The Intramuros of Baghdad is divided into four floors, with the outermost layer being occupied by shops and ordinary people. In contrast to the other three floors, the outermost layer is not protected by walls. The merchants of the Great Song Dynasty all lived on the outermost floor, and they bought half of the street here, and the shops in front and the houses in the back formed a relatively closed plot.

There are no walls, but there are no roads. The road is no longer limited by the city walls and gates, and it can be expanded freely and even barbarically, and you can go wherever you want without any difficulty, which makes the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty who live here feel safer and more comfortable.

There was not always business in the shops, and the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty would move around each other. Most of the time, they gather in the tea merchant's shop. The group sat in the shaded room and made tea, looking at the layout of the courtyard imitating the Jiangnan style, which can also comfort the feeling of homesickness.

"In the midst of the war, the Mongol Great Khan even searched for people's daughters everywhere. Is he trying to get the wind right away? In the fragrance of tea, the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty did not care about the evaluation of the Mongol Great Khan.

Since it was a chat, everyone expressed their opinions, and some people held a more peaceful view, "Maybe they are ready to reward the meritorious after victory." ”

"Huh. The last time I read the newspaper, it said that I didn't know the good of the Great Song Dynasty only when I was not in the country, and it really spoke to my heart. In the past, I always scolded the officials for not doing their jobs and tossing and turning blindly every day. I didn't know until I was overseas what it meant to not do business. They're messing around like this, I want to go back. ”

"You want to go back when you've earned enough." Someone immediately quipped.

"It's not that I've earned enough, when will I earn enough. I don't think there's anything to be earned. I used to wonder why the big food merchant came to Da Song to do business, but now I understand. They just don't make much money locally, so they have to go outside. I also don't want to go back to the Great Song, but want to go to the port of Mumbai to do business. Most of the kings of Tianzhu have already been subordinated to the rule of the Li Domain, which should be more profitable than Baghdad. ”

"The last time you went out for so long, didn't you go to Basra, but to Mumbai?"

"I wanted to go, but I still didn't. It's hard work. ”

Everyone was talking and talking, and the sun was gradually turning westward. Everyone got up and left, and the tea merchant did not stay. He ordered someone to pack up the tea set and prepare to open it himself. You can't make a lot of money just by selling tea, and the store has also started a variety of operations. There is a large counter in the shape of a curved ruler on the street, and hot water is prepared in the cabinet, which can cook tea and warm wine at any time. The workers left their jobs in the evening, and every time they spent a little money to buy a bowl of wine or a pot of tea. Standing outside the cabinet, I drank hot and rested. Soon, the sweat came out again, but the whole person seemed a little more energetic.

If you are willing to spend a little more money, you can buy a plate of chickpeas to make a drink, and if you get more, you can buy a meat dish, but most of the customers who stand and drink are short-clothed gangs, and they are probably not so generous. Only those who wore long shirts walked into the house next door to the storefront, asked for wine and food, and sat down and drank slowly.

The local boys ran to the front and back to pour tea and water, and the account office only checked out the bills and turned the boys around. In addition to the money, there are also people who directly take food and other things to offset their accounts. Make the already lively scene even more lively. The bookkeeper was stammering and extremely jerky in the vernacular, so the words were almost always single-handed. Those who eat are used to such conversations and don't care at all.

Perhaps they felt that the account room was so simple that it was not as simple as the way children spoke, the plain expression of the plain plain, and the confused expression of the slight frown when they heard the locals speak normally, they didn't care when they spoke. Several people said in local dialect: "Finally, the True God Army is going to attack Baghdad, I wish they had arrived sooner." ”

"They are not the same as us." Someone immediately questioned it.

If there is doubt, there is a rhetorical question, "Are the Mongols and us the same faction?" ”

"Although the Mongols are not in the same faction as us, they are not in the same faction as that side, and they will not help them oppress us over there. It's still different. Do you want to turn your back on Tula? ”

"Yes, Tula also said that that faction should not be allowed to take power. Even if you want to fight the Mongols, you have to Tula to come to power. ”

"Can't you beat the Mongols away first?"

"The Mongols were beaten away, and we are only afraid that it will be even worse. Tula said that those people should impose heavier taxes on us. ”

"The Mongols' taxes are not low."

……

There was a lot of talk, but there wasn't much of a drink, and it didn't take long to finish it. In addition, it was getting late, so the short-clothed gang picked up the remaining chickpeas and stuffed them into their mouths, chewed and swallowed them with the last bit of wine, and left one after another. Before leaving, I also said hello to my late acquaintance. The newcomers immediately stood at the counter and shouted for wine or tea, and the bookkeeper responded with short words.

Before dark, the short-coat gang was gone, and there were more and more of those wearing robes. At this time, the shopkeeper had to be tired of greeting, and the bookkeeper went back to the back room to record what he heard. If you hear a lot of accents from those people, you can tell who is a local and who is from another place. Compare their origins with their rhetoric, and a lot of things become very interesting. The natives of Baghdad were half and half for or against the Tianzhu Slave Dynasty from afar, but the new arrivals elsewhere were more supportive of the Mongols. This is a change from the previous situation, where outsiders were more opposed to the Mongols and locals wanted to maintain the status quo. As for the reason, it seems that some of the families of the banner army of the Black Eight Banners came from other places, although they also had to farm their own land, but they finally owned the land and had the opportunity to dig in the soil. On the other hand, locals who have lost their land, or locals who have seen people from other places get land, are very dissatisfied.

After a brief analysis, the bookkeeper continued to go out to the platform. When it was dark, the last few tables of robed guests left, and the shopkeeper directed them to pack up their things and eat dinner, and let the local boys go back to their rooms to sleep. Only then did he discuss what he heard with the bookkeeper, "The Mongols seem to be gathering a banner army to defeat the slave dynasty in one fell swoop, and they have not listened to Boyan's strategy. ”

The bookkeeper spoke Chinese very fluently, which was completely different from his performance outside, "This method is not bad, I wonder if they have a reason?" ”

"It is said that the slave dynasty took in many believers of the True God along the way, and now there are five or six hundred thousand horses. The Mongol court did not dare to wait, and the slave dynasty continued to accept men and horses in this way, only afraid that it would be able to support millions of soldiers. ”

The bookkeeper bowed his head in contemplation, and the shopkeeper brought out some of the food he had prepared. Baghdad is too hot in June to make it impossible to stay overnight with wine and chickpeas and bacon. Not to mention that some meals are still in the range of storage resistance. The reason why the business is so good is because everyone can always serve food without odor. So it's best if you don't spend the night on the left.

Picking up the wine bowl and taking a sip, the bookkeeper said his thoughts, "If the slave dynasty can really collect millions of people, what Boyan said is right. The Mongol cavalry confronted the army of the slave dynasty, and there was no need to distinguish the winner or loser, as long as the Mongol horses ran out of a pasture and left, the slave dynasty itself starved to death. Even if the slave dynasty took advantage of the advantage of its strength to drive straight in, and the Mongolian banner army cut off the grain route of the slave dynasty, what would these people eat? Gnawing on sand? ”

The shopkeeper nodded, although he had been in the army for ten years and had not become a senior officer, he was no stranger to fighting. After working here, because of the daily procurement and operation, the understanding of logistics arrangements has deepened several levels. No matter how fierce people blow, they can't say anything after being hungry for a few days. The argument of cutting off the grain route looks mysterious, but in fact, it is a very real problem related to the fate of the army. He sighed: "But I don't know if the flag army can win." ”

The bookkeeper sighed: "Boyan commands these banner armies, and he will definitely win." ”

"There's no way Boyan came here to command."

"Then it depends on how much the Mongol army wants to pay. Although our Song army has never fought a big battle to lure the enemy into the depths, the officials have said that it is the best tactic to lure the enemy into the depths of the strong wall and clear the field. Can fight a very good battle of annihilation. After such a battle, the slave dynasty was finished. ”

"Haha!" The shopkeeper smiled: "Then I look forward to the end of the slave dynasty." ”

The two chatted for a while and then went back to rest. In a hot place like Baghdad, it's cool at night, and you can get a good night's sleep as long as the sun doesn't rise.

Every six months, information is sent to the information station in Basra to make purchases, and from there to the information station in Mumbai. The information that arrived here was summarized and sent back to the Great Song Dynasty. When the treasurer stood in the port of Basra, he saw a forest of masts, and the number of ships doing business was not diminished because of the war. If you look closely, you can see that most of the flags on the mast are Great Song Dynasty ships. In the past, the ships from Tianzhu to Basra were small and few, and now that the Great Song Li Domain began to subdue many of Tianzhu's earth kings, there are even fewer ships belonging to Tianzhu. It's not so much about the war.

The intelligence station is also a shop, and in the room where the intelligence officers exchange the main content of the information, and give and receive the latest orders. The Great Song intelligence department never asks for anything like top-secret intelligence, and everyone collects basic information. Summing it all up, you can see the big picture.

Knowing that more and more ordinary people were starting to talk about the slave dynasty, the head of intelligence was thoughtful. After thinking for a while, he ordered, "You guys are ready to retreat." ”

"It's all so dangerous?" The shopkeeper was a little surprised.

The person in charge sighed: "It's hard to say." If Mongolia loses, will the locals continue to play for the Mongols? ”

The faces of those True God Cultists came to mind, and the shopkeeper didn't know what to say. Those people will fight for the true God, they will fight for Tula, no matter how you look at it, they will not fight for the Mongols. Thinking of this, the shopkeeper asked, "How do we retreat when we retreat?" ”

The person in charge replied decisively: "When the time comes, we will inform you to withdraw, and if you don't want anything, people will withdraw." ”