Chapter 1529: Inspecting the Western Regions

None of the officials in the Western Regions expected that the first thing Li Xiang did after entering Gaochang State was to let Xiao Shougui go home to visit his relatives. If they didn't know the relationship between the two, many people thought that Xiao Shougui might have made a mistake and transferred him from the area where he was on duty to Chang'an City for arrest.

But those who are familiar with the relationship between the two know that this situation is impossible. The Western Regions can be governed in an orderly manner, and Xiao Shougui is definitely the first credit. If it weren't for Xiao Shougui's hard work, how could the county system be promoted in the Western Regions? It's still unknown how many places are fighting now.

So in this case, it would be too funny for Li Xiang to take action against Xiao Shougui. Didn't you see that Xiao Shougui took twenty people on the road? If there was such a crisis, how could he take only twenty people on the road with his intelligence? What's more, the Lanling Xiao family is not an ordinary small family. Do you say you can take action?

After Xiao Shougui set out, many people also speculated some actual situations, that is, in a short time, Li Xiang might not start a war with the Arab Empire. Xiao Shougui is the steward of the entire Western Region. If he is not in the Western Region, this war will be really difficult to fight.

Although Xiao Shougui left a large number of subordinates and Zhang Jiuli to help, some things are useless to be handed over to others, so those who speculated randomly also shut their mouths. At least in the next three months, the Western Region will remain peaceful. Many people's hearts are in their throats, and they are relieved at this moment.

Although the Tang Dynasty is strong, the Arab Empire is not at a disadvantage. Didn't you see that a war lost hundreds of thousands of people? It's not a big deal for the whole country. Of course, this knife must be stabbed very deep, but the whole country has not encountered any major troubles, which shows that they have the ability to deal with this war.

So in this case, the countries in the Western Regions do not want this war to start. If it weren't for the Tang Dynasty court insisting on fighting, I'm afraid none of them would be willing to do this.

After learning this inference, many people are relieved. If they insist on fighting, it will not be good for them. Although the Tang Dynasty has sent a lot of troops, it is still the same as last time. It is impossible to leave too much labor for the tribes in the Western Regions.

If all the Tang Dynasty troops go to the west to fight, and there are more young people in your tribe, what if you attack us? You all have a record of surrendering to the Arab Empire in the past. Now if the war on the front line is not favorable, you guys are likely to turn against us.

Let alone now, even if it is ten or twenty years later, Li Xiang will not really believe these people unless you can do something that makes people believe. So in this case, no matter what the final result is, as long as the war with the Arab Empire is launched, the young people of the tribes in the Western Regions will not have a good time.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Xiang also began to inspect various regions. After all, it has been a few years since he left the Western Regions. If he only relied on memorials to understand, he would not be a qualified leader. Li Xiang wanted to carry out an annihilation war against the Arab Empire this time, so he had to stabilize his rear. In these three months, in addition to the inspections in various places, some unstable factors had to be eliminated.

Although there is nothing big now, if the war really breaks out, these unstable factors are likely to cause disaster to the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, in this case, even if many people are dissatisfied, similar things must be done. For the safety of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang will never be soft-handed.

Li Xiang is a person from modern society. Of course, he knows how the Tang Dynasty lost control of the Western Regions. During the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty mobilized the troops in the Western Regions back to pacify the rebellion, and the tribes in the Western Regions immediately rebelled. So don't listen to how good they sing now. When there is a chance, these people will be the first to stand up and rebel.

What Li Xiang has to do now is not to give them this opportunity, or even not to give them this strength.

Because Xiao Shougui returned to Chang'an, Zhang Jiuli came quickly. Li Xiang had to have someone familiar with the local situation by his side. Cheng Chuliang and others had to stay in the camp, so these people did not come. They also wanted to meet Li Xiang, but due to their duties, they could only wait for Li Xiang to come to them for inspection. It was impossible for them to take the initiative to come to Li Xiang. If you bring soldiers here without authorization, are you here to meet His Highness or to rebel?

"Gaochang is indeed as you said. It is much more prosperous than before. When we came here, the market area was less than one-fifth of the current area. Now there are merchants from all countries in this market, and the variety of traded goods is more than before. I don’t know how much profit the caravans coming and going on this road will create for my Tang Dynasty."

Standing on the high ground of Gaochang market, Li Xiang saw the prosperity of this market with 10,000 people.

This is the largest trading market in the entire Western Regions. All goods from the inland areas must be sent from here to the Western Regions, and goods from the Western Regions must also pass through here and enter major cities in the inland areas. Barter between the two sides also happens from time to time, so looking from this place, the people below are like ants, countless in number.

"When your highness founded this market, I hadn't come here yet. But from the past six months since I came here, I've seen that the scale of this market is constantly expanding. Now the periphery has been fenced off and is undergoing renovation. It will be put into use soon. By then, 15,000 people can trade in such a place. If it weren't for the yellow sand all over the sky, I would really think this is Chang'an or Luoyang."

At first, Zhang Jiuli didn't believe that there was such a large trading market in the northwest, but he believed it after seeing it more. There is also a lot of trade between the two places.

Of course, the Tang Dynasty also collected a lot of taxes here. As long as you want to do business in it, you must pay a part of the tax. According to the amount of goods you sell, you must pay a certain proportion of tax. Many of the troops of Gaochang Kingdom rely on this market for their livelihood, so they are also very concerned about the tax here. (End of this chapter)