Xia Zhi, Xiao Xue, Ban Mei and Xun Lan, four palace maids, were sent away by Li Hong. It would be inappropriate to take them to other places at this moment.

Several people were not wearing military uniforms, but casual clothes. Pubs and inns were the most numerous shops on this street. Of course, there were also other entertainment venues such as casinos.

Camels are the most common mounts here. There are many camels tied at the doors of some inns, and the goods have naturally been placed in the inns.

In places like taverns, the music of the Hu people mixed with the beastly roars of men. I think any man would understand that this kind of place must be where there are the most Hu girls, and naturally it is also the place where men like to come the most.

Yuan Shuji watched Li Hong lingering at the door of the largest tavern in Yumen Pass, and said to Li Hong nervously, "Grand Protector, how about we go forward? There is a good teahouse over there, it is said to be opened by merchants from Chang'an, and they sell new tea."

Li Hong looked at the nervous Yuan Shuji with amusement and said, "Are you afraid that something might happen to me here? Do you think the people behind me are idiots? It doesn't matter. If I go to a place like this in Chang'an, I don't know what will happen. My mother will find out and I will be beaten. Now that I have finally escaped, how can I not go in and take a look? "

Yuan Shuji was a little stunned, because in his world, what Li Hong was talking about were all things in heaven and had nothing to do with people like him.

Either the emperor, the empress, or the princess, in Yuan Shuji's view, they are all god-like beings.

And just now, he actually gave an order directly to the Ministry of War, forcing it to distribute a set of cotton clothes to all soldiers in Anxi, Yunzhong, and Liaodong in a very short time. He also ordered the issuance of a document, requiring all soldiers to use the clothes for themselves and not to give them to others.

...

...

Yuan Shuji looked at Li Hong, who was full of interest, with his eyes fixed on the largest tavern in Yumen Pass. He reluctantly gave up the idea of ​​stopping him from entering and resigned himself to his fate, following him in. At the same time, his hand involuntarily touched his purse.

Yumen Pass has abundant water and grass, but that doesn't mean other items such as wine are also abundant. These are all transported from the distant Central Plains or the Western Regions, and the prices are naturally ridiculously high, mainly to cheat these merchants.

Under the protection of Hua Meng, Mang Zhong and Wufawutian, Li Hong just dived in and immediately smelled a pungent smell of sweat and a strong smell of alcohol.

The entire pub was at its busiest time of the night. Every seat was already occupied. Even the independent semi-opened boxes that were high up and built for VIPs were almost empty.

Hua Meng called the waiter over and pointed to the best spot. It was an excellent viewing position whether for observing the entire tavern or watching the Hu Ji ** twisting her waist and hips on the high platform.

Yuan Shuji's face, which had always been expressionless, looked at Hua Meng's pointing hand, and his heart began to tremble. Everyone knew that the position was good, but just an empty seat would cost two hundred strings of cash per person.

Few merchants who come and go every day are willing to spend money to sit there. At this moment, being ordered around by Hua Meng, Yuan Shuji feels that he may have to pay a year's salary to the tavern tonight.

Just as Hua Meng agreed with the waiter and took out a gold leaf and threw it to the tavern waiter, the gold leaf was caught by a big furry hand in mid-air and thrown back to Hua Meng.

A sturdy man who looked more like a bear than a man in a white fur coat looked at Hua Meng and shouted, "You're too late. We've already reserved this seat." After saying that, he also took out a gold leaf from his purse and pretended to hand it to the embarrassed tavern waiter.

Li Hong looked at the big man strangely. It was obvious from his stiff Chinese speech that he was not from the Central Plains. But he was too lazy to pay attention to them. This matter would naturally be handled by Hua Meng. He waved to Yuan Shuji and went upstairs first.

Li Hong slowly stepped onto the steps and just as he reached his seat and was about to sit down, he saw a young man walking towards him from the opposite side. There were also three people standing beside him. All four of them were dressed in white and were looking at him at the same time as he was.

"This position is mine." The young man in white had sunken eyes and a high nose, revealing his Arab ancestry.

"First come, first served. It's not your turn yet." Li Hong walked to the middle and stood still.

The young man in white also walked up to the main seat at the same time and stood opposite Li Hong, neither of them giving way.

"Are you from Tang?" the young man in white said, looking into Li Hong's eyes.

"Nonsense." Li Hong turned around, slowly sat down in the main seat, and said lightly.

If my guess is correct, this young man in white should be from the now powerful Umayyad Empire in history, that is, the famous White Caliphate known by the Tang Dynasty.

"You are very rude. We found this position first." The young man in white looked at Li Hong, who was a few years younger than him. He exuded a superior temperament and thought he should be a noble. Therefore, he did not force him and spoke lightly.

Li Hong sat down and glanced at him, then said with a smile, "Who did you learn this kind of sophistry from? Look for yourself, whose money did the waiter in the tavern take?"

The young man in white looked at the relaxed Li Hong, then turned his head to look at his subordinate who was arguing with Hua Meng. At this moment, he saw the big man bending over in pain, his face flushed red because of the pain, and the tavern waiter just took the gold leaf from Hua Meng and went to prepare drinks.

"Who are you? Do you know that if you do this, people will look down on you Tang Dynasty for not knowing etiquette?" The young man in white showed a trace of displeasure on his face, and at the same time stretched out his hand to stop the three men behind him from rushing over.

"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is why are you here? And who are you?" Li Hong asked calmly, not caring about the cold light in the eyes of the young man in white.

"I am an Umayyad, which is what you in the Tang Dynasty call the White-clothed Arabs. I have no obligation to tell you why I came to the Tang Dynasty." The young man in white said coldly, looking at Li Hong's indifferent and contemptuous expression.

"I know you. Now you have occupied Khwarezm, Bukhara and Samarkand of our Tang Dynasty. Yes, Tocharia has also been occupied by you." Li Hong stared at the young man in white and said lightly.

But he seemed to emanate a sharp coldness. The White Arabs, the Tang Dynasty, and Tubo had always been the powerful rulers of the Western Regions in recent years. However, with the weakening of the Tang Dynasty, the Western Regions controlled by them were gradually eroded by the two powers.

Now that the people of the White-robed Arab Empire have appeared here, there are probably two reasons: one is to investigate the strength of the Tang Dynasty, and the other is to come to the Tang Dynasty to buy items that they don't have.

Moreover, several decades later, the weakened Tang Dynasty completely lost its advantage in the confrontation with the White-robed Arabs. After Gao Xianzhi was defeated by them, they captured tens of thousands of Tang people, including many Tang craftsmen. It was from that time that the papermaking technique was mastered by the White-robed Arabs and then spread to the West.

Facing this biggest enemy in the future, Li Hong would naturally not be polite to them, and now, Khwarezm, Tocharia and other places were snatched away from the Tang Dynasty by them.

"We are not invading, that place originally belonged to us, and it was you, the Tang Dynasty, who occupied our land." When the young man in white heard what Li Hong said, a smug smile appeared on his face.

Li Hong slowly stood up and walked to the young man in white. His eyes were equally cold. He looked at the young man in white and said, "No matter who you are, or what your purpose is in coming to the Tang Dynasty, don't worry. From now on, I will not let you take anything away from the Tang Dynasty, not even a sheep. Also, whether it is Tocharia or Khwarezm, as well as the Kangju Governor's Office that we once set up in Samarkand, the Tang Dynasty will take them all back. Now, get out of here immediately."

"With the old, weak and sick people in your Tang Dynasty now, you still want to stop our Umayyad cavalry? If there were not so many plateaus and we were not familiar with the terrain, huh, the entire Western Region would be ours." The young man in white said equally unyieldingly.

"Samarkand is the place of the Yuezhi people, and the Yuezhi people are the people of Longyou Road of our Tang Dynasty. Sooner or later, the Tang Dynasty will take it back. Also, take a look at your man, he has been lying on the ground without moving for a long time." Li Hong faced the young man in white, and at the end, an elusive smile appeared on his face.

The young man in white looked at Li Hong, then at the subordinate who had been unable to get up, paused and said: "My name is Ben Qasim. One day, I will lead the Umayyad cavalry and trample through your small Fangpan City, humph."

After saying this, Kasim turned around and led his men downstairs in a hurry. Halfway down the stairs, Kasim suddenly stopped and looked back, smiling and said, "If you want to recover your lost territory, you must first settle your internal strife in the Tang Dynasty. When the time comes, we welcome your Tang army to fight us."

"If you still want to return to your Umayyad alive from here, stop talking nonsense. Otherwise, I don't mind letting your men carry a dead body back." Li Hong walked to the railing, slowly raised his middle finger and said.

"You... humph." Kasim was almost angered by Li Hong just now. When he heard Li Hong's words, he remembered that he was still on someone else's territory and could not be too rash, otherwise he would be the one who would suffer.

Watching Kasim leave, Li Hong's brows furrowed more and more tightly. The situation in the Western Regions was far more complicated than he had imagined, and the White Arabs had now begun to enter the Central Plains. It seemed that he needed to speed up his pace.

"Where are Fang Zhan and Heng Qiao? Ask them to come and see me as soon as possible." Li Hong sat down in the main seat again, thought for a while and said.