Chapter 1439 - 1346: Seeds

Out of the five hundred people Zhao Xin led, only thirteen returned, while others were lost along the way, it’s uncertain if they can be found.

Zhao Xin said, "Just after we crossed Jiuquan, we encountered a gang of horse bandits. They numbered around a thousand, occupied a piece of land, and built a city. The city walls were made of yellow mud, not very high, but it still resembled a city. Our guide said that during the years of warfare in the Central Plains, the Western Regions were also unstable, with countless small and large states perishing, so we assumed this was a newly established small state."

"As a result, once we entered, we were captured. Eventually, we fought our way through the horse bandits, took over the city, and only left after changing their leader. Before leaving, we sent a messenger to Xiliang, hoping Xiliang would send troops to take over the land and people. Due to time constraints, we didn’t wait there."

"The Western Regions are indeed chaotic, with various states discontent with each other and often fighting. But we carry Your Majesty’s national credentials and official passes, so most states let us pass, except for Zhang Shi."

Zhao Xin said, "Zhang Shi is well-versed in Buddhist Law, and most states along the way in the Western Regions follow Buddhism. So, with his knowledge, even when we faced difficulties, he managed to resolve them. By the time we reached Lop Nur, we still had four hundred and eighty-nine people."

How did those people disappear?

Because after entering Lop Nur, they were very unlucky. It was a desert, hard to navigate, and even though the guide had traveled there before, they still got lost once inside.

Before they could find the right direction, they encountered a merchant caravan being chased by horse bandits. Zhao Xin turned to flee with his men, but Zhang Shi drew his sword and charged forward.

He had no choice but to turn back to retrieve Zhang Shi. Amidst the chaos, people screamed and then a sandstorm rose quickly from the horizon, sweeping over them.

Zhao Xin only had time to reach for Zhang Shi...

When they awoke, only just over fifty people were left by their side, the rest swept away, unsure of where, and aside from Zhang Shi whom he held onto, there were three from the merchant caravan and two horse bandits.

Zhao Xin immediately killed the horse bandits and took in the trembling merchants, continuing westward while searching for people.

Then, they were sold out by those three merchants.

Zhao Xin prided himself on being smart, and Zhang Shi wasn’t dumb either, yet they both failed to see through the deceit and cunning of those merchants. Pretending to be loyal, they claimed to know the way westward, familiar with the route, as they had traveled the trade path for many years; whatever the guide knew, they knew too!

Zhao Xin and Zhang Shi thought they were honest, not to mention they were indeed Western merchants.

Oh, those three were fair-skinned, deep-set eyes, with Western facial features. Zhang Shi had encountered many Western merchants, assuring Zhao Xin, "Western merchants value trust and loyalty, they won’t deceive us."

Then the group was sold to a slave trader, destined to mine gemstones.

Of course, Zhao Xin wouldn’t surrender, resisting and escaping, only to be captured by the local authorities, scattered and sent to various states to work as slaves.

They tended sheep, fed horses, harvested and planted fodder, even performing night soil duties.

Because the personnel were dispersed, Zhao Xin couldn’t find an opportunity to escape for half a year, but eventually, he used his silver tongue to persuade the Great King of a state to establish diplomatic relations with Hua Country, and was then released.

Yet before they could celebrate, upon exiting the state, the small state fought its neighbor over water rights, and the battle escalated significantly. The Great King who sent them off less than two days prior was killed, and they got caught up in the war, captured and taken to the northwest. By the time they persuaded the new King to let them leave, a year had passed.

Besides that, due to being lost halfway and various accidents, they completely lost track of their location. And small states knew only hearsay about Central Plains, with no detailed route to Shule. After asking many, only a few could vaguely point a direction.

Zhao Xin clutched Zhao Hanzhang’s hand, crying uncontrollably, "But the directions they pointed were wrong, a tiny deviation led to errors of great distance. We got colder the further we went, finally reaching a place called Kobudo, only there realizing we took the wrong path."

Yet Zhao Xin felt having gone astray to such extent, might as well continue the mistake, crossing Kobudo, through Northern Xiongnu territory to Wusun, then from Wusun reached Dayuan, before heading back to Shule.

On their journey, they collected seeds of local crops, alongside some herbs and local specialties. They saw cotton in parts of Wusun, Dayuan, and Shule.

Without exception, they exercised strict control over cotton seeds. Having lost considerable money, travel expenses, and funds for buying seeds had to be earned on the spot.

The Zhao Family’s business acumen in Zhao Xin awoke, accurately identifying the needed goods for the next stop, buying low and selling high, sustaining the envoy throughout.

Upon reaching areas with cotton seeds, he racked his brains, knowing that city gates monitored foreign merchants rigorously.

Originally intending to establish relations, after several instances, Zhao Xin learned to be cautious, no longer presenting national credentials upfront, but first probing indirectly.

Ultimately, they established business connections within city confines, spending nearly two months in each place building networks, acquiring cotton seeds in large batches outside the city, then forming a caravan to secretly return.

The return journey was difficult but smoother, having experience reduced numerous dangers.

Yet some dangers were unavoidable, like horse bandits wandering the grasslands, stony deserts, and wastelands.

They were unlucky, encountering a large group of horse bandits raiding; despite their decent martial skills, they were still chased.

But they were lucky too, meeting Zhao Erlang patrolling far away out of boredom.

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "So did the cotton seeds come back?"

Zhao Xin replied, "Yes, not only did I bring one batch, but also excess purchased ones. When I met merchants heading to Hua Country, I divided the seeds among them, entrusting them to bring back, as long as they reached Hua Country, the seeds were entirely theirs to take."

If they planted or sold them, the seeds would spread, which was a boon for them.

Two carts of seeds were currently parked outside the palace gates.

Zhao Hanzhang immediately ordered the items brought in, the crowd joining the excitement.

When the burlap bags were opened, revealing seeds wrapped in oilcloth, the civil and military officials couldn’t contain their excitement.

Civil servants said: From now on, people won’t suffer the cold anymore.

Military officials said: From now on, soldiers won’t be cold on expeditions.

With quilts and clothes stuffed with cotton, both civil and military officials were using them, some distributed as palace New Year gifts, most bought with money.

Due to cotton’s scarcity, prices were quite high, not only for ordinary people, even officials with some assets found equipping their families with quilts and clothes costly.

Now with more seeds, the price should come down, right?