"Tang Tongdian" "Ziguan Dian·County Prefect" says: More than 40,000 households are called Shangzhou, 25,000 households are called Zhongzhou, less than 20,000 households are called Xiazhou. More than 6,000 households are called Shangxian, and 3,000 households are called Shangxian.
The above counties are called middle counties, and those with less than 2,000 households are called lower counties.
During the Kaiyuan period, Dunhuang County had a household registration of 6,466 and a population of 32,234. It was called Xiazhou.
Zhou Jun was accompanied by about 1,200 troops. Such a huge convoy entered Dunhuang County in a mighty manner and immediately attracted the attention of the whole city.
Officials from the state capital came to greet him on the long street early, and many of them were whispering to each other about the rumored Supervisor Zhou.
Watching the convoy approaching the gate of the state capital, the officials in the city stepped forward to look for traces of Zhou Jian.
The governor of Dunhuang County, whose surname was Wen and whose given name was Zhongyu, was an old man in his late fifties. His eyes were somewhat presbyopic and he could only squint hard to see things.
Accompanied by his subordinates, he came to one side of the motorcade and asked, "Who is the Zhou Supervisor?"
A voice came from the leader of the team: "Yes."
Wen Zhongyu was startled, turned around quickly, and looked back.
I saw a young man holding a horse, walking towards him with a smile, and bowed again.
Wen Zhongyu looked this young man up and down. He couldn't believe it and asked, "Are you Supervisor Zhou?"
Zhou Jun nodded.
No wonder Wen Zhongyu was doubtful.
Zhou Jun came all the way from Liangzhou and traveled a long distance. He was not wearing official robes but ordinary clothes. He was tall and young. At first glance, he thought he belonged to a wealthy family.
Wen Zhongyu confirmed Zhou Jun's identity again, and then he handed over his hand and said: "The state government held a banquet in the restaurant in Longmafang to welcome Zhou Jun and wash away the dust."
Zhou Jun handed the reins of the horse to Sun Aying beside him, and said to Wen Zhongyu with a smile: "Prefect Wen, I am not in a hurry to have a banquet. I want to go to the state capital first to take a look at the map of Shazhou."
Wen Zhongyu was a little surprised.
When Zhou Jun came to Dunhuang for the first time, he did not meet with the officials and nobles in the city. Instead, he was in a hurry to attend to his official duties.
Since the other party insisted, Wen Zhongyu had no choice but to summon the officials in charge of the post in the state government and took Zhou Jun and his party to the mansion of the government.
The map of Shazhou was taken off the bookshelf and laid flat on the desk.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhou Jun first introduced the two officials around him to Prefect Wen: "This one's surname is Liu Mingzai. In the future, he will be in charge of the government affairs and supervision of the reconstruction of the Dunhuang trade route. This one is Luo Nandou,
Instead, he will be responsible for all construction matters carried out by the foreign officials, craftsmen, and servants who serve as supervisors."
Liu Zai and Luo Nandou met Prefect Wen together. Prefect Wen accepted the courtesy and asked Zhou Jun: "I heard that Zhou Jun wanted to reopen the trade route in the Shazhou Desert. The desert was full of quicksand and dust storms filled the sky. It was dangerous.
, I’m afraid outsiders don’t know.”
Zhou Jun: "I have my own way to ensure that caravans and travelers can safely cross the desert. The trouble now is, how many of the inns and warehouses in Shazhou are still usable? How much will it cost to repair them?"
Governor Wen walked to the map of Shazhou, pointed at the map, and said: "The Six Code Plans of the Tang Dynasty, every thirty miles has a post, and the Tang Dynasty has 1,630 and nine post stations. And the area around Shazhou City,
There are thirty-five post stations. In each post station, there are post houses, post fields, post husbands, post horses, post donkeys, beacon towers, storage cellars, guards, etc."
"Among the thirty-five post stations, eight of them are located at the junction of Guasha and Shazhou. People come and go frequently and are now relatively well preserved. They are Zhoucheng Post, Qingquan Post, Hengjian Post, Licorice Post, Xinjing Post, and Guangzhou Post.
Xianyi, Wushanyi and Shangyi."
"Among the remaining twenty-seven, thirteen are located in the west of the city. They are less used and lack personnel. Therefore, the buildings and objects are in disrepair and require a lot of effort to rebuild."
Zhou Jun heard this and asked: "There are thirty-five places in total, but we have only mentioned twenty-one. Where are the other fourteen?"
Wen Zhongyu: "The last fourteen stations are all sites left by the previous dynasty. Most of them are located in the hinterland of Shazhou, that is, in the desert. Since the Silk Road was diverted to Yiwu, those stations have long been deserted.
Used, it has disintegrated in the wind and sand and turned into a pile of ruins."
Seeing Zhou Jun nod, Wen Zhongyu added: "Compared with rebuilding the inn, there is another thing that is also more troublesome, and that is the roads. In the Shazhou Desert, there are canyons, windy rocks and miasma. In the past, there were bridges and bridges.
The rope allows caravans and travelers to pass through, but now that the road is destroyed, those who are on the road can only take a long detour in the desert and find another trail."
Zhou Jun said a few words to Liu Zai and Luo Nandou who were beside him, and then asked Wen Zhongyu: "How many caravans and travelers are there from Shazhou to the Western Regions now? How much are the taxes and tributes?"
Wen Zhongyu: "In the Shazhou Desert, June to October every year is the best time to travel. The other days are the windy season, with strong winds and yellow sand all over the sky. Once people walk in, it will be difficult to walk. Those five months
There are about 8,000 caravans and travelers passing through Shazhou City, and the tax collected is about 11,000 guan."
Zhou Jun was also surprised when he heard this. During the Han Dynasty, Dunhuang was the only place that the Silk Road passed through. Every year, the caravans passing through here were overwhelming, with an endless stream of Central Plains culture, Buddhist culture, West Asia and Central Asia.
Cultures intersected here, and Dunhuang and Huarong were the gateway to the Western Regions at that time. It was also a metropolis in the empire, and even served as the center of the convergence of the world's four ancient civilizations.
During the Tianbao period, Dunhuang declined. The permanent population in the county was less than half of what it was at the height of the Han Dynasty, and the number of caravans traveling between them was even less than a fraction of its former number.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jun asked Wen Zhongyu: "Since Dunhuang's trade routes are in decline, where do so many people in the city come from to earn their living?"
Wen Zhongyu: "The climate in Dunhuang County is dry and rainfall is scarce. In the Western Han Dynasty, canals were dug in the Shule River and Dang River to irrigate farmland, and methods such as digging weirs, building embankments, and digging wells were used to open up water sources and regulate water volume. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Yuanding
The Maquankou Weir built in the 6th year is an important hydraulic project in Dunhuang's farming." Reading La
"The farming land in the county is just outside Yumen Pass. They were inherited from the territory under the jurisdiction of the Dajiandu Marquis, the territory under the jurisdiction of Yihe Duwei, and the west bank of Wowa River under the jurisdiction of Yangguan Duwei in the Han Dynasty. These three farming areas
The area produces abundant food every year, which can be used by tens of thousands of troops."
Zhou Jun: "It turns out that there are so many fertile fields in Dunhuang."
Wen Zhongyu: "Dunhuang not only has farms, but because the city is located to the north of Longle Mountain Pass, it is the pass for Tubo to enter the Tang Dynasty. To the south of the city are stationed the Doulu Army, Ziting Guards and other troops... So, today's
Although Dunhuang is not prosperous in commerce, it is also an important farming town and military hub."
Zhou Jun nodded lightly.
After Wen Zhongyu's explanation, he finally had a general understanding of the current situation in Dunhuang.
Zhou Jun once boasted about Haikou in Chang'an a few years ago, saying that rebuilding the Dunhuang trade route would bring two million guan in taxes and tribute to the court every year.
Looking at it now, Dunhuang County's trade road tax tribute is only more than 10,000 yuan per year, which is still very far away from the target.
next chapter
This chapter has been completed!