After the banquet was over, Yang Chong and Li Yu were called to a side hall of the Nede Palace, where two maps of the Western Regions and Gaochang were hung on the wall, and more than a dozen ministers such as Yang Xiong, Zuo Servant Su Wei, and Nayan Gao Gong sat on both sides of Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of Sui, and Mingya, the squire of the military department, stood in front of the map and said: "Yang Chong, the Holy Lord wants to hear your plan for Gaochang, and Li Yu will talk about it later if he thinks there is something to add." ”

Yang Chong understood that Yang Guanghe was currently under great pressure, and walked to the map in a few steps and said: "I feel that we need to redivide the county governance of Gaochang, and the twenty-two cities seem to be many, but in fact, it is for the purpose of setting up management cards to collect taxes. I think we can set up five counties of Gaochang, Tiandi, Jiaohe, Puchang and Tianshan, Jiaohe and Gaochang have existed since ancient times, and Tianshan County can go directly to Luoman Mountain, as the place of Fan Bingtuntian; Puchang County is in Gaochang City to Shanshan County Boundary, which is a new Jiaohe River in the later period; Tiandi County is the historical Liuzhong County, and there is Lukeqin Oasis as a tuntian. ”

Gao Gong nodded, Yang Chong's vision was as usual, and the overall situation was prominent; Su Wei asked: "General Yuwen has emptied the original Gaochang treasury, how do you solve it in terms of materials?" ”

Yang Chong said indifferently: "Gaochang is a necessary place for commerce and trade, and money is the least problem, but what I am worried about is food." ”

The 80,000 army was almost twice the total population of Gaochang and Jiaohe, and the consumption of grain and forage was an astonishing number. Sun Chi, the head of the household department, said helplessly: "Now the transportation is difficult, Tang Guogong tried his best in Yiwu, but the grain and grass were still not available; Fortunately, the Turkic army has retreated, General Yuwen will be in half a month, and Yang Yichen will wait until you take office. ”

Yang Chong thought for a while and said: "Since the official is in difficulty, then take the path of the people, and ask the imperial court to allow the three counties of Jimo, Shanshan, and Gaochang to purchase grain from Dunhuang or other countries in the Western Regions as a supplement." ”

Guan Wang Yang Xiong immediately said: "This is no problem, but we have discussed with the household department, we can only give money at a discount according to the number of missing grain and grass, if you buy grain at a high price, the premium part will have to be digested by the county itself." ”

Li Yu was taken aback, this was not a little bit of money, but he didn't expect Yang Chong to agree and say: "Then I have a request, the supply of grain and grass in the first six months must be guaranteed." ”

Changsun Chi immediately agreed, if he couldn't even do this, he wouldn't have to do it in the household department. Duan Wenzhen, the secretary of the Ministry of War, reminded: "Yang Chong, after Yang Yichen returned to Shanshan, there were only 20,000 old Gaochang troops left for you. ”

Yang Chong stared at the map for a long time before saying, "Can you let me mobilize 500 people in Chang'an and allocate 1,000 cavalry to me at Yumen Pass?" ”

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty said with a smile: "This support must be there, these 1,500 people are cavalry, and they will be transferred to you by the Ministry of War, and tell me your plans for the Western Turks." ”

Yang Chong pondered and said: "My task is to defend the cities of Gaochang and respond to Yang Yichen's westward advance, so I will set up defensive equipment in the area from Tianshan County to Gaochang, store grain and grass for more than half a year, and if there is an opportunity, go west to Tuoxun Oasis until the Urumqi River, and strive to restore the Han Dynasty silt city Tuntian." ”

Yang Chong marked the location of the Tuoxun Oasis and the Urumqi River on the map, and then connected it with Gaochang City to form a line, and everyone could clearly see that the Turpan Basin is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and only this flat road to the west is a smooth road. Duan Wenzhen turned to Li Yu and asked, "Li Yu, do you have anything else to add?" ”

Li Yu had been in the Western Regions for several years, and had traveled as far as Persia, and he was more familiar with the environment in this area than Yang Chong had talked about on paper, and nodded and said: "Yang County is right, there are indeed rivers and oases there, and it has always been a zone for tribal activities in Que Du before. ”

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty clapped his hands and said: "You go back and start to prepare, as soon as the Western Regions Conference is over, Yang Chong, you and Tong Yehu will go back together, and by the way, you will take office in Gaochang, and I will exempt Gaochang County from taxes for one year." ”

"Ah, it's a year away." Yang Chong looked at Yang Guang's face, lowered his head and said, "Okay, one year is one year, but I also want an edict to express the meaning that the land of Gaochang comes from China." ”

Everyone laughed, and Mo, Shanshan and other counties were tax-exempt for three years, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty only agreed to exempt Gaochang for one year, one is to see that Gaochang is rich, and the other is to get back some interest from Yang Chong, this kid is business material, and no one is ready for him to be an official in Gaochang County. Yang Chong's edict was reasonable, and Yu Shiji prepared it for Yang Guang to read, so he asked Zhang Yuan to cover the jade seal and hand it over to Yang Chong directly.

Li Yu really felt that Yang Chongjian was in the emperor's heart, although Yang Chong's environment as an official was harsh, but Yang Chong and Emperor Yang of Sui Yang Yang and others did not take a little leave, Li Yu decided that after going back, he must figure out Yang Chong's situation, if he doesn't know the temperament of his boss, it will be difficult to be a subordinate.

When Yang Chong returned home, he was already full of guests, and the leaders of the three caravans in Gaochang, Che Zongwu, Fuqu Yunzhao, and Shankuo were all sitting in the foyer, chatting with Du Yan. Yang Chong knew that he had no foundation in Gaochang, so he decided to meet with them, learn about the situation by the way, and see if he could use it for himself.

The first Che Zongwu who was called in was a Han man, with a medium stature and capable movements, seeing Miao Yun standing beside Yang Chong, Che Zongwu spoke very carefully: "Lord County Shou, our Che family is in the white cloth business, and there are two cars of white cloth that have not been sold this time, I heard that you have a Xiaozhen Zhai to sell department stores, see if you can arrange the steward to see the goods tomorrow." ”

White cloth is Gaochang cotton cloth, the Great Sui has not planted cotton at this time, cotton is called white stacks in the Western Regions, cotton cloth is only owned by Gaochang, Yanqi, Qiuzi and other state-owned, Gaochang cotton is the most famous, the price is not under Jiangnan silk. Yang Chong thought of cotton, his attitude suddenly improved a little, just the maid sent tea in, chatting while drinking, and learned that the Che family had 2,000 acres of cotton land in Jiaohe, Yang Chong immediately said that after he took office, he would meet with the head of the Che family to discuss the revitalization of Gaochang. Che Zongwu was overjoyed, and he couldn't wait to hit the ground headlong, Yang Chong instructed Miao Yun to arrange for the old cripple to buy the cotton cloth tomorrow.

After the Huns, the Fuqu Yunzhao is strong, the eyes are blazing, after the salute, he directly took out a brocade box from his sleeve and put it on the coffee table, opened it to see, it is a pure gold Buddha statue, the golden light is shining, the shape is the style of the Western Regions, and the Buddha statue of the Mogao Grottoes in later generations is somewhat similar. Fuqu Yunzhao said politely: "This thing is passed down by the ancestor Fuqu Mengxun, I heard that the adults have the ambition to rebuild the desert temple, and Yunzhao wishes to participate in the grand event with the adults." ”

Yang Chong turned his head and asked Miao Yun, "Did Gu Dizang come with Mr. Fuqu?" ”

(End of chapter)