As the city gate was slowly pushed open, there were about a hundred strong men standing on both sides of the gate, carrying musical instruments similar to waist drums, and started beating, beating and dancing at the same time. The elephants stopped at the city gate, and Han Yue
With the support of everyone, he got off the elephant, and the ministers and generals of Kushan came out to greet him. Under all the courtesy, Han Yue still maintained his rationality.
He observed the surrounding situation very carefully. He originally thought that the Kushan people were just the Yuezhi, a completely nomadic force, at most similar to the Xianbei people. But when he came here, he found that
I have somewhat underestimated the population of Kushan. The population of Kushan is everywhere. On the way here, the population is not as scattered as Xianbei.
In addition, they also farmed, and there were even many caravans on the road carrying various spices and textiles. This means that the Kushans also have the same ability to weave as the Han people. Of course, they obviously do not have silk. Let’s look at it again.
Looking at their army, they are wearing armor, well-equipped, and quite tough. They are not Xianbei's soldiers who serve the people in their spare time and serve as the army in war.
Like the Northern and Southern armies of the Han Dynasty, they are standing armies. They have undergone long-term training and are a very elite group of soldiers.
The purpose of Han Yue's coming here this time is very simple, just for trade. However, Han Yue himself does not want to have such interactions. It is best to see the true strength of Guishang. It will be of great use in the future. Han Yue will be among these generals.
They led them towards the royal city, but another problem arose. What Sutiba taught Han Yue was his dialect. He was from Shekara, and most of the generals here adopted their elegant dialect.
This made Han Yue somewhat unable to understand their words. Sutiba didn't pay attention before, but now he could only stand beside him and translate for him. Han Yue greeted the generals and walked into the royal city together.
Among them, the decorations in the royal city are also very beautiful. There are many foreign businessmen in the royal city, some of them have blond hair and blue eyes. Han Yue is also a little dumbfounded.
Finally entering the palace, King Hubisaka had been waiting for them for a long time. He was wearing a long gown made of gold silk and sitting on the throne with a smile. His princes and ministers stood on both sides. When he saw Han Yue leaving,
After entering, the king walked down very casually and quickly walked to Han Yue's side. Han Yue bowed and saluted.
"Han Yue, the envoy of the Han Dynasty, paid homage to the King of Kushan."
He spoke in the Kushan language taught by Sutiba. The king was stunned, but he understood it, laughed enthusiastically, and said: "The envoys of the Han Dynasty can actually speak Kushan language. This makes me very happy."
Happy, where did you learn it?"
"King Guishuang, because I am going to your country as an envoy, I studied in advance. However, what I learned was not elegant language."
"It's okay, I don't like Yayan either. Come, Han envoy, please sit down..." The king invited him to sit down, and then started a large banquet to welcome him. All kinds of food were dazzlingly placed on Han's table.
In front of Han Yue, there were women performing dances and scholars coming to sing for them. Han Yue smiled and watched these scenes with relish.
After the ceremony, Han Yue presented gifts, including silk, ceramics, tea, and a painting and calligraphy. Han Yue told King Kushan that these were inscriptions by the Emperor of Han Dynasty, which recorded the Analects of Confucius.
In a passage, the King of Kushan could not understand calligraphy and painting, nor could he understand the penmanship of the Emperor of Han Dynasty, but he still accepted the emperor's gift very happily.
He touched the paper and sighed in disbelief. This was not the first time he had seen paper. The Kushans were different from the Han Dynasty. They had many business trips. They controlled all the trade routes from the Han Dynasty to Parthia. He also owned the paper of the Han Dynasty.
He had seen it before, but every time he saw it, he couldn't help but sigh. After accepting the gift, the King of Kushan invited him to have a meal with him.
The banquet lasted until night and then ended.
Han Yue first rested for a day, and then formally communicated with the King of Kushan and the ministers the next day.
Yesterday was the king's private banquet, so it was a bit casual. However, recently, because it was a formal meeting between both parties, it was extremely solemn. There were strong soldiers standing on both sides of the palace, holding spears and looking solemnly ahead.
, the ministers and generals on both sides also raised their heads high, and Han Yue led the envoys to the center of the hall.
He bowed to the king, and then handed over a handwritten letter from Zheng Xuan, the governor of Liangzhou. There was also a talented person next to the king who was proficient in both languages. He was explaining the content of the letter to the king. After listening carefully, the king nodded and asked
: "Does the Han Dynasty want to trade with us?"
"Not only trade with your country, the emperor hopes to gain access to your country, so that Han businessmen can travel as far as Parthia and other countries to conduct foreign trade..."
"Oh, what's the benefit of Kushan?"
"The Han merchants naturally want to trade in Kushan first. In this way, the two countries can trade, which is beneficial to both parties and can also ensure the friendship between the two parties."
"The Han envoy may not know that the rest of Anxi are all barbarians. I very much welcome the Han merchants. However, when the Han merchants leave Kushan and reach a distant place, they are likely to encounter disadvantages. At this time, I cannot protect them.
Their safety..."
"What does the king mean?"
"The Kushans respect the Han Dynasty very much and welcome the arrival of your business travelers. However, we hope that you can continue to trade with the Kushans instead of trading with the enemies of the Kushans and those barbarians. They will
Robbing your goods and killing your merchants, Kushan will never do it. I believe that Kushan merchants will not let Han merchants suffer losses. Trade will bring great benefits to both of us."
The king spoke slowly, and Han Yue quickly understood what the other party was thinking. Kushan merchants usually made money through trade with both sides. They did not want the Han Dynasty to trade directly with Parthian and other countries. They wanted to
Buying supplies from the Han Dynasty and then selling them to the West at higher prices, this king is indeed not a loser.
Han Yue said with some seriousness: "The king may not know that we have made great progress in the shipbuilding industry... Our business travelers have been able to reach distant places in terms of shipping..."
"Ship? How many people can be carried on the ship?"
"My Han Dynasty's ships can carry thousands of people and countless goods. However, because shipbuilding costs a lot of money, the Han Dynasty hopes to conduct foreign trade through Kushan. However, the king seems to want the Han Dynasty's business trip to end in Kushan. If
If the king does not intend to change his mind, this matter may not be possible, and the Han Dynasty will have no choice but to conduct foreign trade by sea..."
The king's face gradually became serious. He thought for a moment and said, "What does the Han envoy have in mind?"
"The Han Dynasty does not want to send business travelers in the name of the country. They are all merchants. If Kushan can keep these merchants and let them trade here, we will not object. But if they want to go out to trade, I hope the king
Don’t stop it if you can.”
"It's okay not to stop them. However, these merchants must trade more than half of the goods in Kushan. The rest must also go to distant places with my Kushan merchants to trade and negotiate the prices of the items. No one can be allowed to do so.
How about one party suffering a loss...?"
Han Yue argued with the king, and the ministers spoke from time to time. However, when the ministers and generals spoke, Han Yue did not listen to their arguments in the name of not understanding the elegant language. This situation continued until sunset.
At that time, the two sides had just reached a consensus, and the king became enthusiastic again. Han Yue planned to return it, but the king insisted on keeping him for a few days. Out of the king's respect, Han Yue did not insist on leaving.
During this period, the king also prepared a gift for the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. It was an exquisitely carved sword inlaid with various jewelry.
From east to west, large-scale trade with huge influence was settled.