Li Mi seemed to know Liu Ziqiu's thoughts, ignoring the feather arrows shot by Tuoba Qianyu and Mu Duoli, and just chased after them. It is said that two legs can't run on four legs, and Li Mi has never been left half a step by the snow leopard, and there are many soldiers along the way who risk their lives to block his advance, otherwise I am afraid that he would have caught up with Liu Ziqiu long ago.

Liu Ziqiu was worried about hurting the people in the city, but he didn't dare to leave Xiyuan, but just rode his horse in a circle along the lakeside. And the medicine that Li Mi took seemed to be much more powerful than the one that Li Xuanba ate back then, and the time of Sanzhu Xiang passed, and his speed and strength did not decrease a bit.

Soon, Liu Ziqiu went back to Qiyin Courtyard, and from a distance, he saw Zhang Zhongjian rushing towards this side with a Mo knife, and Liu Ziqiu once again fell into the situation of being attacked by the enemy on his back. It was too late, it was too fast, Liu Ziqiu didn't have time to think about it, and with a pull of the reins, the snow leopard soared into the air and jumped over Zhang Zhongjian's head. When he looked back on the horse, he saw Zhang Zhongjian holding the Mo knife in his hand and went straight to Li Mi.

Li Mi was already red-eyed, and when he saw that the road ahead was blocked, he roared angrily and slashed with a knife.

The two knives intersected, and sparks splashed everywhere. With a choking sound, Zhang Zhongjian's Mo knife had already taken off his hand and flew out, while Li Mi castrated unabated, and the horizontal knife drew an arc and went straight to Zhang Zhongjian's throat.

At this time, Liu Ziqiu had already turned over and killed, and he was also holding a Mo knife in his hand. The snow leopard man stood up, raised his sword high, and slashed at Li Mi head. Li Mi immediately gave up Zhang Zhongjian and raised his knife to welcome Liu Ziqiu. Liu Ziqiu's people fought with horsepower, and with the galloping momentum of war horses, their strength has been exerted to the extreme. This time, the two knives intersected, only to hear the sound of "dang", and the two knives were broken into four together. The snow leopard hissed, its hooves moved, and it retreated again and again, so that it fell to its knees on the shore of the lake. Over there, Li Mi also took more than ten steps back and sat on the ground.

Li Mi struggled to get up, but his limbs could no longer exert any strength. The soldiers on the left and right rushed up and held Li Mi firmly down. This time, they refused to give Li Mi a chance, and directly broke his tendons and hamstrings, making him a complete waste.

Liu Ziqiu also jumped off the horse, but he didn't care about Li Mi first, only looked at Zhang Zhongjian coldly, and asked, "Why did you help me just now?" ”

Zhang Zhongjian looked at Li Mi, who was still as brave as a tiger just now, and didn't answer Liu Ziqiu's words, but asked in surprise: "Why is he?" ”

Liu Ziqiu sneered: "It's just a medicine jar." Once the medicinal properties are over, nature is like a waste person! ”

Zhang Zhongjian was stunned for a while, and suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed: "That's it, that's it!" Zhang has done another wrong thing! ”

Liu Ziqiu said: "What's wrong with you? ”

Zhang Zhongjian waved his hand and said: "Zhang only thought that he concealed his strength at first, and this is his real ability." Who can be against such people? As long as he doesn't die, you and I will die at his hands! Who would have thought that once his medicinal properties passed, he would be so vulnerable. Knowing this, Zhang should have killed you first while he was in chaos! ”

Liu Ziqiu laughed and said: "Brother Zhang refuses to take words, he is really a generation of heroes!" You and I can fight a fair fight now! ”

Zhang Zhongjian shook his head and said: "Your Majesty has escaped this catastrophe, and this world will definitely have nothing to do with Zhang!" Zhang has nothing else to ask for, only one thing! ”

Liu Ziqiu saw that Zhang Zhongjian was telling the truth just now, but he felt pity for him, and couldn't help but say: "You say! ”

Zhang Zhongjian groaned: "Zhang returned from the deep mountains and heard the words of people that His Majesty sent a big ship overseas. Zhang knew that he was unable to compete with His Majesty for this splendid country, but he begged His Majesty to give Zhang a big boat, and Zhang fled overseas and never returned to the Central Plains! ”

Liu Ziqiu was silent for a long time before he said: "It's naturally okay to give you a boat, but why are you doing this?" ”

Zhang Zhongjian laughed loudly: "Zhang is free and easy by nature, and he refuses to live under others!" I once heard people say that there are countless desert islands overseas. Zhang is not talented, and he is willing to take dozens of desert islands and establish a country on his own! ”

At this time, Mu Duoli and Tuoba Qianyu had already rushed over and persuaded in unison: "This person assassinated the emperor with bad intentions, he should punish the nine clans, and he must not return to the mountain!" ”

Liu Ziqiu was not a mother-in-law, shook his head and said, "Forget it, since Brother Zhang has this matter, I will give you a big ship!" However, all the sailors had to be brought by Brother Zhang. ”

Zhang Zhongjian breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang's family has a huge amount of money and a group of slaves, but he can't bother with it. ”

A feast for new students ended hastily because of the assassination of Zhang Zhongjian and Li Mi. However, being able to catch Li Mi and send Zhang Zhongjian away is also an acceptable result for Liu Ziqiu.

…

Spring goes to spring, flowers bloom, and in a blink of an eye, two years have passed. The Han Dynasty is peaceful in all directions, and the people live in peace, with a peaceful atmosphere. From time to time, the fleets sent overseas also sent back large quantities of gold and jewelry, enriching the treasury of the Han Dynasty. The cultivation and consumption of wheat has also been further promoted, coupled with the favorable wind and rain, the Han Dynasty has reaped a bumper harvest for two consecutive years, and the food crisis has been temporarily alleviated. Mobei has also formed four relatively independent tribal groups, each of which engaged in close trade with the Han Dynasty, exchanging cattle, sheep and horses for cloth, silk, iron tools and tea bricks from the Central Plains.

Among these measures, Liu Ziqiu is most proud of the establishment of a stable border trade. In the past, the policy of seclusion could prevent the nomads in the north from obtaining some necessary materials for life and production, leaving them in a state of poverty and backwardness for a long time. However, those supplies were indispensable in the life of the nomads. In the absence of access to the guò through normal means, the only way for them to plunder by force became their only recourse. Over time, the border conflict continued. With the opening of border trade, both sides take what they need, which naturally greatly reduces the probability of conflict. There is a more important reason for this situation, that is, the strong combat effectiveness of the Han army greatly deterred these nomads, so that they did not dare to stir up trouble.

Without the support of a strong military force, the peace that any country can achieve can only be temporary. Of course, the moderate national characteristics of the Han people determine that even if they have a strong military force, they are rarely aggressive towards neighboring countries. Therefore, the Silk Road to the West and the newly expanded Maritime Silk Road sent by Liu Ziqiu to Chen Ling can always be unblocked.

However, the surroundings of Dahan are not very peaceful. The war between the Persian Sassanians and the Byzantine Empire lasted for another two years, and unlike the initial Sassanid offensive, the two sides had now entered a stalemate. Liu Ziqiu was not familiar with the world history of this period, so naturally it was impossible to know the final outcome of this war in advance. However, Liu Ziqiu had a large number of spies buried in both the Persian and Byzantine empires, and they could obtain a steady stream of intelligence. And his subordinates also have a large number of talents, which can be used for detailed analysis and inference.

According to information from the West, the Sassanid treasury was becoming increasingly empty, and some precious heirlooms were taken out of the treasury by Kusi Lao and sold to Han merchants in exchange for horses, armor, and food urgently needed by the Persian army. As a result, many precious works of art from Persia appeared in the market of the Han Dynasty, and a considerable number of them came from the royal palaces of the Sassanid Dynasty. Moreover, the number of slaves from Persia was increasing, and almost all wealthy families could use orchids. With the horses, armor, and food purchased from the Han Dynasty, Kuss Lao II finally organized another large army and prepared for another expedition.

However, the seemingly powerful Sashan dynasty has been in turmoil. This is already the last force that Kuth Lao can handle. If this expedition is not successful, he will no longer have the strength to organize a decent army. Because, the slightly more valuable treasures in the palace warehouse were sold by him.

On the other hand, the Byzantine Empire was also struggling to hold on. At the beginning of the war, Byzantium was torn apart, giving the Sassanids a chance. And after the painful lesson, the major powers in Byzantium finally put aside their disputes and came together again. The united Byzantine Empire is of course stronger than before, but after so many years of war, it has also caused great damage to the Byzantine economy, and many people are hungry. With the situation in Byzantium, at best, it could only support one more large-scale battle.

Both sides of the war have reached the most critical juncture, and this time no matter who wins or loses, there will be an outcome. The loser will never be able to turn over, and the winner will become the new hegemon of the West. Liu Ziqiu was tasked with analyzing the outcome between the Sassanians and the Byzantine Empire this time, and the possible impact of these outcomes on the Han Dynasty.

There are three possible outcomes. One is that the Sassanians eventually won, and Persia annexed the Byzantine Empire. The second is the victory of the Byzantine Empire, and the Sassanite Dynasty never ceases to exist. The third is that the two sides fought to defeat both sides, and temporarily died down, and after a few years of rest, maybe the war will start again.

These three outcomes, no matter which one appears, are not very favorable to the Han. The first and second outcomes, whether a unified Persian Empire or the Byzantine Empire emerge, both of which are extremely aggressive and expansive, are very likely to advance eastward, and compete with the Han for the Western Regions and Mobei. The third outcome is only a temporary peace, and the war is rekindled, and eventually the first and second outcomes will appear. Moreover, they have been fighting for many years, which has also had an impact on the Han Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty has always lacked gold, silver, copper and other precious metals, and the domestic demand for these metals is very huge. In addition to the minerals mined by Chen Ling, who was sent overseas, more than 30% of them were obtained by trade between the East and the West. And the years of war not only threatened the Silk Road, but also impoverished the two powers. How much money can you make doing business with a poor man?