I traveled through time and became the Queen of Ancient Dian

The guard pointed to the shadowy checkpoint in the distance, stammered the word "checkpoint", and then collapsed to the ground as if all his strength was exhausted.

Baona's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this the rhythm of "there's a toll booth 500 meters ahead"?

As soon as the sky began to brighten, the true appearance of the checkpoint was revealed to everyone - several thick logs were stacked together haphazardly, looking shaky, but blocking the only passage.

A few ragged guards leaned lazily against the wood, like a few lizards basking in the sun.

Xiahou Customs Officer came out, swaying his portly frame. Without even raising his eyelids, he blurted out, "Toll, ten percent!"

"One out of ten?!" Merchant Murong nearly jumped up, his beard sticking up. "You're simply robbing us! If you take one tenth of our goods, we're not going to make any money!"

The atmosphere froze instantly, colder than the moment you get up and lift the quilt on a winter morning.

The caravan members looked at each other, all with sad faces, like a group of eggplants hit by frost.

Shangguan Xingshang was indeed a veteran in the world. He still had a smile on his face as he walked calmly up to Customs Officer Xiahou and said with a bow, "Sir, the weather is so nice so early in the morning, you should be in a good mood too! Isn't one in ten a bit... a little high? You see, we will have a long-term cooperation in the future, and steady progress is the kingly way!" As he said that, he took out a few exquisite ancient Dian gadgets from his sleeves and calmly stuffed them into the customs officer's hands.

Xiahou Customs Officer weighed the item in his hand, his expression softening slightly, but his tone remained firm: "Rules are rules, cut the crap! One out of ten, not a penny less!"

Shangguan Xingshang's eyes rolled, and he resumed his eloquent speech: "Sir, your checkpoint is so magnificent and magnificent. It's obvious that it cost a fortune to build. The maintenance costs must be high. We understand, we all understand! However, this ten-tenth commission is simply too high. If we lose money on this business trip, who would dare to use this route again? Wouldn't your checkpoint become just a decoration?"

Customs Officer Xiahou touched his chin, seeming a little shaken.

Just when everyone thought he was going to give in, he suddenly changed the subject: "One out of nine, no less!"

When Murong Shangren heard this, he almost couldn't breathe.

Shangguan Xingshang also put away his smile and his eyes became sharp.

He was about to speak when Bao Na suddenly came out...

Baona stepped forward, cleared her throat, and said loudly, "Sir, I see that your forehead is dark and your lips are chapped. Things have been going badly lately, and you haven't been sleeping well, have you?"

Customs Officer Xiahou was stunned. He looked Baona up and down and snorted disdainfully: "What do you know, little girl? Stop talking nonsense here!"

Bao Na was not in a hurry and smiled slightly: "My lord, you don't believe me? I see that your checkpoint is magnificent, but it is actually weak inside. I'm afraid that the maintenance funds have been insufficient recently. If this goes on for a long time, the collapse of the checkpoint will be a small matter, but it will be bad if passers-by are injured. When the time comes, we will hold them accountable..." Bao Na paused deliberately and looked at Customs Officer Xiahou meaningfully.

Customs Officer Xiahou's face changed. How did this little girl know that he had recently withheld the checkpoint maintenance fees?

Did someone tell on me?

He was a little panicked, and his tone softened: "You...what do you want to say?"

Seeing him take the bait, Bao Na was secretly delighted and continued, "How about this: our Ancient Dian Kingdom and your tribe can establish long-term cooperation, exchanging resources. Wouldn't that be wonderful? As for the tariff, that's naturally negotiable."

Customs Officer Xiahou's eyes rolled around, wondering what this little girl was up to.

He was about to speak when a voice came from behind the checkpoint: "Let her in!"

The checkpoint slowly opened, and a burly man walked out. He was the leader of the Sima tribe.

He stared at Baona with a sharp gaze and said, "Young lady, you are very courageous. You dare to negotiate with my Sima tribe. Come in, let's have a good chat."

Bao Na followed the Sima tribe leader into the checkpoint. Murong the merchant stamped his feet anxiously, but Shangguan the merchant calmly stroked his beard and whispered, "There's going to be something interesting to watch."

Inside the checkpoint, the Sima tribe leader came straight to the point: "Tell me, what are your conditions?"

Baona did not beat around the bush and directly put forward her own plan.

The two sides exchanged verbal attacks, and the atmosphere was so tense that you could hear a pin drop.

In the end, the leader of the Sima tribe was persuaded by Baona's plan, and the two sides reached a low-tariff agreement.

When the caravan members heard the news, they cheered as if they had won the lottery.

Murong Shangren was so moved that his eyes filled with tears. He grabbed Baona's hand and said with tears of gratitude: "Little girl, you are really our benefactor!"

Baona smiled modestly and was about to say something when the Sima tribe leader's expression suddenly changed. He stood up abruptly, pointed outside the checkpoint, and shouted, "Who is it?!"

Outside the checkpoint, dust was flying as a group of people came galloping. The leader was a man wearing black tights and had a stern face. Behind him followed dozens of warriors dressed in the same way, all holding sharp blades and full of murderous intent.

Seeing this, the Sima tribe leader's face suddenly darkened: "People from Black Wind Village! Why are they here?"

Black Wind Village, a notorious bandit gang, often robbed merchant caravans in the surrounding area and committed all kinds of atrocities.

Their appearance made the originally joyous caravan members feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. Everyone's face turned pale and they were terrified.

Guard Zhuge stepped forward, protecting Baona behind him, and said in a deep voice: "Miss, it looks like we have a tough battle to fight!"

Baona, however, was not afraid at all. Instead, she smiled excitedly: "I was just worried that the journey would be boring, now there's something interesting to watch!"

The leader of the Black Wind Village reined in his horse, his eyes sweeping across the caravan before landing on Bao Na. A wicked smile played on his face. "Wow, I didn't expect there's a little beauty here! Brothers, we're in for a treat today!"

After saying that, he waved his hand, and the Black Wind Village minions behind him rushed up with howls, and a fierce battle was about to break out.

Guard Zhuge led the guards of the caravan to fight hard, with swords flashing and shouts of killing shaking the sky.

Baona stood aside, observing the battle calmly and quickly thinking of a countermeasure in her mind.

The leader of the Sima tribe also sent his own warriors to join the battle, but the Black Wind Village had more people and was extremely fierce, so the caravan gradually lost the upper hand.

At this moment, Baona suddenly thought of something and a sly smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

She walked up to the leader of the Sima tribe and whispered a few words.

After hearing this, the leader of the Sima tribe was stunned at first, then a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he immediately ordered the soldiers to change their tactics.

The situation on the battle changed in an instant. The minions of Black Wind Village were caught off guard and their formation was thrown into chaos.

Upon seeing this, the leader of the Black Wind Village's face changed drastically, and he roared, "What's going on? You bunch of rubbish!"

Seeing this, Bao Na shouted loudly: "Heroes of Black Wind Village, I have a business deal here. I wonder if you are interested?"

The leader of the Black Wind Village was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Little beauty, what's your business? Tell me about it."

Baona smiled slightly and said, "I can use something in exchange for your safe passage. How about that?"

The leader of the Black Wind Village rolled his eyes and asked, "What is it?"

Baona smiled mysteriously: "A...secret."

The leader of the Black Wind Village narrowed his eyes, scanning Bao Na as if examining a piece of fat meat. "Secret? A secret from this little beauty must be very valuable. Tell me, what is it?"

Baona approached him mysteriously and whispered a few words.

After hearing this, the leader of Black Wind Village was stunned at first, and then burst into deafening laughter: "Hahahaha! So that's how it is! Okay, I'll make this deal!" He waved his hand and signaled his men to stop attacking.

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what was happening.

Guard Zhuge walked up to Baona and asked in a low voice: "Miss, what did you tell them?" Baona smiled mysteriously: "The hermit has her own clever plan." In fact, she just told the leader of Black Wind Village that the Sima tribe had a batch of precious goods hidden in a secret place, and promised to give them a part of it after the matter was completed.

Of course, this batch of goods is completely fictitious.

After leaving the Sima tribe, the caravan continued on its journey.

On the rest of the journey, they encountered several tribal checkpoints.

With previous experience, Baona used the same trick again and exchanged "secrets" for safe passage.

For a time, "secret" became a pass for caravans to pass through unimpeded, and also became a topic of conversation among tribes along the way.

Some say that this caravan holds the secret to a treasure trove that is rich enough to rival a nation; others say that they hold the secret to immortality.

In short, all kinds of rumors were flying around, pushing the mystery of the caravan to the peak.

In the evening, the caravan arrived at the checkpoint of the Xiahou tribe.

Customs officer Xiahou was a notoriously greedy person, nicknamed "Stingy".

He looked the caravan up and down, his eyes gleaming with greed: "If you want to pass through here, you have to leave money for passage!"

Baona had anticipated his exorbitant demands, so she smiled and said, "Sir, the goods we are transporting this time are worth a fortune. If we pay the customs duties on all of them, I'm afraid we will lose everything."

Xiahou Customs Officer sneered, "Stop talking nonsense! I don't care if you're worth a fortune or nothing. If you want to pass through customs, you have to pay!"

Baona remained calm and smiled, "Sir, we are willing to pay a reasonable tariff, but your demands are too high. How about we make a deal?"

When Xiahou Customs Officer heard the word "transaction," he immediately became interested: "What kind of transaction?"

Baona smiled mysteriously, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "I can use a secret..."

Before she could finish, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from afar, and the ground began to shake slightly as it got closer and closer.

Xiahou Customs Officer's expression changed, and he exclaimed, "Oh no! It's..."