The most purchased weapons in the Empire by these people in Central Asia were because they found that the weapons of the Eastern Empire were really inexpensive, and Tapritis and Angle told all the merchants that they would buy the weapons purchased by the merchants in the Eastern Empire at least ten times the price.

Ten times the price is not too high, but considering the envoys and merchants of various countries who came to the Eastern Empire this time, they are in the same camp as Parthia and Bactria, and they are more or less to sell a little face.

In addition, Teprati and Anglie also promised that this time the merchants who helped to purchase weapons would receive the relevant certificates, and that they would receive the best protection when they passed through the borders of Parthia and Bactria in the future, and that they would be treated as favorably as possible in terms of taxes.

In the future, the merchants were well-thought-a-headed, and knew that the profits of this long journey could only be said to be mediocre, but there was no better promise than to be protected by the army and preferential treatment in taxes.

This time, the various envoys and merchants in Central Asia purchased not a small number of weapons, directly including the surrounding cities, Nanling was completely purchased on the market, and even they placed orders with the imperial military industry, and later purchased a batch from the government, so that six or seven out of ten of the carriages on their way home were loaded with weapons.

"No way, we have no way of knowing which goods from the Eastern Empire will be popular, and we don't have examples to refer to, so ......"

"Like you said, we don't know what will sell after it's shipped back. I don't know how much profit there will be. The purchase of weapons can have a fixed ten-fold profit, which is a good deal for us, at least there is no risk in such a transaction. ”

"It is necessary to befriend the ruler. Isn't it? ”

"Of course!"

If they had bought something back from the Eastern Empire, it would be enough for Parthia or Bactria to arm an army of 50,000 men, all armed with iron weapons.

An army of 50,000 may not be much for the empire, but for the countries of Central Asia, an army of 50,000 is no less. Most importantly, both in the Mediterranean region and in Central Asia. Even in distant Europa or Africa, there are no more than 10,000 people armed with iron weapons in any country at this stage, and all countries in the world are basically still using bronze weapons.

In fact, that's exactly what happened. It's not that iron-smelting technology hasn't appeared in various countries, it's that the cost of building iron weapons is a bit high under the immature status quo of smelting technology, and iron weapons are generally used as weapons for high-ranking generals or nobles in various countries. It is difficult for ordinary soldiers to popularize considering the relationship of cost.

"We can only do four or four. The remaining two percent will be divided equally among the countries. ”

"Twenty-seven thousand eight hundred seventy-five? Considering that the sword is the largest, it can arm about 15,000 troops, and the rest of the weapons can be used as replacements. ”

"It's a pity, I negotiated with their Hongru Pavilion and wanted to buy 50,000 weapons at one time, but I didn't expect to be refused."

"Huh? I wanted to buy 30,000 at once, but I was also rejected. What the bureaucrat named Jingju said was that orders could be placed. But there needs to be a cycle. I finally placed the order and paid the deposit. What about you? ”

"I placed an order for 100,000. I also paid a deposit. ”

"So much!?"

"No, no, no, don't you think it's too much? We don't know how long the war with the Seleucids will last, and we always have to be well prepared. In addition, my condition is that the order quantity is huge, and the shipping will be handled by them, but I need to pay for the shipping. ”

"They promised?"

"Why don't you say yes? They could thus receive an additional four-drachma of 150,000. ”

The four drachmas are currently the currency of most countries in the Mediterranean and Central Asia, both in gold and silver, and the one hundred and fifty-four drachmas that Angle says are silver coins.

Bactria, to which Anglie belongs, directly borders the Western Regions, and he dared to propose that the Imperial side be in charge of transportation, considering that the Imperial army had already extended its hand to Usun, and how far was Usun from Bactria? It was about 14,000 miles away, and he believed that the empire would not refuse, and he was indeed not rejected.

"Is it made all at once and then shipped, or is it delivered in batches? Also, you just paid the deposit, they didn't collect the full funds, will it be shipped? ”

"When I go back this time, I need to escort the funds back to the Eastern Empire immediately. Then, I will wait in Nanling, and the next time I will follow their convoy back to the mainland again. ”

"I think there's something wrong with that. Escorting 100,000 weapons, the carriages used are at least more than 300, and the transportation cost you pay is about 75,000 yuan, and they seem to have suffered a loss in terms of cost performance? ”

Nowadays, there is no mechanical power, and long-distance transportation relies on animal power, while horses, mules, etc., need to eat, and people need to be consumed in supplies.

"Two or three hundred carriages require at least four hundred coachmen, and considering that there are so many city-states in the Western Regions that need to pass through on the road, the security situation can be imagined, and armed personnel will inevitably be needed to escort them. If you add the escort of armed men, the number of transports will not be less than 10,000, and most of them will be cavalry. Do you calculate, with the consumption of people eating and chewing horses, will your 154,000 drachmas be enough to bear those expenses? ”

"For them, the goods that carried me were incidental, and they also needed to transport supplies to Wusun."

"Usun is more than 13,000 miles from Bactria."

Angliel originally thought that he was taking advantage of the boss, but now he felt that something was wrong when he was reminded by Ta Plate.

Yes, even if there is enough profit in 100,000 weapons, the empire is obviously making a loss-making transaction in terms of transporting goods. Unless there is some purpose in the world, it is impossible to trade at a loss, and Anglie should think carefully about what purpose the empire has.

Perhaps, they wanted to open a trade route. After all, they know that we are at war with Seleucus and want a long-term order from us? ”

"Maybe......"

To say that the empire wants to send troops to Central Asia, Ta Pilates feels that it is not impossible. But at this stage, the most important thing for the empire is to remove the threat of the nomadic tribes of the steppe, and the war between the empire and the steppe people does not know how long it will last, even if the empire sets its sights on Central Asia, at least after the threat of the steppe people is lifted.

A war with a nomad is not something that can be brought to fruition in three or five years, and if the nomadic tribe does not fight a decisive battle with the empire, it is definitely not too uncommon for the two sides to fight for decades. Even the Hundred Years' War would not come as a surprise at all.

No country likes to start a two-front war, especially the countries closest to the empire in Central Asia, they have to walk tens of thousands of miles, and the road is basically Gobi and swamps. With so many city-states in the Western Regions still far between, the chances of an empire invading Central Asia at this stage are so small that it is almost impossible.

"So, we don't understand the thinking of the Imperials."

"Hmm."

"Perhaps, they really want to gain friendship from you. After all, Bactria is the only way for the Empire to enter our region. With your friendship, many things can be made easier. ”

"This is the first time that the state has acted in a sale, and Jingju also clearly told me that the next time it will not be such a price."

"Really? That's good. ”

The ranks of the legations followed the trail of the Wehrmacht cavalry, and wherever the Wehrmacht cavalry walked, the turf on the ground was basically trampled by an unknown number of horses' hooves, and a witty road appeared on the steppe.

From Shentuze to the west, you need to walk about 600 miles of grassland flatland, passing through two large swampy areas. Then you will arrive at a large lake called Juyanze.

More than 200 miles to the north of Juyanze is the mobile royal court of the Huns, that is, the Junji Mountain Range. During the Han Dynasty, Juyanze was the Liangzhou of the Western Han Dynasty, and now the area around it has just been incorporated into the territory of the empire, and Lü Zhe also included the surrounding area into the administrative scope of Liangzhou County.

In the original history, the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and the administrative unit of the empire had some improvements, but the local administrative counties were still inherited from the Great Qin, but it was not that there was no administrative unit of "state", but it was still being planned, and the administrative unit of the state only appeared on the Lingnan side, and it had not been re-planned for the national territory.

Because the road was all flat terrain, it took the envoy to walk more than 500 miles in five days, and when they approached within 100 miles of Juyanze, they encountered the troops specially left behind by the Wehrmacht.

"What? From this side, there will be cavalry of the Hu people along the way? ”

"Well, this place is not too far from Junji Mountain, and the time we have been in control of this place is too short, and there is no way to completely control it, and there are often small groups of Hu cavalry wandering."

The person who spoke to Han Shin was Cao Shen.

The cavalry led by Cao Shen seems to have also been engaged, and a special place was set aside in the camp to house the wounded.

"When winter came, Ji Tuo shrank his forces back to Junji Mountain, and our scouts ventured into the vicinity of Junji Mountain to investigate, and found that there were no less than 120,000 Hu people gathered near Junji Mountain."

"What did Wei Zhonglang (will) say?"

"There are no additional orders, just a reminder that you may encounter Hu cavalry along the way."

"Okay, got it. We will be stationed here for a period of time to make the necessary combat preparations. ”

"Feel free, it's just that those aliens can't go near the Wehrmacht camp."

"Nature."

After exchanging information, Han Xin went to find Yu Fanjun and asked Yu Fanjun to send scouts to explore the surrounding area.

"Huh? In other words, the first battle of the firearms soldiers may have been fought in the periphery? ”

"Yes, the Wehrmacht clearly informed that there were Hu cavalry cruising around, and they did not invest too many troops to encircle and suppress the Hu cavalry, they should use so many goods from the envoy regiment to attract the Hu cavalry to attack."

"It's really empathetic, at least we don't have to just patronize the road, we can compete with the Hu people."

Ju Yanze walked four or five hundred miles to the northwest to the so-called Western Regions, and after entering the Western Regions, he walked close to the territory of Wusun for thousands of miles.

The current situation in the Western Regions is that the fugitives who migrated from west to east are mixed with the local natives of the Western Regions, and some of the two sides live in peace, and more often the natives and those fugitives are caught in endless melee.

In the southwest territory of Wusun, there is Mao Dun with a group of people who are wreaking havoc, and the arrival of winter has made Mao Dun somewhat restrained, but it has not completely stopped the invasion of the Wusun tribe. In addition, Maudun did not do his best to harass Wusun, he also sent troops to operate throughout the Western Regions, usually against some small city-states and tribes, and also captured enough slaves to ensure that he had enough manpower under his command.

"It's a good idea to have a touch with the cavalry under the command of Ji Tu before entering the Western Regions."

"Hmm. The Wehrmacht will not allow too large Hu cavalry to run wild, so the number of Hu cavalry we are about to encounter will not be more than 5,000. This amount is just right for a firearms fight. ”

"Or do you need to communicate with the chief and deputy envoys, and also contact the surrounding national defense forces to make necessary countermeasures?"

"Naturally, it is necessary to communicate with the chief and deputy envoys, and as for liaising with the national defense forces, there is no need to respond, I believe that the generals and colonels of the unified army know it in their hearts."

"That's right, if we go to make contact, it seems that we don't have enough confidence in the Wehrmacht."

After a short communication, Han Xin said goodbye to Yu Fanjun, and he found Liu Bang and informed him that there were cavalry under the command of the little prince of the Huns, Ji Tu, cruising around.

"What does Brother Han mean?"

"There are too many wagons loaded with goods in our team, and the surrounding area is relatively close to the Huns' mobile Wangting Junji Mountain, even if we don't encounter the Hu people now, we will encounter them after all. This time, it was the Wehrmacht who cooperated to set a trap, and there would not be much danger, and we also needed a battle to run in the cooperation of the convoy. ”

"That's the fight! Although Brother Han beat and let go of the fight, he needed to tell Lao Liu directly what cooperation he needed. ”

"Please also communicate with the envoys in Central Asia, and stay where you are when there is a war, and don't run around."

"Hehe, Brother Han is disgusted with those aliens getting in the way?"

"No, not exactly. The main force of this battle is the firearms soldiers, although it cannot be completely secret, but those aliens cannot be too close, and they can only rely on guesswork if they are far away. We don't worry about them guessing, as long as they don't get a glimpse of the full picture. ”

Liu Bang didn't understand why he wanted to do things that he wanted to cover, but those were not things he should consider.

Inform the gang of people in Central Asia about the possibility of an attack, what their reaction is Han Xin's military warriors on Han Xin's side actually don't care so much, they have already invested in preparing for the war.

They stayed in Juyanze for two days, until the scouts found a trace of about 3,000 Hu cavalry, and the envoys set out to continue westward.

This time the firearms were no longer in the vans, they were marching on foot. The artillery was also not loaded in vans, but was unloaded and pulled forward by horses.

"The Wehrmacht is more than thirty miles away from us, after all, the Hu people also have sentry horses, and if they are close, the Hu people will not dare to attack."

"Hmm......" (To be continued.) )