Chapter 107: Restless and Stirring

At this moment.

Kucheng Temple.

Muzhade sat quietly at the highest point of the sanctuary.

Gazing into the distance.

In Loulan, the Temple was so tall and grand that it even surpassed the Wanggong. Over the nearly one hundred years of Loulan's rapid expansion, the Temple Envoy had been the absolute master here. In Loulan, the Temple Envoy enjoyed the same status as the King, and in some respects, was even more revered than the King.

But today, Muzhade's heart felt somewhat flustered.

His right eyelid kept twitching.

For a century, the contradictions and conflicts between the Temple and the royal family had been resolved and compromised as the territory expanded. However, now that Loulan was the absolute hegemon in the Western Regions and its territory could no longer expand, internal contradictions grew along with the prosperity brought by the domestic economy, people's livelihoods, and trade. The first to bear the brunt was the clash of ideologies between the royal family and the Temple.

With the passing of the old King, this contradiction and clash were finally ignited and could no longer be avoided.

"Temple Envoy, the Loulan royal family is so ungrateful, they must be executed!"

"Indeed, if not for our Temple all these years, where would Loulan's current prosperity come from? Temple Envoy, we cannot wait! The area around the Temple has already been surrounded by the Guard Army!"

"Temple Envoy, we must fight when it is time to fight! We have one hundred thousand Temple Army troops across various regions; with the great army pressing down, who is there to fear?"

A group of high-ranking Temple officials were filled with righteous indignation.

Muzhade, however, wore a look of concern for the country and the people: "I truly cannot bear to see the believers shed blood..."

The crowd urged him one after another.

Only then did Muzhade stand up and say steadily: "But if the believers rise up spontaneously, it only shows that this is the will of Heaven. I hear the Temple Army has received a divine oracle and is already preparing for battle. Since that is the case, then issue the Temple Envoy's decree to protect our Temple!"

The crowd was overjoyed.

They had waited for this day for a long time. If the Temple had no intention of occupying Loulan, why would they have developed the Temple Army to a force of one hundred thousand?

Muzhade's right eyelid twitched again, and he said cruelly: "Since Na Mi Re still refuses to reveal the Method to gather their Islam believers, then kill her!"

"Yes!"

The Temple issued an order.

All the Temple believers throughout Loulan could not help but stir restlessly.

The Temple Army from all parts of Loulan had actually long been sharpening their swords, just waiting for the Temple Envoy's command. It must be said that religion always controls the human heart more than some regimes, especially a sect like the Fire-Worshiping Sect that takes battle as its doctrine; a single word could ignite the fighting spirit in everyone's heart.

A raging fire began to burn within Loulan.

The one hundred thousand Temple Army troops, who had long been sleeping on their arms, marched forward in high spirits, killing any god or Buddha that stood in their way. Local officials and government offices quickly became the first victims of this war, serving as the objects upon which they sacrificed their banners.

The momentum of the prairie fire seemed unstoppable.

Within Kucheng.

It seemed to be peaceful still.

People went about their business, and it was as prosperous as a brocade.

However, the Guard Army had already begun to get busy.

As a great general under the Third Prince, Reheman began to take control of the Guard Army upon his return. At this time, military reports of local areas being struck by the Temple Army flew in like snowflakes.

"General, Tacheng is in urgent need!"

"Kacheng is in urgent need!"

"Tucheng is resisting strongly!"

"Luocheng has been razed to the ground!"

"General, the rebels are coercing the populace, and their momentum is becoming increasingly fierce!"

Each military report made Reheman frown.

The entire Loulan Kingdom seemed to have fallen into chaos in an instant.

He pondered: "How many days until the rebel army reaches Kucheng?"

"Three days!"

He could not help but take a deep breath and shouted: "Strengthen the guard, implement Scorched Earth! Order the messengers: one post every one hundred li, two men per post, taking turns on duty to relay news!"

"Yes!"

"There are many merchants from various countries in the city, and the situation is complex. We must not let any news leak; everything must proceed steadily!"

"Yes!"

"Surround the Temple from a distance!"

After a series of orders were issued, a hint of worry appeared in the depths of Reheman's eyes.

Everyone had expected that there would eventually be a battle between the Loulan royal family and the Temple. But who would have expected that the Temple's momentum would be like a surging flood, unstoppable? By coercing the common people along the way, they had already reached a force of two hundred thousand!

Could the Royal Guard withstand it?

Could Young Master Liu's plan really turn the tide?

He knew, of course, that Young Master Liu was the Prefectural Assistant of Yinzhou, but in reality, he was the master of Yinzhou. His Method was more radical for the royal family because he was not a Loulan native after all. He was not afraid of losing, so this was essentially using the entire Loulan as a wager.

But...

Did Loulan have a choice?

In order to maintain stability in Kucheng, he had already controlled all the Temple Army troops within Kucheng at the first opportunity.

But he knew that once the Temple's great army pressed down with force, those in the city who were temporarily suppressed and stirring restlessly would certainly take the opportunity to revolt.

At that time, would it really be possible to keep things under control?

No matter how the situation outside changed.

At least within Kucheng, it was still relatively stable.

Therefore, when the merchants from various countries in the Rongxiang Jiulou saw this Refined Salt, they were all stunned.

"This..."

"Is this salt?"

This is clearly shining white gold, isn't it?

Everyone present, every single one of them, stared with wide eyes. For people from places like the Arab Empire, being able to eat that coarse salt was already a stroke of good fortune in this life. Where had they ever seen Refined Salt as fine as hair?

Everyone went crazy.

"Can we taste it?"

"This probably isn't salt, is it?"

"If it's not salt, what is it?"

Liu Zheng chuckled and said, "Everyone, please feel free to taste!"

Xiang Chenglin arranged for his men to distribute a soup spoon of Refined Salt to each person.

As everyone tasted it, they all wore expressions of wonderful, celestial bliss. Liu Zheng was stunned watching them. It's just salt, not some kind of powder! Was there a need for this? One by one, they were extremely excited, their faces flushed red, as if they had tasted the most wonderful thing in this world, filled with wild joy.

Even Queen Reguli and Third Prince Halike could not resist tasting a bit.

Likewise, they were also struck with awe.

The scene instantly turned chaotic.

"Refined Salt, it really is Refined Salt!"

"Such a high-quality product is rare in this world!"

"How much silver? I want it all!"

Xiang Chenglin smiled and said, "Everyone, everyone, don't be chaotic, listen to me explain carefully."

A crowd of people watched excitedly.

Xiang Chenglin smiled faintly and said, "Everyone should also know that no matter which country it is, the salt business is controlled by the state..."

Someone asked, "But there is no such thing in Loulan!"

"Exactly, what are you trying to express?"

In Loulan, a place of free trade, as long as one is willing to pay taxes, anything can be traded. Including slaves. This is the reason why Loulan can be prosperous. Upon hearing this opening remark from Xiang Chenglin, everyone was a bit displeased.

No wonder the royal family members came today; so that's what it was about!

Hemuti also sneered coldly, "What, does our royal family want to control these things too? Third Brother, it seems you are truly not fit to be this King! If it were to be handled by you like this, Loulan would surely head toward its end!"

Xiang Chenglin smiled and said, "Everyone, let me finish; in fact, that is not the case. Loulan will still not control salt, but..."

"My Xiang family intends to start a cooperation with the Loulan royal family!"

"Given the difficulty of traveling through the desert and the inconvenience of transport, our Refined Salt can be supplied infinitely! In the future, the royal family will do their utmost to assist the Rongxiang Firm in transport by providing a camel caravan!"

"Therefore, those of you who want to buy this Refined Salt should sign an agreement with the royal family!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place was in an uproar.

No one had expected that such a thing would happen.

Queen Reguli and Third Prince Halike were even more surprised, and couldn't help but look at Liu Zheng with joy; the former's gaze became even more intense...

Hemuti's expression changed drastically: "What? How could it be like this?"

Cooperation between the royal family and merchants?

Although this sort of thing had happened before, so-called official-merchants were mostly in monopoly industries; under the open and free political system of Loulan, official-merchants were like a mere formality. But now, the Loulan royal family had decided to participate in the sale of this Refined Salt.

All of a sudden, it left people unable to react in time.

The merchants looked at each other in dismay.

Someone raised an objection, asking if this meant the royal family was starting to monopolize?

But Xiang Chenglin immediately provided an answer.

It was not a monopoly, just participation; they would provide the merchants with the maximum level of security for transport, and it was even possible that they would deploy the army to protect the transport of this Refined Salt, as well as the safety of merchants from various countries along the way.

Furthermore, the Loulan royal family would not extract the slightest profit from it, and would still only collect taxes.

It was just that the tax on this Refined Salt would be ten percent higher than that on Crude Salt!

Upon hearing this, everyone clicked their tongues in wonder, not expecting such an operating model. It sounded quite reliable. With the protection of the Loulan royal family, there would be an extra layer of security here in the Western Regions. A ten percent tax was not too much of a problem.

And besides...

In the eyes of these people, nothing could resist their enthusiasm for wanting to secure the Refined Salt!

"No problem!"

"We agree!"

"We have no objections either!"

One after another, they scrambled to be first.

Xiang Chenglin smiled: "Everyone, then, now is the time for bidding!"

"The Refined Salt quota is temporarily divided into twenty shares!"

"Each country will have only one general agent! The general agent has the power of exclusive sales in their own country, including monopoly, pricing, and so on and so forth..."

"This general agent will go to the highest bidder!"

The people present, upon hearing this rule, were again discussing it among themselves.

General agent?

Where had they ever heard of such a thing! But once they thought about being able to monopolize the import of Refined Salt, who wouldn't be excited?

"My Mohe'er Chamber of Commerce wants to secure the general agency for the Arab Empire! Two hundred thousand taels!"

A wealthy merchant from the Middle East stood up immediately.

"Haha, Mohe'er, are you joking? Two hundred thousand taels to secure a lifetime agency? I bid three hundred thousand!"

"Five hundred thousand, for the Persia agency!"

"Nanyang agency, five hundred thousand!"

"Western Ocean agency, six hundred thousand!"

The scene went instantly wild.

With the credit of the Loulan royal family as an endorsement, the ability to provide unlimited supply, and the guarantee of safety, why wouldn't they do it? The Loulan royal family was very wealthy; just from collecting taxes over these years, they had saved up a huge fortune, so they would not swindle them.

Liu Zheng and Zheng Yueru exchanged a glance.

Both of their eyes revealed a look of surprise and joy.

It seemed that this trip to Loulan would allow them to make a fortune once again!

Not only that!

Once this agreement was signed today, one of the clauses stipulated that within the borders of Loulan, merchants from all countries should advance and retreat together with the Loulan royal family, "collaborating on security"! Coupled with the temptation of this Refined Salt, the armed forces of these merchants could naturally be used by the Loulan royal family!

Watching this group of frenzied people, Hemuti's face had already turned black.

Who could have imagined that in just a few short days?

Once this Xiang Zheng arrived, he not only won over the pro-Han groups and the civil and military officials within Loulan, but at this moment, he had even won over these foreign merchants!

It was too late!

He glared angrily at Liu Zheng, mounted his horse, and galloped away.