Zhao Zi left, Du Zhongxiao stood up and was about to leave the official hall when suddenly the soldiers came to report that there were merchants from the Western Regions outside asking for a visit.

Du Zhongxiao thought about it and found that he was not satisfied. He had to sit down again and ordered the soldiers to bring people in.

Soon, two businessmen came in and half-time. One of them looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember it.

The two of them stepped forward and saluted. One said, "The young Ren Ze used to do business in Tanglong Town, and had several encounters with the boss of the Luan-"

Du Zhongxiao suddenly remembered that this was the Hu Shang who sold coral jewelry in Tanglong Town and got together with Wang Pu. He smiled and said, "I haven't seen you for several years. After changing your clothes, I didn't recognize you for a while. Is your business good in the past few years?"

Ren Ze said: "I'm not hiding my husband's name, I am an official in other places, and my business is not so easy to do. I am in Yizhou and I do some business to support my family. Occasionally, I hear people say that my husband returns here, so I come to explore the ways. This Jin Man Wai happened to come, so I got together."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Don't worry, the road is smooth in the future and business will be easy. I don't know what to call this Jin Man?"

Jin Yuan bowed: "The little Jin San, who is doing some silk and jewelry business, has some friendship with the King of Khotan. Hearing that his husband led his troops to kill the Khitan Emperor, the Western Regions were shocked. The king hurriedly asked me to see what happened. If the Khitan Emperor was killed, the road from Khitan to the Central Plains was smooth, and the king wanted to send envoys. The young man in the third year of Tiansheng once followed the Luomian King to the capital to pay tribute. Before he realized that thirty years had passed, it was already in his twilight years. It was a blessing to be able to enter the capital and see Tianyan again."

After hearing this, Du Zhongxiao hurriedly gave him a seat, ordered him to come and tea, and said to Jin San: "I wonder what identity Jin Yuanwai entered Beijing thirty years ago?"

Jin Sandao: "Go back to my husband, the young man was the deputy envoy of the Kingdom of Khotan that time."

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's really rare. Since you have arrived in Shengzhou, you will stay for a few days and make plans. The guests come from afar. I will welcome you tonight, so don't refuse."

Jin San and Ren Ze thanked each other, and then said some gossip, so they said goodbye and left.

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and got up to find Bao Zheng. Yelu Zongzhen was killed in Tanglong Town. The news finally reached the Western Regions and began to ferment. Jin San and Ren Ze should be the first to come to inquire about the news, and countries will send people to come later.

As for the identity of the envoy of the Khotan Kingdom of Jin, there is no need to take it seriously. The Khotan Kingdom was long destroyed by the Karakhan Kingdom, and Karakhan only used the name of Khotan to do business with the Song Dynasty. Because they only had economic benefits, they came the most active. In the past, the Song Dynasty was not familiar with the situation in the Western Regions, and they did not know that Khotan was destroyed, nor did they know what force Karakhan was. It was too far away and everything was confused. Du Zhongxiao was determined to expand his power to the Western Regions, so naturally he would not continue to do so. As for how to deal with these forces, everything would be discussed after they were taken to Heishui City.

The forces in the Western Regions wanted to do business with the Song Dynasty in terms of economics, but politically, they tended toward the Khitan because of their personal interests. First, the Khitan was close to them and could really lead troops to fight. Another, compared with the Song Dynasty, the Khitan military was at the upper hand. Since the Battle of Gaoliang River, most countries in the Western Regions paid tribute to the Khitan and left tribute to the Khitan, and broke off contact with the Song Dynasty. The missions that came to the Song Dynasty mostly traded in the name of tribute. The most bizarre one was the Karakhanate, which had been used in the name of Tantan and traded tribute with the Song Dynasty, which made the Song people mistakenly think that the Khitan State had always been there.

When he arrived at the Transportation Office, Bao Zheng personally welcomed him, took a seat with the guests and came to tea.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Just just now, two merchants from the Western Regions arrived at our office and said they were ordered by the King of Khotan to come to inquire about the situation."

Bao Zheng laughed and said, "What the King of Khotan? Do these unscrupulous merchants think we don't know the news of the destruction of Khotan? They are afraid that they are not here because of the King of Khotan, but because they want to do business."

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is certain to come to do business. Whenever the delegations of the Western Regions pay tribute, they will always sell a few identities to merchants. Jin San must be like this. But except for doing business, it is not like fake when coming to investigate the virtual and real. In the eyes of the Western Regions, the Khitan soldiers were strong and the soldiers of the dynasty were weak. Most of them paid tribute to the Khitans. After destroying Yelu Zongzhen, it may have scared many people's courage!"

After hearing this, Bao Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Jingshou means that this Jin San may be a way to explore the reality of the world for various countries?"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It is very likely that this is the case. What kind of envoy of the Khotan Kingdom, we now know that the Karakhanate is used for the name of the Khotan Kingdom, and the royal family does business. In addition to the royal family, there are also many merchants. Gaochang is not coming in, but the Khotan Kingdom is just a popular one no matter how you look at it."

There were many internal conflicts in Karakhan. After destroying Khotan, it quickly split. It was not a unified power. Many forces in the Western Regions used the name of Khotan. Anyway, the Song Dynasty could not tell the difference. As long as it came according to the tribute ceremony, it would make a lot of money. Sometimes, the mission was gathered by several forces, and sometimes it was entirely disguised by merchants themselves.

Khotan was founded in the Western Han Dynasty and later became a vassal state of the Western Regions. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Chao went to the Western Regions and used Khotan as a base to subdue various countries. During the Tang Dynasty, he was taken from the Western Turks and was one of the four towns in Anxi. The Tang Dynasty gradually declined, and Khotan was defeated by Tubo. Tubo collapsed and Khotan established his country again. In the Later Jin Dynasty, Li Shengtian was appointed as the "King of Dabao Khotan" and became a vassal state of the Central Plains again.

The founding of Khotan has been a long time ago, and its relationship with the Central Plains has always been good. It is a beautiful country in the Western Regions. No matter how the Central Plains are changing, as long as the title of Khotan is held, it will be favored by the Central Plains. Even if the Kingdom of Khotan is destroyed, this name has been used.

The order of King Khotan by Jin San said that he was either on behalf of a merchant or on behalf of several forces. Gaochang and Karakhan were close to the Khitan politically, and suddenly the Song Dynasty destroyed the Khitan emperors. This transformation was too great and he was at a loss for a moment. It was natural to find a merchant to see if it was true or false. If you want to turn to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty, this bend is not so easy to turn around.

Bao Zheng said: "Since that is the case, the manager thought how should he treat Jin San and others?"

Du Zhongxiao said, "We just pretend that we don't know. He is not a tribute, nor does it mean other countries. If you say it casually, we will just listen casually. In the future, Shengzhou will be the main road from the Western Regions to the Central Plains. Merchants gather, and it is inevitable that we can't treat merchants badly. Tonight I will hold a banquet to welcome them and drink a drink together. If you stay here for a few days, they will know what the truth is and what to say when they go back."

Bao Zheng nodded: "This matter is feasible. If you lose to Khitan and Dangxiang in a row, and if the countries in the Western Regions receive news, they will definitely be different from before. There are originally vassal states in the Central Plains, and many people are eager to reach the Central Plains."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Not just that, now we have the strength to support the forces in the Western Regions. From the Western Regions to the Central Plains, we no longer only do business, but also get our military support. At that time, many things were about to change."

Bao Zheng was shocked and said, "Jiang Zheng must take Heishui City, just to enter the Western Regions? If you get Heishui City, you can go west to Gaochang State. Gaochang State surrenders to the Khitan, and in the future - alas, we still know too little about the Western Regions."

Du Zhongxiao said: "So what if you know less? There is a victorious soldier, and they will tell us by themselves. The countries in the Western Regions are different from Dangxiang and Khitan. They are scattered and sparsely populated. Although they are big countries, they actually don't have many soldiers in one battle. Thousands of soldiers and horses in their hands are enough to run rampant. Now the imperial guards are being reorganized, and the same is true for Hequlu. It is difficult to form a large army in a short time. But there are still thousands of soldiers and horses."
Chapter completed!