In the compound of Bing Cao Gong of the Anxi Protectorate, more than thirty people have already posted notices and come to sign an agreement for the construction and use of a post station. This is a new thing created by General Li Siye, and it sounds a bit cool.
hard to pronounce.
Li Siye still stayed under the eaves, sitting cross-legged on the sheep felt, holding a tea bowl in his hand and loudly said to everyone: "Before signing and pressing fingerprints, read the agreement carefully to see if the terms in it can be fulfilled. Once you sign,
I signed it and pressed my fingerprints. If you violate the above terms in the future, the Protectorate will hold you accountable and take back the inn."
A round-faced businessman came to Li Siye with the agreement in his hand, bowed and crossed his hands, and asked earnestly: "General Li, I am not sure about one of these, so I came here to ask."
"But it doesn't hurt to ask."
"Article 6 of the agreement stipulates that commercial post stations must erect guide poles for sixteen miles on the left and right routes, write the mileage on them, and indicate the name of the next inn, one pole for every two miles.
Those sixteen miles are eight poles, and we will build these guiding poles, which is a big expense."
"Aren't these guide poles just for the convenience of business travelers like you? When traveling at night, you only need to follow the arrows on the poles to find the inn. It's worth spending such a small amount of money!"
"But there are many government-built inns on the middle route of the Silk Road, and there are no such poles between them..."
Li Siye interrupted him and said: "Don't worry, before long, there will be this kind of thing on the traffic arteries of Anxi. You follow the agreement to bury the first sixteen miles and the last sixteen miles. See this requirement?
The pole is five feet high, with the arrow directions of the previous station and the next station marked on it, as well as the mileage. If there are any special dangers in the area, warning signs must be buried, such as sections where big insects are infested or where bandits are infested."
The businessman asked again: "Look, there is another one below. On the Gobi Desert of Khotan Road, not only must there be guideposts, but also the azimuth and distance of the nearest water source must be marked. In each post station in the Gobi, there must be ten
A well that can provide drinking water for hundreds of people and livestock within two hours.”
"It's difficult to dig this well. Once you find the wrong location, you won't be able to find water even if you dig a hundred feet, not to mention the amount of water that can be used by hundreds of people in one day. This is a bit too harsh for the Protectorate."
Li Siye pointed at the top with his eyes and said: "What's so harsh about this? The most important thing for building a post station in the Gobi desert is water source. What's the use of building a post station without water? Look at this, in terms of site selection for the post station, the Governor
The government has given you extra relaxed conditions. The stations on the Gobi Desert do not need to strictly follow the interval of thirty miles to one station. It can be relaxed to forty miles. Within this ten miles, choose points with water sources or underground water.
Click, it’s OK.”
The merchant nodded helplessly and hurriedly went to the subordinates to sign the agreement. According to the regulations and practices of the Anxi Protectorate, the sooner those who sign the agreement have priority in choosing the location of the post station, for example, between Jiefan Restaurant Post Station and Shache Post Station
There is more than sixty miles of free space to build a post. It is very close to the intersection between the middle road and the south road. It is quite convenient. Those who can choose a site here will probably make a fortune.
It was a pity that the Zhang family of Dunhuang took over him first.
The Zhang family had their own purpose in choosing to build post stations on the Silk Road to Khotan. They took over the construction and management rights of five inns in one fell swoop, evenly distributed across the desert, in order to have permanent warehouses among them. Their main business was in Tianzhu.
The pepper business suffers greatly from the bandits that roam the desert. Almost half of the goods fall into the hands of the bandits every year. The mortality rate of the freight guys is also frighteningly high. There are five companies in the desert that rely on imperial inns.
Warehouses can greatly reduce the risk of shipping goods.
However, in recent years, due to the fact that the Little Bolu Kingdom became a vassal of Tubo, more than 20 countries west of Congling no longer paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty, and the trade routes for spices were also blocked. The pepper shipped every year was less than 20% of the previous years, which was simply unable to satisfy the officials of Chang'an.
The appetite of noble people.
He Zhang could only think of ways to reduce the loss on the way.
All agreements were made in duplicate, one for the merchants and one for the custody of the Protectorate. Zhang Guihuai carried five of them and came to Li Siye to express his thanks.
"The agreement you made looks much more thorough than the certificates signed by us businessmen. However, Party A and Party B in it make me a little dizzy. Fortunately, I have gone to private school for a few days, otherwise it would really be...
I don’t understand.”
Li Siye nodded with a smile, and faced Zhang Gui and the merchants standing in the yard and said: "The agreement has been signed. Everyone can go back and prepare the troops and materials immediately. As long as you hold the agreement, you can pass through various checkpoints in Anxi smoothly.
The required drawings and construction specifications have been handed over to you. If you have any other requests, as long as the Duhufu can handle them, they will be handled for you."
As soon as Li Siye finished speaking, everyone stood dumbfounded on the spot. They actually had a request, but the Anxi Protectorate would definitely not agree to this request, which would embarrass Li Siye.
"What's wrong?" Li Siye stood up and asked doubtfully: "Zhang Gui, since you have a request, you just put it forward, why don't you say anything?"
Zhang Gui stood up straight, bowed to Li Siye and crossed his hands: "Actually, we have a request. Bandits are rampant on the Khotan Road. If we want to build a post station in the desert, we must always be on guard against attacks by bandits. Hire swordsmen.
It will increase the cost, but the effect will be minimal. We only hope that the imperial court can send an army of hundreds of people to suppress the bandits and provide guarantee for us to build the post station."
This request... is a bit difficult at the moment. Tian Renwan mobilized more than 19,000 people to go on an expedition to Xiaobolu. The Tang army that stayed in Anxi and other places was only 4,000 people, scattered among the four towns and cities in Anxi. Almost
No troops could be mobilized to suppress the bandits. Although there were officers responsible for managing public security in the surrounding cities, these people were able to maintain order, but they probably would not be of much use fighting the bandits in the desert.
Not to mention this time, even if there is no war in Anxi, the Governor's Office can do nothing to deal with the sand bandits active in the desert. The bandits are scattered into small armed groups and roaming in the desert, trying to find them one by one and eliminate them.
Falling off is never easy.
Li Siye hesitated for a moment and said to everyone: "Although Prime Minister Tian Zhong is on an expedition to Xiaobolu and there are no soldiers available in the four towns of Anxi, Li Siye can request Fumeng Protector and is willing to personally lead a strong force to the desert and Gobi to eliminate banditry."
"If that's the case, I'll thank General Li later!"
All the merchants and travelers bowed down and worshiped.
…
Fumeng Lingcha knelt down in front of the desk and raised his head in surprise: "You want to go to the Tulum Desert to suppress bandits?"
"The merchants on the Khotan Road built twenty-three post stations, which required a lot of manpower and material resources. The lives of these people were always threatened by bandits. If the threat could not be eliminated, the post stations would not be completed."
Fumeng sighed and said: "Tianzhong Cheng went on an expedition to Xiaobolu and took away most of the troops in the four towns of Anxi. Not to mention other places, even in the city of Qiuci, there are only more than 600 people left in total in other places.
It's just like a bracken and a pit, I have no one to help you with."
Li Siye had long expected such an answer, but he had already made up his mind. He crossed his hands and resolutely said to Fumeng Lingcha: "There are more than 20 people around me, who have been following me since I changed the city. Please protect me."
Ordered, I am willing to take these twenty people to the desert to clear out the bandits."
"More than twenty people! You don't want your life!"
Fumeng Lingzha slapped his hand heavily on the table and pointed at him, but he couldn't reprimand him, so he had no choice but to say: "When Tian Zhongcheng comes back with the army to move, you can directly take your subordinates to the camp.
Heading to Tulum Moraine.”
"Protector, it's the end of July now, and Tanaka Cheng will probably return from the expedition after October. Once October passes in Qixi, it will be freezing cold, making it no longer suitable for building, and the bandits will huddle up and wait for next year. This
It can take a year to wait.”
Fumeng Lingcha may not know yet, but next year and this year will be a watershed, a transition from one era to another. The twenty-nine-year Kaiyuan era in the old calendar is coming to an end, and the new era name "Tianbao" will mark the end of the great era.
The Tang Dynasty began to enter a period of decadence and extravagance, and gradually declined.
This was the cause of the sense of crisis in Li Siye's heart. In the first year of Tianbao, all signs of crisis had begun to flourish. Li Linfu was in power, An Lushan began to become the governor, and the Yang family began to become popular. He must also achieve something.
Since Tian Renwan's expedition against Xiaobolu will not succeed, he must make achievements in other directions, so this year the station in Anxi must be built and the bandits must be wiped out.
"You're right, it will take a year to wait."
Fumeng Lingcha picked up a pen and signed a military order on the paper, ordering Li Siye to lead a group of soldiers to suppress the bandits on the Khotan Road and escort the merchant repair station.
"Thank you, Protector," he took the military order, turned around and retreated to the door of the study, and just opened the next door.
"Wait a minute!" Fumeng Lingcha raised his head and said angrily: "How can a dignified fourth-grade lieutenant general rush to the desert with only twenty people at his side? I will transfer the personal brigade to you, and Bai Xiaode will be at your disposal."
"This is absolutely impossible, Protector-General. The Guards Brigade is your personal guard. How can you leave the Protector-General's Mansion?"
"You don't have to worry about this. Even if there is no personal brigade, there are still three city defense regiments in Kucha City. Take my fish bag as a voucher and go."
Li Siye bowed and crossed his hands, stepped forward to take the fish bag, then slowly backed away, turned around, opened the next door, and strode out of the mansion.
Fumeng Lingcha pushed open the study window, looked at the retreating figure and snorted: "The dignified Zhonglang General, armed with a nine-foot mo knife, went to suppress the bandits. Isn't this killing a chicken with a sledgehammer?"