In the evening, in the palace, Yuwen Wen gave a banquet, allowing Binzhou Governor Antulu and Wang Shichong, the deputy chief of the Ministry of War, to have a meal in front of the imperial court. This was a great honor, and the two accompanied the emperor to have a meal together.

During the meal, Wang Shichong continued to talk about his experiences over the years.

Wang Shichong's original surname was "Zhi". His grandfather was from the Hu people in the Western Regions and settled in Guanzhong. His father lost his father because he was young and his mother remarried to a family named Wang, so he changed his surname to "Wang".

Like many people in Guanzhong, when Yang Ni was in rebellion, Wang Shichong served in the Sui Kingdom.

But at that time, Wang Shichong was very young and was just a general in the army. He followed the trend in the turbulent situation. At the beginning of Mingde, he served as the Fangshi Department of the Ministry of War.

Wang Shichong has a deep eye and a high nose. In addition, his ancestral home is from the Western Regions, so he has many contacts with Sogdian Hu merchants in Guanzhong. Therefore, he has a relationship with Antulu, who was born as a Sogdian merchant.

By chance, Wang Shichong learned from Antulu that the emperor was looking for chrysanthemums in the Western Regions that could repel mosquitoes, but no one had seen such flowers, and he had not even heard of where this flower was produced in the Western Regions.

The Western Regions refer to the vast area west of the Central Plains. The area is so large that it is beyond ordinary people's imagination. To find a chrysanthemum that can "repel insects" in such a vast world is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Wang Shichong, who wanted to make a name for himself, heard from Antulu that the emperor was very interested in this strange chrysanthemum and decided to set out to the Western Regions to find flowers for the emperor.

His appearance was similar to the Sogdians, and the footprints of the Sogdian caravan went west to Constantinople, the capital of the Roman kingdom. Therefore, when traveling west in the Sogdian caravan, it would not be noticeable.

Antulo was a Sogdian, who had been doing business for generations and had a good relationship with Sogdian compatriots. It would be no problem to make arrangements for Wang Shichong.

Antulu was able to speak in front of the emperor and could provide some information for Wang Shichong as a reference: the court sent personnel to the west to find Yiju, so Wang Shichong did not have to go where these people planned to go, saving time.

Wang Shichong, who was well prepared, took the Sogdians and began his long journey of finding strange chrysanthemums as he walked westward with the Sogdian caravan.

He followed the Sogdian caravan westward, crossed the East-West Turkic territory, crossed the Palacioles and entered the river, and then continued to travel westward, entering the Persian border.

The Persian country is vast, and Wang Shichong mainly searched for strange chrysanthemums in the inland. Because there were people sent by the imperial court to search in the coastal areas. He inquired around and inspected on the spot, but found no chrysanthemums that could repel mosquitoes.

People everywhere have no tradition of using flowers to make mosquito repellents.

Wang Shichong was also sealed in the Persian capital Taixi for a period of time. There, he talked with merchants from all over the world, trying to find out where such chrysanthemums were found. It was heard that there were all kinds of rumors, but I didn't know whether it was true or not. After thinking about it, I still had no idea.

He continued to travel westward, crossed the Saracen Desert, and entered the "General Administration Office" of Afiliga in Rome. He lived there for a while. While drawing the trends of mountains, rivers, he was also inquiring about the rumors about Yiju.

Still no discovery.

After a while, Wang Shichong took a boat in Alexandria, a famous seaport in Afilica, and headed north to the Roman capital Constantinople.

In the Roman country, Wang Shichong explored the local customs and asked about where there were flowers that could repel mosquitoes.

For this reason, he once took a boat to cross west and entered the peninsula where the Roman ancient city of Rome is located, which is now occupied by barbarians. Wang Shichong spent a lot of effort to buy the local chiefs, and was able to cruise around and look for strange chrysanthemums.

But he returned in vain.

Wang Shichong bribed and pleased the Roman officials. He followed the Roman army northward and arrived at the northern border of the dynasty, where barbarians gathered to look for strange chrysanthemums.

There, he witnessed a border army in Rome rebellion, then pulled the flag south and marched towards the capital.

The time was around the end of the seventh year of Mingde.

The situation in Rome was turbulent. Although he was an outsider, he was almost speechless, and the Roman government was in chaos. The high official he pleased was destroyed in the chaos. Wang Shichong, who had no support, could only follow the trend.

Under the displaced conditions, Wang Shichong even became a beggar, begging along the road, and came to the grassland area in the northeast of Rome. Not long after, he became a slave to the local grassland tribe.

Fortunately, he knew Sogdian and looked similar to Sogdians. The grassland tribes there had many interactions with the Western Turks and had dealing with Sogdian merchants. There were people in the tribe who were familiar with Sogdian.

Therefore, Wang Shichong, who was regarded as the Sogdian, had a change in his situation. Because of his military experience, he gained the trust of the tribal chief by relying on several successful suggestions.

Just as the Central Plains dynasty was plagued by grassland tribes, the Roman Kingdom was also attacked by these grassland tribes. It happened that the Roman domestic chaos was in chaos, the old emperor was killed, and the regicide became a pseudo-emperor, and the domestic chaos was in chaos, so the border tribes naturally had to take advantage.

The world was impermanent and the Roman aristocrats who were trapped in civil war hired border national cavalry as thugs and participated in the civil war. Wang Shichong's tribe was also one of them, so he actually became a Roman official army.

The new Roman king was incorrect in his throne, and the great nobles complained that they attacked each other. The Persian king in the east took the fire to rob. The king of Persia, as the son-in-law of the murdered Roman emperor, brought the escaped prince to sue.

With the enemy in front of Rome, the attacks between various forces are not so fierce, so the mercenaries have no meaning of existence. Foreign tribes who assist in the war have left one after another, and the tribes where Wang Shichong is located are also the same.

At this moment, Wang Shichong discovered a chrysanthemum that could repel mosquitoes.

At that time, he was located in the coastal area of ​​the western border of Rome. Local farmers picked white wild flowers everywhere in the wilderness and dried them to feed them. There were livestock piles with dried flowers, and the livestock were rarely disturbed by mosquitoes and flies.

The locals have known this situation for a long time, and it has been like this since ancient times, but everyone thinks that the gods responded to their prayers and blessed the safety of the livestock, so no one takes it seriously.

The Roman state had a state religion, and they all believed devoutly, from nobles to untouchables, so when everyone believed that the peace of livestock was blessed by the gods, they naturally would not be interested in wild flowers that could repel mosquitoes.

Wang Shichong, who had been treasured, collected many dried flowers and wild flower seeds, and brought them by his side, returning to the grassland with the tribe east.

There, he successfully tried to plant this wild flower, and the dried flowers she exposed did have the effect of repelling mosquitoes. The juice obtained after the petals and rhizomes was mixed with water and sprayed on humans and animals, and also had the effect of repelling mosquitoes.

At that time, about ten years after Mingde, Wang Shichong, who was in the prairie in the west, lived with the tribe following the water and grass, and took the time to cultivate the hard-earned insect-removing wild flowers.

As time goes by, many seeds are found.

He was alone and could not return to Dongtu. Maybe he would never be able to come back in his life, but he was still waiting for the opportunity.

The opportunity finally came, and a Sogdian caravan from the river arrived at the grassland. Wang Shichong quickly contacted the other leader.

Of course, the leader of this Sogdian caravan did not know Wang Shichong, but Wang Shichong could tell some of the truth about the East-West trade routes, and claimed that he was the Sogdian who had settled in the Central Plains by his ancestors, so he spent money to redeem him and returned east together.

In this way, when relatives and friends and officials of the Ministry of War thought that Wang Shichong had died in a foreign land, more than ten years later, Wang Shichong returned to Chang'an in the late spring of the 14th year of Mingde.

He looked for a needle in the haystack, found a chrysanthemum that could repel mosquitoes and brought it back.

After hearing this, Yuwen Wen was deeply moved. No matter what kind of person Wang Shichong was, such a feat was indeed worthy of his admiration.

Wandering in a foreign country for more than ten years, after going through a lot of hardships, returning to the Central Plains, this persistence and perseverance alone shows how tenacity he is.

The dried flowers brought back by Wang Shichong have been handed over to Antulu for experiments. The experimental report is now in Yuwen Wen's hands, and the flower seeds brought back by Wang Shichong have also begun to be planted.

After confirming that the effect is significant, this great contribution must be rewarded.

If you give it now, there is no special effect for the flowers that come out of ten thousand, then it is not...

But Anto is a guarantee, and I think this matter is almost certain...

Thinking of this, Yuwen Wen made up his mind that Wang Shichong, as an official of the Ministry of War, explored the west and figured out the situation in Rome more clearly than the mission back then. This is a great achievement and also a commendation.

"Zhengwailang, you have made great contributions to surveying the western regions and bringing mosquitoes and chrysanthemums to repel mosquitoes and chrysanthemums, which will benefit the country and the people. The court will naturally reward them according to the system." Yuwen Wen looked at Wang Shichong and said slowly.

"But I have to give you an additional reward... What reward does Yuanwailang want?"

Hearing this, Wang Shichong quickly left the seat and bowed: "Your Majesty! I am serving the court and sharing your worries is a matter of my duty. How dare I ask for rewards for this!"

Antulu laughed and said, "The Lord Wai Lang is such a bad word. Your Majesty has always been clear about rewards and punishments. The Lord Wai Lang has made great contributions and does not seek rewards for this. If Your Majesty is correct and outsiders do not know about it, you will be unfair to reward and punish him."

After Antulu said this, Wang Shichong was frightened: "I was frightened, never thought..."

"It's okay." Yuwen Wen waved his hand, thought for a while, and said, "My reward is a thousand taels of gold and ten thousand taels of silver, a mansion in Chang'an, and the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and the official waiter will choose ten horses!"

Wang Shichong burst into tears when he heard this and kept bowing: "Thank you Your Majesty for the reward!"

Yuwen Wen doesn't care whether this person comes from the heart or acts. He just needs to reward him for his contributions.

He wants all the talents in the world to know that as long as they have good talent and make contributions, they will definitely be appointed by the emperor!
Chapter completed!