After crossing this nameless river flowing southeast, we came to this kingdom called Sassanid Persia.

The city of Herat was the first city we passed through in the country.

The city is the place where the merchants of the rest, Persia and Rome countries must pass through to the East, so it is densely populated, merchants gather, and all industries are prosperous throughout the ages, and it is a place where soldiers must fight.

In Qingfengze's house, the most talked about place name of all the Western caravans who came to my inn was the city of Herat.

The Kunlun Nu City run by the nobles of Anxi, the beautiful women from the southwestern countries, the Persian inns where they stayed together, and of course the Fire Zoroastrian who preached the separation of spirit and flesh and advocated the welfare of the world.

It is said that the first to preach in the city of Herat were Manichaeans from Jerusalem, who preached ascetic and vegetarian asceticism.

Later, Sassanid Persia replaced the ancient kingdom of Sabbatical and made Zoroastrianism the state religion, and the good old days of Manichaeism in Herat came to an end.

Manichaean churches and religious properties were confiscated, believers were killed and expelled, and the once-thriving sect declined.

From there, the devout clergy and believers scattered in all directions, some to Rome in the western kingdom of Yunhai, and some to the east and north into the territory of the Duchy of Armenia and the Kushan Kingdom.

The stone castle we saw in the steppe of the Borderlands was the Manichaean church, and those who received my alms were Manichaeans.

I have also met many Zoroastrians over the years, all of whom are fat-headed, big-eared, and fishy, and there is a world of difference between them and those Manichaean Puritans with solemn expressions, ragged clothes, and abstinence.

Their beliefs seem to be a combination of the strengths of a hundred schools, the creation theory is the same as the teachings of Jesus Christ, the theory of health and welfare is somewhat similar to the Confucianism of our Eastern Land, the spiritualism is subordinate to Buddhism, and the dualism of light and darkness, good and evil is similar to the Manichaeism that it has driven away.

Along the way, I found that the cities and countryside of the western countries were people, and there were no workers, and the farmland was barren.

The people are frugal, and the life of the scholars is far inferior to that of the wild people of Middle-earth.

However, each of them was able to live in peace and happiness, and was enthusiastic about the things of faith in order to pursue the well-being of the afterlife, which contributed greatly to the spread of religion.

Judaism, Jesus, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Buddhism, etc., sectarian doctrines from all sides are sung and I appear, quite a hundred schools of thought in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of the Eastern Soil.

The differences between the civilizations of the East and the West are very interesting to compare and figure out.

"Brother, Father Soroa lives in the city of Herat, and Mother said that he is very powerful in the local Zoroastrian sect, and we can go to him for help if we encounter any difficulties here!"

Looking at the horse roads outside the city in all directions, the bustling flow of caravans, and men and women of all colors, Gulanduo smiled happily as he draw.

Growing so big, the city of Herat was the largest city she'd ever seen.

Father Borneo, I also know that he lived in my inn with the Persian caravans.

Our state religion in Khotan is Mahayana Buddhism, so the fire doctrine he preached was not tolerated by the world, and finally this Brahmaan priest was also sent out of the country by the king of Khotan.

I did not expect that now that I had come to his territory, I hope that this priest will not regard us as pagans, and deal with us as messengers passing through the East in the same way as he did with the Manichaeans.

"Forget it, little sister! It is said that the Zoroastrian religion regards fire as a god, and the most sacred ritual is to worship fire! And every time they worship the fire, they are treated as alien Manichaeans, and they are grilled on the fire as offerings! If this Brahma-bharoe priest is a stingy man who remembers the shame of expulsion and uses Manichaeism to deal with us, then we are finished! ”

The horse team was taking a short break on the side of the trade road outside the city, and there was a naan shop next to it, and the freshly baked wheat naan cake was full of fragrance.

I hurriedly sent Qin Chong over and bought each of us a piece of temporary food.

"Grandma, when did you see the wrong person! She must have a reason for asking us to find Father Braea! At least this priest is a good man to be trusted! ”

When Gulando, seeing that I questioned my mother's judgmental eyes, she immediately defended herself dissatisfiedly.

"Gurandot, I'm not questioning my mother's judgment, but the human heart is unpredictable! It's better to be careful in another country! ”

I patiently replied that what happened to me in the Borderlands made me feel like I was walking on thin ice everywhere I went.

"Young master, you are too worried, hehe! As far as I know, the city of Herat has no gateway to the merchants of the past, whether it is us Buddhists, Jesuits, Jews, we can freely do business in the city, drink and have fun! The officials and ordinary people in the city all rely on the past businessmen to make a fortune and run the family, we are the food and clothing parents of the people, and we are the most honored guests in the city of Herat! ”

Seeing that I had become very cautious, Hesrul quickly introduced me to the worldly customs of the city of Herat to ease my heart.

Ruhr is right, the reason why the Zoroastrian sect now regards Manichaeism as an outlier is because this diocese was originally the territory of the Manichaean sect. Now that the new owner has changed, of course, he will regard the original master family as the biggest enemy! ”

The Persian Langton had passed through the city of Herat many times in the past, so his point of view was also the most convincing.

"When you say that, I finally understand! This is called the dove occupying the magpie's nest, and I am afraid that the magpie will make a comeback, so I will kill it all and never leave any trouble! Haha, that's the truth, Brother Ruhr, Brother Langton! ”

I laughed and laughed, and most of my doubts were dispelled.

"The young master has a point!" "What the young master said is very true!"

The two eldest brothers chimed in unison while nibbling on the flatbread.

"Young master, after entering the city, I will not eat all the barbecue meat sold in the restaurant inn! Qin Chong, pot helmet! What are you two looking at without saying a word? ”

Shamihan, who was sitting on a high place, kicked the two boys in the back and laughed loudly.

Only then did I realize that the Persian women who came and went on the road, all of them were well-mannered, merciful, and beautiful, and they had already hooked the souls of these two.

The faces of our Oriental people also aroused great curiosity, and all the natives or merchants who passed by stopped to watch.

It was like watching the circus and magic of the gypsies and Jews, and soon we were surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside.

Although there is no malicious intent, it is also very uncomfortable.

I stood up, stuffed the unfinished half of the naan into my bosom, then turned on my horse and trotted with our caravan towards the city.

Gulandor and Langton explained in Persian to the crowd of onlookers.

It is nothing more than introducing us as a caravan from the Eastern Tuhan Kingdom, not a heavenly immortal, not Jesus and God.

This explanation caused more inconvenience, and by the time our horse caravan settled in an inn in the city, all the officials and people in the city already knew that a caravan from the Great Han Kingdom had arrived in Herat.

Soon, the highest governor of the city, the bishop of the Fire Zoroastrian Sect, various great merchants, and all kinds of wealthy families sent people to invite us to come and visit us, or to discuss transactions.

Objectively speaking, the city of Herat prospered because it was located at the key point of the east-west trade route, and most of the residents in the city were merchants and their descendants from southwestern countries, so it has always been tolerant and accustomed to foreign caravans and strangers.

But only this time, our caravans in Middle-earth were able to cause such a commotion.

One of the biggest reasons is probably the first time that our Han caravan has visited this place since the opening of the city.

I originally wanted to go into the city to observe the prosperity of this ancient Persian city, but I didn't expect to cause so much trouble.

In the face of the steady stream of enthusiastic visitors, I had to ask the shopkeeper to fast from today and not accept any more visits or invitations.

Because in this city of Herat, there are too many cases of going to the Eastern Han Kingdom and becoming rich and prosperous from then on.

Therefore, those gold diggers or humble frustrated people hope that we, the envoys from the Great Han Kingdom, can lead them to that heavenly country, so that they can escape from the dark sea of suffering.

The core totem of the Fire Zoroastrian religion is not the burning sacred fire, and the promise to convert its followers is that this life can bring them light and abundance, and that their souls can return to heaven after death.

And now the distant Han Kingdom is a paradise on earth in the eyes of these Fire Zoroastrians.

Let the humble become rich, the sect leader did not do it.

But a wandering beggar who had gone on a journey to the East with a passing caravan came back and did it.

Such a demonstration has given me, Qin Chong, and Liu Zhen'er, the three children of the Han family, a sacred aura, and become the embodiment of the "Messenger of Light" in the doctrine of the Fire Zoroastrian Sect.

There is no doubt that if I ascend to the heights now, I will definitely gather a large number of responders, but it will also certainly bring unwarranted disaster to our caravan.

And Qin Chong and Liu Zhen'er have been happy city immortals in the past two days, as soon as they go out, behind them are a large number of Persian beauties who have captivated the country and the city, bowing to them.

Such treatment has certainly never happened in the twenty years of these two guys' lives.

"Young master, I want to convert to the Fire Zoroastrianism and be the messenger of light for these Persians!"

After returning from a trip, Qin Chong's eyes lit up and he made such a strange request, which was echoed by Liu Zhen'er.

"Aren't you going to go to Rome with me? All right! Say goodbye, you two will have nothing to do with my caravan from now on! ”

For the proposal of the two, I said with disdain on my face.

"Young master, joke! Joke! Hehe! The Lightbringer is only qualified by you, the young master, and we just want to be the disciples of the Eight Virtues under your altar! ”

Seeing that I was angry, Liu Zhener hurriedly complimented me with a smirk.

"Qin Chong, the Light Messenger has a mission! Watch out for the Zoroastrian who treats you as a dark bringer after you go, and then turns you into a pile of roast meat! Hahaha! ”

Gu Landuo unscrupulously ridiculed Qin Chongdao, which made all of us burst into laughter.

"Actually, I'm only a little interested in those Persian women, haha! The young master took us out in the evening to meet those foreign beauties, and with a glass of turbid wine and a song, the brothers were satisfied! ”

Qin Chong scratched his hair and smiled innocently, finally telling his true thoughts.

It has been a long time since I walked the rivers and lakes without the company of wine and beautiful women, and Qin Chong's words are very much in line with my heart.