As soon as this team of soldiers and horses arrived, the market was in a state of panic. Every vendor was in danger and lowered his head to avoid it.
It can be seen that no one is afraid of these people's domineering behavior.
"Master, don't be afraid, this is Shancheng's temple army! They will not embarrass the Han people."
Xiang Chenglin chuckled.
Liu Zheng was surprised. He looked carefully and saw that among the nearly fifty people, there were actually only ten cavalrymen. The rest were infantrymen wearing Loulan's characteristic military uniforms and holding swords. Liu Zheng was very interested. The swords of these Loulan soldiers were all the same as those of Loulan soldiers. The ones from the Longyan Dynasty were different, with scimitars, long swords, daggers, and felt hats and sheepskin coats. It seems that most of the troops in the Loulan Kingdom are crossbowmen, and there are not many cavalry. This is still a bit different from the Turkic cavalry in Liu Zheng's impression.
The people here in Loulan should be of Turkic descent, but they do not have as many cavalry as the Huns. This is probably due to religious beliefs. Liu Zheng knew that there were many temples in Loulan. This temple was similar to the Islam of later generations. The whole country was the integration of politics and religion. In Loulan, there were divine envoys from the temples. Their status in Loulan was even comparable to that of the king.
as expected.
The pair of temple soldiers came here and started a rough search, but what surprised Liu Zheng was that they did not criticize Long Yan or the Han people too harshly, and even ignored them without even looking at them.
"Why?"
Liu Zheng asked in surprise.
Xiang Chenglin chuckled and said: "Haha, the young master doesn't know something. This is a characteristic of Loulan. How about I dare to invite the young master to sit in my Rongxiang store?"
Liu Zheng and others naturally agreed. It could be seen that Xiang Chenglin's reputation in this good city was not small, and many passers-by greeted him respectfully. After walking around a few streets, we came to a quite large inn called Rongxiang Inn.
"Shopkeeper, you're here, it's been a hard journey!"
The innkeeper ran out immediately.
"Serve the wine, serve the good wine! Take out that drunken Yinzhou, I want to have a good drink with Mr. Liu!"
Xiang Chenglin is very generous.
The boss was startled, Zui Yinzhou? This wine is the treasure of Rongxiang Inn. Without fifty taels of silver, it is absolutely impossible to get it. I thought to myself that this young master looked very unusual, so he quickly ordered the wine and food to be prepared.
Drunk Yinzhou?
Liu Zheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had long been tired of drinking the wine he brewed. He originally wanted to come to Loulan and try the famous highland barley wine here, but it seems that he has no chance for the time being.
Xiang Chenglin is a good guide.
While several people were drinking, he was talking about the situation in the Loulan Kingdom. Liu Zheng and others also listened with interest.
It turns out that the Kingdom of Loulan used to be a very small town, just like Loulan in the previous life. It had a population of less than 20,000 and only occupied this good city. But hundreds of years ago, the temple suddenly appeared in Loulan and spread the word.
At first, Loulan Royal Court did not pay attention.
But who would have thought that this temple would be like a prairie fire, unstoppable. Soon, the entire people of Loulan became temple believers.
At this time, the king became anxious and suppressed several times, but to no avail. He almost aroused public outrage and was overthrown by the temple. So, when the internal strife was extremely serious, the royal court and the temple finally reached an agreement to jointly manage Loulan!
The royal court governs the secular world, and the temple governs faith.
But what surprised King Loulan was that his compromise caused the territory of Loulan Kingdom to expand several times! You know, the expansion rate of religious belief is faster than that of the military. Soon, with the help of the temple, the Kingdom of Loulan not only expanded its territory, but also successfully traded with the Arabs in the West, becoming the largest country in the Western Region. Even when the king was happy, he was also worried about the temple's too great influence.
So, the king came up with a way!
The temple led the people to believe in religion, and the royal court called on people to learn from the powerful Han people! It has to be said that the previous King of Loulan was indeed a talented person. He began to introduce Han culture, Han habits, clothing, ancient books, and talents to fight against the temple. The Han culture itself can be regarded as a high-level civilization among ethnic minorities like Loulan who used to drink blood from their hair. This move did indeed achieve results, making Loulan Royal Court increasingly powerful and always competing with the temple, which continues to this day.
Therefore, in Loulan, as long as they are Han Chinese, they will receive special treatment.
Liu Zheng was amazed when he heard this, so now in Loulan, there are two ideologies confronting each other.
Xiang Chenglin drank a few cups of drunken Yinzhou and laughed and said: "That being said, the temple army will not embarrass us today. But a few days ago, the King of Loulan was newly mourned, and there was fierce fighting in the country. Master, if you want to go to Kucheng, you have to be very careful!"
Liu Zheng saw that although Cheng Lin was an old fox, he was sincere to him, so he smiled and said: "I'll go to Kucheng in a few days. I want to find someone in Shancheng."
Xiang Chenglin said proudly: "Whoever you want, young master, just tell me! There is no businessman in Shancheng that I don't know!"
Zheng Yueru said: "There is a slave trader named Mire. Do you know Shopkeeper Xiang?"
Xiang Chenglin's face changed greatly: "Mire? How could I not know about him? He was taken to the Kucheng city and will be executed on another day!"
"What?"
Liu Zheng and Zheng Yueru both changed their expressions and stood up.
…
Yinzhou Yintan City.
The huge project is still in full swing.
A few months have passed, and basically all the structures of the entire city have been built.
The focus is of course the salt factory and Liu Zheng's military workshop!
At this time, Jiang Xuan had no objections to Qingyang Shuo. Apart from training soldiers every day, he stayed in Yintan City and studied with him.
"Sir, it's been a month and a half and there's no news from the young master. We..."
Jiang Xuan was a little worried and asked worriedly while grinding Qingyang Shuo.
Qingyang Shuo said calmly: "Want to go to Loulan?"
Jiang Xuan let out a laugh and said excitedly: "Young Master has a poem that says, Huangsha wears golden armor in a hundred battles, and he will never return it until he breaks Loulan! Give me Jiang Xuan five thousand cavalry, and I will definitely break through his Loulan!"
Qingyang Shuo shook his head: "Why did Master Zhi build this Silver Beach City?"
Jiang Xuan said blankly: "Is it just for making salt?"
Qingyang Shuo smiled slightly and looked to the west. The project of Silver Beach City is so vast and spectacular that even the farthest point is already bordering the Gobi Desert dozens of miles away. Even with the help of Qing Yangshuo, changing the river course and diverting water from the Gobi is already in progress...
At this time, even Qingyang Shuo could not admire the ambition of Mr. Liu, and no one in the world could control him.
He wants to open a road to the Western Region!
This road starts from Silver Beach City, but I don't know where it continues... When the young master left, he once told himself that when he came back, he would bring back a detailed map of Loulan Passage. At that point, it's time to actually build the passage.
He called this the "Silk Road"!
Silk Road.
Qingyang Shuo smiled faintly, fascinated, what a beautiful and romantic name.
He seemed to have heard the unique vocal music and camel bells of Loulan, and seemed to have seen the dance with strange costumes and graceful figures...
Although I don't know how the young master will fare in Loulan, Qingyang Shuo believes that such a peerless talent will definitely be a good match for people and heaven.
"Go to Kezhou again and build more fortifications!"
"Yes, sir!"
…
"Ask Zhan?"
Liu Zheng looked confused. Is this even possible? He worked so hard across the desert and almost died on the way. The purpose was to find this Mire, but in the end he was asked to kill him?
Zheng Yueru also asked anxiously: "Why is this?"
Xiang Chenglin smiled bitterly and said: "It's not because of the assassination of the prince. The assassin was a Kunlun slave with good skills. Mire was the largest slave trader in Loulan, so he was naturally involved. The seventh prince thought of avenging his brother. Yu, capture Mire... But who doesn’t know that Mire belongs to the queen, and once the prince dies, only the third prince will be her legitimate son, and these seventh princes are suppressing the third prince!"
Liu Zheng was confused after hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, he figured out the mystery.
It seems that the struggle for royal power in Loulan Kingdom now falls on the seventh prince and the third prince. No wonder the seventh prince in the desert invited a werewolf exorcist, determined to kill his third brother.
The royal family is fighting within the family, and it’s really life-and-death.
"The werewolf exorcists are probably also from the temple?"
Liu Zheng thought for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
Xiang Chenglin looked at him in surprise: "Young master really has a sharp eye. These seven princes are supported by the temple. Otherwise, how could Loulan be so popular just by relying on this bastard?"
Liu Zheng understood at this moment and said with a smile: "Then the third prince is a pro-Han?"
Xiang Chenglin nodded yes.
Liu Zheng stood up suddenly: "Without further delay, go to Kucheng immediately!"
Xiang Chenglin was shocked: "Sir, that Mire is not easy to save!"
Liu Zheng shook his head: "It's hard to save but you can still save!"
This Mire was not only Loulan's largest slave trader, but also Du Biao's friend for many years. Just for Du Biao's sake, I have to help with this matter.
Xiang Chenglin was shocked: "Sir, do you have any strategy for this?"
Liu Zheng looked at Xiang Chenglin and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Xiang, are you willing to help me?"
Xiang Chenglin was so frightened that he smiled bitterly and said: "Young master, this is something you can't do! The seventh prince has strong soldiers and horses, and the temple army has already taken control of Kucheng. I, I, we..."
He looked at Liu Zheng, Qin Changfeng, Zheng Yueru, and then himself.
Just these few people?
Liu Zheng smiled and said: "Yes, just these few people!"
Xiang Chenglin's legs softened.
Seeing that Liu Zheng was confident again, Zheng Yueru couldn't help but curiously asked: "What's your plan, Master?"
Liu Zheng shook his head: "There are no details yet, but we must go to Kucheng! To the shopkeeper, the third prince will kiss the Han, and the seventh prince will oppose the Han. Which one is more important, you should be aware of it!"
Xiang Chenglin was rendered speechless by Liu Zheng, and then he realized that this princely dispute had no impact on those who were doing business in Loulan.
but……
Who is this Mr. Liu? These people broke into Loulan and did what they said they would do?
Liu Zheng sat there, meditating for a moment, thoughts racing in his mind.
If he wanted to save Mire, he could only go through the third prince of Loulan. But at this time, the third prince had just returned to Kucheng. He was surrounded by enemies in front and behind and had not yet gained a foothold, so he had no way to save Mire.
Under such circumstances, the third prince must be supported to ascend to power, so that Mire can have a chance to be saved!
Liu Zheng thought so and touched his face hard.
Do you want to fight with half or even most of Loulan on your own?
Suddenly, a light flashed in his eyes: "Yes!"
Several people looked at it one after another.
