After making a wish, financial freedom

Chapter 599 The Largest Carved Emerald
After listening to Gerald's story, Li Zhuo understood that this was actually a story of gangsters taking advantage of gangsters.

The Knights Templar are definitely not a religious organization that is as kind and pure as little white sheep.

On the contrary, it does have some secret rituals that have been followed for a century, which are close to heresy, and even caused uneasiness to the grand leader, who felt that if this continued, the organization would lose control.

Not only that, in the process of making this organization prosperous, it extorted many times, not only extorting Muslim pagans, but also extorting Christians, merchants in the Eastern Roman Empire, and even extorting Catholics in Europe.

Not only did they not have to pay taxes, they could even collect tithes within their own jurisdictions, which would be kept solely to themselves.

They also wanted to imitate the Teutonic Knights and the Knights Hospitaller, and wanted to establish their own independent small kingdom in Europe.

As time went by, its senior leaders also became degenerate. They had long since lost their martial spirit and turned into a small group that only knew how to make money.

This kind of religious organization is undoubtedly the mortal enemy of European feudal kings and nobles, and will cause them uneasiness and fear.

Of course, when Philip IV accused the Templars of heresy and completely defeated them, it was not for the purpose of promoting justice.

He just wants to eradicate a religious organization that doesn't obey him and doesn't pay taxes to him.

By the way, he can also pay off his debts to them, and he can also plunder their property and make it his own.

It can be regarded as a typical gangster eating gangster.

Li Zhuo was naturally too lazy to care about such nonsense. He just wanted to do a mission and get the treasure.

He said to Gerrard:
"You go straight back to your house and I will follow you. Don't worry, no one will see you."

It was night at this time, and Gerrard said:

"Great God, the city gate has been closed. I'm afraid I won't be able to return to the city now."

"It doesn't matter. I'll let you pass when you get to the city gate."

Gerald had some doubts. If Li Zhuo hadn't been in mid-air with endless lightless vomiting all around him, he would have thought that someone was entertaining him.

Li Zhuo saw that he seemed suspicious, so he teleported him directly to the city of Villiers.

Gerald felt that his vision was dark, his feet were floating, and he felt like he would fall at any time.

The next moment he stepped on the ground, and the dark light dissipated. In front of him was the four-meter-high city wall of Villiers and the houses in front of him.

He was very familiar with this place, and he knew at a glance that it was inside the west gate of the small town. He had already entered the city.

He was surprised and happy, and had no doubts anymore, and expressed his gratitude continuously.

Li Zhuo's belief wavered slightly, casting a dark light over him. In this situation, no one could see it.

Gerald walked along a slightly narrow road towards his home.

When he walked to his house, he looked back and saw that the God of Trading had disappeared.

But at this moment, a voice sounded in his ears:

"Go in, time is limited, don't delay, don't bring too much except valuables."

Gerard quickly agreed, and the next second his eyes were dazzled. When he looked again, he was already in the courtyard of his home.

He glanced around the courtyard and noticed two soldiers with swords in the corner of the courtyard. They were lying on the ground motionless at the moment, seeming to have fallen asleep.

Sure enough, there were soldiers waiting for him at his home. It seemed that they had been dealt with by the master. Gerald hurriedly ran into the house. His wife and two daughters did not dare to go to bed and snuggled on a seat under the oil lamp.

Li Zhuo was waiting outside Jerad's room. It was already night and the place was quiet.

About a quarter of an hour later, Gerald and his family packed up and quietly left the house.

Li Zhuo took them to teleport from the city of Villiers to the seaside in Calais, France.

After seeing the sea, Gerard finally relaxed. He took out the emerald wrapped in a piece of cloth from his baggage, handed it to Li Zhuo, and said, "Master, thank you for your help. I will take this piece from you." The treasures obtained in the mosque are given to you.”

When it got daylight, Gerald and his family bought tickets to the port of Plymouth, England.

The ship soon left the dock at Calais and began crossing the English Channel.

From Calgary to Plymouth, England, the distance between the two places is not far, only about 30 nautical miles.

The boat sailed until the afternoon, and the Gerrard family arrived at their destination safely.

In Europe in the 14th century, there was no household registration system or immigration restrictions. To put it bluntly, there was freedom of movement. Gerald claimed that he came here to do business. He only needed to report to the local government and he could live there.

They have gold and silver coins in their hands, so they have no problem settling here. This money can sustain their lives for a long time, provided they don't squander it.

After confirming that there was no problem here, Li Zhuocai tore open the curtain of history and returned to modern society.

He quickly flew to Bangkok, and after Zheng Kun came to find him, Li Zhuo went back to the bedroom and pretended to take out the emerald from inside.

This emerald is as big as a child's fist.

Zheng Kun was a little surprised after getting it:
"Oh my god, why is this emerald so big? It must be over 250 carats."

More than 250 carats, that is, more than 50 grams. This is considered a large emerald in the 20 carat world, and it is not an ordinary explosion.
He groped for the emerald carefully. It had Islamic letters engraved on its front and back, like some kind of prayer or incantation, and there were leaf-like decorations on its corners.

The Arabic text obviously touched Zheng Kun's blind spot. He couldn't understand what was written on it, but he still had something to say about the material:

"This emerald is definitely not produced in Colombia. The color of emeralds produced in Colombia tends to be emerald green, with high color saturation, fluorescence, rich inclusions, and is very beautiful.

"In addition to Colombia, Zambia is also a famous origin of emeralds. It is characterized by better crystal clarity. In comparison, its color is not as good as that of Colombia, especially the 'Muzo color' emerald produced by the famous Muzo mine. The quality is not that high.”

"In addition, Brazil also produces emeralds, but its crystals are opaque, hazy, and of average quality."

"Looking at it, I think this emerald is more likely to come from the Panjshir mining area in Afghanistan. It also produces high-quality emeralds with bright green color and translucent crystals. What is beyond my knowledge is that I remember Afghanistan. The emerald is relatively small, so it is unlikely that such a large emerald would be produced. Moreover, I remember that Afghan emeralds only began to be produced in the 70s, but judging from the style of the carved inscriptions, it does not look like a new product, so this emerald is worth mentioning. I feel a little confused.”

Li Zhuo saw how hard he worked in analyzing and said with a smile:

"This is an antique, at least 900 years old. It is not a modern product."

After hearing this, Zheng Kun replied:
"So that's it, I know, then it has antique value."

He then said:
"I took it away and asked someone who knows Arabic writing to come and take a look at it, and then find someone to estimate it."

He put the emerald in a packing box and took it away.

Two days later, Zheng Kun called:

"Brother Zhuo, I made a mistake. Please ask someone to check it out. This emerald comes from Egypt. It comes from the Cleopatra mining area in Egypt. It has been producing emeralds since BC, but in terms of quality, it is definitely not as good as the Colombian mining area. emerald, but the great thing about this emerald is that it is really big, weighing 267.8 carats. Experts say this may be the largest carved emerald in the world, larger than all known carved emeralds in the Middle East.”

"Second point, this emerald has antique value. It is engraved with Shia prayers in Nash script. Based on the text records above, it is speculated that the inscription on this emerald is probably from the late 10th century. What was compiled is an important sacrificial object, probably kept in the mosque. Of course, the emerald itself may have been unearthed even earlier, which is unclear..."

Li Zhuo said:

"In this case, isn't it difficult to estimate?"

"Yes, it can be said that if you don't count the antique value, it probably won't be very expensive. After all, the quality is there. But if you count the cultural relic value, it's hard to say how much it is worth. So, I plan to sell it to the Middle East. Rich people, they definitely don’t want this thing to be bought by others.”

Li Zhuo was worried about the source, Zheng Kun smiled and said:
"No problem. This thing is different from crowns, scepters and the like. It has no clear personal or family ownership. It is a temple item. But since the Middle Ages, many Islamic cultural relics have been lost to Europe. European cultural relic dealers can often sell these things without any problems."

Li Zhuo was right when he thought about it. Historically, this thing was stolen from the mosque by the Templars. How could the Arabs not know that wrongdoers have their own owners, and it has something to do with second-rate traffickers like them.

……

(End of this chapter)