After the end of the chūn season cāo performance, Loulan City resumed its hustle and bustle.

This "miracle city", which has spread its reputation throughout the northwest, has gradually replaced the capital of Nulin Province, which was originally ruled by the governor of Bohan, and has gradually become the largest border trade center in the northwest by virtue of its geographical location closer to the border and the superior natural environment near the richest Loulan Lake in the northwest.

Although there was the sāo disturbance of the steppe people before, there was also a siege of the Northwest Army showing off its military might. But fortunately, when the official news came that the Northwest Army had killed the head of the enemy chief golden wolf from the grassland, at least on the bright side: the Northwest Army did not rebel.

As long as this news came out, the people in the northwest were always relieved.

As for the steppe...... After the last sāo rebellion, the royal court on the steppe is said to have sent emissaries to dìdū. At least until the talks between the two sides collapse, a brief peace can be guaranteed.

Dardanelles, the garrison commander of Loulan City, strictly implemented Du Wei's strategy of "loosening the outside and tightening the inside", and after the retreat of the Northwest Army, the border trade in the towns outside the city was reopened. And the cavalry of the Tulip family of the brigade was sent out to patrol around. Several gates in Loulan City seem to be not strictly guarded, and merchants can still enter and exit the city with the certificate of the merchant group, but in secret, some visitors from the grassland, especially people dressed strangely, have begun to secretly and closely monitor.

Subsequently, the announcement of the conscription order also began to be posted on the bulletin board at the city gate.

On such an evening, there was a bustling crowd in front of the billboard. In the distance, traders from all over the continent are haggling loudly in the trade bazaar, and groups of Tulip family soldiers are patrolling back and forth......

There was such a horse, coming alone from the northeast road, a middle-aged man on the horse, who was thin and handsome, although he looked nearly forty years old, with a gentle reins in one hand, and the fingers on the palm of his hand were extremely long, and the bones were strong. At first glance, he is a person who practices martial arts. His figure, though slightly emaciated, was extremely well-proportioned and strong. He was wearing a peculiar robe. This kind of coarse cloth robe is very common among the northern people, and the thick cloth cannot help but be hardy. It's even more dirty, but this person's eyebrows are radiant and imposing, but he definitely doesn't look like an ordinary civilian. Although the horse he rode was just an ordinary horse, he was on the horse, and his body was used to being straight, and that posture was in the eyes of the veteran. But it is the standard posture of a knight who is accustomed to fighting on horseback.

What's even stranger is that he is dressed in civilian clothes. There's a little bag on top of the horse, and beyond that. But he didn't even have a sword weapon.

You must know that in the northwest, the land is barren and the people are strong. There are also horse thieves rampant, and the merchant groups from the south to the north are carrying a large number of armed guards. In such a place, it is common to fight things without saying a word. It can be said that walking in the northwest, all those who go far away, except for women and children, most of them are wearing weapons, long swords, sabers, scimitars and the like, all of which are ordinary, occasionally rich, and equipped with leather armor.

And this man, dressed lightly, didn't even bring a short sword, and just came all the way to the city gate alone. The soldiers guarding the city pass glanced at him and asked casually, "Where did you come from?"

“...... Northern. ”

"The north, the north is big! What about you, don't be vague, where did the north come from?"

The man smiled slightly, and in the face of the soldier's stern questioning, he was not annoyed, smiled faintly, and on a thin and handsome face, with a trace of calmness and calmness, he gently spit out a few words from his mouth:

"Frozen Forest. ”

As soon as these words came out, the soldiers guarding the city pass were even more puzzled, and an officer next to him frowned and glanced at this person: "Frozen Forest? I haven't heard of anyone living in that place...... Are you a mercenary? Look at you, you're also a warrior, right?"

This middle-aged man is very patient, and his smile is gentle: "Once upon a time, it was ...... But now I'm retired. ”

The officer glanced at him, this person was such a small bag, he didn't even have a weapon on his body, looking at his age, if it was an old mercenary who had retired and retreated, it would be reasonable.

"Listen to your accent, you are also from the Northwest?" After a brief check of his outfit, the officer's tone softened a lot: "Our Duke is recruiting talents, since you are a martial arts practitioner and we are from the Northwest, it is better to try your luck outside the garrison mansion in the city." Now the garrison is under the orders of the Duke, and if you have two hits, maybe you can still eat a little bit of food, which is much better than you going home and guarding a few thin fields. ”

The middle-aged man smiled slightly, glanced at the officer, said thank you, and led the horse into the city.

Entering the city, this middle-aged man rode a horse all the way and walked slowly, but he looked curiously at the scene in Loulan City. The current population of this Lancheng has exceeded 150,000, and it is already the largest city in the northwest. The streets were very wide, and the merchants of different races often drove carts into the city, but there was no crowding on the wide streets. The inhabitants of the city are also counted as living and working in peace. The one-year tax exemption announced by Du Wei was very popular, and apart from the occasional group or two of patrolling soldiers on the streets of the city, the others were in good order. There was an endless stream of pedestrians, and all kinds of accents were mixed, so that this middle-aged man walked all the way down, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Away from home for many years...... I can't imagine that there is such a prosperous city in the northwest.

Teacher...... Maybe the advice you gave me is correct. This Du Wei can really change the Northwest.

casually asked passers-by about the direction of the Duke's Palace, and all the people who were asked by him, when they mentioned the Duke's Palace, they all showed a kind of respect from the heart, and there was a bit of awe in addition to respect. However, when it comes to this Tulip Duke, everyone praises him. It was only said that this time the God of Light opened his eyes and finally sent a good lord to the province of Desa.

He mentioned how the Duke of Tulip had great powers, performed miracles to make the land abundant, built a Xiongcheng within three months, and supported the people tax-free for a year. There is an arrow shè retreating from the besieging army...... The direct spit frothed and frothed, describing Du Wei almost as a rare figure in heaven and on earth.

And this middle-aged man asked about the road to the Duke's Palace, and the others immediately respected him, just as he was a relevant person in the Duke's Palace, and they were all enthusiastic to guide the way, and there were even those who volunteered to lead the way.

In fact, Du Wei's Duke's Palace is not difficult to find. The tallest building in the city is the Duke's Palace, which is more than 30 meters high, and the top of the tower is fluttered with a golden tulip flag.

The middle-aged man rode all the way over, but the street next to the Duke's Palace was much quieter, even if there were pedestrians passing by. They all consciously relaxed their movements and didn't dare to make noise here.

Look at the heavily guarded guards on the drawbridge. The middle-aged man seemed to smile, turned over and dismounted. Just as he was about to walk over, a group of people suddenly heard the sound of laughter next to him.

"Madame Dean, don't listen to his nonsense. What kind of xìng son is our dean, don't you know? I'm afraid that this time it will be the Northwest Army. I think in this world, only our dean calculates others, and those who can calculate dean's stake have not yet been born!"

Another one next to him said in a slightly calm voice: "The court is public." Don't talk nonsense! Today's homework isn't done yet. If you talk nonsense, I'll punish you for flying out of the city for a hundred or two hundred laps!" This calm voice said again: "Mrs. Dean, I don't think it's too early, so let's go back quickly." ”

The middle-aged man looked at it. I saw several young men dressed in gray magic apprentice robes, surrounded by a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old, coming towards the castle like stars holding the moon. The girl walked in the middle, and several young people around her were full of respect, carefully surrounding her, but deliberately keeping a little distance, as if they were afraid that a coquettish girl would be desecrated by accident.

The girl in the middle, who was indescribably shy on a pink face, was already beautiful on her small face, but she was even more red because of shyness, which became more and more attractive, and her big eyes were watery, but she didn't seem to dare to look at people, she just bit her lip and said shyly: "You...... Don't call me ...... Husband and wife......"

When the middle-aged man saw this, he probably had a number in his heart, smiled lightly, but instead walked over and stood in the middle of the way this group of people came.

"What person?" The slightly calm young man saw him, his brows furrowed slightly, but he subconsciously took the lead and stopped in front of the girl—although his true strength was even worse than that girl's.

"Excuse me. The middle-aged man's voice was very calm: "The dean--you are talking about, probably the Duke of Tulip." I happened to be entrusted by a friend to come to the northwest to meet the Duke. ”

A few magic apprentices are naturally the students of Du Wei, and the one who can be called "Mrs. Dean" by this group of students willingly, no need to ask, is naturally the genius little stammering Vivian.

Vivien was blushing at the call of "Mrs. Dean" by the guys. After that drunkenness, he was drunk in public, and then it had a wonderful effect, but all these students had already identified this beautiful girl in their hearts as the future dean's wife. In words and deeds, there is no concealment. Vivian was originally shy and thin-skinned, and the drunkenness was cited as the biggest embarrassment in her life, and every time others mentioned it, she was embarrassed.

Today, I was taking a few students to buy some things in the shops in the city, and on the way back, I was called "Mrs. Dean" by these students, and my face was flushed. At this moment, she suddenly saw such a strange person blocking the road, Vivian couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and when she looked at it, she only felt that such a middle-aged man standing in the middle of the road, his body and demeanor were really indescribable.

The other party seemed to just stand in the middle casually, but it was like the pedestrians around the road, and all the demeanor was concentrated on him at once. He seems to be smiling peacefully, but the hidden momentum is definitely not something ordinary people can have.

"Please, please...... You're ......" Vivien took a proper step.

"Ah......" The middle-aged man looked at the shy girl, and he smiled slightly, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be His Excellency Master Vivian." I've heard a friend say your name, and he's said a lot of nice things about you in front of me. ”

Vivian was a little embarrassed, but looked at the middle-aged man curiously, and made sure that the other party really had no malicious intentions, so she smiled: "I...... I'm Vivien. You, you are ......"

The middle-aged man touched it from his arms, and finally found a badge: "This is from my friend." I met him in the frozen forest, but he rushed back, and I was a little injured, so I delayed my arrival for a while. ”

Vivian took the badge and looked at it, and her eyes immediately lit up! This badge clearly belonged to Hussein! The little silly girl immediately understood the identity of the middle-aged man in front of her: "Ah! You are ......"

"My name is Rodriguez. The middle-aged man smiled lightly: "I used to be a knight...... But now, I'm just a wreck. ”

After saying that, he raised his right hand, and to Vivien's surprise, the paladin's right hand had been broken off at the wrist!

Looking at Vivien's shocked eyes, Rodriguez smiled calmly: "I've been hesitating, a waste like me should do something after bidding farewell to my knighthood, but fortunately, my friend who gave me this badge said that maybe Duke Tulip can take me in." So...... After much thought, I came to the Northwest. ”