"Of course they're all his biological children," Zhang Shixun said calmly, "The King of Baghdad married over 2,000 concubines..."
"Ah!" everyone exclaimed together.
"Are you surprised? If I tell you the population of Baghdad, you'll be even more surprised." Zhang Shixun looked at them and said, "Don't think Baghdad is huge. Although it is one of the most prosperous cities in the Middle East, its actual population is ridiculous. It's only 200,000 to 300,000 people, and that includes people living hundreds of miles around Baghdad."
"Only so few people?" Some people seemed unconvinced.
"This is still quite a lot. In Europe, many countries only have one castle and a population of a few thousand or even less."
"A few thousand people can still be called a country?" Zhao Ji questioned.
"Yeah, they think they're a country."
“Incredible.”
Zhang Shixun said: "Wherever the sun shines, no country has a larger population than the Great Song; no city is more prosperous than the Great Song."
"Well said! Great Song Dynasty!" Zhao Ji slammed the table.
Everyone responded.
"With such a small population, the King of Baghdad married more than 2,000 concubines. He is so lucky...tsk tsk!" said Liang Shicheng.
"A sign of national destruction!" Gao Qiu said in a muffled voice.
Zhao Ji coughed lightly and said, "Brother Zhang, go on, what happened to the prince later?"
There are countless beauties in his harem, and even he himself doesn't know how many there are. He doesn't want to talk much about such a topic.
Zhang Shixun said, "The prince was exhausted and had a leg injury. He closed his eyes to rest after talking for a while. It was almost dark. The climate in Baghdad is somewhat similar to that of the Western Regions of the Song Dynasty: scorching hot during the day and freezing cold at night."
"I searched around and found some dry branches. I wanted to light a bonfire. Just as I lowered my head to light the fire, I suddenly felt a chilling murderous aura."
"What's going on?" Gao Qiu asked nervously.
"I looked up and saw the Prince of Baghdad holding a short blade in his hand, stabbing at me viciously..." Having said this, Zhang Shixun stopped talking. He knew how to keep people in suspense.
"Then what? Tell me quickly!" Zhao Ji asked nervously.
Zhang Shixun said: "Because the incident happened suddenly and the distance between the two people was too close, I stretched out my right arm to block it in a hurry. I avoided the vital part, but I was stabbed on the left arm..." As he said this, he rolled up his left sleeve.
Everyone looked intently and saw a light purple scar on Zhang Shixun's left arm.
Seeing that they all had expressions of complete belief, Zhang Shixun couldn't help but laugh. This scar was caused by an accident when he was a child, and he had to get more than ten stitches at that time.
With this scar as evidence, what Zhang Shixun said was even more convincing to everyone.
"Didn't you save him? Why does this guy want to kill you?" Gao Qiu asked with a frown.
"I wanted to know the reason, too. So, after I subdued him, I asked him why I'd saved him out of kindness, only to repay him with hatred. He glared at me with green eyes, saying I wasn't caring for him out of kindness, but because I coveted the rare treasures on his body. I slapped him hard, stood up, brushed the dirt off my butt, and turned around and walked away... What was this bastard thinking? If I wanted his money, I could have killed him the moment I met him. Why bother saving him? He's such an idiot."
Speaking of stupid donkeys, I suddenly thought of Liang Shicheng. I glanced at him and saw him staring at me. I thought to myself, let alone the donkeys today. If I provoke him again, this guy will definitely fight me to the death.
Gao Qiu slapped his thigh and said hatefully: "What an ungrateful person! You should kill this stupid donkey! It's simply... it's simply..." He stopped talking before he finished and glanced at Liang Shicheng.
Liang Shicheng was furious and said angrily, "What are you looking at me for?"
Gao Qiu snorted and looked up at the beams.
"Don't interrupt, let Brother Zhang continue." Zhao Ji said impatiently.
"Heaven is merciful. Even if he is unkind, I cannot be unjust." Zhang Shixun put on a compassionate expression. "I come from a country of etiquette. How can I argue with a barbarian? Besides, if a dog bites a man, how can a man bite a dog back?"
"Well said!" Gao Qiu said loudly, and everyone nodded frequently.
"Oh! I've strayed a bit. Let's get back to what happened later." Zhang Shixun took a sip of water from his teacup. "I wanted to get away from this guy and walk away, but after walking around, I realized that apart from this ruin, there was only endless desert all around. Walking in the desert at night is no different from seeking death. Only an idiot... an idiot would do such a stupid thing."
"I had no choice but to light a bonfire at the other end of the ruins, eat something, and then I started feeling sleepy. I didn't dare lie down to sleep, so I just sat there, put my head on my knees, and dozed off."
"Oh! There is someone over there who wants to kill you, how dare you sleep like this?" Li Bangyan finally couldn't help but interrupt.
Zhang Shixun smiled bitterly, "Mr. Li, I have no choice. I've been walking all day and I'm tired and sleepy. I forced myself to stay awake for a while, but before I knew it, I fell asleep. However, even though I was asleep, I was still alert. In my daze, I vaguely heard a sound coming from not far away. I woke up with a start and listened carefully. It was the sound of horses or camels running."
"There are many bandits in the desert, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil. If you encounter them, run as far as you can. If you can't run, just hide. Fortunately, when I was looking for firewood before dark, I was familiar with the ruins and knew there was a cave under a collapsed wall, just big enough for one person to hide. I didn't dare to delay and hurriedly found the cave and crawled in, just sticking my head out to observe the movement."
"Just as we were hiding here, that group of people arrived at the ruins. They were indeed a group of horse thieves, about fifty of them. Some of them were riding horses, some were riding camels, holding torches and scimitars, and each of them looked like a ferocious monster. When they saw the bonfire in the ruins, they immediately dispersed. The leader whistled, and the bandits began searching for the person who had lit the bonfire."
"That...Prince Bageda is in trouble." Li Bangyan said.
"You're right, my lord. Prince Baghdad, hearing someone was coming, also sought shelter. But the ruins offered limited hiding places, and he was soon discovered by bandits. A sturdy bandit carried him to the campfire like a chicken and threw him to the ground with a thud. Prince Baghdad was surprisingly resolute, spitting hard in the face of the bandit leader who then kicked him in the face.
"I hid at the cave entrance, not daring to breathe. I saw Prince Baghdad lying on the ground with his face covered in blood. The bandit leader kicked him and shouted at him, asking who he was."
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