Three watches in the middle of the night, no stars and no moon. Chen Ao covered his face tightly with a black cloth, and then nodded to the two people beside him who were also dressed in night clothes.

These two people are naturally Feng Hu and Qin Lang. Chen Ao instructed Long Qingping two sentences, asking her to protect Zhao Ling and them. He can't let his own woman have an accident now.

Chen Ao waved his hand, and the three black-clothed figures disappeared into the night. They were going to see who was trading with Lan Yuyan.

Chen Ao didn't believe that Lan Yuyan came to Hulu County just for ordinary business. He thought to himself, since Lan Yuyan was the leader of a gust of wind, and she had such a high status, but she came to Hulu County in person for a transaction, the importance of this business was self-evident.

Although his martial arts are not good, he must come this time. Qin Lang and Feng Hu were on the left and on the right, sandwiching Chen Ao. When he wants to climb over the wall, he will be given a handful of force.

The three of them came to an inn. This inn in Hulu County can only be said to be very small and inconspicuous. Almost no one would have thought that the people who lived here would do business with Lan Yuyan, who lived in the most expensive room in the Fuxi Building.

Qin Lang nodded at Chen Ao, convinced that this was the place. The three of them found a low place in the fence and climbed in.

There were seven or eight cars parked in the yard. The mules and horses had already arrived at the stables to feed the forage, and the carts lined up in the courtyard. Not far away, under the lantern, there was a man guarding it. At this time the man was leaning against a pillar and dozing off.

The place where Chen Ao and the others landed was very remote and did not attract the attention of that person. The three of them first found a bush to get into, and Chen Ao asked in a low voice, "Is that their truck?"

Qin Lang nodded and whispered, "This inn has only seven or eight rooms. As soon as the caravan came, they took the inn down. There's no one else here!"

Chen Ao nodded, turned his head to Feng Hu and said, "Can you let that guard sleep for a while first?"

Feng Hu didn't speak, his sharp eyes glanced at the figure in the distance, and his body had already rushed out. He was dressed in a night suit and was silent in the night. Chen Ao had never seen anyone move so neatly. As soon as he came back to his senses, he saw that the figure of the lantern had fallen limply.

Feng Hu stood next to the truck and beckoned to them. Chen Ao carefully touched it, and reached out to tear off a tarpaulin covered by a truck. There were several boxes on the car. When the box is opened, you can see that there are several silk horses inside.

Chen Ao frowned, he didn't believe that Lan Yuyan really wanted to buy silk. He removed the five or six horses of silk, and the box was empty. Chen Ao's heart moved, and he reached out and knocked on the bottom of the box. I only heard the sound of "tuk tuk", and the bottom of the box was obviously hollow!

Chen Ao pulled out his dagger and cut the bottom of the box, and then the lantern shone faintly, only to see that there were more than a dozen crossbows inside! This kind of crossbow was made by skilled craftsmen in the Central Plains and specially equipped with the forbidden army. Chen Ao was a general of the forbidden army, so he recognized it.

The legend of this crossbow is the Zhuge repeater invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, which can shoot ten arrows in a row. It is said that more than ten years ago, a craftsman accidentally got the drawings for making this crossbow and studied it for several years before making it. The forbidden army of the Great Song Dynasty was equipped with this kind of weapon, and its combat effectiveness was greatly improved, which made the nomadic peoples of Khitan, Western Xia, and Tubo suffer a lot.

The Song army also kept this weapon strictly secret. Even if you lose the battle, or if you miss and are captured, you must first destroy the most critical part of the crossbow, so that the technology of this weapon will not be mastered by the enemy.

The three of them looked at each other, their eyes full of surprise. Lan Yuyan is really not an ordinary business, it is actually selling arms! Moreover, it is the most advanced weapon being sold!

The three of them opened the compartment of the other trucks, and saw that there were two carts of this kind of bow and crossbow, and there were dozens of them. In addition, there are two carts of crossbow arrows, which are specially equipped with this type of repeater. Another cart was loaded with swords and blades. However, these blades are clearly well-equipped, sharp and tough. The last two carts were actually filled with gunpowder!

By this time, the military use of gunpowder had already been discovered. The imperial court also ordered the prohibition of private gunpowder. Anyone found to have made or trafficked gunpowder was punished with death. Even the production of fireworks and firecrackers must be made under the strict supervision of the government.

But Lan Yuyan even got gunpowder, which shows how important her business is this time. No wonder she wants to lead the team herself.

Chen Ao stood next to the truck and thought for a long time. He didn't understand, what was Lan Yuyan going to do with these things? She couldn't have robbed with gunpowder, could she? With her rabble of 100 people, she couldn't have wanted to rebel. Then there is only one possibility, she was sent by Western Xia for the purpose of stealing the advanced weapons of the Great Song Dynasty!

At this time, the Western Xia had not yet declared the establishment of the state. But Chen Ao knew that it was sooner or later. Most of the Western Xia were nomads, and their level of science and technology was naturally relatively low. They couldn't make a crossbow, they couldn't make gunpowder. Then it is logical to send someone to the Central Plains to get these things.

Chen Ao felt that he had already guessed eight or nine. The only question is, why did Lan Yuyan, a group of Persians, work for the Qiang people of Western Xia? It stands to reason that Persia is now a huge empire, and there is no reason to come to Western Xia, a nation that still lives in tents, to make a living!

Chen Ao couldn't figure it out, and he didn't plan to think about it. He said to Qin Lang: "Find a way to transport these truckloads of things back!"

Qin Lang nodded and flew out. Chen Ao beckoned to Feng Hu, and the two of them touched the location of the guest room. Chen Ao whispered: "Go and take the shopkeeper of the caravan away, don't alarm others!"

Feng Hu tiptoed close to the door of a guest room. The inn was so small that the shopkeeper of the caravan could live alone in one room, while everyone else had to live in it. So it's not hard to find people.

Feng Hu often did this kind of thing, and soon carried out the shopkeeper like a dead pig. The two waited at the foot of the courtyard wall for a while, and Qin Lang took seven or eight of his men, each holding a hemp bag, and climbed into the wall.

They moved neatly and loaded all the weapons and gunpowder in the compartment of the truck. The truck was restored to its original state, and it was almost impossible to see that it had been moved. After finishing these, an hour had passed, and Chen Ao returned with everyone.

Xuan Ning was still in Lan Yuyan's hands, so Chen Ao didn't plan to hurt the caravan owner, and he didn't want to report this big case to the higher state capital for the time being. He just wanted to remind Lan Yuyan that he was not easy to mess with.

As long as Lan Yuyan honestly sends Xuanning back, Chen Ao doesn't mind turning a blind eye to her. In the final analysis, Chen Ao is most concerned about his female talents. The historical development of this era is not important to him, an outsider. Nor can he change the course of history.

It's just that he didn't know that Xuan Ning was actually not in Lan Yuyan's hands at all. And Xuanning is also facing a life and death test at this moment.