Chapter 992: Treasures from Another Continent
However, the situation in Parthia did not cause any impact on the Central Plains. In the Central Plains, Chen Xi and others were still carrying out various messy things in an orderly manner, and overall they were working hard.
They were not interested in a fight to the death between Parthia and Rome. After all, they had not yet reached Ctesiphon and both sides still had a lot of strength left. The real war would break out in the early spring or even the autumn of the following year.
Before that, everyone should just develop honestly. Anyway, intelligence is continuously transmitted to the hands of Yue Fei, Ju Shou and others on the front line. Those of them in Luoyang can just wait patiently for the battle report.
"I haven't been out for a long time. It's unexpectedly prosperous."
Liu Ying looked at the current Luoyang in horror. Luoyang is now divided into three parts: the imperial palace in the center, and the inner Luoyang, which was the former Luoyang City.
The areas further out are called Outer Luoyang, and the distance between each post station is called a ring.
There was no other way. The development was too fast, and building a city wall would easily cause commercial stagnation, so Luoyang chose a more direct approach - not to build a city wall.
Anyway, Luoyang was the center of the Han Dynasty. If they were really attacked to such a place, the upper echelons of the Han Dynasty would just collectively slit their throats and hang themselves.
They simply chose the simplest method, abandoned the outermost city wall, and directly planned the construction area, so that Luoyang's accompanying industries continued to improve.
Anyway, the improvement of industries will be beneficial to the prosperity of Luoyang, so we might as well just follow the development direction of modern cities, create a ring system, and expand the area of Luoyang.
As a result, the area of Luoyang today is outrageous. There is even a saying that Luoyang is just outside the city gate of Chang'an. As for how many rings of Luoyang it is, no one knows.
Liu Ying had lived in the deep palace for a long time, and this time she unexpectedly walked out of Inner Luoyang and came to Outer Luoyang to investigate the people's conditions.
Thanks to Diao Chan's company, Lu Bu also acted as a guard.
However, Liu Ying’s real bodyguard was actually a ball that had been lying on Liu Ying’s head like a hat.
Lu Bu's evaluation of Tuanzi is that he can make him feel threatened. He may not be able to charge into battle, but he is definitely much stronger than Red Hare and the like.
This is also the reason why Liu Ying rarely brings guards with her. She has the royal aura in her body, and with Tuanzi in her hand, it would be a waste of time for ordinary boundary breakers to attack Liu Ying in Luoyang.
Just like how Zhang Jiao was unable to fly into Luoyang to assassinate Liu Hong back then, after the cloud formation rises in Luoyang, it will be easy for someone with internal energy to defeat someone without internal energy.
"I heard that there will be an auction of top-notch treasures here today?" Liu Ying said excitedly, while looking around, the prosperity of which was visible to the naked eye.
Every time at this time, she felt a little dazed. The changes in just a few years were simply earth-shaking.
"It's definitely not as good as your Highness's treasures." Diao Chan said with a smile. Liu Ying was the second richest man in the world. There was a special palace in the imperial palace to display the treasures that were tributed from all over the country.
"No, I don't believe it. I read in the storybook that because they were afraid that the top-level items would fluctuate every year, the tribute was not the best level every year, but the level that could control the output among the top-level items." Liu Ying looked at Diao Chan with a shrewd look and said.
She's not stupid, and while a lot of her stuff is good, it seems like there's still room for improvement.
Her aesthetic taste was truly influenced by the vast ocean of treasures. She can basically tell whether something is good or not just by taking a quick glance at it.
The corners of Diao Chan's mouth twitched. There was no way to refute this statement. It was the truth, because things had to be given to the emperor every year. If your level was good this year but not as good as this year's next year, it would be really hard to explain. Therefore, things that could not be quality controlled would not be offered as tribute.
Simply put, the things offered as tribute are all 100 points, but because of some technological breakthrough, or the producer's sudden inspiration, or because of the wonders of nature, in short, it is a one-time thing that can never be repeated, and people generally don't dare to offer tributes that directly exceed 100 points.
So at this time, the local bosses would use the money themselves, or give it to others, in order to gain some opportunities and connections.
"See, I knew it would be like this, so I must buy some truly amazing treasures today!" Liu Ying was very excited.
To be honest, if she hadn't seen an extremely precious treasure on Cai Wenji, she wouldn't even have realized this problem.
But now that she realized it, her shopping addiction came back. She had plenty of money anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to buy some treasures.
But then again, even if most of her treasures are not top-tier treasures, they are all rare and what’s more important is that there are enough of them.
Diao Chan shook her head helplessly. To her, as long as the quality of the things was good enough, it would be fine.
She was the chief eunuch of the palace and had seen countless good things. She had no idea of what was good or bad.
Following the guide's lead, they came to a large shop.
As soon as Liu Ying and Diao Chan entered, the shopkeeper who was originally sitting and drinking tea sent the waiter away and came to greet them in person. Nowadays, people who run big stores all have something in mind, and in fact, they have always had something in mind.
When you see Liu Ying and Diao Chan, you will know that they are both wives of wealthy families.
Although the leader did not wear too many accessories and did not ride in a carriage, the shopkeeper knew what kind of clothes he wore. The same was true for Diao Chan. Although you could not see the whole of the few accessories on her body, you could tell a lot from the workmanship alone.
By the way, the jewelry on Diao Chan is unique to some extent, as it was made by Lu Bu himself.
No matter how skilled the craftsman is, he is nothing in front of Lu Bu. Lu Bu's control ability is the best in the world. Relying on his powerful divine consciousness, Lu Bu can make any jade or gold ornaments by himself as long as he sees them.
"Please come in, everyone. In addition to today's auction, we have some rare treasures from other continents." The shopkeeper quickly made a gesture of invitation and sent the waiter to serve tea.
"Oh? Other continents!" Liu Ying's eyes lit up. These were rare treasures from other continents. There were not many of them in her small treasury, and each one was actually quite useful.
"Hahaha, look, these are the best things we brought back from the continent called America!" The shopkeeper proudly took out a bunch of strange things.
This thing requires strength.
Although there are several transit stations in Japan and Australia, the endless sea beasts in the sea are not easy to deal with. They can only trade back and forth through special lines.
Nowadays, the eldest brother doesn't talk about the second brother. Being strong has its reasons. As for how to become strong, that is a matter of personal ability. After the aristocratic families open their eyes to the world, they all want to go out.
This mess of operations at least looks like some ability.
Therefore, Chen Xi has no intention of pursuing this kind of smuggling. After all, it is all based on one's own ability, and there is nothing to say. Chen Xi does not care what you do abroad, as long as you abide by the law in China. I don't have such long arms and I don't have such a big heart. It's up to you.
I encourage you to go out. I don’t care if you kill people or prevent fires, but if you mess around in the country, I will not be polite.
"What is this thing called?" Liu Ying was about to pick up a crystal ball when Lu Bu put his hand in front of Liu Ying.
"Huh?" Liu Ying and Diao Chan looked at Lu Bu strangely.
"This thing is alive! There should be a soul inside!" Lu Bu said simply. It's not dangerous, but it's better not to touch the thing with your hands.
"Sir, you have good eyesight!" The shopkeeper gave a thumbs up. "This is a heritage gem from an orc tribe. As long as you drop some blood on it, you can obtain the inherited martial arts inside!"
Liu Ying suddenly lost interest. Instead of inheriting martial arts, she might as well learn a few moves from Lu Bu. She turned around and looked at other things.
It must be said that the shopkeeper had a lot of novel things, most of which she didn't know what they were, and they were all full of exotic flavor.
Lu Bu pondered for a moment and put his hand on it. Then the crystal ball cracked directly, but healed in the blink of an eye.
"I want this thing!" Lu Bu nodded, then said to the shopkeeper.
The inheritance inside is of no use, but the structure of this thing is quite interesting. It is a good thing to use it to record one's own martial arts as an inheritance.
Although he could achieve the same effect directly, ordinary people would not be able to bear it. The effect through the gem would be weaker, but also gentler.
This was the gift he prepared for his grandson. Although he was very unhappy with Zhao Yun, they already had a child after all, so they couldn't not get married.
At the wedding banquet, Lu Bu behaved normally, but Zhao Yun was facing Lu Bu's death stare the entire time.
Zhao Yun was almost worried to death, fearing that Lu Bu would suddenly go crazy and kill people, but it was obvious that Lu Bu did not do that. His purpose was just to teach him a profound lesson.
It has to be said that Zhao Yun would rather fight to the death with Lu Bu than go through that kind of torture again.
"What is this?"
"Mathematical Olympiad Crystal!"
"What about this?"
"Magic scroll!"
The shopkeeper and Liu Ying were in unison, and Liu Ying enjoyed it very much. Many of the things were new and she had never seen them before. Although she could find some substitutes based on the shopkeeper's introduction, it was still very novel.
It's like a magic scroll, and very similar to a talisman, but there is a huge difference between the two. However, it is this difference that makes it worth collecting for Liu Ying.
"What about this one?" Liu Ying asked, pointing to a leaf.
"The leaves of the World Tree contain a lot of vitality. Keeping them at home will definitely help prolong your life! They are also very helpful for children's development!" The shopkeeper introduced with a smile.
"How much is this thing?" Liu Ying thought it was good. "Do you have a potted plant? Give me one?"
"You're joking. Where did you get such a precious thing in a pot? The elves on that continent are very stingy. This leaf is worth five million!" The shopkeeper laughed.
They smashed countless things before they got a dozen leaves from the elves. All of them were ordered by various worlds, leaving only two or three leaves in the store.
"Pack it up and we'll pay together later!" Liu Ying had no idea what five million meant and said casually, "It's just five million, it's just a drop in the bucket."
"Fengxian, should we also..." Diao Chan whispered to Lu Bu. Hearing that it would be good for the child, she became a little restless.
"No need, I'll go there some other day and bring back a World Tree!" Lu Bu shook his head. Five million for a leaf was too expensive.
Besides, the vitality of a leaf is pitifully weak, and it may only be promoted a little by wearing it for a long time.
In comparison, it would be much better if he could just get one and plant it at home.
"Well! Okay!" Diao Chan thought for a moment and felt that it made sense. A leaf was indeed of little use, so it would be better to let Lu Bu create a world tree.
The two people never considered the concept of the other party not giving it to them. If the other party doesn’t give it to them, they will just fight for it, for the healthy growth of the child.
"What is this?" Liu Ying suddenly asked, frowning and pointing at an egg.
"This is a dragon egg!"
"Dragon?" Liu Ying looked at the shopkeeper opposite her with some confusion. There were many cases of Yuanfeng offering auspicious signs, just like the dumpling on her head that served as a hat, which was an iron-eating beast in the legend.
For example, the Jiuzhou Ding in front of the Jingling Hall and the Xuanyuan Sword inside the Jingling Hall.
But the dragon is still a little different. It symbolizes something different in the Han Dynasty.
It is easy for people to think of him as the true dragon emperor.
"Don't get me wrong, this is a dragon from that continent, or should I call it a giant dragon!" The shopkeeper felt that he couldn't explain it clearly. "Come with me, we have an underage one here, you will know it at a glance!"
"Okay, let's go and take a look." Lu Bu had a vague impression and nodded to the shopkeeper. It was not impossible to catch a dragon these days.
He had caught a dragon in the void before, but he released it back into the void because it was too big and he couldn't afford to keep it.
The shopkeeper excitedly took Liu Ying and his party to a large enclosed cage, and then Liu Tong and others stared at the "dragon" inside in amazement.
It is more like an oversized lizard than a dragon, but its head does look a bit ferocious, and it has wings, which sounds somewhat similar to the legendary Yinglong.
Maybe it's the offspring of Yinglong. There are millions of dragon sons, so it doesn't seem a big deal if there is such a strange one.
"This dragon is called a metal dragon. It can eat raw metal to promote its growth. It is also extremely powerful and can fly. There are people on that continent who specialize in taming this kind of dragon as a mount!"
The giant dragon trapped in the cage instinctively wanted to be on guard and roar, but under Lu Bu's gaze, it could not help but hug its head, looking quite miserable.
"How much is this thing?" Liu Ying thought about it and decided to buy it to raise. It looks so ugly and cute.
Anyway, with Tuanzi around, the little animals she raised in the palace were all very obedient.
"One price, 20 million! That dragon egg, 10 million!" The shopkeeper was very happy. He made a fortune with just this one order.
"Pack the dragon egg for me too!" Liu Ying waved her hand, and the followers behind her naturally stepped forward to complete the handover procedures.
Liu Ying followed the shopkeeper to the auction site.
Not even 100 million has been spent. For Liu Ying, it is just a drop in the bucket and she will continue to shop.
