Water Margin people

"Your Majesty, I don't think you need to worry too much. They are just low-class guys. If they die, they die!"

  William looked at Baldwin IV and said, the people lured out by the treasure this time are just small forces and some bandits. What does the life and death of these people have to do with them? It would be best if they were all dead!

"Teacher, do you really think so?"

Baldwin IV looked at William and asked.

"Your Majesty, do you have any other opinions?"

William looked at Baldwin IV in confusion. Now all those who went to the Persian Plateau were Arabs. What did this have to do with them?

"The Crusaders are coming soon. Do you think they can resist the temptation of treasure?"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"This... Your Majesty..."

William's face changed drastically. He never dared to think about it in this way.

The Crusaders were not a real army; they were just recruited believers, including nobles, knights, civilians, slaves, and some criminals and bandits.

The Crusaders composed of these people had no military discipline at all, and the army only had some money and food they brought with them, which were simply not enough to support the Crusade.

The final result was that the army could only rely on the kingdoms along the way for supplies, but which kingdom could support tens of thousands of troops for a long time? This resulted in the Crusaders being like bandits passing through the border, and everything was looted.

"Your Majesty, are you saying that the Crusaders will covet these treasures?"

William's lips were trembling. He originally thought that he could still control the situation, but if it turned out like this, he would be helpless.

"The biggest supporters of the Crusades were the merchants of Venice and the people of Genoa. These two parties were notoriously greedy. They only cared about profit. Didn't they support the Crusades because the Arabs didn't allow them to do business?"

Baldwin IV spoke. Although he was young, he had a clear understanding of many things. In addition to the internal conflicts between the Holy See and the Empire, the Crusades were also caused by the rise of the Arabs, which affected the Western economy. Without money, everything would be a big problem.

"Your Majesty, if this is the case, I'm afraid we can't let the Crusaders come!"

William said that he knew very well what kind of people the Crusaders were. If they were really tempted by money, tens of thousands of Crusaders would be tens of thousands of bandits.

"It's too late. The Crusaders were supposed to come from Asia Minor via Constantinople, which would take more than half a year."

"But because of the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant, the Church and the Empire are very anxious. The Venetian merchants and Genoese are also very active. They have contributed a large number of ships. The Crusaders have already boarded the ships in Italy and will arrive here in less than ten days."

Baldwin IV spoke.

"So fast!"

William was shocked. The last Crusade took three years from gathering to arriving in Jerusalem.

"I want to see the Emperor of Qi again!"

Baldwin IV said that he was annoyed by everything and felt that he had to discuss something with the Emperor of Qi.

"Your Majesty, this won't work. The Arabs have already noticed us last time. It would be dangerous if we go over there now!"

William said quickly.

"No, I'm going to take Saladin with me this time!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

"Saladin! Your Majesty, please think twice. If this gets back to the Vatican, it will probably cause big trouble!"

William quickly advised that Saladin was known as the Sword of Truth and was the most prestigious person in the Caliphate today, and Baldwin IV was the King of Jerusalem and the representative of Christianity here. If these two people got involved, there would probably be a huge chaos.

"There is no other way. We must go and see His Majesty the Emperor about this matter. There are three major forces here: us, the Arabs, and the State of Qi. Do you think we can avoid them?"

Baldwin IV looked at William and asked.

"This……"

William was speechless. He knew that this was inevitable, and Qi was determined to get the treasure. "Send someone to inform Saladin! I think he will agree!"

Baldwin IV spoke.

Cavalry groups of varying sizes advanced rapidly across the Gobi Desert. Their goal was clear: the Persian Plateau. They were going to search for the treasure of Manichaeism.

"Which group of people is this?"

Lin Chong spoke as he looked at the cavalrymen in the distance who were looking for boats to cross the river.

"It's the 25th team. This team has quite a lot of people, more than a thousand!"

Yang Zhi smiled and said that during this period of time, nearly 20,000 bandit cavalry had entered the Persian Plateau. Of course, all of them had been annihilated by them. The plateau was already the territory of Qi State, and the invaders would die.

"It's time to give them some sweet treats. It's not good to kill them all without seeing any treasure. His Majesty said that if you want to catch big fish, you have to be willing to lay a nest!"

Lin Chong said.

"Then we should scatter all the treasure?"

Yang Zhi asked.

"Hasn't the ruins been repaired? Let's go to His Majesty and ask for some treasures to decorate them."

Lin Chong said, the treasure must be made presentable, otherwise no one would believe it.

The crowd ignored the cavalry and turned to head towards the bay.

As for the cavalry, they could not cross the river for a day or two. When the Abbasids fled, they had looted all the boats near the two rivers. Now they had even blocked the river with iron chains. If these people wanted to cross the river, they had to cut wood and build rafts by themselves.

Gulf port.

Sun Lei looked at Lin Chong and Yang Zhi.

"What do you say that most impresses those people?"

Sun Lei asked.

"Gold, silver and treasures, of course!"

Lin Chong replied.

"Wrong! Gold, silver and treasures are good, but they are not tempting enough for those people! Look at these!"

Sun Lei waved his hand, and the curtains were drawn open one by one, revealing all kinds of exquisite glassware in the cages.

"Your Majesty, what is this? A chandelier? It's so big!"

Lin Chong looked at the largest chandelier. His eyes widened at the delicate components. Although the material of this thing was cheap, the craftsmanship was extraordinary. It would be a treasure even in the Central Plains.

"Well, this is a good thing. I am a little reluctant to part with it. If it is lit up, it will be colorful and even the glass lamps in the fairy world cannot compare to it!"

Sun Lei nodded, but he could only give it up with reluctance. After all, no matter how exquisite the lamp was, it could be made again, but gold was limited.

"You must have all heard of the Golden Bull Scheme! King Huiwen of Qin was a stingy man, and the King of Shu was also a fool. They were fooled by a stone bull. Look at mine, a bull made of pure gold, and it can actually pull out gold!"

Sun Lei came to a majestic golden bull and spoke. He stretched out his hand and pulled the bull's horns. The bull's tail immediately lifted up, and more than a dozen exquisite gold coins came out of its butt.

"How can it be!"

Lin Chong and others rubbed their eyes and looked at the golden bull in disbelief. They all knew the stories about the stone bull making dung out of gold and the five soldiers clearing the way. They thought the scary stories were just lies.

"Don't be fooled. The belly of this golden bull is the central control. The gold coins can be stuffed into the bull's mouth. The mechanism is on the bull's horns."

Lu Zhishen said with a smile, and he also found Lin Chong's surprised look funny. (End of this chapter)