Gaochang State was located at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, more than 800 miles away from Dunhuang County.

During the heyday of the Han Dynasty, although the Protectorate of the Western Regions was established to govern the countries in the Western Regions, it played more of a supporting role.

No matter whether they were big or small, they all gave face to the Han Dynasty because they were afraid of its might. However, with the decline of the Han Dynasty and the rise of the Qiang people, these small countries in the Western Regions turned to the Qiang people like fence-sitters.

Among them, the most thorough betrayal was committed by the Gaochang Kingdom.

Its ruler, Ju Wenwu, openly robbed Chinese merchant caravans on the Silk Road many times and spoke out against their will.

The sky is clear and cloudless.

At the Gaochang city gate, more than a hundred Gaochang guards stood straight.

Since half a month ago, for some unknown reason, fewer and fewer caravans left Dunhuang, resulting in them having no income at all after guarding the gate for the past half month.

You have to know that even if you know that the King of Gaochang has no martial ethics and likes to blackmail, as long as you take the right path, you can always make money through violence.

Just a little bit of food for these little gatekeepers is enough to keep them well-fed and well-clothed.

But recently, there have been no caravans passing through, and the job that was once lucrative has turned into a hard and tiring job of standing guard. Having enjoyed the abundance before, these guards naturally have faces full of resentment.

"Captain, what's wrong with this Chinese guy? Do you really not want to make money?"

"Those porcelain, tea, and silk, once shipped to the Western Regions, will be snapped up crazily. That's ten or even a hundred times the profit. Are they willing to give it up?"

The middle-aged captain in the lead cursed: "Who the hell knows?"

"I heard that the higher-ups have sent a lot of people to Wuwei City to gather information and see if there is a war going on recently?"

"We only sent out a few waves, but not a single one came back. It's really weird!"

The other soldiers were stunned for a moment, then said in horror: "Will it always be like this? How can we survive then?"

"I don't want to go back to my old life where I had nothing."

"We don't have as much as those people who plunder us. We don't wear gold and silver every day, and have different women hugging us every night. We are..."

Before he finished speaking, he seemed to feel that what he said was a little inappropriate and quickly shut his mouth.

The middle-aged captain glanced at him coldly and said, "How can we decide on such matters?"

"Don't say what you just said, or you won't know when your head will fall off."

The young soldier who spoke smiled awkwardly: "Don't worry, Captain, I won't say anything nonsense in the future. I only said this in front of my brothers. Otherwise, how could anyone dare to say such a thing?"

The middle-aged captain nodded and looked into the distance. He saw the sun slowly setting. Where was the human figure on the long ancient road?

He sighed and said helplessly, "I'll go in and take a look. Don't leave your post without permission. The people above are in a bad mood recently because they haven't paid tribute to you. They are all watching the city gate. If something goes wrong, I won't be able to save your heads!"

Having said that, he was about to turn around and enter the city.

Just listen to "tap tap tap"

"Creak."

In the distance came the sounds of horse hooves and wheels turning.

The soldier with good eyesight rubbed his eyes quickly, and when he was sure that he was not dreaming, he said excitedly: "Captain, look, the caravan, the caravan."

"After eating vegetarian food for so many days, I can finally eat some meat."

The middle-aged captain who had already entered the city gate hurriedly turned his head and looked at dozens of carriages slowly approaching under the setting sun in the distance. Excitement instantly appeared in his eyes.

He spitted hard and said excitedly, "Finally the caravan has arrived. If it were a few more days, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to open the pot."

"Everyone get ready, we're going to do something big."

"big?"

"What do you mean?" The middle-aged captain chuckled, "Dozens of cars is a big deal. We can earn at least a few thousand taels of silver per trip. We have encountered this with great difficulty, so how can we not take some of them?"

"Who knows who will come next time? If you can catch a fat sheep, eat it first, otherwise you will regret it."

"Wait and watch my signal later."

"Captain, don't worry, we understand."

The sound of axles was getting closer and closer, and a caravan of more than a hundred people stopped at the city gate.

A young man smiled and clasped his hands together, saying, "Military lords, please give us some leniency. We have come all the way from Xiliang to do some business in the Western Regions. We know the rules here and will have everything we need."

He clapped his hands as he spoke, and naturally someone from behind brought up a few silver pieces.

Looking at the white silver, more than a hundred soldiers at the city gate were staring in amazement.

Years of experience have taught the middle-aged captain that this gives a lot.

Under normal circumstances, he would even call the people in this caravan brothers and express his friendship and gratitude.

But he had already had the intention of making a killing today, so how could he let the caravan in front of him go so easily?

His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he shouted coldly: "What are you doing?"

"Bribe us?"

"Don't try that. There are numerous spies in the city, and no caravans are allowed to enter or leave."

"You better go back!"

The young man was stunned, with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He clapped his hands, and two more people came out with a plate, which also had some silver on it.

"These are bribes that have put me at risk. If you can pass them on to the higher-ups, I'd be very grateful."

There was a strong sense of surprise in the middle-aged captain's eyes, and his eyes flickered. At this moment, he was considering whether he should cheat a little more to get rid of the problem once and for all.

But the young man's subsequent words made him give up this idea.

"If we still can't enter the city at this point, we might as well go back. There are still many checkpoints ahead. We can't come here for nothing, right?"

"General, please give me some convenience!!"

The middle-aged captain knew that everything is too much or too little. After a brief silence, he nodded and said, "Brother, if I still don't understand the truth after talking to this extent, it will ruin our reputation."

"Although the higher-ups are strict, we have workarounds."

"Go in."

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Creak."

The carriage started moving, swaying towards the city gate.

More than a dozen cars entered, and suddenly there was a shout of curse, and the young man cursed: "How can you drive a car, you useless people?"

"The wheel is broken again, fix it quickly!"

"Captain, look at this."

The middle-aged captain who was playing with silver waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's a small matter, a small matter, just fix it."

"Did you hear that? Why don't you fix it right away?"

(End of this chapter)