The combined might of forty True Martial realm veterans was almost instantaneous. The vibrating halos of the True Martial realm were as tough as steel, and wherever they passed, camps would crumble.
The encirclement was almost over, and they would soon be able to 'withdraw'. But Wang Chong's mind was still replaying the final words of that Arab expert.
Wang Chong had only tried to interrogate him, but he hadn't expected that the Arab expert would actually reveal something useful.
"Did that fellow say anything?"
A faint fragrance like that of a lotus leaf came from behind him. Bai Siling had examined the Arab expert before walking over.
Compared to the battle with the bandits and the Arab expert, Bai Siling was currently more interested in Wang Chong.
"It seems like this matter really does have something to do with the Ouzan."
Wang Chong came back to his senses and told her everything that Ma Song had told him as well as what the Arab expert had said before his death.
That Arab expert had originally been the bodyguard of a wealthy Arab merchant, but the merchant had unexpectedly been killed while the Arab expert had managed to survive.
As the Tang Dynasty's military was too powerful and he didn't have any means of making a living, he decided to become a bandit.
He hoped that he would be able to gather enough money to return to the distant Abbasid Caliphate.
However, because he was a lone wolf and was wary of the Imperial Court's regular army, he hadn't been able to make much progress. Not too long ago, he met an Ouzan man.
The other party promised that as long as Wang Chong followed his instructions, not only would he help him return to Arabia, he would even give him a death warrant.
"A death warrant?"
A hint of surprise flashed through Bai Siling's eyes.
"Mm. Although he's called a bodyguard, he's actually a slave. If the master is dead but the slave responsible for protecting him is still alive, it's a crime punishable by death in Arabia. Even if he returns, only death awaits him. "
Wang Chong said.
The hierarchy of the Arabs was even stricter than that of the Tang dynasty, and the slave trade was prevalent there. In this aspect, Bai Siling had no experience, so naturally, she did not understand.
Bai Siling was deep in thought, but she did not pursue the matter.
"Did he say what Ouzan looked like?"
"Nope. He could distinguish between the Ouzan, the Turks, and the people of the Western Regions. The other party only told him to come here, but did not restrict his movements. He only told him to move around as much as possible during this period of time to create trouble for the Tang dynasty. He doesn't speak the same language as these bandits, and they don't even communicate. "
Wang Chong said.
"What are these Ouzan people thinking? Do you think you can cause trouble for us just like that? "
Bai Siling looked confused. Ouzan's behavior was very strange to her.
"Hehe, although I don't know their true intentions, I'm not sure. However, the imperial court and the Holy Emperor had always placed great importance on the road to the west. If the road to the west is flooded with bandits and highwaymen, it will pose a great threat to the trade of the Tang dynasty. If this continues, those Hu merchants, Abbasid Caliphate, and Charax Spasinu merchants might reduce or even cancel their plans to come to the Tang dynasty out of consideration for their safety.
"The Ouzan has always been hostile to the Tang dynasty. If the Tang dynasty and the Western Regions are cut off because of this, it will definitely be beneficial to the Ouzan. The only thing I don't understand is that the Ouzan should understand that His Majesty and the imperial court will not give up on this road to the Western Regions. Ouzan's actions will only cause some interference for us. It's impossible for the imperial court to really give up on this place. After all, the Western Regions still has the Anxi Protectorate. "
Wang Chong said. He was also very confused.
The 'Silk Road' of the Western Regions wasn't just an economic route for trade. It was also the lifeline of the Anxi Protectorate. The military of the Four Garrisons of Anxi relied on this route to transport supplies.
Just this point alone meant that the harassment launched by the Ouzan wasn't enough to pose much of a threat.
"That's hard to say. If the Imperial Court doesn't pay attention to it, the Imperial Court won't do anything about it. If the imperial court doesn't pay attention to this matter, perhaps the Ouzan might really succeed. However, there's one thing that I agree with you about the truth of the matter. For the Ouzan to spend so much effort to incite these bandits and highwaymen to move about, it can't be as simple as just plundering. "
Bai Siling had a pensive look on her face. Unknowingly, she had also been pulled into this train of thought by Wang Chong.
"That's right, Bai Siling, do you know of any Ouzan diplomatic mission that has recently come to the capital?"
Wang Chong suddenly asked.
"Are you joking with me? I've been in Longwei Training Camp all this while. How could I possibly know something that even you don't? When have you ever seen us ladies concerned about politics? "
Bai Siling rolled her eyes as though she was looking at a fool.
"Hahaha, I've misspoken. I forgot about you. You ladies aren't interested in politics at all. "
Wang Chong also came to his senses. He slapped his head and laughed heartily.
The women around him, be it Cousin Wang Zhu Yan, Marchioness Yi, or even his mother and little sister, weren't interested in politics at all.
This could be said to be a 'common problem' among women.
Bai Siling was clearly the same as well.
The battle came to an end quickly. The forty veteran cavalrymen of the Tang dynasty swept through the entire stronghold before continuing on their way.
There wasn't a single survivor in the stronghold.
And in this stronghold, Wang Chong had earned an additional two hundred thousand gold taels. This was equivalent to Wang Chong's monthly income from selling WuZi Steel.
Adding on his previous gains, Wang Chong now had a total of seven hundred thousand gold taels. Even though Wang Chong was a wealthy man, he had to admit that wiping out these bandits was truly a great reward.
Throughout the entire process, he didn't even need to make a move. All he had to do was to come up with a plan and command the troops. And this gold was flowing endlessly toward him.
"The Silk Road is truly a place of wealth. If even these bandits along the way can become so wealthy, I wonder how wealthy those highwaymen are!"
Wang Chong sighed.
Regardless of which time-space continuum he was in, the Silk Road was always famous. It was a path forged from wealth. Wang Chong had only wiped out a few bandits, but he had already earned several hundred thousand gold taels. And this was only a drop in the bucket for the westbound Silk Road.
It was easy to imagine how prosperous the Silk Road to the West was from this point of view.
On the westbound road, the bandits were actually not the real threat. Among them, there were only a few who had reached the True Martial realm.
The real threat came from those highwaymen who came and went without a trace and had extremely high mobility.
They were the real threat on the westbound road.
This was also one of the important reasons why the imperial court assigned Wang Chong and the others to be cavalry instead of infantry and archers. The highwaymen plundered much more than the bandits, and they were also much wealthier.
Wang Chong was already beginning to look forward to how much income he could get from those highwaymen. If this situation continued, it wouldn't be a problem even if the city in Nanzhao was doubled in size.
As they traveled westward, Wang Chong and the others gained more and more. When Wang Chong said that he would let Bai Siling invest, Bai Siling thought it was a joke.
How could the capital's Bai family be short of money?
Even the wealthiest families in the capital could not compare to the Bai family. It was just that the Bai Clan had always maintained a low profile and pursued the strategy of concealing their strength.
However, as she followed Wang Chong, Bai Siling realized that she had underestimated the weight of Wang Chong's words. In a short period of time, she had already received three hundred thousand gold taels from Wang Chong, then four hundred thousand, then five hundred thousand.
No matter how wealthy the Bai Clan was, it was impossible for them to treat five hundred thousand gold taels lightly. And this sum of money was still increasing exponentially.
Even though Bai Siling was the daughter of the Bai Clan and a direct descendant of the Bai Clan, she had never received so much wealth in just a few days.
This was already more than what she had spent in the past few years.
If even she was able to receive so much as an assistant, it wasn't hard to imagine how much Wang Chong had received. Thus, Bai Siling didn't stand on ceremony with him at all.
On the other hand, Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu weren't fools either. Ever since they had tasted the sweetness of the harvest, they had also gone all out.
Even though their harvest couldn't compare to that of Wang Chong and the others, it was still a huge sum for them. At the very least, it was impossible for them to obtain so much wealth from the Bai Clan.
Thus, the two of them were determined to compete with Wang Chong!
As for Lieutenant Zhang Lin, as the supervisor of this operation, he was also glad to see the outcome. On the west path, a large number of bandits were eliminated.
If this were to continue, the harvest Wang Chong and the others would receive would surely reach an astonishing figure. However, nothing on the road to the west could be calculated so simply.
The operation of Wang Chong, Xu Gan, and the others had wiped out the bandits one after another, and it had brought about an unexpected effect on the road to the west.
…
"Come up!"
Several hundred li away from Wang Chong's group, a stalwart figure more than eight feet tall was standing on a hill, his arms as thick as bowls extending from his sleeves as he beckoned to the crowd outside.
Hong long!
The halos vibrated. At least eight True Martial realm experts stepped on the sharp halos and gathered all their strength. With the speed of lightning, they bombarded the body of the tall and sturdy figure from all directions.
Dang!
Eight surges of Stellar Energy struck the figure's body, but a resounding metallic reverberation echoed in the air. It was as if they had struck a massive piece of steel instead of a body of flesh and blood.
Not only did the huge rebound force block the attacks of the eight True Martial realm experts, but it also scattered their Aura Qis in one fell swoop.
If one were to take a closer look, one would notice that a massive black chainmail condensed from Stellar Energy had appeared around the figure's body.
The chainmail floated within the Stellar Energy, shrouding the figure from head to toe. Not only that, it had also deflected the attacks of the eight True Martial realm experts.
"Again!"
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