Only after entering the barracks did Jiang Yimian see the situation inside.
The gate of the outpost is not in a straight line with the real gate; one must turn to reach the real gate.
When the enemy enters the barren city and tries to enter the real city gate, such a bend in the road makes it extremely easy for the entire team to be exposed on the city wall.
At that time, the archers on the city wall will be able to quickly kill the enemies in the city.
Jiang Yimian, while noting the unique features of Wengcheng, entered the actual city gate with Lu Cijian.
Alite was already waiting at the foot of the city wall. He sat on his palanquin and smiled as the two approached. "Welcome, two guests from the Great Jin Dynasty."
Jiang Yimian and the other woman remained silent, giving him a wary look.
Allit simply smiled and said, "You two don't need to be so formal, please."
He pointed to the palanquin that had been prepared to the side.
Jiang Yimian glanced at Lu Cijian before getting into the palanquin.
Alite casually replied, "I heard from the King of Chu that you met him by chance?"
Lu Cijian simply responded with a faint sound and didn't say anything more.
Jiang Yimian, who was standing to the side, gave him a wary look but didn't say anything.
Seeing this, Allit smiled but didn't say anything more, though he sneered inwardly.
Once he figured out the formula to increase the power of gunpowder, he would definitely kill those two.
If it weren't for some cooperation with Xie Yang, he would have arrested these two right now, instead of giving them such face.
He was the Khan of Xiliang, and these two guys really didn't take him seriously at all.
However, it was not much different from what Xie Yang described: having been out of contact with the outside world for too long, he was simple-minded and arrogant.
He shouldn't have come to test the waters himself.
The palanquin headed towards Xiliang City.
The deeper Jiang Yimian went into Xiliang City, the more her brows furrowed.
Almost every pedestrian on the street carried a curved knife, and everyone, regardless of age or gender, had the vigilance of a soldier.
Then, considering that the city gates had been kept tightly closed and no one from inside the city had entered or left, Jiang Yimian had a guess in her mind.
In Xiliang, everyone was a soldier; they were both civilians and soldiers who could go to the battlefield to kill the enemy.
No wonder the Western Liang, which separated from the Tuyuhun only a few decades ago, has grown so rapidly.
Lu Cijian had clearly noticed the problem as well, and remained unusually silent.
The palanquin traveled through several bustling streets and entered the city lord's mansion.
Allit glanced at the sky and simply smiled, “It’s getting late today, Young Master Zhou and Madam Zhou must be tired from their journey.”
Tomorrow, I will arrange a welcoming banquet for the two of you, and invite the King of Chu to meet you.
Tuva, take Young Master Zhou and Madam Zhou downstairs to rest.
Tuva quickly responded and stood in front of Jiang Yimian and the other person, gesturing for them to enter.
Lu Cijian simply looked at Alite and said calmly, "The gunpowder I brought will be delivered and paid for upon meeting Young Master Xie."
Allit simply smiled. "Of course."
As he spoke, he simply waved to his own men.
Those who had been surrounding the carriage immediately backed away, and the side gate of the city lord's mansion was opened at the same time.
Seeing this, Lin Yan'an and the others led their horses straight through the side gate.
The group finally settled into the courtyard arranged by Alit.
Jiang Yimian leaned back on the soft couch and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Cijian, who was standing to the side, carefully inspected the room to make sure there were no traps or mechanisms. He then asked Liu'er and the others to stand guard outside the door before sitting down on a grand chair.
"There's something strange going on in Xiliang City."
Jiang Yimian nodded and asked curiously, "Did you notice just now? The city gate was tightly closed until we got close."
There were no villages outside the city, quite unlike the Jin Dynasty or the Tuyuhun.
She was genuinely curious about how such a large city as Xiliang managed to have all sorts of food and other necessities, or how they were transported.
She had just looked around several streets and saw that the teahouses and taverns were quite crowded, clearly indicating that there was no shortage of food.
However, there was no human habitation or farming within a hundred miles of Xiliang City, which meant that Xiliang City relied on other countries for all its food.
And the city gates of Xiliang City were only opened by those who heard Alite's permission.
There were no people entering or leaving the city, both inside and outside the city gates, which is enough to prove that the Xiliang people inside the city had no intention of leaving.
The only way to prevent the people in the city from having any desire to leave is for Xiliang City to be self-sufficient, or for the large city to transport the necessary supplies into the city at fixed times.
Jiang Yimian felt that neither of these possibilities was very likely.
She only shared her thoughts with Lu Cijian, asking, "Which category do you think Xiliang City falls into?"
Lu Cijian pondered for a long time before saying, "It shouldn't fall into either of these categories."
Jiang Yimian nodded, not too surprised, because that was what she thought too.
But in doing so, her thinking once again reached a dead end.
If Xiliang City doesn't fall into either of those two categories, how could it be so isolated yet still avoid food shortages within the city?
Lu Cijian clearly couldn't understand it either.
As the two were pondering, Lin Yan'an's voice came from outside the door, "Young Master, Madam, I've brought the meal."
Lu Cijian raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Yimian found the respectful voice amusing and casually said, "Come in."
Lin Yan'an then carried the food box and walked in with Liu'er.
The two breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the door closed.
Lin Yan'an laid out the contents of the food box while whispering, "The people in the city lord's mansion are really strange."
It's one thing for women to have fair skin, but many men also have fair skin, some even to the point of being bloodless. It's quite frightening to look at them late at night, they're just too pale.
If I didn't know that these people were also half Tuyuhun people, I wouldn't have believed it.
"When have I ever seen such fair-skinned Tuyuhun people?"
He had met many Tuyuhun people before, not to mention that he had just returned from Tuyuhun not long ago.
Because of the vast grasslands, almost all the Tuyuhun people, regardless of age or gender, have healthy wheat-colored skin, and few have such a pale complexion.
It has the face and build of a Tuyuhun person, but its skin is so fair, which looks strange.
Liu'er, who was standing nearby, quickly added, "Yes, I noticed that too. Miss, Lord Lu, what should we do next?"
Now that they have successfully entered Xiliang City, all they need to do is gather information about the city, find Xie Yang, and kill him, and their mission will be nearly complete.
As for the encirclement and suppression of Xiliang, that was a matter for Tuyuhun; the Jin army only assisted from the sidelines.
Jiang Yimian was lost in thought when she heard their conversation. After a while, she suddenly realized something and said in disbelief, "I know which situation Xiliang City falls into now."
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