Chinese New Year

Chapter 1430 Benefits
Spices, gems, brocade, perfumes, borax, horses...

When the list of gifts was read aloud by Liang Zong, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the people gathered in the Deer Garden were somewhat surprised.

There are too many; it's unimaginable how much money they can make.

“Your Majesty, according to the rules, the ruler of a country can take a cut, usually two or three out of ten,” King Shao Xu of Zhao said with a smile, sitting at the lower left.

As he finished speaking, the soldiers carried boxes forward, arranged them on the grass, and then opened them.

Shao Xun stepped forward and picked up a ring to examine it.

People at the time called rings "finger rings," and they were quite popular. The ring held in the hand at this moment is a gold-based ring with an oval face, inlaid with gemstones, and engraved with human figures.

Shao Xun leaned closer to examine it closely and discovered that it was a mythological theme, somewhat similar to the Hercules statue unearthed from the tomb of Xu Xianxiu, the Minister of Works of the Northern Qi Dynasty, a typical Greek style.

However, the craftsmanship is similar to another ring that Shao Xun had obtained before, and it looks like Sasanian Persian craftsmanship. Although the craftsmanship is Sasanian Persian, the place of origin may not be. It is more likely to be Central Asia, because even in later generations, Central Asia was still entangled with Persia, and the script and language of Eastern Iran had a deep influence.

This is a hybrid product: the gold is from Central Asia, the gemstones are from India, and the mythology is from Greece...

After putting it down, Shao Xun walked to another box, picked up a lumpy, orange-yellow object, and hesitated for a moment.

"Grandpa, this is benzoin," Shao Xu said as he walked over.

Shao Xun suddenly realized, "So that's what it is."

The palace certainly had this item, which was said to have the effect of opening the mind and clearing the spirit. He had only smelled the benzoin fragrance wafting from the incense burner, but had never seen the actual item.

This fragrant medicine was very popular in the Central Plains, and nobles loved it so much that they spared no expense to buy it.

Shao Xun put down the benzoin incense and looked at the cloth-like object next to him.

"Grandpa, this is fire-resistant cloth. It can remove dirt in fire and become as white as new. It has been a tribute item since the Han Dynasty and is worth a thousand gold pieces," Shao Xu introduced.

Upon hearing this, Shao Xun's expression changed, and he immediately said, "My son, you must not wear this cloth."

Shao Xu was taken aback. However, he was always filial, so he agreed when his father said so.

Shao Xun explained again: "This stuff is mostly powdery, and it's harmful if you inhale it. You'll see when you take a look."

Shao Xu glanced at the fireproof cloth subconsciously.

This item was originally a tribute from the Western Regions and was highly regarded by the court and nobles since the Han Dynasty, considered a rare treasure. Its production ceased after the Han Dynasty and it did not reappear until the Cao Wei period.

As far as he knew, on the eve of the imperial court's conquest of Liangzhou, some Western Region merchants presented Zhang Jun with fire-resistant cloth and Ferghana horses. However, after the capture of Wuwei, these two items were not found. At that time, many people lamented that they would be harmful.

Shao Xun bent down again. At his feet was a small box filled with silver coins of several different shapes.

He picked one up casually and examined it closely.

The coin is round, with a right-side half-body portrait of a figure wearing a crown with ribbons behind it, a round beard under his chin, and a circle of dots around the outside.

He turned it over and looked at it again. The back of the silver coin depicted an altar for fire offerings, with priests standing on either side and three concentric circles of dots around it.

It has a rather complex design, which requires a high level of craftsmanship.

If I'm not mistaken, this is a Persian silver coin. This demonstrates the impressive level of craftsmanship among the Persians, befitting an ancient civilization.

Sure enough, Shao Xu quickly explained: "The person on the coin is said to be 'Shapur,' the king of the Sabao people, who is still in power."

“What is ‘Sabao’?” Shao Xun asked.

“‘Sabao’ refers to a member of the Zoroastrian religion. The local people of Liangzhou commonly refer to Persians as Sabao.”

Shao Xun nodded and sat back down.

The gift list was laid out on the table in front of him, and it was said that there were also trinkets such as horses that were good at dancing. He didn't want to look at it anymore and said, "Although it is the rule to take a share, I don't want to take advantage of them for nothing. Let's give them some silk in return. How much is appropriate?"

“A few hundred horses will suffice,” Shao Xu replied.

“Let’s do it this way,” Shao Xun said. “We mentioned the five-colored glass yesterday. Let the craftsman Hu try to make it in Chang’an. If it succeeds, great; if not, so be it. It’s not a crucial matter.”

"Yes," Shao Xu replied.

Shao Xun then had someone bring over a piece of Persian brocade and said to Pei Lingyan, who was sitting to the side, "Nian Liuxiao's Persian brocade is quite nice; it would be perfect for making a few garments."

Pei Lingyan hummed in agreement, but instead of looking at the Persian brocade, she looked at her son and said, "Nianliu, while you're busy with business, you can't neglect politics."

Shao Xu obediently replied, "Don't worry, Mother, I remember."

After saying that, she couldn't help but say, "Mother, you must take good care of yourself."

Pei Lingyan sighed and said, "Mother has your father with her, so there's no need to worry."

Shao Xu looked at Shao Xun, a pleading look in his eyes. Shao Xun didn't dare to meet his son's gaze, and instead held Pei Lingyan's hand.

Shao Xu lowered his head and said nothing more.

******
In early April, Chang'an Market opened as scheduled.

The Western Region merchants brought by the King of Zhao were the biggest topic of conversation.

Surprisingly, their products were quite to the liking of people from the Central Plains, indicating that they had clearly received some guidance.

A book basket inlaid with jewels—could this be something the barbarians of the Western Regions could come up with?

The five-colored glass flask was clearly tailor-made for scholars from the Central Plains to travel. As for items like the coral whip and the agate clock (a hollow instrument used for striking the clock), they all appealed to the wealthy people of the Central Plains.

So much so that on the first day the goods were displayed, there were many onlookers.

When the news spread the next day, scholars, wealthy households, and officials in Chang'an all requested to enter the market, even though they were not merchants.

By special decree of the Emperor, the public was permitted to enter the market to watch.

This immediately opened up the market for the rare treasures from the Western Regions. In just one day, all kinds of rare treasures were sold out, with a value of over 200,000 strings of cash. The imperial court collected taxes so much that it was almost overwhelmed.

Zhi Fa, who had come with Shao Xu, was overjoyed to see the nearly overflowing stock of silk. He had never imagined that the Central Plains dynasty, whose trade routes had been disrupted by war, would have such an astonishing thirst for goods from the Western Regions.

He was even considering whether to invite more people over and settle down in Chang'an permanently. The level of affluence here was much better than in his hometown, and life was more comfortable and convenient.

Well, there might be some inconveniences, but it's not a big problem. After making a profit from business, we can find a way to buy land and build a house in Chang'an, recruit hundreds or thousands of people from our hometown, including craftsmen, cooks, scholars, grooms, and warriors, and then build a magnificent temple and a sacred fire altar in Chang'an, making it our new home.

The only thing that left him uncertain was that the division of labor between him and Conway was still undecided.

King Zhao made it clear to them that those traveling the Loulan route would trade in Chang'an, while those traveling the Wuwei route would trade in Lingzhou. Personally, he preferred to stay in Chang'an, since Lingzhou had nothing. However, this wasn't up to him, which was his greatest regret.

But in any case, he has already seen a huge potential.

Moreover, Chang'an was not the capital of the Liang Kingdom; it was merely the central city in the western part of the empire, and only concentrated the wealth of the western region. Visiting Luoyang, as well as Bianliang, Yecheng, Jiangling, Guangling, and Jianye, which many have mentioned, would perhaps be even more remarkable.

For Sogdian speakers who worship the sacred fire, there is no place they dare not go.

Business is their business, wealth is their life; this is the blessing bestowed upon them by Mazda.

A wealthy and open empire would be an inexhaustible treasure trove for them. He was confident that within a few decades, Sogdian communities would emerge in every major city of Liang, capturing all the profits from East-West trade.

With this dream in mind, Zhi Fa had decided to leave some of the treasures as gifts to the main officials of Liang after the transaction was completed.

In particular, there was a "vizier" named Liu Runzhong, whose ancestors were said to be followers of Mazda. If they could get his support, their cause would prosper even more.

On the fifth day of the fourth month, Shao Xun was somewhat surprised when he received the report from the magistrate of Chang'an City at Luziyuan.

He had never underestimated the enormous profits from East-West trade, but he was still somewhat shocked when he saw the tax figures.

He thought back carefully and realized that after the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Uyghurs monopolized trade between the East and the West. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was in a state of regional separatism and urgently needed warhorses. So it bought horses from the Uyghurs through silk, spending an average of several million bolts of silk a year. This trade continued for many years until the rebellion was quelled and the Tang government no longer wanted to buy horses, but was forced to continue for several more years.

It's incredible that the Uyghurs could consume such a large quantity of silk.

Productivity at this time was certainly not as high as in the Tang Dynasty, and he did not pursue trade of millions of bolts of silk per year, as that would lead to a severe shortage of silk in the market of Daliang and disrupt the economy.

However, reaching a fraction of the level of the separatist warlord era during the mid-Tang Dynasty was not a major problem.

Including the commission and taxes, it's an absolutely staggering income.

Furthermore, cities and villages along the trade route will also benefit, and the advantages are difficult to quantify. If managed properly, the cost for the Liang Dynasty to control the four prefectures of Liang, He, Sha, and Shuo will be greatly reduced, which will also indirectly accelerate local development.

He was very worried that future generations would not run these places due to cost issues, and that it would be much better if there were commercial subsidies.

On the seventh day of the fourth month, he summoned Shao Xu to the Deer Garden and said, "After the pastures turn green in May, you will take the guards of the Prince's Palace and head to Gaochang. With the Hu merchants as the vanguard, cooperate with the Gaochang army to send troops westward."

"When will Your Majesty issue the edict?" Shao Xu asked, composing himself.

“It will be this month,” Shao Xun said. “The southern route will have three thousand men, the central route will have no less than thirty thousand, and the northern route will have twenty thousand cavalry.”

Shao Xu understood.

The southern route likely started from Loulan, while the central route advanced westward from Gaochang. Both routes required supplies from the imperial court, and the grain stockpiled in Dunhuang and Gaochang in advance was prepared for this purpose.

The northern army simply roamed freely on the vast grasslands. The imperial court would not provide them with military rations, leaving them to herd cattle, sheep, horses, and camels, advancing wherever there was water and pasture.

With a three-pronged attack, they wouldn't stop until they conquered the Western Regions.

(End of this chapter)