Chapter 39: Fantasies (II)

Next to the Amehuzir Market, adjacent to the palace of Bakhna, crowds of onlookers gathered.
Just moments ago, Prince Alvis, accompanied by his guards, posted the newly issued edict by His Majesty the King on the red brick wall beside the market. Ever since the founding of Bakhna, this dark-red brick wall had been used to display decrees issued by the palace.
No one knew why the wall was red—perhaps it was the blood of executed criminals?
The people were accustomed to gathering around the brick wall to see what new regulations His Majesty had issued. Their great-grandfathers had done the same, standing beside the smelly market, straining their necks in hopes of finding some favorable information in the texts.
This same behavior could be seen in criminals about to be executed in the marketplace. Usually, the most vile bandits, thieves, and outlaws would be forced to stand beside the market, stretching their necks awaiting execution. Their ridiculous posture resembled that of a fat Persian goose. According to King Ashishanda, they had angered the god Ahura Mazda and would thus face divine judgment and punishment!
Yet, in modern times, the name of the god had changed to Allah, but everything else remained unchanged.
“Hey Huil, what does this edict say? Why do I see everyone looking so depressed?”
A Sogdian spice merchant pushed through shoulders and stepped over feet, finally making his way to his friend Huil.
The merchant named Huil snorted and said, “What else could it be? More taxes. Ever since those Arabs invaded this land, they’ve come up with all sorts of taxes, most of which target us merchants. They think we unarmed fat geese are easy to exploit.”
“More taxes? Weren’t taxes increased just half a month ago?”
The Sogdian merchant was so anxious that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He grabbed Huil’s collar and asked urgently. The tax system changed every day—was it even possible to live like this? If things continued like this, no one would need to do business; begging on the streets wouldn’t incur taxes, right?
“Abdul, let go!”
After struggling for a while, Huil finally managed to escape Abdul’s strong hands and gasped for air.
“I’m… sorry. I got too anxious.”
Abdul lowered his head in shame and apologized to his friend.
“Never mind. Anyone would find this unbearable!”
Huil raised his eyebrows, venting his frustration.

“It’s all that preacher Nasir’s fault. If he hadn’t come to Balkh, our lives would have been so much easier. Now, new taxes keep appearing every few days, and they target us merchants alone! Is the money merchants earn dirty? Do merchants deserve to throw their hard-earned silver into the preacher’s pockets?”
Huyl waved his arms, growing more and more agitated, drawing glances from the people around them.
“Don’t you dare criticize Lord Nasir’s policies!”
Abdul quickly covered his friend’s mouth to stop him from saying anything more outrageous.
“Ugh! Ugh! Let go of me…”
Huyl struggled to shake Abdul’s hands free. “Aren’t I right? We were forced to change our names to those of the Arabs and abandon our religious beliefs—wasn’t it all because of that madman?”
“Please, please, stop talking.”
Abdul never expected his words to provoke such an outburst from his friend. He felt deeply guilty. If it weren’t for his stubbornness, Huyl wouldn’t have lost his temper, and none of this would have happened.
“We still worship the supreme fire god Ahura Mazda in our hearts and know what our ethnicity is. But what about in the future? Hundreds of years from now? Will our descendants still know what their ethnicity is, speaking Arabic, wearing Arab robes, worshipping that blood-drinking Allah?”
Huyl sneered. Those blood-drinking devils never cared about the feelings of their victims. In their eyes, it was an honor to have these creatures as sacrifices. A dull knife causes the most pain—gradually destroying a person’s ambition and hope for life!
Abdul covered his head, unable to bear listening to his friend’s words any longer. He knew all of this too. But right now, they were like fish on a chopping board, destined to be slaughtered—how could they possibly resist?
Fortunately, the palace guards didn’t hear Huyl’s complaints. The people around them cast curious looks at the two before turning back to read the texts in front of them.
“Let’s go. Head to your tavern to rest and see if we can scrape together some more money!”
Abdul sighed and helped the exhausted Huyl stagger out of the crowd…
Huyl’s tavern was located in the southwest corner of Balkh.

It was called an inn, but it occasionally served as a guesthouse as well. Recently, due to tense relations between the Arabs and the Tang Dynasty, fewer caravans passed through this route. Sometimes, Huil really envied those merchants. Though their journey was harder, they could choose the life they wanted. Unlike them, local merchants were utterly useless and had nothing once they left this land.

“According to the zakat tax, we have to give away thirty percent of the silver and money we collect to the palace.”

Huil sighed and told his friend about the new tax system truthfully.

Abdul instinctively shifted back and said in a trembling voice, “Thirty… thirty percent? Our income isn’t all profit. With such a high tax rate, will we even have a chance to survive?”

Now he finally understood why Huil was so upset. This tax rate far exceeded theircapacity capacity—it was pure exploitation!

“In my opinion, you’re in the spice business, so you’re more flexible than me. Why not sell most of the stock piled up in your warehouse and keep some capital and supplies to try your luck in the east?”

After calming down, Huil began to offer advice to his friend. He was in the business of inns and taverns and couldn’t move his assets. But his friend dealt in spices, so instead of waiting here to collect spices from merchants, it would be better to become a merchant himself and seek a chance in the east.

“The east…?”

Abdul couldn’t react immediately and kept talking.

“Yes, go to Anxi, go to the Tang Dynasty! I heard that place hasn’t been invaded by the Arabs yet. The Heavenly Khan and the Grand Protector treat merchants well. Although taxes are high, they don’t keep raising them frequently, so at least people have some sense of fairness!”

Huil’s expression gradually softened, and a sense of longing arose when he mentioned the Tang Dynasty.

“But… but what if we’re caught by the Arabs…?”

At the thought of the Arabs’ cruel treatment of spies, Abdul shuddered. If he were caught by Arabs setting up checkpoints as a spy, he would likely be tortured to death!

“At least going to the east gives us a glimmer of hope. Staying here means waiting for death!”

Huil sighed, “Now that the king has been bewitched by that demon Nasir, and the sacred fire god Ahura Mazda has been banned, what can protect us?”

“Sigh…” Abdul shook his head helplessly and let out a long sigh.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps were heard outside the door, and Abdul immediately became alert. Could it be that the palace guards had reported Huil’s words to Nasser, and now this charlatan had sent people to arrest Huil?
“Hurry, hide inside the shop!”
Abdul instinctively pushed his friend into the shop. This was all because of him, and he couldn’t just stand by and watch his friend get taken to prison.
“May Allah’s blessings be upon you! Do you have any rooms available?”
A polite question dispelled Abdul’s doubts, and Huil also breathed a sigh of relief.
“May Allah’s blessings also be upon you!”
Although the man’s voice had a strong nasal accent and a nomadic accent, Huil still replied in the most common Arabic dialect. In this riverine region, almost everyone could speak a little Arabic, so it was nothing unusual.
Huil stepped forward and opened the wooden door, revealing a thin Turk in front of him.
“My friend and I have come to Bakhna but have no place to stay. I hope the shop owner can help us!”
The Turk in front of him was polite, completely unlike those Turkic mercenaries who were strong but simple-minded and only knew how to charge ahead recklessly.
Huil had a very good impression of him and smiled, saying, “Of course! How many people are in your group? My small shop can accommodate hundreds of guests.”
“We have thirty or forty brothers. We would like to share Allah’s blessings with you!”
The Turk bowed with one hand on his shoulder, his gaze always tinged with a smile.
Although he knew the man had no ill intentions, he still felt a bit uneasy. After all, the man was speaking the Arabic dialect he hated so much, and kept mentioning that man-eating Allah.
Despite these thoughts, Huil’s face was still filled with a smile. “Please come in quickly. There are suites in the backyard, each capable of housing five or six people.”
Since the time of Bakhna’s rulers who imposed heavy taxes, fewer merchants passed by. Without enough traffic, Huil’s business had naturally slowed down. He was worried about not having enough silver to pay the zakat tax, and now so many “easy targets” had come his way!
Following the Turk were thirty or forty merchants dressed in Arabic white robes, which made Huil slightly dissatisfied. But after taking a closer look, he realized these merchants were not Arabs at all. Even though they wore the most authentic cotton headscarves, he could still detect something strange in their eyes!
“May Allah be with you. Please come in!”
Having been in business for so many years, Huil certainly knew what to say.

What does it matter to him who these people are? As long as they can bring him shiny silver coins, they’re his best friends!