Chapter 292 : Transaction (3)
Chapter 292: Transaction (3)
Thanks to the people from the Majid family, Il-mok and his party were able to pass through the city gates with ease once again.
"Oh?"
Entering Merv's interior, Il-mok let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
This was the first place since crossing into the Western Regions that could truly be called a "city."
Everyone walking the streets exuded a lively atmosphere, and from every corner came the sounds of people buying, selling, and haggling over goods.
The feeling here was completely different from Samarkand or Bukhara, which despite being cities on the surface, had given off a somewhat desolate air.
‘At this level, we should be able to get a decent price here.’
With a satisfied expression on his face, Il-mok nodded and asked the Majid Family's guide.
"Where should we go to sell our goods?"
"Since our Majid Family often trades here as well, I will guide you to the place we usually use."
The Majid Family's man led them through the city center, and they entered the heart of Merv before long.
The market was packed. Though it was somewhat difficult to compare due to differences in clothing and language, Merv's center seemed no less impressive than Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province.
'Hmm. Come to think of it, Lanzhou was rather underdeveloped for a capital of the Central Plains.'
It wasn't as impressive as Nanning in Guangxi, where I went to kill the Hao Clan Lord.
Remembering that even Guangxi Province was considered underdeveloped compared to the most prosperous regions of the Central Plains, Il-mok asked the guide.
"How prosperous is Merv within the territory of Islam?"
"It ranks among the top three cities in the east. In the past, when many merchants from the east came seeking the Silk Road, it was one of the top five great cities in the entire empire. But now, most of the money is in the West and Central regions."
"Hmm. So even though the trade moved, Merv is still holding its own."
The guide gave a bitter smile at those words.
"Samarkand might be close to the Central Plains, but it's basically the frontier of our empire. Merv and Nishapur, on the other hand, are still important gateways between the East and the rest of the empire."
"Hmm. Then how far is this Nishapur from here?"
"About three days southwest of here."
Il-mok nodded at the man's explanation and organized his thoughts.
‘Good. If this doesn't work out, the biggest city in the East is only a three-day trip away.’
If they couldn't get a fair price here, he planned to seek out Nishapur as a last resort.
While gathering information about the Western Regions and thinking about future plans, the guide leading them came to a stop.
"This is the place."
Il-mok looked around the spot where the guide had stopped, and his impression was simple.
'What a peculiar location.'
It was a decent enough place since it was within the central market, but within that market, it was practically on the outskirts.
Still, since it was still a workable spot, Il-mok gave instructions to the Black Tiger Corps members.
"Take out the goods from the crates and display them."
Following Il-mok's orders, the Black Tiger Corps members took out porcelain, silk, medicinal herbs, and the like before arranging them on a wooden platform. Immediately after, those from the Majid Family began shouting something in the Arabic language.
"Come see the porcelain and cloth from the far East!"
Il-mok watches the trade for a moment before soon turning his head to look at the Black Tiger Corps members.
'There are way too many idle hands.'
Of course, they also served as guards to prevent theft or damage to the valuables, but having fifty people crowded into a small space felt suffocating.
Moreover, they were blocking the view so badly that customers couldn't even see the merchandise.
After pondering for a moment, a certain scene from the modern era came to Il-mok's mind.
Through Ohalak, Il-mok spoke to the Majid Family's man who was busy dealing with customers.
"Can we get some big wooden boards around here?"
The Majid Family's man tilted his head at the strange request, then gave instructions to a few others.
A short while later, they returned with several large boards purchased from somewhere.
Il-mok spoke again.
"Can you write 'Selling Eastern porcelain, herbs, and cloth' in the Islamic script?"
Seeming to realize something then, the man from the Majid family wrote the characters in Islamic script on the boards.
Once the necessary items were prepared, Il-mok gave orders to the Black Tiger Corps members.
"Split into five teams of four. Carry these boards and walk around the market."
Il-mok was basically introducing human billboards to this era.
Though typically used in protests, he had improvised it so it could be used to attract customers.
He now has multiple walking billboards to attract customers and provide jobs for the idle. Talk about being efficient.
"My men will carry these wooden boards, so please assign one person each to guide customers this way."
Additionally, Il-mok requested those from the Majid family to serve as interpreters and guides.
And so, four Black Tiger Corps members and one Majid Family man per group as a team were formed and departed for the market.
Maybe it was the giant signs, but it wasn't long before those interested in goods from the East began to appear.
"Oh my. Goods from the East, you say."
Most of them just looked around curiously before leaving.
"But are you certain these are really from the East?"
"Just because they're from the East doesn't guarantee they're good quality, does it?"
Some people were just skeptical and talked trash before walking away.
"I'm not convinced this porcelain is really from the East, so how about selling it for a modest five dirhams?"
There were even those who tried to lowball the price outrageously.
Back in his old world, the dirham was a currency unit used in several Middle Eastern countries, but in this world, it was a unit measuring the weight of silver.
Five dirhams might be a large sum for ordinary commoners, but it was an absurdly low price for porcelain brought all the way from the Central Plains.
Every time such price-slashers appeared, Dokgo Pae would glare fiercely and step forward.
"Young Master, let me handle them!"
Seeing Dokgo Pae's troublemaking attitude, Il-mok shook his head. But he didn't chase Dokgo Pae away either.
‘If he keeps glaring like that, nobody's going to try anything stupid.’
Dokgo Pae served as a bouncer for their operation.
He had a face that said, "Touch the merchandise and you die," without saying a word.
"We have no intention of selling at that price, so please leave."
As they continued doing business while turning away the price-slashers, quite some time passed.
"Haah. The early days were better, Young Master. When are we ever going to fight?"
While Dokgo Pae grumbled about missing raids in the middle of a desert, the crowd around them suddenly parted, and a middle-aged man approached them.
Several others who appeared to be guards or subordinates accompanied him.
Seeing their appearance, the Majid Family's man quietly tipped off Il-mok.
"They're from the Molk Family. The Molk Family belongs to the council that governs Merv."
The rumors spread by the small fry had finally attracted the big fish.
Il-mok learned on the way here that Merv is run by a council, just like Samarkand.
Just as the previous empire of Khwarazm had been, the current empire ruling Islamic territory also maintained a feudal-like structure.
Regional warlords governed the inhabitants, and in cities, governance was typically handled through a kind of council formed by an alliance of several powerful families.
'There was a time when they attempted centralization, but the Sultan's power has weakened considerably recently.'
If their power were to concentrate in one place and they advanced eastward, it would certainly cause considerable trouble for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
'Hmm. Or would the desert make it difficult for them to reach the main headquarters?'
While Il-mok pondered what might happen if Islam united, families belonging to Merv's governing council began appearing one after another and so the trading began in earnest.
"These are indeed goods from the East. They resemble items I saw at the market in Rey."
When the man examining the displayed goods muttered something in the Islamic language, the one who appeared to be their leader nodded and spoke.
"I'll buy this porcelain for seventy dirhams."
While the Majid Family man translated the words into the nomadic language, and Ohalak then translated that into the Central Plains language for Il-mok, a new group of men pushed through the crowd and appeared.
"You're setting the price too low. We'll buy it for seventy-five dirhams."
As powerful families from the council appeared one after another, they began sizing each other up.
"Does your side even have that much money left?"
"And aren't you the one needlessly driving up the price of goods you can't even afford?"
Watching them haggle among themselves in a language he couldn't understand forced a dumbounded laugh out of Il-mok.
‘Well, if they want to drive up the prices for us, we certainly have no complaints.’
Some of them gave up on the expensive porcelain and settled for silk or herbs.
Just as all the goods were about to be sold—
"We'll purchase everything at fifty percent above the current prices!"
One generous big spender had come to find them.
Il-mok let out an interested hum of appreciation after hearing the translation from Ohalak. He then asked, "Who are those fellows?"
Ohalak translated his words to the Majid Family's man, who then cautiously answered Il-mok.
"They're from the Omar family, which holds the greatest power in Merv's council."
***
Several carts entered the estate of the Omar family, the most powerful force in Merv's governing council.
Arslan Omar, the Head of the Omar family, smiled contentedly as he inspected the goods from the East that had been loaded onto the carts.
Just then, the middle-aged man who had purchased the goods from the market with the soldiers approached the family head.
"They are all confirmed to be Eastern goods, my lord."
"Hahaha. Well done, Azadi."
Azadi, the heir to the family, bowed at Arslan’s praise.
Having successfully carried out the task assigned by the Family Head, Azadi cautiously posed a question. "My lord, if I may ask... what exactly is your plan for these goods?"
His reason for asking was simple.
No matter how expensive Eastern porcelain and silk might sell for, they had paid an absurdly large sum for them.
The Omar Family is the most powerful governing power in Merv and their influence not only reached the nearby Nishapur, but also goes all the way to the largest city in the central region that is Rey.
Naturally, they knew very well at what prices Eastern goods should be traded.
And the price the Omar family had paid was far above market value.
The reason Azadi had bought the goods at such an outrageous price was because of Arslan's orders.
The reason they had arrived at the market last was also because they had delayed after receiving Arslan's command.
"Hahahaha. You worry about needless things. Of course, we'll simply sell them at the prices traded in Rey's market."
"Then how shall we cover the losses?"
"What losses are there? We obtained Eastern goods without spending a single coin."
When Azadi looked confused, Arslan smiled with an overflowing greed and added.
"Hehehe. We can't let filthy infidels take our money, now can we?"
Azadi bowed his head toward the greed-filled Family Head and spoke. "I am too foolish to fully understand my lord's grand intentions. Please enlighten me."
"Very well. What is it that puzzles you so?"
"In my humble opinion, it would seem more beneficial for us to let them return and steadily obtain Eastern goods to increase the traffic of merchants. Is there a specific reason why you intend to kill them right now?"
Azadi, who humbled himself and followed the family head's will while cautiously asking what he wished to know, had become the heir precisely because he knew how to handle the Family Head’s ego.
"Hahahaha. Wise as always, Azadi. But while you are wise, you are still lacking as a ruler."
"Please enlighten me."
"Remember my words well."
Azadi looked at the Family Head’s eyes to receive the wisdom.
"Wealth and power are not meant to be shared."
Within those small circles, he could see massive flames of greed swirling.