Chapter 119: Shop
After the debate, the nobles of the Royal Court inquired everywhere about which Hu merchant the materials were purchased from. Bisha released the news that the ornate brocade came from the Central Plains. The Hu merchants who came to inquire about the price these days were as plentiful as carps in the river. Even at the price of a hundred gold for a bolt, the supply could not meet demand.
Xie Chong asked puzzledly, “Why doesn’t the princess sell directly to the nobles of the Royal Court?”
The princess’s dowry was not lacking in tea, silk, jewelry, and other rare goods that would be extremely popular in the Western Regions. The princess sent only a fraction of the scriptures, gold and jade Buddha statues, and silk to the Buddhist temple. The rest still remained in the treasury. Since the Royal Court nobles scrambled madly for these silks, why not sell them directly to the nobles instead of buying stores to sell them in?
Yaoying explained to him: “In the end, we are outsiders. Selling directly to the nobles, firstly, would offend the merchants here, and secondly, it would be difficult to set an appropriate price notwithstanding that it is likely to attract people’s jealousy. It is better to follow the practices here. It is less trouble, and it gives these people a living. In that way, even if we leave, they can still make a living in the future.”
The dowry was too eye-catching and inconvenient to carry and transport. It must be sold as soon as possible, but its entirety could not be sold from her. The Western Regions was different from the Central Plains. Here, where the nobility commanded a considerable amount of power, trade was monopolized by the nobility. The slightest carelessness would offend the major nobles. If that happened, not only would business be impossible, but it would also invite disaster. It was better to cooperate with the local nobles, as the shade under a large tree was reassuring, and it also could avoid disputes, leaving a way out for the future.
Xie Chong and Xie Peng looked at each other then said, “It is the princess who is shrewd!”
They had thought they could just sell those goods for gold and silver.
Yaoying called for the old man and asked, “What did you do for a living?”
The old man respectfully said, “Princess, we all know how to make a living! Some of us can work the land and farm, some of us can raise cattle and sheep, collect sheep dung, weave felts, process wool, twist woolen ropes, and some of us can weave brocade!”
Although the Royal Court was deep in the desert, because of the meltwater from the icy mountains, it also had vast fertile land and pastures for planting mulberry and hemp fruits. Like Gaochang, there were large vineyards, and cattle and sheep flocked on the slopes. The old man used to be a herdsman for his master and would help weave felts during the busy season.
Yaoying talked to the old man about the silk store, “I will ask the Hu merchants to help manage the store. You pick a few who can read and write to help on the counter of the store, and pick a few who have the craftsmanship to be apprentices in the workshop. I brought a lot of patterns from the Central Plains, enough for you to use for years.”
The old man had been a steward. When he heard this, he immediately understood that Yaoying was planning for their future, so he was so moved that he burst into tears and knelt down to kowtow.
Yaoying had seen that the old man had a lot of prestige among the people, and smiled lightly: “Now there are only two stores, look carefully after them. Do not rush to make money and profit, but first, find a way to live.”
The old man tearfully nodded in response, looking more and more respectful.
Yaoying asked, “Where were you sold from? How many Han Chinese are there in the area?”
The old man replied, “Some of us are captives from Hexi, some from Shazhou, Guazhou, and some are locals… Of all the Han Chinese here, some work for the nobles like us, some are lower colleagues of the nobles, and some are from the noble families and large clans and are allied with the nobles by marriage.”
Yaoying mused and asked, “Are any of them from the large clans that command an army?”
The old man froze for a moment, then understood Yaoying’s intention, his face suddenly becoming grave and solemn. He bowed down toward Yaoying, touching the ground with his head and kowtowing with a thud.
“I, Qi Nian, am a descendant of the Qi clan from Hexi, and would like to be under the princess’s command!”
Yaoying smiled and gestured for Xie Chong to help Qi Nian up, not answering his words.
Qi Nian did not dare to ask more questions. His face was full of undisguised uplifting fervor, whispering: “Princess, there are still large clans around who still yearn for the Central Plains, there are still families secretly training volunteer army in order to be of use when the Emperor dispatches troops to come to help them. Unfortunately, they are not strong enough to rebel. The Royal Court is peaceful, but other places have been occupied since long ago. Shazhou, being so far away, has no way to exchange news.”
Yaoying looked as normal and said, “A single spark can start a prairie fire.”
She could keep recruiting people, contacting the large clans all around who still longed for their homeland, gathering the exiled Han Chinese, using the money and silk in her dowry to exchange for military expenses, bribing the Hu merchants, collecting manpower, and traveling disguised as caravans to and from the various tribes in the Western Regions. These people were no match for the Northern Rong, but they also had their own usefulness: for example, to help pass on news.
No matter where she was, she had to personally recruit an army that she could rely on.
It would be difficult to succeed relying on Xie Qing and them alone.
Qi Nian looked at Yaoying and was silent for a long time. His cloudy eyes once again raised a burning flame as amazement, admiration, excitement, and exhilaration flashed one by one, and the blood in his body was racing.
He had heard the guards speak of the princess’s origin. The princess was left stranded in the Western Regions, helpless, but did forget to save them, mere common people. Not only that, but she also planned for their future. The princess was their savior!
Their prayers day and night must have moved the Gods and Buddhas so that the Gods and Buddhas sent the princess to save them.
Qi Nian once again fell to his knees at Yaoying’s feet, tears falling in succession.
He had a strong premonition in his heart: the princess would surely bring them back to their hometown!
When the people in the courtyard saw this, they put down the food in their hands and stood up. One by one, they knelt, like a tidal wave, prostrating before Yaoying.
Ashina Bisha’s Chinese was not so good. After entering the courtyard, Yaoying was either instructing her personal soldiers to calm the old and weak or talking to the elderly man. It was inconvenient for him to go forward, and he stood at a distance to watch.
When everyone in the courtyard knelt towards Yaoying, he couldn’t help but put away his lazy attitude and straightened his back to gaze at this Han Princess who had been displaced to the Royal Court.
She stood in front of the steps with a smile on her lips and a magnificent and imposing temperament, like a snow lotus at the summit of the Tianshan Mountains.
So noble, so unattainable.
Bisha was dazed for a long time.
On the way back to the palace, Yaoying asked Bisha to help her inquire and see if there was land for sale in the Royal Court. Qi Nian and they were skilled at farming, so she wanted to buy a piece of land so that the old and weak women could find a self-reliant livelihood. That way, it would also be more convenient to resettle people.
Bisha agreed to help her inquire but was adamant that he did not need to be rewarded.
Yaoying laughingly said, “That won’t do.”
She asked Bisha to help her, so naturally, she had to pay.
Bisha helplessly spread his hands and said, “Princess is really too formal. Why do you have to be so polite to me? We are friends, you are the king’s guest, how can I ask for a reward?”
Yaoying smiled and said, “If so, I wouldn’t dare to ask for the general’s help. I heard that there are a lot of Sogdiana people in the city who help run errands.”
Bisha looked at her smiling face, his heart like a deer in an accident, and he dared not decline her anymore.
The few of them went to the market again and strolled around. Yaoying had already inquired clearly about the rules of the Royal Court’s bazaar. She paid a sum of money, bought the store, and hired two shrewd Hu people to take care of the store. The store originally sold silk and would continue to operate the same trade.
She put out the news, and the merchants came together to the shop. They asked the Hu people, “Is it true that the silk of the Central Plains’ Princess will be distributed to us for sale?”
The Hu shopkeeper nodded in response with a beaming smile and said, “But everyone has come at a bad time. The batch of silk has already been sold to the Kang family and the Xue family. There are not many left.”
The merchants were shocked and swarmed into the store, fearing that they would be late and be robbed of all the silk by others.
Of the silk that Yaoying brought from the Central Plains, part of it was sent to the Buddhist temple, part of it was used to bribe and enlist some nobles of the Royal Court in exchange for the care of the marketplace’s officials, and part of it was distributed to the Hu merchants for sale. The rest was left in the store to be sold slowly.
In a short while, she would be able to use the money to recruit her own manpower.
Bisha sent Yaoying back to the palace, and then went directly to the Buddhist temple to ask for an audience with Tumoroga.
The Buddhist temple was quiet. Roga was reading a sutra, his figure slim from behind.
“King…” Bisha removed the saber from his belt and knelt on one knee in the corridor, saying solemnly, “I would like to ask you one thing.”