Guo Song quickly came to the living room in the atrium and saw Sima Liu Zi sitting in the hall. When the governor came, Liu Zi quickly stood up to greet him and said, "See the governor!"
"What's urgent about Liu Sima?" Guo Songxiao asked.
"Reporting to the Governor, there is news from Jiuquan County."
Liu Zi handed a roll of information to Guo Song, and Guo Song took it. There was only one sentence on it, 'The defenders of Jiuquan are less than two thousand.'
This was the intelligence sent by Zhang Yun. Guo Song was pacing back and forth in the lobby with his hands behind his back. Although seizing Jiuquan County was a good opportunity, the key was how to hold it. Also, he had to pay attention to another hidden poisonous snake. Then
That's Tubo. Previously, Tubo had vowed to send troops to help Datang seize the Hexi Corridor. If Ganzhou's troops were empty, would Tubo take advantage of it?
"What do Liu Sima and other officials of the Dudu Palace think of Jiuquan?" Guo Song turned around and asked.
Liu Zi said cautiously: "Qi, all of us have the same opinion. Jiuquan needs to be carefully considered."
'careful?'
Guo Song was startled and asked in confusion: "Why?"
"The Commander-in-Chief did not know that before last summer, the Shatuo garrison in Jiuquan had never exceeded 2,000 people. It had been like this for more than ten years, but successive Commander-in-Chiefs had not sent troops to capture it. On the one hand, it was easy to capture and difficult to deal with the aftermath, but more importantly
The important thing is the attitude of the imperial court. The imperial court has always opposed provoking war in the Hexi Corridor. Governor Zhao once wrote to the court requesting to march to Suzhou, but was severely refuted by Prime Minister Yuan Zai. When Chang Xiang first came to power, Governor Zhao once again proposed to attack Suzhou.
It was rejected by Chang Xiangguo and angered the late emperor. As a result, Governor Zhao was dismissed from the post of Governor of Ganzhou and transferred back to Chang'an. Wang Lien did not dare to mention this matter at all."
Guo Song smiled faintly, "There is no need to worry about this issue. Once the emperor and his ministers, my recovery of the Hexi Corridor was specially approved by the emperor. The emperor also gave me Shang Fang the Emperor's Sword, just to advance the recovery of the Hexi Corridor. Besides, we just defeated Shasha
Tuojun, if we don't seize the opportunity, I'm afraid everyone in the world will scold us. What I'm worried about is that we don't have enough troops."
Liu Zi was refreshed. Since he had the emperor's support, he had nothing to fear. He quickly said: "Liangzhou also has 15,000 troops. You can apply to the emperor to second 10,000 troops to Ganzhou."
This is a good idea. Guo Song nodded, "I will apply to the emperor immediately!"
"I have a humble position, but here's a suggestion."
Guo Song smiled happily and said, "You tell me!"
"There is a big Sogdian businessman in Ganzhou named Shi Donglai. He has been doing business with Shatuo for a long time and is very familiar with Shatuo's internal situation. The governor may wish to talk to him."
This was the information Guo Song needed most. He quickly asked: "Where is this big businessman?"
"He also evacuated to Liangzhou before, and just returned to Zhangye City yesterday!"
Guo Song nodded, "I was just about to meet him."
...........
As a large number of people returned from Liangzhou, Zhangye City quickly returned to liveliness and prosperity. The streets were crowded with people, and the deserted streets and alleys were full of laughter and laughter. Although the shops have not yet fully resumed business, most shops
They are all making preparations for the opening.
Guo Song, led by the county magistrate Yu Dexu, came to Shiji Trading Company. Shiji Trading Company was the largest Sogdian trading house in Ganzhou. The owner Shi Donglai was not only the largest Sogdian merchant in Ganzhou, but also famous in Chang'an.
Not only did he own a huge camel caravan and large shops in Chang'an, Luoyang, Chengdu and Jiangdu, but he was also engaged in the financial industry, specializing in exchanging Tang Dynasty currency for Sogdian merchants.
At this time, he opened a historical record cabinet shop in Zhangye and Chang'an respectively, handling tens of millions of copper coins every year.
It is said that Shi Donglai's fortune is legendary. He was originally a poor Sogdian boy. On a long journey, he encountered gangsters. The owners of the goods were killed by the gangsters. He fled into the desert with several camels before escaping.
After a calamity, when he walked out of the desert after experiencing the torture of life and death, he realized that the three camels he brought were actually carrying nine large boxes of fine gems, which were the essence of the entire caravan.
But he did not take the opportunity to devour these gems, and went through all kinds of hardships to come to Chang'an and delivered the gems intact to the owner's father, a big Sogdian businessman. This big Sogdian businessman who had just lost his son was deeply moved.
He married his precious daughter to him and let him inherit his business.
Hearing that the Governor of Ganzhou was visiting, Shi Donglai ran to the gate to greet him personally. Shi Donglai was about sixty years old. He was very imposing, with a chiseled face, blue eyes, wearing a Sogdian pointed hat, and
Wearing a brocade Confucian robe and a leather belt around the waist, it feels like a combination of Chinese and Western styles.
His four wives gave him eight sons, who were in charge of his huge business empire and financial empire.
"Welcome Governor Guo to our store and make it more prosperous!" Shi Donglai greeted Guo Song in fluent Chinese with a Chang'an accent.
Shi Donglai's 'small shop' is not small. His business covers an area of nearly fifty acres and owns more than a dozen large warehouses. He basically monopolizes the supply of Persian carpets and jewelry in Chang'an. Even Jubao Pavilion is his big customer.
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Master Shi Dong is the largest businessman in Zhangye. I should come and visit. In addition, I have other things I want to ask Master Shi Dong for advice today!"
"Captain Guo is too polite. Please come and sit in the mansion. Prime Minister Yu County also invites you!"
Yu Dexu felt quite emotional. When the former Governor Wang came to visit, Master Shi asked his eldest son to see him because he was seriously ill. But now he came out in good spirits to greet Governor Guo. This shows the importance of Governor Guo. It is no wonder that he leads the way.
The army defeated the Shatuo people. Even Shi Donglai had to respect the authority of this victor.
Guo Song was let into the distinguished guest hall, and the two parties took their seats respectively. Shi Donglai's eldest son Shi Huan also sat beside him to accompany him.
"Dongzhu Shi's hometown is in Shiguo, right?" Guo Song asked with a smile.
The Sogdian people all took their surnames after their respective countries. For example, An Lushan, whose earliest surname was Kang, was from the Sogdian Kang state. Shi Siming was from the Sogdian Shi state, and Guo Song's confidant Kangbao was also from the Kang state.
"The governor is right, but to be precise, I am from the Xiaoshi country. My hometown is Nasebo. Bukhara's rubies, Nasebo's emeralds and sapphires are all famous."
"I have a subordinate who is also from Kang."
"I know that someone has recognized him. Ash Darhan is known as the military god of our Sogdians. I went to visit him yesterday, but he said that Darhan is dead. His name is Kangbao now and he is the governor's.
servant."
Guo Song smiled and waved his hand, "I can't talk about servants. We are brothers and friends."
After a pause, Guo Song continued: "I hope his wife and daughter were kidnapped by the cannibals and can never be found again. He does not want to go back to the past. Master Shi Dongzhu should not mention the past again."
Shi Donglai nodded, "Thank you, Captain, for reminding me. I understand. I will try my best to help him pay attention. I also have business in Dashi."
Guo Song bowed to express his thanks. He changed the topic and got down to business, "What is the situation in Beiting? Does Master Shi know?"
"I probably know something. Last October, I had a caravan pass by there. The Beiting is still there, but the surrounding land has basically been eaten away by Shatuo. Only an isolated city and some scattered land around it are left.
The residents are in a very difficult situation, mainly due to a serious shortage of food. They can only exchange some stocks with us for food. I estimate that they may not survive this winter."
Guo Song's heart was heavy, and he asked again after a while: "The Shatuo people have no plan to attack Beiting?"
"Of course they want to attack. They were suppressed by the Uighurs before, so they could only hold back. Now the Uighurs are restrained by Ge Luolu and have no time to look around. Let's put it this way! If the Shatuo people don't want to attack Ganzhou this time
, they will definitely take Beiting, and they cannot tolerate Beiting behind their back for a long time."
"I see!"
Guo Song nodded, then forced a smile and asked, "I heard that Master Shi Dong is familiar with Shatuo?"
Shi Huan next to him was startled and quickly denied: "Who said that? There is no such thing!"
Shi Donglai, however, waved his hand and told his son not to be impatient. He had experienced the world for a long time, so he could certainly see that Guo Song was not here to ask questions, but he was probably asking for help.
He smiled slightly and said: "I can't say that I am very familiar with it. I just know it a little bit. Mainly because of business dealings. He has leather to sell to the Tang Dynasty. The nobles also wanted to use silk, so they changed hands through us. But please don't worry, Governor, the food.
We will not touch contraband items such as pig iron and soldiers' armor."
"What is the status of Zhu Xie Jinhai in Shatuo?" Guo Song asked again.
"His status is quite high. He is the brother of the previous Khan. In Shatuo, the younger brother usually takes over the throne from his elder brother. Zhu Xie Jinhai should have been the Khan, but the elders in Shatuo were firmly opposed. They unanimously elected Zhu
Zhu Xie Liang, the eldest son of Xie Jinding, became the new khan, ruining Zhu Xie Jinhai’s dream of being the khan.”
Guo Song smiled and said: "It seems that his popularity in Shatuo is not very good."
"It's really not good. Some people say that he has a bad temper and offends too many people. Others say that he is greedy and stingy and refuses to share his benefits with everyone. In fact, these are not the real reasons. The real reason is that he vigorously promotes the system of rewarding military merit and requires Sha
The distribution of tax sheep obtained by Tuo from other tribes was tilted towards soldiers and required each tribe to exempt soldiers from taxes. This made many Shatuo nobles dissatisfied. Their own vital interests were involved, so how could the Shatuo nobles let him be Khan."
Guo Song nodded, he pondered for a moment and said: "I have something I would like to ask Master Shi for help."