Chapter 64

"Friends, do you have silk? We are willing to pay a high price for it!" As soon as they entered the city of Loulan, a large group of merchants surrounded them due to their unique attire, shouting in broken Chinese to Li You through the soldiers.

"We are envoys of the Han Dynasty, not a merchant caravan!" Li You shook his head and said. Disappointment was evident on the faces of those people; they were eager to obtain that magical fabric, which was smoother and more lustrous than a maiden's skin and could fetch a price that would satisfy even the greediest merchant in the more western world!

"However, we do have a bit of silk!" Li You walked to the back of the group, lifted the bundle on one of the horses, and the unique luster of the silk instantly made all the merchants widen their eyes, their greedy and longing gazes quickly surrounding Li You.

"Noble envoy of the great Han Empire, I am a merchant from Dayuan. I am willing to exchange these for it!" An obese merchant pulled out a bag from his clothes, spilling out several glittering gems to show Li You.

"I am a merchant from Kangju, I am willing to exchange gold for it!" Another merchant shouted, "I will take as much silk as you can provide!"

Indeed, it was a commercial city. Li You felt as if he had arrived at a train station's ticket refund window during the Spring Festival travel rush, with people everywhere asking him for prices! However, his purpose was not just to make money to exchange for more convenient transportation.

"This time, we only have this much silk!" Li You patted the small bundle on the horse, causing a chorus of disappointed sighs from the crowd. This amount was far from enough for them. "So I can only choose one merchant to trade with! Whoever can meet my conditions will get this silk!"

"Noble envoy! What do you want? Gold? Beauties? Gems? Or information? Whatever you want, we can provide it for you!" The providers of any scarce product are always in high demand. Despite knowing that the conditions might be very strict, or even abnormally dangerous, the potential profit made none of them willing to leave.

"I am going to Daxia. Who among you knows about Daxia? If the information satisfies me, then this silk will be yours!" The distance from Loulan to Daxia was thousands of miles. Given the current transportation and information dissemination, not just anyone would know about Daxia! These merchants, who traveled between countries for money, became Li You's greatest hope. Their information was much more reliable than that of ordinary people.

"Respected envoy from afar! I am a merchant from Shule, and my country is very close to Daxia." A merchant in a white robe squeezed out of the crowd and bowed, saying, "Therefore, I have some knowledge about Daxia."

Shule? Close to Daxia? This means Daxia has not yet moved from the Ili River to the Amu Darya River? Li You's heart beat faster. He suppressed his excitement and nodded calmly, "Then come over first. Is there anyone else with information?"

After waiting a bit longer and asking a few questions, eliminating some who were trying to take advantage of the situation, Li You left with the two merchants from Shule and Daxia.

He booked a decent-looking inn, arranged for the soldiers in his entourage to bathe and eat, and then brought Tang Yifu, Chen Qingzhi, and the two merchants to his room.

"This is tea from the Han Dynasty! Drinking it is very beneficial to your health!" After the soldier who had made the tea left, Li You raised his teacup and took a sip, then began to eloquently describe the various benefits of tea, not at all eager to inquire about Daxia.

At first, the two merchants could still calmly chat with him, offering insincere praise. But as Li You continued to talk without bringing up Daxia, they finally couldn't sit still. The merchant from Daxia cleared his throat, "Noble envoy, may I ask what you are going to Daxia for? What questions do you have?"

"Sir, I came from Shule half a year ago, and my information is more up-to-date!" The merchant from Shule quickly interrupted, "He has been in Loulan for over a year and doesn't know many things."

Indeed, in this era, knowing information from thousands of miles away half a year ago was considered timely! Seeing that they had fallen into his trap, Li You smiled and said, "There's no need to rush. I will divide this batch of silk into several parts, with each question representing the right to sell a portion of the silk! Whoever's answer satisfies me will get that portion of the silk! As for the price, I will give you the best deal!"

"The first question: Where is Daxia now?" Seeing that they did not object, Li You asked the question he was most concerned about. The answer would determine whether his future journey would be three thousand or five thousand miles.

"Daxia is on the banks of the Ili River, south of the Wusun Kingdom! ... Shule's..." They almost answered simultaneously. The merchant from Daxia even pulled out a map he cherished, detailing the location and territory of Daxia to Li You, thus winning the right to purchase the first batch of silk. The merchant from Shule turned away, fuming, and anxiously awaited the second question.

This is good news! It seems I will save over two thousand miles compared to Zhang Qian! Hearing that Daxia had not yet been driven to the Amu Darya by the Wusun, Li You breathed a sigh of relief. He then asked the second question, "What is the political situation in Daxia? Are there any conflicts with neighboring countries? Have they won or lost?"

"This... When I left Daxia, the domestic situation was relatively peaceful, although there were some minor conflicts with the Wusun, they did not affect the core of the country!" The merchant from Daxia hesitated for a moment, having been away from Daxia for over a year, he wasn't sure if this information was outdated!

"Noble envoy, what he said is incorrect!" The merchant from Shule looked pleased, knowing that the second batch of silk was his. The situation between the Wusun and Daxia had changed significantly over the past year, "Now the Wusun is preparing for a full-scale war with Daxia, and Daxia is in grave danger!"

Li You and the merchant from Daxia both looked grim. This was undoubtedly bad news!

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