Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 277 Western Trade Routes

Seven days after Ashina Duobi returned north, Chang'an welcomed its third heavy snowfall since the beginning of winter.

This snowfall was more intense than the previous two. From dusk onwards, a fierce wind swept across the Guanzhong Plain, carrying snowflakes, turning the world into a chaotic, vast expanse. The halls of Taiji Palace were lit early, the lanterns under the eaves swaying violently, casting distorted shadows of the vermilion pillars. The guards at Chengtian Gate, draped in sheepskin cloaks, still stamped their feet and warmed their hands from the cold, cursing the old fox from the northern desert—if it weren't for his tribute mission, why would His Majesty have bothered to reorganize the border markets? With the border markets open, messengers from the northern frontier shuttled back and forth, making the snow in Chang'an feel especially cold.

However, amidst this snowstorm, a caravan that had been traveling for three months was slowly approaching the west gate of Chang'an—Kaiyuan Gate.

"We're here...we're here! We can see the city walls!"

The hoarse cheers were torn apart by the gale, but the joy of escaping death still ignited the entire caravan like a spark. The camel bells rang urgently, and the camels, exhausted to the point of near collapse, were pulled up by their owners, their last strength supporting them as they took their heavy steps. The merchants, wrapped in thick sheepskin, removed their goggles, revealing faces chapped from years of exposure to the elements; tears welled up but were immediately frozen into shards.

This caravan came from the Kingdom of Yanqi in the Western Regions.

Four months ago, they set off from the capital of Yanqi, carrying the oasis's most precious goods—Khotan jade, Kucha ironware, Shule carpets, as well as local Yanqi dragon horses and white alfalfa seeds—eastward across the Taklamakan Desert, a place from which there is "no way out." They encountered a sandstorm at Bailongdui, losing three camels; outside Yumen Pass, they were followed by bandits for three days, only managing to escape by traversing the Gobi Desert at night with the help of a guide; after entering the Hexi Corridor, they encountered the first snow, and several pack animals froze to death.

They originally had 93 people and 117 camels. Now, 61 people and 48 camels have arrived at the gates of Chang'an.

But the Yanqi merchant leading the group—a bald, middle-aged man who called himself "Saban"—knelt in the snow, gazing up at the city walls of Chang'an, which were more majestic than any of the gods in his hometown, grinning to reveal his front teeth worn smooth by the wind and sand.

"It's worth it," he said in broken Chinese to the official from the Court of State Ceremonial who came to guide him. "It would be worth it even if it took three years."

What Saban didn't know was that his arrival came at a very delicate moment.

With the Tiele tribes paying tribute and border markets opening for the first time, the situation on the grasslands temporarily stabilized. But Chen Xing's gaze had already crossed the Yin Mountains and turned to the west. Ashina Duobi's sending of hostages and offering of a golden seal was merely to consolidate the northern frontier; the empire's true ambition had never been limited to "peace on the northern frontier."

Western Regions.

This land, which has shared the rise and fall of the Central Plains since the Han Dynasty's Emperor Wu opened up the West and the Tang Dynasty established the Four Garrisons, has been outside the sphere of influence of the Central Plains dynasties for far too long. In the mid-to-late period of the previous dynasty, the Tibetan Empire moved north, the Abbasid Caliphate moved east, and the Uyghurs moved west. The Anxi and Beiting Protectorates fell one after another. The oasis city-states east of the Pamir Mountains either submitted to the Tibetan Empire, relied on the Uyghurs, or struggled to survive in the cracks between the powerful forces. Yanqi, Kucha, Kashgar, Khotan... these names, once known as "a hub of foreign merchants and a place where Buddhist temples were everywhere," gradually became yellowed pages in the "Illustrated Gazetteer of the Western Regions".

But the memory didn't die, and neither did the interests.

After Chen Xing ascended the throne, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue jointly submitted a secret report on the situation in the Western Regions. The conclusion was sobering and clear: the empire's current national strength was insufficient to support a large army to march west beyond the Pamir Mountains and recover Anxi and Beiting. First, the northern deserts had just been pacified, and the Tiele tribes had recently submitted, so the main force needed to keep an eye on the Yinshan Mountains; second, the equal land distribution and tax reform in Jiangnan were still in the pilot stage, and although the imperial treasury was gradually becoming fuller, it could not withstand the consumption of a long-distance expedition; third, the Western Regions were no longer the Western Regions of a hundred years ago, with the Tibetans, the Abbasids, and the Uyghurs occupying the area, and rashly getting involved could lead to a quagmire.

Therefore, Chen Xing's strategy for the Western Regions can be summarized in four words: gradual advance, genuine cooperation.

There's no rush to send troops, appoint officials, or establish garrisons—those are matters of "progress," to be addressed when the nation's strength is greater and the time is more opportune. Instead, we must forge alliances, re-establishing contact with the states of the Western Regions, rebuilding trade routes, and facilitating the exchange of goods. We should pave the way with caravans, not armies, and let goods, not swords, sway the tide.

This is both a pragmatic choice and in line with Chen Xing's consistent philosophy: problems that can be solved with money should not be solved with human lives.

The arrival of the Yanqi caravan was the first move in the "real friendship" strategy.

On the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Sakya Pandita and two deputy leaders were granted permission to enter the Taiji Hall for an audience.

This marked the first time in decades that merchants from the Western Regions had met the Emperor of the Central Plains as "official tribute envoys." The Court of State Ceremonies urgently consulted old archives from previous dynasties, searching for the etiquette and regulations for receiving these merchants. Officials from the Ministry of Rites repeatedly checked Sakya Pandita's attire, the list of tribute items, and even his kneeling posture, fearing they might fail to maintain the dignity of the Celestial Empire.

Sakya was completely unaware of this. He was wearing his most respectable brocade robe, kneeling on the gold bricks, his forehead pressed against the back of his hand, his back stiff as iron—his guide had taught him the rituals of worship for three days, but he still couldn't remember the order of the three kneelings and nine prostrations, so he simply maintained the prostration posture from beginning to end.

Chen Xing neither corrected him nor asked the official in charge of etiquette to do so.

"Rise," he said in Turkic.

Saban suddenly looked up, his eyes, clouded by the wind and sand, gleaming with disbelief.

Chen Xing said "Rise" a second time, this time in Chinese, with a gentler tone than in Turkic.

Sakya Pandita then realized he hadn't misheard and hurriedly scrambled to his feet. His knees were weak from kneeling for so long, and he staggered. Someone in the temple chuckled softly, then fell silent.

Chen Xing did not laugh. He gestured for Sakya to come closer and inquired in detail about the current situation in Yanqi: Was there enough rain this autumn? Have the cattle and sheep been affected by disease? What is the status of the tribute relations between the kingdoms of Kucha and Shule and Tibet and the Abbasid Caliphate? Has there been a new water source along the desert road that crosses Bailongdui?

Sapanda answered each question in turn, initially so nervous he was incoherent, but gradually he was swayed by Chen Xing's calm tone, forgetting he was in the Taiji Hall, feeling as if he were introducing goods to an old customer in the Yanqi market years ago. He said that the King of Yanqi had long intended to send envoys to pay tribute upon hearing of the new emperor's ascension to the throne in the east, but the Hexi Corridor was unsettled, and he feared that a hasty eastward journey would be intercepted by the Uyghurs; this time, sending a caravan instead of a formal mission was a test, a trial balloon. He said that while the jade mining in Khotan was not as good as in previous dynasties, there was still some excellent jade; the iron forging techniques in Kucha had been passed down through generations and were no less skilled than those of the official workshops in the Hexi Corridor; many of the carpet weavers in Shule had fled, but if the Central Plains resumed purchasing, the old craftsmen could be recalled to teach again.

He said that merchants from the Western Regions have been waiting for the camel bells of the Central Plains for almost forty years.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Chen Xing remained silent for a long time before asking, "How old are you this year?"

Sapang was taken aback, then replied, "Your Majesty, I am fifty-one."

"Forty years," Chen Xing said slowly, "you started waiting when you were eleven."

Saban lowered his head and did not answer.

After the court assembly, Sakya Pandita was arranged to stay at the Honglu Temple's Sifang Pavilion. The goods brought by the Yanqi caravan were appraised and purchased by the Ministry of Revenue in conjunction with the Imperial Household Department's merchants, and the price was 20% higher than Sakya Pandita had expected. He repeatedly checked the invoice written in Chinese characters, and after confirming that it was correct, his hand was still trembling when he signed it.

The deputy leader of the accompanying team excitedly planned the purchase list: tea, silk, porcelain, iron pots, medicinal herbs... each item could yield several times the profit upon being shipped back to Yanqi. Saban, however, was much calmer than them.

"We're not here just to make a quick shipment and then go back," he interrupted the chatter. "You heard what His Majesty asked earlier. He wants to know about the rainwater of Yanqi, the iron of Kucha, and the wells of Bailongdui. This is for long-term business."

He paused, gazing out the window at the layers upon layers of rooftops of Chang'an City.

"From now on, we'll probably have to travel to Chang'an every year."

Saban's intuition was correct.

Ten days later, the Court of State Ceremonial and the Ministry of Revenue jointly presented a document entitled "Nineteen Articles on Trade with the Western Regions," which Chen Xing approved, and it was immediately put into trial implementation.

The core of the nineteen articles can be summarized into four layers:

Firstly, the "Western Market Supervisor" was established to oversee trade with merchants from the Western Regions. The Western Market Supervisor was subordinate to the Imperial Treasury and operated independently of the regular market offices of the East and West Markets of Chang'an. It established a branch office outside Kaiyuan Gate to provide Western merchants with warehousing, lodging, translation, contract notarization, and even dispute arbitration services. Regarding taxes, a tax rate of one-thirtieth was applied for the first three years, with adjustments made after that period depending on circumstances, but a promise was made that the rate would "never exceed the established system."

Secondly, the postal system along the Hexi Corridor will be restored to ensure the safety of trade routes. Most of the postal stations in the Hexi prefectures had been abandoned since the end of the previous dynasty, becoming havens for bandits and deserted merchants. The court has decided that, starting next spring, the main postal stations along the Hexi Corridor will be repaired in batches, focusing on Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, and Shazhou. Each station will be garrisoned with ten soldiers specifically for road protection. The necessary funds and provisions will be allocated from the Ministry of Revenue's "Border Reserve Silver," with any shortfall covered by the Imperial Household Department's merchants.

Thirdly, five "customs markets" were opened. One customs market was established in each of Shazhou, Suzhou, Ganzhou, Liangzhou, and Shanzhou, allowing merchants from the Western Regions to trade directly with merchants from the interior without having to travel to Chang'an. The taxes at the customs markets were slightly lower than those at the West Market in Chang'an, in order to divert merchants and reduce the pressure on the journey.

Fourth, the court encouraged the Western Regions states to send envoys to pay tribute and to periodically bestow titles upon them. Whenever an envoy was sent to Chang'an, the court would reciprocate with gifts, the value of which would not be less than the estimated value of the tribute. Annual tribute was not limited to specific items; horses, jade, medicinal herbs, spices, and furs were all acceptable, in any quantity. If conflicts arose between the states, they could appeal to Chang'an, and the court would "mediate accordingly."

This strategy is pragmatic, restrained, and full of calculated flexibility. It doesn't boast about re-establishing the Anxi Protectorate, nor does it make grand pronouncements about expelling the Tibetans and Uyghurs. It even deliberately avoids using provocative terms like "tributary state" or "vassal state." It simply says: Come do business with us, we'll fix your roads, offer you tax breaks, and uphold justice in your disputes.

As for whether these words foreshadow the future establishment of military towns, agricultural settlements, and official posts, that depends on how the Western Regions states—and the Tibetan, Abbasid, and Uyghur states that occupy the Western Regions—respond.

Sapanda stayed in Chang'an for a full forty-five days.

He used the money he obtained from trading the dragon horses of Yanqi to purchase thirteen camels of goods. Before his departure, Chen Xing summoned him to the palace again by special decree, and bestowed upon him a black brocade robe with gold embroidery, a silver plaque that read "Trade in the Western Regions", and a copy of the recently published "Enlightenment Primer".

"Take this book back with you and let the children in your capital read it," Chen Xing said. "Learning to read and do arithmetic will make it easier for them to deal with merchants from the Central Plains in the future."

Saban knelt on the ground, holding the thin book, and did not get up for a long time.

He recalled that when he was eleven years old, he followed his father across the desert and set foot on the land of Hexi for the first time. At that time, the Han Chinese market in Ganzhou City was still there, and merchants from the Central Plains bargained with them in fluent Turkic, with the clinking of silver coins and the ringing of camel bells.

His father said that such days would return once the new emperor of the Central Plains ascended the throne.

His father did not live to see him.

Saban buried his face in the soft fabric of the dark brocade robe and let out a muffled sob, unlike that of a fifty-one-year-old businessman.

On the ninth day of the first month of the second year of Qiming, the Yanqi caravan set off westward to return home.

While Chang'an was still basking in the afterglow of the Spring Festival, a different scene unfolded outside Kaiyuan Gate. Saphan's camels were laden with tea, silk, iron pots, porcelain bowls, and twenty primers. The caravan stretched for miles, its bells ringing clear and melodiously.

The Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial and the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices personally escorted them to the ten-mile-long pavilion. This was a rare occurrence in the protocol for receiving foreign merchants.

Sapanda mounted his camel, looked back at the majestic silhouette of Chang'an, and took a deep breath of the crisp air.

"Let's go," he said in Turkic, his voice surprisingly steady. "We'll come again next year."

Unbeknownst to Sapanda, at the very moment he was returning west, another team was being prepared in Chang'an.

That was the empire's first official mission to the Western Regions.

The chief envoy was the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, and the deputy envoy was a translator fluent in Turkic and Sogdian languages, as well as a young director of the Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs—whose task was to survey the mountains and rivers along the way, record the distribution of city-states, and investigate the strength and weakness of the Tibetan and Abbasid troops stationed there.

The mission was ostensibly a "return visit to Yanqi to strengthen diplomatic relations." However, the ceremonial staff, credentials, list of gifts they carried, and the gold plaque with the inscription "Trade in the Western Regions" that was identical to the one on Sakya Pandita's silver plaque but edged in gold, hinted at the true significance of the trip.

When Chen Xing saw the delegation off, he only said one sentence:

"There's no need to rush to make a name for yourself. Listen more, observe more, and make friends if you can. Take things one step at a time."

It was exactly what he understood.

Spring in the second year of Qiming seemed to come earlier than usual.

By the end of February, news of the official road from Chang'an to Luoyang being officially opened to traffic spread throughout the court and the country. The wide road, named "Qiming Road," had a solid roadbed and good drainage, and post stations along the way were beginning to take shape. Common people drove oxcarts, merchants rode mules and horses, and messengers galloped on fast horses, all converging on this brand-new road.

In March, the first group of envoys from the Western Regions arrived in Hexi. After Yanqi, rumors spread that Kucha, Shule, Khotan, and even the more distant Ferghana Kingdom intended to send envoys eastward.

In early April, the Ministry of Revenue reported that, three months after the establishment of the Western Market Supervision Office, seventeen caravans from the Western Regions had been registered, handling goods worth over 80,000 strings of cash and collecting 2,600 strings of silver in taxes. The figures were not large, but the trend was encouraging.

In the same month, the Ministry of Works reported that the repair project of the Hexi official road, from Liangzhou to Ganzhou, had commenced and was expected to be completed by the end of the year. At the same time, a survey team for the karez irrigation system, an indispensable water conservancy technology for the development of the Western Regions, had been dispatched from the Imperial Workshops and would arrive in Shazhou soon.

Chen Xing wrote a single word on the memorial: "Approved".

On April 16th, the peach and plum blossoms in Chang'an City were beginning to fade, and the shade of the locust trees was gradually deepening.

Chen Xing, having a rare half-day of leisure, climbed the northwest corner tower of the imperial city alone. From here, the view was expansive, overlooking the entire city of Chang'an, and also offering a distant view of the long official road leading to the Western Regions outside Kaiyuan Gate.

Jia Wen, who was serving at the emperor's side, knew that the emperor was not willing to say much at the moment, so he simply stood quietly.

After a long silence, Chen Xing suddenly asked, "Prime Minister Jia, how do you think history books will record our era a hundred years from now?"

Jia Wen was slightly taken aback. He rarely heard His Majesty ask such a near-"ultimate" question.

"This old minister...does not know." He pondered for a moment, "It will probably be written that His Majesty quelled the rebellions, unified the north and south, and ushered in a golden age of enlightenment."

Chen Xing neither nodded nor shook his head.

He gazed at the official road, which had not yet fully extended to the west bank of the river but whose outline was becoming increasingly clear, and slowly said:

"Suppressing the warlords and unifying the north and south—that's just doing what our predecessors did. Building a few roads and opening a few markets are hardly earth-shattering achievements."

He paused.

"What I truly want to see is that a hundred years from now, children in the Western Regions will still be reading the 'Enlightenment Primer,' caravans will still be traveling the road I built, Sogdian merchants will still be using 'Xingyuan Tongbao' coins in their ledgers, and envoys from the King of Ferghana will come to Chang'an to pay tribute, study at the Imperial Academy, and upon returning home, use the bronze mirror I bestowed upon them to marry, passing it down to their sons, and then to their grandsons..."

He turned around and looked at Jia Wen.

"That's what I want to leave to future generations."

Jia Wen bowed deeply and did not straighten up for a long time.

The setting sun bathed Chang'an in a golden-red glow. Outside Kaiyuan Gate, another caravan was slowly entering the city, the faint sound of camel bells audible.

The wind comes from the west, carrying the dryness of the Gobi Desert and the scent of vegetation from distant oases.

The road ahead is still long.