Great Qin! It's Daqin again! Liu Xin suddenly remembered that in that cold cave, Black Whirlwind had told him that her mother was the daughter of a Great Qin merchant who had been robbed by her father. The situation was very critical at that time, Liu Xin was seriously considering whether it was possible to climb up from the bottom of the cave, but the black whirlwind had been telling his life story there, so it did not attract Liu Xin's attention at that time. And here, Liu Xin heard the name Daqin again, and couldn't help but catch his attention. Because in the materials provided to him by Jia Xu, the countries of the Western Regions do not have the name of Great Qin, so it should be said that Great Qin should not be within the scope of the Western Regions, but should be in a more distant place.

Liu Xin couldn't help but ask, "Where is this Daqin you are talking about?" Were these weapons and armor used by ordinary Great Qin soldiers or by their generals? ”

Tubro thought for a moment and said, "I only know that Great Qin is far away to the west, but I don't know where it is. However, I still remember that the Great Qin merchant said that these weapons and armor were used by ordinary Great Qin troops. ”

Liu Xin was taken aback, if an ordinary army can be equipped with such sophisticated weapons and armor, then the combat effectiveness of this army must be quite strong, according to his memory, if there is any army in this era that can be called powerful, it should be the ancient Roman legion, is the Great Qin they are talking about is ancient Rome?

Jia Xu obviously didn't believe Tubro's words, and said: "It's been two or three years, how can you remember it so clearly?" ”

"When I first saw these weapons, I asked the merchant who used them for such heavy weapons. And that Great Qin merchant replied to me that it was used daily by the soldiers of their army. I was shocked by the news, so I remember it very well, and I can't be wrong. ”

Jia Xu stayed in the Xiliang Army for a few years, and after defecting to Liu Xin, he came into contact with the regular army of the Han Dynasty, and he also knew a lot about the equipment of the Han army. Therefore, Jia Xu still didn't believe in Tubro's words, and arched his hand and said: "Lord, that so-called Great Qin merchant may be exaggerating, where can a country find so many tall and powerful people?" ”

Liu Xin knew that Europeans were generally stronger than Asians, so he couldn't help but shake his head and asked, "Wenhe, have you ever heard of the country of Daqin?" ”

Jia Xu thought for a while and said, "Back to the lord, my subordinates have also heard of it. More than 20 years ago, there was a group of envoys who came to Luoyang from thousands of miles away, claiming to be on behalf of the Great Qin Emperor An Dun to meet His Majesty the Han Dynasty, and also presented ivory, rhino horn and other treasures to the imperial court. At that time, his subordinates were just and weak in the year, and they had not yet come out, and they were just hearsay, but they did not have the opportunity to see this grand occasion. ”

Due to the difference in their perception of the salvation of the land they are in, the Han people have always believed that the place where they live is the center of the world, and other countries, no matter how big or small, are barbarian states. Although Jia Xu was young at that time, he vaguely remembered some of the circumstances at that time, so he had some impressions of Daqin.

Liu Xin was even more surprised when he heard that Great Qin had sent an envoy to Great Han, and couldn't help asking, "Then do you know where Great Qin's capital is?" ”

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "This subordinate really doesn't know. ”

Tubro hurriedly said: "I've heard that the capital of Great Qin is in a place called Rome, and it is really thousands of miles away from some places. ”

Sure enough, it's Rome! Liu Xin confirmed his guess and couldn't help but nod vigorously. For this period of world history, Liu Xin's memory can be said to be blank, but the ancient Roman Empire, as a powerful country, once rampant in the West, he still knows this. Moreover, if a country is not strong enough to a considerable extent, it is impossible to send an embassy to Dahan thousands of miles away.

Liu Xin was stunned for a moment, then turned to Tubro and asked, "Do you know the path to Rome?" ”

Tubro shook his head and sneered: "I don't want to hide it from you, I usually just buy goods from the caravans that come and go and sell them to those who need them, and it is difficult to even get out of the mud city, how can I know the path to Rome?" ”

Liu Xin understands that this Tubro is actually doing the business of a second-class dealer, but his capital is relatively large, and he usually doesn't have to run around, he can still make a lot of money, and his influence on the cutting off of business routes over the years is definitely not small.

Since Tuburo is a "second-tier dealer", then he must have been in contact with many caravans, Liu Xin couldn't help but ask: "Then do you have a familiar Great Qin merchant?" ”

"Yes, yes." Tubro frowned and said, "It's just that they haven't been here for over a year. They can't buy what they want when they come here, so what are they going to do? ”

Jia Xu was surprised: "Why does the lord care so much about Daqin, who is thousands of miles away? ”

Liu Xin raised his head and said: "Great Qin can send an envoy to Dahan, and I am a big country in China, can't I send an envoy to Daqin for a return visit?" Wenhe, after you go back, you will repair a letter and go to Xiangyang, and let the prince and them select suitable people to form a Han mission, bring tea, white porcelain and silk, and return to Daqin. ”

Suddenly, Liu Xin remembered a joke he had heard a long time ago. There was an Englishman who came back from a trip to China and brought with him a large bag of tea. His wife invited many friends to the house to taste the tea, and as a result, his wife put all the big bags of tea in the pot and boiled them together, then poured out the water in which the tea was boiled, and fished out the tea leaves to share with friends. So, Liu Xin added: "Remember to bring two people who are proficient in the tea ceremony and teach the people of Daqin how to make tea." ”

In fact, at this time, the output of tea was not high, even in the Han Dynasty, only people with a certain status could drink good green tea, and the so-called tea ceremony could not be compared with later generations, basically what Liu Xin said, how others brewed. However, even such a superficial method of making tea is enough for the people of Daqin. But what Liu Xin didn't expect was that because of his inadvertent words, it later changed the history of the Roman Empire, which led to two wars.

Tubro, who had been standing respectfully on the sidelines, was surprised when he heard their conversation, and said, "You, you are the ...... of the great man."

What kind of person is entitled to send a mission on behalf of the country? And what kind of person can casually bring high-end items such as silk or even white porcelain? Tubro had vaguely guessed in his heart that the status of this young Han merchant must be unattainable, but he hesitated for a long time, and finally did not dare to say it clearly.

Liu Xin smiled and said, "Just do your business well, don't worry so much." ”

Tubro took a deep breath and said, "I don't know what exactly the tea you just talked about is?" Is it more precious than white porcelain and silk? ”

Liu Xin said lightly: "Tea is indeed very precious, and it cannot be sold in the Western Regions for the time being. However, I can sell you some silk and white porcelain. ”

It is precisely because the output of tea is not high at present, the batch of tea that Liu Xin carried with him is mainly used as a gift to some key people, and even Shanshan Wang Hani has not been able to get a tael, so it is naturally impossible for him to sell it to an ordinary businessman.

It was the first time he had heard of tea, and of course he was not aware of the potential value of the thing, but for a long time, silk had brought him too much profit. As for white porcelain, because the supply is too small, but compared to silk, the acquisition is definitely only high. Hearing that Liu Xin was willing to sell him some silk and white porcelain, Tublo couldn't help but be overjoyed, and said repeatedly: "Please also ask a few people to go there and talk in detail." ”

Liu Xin glanced in the direction of Tubro's finger, it was a small room, presumably a place for Tubro to discuss important business, he couldn't help but shake his head and said, "No need, Liu still has a lot of things to do, let's talk here." I want all the weapons and armor in the warehouse, you calculate the price carefully, I will exchange silk and white porcelain in exchange, more silk and white porcelain, you can pay me gold and silver. ”

The fact that these goods, which had been backlogged for many years, were able to sell all at once, and Tubro was in a better mood, and thanked him again and again. There wasn't a day when Tubro didn't think about emptying these weapons and armor, and the price was quickly calculated, almost the same as selling scrap iron, and it was more troublesome for him to rerefine these weapons and armor, and even if he sold scrap iron, not many people would want it.

And the silk and white porcelain that Liu Xin sold to him were also quite cheap, each set of exquisite white porcelain only charged him seventy-five taels of silver, and also sold him a pair of exquisite plum vases, and only charged him five hundred taels of silver, which was definitely a super low price. Don't look at Liu Xin's pair of plum bottles sold cheaply, but the location of Tubro's shop is very good, he will definitely put this pair of plum bottles in the store as a treasure of the town store, which is equivalent to making an advertisement for Liu Xin for free, so it is not too much of a loss to sell the price lower.

However, Tubro said with a bitter face: "But I can't come up with so much money now." ”

Liu Xin said very generously: "It doesn't matter, you can owe it first, just pay me interest." ”

The entire city was actually under the control of the Han army, and Liu Xin certainly didn't have to worry that Tuburo would flee or pay his debts. However, he also knew that in the past few years, the merchants in Mud City have been strapped for cash, which can be seen from the fact that Tubro has subleased his shop to others. Liu Xin gave the credit to Tubro so that the commerce of the city could be restored as soon as possible, so that it could become his bridgehead for the revitalization of the Silk Road.

Leaving Tubro's shop, Liu Xin wandered around again, and found anything valuable to him. Back at the barracks in the east of the city, Liu Xin raised his hand and said, "Wenhe, prepare paper and pen and repair a letter for me." ”