Chapter 678: Operating a City! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Big Uncle, the lands of Zhao are good, but I've already thought of a place.” Wang Chong suddenly spoke, interrupting Wang Gen's words. The seated Wang Gen's expression froze, his entire body stunned.
”…I've also thought for a very long time about the question of the fief. Although Zhao County is good, for me, there's an even more suitable place.”
Wang Chong blew the bubbles off the surface of his tea and took a sip, his expression unperturbed as he spoke.
”You already have an idea?”
Wang Gen's eyes widened, his mind unable to grasp the notion. Wang Chong's words had caught him completely by surprise.
”Where do you want your fief? What place could be better than Zhao County?”
”Wushang!”
Wang Chong extended a finger toward an unremarkable location on Wang Gen's map, to the west of Longxi. Upon seeing the place that Wang Chong pointed out, Wang Gen found himself growing nervous, the smile fading from his face.
”Chong-er, are you joking with me?” Wang Gen said in wide-eyed disbelief. His first reaction was that Wang Chong was playing a joke on him, he had misheard, or Wang Chong had pointed to the wrong place on the map. But the earnestness on Wang Chong's face clearly indicated that this was no joke, so Wang Gen quickly turned serious.
”Chong-er, a fief is no minor matter. Do you know how many clans and nobles are envious of us? These are the golden words of the Sage Emperor, a major affair unprecedented in the last few decades. Other than the capital, you can pick any place in the entire Great Tang. This is an enormous show of favor.”
Wang Gen had always viewed his nephew with great importance and trust. From a certain point of view, he favored him more than his own son. Others said that Wang Chong, not his own son Wang Li, was the Qilin son of the Wang Clan, the number one figure of the Wang lineage's younger generation, yet not only was Wang Gen not displeased, he felt honored and proud of such praise.
But this time was completely different.
”Wushang? Do you know what sort of place that is? 'Of all the places in the world, no place is more prosperous than Longyou.' There's no better choice than picking a fief in Longxi. Moreover… although you developed a few conflicts with Geshu Han during the Regional Commanders incident, the fief is by His Majesty's decree, so not even Geshu Han would dare to object. If this matter is done well, it will be of enormous benefit to both you and our Wang Clan. And yet you want to set up your fief in this barren and impoverished land near Qixi? Just what are you thinking?”
Wang Gen spoke these words with great solemnity, and he straightened up and looked gravely at his nephew.
Wang Gen had no impression of this place known as 'Wushang', but he did know the place that Wang Chong had pointed out on the map. If Wang Chong had picked a slightly better place, Wang Gen would have never reacted this way. But Wang Chong had insisted on picking this barren land on the road to the west. This was a complete waste of the fief that the Imperial Court had given to Wang Chong and the Wang Clan.
”Haha, Big Uncle, I know you find this very difficult to accept, but I naturally have my reasons for this.”
Wang Chong smiled at the rebuke and took a light sip of his tea. His expression was calm and natural, not at all nervous.
”Then what is it?”
Perhaps influenced by Wang Chong's demeanor, Wang Gen took in a deep breath and relaxed a little.
”Haha, Big Uncle, Wushang truly is an impoverished land without much prosperity. But, Big Uncle, take a careful look. Where is it located?”
Wang Chong gestured his finger over the map. Wang Gen had not noticed it at first glance, but his eyes widened as he noticed this time. He probed, ”You are speaking of the Silk Road?”
”Yes! The Silk Road!”
Wang Chong smiled and pointed at a place close to Wushang. A winding road ran through that place, that famed road to the west frequently mentioned in all of the Great Tang and the foreign kingdoms, the Silk Road.
”You have a plan for this road?”
Wang Gen glanced at Wang Chong as he contemplated the matter, his expression slowly losing its sternness. The Silk Road to the west was also the famous Road of Gold. Countless merchants from the east and west traveled along this road, bringing with them silk, spices, jewels, jade ware, porcelain, camels, tea leaves… Almost all the Hu merchants and Western Regions merchants operating in the Great Tang used this road.
The immense price disparity between the goods of the east and west had resulted in immense profits, giving rise to many extremely wealthy merchants.
Those Hu merchants who traded with the Great Tang were all fabulously wealthy. Pearls, agate, jade ware… they treated them like earthen tiles.
The products they traded in were all staples, and the fortunes they had accumulated were so vast that it was impossible for many people to even imagine it. Even the great clans felt inadequate before such wealth. In terms of importance, the road to the west was the world's number one, far more important than the famed Tea Horse Road of the southwest.
From a certain perspective, the Great Tang owed no small part of its current prosperity to the Silk Road that connected it to the various other countries.
”Big Uncle, the lands of Zhao truly are decent, but it's stagnant water. The most revenue it can make will be two hundred thousand, but the Silk Road to the west is different. Whether it was the Great Han Dynasty, the previous dynasty, or this dynasty, the first thing they did after uniting the realm was to reopen this Silk Road that connects the east to the west. One can easily imagine the importance with which the empire views this trade route,” Wang Chong declared with confidence.