The fertile land in Guanzhong is thousands of miles away, and the surrounding terrain is dangerous, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It can be called the foundation of the emperor.

The closer you get to Chang'an, the more checkpoints there are.

Yu Dong is in charge of one of the checkpoints and is responsible for detecting the goods and identities of passing travelers.

This is a fat job. Occasionally, I encounter travelers with contraband. If the amount is not large, I can extort a sum of money.

Therefore, thirty-five-year-old Yu Dong looks a little fat.

"Stand still!"

Yu Dong pressed the handle of the knife with one hand and pointed at more than ten travelers with the other hand, "Whoever dares to move, I will kill him alive with a knife. Even if he dies, he is also a traitor!"

More than ten travelers were trembling, and one of them was a child, standing behind his father and choking.

"Baby, get out of here!"

Yu Dong felt a little moved when he saw that the child was well dressed.

The child did not dare to come out. The father smiled and said: "The child is timid..."

This was what Yu Dong was waiting for. Hearing this, he smiled ferociously and said, "It's true that there is love. Let me search you!"

The sergeant under his command understood the situation and rushed forward, holding down the man and grabbing the child.

A sergeant put his hand into the child's arms and groped around. When he came out, he held an oil paper bag, opened it and smelled it.

“It’s beef jerky!”

According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, cattle were not allowed to be slaughtered privately.

Beef jerky is a contraband.

The man's expression changed drastically, "Dalang doesn't have any beef jerky..."

Yu Dong snorted coldly, "Where did the beef jerky come from?"

The man knew that he was being blackmailed. He lowered his head and said, "It's really not...I am willing to fine you."

This attitude is not bad.

Yu Dong sneered, "Five hundred dollars!"

The man raised his head and said desperately: "I only have three hundred dollars with me!"

"Who brings so many copper coins when traveling?"

Yu Dong pulled out a horizontal sword.

The man cried, "That's the money I spent to buy a house and settle down!"

"Gold or silver?" Yu Dong asked casually.

"silver."

"Keep half of it as a fine." Yu Dong said compassionately, "You can refuse."

This is a dangerous place, remote, and difficult to guard. If he doesn't make some extra money, he would rather farm.

The two sergeants found two ingots of silver from the man's body and threw one back with a smile.

"Thieves also have their ways."

The unlearned Yu Dong compared himself to a thief without knowing it.

Ta-ta-ta!

Several horses came from the north.

"Stop!"

Yu Dong turned around and shouted.

Several of the knights were wearing armor. The leader glanced at Yu Dong, then at the dozen or so sergeants behind him, and said, "Look over and look at both sides."

He galloped over.

Yu Dong shouted: "Stop!"

Here, he is the master, and if he says to stop, he must stop.

These must be rural villagers from the north who don't know the rules... Yu Dong cursed: "Ji Ma, get up!"

A horseman in front passed by easily and swung his sword horizontally.

Yu Dong stood on his head with hair on his head, his legs softened, and he knelt down.

The horizontal knife passed over his head.

Several riders rushed over to the cliff behind and looked left and right.

"You wait here and keep an eye on it. If you notice something unusual, it will give you a warning."

The leading knight rode back.

Then he waited by the roadside.

Yu Dong got up panting and shouted: "Warning! Warning!"

Woohoo!

Someone blew the horn.

Then, the sound of horse hooves rumbled.

The cavalry were overwhelmed by the crowd.

The armor is black.

Then came more than a hundred riders, surrounding a man.

The rumble of horse hooves stopped before the checkpoint.

Yu Dong was dumbfounded, "What are you waiting for..."

"Mr. Lang, take a rest!"

Yang Xuan dismounted and said, "Have a rest for a quarter of an hour."

"yes."

Zhang Du shouted: "Dismount and rest."

Among the five hundred cavalry, one hundred were on alert and the others were resting.

There was a small stall by the roadside, which sold some cakes and prepared a large vat of water for travelers to use for free.

Yang Xuan came over and saw Yu Dong looking at him dumbfounded and asked, "How far is it from Chang'an?"

"Sixty miles!" Yu Dong looked at the black armor cavalry, his heart trembled, and a guess came to his mind, "I dare to ask the noble..."

"Northern Xinjiang Yang Xuan!"

Yang Xuan walked to the edge of the stall. Behind him, Yu Dong, who had just stood up, knelt down again, "I've seen Deputy Ambassador Yang!"

"The cakes look good, so I bought them all."

Yang Xuan took a piece of cake, and naturally Ouda came to buy it with money.

He took a bite and said, "I haven't eaten bread from Chang'an for a long time. By the way, what are these people doing kneeling down?"

The man looked at Yang Xuan, hope surged in his heart, and shouted: "Deputy Ambassador Yang, this villain is being blackmailed by these people..."

Yu Dong's heart skipped a beat, "Deputy Envoy Yang..."

"I didn't expect that I could have an interrogation when I came to Chang'an?" Yang Xuan smiled.

"Master, sit down!" A guard walked up to Mazar.

Yang Xuan sat down and said, "Comfortable."

He glanced at Yu Dong, his eyes calm, but Yu Dong was sweating profusely, "You deserve to die, you villain!", and then threw the silver ingot to the man.

Han Ji whispered: "Chang'an can't even control places like this?"

The old thief said: "The noble people only care about making money, and they will do more and more."

There are traces of the downfall of a dynasty, and official governance is the final bottom line. Once the bottom line is broken, unless you show the determination of a strong man to cut off his wrist, it will be difficult to stop the decline.

Yang Xuan sat under a big tree, enjoying the breeze and feeling very comfortable.

He waved, and Yu Dong got up and approached cautiously, "Deputy Ambassador Yang."

"When you serve in the military, no one will control you?"

He seemed to be asking casually, but he was also inquiring about the current situation of the guards in Chang'an.

If it were in the past, Yu Dong would definitely prevaricate, but today he was caught by Yang Xuan. If Yang Xuan was serious, he would be beyond redemption.

Therefore, he said honestly: "The villain has received the benefits, and will share the profits with the superiors later."

Han Ji shook his head slightly and glanced at Ning Yayun.

This time Yang Xuan came to Chang'an. Although there were safety guarantees from all parties, in order to prevent accidents, he still invited the old commander out.
To be continued...