Chapter 239: Acquaintances in Tongguan
Tongguan is located in the Guandong Plain, with dangerous terrain. There are Qinling Mountains in the south, Forbidden Valley in the southeast, and Twelve Connected Cities in the south of the valley. In the north, the Wei and Luo Rivers meet the Yellow River and flow down the pass. It is close to Xiyue in the west. The valley is deep, the cliffs are steep, the mountains are high and the roads are narrow. It is the eastern gate of Chang'an, a place that military strategists must fight for, and a truly heroic pass that can be guarded by one man and ten thousand men cannot open.
Because of the existence of cultivators, the wall of Tongguan was built more than twice as high as in the previous life, and the slope became almost a right angle. Unless one was a cultivator who specialized in light skills or was good at climbing, it would be difficult to enter the pass easily even if one was at the fifth or sixth level.
The commander of Tongguan welcomed the convoy in with great fear and trepidation. Even though he was in a high position and was trusted by the court, neither the prisoners nor the guards were people that a mere mortal like him could afford to offend.
Likewise, he did not dare to show excessive goodwill. After all, there was a superior with an equally high level of cultivation right above him who was looking at him angrily.
When it comes to conflicts between big shots, it’s a sin for small people to even know about it, let alone get involved.
"I still don't know when Mr. Liu has recovered his cultivation. I haven't heard anyone mention it." General Wang dropped from the sky and crashed in front of the convoy like a meteorite, looking at the luxury car with a grin.
But his heart was filled with a huge wave of emotion. You know, when Zhao Yushu became famous in Jiangning, he was actually at the fourth level of the sky, and he was seriously injured. How long has it been since he came here? Not only did he not look injured at all, but his cultivation level had even improved.
How long had he been in the academy? Half a year? Half a year to the fifth level?
The old eunuch lifted the carriage curtain and walked out: "If you want to raise it, you should raise it to His Majesty. General Wang, would you like to see the secret memorial first?"
General Wang said disdainfully: "As expected of a man from the palace, you have honed your tongue very well. But why doesn't this wanted criminal ride in a prisoner's cart?"
"This is a prisoner carriage personally presented by Princess Fuwang. If General Wang has any doubts, he might as well go east to Dongdu and ask Prince Fu if this is true."
General Wang snorted coldly, "I will not argue with you about these trivial matters. I will accompany you all the way from Tongguan to Chang'an under the order of His Majesty. If there are any villains who want to harm the court again, I have the right to kill them first and report later. Eunuch, take care of yourself."
When General Wang walked away, Zhao Yushu came out from behind the old eunuch and said, "I'm not the one who's causing trouble. He dares to be so disrespectful to you. If I were you, I wouldn't be able to stand it. It's not like I can't beat him."
The old eunuch slapped Old Zhao on the back of his head without any hesitation: "Just be quiet for a while. Your ability to sow discord is almost as good as those beauties in the palace."
That's right, we have been forced to watch palace fighting dramas for several years, the man nicknamed Phoenix Talent, Zhao Lang of Dongdu!
"How long will we stay in Tongguan?"
"You have to stay for a few days, waiting for His Majesty's order."
"Is it related to me?"
"It matters a lot."
The old eunuch stretched himself and said, "After such a bumpy ride, my old bones are almost falling apart. It's rare to have a room to rest for a few days. Let's go."
As a pure military fortress, Tongguan had all its daily necessities and military supplies supplied entirely by Chang'an, so there were almost no livelihood projects. Apart from the soldiers, there were only auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers serving the army.
But there is a special place in Tongguan. It is separated by walls and fences, and there is even a wide rainproof tarpaulin on the top. If you look from the city wall, you can only see the crowds of people through the gaps.
A place that should never be here, the trading area.
Zhao Yushu looked at the caravans that came in from the east and west gates and all entered this place at the same time. There were Tang people, but more were people from the Western Regions with obvious alien features.
"Whether the caravan enters Xijing or Dongdu, the tax is 30% on paper." The old eunuch held up three fingers. "And this is just on paper. The people in the city office have to pay a fee, even the patrol officers have to pay a fee. Once they enter the city, half of their wealth will be gone, not to mention whether they can sell the goods."
The old eunuch pointed to the very simple-looking trading area and said, "You have to pay silver to enter the city, but when the goods leave the city, you don't have to pay taxes. After all, it's hard to eat from both ends, right? And here, you only need 10% to come in."
Zhao Yushu suddenly realized that if the caravans from the Western Regions were to be transported to Dongdu or Xijing, they would first have to pay 30% tax, and most likely a large sum of silver to feed the "relevant personnel", and then exchange them for tea, silk and porcelain from the Tang Dynasty and transport them back. But if the caravans did not enter the city at all, the merchants in the two capitals only had to pay 10% as long as they prepared the goods in advance and placed them here for direct exchange.
With at least 20% less tax, the price will naturally be lower. This price difference is the basis for the establishment of this extralegal trading zone.
As for how the locals transported the goods of the Hu merchants back to the two capitals after the exchange, each had their own means.
"If you don't have a background, you have to go to the two capitals to do business honestly." The old eunuch pointed at a brown-haired man from the Western Regions as he walked and said, "Don't be fooled by the dirty looks of these people. If they enter the two capitals, they will all be honored guests of the kings and princes."
Zhao Yushu frowned: "This is the gateway to Xijing. If we let so many merchants in, what if..."
The old eunuch smiled and said, "The Tang Dynasty has been established for 400 years, and Tongguan has never been breached, let alone attacked. So, on one side are enemies you've never seen before, and on the other side are silver thrown right in front of you. What would you choose?"
Zhao Yushu sighed. This place was only a few hundred miles away from the two capitals, yet there were nobles who almost openly used military fortresses to make money for themselves. No wonder the man in Xijing couldn't do anything about the southeastern gentry even after sending the crown prince. Judging from this situation, it wouldn't be long before the Li family's decrees wouldn't be able to leave Xijing.
"Can I go shopping?" Walking through the trading area, a figure flashed through the gap in the simple wall. Zhao Yushu instantly suppressed the surprise in his heart and asked casually.
The old eunuch thought for a moment and said, "These are all the goods they have agreed on in advance. I'm afraid they don't have anything to sell to you. But if you like something, I'm sure they won't refuse to give it to you."
Zhao Yushu grinned. Is this what it feels like to be a superior person?
"Then let me go and take a look?"
"What's the hurry? I'm a little tired. Let's go tomorrow. General Wang is always watching you. You'd better not stay too far away from me."
Zhao Yushu said "oh" and followed the old eunuch obediently, leaving this area which looked simple on the outside but had not even enough gold to pave the ground inside.
The room arranged by the Tongguan garrison commander looked like an ordinary residence from the outside, but it was extremely luxurious inside. At least Zhao Yushu had never lived in a house of this level in his two lifetimes.
Zhao Yushu declined the 'friendly' suggestion of the garrison commander to arrange for several maids and fell on the bed. Tongguan was less than 500 miles away from Chang'an. His friends had tried all the tricks and the academy seemed powerless. It seemed that he had to enter Chang'an.
Once they enter Chang'an, they will most likely fall into the hands of the dog emperor and the useless prince. They probably don't have the courage to kill themselves, but they not only have the courage to play themselves half to death, but also a big one.
Let's take it one step at a time. In this game in Chang'an, the admission ticket must at least be a perfect exterior view. The only thing I can do is to not be a burden.
Maybe it was because he had sucked too much blood from the Assassins before. Even though he had slept for several days, Zhao Yushu still felt irresistible sleepiness while lying on the soft big bed. He yawned and slowly fell asleep.