Water Margin people

Chapter 1497 Saladin

The rascal who had lost all his money heard that someone was inviting him to drink, and he immediately forgot the unhappiness of losing the money and dragged Han Shizhong to a hotel.

Several hooligans were cursing the boxer who had caused them to lose money today, and their curses were quite unpleasant.

Han Shizhong was not in a hurry and just persuaded them to drink. When they were all a little drunk, Han Shizhong asked about the situation in the city.

The current governor of Nishapur is a Khwarazmian, but he has already surrendered to the Seljuk Turks. There are more than 400,000 people in the city...

Han Shizhong listened to the ruffians' stories with a smile and took note of them silently in his heart.

By the time those rascals finished speaking, they were all drunk and unconscious.

Han Shizhong smiled, paid for the drinks and turned to leave. These rascals would not wake up for a while because they were so drunk. They probably wouldn't know what happened when they woke up tomorrow.

Han Shizhong took a detailed tour of the underground city and then followed the crowd to the ground.

Han Shizhong didn't expect that there was a door leading specifically to the underground.

“It’s really a military fortress!”

Han Shizhong murmured that Nishapur was the most troublesome fortress he had ever seen.

City Lord's Mansion.

Ma Lin was placed among the musicians.

The musicians were holding all sorts of strange instruments, including one odd multi-string plucked instrument he had never seen before.

The musicians naturally exchanged music with each other, introduced their own instruments one by one, and fiddled with them from time to time, which made Ma Lin watch with great interest.

"What is this, an iron pipe?"

A musician saw the iron flute in Ma Lin's hand and asked in confusion.

"This is called a flute, it's an oriental instrument!"

Ma Lin smiled and played twice. The clear sound instantly attracted the attention of everyone present.

Soon the city lord's banquet began. A group of musicians were led to cover one corner of the hall. On the other side were women of exotic beauty. They were wearing light gauze clothes and various ornaments and bells.

The city lord and a group of distinguished guests arrived after a while, and the servants prepared fruits, wine and delicious food.

Ma Lin carefully observed the city lord and the guests. Although he didn't know them, he could guess from their clothes and demeanor that they were all overlords.

"Interesting, why would the Lord of Nishapur want to meet with these people?"

Ma Lin guessed in his heart that there must be a reason for the big shots to gather together, and the most likely reason is that they are joining forces to do something.

Dafitt quickly arranged for musicians to play and the dancers to enter the dance floor to perform.

But after all this, the guests were not moved at all and did not even raise their eyelids when facing the beautiful dancers.

Upon seeing this, the city lord gave Dafit a look. Those present were all the lords of a city and the heads of a clan. They all had no shortage of beauties. How could they be interested in these kinds of stuff?

"Dear guests, our city has prepared various performances!"

Dafit immediately said to everyone with a smile.

Then various performances took turns, some were fire-breathing, some were snake-playing, some were knife-rolling…

After the performance, all the big shots lost interest.

"You...come and perform oriental instruments!"

Seeing that there was no other way, Dafite immediately looked at Ma Lin.

"Oriental musical instruments?"

Those big shots all turned their heads to look at Ma Lin, their eyes sharp, as if they wanted to see through Ma Lin.

"Gentle Governors, this is a wandering Leshi of Leshi, named Ma Lulin, who can play oriental instruments!"

Duffett was overjoyed and quickly introduced them.

Ma Lin calmly picked up the iron flute and started playing. The clear sound echoed in the hall. The other musicians and dancers were all happy and relaxed. Only the city lord and the governors remained expressionless.

"Do you know the East?"

One person looked at Ma Lin and asked.

"I have been in Gaochang for a while and have heard about things in the East, but I have never been there," Ma Lin replied.

“Is the East really rich?”

One person asked anxiously.

"Yes, it is very rich. There is a dense population there, exquisite porcelain, soft silk, mellow tea, sweet wine. It is the garden of God, with endless wealth and splendor..."

Ma Lin used poetic words to describe the East, which he actually heard in Gaochang, and it was just right to use them now.

These words made everyone feel relaxed and happy. Their eyes were a little distracted, as if their thoughts had reached a place comparable to heaven.

"Yelü Dashi and Dongfang are at war!"

The city lord suddenly looked at the governors and spoke.

"He originally came from the East, so it's normal for him to fight back!"

Someone said nonchalantly that Yelu Dashi was just an outsider to them.

"Don't you want to take back our land?"

The city lord looked at everyone and spoke directly.

"What do you mean! You want to start a war? Jassan was defeated in Katwan, and you dare to go?"

Someone looked at the city lord and asked, the disastrous defeat of Katwan had made them realize how terrifying Yelu Dashi was, and they were unwilling to be his enemy.

"You all get down!"

The city lord waved to the others.

Dafit immediately led his men outside, as he knew that his eldest brother was going to discuss important matters with a group of important people.

Although Ma Lin really wanted to listen, he knew he had to find another way.

After leaving the hall, Ma Lin claimed that he had a stomachache and left the crowd. He used his body skills to return to the outside of the hall, found a window and squatted down carefully.

"Jassan is not worthy to lead us!"

The city lord's words made everyone present look horrified.

"I know what you are afraid of, but the Seljuk Turks are no longer the strongest nation on this land. Their 110,000-man army was defeated by Yelu Dashi's 20,000-man army. What future do we have if we follow such a man?"

Seeing that no one spoke, the city lord continued speaking.

"But we made an oath at the beginning. We obey the Sultan (the king of the East and the West)!"

Some people say that they all pledged to join because they were defeated by the Seljuk Turks.

"But is he the Sultan? An army of 110,000 defeated by 20,000? Is such a man worthy of our following?"

The city lord continued.

"What do you mean? You want to lead the resistance? With your Nishapur fortress?"

Someone said rudely.

"Just me!"

A man with a black turban and a curly beard walked out from behind the curtain.

"Saladin!"

  When everyone saw that person, they all stood up as if they had seen some important person!

"Saladin?"

Ma Lin, who was outside the window, was puzzled when he heard the name. He didn't know who it was, but judging from those people's reactions, he should be a big shot with a very high status, even less important than the Seljuk Sultan Jaisal.

"Who?"

Saladin looked suddenly towards the window and felt that there seemed to be someone there.

Several guards immediately rushed to the window, opened it and found no one there.

Ma Lin escaped immediately. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know where he had revealed his flaw and how he was discovered.

"No, this city is not safe, we have to leave quickly!"

Ma Lin immediately thought that the sudden appearance of Saladin made him feel very dangerous.