Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Sometimes, aside from outright plunder or paying protection money, a third scenario could arise between merchant caravans and bandits: extortion by negotiation.

Jiang Yuan had never heard an official term for it; the phrase was one she had come up with based on her own understanding. It was a cunning and peculiar form of coexistence, perhaps something that could only exist in the fierce, lawless desert. When both hostile sides judged that they were evenly matched and neither wanted to fight until they were both crippled, people would gather to negotiate. The caravan would hand over enough wealth, and the bandits would guarantee that no one else would get a share of this fat prize before they reached their destination.

In a sense, it was much the same as protection money. But protection money, in the usual sense, did not include the cost of bodyguards along the road, nor would bandits smoothly change roles and become mercenaries, joining the caravan and traveling with them.

The sun had already climbed to its zenith, yet no one felt the slightest urge to sleep. The two sides sat astride camels and horses, maintaining a cautious distance of seven or eight meters, negotiating face-to-face beneath the blazing sun on scorching sand. Between them lay the corpse of a giant lizard, along with human bodies. Blood soaked into the yellow sand, and once the wind began to blow, even the traces soon became difficult to make out.

“I want twenty thousand dinars!” the bandit leader named his price. He was a rough, greedy brute of a man; even the bushy beard covering his face looked savage. The wind and sand were fierce. Like her companions, Jiang Yuan had wrapped a scarf around her head, covering her entire face. She watched as the doctors brought by both sides treated the wounded openly in the middle of the crowd. If anyone decided to break the agreement, the first charge from either side would trample them into paste. The caravan leader said, “No. That’s too much!”

Jiang Yuan saw Moonlight. It refused to land on its master’s shoulder, instead circling arrogantly not far above their heads. Night was not standing in the lead position, but it was not far from it either. Abal was not the leader here. This was a united force of bandit groups, not just one. They must have had their eye on the caravan for a long time and had chosen this particular fat piece of meat to bite into. Jiang Yuan avoided meeting his gaze. It had been half a year since they had last seen each other, and he looked almost like a different person from the one in her memory. Then again, perhaps it was simply because it had been too long since she had seen him wearing a face veil, revealing only a pair of blue eyes. The look he had when he was ready to kill.

In the end, the price they settled on was ten thousand dinars. That was the amount agreed upon after discussion among the people in the caravan. Everyone had to pay. They could choose what goods to hand over, but if the bandits were not satisfied, they had the right to select half for themselves. Jiang Yuan had already seen some of them picking women out from among the injured. They were concubines the merchants had brought along, and they had fainted from fear. But the rule was that anyone injured had to be pushed into the middle for treatment. Who knew whether they would faint from fright all over again after waking up? Women were, most of the time, an indispensable commodity in trade, holding their value as reliably as gold coins.

Jiang Yuan did her best to take out everything she considered valuable. Her mission was to go to Taif and set up workshops. Gold coins were too conspicuous, so they had to be converted into goods. Half of what she carried consisted of people. The other half was paper, silk, and porcelain that could be sold in large quantities locally in Taif. Although she had prepared gems and gold and silver jewelry, it was still not enough. Disputes and shouting had already broken out all around the campsite, along with the screams of women and slaves. Of course, no matter what dreadful things happened during the handover, it would not be surprising, and they were destined to be endured and suppressed. The one Jiang Yuan received was a gaunt man. It was said that his bandit group was called the Scorpion of Death. He was blind in one eye, so he called himself Blood Eye.

Blood Eye was very dissatisfied with the goods Jiang Yuan handed over. These things were not the easiest for a bandit group to sell. He demanded that the other half be replaced with people. “I want your women and slaves!” Jiang Yuan said, “I’ll give you the horses and camels.” She stood on the ground, with open chests behind her. Compared with the gems and money pouches in the small boxes to the side, the paper and porcelain looked far too dull. She had brought too many people, enough to rank in the top three of the entire caravan. Only the merchants selling slaves to Aden surpassed her, which made her extremely conspicuous. Laughable as it was, although those people were not counted among the goods, they would still be included when calculating value.

The other party gave her a contemptuous smile. “These are the rules! I want your people! Hand over the women and slaves. We’ve already made an agreement. Are you trying to go back on it?” Jiang Yuan tried her best to stand still. The man was mounted on a camel, a knife raised in his hand. Who knew whether he would slash down? No matter what, Jiang Yuan could not bring herself to sell people. She said, “I can sell all these goods and camels within the caravan. Aside from what I need to guarantee basic necessities, I’ll give you all the money I get.”
The people around them had already noticed the commotion and were looking over. The caravan leader walked over and said, “What’s going on, Jia Nan?”

Blood Eye had been wavering at first, but now that outsiders had joined in, he felt he would lose face. “This bastard isn’t honoring our agreement!” he said darkly. “I already said it. I want his women and slaves!”

The leader said, “Jia Nan, I advise you not to make trouble for yourself.”

The caravan could strip him out of the group and hand him over to the bandits. The bandits would no doubt be delighted to have an extra source of income.

Damn it. Jiang Yuan’s thoughts spun for a moment. What else could she sell? There was that filtration method Abal had once mentioned, but merchants were driven by profit; who knew how badly they would force the price down at a time like this? Just as she was about to pull the caravan leader aside to talk, the sound of hooves drew near. Someone asked, “What’s going on over here? You’re interrupting me while I’m dividing the money.”

Blood Eye was mounted on a camel, sitting a little higher than Night. With a politeness that was also arrogant, he said, “Abal.”

Abal nodded. He still had not removed his face scarf. The hand holding the reins flashed with the light of jeweled rings. His blue eyes swept over Jiang Yuan’s face with a hint of a smile, then shifted to the open chest behind her.

“Nice goods. Tang paper from Baghdad?” he asked Jiang Yuan, lowering his head.

Jiang Yuan said, “Yes.”

“And the porcelain?”

“Some of it came from the Great Tang. Some was made in Baghdad by royal craftsmen taught by Tang artisans, then found its way out.” Jiang Yuan gave a token explanation. “Look at the color, the luster, the form-these are all the finest, most expensive pieces.”

“I prefer these. They’re rare. As for gold coins, jewels, and women and slaves who only know how to cry and scream, I’m already tired of them.” Abal’s gaze tilted lightly toward Blood Eye. “I’ll trade with you.”

“On what grounds?” Blood Eye snarled. “These are mine, Abal. You don’t have the right to just say you’re trading for them, do you?”

“That merchant doesn’t want to hand people over to you, and I happen to want his goods. What’s wrong with that?” Abal said naturally. “You can tell from the look of him. First time away from home, a foolish little idiot. We have to go all the way to Aden this time, and the road is still long. If this really blows up, we kill him and throw the camp into chaos-that’s not good for us either, is it?” He tilted his head toward the spoils that should have belonged to him. “My share is worth a thousand gold coins more than yours. Now the women and money over there are yours.”

Blood Eye glared at Abal for a long while. In the end, he accepted the terms. He turned and spat at Jiang Yuan. “You’re lucky, boy!” He tugged the reins, then turned his head and shouted to the men behind him, “We’re going over there!”

At last, the conflict vanished before it could take shape. The caravan leader warned Jiang Yuan, “Be more careful next time, Jia Nan.”

Jiang Yuan nodded, and he walked away. Behind her, everyone knelt down, weeping as they rejoiced at having been saved.

But Jiang Yuan still had to negotiate terms with Abal.

The bandit chief lowered his head and looked at her with those blue eyes. “So now this batch of goods, along with your camels and horses, all more or less belong to me?” He did not dismount, still asking in that amiable tone, “About how much are they worth?”

“If sold in Taif, they should be worth around eight thousand dinars.”

“Very good,” he said. “Pick out a few of the best pieces and send them over to me. As for the rest, I’ll allow you to convert them to money before paying me. Until then, you will remain with me as a hostage.”

The riding crop brushed across her shoulder, skimmed past the jewel box, and snapped the clasp shut with a bang. Night turned and ran past her. Abal bent down from the saddle with practiced skill. Jiang Yuan stood still and let his body brush past hers. “Consider this the deposit.”

His face scarf swept across her cheek. As he leaned down, he could probably even feel her breath.

He laughed, reached sideways, and scooped the box into his hand, raising it toward her. Then he straightened again on horseback. A money pouch landed by her feet. The tie came loose, and several gold coins rolled out of it. Who knew where he had stolen it from-it was still stained with blood.

Behind the face scarf, those blue eyes curved wickedly.

“This is your payment.”

He was robbing Yuan Yuan of her money, yet still giving her a cut as compensation.

Abal, why are you wearing Pinru’s clothes?