I am engaged in construction in Datang

It is midsummer in the Central Plains and the desert is scorching.

The waves of sand and dust hold up the sunset,

The giant hand of the evil wind peeled off the shell of the desert layer by layer.

The sand dunes rise and fall, pretending to be giant teeth,

The feast is a foreign guest who has strayed into this place.

"General Zhao, is there a village ahead?"

Li Xiaochun and his team have replaced their horses with camels. In the harsh conditions of the desert, it is a bit difficult to ask the horses to carry the load and travel.

Zhao Zhonglang pursed his cracked lips.

"It's a city." He spoke, and the dry heat penetrated into his mouth, sweeping away his little moisture.

"The desert is not like the Central Plains. It is hard to find earth, wood, and rocks."

Li Xiaochun was silent. The city in the distance was too simple, not even as good as Zhuangzi's wall.

After passing through a large dusty land, we saw some green. It was not surprising that someone was building a city here.

"Let's rest here." Li Xiaochun said. Ever since leaving Yiwu City, the harsh environment has numbed her nerves.

They set up camp in the wild yesterday. After falling asleep, she heard a wolf howling not far away.

Fortunately, the campfire was kept burning all night, which suppressed those malicious creatures.

Zhao Zhonglang sent someone to negotiate.

After a while, the negotiating soldier returned and said, "General, the gatekeeper is just an old man with a bad face. He said that their city lord was invited by the King of Gaochang to a banquet, and now the city does not welcome outsiders."

"I tried to bribe him with money, but the old man ignored me."

Zhao Zhonglang looked at Li Xiaochun. Xiaochun was in charge of this trip.

"How strong is the city's defense?"

"I didn't dare to go in to investigate, but I looked outside and found three hidden stakes."

Li Xiaochun felt relieved. This situation was almost exactly what the owner of the manor had said.

Gaochang King Qu Wentai had rebellious intentions, and Gaochang was located at a transportation hub between the Western Regions and the Tang Dynasty, which might have made things difficult for merchants traveling between the two places.

Li Xiaochun took out the cloth bag he was carrying and handed it to the soldier: "Put this outside the city and make sure you are safe."

After saying that, Li Xiaochun turned to Zhao Zhonglang and said, "Let's set up camp here."

Everyone moved quickly and efficiently. This piece of land was much better than the previous desert area. At least green plants could be seen and the soil was firmer.

After leaving the guards behind, Li Xiaochun took Zhao Zhonglang and others into the tent.

"Zhao Zhonglang, you must be more careful from now on." Li Xiaochun: "I will call you brother."

"Sister." Zhao Zhonglang also called out.

We have talked about this before. The weapons and light armor they wear are all made according to the attire of merchant guards, and there are even signs of wear and tear on them.

Li Xiaochun added: "If there are soldiers coming from the city, we cannot resist."

The number of people they brought this time was too small. There were only more than 20 people in the entire caravan. Facing the military force of an enemy city was like an ant trying to shake an elephant.

"I know!" Zhao Zhonglang nodded, beads of sweat just beginning to appear on his palms, then being evaporated by the hot air.

At the entrance of Karl City.

The scouts sent out raised their hands to show that they had no ill intentions.

"Father! My husband has something to present."

The scout shouted, his hands raised, holding the cloth bag: "We are smugglers, I have no weapons!"

The old man was building a wooden shed at the city gate. Upon hearing this, he raised his eyelids and looked at the person who came.

The scout slowly approached, then stopped about five meters away, bent down and placed the cloth bag in his hand on the ground, all the while not daring to take his eyes off the old man.

Beads of sweat emerged from his hair, rolled down to his forehead and dried, and the scout's breathing gradually became lighter.

The old man in front of me looked truly terrifying. His right ear was torn in half, the skin at the corner of his mouth was turned outward and stuck to his cheek, and his right eyelid seemed to have been burned by fire, leaving only a hole the size of a little finger with a white eyeball inside.

The scout put down the cloth bag and slowly retreated backwards. He did not dare to turn around and run until he was out of the shooting range of the crossbow.

"call……"

"Damn it, I'm so scared." The scout returned to the tent, sat down on the ground and breathed heavily.

Li Xiaochun came over and handed the scout some water: "How is it?"

"Master Li." The scout stood up and saluted the General. "The old man didn't say anything, but I saw his appearance clearly."

"Half like a master, half like an evil spirit."

"Don't bow from now on, just call me Sir." Zhao Zhonglang was afraid that his men would get used to bowing and expose their identities.

"Yes!"

The scout added: "That old man can understand the Tang language, but I don't think he is from Gaochang."

Li Xiaochun and Zhao Zhonglang looked at each other.

"Brother, this time, we need to calculate how many Han people are stranded in Gaochang..."

In the last years of the Daye period, wars broke out among warlords and the people were living in misery.

As a result, many Han people fled to the Turks, and after Jie Li was defeated, some of them continued to flee to Gaochang.

During this trip, Li Xiaochun also had another mission, which was to find out where the Han people were distributed.

The owner of the manor said that he would bring the Han people back home if he had the chance in the future.

"I'm afraid there are only a few left." Zhao Zhonglang sighed.

"Some people have to be left behind. They are reluctant to kill them all." Li Xiaochun lowered his eyes. The owner of the manor said that the Han people are smart. The men can farm and build houses.

The woman can weave, has delicate skin, no body odor, and is pretty.

The barbarians from outside the territory would be reluctant to kill the Han people they captured and brought back.

Li Xiaochun's eyes were cold. Her sister Yin was kind-hearted and broad-minded. She always said that ordinary people had a hard life but could be assimilated, but she didn't think so.

What's good about barbarians?

If she had the chance...

When he looked up again, his eyes became calm, just like usual.

When I discussed the Western Regions with the owner of the manor before, I mentioned many methods to deal with the barbarians, some gentle and some cruel.

If they were more sensible and didn't make the owner angry, then she would do as the owner said and slowly assimilate.

Zhao Zhonglang suddenly felt a cold breeze blowing and looked around.

The people around me were still as excited as ever, unaware of anything.

Zhao Zhonglang held his forehead with his hand. He looked so hot that he might even be having hallucinations!

The smugglers from the Tang Dynasty dropped a cloth bag, and the soldiers who were secretly observing at the city gate began to make a commotion.

I want to go and take a look.

But is there a catch?

The old man glanced at the cloth bag. Without the order from his superiors, he didn't dare to pick it up, otherwise he would be beaten.

A Gaochang soldier hiding in the dark picked up a piece of dirt that fell from the wall, gestured twice, aimed, and threw it out with force.

Then it fell on the old man.

"Old ghost, bring it here! Bring it here." He gestured and shouted silently.

The old man was hit on the head and there was more dirt on his hair.

He didn't care, but just went out to get the cloth bag as the soldier instructed, and then walked towards where the soldier was hiding.

"Damn it, can't you hide yourself? If you do this, everyone will know that I took the things." The Gaochang soldier snatched the bag and pushed the old man: "Go back quickly."

The old man bent over, turned and left.

Before leaving, he turned his head to take a look and saw the soldier had a hyena-like expression.