"Alright, keep an eye on things, make sure it doesn't collapse before they move in!"

Thus, Li Jue watched the last house being completed, gave some instructions, and returned to the camp with satisfaction to report to Duan Jiong.

The soldiers and craftsmen left behind looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Centurion, will this work?"

"Our Liangzhou army is poor, where would we get the money to fix it up for them? If they want to live comfortably, let them pay for it themselves, and then we'll fix it for them!"

"That's true!"

The centurion left, leaving the soldier there to ponder alone.

"Hey, hey, hey~ That building's about to collapse too, hurry up and prop it up!"

Seeing another house begin to sway, the soldier quickly called the others and rushed over with wooden sticks.

Along an ancient road leading to Liangzhou, countless Qiang people were driving cattle, sheep, horses, and other goods toward Pengyang.

Shekhatai also led his followers and mingled among the crowd.

Since Shehetai was released half a year ago, he followed Duan Jiong's instructions and returned to the tribe with some supplies Duan Jiong gave him. He began to lead his people to conquer various tribes, hoping to integrate and control the Xianling Qiang tribes.

After half a year of fighting, apart from a few small tribes that he had subdued, the larger tribes not only ignored him but also rose up in rebellion, which made Shehatai very resentful of these ungrateful people.

This also left Shehetai quite helpless, as the Han army's support for him was limited, and with his strength, he simply could not eliminate those who did not obey him in a short period of time.

So when Shehetai heard the news that the Han Dynasty had opened a trade market, he ordered most of his tribe's cattle, sheep and horses to come here, intending to exchange them for a large amount of supplies and then go back to deal with them.

The Qiang people along the way came from various tribes, and many of them had feuds with each other, but everyone just glared at each other and no conflict occurred.

Because there was an unwritten rule between them that the trade markets did not allow mutual conquest and plunder. If the trade markets were disrupted, everyone would suffer losses, not only from attacks by other tribes, but also from being expelled by the Han Dynasty.

Now that they have entered the territory of the Han Dynasty, everyone is hoping to exchange for the supplies they need and return home with a full load.

"My lord, the Han army has set up a roadblock ahead."

Interrupted by his subordinates, Shehetai looked up and saw a group of several hundred Han soldiers blocking both sides of the road ahead, counting and questioning the goods and livestock of the passing Qiang and Western Region people, seemingly collecting taxes.

"Yes! It's alright. This is within the territory of the Great Han Dynasty. It's only right that we pay some taxes."

Shehetai smiled and didn't care. After all, he had already decided to serve the Han Dynasty, so paying some taxes was nothing.

Soon, Shehetai and his men arrived at the checkpoint. When they saw the Han army officer leading the checkpoint, Shehetai smiled and walked towards him. The person in charge of this checkpoint was none other than Guo Si.

Guo Si looked up and down as he walked toward his altar, which looked somewhat familiar.

"General, I, Shehetai, have had the honor of witnessing your charisma in the tent of Marquis Dingbian!"

"Oh, it's you?"

Guo Si only realized what was going on when he heard Shehetai introduce himself.

"That is indeed me!"

"Since we're acquaintances, the customs duties will be waived. Take your people and livestock with you!"

Although Guo Si despised Shehetai, Duan Jiong had specifically instructed him before they left that if they encountered this person, he could let him pass directly.

Shehetai quickly said, "That won't do. We've come to the territory of the Great Han, so paying taxes is a matter of course. How can we break the rules because of one person like me? We still have to pay!"

Seeing that Guo Si was taking such good care of him, Shehetai was happy, but he did not forget his status and still insisted on paying taxes.

"Alright, tell me, how many livestock did you bring?"

Guo Si was quite satisfied with Shehetai's pragmatism, and he had no reason to refuse the money offered to him.

"Reporting to the general, I have brought with me 10,000 sheep, 3,000 cattle, and 2,000 fine horses."

After hearing the figures reported by Shehetai, Guo Si turned to a clerk beside him and asked, "Calculate how much they should pay?"

"Reporting to the General, they need to pay a total of two million four hundred thousand coins!"

Hearing the figures in the report, Guo Si nodded and looked at Shehetai, "How about this, we don't need to round it down, just pay a round number of two million! At market price, twenty horses will suffice!"

"Thank you for your consideration, General!"

Shehetai nodded and bowed happily, and quickly ordered someone to bring the horse over.

"Okay, take this sign carefully, don't lose it, or you'll be arrested as spies, and no one can save you!"

As they were talking, Guo Si took a wooden plaque with a written document and handed it to Shehetai.

"I understand!"

Shehetai carefully took the wooden plaque, which had his name and tribe written on it.

After happily leaving the checkpoint, and after traveling for half a day, Shehetai finally arrived at the trade market outside Pengyang City.

Like everyone else, Shehetai stood there dumbfounded after seeing the rows of beautiful houses, unsure whether he should go in.

"The Marquis of Dingbian has decreed that no one without Han Chinese registration is allowed to enter the city. In order to maintain order in the border trade, no one is allowed to camp in the wild at night. Anyone who disobeys this order will be immediately expelled from the country!"

While everyone was stunned, several soldiers from Liangzhou Army loudly announced Duan Jiong's orders to the crowd.

After glancing at the thousands of murderous Liangzhou soldiers not far away, everyone felt a chill and hurried toward the rows of houses.

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