One day in July, it was just like any other day. Curitios, or the Roman envoy with the Chinese name Zhao Qin, had just finished washing and was preparing to watch the Han Dynasty examinations that were being held as usual.
In the Han Dynasty for so long.
Curitios is most concerned about nothing more than finding a way to break the fate of lead poisoning in his homeland.
This is the examination of the Han Dynasty.
Regardless of nobles or civilians, everyone except criminals is eligible to participate in this grand banquet.
Rely on knowledge and talent, rather than blood and background, to become an official, enter the official career, and change the destiny of yourself and your family.
In the eyes of Curitios, this is the most fascinating place in this eastern country.
Unfortunately, the Senate of the Roman Republic would never agree to implement such a policy.
Only in this eastern country, this land of freedom and equality, can such brilliant fruits be produced!
Thinking about this, Curitios couldn't help but sigh.
After coming to the Han Dynasty for so long, Curitios's thoughts and behaviors have inevitably become Chinese.
He can now speak fluent Han Dynasty Mandarin, write with a brush, and even recite many chapters of the Book of Songs.
Naturally, he was no longer the envoy who had just been ordered by the Roman consul to embark on the road to the East.
His way of thinking about problems and his attitude therefore became closer to those of the Han Dynasty.
"If I can return to the Roman Republic, I must tell my compatriots what I saw and heard in the East!" Curitios thought in his heart: "Let them know: Princes will always have their own species.
Huh!"
Unfortunately, this seems to be an impossible dream.
The powerful barbarian empire in the north blocked the road between the Han Dynasty in the east and Rome in the west.
Anyone who attempts to cross that country called the ‘Hongnu’ will surely die!
Just as he was sighing, the door was pushed open.
An official from Dahonglu came in and said to him: "Brother Zhao, I have sent you two fellow villagers. Maybe you guys know each other..."
Then, two men walked in.
The man in front of him had a darker complexion, wore a simple cloth, and walked barefoot. When he saw Curitios, he clasped his hands together, made a gesture, and said: "Everything has its origin, origin, and demise. The donor is polite.
…”
It’s actually authentic Greek!
Curitios had no pattern with such people.
He had seen such monks when he was in the Kingdom of Bactria.
These monks were different from the Zoroaean cults of Western Asia and the Aspirinian priests of Rome.
They seem to advocate asceticism and pay attention to the conditions and the four conditions.
Moreover, these monks are more interested in spreading their so-called "Pagoda Method" than the worship of the Zoroaean gods and the Aspirin gods. Anyway, that's how it sounds.
Curitios doesn't know exactly how.
But the man behind the monk surprised Curitios.
"Ocolati!" Curitios said in surprise: "Why did you come to the Han Dynasty?"
That person was Okolati, the deputy king of Dawan who ventured across the entire desert from Dawan and came to the Han Dynasty.
"The Ionian Kingdom was invaded by barbarians, and I came to Silk Country to ask for help..." Ocolati looked at Curitios and was very surprised.
This Roman aristocrat who was said to have the mission of being a Roman consul really arrived in the legendary Silk Kingdom!
"What good luck!" Ocolati said in her heart.
This time, he went through a lot of hardships. He only dared to take trails and mountain roads along the way, passing through mountains and dense forests. After more than a month of arduous trek, he reached the foot of the Great Wall.
Then, he was dumped by the officials of the Silk Kingdom in a city called Jinyang hundreds of miles away from the capital of the Han Dynasty.
It was not until recently that he was allowed to come to Chang'an.
This happened again and again for two months.
Ocolati no longer knows whether his kingdom still exists.
But, he knew that even the Ionian Kingdom had perished.
But he still needed to ask for help from this silk country in the east, a huge empire that called itself "China" but wrote "Han Dynasty".
In order to hope that the emperor of the Han Dynasty would be merciful and save the poor Greek city-states in Central Asia that were attacked by barbarian horseshoes.
Of course, it would be better if the Han emperor could further help the Greeks regain the sphere of influence of the Seleucid Empire.
but……
Now it seems that the people of the Han Dynasty were not that concerned about matters outside their own territory, and they were not so holy.
Therefore, after meeting Curitios, Ocolati couldn't wait to learn more specific information about this empire from Curitios.
The Dahonglu official looked at these three 'Yi Di', raised his hands to Curitios and said: "Brother Zhao, since these two people can communicate with Brother Zhao, please give Brother Zhao a lesson.
Chinese etiquette and language have changed, and your Majesty may be summoned at some time!"
"Especially for this person who is poisoned, Brother Zhao, please teach him the language and etiquette as soon as possible!"
Hearing this, Curitios quickly raised his hands and said, "Promise, I will be honored to live up to my command!"
Watching the Dahonglu official leave, Curitios closed the door.
Then, he looked at the monks and nobles in front of him.
He first said to Okorati: "Your Excellency, Vice-Prince, have you accurately informed the officials of the Han Dynasty about your identity?"
Okorati nodded and said: "This is natural. As soon as I arrived in the Silk Country and met the officials of the Silk Country, I told them my purpose of coming..."
"It's a pity that the officials and nobles of this Silk Kingdom don't seem to value me very much..." He shook his head regretfully, and then looked at Curitios, an old acquaintance, eagerly, and said, "Your Excellency, when you come to Silk Kingdom,
It should be quite some time ago, can you tell me: Who is stronger, this Silk Kingdom or that barbarian empire called 'Xiongnu'?"
Hearing this, Curitios smiled and said: "Last year, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu had an unprecedented battle. The troops invested by both sides were counted in the tens of thousands!"
"What's the result?" Okorati asked nervously.
"The Han army, in two months, completely wiped out the invading Huns cavalry, a total of 40,000 people!" Curitios looked proud and said proudly: "Now, the prisoners of war of the Han Dynasty
There are still 20,000 to 30,000 Huns prisoners in the camp!"
This sentence not only made Ocolati's eyes light up.
The monk who had been standing aside and muttering something suddenly opened his eyes.
He clasped his hands together and praised: "Your Majesty, World Honored One, this place should be the place where my teaching will flourish. It is fitting that I should be allowed to come here to teach the Dharma!"
When Curitios and Ocolati heard this, they looked at the monk as if they were mentally ill.
Especially Curitios.
The longer he lives in this eastern country, the clearer Curitios becomes about the pride and power of this empire.
Want to preach in this country?
Have you asked the officials and local celebrities?
Any missionary behavior that is not approved by the government is called "obscene worship".
But the monk did not seem to see the eyes of Curitios and Ocolati. He saluted the two of them and said: "Two donors, I am Chokodama, the transmitter of the Buddha's teachings!"
………………………………
"Your Majesty, the poisonous monk and the Yi Di who claims to be the deputy king of Dawan have been sent to the Great Qin envoy for instruction according to your instructions..."
Liu Che lay on the couch with his eyes closed, listening to Ji An's report.
"Send people to strictly monitor, and don't stop day and night!" Liu Che heard this and gave instructions: "Especially that monk, he is not allowed to step out of Dahonglu Yamen without my order!"
Liu Che also did not expect that the Jiangdu Kingdom reported the discovery of a poisoned merchant ship, and in the end, the person sent to Chang'an turned out to be a primitive Buddhist monk.
After learning about this situation, he immediately ordered Jiangdu to send this scourge to Chang'an immediately.
This is to prevent some unfavorable ideas from spreading and poisoning the Chinese people.
Liu Che has never been very fond of the idea of suffering in this life and enjoying happiness in the next.
Of course, it is undeniable that Buddhist thought has its progressive side.
But there are too many backward and decadent things.
Moreover, the Buddhism of today is not the Buddhism of later generations.
Without the guidance and teachings of Sanwu Miefo, Buddhism would naturally not be localized.
Therefore, it was naturally impossible for Liu Che to let it spread on Chinese soil.
"What kind of evil retribution in this life...good fortune in the next life..." Liu Che shook his head.
The Chinese people's religious outlook has been very simple since ancient times.
If the sky is broken, he will mend it with stones; if it collapses, he will cut off the limbs of the turtle and re-erect the pillars of heaven.
God sent a flood to destroy the world, so I dug canals everywhere to release the flood.
When a disease attacks you, don't ask for help from ghosts and gods. Just make your own medicine and test it yourself. Even if you are poisoned to death, you will have no regrets.
If someone drowns in the East China Sea, the East China Sea will be filled up.
If you are exposed to the sun, you will be exposed to the sun.
The Emperor of Heaven is unfair. Even if I am dead and my head is gone, I still want my navel to be my mouth, my vagina to be my eyes, and weapons in both hands to kill in the ninth heaven.
The emperor is unfair and unjustly kills me. Then I will turn into a fierce ghost and take him away!
Whoever wishes to be a slave to the lambs that feed them, let them do so.
Whoever wants to be a submissive slave, let them do it!
Anyway, the people in this land of China.
It’s always been the princes and generals who have the right attitude!
If the country has its way, a gentleman will never cease to strive for self-improvement.
The country has no morals, I can replace it!
Divine weapons can only be mastered by the virtuous!
Even the so-called Five Emperors and the so-called Eight Lords are just the incarnations of previous kings and the sublimation of heroes.
In China, talent is God!
In China, the only things that are feared are heaven, earth and ancestors.
What is the Lord Buddha God the Savior?
Go to hell!
Of course, Buddhism is not without its merits.
"At least we can brainwash alien slaves!" Liu Che thought in his mind.
Historically, Buddhism became popular in China because of the Wuhu Rebellion.
The foreign conquerors needed a spiritual anesthetic to hypnotize the Chinese people.
Therefore, Buddhism prospered along the way.
Now, it would be good to brainwash the imported or captured slaves and slave laborers and make them content with their status quo.
Therefore, Liu Che only ordered the monk to be placed under house arrest instead of directly killing him.
Put aside the matter of the monk from India.
Liu Che picked up the eight-hundred-mile urgent report just sent from Yunzhong County.
The content of the report is very simple: the Xiongnu Chanyu has conquered Dayuan, captured hundreds of thousands of Dayuan soldiers and civilians, and returned south.
This is top-secret information that was sent to Yunzhong County through secret channels.
Read this information several times.
Liu Che put it down.
"The strategy must be revised!" Liu Che thought to himself, and then he turned his attention to the map hanging on the wall.
After the military officials defeated Dawan, they did not choose to continue the western expedition. Instead, they stopped as soon as possible and returned south with the spoils of war.
This greatly exceeded Liu Che's expectation.
If this is true.
Then, it is very likely that from now on, this Western Expedition will become a regular entertainment.
The Huns marched westward once, and then came back with the spoils of war. After digesting them, they marched westward again.
With this repeated cycle, the Xiongnu's power will become stronger and stronger.
This is just one of them.
More importantly, the choice of military ministers made Liu Che's original plan to wait until the main Xiongnu force had gone far away before going out to bully the remaining Xiongnu tribes went bankrupt.
"The Huns must not be allowed to have such a comfortable and smooth expedition to the west!" Liu Che said in his heart.
"Immediately invite the Prime Minister, General Chariot and Cavalry, and Governor Anton to enter the palace!" Liu Che ordered: "In addition, summon all the generals!"
"No!" Ji An respectfully accepted the order.
Liu Che also took the report and stood in front of the map, staring at the map that had been explored and clearly marked with place names.
This is the map of the Hetao in Chang'an that was just sent from Yunzhong County recently.
Liu Che's hand touched the map.
The Gaoque Fortress built by King Wuling of Zhao and the Yinshan Defense Line of Qin Shihuang.
These two places have been lost for more than seventy years.
Liu Che could feel that these two places and the entire Hetao were calling his name, eager for his army to come and recover.
Let this natural pasture be filled with pearls, and the valley bottom watered by the mother river of the Xia people return to the embrace of the motherland.
"The Huns are not stupid..." Liu Che looked at the mountains, rivers and lakes on the map.
His original plan was to wait for the Xiongnu to march westward and cross Congling before going to war with the Xiongnu.
But, it is a pity that the Huns did not give him this opportunity at all.
But you can understand it if you think about it.
The Huns were not stupid after all.
The main force crossed the Congling Mountains and penetrated deep into Central Asia. The long roads and supply lines were enough for the Han Dynasty to capture the entire Munan, but the expeditionary Huns might still be kept in the dark.
Naturally, the Huns would not allow such a situation to happen, and they were even less likely to give up their home base easily.
Therefore, it is understandable to choose to gradually march westward.
Since the Huns did not give the Han Dynasty a chance, Liu Che would not continue to act according to the rigid plan.
"Then prepare for the Battle of Hetao!" Liu Che fixed his sights on the Gaoque Fortress and the Yinshan Defense Line on the map.
In the Hetao and Hexi areas, the Han Dynasty has now figured out that there are seven tribes of Huns active there.
Counting the tribes in the Qilian Mountains and the Helan Mountains, there are as many as twenty or thirty Xiongnu tribes in the area.
Of course, most of them are just minions and minions.
There are only three or five that are truly noteworthy and can threaten the Han army. (To be continued.)
