Lao Wu took the sheepskin tube thrown by Shao Xi, opened it and shook off the piece of silk cloth inside, and saw what it was at a glance.

He looked up at Shao Xi, and then asked in a strange manner, "What conditions did your kid agree to the old king?" He's going to give you everything so important, and now you've got the actual handle in your hand, what are you going to do next? ”

Shao Xi pursed his lips and said as if he was a little absent-minded: "Only this one is not enough, if you can't make a move to restrain the other party, the best way is to choose to continue to forbear, it's meaningless to do things that itch your boots."

"As for the fact that the old king wants to take the initiative to marry me, don't believe it, he really wants to marry Alia to me?"

Lao Wu's eyes widened when he heard this, he was just ridiculing before, but when Shao Xi said this, he felt a little surprised.

"I was just talking, could it be that King McGeed really can't think so much about marrying his daughter to you, a stinky boy?"

"Do you think it's that simple? If he hadn't asked me, how could he have brought up this matter? ”

"And you agreed?"

"Of course not, who are you and me?"

"Hey, who can you be? Lustful people for money! ”

Shao Xi was really too lazy to raise the bar with Lao Wu again, so he simply told Lao Wu about the conversation he had with McJid and Alia in the palace.

After hearing this, Lao Wu didn't show any surprised expression as Shao Xi imagined, he was very clear about the relationship between Wuhai Kingdom and Jingyuan Empire, and it didn't seem to surprise him that McJid had this idea and would find Shao Xi.

"Wuhai Kingdom wants to repair relations with our Jingyuan Dynasty, he can directly send envoys to the court to show goodwill, but now he is looking for you to be this intermediary, don't you think there is something wrong?"

Shao Xi didn't understand what Lao Wu meant for a while, and looked at the old guy in front of him with some surprise, thinking that there was something he hadn't thought of?

So he spoke directly: "The reason given by the old king is that he was obstructed and destroyed by the White Night Kingdom, which is indeed a major obstacle to existence.

"I've also been thinking that in addition to intercepting and killing the envoys of the Wuhai Kingdom, it's not impossible for the White Night Kingdom to use the circle that has been established in Daliang City to interfere with this matter.

"But Wuhai is not going to make no progress, is it? Why did it suddenly find my head now? ”

Lao Wu smiled hesitantly, with a clear expression in his heart, and said: "This King McGeed has other plans, but if he establishes a relationship with our dynasty, there is no need for him to go to such great lengths.

"He should have learned your identity from Princess Alia, and he has guessed that you are the person relied on by the Holy One, and his real purpose is not the Holy One, but you."

"Me?"

Lao Wu glanced at Shao Xi and nodded.

"That's right! On the surface, it seems that he, Wuhai Kingdom, has encountered a lot of obstacles in improving relations with my Jingyuan Dynasty, and in desperation, he wants to establish contact with the Holy Lord through you.

"But in fact, as a famous state in the Western Regions, how could it be at a loss for this kind of thing? From his promise to marry you the princess, to his willingness to hand over such an important thing to you, it proves that it is you who he really wants to build a relationship with.

"He wants to use your influence around the Holy Lord and in the court to expand the influence of the Wuhai Kingdom on our dynasty in the states of the Western Regions, he not only wants to establish a relationship with the Jingyuan Empire, but also intends to establish the most important position in the diplomatic relations between the states of the Western Regions and the Jingyuan Dynasty in one fell swoop.

"When Wuhai Kingdom became an existence that could not be ignored in the diplomatic relations between the Western Regions and the Jingyuan Dynasty, he gained the absolute initiative among the states of the Western Regions.

"When the time comes, if he wants to destroy a small country in the Western Regions, my Jingyuan Dynasty will only stand on his side, this old king's ambition is not small, his means are very clever, and he does not show any traces."

Although Shao Xi must admit that Lao Wu's analysis has some truth, he is still a little skeptical.

"How can he be sure that I will help him in the court? If in the future he finds that I am not as valuable to him as he expected, will he not pay such a great price in vain? ”

Lao Wu couldn't help but laugh when he heard Shao Xi's words.

walked to Shao Xi's side, patted him on the shoulder and said, "No one is always valuable, your current value is to help Wuhai Kingdom establish a good impression in the Holy Lord, and at the same time, it is also through you to discover other valuable people around the Holy Lord."

"For this old king, you are just a brick that he threw to my Jingyuan Dynasty Shengshang, as for what kind of jade can be drawn in the future, it is the most important thing for him."

When Shao Xi heard Lao Wu say this, he began to feel uncomfortable in his heart, why did he become that brick? He is now being calculated by that McGid?

He still thought that he had everything under control, and it turned out that what he wanted was something that people had long expected, but when it came to establishing relationships with the people around the saint, Shao Xi couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"If you say that, why did he give me this thing? Isn't this person more valuable than me? ”

"There are things you can think about, but you can't do; There are things that can be heard, but not spoken; Some people can know, but they can't have a relationship, don't you understand? ”

Shao Xi suddenly realized that what Lao Wu said was right, this old king was really an old fox, far-sighted, cautious, and indeed did not show any traces.

It seems that compared with these old guys who are well versed in the way of kings, they still seem a little tender.

At this moment, Shao Xi's face showed a sinister smile, and the vast majority of people in this world really can't be easily trusted.

The thing McGid gave himself today proves that he did use his crooked brain before, but after weighing the pros and cons, he felt that there were some things that could not be done, so he simply used it as a bargaining chip to find another way, and it was really for the sake of profit, anyone could use it to sell.

Since he wants to use himself, then he can also use him.

When cooperating with him, you can also leave a gap for his opponents, so that they can check and balance each other, and when the time comes, see who is in control.

Shao Xi must make McJid understand that he is not a tool in his hands, and if he wants to get benefits from himself, he must pay the corresponding price in exchange.

If he really dares to underestimate himself, then one day he will pay a high price for his self-inflicted cleverness.

It seems that doing things is really to leave some way back for yourself, otherwise you don't know when you will be sold, if it weren't for Lao Wu's reminder today, I'm afraid I really didn't think of the other layer.

Shao Xi looked at Lao Wu gratefully.

"Old fellow, thanks for the reminder! It seems that there is nothing wrong with being cunning sometimes. ”

Lao Wu couldn't help but glance at Shao Xi, and asked in a rather dissatisfied tone: "Are you kid praising me or am you hurting me?" ”

"Of course it's a compliment on you! Why can't you even hear the good words now? If I don't raise the bar with you here, I'll go to the shopkeeper Sun to talk about asking for a guide. ”

After speaking, Shao Xi turned around and left the room.

……

Sun Lichang has been going back and forth between the Central Plains and the Western Regions for so many years, and it was the first time he went to the palace of Wuhai Kingdom, which made him feel a little excited.

You must know that there have been many caravans coming and going to the Western Regions over the years, but not everyone has the opportunity to go to the palace to see it, and this matter is still stained with Shao Xi's light.

However, this is only a small episode of their coming to Wuhai Country, the purpose of the caravan is still to do business, and the compensation of the three hundred gold received from McJid this time has become the biggest gain of this trip.

Sun Lichang was a businessman after all, and all he was thinking about was how to maximize the benefits at hand, so he did not hesitate to use the three hundred gold to buy special goods from the Western Regions in Wuhai City.

In this way, after returning to the Central Plains, three hundred gold is more than three hundred gold.

Shao Xi found Sun Lichang and explained to him the matter of inviting the guide, Sun Lichang naturally did not dare to be the slightest neglect.

The guide he hired for Shao Xi was found through a local business partner, a local boy named Nabihai.

This guy has bronzed skin, a handsome face, a pair of blazing eyes under two thick eyebrows, a high nose bridge, thick lips, and a firm chin, and he looks like a handsome guy in the Western Regions.

He was dressed as a native and wore a plaid turban on his head.

According to Sun Lichang, this young man has just turned nineteen years old this year, but he has been a guide in this desert for four years.

He grew up here, and it can be said that every grain of sand in Wuhai Country knows him, and this young man is smart, clever, kind and honest, and it will not be wrong for him to be a guide for Shao Xi and others.

Shao Xi believed in Sun Lichang's vision, and his impression of Nabihai was quite good after seeing him.

This young man doesn't like to talk much, he just keeps smiling after meeting, no matter what Sun Lichang and Shao Xi say to him, he just nods, and it can be seen that he is very satisfied with the remuneration for this trip.

Shao Xi agreed with him that the reward for this trip to the depths of the desert was two gold leaves, and he also gave him one gold leaf as a deposit in advance.

This reward was astronomical for Nabihai, and in the past, he had been paid as a guide for other caravans, and the most he had been paid was just a silver leaf.

He didn't expect that this time the patron would be so generous, and after taking the gold leaf handed to him, he put his hand on his chest and kept bowing to Shao Xi.

Shao Xi asked Nabihai to go back and prepare, but in fact, Nabihai didn't have anything to prepare.

As a guide, he owns a camel himself, and all that is left is dry food and water for the journey.

However, Shao Xi still reminded him that the time to go out this time may not be short, and asked him to prepare as many items as possible for the journey.

After Nabihai left, Shao Xi instructed Sun Lichang to feed the camels that he was going to ride, prepare more dry food and water, and keep out the cold at night in the desert.

In fact, even if Shao Xi doesn't instruct, Sun Lichang will prepare all the things he needs.

For Sun Lichang, although this trip to the Western Regions caused a lot of trouble because of Shao Xi, it was also because Shao Xi made them gain a lot from this trip.

He reminded Shao Xi that the caravan would stay in Wuhai City for about a month and a half.

If Shao Xi and the others could return within a month and a half, the caravan could continue to provide sufficient needs for the few of them to go to Loulan Kingdom.

If it is more than a month and a half, then everything that follows can only rely on Shao Xi and others.

In the early morning of the second day, Nabihai arrived at the post house early, Shao Xi and the others washed up and prepared, and a group of five people left Wuhai City and headed towards the endless desert in the north.

Shao Xi showed Nabihai the map he copied, and pointed to the black dot he had ordered in advance, and asked Nabihai what kind of place is this?

Nabihai, with his years of experience as a guide in the desert, looked at the map for a while.

said to Shao Xi with certainty: "This is Wuhai!" It is the largest lake in the entire Wuhai country, and legend has it that the Wuhai country is also named because of the existence of this lake.

"It's a desert as far as the eye can see, and there should be people living in places where there is water, but it's different here, because the water is bitter and astringent, not to mention that people and livestock will have diarrhea after drinking it, and even the lake doesn't have a decent tree around it.

"We people in Wuhai call this lake the Sea of Death, because there is a large area of water that cannot give birth to any life, and there is not even a single fish in such a large lake."

Listening to Nabihai's words, the two words that flashed in Shao Xi's mind immediately were-Dead Sea!

To put it bluntly, it is a large salt lake, and because of the high salt content, there is no way for plants and animals to grow and survive in and around the lake, and naturally even birds do not want to go to that place, so it is not an exaggeration to call it the Sea of Death.

Shao Xi nodded and said to Nabihai, "Let's go there." ”

Although Nabihai was very curious about Shao Xi and the others going to such a place that even the birds did not want to pass by, as a guide, in addition to leading the way and making some suggestions along the way, they were not allowed to inquire about the purpose of the employer's trip.

That's what they do.

In the desert desolate place, everyone enters the desert for different purposes, some people are doing business, some are treasure hunting, and some people are even going to kill people.

If you ask too much, you will invite yourself to unwarranted disaster, and the guide only needs to do a good job of guiding the way.

Don't ask what you shouldn't know, and even ignore some things you shouldn't see, this is their way of survival.

Since Shao Xi said that he was going to the Wuhai known as the Sea of Death, he led the way, as for why Shao Xi went there and what they did there, it had nothing to do with Nabihai.

After determining the destination of the trip, Shao Xi and the others, under the leadership of Nabihai, rode a camel all the way north into the vast and uninhabited desert.

They don't know what awaits them in front of them, and they don't know what's going to happen along the way.

They just walked towards the black dot on the map, and no one could have imagined how many difficulties and dangers they would face on this journey.