Chapter 94: Please Enter the Urn

Half a month.

Scorching heat by day, freezing cold by night.

Only now did Liu Zheng understand what a diurnal temperature variation was. By day, he wished he could go shirtless; by night, he wished he could wrap himself in two layers of quilts. Having traveled for half a month, the camel caravan had finally managed to emerge from the Gobi Desert and arrive at the true wilderness.

Looking out, the ground was covered in gravel, a truly spectacular sight.

It made one's heart and mind expand, marveling at this magnificent landscape.

However, apart from Liu Zheng, it was likely that no one else possessed such a state of mind. For the past half month, they had been trembling with fear. Between the wolf attacks, the crow attacks, and the illnesses from the change in environment—with some vomiting and having diarrhea until they finally died of dehydration—the entire caravan of three hundred people had been reduced to only two hundred by the time they reached the edge of the wilderness.

A loss of one hundred people!

This was simply a journey through Hell!

At this moment, every person's face was actually already numb.

"Rest for a while! We continue forward in half an hour!"

Reheman said loudly.

The crowd sat on the ground in silence to rest.

"To cross this wilderness, we still need half a month! Everyone must remember: if you encounter a sandstorm, do not act recklessly, and absolutely do not hide behind sand dunes! The best method is to lead the camels to face the wind and hide behind them!"

While resting, Reheman did not forget to popularize knowledge for everyone.

It was unclear if these people had taken it to heart; they only nodded blankly.

The day the wolf pack harassed them, they lost quite a few camels, which made the caravan's situation even worse. One must know that camels are almost invincible in the wilderness, but their only natural enemy is the wolf! When wolves hunt camels, they hunt in packs; a few circle the camel in front, while another waits for an opportunity behind. Their hunting method is to strike when the prey is off guard, using their claws to grab the camel's anus and hook the large intestine. Once the camel feels the pain and runs forward, its intestines are pulled out—a scene that is quite cruel.

Fortunately, the wolf pack retreated early that day; otherwise, this caravan would likely have had to return to Yinzhou to reorganize.

The caravan, which originally had one hundred camels, now only had seventy left.

Watching Reheman, he fell into deep thought.

Liu Zheng could not help it anymore; he walked over slowly and sat down beside Reheman.

After Qin Zhangfeng's brave pursuit of the Wolf King, Reheman's attitude toward the few of them had changed. Looking at Liu Zheng, he laughed and said, "Young Master Liu, have a drink!"

As he spoke, he handed over his own wine bag.

Liu Zheng chuckled, took a sip, and said as if casually, "Lord Reheman, if we enter the wilderness, we will rely even more on the camels. I fear that if the wolf pack comes to harass us again, the entire army will be wiped out!"

Reheman was greatly shocked and looked over in horror.

This Young Master Liu actually knew what he was thinking? That's right! Unlike the Gobi Desert, where camels were just a means of transport, once they truly entered the wilderness, these camels would be everyone's lifeline! In the desert, the water people drank was all on the camels. If they encountered a sandstorm, only the camels could withstand it.

If the wolf pack attacked at this time, the camels would be unable to resist at all. If the camels died, this group of people would truly be finished!

Liu Zheng smiled and asked, "Lord Reheman, can you tell me about it?"

A look of hesitation flashed across Reheman's face. After a moment of hesitation, he said indignantly, "It must be the work of the Third Prince! I will not hide it from you, Young Master! Recently, the Loulan King passed away, the kingdom is without a master, and the political situation is chaotic! The Loulan Crown Prince was assassinated, and several princes are fighting for power. This time, I am escorting the Seventh Prince, who was a hostage in Longyan, back to Loulan!"

Liu Zheng was stunned to hear this, and then he found it increasingly amusing.

He hadn't even figured out the situation in his own Longyan Dynasty yet, and now he was involved in the power struggle of the Loulan Kingdom? Thinking carefully, Reheman's team did indeed consist of elite soldiers and capable generals. Vaguely, Liu Zheng remembered that there was indeed a young man who was being protected by these people.

Reheman had also developed trust in Liu Zheng, so he began to tell the story in detail.

It turned out that every time the royal power in the Loulan Kingdom changed, it was a battle of blood and iron. There were many princes, and the factions were complex. This time, after the old king passed away, the kingdom fell into chaos again as they fought for power. After the Crown Prince was killed, according to the order of succession, the Seventh Prince should have ascended to the throne. But the Third Prince, who controlled the military, was currently in control of the Loulan capital. How could he easily relinquish power? He was just waiting for an auspicious day to ascend the throne!

This ancient kingdom of Loulan had always been recorded in history.

In Liu Zheng's impression, it was located west of Lop Nur; that is, after crossing this stretch of the Taklamakan Desert, one would arrive directly at Loulan. Loulan occupied a very important position on the ancient Silk Road. Unlike the ancient Loulan of his past life, the Loulan of this life was much stronger than before. In the *Book of Han*, it was recorded that Loulan only had a population of 14,000. The *Book of Han* recorded Loulan as follows: "The land is sandy and salty with little farmland; they rely on imported grain. The country produces jade and has many reeds, red willows, poplars, and white grass. The people follow their livestock, chasing water and grass. They have donkeys and horses, and many camels. They can forge weapons and are the same as the Qi."

In other words, the Loulan of his past life only occupied the distance between Lop Nur and the Peacock River, which should have belonged to the later Kezhou.

But the Loulan of this life was much stronger than in his past life, with a vast territory and a large population. Of course, no matter how large, it could not compare to the Longyan Dynasty; the entire population of the Loulan Kingdom was about 500,000... not even as many as the total population of Yinyang under Liu Zheng's rule.

However, because the Loulan Kingdom was accessible from all directions and occupied the ancient road, the slave trade market here was very prosperous. Therefore, the resident population of Loulan could reach one million, and its military strength was still very strong.

But it could not be denied that this location of Loulan was very, very important.

It was absolutely a major hub for the Silk Road. If Liu Zheng wanted to truly open up the Silk Road, he had to take Loulan! Only by taking Loulan could he possibly sell his goods abroad.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what does Lord Reheman think..."

Reheman was an upright man and said angrily, "The Seventh Prince must return to Loulan to inherit the throne to convince the masses! I, Reheman, will protect him with my life!"

Liu Zheng sighed endlessly, thinking to himself that the Wolf Driver was still lurking somewhere, watching like a tiger eyeing its prey; what good would it do for you to fight to the death?

He had to think of a method!

However, Liu Zheng looked around at these people who had lost their fighting spirit, and a sense of despair welled up in his heart.

They had already traveled half the distance; could they return to Yinzhou to seek reinforcements? No one would be willing to do that! Letting Qin Zhangfeng go back to seek reinforcements was a method, but without Qin Zhangfeng, what would happen to his own safety?

Ahead was the wilderness, and behind were the wolves.

Liu Zheng was caught in a dilemma for a moment.

Jiang Xuan, who was far away in Yinzhou, did not know what his young master was like now.

But he himself was already having a blast.

Even as arrogant as he was, he had to sigh at this moment: it is truly good to be rich!

This Qingyang Shuo's move of buying and selling short directly threw the entire Kezhou into chaos. Once the price of grain dropped, the market collapsed. What? The grain I bought for five wen, you, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce, are selling for three?

Isn't that a loss to the point of losing one's grandmother's house?

The common people went crazy; they had money in their hands, so they rushed into the market to scramble for it.

Those who had grain in their hands saw this and also became anxious.

At first, they still resisted and took out money to buy the low-priced grain, but they discovered that the grain from the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce was simply inexhaustible! In the end, they had no money left, and the other side was still selling!

And the price was even lower!

Two wen!

The common people went crazy again.

Where had they ever seen such cheap millet?

Buy, buy, buy!

At this moment, even the Kezhou Prefecture began to lose its composure.

Mou Chengxiang spent the whole day roaring.

"What do I do? Tell me what to do!"

A few days ago, all the treasury silver was taken to buy grain, and it was even high-priced millet from Hanzhong, at six wen each! Thinking that upon returning, it could be resold for ten wen! Unexpectedly, before this grain even arrived, it had already dropped to two wen!

With this back and forth, the losses were about to hit rock bottom!

Ancient transportation was not that fast; a round trip takes over ten days!

Mou Chengxiang also thought about simply buying back all the two-wen grain on the market, but the prefecture actually had no money left...

"Damn it, damn it!"

"My Lord, what should we do? Selling at this time will definitely result in a loss!"

"Hold steady, hold for a few more days!"

However.

After a few days, Mou Chengxiang vomited blood directly.

One wen!

"Sell, hurry up and sell for me, sell quickly!"

When Mou Chengxiang spoke, his breath was already as thin as a gossamer thread.

Jiang Xuan, who was in Kezhou, heard this news and immediately stood up excitedly: "Collect it for me; no matter how much Kezhou Prefecture sells, we will collect it all!"

"Yes!"

In a grand and mighty manner.

Selling on this side, collecting on that side.

At this time, the chaotic Kezhou did not know at all that these two groups of people were actually on the same side.

Mou Chengxiang also did not know that this was originally a trap set for him by Qingyang Shuo.

The treasury silver assets shrank sixfold directly!

And...

Not only was the treasury silver gone, but the treasury grain was also gone. One must know that in ancient times, grain and fodder in every state and county, in every administrative unit, fell under the category of strategic reserves. Without grain and fodder, where would the prestige of the official government lie?

"Have you heard? The State Marquis has sold all the treasury grain!"

"What?"

"Yes, there is a huge deficit in the county government!"

"Then what should we do?"

People's hearts began to panic.

Far away in Yinzhou, Qingyang Shuo looked at the letters sent by carrier pigeons one by one, knowing that the time to close the net had arrived, and said indifferently to Hu Xi'er beside him: "Three wen, collect it all."

"Okay, Daddy!"

The Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce, after selling grain at one wen per sheng for a few days, once again opened the three-wen acquisition mode!

This time, without a doubt, the common people were happy again.

They began to sell all the low-priced grain they had collected in the previous few days back to the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce.

"What are you saying?"

Mou Chengxiang was already slumped on his chair, his eyes full of despair.

He had just dumped his stock, and they wanted to collect again?

Isn't this bullying people?

By this time, he suddenly realized that this was a scheme from the Yinzhou side, and he stood up abruptly, shouting: "This is a conspiracy, this is a conspiracy! You must not let them collect the grain, seal the city for me!"

However, it was already too late.

In the end, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce, at the low price of three wen, once again gathered all the grain of Kezhou.

After all this tossing and turning, did the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce lose money? No, they made a huge profit! Taking this opportunity, they swept away almost all the grain in Kezhou. Although it was sold cheaply at one wen, they also collected a lot at one wen, or even two or three wen; in fact, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce made a profit!

The common people of Kezhou also made money! So who lost? Only the Kezhou Prefecture, and they lost until their hearts and bowels were broken!

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Jiang Xuan had a face full of joy, driving the Horse Carriage transporting the grain, and in his heart, he admired Qingyang Shuo of Yinzhou even more, prostrating himself in admiration.

A large batch of grain was stockpiled in Zhangzhuang Village in Yinzhou. This was already the last batch; Jiang Xuan was running in front, and the Kezhou soldiers were chasing behind.

"Yinzhou brat, don't run!"

"Leave behind our Kezhou grain and fodder!"

"Fraudulent Chamber of Commerce!"

"Leave your lives behind!"

【Author's Note】

Adding one chapter today. Thank you to the brothers who have tipped and supported me these past few days; I am very moved. I will continue to work hard to create better plots. Writing stories that we all like.