The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 530 Changes in Anxi
No one expected it.

This wait lasted for a year and a half.

Until the beginning of autumn the following year.

At Shitouguan, at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, the guard team that the Anxi army had been longing for finally returned.

Outside Stone City, caravans stretched endlessly.

The dozens of guards on duty today were so excited by this sight that they wanted to crow:
"Oh, they're back! They're finally back!"

"Wow, there are so many foreigners here, far more than the number who came to the Autumn Trade Fair the year before last."

"Quickly count those camel carts! How many have arrived? I've been counting for half an hour and I haven't even finished half!"

"We've struck it rich! That cart is loaded with walking customs duties! Quickly, send a flying eagle to inform General Gu of the Anxi Protectorate!"

General Gu led his troops to conquer the first vassal state for the imperial court and was promoted last year.

He was promoted to the rank of Protector-General of Anxi, a third-rank official.

Their primary duty was to guard the western gate for the imperial court.

They were also responsible for military, political, diplomatic, and agricultural affairs in Anxi, and were stationed in Shache.

The centurion on duty quickly spotted Lu Ye and Hu Tou, who had yellow skin, black hair, and black eyes, among the arriving foreign merchants.

The two young men, both in their early twenties, stood out even among the foreigners.

Tall and thin.

Those unaware of the situation wouldn't perceive them as a threat.

Only their own people knew that these two were hiding a muscular physique beneath their cloth armor.

They move with the agility of a leopard.

Today it is today.

The foreign merchants traveling with them were completely convinced of the strength of this escort team.

At first, they couldn't understand how the Venetian merchant Marcoli fawned over these people.

Throughout their journey, whenever they encountered various crises, the guards provided early warnings and demonstrated exceptional combat prowess.

It only took them half a month to go from understanding Marcoli to becoming Marcoli.

The guards, especially the personal guards of the fifty noble marquises from the East.

The closer you are to someone, the more you flatter them.

Foreign businessmen often tried to bribe these people with sweet words and promises.

Unfortunately, those young men were all as stubborn as iron, their hearts as hard as stone.

In addition to protecting Marcoli's safety, the young men also took care of some necessary troubles.

I won't reveal a single word to them.

The foreign merchants felt helpless yet deeply impressed.

After a long and arduous journey of nearly half a year since their departure, they finally arrived at this legendary ancient civilization of the East.

Apart from Marcoli, all of these 10,000 people were visiting for the first time.

Seeing the stone city on the plateau, everyone felt a sense of wonder.

They even thought that the descendants of Qiepantuo, with their high noses, deep-set eyes, and fair skin, were of the same race as them.

The tension that Lu Ye and the others had been holding in only eased after they entered Stone City.

It took a year and a half.

They finally returned unharmed.

They even exceeded the heavy responsibilities assigned to them by their master!
Upon seeing the centurion guarding the pass striding forward, his face tanned dark with reed leaves and tiger-head hair, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

It's so good to be home.

This beauty was even more apparent on the way from Kashgar to Bagua City.

The guards were also speechless with amazement at the scenery along the way:
"This asphalt road was paved way too fast! And the poplars, tamarisks, and jujube trees on both sides of the road have grown into a forest in just over a year!"

The Guan army in Anxi stood tall, brimming with pride:
"Of course it's fast. Last year, a million able-bodied laborers came to build the city and pave the roads.

It only took four months to complete the road paving between dozens of cities in Anxi!
At the end of this month, the road from Kucha to Weilumu will also open to traffic! From here, it will only take you another half a month to get back to Yili Bagua City!” The guard asked, “With such a long road, will the oil reserves at Black Oil Mountain be sufficient?”

Guan Jun, who was accompanying them, explained earnestly:
"Shortly after you left, local herders reported to the general that there was a ditch along the Kizilsu River in Hotan that oozed thick oil. The oil in this ditch was piled up to two zhang high, and the asphalt used for paving roads in Anxi all came from here."

"The wives who came with those million strong laborers were also very useful. They planted the trees on both sides of the road. They also spent more than a year cultivating 100,000 mu of wheat fields and 500,000 mu of cotton fields."

Today, Anxi's largest industry is cotton textile manufacturing, with twelve large textile mills employing thousands of workers!
Foreign craftsmen invented water-powered multi-spindle spinning machines and water-powered looms, which increased the efficiency of weaving by dozens of times.

Our Anxi cotton cloth not only sells well throughout the entire dynasty, but is also exported to places like the Southern Yue and the Northern You Kingdom.”

The guards gasped in surprise again.

Including women, there are nearly two million laborers!

The guard team was carefully appreciating the changes that had taken place in the year and a half since their homeland was newly recovered.

There were over 13,000 foreign merchants, yet they felt there weren't enough to see.

strange.

Everything looks strange to me.

The merchant from the Ottoman Empire had sparkling eyes.

If we could learn this skill of planting trees in the desert, wouldn't that be amazing?
And this kind of dark asphalt road surface is really easy to walk on!

Merchants have the keenest sense of smell, and they sensed a huge business opportunity.

Along the way, there are not only tree-lined roads to enjoy.

Marcoli, a Venetian merchant who had traveled there several times, was the most qualified to speak on the matter.

Between oases, every two hundred li, there is a post station near the main road where people can rest and replenish supplies, and next to the post station is a sentry post.

Each post station was built to be very large.

It is a brick and tile structure, surrounded by high windbreak walls.

The front yard is planted with various seasonal fruit trees.

The lawn in the backyard is several dozen acres.

Stables and livestock pens were also built around the pasture.

Fresh pasture is available during the summer and autumn seasons.

There was enough room for more than 13,000 people and their accompanying carriages and horses.

Of course, a post station of this size in the desert would not be cheap.

A large dormitory bed costs 300 coins per night.

The top-tier rooms cost fifty taels a night.

Even at such exorbitant prices, they are still extremely sought after.

Of course, there's a reason for the exorbitant price; the inn has a large public bathhouse that offers body scrubbing services.

One soak, one rub.

Then apply rose-scented essential oil all over your body and massage until absorbed.

Don't get too carried away!
What foreigners enjoy is far more than just these things.

Inside the top-tier room, there was a four-piece pure cotton bedding set in a consistent color scheme.

They're all new; if you find them useful, you can take them home with your money.

Inside the washroom, various soft towels were neatly arranged.

They love toothpaste with rich foam and strong cleaning power, and even the room fragrance is intoxicating.

With accommodations like these, what more could you ask for?

Most importantly, the post station was next to an outpost of the Anxi army.

Each outpost had a dozen or twenty armed guards.

The sense of security is overwhelming!
Moreover, Marcoli made a surprising discovery.

Each post station was equipped with a highly skilled chef!
Furthermore, each chef specializes in a different cuisine.

We stayed at several different inns, and the menus were never the same!
This made him and the elders of his family who accompanied him on this trip look forward to the next stop every day!