Three Kingdoms

When a long queue, with the sound of camel bells, slowly appeared on the horizon, the sunshine in Longyou was shining warmly on the earth, and also on the people and camels in this row.

The sky is blue, the clouds are white, and the sun is slightly dazzling.

This is a queue with obvious characteristics of the Western Regions.

The wind blew a tricolor flag in front of the queue, which seemed to represent a certain connection between this queue and the Cavalry General. This kind of flag represents the temporary permission of the hussar general. Caravans with such flags can be allowed to enter Yumen Pass and continue to enter the inland areas of the Han Dynasty.

In the middle of the queue, there was another flag with some gaudy paintings on it, with a completely different style from the big man.

The queue was not moving very fast, because behind the leading camel in the queue, there was a long line of vehicles. The horses pulling the vehicles were covered in dust, and there were also traces of dried yellow mud on their hooves, which could be clearly seen. After a long journey, we have come a very long way. .

Among the vehicles illuminated by the sun, there were nearly thirty prison vehicles with rough wooden frames. There were iron chains hanging on the doors outside the wooden frames. Inside were some ragged men with dirty clothes.

When the queue approached Longyou and was still some distance away from Zhangye, several cavalrymen ran out from nowhere and stopped in front of the queue. The guards in front of the queue were so frightened that they suddenly became nervous. Soon the leader of the queue also arrived in front. When he saw the cavalry, he exhaled a breath and said hello with a bit of ease: "Leader Zhang!" it's me! 』

Captain Zhang of the cavalry frowned slightly and could not recognize it for a while. This road was a golden trade route. There were many caravans from the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions, and from the Western Regions to the Han Dynasty. Most of the leaders of these caravans knew him, but he could not remember so many people.

Team Zhang led seven or eight Han cavalry on guard.

This queue was so conspicuous that it even made him feel a little weird. Ordinary caravans do not have so many people. Even if these people in wooden cages look ragged and in low spirits, if these numbers are put into the checkpoint, and the wooden door is opened and a commotion breaks out, can the thirty or forty soldiers inside the checkpoint be able to stop them?

This is still a big checkpoint, and the small checkpoint only has five or six soldiers...

"It's me! team leader! Don't do it, don't do it..." The yellow bearded man who led the team said in a slightly weird tone, "Oh... understand, I have an explanation, not that document..."

The yellow-bearded team leader took out a document from his arms and shook it to signal.

Captain Zhang waved slightly, and a Han cavalryman understood, stepped forward to take the document, and returned and handed it to Captain Zhang.

Captain Zhang checked the appearance of the defense and the hidden mark of the seal, then opened it and looked up at Huang Beard, "Javid?" 』

Huang Beard exaggeratedly stroked his chest as a courtesy, "Ah, my respected Captain Zhang, you finally remembered me..."

Captain Zhang nodded and handed the document back to Javed. He didn't think of Javid, but Javid's name was written on the paperwork. However, after Javid responded, Zhang Duixue also found some impression in his mind. This Javid is Marcus Julius, the fellow from Daqin who is jokingly called Horse Belly or Horse Pants.

"Are you from Da Qin?" ” Captain Zhang stretched his neck slightly and looked inside the motorcade. Those locked in wooden cages are slaves captured in the Western Regions?

Javid thought that Captain Zhang wanted some benefits, and quickly motioned to his entourage to get some money, wine and meat for Captain Zhang. Captain Zhang shook his head and did not accept the money and meat, but warned Javid: "Handi The customs are different from your place! Remember, be honest and don’t cause trouble! Let your men pay attention! 』

Javid agreed hastily.

Captain Zhang nodded, led his men and horses, and galloped away again.

The entourage held up the money bag, wine and meat, and was a little dazed. He turned around and said to Javed in Daqin dialect: "Aga... what do these Han people mean?" 』

The Han soldiers in the Western Regions collected money, wine and meat, and even made trouble if they didn't have it, but here...

Javed watched the Han cavalry go away, then clicked his tongue and said, "It's really different..." As he said that, Javed couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Ajia, will the Han people's royal city be bigger than Xihai City?" 』

"I don't know... I think so..."

"Xihai City is simply a miracle...I can't imagine a city bigger than Xihai City..."

"No, it should be bigger... It is said that in the royal city of the Han people, where their emperor lived, everything from the house to the stools were made of gold and precious stones... Even the bricks under their feet were made of gold and silver. ...』

"Really? Oh, God! 』

"Then are we going to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty this time?" 』

Javid shook his head and said, "No, we are going to the Han general..."

"Where is the general of the Han Dynasty?" Why not go to the emperor? 』

Javid pondered for a moment, and then said: "That is the big man's Caesar... So you understand, right?" And he is richer than the emperor of the Han Dynasty... The land he owns stretches for hundreds of miles, and he also has several gold and silver mines... The coins used by the Han Dynasty were made by him..."

Several attendants and guards following Javid widened their eyes in excitement. They licked their lips greedily, and then looked into the distance, as if they wanted to see the described golden and silver objects in the next moment. Same place.

Javed is a Caucasian with deep eyes, a yellow beard, and a tall and slender figure. His cheeks may be a little thin due to years of running around. After many years of traveling as a businessman, the wind and sand dyed his skin color like tobacco leaves. He was wearing a slightly patterned robe, but the sleeve cuffs that were supposed to be decorated with patterns had become dark and shiny because they may have been used as napkins or handkerchiefs over the years...

It can be seen from these that Javid is not an upper-class figure in Great Qin. Of course, if you are really an upper class person, you don’t have to suffer the hardship of this kind of wind and sand. The people following Javid were also ordinary Daqin people. They were wearing gray-yellow cloth robes and tied around their waists with a nondescript Chinese-style belt that might have been purchased in the Western Regions. Hanging on the belt was completely different from the Han Dynasty's Huanshou Dao. , it looks like a scimitar with a larger arc.

Javid touched his yellow beard. The beard near his nose was particularly dark in color. It must have been stained by years of snuff. It even felt like some of it could be squeezed out of cigarette oil. He is now pinching the beard under his nose, as if to make himself more focused, "These Han people... spread the word, we are here to make money, we are here for gold and silver, those nobles The matter has nothing to do with us! So don't make trouble and cause trouble. After you make money and go home, you can make as much trouble as you want, but now... we are just businessmen! We are just here for the money! Do you understand? ! 』

"clear! 』

"knew! 』

A chaotic response sounded.

Javid keenly seized the business opportunity of the Han Dynasty to develop the Western Regions. Although ordinary goods were profitable, they were too little. Even if he raised the prices of those Kushan utensils and Daqin dishes several times, it still could not satisfy his desire for profits. After all, whether it is Kushan utensils or Daqin items, they all require costs, and the prices of those items cannot be doubled indefinitely. After all, the materials are there, even if they are inlaid with gold and silver, or just It is impossible to sell something made of gold and silver for a sky-high price...

But things with no cost or low cost are different.

Such as slaves.

Gu Jiavid got some information from Marcus that the Han Dynasty needed slaves...

Javid is familiar with this job!

When the Qin Dynasty was at its peak, thousands of merchants traveled between Rome and the surrounding barbarian states, sending countless slaves to Rome, and then built a majestic city.

Otherwise, the city of Rome was built by the citizens of Rome? Or was it pushed out by Caesar alone with his divine power?

As a member of a family that had made outstanding contributions to the construction manpower of the city of Rome, Javid found a new and familiar way to make money.

The city of Rome has been built and no longer needs so much manpower, but now the big man needs it. Decades or hundreds of years ago, his ancestors deceived, abducted, and even robbed people from the Mediterranean, Central Asia, Northern Europe, and other corners of the world and transported them to Rome. The transportation conditions were even worse than now, so wouldn't it be just as profitable?

As a man with a fine tradition, Javid will certainly not give up this good opportunity to make a fortune easily. He purchased some local cheap utensils from Kushan and sold them to the Western Regions. He then collected a large number of residents who had been displaced for various reasons in the Western Regions and some Kushan slaves, and then sent them to Longxi.

News that a new force has emerged in Dahan has been delivered to Kushan. However, some of the news has been vague due to repeated retellings, and there are many specific details that are contradictory. So this time Javid went to this legendary terrifying and powerful new force of loyalty, and also brought with him an additional mission...

In the Western Region, Javid had already seen some Han soldiers with tricolor flags, and also found out some relevant information, but it was incomplete, or Javid thought it was incomplete.

There is no shortage of ambitious guys in Great Qin, and there is no shortage of greedy businessmen, so Javed must get ahead of these guys and establish his own advantages in advance, otherwise even if he really finds a way to make a fortune In the future, someone will also be "partnered" or "invested" by someone, and only one skin will be left to eat, or not even the skin will be left.

Fortunately, both Guishan and Daqin are now in chaos and sluggishness. Not everyone is interested in distant adventures. Javid finally found some people to cooperate, including even people from Kangju in the Western Regions. Responsible for capturing and gathering slaves...

Gold has no national attributes. Javid quickly bought enough slaves.

There is civil strife in Kushan, and the conflicts between countries in the Western Regions are no longer a day or two. In these areas, small-scale armed conflicts often occur. Most of the losers will be executed before, but now they can be sold for money. . Javid did not bring too many people this time, but only 300 slaves. About a hundred died on the way, leaving only more than 200 people who arrived in Longxi.

After experiencing no man's land, sandstorms, and once being attacked by horse thieves, Javid finally set foot on the legendary territory that truly belonged to the powerful man. The loss of one-third of the number of slaves made Javid feel heartbroken, but after all, it was the first time. Pain and blockage often coexist. After the real breakthrough, there will be no more pain...

Weikang received the news in Zhangye.

In fact, Wei Kang doesn't want to leave Chang'an Sanfu, but the problem is that his father thinks that he can't do anything high or low...

Speaking of which, we can't blame Wei Kang. In history, Wei Kang can still have a good reputation. After all, after Dong Zhuo's Xiliang rebellion, Guanzhong fell into a long depression. In addition, Zhuge's several Northern Expeditions also For Guanzhong, it is more or less a frontline area, so the humanities and arts are of course not as developed as in Shandong, and a family like Wei Duan can also have a calligrapher, artist, etc.

But it is different now. There are many talents in Guanzhong, not only the backbones like Pang Tong and Xun You, but also young talents such as Sima Yi, Wang Chang, Zhuge brother Kan Ze, and the elders such as Zheng Xuan and Sima Hui are in charge. The Guanzhong inheritance stuff is not ranked at all.

When Wei Duan wanted to give Wei Kang a position in Longxi, Jia Xu did not refuse, but he did not give special care because of it. Instead, after Wei Kang passed the assessment, he They arrived in Zhangye in order.

Of course Wei Kang wanted to go to a better county and was thinking about transferring, but he asked someone to go back to Chang'an to give him a message, complaining that Zhangye was poor and remote, and vaguely expressed that he wanted to change places. , but Wei Duan wrote back and scolded him, asking him to stay in Zhangye and do his job well.

Wei Kang inevitably complained that his father was jumping up and down back then, but now he has become so honest. But if he really wanted to do it, he didn't dare.

At this moment, Wei Kang is on the construction site urging the progress of the project. The previous battles damaged some city walls, houses, roads, water conservancy, etc., and now they need to be repaired. While it is easy to destroy, it is a bit difficult to repair...

"What? People from Da Qin? Wei Kang asked in surprise, "Have you checked the ultimatum?" 』

As a family member of an upper-class person, well, barely considered an upper-class person, he naturally knew about the labor camps of General Hussars.

In the Han Dynasty, when the production technology was not very advanced, especially for mining, which was a high-risk and high-mortality job, it was naturally more cost-effective to consume slaves than to let the Han people do their own labor. This kind of thing cannot be avoided even in later generations, it is just that slaves have been replaced by so-called "cheap labor".

Wei Kang rolled his eyes, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and then ordered: "When this Da Qin man arrives, bring him to see me..."

It is not difficult to guess Wei Kang’s thoughts. After all, Wei Kang is facing a labor problem now. There are few people in Zhangye, and the number of laborers that can be mobilized is naturally small. If a group of slaves are added...

As for Javid, he is currently busy painting slaves, and he has not realized that he has potential buyers before he even arrives in Chang'an.

As a professional, of course you do professional things.

Even slave traders had their own specialties.

Javid and his party stopped at a small river. The more than two hundred surviving slaves were released from the wooden frames in twos and threes, and were driven by whips and sticks to stand by the river. Most of these slaves are men. As for women and children, they are either killed at the beginning or forced to become part of other tribes.

After a long period of captivity and travel, these slaves all looked particularly weak, both externally and internally, and such a listless and dirty appearance obviously could not be sold at a higher price.

Driven by whips and sticks, the slaves took off their dirty and tattered clothes and lined up in a naked queue. Then the tattered clothes were taken downstream for cleaning by several other slaves.

On the bank of the river, Javid stood next to several large wooden barrels and used his secret recipe to mix several large barrels of strange liquid. Then each slave came to the barrel and was dipped in it by the guard with a large brush. The strange liquid in the wooden barrel was brushed on these filthy and smelly bodies, and then the slaves were driven to the river to be washed.

After washing, the originally dirty and dull skin of these slaves became somewhat shiny again, and they looked much more energetic than before.

Immediately afterwards, these slaves were brought to another wooden barrel. This was the Western Spirits brought by Javid. After being mixed with unknown powder, the two guards skillfully grabbed the slaves and pinched open the slaves' mouths. , one took a wooden spoon and poured a big mouthful into the slave's mouth.

"Look, isn't this much better?" Javid looked around and nodded with satisfaction, "This one sip will keep them alive and kicking for at least three or four more days... Even if they are going to die, two more sips will make them more energetic..."

"That's right, I look much better!" You can definitely sell it for more money! "The guard couldn't help but said with excitement, "Then we can purchase sugar, silk, tea, rhubarb... God, these are all gold! gold! I have already seen a golden brilliance! This is my favorite color! Thank God! 』

"It's a pity...hey, a lot of people died on the road..." Javid said with some regret, "We are still a little unprepared. We can definitely do better next time..."

Javid looked at the more than two hundred slaves in front of him, his regretful mood only stayed for a little while, and soon he started laughing again. If the business routes can be opened up this time and a stable route can be established, what will this mean? After he returns with the big man's sugar, silk, tea, rhubarb and other utensils, he will make two or three more trips at most, and then he won't run again. He will establish a huge organization, and these guards will replace him and become the second or third generation caravan leaders...

Maybe, in Javid's lifetime, he can return to Daqin with a massive manpower and wealth from Kushan and sit on a chair in the Senate!

When the time comes, he will have money, armed guards, and business channels that can continue to provide wealth. Those who despised him before and drove him out of Da Qin will face his wrath and revenge!

"Thank God! Praise the Lord for His gifts! Javid closed his eyes and prayed with all his heart, "Lord, who loves us, thank you and praise you for your wonderful salvation." Because you have never left us or left us. Everything in the world will change, but your love for us will never change..."