Chapter 98: Unexpected Situation

As soon as this troop arrived, the market became a scene of chaos; the merchants were all fearful, bowing their heads to avoid them.

It was clear that these people were overbearing, and no one was unafraid of them.

"Young Master, do not be afraid. These are the Temple Army of Shancheng! They will not make things difficult for Han people."

Xiang Chenglin laughed heartily.

Liu Zheng was surprised and looked closely. This group of nearly fifty people actually only had ten Cavalry, while the others were Infantry wearing the distinctive military uniforms of Loulan, holding sabers and swords. Liu Zheng watched with great interest; the sabers and swords of these Loulan soldiers were all different from those of the Longyan Dynasty—curved sabers, long swords, daggers, felt hats, and sheepskin coats. It seemed that the military branches of this Loulan Kingdom were mostly Crossbowmen, with not many Cavalry. This was still a bit different from the Turkic Cavalry in Liu Zheng's impression.

The ethnic groups here in Loulan should belong to the descendants of the Turkic people, but they did not have as many Cavalry as the Xiongnu, likely due to differences caused by religious beliefs. Liu Zheng knew that Loulan had many Temples, and these Temples were similar to the Islam of later generations; the entire country was a theocracy. In Loulan, there were Temple Envoys from the Temples whose status in Loulan was even comparable to that of the King.

Sure enough.

This group of Temple soldiers arrived here and began a rough search, but to Liu Zheng's surprise, they did not overly reproach the people of Longyan or the Han ethnic group, and even skipped over them without so much as a glance.

"Why is this?"

Liu Zheng asked in surprise.

Xiang Chenglin laughed heartily: "Haha, Young Master, you may not know, but this is a characteristic of Loulan. This old man dares to invite you to sit at my Rongxiang Firm, how about it?"

Liu Zheng and the others naturally agreed. It was clear that Xiang Chenglin's reputation in this Shancheng was not small, as many passersby greeted him respectfully one after another. After turning through several streets, they arrived at an inn of considerable scale, called Rongxiang Inn.

"Manager, you have arrived! The journey must have been exhausting!"

The innkeeper immediately ran out.

"Bring wine, bring good wine! Take out that Drunken Yinzhou; I want to drink to my heart's content with Young Master Liu!"

Xiang Chenglin was very generous.

The innkeeper was startled. Drunken Yinzhou? This wine was the pride of Rongxiang Inn; it could absolutely not be bought for less than fifty taels of silver. He thought to himself that this young master must be very extraordinary, and hurriedly ordered the preparation of wine and dishes.

Drunken Yinzhou?

Liu Zheng could neither laugh nor cry. He had long grown tired of the wine he brewed himself. He had originally wanted to come to Loulan to taste the local famous highland barley wine, but it seemed there would be no chance for the time being.

Xiang Chenglin was a good guide.

As they drank, he talked about the situation in the Loulan Kingdom. Liu Zheng and the others listened with great interest.

It turned out that this Loulan Kingdom was previously just a very small town, just like the Loulan of his past life, with a population of less than twenty thousand, occupying only this one city of Shancheng. But several hundred years ago, a Temple suddenly appeared within the borders of Loulan and began to proselytize extensively.

At first, the Loulan Royal Court did not pay attention.

But who would have thought that this Temple would spread like a prairie fire, unstoppable. Soon, all the people of Loulan became believers of the Temple.

At this time, the King began to worry. He suppressed it several times, but it had no effect and almost incited public anger, nearly leading to the overthrow of the regime by the Temple. Thus, during a time of extremely severe internal strife, the Royal Court and the Temple finally reached an agreement to co-manage Loulan!

The Royal Court managed secular affairs, while the Temple managed faith.

But what surprised the Loulan King was that this compromise of his had caused the territory of the Loulan Kingdom to expand by more than several times! One must know that the speed of religious expansion was even greater than that of an army. Soon, with the help of the Temple, the Loulan Kingdom not only expanded its territory but also successfully traded with the Arab people in the west, becoming the largest country in the Western Regions. While the King was happy, he was also worried that the Temple's influence was too great.

Therefore, the King came up with a Method!

Since the Temple led the people to believe in religion, the Royal Court would call on people to learn from the powerful Han people! It must be said that the previous Loulan King was indeed a talent. He began to introduce Han culture, Han customs, clothing, ancient books, and talents on a large scale to counter the Temple. In itself, Han culture was considered a higher civilization among such ethnic minorities in Loulan who had previously lived in a primitive state. This move indeed achieved results, making the Loulan Royal Court grow stronger day by day, always standing on equal footing with the Temple, and continuing to this day.

Therefore, within the borders of Loulan, as long as one was a Han person, they would receive special treatment.

Liu Zheng listened and marveled; so now within Loulan, there were two opposing ideologies.

After a few cups of Drunken Yinzhou, Xiang Chenglin laughed heartily: "Although that is the case, the Temple Army will not make things difficult for us today. But some time ago, the Loulan King passed away, and the country is in a state of chaos. Young Master, you must be very careful if you want to go to Kucheng!"

Liu Zheng saw that although Xiang Chenglin was an old fox, he was honest with him, so he smiled and said: "Going to Kucheng will probably be a matter for a few days from now. I want to find someone in Shancheng."

Xiang Chenglin said proudly: "Just tell me who you are looking for, Young Master! There is no merchant in Shancheng that I do not know!"

Zheng Yue Ru spoke up: "There is a slave trader named Mire. Does Manager Xiang know him?"

Xiang Chenglin's expression changed drastically: "Mire? How could I not know him? He has been taken to Kucheng and is to be beheaded on an appointed day!"

"What?"

Liu Zheng and Zheng Yue Ru stood up, their expressions changing in unison.

Yinzhou, Yintan City.

The massive project was still in full swing.

A few months had passed, and the entire framework of the city had basically been built.

The focus, of course, was the salt Factory and Liu Zheng's military workshop!

Jiang Xuan now had no more dissatisfaction with Qingyang Shuo; every day, besides training the troops, he stayed in Yintan City and learned from him in a down-to-earth manner.

"Sir, it has been a month and a half, and there is no news from the Young Master. We..."

Jiang Xuan was a bit concerned, and while grinding for Qingyang Shuo, he asked with worry.

Qingyang Shuo said indifferently: "Want to go to Loulan?"

Jiang Xuan chuckled and said excitedly: "The Young Master has a poem that says, 'After a hundred battles in the yellow sand, wearing golden armor, I will not return until Loulan is broken!' Give me, Jiang Xuan, five thousand iron cavalry, and I will surely trample his Loulan!"

Qingyang Shuo shook his head: "Do you know why the Young Master built this Yintan City?"

Jiang Xuan was stunned and said: "Isn't it just for salt production?"

Qingyang Shuo smiled slightly and looked to the west. The project of Yintan City was vast and spectacular, and even the furthest point already bordered the Gobi Desert dozens of miles away. Even with the help of Qingyang Shuo, the diversion of river channels to bring water to the Gobi was already underway...

At this moment, even Qingyang Shuo had to admire that this Young Master Liu had immense ambition, unmatched by anyone in the world.

He wanted to open up a road leading to the Western Regions!

This road started from this Yintan City, but it was unknown where it would stretch to... When the Young Master left, he had told him that when he returned, he would bring back a detailed map of the Loulan passage. When that time came, it would be the time to truly build this passage.

He called this the "Silk Road"!

The Silk Road.

Qingyang Shuo smiled faintly, his heart yearning; what a beautiful and romantic name.

He seemed to have already heard the unique music of Loulan, the camel bells, and seemed to have already seen the exotic costumes and the graceful dances...

Although he did not know how the Young Master was doing in Loulan, Qingyang Shuo believed that such a peerless talent would surely be blessed by heaven.

"Go to Kezhou again and reinforce the fortifications!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Sentenced to beheading?"

Liu Zheng was dumbfounded. How could this be? He had endured such hardship crossing the desert, nearly dying on the way, all to find this Mire, and now the result was a death sentence?

Zheng Yue Ru also asked anxiously, "Why is this?"

Xiang Chenglin gave a bitter smile. "It is all because of the assassination of the Crown Prince. The assassin was a Kunlun Slave with impressive skills. Since Mire is the largest slave trader in Loulan, he is naturally implicated. The Seventh Prince is using the excuse of avenging his brother to arrest Mire... but who doesn't know that Mire is the Queen's man? With the Crown Prince dead, only the Third Prince is her legitimate son. This Seventh Prince is suppressing the Third Prince!"

Liu Zheng listened, feeling lost in the fog. He thought for a moment before he finally sorted out the intricacies.

It seemed that the struggle for royal power in the Loulan Kingdom had fallen upon the Seventh Prince and the Third Prince. No wonder the Seventh Prince had hired a Wolf Driver in the desert, determined to kill his third brother.

Royal infighting is truly a matter of life and death.

"That Wolf Driver, is he also likely from the Temple?"

Liu Zheng pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Xiang Chenglin looked at him in surprise. "The young master truly has eyes like torches. This Seventh Prince is indeed backed by the Temple. Otherwise, how could a mere concubine-born son stir up such turmoil in Loulan?"

Liu Zheng understood now and smiled. "Then the Third Prince is pro-Han?"

Xiang Chenglin nodded in agreement.

Liu Zheng stood up abruptly. "There is no time to lose. We go to Kucheng immediately!"

Xiang Chenglin was shocked. "Young master, that Mire is not easy to save!"

Liu Zheng shook his head. "Even if it is not easy to save him, he must be saved!"

This Mire was not only the largest slave trader in Loulan but also a long-time friend of Du Biao. Just for the sake of Du Biao, he had to help.

Xiang Chenglin was stunned. "Young master, this, this... do you have any strategy?"

Liu Zheng looked at Xiang Chenglin and smiled. "Shopkeeper Xiang, are you willing to help me?"

Xiang Chenglin was terrified and gave a bitter smile. "Young master, this cannot be done! The Seventh Prince has strong troops and sturdy horses, and the Temple Army already controls Kucheng. We, we, we..."

He looked at Liu Zheng, looked at Qin Zhangfeng, looked at Zheng Yue Ru, and then looked at himself.

Just these few people?

Liu Zheng smiled. "Yes, just these few people!"

Xiang Chenglin's legs went weak.

Seeing Liu Zheng so full of confidence, Zheng Yue Ru couldn't help but ask curiously, "Young master, what is your plan?"

Liu Zheng shook his head. "I don't have a specific one yet, but we must go to Kucheng! Shopkeeper Xiang, the Third Prince is pro-Han, while the Seventh Prince is anti-Han. You should know which is more important and which is lighter in the balance!"

Xiang Chenglin was left speechless by Liu Zheng's words. Only then did he realize that this struggle between princes was not without impact on those doing business in Loulan.

But...

What kind of person was this Young Master Liu? To barge into Loulan with just these few people and actually say they would do it?

Liu Zheng sat there, deep in thought for a moment, his mind racing.

To save Mire, he could only go through the Third Prince of Loulan. But the Third Prince had just returned to Kucheng, surrounded by enemies on all sides, and had not yet gained a firm foothold, which was why he had no way to save Mire.

Under these circumstances, he had to help the Third Prince ascend to power so that Mire would have a chance to be saved!

Thinking this, Liu Zheng rubbed his face hard.

Was he really going to take on half, or even more than half, of Loulan all by himself?

Suddenly, a flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes. "I have it!"

The others all looked over.