One person ascends to the Pure Huang Court

"I heard that if you are missing one, you will have to pay with a life."

"A harsh government is more ferocious than a tiger," Hu Xiuwu sighed.

No wonder the man didn't complain at all after being pushed away by the Kucha soldiers.

If the tribute this year cannot be collected, the King of Kucha will definitely not select people from the nobles as sacrifices. In the end, he will have to select people from the poor to make up the number.

Hu Xiuwu did not ask such stupid questions as why Qiuci did not resist. The Queen of Jingjue was still in power, and Jingjue must have an army composed of foreigners now. Even the Huns were very afraid of Jingjue now, let alone the small Qiuci.

When Gao Lu talked about the situation in Qiuci again, he couldn't help but think of his fellow tribesmen who also died a bad end because of the snake god. He was a little depressed for a moment and didn't feel like talking. Hu Xiuwu was thinking about the affairs of Jingjue. Seeing that both of them were silent, Gao Ji didn't dare to shout anymore.

Among the few people, only Chen Duo could still maintain an innocent and worry-free mentality, and was truly enjoying the scenery of Yancheng.

Gao Gu led the caravan to an inconspicuous courtyard and knocked on the door. An old man in the courtyard came to open the door, and when he saw it was Gao Gu, he hurriedly saluted.

This is also the Gao family's residence, but the people of the Zaklama tribe cannot stay in the Western Regions for long, so Gao specially hired an old servant in Qiuci to help look after the house.

He has houses all over the world, and they are all big mansions.

What is a rich person?

If it weren't for the curse of the snake god, this sword hanging over the heads of the Zaklama people, they would have been able to live a comfortable life with the resources they now have. However, if it weren't for the motivation of this curse, I'm afraid the Zaklama people wouldn't have fought so desperately.

Everything in the world has its pros and cons.

After the horses and people of the caravan were settled, it was still early and Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo were not tired yet, so Gao Gu said to them:

"We finally arrived in Qiuci. Why don't you take a shower and rest for a while, and then let Ayue take you around. In the caravan, besides me, Ayue is the one who is most familiar with Qiuci."

“Although Qiuci is not as prosperous as the Central Plains, it also has its own unique style and there are some new and unique species that cannot be seen in the Central Plains.”

Looking at Gao Gu who was pretending to be mysterious, Hu Xiuwu disagreed in his heart.

The novel species that Gao Gu mentioned were nothing more than grapes, cantaloupes, or camels, things like that, which he had already grown tired of eating and seeing.

However, when Hu Xiuwu turned around and saw Chen Duo, he discovered that Chen Duo seemed to be very interested in shopping, with an eager light in her eyes.

Hu Xiuwu suddenly remembered that Chen Duo had been living in the bunker since they parted at the tomb of King Xian. He only came out on missions, either killing people or on his way to kill people.

Although Liao Zhong made her a temporary worker for her own good, this was not a normal life after all. Moreover, after arriving in the Han Dynasty, she and Hu Xiuwu had been constantly on the road and had not strolled around normally.

Although he saw Chen Duo's yearning, Hu Xiuwu did not make a decision on his own. Instead, he asked Chen Duo for her opinion:

"Duo'er, do you want to go shopping in Yancheng?"

Chen Duo looked at Hu Xiuwu and nodded heavily: "Yes."

Hu Xiuwu smiled at Chen Duo, then bowed to Gao Yue and said, "Then I'll leave it to Uncle Gao Yue."

Gao Yue forced an ugly smile:

"It's just a matter of duty."

After watching Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo return to their respective rooms to take a shower, Gao Gu asked the rest of the caravan to rest first and discuss anything tomorrow.

After sending the others away, Gao Gu's amiable expression disappeared, and he said seriously to Gao Lu who had been following him:

"You should also go and take a shower. We will be out for a while."

"It's time for you to meet the King of Kucha."

"Here!"

Chapter 126 King of Kucha

Yancheng was built against the Tianshan Mountains, and the Palace of Kucha was located on the hillside of the Tianshan Mountains. Kucha had the most abundant resources among the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions, so the palace was built in a magnificent, solemn and grand manner.

In order to cope with the sandstorms in the Western Regions, the exterior style of the palace is relatively rough and without too much decoration. It can only be seen that the palace was built in a very grand manner, with each floor being two meters high.

But there is another secret inside the Kucha Palace. The candlesticks used to place candles in the palace corridors are all made of gold, and the surface of the candlesticks is carved with intricate patterns.

The walls of the corridors are painted with various lifelike murals, which record the deeds of King Kucha who founded the Kingdom of Kucha in the Kuk Oasis.

However, the content of the murals is obviously distorted and has undergone some artistic processing.

The King of Kucha was deified, and he was invincible, victorious in battle, and a man of great talent and strategy. If you only look at the murals, you would think that the King of Kucha established a huge empire spanning the Eurasian continent.

Anyway, after seeing these murals, Gao Lu curled his lips in disdain. Although he had not yet met the King of Kucha, he already had a preliminary impression of him.

The King of Kucha was really thick-skinned.

It was the first time that Gao Lu saw these exquisite murals, but Gao Gu had seen them many times. He said in Chinese:

"These murals are the same as when I last came here. There is no change, except that the colors seem to have faded."

Gao Lu looked at Gao Gu in confusion, not understanding why Gao Gu suddenly said this to him.

Isn’t it normal that the content of the mural has not changed?

Looking at Gao Lu's bewildered expression, Gao Gu sighed:

"Time is still too tight, Lin Heng has not grown up yet."

Being in the palace of Kucha, Gao Gu was surrounded by Kucha attendants and guards, so he did not teach Gao Lu here for the time being.

In order to maintain the content and bright colors of the murals, the murals need to be maintained every year. Western churches invite painters to add color to the murals in the church every year.

The murals in the Kucha Palace are no exception, but these murals are the same as those Gao Gu saw a few years ago, which shows that the finances of the Kucha Kingdom in recent years were not optimistic and it did not waste financial and material resources on trivial matters.

It seems that the Queen of Jingjue has put Kucha under great pressure in recent years. In order to meet the offerings required by Jingjue, the silver and money accumulated by Kucha are likely to be exhausted.

The maid leading the way brought Gao Gu and his nephew to the entrance of a hall, then turned around and said to Gao Gu in Kucha language:

"Sir, I can only send you here. The king is waiting for you in the palace."

"It's troublesome."

Gao Gu replied in the Kucha language.

The maid smiled sweetly, then returned the greeting to the two men before leaving.

Gao Gu straightened his clothes, stretched them, and smoothed out the wrinkles:

"Let's go. Don't lose your manners in front of the King of Kucha, but don't be too humble and let him look down on you."

"Here."

Gao Lu imitated Gao Gu's movements, but was still not as free and easy as Gao Gu and seemed a little nervous.

The two men walked into the palace. The only person left in the palace was King Zhe Luo of Kucha, who was sitting on a golden lion throne. He was wearing a brocade belt on his head, a long robe with a folded collar and narrow sleeves, a precious belt around his waist, long boots on his feet, and a smile on his face.

Although Ze Luo is nearly eighty years old, with a head full of white hair and a face full of wrinkles, his eyes are so bright that it is difficult to look directly at him. He is also tall and strong with muscular build, and looks in better condition than Gao Gu, who is only in his thirties.

Needless to say, King Zeluo of Kucha must be an extraordinary person. Only an extraordinary person with full and abundant innate qi can maintain such a state at the age of eighty.

Most of the kings of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions were foreigners. The Western Regions were vast and sparsely populated, so as long as one had military force, one could gather a group of followers and then find an oasis to establish himself as king.

For example, the Pule Kingdom, which had a population of only more than 2,000 people, was established in this way.

It was the same with Kucha at the beginning, but the King of Kucha, Zeluo, was very powerful. Relying on his own bravery, he led his men to occupy an oasis with the most abundant resources. Then, after more than 50 years of management and construction, he finally built the Kingdom of Kucha with a population of 80,000 and more than a thousand soldiers.

Not only is the music of Kucha moving and unique, its swords and spears are also sharp.

If it weren't for the Queen of Jingjue's sudden appearance, Qiuci would have been the most powerful country among the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions.

The Kingdom of Kucha was small, and Yiren's advantages were more prominent. The King of Kucha knew that if his successor was not Yiren, he would not be able to sit firmly on the throne.

However, the proportion of aliens is only one in 150,000. Although the probability of an alien giving birth to an alien is higher, the probability is not optimistic.

Therefore, in order to continue the Kingdom of Kucha, the King of Kucha could only cast a wide net and sow seeds everywhere.

Some people even joked that among every ten thousand Kucha nobles, half were Kucha princes.

But even so, when Gao Gu came last time, he still hadn't heard of any extraordinary people among Zhe Luo's descendants.

Gao Gu took Gao Lu to meet the King of Kucha, Ze Luo, and greeted him in fluent Kucha language.

Ze Luo laughed, walked down from the throne, and personally helped Gao Gu up:

"Sage, there is no need to be so polite. Last time, you gave me advice to let the craftsmen divide the work and take charge of different areas. The speed of forging weapons has indeed increased a lot. Last year, we even completed the full quota of Jingjue."

Gao Gu bowed and said, "That is the credit of you, King of Kucha. If it weren't for your hard work, there would be no Kucha today. So I just made some suggestions."

It can be seen that Gao Gu and Zhe Luo have a good personal relationship. This is the reason why Gao Gu gave advice to Zhe Luo before. Before Gao Gu, the Zaklama people only regarded Kucha as a simple place to stay.

When Gao Guru, like Gao Ji, first came to Qiuci with his elders, he keenly discovered the advantages of Qiuci. It has convenient transportation and abundant resources. If they could get help from Qiuci, it would be like adding wings to a tiger for them.

After a few days of visits, Gao Gu discovered a problem in the Kingdom of Kucha.

In the barbarian land of the Western Regions, the official system is in chaos, the duties and powers of officials are unclear, and if the King of Kucha does not designate someone to do something, no one will do it.

Because they didn't know whether he should do it.

It is said to be a country, but it looks more like a large bandit den with many hills.

After returning to the Han Dynasty, Gao Gu went to a large county with a hundred thousand households. He spent some money and entered the county government as a clerk to the chief clerk, helping him to handle paperwork and becoming familiar with the organizational structure of the county government.

Although Qiuci was known as a country, it had a population of 80,000 and its territory was no more than a county in the Han Dynasty. As long as a complete county government could be built, it would be enough for Qiuci.

After staying in the county government for a while, Gao Gu had a detailed understanding of its operation, so he resigned from his job in the county government. After coming to Qiuci again, he tried to find a way to meet the King of Qiuci and presented him with a complete set of Qiuci official system.

There has never been such a complete and strict official system in the Western Regions, although some people, even some countries in the Western Regions, did not understand Gao Gu's words.

But Ze Luo did discover the benefits of it and asked Gao Gu to help him implement the perfect official system from the Han Dynasty in Qiuci.

From then on, Ze Luo's edict could be transmitted to every corner of Kucha.

Ze Luo was very happy and thought Gao Gu was a wise man sent to him by God. He even wanted Gao Gu to be his prime minister, but Gao Gu declined.

Gao Gu declined the position of prime minister, but the Zhaklama people were still able to move freely in Qiuci. No one dared to stop them, and even Zhe Luo's sons were very polite to Gao Gu.

The last time Gao Gu came to Yancheng, Ze Luo specifically asked Gao Gu about the matter of Jingjue and asked him if he had any good plan.

But this was a gap in hard power, and Gao Gu had no idea for the moment. He could only teach Zhe Luo Xianqin's method of water division of labor in making powerful crossbows, so that he could deal with the military equipment requested by Jingjue first.

Ze Luo and Gao Gu exchanged a few words, and Gao Gu introduced Gao Lu to Ze Luo. Ze Luo nodded to Gao Lu, saying that he would pay attention to him in the future, and then he couldn't wait to say to Gao Gu:

"Sage, the Kingdom of Jingjue has sent an envoy these days to convey the order of the Queen of Jingjue to me."

Gao Lu on the side was somewhat surprised because the King of Kucha, Ze Luo, was now speaking Chinese.

Ever since Gao Gu told Zhe Luo about the affairs of the Central Plains, especially the advanced official system of the Central Plains, Zhe Luo has admired the Han Dynasty very much and even learned Chinese from Gao Gu.

Ze Luo took a piece of parchment from the stone table in the palace. There were three portraits printed on it. He showed the parchment to Gao Gu:

"Well, they told me to issue a nationwide wanted notice for these three people, and they also left an envoy in Yancheng to monitor me."