Chapter 94: Walking into a Trap
Half a month.
It is hot during the day and cold at night.
Liu Zheng finally understood the temperature difference between day and night. He wanted to be shirtless during the day and wrapped in two layers of blankets at night. After walking for half a month, the camel caravan finally walked out of the Gobi Desert and arrived at the real desert.
At first glance, the ground was covered with gravel, and the scene was very spectacular.
It makes people feel broad-minded and admire the beautiful scenery.
However, except for Liu Zheng, no one else had this state of mind. For the past half month, they had been trembling with fear. There were attacks from wolves and crows, and some died of acclimatization, vomiting and diarrhea, and finally dehydration. The entire camel caravan of 300 people had only 200 people left when they arrived at the border of the desert.
A hundred people were lost!
This is a trip from hell!
At this moment, everyone's face was filled with numbness.
"Rest for a while, and continue on your way after half an hour!"
Reheman said loudly.
Everyone sat down and rested in silence.
"It will still take half a month to cross this desert! You must remember that if you encounter sandstorms, don't act rashly and don't hide behind sand dunes! The best thing is to lead the camel to the windward direction and hide behind it!"
During his breaks, Hermann did not forget to popularize knowledge to everyone.
I don’t know if these people took note or not, they just nodded woodenly.
On the day of the wolf attack, many camels were lost, which made the camel team's situation even worse. You know, camels are almost invincible in the desert, but their only natural enemy is wolves! When wolves hunt camels, they hunt in groups, with a few wolves fighting with the camels in front and the other one waiting for an opportunity to move behind. Their hunting method is to catch the camel's anus with their claws when it is not prepared, and then hook the large intestine. When the camel feels pain, it runs forward and its intestines are pulled out. The scene is quite cruel.
Fortunately, the wolf pack retreated early that day, otherwise the camel caravan would have to return to Yinzhou and reorganize the team.
The caravan originally had 100 camels, but now only 70 were left.
Looking at Rehman, he fell into deep thought.
Liu Zheng couldn't help it anymore, so he slowly walked over and sat next to Reheman.
After Qin Changfeng's brave pursuit of the Wolf King, Reheman's attitude towards the others changed. He looked at Liu Zheng and laughed, "Young Master Liu, have a drink!"
As he said this, he handed over his wine bag.
Liu Zheng laughed, took a sip, and said casually: "Lord Reheman, if we go into the desert and rely on camels, I'm afraid that the wolves will come to harass us again and our entire army will be wiped out!"
Reheman was shocked and looked at it in horror.
This Mr. Liu actually knew what I was thinking? That's right! Unlike the Gobi Desert, camels are just a means of transportation. When you really go into the desert, these camels are life-saving things! In the desert, people drink water from camels. If you encounter sandstorms, only camels can withstand it.
If the wolves attack again at this time, the camels will be unable to resist at all. If the camels die, this group of people will be really finished!
Liu Zheng smiled and said, "Lord Reheman, can you tell me?"
Reheman hesitated for a moment before angrily saying, "It must be the work of the third prince. To be honest, sir! The King of Loulan has just passed away. The kingdom is leaderless and the situation is in chaos! The Crown Prince of Loulan was assassinated and several princes are fighting for power. This time, I am taking the seventh prince, who is being held hostage by Long Yan, back to Loulan!"
Liu Zheng was stunned when he heard this, but then he laughed even more.
The situation of his Longyan Dynasty has not been sorted out yet. Is he joining the struggle for power in the Kingdom of Loulan? Thinking carefully, Reheman's team is indeed full of elite soldiers and generals. Liu Zheng vaguely remembers that there is indeed a young man who is protected by these people.
Reheman also developed trust in Liu Zheng and began to tell his story.
It turns out that every change of power in the Kingdom of Loulan is a battle of blood and iron. There are many kings and princes, and their forces are complicated. This time, the old king passed away, and the kingdom fell into chaos of fighting for power. After the prince was killed, according to the order of legitimate and illegitimate children, the seventh prince should have taken the throne. But the third prince, who controls the military power and controls the capital of Loulan at this time, is not willing to give up power easily, and just waits for a day to ascend the throne!
This building is from an ancient country and has been recorded in history.
Liu Zheng remembered that the western part of Lop Nur, that is, after crossing the Taklimakan Desert, was Loulan. Loulan occupied a very important position on the ancient Silk Road. Unlike the ancient country of Loulan in the previous life, the Loulan in this life was much stronger than the previous Loulan. It is recorded in the "Book of Han" that Loulan had a population of only 14,000. The "Book of Han" recorded Loulan like this: "The land is sandy and salty with few fields. The country is divided into countries based on the fields and valleys. The country produces jade, and there are many reeds (reeds), twig willows (red willows), poplar trees, and white grass (Achnatherum). The people follow the livestock and chase the water and grass. There are donkeys and horses, and many camels. They can make soldiers, just like the Ruoqiang."
In other words, in the previous life's Loulan, only the distance from Lop Nur to the Peacock River should belong to the Bayinguoleng Prefecture of later generations.
However, Loulan in this life is much stronger than in the previous life, with a wider territory and a larger population. Of course, no matter how small it is, it cannot be compared with the Longyan Dynasty. The population of the entire Loulan Dynasty is about 500,000... Not as much as the total population of Yinyang under Liu Zheng's rule.
However, because the Loulan Dynasty was well connected and occupied ancient roads, the slave trading market here was very prosperous. Therefore, the population of Loulan could reach one million, and the military force was still very strong.
But it cannot be denied that Loulan’s location is very important.
This is definitely a major battle on the Silk Road. If Liu Zheng wants to truly open up the Silk Road, Loulan must be taken! Only by taking Loulan can he sell his products abroad.
He pondered for a moment and asked, "Then Lord Reheman thinks..."
Reheman was a straightforward man, and he said angrily: "Seventh Prince, you must return to Loulan to inherit the throne, so that you can win the support of the people! I, Reheman, will be your lifelong guard!"
Liu Zheng sighed and thought that the werewolf driver might still be somewhere waiting for him, what good would it do even if he died?
We must find a way!
However, when Liu Zheng looked around and saw this group of people without fighting spirit, he felt a surge of despair in his heart.
We are already halfway there, should we return to Yinzhou to seek reinforcements? No one would be willing to do that! Letting Qin Changfeng go back to seek reinforcements is an option, but without Qin Changfeng, what about his own safety?
There is a desert in front and a pack of wolves behind.
Liu Zheng was caught in a dilemma for a moment.
…
Jiang Xuan, who was far away in Yinzhou, had no idea what his young master was like now.
But he himself was already very happy.
Even though he was so aloof, he couldn't help but sigh at this moment, it's great to be rich!
This Qingyang Suo bought and sold short, and directly plunged the entire Kezhou into chaos. Once the price of grain dropped, the market collapsed. What? I bought grain for five cents, and your Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce sold it for three cents?
Isn't this a loss to grandma's family?
The people went crazy. They had money in their hands and rushed into the market to grab things.
Those who had food in their hands became anxious when they saw this.
At first, they would resist and use their money to buy low-priced food and grass, but they found that the food from the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce could not be sold out! In the end, they had no money left, but they were still selling here!
What’s more, the price is even lower!
Two cents!
The people are crazy again.
Where have you ever seen corn so cheap?
Buy, buy, buy!
At this time, even the Kezhou government began to get uneasy.
Mou Chengxiang roars all day long.
"What to do? Tell me what to do!"
A few days ago, all the silver in the treasury was used to buy food, and the high-priced corn in Hanzhong was purchased at six cents! I thought I could sell it for ten cents when I got back! Unexpectedly, the price of the food had already dropped to two cents before it arrived!
After all this back and forth, I’m about to run out of money!
Transportation in ancient times was not that fast. It would take more than ten days for a round trip!
Mou Chengxiang also thought about buying all the food worth two cents in the market, but he was out of money...
“Damn it, damn it!”
"Sir, what should we do? If we sell it at this time, we will definitely lose money!"
"Hold steady for a few more days!"
However.
After a few days, Mou vomited blood.
One penny!
"Sell it, sell it to me quickly, sell it quickly!"
When Mou Chengxiang spoke, he was already barely able to breathe.
Jiang Xuan in Kezhou heard the news and stood up excitedly: "Buy it for me. We will buy as much as Kezhou Prefecture sells!"
"yes!"
Mighty and powerful.
Sell here and collect there.
At this time, the chaotic Kezhou had no idea that the two groups were actually together.
Mou Chengxiang didn't know that this was a trap set for him by Qingyang Suo.
Kuyin’s assets shrunk six times!
and……
Not only the silver in the treasury was gone, but also the grain in the treasury. You have to know that in ancient times, grain and grass were in every state and county, every administrative unit, and they were part of the strategic reserve. Without grain and grass, where would the prestige of the government be?
"Have you heard? Lord Zhou Hou, sell all the grain in the warehouse!"
"What?"
"Yes, the county government is in huge deficit!"
"What should we do then?"
People began to panic.
Qing Yangshuo, who was far away in Yinzhou, looked at the letters sent by carrier pigeons and knew that it was time to close the net. He said to Hu Xier beside him, "Three cents, take it all."
"Okay dad!"
Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce used to sell grain at one cent per liter. After a few days of that, they started buying it at three cents again!
This time, there is no doubt that the people were happy again.
He began to sell all the low-priced grain purchased in the previous few days back to the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce.
"what are you saying?"
Mou Chengxiang had collapsed on his chair, his face full of despair.
I just sold it, and they want to buy it again?
Isn't this bullying?
At this point, he suddenly realized that this was a plot by Yinzhou. He stood up suddenly and shouted, "This is a conspiracy! This is a conspiracy! We must not let them collect the grain. Seal the city!"
But it was too late.
Finally, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce bought all the grain from Kezhou at a low price of three cents.
After all this trouble, did the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce lose money? No, it made a lot of money! Taking this opportunity, they swept away almost all the grain in Kezhou. Although they sold it at a low price of one cent, they also bought a lot at one cent, even two cents or three cents. In fact, the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce made a profit!
The people of Kezhou also made money! Who lost money? Only Kezhou government, and it was heart-broken!
"Hurry up!"
Jiang Xuan was overjoyed as he drove the grain-carrying carriage. In his heart, he was once again filled with admiration for Qingyang Suo of Yinzhou.
A large amount of food was stored in Zhangzhuang Village in Yinzhou. This was the last batch, Jiang Xuan ran in front, and the Kezhou soldiers chased behind.
"Don't run away, you bastard from Yinzhou!"
"Leave me Kezhou's food and fodder!"
"Swindlers' Guild!"
"Leave your life behind!"
