Chapter Fifty-Five: First Arrival in Coastal City

"Of course, the great clans will not be suppressed without reprieve. They may provide investment and jointly operate the salt wells and mines with the government, sharing profits at the end of each year. Though they will lose some income from farmland, they will gain commercial profits instead. There will be clear-minded families who will support us, and those who are not so wise will simply be dealt with according to the law." Li Wenyuan smiled as he spoke to the others.

"Exempting taxes for those with less than five mu of land—once this edict is issued, I'm afraid it will spark a wave of family divisions," said Zhang Juntai.

"It's easier to manage once families split. After dividing, each branch will look out for its own interests and will be unable to unite as a group to pressure the authorities," Xue Renyue added.

"These are all long-term plans. The immediate priority is to build them cities and houses, have them work alongside us, and once finished, the homes will be given to them for free. Then, send people to register their family information. Go now," Li Wenyuan ordered.

Xue Renyue nodded, rose, and left. Li Wenyuan turned to Wudelu. "Wudelu, I need to take Juntai out to attend to some matters. You must remain at the camp, keep up the daily drills, and do not let military discipline slacken."

Wudelu accepted his orders and departed, leaving only Zhang Juntai and Li Wenyuan in the tent. "Juntai, bring the gold and silver. Let's go see the maritime market," Li Wenyuan said with a smile.

Under the scorching sun, even seated on horseback, Li Wenyuan felt the heat of the desert rising beneath his feet. It was fortunate his mount was a hardy Shandan warhorse, allowing them to press deep into the vast sands.

He took a drink from his flask, wiped the sweat from his brow, and asked Zhang Juntai, "Juntai, how much farther do we have to go?"

Zhang Juntai called over the scout who had previously discovered the market and asked him. Returning, he said, "Manager, we’ll arrive at the maritime market in just another hour."

On this journey, Zhang Juntai and Li Wenyuan, accompanied by the scout who had first found the market, disguised themselves as traveling merchants from the Central Plains. Li Wenyuan played the role of the manager, Zhang Juntai the bookkeeper, and the scout the assistant. All three wore plain cloth garments; the laws of the Sui Dynasty prohibited merchants from wearing brocade robes, requiring them instead to dress in black cloth.

Traveling through the desert in black cloth, Li Wenyuan cursed inwardly for a long time, but there was nothing to be done. He could only jot this grievance in his notebook for future reprisal.

After journeying silently for about another hour, with the golden sun descending in the west, Li Wenyuan and his companions climbed a sand dune and at last saw a city nestled beside a small oasis below. It was situated in a basin much lower than the surrounding dunes, where high groundwater seeped to the surface, creating a tiny oasis.

Li Wenyuan dismounted, leading his horse on foot down the slope. Even a Shandan warhorse could stumble on such a steep descent, risking throwing its rider, so the only safe option was to walk.

The three of them led their horses down the dune, approaching the maritime market. Though merely a black market, it was surrounded by tall rammed-earth walls. Upon Zhang Juntai’s explanation, Li Wenyuan learned that these walls were especially sturdy and durable in the arid desert climate, and they were not built for defense but to keep out the sand.

In the desert, sandstorms often sweep dunes along in their wake—after a storm, a dune might suddenly appear or vanish entirely. Thus, even though the market was in a basin with natural barriers of dunes, they still needed rammed-earth walls for protection against the encroaching sand.

At the city gate, Li Wenyuan paid the customary entrance fee—a silver ingot—and received a waist token. This token served as proof of identity and ensured the safety of both parties in any transaction. Within the market, people addressed each other not by name but by the name on their token. The token also served as a receipt for the entrance fee, which could be reclaimed upon leaving the city by returning the token.

Li Wenyuan’s token read “Lu Jia.” Curious, he asked the man issuing the tokens, "Brother, this is our first time at the maritime market and we’ve never heard of such things. What does 'Lu Jia' mean?"

The man glanced around, saw that no one else was coming, and replied with a smile, "Here, the names on the waist tokens are aliases for guests in the city. ‘Lu’ refers to the famous merchant Lu Buwei of the Qin era; ‘Jia’ comes from the sequence Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui, the ten heavenly stems. There’s no particular order."

Realization dawning, Li Wenyuan asked, "So, with all the merchants coming and going, how many tokens can you distribute?"

The man chuckled. "You must be joking. Throughout history, there have been countless famed merchants. Besides the ten heavenly stems, there are also the twelve earthly branches, and combined—stem paired with branch—there are eighty-two names altogether. How many people could possibly take all the tokens?"

Li Wenyuan finally understood: ten heavenly stems, twelve earthly branches, and their combinations make up the sixty-year cycle of the Chinese calendar.

Just then, a passerby called out, "The Xingli Auction House is holding an auction of female slaves from the Qin Kingdom today. If you’re interested, hurry up!"

Li Wenyuan glanced at the speaker and heard the man at the gate add, "Just head straight ahead, then take the second left after the city square—you’ll find the Xingli Auction House at the end. The Qin Kingdom girls have an excellent reputation, especially as chambermaids."

Li Wenyuan laughed heartily, thanked the man, and followed his directions. At the center of town was a fountain, the likes of which had never been seen in the Central Plains—a Western-style fountain common in later ages. The scout commented, "Manager, that fountain was designed and built a few years ago by a slave from the Qin Kingdom. Because of this ingenious design, the city lord ransomed him and made him the chief supervisor of all construction."

Moving forward, they passed a man sitting on the roadside, his head wrapped in a turban, playing a strange-looking flute. In front of him sat a wicker basket. As he played a winding, melodious tune, the basket began to sway, and soon a black snake pushed open the lid and rose, swaying in the air to the music. The onlookers erupted in applause and amazement. When the music slowed, the snake slowly retreated into the basket, finally biting down on the lid and pulling it shut just as the music ended.

The scout at their side explained, "Manager, that man is from Shendu; he often performs snake dances here to earn money."

In the Han dynasty, Zhang Qian’s western expedition reached a kingdom called Daxia in Afghanistan, where he heard of a land called Shendu to the southeast, not far from the southwestern border of Han. Emperor Wu even tried to open a route there from the southwest. In fact, Shendu is what later generations called India.

Listening, Li Wenyuan marveled inwardly. Truly, this place had gathered talented and extraordinary people from all corners of the world.