Time flies, and it is early spring of the sixth year of Tianbao. That morning, the Bodaling Pass suddenly became lively. A business team composed of hundreds of camels came from the direction of the broken leaves. The camel bells were melodious. Seeing that they finally walked out of Lingshan, the Hu merchants cheered together.

These Hu merchants are obviously the Sogdians who are famous for their business skills. They lead camels and dress in similar styles, wearing white narrow-sleeved tight-fitting Hu clothes, pointed tops and rolled brims, tied with a gold belt of ten thousand nails around their waists, and long leather boots on their feet. They are dusty and show that they have been traveling along the way. The camels carry heavy big boxes filled with precious items such as gems, pearls, silver and other valuable items.

There are also more than twenty young and beautiful girls. They are Hu Ji who go to Chang'an to sell wine. The treasures in Chang'an are very rich and have been attracting generations of Hu Niang for a hundred years, so that a beautiful scenery has formed in Chang'an.

‘Where do you go to the fallen flowers and walk, laughing into the wine shop.’

But after a long journey, especially climbing the high-altitude Lingshan, these twenty girls were obviously a little haggard. However, after entering the territory of the Tang Dynasty, everyone's face gradually became brighter and their eyes were filled with yearning for Chang'an.

This huge camel team is not unique to one person, but is composed of more than a hundred merchants. The leader is an old man in his sixties, named Salda. His bronze skin and deep wrinkles on his face are full of vicissitudes of the world. Although he is very old, he still has the same steps as young people.

Behind him was a girl, who was also wearing a pointed and empty hat, with five braided hair exposed under the brim of the hat. She had beautiful appearance, crystal white skin, and her blue eyes shining brightly like gems. After passing Lingshan, she began to look around, as if she was curious about everything around her. It was obvious that she was the first time she came to Datang.

However, this girl seemed to be different from other Hu Niang. She was dressed gorgeously and had a noble temperament. She wore a short sword covered with gems in her waist.

She suddenly frowned and asked the old man who led the team, "Uncle Salda, is this the Tang Dynasty? I think it's not much different from our Shiguo!"

The old man smiled, "Princess Julan, this is the border of the Tang Dynasty, of course it is similar to ours. After crossing the Hexi Corridor and entering Longyou, you will find that it is different. When you arrive in Chang'an, I can guarantee that you will be amazed in disbelief."

"Uncle Salda, how far is Chang'an?"

"It's still thousands of miles away, and it will take at least three months to go." Speaking of this, Uncle Salda suddenly woke up and quickly patted his forehead and smiled: "I forgot that I can't call you a princess. You changed your name to Shi Julan."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden sound of horse hooves came from afar. A team of cavalry appeared and they rushed towards this side along the river.

"There is an army!" The caravan suddenly became in chaos. The Hu merchants took the knife from their leather bags one after another. Shi Julan also bit her lips and held her hands tightly on the knife handle. Salda looked at her for a while and suddenly laughed: "It's not the thunder cavalry, but the Tang Dynasty border army."

Maintaining the smooth flow of the Silk Road is one of the responsibilities of the Tang Dynasty border troops. For a hundred years, they have met with Hu Shang and exchanged day and night, and few things have happened to hurt and seize goods. Salda felt relieved and took out the Shiguo pass from the leather bag.

In a moment, more than a hundred Tang army cavalry rushed over like lightning. They were all tall, covered in bright light armor, round shields on their backs, horizontal swords on their waists, long spears in their hands, and horses hung with bows and crossbows on their faces. The cavalry lined up, blocking Hu Shang's way.

An officer ran out of the team and shouted sternly: "Where are you Hu Shangshang, and where are you going?"

The officer spoke fluent Turkic language. She was surprised that Shi Julan could not help but look at the young officer carefully.

I saw that he was about twenty-three or four years old, tall, with a wide forehead and tall lunar face, and his deep and concave eyes had a kind of grimness, calmness and gloom that was unique to men. His appearance was not Turkic, but like other Tang soldiers, they were all Han people.

This Tang general is Li Qing'an. He stayed in the scout camp for more than half a year, patrolling the border security, and gaining merits to be promoted to the brigade commander of the scout camp, commanding 100 soldiers. During this year, he not only had more archery skills, but also learned Turkic language. In a year, Li Qing'an became mature. He became more calm and tenacious, and gradually became a famous general in Anxi.

Salda was not surprised that there were all ethnic groups in the border army. It was normal for the Hu people to speak Chinese, and it was normal for the Han people to speak Hu. He quickly handed over the pass and smiled and said, "We are merchants from Shiguo. We went to Chang'an to do business. May I ask the general's surname?"

Although the Tang army would not hurt Hu Shang, they could not offend him. If you flatter him, you might even earn a free guard! The Sogdians, who were born with a businessman's mind, were always doing business anytime and anywhere.

"My surname is Li, not a general."

Li Qing'an looked at the Shi Kingdom's Guan Jue, and his tone was still tough, "Mr. Meng has an order. Hu merchants must send someone to inform them when entering the country. Don't you know?"

Salda smiled bitterly and said, "General Li, we have just come from Shiguo, how could we know the orders of General Fu Meng? Please forgive me!"

He changed to proficient Chinese, showing that he was a businessman who often came to the Tang Dynasty. When Li Qing'an heard that he could speak Chinese, his face calmed down a little.

"The commander's military order is for your own good. Since last summer and autumn, there have been robbery in the rushing cavalry and people. You merchants with heavy goods are their targets, especially you are still bringing so many young women."

Speaking of the young woman, Li Qingan glanced at Shi Julan behind Salda. Shi Julan was swept by his sharp gaze, and her heart couldn't help but jump, as if the young officer had seen through her identity.

But Li Qing'an's eyes just passed by. He returned the pass to Salda, and still said expressionlessly: "Open the box, we need to conduct a routine inspection."

Salda was stunned. He knew better than anyone else what this routine examination meant. A wry smile appeared on his face. It seemed that it was impossible to be free.

He hurried back to inform the merchants that there was a slight commotion in the merchant team, and everyone protested, but their protest had no meaning. Li Qing'an waved his hand, and the soldiers rushed forward and stabbed the box on the camel with a long spear. The rope of a large box was broken, and the big box fell to the ground and spread out. Hundreds of silverware inside rolled out. The owner spread his limbs and lay on the silverware, cursing with tears and snot. More than 20 Hu Niangs were trembling with fear, like a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Shi Julan was angry. She ran to Li Qing'an, clenched her fists and shouted, "Is there any difference between you doing this and robbers?"

Li Qingan looked her up and down, squinted and smiled, "There is a difference. The robber takes your things, and we are just routine checks. The robbers will strip your clothes, and I just appreciate your appearance."

Shi Julan's face turned red with a swelling, and she gritted her teeth and cursed: "You are not a soldier, you are a scoundrel!"

Li Qing'an's face darkened and said coldly: "Girl, don't interfere with the Tang army's official duties, as it will endanger your life and safety."

Salda was so scared that he stepped forward and pulled Shi Julan away, apologizing to Li Qing'an: "General Li, this is the first time my niece goes out. I don't understand the rules. Please forgive me."

Li Qingan snorted and ignored him. At this time, a team was rushing towards him and reported with their fists: "General, there are no prohibited items."

"Okay! You can stop checking."

Li Qingan glanced at Salda again and said, "The old rules are that brothers need to pay for alcohol, each person will have 500 cents of money. If you want us to protect us, each person will have two more stale money."

"This..." Salda hesitated, "we need to discuss it."

Salda ran to discuss with the merchants, but Shi Julan was still staring at Li Qing'an in anger, but Li Qing'an smiled gracefully at her, bowed to her very politely, and reached out to her.

Shi Julan glared at him fiercely, turned her head to look at the sky, and ignored him anymore.

At this time, Salda ran back, and he handed a purse to Li Qing'an, apologizing: "Everyone unanimously decided not to need your army's escort. This is fifty taels of silver, the city is worth more than sixty cents of coins, which is the wine money for the military."

"You're smart."

Li Qingan snatched the purse and turned over to the horse, "Okay, please ask the Sun God for blessing!"

He glanced at Shi Julan deeply and sneered, "Girl, you will soon know what the difference between a robber and me is?"

"Let's go!" Li Qing'an waved his hand, and the Tang cavalry immediately rushed away like a gust of wind.

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Chapter completed!