From Alexandria on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, it crosses the Mediterranean and Black Seas, then climbs the Caucasus Mountains and crosses the Caspian Sea, and crosses the Amu Darya River to Baktra, the capital of Bactria, before winter. In the early summer of the next year, cross the Syr Darya River into the grassland where you might meet the Saluo people and go east, and you can reach the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain in three months at most, which is the northernmost border of Daqin.

The journey of more than 40,000 miles back and forth, it takes about three years for the merchant to complete this journey, Meng Yi was escorted by the Egyptian navy to the eastern shore of the Black Sea, and with the assistance of the Kingdom of Bactria, he could go back and forth in two years-

The Chu warships blockaded the Persian Gulf and encroached on the spice-producing areas, which immediately angered several major powers: the Indian envoy Anazhou told him frankly in Yingdu Zhengchao that if the warships of Chu continued to blockade the Persian Gulf and prevent trade between India and Seleucus, India would no longer trade with Chu and expel Chu envoys and merchants;

Hermeias, the chief minister of the Seleucid Empire, declared that the barbaric Chuni would be severely punished, and demanded that all allies with Seleucus forbid trading with the Chuni, otherwise they would be regarded as enemies by the Seleucids;

Ptolemy III claimed that he would work with Seleucus to blockade the spices of the Chu people, and planned to jointly send troops to recapture the spice producing areas at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Some are angry, some are happy, and there is no one happier than the Greeks and Carthaginians. Spices came either from Asia or from Africa, from which the Seleucids were monopolized, and from Africa by Ptolemy. It would be great if the people of Chu could really break through the blockade between the two countries and transport spices to the Mediterranean coast. They had very few requirements, only one, the spices of the Chu State should be like the paper of the Chu State, and they should not be too expensive.

Spices are important commodities in the known world, just like salt and tin in ancient times, and the industrial chain two thousand years later, changes in the trade of important commodities are often the source of war. What Chu did was not only to change the trade path of spices, but also to change the path of world trade. Just as the trade routes of the Western Regions, Central Asia, and Persia declined after the rise of the Great Voyage, once the easternmost part of the Eurasian continent and the westernmost part of the Eurasian continent were connected by sea routes, the entire known world and the unknown world would undergo drastic and far-reaching changes.

Sea power rose again, and land power fell again. If the countless states on the Silk Road could not sustain themselves, they would die out one by one after losing trade; Harbors and city-states, which existed tens of thousands of years ago in the days of canoes and are now barren and cannot find much trace, will flourish again.

In the face of such a change, Egypt, Seleucus, and India, whose warships could basically sail along the coast, could not stop the Chu at sea, and they could only send large armies to stop them on the mainland, or, according to Aristotle IV's foresightful proposal, destroy the source of all this: the Chu state itself.

From Daqin to Egypt, and from Egypt back to Daqin. Deputy Envoy Meng Yi's deepest feeling was that all countries were happy to make peace with Great Qin, and at the same time, all countries hated Jing because the Jing people had taken away their spices. To this end, the Egyptians sent alchemists and boat-builders, the Seleucids provided scythe chariots, and Bactria, in addition to gifting a number of Sogdiana horses, also sent a cavalry of several hundred men to protect him and Ganro from returning to Daqin.

In the summer of the grassland, the grass is green, a thousand miles away, the sky is also surprisingly blue, and the white clouds hang on it, and the blue and green are like a fairyland on earth. It's just that what looks beautiful isn't so beautiful when it's immersive. There are many mosquitoes in the grasslands in summer, and the weather is also very strange. It was extremely hot at noon, but it was very cold in the middle of the night, with strong winds, snow and hail in June and July.

The most terrible thing is to get lost, the grassland is like the sea, there is no mark, the direction can only be identified by the sun, moon and stars, if it were not for the Sogdian guide, the group would have been lost in the boundless sea of grass.

Although there were so many hardships, compared to crossing the hot sea of sand, the endless grassland could be traveled three times a day, and the mission could reach Jiuyuan County in a maximum of three months. Gan Luo and Meng Yi, who were shouldering heavy responsibilities, not only did not complain about this, but became happier and happier they went, because the farther east they went, the closer they were to Great Qin.

In the sweltering heat of noon, when the men and horses had taken refuge under a cloud, the Sogdians let the entire mission rest in place. This kind of rest was only the rest of a few, and the slaves had to let the horses graze and feed the horses water, and only the nobles and the knights of Daxia could rest.

"How many days are there until Qinshan?" The slave fetched water and burned horse dung, which was to boil water for tea. Just as Gan Luo sat under the clouds, he kept wiping his sweat, but it was Meng Yi, who was wearing armor, who let the sweat flow on his body.

Gan Luo was asking the guide, a Sogdian merchant with a pointed hat and a lovely smile, that the Qin Mountain he was talking about was Yin Mountain. Like an arrow, he asks this question every time he sees the guide.

"Envoy: The guide said, there is still half a month to Qinshan." Tongshi was also a Sogdian who spoke the Qin language, and he was also a merchant.

"Half a moon." Gan Luo said lightly, looking to the east. The grassland outside the clouds is particularly bright, and there are small colorful flowers blooming in the grass. From a distance, these small flowers look like waves in the Weishui water, shining in the sun. He misses Xianyang.

"If Brother Zigu is tired, we can wait for a slow walk...... "Meng Yi is a military general, and Gan Luo is a civil minister. Walking forward every day, Meng Yi was worried that his body would not be able to bear it.

"Even if you are tired, how can you slow down?" As he spoke, Ganro unconsciously looked back at the guests and the tall Sogdiana stallions. Egyptians often shaved their heads to keep them clean. The sun was so hot in the steppes that the bald Egyptians had to put on their hats, and when the clouds blocked the sun, they took off their hats and fanned the wind.

The bare-headed, overall-dressed Egyptian alchemists and craftsmen were the most important, the thirty dragon horse stallions given by the King of Bactria were the second most important, and the sickle carts presented by the Emperor Tiaozhi were the third most important. The first, second, and third are only relative, and any one of them will become a national treasure when they arrive in Xianyang.

"The subordinate is just worried...... "Gan Luo knows the value of this trip, and Meng Yi naturally knows it.

"Don't worry." Gan Luo was no more than thirty years old, and the hardships of the journey made him look at least twenty years old. "General Meng is worried about the Hu people, and the closer I get to Qinshan, the more worried I am."

The two of them went to the grassland, and Henan was a new land opened up after the expulsion of Hu Rong. The Qin army escorted the two over the Qin Mountains and walked for three hundred miles before returning to Jiuyuan County. Now that he has returned, there are still more than ten days away from Qinshan, and at present, there is only the escort of the Great Xia cavalry and no Qin army to respond, and Ganluo is inevitably a little worried.

"The subordinate has sent people to Jiuyuan in a hurry, once Jiuyuan gets the news, the county lieutenant will definitely lead the army to greet him, Brother Zigu don't worry." More than ten days away, at least a thousand miles away from Qinshan, Meng Yi took precautions and asked Gan Luo to nod his head in approval. With Meng Yi here, he has saved a lot of things.

"Good." Ganluo agreed, but the recorder sounded at this time, and the Great Xia cavalry immediately mounted when they heard the sound of the flute.

"Hu Ren!" Meng Yi was shaken. Not north of Yinshan, a thousand miles away from Yinshan, the Hu people appeared without warning. He thought of a possibility: Could it be that the people he sent to Jiuyuan County were intercepted by the Hu people? But how did the Hu people know the Qin script? It's the Qin character written on the letterhead!

At first, the Hu people were just a black spot in the distance, but as they got closer, they gradually grew larger, and there were more and more people. The accompanying Bactrian knights were a little panicked, and they shouted 'Salo people, Saga people', and prepared to line up to fight. The slaves were even more hasty, but fortunately, the Sogdians had the experience of encountering the steppe tribes, and at the same time as they ordered the people to collect them, the gifts were also prepared. If it is a nomadic tribe who comes, give gifts according to the rules of the grassland, and maybe there will be Hu women to sleep at night.

The Hu people are getting closer and closer, and there are more than thousands. Ganluo, who has poor eyesight, also saw their flag, led by a large black eagle painted on it. This is not some migratory steppe tribe, this is a large group of Hu cavalry.

"Ahura Mazda bless you......" The Sogdian stepped forward to give gifts, and the breeze of the steppe carried his voice, and Ganro heard only the first greeting. Under the banner of the Black Eagle, a bearded man with a thick beard rides on a dragon horse, dressed in a short left coat with a glittering gold accessory on his chest, and his lower garment (perhaps trousers) tied by a belt and full of quivers.

He seemed to be shouting a rebuke to the Sogdians, who were as prostrate as they were to the Baidi people of Bactria and did not dare to say more, until the Hu people had finished reprimanding him, he hurriedly got up, saluted, and rushed back as if he had been pardoned.

"Tou Manshan wants us to ......" The Sogdians were sweating profusely, and their faces were still pale when they came back.

"It's the Huns!" When Meng Yi heard the name of Touman, he clenched his sword, but when he saw the Hun cavalry who had already half surrounded him, he had to let go of his hand. He knew that if there was a battle at this time, no one on his side would be able to return to Great Qin.

“…… We are asked to hand over the breed and inspect our cargo. The Sogdians did not know what Meng Yi was shouting, he had just been reprimanded by Toumandan. It is impossible to determine when the Sogdians traveled back and forth to the steppe and met the tribes who gave them gifts, and sometimes the Sogdians bought and sold with the steppe tribes to buy silk, gold, and precious furs.

In line with the habit of ancient times, the steppe tribes rarely embarrassed the Sogdians, but the Qin people were the enemies of the steppe tribes, and the Sogdians led the Qin people through the steppe, which overstepped the habit that both sides had always observed. This time he can forgive for God's sake, but he will not forgive next time. Moreover, the Qin people can not be killed, and the Qin people's goods must be confiscated.

The trembling Sogdians explained all this, and the faces of Ganro and Meng Yi turned white. The horse breed is very conspicuous, and the horse breed will definitely be plundered by the Huns, and the sickle car may be able to hide it.

"What if?" Meng Yi's hand was on the hilt of the sword, and his eyes looked around as he spoke, calculating the chances of escape.

"The enemy is outnumbered, and we are outnumbered, so we must not act rashly." Ganro hurriedly pressed his hand down. "It's just Ryoma." As he spoke, he glanced at the bald-headed Egyptian craftsman again and repeated, "It's just Ryoma." ”

"What is this?" Before the Sogdians could reply, the black eagle flag floated from a distance, and although the leader was dressed as a Hu man, it was Xia Yin who spoke. Meng Yi looked at it fixedly and saw the huge armor in his horseback leather bag, this was a Zhao person.

"This is, this is ......" The scythe cart was carried on horseback, and the escort soldiers were also surprised that Hu Ren could speak Xia language.

"Quickly unload!" Zhao people drank. Hu people don't understand car warfare, how can Zhao people not understand car warfare?

"This thing is unloaded." More people surrounded him, and some even drew their blades. The Sogdians, who were worried about their troubles, rushed over and asked their attendants to unload all the more than 100 sets of sickle carts.

"Humph!" The Zhao people seemed to be eager for both sides to use force, but the Sogdians were fighting a round, while Touman was watching the dragon horses.

"What is this?" The evaporation dish made by Lu Li is properly wrapped in sheepskin and carried on horseback. Before he could open it, the alchemist stepped forward to stop him, speaking Egyptian, which no one could understand.

'Smack! The whip was whipped in the alchemist's face, and the Sogdians came running to relieve the siege. At this time, the sheepskin was lifted, and Lu Li's utensils were crystal clear in the sunlight, and even Touman, who was watching Ryoma, was attracted by these utensils.

"This is the Baidi people." The Sogdians, knowing the origin of the alchemists, pulled out one of the white men, wanting to say that they were not Qin.

"This is a Qin person!" Zhao Ren pointed to the yellow skin of the rest of the alchemists and glared at the Sogdians. When Touman stepped forward, he spat out another nonsense. The white man may be from the Yueshi clan, and Touman does not dare to ask them to hand over the mounts under their crotches, nor does he search them. The yellow race is different, the head man nodded, and along with those boat-building craftsmen, all the yellow people were taken away.

This time Gan Luo was really anxious, and he shouted, "Why is this so? How so?! ”

No one left him, and though the Egyptians wanted to resist, the whip and the blade quickly made them obedient. When the Huns rode away, the Sogdians said: "Then the Zhao people told the head man that they were craftsmen who made Lu Lijing......

"Lu Lijing?" Gan Luo collapsed to the ground, where is this the craftsman who made the Lu Lijing, this is the craftsman who made witch medicine and war boats.

"The subordinates shall take it back." Craftsman Meng Yi knew all of them, and looking at the remaining Bai Di craftsmen, his hand was on the sword again.

"Recaptured? How to recapture it? "Ganro's heart was cold, but he didn't lose his mind." If you take it back, how can we return to Qin?! ”

"If we don't recapture it, we will wait tens of thousands of miles to ......" two years, more than 40,000 miles away, and the hardships are indescribable. Meng Yi's sword was drawn halfway, but his left hand was clutched on the blade, and in the fight between left and right, his left hand was drenched in blood, and finally, the sword was returned to the sheath.

"Please Shan Yu kill the Qin people, I, Zhao Ao, ......." Where the Sogdians would pass through the steppe, the steppe tribes knew clearly. Shan Yu was in the tent dozens of miles away, and the Zhao people, who were resolutely hated by Gan Luomeng, knelt down and asked Touman for his life.

"No." Lu Li's utensils were placed in the middle of the big tent, and the people couldn't put it down. "If you don't do what you say, God will punish you. Since we have made an agreement with the Sogdians, how can we regret it if we leave the goods behind and do not kill the Qin people? ”

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