In the Zoroastrian temple of Malacanda, Ahura Mazda was watching all this. On the platform of the sacrifice, in the copper disc several meters in diameter, three half a man-high copper horses evenly faced three directions. Only the front half of the body worked together to carry a silver fire altar. The holy fire burned in the silver altar, bringing light to the originally dim temple.

Countless people were neatly placed under the altar. They held the "Balsam Branch" (pomegranate branches) in their hands and sang devoutly with the priest on the altar. It was the saint Anahita, wearing a white robe and black hair draped around her waist. Her face was beautiful and solemn, and her slender body did not make people feel evil at all, but instead felt extremely holy.

Anahita also held the emerald green ‘Balsam branch’ with four-cornered gold earrings falling to her ears, and a silver collar was placed around her beautiful neck. She sang in a natural sound:

"Mubed, please light the sacred fire,

Let the curtain of darkness burn in the flames;

The ancient teachings are still vibrant,

Do not be cold and blasphemous to the God of Light.”

As soon as Anahita's voice stopped, the people in the temple sang in unison: "Ashem Wohu". After singing this sentence, they recited in unison: "Yata Ahh. Yata Ahh." After reciting, they sang again: "Ashem Wohu."

The chanting of the crowd was very short, only four short sentences, but the majesty of the crowd was sharply contrasted with the coldness of Anahita. They sang the holy fire and praised the God of Light. Only at this time, under the gaze of Ahura Mazda, the god of light, faced with the holy and cleansing of all the holy fire, will the worldly troubles be temporarily forgotten. Light and darkness, justice and evil are the eternal themes of mankind, not trade and profit.

But when the sacrifice ended, the people who had finished drinking the rich hemp juice left the main hall, and they immediately returned to the merciless and cunning merchants. Marakanda is the center of Sogdiana, and Sogdiana is the hometown of all Sogdian merchants. Because the white silk shipped from India, all Sogdians from all directions were back, because someone was destroying the trade that originally belonged to them.

"It's not the silk of Qinni." Affriti has repeated this sentence countless times. Before Qin annexed Bashu, the silk of Bashu was often transported to India along the Yunnan-Burma trail. After Qin annexed Bashu, this road was basically extinct, and the Qin people controlled all trade. "This is the silk of Dongfang Zini!"

"The great god Mazda," Gaza, who had returned from Seleucid, shouted a deity to draw the attention of all men. When everyone saw it, the servant beside him quickly stepped forward and offered several silks of different colors. "This is silk bought from Persia, and the person who sold it told me that a huge ship brought them from the East."

"Oh, oh--!" The people in the side hall were stunned. They knew that it was just India and never thought of Persia.

"It's the Chuni, it must be the Chuni!" Amid the screams, Jebaga seemed to be hit by lightning, and his whole body trembled.

"Zebaga, why do you say it is a Chuni?" As the most noble person in Malacanda City, Kang Motian asked.

"Because..." Jebaga said that it was the Chuni people just a conditional reflection. He tried his best to think after the words were spoken. Fortunately, he finally thought about the reason he said this: "My servant Hu Dansorzhi first met King Chuni on a huge ship. The Chuni people even demolished their palace to build a ship."

"Maybe it was Persian merchant ships that arrived in the East." The description of Zebaga was not impressive. There were also caravans in the East. "Even if the country of Chuni had huge ships, they could not reach India. According to the revelation of the God of Light, the world seemed to be a flying bird with its head in the easternmost Zini, Hosa (Indochina Peninsula) was the left wing of the bird, India was the right wing of the bird, Persia was the belly of the bird, and Egypt was the tail of the bird. The head of the bird can only be aimed at the east, and it could not look back on its wings and turn to its belly when flying."

It is a convention to explain reality with the Scriptures. Ald's words were approved by many people. Then someone stood up and said, "It must be that the merchant ship of Seleucid came to the Kingdom of Zini and bought a whole ship of silk. Before this whole ship of silk was sold out, we could only stop trafficking in silk."

Onshore trade profits must be maintained at a relatively high level, and this will not support the consumption of caravans. Occasional stockings have also happened before. The correct approach is to stop selling silk to prevent prices from falling.

"No!" Gaza, who returned from Persia, completely opposed this practice. "The people who sold the silk said that the ship would come every year from now on, and they also advised the merchants there that the silk should be sold and not hoarded before they arrived next year."

"Oh!" The sound echoed in the side hall again, Gaza continued: "This is why these silks are sold for only one thousand drachers. My proposal is to sell all silk as soon as possible. After next year, it may be only five hundred drachers, and in another year it may only be worth two hundred drachers..."

The side hall was already silent at this time. Gaza's meaning was very clear, that is, any merchant group would not do silk business again in the future, because the Persian merchant ships would take away all silk business.

"I don't agree!" Ald opposed the most. From the hands of the Yuzhi people and the Rong people, he made great profits by selling Qinni silk. "I don't believe that the Persians can monopolize the silk business."

"That's your business." Gasa signaled to him. "Anyway, the caravan of the Gasa family will not sell silk."

While he was talking, the door of the side hall was suddenly pushed open. A servant bent over and walked in quickly. After finding Jebaga, he whispered in his ear. Jebaga was still thinking whether the Chuni ships sold silk to India and Persia. After hearing this, he forgot everything.

"The great god Ahura Mazda," he shouted, and then said, "The Mahadul people asked us to buy twenty thousand sets of giant armor and twenty thousand swords from Chuni, and twenty thousand Chuni spears, and at least two thousand divine horses to Chuni."

The Mahaduls were the rulers of Sogdiana. More than 90 years ago, the Sogdians could not resist, but they are still the same. For more than 90 years, the will of the Greeks was second only to the will of God, and they were seeking the Sogdians. Trafficking armor and weapons was not difficult, but it was difficult for the Sogdians to sell the gods of Sogdiana to the East.

The Sogdians were just merchants, not warriors. They did not raise horses. They could sell a few horses. It would be difficult to sell two thousand divine horses to Chu. This required buying horses from the Sala people, from Dayuan, and from the Shi Kingdom. The reason why the divine horses were divine horses was because horses were gifts from gods. How could the orientals who did not believe in Hu Tian deserve to have divine horses?

"You can buy Chuni's armor and weapons without selling Shenma." Someone said. "The Chuni just don't allow us to sell it to Chuni."

"But the Persians are selling their god horses to Chuni." In addition to receiving instructions, Jebaga also learned about the information. "The Mahadul people told me that the Chuni merchant ship had opened a route to Persia, and that ship of silk was transported by Chuni ship."

"Is it true?!" Everyone looked at Jebaga, and many people felt unbelievable.

"The Mahadul people were worried that the Seleucid envoy asked Chuni to prohibit the sale of armor and weapons to us, so they asked us to sell the gods to Chuni." Jabaga explained the whole story in a helpless tone. The Sogdians were merchants. Although the merchants had unlimited money, they only hired very few warriors. They could not resist the Governor General of Sogdiana, nor could they resist the Chu State.

Jerbaga just informed everyone of this unfortunate but helpless news. After saying that, he got up and left. Governor Euthidmus was waiting for him to discuss this trade with him.

"If you can safely transport those armor and weapons, I will ask His Majesty the King to exempt you from the three years of trade taxes." In the Governor's Mansion, Eutidmus said.

"Governor-General, I'm just worried about what we can use to exchange for two thousand divine horses." Jebaga did not dare to disobey Utidmus's wishes, he could only follow his wishes and then make some requests.

"I can send out the army." Euthidmus said. His eyes turned from Zybaga to the painting of Apeles hanging on the opposite wall: Ares and Aphrodite were naked, and the Greeks liked to be naked.

"If this is the case, then we will be lucky." Jebaga advised. At this time, Euthidmus moved his eyes away from the hot pictures, looked at him, waiting for his suggestions.

"If they could get Chuni's armor..." Jebaga thought about it. Weapons and armor were controlled in any country. Although the Sogdian caravan passed north of the Sir River, those countries never checked the caravan's caravan's caravans. The Sarks were nomadic people. Sometimes the caravans could meet them, but most of the time they could not, and even if they encountered them, they would only offer a generous gift.

If you can trade Chuni's armor for the God of Horse and then use Chuni to return the armor and weapons, the whole business will be complete. Anyway, Euthidmus will not produce a Drakh horse for this.

Euthidemus was silent about this. In the northeast corner of the known world, Bactricia, located in the south, was enemies in other directions. Seleucus, Pani, Sark, and those barbarians who appeared from time to time.

"How many armors are needed?" he asked.

"A set of armor and another horse." said Jebaga. "Another need a Chuni sword, which is indispensable."

"I agree." Euthidemus did not hesitate for too long, and he had already made a choice among many enemies. "Be sure to transport the armor back safely." He emphasized at the end.
Chapter completed!