The Kingdom of Loulan is located on the eastern side of the Western Regions.

East to Wusun, Dunhuang (the westernmost part of Yue County), west to the end, Jingjue, Kumi, Khotan, the northeast to the traffic division, the northwest to Moshan, Qiuzi, is the history of the Silk Road important place.

Originally, the people of the country were divided into two groups.

One is in the Western Regions and the other is in Hexi.

The tribes of the land west of the river are called Lou Fu.

Lou Nuren was driven from the west of the river to the Hetao area during the cavalry shooting of King Wuling of Zhao Wuling.

Became a vassal of the Xiongnu.

But King Zhao Wuling was powerful, and within a few years, he defeated the Xiongnu again and took the Hetao region.

Lou Annoying, who found that the Xiongnu was also unreliable, had no choice but to flee to Loulan in the Western Regions and join the same clan.

In the last years of the Warring States period, they jointly established the Loulan Kingdom.

Since then, two different clans have been retained in Loulan.

At this moment, inside the palace of Loulan.

Just sent away the people under the command of the king of the right valley of the Xiongnu.

King Loulan's face was full of sadness.

Beside him, an old man was silent.

King Loulan looked at the old man.

"National teacher, what should I do?"

"What should I do?"

"At the beginning, you said that you wanted to unite with Wusun to fight the enemy."

"Now the army has been defeated, and there is not a single man slaughtered in the whole country of Wusun!"

"It is said that it is still there, but it has become a nest of fornication of the Huns."

"Now they have made us obedient."

"What the hell should I do?"

The old man also sighed.

He didn't expect the Xiongnu to be so powerful.

I thought that I would meet the enemy in the desert land, and it would take some time, but the other party would not know the water source, and he would retreat after being extremely hungry and thirsty.

But who knew that it was just a face, and the army of 10,000 people was slaughtered.

Compared with ten years ago, the Xiongnu are simply not as powerful as the same tribe.

The national teacher, as the person with the highest status in the Lou Fu family, was also panicked at the moment.

But under the constant pressure of King Loulan.

He could only bite the bullet and give the answer.

"Wang Mo has to be in a hurry."

"Then the Xiongnu forced us to surrender, but it was only to contain the Eastern Great Qin!"

"The strength of the Qin people is not weaker than that of the Xiongnu."

"Even the old Zhao, who once defeated the Huns, was easily subdued."

"The Xiongnu are so anxious to expand westward, and even do not hesitate to tear their faces with us, I am afraid that they are also uneasy."

"As long as we are between the Xiongnu and the Great Qin, we should be safe and sound."

King Loulan had only heard of Great Qin, but had never really understood what Great Qin was like.

"Then Daqin can really contain the Xiongnu?"

Seeing that King Loulan still had doubts.

The national teacher stepped forward and said.

"You didn't feel it before, but now that a country as strong as the Yue Clan has been beaten in a few days, don't you feel it?"

This made King Loulan nod.

"That's right, hundreds of thousands of people from the Yue clan suppressed the Western Regions, but I don't know what they did, and they were wiped out by the Qin people without warning."

"When I fled into our territory, I almost thought that the Yue Clan was going to attack us!"

The national teacher also hurriedly answered and comforted King Loulan.

"That's right, besides, we're different from Wusun."

"The territory of Wusun is north, close to the Xiongnu."

"But there is a lot of distance between us and the Huns."

"If the Xiongnu want to use strength, we will take refuge in Daqin."

"After Daqin took down the Yue Clan, he stationed 100,000 troops in Dunhuang!"

"As long as we take refuge, the Huns can't stand it if they lead the way."

The more the national teacher talks, the smoother the thinking and the clearer the reason.

There is a gradual glow between the eyes.

"That's right! It must be that! ”

"The Xiongnu were afraid that we would fall to Great Qin, so they didn't force the attack."

"But after defeating the army, only the order was sent for me to surrender!"

He suddenly turned his head to look at King Loulan.

"So as long as we grasp the balance between Great Qin and the Xiongnu."

"Don't take sides, you will be able to survive in peace."

When the words fell, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

King Loulan also sat back on the throne and said after thinking about it.

"Then you can't let Lou annoy the family anymore, and the people who were originally close to the Xiongnu will marry, so as not to lose the opportunity to get close to Daqin!"

The national teacher is also a cautious point.

"I'll retreat and warn the people of Lou Fu's family!"

King Loulan nodded and waved his hand.

……

At this moment, in the south side of the building, there is a team of special guests.

It numbered nearly 1,000 and carried a large amount of cargo.

You must know that although the country of Wuqiang is called a country.

However, it is mainly nomadic, and the total number of its people is only in the tens of thousands.

This caravan is almost equivalent to a small country for them.

The king of the Qiang Kingdom solemnly received the guests in the vault.

The leader of the other side is humble and gentle in his words.

On the surface, he was a merchant who came all the way from Dongfang Daqin.

Named Wushi 倮 (luo Wushi people, name 倮, later called Wu 倮).

They bypassed the completely fallen Wusun along the Moon County, and came here after all the hardships, just to exchange the goods needed by both sides with the Wuqiang Kingdom.

After learning that Wulu was a merchant from Daqin.

The king "went to King Hulai" was very welcome.

Although the Qiang is a combination of the Ruo and Qiang tribes.

But they are different from the Guqiang people near Qinghai.

He does not worship the Wuyi sword, but has his own civilization and beliefs.

The king of Hulai actively ordered the people of the country to trade with the Wulu.

with horses, camels, diamonds, raisins, vessels of gold and silver.

In exchange for ceramics, silk, cloth, pigments, gold leaf, tung oil, etc.

The deal lasted for several days.

Among them, the most important things for Wu Lu are horses and cotton.

Bringing good horses back for breeding can solve the problem of lack of good horses in China.

And this plant, called cotton, fills the clothes and bedding extremely warm.

In winter, one piece is worth two or three pieces of domestic cotton clothing (silk and linen).

When Wu Lu saw the cotton, he immediately thought of the sores of the northern soldiers, who had been frozen in winter.

When fighting in the north, the soldiers wore several layers of clothing, which was extremely heavy and made it difficult to move.

If you can use this cotton to make clothes and bedding, you don't have to worry about the cold even if you go deep into the northern hinterland.

Wu Lu had already thought that if he could bring the seeds of this plant back to China and present them to His Majesty, it would be a great achievement.

It is a pity that the Qiang people are mainly nomadic and do not have their own planting land.

Cotton is also mostly exchanged for Loulan and Momo.

This made Wu Luo very disappointed.

When I went to King Hulai, I saw that Wulu cared about this kind of thing very much.

After a little thought, he said.

"It's the first transaction, and it's about satisfying both parties."

"It's not impossible for you to want cotton seeds!"

Wu Liu's eyes widened instantly.

"If you can help me get it, we can dedicate three percent of these goods to you!"

The low profile in Wulu's words, the dedication of the word to the king of Hulai is very useful.

He waved his hand.

"Come on, take this Wulu leader to the end of the country!"

Wu Lu was overjoyed and hurriedly turned around to tidy up the caravan.

But when he went to Hulai, the king called the man who led the way again, and whispered.

"When you arrive in the end of the country, you will make private deals with the people around you."

"Don't let them talk directly to these Qin people."

"Otherwise, in the future, these merchants will bypass us directly, and where will there be oil and water!"

The man who led the way smiled and hurriedly saluted.

"Wise!"

After sending Wu Lu and the others away, he went to King Hulai to look at the large number of goods left by the caravan.

Laughed happily twice.

"These merchants from Qin have really never seen the world."

"Just a little worthless thing, in exchange for so much in return!"

Just when everyone is happy.

Suddenly, a clansman ran to the northeast.

"Wang, it's not good, Loulan is here!"

"They heard that a Qin person is visiting, and they want to come to meet them!"

The king of Hulai suddenly frowned.

Wasn't Loulan close to the Xiongnu?

How could you care about the caravan of the Qin people.

Compared with Loulan's strength, his Qiang tribe has no room for resistance.

Go to Hulai Wang knew that he was afraid that this Qin merchant would be robbed by Loulan in the future.

Suddenly sighed, and said a little unpleasantly.

"Let's just say that I was too tired from hunting yesterday to see them."

"Tell me the traces of the Qin people and merchants, and let them leave quickly!"

After the words were finished, the king of Hulai returned to the vault and disappeared.

The clansmen hurriedly led people to the northeast to meet them.

Before they could get closer, the people who took the lead realized that something was wrong.

A large area of cavalry in front of him.

Why did the people of Loulan come here?

……

And the end of the kingdom is on the west side of the territory of the Qiang country.

It's only a few dozen miles away.

On top of the carriage, he stuffed one or two gold and silver artifacts into the passer-by.

The passer-by had a smile on his face, and his mouth kept telling the characteristics of the countries of the Western Regions.

Loulan has the most beautiful women, Qiuzi produces ironware, and Wusun has many fish in the offshore (river).

The country of Khotan (tian) started with silkworm raising, and the textile industry was developed.

The country also produces jade, which is exquisite and exquisite.

While listening, Wu Lu wrote down word for word by the people next to him.

These are all good news to report to Your Majesty.

In the end, Wu Luo used some silk and learned the general strength information of the thirty-six countries from the leader of the people.

Originally, except for Guizi and the driver.

Wusun Loulan is first-class.

But since they were defeated by the Xiongnu, they had few troops.

At present, in the eastern region of the 36 countries, only Qiuzi and Cheshi are relatively strong.

The country has a population of more than 100,000 and tens of thousands of troops.

The rest of the nations had about a few thousand troops.

Wu Luo was happy to hear this, and the leader was also happy to take the gift.

Both sides are happy.

Just wait to come to the end of the kingdom of the end.

The leader stopped suddenly.

He looked at Wu Lu with a little hesitation.

Wu Lu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood something.

There is a look on his face that will not make it difficult for you.

Stretch out one hand.

"I'll wait here for you!"

The man breathed a sigh of relief.

After receiving other people's gifts, he still obstructed others like this, and the leader was also ashamed.

"Don't worry!"

"I will definitely exchange the best cotton seeds for your brothers!"

When the words fell, the leader rode his horse and rushed to the end of the country.

The subordinates on Wu Liu's side watched this scene quietly.

"Lord, for the sake of these seeds, you gave up thirty percent of the goods at once."

"This time back to Xianyang, how can I explain it to Your Majesty?"

Wu Lu said with a smile on his face, looking at the departing leader.

"Confession?"

"Confess what?"

"You don't think that Your Majesty personally summoned me and ordered me to come here thousands of miles away."

"You're here in exchange for all this gold and silver, right?"

"What I can't even look down on, can it enter the eyes of His Majesty?"

This remark made the subordinates puzzled.

"Then why did we run so far?"

Wu Lu laughed loudly.

"Didn't you already write down what Your Majesty wanted?"

The subordinate was stunned for a moment, and suddenly looked at the information written in his hand.

Wu Lu continued.

"Although I am a cheap businessman, I also have a heart to serve the country."

"Fortunately, His Majesty has personally called him to contribute to the country, and he has gone all out."

"Your Majesty ordered me to explore the way to find out the situation in the Western Regions."

"But I actually encountered something like cotton, which is of great help to my Daqin, and I must get it."

Wu Liu's face was solemn.

"With this cold-resistant thing, when facing the northern Xiongnu in the future, I don't know how many people in my Great Qin soldiers will be able to avoid the torture of the cold."

"This cotton seed must be obtained!"

The subordinate finally knew the purpose of the trip, and hurriedly stuffed the information recorded in his hand into his arms to protect it.

Follow the Uryu with anticipation, waiting for the leader to return.

Two hours passed like a white horse.

Wu Lu frowned, it stands to reason that it shouldn't have been so long.

The subordinate also spoke a little uneasily.

"Looking at the field, it's not far away, why hasn't he come back yet."

"It's just some cotton seeds, so slow?"

At this time, a small black dot finally ushered in the distant hillside in the west.

Wu Lu breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm back."

The subordinate on his side was just about to step forward to greet him.

Suddenly, there was the sound of horses' hooves "booming".

He turned his head sharply to look north.

In the distance, on the grassland, a large area of cavalry under the pressure of black pressure attacked quickly.

The subordinate immediately panicked.

Look back at Uryu.

Wu Lu was also staring at the coming army at the moment.

With his businessman's intuition, he could feel that the other party was coming at him.

It's probably not good at this time.

Uryu wants to evacuate.

You can turn your head to look west.

The leader held a cloth bag aloft.

shouted with excitement on his face.

"In exchange! In exchange! ”

Wu Lu's face suddenly fell into a tangle.

At that moment, there was a shout from the north.

"I heard that Daqin is coming, I'm here to see you!"

The words without hostility relieved the merchants.

But the subordinate suddenly changed color.

He shouted as he pointed to the dozens of people in front of the army.

"Sleeveless Scales!"

"Hu Ren!"

"They are Huns!"

These two sentences seem to wake up the hesitant Wulu.

He gritted his teeth.

"Abandon the goods! Evacuate on horseback! ”

The merchant hurriedly drew his weapons and abandoned the carriage.

The horse turned and fled southeast.

But at this time, the subordinate suddenly found out.

Wu Lu actually used his feet hard and rushed towards the leader of the west.

The subordinates were suddenly in a hurry and wanted to keep up.

Wu Lu turned his head and shouted.

"Let's go! Leave me alone! ”

"Remember, Seed!"

"I'll definitely go back with the seeds!"

When the words fell, he ignored it and rushed madly towards the leader.

The leader was also frightened by the rushing army at this moment, and actually stopped in place.

Fortunately, Wu Lu caught up with him and snatched the bag of cotton seeds.

The subordinates and others saw that the Huns were about to catch up.

Ignoring nothing, he turned his horse's head and fled in a hurry.

His eyes were red.

According to the position just now, Wu Lu will definitely be stopped.

I only hope that he can escape the pursuit of the Huns and flee back to Dunhuang by a detour.

The territory of the Qiang State is not large, and it cannot be considered deep.

Although the Huns had better horses, they were still unable to catch up with the 1,000 merchants in a short time.

They rushed all the way to the outside of Dunhuang and shouted.

"The Huns are coming!"

"The Huns are coming!"

Suddenly, the giant crossbows on Dunhuang City began to turn.

A black-armored soldier shows his figure.

"Boom!"

A huge bow and crossbow smashed down from hundreds of paces away.

Forcibly stopped the thousands of Loulan people who were about to catch up.

The powerful and terrifying deterrent made the Loulan people stop.

At this moment, the young master of the noble family of Lou Fu was wide-eyed.

"What is this?"

Then he saw.

The dense army on the walls of the city was revealed.

Immediately afterwards, the other party actually opened the city gate directly.

Countless soldiers rushed out.

The first general was even more arrogant.

"Thousands of barbarians dare to attack, and they can't even stuff Lao Tzu's teeth, they are really looking for death!"

"Soldiers! Kill me! ”

The young master originally followed the subordinates sent by the king of the right valley.

I only know that there is a country called Qin, which angered the Xiongnu.

But he didn't know where Qin was or how big he was.

In his cognition, the most powerful is the Northern Xiongnu.

But at this moment, seeing the shocking giant crossbow of the city wall, looking at these Qin soldiers who were bloodthirsty and wanted to keep them.

The young master's heart suddenly trembled.

I seem to have messed with the wrong person.

At this moment, the Huns around him laughed.

With his right hand stretched out, the man who came behind him handed him a piece of something.

He casually threw it out.

"Your eldest son of Great Qin dares to kill hundreds of thousands of my Hu people, and today it is only interest!"

"Wait! After the beginning of spring, I will definitely step on Xianyang! ”

After saying that, the Huns hurriedly took the lead in retreating.

But the ignorant young master on his side was already pale.

There were only a few words left in my head.

"Kill hundreds of thousands of Hu people?"

"Tens of thousands?"

He hadn't seen that many people in his life.

Who is the eldest son of Great Qin?

What kind of existence is Daqin?

At this moment, he regretted his decision to take the initiative to contact these Huns.

He knew that he had caused a monstrous disaster for Loulan.

But it was too late.

In front of Dunhuang City.

The subordinate ran forward with a heart-rending cry.

"Plop" fell to his knees.

He threw it to the ground, dusty, dirty, and unshaped, and held it in his arms.

"Walker!"

"Walker!"

"Why?"

"Is it worth it?"

The merchants also gathered around them with grief on their faces.

They comforted the subordinate.

knows that he has been adopted by Wulu's side since he was a child, and he is like father and son.

I'm worried that he's too sad.

He took the head of the Uri from his bosom and sorted it out.

Let him return to the country like a hero.

The subordinates are still crying.

"It shouldn't be!"

"You said you wanted to bring back the seeds for Daqin, how could you take the first step!"

Everyone was silent, and the generals who ran out to meet them were also full of heavy faces.

At this time, the man named Wu Lu sorted out his remains, and noticed that his mouth was swollen.

I am afraid that he was beaten a lot before his death.

The man wanted to see if his teeth were alive.

But Wu Lu bit too tightly before he died, and it took several attempts to finally break it.

"Hula!"

A large handful of round and plump seeds were sprinkled from the mouth of the black man.

Everyone was stunned.

The heaviness turned into respect.

This is a hero.

(End of chapter)