Leaving aside the Xiongnu, in August, on the eve of the Great Court Meeting, Zhang Gou finally returned to Xianyang while I was eager to wait!
Xianyang Palace, Xianyang Palace.
Zhang Gao slowly walked into the hall under the gaze of everyone in the hall, followed by Taoyao and Wu Shimu.
Several people walked to the center and bowed: "Your Majesty, I have returned from a mission. Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission!"
With a smile on my face, I said, "No courtesy. Thank you for your hard work. The three of you have gone through a lot."
There are some wrinkles on Zhang Gou's resolute face, and Tao Yao's fair skin has a little wheat yellow color. Wushi Mu has not changed much. He is originally from the Rong tribe and can adapt to the environment of the Western Region better.
Zhang Gou cupped his hands and replied: "Serving the country as an envoy is nothing to talk about hard work. Thank you, Your Majesty!"
I nodded: "What did you gain from this mission?"
Zhang Gou turned around and waved, and immediately several people brought in several boxes.
Zhang Gou opened the box and introduced one by one: "Your Majesty, please see, these are seeds that are unique to the Western Regions. They include fruits: grapes, pomegranates, vegetables: carrots, courgettes, beans, garlic, coriander, and spices: Parsley fennel, Pepper, walnuts, alfalfa, etc., I brought back three carts of seeds, which can be planted in Daqin."
"This box contains all kinds of jewelry given to the Qin Dynasty by the countries in the Western Regions. Among them are beautiful jade, colored glaze, various gold coins, gold and silver utensils, etc. from Khotan. There are four carts in total."
"In addition, there are four BMWs donated by Dawan Kingdom, ten singers donated by Loulan Kingdom, and twenty Kunlun slaves donated by Kushan Kingdom."
Everyone in the hall had already been attracted by what Zhang Gou brought back, and they couldn't help but marvel.
But I was a little surprised: "Zhang Gou, you said the horses were given by the Dawan Kingdom? And the Kunlun slaves were given by the Kushan Kingdom?"
"Your Majesty, yes."
"Have you gone to the Guishang Kingdom? Have you gone to their capital?" I originally thought that Zhang Gou had only reached the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty, but Dayuan and Guishang were far beyond the borders of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions.
At this time in the west, the First Persian Empire had perished under the attack of the Macedonian Dynasty, and was replaced by the Parthian Empire, which gradually emerged after a melee. However, because its territory was less than half of the original Persian Empire, it did not become the Second Empire. Instead, the Sasanian Dynasty unified the original territory of Persia and called it the Second Empire.
Between the Parthian Empire and the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions was the Kushan Empire. The Kushan people were originally a tribe of the Dayue clan. The Dayue clan were often invaded by the Huns. In addition to this timeline, the Dayue clan had already abandoned the Hexi Corridor and was replaced by the Northern Qiang clan.
The Kushan tribe couldn't stand the Xiongnu's plundering all day long, so they broke away from the Dayue clan in Longshou Mountain and went to the Ili River area to occupy Wusun's territory. As a result, Wusun surrendered directly to the Huns, and with the support of the Huns, Wusun defeated the Kushan tribe. After being severely beaten, the Kushan tribe could only continue to the southwest, where they established Daxia. Later, they defeated the Tocharians and gradually established the Kushan Empire.
Zhang Gou heard this and replied: "Go back to your majesty. Their country is in Peshawar."
I was a little surprised. No wonder it took him more than a year to go to Kushan.
"Very good, how is the situation in the countries in the Western Region?"
Zhang Gou counted them one by one: "Your Majesty, most of the Western Regions are small countries with a thousand people. There are only 12 countries with more than 10,000 people. The four countries that can be called powerful are Wusun, Qiuci, Yanzhe, and Kushan. Among them, only Wusun and Guishang are capable of fighting against our Great Qin."
"In addition, Wusun has the Huns and Hujie people as backers, and they invade neighboring countries unscrupulously, especially the Six Kingdoms of Cheshi and the Six Kingdoms of Shanbei. Fortunately, Qiuci and Yanzhe are close to Wusun, and together they can compete with them , otherwise the countries in the Western Regions would have been annexed by Wusun long ago."
I nodded: "Very good. Are the countries in the Western Region interested in doing business with me, Great Qin?"
"Back to Your Majesty, our silk, wine, and paper are deeply loved by the countries in the Western Regions, especially silk and paper. The two caravans were sold at the end for a fortune! Due to the long distance, the cities in the five counties of the Western Regions have not yet been completed. The countries in the Western Regions intend to send envoys to meet His Majesty after the city is built, and their caravans are already preparing to trade with Great Qin next year!"
As he spoke, he took out the credentials of each country and basically stated his wish to do business with Great Qin.
"Okay!" This is the best news I have heard since defeating the Huns.
"In addition, I have brought back dozens of tongue speakers from the countries in the Western Regions, and asked them to come to our Great Qin to learn more about the Great Qin language for future exchanges between Great Qin and the countries in the Western Regions!"
I raised my eyebrows, and Zhang Gao actually thought of the translation issue in advance. This was something I didn't pay much attention to at the time.
"Excellent, Zhang Gao, you are on this mission to promote the prestige of the Qin Dynasty, and you have fulfilled my expectations. You are really the first person in the Western Regions. You will be given the title of Marquis of Guannei and the title of Bowang Marquis in recognition of your achievements! Deputy envoy Fang Ji will be given the title of Marquis of Guannei. The title of the eldest concubine will be inherited by his son. The rest will be rewarded according to the law!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
I pondered for a moment and said seriously: "Everyone, please remember two things. First, the manufacturing process of Da Qin's silk, paper, iron smelting, etc. cannot be shown to merchants and envoys from the Western Regions. Silk, in particular, is not only made The process is not allowed to be shown to them, not even the silkworm seeds and mulberry trees used to make silk are allowed to be told to them, at least they are not allowed to take it out of Daqin!"
Li Si thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty is worried that if they bring silkworm seeds and mulberry trees back to the Western Regions for planting, they will no longer buy silk from Da Qin?"
I nodded: "That's exactly what I mean. I think they also have linen. They only need nettles and the like to weave it, but silk is completely different from linen. Although we often call cloth and silk together, cloth and silk are the same. The difference is mud. No matter whether the Western Region can raise silkworm seeds or plant mulberry trees alive, even if there is a one in ten thousand chance, it must not be leaked. Otherwise, Great Qin will lose countless wealth. "
Of course everyone understood, and all agreed.
"Second, the countries in the Western Region are also countries. You are familiar with the game between countries, but you must not relax your vigilance just because those countries are in the Western Region. Don't say things you shouldn't say, and don't let them see things you shouldn't see. We, the Qin Dynasty, belong to the heavenly dynasty, but the people in the Western Regions are not fools, so don’t look down upon them!”
Many people have an inexplicable affection for countries they have never been to, and they put a filter on those countries in their hearts, as if they were their hometowns they have never met. For example, those public intellectuals of later generations always felt that even the air in Country M was sweet. We cannot be blindly arrogant, but we cannot be servile either.
After leaving the Kunlun slaves and the singers from the Western Regions to the young master Feng Si, I dismissed the court meeting and asked Tao Yao and Wushi Mu to wait in the side hall. I took Li Si, Feng Jie, and Zhang Han back to Sihai first. temple.
Everyone was standing outside the hall, asking Zhang Gou questions non-stop, marveling at the seeds, jewels, sweat horses, and Kunlun slaves he brought back. Especially when they saw the beauties from the Western Regions sent by Loulan Kingdom, they couldn't take their eyes away...
