The corpse had dozens of feather arrows inserted all over its body, especially one arrow on the face that went straight to the back of the head. Red and white blood flowed all over the face. The death state was very terrifying. But since Baguli dared to be a guide, Obviously he has seen a lot of the world, and he will definitely not be frightened by a corpse with a tragic death condition. Liu Xin couldn't help but look at him suspiciously and asked: "Do you know this person?"
Baguli waved his hands in panic and said: "No, no..."
Liu Xin's face sank and she shouted: "Tell the truth!"
Baguli couldn't help but shiver and said tremblingly: "Sir, this person seems to be a neighbor of Xiaomin."
Liu Xin pondered and said: "You are from Shule, so he is also from Shule? Since he lives next to you, you should know what he does for a living on weekdays."[
"He is a soldier in the Shule Army." Baguli did not dare to hide it, so he had to tell the truth. Suddenly he knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Xin, "I hope you will be kind and righteous and don't be angry with Shule." The common people, I don’t want to kowtow to you.”
Liu Xin said sternly: "Get up. Every injustice has its owner, and every debt has its owner. Liu is not a person who commits indiscriminate killings. However, his identity is somewhat suspicious. Why did the soldiers of the Shule Army suddenly appear here?" , and also became a horse bandit?"
While he was talking, there was another sound of horns from the watchtower in the south, which was obviously another horse bandit coming from that way. Throughout the night, the horse bandits appeared in the east and west again until the fifth watch. After many days, it gradually calmed down. Although the horse bandits harassed them all night long, the Han army was well-trained and did not panic at all. Those who should be vigilant and those who should rest still rested. The horse bandits did not get any opportunity to take advantage of. Instead, they were killed and wounded by the sharp arrows of the Han army.
The sky was bright and the field of view gradually widened, and there was no need to worry about an ambush by the horse bandits. Wei Yan once again led a team of cavalry to patrol around the camp. It was calm everywhere and no one was seen. There were still many arrows and arrows left on the ground around There were blood stains, but except for the corpses and two injured people he dragged back last night, there was no dead body in the field. Obviously, as Liu Xin expected, the horse bandits had taken away their injured or dead accomplices.
Liu Xin thought for a while and said, "Take people to search the deserts on both sides!"
It is already dawn now. If someone is walking on the road with a group of corpses, it will be particularly eye-catching. Therefore, it is impossible for these horse bandits to take their dead companions with them. The only possibility is to hide the corpses in the nearby sand dunes. Although these sand dunes look exactly the same, people who live in the desert all year round can always distinguish them clearly. They can wait until dark to retrieve the bodies of their companions. Sure enough, after a while, a group of cavalry sent to the south They rushed back and found more than ten bodies behind a sand dune.
These people were also killed by random arrows. As expected, as Ba Guli said, there were people from the Western Regions, Huns, and even a Han. But what surprised Liu Xin was that they did not fight with these horse bandits last night. In a close encounter, two horse bandits died after their throats were cut with a sharp knife.
Jia Xu said in shock and anger: "These horse bandits are really cruel, they will not even let go of their injured companions!"
Liu Xin was awakened by Jia Xu's words and finally understood. After the horse bandits were hit by arrows, they were not dead for a while, but they were unable to move. In order to avoid dragging everyone down, the horse bandits simply killed these two accomplices who were seriously injured but still survived. Liu Xin was awakened by Jia Xu's words. Xin couldn't help but frown and said: "It seems that the first thing to do after rebuilding the Western Region Protectorate is to eliminate these horse bandits."
At this time, Baguli also finished inspecting the corpses, raised his hands and said, "Returning to your Excellency, I have just inspected them. These people are probably Black Whirlwind's men."
After a while, a group of cavalry that went to the desert in the north also came back, but found nothing.
Liu Xin waved his hand and said: "No matter where the horse bandits come from, one day I will wipe them out! Send the order, break out the stronghold, and set off!"
Diao Chan and the others also walked out of the camp, all with red eyes. It was obvious that they had not slept peacefully that night. Although Liu Xin repeatedly emphasized that the camp was absolutely safe, the women were always extra careful for fear of something happening. Surprisingly, the twelve guards in particular clenched their weapons and patrolled the area around the camp vigilantly, completely forgetting Liu Xin's order to "take turns to guard and maintain energy."
Liu Xin saw that all these female guards looked nervous and looked tired, and she couldn't help but shook her head. Without a good rest, it was impossible to do a good job as a guard just like this. It seems that they must be trained more rigorously in the future. But now it was clear that we didn't have the time to kill them, so we had to send another thirty Flying Tiger guards to temporarily take over their guard duties.
After this episode, it was smooth sailing and no more dangerous situations were encountered. That night, the team came to an oasis. Suddenly they saw a large group of people appearing in the village, and the people there were very nervous. Li explained the situation to the village chief, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The patriarch was an old man with white beard and hair. He strode out to welcome him, pressed his left hand on his chest, bowed deeply towards Liu Xin, and said, "Dear guests from afar, Amufan welcomes you."
Along the way, Liu Xin learned a lot about the customs and customs of the Western Regions from Ba Guli, and knew the most solemn etiquette performed by this patriarch, and Amufan was the name of this patriarch. Liu Xin followed suit and also learned from the old man. The clan leader returned the gift, and took a wooden tray from the guard, which contained two pieces of exquisite silk, and said: "Clan Chief Amufan, Liu came from afar and didn't prepare any gifts, just a small thing, but I still want to ask the clan leader." Don’t dislike it.”
Amufan took the wooden plate, his eyes suddenly flashed with excitement, and he murmured: "This is silk. I haven't seen such good silk in many years."
Liu Xin laughed and said: "Old patriarch, Liu intends to restart the trade route from Han Dynasty to the West. You will see a lot of silk like this by then, but I don't know if the village and the people around it will welcome it." [
Amufan suddenly looked fascinated and said with a smile: "When I was young, there was an endless stream of caravans passing through the village every day. Countless silks were transported to the west, and countless jade were transported to the Han Dynasty. As a result, the villagers had a lot of wealth. Benefit. If you really want to restart this trade route that has been discontinued for ten years, I will naturally welcome it!"
Liu Xin laughed and said: "Since we are not unpopular, then Liu will spend the whole night making trouble in the village."
Amufan said with joy on his face: "Distinguished guests, please come into the village!"
The villagers were very enthusiastic about the guests from afar. The patriarch led the elders in the village to present all kinds of fresh fruits and wine to Liu Xin. The young girls danced cheerfully. Liu Xin gave them some in return. silk and tea leaves, and taught them how to make tea.
Drinking sweet grape wine and enjoying the exotic songs and dances, Liu Xin said with a smile: "Old patriarch, Liu encountered horse bandits on the way here. I wonder if they usually invade the village?"
Amufan patted his chest and said: "Please rest assured, sir, the horse bandits will never dare to attack the guests living in the village. In the desert, they cannot survive without the village."
Liu Xin nodded thoughtfully: "So, those horse bandits will come to the village often?"
Amufan said sheepishly: "Actually, many horse bandits turned into bandits because they couldn't survive. In the past, the villagers could live a good life relying on the caravans that came and went. But now there are no caravans. Passing here, the grain harvested from the ground cannot feed these many people at all, and sometimes we need to rely on horse bandits for support. As long as they don't harm the villagers, the government won't bother to care."
No wonder horse bandits are rampant in the Western Regions today. It turns out that these horse bandits and the villagers each get what they need. After the horse bandits rob property, they always need a place to get rid of it. After getting the money, they also need a place to have fun. These are the opposite. It promotes the economic development of the village and enables the villagers to maintain their lives.
Liu Xin felt confident. In fact, here, just like Jiangnan and other places, there are only a few extremely cruel guys. As long as most people can live their lives, who is willing to be a bandit? In order to solve the problem of horse bandits in the Western Regions , it is still necessary to take the path of simultaneous suppression and appeasement.
The so-called thirty-six countries in the Western Regions are actually oases in the desert. While the local people graze cattle and sheep, they also plant some crops. However, neither cattle, sheep nor crops can meet the needs of the people. But in the Western Regions It also has unique conditions. It is located at an important node of East-West trade. The caravans that come and go bring a variety of rich commodities, and also bring considerable wealth to the local people. Business can be said to be the survival of the local people. Base.
However, since the Han Dynasty's Protectorate or Changshi Mansion in the Western Regions was gradually abandoned, the Han merchants who lost protection were struggling in the Western Regions. The local government would impose exorbitant taxes on them, and some powerful Hu merchants would bully the market and buy and sell by force. , over time, fewer and fewer Han people are willing to do business here. Similarly, trafficking goods from the Western Regions to other parts of the Han Dynasty must pass through Liangzhou. In recent years, Liangzhou has become powerful and powerful, coupled with the constant wars in other states, Hu merchants They were reluctant to traffic goods to the Han Dynasty. This eventually led to the decline of this prosperous trade route.
After thinking about this, Liu Xin relaxed and picked up her wine glass to enjoy the singing and dancing. The dancing women from the Western Regions were plump and voluptuous, with waists twisting like water snakes.
There were no tables and chairs in the village. Everyone was sitting on the floor, with a blanket spread in front of them. There were many fruits on the blanket. Liu Xin naturally sat in the middle. From his perspective, the breasts of the women looked even more turbulent. , when a few long legs are lifted up, you can even see the spring under the skirt.
Amufan seemed to notice where Liu Xin was looking, and suddenly smiled and said: "Sir, there is nothing valuable in a small village like ours, but there is one thing that you will definitely like."