The New Year atmosphere was not diluted much because Song Rui received a severe beating.
Everyone should eat and drink.
That kid deserves a beating and just needs to lie in bed for a few days.
On the third day of the first lunar month, the leaders of each tribe came to pay Song Yang New Year's greetings.
Some brought cattle and sheep, some brought horses, and some brought jade, gold and silver.
Everyone wants to get closer to Song Yang.
After Song Yang's Western Region policy was released, all tribes knew that Daqian would manage the Western Region carefully.
No matter what they think in their hearts, in the face of absolutely powerful military power, all distracting thoughts are in vain.
So they could only try their best to get closer to Song Yang.
Especially those tribes that had participated in the eastern invasion were eager to come every once in a while to listen to Song Yang's teachings.
Of course, tribes that have close relations with Daqian often come to Kucha.
Especially Big and Little Bolu, they did the best among the tribes and sent troops to help harass the two wings of the Huns many times.
The Big and Little Bolu were originally vassals of Tubo. Later, when Tubo was in civil strife, the Big and Little Bolu stood on their own.
At the previous celebration banquet, Song Yang conferred the title of General on the Third Rank of Wang Bolu.
In the past, these two people were only from the fourth rank, but now they feel that they are superior to others, and they will stick to Song Yang's side whenever they have nothing to do.
It is said that as a third-grade general, he must often learn from Song Yang...
Of course, Song Yang would teach such advanced activists carefully.
The first is labor. Labor makes people progress.
Come, let’s repair the city wall here first...
Through continuous learning and practice, the leaders of each tribe finally understood the truth, and finally stopped coming to ask for advice every day...
The days after that were almost uneventful.
Basically, I am in a cat-winter state.
Song Yang talks with everyone about the future development of the Western Regions every day.
The previous meeting was about the central idea, but now everyone is talking about specific things.
Specific to the city, specific to the tribe.
For example, regarding development, Song Hui’s opinion is to restart the Silk Road.
Although land transportation has the problems of high consumption and low transportation volume, as long as this road can be traveled, the caravans will also bring some vitality.
Previously, the Silk Road was interrupted due to natural and man-made disasters.
In the years after the natural disaster, Daqian was unable to take care of Silk Road trade, and this road was suspended for almost ten years.
"The general's suggestion is good. Sea trade may not be possible in the next two years. Silk Road trade can be opened first."
"If we go through sea trade, our business target is the Persian countries. But if we go on the Silk Road, our business partners can be the tribes in the Western Regions. Each has its own goals, so there is no conflict!"
Song Yang expressed his support for Song Hui's views.
When the Silk Road was open, the time of the Western Expeditionary Army was also very prosperous. In charge of the safe trade on the Silk Road, the Western Expeditionary Army could also obtain some tax revenue from the caravans.
Restarting the Silk Road plan now will be very beneficial to the Western Conquest Army.
"The smoothness and prosperity of the Silk Road are also linked to the governance of the Western Regions, and long-term interests must be considered. To attract caravans, the tax types must be clear and the tax rates must be reasonable and legal."
"It is necessary to strictly prohibit the establishment of private checkpoints and the establishment of additional taxes. Remember not to drain the entire lake, but only if the caravans can make a profit will they be interested in coming."
Song Yang did not forget to give a warning.
Before the natural disaster, the Western Expeditionary Army actually did quite well.
After all, it was the early years of the dynasty, and Da Qian was on the rise, and there were no miscellaneous exorbitant taxes and levies.
However, Song Yang put his words here in advance, which can be regarded as a warning to future generations.
After talking about the Silk Road, Song Xi asked if he should organize a caravan of his own since the Silk Road was to be restored.
It can not only traffic goods, but also spread the news about the smooth flow of caravans to various ministries in the Western Region.
Moreover, they can also inquire about news from various tribes. If anything happens, they might be able to find out in time through the caravan.
Song Yang and others pondered for a long time and felt that Song Xi's idea was not bad and indeed feasible.
"A caravan can be formed, but not in the official name of Da Gan. The first goal of the caravan is still to make money, not to spy. This must be clearly distinguished."
"If a caravan is formed in the official name of Da Gan, then it won't be long before the caravan becomes an organization similar to Tan Ma."
"So I still suggest that this caravan be run by private individuals, with the official only having a certain shareholding ratio."
Song Yang gave more pertinent suggestions.
"This...it should indeed be left to individual management, but who is the right person to do this?" Song Xi and others were in a dilemma.
Song Yang thought for a while and looked at Wang Kai.
To travel with a caravan in the Western Regions, you must know the language of the Western Regions and understand the topography of the Western Regions.
More importantly, you must have a keen mind and a certain amount of courage.
Song Yang thought it would be good for one or two retired military officers to do this.
Everyone looked at him and looked at Wang Kai. Song Hui also nodded and said: "Captain Wang is indeed qualified to be the leader of the caravan. It's just that he is a member of the army after all. It would be difficult to come back after being pushed out of the Expeditionary Army." Already."
What Song Hui said is not that you can't join if you leave, but that once you abandon the army and go into business, it will be difficult to adapt to the life of the army.
Song Yang looked at Wang Kai and said, "Commander Wang, tell me what you think. I am just making a suggestion. If you don't want to go, it's okay. Let's just look for other people."
Wang Kai stood up after being silent for a while and said: "Your Majesty! Sirs! The general is willing to go!"
"The last general joined the army at the age of fifteen and has lived in the Zhengxi Army for twenty years. The Zhengxi Army is my home! Since my family needs me, I will definitely step forward without hesitation!"
Wang Kai said it was extremely tragic, just like going to the execution ground and dying heroically.
Song Yang smiled and pressed his hand to signal him to sit down.
"Captain Wang, we are discussing the issue of leading the caravan now, not the issue of going to the front line to fight. Don't make it so tragic!"
"I will give you an analysis."
"Look. Although our caravan does not belong to the Western Expedition Army, nor is it directly managed by the Daqian court, it does have official shares from Daqian."
"Even my king, the king of Ganzhou, and the old general will also participate in the shares!"
"What is this called? This is called a state-owned enterprise! An enterprise is the name of a business entity. A caravan can be regarded as a business entity, and a state-owned enterprise is a national enterprise!"
"When you are transferred from the country's military to a country's enterprise, it can only be said to be a job transfer."
Song Yang's rhetoric made everyone stunned.
That's really true.
Although the caravan is not under direct official management of Daqian, it still has official shares.
If there is an official shareholding, isn’t that an official transaction?
In the final analysis, Wang Kai just changed his job position.
Wang Kai understood a little after hearing this, and felt that what Song Yang said made sense.
Since it was a job transfer and I was still under the leadership of Da Qian, I felt better.
Although he cannot stay in the Western Conquest Army, he can still lead a caravan to travel in the Western Regions.
When passing by, you can still go back to the Western Army to have a look!
Thinking of this, Wang Kai also let go of his burden.
"Your Majesty! The general is willing to be the leader of the caravan!" Wang Kai said, cupping his fists.
"Haha! Okay! Then this matter is settled. Don't rush the specific matters now. This time is just a good time to study the details."
Song Yang smiled.
There are caravans and the Silk Road is open.
This also settled one of Song Yang's thoughts.
The Silk Road always attracts people's attention and concern.
After deciding on the caravan, the next step was to discuss the route around the caravan.
For the Silk Road to be smooth, the route must be chosen well.
Where to go and where to go, these must be determined in advance.
Then build some facilities such as stations at the places you pass through.
Many places were abandoned after the natural disasters. If you want to restore the Silk Road, you have to reopen the places you can.
Song Hui was quite familiar with these and took out a map to point out several villages and towns.
Everyone discussed again on this basis.
Finally, two relatively safe and reliable routes were determined.
These two routes are actually basically consistent with the previous Silk Road.
Even many previously abandoned villages and towns can be utilized.
The northern line connects east and west along the Tarim River Valley.
The southern line passes through the valley of the northern line of Kunlun Mountain.
There are relatively abundant water resources on both sides. The distance between the Gobi and the desert is short, and there are natural conditions for caravans to travel together.
"Okay. Just these thirteen points, we will gradually rebuild from next year."
Song Yang held a piece of paper in his hand with thirteen place names written on it.
Song Hui was a little puzzled: "Your Majesty's troops in the Western Expedition are short of manpower. After the Ganzhou troops withdraw in the spring of next year, it will be even harder to find people to manage so many transfer stations."
Song Yang smiled confidently: "We are only responsible for determining the general direction. The specific reconstruction and management can actually be tendered!"
"Tendering?" Everyone was stunned. A new vocabulary was placed in front of everyone.
"Tendering means releasing a project for bidding, and anyone who has the ability and meets the conditions will be allowed to operate it."
"For example, let's say this is the Governor's Mansion in Quli."
"We regard the reconstruction and management of the Quli Dudu Mansion as a target project and invite bids from the surrounding Gaochang, Yingpo and other tribes. Anyone who wants to run this place can come and participate in the bidding."
"Whoever can come up with a more suitable construction plan and who can be more capable of running this place will be given the right to operate this place."
Song Yang roughly explained his thoughts.
"In this way, the operator can collect part of the caravan tax, and also earn income from inns, wine shops, warehousing, etc."
"Once the Silk Road is unblocked and trade becomes prosperous, the income from operating a relay station will be relatively objective."
"I think that all the tribes will be more active in participating."
After Song Yang finished speaking, everyone was shocked again.
Song Yang can always come up with some new and strange ideas, and it seems that no matter what difficult and complicated diseases he has, he can't be troubled.
"Your Majesty, these nodes are important points on the Silk Road. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to hand them over to those tribes?"
Song Hui asked worriedly.
Song Yang shook his head slightly and said:
"It's not a big problem. First of all, we have powerful Western Expedition troops stationed in Qiuci, Gumo Prefecture, Shule Town and Suiye City. The tribes will not block the trade routes for whatever reason."
"Secondly, we only give them management rights, but the administrative power is still in our own hands. By placing one or two supervisors at each node, we can ensure that there will be no major mistakes."
"Of course, regular training and meetings for each tribe are also necessary. The tax rates and types of taxes on this road also need to be formulated by us."
"Once you master these, you won't be afraid of what kind of trouble they can cause."