As the sun was setting in Khotan City, Zhang Zhao was strolling around the female slave market in the west of the city. While choosing two clever female helpers for Cao Yanming, he pretended to be casual and walked into a restaurant selling mutton soup.
"A big bowl of millet rice, a big bowl of japonica rice, two big bowls of mutton soup, and then cut a leg of lamb, along with a pound of haggis!"
As a person who wanted to grow a belly quickly, Zhang Zhao's appetite was suddenly maximized. All of these things, except for the bowl of mutton soup that belonged to old Zhang Zhong, the rest belonged to him.
The food arrived quickly. The rice was topped with a large piece of cheese, which is the most popular way to eat it in Khotan.
Put cheese on corn rice, and pour honey and jam on japonica rice. The former is rich in oil and salt and is very suitable for dishes, while the latter is sour and sweet. It is the earliest rice bowl.
After a while, an old man wearing a blue crotch-less shirt came over. Although the crotch-less shirt was washed a little white, he was very clean. It was clear that when Zhang Zhao entered the city that day, he cried and cried, "Does the Emperor of Chang'an know?" The old man named Zhu.
"Erlangjun! The old Zhu Qingquan has lived up to his trust. This is the list of Tang children who are still available in Khotan City. There are eighty-seven people in total who are willing to follow Erlangjun to find the survivors of Anxi and Beiting."
Zhang Zhao deliberately sang the Song of Everlasting Sorrow in order to find Han people in Khotan who still remembered the Tang Dynasty.
Because he knew that by using the name of the Tang Dynasty, a large number of descendants of the Tang Dynasty would come to support him and gather under his banner, which would never happen.
There are many Tang children in Khotan, but over the past hundred years, most of them have become citizens of Khotan. It is impossible for him to compete for the population with his uncle Li Shengtian.
Besides, these Tang children have lived in Khotan for hundreds of years and are already used to it.
They have never seen the Tang Dynasty since they were born, they have never seen the glory of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty court has not given them any favor. If you go to tell them to restore the Tang Dynasty now, people will think you are sick.
To put it simply, these Han people are already Khotan Han children.
But there are exceptions to everything, including among people.
There are always some people, even if they have never seen the Tang Dynasty or experienced the benefits of the Tang Dynasty, they still remember this great country for which their ancestors fought bloody battles, and still hope to restore the glory that Tang Er once had in Anxi.
Only such people are Zhang Zhao's fellow travelers and the people Zhang Zhao needs. These days, he sent Fanshun, who is more flexible, to find Zhu Qingquan just to get information about these people.
The number of people is a bit small. Zhang Zhao of Khotan City has not counted it, but Tang'er's young men are at least three thousand, probably around five thousand. After all, if you look at the street, at least 40% of them are Han Chinese.
Of course, this does not mean that all four people in Khotan are Han, but that most of the Han people are concentrated in the cities, surrounded by countryside, and the majority of Khotanese and mixed-race people are still Scythian-looking.
"I would like to thank Zhu Weng for Tang'er, who is still under the oppression of the barbarians in Anxi and Beiting!"
Zhang Zhao handed over to Zhu Qingquan. Although there were only eighty-seven people now, it was a good start. At least it proved that Tang'er in Anxi and Beiting had not completely forgotten his homeland.
Having them is a good signal, because Khotan Han'er is living a good life, and it is normal for him not to follow Zhang Zhao.
But the other descendants of Tang'er in Shule, Qiuci, Beiting, Balashagon, and Suiye who are suffering so much are definitely more willing to work hard with Zhang Zhao.
"I asked Fanshun to bury thirty guan of money under the sycamore tree in your backyard. As a token of my gratitude, Zhu Weng will pick him up when he gets back. Your grandson's leg disease needs to be cured as soon as possible!"
Zhang Zhao took the list, finished the food that he could eat for a day in the future, and was about to get up and leave.
Zhu Qingquan suddenly blushed and grabbed Zhang Zhao's sleeve.
"What are you doing, Mr. Erlang? But you look down on Zhu? Mr. Zhu himself is a lost country. He does these things for Mr. Erlang out of his true heart. Why do you want to taint my sincerity with vulgar things?"
Zhang Zhao took Zhu Qingquan's hand that was holding his sleeve and patted the back of his hand gently.
"I know Zhu Weng is sincere, but these thirty strings are not because you did something for someone. You can just treat it as the court's right to compensate you, the descendants of Tang'er who stayed in Anxi.
When Anxi went to the Central Plains to suppress the rebellion, only 70% of his disciples accompanied him, and the rest were separated from their parents, gods, and humans. The pain of separation of flesh and blood was far beyond what thirty guans of money could heal, but now I only have this ability. Zhu Weng, just accept it! "
"You can't accept it!" Zhu Qingquan still shook his head, "Erlangjun is not from the Central Plains Court, and this money is not given by the court, but belongs to Erlangjun. There is no reason for Erlangjun to compensate us for the Central Plains Court!"
"Zhu Weng doesn't think that someone can succeed?" Zhang Zhao asked with a smile!
"No! No! I believe Erlangjun will definitely succeed!" Zhu Qingquan quickly shook his head to express that he didn't think so.
"Then Zhu Weng will accept it. Not only do you have to accept it, Zhu Weng will also make some inquiries for someone. If there is a Tang'er like you in Khotan City or a Hu'er family who fought bloody battles for Anxi and Beiting in the past, It is indeed very difficult, so I will compensate them all.
It's just that XX's resources are limited, and Zhu Weng needs to take care of XX on his behalf. But you can rest assured that XX is just an advance payment, and someone will take care of it in the future. "
Zhu Qingquan nodded lightly and looked at Zhang Zhao for a long time, "Okay! Since the Erlang Bureau said so, Zhu accepted it shamelessly. But can Zhu ask, who is Erlang Jun going to find someone to settle the account with?"
Zhang Zhao let go of Zhu Qingquan's hand and walked out. He turned around and smiled brightly, "Whoever sits on the Dragon Throne in the Central Plains must be able to do accounts!"
Then he said in his heart, 'If I could sit on that dragon throne, I would have settled the account in advance! '
Zhu Qingquan looked at Zhang Zhaoyuan's retreating back with red eyes. He suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Zhao.
"Erlangjun will definitely succeed! Buddha bless Erlangjun to win!"
Zhang Zhao left the restaurant and did not rush back to Yaotougang. Instead, he took two female slaves and came to a huge courtyard. This was the residence of his mother, Princess Fengtian, in Khotan City when she was not married.
After Princess Fengtian married to Dunhuang, Li Shengtian did not allow anyone to touch the facilities. He would only come and stay for a while when he missed his eldest sister.
The day after Zhang Zhao arrived, Li Shengtian gave Zhang Zhao the power to take over the residence that was already regarded as Li Shengtian's palace. It was also at that time that everyone in Khotan realized that Zhang Zhao's importance in Li Shengtian's heart was definitely not low.
Zhang Zhao did not enter the main hall, but walked to the small courtyard in a relatively remote place. This house has become Li Shengtian's nominal palace. He will definitely not move into the main hall carelessly. It is estimated that he will move in tonight and tomorrow. Li Shengtian had to be driven out.
In the small courtyard, several coughs could be heard, and Wu Yuan'er, whose face was still a little pale, was waiting for him.
Next to Wu Yuan'er, there was a person who looked similar to him in appearance and stature. It was Wu Dal'er who was sent by Zhang Zhao to Gaochang to 'collect accounts'.
Looks like the mission was accomplished well!
