"It's so rich here!"

In the bazaar of Al Harbor, all kinds of rare birds and beasts, rare treasures, people are dizzying.

"Father, where is this more prosperous than Damascus?"

When Hassan was young, he went to Damascus, when he was not a chieftain, and Damascus was still the territory of the Turks.

"Damascus, of course," he recalled, pondered. ”

"It's just that although the port of Ella looks small, it has begun to flourish, and it will not be much worse over time. No wonder there are several ports such as Aqaba, and there is no trace of them. ”

cinnamon, cloves, pepper, cardamom, gemstones, tall horses, silk fabrics from Tianzhu; Nubian slaves from Abyssinia, frankincense, myrrh; Locally produced refined plates, fermented grape juice, white paper and theological texts.

An Abyssinian lion in a cage, ready to be used as a noble pet, or as a fighting beast in the gladiatorial arena.

A peacock from Gujarati that spreads its wings like a screen.

A spotted wild horse with black and white lines painted on its body.

All kinds of goods, everything you need.

Vendors display their wares at their stalls, and more upscale valuables are usually sold in more intimate shopping malls next to them.

On the streets, heavily armed patrols maintain order.

The billboard is written in a variety of characters in large three-line characters.

The thief cuts off his hand.

Fraudsters pull out their tongues.

Tax evaders, confiscated property, exiled to Sinai for hard labor.

Old Hassan advised: "Do you see it, take care of your hands!" ”

In Alexandria, valuables such as spices, precious stones, etc., are subject to a quarter of the heavy tax.

And in Port Eyra, the tax collector named Mueller, also raised the figure by a quarter and called it the luxury tax.

As for the tax on basic goods such as grains, it has been reduced to 10 percent.

But even a quarter of them would make a fortune for the spice merchants, and they would never switch to becoming a grain merchant, just for a little less.

This series of heavy taxes is also the reason why the price of spices has increased dozens of times when they are passed to the European continent.

Because every place you pass through has to be taxed, and every time you change hands, you have to increase the price, and therefore, although the port of Ella is very close to ports such as the port of Aqaba, it can squeeze the latter into nothing.

Inside the harbor, countless galleys are waiting for their berths to enter the harbor.

Hired workers on the docks carry large and small bags to transport heavy goods to the warehouse.

Merchants from the Apennine Peninsula also gathered here, ready to become second-hand dealers, and transport the spices purchased here directly through the Mediterranean route to China.

The goods carried by the elder Hassan and his entourage were quickly sold at a suitable price.

The price offered by the buyer was very fair and easy to talk to, and it was a generous amount of dinar silver.

The elder Hassan's son and the rest of the tribesmen laughed from ear to ear, and if they were in the city of Yanbu, their goods would sell for at most a quarter of the price.

Old Hassan looked at the young people in the tribe, but his face did not show much joy.

As it turned out, he was deceived.

The port of Ayla is a paradise where people who settle here can see light on their faces, and even if they are tired, they are full of energy.

It was a look of hope for the future.

The lord here, the Count of Lothar is no butcher.

Old Hassan couldn't help but have the idea of "moving the whole tribe" when he talked to the traveler at the beginning.

"Father, let's go to the tavern for some pastime."

Old Hassan looked at the noisy tavern, and wanted to scold, because he was a devout Zoroastrian, how could he touch alcohol, a tool that makes people lose their minds, the devil?

But immediately remembering the imam's pious and holy face, he couldn't help but feel a trace of resentment in his heart.

Swindler!

The imams, the lords, are liars, they want us to be their slaves forever, to lose our freedom, to lose our future, to die out like the walking dead!

"Go ahead."

"It's been a hard journey, and it's time for everyone to relax and relax."

The young people of the tribe were stunned for a moment, not expecting that the old old-fashioned chief would accede to their request, and then they cheered.

The atmosphere in the tavern was warm.

There were a lot of people who got together and played a kind of picture called "Gwent".

Although the young men under old Hassan did not understand it, they were still fascinated by it, and the majestic knights drawn on it made them fascinated for a while.

The tavern door is opened.

Old Hassan saw the winged ironclad cavalry again, and this time, because he was in the same tavern, and even because he was closer, he saw it more clearly.

The so-called wings turned out to be just a pair of ornaments, probably made of swan or crane feathers.

The armor on their bodies is like a complete steel plate, covered with a coat, and it looks completely invulnerable.

A group of people were a little envious, in their tribe, even an iron pot was a rarity.

The hussars politely asked the bartender for a few drinks, sat down on the barrel by the bar, whispered a conversation, drank it all, and then politely said goodbye to the bartender and left the tavern.

Someone sighed: "The hussars of the Earl are the most virtuous knights I have ever seen!" ”

"What kind of knights are they?"

A knight dressed in a hound's coat of arms burqa drank a glass of wine in disgrieve.

Many knights who had territories in Sinai preferred to live in Port Ella compared to the barren Sinai Territory.

"It's just a cavalry, showing off their might all day long, swaggering through the market, ridiculous."

The knight's face was sour.

He had long been dissatisfied with Lothar's disregard for their knights, and for choosing to promote the former heretics to officials.

This is also a common problem.

As more and more knights defected to Lothar, these people were rarely entrusted with high positions.

This naturally caused dissatisfaction among some people.

It's just that Lothar doesn't care, he doesn't lack the allegiance of knights, and if he is not convinced, he just gets out, and the number of knights in the edict is rare now.

If there is a traitor, he will be executed or exiled according to the law.

The prestige and centralization of Lothar's own territory is far beyond the imagination of those outside the inner circle.

Old Hassan and the tribesmen drank and soon became slightly drunk.

At this time, he subconsciously touched his pocket, and his face suddenly changed - his money bag was lost.

"Don't drink it!"

"Find out if you left your money bag anywhere?"

A group of people who were originally slightly drunk were instantly shocked into a cold sweat.

The bartender reminded, "If you lose something, you can go to the hussars." ”

"Oh, by the way, did you pay your taxes?"

Old Hassan nodded hurriedly and said, "Of course, when you sell goods at the port, you pay it." ”

"That's fine, the hussars have an obligation to protect your person and property, go find them."

Old Hassan was skeptical, but with the only hope left, he found the hussars who were patrolling the streets.

"Was it stolen?"

The hussar's face changed slightly, and he chuckled: "Okay, we know about this, and I will solve this case as soon as possible." ”

Old Hassan stopped talking, and then listened to the hussars: "Don't leave the port of Ella during this time, the thieves are likely to be outsiders, and they are people who have just been to the tavern, and the scope is not large." It shouldn't be long before you get your money back. ”

"Okay, thank you."

Old Hassan hurriedly bowed.

The group had no pastime to spare, so they found a hotel and waited in a room.

In the evening.

There was a knock on the door.

The hussars, whom he had seen during the day, escorted a young Bedouin boy who had mourned his wife to the inn.

Bang.

The heavy money bag was thrown by the hussars: "Count it, is the number right?" ”

Old Hassan hurriedly opened the money bag and counted it roughly, but it was exactly the same.

"Yes, sir."

The hussars smiled and said, "It's good if the number is right, you can come to the square tomorrow morning to watch the execution, this little guy has committed theft and has to have an arm cut off." ”

Old Hassan's expression was grim, but a feeling of happiness emerged in his heart.

That's the fucking life-saving money of Lao Tzu's whole clan, you damn little bitch!

"Okay, we'll be there."

With that, he took out a handful of silver coins from his money bag and intended to stuff them into the hussars: "Thank you, knight lord. ”

The person who came hurriedly waved his hand: "No, this is our duty, we don't need your thanks-accepting bribes will also be cut off." ”

Old Hassan was slightly stunned.

"Good night, everyone."

Hussars waved their hands.

"Will I be lucky enough to know your name?"

The hussars paused and said, "Just call me Ulm." ”

"Thank you again, Mr. Ulm."

"You're welcome."

Looking at the back of the hussars gradually moving away, old Hassan hesitated, and suddenly chased forward.

"Mr. Ulm, my tribe and I want to move to Port Ella to settle down..."