The Protectorate of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty.

Haixi.

Haixi has now been renamed Dingxi.

That night.

Lu Bu had a long, long dream.

Although I can't remember the specific content of the dream, the vague remaining memory seems to be full of sadness and helplessness...

It's like facing the passage of time, the feeling that you want to catch it but can't.

To be honest, during this period of time, Lu Bu felt that he was not as brave as before, at least he was starting to find it difficult to be comfortable on the bed.

Does this have anything to do with dreams?

Lu Bu didn't know.

Lu Bu muttered, then sat up from the bed, glanced at the golden-haired girl sleeping soundly beside him, rubbed his temples, and felt slightly dazed.

Ever since the Western Region was conquered, there seemed to be no direction.

The Western Region is very big, but it is actually very small. Although the area is large, the population is not very large. These cities in the Western Region are concentrated in places with water sources and pastures, and there is a large area in the middle that is said to be the tomb of evil spirits.

There is no human habitation at all.

What's even more interesting is that these countries in the Western Regions, despite how loud they clamored before, actually waited for Lu Bu and his troops to arrive, and lowered their flags and surrendered without saying a word!

Once, as soon as Lu Bu's army arrived, two countries surrendered.

There are two small countries on the left and right. They don't know which side Lu Bu is going to fight, so they don't dare to bet, right?

Many countries in the Western Region have only one city.

Anyway, it's not like he had never surrendered to the Han before, so surrendering again now is not a big deal.

As for face, can that be used as food?

Among the countries in the Western Region, many even have semi-slavery systems. Kings, or city lords, are passed down from generation to generation, and the people around the cities are the eternal exploiters. The lives and wealth of these people

, as small as a piece of cloth or a piece of soil, all belong to the city lord.

The city lord is supreme, and then there are the various officials who work for the city lord, layer by layer, suppressing the people at the bottom who don't know a word and don't even know what to do if they want to resist. For these city lords

In other words, they just changed the object of tribute. In their city, they are still the "kings".

At the beginning, Lu Bu felt that this kind of life was very satisfying.

But after a long time, Lu Bu suddenly felt a little bored. At first, he thought that golden, red, and brown hairs were all good, but as time went by, he felt that they were not much different from other cuts of meat.

He only had a skin. He couldn't understand what Lu Bu said, let alone communicate. Later, he didn't know whether he was playing or being played...

"such a pity……"

Lu Bu suddenly regretted that when Li Ru wanted to go to the West, he did not go with him.

If we continue westward with Li Ru, maybe there will be more fun things?

Lu Bu pinched his beard and recalled Li Ru's smile when he left...

Lu Bu seemed to feel that he also dreamed of Li Ru's smile. What did it mean?

……(O_o)??……

Western Outpost.

This is a warning outpost in Dingxi. Generally speaking, it has a military strength and is led by a commander.

The checkpoint is actually very simple, it is just a watchtower, and there are a few houses under the watchtower, and a piece of land enclosed by a low wall. In places like the Western Regions, dry earth walls do not even use bricks and stones, and the tamped earth can withstand ordinary

Rain and snow, as for heavy rain, it is basically unlikely to occur.

Several soldiers were practicing, shooting at a fixed target thirty steps away.

The soldiers on guard on the sentry tower stretched their heads and looked down, "Hey, three rings... tsk, tsk, too weak..."

"Stop talking nonsense! That was blown by the wind!"

"What the hell! Why don't I feel the wind at all when I'm up there?"

"Get off your ass!"

The checkpoint located at the edge of the Western Region seems to be repeating a peaceful day amidst the noise.

Shi Chang walked out of the earthen hut, holding his sword in his arms and yawning loudly.

In the latter half of yesterday night, Shi Chang was on guard duty with someone.

Standing guard from the second half of the night to the morning is also the most tiring. Not only do you feel sleepy, but more importantly, you feel hungry. Especially since you only have two meals a day, and here at the checkpoint, you can't eat with an open stomach. You always have to leave a little.

Otherwise, if the next wave of supplies is delayed by a few days, it will be difficult to find even a root of grass in the fields. How about eating the soil and drinking from the northwest wind?

"Sir, when will the next supply come?"

Except for the soldiers on duty last night, the other boys were very energetic. Of course, the side effect was that they were more likely to get hungry and eat more...

"Three days, um, maybe five days. Who knows?"

"Sir, do you want me to take my two brothers to look around the area? Maybe we can catch a hare or something?"

"Shit! Do you want to go out and run wild? In this weather, there are no rabbits, not even mice!"

"How long, when will this grass grow again?"

"Waiting for God to let it rain and thaw, it won't be until February..."

"The grass will grow sooner... When the grass grows, there will be more rabbits and so on..."

"Hey, that's when the time comes..."

The two looked at each other and smiled in unison.

Winter is just hard work, but in spring, when grass grows all around, herbivorous and carnivorous animals will gradually come out of every nook and cranny, and then they can naturally go hunting in the surrounding areas, make tooth sacrifices, etc., without having to count the days right now.

, and then lived eagerly counting the grains.

"Practice hard! If your bow and arrow are not accurate, you won't be able to hit a rabbit or a roe deer when the time comes!"

"Hey!"

Just as they were talking, some smoke and dust suddenly rose in the distance...

"That's... there's a situation!" Er Mazi yelled on the sentry tower, pointing in the direction of the smoke, "What a long time! Someone is coming over there!"

Shi Chang changed his color and hurried up to the sentry tower. He held his hands and looked into the distance. After a while, he exhaled, "It doesn't look like a thief... There seems to be our recognition flag behind him..."

Not long after, the rushing cavalry approached the checkpoint.

"Stop! Stop over there and don't move!"

"Who are you?!"

The horses that came were held back by the horses, covered in mud and dust. There were streaks of sweat on their faces from the mud ditches.

The man at the front of the team raised his head and shouted at the sentry post, "We are under Chang Shi! We are going to Dingxi to report!"

A person with a long history?

In the Western Regions, there is only one person who can be called a long history.

Li Ru.

The chief at the checkpoint suddenly saw the linen tied on the heads and arms of these cavalrymen. He was stunned for a moment and blurted out: "Chang Shi... What's wrong with Chang Shi?"

……(⊙＿⊙；)……

"Which of you is the team leader?"

"The Great Protector summons you!"

One of the cavalrymen who came to report the news stood up and said, "This is me. Take me there."

Guard Lu Bu took a look and nodded, "Please follow me."

Pass through the courtyard gate, walk through the cloister, and arrive in front of the main hall.

On both sides of the main hall of Dingxi Mansion, there are braziers, and a tiger skin is spread in the middle.

Lu Bu was sitting on the tiger skin, frowning and staring at the man walking in from the door.

"Are you a member of Chang Shi's command?" Lu Bu did not recognize all the soldiers, especially some of Li Ru's men who did not have much contact with people like Lu Bu.

The visitor took out a seal, ribbon and token representing his identity from his arms.

Lu Bu checked it out and said, "Meng Ti Meng Qu Chang..."

"That's right..." Meng Ti lowered his head slightly.

Lu Bu looked at the linen tied to Meng Ti's helmet and arms. Because of the long journey, the linen had lost its original color and turned a little gray...

"Li Changshi..." Lu Bu took a breath, with a slightly thoughtful expression on his face.

Meng Ti showed some sadness and said, "To the great protector...he has been a long-term historian...and he has lost his fortune..."
To be continued...