Liang Xiao held the fishing rod in his hand, sat cross-legged beside a poplar tree, concentrating on fishing.

The four Alpha sisters sat on the grass beside them, whispering while twisting their wet hair, giggling from time to time. These days are the easiest days since they followed Liang Xiao. They only walked about thirty miles a day, rested early and had a lot of time to rest.

Tu Niuer, Pang Shuo and the mercenaries were sitting idle under a tree not far away, and the two infantry were wrestling, fighting fiercely, and the onlookers were watching the excitement, and bursts of cheers burst into tears from time to time.

Huangfu Qi walked over quickly, greeted Alpha and the other two with a smile, and walked to Liang Xiao.

"grown ups?"

"Please sit down, father-in-law." Liang Xiao waved his hand, took a seat cushion and placed it beside him. Huangfu Qi followed suit, sat cross-legged, looked at the fish basket next to him, and saw that it was empty inside, he couldn't help but smile and said, "My lord's harvest today is not very good."

"The time has not come yet." Liang Xiao said: "What's wrong with my father-in-law in such a hurry to find me?"

"We are coming soon and Yanqi. I plan to buy some cattle and sheep from them, but I don't know how long it will take to go, so I have to tell you."

Liang Xiao did not rush to answer. Based on his understanding of Huangfu Qi, Huangfu Qi had something to say. He smiled and said softly: "Brother-in-law, thanks to your arrangements along the way, we will have no worries about food and clothing. In the future, we will never forget my father-in-law."

Huangfu Qi squeezed out a few smiles, but was not very sincere. "Sir, this is what I should do."

"How much spoils are there?"

"It has been used up. Most of it was given to the Puli King, and the rest were replaced by grain and cattle and sheep. Two thousand army, nearly four thousand horses. Although the journey was slow, most of the horses could be raised. The consumption was still very large. At this speed, I am afraid I would not be able to get through the chariot master."

Liang Xiao remained indifferent and asked slowly: "How much else is it enough?"

"This place is still 700 miles away from the Cheshi, and it takes more than twenty days to walk. Just based on diet, it costs at least about five million. With military pay, ten million is always needed."

"Can you get it?"

"I can get the fundraising, but everyone needs stockings. I'm afraid..."

"You go and borrow from them." Liang Xiao interrupted Huangfu Qi's words. "After fighting this battle, I will repay their money with the wine, gems and jade they need, and ensure that they will not lose money. Boss, do you believe me?"

Huangfu Qi's eyes lit up and he hurriedly said, "Since lord says that, how can I not believe it? Big merchants like Nie Yi and Guo Yu can trust them. What else can we worry about? Don't worry, so leave this matter to me."

Huangfu Qi stood up and was about to leave. Liang Xiao grabbed his arm. Seeing this, Huangfu Qi sat down again and whispered: "What are the instructions sir?"

"Brother-in-law, you have been doing business in the Western Regions for a long time. I must know my difficulties. Che Shi is the stronghold of the Huns in the Western Regions. If you cannot take Che Shi, I, Han people, will never have enough to speak in the Western Regions, and you will inevitably be exploited by the Huns. When I capture Che Shi, you can enjoy the best treatment like Nie Yi and others in Suye City, and then the profit will be several times higher than that of now."

Huangfu Qi nodded repeatedly. Isn’t it because of this purpose that he supports Liang Xiao so much? “Sir, I understand, I will do my best to raise military funds for you.” He paused and lowered his voice. “Sir, have Li Danghu and others taken a detour to attack Cheshi?”

"Don't be surprised by my fish, " Liang Xiao raised his fingers, blocked his lips, squeezed his eyes, and showed a smug smile.

Huangfu Qi knew it and left with a smile. Seeing him walking away, Tu Niuer walked over and spitted. "This profiteer is here to bargain again?"

Liang Xiao smiled disapprovingly. "He was a businessman, and he was in business. What's so strange about it? Niuer, are those Kucha people convinced?"

"How can you not accept it?" Tu Niu'er looked disdainful. "The big tiger sent a few mercenaries to deal with it before he even made a move. A Xiao, these people are not very strong. Could it be that they were suppressed by the Huns?"

"Isn't this good? Do you want them all to be tough?"

Tu Niuer was happy and looked around. "I think they are not as good as women. The women in Kucha are really good. They are not only good at singing and dancing, but also have strong waists and legs..."

Liang Xiao tilted his head, glanced at him, and burst into laughter. "Please be careful, don't go back to Chang'an and your waist is sore and your legs are weak, and you are disliked by Xijun."

"How can that be?" Tu Niuer touched his chin and looked full of yearning. "I hope that when I returned to Chang'an, I would make a contribution, be granted a marquis, and then bring a camel treasure and a beautiful concubine in Kucha. This life is enough."

"I will talk about it after I make meritorious service and title of a marquis. Zhenbao is not in a hurry. This time I will take you a concubine when I return to Kucha."

"really?"

"When did I lied to you?"

Tu Niuer was overjoyed, nodded repeatedly, and felt something was wrong, so he shook his head. When Alpha and the other four saw it, they couldn't help laughing out loud. "Brother Niuer didn't know what reward he had asked for, so he was so happy."

Liang Xiao patted Tu Niu'er and whispered: "Before we arrive at Cheshi, we must arouse their competitive spirit. The greater our momentum, the greater the chance of success. Take Cheshi before heavy snow. When the spring is coming tomorrow, even if we have firmly established our foothold, we will not have to pass through the territory of the Huns in the future."

"I understand." Tu Niuer thought for a while and said, "A Xiao, I thought about it, and in the end, Alpha and the others might have to take action. These Kucha people are different from Dayuan and Wusun people, and they cannot withstand the stimulation of women the most."

"Okay, you will step up your training in the past two days. I will urge them to practice arrows and try to adjust their condition to the best."

Tu Niuer nodded and left with confidence.

Liang Xiao continued to fish, but his mind kept calculating the progress of various people. Without a modern information network, he could not know the location of Li Danghu, Li Shuyun and others, so he could only speculate on the distance. He had been to Pu Leihai and could roughly guess, but he knew nothing about the secret way Dongfang Shuo said. He didn't even know whether Dongfang Shuo could convince Aruikan and whether Li Danghu could successfully reach north of the Tianshan Mountains.

He could only delay time as much as possible.

He felt sorry for the alienation between the upper and lower classes of the Han Dynasty.

After the founding of the Han Dynasty for 70 years, the flow of upper and lower classes was hindered. The merchants had already traveled through mountains and rivers to do business in the Western Regions, and had a deep understanding of the geography and humanities of the Western Regions, but this information could not be conveyed to the court. The court knew that the Yuezhi people actually came to the mouths of the Huns, so they had to say that they were terrible to hear them.

The Huns drove away the Yuezhi people and captured the Western Regions for more than 30 years. The court heard about the war and hurriedly sent Zhang Qian to travel west, but did not think about learning more about the specific situation of the Western Regions. Zhang Qian was captured by the Huns and stayed in the Huns for nearly ten years, and missed the opportunity.

In fact, even if Zhang Qian arrived in the Western Regions, he could not complete the mission. The Huns had already established a child servant commander in the Western Regions and were stationed in the Cheshi. If he followed the established route of Zhang Qian leaving Longxi and walking on the Hexi Corridor, he would be caught by the Cheshi people after he arrived in the Cheshi people and gave it to the Huns.

When he came last time, there were more than 400 riders around him, and they were fully armed knights, and the chariots didn't take him seriously. What's the use of Zhang Qian's more than 100 people?

To the south of the Tianshan Mountains is a large desert, and it is not suitable to station a large number of troops, especially for the nomadic Huns. Moreover, they were not interested in unified management. All they needed was the contribution of the countries, so they only stationed a child servant lieutenant in the Cheshi and did not send troops. Taking down the Cheshi, connecting Pulei in the East, and Wusun in the West, would be equivalent to closing the gate of the Huns to cross the Tianshan Mountains. From then on, they could not directly control the countries south of the Tianshan Mountains.

This was the result of repeated discussions between Liang Xiao, Dongfang Shuo and others, and it was also one of the reasons why Dongfang Shuo believed that Wusun would secretly indulge them.

The plan is very small and the risk is not small. The Cheshi Jiaohe City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Whether it can defeat Cheshi depends on whether Li Danghu can successfully detour behind Cheshi. The Xiongnu Right Xianwang, who was in charge of the Western Regions, led the main force of the right Xiongnu right in Dayuan, and now is the best time. When the Youxianwang returns to his base, Li Danghu will be in danger.

This is an opportunity with a short window period. Whether he can succeed depends on whether he can gain a foothold in the Western Regions.

Under the leisurely mask, Liang Xiao was extremely anxious, as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

Xiu Tusai, Li Guang raised his eyes and observed the figure on the horizon in the distance, with thick eyebrows frowned.

The main force of the Xiu Tu King's tribe came back. Two months after he swept the Xiu Tu King's tribe, the Huns came back and scouts appeared more and more frequently.

The cavalry's speed is fast, and it takes 20,000 miles back and forth. They finished it in more than two months, which was simply fast. This made Li Guang envious and relieved. Such a fast march would inevitably cause a large number of war horses to lose, and many soldiers would fall behind. In other words, he didn't need to face all the main forces of the Huns at once, he still had time.

Even so, he was still under great pressure. He had only more than 1,300 people. The reinforcements he asked the court for had not arrived for a long time.

"Fearless, when will the reinforcements from Longyou arrive?"

The chief secretary Dong Wuwei frowned. "Sir, I haven't received any news yet."

A trace of ominousness rose in Li Guang's heart. Li Jiao has been away for two months. Even if the court's reaction is slow, there should be news to be sent back. There is no news, which is probably not a good sign. He turned around, raised his eyes and looked at the horizon in the east.

Several black dots appeared in Qianli's eyes and flashed.

Li Guang was very happy. "Here, come."

The Changshi and others were not a clairvoyant. After watching for a long time, they didn't see anything. They only knew that they would smile foolishly. Li Guang couldn't wait, so he walked down the city wall, jumped onto the war horse, and ran away. Soon, he saw Li Jiao, who was covered in dust, and an arrogant eunuch with a white face without any beard.

Li Jiao tied the reins, her face was gloomy, without a trace of joy, but instead felt indescribable ashamed and angry.

"Aweng, the court ordered you to rush to Chang'an immediately, go to the court magistrate, and ask about the crime of prosecution."

The smile on Li Guang's face immediately froze on his face, and his whole body was cold. The eunuch's originally lazy eyes turned shiny, staring at Li Guang with eyes fixed on his eyes, with a hint of sneer on the corner of his mouth, like a hissing poisonous snake.

Li Guang sighed to the sky

(To be continued.)

ps: Happy New Year, brothers and sisters, please guarantee your monthly ticket!^_^
Chapter completed!