Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

The problem of the various towns in Guanzhong was relatively easy to solve. The imperial court had already issued an edict and made some personnel changes. The main change was that, having acquired Qin and Wei prefectures, the position of military governor of Longyou was reinstated, and Li Sheng was appointed to the post. Li Sheng was a former member of the imperial guards who had saved the emperor's life, and he had not personally participated in the alliance of the regional military governors, so Li Yu trusted him. In addition, based on Li Sheng's previous merits, he was granted the title of Duke of Weiyuan, with a fief of two thousand households.

The problem with Shuofang Town was the most difficult to handle. Li Ji had long ago ordered Yang Yan to compile a detailed list of the money and provisions spent on the previous and subsequent military campaigns and submit it to Chang'an, but the Ministry of Revenue kept delaying the delivery. Li Yu was initially worried that Li Ji might be harboring resentment because of this, or that his alliances with various towns and subsequent capture of Liangzhou were a covert attempt to establish a separatist regime. Although Li Qiyun's advice did not completely dispel the emperor's concerns, it did broaden his thinking and prevent him from getting stuck in a rut.

In March, an angel finally arrived in Guzang, appointing Li Ji not only outside Shuofang but also concurrently as the military governor of Hexi, granting him the title of Prince of Wuwei and the honorary title of Grand Commandant.

The Grand Commandant is one of the Three Dukes, a first-rank official. Although he holds no real position, he is extremely prestigious. In other words, in terms of rank and position, Li Ji is now on the same level as Guo Ziyi, who holds the position of Minister of Works—this appointment was completely unexpected for Li Ji.

He had originally thought that since he had defeated the barbarian army and recovered Liangzhou, the court should surely bestow upon him a title of king. After all, he already had several princes under his command. As for the post of military governor of Hexi, his concern was that the court would take back Liangzhou and send him back to Lingzhou, thus removing him from the front line of defending against the barbarians. That was why he had been reluctant to accept the imperial edict to return to the capital. Now that he had been granted the concurrent post, although he was very happy, it was also entirely reasonable.

The appointment of the Grand Commandant was unexpected for Li Ji. He had thought that he would only be given the honorary title of "Pingzhang" – "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi" was equivalent to prime minister, but after the An Lushan Rebellion, many envoys were also given this title, which was just for show and did not actually allow them to go to the Zhongshu Menxia to discuss matters. Who would have thought that the emperor would directly bestow upon him the first rank, which, although an honorary title, showed how generous the treatment was.

But was the emperor's appointment meant to show "I have no doubts about you," or conversely, to show "I am very wary of you"? Li Ji really couldn't see through it.

In order to dispel the emperor's suspicions and concerns, Li Ji ordered Gao Ying to draft a memorial of thanks, proposing to return Shuofang Town to the court and appoint a capable minister to guard it.

The key issue is that there are no major roads connecting Lingzhou and Liangzhou, and they are far apart, making travel difficult. With Lanzhou still under enemy control, the route could be cut off at any time. Furthermore, Liangzhou has only recently been recovered, and Shuofang is already rife with problems; Li Ji simply cannot manage it all. Therefore, Shuofang is now a burden for him, and it's better to relinquish it to the court to leave a good impression on the emperor—if Li Ji were appointed to concurrently govern Hexi and Longyou, perhaps he wouldn't be willing to relinquish it.

After obtaining Guo Ziyi's approval, Li Yu appointed Hun Shizhi as the military governor of Shuofang and Bai Yuanguang as the deputy military governor. At the same time, he ceded the three prefectures of Sui, Yin, and Sheng, as well as the two surrendered cities of Dong and Zhong, to establish the Zhenwu Army, appointing Lu Sigong as the military governor and Wen Ruya as the deputy military governor. He also appointed Guo Ziyi, the Grand Minister, to concurrently serve as the military governor of Binning, but he remained in the central court and was not stationed there for the time being.

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Shortly after Li Ji recovered Liangzhou, the Hexi region was hit by snow again, freezing lakes and rivers and bringing a frigid climate that lasted until mid-February of the following year before the ice and snow melted, ushering in the spring planting season.

Li Ji had a very difficult winter, mainly due to a shortage of grain. At the end of the year, several fires set by Qilibuzang destroyed nearly half of the grain reserves in various counties. Although the Tang army fought valiantly to salvage the situation, the remaining supplies were quite limited. Gao Ying roughly calculated that it would only be enough to feed the army for two or three months…

However, Li Ji said, "Although I am in a difficult situation, how much better off are we than the people?" The surrounding Tang people have sent us winter provisions. If it weren't for this boosting morale, we might have already turned back to Lingzhou. How could we spend the New Year in Guzang City? If we were to withdraw from Liangzhou, we would be helpless in the face of the people's fate, and could only look westward and weep. Now that we have captured Liangzhou, how can we ignore the people?

“My ambition cannot stop at Yanzhi Mountain. If I cannot save the people of Liang, how can I expect the people to welcome the king’s army with food and drink when I recover Gansu, Guazhou, and Shazhou in the future?”

Therefore, despite opposition, a considerable amount of stored grain was distributed to the surrounding people to help them get through the winter.

Fortunately, the weather was bitterly cold, and the roads were difficult to travel due to snowfall. Li Ji predicted that the barbarian bandits would not attack again, and the next military campaign would not be until the summer of the fourth year of the Dali era. Therefore, except for the troops in Mingsha City, the rest of the Shuofang army were gradually sent back to Lingzhou for food. At the same time, he repeatedly requested grain from the court, but it was not until he was appointed Grand Commandant and Prince of Wuwei that Chang'an finally sent 5,000 bushels of grain and 3,000 bolts of silk through Yuan and Ling prefectures, which was far from enough.

Li Ji petitioned, noting that, as was the custom during the Tianbao era, the annual clothing allowance for the military governor of Hexi was "1.8 million bolts of silk," while yours is less than one-tenth of that. The court replied: "During the Tianbao era, the military governor of Hexi commanded seven military garrisons including Chishui, Dadou, and Jiankang, and five garrisons including Zhangye, Wucheng, and Jiaocheng, with 73,000 soldiers and 19,400 horses, and thus received a allowance of 1.8 million bolts of silk. How many soldiers and horses do you have now? How can you be so rigid and inflexible?"

Li Ji replied, saying that the Hexi Jiedushi (military governor) was in charge of seven prefectures: Liang, Gan, Su, Gua, Sha, Yi, and Xi, but not Huizhou in the east. However, Xinquan Shouzhuo (garrison commander) within Huizhou was one of the five garrisons under his jurisdiction. Shouldn't he hand over the troops and provisions to me for disposal?

Actually, the old soldiers who were guarding Xinquan have long since scattered. Now, the Anxi and Beiting military camps are dividing their forces to defend the area. Li Ji wants to take this place for two reasons: first, to completely control the supply route; and second, to covet the strong soldiers of Xizhou under Bai Xiaode's command. Although the last battle was a disaster, they are not necessarily useless. At least they can serve as guides when I go to aid the Western Regions in the future.

On one hand, he was engaged in a war of words with the imperial court, and on the other hand, he was procuring provisions and supplies from all sides. Li Ji wrote to Lingzhou, kindly reassuring Yang Yan and hoping that he could help him overcome this difficulty again. He promised to recommend Yang Yan to the court and grant him a prominent position. Taking advantage of the few months that Li Ji was concurrently in charge of Shuofang, Yang Yan used one tool to cover another, transporting tens of thousands of bushels of grain westward.

He then ordered Ma Meng to go north to the Uyghurs to seek a loan, and brought back more than a thousand sheep.

Then, in mid-March, Yu Ling personally led over a hundred carts of grain to Guzang City. This was because Li Ji had specially sent his advisor Luo Yiping to invite him, saying that he had a big deal to discuss with Lord Yu, and asked if Lord Yu was interested.

When Li Ji was in Weibo and later when he first took command of Shuofang, he entrusted all the surplus silk to Yu Ling and Bao Zitian to sell, essentially tying up a sum of goods in their hands. Now, all of it has been converted into grain and sent to Guzang. Upon receiving the news, Li Ji personally went outside the city to greet him, which startled "Millionaire Yu" so much that he hurriedly jumped off his carriage and bowed deeply in greeting.

When the two first met, Li Ji was merely a sixth-rank military officer. Yu Ling had initially relied on the connections of Li Fuguo and Cui Guangyuan, but later, seeing the young man's quick wit and his successful rescue of Consort Shen—which would surely win the favor of Crown Prince Li Yu and the eldest grandson Li Shi—he anticipated Li Ji's promising future and thus deliberately cultivated a relationship with him. However, he had originally intended to leave this favor to his children and grandchildren, but unexpectedly, in less than ten years, Li Ji's official rank and titles had risen rapidly, at a dizzying pace, until he was now Grand Commandant, a position of the highest rank among officials!

There's no need to send anyone to persuade him. Just a word, saying that Commander Li wants to see you, and no matter how far away, how could Yu Ling dare not come? Now it's not a question of whether to continue clinging to a powerful figure, but rather that I absolutely cannot afford to offend this person! If Li Ji is determined to deal with Yu Ling, no matter how much wealth he has and how many people he knows in the capital, he's ultimately just a mere merchant. Crushing him is as easy as crushing a bug.

In particular, Yu Ling was personally escorting a batch of grain from Luoyang to Liangzhou. When they passed through Chang'an, they suddenly heard that the emperor had already conferred the title of Prince of the County and appointed him as Grand Commandant. They were so shocked that they were speechless. They quickly contacted familiar merchants and wealthy families near the capital and raised nearly 10,000 bushels of millet and wheat before daring to continue their journey.

Li Shuofang could give you ten parts of goods and you'd return twelve parts of the profit; now that he's Li Taiwei, if it's less than fifteen parts, will the other party be satisfied? You try to talk to him about soaring prices, high grain prices, a depressed market, and the difficulty of doing business? No wonder he won't even listen to you!

Even so, Yu Ling couldn't help but feel uneasy, wondering what Li Ji intended to say when he summoned him to Guzang in person… Generally, when officials met with merchants, it was either to collect taxes or to ask for alms; nothing good ever came of it. Especially since Li Ji had come to greet him personally just outside Guzang city, Yu Ling's heart skipped a beat—a courtesy must come with an ulterior motive, but could the demands of a high-ranking official like Li Ji be small? And did he have the right to bargain?

Li Ji pulled Yu Ling up from the ground and said with a smile, "I have known Yu Jun for a long time. I am grateful that Yu Jun has not abandoned me and regarded me as a friend despite our age difference. Now I have only been promoted a few ranks, so why be so formal?" He then took Yu Ling's hand and walked together into Guzang City.

Yu Ling couldn't help but look around, and Li Ji asked him, "What do you think of this city?"

Yu Ling replied, "Indeed, it is a famous city and a great metropolis. Although I have lived in the Eastern Capital for a long time and am used to seeing magnificent cities, I was immediately filled with admiration upon seeing this capital of Liangzhou..."

Li Ji smiled and said, "Lord Yu, don't flatter me so casually. After the barbarian bandits captured this city, they didn't know how to manage it. Moreover, when they retreated, they set fire to it, burning most of the houses to the ground. We've only just started some repairs, but unfortunately, resources are scarce, and in just a few months, we can't fully restore it to its original state." Based on his knowledge from later generations, he understood that the government's grain should not be given away for free. So, he used the few months of winter when farmers were not working to recruit people from the surrounding areas to repair the streets and houses in the city. But unfortunately, food and resources were very limited, and he dared not go all out. As a result, to this day, a large part of Guzang City is still a ruin.

Yu Ling thought to herself, "What? You're short of supplies? So you came to me to ask for alms... no, to demand tribute..."

Fortunately, Li Ji did not continue on this topic. He simply raised his hand and pointed, saying, "Fortunately, in recovering Liangzhou and driving away the barbarian bandits, they did not launch a fierce attack on the city walls. All four walls are intact. This shows the strength of this mighty city, which is indeed worthy of standing proudly in this era."

Why was Li Ji so eager to recapture Liangzhou and capture Guzang City? Because that place was rich!

During the Tianbao era, Liangzhou's registered population was 110,000, second only to Qinzhou in Longyou. Of course, it couldn't compare to Guanzhong or Henan, and even the population of Weizhou in Hebei was roughly ten times larger. Its arable land was limited, and grain production was also relatively small. However, this city was a crucial node on the Silk Road, a vital passage for merchants from east and west, and its trade activities were extremely developed. Liangzhou's past wealth was largely due to commerce, and the formidable city of Guzang, built on this route, was second only to Chang'an and Luoyang in prosperity, ranking third in the country!

At its peak, Chang'an had a permanent population of nearly 500,000, with an equal number of transient residents; at its peak, Guzang had a permanent population of less than 50,000, but nearly ten times that number of transient residents… Apart from the two capitals, no other city in the world could compare to it.

Unfortunately, after the Tibetans captured the city and the Silk Road was cut off, the number of migrants plummeted to only a few thousand. Even the permanent residents were mostly scattered due to the war, shops closed one after another, and weeds grew in the market... Only the once majestic city walls still stand tall on the Hexi Corridor.

Li Ji felt that this place, which had once been prosperous, should have the potential to be revived. For him, it was at least more suitable than Lingzhou as a place to establish himself.

Chapter Twenty-Nine, Liangzhou as Hostage

Li Ji ordered his men to count the delivered grain and store it in the treasury. He then naturally hosted a banquet at the military governor's office to warmly entertain the "Millionaire Yu" of the Eastern Capital. Among those seated were his advisors Yan Zhuang, Gao Ying, Liu Ji, and Luo Yiping, most of whom had met Yu Ling several times before.

Actually, there are some things that Yang Yan should negotiate with Yu Ling about. The problem is that Yang Gongnan is still in Lingzhou, and Li Ji has just submitted a memorial praising his strategic planning and requesting that he be pardoned for his previous crimes and reinstated to serve in the central government—the court has not yet responded.

Before taking their seats, Yu Ling presented two brocade boxes, saying, "Congratulations on the birth of your daughter, Grand Commandant." Li Ji took them and casually opened them. Inside, he saw a large red satin lining each box, containing a pair of jade bracelets. One was a pale yellow with a lustrous sheen, seemingly from Lantian, while the other pair was pure white and spotless, seemingly from Khotan. He smiled and said, "You're quite well-informed."

Shortly after the beginning of spring last year, both of his wives and concubines—Cui Cuo and Zou Qingluan—were diagnosed with pregnancy. It was because of this that Cui Cuo encouraged Li Ji to take Hongxian as a concubine as well. In November, Li Ji was busy attacking Liangzhou and had no time to look back, but the two women gave birth to two baby girls in the same month.

Cui Cuo, still somewhat weak, gave birth half a month early on the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and Li Ji named this girl Li Xiu; on the twenty-first day, Qing Luan was born at full term, and the little girl weighed a full six pounds and two ounces—in later times, she would definitely weigh over eight pounds—and Li Ji named this third girl Li Yuan.

When the news reached the front lines, Li Ji had just led his troops into Guzang City. He then specially informed all his generals, saying, "This is an auspicious omen; I will surely be able to recover Liangzhou." Some generals were worried that the general might not be happy about having three daughters, but he seemed no less delighted than if he had a son, so they all congratulated him. Only Yan Zhuang privately said to others, "Du Zimei has a poem that says, 'It is true that giving birth to a son is bad, but giving birth to a daughter is good. A daughter can still marry a neighbor, while a son is buried and forgotten among the weeds.' I'm afraid the general is happy because the world is not yet at peace, and he is not happy about having a son. It's good to take care of the two ladies' bellies; when we pacify the Western Regions in the future, there may be hope for a son."

Because winter had arrived and snow had fallen in many places, and because the straight-line distance between Mingsha City and Guzang County was more than 500 li, Li Ji's wife and daughter had to stay in Lingzhou to recuperate for the time being. To this day, Li Ji has not been able to see his baby. However, after the spring, Cui Cuo sent Hongxian to Liangzhou to serve her husband.

Yu Ling, on his way through Chang'an, made a special trip to visit Han Hui, the official in charge of reporting to the emperor from Shuofang. The two towns had just been separated, and Han Hui had not yet decided where to go. Upon receiving this information, he hurriedly went to the West Market and searched every shop. He finally managed to buy the two congratulatory gifts, which cost him a total of seven thousand two hundred coins.

Li Ji accepted the congratulatory gift, expressed his gratitude to Yu Ling, and said, "It's fine if the Lantian jade is returned, but since the Silk Road was cut off, the price of Khotan white jade has become very high, three liters a month. It's really too much trouble for you, Yu Jun, to spend so much."

After the banquet began and several rounds of drinks had been consumed, Yu Ling, a shrewd and experienced man, thought to himself, "Perhaps I should take the initiative and show a respectful attitude. Then you might be too embarrassed to ask for more." So he toasted Li Ji, offering a few words of flattery before saying:

"As I just saw, the market is indeed desolate. This once mighty city has been ravaged by barbarian bandits and is no longer the prosperous place it once was. It is difficult enough for the Grand Commandant to recover lost territory, but it will be even more difficult to restore Liangzhou to its former glory. The Grand Commandant has always looked after me and has sent goods to my family many times. When I was in Weibo, all the trade matters were handled by my family. It is a pity that I have not developed trade routes in the west and cannot provide for the Grand Commandant. I feel extremely ashamed. So I can only do my best to supply the Grand Commandant with several thousand bushels of rice and wheat and several thousand bolts of silk every year. If there is anything else needed, I will do my best to raise funds for the Grand Commandant."

I've laid out the price: several thousand bushels of grain and several thousand bolts of silk each year. If we calculate each one at a thousand, the market price would be only a little over two thousand strings of cash. Of course, we have to factor in the shipping costs, which would probably double the price. Even if you haggle down to nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, it would still only be a little over twenty thousand strings of cash. With the shipping cost of sixty thousand strings, I can still afford it.

However, I reckon even if we offered ten thousand bushels of grain and ten thousand bolts of silk as tribute each year, Li Ji might not be satisfied. Let's talk again then. Yu Ling's tolerance level can be raised to one hundred thousand strings of cash per year; any more than that... that would bankrupt me!

As expected, Li Ji shook his head slightly and replied, "I told Yu Jun that Liangzhou currently has more than 20,000 soldiers, and the military expenses alone are more than 400,000 strings of cash. Adding the administrative expenses, it will be nearly one million. Moreover, if we want to guard against the return of the barbarian bandits and take the opportunity to seize Gansu, Liangzhou, Guazhou, and Shazhou, then we need more than 50,000 soldiers. The annual cost will be at least two million strings of cash. A few thousand bushels of grain and a few thousand bolts of silk are really not enough."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ling was startled and hurriedly said, "Grand Commandant, you jest. I am but a mere merchant, offering tribute to you to make up for any deficiencies. How could I possibly manage the finances of Liangzhou? The local area has its own production, and the court should also reward us with money and grain every year... Commander Li said the expenditure is two million, so how about I bear one percent, that is, twenty thousand a year?"

Li Ji curled his lip: "Everything is in ruins and Liangzhou doesn't produce much. As for the imperial court... hehe, the imperial court's previous reward was less than 10,000 strings of cash! Even if they give it again in the fall, and it's 100,000 to 200,000, I'll be grateful and pray to the gods."

What he said wasn't entirely true—currently there were only 20,000 soldiers, with annual expenses at most a million, and if the imperial court dared to award less than 300,000, Li Ji would abandon Liang on the spot, and the emperor would have nothing to say. The problem was that even so, there was still a shortfall of more than half that couldn't be filled.

Hearing Yu Ling plead, "This old man truly has no more to offer. I beg Commander Li to understand my situation and grant me some leniency."

Li Ji smiled slightly, moved his seat slightly closer to Yu Ling, and said in a low voice, "Lord Yu, don't panic. If I were to ask for tribute, it would have been quite difficult for me when I first entered Weibo. How could I have asked you for it? Lord Yu has helped me a great deal, and I am deeply grateful. How could I possibly have any intention of exploiting you? The reason I told you about the financial difficulties in Liangzhou was to negotiate a loan, not to demand tribute."

Yu Ling breathed a slight sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "If the Grand Commandant has any needs, I will certainly help him. However, although I have some property, I need money everywhere, and it is impossible for me to spare two million strings of cash to lend to Liangzhou. Please tell me the amount, Grand Commandant. I can do it immediately if it is within one hundred thousand."

Li Ji laughed and said, "Ten thousand is just a drop in the ocean." Then he said to Yu Ling, "Although you are known as 'Millionaire,' as far as I know, your family wealth is more than tens of millions of strings of cash..." He waved his hand to stop Yu Ling from complaining about being poor and continued, "You can't possibly exchange all your assets for a hundred million, and you only dare to promise me a hundred million, but not a trillion? Are you worried that I won't pay it back?"

Yu Ling shook his head and said, "How could I dare? While I do engage in some lending business for profit, how could I possibly speak of profit when lending to the Grand Commandant?"

Li Ji's face hardened: "You are a merchant, how can a merchant not talk about profit?" He didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his thoughts: "I wish to borrow two or three million strings of cash from Mr. Yu, and pay interest. I wonder how much interest your family earns per year on loans?"

Yu Ling hesitated for a moment before replying, "If lending to merchants or petty people, the annual interest rate is 20%..." In fact, this was a reluctant answer. With his wealth of tens of millions, he would not hesitate to lend money at an annual interest rate of less than 40%. But in the end, usury is a business that is easy to do but hard to talk about. It is easy to talk about but hard to hear, and he was afraid of damaging his image in front of Grand Commandant Li.

Seeing that the Liangzhou advisors gasped in shock upon hearing this, exchanged bewildered glances, and quickly added, "We must also have a hostage."

Yu Ling genuinely didn't intend to lend money to Li Ji, because this wasn't a private matter but a public one. Therefore, if Li Ji asked for a small amount—as mentioned earlier, he wanted two or three million strings of cash—Yu Ling was merely a merchant, while Li Ji was the Grand Commandant and Military Governor of Liangzhou. Lending the money would be easy, but getting it back would be difficult. To put it extremely, if Li Ji didn't want to bear the stigma of being untrustworthy, he could simply nod and have the local officials find an excuse to confiscate his property and burn all the bonds, thus avoiding repayment… That's why he regretted quoting such a low interest rate and quickly added, "and collateral is required"—Grand Commandant Li, do you have two or three million worth of property you can mortgage to me?

Even if you were to mortgage all your properties in the capital, including your house and teahouse, the maximum value would only be two or three hundred thousand.

Li Ji thought for a moment and replied, "I'll give you a number, and you can decide if it's acceptable—I'll lend you three million strings of cash, with an annual interest rate of 20%, which is six hundred thousand. The principal will be repaid in full after five years."

Liu Ji couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly interjected, "No, Grand Commandant! If we borrow three million, we'll only get two and a half million. And by the time we're five years old, it will all be gone! Liangzhou is in dire need of rebuilding. It's not something that can be restored to its former state in just a few years. And even if it were restored, the money and grain have already been used. How can we suddenly collect taxes to repay the loan?"

Li Ji had previously mentioned borrowing money from merchants like Yu Ling, but at the time he thought they would at most demand 10% interest, and that the Grand Commandant could use his influence to try and lower it to 5%—borrowing three million and repaying 150,000 in a year would be reasonably acceptable. Now, the price has increased fourfold compared to their expectations; how could they possibly repay it?!

Are you planning to renege on your debt? Even if it's your own reputation, you can't just ruin it like this.

Li Ji waved his hand, smiled at Liu Ji, and said, "It's not decided yet; I'm just discussing it with Yu Jun." He then turned to Yu Ling and said, "I know that the two capitals are in a slump, and the towns in the Central Plains are riddled with checkpoints, making business very difficult. Yu Jun's other businesses may not be able to generate 20% profit a year, and they are unlikely to remain unchanged for five years. Yu Jun is only worried that I won't return the money. If there is collateral, then there's no need to worry, right?"

Yu Ling frowned: "What does the Grand Commandant intend to use as collateral?"

Li Ji pointed outside the hall and asked, "Do you think this Liangzhou city is worth three million strings of cash?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Ling was taken aback and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Grand Commandant, please don't play tricks on this old man... Liangzhou ultimately belongs to the state, not to the Grand Commandant's private property..."

Li Ji laughed and said, "Liangzhou is indeed a national territory, but if I can recover Hexi, connect with the Western Regions, and restart the Silk Road, look at the market land and shops in this city, their value must be over three million! With me in charge of Liangzhou, it's just a matter of a word to decide who enters the market and who opens a business."

Yu Ling pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Ji's expression and thought to herself, "Since you've already said this much, I won't hold back anymore and will just tell you frankly—"Grand Commandant, please forgive me, but if you can indeed establish contact with the Western Regions and reopen the Silk Road, the profits from Liangzhou Market will be immeasurable. However, if you cannot succeed... if you cannot succeed within five years, even the current Guzang City will probably not be enough to generate enough profit.

Li Ji said solemnly, "What business is without risk? It depends on whether Lord Yu trusts me." He then raised his head and said, "In the past, when I, Li Ji, went to Hebei with my imperial credentials, the emperor instructed me to train 50,000 elite troops by the age of five to intimidate the various vassal states. But I was only three years old when I pacified Jizhou and annexed Wushun, so that the court no longer had to worry about the east!"

“When I returned to Shuofang, the sage said that within five years, we would have enough food and soldiers to plan the recovery of Longyou and Hexi. But I only spent a little over two years driving out the barbarian bandits and gaining Liangzhou. It is not far from taking back Hexi! Why should we need five more years to reopen the Silk Road?!”

Overcome with emotion, he stood up and gestured with his hands: "Now the barbarian bandits have fled to the west of Yanzhi Mountain, and are like frightened birds. If we obtain three million strings of cash, we will have enough food to prepare our troops, and Ganzhou will be within our grasp. With Ganzhou, we will cut off the Hexi Corridor. The barbarian bandits will cross the mountains, but the road is treacherous and long, a hundred times more difficult than ours, and they will dare not attempt to fight us again. Then we can go straight west, through Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass, and connect with the two garrisons of Anxi and Beiting. With the help of these two garrisons, half of the Western Regions will be pacified, and the Silk Road will be open."

"The Abbasid Caliphate has now conquered Transoxiana and Persia, its territory extending to the Western Sea. Its power is immense. The reason it still sends envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute is because it covets the profits of the Silk Road. We can then establish a western alliance with the Abbasid Caliphate to control Tibet. Soon, within a thousand miles, camels and horses will be traveling in droves, shoulder to shoulder, towards the Central Plains. And Western merchants wishing to reach the two capitals must pass through Liangzhou, from there..."

He stomped his foot heavily on the ground—"...From here to Guzang City, silk and porcelain from the Central Plains can be sold there, making it the cheapest place to trade exotic goods. Just as Yu Jun said, the profits in Liangzhou Market will be immeasurable!"

He lowered his head and looked at Yu Ling: "It depends on whether Lord Yu believes me. In the past, Lü Buwei spent all his wealth to help the hostage of Qin. What did the hostage have at that time? Only Buwei was able to see the business opportunity and was not afraid of risks. He was able to support the emperor and become the prime minister, famous throughout the world and richer than a country. It depends on whether Lord Yu believes me."

Yu Ling hurriedly clasped his hands and said, "How could this old man dare not trust the Grand Commandant..."

Li Ji knelt down before his desk and said, word by word, "My idea is that you, Yu Jun, will later travel throughout the city, survey the markets, and compare the prices at which the Silk Road is in operation with today's prices. Then, list them out one by one, and I will have people make land deeds to exchange for grain and silk."

"Grand Commandant, this is a sale of land, not a loan..."

Li Ji shook his head and smiled: "If it's a sale, the land can be used immediately, but it's not the same if it's a loan. We'll exchange money for a contract, and this contract will naturally revert to the town after five years, to be reclaimed at twice the price of the transaction; if they refuse to revert, then we'll have to pay double the price to get it. In this way, I won't pay annual interest, which is equivalent to using the Liangzhou market as collateral. What do you think, Mr. Yu?"

Yu Ling secretly calculated for a long time before finally smiling bitterly and saying, "What if Liangzhou refuses to take back the contract after five years?"

Li Ji said in a deep voice, "That's why I've been asking you repeatedly, does Mr. Yu trust me?" This "trust" refers not only to my ability to repay the loan, but also to my level of trustworthiness.

Yu Ling was still hesitant when Li Ji suggested, "Perhaps after counting, the Liangzhou market is less than three million. It's possible that you, Yu, will have difficulty raising such a large sum in a short time. I can help you persuade others to lend it to you. Although you have never traveled the western route, I believe there are quite a few merchants in the two capitals who hope to profit from the Silk Road. We can share the risk. Or perhaps you are still hesitant and don't quite trust me. We can use the pretext of helping the army to recommend your son to the court so that you can receive a salary. What do you think?"

As soon as she uttered the last sentence, Yu Ling's eyes suddenly lit up.

Chapter Thirty: Which is Noble and Which is Cheap?

During the Tang Dynasty, merchants had a very low social status and were regarded as "lowly" or "miscellaneous." Even if they were extremely wealthy, they generally faced political discrimination. For example, merchants were not allowed to wear silk or live in mansions, and were even forbidden from riding horses. Furthermore, the sons of merchants were not allowed to hold official positions.

Although the situation improved slightly after the An Lushan Rebellion—firstly, local governments were financially strapped and forced to borrow from merchants, thus becoming somewhat more courteous to wealthy merchants; secondly, the chaotic household registration system after the rebellion allowed many merchant sons to bribe minor officials to change their family background in the records, thereby gaining eligibility for the imperial examinations—the latter situation, though occurring, was extremely rare. Moreover, since merchant families faced discrimination from scholars, they also struggled to obtain excellent teachers, making their chances of passing the examinations extremely slim.

Li Ji has now said that he can recommend your Yu family members to be included in the military merits report. Although it will be difficult to be officially appointed, it should be possible to obtain a few mid-to-low-rank official positions with official salaries. Do you want to do this?

Upon hearing this, Yu Ling was intrigued. She carefully considered Li Ji's words and weighed his suggestions, finally saying, "Grand Commandant's words have enlightened me greatly. However, let me first assess the market in Guzang City and its value before making a decision..."

Li Ji was overjoyed and immediately sent Liu Ji and Luo Yiping to accompany Yu Ling on a site survey throughout the city—after all, the old man couldn't just dictate the value of the land; he could set the price however he pleased. After the banquet, as he was about to return to his inner quarters, Gao Ying caught up with him from behind, clasped his hands, and said: