Chapter 369: Chapter 224: Silk Road and Maritime Trade Must Be Developed
Zhao Yao didn’t take Zheng Qian’s words about making him his lord seriously. In his view, Zheng Qian said that in anger after losing a chess game to him.
He’s only a six-year-old child, not favored, and without any ministers’ support. How could a genius like Zheng Qian choose him as a lord, unless he’s out of his mind? Moreover, he’s just an ordinary person, so how could he be the lord of a genius?
It seems that his chess win really struck Zheng Qian. Hopefully, Zheng Qian will be more low-key and honest in the future and not cause Zheng Rang and the others any trouble.
If it were him with such a clever yet troublesome younger brother, he would certainly be driven mad. Even if he didn’t die from anger, it would surely shorten his lifespan.
He wouldn’t have agreed to help if it weren’t for Zheng Rang’s delicious cooking and pastries.
After leaving Zheng Mansion, Zhao Yao didn’t go to the Li Mansion but went straight to his second uncle’s home.
Although Liang Run had left with the caravan, Liang Guan, Uncle Zhang, Ding Yuan, and Tong An were still living there.
Zhao Yao arrived at an opportune time. Shortly before he reached his second uncle’s home, a letter from his second uncle had just arrived.
Great Zhou has hostels and courier agencies specifically for delivering letters. The hostel is slower in delivering letters, while the courier agency is much faster. Liang Run had chosen the courier agency to send his letter.
Liang Run had a lot to say, and depending on the courier agency alone wouldn’t suffice, as they mostly send little paper notes that can’t hold much content.
When Liang Guan saw Zhao Yao arrive, he hurriedly handed him the letter.
Seeing the thick stack of letters, Zhao Yao exclaimed internally: Second Uncle, how many pages have you written?
He opened the letter and counted the pages—twenty in total, all filled with writing.
Zhao Yao was astonished and thought to himself, what does Second Uncle have to tell him, did something happen in Wusun? He dared not delay and quickly began reading the letter.
By the time they wrote to Zhao Yao, Liang Run and his group had been in Wusun for three days. He meticulously described everything they saw, heard, and encountered during their three days in Wusun.
First, the locals did not lie to them. Indeed, their relatives raised many horses, which were all very fine, with many coming from the Xiongnu Grassland and other countries in the Western Regions. However, there were no blood-sweating horses in Wusun. If one wanted a blood-sweating horse, they must go to Dayuan.
The local relatives, seeing that they had traveled thousands of miles to buy horses, thought they were very sincere. Plus, since they were buying in large quantities, they offered them a very low price.
Besides horse breeding, the local relatives also raised quite a few cattle and sheep. Liang Run bought some cattle and sheep from them, requesting the courier agency to escort them back to the capital. However, because of the long journey, some cattle and sheep might die or get sick on the way. Along with the courier agency, a horseman was sent back. This was a gift from the local relatives; their horseman is not only good at raising horses but also training them.
In the letter, Liang Run mentioned to Zhao Yao that the expensive medicinal herbs in the capital were very cheap and abundant in Wusun. He had already purchased a lot and would ask the courier agency to escort them back to the capital.
The furs in Wusun were also very cheap; rabbit fur, fox fur, wolf skin, tiger skin, and bear skin were all readily available and were no less than the furs tribute to the palace. Liang Run bought a lot, but he planned to bring them back himself.
The local market also sold various jerky, and knowing that Zhao Yao liked beef, Liang Run bought a lot of beef jerky for him, as well as some tiger and bear jerky.
In Wusun, you could eat all kinds of meat, but Wusun had scarcely any vegetables. In the letter, Liang Run jokingly suggested moving the vegetable-selling business from the capital to Wusun, which could surely earn a fortune.
Upon reading this, Zhao Yao thought to himself: Second Uncle, you could have your people grow vegetables in Wusun and sell them.
Liang Run also mentioned that there were many spices in Wusun, brought from various countries in the Western Regions. However, these spices were too coarse compared to those of Great Zhou.
Before going to Wusun, Liang Run bought a lot of Great Zhou’s spices. After bringing them to Wusun, they were snatched up immediately. The people in Wusun and from other countries in the Western Regions really loved things from the Central Plains.
Besides the spices, Liang Run also brought fabrics, porcelain, books, and other items to sell in Wusun. These items were very popular there; they only set up a stall and within no time, everything was sold out. The locals even asked if they had more, and were very pleased to hear that they planned to open a store selling Central Plains goods in Wusun. Now, the locals are all waiting for their store to open.