The Kucha Kingdom is an important town in the northern Taklamakan Desert Road in the Xinjiang section of the Silk Road, and is also the second stop for later generations to leave Loulan.

Whether it is religion, culture, or economy, it is extremely developed.

Kucha has a grotto art with a longer history than Mogao Grottoes. It can be called the "second Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes" and has a strong sense of art.

Generally speaking, Kucha people are good at music, and Kucha music and dance originated from this, and they have a rich sense of elegance.

In addition, there is also an iron smelting industry, which is well-known. Many iron tools from many countries in the Western Regions are favored by Kucha.

Yancheng, the capital of Kucha (now near Kuqa, Xinjiang), the country connects Yanqi in the east, Gumo in the west, and Wusun in the north, and transportation is relatively convenient in the Western Regions countries. They have a population of more than 80,000 and more than 20,000 mercenaries. Among the cities and towns in the Western Regions, which are generally small, it is the most powerful.

When Zhang Qian and his party came here, they were attracted by the charming music and dance. The active and lively Kucha people even pulled these strangers to sing and dance together, which surprised them.

Although my outfits have long been replaced with coarse cloth and animal leather jackets that are commonly used in the Western Regions, their obvious body characteristics cannot escape everyone's eyes.

Unexpectedly, these people remained enthusiastic and spoke in foreign languages. Although they couldn't understand them, their expressions meant everything. They welcomed the Han people very much.

Among the countries in the Western Regions, it can be called a great country, but its population is small compared to the Han Dynasty. According to people's habits, people are flocking animals, and even if there are few people, they will gather together.

So just a little spread will be enough to alarm the Kucha royal family.

He has a thick and curly beard, thin eyebrows, slightly small ears, tall nose, and white skin. The less deficient one is that he doesn't have much hair.

Zhang Qian observed the tall but not very strong Kuz soldier in front of him.

"Hey, you guys, I heard that you came from the Han Dynasty. Our king wants to see you. Can you go with us?" the soldier shouted.

Zhang Qian couldn't understand these words, so he had to ask for help from Tang Yifu next to him.

Does Tangyi's father understand? He understands that the language deviations of the Western Regions are not very large, and you can still understand them after listening carefully, but these slight differences sounded very difficult for the Han people.

"He said the King of Kucha wanted to see us, how about it? Should we go?"

Zhang Qian curled his lips, "Go! If we don't, look at their attitude and always follow us, we will be lighter. I guess we must be taken care of as prisoners."

People are under the eaves and have to bow their heads. Zhang Qian has no choice but to deal with them. Who told us to go to other people's land?

However, if he is so polite, the King of Kucha's attitude should not be too bad. Perhaps he will be very interested in getting along with the Han Dynasty.

The Kuz soldiers smiled, as if they were very interested in the knowledge of the Han people. They followed his thick beard and glanced at Zhang Qian again.

He saw that Zhang Qian was the leader.

This time he said something to Zhang Qian.

"It seems that we are quite capable when we can come here. Our King of Kucha likes heroes the most. If you go there, you will definitely be extremely welcome.

But I have a small request, brave foreigners, if you can still go back alive, please spread the enthusiasm of our Kucha people to the Han Dynasty!”

Listening to Tang Yifu's translation, Zhang Qian smiled, nodded at the Kuz soldier, and replied softly: "If Zhang Qian still has life, I will definitely bring the words!"

The Kucha Kingdom is very big, but there are only a few places where people generally live. Zhang Qian and the others are very lucky that the gathering place where they are located is the royal city.

But it is very simple to think about it. If it is not close, how could those royal families know so quickly?

According to Zhang Qian's opinion, the Western Regions all like to build the capital of the kings not far from the border, so as to facilitate the dispatch of troops and generals, so that the enemy will not attack the door, and it will take several days to find out.

...

"The wool comes from the sheep. Your Majesty wants to raise troops. If you do not obtain military supplies from the people of Dawn, the soldiers will be unable to move forward, and there will be no food and grass in the future, and you will be unable to move forward."

Sang Hongyang was born in a merchant family, and his profit-oriented approach would more or less affect him. This answer was something he said casually, but it also represented his truest thoughts.

There are many ways to enrich the country and strengthen the army. Why can we rely on dictatorship in this era?

"Although it is true that obtaining military supplies from the people, if you think about it carefully, it will not be a long-term solution. How could a strong country plunder the people's wealth and ointment to maintain this skeleton?" Liu Che sighed.

"Marriors can benefit from mountains, seas, rivers and lakes in all directions. This is fast money. Farmers struggle to harvest three inches of wheat and valleys. This is slow money. Fast money cannot be separated from slow money. Slow money depends on fast money. What is the difference between this and the country?

Your Majesty does not have to just think that the court is making things difficult for the people, but takes it from the people to use it for the people. Without huge wealth to support the operation, the court will be weak immediately.

Because feelings cannot be eaten as food, when it is time to leave, all the money falls and scatters are scattered. The meaning of merchants is to be generous and open, which is no different from that of the country."

Sang Hongyang insisted on his own ideas as always, explaining some things that ordinary businessmen can't tell but can't say.

The reason is true, but Sang Hongyang just said he wouldn't practice it? No, he thought of the official salt and iron wine camp.

This is a bit of a blow to the power of the merchants, and it seems that it is incomparable to the family business of his father, but just thinking about this, Sang Hongyang will not be called a wizard.

He regarded the selfish interests of ordinary people as a joke. Only by cultivating one's own self-cultivation and managing the country can it be more in line with his aesthetic sense. A person's money does not have much effect, and a group of people does not have much effect. Only a country's money can have great effect.

Sang Hongyang really wanted to bring his ideas to the emperor, but immature things always had hidden dangers in all aspects, so he had to choose not to say it, thinking that there would be enough time to improve them, which would live up to Liu Che's expectations.

These are his thoughts, so Liu Che naturally didn't know. If he knew, he wouldn't make a fuss. Will Liu Che not know these decrees?

The strong, trunk and weak branches are what the emperor pursues, but there are many types of strong, trunk and weak branches, so Liu Che would not be too paranoid.

"Sang Hongyang, you don't have many pedantic ideas. This is my happiest place, and what you said makes some sense.

But empty talk is empty talk after all. If you want to apply real and true strategies to the people, I hope that one day you will serve the court and benefit the people. Of course, I will wait, and hope that one day will come." Liu Che said with a smile.
Chapter completed!