"I don't know, I really don't know!"
Faced with the guard captain's interrogation, Li Chang was terrified.
He was just an ordinary merchant from the Kushan Empire. Seeing that the trade routes were much smoother after the Han Dynasty took control of the Western Regions, he gritted his teeth and prepared to do business in Dunhuang, the capital of the Han Dynasty.
Who would have thought that they would encounter bandits as soon as they crossed the border, and be chased all the way here.
At this moment, he could also see that Xi Zhicai and his group were definitely not just an ordinary merchant caravan, and he didn't want to die here because of a misunderstanding.
In the Western Regions, foreign caravans like theirs, unless they had paid taxes to the Han Dynasty, would simply die and no one would care about them.
Seeing Li Chang's panicked expression, Xi Zhicai frowned. Clearly, this Kushan merchant knew nothing.
Xi Zhicai finally stopped the guard captain from pressing him for answers and asked Li Chang, "Is there anything special in your caravan, either a person or a thing?"
Li Chang calmed himself down and began to rack his brains. This time when he went to Dunhuang, besides bringing some local products from the Kushan Empire, he mainly brought some gold and silver. Like other Kushan merchants, there was nothing special about it.
Suddenly, Li Chang remembered several young men in his team.
If there was anything special about his team, it was the few young people from the Kushan capital who joined him when he left the country.
"Oh? Young people from the capital? Who are they?" Upon hearing Li Chang's answer, Xi Zhicai immediately became interested.
“There are seven of them in total, one woman and six men. It seems that a woman is in charge!” Li Chang replied.
Xi Zhicai's expression shifted, then he smiled and said, "It's getting late, so let your caravan and our team camp together!"
As he spoke, Xi Zhicai instructed Dian Wei to lead his men to bring Li Chang's caravan to the side of his own group.
Seeing Li Chang's anxious expression, Xi Zhicai smiled and poured him a cup of tea to reassure him.
Although the Han army was renowned in the Western Regions, it was not unreasonable. Li Chang's fear was mostly due to the rumors spread by various countries in the Western Regions that the Han army could easily destroy a country.
Afterwards, Xi Zhicai asked Li Chang about some things in Kushan.
According to Li Chang's description, although the Kushan court is currently embroiled in a succession struggle, the country is relatively peaceful.
However, Xi Zhicai also sensed something was amiss in Li Chang's words.
Under the influence of Buddhism, the Yuezhi people, who founded the Kushan Dynasty, had long since lost most of the fierce and brave nomadic spirit inherited from their ancestors.
Nowadays, almost all the high-ranking officials and nobles in the Kushan Dynasty are fond of Buddhism and frequently engage in large-scale construction projects to build temples.
Xi Zhicai never considered such a country to be a difficult enemy to deal with; however, the Kushan Dynasty was simply too far removed from the Han Dynasty.
Given the current situation, launching an expedition would only be counterproductive.
While talking with Li Chang, Xi Zhicai's gaze also occasionally swept over the young people in the Kushan caravan.
In the Kushan caravan, Ellie Morin, attended by several guards, stepped out of the carriage, looked at the endless sandstorm, and sighed deeply.
As the eldest daughter of the Maureen family, a noble Kushan family, she had lived a life of luxury since childhood. The past few months of fleeing had left her physically and mentally exhausted, but the blood feud of her family forced her to persevere.
Especially during the day, she almost thought she was going to die at the hands of those bandits. She knew that the bandits were after her, and that the Second Prince Damoti would not let her live to reach the Han Dynasty.
This second prince of the Kushan Empire was always ambitious and cunning. In order to seize power, he secretly framed the Morin family, who supported the eldest prince, for treason.
To avoid being implicated, the eldest prince, Damolai, immediately severed ties with the Morin family, allowing the second prince to destroy them.
If it weren't for Yuan Shao's secret intervention, Ellie Morin would have been beheaded long ago.
With Yuan Shao's advice, Ellie Morin realized that the only one who could avenge her now was Prince Hachi, the other prince who had fled to the Han Dynasty.
Although she had never heard of the old king having another prince who was living abroad, Yuan Shao, as an envoy of the Han Dynasty, had no reason to deceive her.
Therefore, after escaping the capital, she finally reached the border of the Kushan Empire after many twists and turns, and found Li Chang, wanting to go to the Han Dynasty with him.
Their goal was to find Hachi and then ask the Han army to send troops.
Ellie Morin was not a fool, and she understood that her idea was somewhat unrealistic. After all, the Great Han Empire had no reason to send troops on a long expedition for the Morin family.
Similarly, Hachi, who has already entered the Buddhist order, may not accept or help her.
However, Ellie Morin was unwilling to accept all of this; even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, she was determined to try.
"Miss, please have something to eat first!" Kmir, a retainer of the Morin family, presented her with a piece of dried meat.
Looking at his young mistress's sallow face, Kmier's eyes were filled with heartache.
Ellie Morin took the jerky and began to bite into it. It was truly heartbreaking to see the once glamorous and charming eldest daughter of the Morin family reduced to such a state.
Seeing this, Kermiel couldn't help but sigh heavily. Unlike his young mistress, he wasn't obsessed with revenge.
Like several other retainers who had grown up with Ellie Morin, he simply hoped to deliver his young lady safely to the Han Dynasty.
In this world, only the Great Han Empire was the safest place.
Watching Ellie Morin devour the meat strips, Kmier sat quietly to the side.
For him, as long as he sent the young lady to Dunhuang in the Han Dynasty, he could return to the Kushan Empire without any worries, and then seek revenge on the dead head of the family by finding that despicable second prince. This was the only way he could repay his family.
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from behind, which startled Kmire, who was deep in thought.
Kmirre turned around like a cheetah and stood in front of Ellie Morin, his scimitar already in hand.
Then, Xi Zhicai, Dian Wei, Yu Zheng, and Li Chang walked over together.
Dian Wei, who was protecting Xi Zhicai, couldn't help but change his expression when he looked at the sharp-eyed Kemir.
In Dian Wei's view, although this guard was far inferior to himself, he was still a second-rate general. It was indeed a bit strange that he was a woman's guard.
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