Wei and Jin Cooks

Of the 500 people Zhao Xin took out, only 13 came back. More people were lost on the road and I wonder if they can be found.

Zhao Xindao: "Just after we passed Jiuquan, we encountered a group of horse bandits. There were nearly a thousand of them. They surrounded a piece of land to build a city. The city wall was made of yellow mud. It was not very high, but it could be seen that it looked like a city. The guide said that the Central Plains The past few years of the war have not been peaceful in the Western Region. I don’t know how many large and small tribes have perished, so I thought these were newly built small tribes.”

"As a result, we were arrested as soon as we entered. In the end, we killed the horse bandits, occupied the city, and changed their leader before leaving. Before leaving, we also sent a message to Xiliang, hoping that Xiliang would send troops. We came to collect the land and collect the people, but because time was urgent, we did not wait there."

“The Western Region is indeed chaotic, and the various kingdoms are not convinced by each other and often fight. However, I have the credentials and customs clearance documents given by Your Majesty. Most of the kingdoms have let us go. Among those who are unwilling to let us go, there is Zhang Shi.”

Zhao Xindao: "Zhang Shi is proficient in Buddhism, and most of the tribes along the Western Regions believe in Buddhism, so relying on his knowledge, he can resolve any difficulties along the way. When I waited at Lop Nur, there were still 489 people there. .”

How come that person is missing?

 Because they were so unlucky after entering Lop Nur. It was a desert and it was difficult to tell the direction. Even if the guide they brought had walked through it before, they still got lost when they entered again.

Before they could find the right direction, they encountered a group of caravans being chased by horse bandits. Zhao Xin turned around and ran away with his men, but Zhang Xin drew his sword and rushed forward.

He had no choice but to turn around and grab Zhang Shi back. In the chaos, the crowd screamed, and then a sandstorm appeared from the sky and swept them quickly.

 Zhao Xin only had time to reach out and grab Zhang Shi...

When he woke up again, there were only more than fifty people left around him, and the rest of them were swept away. Except for Zhang Shi, who was held in his hand, there were three people from the caravan and two horses among the others. bandit.

Zhao Xin directly killed the horse bandits, then accepted the three trembling merchants and continued to go west while looking for people.

 Then they were sold by three merchants.

Zhao Xin prided himself on being smart, and Zhang Shi was not stupid either, but they did not realize that the three businessmen were so cunning and treacherous. After pretending to surrender, they claimed that they knew the way to the west and knew the direction. Anyway, they had many trade routes going back and forth. Years, guides can do it, they can!

 Zhao Xin and Zhang Shi both thought they were honest and honest, and they were indeed merchants from the Western Regions.

Oh, those three people all have fair faces and deep eyes, and have faces from the Western Regions. Zhang Shi has met many Western Regions businessmen, and he patted his chest and assured Zhao Xin, "The Western Regions merchants keep their promises and will not lie to us."

 The group of people were then sold to a man named Yazi, who asked them to mine gems.

Of course, Zhao Xin would not be captured without hesitation. He led his people to resist and ran out. Then he was captured by the local government and sent to various places in the country as slaves.

 Herding sheep, feeding horses, cutting grass, planting grass, and even pouring night scent have to be done.

Because the people were dispersed, Zhao Xin did not find a chance to escape for half a year. In the end, he relied on his sharp tongue to persuade the king of the country to establish diplomatic relations with China, and then he was released.

But before they were happy and walked out of that country, that small country got into a fight with its neighboring country over water, and the fight was quite serious. The king who just saw them off was killed less than two days ago, and then they fell into War, they were captured and led northwest. By the time they tried every means to persuade the new king to let them leave, a year had passed.

In addition, because they got lost along the way and had various accidents, they had no idea where they were. The small country’s impressions of the Central Plains were all hearsay, and they didn’t have a detailed route to Shule. They asked a lot of questions. People, and only a few people can roughly give them some direction.

Zhao Xin held Zhao Hanzhang's hand and burst into tears, "But the direction they pointed was also wrong. The direction was even a hair's breadth away. We went colder and colder, and finally arrived at a place called Kobdo. We didn't know until we got there. We're on the wrong track."

But Zhao Xin felt that they had made such a mistake, so he might as well make the mistake and cross Kobdo, pass through the northern Huns' territory to Wusun, and then from Wusun to Dawan, and finally turn around and return to Shule. Along the way, they collected local crop seeds. In addition, there were also some medicinal materials and local products. They saw cotton in some places in Wusun, Dawan and Shule.

 Without exception, they were particularly strict about cotton seeds, and they lost a lot of money. The money for travel expenses and buying seeds was all earned in cash.

The Zhao family's good business bloodline awakened in Xin Zhao's body, and he accurately found the goods that would be needed at the next stop, buying low and selling high, supporting the mission along the way.

When he arrived at a place with cotton seeds, he racked his brains even more, knowing that the city gates were very strict about checking their foreign business travelers.

 Zhao Xin, who originally wanted to establish diplomatic relations with them, learned well after experiencing it several times. He no longer took out his credentials as soon as he came up, but would first make inquisitive inquiries.

 In the end, Xin Zhao and the others operated in the city. They spent nearly two months in each place to build connections, purchased large quantities of cotton seeds outside the city, and then formed a caravan and sneaked back.

The journey back was also difficult, but much smoother. With experience gained from going there once, they avoided a lot of dangers on the way back.

  But some dangers cannot be avoided, such as horse bandits roaming everywhere in grasslands, Gobi and deserts.

They were very unlucky. They met a big horse bandit who was out hunting grass and grain. Even though they were good at martial arts, they still chased them away.

 But they were also very lucky, and they met Zhao Erlang, who was out of boredom so he went to patrol further afield.

Zhao Hanzhang: “So the cotton seeds were brought back?”

Zhao Xin: "I brought it back. Not only did I bring a batch, but I also bought extra. When I met businessmen who were going to China, I also gave the seeds to them and asked them to bring them back. As long as they can bring them back to China, The seed is given to them completely.”

 At that time, whether they plant it themselves or sell it, the seeds can be spread, which is a good thing for them.

 Two carts of seeds are now parked outside the palace gate.

Zhao Hanzhang immediately asked someone to bring the things in, and everyone followed to join in the fun.

 The sack was untied, revealing the seeds wrapped in oilcloth inside. All civil and military officials could not help but be excited.

 Civil officials: From now on, the people will no longer have to suffer from the cold.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 around down through the air.

 Cotton quilts and cotton-padded clothes were used by all civil and military officials. Some of them were benefits from the imperial court during the New Year, and most of them were bought with money.

Because cotton is scarce, the price is quite high. Not to mention ordinary people, even officials with small assets have to pay blood and heartache to buy quilts and cotton-padded clothes for the whole family.

Now that there are more seeds, the price should come down, right?

Good night