like tigers a moment ago were put down, and the city guard officer was held by two steel knives around his neck and did not dare to move for a moment, and the lively southern city gate was instantly silent. The pedestrians and residents of the city retreated in terror, and the experienced caravans could see each other's origins in their sophisticated skills. At least the caravan in front of him was a well-trained and murderous fellow.

It's May, and the temperature on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean is not high. But wearing heavy leather armor and sweating profusely against the midday sun, not to mention two sharp steel knives around his neck.

Gan Yanlu circled behind him, skillfully cutting the belt hidden in the officer's waist, short knives, daggers, and messy bits and pieces scattered all over the ground, and the bulky money bags also spread out one after another, and shiny gold coins rolled out, and the pedestrians standing in the distance showed longing expressions.

"If I were you, don't try to act rashly, our knife will slit your throat a moment before you move, like this!"

Gan Yanlu held the dagger and viciously gestured with his singing voice. Although he could not understand his Xiongnu language, it did not prevent this poor officer from understanding the threat of death, as long as he dared to move, even if it was just the tickle of the flesh of his feet, he would die.

Pulling down the hood of the cloak, a group of people in plain white robes shouted in exclamation, but their exclamations were quickly muffled by onlookers.

Zhang Qian said in blunt Greek: "Don't challenge our dignity, it takes blood and death to get forgiveness, we don't come to sow death, you know?" ”

"Yes. I understood, I made an unforgivable mistake. The officer of the Ephesian guard had a trembling voice, and his legs were as weak as noodles.

It didn't take long for a large crowd of city guards to arrive, and it was evident that a pedestrian had reported to the city guards in Ephesus. The robed nobleman who walked in the front wore a crown and saluted everyone elegantly: "Good day, my name is Hippo Polyces." The new consul of Ephesus, I think that the unpleasantness that has just happened is a complete misunderstanding. Can you let go of that poor man, after all, he still has two children to take care of at home...... Oh, my God! Dear Hurlie Heath. You have escaped safely from Parthia, the barbarian country! ”

Herysis smiled reservedly, "Mr. Hippopolyces, is your uncle Hitulus no longer the consul of Ephesus?" I haven't thanked him for his hospitality last time, and seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. ”

"My uncle left the city of Ephesus five years ago to serve as the consul of His Majesty the King, and I can contact him for you, and I am sure he will be glad of your return."

"Thanks, no! I think our caravan can pass through the gates, right? The entrance fee is all here. ”

Hellyheath was about to pay but was blocked by Gan's father's broad shoulders, and a few words that he didn't understand made Zhang Qian immediately change his attitude: "I won't give you the entrance fee, these wounded should have belonged to us as trophies, and now return them to you to offset the entrance fee." ”

"This ...... That's not a good fit, is it? ”

Zhang Qian rushed to shake his head, Gan's father shouted in a low voice, and the knight who didn't get off the horse drew his war bow, and the posture of bending the bow and the arrow instantly suffocated everyone, and the knight who walked on foot quickly lined up with a dry steel knife, and the posture was so big that he rushed over and slashed indiscriminately, and the soldiers of Pergamon had been under the protection of the Romans for a long time, and they had seen this posture for a long time, and they were so frightened that they couldn't even hold the spear for a while.

Hippo Lyces secretly cursed the vicious barbarian, put on a smiling face and said: "I will waive the small entrance fee to you, and if you have any needs, you can go to the consul's hall in the center of the city to find me." ”

With that, he nodded to Khlysis and left with his city guard as fast as he could.

As soon as Helly Heath woke up from the shock, she was shocked to find that this taciturn and non-existent middle-aged man had a powerful influence that could make her dear Qian change her attitude without hesitation, and she immediately guessed that this silent middle-aged man was the military commander of the team.

"I'm sorry dear Qian, I didn't know about the change of consul in Ephesus, that Hippopolysis is famous for his greed, and I'm sorry to influence you badly."

Zhang Qian shook his head and smiled and said that he didn't mind the conflict just now, although Helly Heath's forced marriage action was not successful, and the witty Zhang Qian avoided the inevitable wedding with a stomachache, but the relationship between the two will inevitably get closer and closer, just like Sima Tan said when he teased, no single man can refuse a healthy and beautiful ** exotic woman to throw himself into his arms, unless he has the habit of breaking his sleeves like Long Yang.

The caravan is a purely professional armed caravan, and members can be allowed to go to Flower Street Willow Lane to relieve pressure, but it is not allowed to carry women for a long time to affect morale, Zhang Qian's refusal of Herys also has concerns in this regard, but there are policies and countermeasures, and more than seventy percent of the members of the caravan put their long-term companions behind them.

Especially for a long time in the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon, Parthia had just defeated the newly occupied area of Seleucus, and a large number of Seleucid women who hoped to escape from the Parthian "demon cave" defected to the wing of the caravan, and through the power of the caravan to penetrate the steel defense of Parthia, most of the people who would take refuge in the caravan were poor people without wives, and they could not resist the enthusiastic Seleucid women to throw themselves into their arms, which provided many people with the opportunity to start a family quickly.

So taking advantage of the great opportunity of Helheath's forced marriage, the caravan discussed changing the original discipline requirements, and the married person could bring his wife with a bucket, but the military discipline was still strictly enforced, and it was resolutely not allowed to affect military discipline, morale and military morale because of women.

Zhang Qian was originally a person of normal body and mind, who traveled thousands of miles from Chang'an to Pergamum, encountered hardships and dangers, never gave up and never degenerated, he was a model of morality and discipline for the caravan, relying on his linguistic talent and the power of example, he forcibly pinched more than a dozen ethnic groups of different cultures and customs into a united and powerful caravan.

To this day, he also knows that he can't avoid this hurdle after all, whether it is emotionally accepting the beautiful and enthusiastic Khlysis, or taking advantage of Khlysis's Seleucid aristocracy from a political point of view to walk within thousands of miles nearby, marrying her is a sure bet.

Stepping into the city of Ephesus, the ancient buildings rich in ancient Greece are eye-catching, especially the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, the proudest of ancient Greece, even the ruins still shock the hearts of every strange traveler.

"It's a pity that the glory of ancient Greece is over, and the disintegrated ancient Greece is the death of civilization."

Sima Tan sighed while quickly recording the scenery in front of him, the charcoal pen in his hand quickly sketched a beautiful and majestic temple ruins, although he had never seen the Taiyi Temple in Chang'an City, but only from the ruins of this great temple can also imagine the glory of the Chang'an Temple.

Hellyheath hesitated, "I remember visiting Ephesus a few times when I was a girl, this charming city shouldn't be like this, why are the cobblestone roads so dilapidated, the dirty streets and the ragged beggars, is this still the beautiful academic city that I remember?" ”

"Dear Heritis, as a nobleman of the Seleucid Empire, why did you get courtesy in Pergamum?"

"Dear Qian, my father is a distant relative of the Pergamon royal family, more than a hundred years ago my ancestor lost to Attalus I in the battle for the throne, and was forced to leave Pergamon to live in Antioch, Seleucus, unexpectedly Atalus I betrayed Seleucus' support and defected to the Romans, my ancestors quickly became Seleucid nobles, just because Seleucus was declining, we cut off the opportunity to go back, and now Pergamon is getting worse and worse, and Seleucus is getting worse and worse......"

Hercules couldn't go on, she had come to Pergamon as a girl and had been allowed to give up her inheritance, and it was very painful for her to imagine that she had been so depressed when she imagined her illustrious background.

The Greeks of this era are painfully confused, the dynasties made of the entire Greek civilization have completely collapsed, the Macedonian Empire has long been a thing of the past, and the Seleucid Empire has become a yellow flower of yesterday, so she is very envious of her lover Zhang Qian's civilization, listening to his description that it is a great civilization, maybe she will have a different life in the second half of her life. (To be continued, please search, the novel is better and updated faster!)

ps: I can't think of what the Taiyi Temple looks like, you can take a look at the restoration map of the Temple of Artemis, they are all stone buildings, but the architectural style is different.