Black Whirlwind and his horse bandits operate in secrecy, and every time they attack a passing caravan, they are dressed in black, wrapped in a black scarf, and covered with a black cloth. Not to mention the Black Whirlwind himself, even the appearance of his subordinates, few people have seen it. The people captured last night were dressed exactly like the legendary Black Whirlwind bandits, and they also claimed to be Black Whirlwind's men. In the absence of other evidence, Liu Xin of course announced that they were the Black Whirlwind Gang.

In fact, saying that these people are the Black Whirlwind Gang, even Liu Xin himself doesn't believe it. Of the 36 countries in the Western Regions, the large countries have a population of only a few hundred or two hundred thousand, and the small countries have only a few thousand people, and it is absolutely not something that a single gang can do to be able to gather more than 3,000 bandits at once. Moreover, a fierce gang like Black Whirlwind, which really comes and goes freely, has always maintained a sense of mystery, and the number of people is definitely not too many.

In other words, this gang of bandits must have someone impersonating. As for whether the fake person is trying to blame the Black Whirlwind or hide his identity, or both, only the real instigators behind the scenes know. Of course, Liu Xin also had some means of coercing confessions to pry open the mouths of those prisoners, but he didn't want to do that yet. Liu Xin just wants to give this behind-the-scenes inspirer an illusion that he has regarded him as a black whirlwind. In this way, the mastermind behind the scenes will lose his vigilance.

On the other hand, horse bandits from various countries in the Western Regions are rampant, posing a great threat to the local people, especially those caravans. Among these bandits, the Black Whirlwind is undoubtedly the more powerful one. Now Liu Xin is trumpeting that he has exterminated the Black Whirlwind Gang, which is to tell the people everywhere and those caravans that the Han army has the ability to ensure their safety. Liu Xin just wanted to use these captives to play a persuasion and appease the people.

More importantly, the presence of the Black Whirlwind is indeed a major threat to the caravans between East and West. But the black whirlwind came and went without a trace, and no one knew where they were hiding, even if they sent a large army to clear them, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack in this vast desert, and there would be nowhere to use your strength. Liu Xin just wanted to force the black whirlwind to take the initiative to appear through this trick.

Therefore, announcing that these captives are the Black Whirlwind bandits, and that they are going to be escorted all the way to the public, can be said to kill three birds with one stone.

Bidding farewell to Amufan's village, the team continued to march towards the city of mud, and came to a small village that night. This village is much smaller than the village of Amufan, and the whole village has a population of more than 300. Hearing that Liu Xin and his entourage were going to restart the trade route, the villagers were also very happy and warmly invited Liu Xin and his entourage to live in the village. However, with yesterday's experience, Liu Xin politely declined the kindness of the villagers, and instead camped outside the village to rest. Liu Xin didn't know if the mastermind behind the scenes had any other ambush forces, and he didn't want to cause trouble for the village, otherwise he would have to leave another 3,000 soldiers to protect them. In this way, all the way to the west, the forces around him will become extremely scattered.

However, there was no danger for the next two days, and no bandits appeared. However, the rumor that the army from the Han Dynasty had exterminated the Black Whirlwind spread farther and farther, and it spread all the way to Shanshan's royal city.

When Liu Xin's team came to ten miles outside the city, Hani, the king of Shanshan, was already waiting there with hundreds of civil and military officials.

Among the kings of the Western Regions, Hani was more supportive of the rebuilding of the Western Regions Protectorate. Shanshan is actually the famous Loulan. In history, Loulan has repeatedly opposed the rule of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions, and has been attacked by the imperial court several times, and later even the name of the country was forcibly changed to Shanshan. However, Shanshan's geographical location is destined to be the closest to the Han Dynasty, and it has been influenced by the Han Dynasty the most, both economically and culturally.

Because of its important position connecting the trade routes between the East and the West, Loulan's economy was once quite developed, making Loulan one of the richest countries in the Western Regions. The abundant income also enabled the ancient state of Loulan to raise a powerful army, which further led to the increasing ambition of successive Loulan kings, until they openly confronted the Han Dynasty. In the past ten years, the trade routes to the West have gradually broken down, and today's mud city has long since lost its former prosperity. And Hani, the king of Shanshan, has already seen the problem and understands that without the Great Han, the decline of Shanshan is only a matter of time, which is also the main reason why he is keen to support the reconstruction of the Western Regions Protectorate.

To paraphrase a proverb, there are no permanent friends, only eternal interests. On the issue of rebuilding the Western Regions Protectorate, Hani and Liu Xin have the same goal, that is, to ensure the smooth flow of this trade route, and now what he needs to negotiate with Liu Xin is how to ensure his status in the country. Of course, for Hani, today's theme is to show his hospitality and his unmistakable support for the rebuilding of the Metropolitan Protectorate, and negotiations are tomorrow's events.

When he saw Shanshan Wang Hani, Liu Xin felt that his eyes were bright, with a high nose bridge, deep sunken eye sockets, and a brown scalp, this is a typical European Caucasian man, this is the first time Liu Xin has seen a European since he crossed into this world.

Hani had already walked quickly to Liu Xin's horse, bowed down and gave a big salute, and said, "Honorable lord, Hani led the people of Hecheng to welcome your arrival. ”

Liu Xin jumped off the war horse, pulled Hani up, and said with a smile: "No need to be polite, Liu is here to create a brilliant future with Lord Hani, let's go into the city!" ”

So, surrounded by everyone, Liu Xin and Hani walked side by side and slowly entered the mud city. Although the city is no longer as prosperous as it was more than ten years ago, I heard that there were high-ranking officials from the Han Dynasty, and many people still poured into the streets, and the streets became lively for a while.

Liu Xin rode on a horse and looked up, these people were in various forms, including Hu people, Huns, and a small number of Han people, but they were mainly Caucasians. And the officials who followed behind Hani were also predominantly Caucasian.

In fact, he was surprised to see these white people, and those people in Shanshan had not seen so many Han people for a long time, and they were also surprised. In particular, when a large group of Han cavalry passed in front of these people in a neat queue, the hooves of the horses with iron palms stepped on the stone road, making a loud noise, which shocked people's hearts, and the people on both sides of the road suddenly became silent. Looking at this majestic military might, everyone understands that the once powerful Han Dynasty has returned to the land of the Western Regions, and they will become the masters of this land, which is already an unstoppable fact.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in cheers. Because, behind the cavalry, there appeared a group of captives dressed in black, with black scarves on their heads and black cloths over their faces. The captives were still dressed in the clothes they had been captured, and they were all dejected, bound together in a string of fine twine, and on either side of them were mighty Han infantry.

A few days ago, there was a rumor that the bandits of the Black Whirlwind were completely annihilated by the Han army outside a small village, and many people will still be skeptical. Now seeing that these horse bandits, who even the officers and soldiers of various countries have no way to deal with, have also become prisoners of the ranks, all the people can't help but be excited.

No one noticed that a young woman in the crowd looked at it for a moment, then suddenly turned around and ran, and in a panic she walked through an alley of low houses, inhabited by poor ordinary people. The woman came to the door of a small courtyard, glanced to the left and right, and saw that no one was paying attention to her, so she hurriedly pushed open the door and walked in.

The courtyard walls of the small courtyard are made of reeds and wicker, and the situation inside the courtyard can be clearly seen from the gaps. However, the courtyard was empty, and there was no one in it, except for a few black clothes hanging against the east wall.

The woman came to the closed door, and before she could push it open, she cried out anxiously: "Dead man, you are still sleeping, something is wrong!" ”

The thunderous snoring in the room paused for a moment, and then resounded. The woman angrily pushed open the door and entered, looked back for a moment, and closed the door. When the woman went into the room, she saw a stout man with a big beard sleeping soundly on a low couch. The woman pushed him a few times and said eagerly, "Beggar do it, wake up, wake up!" ”

The man named Qi'er Gan opened his eyes with great difficulty, and when he saw the young woman in front of him, his face suddenly turned happy, and he took her into his arms and said with a smile: "Lanya, my baby, why did you come back so early, don't you miss me." ”

Lan Ya took a sip of "puff" and said angrily: "You tossed all night yesterday, you are not enough!" Let me tell you, just now on the street, I saw a large group of Han troops entering the city, and all of you have been caught by them, so you should flee quickly. ”

The beggar was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Impossible." Ten days ago, the boss just took us to make a big deal, and we all have no shortage of money in hand, otherwise I wouldn't be able to come to you. It stands to reason that everyone hasn't reached the time to assemble yet, and if one or two people miss, it's understandable, they shouldn't all be arrested, it's strange! ”

It turned out that this young woman named Lan Ya was a widow in the mud city, and it was not easy to pull two children by herself. And the beggar is the cadre under the black whirlwind, who was originally Lan Ya's neighbor, and usually supports Lan Ya, and when they come and go, the two of them dry firewood and make fires, and they come together. It's just that due to the strange eyes of the neighbors, the two of them just secretly interacted and did not make it public. However, Lan Ya will also take the opportunity to help the beggar fight and cover and pass on the message. Of course, with the funding of the beggars, Lan Ya's life is much better.

Lan Ya was really thinking about the beggar, and when she heard that he didn't believe her words, she said anxiously: "I saw it all, those people's clothes are the same as the ones you hang outside." No, I'm going to have to get those clothes away. ”

The beggar couldn't sit still, so he got up and said, "I have to go and see!" ”