The two got through the hole in the city wall and took off the latch on the wooden door at the end. According to the method taught by Bartlett, they knocked on the wooden door five times in a short, long, short, and long sequence. When they almost finished knocking, they heard the sound of the door latch being removed. From the sound, it seems that there is someone always guarding behind this door.
The wooden door creaked open, and the opposite side was still dark. The two walked through the door. It was a small room with only high windows. The windows were covered with a greasy and dirty tarpaulin, so it was very dark. , a tall Kunlun slave stood beside the door. The Kunlun slave had a dark complexion and almost blended into the darkness of the room. So when Duguxiang suddenly saw his white eyes in the darkness, he almost screamed in fright. .
The Kunlun slave reinstalled the door without saying a word, and the sound of the latch being lowered came from the opposite side. It seemed that the latch was two-way, but Shuoxiang and Shuo Xiang were not afraid of being locked up in the city. Such a wall was very difficult for Jiang Shuo. It is said that he can cross with a single leap, but he did not use this magical skill during the day for fear of causing commotion. If Bartlett really wanted to have any bad intentions, it would not be difficult for the two of them to get out of the city.
There was a door directly opposite, but Kunlun Nu pushed open a wooden door on the side wall. This time he still did not go outside, but into another dark room. Only an oil lamp in the corner of the wall barely illuminated the path under his feet. Dugu Xiang sniffed and said to Jiang Shuo, "Brother Shuo, what does this smell like...it's so strong."
Jiang Shuo shook his head. He also smelled the aroma, but the aroma was so strong that his nose could no longer distinguish it.
Kunlun Nu led them through a dozen or so rooms. At first, there were empty rooms, and then there were warehouses filled with goods. Later, workers began to work in the rooms. Various spices are being ground into powder. It turns out that the strong smell that was smelled earlier is the smell of these spices mixed together.
After finally pushing open a narrow wooden door, he saw the street illuminated by the sun. After his eyes gradually adapted to the strong light outside, Jiang Shuo saw clearly that there was a large spice shop in front of him.
The two walked into the sunshine, but the Kunlun slave was still hiding in the shadows inside the door. After a while, he suddenly closed the wooden door with a "click" and went back without saying a word.
The shopkeeper sitting in the spice shop and the boy soliciting customers from outside seemed not to have seen them come out of the house at all. There was no customer on the street at the moment. One of them lowered his head to settle accounts, and the other lazily strolled in front of the shop, looking at Neither of them glanced at Shuo Xiang.
Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang didn't talk to the shop and just walked out of the shop. Jiang Shuo had never seen a spice shop with such rich colors, green, yellow, red, white and brown, everything was available in different shades, as if they were selling dyes instead of spices. generally.
Jiang Shuo asked Dugu Xiang in confusion: "The business in the city is just a cover-up, why go to such trouble to open this spice shop."
Dugu Xiang said: "I heard that when catching a fugitive, the hunting dog will be allowed to sniff the criminal's clothes. The hunting dog will be able to track the person for thousands of miles by following the smell. But if it encounters strong-smelling spices, the dog will not be able to track it. "
The two of them guessed that under the guise of doing business, what Bartlett was actually doing was helping smugglers of salt and tea, and working as a prostitute to engage in criminal activities in the inner and outer cities.
Walking out of the spice shop, Dugu Xiang spat: "I knew this old man was not a good person. If we don't pay for his food, wine, and clothes, we will treat him as doing harm to the people."
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but laugh, and laughed in a low voice: "Xian'er, you sound like you had money to give him."
The two chatted and laughed and walked along the road. There was no need to worry about not finding the shop. After all, the aroma was so strong that it could be smelled even from a few streets away.
The city of Khotan was very different from the cities in the Central Plains. It was as prosperous as Chang'an, and merchants were concentrated in the east and west cities. In Khotan, a city in the Western Regions, almost everyone is a businessman, and every street is filled with shops.
The merchandise on display inside was even more dazzling. Many of the products from the Western Regions had never been seen or even heard of by the two of them. They were so dazzled by them that their four eyes were not enough for two people.
They just walked around and didn't buy anything, because these small business people were not as easy to deceive as Bartlett.
When I was wandering around, I suddenly saw a big dust billowing at the street entrance. A group of horsemen came on horseback. Someone at the head whipped to disperse the people on the street.
Dugu Xiang said angrily:
"Who is so cruel?"
Jiang Shuo suddenly pulled Dugu Xiang and turned him into a small alley. Dugu Xiang also became alert and hid behind the corner to look outside.
But he saw a man in the middle of the cavalry, with a leopard's head and eyes, a swallow's jaw and a tiger's beard. The horse under his crotch was already tall, making him look like half a black iron tower.
Dugu Xiang turned to look at Jiang Shuo and whispered: "Cheng Qianli... why is he here?"
Jiang Shuo shook his head and said, "Follow him and see what he wants to do."
Unexpectedly, Cheng Qianli's team came to the corner of the street and suddenly dismounted. Jiang Shuo thought to himself: Oops, they've been discovered. He clenched his fists and Dugu Xiang's gold tooth dagger was half unsheathed. He was just waiting for Cheng Qianli and his team to attack. .
Unexpectedly, a group of them entered the shop at the corner while talking and laughing. Seeing this scene, Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang looked at each other, not knowing what was going on.
After waiting for a moment, Dugu Xiang turned to the front and took a look. He couldn't help but laugh. He came back and said to Jiang Shuo, "Brother Shuo, what's going on... This is a wine shop."
Jiang Shuo then realized that it was a misunderstanding. Cheng Qianli didn't discover them, but happened to go to this restaurant to eat and drink.
Dugu Xiang asked: "Brother Shuo, what should we do now?"
Jiang Shuo said, "Follow him and see what conspiracy they are up to."
He already knew that Cheng Qianli was a member of the Hidden Alliance. Three years ago, Cheng Qianli was on Longju Island. Jiang Shuo also remembered that he said earlier that he would serve in the Western Region Army. Judging from his clothes now, , seems to be doing quite well in the Anxi army, but Jiang Shuo knows that many people in the Yin League do not value official positions and wealth, and does not know what the real purpose of Cheng Qianli's coming to serve in the four towns of Anxi is.
Shuo and Xiang did not enter the building. This city of Khotan is different from the cities in the Central Plains. The streets are not so open and the buildings are almost crowded together. The wind and sand in the Western Regions are all over the sky, so the buildings are built with many walls and few windows. Therefore, Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang lightly jumped up to the second floor of the restaurant and disappeared among the buildings. It was difficult to find their hiding place whether from inside or outside the building.
The second floor faces the alley. Since it is very close to the building opposite, a whole wall was built on this side of the wine shop. Turning to the back, there are only a few small windows on the north side. Although it was autumn at this time, it was still very hot in Khotan during the day, so the windows were not closed. Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang hid in the blind corner behind the windows and looked in.
I saw a crowd of people drinking and drinking, singing and dancing, having a great time. Among them, it was obvious that Cheng Qianli had the highest official position. He was sitting drinking alone, looking at everyone with a smile, but not participating in it. ..
Someone shouted: "Deputy Protector Cheng, the Tang army's great victory at Shibao City has greatly dampened the Tubo's arrogance. Let's celebrate together. Why are you not in high spirits, Deputy Protector?"
Jiang Shuo thought to himself: Cheng Qianli has been promoted quite quickly. He arrived in Anxi three years ago as a white man, but now he has risen to the fourth rank as Deputy Protector.
He did not know that the Anxi Protectorate had been established as early as the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, and had always been in charge of military and political affairs in the Anxi states. However, since the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the duties of the Protectorate of Anxi were mostly held by princes or relatives in the court, and were divided among the four towns of Anxi. The Jiedushi envoys of the four towns were established, and the Jiedushi envoys held military power. They were the real chief officials of the four towns in Anxi. Officials below the Great Protectorate became sinecures.
What's more, Anxi is the "Great Protectorate" in charge of more than ten states. In addition to Li Linfu, who leads the "Great Protectorate" from afar, Cheng Qianli, the "Deputy Protector", has two "Deputy Protectorate" on his head, which is even more insignificant. What a senior official with real power.
Dugu Xiang gently said to Jiang Shuo: "Cheng Qianli must be unhappy... The Yin League originally wanted to help Tubo defend Shibao City. I didn't expect that Brother Shuhan would seize the throne so quickly with your help, Brother Shuo." Let’s go.”
Jiang Shuo said: "I didn't expect the news to come so quickly. Now the Hidden Alliance should also know that I have returned to the world. We must be extra careful in our actions in the future."
Inside, Cheng Qianli put down his wine glass and sighed: "Hey...Brother Bi, originally Gao Jiedushi captured Lianyun Fort and destroyed Xiaobolu, and the Anxi Army was in the limelight for a while. Unexpectedly, the Hexi Army captured Shibao City. The 200-mile radius of the meander of the river belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and now it has overshadowed us again."
The officer surnamed Bi smiled and said: "Deputy Protector, what is there to worry about? What else can Ge Shuhan do after taking the Shibao City? Should he attack other cities? We are different in Anxi.
In this way, after destroying the small Bolu, there will still be the big Bolu. After destroying the big and small Bolu, there will still be Huoxun, Kang and Shi. Farther away, there will still be Khorasan and Dashi... Why worry about not being able to make contributions? "
Cheng Qianli sneered and said: "Bi Sichen, do these achievements you mentioned have anything to do with you? We were both under the command of the former Jiedu envoy Fumeng Lingcha. Fumeng Lingcha was not on good terms with the current Jiedu envoy Gao Xianzhi. How could we have done it back then? You have often given Gao Xianzhi a stumbling block for this bitching slave. Now you still want to make achievements under him?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned, and the singing and dancing stopped. Bi Sichen said: "When Gao Jiedu took office, he promised us that everything would remain as before..."
Cheng Qianli said: "In the battle of Lianyun Castle, Gao Xianzhi used Zhao Chongxuan, Jia Chongguanyou and Xi Yuanqing. Is it as good as our brothers?"
Dugu Xiang and Jiang Shuo whispered, "Cheng Qianli is doing the same thing as Jianghu Alliance and instigating internal strife in the Anxi Army."
Jiang Shuo nodded, thinking that Cheng Qianli looked like a rough and unscrupulous person, and others only thought that what he said was straightforward, but they didn't expect that every word he said was actually carefully thought out. This kind of person is the best at deceiving others.
At this moment, the room was completely quiet. Bi Sichen asked, "Then why did the high military commander let us station in Khotan?"
Cheng Qianli sneered and said, "Don't you understand this? The only threat that Khotan faces is Tubo. After Gao Xianzhi captured Xiao Bolu, the door from Tubo to the west has been closed, so Khotan has nothing to worry about."
Everyone in the room said so, Cheng Qianli said: "Then, who are you guys guarding here?"
Bi Sichen rolled his eyes and said, "So Gao Jiedushi wants to leave us aside?"
Cheng Qianli stopped answering. He put his hands in his pockets with an expression of "What do you think?"
Bi Sichen crossed his hands and said, "Deputy Protector, what should we do? Are we going to be trapped in Chou City?"
Cheng Qianli said: "Is there any way? It's not like there is nothing..."
As he said this, he glanced at the Hu Ji and the elite soldiers who were serving on the left and right. Bi Sichen understood and hurriedly shouted to retreat. Only a few generals who were familiar with Cheng Qianli were left in the room.
Cheng Qianli then smiled and said: "It's very simple to tell me what to do. Gao Xianzhi doesn't want us to make contributions, can't we think of a way ourselves?"
Bi Sichen hesitated and said: "But according to the military law of the Tang Dynasty, you are not allowed to leave the station without permission..."
Cheng Qianli rapped the table with his knuckles and said slowly: "Why leave? Gentlemen... you can make great achievements here..."
