Three Kingdoms

Finally, we passed through the damn land of Tuhuluo. In front of us was the land in the far west that Zhang Zuokong mentioned back then, Lanshi City...

Bai Que took a long breath and smiled.

Lanshi City.

In the deserts of Central Asia, whoever controls the oasis is the winner. Lanshi City is just on the west side of the Tochar Basin, at the northern foot of the Hindu Kush Mountains, and at the dividing point between the middle and lower reaches of the Amu Darya River Basin. If a straight line is connected between Lanshi City and Tiemenguan, the passage from the Tochar Basin to Persia and Central Asia can be blocked.

Of course, no regime that occupies Lanshi City has the intention to build spears on this key passage like China did, because it is enough to only occupy the dotted oases in the desert.

Zhang Qian once arrived here when he was on an envoy to the Western Regions. Originally this was the capital of the Daxia Kingdom, but now it belongs to the Kushan Empire.

Kushan was originally one of the branches of the Dayue clan. The rest of the Dayue clan were divided into four Xihous: Xiumi, Shuangmi, Dun and Gaofu. At first, they also drank the same as Kuishang and maintained a certain degree of However, in the 1st century AD, the Kushan Xihou conquered the other four Xihou and established the huge Kushan Kingdom.

After the Kushan Empire ruled Sogdiana, Bactria, Kabul, Chashiluo, Gandhara, Bin and other western regions, the Kushan Empire naturally became bolder and continued to expand to Herat. , controlled the entire Hezhong area, and controlled Kangju and Dayuan, and then came into contact with the Han Dynasty in the east.

At first, the Kushan Empire tried to make peace by asking for peace, but was rejected by the Han Dynasty. It immediately sent 70,000 troops to prepare to attack the Han Dynasty. However, it was defeated by the Han army in the Western Regions led by Ban Chao. Seeing that the situation was not good, he immediately knelt down and hugged his thigh. . At that time, Ban Chao didn't know what the Kushan Empire was like. He just knew that it was originally a branch of the Dayue clan, so he was a little wary, so he agreed to the Kushan Empire's request for peace.

Today, the Kushan Empire is ruled by Hubisaka II, but what is interesting is that when the Han Dynasty was in civil strife, the Kushan Empire, which had been eyeing the Han Dynasty with eager eyes, also fell into chaos and decline. …

Bai Que sat under a tree, licked the brush in his mouth, moistened the dry tip, and then wrote a few words on the wooden tablet he carried with him.

Bai Que was originally a Black Mountain bandit, but the Bai family name comes from the surname Ying. When Qin Wu Gong died, Gongzi Bai failed to succeed him. Wu Gong's half-brother De Gong took the throne from Gongzi Bai and Pingyang. The title was given to Young Master Bai. After the death of Prince Bai, his descendants took Bai as their surname.

Therefore, Baique is also a person who became Black Mountain due to fate and became a close guard of the commander-in-chief Zhang Yan. After Zhang Yan's death, Baique followed the instructions of General Zhengxi, followed the vague marks left by Zhang Qian and Ban Chao, and carried a map with a random scale, and followed the Qiang people to the west with several Montenegrins. , all the way to the west...

After arriving in Dawan, the Qiang people were not prepared to move forward because the Qiang people also knew that the Kushan Empire was to the west, and the Kushan Empire was not very friendly towards the Han Dynasty, so the Qiang people would rather store their goods in Dawan. Wanguo sold it and then turned around.

And Baique felt that he had to go west because Baique had not found anything like what General Zhengxi said...

So Bai Que persuaded everyone and told them that if they go back empty-handed now, they are still guilty, so they might as well try their best. If they really find those things, it will be very different immediately.

After all, General Fei Qian of Zhengxi almost said with certainty that as long as they find what they need and bring it back, they will not only be exempted from guilt, but they will also be given official titles and titles immediately!

Under the influence of interests, although everyone had some differences, they finally agreed to follow Bai Que to continue westward.

To the west of Dayuan is the area of ​​the Tohuro people, and in the Tohuro area, Baique transformed from a Black Mountain commander to an envoy of the Han Dynasty.

Ordinary businessmen will only make these poor and crazy guys shine green in the eyes. Only by relying on the great man's reputation can these foreigners be somewhat fearful.

In front of the Tohulu people who call themselves "akni", although people like Bai Que look dusty and embarrassed, the prestige of the Han Dynasty is still very important. It's better not to worry about it, and didn't delve into the identity of Bai Que.

The Tohura people seemed to be quite afraid of Dayue Kingdom to the west. When they got here, they pointed out the direction of Lanshi City, and then they were unwilling to be the guides of Bai Que and others, so they turned around and went back. They seemed a little afraid, but also It's like he doesn't want to cause trouble.

Bai Qiao can understand, because from what he saw when he passed through the gathering place of the Tohulu people, these Tohulu people are even poorer than the Huns and Wuhuan people, and they don't have much ability to defend themselves, weapons or anything like that. It is also extremely crude, so as a weak nomadic tribe, it is naturally unwilling to have any conflict with the powerful country around it...

Although Bai Que believes that Dahan is still the strongest, the Guishuang Dayue Kingdom may not be able to compare with Dahan...

The Kushan people had dealt with the big man before, but now the Kushans themselves were in a mess, like a house covered in mud, with cracks and air leaks everywhere, so when they learned that the big man actually sent When the messenger came, he showed great interest.

Bai Que actually met someone who claimed to be from the Great Qin royal family here in Lan City...

Marcus Julius.

This guy with a tough name claims to be a member of Caesar's family. It's just that of course this guy can't tell Bai Qiao that ever since Caesar was brutally raped by sixty strong men in public in the square, the Julius family has been in dire straits.

Just like Liu Bei never forgets that he is the descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, Marcus also remembers the glory of Julius in those days, so he dug out a volume in his old house at home that is said to be the story of Caesar's sojourn in the East. The parchments left over from that time say that there are countless treasures in the East...

Marcus handed over the scroll to the Presbyterian Council, but was scorned by the Presbyterian Council, saying that Marcus had bad intentions and created fake scrolls in an attempt to deceive the empire's elders. Not only did they confiscate Marcus's scrolls, but they also Marcus was sentenced to exile.

However, Marcus was not a person willing to give in, so he found an opportunity to escape from Rome and followed the guidance of the parchment in his memory to the Lanshi City of the Kushan Empire.

Here, Marcus met a real oriental person, Bai Que.

To Bai Que, this man with a difficult-to-pronounce name seems to be more interested in the big man than the Kushan people. He even said that he can speak multiple languages, has a very deep understanding of the country to the west, and is willing to provide some help to Bai Que. , in exchange for following Baique, you can visit the Han Dynasty in the future...

So Bai Que kept this man here. This yellow-haired monster seemed to be carefully observing every move of Bai Que and others, and whenever he had time, he worked hard to learn Chinese with several other Han people. Of course, this tall-nosed, white-skinned man Huang Mao, a terribly ugly guy, stubbornly believes that he should have a Chinese name that has connotations.

Ma Belly, this is the Chinese name Bai Que gave Marcus because he disliked his name being too talkative. Marcus feels very happy, because horses are important partners of humans, and their stomachs are important organs, so they represent the importance White Bird attaches to him...

"The women here are pretty good..." Ma Tudu said to Bai Que in a low voice, licking his lips, with a light in his eyes that only men can experience, "I know there is a place in the city..."

The eyes of the Black Mountain people who followed Bai Que also began to glow with green light, and then they threw the green light at Bai Que.

The hardships of the journey along the way can be imagined. In the face of the harshness of nature, sometimes people are really fragile, so proper relaxation is still necessary...

Bai Que reached out and touched his arms, then took out a few gold leaves, threw them to a Black Mountain man aside, and said: "You guys have agreed to go in two waves... If you want to buy something to eat and drink, just buy it." Eat, drink, and if you want to find a woman, go find a woman..."

"Where are you, Commander?" The Black Mountain crowd took the golden leaves and asked happily, "Would you like to bring one back to the Commander?"

Bai Que kicked the guard and said, "Get out."

Everyone in Montenegro laughed and laughed together, and then roughly divided into two groups. After making an appointment, some of them left first.

Bai Que is still sitting under the tree, holding a pen and thinking about something.

As long as he has free time, he can do whatever he wants. This seems to be a habit for Bai Que. Perhaps only in this way, Bai Que will not inadvertently forget the Han Chinese characters he remembered from his childhood while running around...

"The seventh year of Chuping..." Bai Que wrote a few words and scratched his head in distress, "How many days in January are there? Who cares, go to Lanshi City and see the guard of Guishang City..."

Bai Que wrote roughly, then read it again, put away the pen and ink, and looked up to the east.

Now in Han Dynasty, spring should be warm and flowers are blooming, so we are ready for spring plowing, right?

Bai Que pursed her lips and was silent for a long time.

He misses his hometown and the hometown of Dahan. What he misses even more is the happy days in Bingbei when he was a child, the days when he spent time with his family at home, played with his brothers and sisters, and studied together. Although these days It was quickly destroyed as Xianbei went south, but this memory seemed to be engraved in the bones. The further away from the big man, the clearer it became.

When I was in Dahan, I didn't seem to feel this at all. It seems that the farther away you are from your homeland, the more missed you become. The road to the west is endless, and my thoughts are increasing all the time.

This journey has not been easy.

At every moment, Bai Que not only encourages the Black Mountain people to travel together, but also pays attention to the changes in morale and takes care of all kinds of strange problems that arise due to the long journey...

Once when we were climbing over a mountain, the boy with black dots suddenly started crying halfway up the mountain, and then jumped off the cliff like that. Bai Que didn't even know what happened!

Also when camping in the middle of the night, I was still there when it got dark, but disappeared when it was dawn. I don’t know if I walked out in the middle of the night or escaped. Bai Que would even rather escape back, because in the desert, The wolves will never let go of a single prey.

There are also those who are injured, who have a fever and talk nonsense, and finally die in the arms of Bai Que...

If it weren't for Bai Que who has always been fair and just, treating every Black Mountain member like this, and always taking the trouble to comfort them again and again, telling them that after returning, they will have great achievements, and they can only move forward. With more information, even if we can't find the items needed for General Zhengxi, as long as we can reach the far west where Zhang Zuokong arrived, it can be said to be a great achievement!

That’s why these Black Mountain people persisted. Otherwise, even if Bai Que has read more books than them, he may not be able to withstand the knife that cuts down in the middle of the night...

With this kind of persistence that was almost obsessive, Baique barely controlled the situation and led the Black Mountain people step by step to this place, Lan's City, which Zhang Zhuukong called the city of the extreme west.

Further west?

Bai Que is not sure.

After all, what everyone insists on during this period of time is to get here. So when I got here, I felt relieved. Even Bai Que himself felt a surge of longing for his homeland in his heart, like a huge wave, until it was overwhelmed!

The white bird leaned against the tree trunk and smiled stupidly towards the sky, as if it was seeing a relative. But the stupid smile disappeared in the blink of an eye, and tears welled up from the corners of its eyes, flowing down the rough and dark face eroded by wind and frost. And down.

I don’t know how long it took, but familiar laughter and words came from outside the small courtyard.

Bai Que sniffed, then wiped the corners of his eyes with his hand and put on a smile again.

The loneliness of being far away from homeland is unimaginable sadness for people in hometown, but Baique can only hide this sadness to himself, because Baique knows that if he shows a trace of weakness and instability, then Baique will Soon the entire team will collapse and eventually turn into bones and yellow sand in the desert.

"Commander! Hahaha... It's such a pity that you didn't go..." A Black Mountain man came over with a wink and said, "The women of this place... Hahaha..."

The Montenegrin's eyes were straightened, and he seemed to be still immersed in the previous scene. He stretched his hands, grabbed a few times in the air, and swallowed, "That big girl... twisted... it's so sexy..." …Commander, are you really not going?”

"Get out!" Bai Que raised his foot and kicked. His current identity is that of an envoy of the Han Dynasty. Although it is fake, he still has to pretend to be more or less and cannot lose the face of the Han Dynasty. It's okay for his subordinates to find women, everyone can understand it, but as an envoy of a big man, he still goes to the brothel for sex, which is too shameful, so even if Bai Que feels itchy, he can only hold it in and endure it.

This Black Mountain man also knew it, so when he saw Bai Que feigning anger, he quickly turned around and jumped away with a smile...

"..." Bai Que's expression suddenly changed, and he pointed at the Black Mountain man and shouted, "Huang Ergouzi, come back here!"

This Black Mountain man was stunned.

"You...what kind of flowers are you holding in your ear?!" Bai Que pointed at Huang Ergou and said. Just then Huang Ergou turned around to avoid it, and then Bai Que saw what seemed to be a flower stuck in Huang Ergou's ear, and his heart jumped suddenly!

Hairpins, in the Han Dynasty, were not just a patent for women.

Huang Ergou hesitated, touched a yellowish and fluffy dried flower from his ear, and said: "This is a gift from the woman... It is said that this kind of dried flower will not wither in winter... I see this The yellow flowers are quite new, so I brought them back..."