Chapter 91: The Journey West

Qingyang Shuo returned to Liu Zheng's study in Yintan City.

This was originally the place where Liu Zheng rested daily, so he liked to keep a sheepskin map on the table to ponder the development strategy of Yinzhou.

Seeing this, Qingyang Shuo nodded with satisfaction. Only after Liu Zheng and Hu Xi'er stood on his left and right did he point to a city in the south of Yinzhou: "Kezhou!"

Liu Zheng's eyelids twitched; he naturally knew of this Kezhou. When Chen Ping first presented three prefectures for him and Liu Dahao to choose from, this Kezhou was a place favored by many. To the northeast it bordered Liangzhou, to the south it bordered Hanzhong, and looking to the east, it was a vast, flat Grassland. Beyond that, passing Hulao Pass, was Jinghua. Its Geography was quite superior, and the city was relatively wealthy, with a population of 700,000—more than the combined population of Liu Zheng's two prefectures.

At the time, people thought Liu Zheng was a fool for not choosing Kezhou.

However, Liu Zheng had his own ideas. Although Kezhou was wealthy and accessible from all directions, if the world were to fall into chaos, it would surely be a place contested by several forces! Moreover, Kezhou had no natural barriers; if someone came to attack, it would be difficult to defend! Coupled with the fact that Liu Zheng was very interested in the Yintan of Yinzhou, he did not choose Kezhou, but chose Yinzhou instead.

Looking at it now, Liu Zheng's choice had been correct.

But...

Qingyang Shuo said: "If the Young Master wishes to head south, Kezhou is a place that must be passed. If you can take Kezhou, you will have a base for both offense and defense. You can influence Liangzhou above and watch Jinghua to the east. If there is any movement in Hanzhong, the Young Master can also strike first to gain the advantage!"

Liu Zheng's eyes lit up as he listened: "Sir, how should we take it?"

Qingyang Shuo smiled: "The Young Master only needs to give the order; as for Kezhou, Shuo will take it for you! When the Young Master travels to the Western Regions and returns, you will be the master of Kezhou!"

Liu Zheng was overjoyed. Qingyang Shuo was certainly not a person who liked to boast. Since he said so, he must have absolute certainty. Originally, regarding Kezhou, Liu Zheng had wanted to infiltrate it through the Chamber of Commerce and gradually hollow it out. Since Qingyang Shuo was confident in seizing the actual political power, that was naturally for the best.

Qingyang Shuo's two strategies.

March west, march south.

Now was the perfect time!

Qingyang Shuo's suggestion was that it was best to proceed with both simultaneously.

Liu Zheng decided immediately that the western expedition would be handled by himself and Zheng Yue Ru, with Qin Zhangfeng responsible for protection on the road. Upon hearing this, Zheng Yue Ru frowned slightly: "Brother Liu, if we go to the Western Regions, we must cross a desert; I fear a cavalry troop won't suffice..."

She had heard that there was a camel caravan from the Western Regions in the city recently, and they could negotiate to accompany them. Liu Zheng agreed immediately.

As for the southern expedition, Liu Zheng naturally had Jiang Xuan come to pay his respects to Qingyang Shuo; he intended for Qingyang Shuo to properly train Jiang Xuan.

Who would have thought that Jiang Xuan, this troublemaker, would show disdain the moment he saw Qingyang Shuo, looking at him sideways: "You are that half-woman?"

Liu Zheng's expression turned cold.

Hu Xi'er also said angrily: "How dare this brat insult my father?"

Jiang Xuan snorted coldly: "Young Master, for leading troops and fighting, Xuan is enough! Why bring a cripple along?"

"Insolent!"

Although Qingyang Shuo was indifferent, Liu Zheng could not hold back, glaring at him fiercely: "Apologize to Sir!"

Jiang Xuan looked unconvinced.

Seeing the temperament of this young man, Qingyang Shuo could not help but smile faintly: "Young Master, no need to be angry; just hand the commander's seal to Shuo."

Liu Zheng naturally agreed. No matter how anxious Jiang Xuan was, Liu Zheng only assigned him the rank of Left General, to follow by Qingyang Shuo's side. No matter how angry Jiang Xuan was, he dared not defy Qingyang Shuo; military orders were like mountains, and this was well-implemented in the Yinzhou army.

Three days of preparation.

Zheng Yue Ru had already contacted that Western Regions caravan and hired three camels from them at a high price. The accompanying team was also ready. What surprised Zheng Yue Ru and Qin Zhangfeng was that for these three camels, Liu Zheng chose to load them entirely with Refined Salt; as for the other goods of the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce, he wanted none of them.

"Young Master, if we sell that fine wine to the Western Regions, wouldn't we make a fortune? Why is this?"

Qin Zhangfeng asked curiously.

Zheng Yue Ru also nodded. In fact, for this trip to the Western Regions, what Zheng Yue Ru favored was the fine wine of Yinzhou, or even Snow Cream and Perfume, which had good sales in the harsh environment of the Western Regions. But Liu Zheng had actually chosen only salt?

Liu Zheng smiled without answering.

He naturally would not say that his goal for this trip to the Western Regions was not just that ancient kingdom of Loulan! What he wanted to develop was even larger overseas business! One must know that there were countless Arabs and even Europeans doing business in Loulan.

And in places like Arabia and Africa, in ancient times, there was simply no salt!

Yes, reality was that cruel, especially in that place called Arabia; in later generations, there was plenty of Petroleum and also gold, but it was the only place without salt. This led to the situation in the Middle East where, historically, there was a time when an ounce of salt was worth an ounce of gold!

Since such a situation existed, why shouldn't Liu Zheng's Refined Salt open up overseas markets?

Zheng Yue Ru and Qin Zhangfeng naturally did not understand; after all, in the Longyan Dynasty, how many people were there like Qingyang Shuo who could see the "whole world"?

When Liu Zheng and Qin Zhangfeng joined the caravan, they saw that this caravan had over three hundred people. All kinds of people looked toward the two of them, their gazes varied. Zheng Yue Ru came to Liu Zheng's side and whispered: "Brother Liu, this trip to the Western Regions is a joint venture between one Longyan caravan and two Western Regions caravans."

Liu Zheng asked curiously: "Why is it like this?"

At this moment, a burly Western Regions man walked over. Seeing Liu Zheng's small frame, he did not hide the contempt in his eyes and laughed loudly: "Miss Zheng, is this your Young Master? To tell you the truth, a person like this won't do!"

The people in the caravan also laughed one after another.

Zheng Yue Ru said from the side: "Lord Reheman, you just need to take us there; there is no need for you to worry about safety issues!"

Reheman sneered: "Miss Zheng, do you know what kind of place that desert is? It's a place that eats people! Bringing such a burden will seriously affect our speed of travel!"

Others also roared in agreement.

Liu Zheng looked over, and sure enough, most of these three hundred people were rough men, and among them were even sturdy Kunlun Slaves. These people were often weathered, their skin very rough. At a glance, the entire caravan had about one hundred camels and three hundred people, among whom were only three women, who were also quite sturdy in build, looking even stronger than Liu Zheng.

Zheng Yue Ru did not expect that even after the money was paid, these people would go back on their word, and she said anxiously: "Lord Reheman, I will pay double the price, how about that?"

Reheman's eyes lit up. After discussing with a few of his underlings, this double price was one hundred taels of silver! Reheman glanced at Liu Zheng's thin frame, the mockery still flashing in the depths of his eyes, and laughed: "Alright, since that's the case, you must follow us closely and listen to us in everything, otherwise, we won't be able to protect you when the time comes!"

"Weak Longyan!"

"What a burden!"

Others also looked on with disgust.

Qin Zhangfeng wanted to get angry several times, but was stopped by Liu Zheng. Because he knew that if the desert was truly that dangerous, then these merchants were no ordinary desperate criminals. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Moreover, among these three caravans, one was from the Longyan Dynasty, and those few people had looked at them with quite malicious eyes since Liu Zheng appeared. And there should be a few experts in that team as well.

Only then did Zheng Yue Ru explain to Liu Zheng that this Reheman was an official merchant in Loulan, under the Loulan imperial court, hence he was called Lord.

Liu Zheng asked about the Longyan caravan, but Zheng Yue Ru shook her head, not knowing.

This made Liu Zheng have doubts in his heart.

Seeing that everyone had arrived at the city gate, Reheman knelt on the ground first, placed his hands on his knees, and began to pray.

Many people also knelt down.

This made the three of them, who were standing, appear slightly abrupt.

"What are you dazed for? Kneel down!"

Reheman angrily rebuked, "If we offend the Desert God, we will all die without a burial place!"

Qin Zhangfeng refused to kneel, so Liu Zheng hurriedly pulled him down to kneel.

After muttering a string of words, Reheman finally led the group on their way. West of Yinzhou lay the road to the Western Regions. Liu Zheng knew that this road would become increasingly difficult and dangerous to travel. Yet, in his heart, he was truly excited...

In the Longyan Dynasty, there was no such concept as the Silk Road. Trade with the Western Regions had never been valued. The entire Longyan Dynasty remained immersed in the dream of being a Celestial Empire. Consequently, the road leading to the Western Regions had never been repaired.

Therefore, Liu Zheng did not know what kind of dangers lay on the road ahead.

After passing his own Yintan City and traveling a few more miles, they truly arrived at this desolate place—a place the Longyan Dynasty rarely set foot in. What Liu Zheng found most inconceivable was that, because of this natural barrier of the desert, the Longyang Dynasty had not stationed any troops here to mark the borders of their territory. Perhaps they were too confident in their national strength, or perhaps they relied too much on the dangers of this desert.

It was now mid-April, and as the group traveled further, the sun grew increasingly intense; walking under such a sun soon left one parched. Beneath their feet, the terrain had turned into the Gobi Desert, and it was hard to see the vast forests and the lush greenery visible everywhere in Yinzhou. For a camel caravan wanting to cross the desert, the first preparation was water, followed by the specialty Nang Bread of the Western Regions; other dry rations were not recommended.

Why?

Because Nang Bread is a relatively lightweight dry ration that is easy to satisfy hunger with and has no strict storage requirements; chewing a few pieces along with water is enough to sustain one's hunger.

The day passed without incident, and everyone kept on the move.

While passing through the Gobi Desert, Reheman observed the celestial phenomena and felt they should accelerate their progress, estimating that they must cross the desert in six days, otherwise, they would easily encounter storms. Therefore, it was already very late when they rested for the night.

"Make camp!"

Only when the road was completely invisible did Reheman shout loudly.

Everyone cheered incessantly and began to pitch their tents.

Throughout this journey, Liu Zheng had been recording the trip on a piece of sheepskin in his hand, relying on his judgment of the sun and stars. He felt this was very necessary. After all, he could use this route as a reference and, combined with his memories from later generations, improve the path taken by the camel caravan.

However, just as all three hundred people had finished setting up their tents, no one expected that this first night on the Gobi Desert would bring a peerless danger.

The exhausted people had just lain down.

A series of wolf howls rang out all around.

Liu Zheng sat up abruptly with a grave expression; listening to these sounds, the Wolf Pack had arrived! And there were quite a few of them!

Sure enough.

Reheman's shouting voice had already rung out.

"On guard! On guard!"