Li Mi seemed to know what Liu Ziqiu was thinking. He ignored the arrows shot by Tuoba Qianyu and Mu Duoli and just chased him wildly. They said that two legs could not outrun four legs, but Li Mi was never left behind by the snow leopard.
, there were many soldiers risking their lives to block his progress along the way, otherwise they would have caught up with Liu Ziqiu long ago.
Liu Ziqiu was worried about hurting the people in the city, but he did not dare to leave Xiyuan. He just rode his horse in a circle along the lakeside. The medicine Li Mi took seemed to be much more powerful than the one Li Xuanba took back then. The time for the three sticks of incense passed.
His speed and strength were not reduced at all.
Soon, Liu Ziqiu circled back to Qiyin Courtyard. From a distance, he saw Zhang Zhongjian charging towards this direction with a Mo Dao. Liu Ziqiu once again fell into a situation where he was attacked from both sides. It was too late to say, but it was too soon. Liu Ziqiu was not as careful as he could.
Thinking about it, as soon as he tightened the reins, the snow leopard rose into the air and jumped over Zhang Zhongjian's head. When he looked back on the horse, he saw Zhang Zhongjian holding the Modao in his hand and heading straight for Li Mi.
However, Li Mi was already red-eyed. When he saw someone blocking his way, he roared angrily and slashed with his knife.
The two knives intersected, and sparks flew everywhere. With a cry, Zhang Zhongjian's Mo Dao flew out of his hand. However, Li Mi's force did not decrease, and the knife made an arc and went straight to Zhang Zhongjian's throat.
At this moment, Liu Ziqiu had already turned over and came back to kill him, holding a Mo Dao in his hand. The Snow Leopard Man stood up, holding the Mo Dao high, and struck Li Mi head-on. Li Mi immediately abandoned Zhang Zhongjian and raised his sword to meet Liu Ziqiu. Liu Ziqiu
With the power of man and horse, and the momentum of a galloping war horse, the power has been exerted to the extreme. This time the two swords intersected, and there was only a "dang" sound, and the two swords were broken into four pieces. The snow leopard hissed, and the four swords were cut into four pieces.
His hooves moved and he stepped back again and again, until he knelt down by the lake. Over there, Li Mi also took more than ten steps back and sat down on the ground.
Li Mi struggled to get up, but his limbs could no longer exert any strength. The soldiers on the left and right swarmed up and held Li Mi firmly down. This time, they refused to give Li Mi another chance and directly cut off his hand tendons and legs.
The tendons made him completely a useless person.
Liu Ziqiu also jumped off the horse, but did not pay attention to Li Mi first. He only looked at Zhang Zhongjian coldly and asked: "Why did you help me just now?"
Zhang Zhongjian stared at Li Mi, who was as brave as a tiger just now. He did not answer Liu Ziqiu's words, but asked in surprise: "Why is he doing this?"
Liu Ziqiu sneered and said: "It's just a medicine jar. Once the medicine's properties expire, it will become a useless person!"
Zhang Zhongjian was stunned for a while, then suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed: "That's it, that's it! Zhang did something wrong again!"
Liu Ziqiu asked curiously: "What's wrong with you?"
Zhang Zhongjian waved his hand and said: "Zhang only thought that he concealed his strength at first, and this is his true ability. Who can defeat this kind of people? As long as he does not die, you and I will both die at his hands! Who would have expected him?
Once the medicine wears off, you are so vulnerable. If I had known this, Zhang should have taken advantage of the chaos and killed you first!"
Liu Ziqiu laughed loudly and said: "Brother Zhang refuses to use words to trick me. He is indeed a hero of his generation! Now we can have a fair fight!"
But Zhang Zhongjian shook his head and said: "Your Majesty escaped this disaster, and the world will definitely have nothing to do with Zhang! Zhang has nothing to ask for, but only one thing from your Majesty!"
When Liu Ziqiu saw that Zhang Zhongjian had just told the truth, he felt sympathy for him. He couldn't help but nodded and said, "Say it!"
Zhang Zhongjian mused: "Zhang returned from his artistic career in the mountains and heard people say that your majesty sent a big ship overseas. Zhang knew that he was unable to compete with your majesty for this beautiful country, but he asked your majesty to give him a big ship.
From now on, I have fled overseas and will never return to the Central Plains!"
Liu Ziqiu was silent for a long time, and then said: "It's okay to give you a boat, but why are you doing this?"
Zhang Zhongjian laughed loudly and said: "Zhang has a free and easy nature and refuses to be inferior to others! I once heard someone say that there are countless desert islands overseas. Zhang is not talented and would like to take dozens of desert islands to establish his own country!"
At this time, Mu Duoli and Tuoba Qianyu had already rushed over and advised in unison: "This person has evil intentions in assassinating the emperor. He is going to kill the nine tribes. You must not let the tiger return to the mountain!"
Liu Ziqiu was not a mother-in-law person, so he shook his head and said: "Forget it, since Brother Zhang has this problem, I will give you a big ship! However, Brother Zhang must prepare the sailors himself."
Zhang Zhongjian breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty. The Zhang family has a huge fortune and a large number of servants, so Your Majesty does not need to worry about it."
A banquet for New Science scholars ended hastily due to the assassinations of Zhang Zhongjian and Li Mi. However, being able to capture Li Mi and send Zhang Zhongjian away was an acceptable result for Liu Ziqiu.
…
Spring came and went, flowers bloomed and faded, and two years passed in the blink of an eye. The Han Dynasty was at peace all over the world, the people lived in peace, and there was a peaceful atmosphere. The fleets sent overseas also sent back large quantities of gold and jewelry from time to time, enriching the Han Dynasty's treasury. Wheat
The methods of growing and eating food have also been further promoted. Coupled with the good weather, the Han Dynasty has achieved bumper harvests for two consecutive years, and the food crisis has been temporarily alleviated. Four relatively independent tribal groups have also been formed in Mobei, each of which is in close contact with the Han Dynasty.
trade, exchanging cattle, sheep and horses for cloth, silk, ironware and tea bricks from the Central Plains.
Among these measures, Liu Ziqiu is most proud of establishing stable border trade. In the past, the isolation policy could prevent the nomadic people in the north from obtaining some necessary living and production materials, leaving them in a state of poverty and backwardness for a long time. However, those materials were not available in
It is indispensable in the life of nomadic people. When they cannot obtain it through normal channels, plundering by force becomes their only way. As time goes by, border conflicts continue. And when border trade is opened, both sides take what they have.
This naturally greatly reduces the chance of conflict. There is another more important reason for this situation, and that is that the powerful combat effectiveness of the Han army greatly intimidated these nomadic peoples, making them afraid to provoke trouble easily.
If any country does not have strong military power to support it, the peace it achieves can only be temporary. Of course, the moderate national characteristics of the Han people determine that no matter how powerful their military power is, they will have little impact on neighboring countries.
Aggressive. Therefore, the Silk Road to the West and the Maritime Silk Road newly expanded by Liu Ziqiu sending Chen Leng can always remain open.
However, the surrounding areas of the Han Dynasty were not peaceful. The war between the Persian Sasan Dynasty and the Byzantine Empire lasted for another two years. Different from the initial devastating offensive of the Sasan Dynasty, the two sides have now entered a stalemate stage. Liu Ziqiu and
If you are not familiar with this period of world history, it is naturally impossible to know the final outcome of this war in advance. However, Liu Ziqiu has a large number of spies planted by the Persian and Byzantine Empires, and can obtain a steady stream of intelligence. And his men also
Gathering a large number of talents, detailed analysis and inference can be carried out.
According to the intelligence coming back from the west, the treasury of the Sassanid Dynasty was becoming increasingly empty. Some precious treasures handed down from ancient times were taken out by Khoslao from the treasury and sold to Han merchants in exchange for the horses, armor and food that the Persian army urgently needed.
As a result, many precious works of art from Persia appeared on the market of the Han Dynasty, and a considerable part of them came from the palace of the Sasan Dynasty. Moreover, there were more and more slaves from Persia, and almost all wealthy families could use Orchid.
With the war horses, soldiers, and food purchased from the Han Dynasty, Khosrow II finally organized a large army and prepared for another expedition.
However, the seemingly powerful Sasan Dynasty was already in turmoil. This was the last force that Khoslao could use. If this expedition failed to succeed, he would no longer have the strength to organize another decent army. Because,
He sold all the more valuable treasures in the palace warehouse.
On the other hand, the Byzantine Empire was also struggling to support itself. In the early days of the war, Byzantium was torn apart, which gave the Sassanid Dynasty an opportunity. But after experiencing painful lessons, the major forces in Byzantium finally put aside their disputes and came together again to unite.
The Byzantine Empire was certainly stronger than before, but so many years of war had also caused huge damage to the Byzantine economy. Many people were starved of food. Based on the domestic situation, Byzantium could only sustain itself for another year at most.
A large-scale battle.
Both sides of the war have reached the most critical moment. No matter who wins or loses this time, there will be a result. The loser will never be able to stand up again, and the winner will become the new overlord of the West. The task Liu Ziqiu gave to the cabinet is to analyze this time.
What kind of results will there be between the Shan Dynasty and the Byzantine Empire, and the impact these results may have on the Han Dynasty.
There are only three possibilities. One is that the Sasanian Dynasty finally wins, and Persia annexes the Byzantine Empire. The second is that the Byzantine Empire wins, and the Sasanian Dynasty ceases to exist. The third is that both sides fight to the death, and temporarily cease their activities. After several years of rest,
, maybe the war will start again.
No matter which of these three results occurs, it is not very beneficial to the Han Dynasty. The first result and the second result, whether it is a unified Persian Empire or the Byzantine Empire, these two empires have extremely strong
Both aggressiveness and expansion are very likely to advance eastward and compete with the Han Dynasty for the Western Region and Mobei. The third result is only temporary peace, and the war will reignite, and the first and second results will eventually occur.
Moreover, their continuous campaigns have had an impact on the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty has always been short of precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper, and the domestic demand for these metals is huge. In addition to the mineral deposits mined by Chen Leng who was sent overseas, more than 30% of them still rely on trade between the East and the West. And year after year
The war not only threatened the Silk Road, but also made these two powerful countries impoverished. How much money can you make by doing business with a poor person?