Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 533 The So-called Warrior

"You! You are not allowed to go forward!"

"Back off!"

"You guy, I'm talking to you, and you dare to ignore me?!"

Xia Houzao was furious, and stretched out his hand to draw his sword. The lieutenant at the side hugged him tightly and shouted in horror: "Taiwei! Taiwei! They are poisonous people! They don't understand!!! "

This is the border of the Xiting Kingdom. Passing through a narrow valley, there is a long queue of caravans here. The business of the poison is relatively developed in this area, and the people who came this time are not It's just merchants, there are many scholars, and their officials, the ministers who were escorted and so on.

The whole Xiting Kingdom looks a bit gray, but the road is very lively, those poisoned people are talking loudly, and from time to time, there are officials riding on horses, driving the ministers forward, from the Peacock Dynasty to the Kingslayer , The military strength has experienced a cliff-like decline. In fact, this is mainly related to the prosperity of Brahmanism. In the past, although the Maurya Dynasty also had ministers and untouchables, there were not many of them, and they were mainly composed of prisoners of war.

In the face of domestic bankrupts, the temple will give some help, and they will also be recruited to become a standing army, so as to reduce the number of unemployed and reduce the pressure on public security. But now, the caste system has become serious again, and a large number of people in the country have been defined As a pariah, they were deprived of all powers, including the right to serve as soldiers, which resulted in the fact that the territory gap between the two sides was not very large, but the gap in the source of soldiers was huge.

At this moment, these ministers lowered their heads, and were driven by the officials, slowly moving towards the direction of Xiting Kingdom. They came here to build the imperial mausoleum.

Xia Houzao led an army of [-] people and sat here to check the people coming and going and protect the poisoned caravan.

But this is not an easy task. The peacock king of the big man, how should I put it, is chaotic and has no rules, no order, and all of them are done together. Some are building roads, some are escorting ministers, and some are here for trade. Yes, some were forced to engage in trade, the people who came were chaotic, no one came first, and these people were very unruly, often doing things that made Xia Houzao very angry.

Let them line up in a long line obediently, and pass the interrogation one by one, it is so difficult, every poisoned person here is thinking about whether they can take advantage of it, whether they can sneak in the line, even if they walk more than others One step, they will be very satisfied.

Xia Houzao looked at those poisonous merchants who were eager to try and continue to move forward, "Where's the translator?"

"The translator is over there to contact those who sent Lichen."

"Forget it, I'll go up and say it myself!"

"Ah? Taiwei, when did you learn to speak poisonously?"

"Listening to those translators and merchants chatting these days, I feel that I have grasped some essentials!"

Xia Houzao was full of confidence, he stepped forward and started talking with the merchant, he spoke poisonous words loudly, the soldiers behind him were stunned, his own Taiwei still has this ability?Did you learn it after hearing a few words from others? ?

It wasn't just the soldiers who were stunned, but those who were poisoned were also stunned, because they had no idea what the general in front of them was saying, and it was definitely not any language they had ever heard.

Xia Houzao was dancing and talking loudly, and the poisoned man stepped back a few steps with fear on his face.

"Look! They all understand!"

Several counties of the Xiting Kingdom have become the largest trading area today. Merchants from the Central Plains trade with the poisonous people who come here. The bulk of the trade is mainly concentrated in silk. Silk is very popular no matter where it is. Popular commodities, of course, are copper and porcelain, and the merchants of the Han Dynasty value cotton, grain, and spices. There are a lot of these valuables here.

In just an instant, Xiting Kingdom fell into an inexplicable prosperity. There were merchants everywhere, pulling each other. Although most of them could not understand the language, they still traded with gestures. Liu Qi was very happy. , only Cao Yu didn't look so happy.

"There are too few merchants who came from Shendu, and the people who come now can't eat so much goods at all."

"I have brought too many merchants. If the income is not large, then the cost of traveling alone will not be able to earn back."

Cao Yu frowned and said worriedly.

Liu Qi was sitting next to him, looking at the recent trade situation in Cao Yu's hands, because Xiting Kingdom lacked manpower, and this time there were so many things to handle, Liu Qi hardly had any ministers to accompany him, Nuo Da's In the palace, there were actually only two people, Cao Yu and Liu Qi, and even those close servants were sent out to work by Liu Qi.

"Father Zhong, at present, there is no other way to do this. The road between Shendu and Xiting Kingdom is not easy. Look at this season, it is still so hot here, but to the side of Shendu Let’s go, the more you go there, the more clothes you need to wear, especially those mountain passes where you entered the poison, even the soldiers of the Northern Army were frozen to death, let alone merchants?”

"These poisonous people are afraid of the cold, and the road is very rough. If it wasn't for the Peacock King who forced the order to ask merchants to come to Xiting Kingdom, there would be no such people. In a few years, wait for the road to be built. Well, if the carriage can pass, the situation will be much better.”

Cao Yu said with a straight face, "No."

"You don't know, this time we go out to trade, we are under a lot of pressure, and the same is true for Shihuofu. The ministers are not in favor of starting a business, but now we have achieved success, and they have not made trouble. Once we fail this time If I didn't get enough benefits, these people will definitely fight back. In this way, I have failed His Majesty's high expectations and failed to fulfill his orders!"

Liu Qi looked at Cao Yu in surprise.

Sure enough, this man still needs to do more things, he can only grow if he is tempered. This man has always been known for being weak and incompetent, but he can say such words today.

"My visit this time is the first time for a big man to trade with foreign countries. His Majesty has ordered that only success is allowed, and failure is not allowed!"

Liu Qi smiled wryly, "What should I do? I can't let the Peacock King send merchants here again. If they send them, how long will you have to wait?"

Cao Yu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I can integrate the current caravan and go to Shendu."

Liu Qi stood up abruptly, "No!"

"Father Zhong, you are getting old, the road is difficult, and the weather is changeable. You cannot take such risks. If you have to go, let me send a minister to replace you!"

"Building the imperial mausoleum, building roads, and a large number of poisonous merchants pouring in, are your ministers enough?"

"I saw that your three fathers have black eyes, and they haven't rested for several days. If they leave, who do you want to do things? Now I don't have anything to do. This is my job. , needless to say!"

Cao Yu seemed to have regained some confidence, and with a wave of his hand, Liu Qi was not allowed to speak.

Liu Qi wants to cry but has no tears, you don't want to awaken the soul of Marquis Pingyang at this time, the Marquis Pingyang who has always been weak on weekdays becomes Yihou Pingyang when he comes to me, how can there be any reason for this, if this old man If something happened on the road, how could he escape from being involved?Father Zhong must have skinned himself with cramps!

But at this moment, Cao Yu seemed to be possessed by Yihou, extremely serious, which was not something Liu Qi could persuade.

"Now, there is no other way, you can't let the merchants go by themselves?"

"These merchants can't be easily trusted. It's best for me to go. You send me twenty soldiers, plus the troops I brought with me, that's enough!"

"As for the generals, there is no need to send them. They are also busy, so we can't delay their affairs!"

No matter how much Liu Qi tried to persuade him, he couldn't convince the old man. In the end, he could only compromise. However, he still appointed three imperial physicians to go with the old man to get rid of the poison. At the same time, he sent someone to ask Han Xin to send someone to come escort.

Cao Yu returned to the mansion where he lived temporarily, and asked Wei Ying to start preparations.

Wei Ying was also taken aback when he learned that Cao Yu was going to lead the caravan to be poisoned.

"Patriarch, Your Majesty only asked us to conduct trade in Xiting Kingdom, and didn't let us go to be poisoned in person, right?"

"Hahaha, this is the time for a man to make meritorious deeds!"

"Your Majesty has entrusted me with an important task. I just hope that I can stand up at this time. I have been doing nothing all my life. Now I have a great opportunity to make meritorious service. How can I miss it?"

Cao Yu stroked his beard with a proud expression on his face.

Wei Ying was silent for a moment, and then he said: "Patriarch, in the past few days, I followed those merchants and met many people who came from Shendu. According to them, the road leading to Shendu It is extremely difficult to walk. In many places, horse-drawn carriages may not be able to pass through, and detours are required. In some places, the sky is full of yellow sand, or there are bursts of snow, and many merchants died on the road. At your age, this is really not a good opportunity. ah."

Cao Yu's impression of the harsh environment is that he stayed in the range of Xiting Kingdom and Beiting Kingdom. He really couldn't think of any place where the environment could be worse than here. He said indifferently: "This West Tingguo has come, so what are those roads?"

"The roads there may be dozens of times more dangerous than the roads of Xiting Kingdom. There are no post houses to rest in. There are even a lot of bandits along the road, and there are also deserters from the Xiongnu. The poisoned people suffer a lot. In some places there are thousands of miles of yellow sand, in others the sky is covered with ice and snow, how can you survive?"

"Ah?? It's more dangerous than here??"

"Is there such a road in the world?! I thought Qi was scaring me."

Cao Yu's eyes widened. He really couldn't imagine that Cao Yu worked in the palace when he was very young, mainly to accompany the prince. Later, the prince became the emperor, and he became the emperor's number one servant. Today's Lu Lu is similar, the worst place he has been to is only the area near Berkshire, and the rest of the time is either in Chang'an or Qi State.

In his eyes, the dangerous environment of Xiting Kingdom is already an extremely bad land.

Wei Ying saw that the righteous and ambitious patriarch had changed back to his former self at this moment, and couldn't help sighing, "Patriarch, I never lied to you. This is really not a good opportunity. I don't know how much it cost for such a road." How can you bear the life of a brave soldier? Please take back your life and don’t go there. If you have to send people to trade, you can ask King Xiting to choose a young and strong captain. I think their captain is very nice."

Cao Yu fell silent at this moment, Wei Ying could clearly see that Cao Yu's hands were trembling slightly.

"But I have already told King Xiting to go by myself."

"Patriarch, don't be impulsive."

Cao Yu lowered his head and started to eat, but didn't say anything more.

Soon, the merchants gathered again. These merchants did not object to the matter of going to the poisonous trade. In this trade, they gained a lot, and they naturally wanted to make another fortune. For them, Probably life is not reused for earning money, as long as the profit is enough, I will go through fire and water, and I will not hesitate.

Cao Yu got into the car, and Liu Qi stood aside helplessly.

Cao Yu looked pale. The high-spirited Pingyanghou from yesterday had disappeared. This is the normal Pingyanghou. This normal Pingyanghou was taking deep breaths at this moment, his expression was tangled, and his hands were constantly pinching and releasing. He was extremely nervous, and the dark bags under his eyes proved that he couldn't sleep all night.

Liu Qi looked at him and probably had an idea in his mind.

In order to avoid provoking this person, he couldn't help but said: "Father Zhong, I thought about it for a long time last night, and now is really not a good time to go to the body to be poisoned. I think, why don't you wait and wait a while before starting? Huns People are newly defeated, those expelled are enemies of merchants, and the northern army has not been cleaned up, it is better to wait for the road to be safe before setting off, or if the goods are robbed."

Cao Yu's eyes lit up, as if he had found a life-saving straw, he turned to look at Liu Qi.

He opened his mouth several times, but in the end, something was always stuck in his throat and he couldn't speak.

"Father Zhong?"

"Do the expelled Huns dare to approach the area where the Northern Army is located?"

Cao Yu asked suddenly.

Liu Qi was taken aback, speechless.

Cao Yu looked ahead, stretched out his hand, and said loudly, "Out~~Fa~~"

Although he yelled these words, there was really no momentum. Maybe it was because of the wind, or maybe it was because of something else. He firmly grasped the front wooden frame of the car, his hands were pale, and he stared straight at the road ahead.

Wei Ying's face turned serious, and he said loudly, "Wei!!!"

Wei Ying waved his whip, and the carriage set off quickly.

Liu Qi looked at Cao Yu who was going away, shook his head, and said indifferently: "Wu Wugong, get ready to meet him. In less than four days, he will have to return the same way."

"only!!"

The caravan passed by the poisoned people heading for Chang'an. These poisoned people looked at the caravans heading towards them in surprise. Everyone would stop from time to time to trade and chat on the spot. These merchants There are quite a few translators among them who have mastered poisonous language.

And Cao Yu was just sitting on the carriage, he touched his face, and asked with some fear: "Why is it so cold? Have you reached the place where the sky is full of snow?"

Wei Ying laughed bitterly.

"Patriarch, we have only left Xiting Kingdom for two days. What is the difference between here and Xiting Kingdom?"

Cao Yu nodded, so why does he feel that the weather is getting colder?

Going out from Xiting Kingdom, there is a piece of sandy soil, but the sandy soil is not hot, the wind is blowing, and the yellow sand is flying all over the sky. The sand hits the pedestrians like snow and frost. At night, it will be even colder, making people feel uncomfortable. shivering.

Fortunately, there are still some poisonous people walking along the road, giving some comfort to everyone in this lonely environment, even if they are just some unknown poisonous people, they will be very happy to meet each other, in this kind of no-man's land , Being able to see people is also something worth celebrating.

But for Cao Yu, this was pure torture.

He has never seen such a place before, this is the real uninhabited place, and there is almost no hope of life. Under the leadership of the locals, they can occasionally find some oases and springs, but most of the time, they just I can drink the water I brought, but the taste of the water is becoming more and more difficult to swallow. Every time I drink water, it is so uncomfortable. Eating is even a big problem. I can’t even swallow the water. Those who eat It's even more tasteless.

During this period, they also encountered thieves several times, but these were not the Huns, but the thieves of the Huns themselves. Facing the caravan carried by Cao Yu, they were not enough to look at. Cao Yu was so frightened that he hid in the carriage, trembling, and he didn't dare to raise his head after the thieves were killed.

I fell asleep several times, but woke up in a dream, screaming in fear.

Finally, Cao Yu really experienced the so-called icy and snowy climate.

When they were about to climb over the mountains and enter Shendu, ice and snow hit everyone with the strong wind. Cao Yu was wearing several layers of clothes inside and outside, shivering, and frost had formed on his eyebrows. It was very difficult for a carriage to pass here. Especially when carrying goods and people, some merchants had no choice but to give up their carriages and use horses and camels to transport goods, and Cao Yu also got off his horse and walked at this moment.

Wei Ying tied himself and Cao Yu together, braved the wind and snow, kept his sword, and kept moving forward.

"Patriarch!!! It's about to pass!!!"

"what???"

The gust of wind howled past, even their voices were suppressed.

But as soon as they crossed this mountain pass, the situation became completely different. The caravan suffered a lot of losses, and they finally understood why the poisonous people would rather take a long detour than take a shortcut. Being left behind by them, Cao Yu trembled in fear, and when Wei Ying helped him back into the carriage, he still couldn't believe it.

"We survived? Am I alive?"

Cao Yu stroked his face in horror.

Wei Ying couldn't help but burst out laughing, "We succeeded! We are poisoned!!"

The carriage drove for another two days, and finally saw Shendu City in the distance.

Merchants wept with joy, no one knew how much the first batch of explorers had paid, and finally came here, huge profits were waiting for them, the road of the big man poisoning his body, started from them. get through!
Wei Ying saw the city from a distance, "Patriarch!! We are here!"

"Patriarch?!"

Wei Ying stopped abruptly and turned his head.

The tired Cao Yu sat tightly on the carriage, curled up all over, with his eyes closed, motionless.

Wei Ying stretched out his hand, but he didn't detect his breath again.

(End of this chapter)