Seeing that Chang Sheng was silent, Da Tou Qiang said again, "My lord, they say that money can make people go around. Duke Ji Guo is not only rich but also very generous. People like him will always be popular no matter where they are. If something really happens, there will definitely be many people to help him."
"This is exactly what I'm worried about," Changsheng said. "The Ni family can solve ordinary problems by themselves, but the troubles that the Ni family can't solve must be extremely difficult."
"What kind of trouble do you think they can get into?" Big Head asked.
Chang Sheng had thought about this problem many times since Song Caigan called for help. "There are two possibilities. One is that the martial arts master seeks revenge, and the other is that the Khotanese country seeks wealth."
"Seeking revenge? Duke Ji Guo is so smart, he won't offend anyone casually, right?" Datou was doubtful.
"He won't offend anyone, but I have offended him," Changsheng said. "Back then, I went to Tingzhou to buy a sweat-blooded BMW. During this period, I accidentally learned that the bandits from Maka Mountain had been blackmailing the Ni family, so I took the time to go there. On a trip to the Western Regions, I was alone when I set out. On the way from the desert, I accidentally met a veteran border guard led by Yao Liqin, so I rushed to the Western Regions with them and took down Maka Mountain. However, we were not completely wiped out that day. Many of the bandits there ran away. As the saying goes, if you kill a snake, there will be trouble later. It may be that the remnants of Maka Mountain have resurrected and hired powerful helpers to make things difficult for the Ni family. Maka Mountain is located in the east. If the bandits are entrenched here, the grain and grass collected by the Ni family will not be transported out of Khotan."
"Oh," Datou nodded and asked, "Then what do you mean when you say that Khotan is seeking wealth?"
"Every man is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade. You should also know why the imperial court raided the Ni family back then." Changsheng said casually.
"Of course I know, I want to steal other people's money," Datou said, frowning and shaking his head, "But most of the Ni family's money has been left to you. They probably don't have much money left."
Changsheng waved his hand and said, "Otherwise, although the Ni family left most of their property to me when they left Middle-earth, they also took away a lot, and I also sent people to transport some gold and silver on the way. Song Cai and others When I left Chang'an, I took another batch with me, which together is an astonishing amount. Add in the income from the Ni family's business in the Western Regions in the past few years, and the Ni family has already become richer than the country."
"It makes sense," Datou nodded repeatedly, "The Western Regions are all small countries. If the Ni family is so rich, they will definitely be remembered."
"If you are not afraid of being remembered by others, you are afraid of being remembered by the court. The military power is in the hands of the court. There is no fairness in anything in this world. Whoever holds the military power can be unreasonable." Changsheng said in a deep voice.
Datou suddenly realized, "That's it. No wonder you brought troops here this time."
Changsheng said, "You have always been in charge of the property left by the Ni family. You should know where the money is used. Without that money, Datang may not be able to survive in the past few years."
"Yes," Datou sighed, "most of the money was used for disaster relief and military supplies. The Tang Dynasty owed too much to Duke Ji, and we also owed too much to others. "
Changsheng didn't answer. As the saying goes, you should never forget the person who dug the well. You should never bury the efforts and sacrifices of others. The weapons used by everyone on our side, including the mounts, are all obtained from the Ni family, not to mention relying on the Ni family to help raise funds in the future. Food and grass means that the Ni family will no longer be needed in the future. If the Ni family is in trouble this time, everyone on our side should do their best to help.
While the two were talking, there were footsteps outside the door, and then someone spoke loudly, "You two young heroes, please excuse me."
Hearing the words, he jumped up and walked out quickly, "What do you want to do?!"
"Nothing, no matter what. They say you rely on your parents at home and your friends when you go out. You two young heroes, here is a leg of lamb and a jar of wine. It's not a sign of respect, but I hope you'll accept it." The visitor explained in panic.
Da Tou did not want to accept it and refused loudly. However, the other party spoke humbly and had an eager attitude. Da Tou had no choice but to accept it.
The leg of lamb is freshly roasted, and the wine is a unique wine from the Western Regions. It has been tested by Changsheng and is non-toxic.
"Your Majesty, although these guys are not good people, they are quite smart. They are afraid that we will do it, and they also know how to give gifts." Datou chewed the mutton. The mutton in the Western Regions is very different from the mutton in the Middle East. The mutton here has no mutton. taste.
"People who don't have enough brains can't be bad guys." Changsheng said casually.
The big head laughed loudly and turned to chew.
The two of them ate and drank enough, lay down and rested, and met each other. They woke up, cleaned up briefly and set off on their journey. Before leaving, Datou left a silver coin from the well. Naturally, this was not a courtesy, but a gesture of friendship. These horse bandits have drawn clear boundaries, do not owe each other anything, and have no scruples about attacking each other again.
The temperature difference between day and night in the Western Region is very large. Fortunately, both of them have spiritual energy cultivation, so they traveled quickly under the stars and headed straight to Khotan.
You can still see many abandoned cities along the way. Some cities are in the Chinese-earth style, while others are foreign-domain buildings. The reason for this is that during the peak of the Tang Dynasty's national power, the Anxi Protectorate was set up from the Western Regions, and its management included The Four Anxi Towns including Khotan, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty's national power declined, and the Four Anxi Towns fell into the hands of Tubo. Later, the Tang Dynasty also sent troops to recapture the Four Anxi Towns from Tubo, but they were recaptured by Tubo not long after, and so on. It changed owners many times, and the remaining city buildings were not the same.
At dawn, the two entered the territory of Khotan, and there were large wheat fields in front of them. The countries in the Western Regions were not filled with yellow sand, and most of the areas were suitable for growing grains. The reason why people first thought of the endless desert when mentioning the Western Regions was because Going to the Western Region requires passing through an uninhabited desert.
The Western Region is vast and sparsely populated. Since the Tang Dynasty and Tubo have been having internal strife at home in recent years, no one has bothered to compete for the Western Region. The countries in the Western Region have been able to recuperate and resume farming and animal husbandry. The passers-by seen along the way are not like those in China. The local people are so naked and disheveled.
After entering the border of Khotan, the two of them took a short detour and came to Maka Mountain first. The path up the mountain was covered with weeds, and the houses in the mountain had long been collapsed and dilapidated. There was no sign of resurgence.
Seeing this situation, Datou raised his head and looked at Changsheng. Last night, Changsheng looked forward to the two possibilities of the Ni family asking for help. Now the first possibility has been eliminated, leaving only the second possibility, that is, the Khotan Kingdom is making things difficult for the Ni family.
"Let's go to Khotan." Changsheng said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, where is the aura from the token?" Datou asked casually.
"A hundred miles to the west, it should be Khotan." Changsheng replied.
"Probably?" Datou was quite surprised, "Where did you go to Khotan last time you came here?"
Changsheng shook his head.
Seeing Changsheng shook his head, Datou Duo had no choice but to say, "Miss Ni is very nice, and she is sincere to you. Isn't it bad that you don't get in?"
Changsheng frowned slightly and did not answer.
Da Tou came to Chang Sheng's side, raised his head and said, "Hey, Your Majesty, actually the Western Region is so far away from the Middle Earth, no one else knows what you are doing."
"If I really want to do something, I won't be afraid of others finding out," Changsheng Xiannai waved his hand, "Let's go."
There are several peaks to the west of Maka Mountain. Da Tou placed Miss Bai in the westernmost mountain and rode with Chang Sheng to the distant city.
Since there is no obstruction in front of them, the two of them can clearly see the city of Khotan in the distance. This city has an obvious Chinese-earth style and covers a large area. It is half the size of Chang'an City and is an out-and-out large-scale city. city.
Due to year-round foreign trade, many cargo yards and horse farms of different sizes were circled outside the city. Inside, various goods were piled up, and there were countless cattle, sheep, and camels. People came and went inside and outside the city, making it very lively.
Changsheng was able to accurately sense that the location where Song Cai used his spiritual energy token was not in the city, but in a certain area in the north of the city.
The two came from the east and arrived near the east gate. Changsheng was about to change his route to the north, but at a glance he found a group of people watching several notices posted on the city wall.
Seeing Changsheng turn his head to look west, Datou immediately guessed what he was thinking, jumped off the horse and ran towards the city wall in a hurry.
As soon as Datou left, several horse dealers came over. They just thought Changsheng was here to buy horses, and they crowded around him and introduced the horses in their own racecourse.
Not long after, Datou emerged from the crowd and hurried back. First he drove away the horse dealer with an angry look, and then said urgently to Changsheng, "Your Majesty knows things like a god. It is true that the Kingdom of Khotan is going to attack the Ni family. They will kill the Ni family." Our residence was surrounded, the goods yard was sealed, and Duke Ji was charged with three crimes: one was a spy for treason, one was a hoarder, and the other was a smuggler for profit."
When Datou said this, he raised his hand and pointed south, "Today at noon, they will try Duke Ji Guo in public at the south gate and give the official punishment."
Since he had been mentally prepared in advance, Chang Sheng was not too surprised when he heard Datou's narration. Naturally, the charges against Ni Zhuo in Khotan were false. The crime of espionage had already existed in the Qin Dynasty, but Ni Zhuo had not been involved in the crime since the Qin Dynasty. Without informing the Tang Dynasty about the situation in Khotan, how could there be any spies? Hoarding is just like picking quarrels and provoking troubles today. There is no clear standard for conviction. Guilt and innocence are only left to the whim of the government. As for smuggling for profit, it is even more nonsense. Food is not salt and salt, and is not under the control of the court.
"The notice was posted the day before yesterday," Datou said. "It said that all insiders could provide evidence and clues about Duke Ji Guo's crime. This Khotan king really wanted to be a statue and build an arch. He was clearly targeting the Ni family. He took the money and held a public trial to convict him, hoping to show his fairness and silence the world."
Changsheng didn't answer, turned the horse's head, and rode north.
Datou took a few quick steps and pulled the reins of Young Master Hei to lead the horse forward, "My lord, you don't have to worry too much. The notice said that the Ni family was just surrounded. Except for Duke Ji Guo, no one else should have been." imprison."
"I'm not worried about their safety." Changsheng said casually.
"Then what are you worried about?" Datou was confused.
Changsheng said in a deep voice, "I'm not worried about anything. I'm just thinking that Khotan has completely broken up with the Ni family and there is no possibility of reconciliation. How should this matter end?"
Datou nodded and said, "Yes, the Tang Dynasty is counting on Duke Ji to help raise food for disaster relief. Even if we rescue Duke Ji, we will offend Khotan, and the Ni family will no longer be able to stay here."
"What you said is wrong," Changsheng said coldly, "It's not that we have offended the Khotan Kingdom, but that the Khotan Kingdom has offended us."
Da Tou didn't understand what was going on and turned around in confusion. Seeing Chang Sheng's face gloomy, he immediately guessed what he was thinking, "My lord, do you want to destroy Khotan?"
"There is no way for misfortunes to come, only for people to call them upon themselves," Chang Sheng said expressionlessly, "Let's see the results of the public trial first. If they really want to drive out the Ni family, then don't blame me for being ruthless..."
