Chapter 105: The Great Gamble

Reheman stared blankly at Liu Zheng.

How exactly is this Young Master Liu's brain constructed?

Things that others have never even thought of, he has only been in Loulan for a few days, yet he can see through them completely? What he does not know is that this is the clarity of a bystander. Furthermore, Liu Zheng possesses the "God's eye view" of later generations; how could he not see the trickery within?

The Zoroastrianism has already been in Loulan for over a hundred years...

Yet no one has ever asked where this Zoroastrianism came from, or who founded it.

The people of Loulan are all excited about the territorial expansion the Temple has brought them, never realizing that they are already on the verge of becoming someone else's puppets.

It is very complicated...

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile and rubbed his temples hard. Trying to simplify the matter, he asked Reheman, "Brother Re, could you take me to see Mire?"

Reheman was startled: "Young Master, this is not easy to manage. Mire is being held by the Temple Army. Originally, they were supposed to execute him, but for some reason, there has been no movement for so long!"

A flash of brilliance shone in Liu Zheng's eyes.

There must be something on this Mire that the Temple wants!

"Find a way!"

Liu Zheng said earnestly.

Reheman pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "I have it! Young Master, I have a fellow townsman who became a believer in the Temple a few years ago. This person is greedy, loves gambling and women, and happens to be on duty at the Temple prison right now."

Liu Zheng was overjoyed and casually took out a handful of silver, letting Reheman be responsible for arranging the matter.

Reheman nodded and went out under the cover of night.

At this time, the moon hung over the willow branches, and the banquet at the Wanggong had just ended. Under Reguli's burning gaze, Liu Zheng hurriedly retreated.

Returning to the Rongxiang Post House.

Zheng Yueru and Xiang Chenglin were already waiting.

Seeing Liu Zheng, they both stood up at the same time.

Both of them knew about Liu Zheng's display of great power on the street today; the former was even more infatuated, and the latter even more admiring.

"How are the preparations?"

Liu Zheng washed his face to sober up and asked.

Xiang Chenglin chuckled: "Young Master, everything is ready, just waiting for tomorrow! Those merchants went absolutely crazy the moment they heard about our Refined Salt."

Liu Zheng's mind was on the matter of Mire, so he asked him again: "Shopkeeper Xiang, who exactly is this Mire? Is he just a simple slave trader?"

Xiang Chenglin was stunned for a moment, then pondered for a while and said: "I only know that this Mire has different living habits from the average Persian, is low-key, but has a solid family fortune."

"Different living habits?"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up.

He felt that his guess was getting closer and closer to reality. It is very likely that this involves a conflict between two sects, a conflict of faith, and a conflict of interests!

So he asked even more excitedly: "What about those who associate with Mire?"

Xiang Chenglin said: "There are quite a few!"

Liu Zheng slapped his thigh, his mind already calculating. If this Mire is truly a follower of Islam, then this matter becomes interesting. In this era, it should be the time when Islam began to develop rapidly, running rampant in the Arab region, and had already begun to threaten Persia.

According to Liu Zheng's memory, these proselytizing Arabs possessed a powerful camel caravan that could span Asia, Europe, and Africa. Its scale was so large that all the camels in Loulan combined could not compare to them.

The Silk Road!

The more Liu Zheng thought, the more excited he became. If he could cooperate with this caravan, he would truly have opened the Silk Road.

He instructed the two to go down and prepare; no matter what, tomorrow these Persian merchants, Arab merchants, and Loulan merchants could all be utilized.

At this time, Reheman also came to him, telling Liu Zheng that the communication was done. The gambler named Nareke had agreed, but the matter was limited to tonight. Reheman was quite thoughtful and even prepared a set of Loulan attire for Liu Zheng, helping him put it on.

Liu Zheng smiled bitterly, looked at himself, and saw that this outfit was quite handsome, so he went out with Reheman.

The two did not make a big scene, walking through the night. After about half an hour, they arrived at the back door of the largest Temple within Kucheng. The sneaky Nareke was already waiting there. He gave them each a black robe to drape over themselves, then instructed them to follow behind him and not make a sound.

It seems Nareke's rank in the Temple is not low; people who greeted him on the way were all fooled by him.

Then, the three arrived at the underground prison of the Temple. In a place as dry as Loulan, the dungeon was surprisingly damp, filled with a sense of eerie terror. Reheman could not help but mock: "Does this Temple, which claims to save the suffering, also have such a filthy place?"

Liu Zheng chuckled.

In his view, the Temples that developed within Loulan were not really true religions, but more like a gang, a gang chasing profit.

Understanding it this way made things easier.

A gang called Zoroastrianism, an emerging gang, the struggle between the two had extended to Loulan.

"Right here, hurry up!"

The two were led by Nareke to a prison cell in a corner. Looking through the faint light, there was indeed a thin, dark-skinned man curled up inside. When he saw someone coming to find him, he raised his head and gave a cold laugh: "Here to be a lobbyist again? Go back and tell Namuzade that wanting the camel caravan in my hands is wishful thinking! The true God will punish him!"

Nareke said angrily: "Shut up, you heretic!"

Mire looked fearless.

Liu Zheng, however, almost burst out laughing.

It was just as he thought!

Mire's arrest was indeed related to the conflict of interest between these two gangs! He knew that in the history of Islamic proselytizing, they relied mainly on these trading camel caravans. No wonder this Mire could become the number one slave trader; it seems he possessed a camel caravan that even the Temple drooled over.

"Alright, let us ask."

Reheman said hurriedly.

Nareke then glared fiercely at Mire and left.

Mire looked at Liu Zheng and the other, sneering: "Whatever torture you have, bring it on! If Mire frowns even once, may I be abandoned by Allah!"

Liu Zheng sighed inwardly.

Although he knew about the ins and outs of religion, in reality, he still admired people with faith. Such people are always more determined, more motivated, more self-disciplined, and more energetic than the average person. He smiled and said: "Brother Mire, I am a friend of Du Biao!"

"What?"

Mire looked suspicious, clearly still not believing him.

Liu Zheng gave a faint smile: "I am still a civil official of the Longyan Dynasty!"

As he spoke, he took out his Prefectural Assistant official seal to show him.

Only then did Mire's expression shift slightly, confirming that Liu Zheng was not someone sent by the Temple, because the Longyan Dynasty was so powerful that it did not yet hold the Temple in its eyes. But he still asked suspiciously: "This young master, what is it you want to do?"

Liu Zheng said: "Save you!"

Mire's eyes narrowed slightly, and he could not help but look guarded, sneering coldly: "Young master, given Mire's current situation, I will certainly not be able to leave here alive. Taking such a great risk, may I ask what the young master is after?"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily.

Merchants always have the instincts of merchants; this is not a bad thing, and he also likes clear-cut prices, so he smiled and said: "I want slaves, unlimited slaves! Furthermore, regarding the current situation in Loulan, Brother Mire should also be aware of it."

Mire nodded.

A flash of brilliance appeared in Liu Zheng's eyes: "If Brother Mire is willing to send troops to help, Liu Zheng will surely make the Temple disappear within the borders of Loulan!"

"What?"

Mire looked horrified.

Reheman was also startled by Liu Zheng, and he took a deep breath as he looked over.

He had not expected that what Liu Zheng was after was so grand and so difficult to achieve. One must know that this Temple had now suppressed even the royal family and had become the true controller of Loulan; wanting to drive them away, how could it be easy?

Mire was even more suspicious, but what surprised him was how this Young Master Liu knew that he could quickly assemble an army?

Liu Zheng chuckled.

Since ancient times, the spread of religion, while said to be carried out through trade, is mostly followed by armed forces. Especially Mire's sect; rather than calling them a group of merchants, it is better to say they are in a state of being half-merchant and half-soldier. Others might not understand, but Liu Zheng understood it thoroughly.

He believed that after the old king died, the Temple arrested Mire not only because of commercial conflicts, and not only because they wanted to plot against his camel caravan, but more importantly, it was to strike first to gain the advantage, avoiding the possibility of this Arab camel caravan affecting the Temple's grand plan within Loulan.

Therefore, when Liu Zheng heard that this was a conflict between two sects, he became excited.

He came to Loulan without bringing a single soldier or attendant, and at this time, the military force controlled by the Loulan royal family was only the forty thousand of the Guard Army, which was simply unable to resist the Temple's one hundred thousand-strong army.

But...

What if there was help from Mire?

What if there was help from the Arabs?

If this moment was indeed the time when Islam was expanding rapidly, it meant that the prosperity of the Persian Empire had already begun to head toward decline. According to the development trajectory of later history, the current Persian Empire was the last Persian Sassanid Dynasty; the Sassanid Dynasty rose rapidly after absorbing the advanced civilization of the East, and then its national power reached its peak, but later, because its rule was too dark, it would eventually be destroyed by the Arab Empire!

If the timing was just right!

Then it was now!

But the premise was that this Mire before him was not an ordinary merchant, and was perhaps even a very important figure on the Arab side.

This matter could be seen just by looking at the Temple's attitude toward him.

Therefore, Liu Zheng was gambling!

If he won the gamble, everyone would be happy; this Silk Road could be considered truly opened, Loulan would be happy, and Liu Zheng would profit. At most, he would let Islam enter Loulan, but that would still be more controllable than the current Temple.

If he lost the gamble—then that could not be blamed on Liu Zheng; if Loulan lost, he would just dust himself off and roll back to Yinzhou.

But he believed that although his own transmigration would cause some butterfly effects... the direction of history should not change, especially the hatred and conflict between the Persian Empire and the Arab Empire, as well as the historical trend.

Mire looked at Liu Zheng in astonishment and took a deep breath: "Who exactly is this young master?"

Why did he know so many secrets?

Why could he state all the mysteries in a single sentence?

This young man was too terrifying!