The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  But this time was completely different.

  "Wushang? Do you know what sort of place that is? 'Of all the places in the world, no place is more prosperous than Longyou.' There's no better choice than picking a fief in Longxi. Moreover… although you developed a few conflicts with Geshu Han during the Regional Commanders incident, the fief is by His Majesty's decree, so not even Geshu Han would dare to object. If this matter is done well, it will be of enormous benefit to both you and our Wang Clan. And yet you want to set up your fief in this barren and impoverished land near Qixi? Just what are you thinking?"

  Wang Gen spoke these words with great solemnity, and he straightened up and looked gravely at his nephew.

  Wang Gen had no impression of this place known as 'Wushang', but he did know the place that Wang Chong had pointed out on the map. If Wang Chong had picked a slightly better place, Wang Gen would have never reacted this way. But Wang Chong had insisted on picking this barren land on the road to the west. This was a complete waste of the fief that the Imperial Court had given to Wang Chong and the Wang Clan.

  "Haha, Big Uncle, I know you find this very difficult to accept, but I naturally have my reasons for this."

  Wang Chong smiled at the rebuke and took a light sip of his tea. His expression was calm and natural, not at all nervous.

  "Then what is it?"

  Perhaps influenced by Wang Chong's demeanor, Wang Gen took in a deep breath and relaxed a little.

  "Haha, Big Uncle, Wushang truly is an impoverished land without much prosperity. But, Big Uncle, take a careful look. Where is it located?"

  Wang Chong gestured his finger over the map. Wang Gen had not noticed it at first glance, but his eyes widened as he noticed this time. He probed, "You are speaking of the Silk Road?"

  "Yes! The Silk Road!"

  Wang Chong smiled and pointed at a place close to Wushang. A winding road ran through that place, that famed road to the west frequently mentioned in all of the Great Tang and the foreign kingdoms, the Silk Road.

  "You have a plan for this road?"

  Wang Gen glanced at Wang Chong as he contemplated the matter, his expression slowly losing its sternness. The Silk Road to the west was also the famous Road of Gold. Countless merchants from the east and west traveled along this road, bringing with them silk, spices, jewels, jade ware, porcelain, camels, tea leaves… Almost all the Hu merchants and Western Regions merchants operating in the Great Tang used this road.

  The immense price disparity between the goods of the east and west had resulted in immense profits, giving rise to many extremely wealthy merchants.

  Those Hu merchants who traded with the Great Tang were all fabulously wealthy. Pearls, agate, jade ware… they treated them like earthen tiles.

  The products they traded in were all staples, and the fortunes they had accumulated were so vast that it was impossible for many people to even imagine it. Even the great clans felt inadequate before such wealth. In terms of importance, the road to the west was the world's number one, far more important than the famed Tea Horse Road of the southwest.

  From a certain perspective, the Great Tang owed no small part of its current prosperity to the Silk Road that connected it to the various other countries.

  "Big Uncle, the lands of Zhao truly are decent, but it's stagnant water. The most revenue it can make will be two hundred thousand, but the Silk Road to the west is different. Whether it was the Great Han Dynasty, the previous dynasty, or this dynasty, the first thing they did after uniting the realm was to reopen this Silk Road that connects the east to the west. One can easily imagine the importance with which the empire views this trade route," Wang Chong declared with confidence.

  "Big Uncle, you also know just how affluent the Hu merchants of the capital are. Those Hu merchants from the Western Regions, the spice merchants from the Abbasid Caliphate, and the jewel merchants from Charax Spasinu spent every year crossing vast distances to reach the Great Tang, all of them carrying vast sums of wealth with them. Has Big Uncle ever thought about just how much wealth passes through this trade route every day, with all these merchants constantly traversing this road?"

  "This…"

  Wang Gen had nothing to say. He knew even more clearly than Wang Chong the great importance that the Great Tang Imperial Court placed on this road to the west, and this regard was inspired solely by the Sage Emperor himself.

  No one in the Great Tang, not inside or outside the court, would ever dare to question the Sage Emperor's decision.

  This was why that trade route had remained so easy to traverse.

  Moreover, Wang Chong was also correct in that this road to the west truly was brimming with wealth. Even the Bureau of Revenue of the Imperial Court found it difficult to calculate the amount of wealth flowing through it each day, much less others.

  "So, Chong-er, you intend to snatch some of this trade route's wealth for yourself?"

  "Mm!"

  Wang Chong gave a firm nod, his gaze profound and his expression appearing to gaze far into the future.

  "But this way will be fruitless. The east-west trade is the exclusive business of those Hu merchants, and they don't permit anyone else to enter. In the past, when the Silk Road was opened, no small number of great clans and noble houses eyed this trade route. Even a few of the princes of the imperial household participated. But they quickly realized that we couldn't understand the languages of the Western Regions, Arabia, and Charax Spasinu. Adding onto that the fact that the Tang view learning barbarian languages with contempt, the long and arduous journey required to reach Arabia and Charax Spasinu, and our unfamiliarity with the environment, those efforts were essentially all failures. After failing several times, the great clans and noble houses completely gave up on the idea.

  "Chong-er, it's not that I want to reject your idea. It's a rather good one, but carrying it out is quite implausible."

  Wang Gen shook his head and looked worriedly at Wang Chong. Wang Chong's ambition to use the Silk Road to the west and take some of its wealth for himself was truly worth his acknowledgment.

  But he was clearly treating things too simply.

  If one could so easily get a cut of the profits, then in all the years since the founding of the Great Tang, the numerous nobles would have long ago partitioned up the profits. How could this situation have lasted until it was finally the Wang Clan's turn?

  In the southwestern war, Wang Chong truly had revealed an extraordinary talent for the art of war. But the art of war was different from the art of commerce, and even Wang Chong didn't seem capable of mastering both fields at the same time.

  "Haha, Big Uncle, you've misunderstood."

  Wang Chong unexpectedly smiled.

  "I have no intention of dipping my toe into the Silk Road's trade of silk, spices, and gems, entering the Abbasid Caliphate or Charax Spasinu to buy and sell. The road to the west is more than ten thousand li long. In one year, you can at most run one or two caravans. The time needed for return on investment is far too long."

  "Return on investment?"

  A hint of surprise flashed through Wang Gen's eyes, but he completely regained his composure. He was already used to the astonishing statements made by his nephew. The line 'the one who laughs last laughs best' was known by everyone in the capital.

  "If you don't plan to enter this business, then what is your plan?"

  Wang Gen was truly rather confused. The most profitable venture on the road to the west was the trade of silk, spices, and gems… If he wasn't planning on involving himself in this trade, then how did he plan to make money?

  Wang Gen truly found it impossible to see through his nephew.

  "Haha, I naturally plan to build a city there and make profit from those merchants!"

  Wang Chong smiled as he brought his tea cup down onto the map with a thud, placing it on the Silk Road. This move was beyond all expectations, and Wang Gen stared in a daze at that cup on the map of the Great Tang, speechless.

  "Big Uncle!"
<
br />   Wang Chong pushed back his chair and stood up.

  "The road to the west is a place of great fortune, but the road is long, and as they say, a long night brings many dreams. As a result, the road to the west is plagued by bandits, and the complexity of the terrain makes it difficult for the Imperial Court to restrain them, with many suppression missions having been forced to return in failure.

  "Previously, for the sake of the Hyderabad ore, I ordered Li Siye to destroy the largest bandit group on the Silk Road, the Black Dragon Bandits. But the Black Dragon Bandits were only one of the groups. Before them were the Flowing Dragon Bandits, the Black Flame Bandits… and there are certain to be more bandit groups in the future. As long as there are profits, this situation will continue to crop up no matter how many times you stamp it down.

  "Imagine for a moment if there was a city on the westward road. All the traveling merchants could obtain protection and supplies there. Would they be willing to come? And those merchants traveling to the west all have massive caravans with hundreds of members, perhaps even exceeding one thousand. Having this many people stop for a single day will result in significant expenditure. What if we let them buy and sell things without fee there? Would anyone be willing to start a business there? And the merchants traveling to the west are quite generous in this aspect.

  "And once a lot of these people gather, we can start collecting a tax. How does Big Uncle think such a city will fare? After all, this is an exclusive business!"

  Wang Chong turned and gave a faint smile to Wang Gen.

  Chapter 679: The Strongest in the World, the Wushang Cavalry!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Sitting across from Wang Chong, Wang Gen was flabbergasted, his eyes wide and mouth agape. He had only thought about finding a suitable fief for Wang Chong, but he had never imagined that Wang Chong wanted to construct a city.

  And what shocked Wang Gen most of all was Wang Chong's final words. The road to the west truly presented a large business opportunity, and if Wang Chong could succeed in the way he described, then it really would be an exclusive business.

  Along the entire Silk Road, it would be the only city and also the only relay station. All the merchants, whether they were from the Western Regions, Charax Spasinu, or the Abbasid Caliphate, would have to pass through Wang Chong's city if they wanted to conduct trade.

  Countless wealthy clans and noble houses of the Great Tang Empire had tried to get a slice of profit from the westward road, but none of them had ever succeeded. The reasons were simple. The first was naturally that no one had ever thought of the idea that Wang Chong had described.

  The other reason was that it had been many years since the Great Tang had made an exception and bestowed a fief. Without a fief, no one could construct a city on the Silk Road.

  Given the importance with which the Sage Emperor viewed the Silk Road, the idea would immediately be rejected by the Imperial Court.

  But now, Wang Chong had truly obtained that special right. Wang Gen had to admit that he had underestimated his nephew. His plans were far greater than his own.

  And if he succeeded, there was a high chance that the Wang Clan would be making much more than it could from the affluent lands of Zhao County.

  Wang Chong gazed at his clearly stunned and pensive big uncle, inwardly smiling. This idea for building a city was not a revolutionary idea in the world that he had come from.

  But in this world, it was clearly a new thing that no one had ever thought of.

  "I still have one final question. Building a city is no small matter, especially when there was nothing there before. This will require a massive investment. Not even the Imperial Court would dare to casually bring up the idea of building a city on the road to the west. Moreover, you already expended all your money in your bid to reinforce the southwest. How can you build a city by just relying on the three million taels of gold that the Sage Emperor rewarded you with?" Wang Gen asked.

  Lion City in the southwest had not been very big but had still cost millions of taels of gold, and it had also been an empty city. In addition, building a city in the impoverished and wild lands of the road to the west would be far more difficult than building Lion City in the southwest.

  One also had to consider that Wang Chong would also have to build inns of sorts in the city, adding to the already enormous expenditure. This was not something the Wang Clan alone could sustain.

  The amount of capital needed to construct this sort of city from nothing would make even those ancient, prosperous, and wealthy clans of the capital shrink back in fear.

  "Haha, that's even easier. The capital has so many great clans and nobles, is Big Uncle still worried about money?"

  Wang Chong gave a confident grin. The people of the world would rush in every direction for the sake of profit. In the southwestern war, Wang Chong had fully experienced this principle.

  All he was doing now was reusing this principle.

  In truth, he didn't even need to say anything for countless people in the capital to eagerly await the chance to work with him.

  "Okay!"

  Wang Gen suddenly slapped the table and got out of his chair. He had been a little angry when Wang Chong first talked about setting up a fief in Wushang, but now, his anger had all dissipated and his eyes shone with excitement.

  "Chong-er, your uncle has never doubted your talent in the art of war. In the field of commerce… no one in the Wang Clan has a better mind for it than you. The thing that concerned me most about you was your head for politics. Ever since ancient times, countless famous generals ended up getting their entire families killed because they didn't understand the politics of court. The greater one's talent in the art of war and the higher one climbs, the greater the calamity one will attract.

  "This has always been my worry. After all, you are still very young. But now… I can be completely at ease."

  Wang Gen's complexion was ruddy and he seemed to be ecstatic. 'A man might be innocent, but a hidden treasure makes him guilty1.' An exclusive business on the road to the west was truly good, but it could easily bring a massive disaster.

  But if Wang Chong involved the noble houses and the great clans of the capital in this venture, everything would be different. It was the equivalent of all the noble houses and clans standing together with the Wang Clan.

  Just through this alone, the Wang Clan's position in court would be invincible. This was a true 'eternally steadfast position'!

  In the future, even when Wang Chong truly entered the court and began to wield political power, the connections he had built up now would be enough for him to become an extremely influential figure in the court.

  Wang Gen could see signs of the Old Master on Wang Chong's body!

  Wang Gen quickly left the Wang Clan Residence, satisfied and content. His nephew was always this outstanding, always making him so proud. When Wang Gen left, he did so with firmer step and higher head.

  With a nephew like this, what more could he ask for?

  What great undertaking would the Wang Clan ever have to worry about?

  But Wang Gen had no idea that when he left, Wang Chong fell quiet, his gaze resting on the table, on the map his big uncle had left behind. His eyes paused on the famous Silk Road for only a few moments before quickly shifting west, toward the Great Tang's northwest.

  The Western Regions!

  Wang Gen was completely unaware that Wang Chong's decision to establish his fief in Wushang was not at all because of the Silk Road, but because of the distant Western Regions, because of the Great Tang's Anxi Protectorate!

  The Silk Road was a renowned Road of Riches, the Road of Gold, but it was also the lifeline for the Great Tang's Anxi Protectorate! Every year, countless Great Tang weapons and supplies were transported along this road.

  Winds would precede a coming storm, and no one except Wang Chong knew that the next danger facing the empire would come from the Great Tang's northwest. In
a place that no one was paying attention to, an empire as powerful as the Great Tang was reaching out its tentacle toward the Great Tang's Western Regions.

  This would be a war between the two great empires of the east and west.

  Unlike the southwestern war, this war would only involve the 30,000 soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army, far fewer than the 180,000 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army. And the number of casualties from this war and Great Tang civilians affected was far from reaching one million.

  In truth, the true people affected were the Hu of the Western Regions.

  But the far-reaching effects from this battle would be far greater than those of the southwestern war, because this campaign affected the entire Central Plains!

  Gao Xianzhi, although you and I stand on different sides, in this matter, I will do everything I can to help you! I hope that you won't disappoint me! Wang Chong said silently.

  The Anxi Protectorate had only 30,000 soldiers, but these 30,000 soldiers were the most elite cavalry of the Great Tang. In terms of martial arts, training, and teamwork, they were the strongest soldiers in the Great Tang Empire.

  All the soldiers sent there were the strongest soldiers that could be sent from the various circuits, prefectures, and border forts of the Great Tang. Moreover, they were equipped with all sorts of weapons and the best rations. Just in terms of ballistae, they had tens of thousands, almost one for each soldier. And they also had many granaries.

  The best equipment that the Bureau of Military Personnel could send was also sent to that place.

  In addition, ever since Emperor Wu of Han had opened up the Western Regions, the Central Plains had always wielded enormous influence over the area. Moreover, Gao Xianzhi was a foreigner, could understand many foreign languages, and was skilled in handling disputes between the Han and foreigners. Thus, although the Tang only had 30,000 soldiers in the Western Regions, the foreigners could muster an army of around 180,000 that the Tang had a great deal of control over.

  For this reason, although the Anxi Protectorate had few Tang soldiers, it still had an extremely formidable fighting force. Gao Xianzhi also had a good relationship with Feng Changqing, this foreigner and Han forming the renowned 'Twin Jades of the Empire' and serving as the strongest protectors of the Western Regions.