Chapter 443: Broken Leaf Fengyun (8)

In September of the fifth year of Dazhi, the Battle of Shattered Leaf began to enter a low period. There was no large-scale war between the two sides, but only carried out some small fights in warm-up. Dashi launched heavy catapults every few days as usual to bombard Shattered Leaf City. The Tang army became more and more skilled in dealing with Dashi's turbulent bombs. As soon as the heavy catapult of Dashi's army was launched, the Tang army immediately retreated, allowing the Dashi's turbulent bomb to burn and no longer extinguished it. The Tang army's stone cannons were hidden in stone bunkers, not afraid of burning, and occasionally they would fight back one or two thunder bombs to respond to the Dashi's attack. Once the Dashi's army was mobilized on a large scale, the Tang army would immediately extinguish the fire and wait for the battle.

The eighty thousand troops mobilized from Egypt also arrived at Saiye. The Great Veterans were once again strong. Despite this, the Great Veterans never launched a large-scale attack. Time passed day by day. Except for the siege of Saiye, the rest of the places were slowly relaxed, and merchants who were traveling around the world appeared again on the Silk Road.

At the end of September, a caravan from the east arrived at Bakhan. This caravan was the Kangguo caravan where Cui Yao was. Due to the outbreak of the war, their camels were requisitioned by the military. Everyone was trapped in a small town called Luohan for two months. Not only were they, but the town was filled with merchants who were also suffering from the same experience as them. They were short of food and drinking water, and there was also the danger of being caught and joining the army at any time. They were like groundhogs in winter, guarding their goods all day long, and they did not dare to walk a step around. Two months made them miserable.

It was not until mid-September that the caravan leader Muta got more than a hundred camels from a transport team and continued to travel west with their goods. On that day, the caravan finally saw the low walls of Thundersai City from afar.

The capital of Pakhanna is a medium-sized city with a population of less than 30,000. Because it is far away from the central states of Zhaowu such as Kangguo and Anguo, Pakhanna can only be regarded as a small country in the nine countries of Zhaowu. The domestic ethnic groups are not entirely Sogdians. Tuqishi people account for more than half, but Pakhanna is closer to Anxi, and its dependence on the Tang Dynasty in history has been closer.

The caravan slowly moved on the business road, which was close to the capital, and there were many pedestrians coming and going, mostly shepherds who went to the city to buy and sell goods. Their caravan was quite conspicuous on the business road. From time to time, a passing Dashi Patrol Army came to ask questions, but they quickly let them go and drove away. Soon, a long grain transport team came towards him, stretching for more than ten miles and occupying the entire business road. The merchants dodged to both sides to make a way out.

Seeing that the investigation was strict, Muta whispered to Cui Yao while the person was not paying attention: "Mr. Cui, from now on, you must try to speak as little as possible, and I will deal with everything."

Although the leader of the caravan is still Muta, this caravan is no longer the caravan last year. They have already traveled back and forth twice. This caravan is composed of nearly a hundred other scattered Sogdian merchants. Therefore, except for the old businessman Muta, who knew Cui Yao's true identity, no other merchant knew him, thinking that he was just a small businessman who was joining in Saiye.

Cui Yao pretended to be a Tuqishi merchant. Although his face was a bit dissatisfied, he was tall and wearing Tuqishiren's traditional costumes, able to speak Turkic language, and was very familiar with Muta, so the merchants ignored his idiots.

Cui Yao nodded and smiled slightly, "Uncle Muta should call me Ujir!"

"Okay!" Muta smiled, and pointed to the city of Thundersay ahead and said, "You will be at your destination when you enter the city. I know a guard from the palace. You can ask him to bring a letter to you."

"Thank you, Uncle Muta, but after entering the city, I will not bother you."

As soon as Cui Yao finished speaking, a noise suddenly came from the front. A businessman stepped forward and said nervously: "Uncle, the army of the Saman family is here. They are going to check the spies."

Muta's face changed drastically. Both the Dashi Army and the local army in Bahan were relatively tolerant of the caravans, but the private soldiers of the Saman family were very difficult to deal with. They often framed the merchants' money in order to blackmail the merchants. It would be fine if they just blackmailed them, but the problem was that if they found out that Cui Yao was an oriental face, they would definitely point out his spy, and they were afraid that they would make a mistake come true.

Thinking of this, the sweat from Muta's forehead flowed down, and he waved his hand, "You go first! Ask everyone to give them some money and just send them a pass."

The merchant turned around and Muta said to Cui Yao worriedly: "It's bad now. The dogs of the Saman family's vicious eyes are probably not able to hide them."

Cui Yao reacted very quickly, and he immediately said, "Or, I will change to my uncle's entourage. It is normal for the uncle to come from Chang'an, and it is also normal for him to hire Han people as entourages."

Muta pondered for a moment, and the current situation was indeed the only way. He immediately activated the camel, "Let's go! Let's go to the end to avoid other businessmen being suspicious."

After the Battle of Saiye broke out, the eight thousand Bakhann local army under the governor of Bakhann was also recruited to Saiye, and the Dashi Army transferred from the West did not care about local affairs. In this way, a power gap appeared in the local management of Bakhann country. With Rashid's acquiescence, the private army of the Saiman family acted as the manager. The Saiman family had three thousand troops in Bakhann. They were originally scattered in various pastures, but now they were all mobilized to Thuse City. Their real task was to monitor the King Bakhann to prevent him from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

A long time ago, the private soldiers of the Saman family would secretly go to the business road to intercept the caravan. Better than to extort some money, they would even kill and rob. This is strictly prohibited by the law of encouraging businessmen, so this phenomenon is not very serious. But now it is a war period, and everything is different from usual. Today, I met them outside the city of Thundersai. I dare not rob and publicly, but I will definitely not be able to escape the extortion of money.

Two teams of private soldiers from the Saman family came, twenty, led by Arif (equivalent to the sergeant commander of the Tang army). The twenty cavalry were tasked with patrolling spies, but they used this power to blackmail passers-by. These days, they were poor herders and had no money. But today, a Sogdian caravan appeared. How could they not be ecstatic? They seemed to smell the bloody wolf pack, rushed forward and stopped the caravan with force.

They clamored and acted fiercely. Each merchant was to be blackmailed twenty dinars. If he didn't give him, he would immediately be taken away as spies and his goods would be confiscated. The merchants received Muta's orders and cooperated like sheep. They gave as much as they wanted. They dared not resist. The twenty soldiers quickly collected a bag of gold coins. They also came to the last Muta. Arif was a Turkic man in his thirty years old, with a pair of small snake-scorpion-like eyes. Without saying a word, he saw Cui Yao holding a camel at a glance, sneered, and pointed with a horse whip: "How could there be an oriental man here? It must be a spy, arrest me."

Four or five soldiers came up immediately and pointed their swords at Cui Yao. This was their skill. If they said they would catch them but not, they might take them away immediately.

Muta immediately came forward and bowed, "It's true that he is an oriental person, but he is my friend in Chang'an. Please let Jun Ye let him go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the officer whipped his face with a sudden whip. Muta was not careful, and a scorching blood mark appeared on his face. Cui Yao was furious when he saw this. His fists were almost crushed, but his mission was of great importance. He suppressed the anger in his heart and said nothing.

Muta covered his face and lowered his head hatefully. The officer pointed at him with a horse whip and shouted, "You dare to lie to me, I will capture you together."

Muta suddenly raised his head and glared at him, "I am the most famous merchant in Kang State and the leader of this caravan. Agush, the Governor of the Great Food, personally issued me a special pass. He also asked me to buy things for him in the Tang Dynasty. How could I collude with the enemy? If you capture me, the Governor of Agush will definitely find your master."

Muta's half-true words dispelled the officer's idea of ​​trying to capture him and swallow the goods. If the merchant said it was true, he would not be able to take it.

"Okay, we will take this Oriental man away." The officer was a little embarrassed. He pointed at Cui Yao with a whip and said, "There is an order from above. All Oriental man will be arrested, and we will also be ordered to do things."

The officer waved his hand and four soldiers began to push Cui Yao. Muta hurriedly stepped forward and stopped him and said, "You can capture him, but the 500 dinar deposit I have in Chang'an Municipal Administration will be gone. You have to compensate me!"

Hearing that this oriental man was worth five hundred dinars, a greedy look flashed in the officer's eyes. He waved his hand immediately and ordered his subordinates to stop arresting people. He pulled Muta's camel to the side and laughed dryly: "It was a small misunderstanding just now. I apologize to you. I am willing to let you go, but I can't explain to the superiors. I also want to take care of my superiors. Look at this."

Muta understood what he meant and made a finger. The officer shook his head and stretched out three fingers. Muta frowned and replaced it with two fingers. The officer gritted his teeth and said, "Two hundred and fifty dinars, no more, I will leave if I take the money."

Muta took out a purse from his arms and shook it, and the gold coins inside rustled. He said, "There are exactly 250 dinars in it. If you believe me, take it!"

The officer snatched the purse, glanced at Cui Yao, waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

Twenty cavalrymen rushed into the distance like a strong wind. Muta stared at their backs and said fiercely, "Phoe!", and he waved his hand to everyone, "Let's go into the city!"

The caravan set off again, and Cui Yao stepped forward and bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, uncle, for letting me suffer aggrieved."

Muta touched the whip marks on his face and smiled bitterly: "If you become a businessman, you will encounter such things often. In fact, only the private soldiers of these families will make things difficult for us. However, the real Big Food Army dare not bully us Sogdian merchants."

Even though he said this, Cui Yao was still extremely sad. He pointed to the goods on the camels behind him and said, "Even if these goods are thanks to the uncle, please accept them."

Muta shook his head, "I only want you two hundred and fifty dinars, and I don't want the rest. This is the principle of our Sogdian merchants. We cannot take it without our goods."

Cui Yao was grateful. He took out a bag of money and handed it over silently. Muta accepted it happily. He laughed again and said, "Don't worry, I won't be in vain for this whip. I will tell the king about this matter and ask him to tell the Governor Agush to hold this person responsible."

Cui Yao suddenly remembered what he threatened the officer just now, and hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Are you really buying something for that governor?"

Muta smiled, "This is indeed true." He carefully took out a wooden box carved in sandalwood from the bag beside him and opened it. It was a pair of exquisite Yuezhou celadon cups. "This is the Tang Dynasty tea cup asked by Governor Agush to buy. He pointed out that he wanted Yuezhou celadon. He heard that he had been in the Tang Dynasty for two years and was addicted to drinking tea, so I specially brought him ten kilograms of good tea."

He carefully put away the porcelain again. Seeing Cui Yao's face of confusion, he patted his shoulder and laughed in a low voice: "We are old friends, so I won't hide it from you. I am actually a deacon of the Sogdian Chamber of Commerce in Kangguo. My father was the prime minister of Kangguo and was enthroned by the Tang Dynasty. However, he has been dead for many years. Although I have a good personal relationship with Governor Agush, I am a businessman. Do you understand? I don't ask about political affairs, so don't worry, I won't betray you."

Cui Yao nodded silently. After being together for so long, he knew that Uncle Muta was not only a businessman, but also a good person.

The caravan slowly entered the city of Thundersay. There were still soldiers on both sides of the city gate to check. They were also private troops of the Saman family, but they did not dare to blackmail. According to regulations, each person collected two dinars of entry fees and let them go. Cui Yao also learned his lesson. He put on a wide black robe, covered half of his face, and put on a Sogdian pointed rolled-brimmed hat, which almost completely covered his face. Without the special inspection by the soldiers guarding the city, he sneaked into Thundersay City.

The simplicity in the city of Thundersai made Cui Yao, who was on a mission for the first time, could not believe that this would be the capital of a country. There were low and old earthen houses everywhere, densely packed, one by one, and crossing the low wall, you could see women with miserable faces busy with housework in the yard, but rarely saw men.

The so-called streets in the city are just a gap between two long strings of houses, and there is no stone slab. Most of the pedestrians on the road use horses for transportation. Most of them are pale and thin, and they are in a hurry. When they ride a horse and ride a horse, they will roll yellow dust on the road, which is in sharp contrast with the endless grassland outside. Although the city is simple, the inspection on the street is still no longer relaxed than outside. There is a vigilant look everywhere. When several soldiers saw the caravan entering the city, they immediately came up. Whether they wanted to blackmail or other purposes, the guise they put forward was a special inspection during wartime.

But good luck helped Cui Yao again. Just as the soldiers approached the caravan, someone suddenly shouted loudly at the city gate. A Persian officer rushed into the city and shouted fiercely. The soldiers on the street were shocked and did not dare to neglect them. They ran out of the city one after another. Several soldiers who were about to check also left them and ran out of the city.

"It seems that some important person from the Great Cannibal has come and asked them to maintain order." Muta turned around and smiled at Cui Yao with a puzzled look on his face, "Don't look at the private soldiers of the Saman family being vicious to us, but when they see the real Great Cannibal Army, especially the native army of Khurashan, they are like mice and cats, and they can't run fast."

Everyone came to an intersection, and Cui Yao asked a passerby where he was going. At this time, the time for breakup finally came. Cui Yao bowed and bowed to Mutashen and said gratefully: "Uncle, we are going to break up again. I believe we will have a chance to meet again. I wish you a good journey and a good return home as soon as possible."

"Ujir, take care of yourself!" Muta felt a little sad. He waved to Cui Yao and said, "I will go to Samarkand if I have the chance. I will definitely treat you well."

"Goodbye uncle!" Cui Yao also waved his hand vigorously, turned around and drove quickly towards another street. Muta looked at his far away back and couldn't help but murmured: "Take care! Young man, I wish you can complete your mission."

When Cui Yao left Saiye, Meng Jiao gave him Bahanna contact person. This person was Chissoya, the special envoy of Bahanna who had gone to the Tang Dynasty to pay homage at the beginning of the year. He was the king's uncle and his place was not far from the palace. Cui Yao took two Tuqishi's entourage for about a quarter of an hour and then came to the area pointed by passers-by. The buildings in this area were obviously much better than when they entered the city. Most of them were stone buildings, with tall walls and vast land, and the roads were paved with stone slabs. It was obvious that this was the residential area of ​​the princes and nobles of Bahanna.

Cui Yao searched around and finally found a mansion surrounded by green trees on a back street. This is Chisoa's house. It is far from the street. A small path passed through the door. No pedestrians were seen. Only three old women were sitting under a tree opposite. There were a basket of fruits in front of them. There were several fruit vendors selling fruits. When Cui Yao came over, the three old women immediately waved to them enthusiastically.

Cui Yao waved his hand with a smile. Seeing that there was no one around him, he quickly stepped forward and knocked on the door. The door creaked a crack with a slit, revealing a pair of alert eyes, "Who are you looking for?"

"We are merchants from the Tang Dynasty. We have made an agreement with Chisauya to come to see him."

The doorman looked at Cui Yao suspiciously, "Then you wait a moment." The door slammed!" and Cui Yao had no choice but to stand at the door waiting. When he saw several women looking at him curiously, he smiled at them kindly, but he felt a little uneasy.

However, the door opened quickly, and it was still the person just now, "Come in! Take all the things in."
Chapter completed!