A convoy of several hundred people was driving slowly towards the east. These people were all wearing thin coats, cursing the hot climate here, wiping the sweat from their foreheads, and kept moving forward. The convoy was driving slowly.
Entering the territory of Kushan, the climate became increasingly hot. What annoyed them most was the inability to supply supplies. The war between the Eastern Empire and the Kushan people turned the northwest of Kushan into a complete ruin.
Nearly ten years have passed, and this place is still extremely desolate. The Parthians dare not send people here, and no people dare to come here, making this place extremely desolate, with no human habitation for thousands of miles. Fortunately, the climate here is still good, suitable for plants.
In the past ten years, the growth has gradually become greener, and finally there is a place to hide from the scorching heat. The slaves went to feed the horses, while the nobles sat in the shade of the trees, sighing.
"General, what kind of cruel person do you think he is to destroy this place given by God?" The young man looked at the surroundings, the ruins of the houses and the remains of the city walls, and asked with some displeasure.
, and sitting in front of him was a bearded general. The general stroked his beard and said, "Be careful what you say. Besides, who would be kind in a war?"
"They did this to cut off the connection between the north and the south of Kushan. Look, how lonely Kushan is now..."
"Sigh... It's okay to leave it here. If the war hasn't started yet, we can just send people to occupy this place..." The young man sighed with emotion. The general shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter if it's empty. I
I don’t want to border the Eastern Empire. Just think about the emperor of Kushan. The Kushan army of more than 100,000 people couldn’t even hold it for three years... If we occupy this place... it will make things worse..."
They were chatting, and everyone looked a little worried and a little lonely. The vehicles left deep marks on the ground. The nobles were debating with the wise men. The general glanced at them and said nothing. The young man beside him lowered his voice.
The voice asked: "Will the Eastern Empire really help us??" The old general stood up helplessly, smiled bitterly, and said: "Maybe..."
He looked at everyone and shouted loudly: "Everyone, get up! Let's continue on our way!!"
Hearing his cry, the soldiers with scimitars at their waists and the servants who were resting all stood up quickly and were about to get up. Only the nobles and wise men still sat on the exquisite blankets.
, completely ignoring what he meant, the general shouted again: "There are a lot of thieves here!! Hurry up!!!" When he heard what he said, those people wearing exquisite robes and silk trousers
The nobleman stood up with the support of his servant.
Everyone continued on their way. The bearded general was riding a horse and walking at the front. He looked around cautiously. It was not that there were really any thieves here. This was just a habit formed by his long-term fighting. Everyone was driving,
Suddenly, the general raised his hand suddenly, and the soldiers stopped quickly. The general listened carefully. He seemed to hear the sound of horse hooves. After a while, sure enough, the sound of horse hooves became clearer and clearer, and it was getting closer and closer to them.
.
The bearded general was thinking in his mind. Listening to the dense sound of horse hooves, he must not be a merchant. Which merchant would dare to run so fast? There are no less than a thousand cavalry. With this concept, he
It was immediately clear that this was an encounter with the cavalry of the Eastern Empire. The Kushan people did not dare to gallop here. The bearded general looked at the rear and shouted: "Be careful!!"
Everyone nodded, and he took a deep breath, looked ahead, and waited quietly for someone to come.
Not long after, a horse galloped out from a distance. When it saw the group of people, the horse stopped quickly, as if observing them. More cavalry gradually appeared in the rear, and the number of cavalry increased.
More and more came, gradually appearing in their three directions, densely packed with cavalry. At such a scale, the bearded general was a little scared. The horse that came out first was carrying a strong general.
, gradually came to their front.
The bearded general used the worst elegance, put his right hand on his chest, bent down and saluted, and said: "Asypike, general, meet the general in the east."
The person who came was none other than Ma Chao. Ma Chao looked at the group of people in front of him and felt a little confused. Hearing his words, he smiled and asked, "Are you from Parthia?? General??", after hearing Ma Chao's words
When asked, Asback quickly said: "It's right, general, we, the Parthians, are here to see the emperor." When he heard what he said, Ma Chao understood in his heart that these were Parthian envoys.
"Are you the messenger?"
"Let's meet the emperor." Asbake moved his hands around as soon as he spoke, looking a little clumsy. Ma Chao pointed to the cars behind him and asked, "What are those?"
"Gold! The Saber of Peace, the Muhales of Peace..."
Ma Chao only understood gold. He waved his hand and said: "Follow us!" The bearded general Asback motioned to the people behind him. Surrounded by these cavalry, they followed Ma Chao and walked forward.
Along the way, many Han troops joined along the way. Looking at the elite equipment on their bodies and these strong, burly, bearded soldiers, Asback was also very shocked.
The two empires are very different in terms of culture, politics, and military. However, they may still have some similarities in their views on beauty. The Parthians appreciate beards very much, and those in high positions and positions of authority,
People often have big beards on their faces, and the Han Dynasty was also common. Men also respected beards. All generals and soldiers in the army wore beards. Among them, Guan Yu's beard looked very beautiful because of its lushness, and everyone was envious of it.
It is a very shameful thing to have a pale face and no beard. As long as you are not a teenager and you remain pale and beardless as an adult, you are an eunuch.
In the Parthia region, the pursuit of beards seems to have reached an extreme. It is said that for a certain period of time, they were very fond of women with beards...
Asback seemed to have found a common ground and looked a little happy. He followed Ma Chao and began to praise Ma Chao's beard in poor elegance. Speaking of which, Ma Chao's beard was also quite popular among the generals.
Lush, with a strong masculine beauty, Ma Chao was very useful to Asback's admiration. The two of them walked all the way to where the Southern Army and Xiting County were stationed.
When we got here, the situation was different. The soldiers wanted to see the items on their carriages. Asback was still a little worried. He was afraid that after seeing so much gold, these people would be disadvantageous to them and hide it.
After swallowing the gold, he looked a little uneasy. He looked at Ma Chao on the side. Ma Chao seemed to understand his thoughts and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I am a country of benevolence and righteousness. Come and see us."
Your Majesty, it is impossible for us to harm you."
Just as he was talking, the soldiers opened the boxes. The golden light stunned the soldiers, including Ma Chao. Several boxes of gold emitted a charming light. Asback said with a smile: "General, I can give you some gold."
You keep some..." Ma Chao thought for a moment and shook his head. These people still have to go see the emperor. If the emperor learns that the Confederate army swallowed the tribute... forget it.
Ma Chao also personally watched these soldiers come to check, for fear that something might happen. After checking several times, Ma Chao asked them to close the box. Ma Chao led them into the camp, and took Asback with him.
Going to see Zhang Liao, the nobles behind Asback who were usually aloof did not dare to speak at all at this moment. They lowered their heads and did not even dare to talk. When they saw Asback and the general leaving, they
He seemed a little frightened and uneasy.
Zhang Liao was in the camp, looking at a map. As he was looking, he saw Ma Chao leading a strong man with an exotic face in. Although Zhang Liao had never seen these people before, after coming to the Western Regions, he
I've seen him a lot and didn't feel surprised when he walked in. After all, this is Dahan's foreign trade port. People with faces like this often come to him here, usually when they encounter thieves or other situations outside.
Ma Chao bowed to him and said: "General, this person said that he was the messenger of peace, and he brought a lot of gold tribute, saying that he wanted to meet the emperor." Zhang Liao was stunned, looked at the person in front of him, and asked
: "Can you speak elegant language?"
"I can, General, I, General Anxi, come to see the emperor."
Zhang Liao nodded and asked: "Did your king send you here?"
"yes."
"Well, Meng Qi, you send someone to keep an eye on those tributes, and ask the brothers to be careful not to lose their lives for some stinky things. Since you are an envoy, just send someone to Mr. Chen. Let me
Mr. Chen is responsible for this matter..." Zhang Liao made arrangements. Ma Chao nodded and took him away from here. Walking on the road, Asback did not dare to look at the surrounding situation for fear of causing the displeasure of the Han army.
Ma Chao took him out of the military camp and went to the residence of Chen Deng, the governor of Xiting.
Arriving at Xiting County, Asback was stunned. This city was really brilliant. People were coming and going, and the patrolling soldiers were comparable to their royal city. Asback looked around and thought about what to do.
Without saying anything, Ma Chao took him to the center of the city, which was also the prefect's residence. The soldiers at the prefect's residence knew Ma Chao and did not dare to stop him. They just let him go. Ma Chao took Asback and entered the residence.
We walked all the way to the study, where Chen Deng was sitting, processing paperwork.
Ma Chao bowed before him, pointed to the person next to him, and said, "This is the messenger of Xi'an, who is here to pay homage to the Emperor."
As soon as he finished speaking, Asback bowed to Chen Deng who was sitting at the table and said: "General Anxi, pay your respects to the Emperor of the East!"
Chen Deng, who was calm at first, was so frightened that he jumped up and said quickly: "I'm not! Don't talk nonsense!! I am an official here!!"
I treat you with courtesy, but you want to harm me??
Asback was also a little dazed. He looked at the man in front of him. He was elegant and handsome. The most important thing was that he was dressed in brocade. With such clothes, he was not an emperor, but just an official? Then why did the general just want to
What about bending down to salute? They have different cultures, which made both parties a little frightened. Chen Deng waved his hand and said: "Don't let this guy stay here, just send him to Luoyang directly..."
"Captain Ma, I don't have enough manpower here. I need you to send some reliable men to protect them..."
"Here you go!"
When Asback heard his words, he gradually felt hopeful.