Chapter 1010 Hope

If Longyou had not yet fallen, the caravan from Chang'an would have headed west all the way, but now that the road from Longyou to the Western Regions has been cut off by Tubo, they can only turn north, from Luzhou and Shuofang Jiedushi. All the way north into the Uyghur territory, arrived at the Uyghur Yazhang, then turned southwest, crossed the Wudejian Mountain and went south, passed the edge of the Jinshan Mountain, and then crossed the Tianshan Mountain to reach Xizhou.

If this route is drawn on the map, the route going north and turning southwest just forms a right-angled triangle with the original Silk Road. The distance is much longer, and the cost of merchants is also much higher, but it is better than nothing Much better; because the trade route was cut off, the price of porcelain, silk and other items in the Western Regions has doubled, as long as they can reach the Western Regions safely, they can still make huge profits.

Once there are profits, these businessmen will continue to transfer to the Uighurs to go to the Western Regions, and the Anxi Protectorate will also get a little respite because of them, and get economic and material supplements by maintaining commercial order. More importantly, they can Use business to win over and divide the tribes in the Western Regions, and win more support for yourself.

In the future, Zhang Yichao will be able to start a business in Shazhou. It is not so much that Zhang Yichao can fight, but that he is good at management and trading. In the cracks between his tribes, through business arrangements, relying on a small but elite armed force For the sake of capital, the joint ministries won the four counties of Hexi. Since there are successful cases here, Shen Long will not forget them.

And referring to the actions of those European colonists in the future, the methods they used are also similar to these. Every time they arrive at a place, they will first use novel commodities to buy and divide the local indigenous people, and then use their own powerful The army completed the harvest, and this is how they defeated the blacks in Africa and the Indians in North and South America.

Shen Long will definitely not go too far like those colonists, but he will still refer to the general direction; in short, the Western Regions will survive if the business is alive. With so many people alive, it is even more impossible to support the Anxi Protectorate's rule in the Western Regions.

"Shouzhuo, the Uighur teeth tent is in front of us. I have already sent people to report, I believe they will definitely send people out to meet them!" Just as he was thinking, the steward of the Guo family who was in charge of managing the caravan came over and said.

Through the advice of the Guo family and senior brothers, as well as Shen Long's own idea, Tang Dezong canonized Shen Long as the guard envoy of Juliu City. The guard envoy is a unique official position in the Tang Dynasty. Mainly distributed in Longyou Road and the Western Regions, the border guards in the Tang Dynasty, the big ones were called the army, and the small ones were called shouzhuo, cities, and towns, and all institutions had envoys.

Each garrison has a large number of soldiers. During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, there were thirty-seven garrison envoys in Longyou and the Western Regions alone. Now, even Shen Long has to fight for the garrison of Juliucheng himself. down.

Juliu City is located in the northwest of Xizhou, near Luntai City, and at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain. Because it can be irrigated by the snow water of Tianshan Mountain, it is one of the few places in the Western Regions that can produce food. It is also the goal carefully selected by Shen Long. To grow stronger, one must master food production and be self-sufficient in food.

In the entire Western Regions, only the Ili River Valley and the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains from Dushan Shouzhuo to Heishui Shouzhuo are the two narrow areas that can do this. The Ili River Valley is now in the hands of Ge Luolu, and the distance is a little far The northern foot of Tianshan Mountain became Shen Long's only choice. Although it was occupied by Tubo, it was on the edge of Tubo's power, and it was not difficult to recapture it.

Juliu City is just in the middle of Dushan Shouzhuo and Heishui Shouzhuo. First, a nail is planted in this narrow planting belt, and then it waits for the opportunity to attack left and right, and takes over a larger arable land. Shen Long's contribution to the Chinese nation Planting talent is absolutely confident, as long as there is land suitable for farming,

The people of Tang Dynasty can multiply and grow here.

"I'm sorry, Guo is old." Shen Long nodded, he knew that this person was an old man of the Guo family, and he knew the status of the Guo family in the Tang Dynasty. He is quite old and willing to come out to help them manage the caravan, so Shen Long respected him a lot along the way.

Although he came from a wealthy family, the steward has no airs, so the cooperation between the two parties along the way was quite harmonious. When they arrived at the Yazhang of the Uighurs, the caravan received a warm welcome. The Uighurs are nomads, and the nomads have always had a great demand for the products of farming civilization. , so they were very happy to see these merchants coming.

Among the Uighurs, some old men who had dealt with Guo Ziyi's army came over to make friends when they saw the banner. Shen Long and the others received warm hospitality here. Knowing that Jie Yujiasi still did not launch an attack on Tubo, Yang Xigu was still staying in Xizhou City.

The caravan stayed in the Uighur Yazhang for a few days, sold some of the goods, and then divided into two groups. One group set off to return to Chang'an, ready to purchase again and send it to the Uighur Yazhang, while the other group continued to bring the goods with Shen Long. Go to the Western Regions; they have already earned back all the costs and a surplus in the sales of the Uighur Yazhang. Going to the Western Regions is a pure profit, so the morale of the caravan is extremely high.

And Shen Long is also using this time to train the teenagers who followed him from Chang'an. He also trained the army of the cold weapon era when he was in Liangshan, and then integrated some more scientific training methods from later generations, waiting for the caravan to cross Tianshan, when they came to Xizhou City, these youngsters had already become in style.

"Guardian! Protector! My troops from the Tang Dynasty are back!" In Xizhou City, someone saw Shen Long and the others from a distance, and immediately burst into tears with excitement, and hurriedly went to report to Yang Xigu.

After nearly 30 years, the army of the Tang Dynasty finally came to the Western Regions. These gray-haired veterans seemed to see hope, and they were even more excited to be behind. Many old people were found in Shen Long's team. lost his nephew.

Seeing these people, they were both happy and a little worried. They were happy that they finally reunited with their relatives after many years, but they were worried about what would happen to them in the future? Will he stay alone in the Western Regions for decades like himself?

"Guardian, the general will take the caravan to Kucha, so I won't bother you any more. I will come to see the general when he goes to Juliu City to take office in the future." After resting in Xizhou for a few days, Shen Long bid farewell and left, continued westward, and finally arrived at the city of Kucha.

Guo Xin and the soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate were equally excited when they saw the arrival of the Tang Dynasty.