The group of merchants who came to Shanshan from Sogdia was dressed in a very exotic way.They are tall and deep-nosed, and wear pointed hats with a front brim, which is convenient for shading and farsightedness, and is suitable for long journeys.The clothes are lapels, plackets, and narrow sleeves to accentuate the body line.However, the leader who walked in front and led the three precious white camels, the Han name was "Shi Bodao", because he was a little blessed, and the lines on his stomach were particularly prominent.When the Sogdians came to the mud, they were all stared at curiously by the rustic Loulan people, but this time, the Sogdians were surprised to see the new atmosphere in the mud city.Unlike their impressions, the gray and deserted small town seems to be full of vitality.There were many stalls in the bazaar, selling local grapes that had just been harvested, made mutton, hu cakes, corn cakes, reed mats, etc., and in addition to the Sogdians, there were really many people from other states who lingered in it, most of them were members of the envoys of the Western Regions states who traveled to and from the Han Dynasty.Occasionally, the local nobles of the mud could be seen passing by, and in the heat of August, they abandoned their bulky felt coats and hats, and no longer wore coarse cloth woven by robbe, but all wore light silk clothes.They are all Chinese-style clothes on the right, and below them are brocade silks, and a pair of leather boots are a bit nondescript.What's even more strange is that there are obviously high-nosed and deep-eyed Hu people in the Western Regions, but a few young nobles have their hair and comb their Han-style buns, and when they meet each other, they no longer practice the etiquette of the Loulan people, but make a move.Shi Bodao asked and found out that after the return of King Shanshan and his wife from the Han Dynasty, it caused a trend.During these two months, at the initiative of King Shanshan, the nobles not only began to learn Chinese.The clothes are better in the Han family's clothes, and when they meet, they have to give up their hands, and they comb their Han-style hair buns for beauty, and even when the nobles gather, they no longer eat Hu cakes, but use chopsticks for elegance, sit down separately, and eat corn.Of course, this trend is only the aristocracy that is rich and has surplus money, and has nothing to do, and it has not yet reached the common people.There are also many old-fashioned conservative aristocrats who adhere to tradition and look on coldly.After the Sogdians passed through the city, they whispered secretly: "Sure enough, as the Khotanese people said, the king of Shanshan is a donkey and not a donkey, a horse is not a horse, and the so-called mule is also." ”As a large country in the south, Khotan naturally looks down on King Shanshan's practice of abandoning tradition, and feels that it is nondescript.But Shi Bodao was more concerned about another thing: the toll collected by Shanshanguo had been reduced by half!
Although the price was expensive, the king of Shanshan also claimed that under the mediation of the Han official Ren Shilang, he reached an oath with the king of Hulai, and the two states were both vassals of the Han Dynasty, and they would not attack each other, and the caravans in Shanshan would no longer rob the caravans in the territory of Shanshan.It was these actions that brought back the prosperity of the mud city.The Sogdians' trade network spread across the Western Regions, and Shi Bodao had personally visited the city of Mudcuts a few months ago, so it was possible to guess that there must be a hand behind all this."
The real king of Shanshan is not Wei Tuqi, but that Ren Shilang.""
In this way, Ren Shilang really likes the prosperity of trade, and may not be like other Han officials, who dislike us and despise us."
Shi Bodao patted the big bag on the camel's back and said with a smile: "It's not in vain that we go back and forth to find what he needs." ”"We not only want to give Shanshan cattle the skills of cultivating and accumulating fertilizer, and give Shanshan the prosperity of trade, but also give Shanshan words."
In the courtyard of the east dock of the city, when Tao Shaoru reported that he had copied the filial piety scriptures bought from Dunhuang into several copies and would soon be able to teach them to the Loulan people who knew Chinese, Ren Hong was very satisfied.The people of Loulan do not have local characters.But they have come into contact with many kinds of characters through various routes, in addition to Han, there are Sogdia brought by Sogdian merchants, Bactria and Greco-Persia on silver coins.With the development of Loulan Shanshan, sooner or later there will be a need to use words.However, as far as Ren Hong knows, in history, although the Loulan people also use Han as their official character, the most popular is a North Indian alphabet called "Lu".It was hundreds of years later, with the collapse of the Kushan Empire of the Yueshi people, some Kushan refugees who believed in Buddhism brought it.Words are subtle and have a great impact on a nation's thinking and thinking.In the Western Regions, Chinese characters are regarded as getting up early in the morning and catching up late, although this is related to the fact that the languages of the Western Regions are too different from Chinese, but the imperial court is not attentive to ideological output."
If we don't occupy the propaganda and ideological front, others will occupy it!"
So Ren Hong gently pushed, ahead of the process of Loulan people accepting Han, with the endorsement of Shanshan Wang and his wife, Shanshan Guo set off a trend of learning Chinese, Ren Hong also ordered Tao Shaoru, the main force of this output, to learn Loulan dialect as soon as possible.Thinking of this, Ren Hong glanced at Tao Shaoru, who looked weak, this person has some talents, but he is too lustful to control his lower body."
I heard that a widow who owns three vineyards followed you to learn Chinese and learned it on your bed?""
Shilang, it's really just that I learned Loulan dialect, she learned Chinese, she was affectionate, and she was polite."
Tao Shaoru was serious and swore to the saint.Ren Hong pointed at him and warned: "You must remember, don't provoke those married men, I don't want to have a bloody case of rape in the mud city." ”The next thing is the word, starting from the younger generation of nobles, let Tao Shaoru teach them Han, and understand the Han through the treatises of filial piety and the boasting of King Shanshan to Chang'an.If nothing else, ten years later, the nobles of Shanshan will be the same as Wei Tuqi, and become spiritual Han people.Science and technology, trade and chemistry, these are the three huge advantages of the Han Dynasty over the backward Xiongnu in the process of competing for the Western Regions.Shanshan is just a pilot, if the effect is good, Ren Hong will report to Fu Jiezi and promote this model to the entire Western Regions.As long as these three weapons are used well, to the east of the Green Ridge, they are enough to be invincible!
Lao Fu returned to Dunhuang last month, as the Marquis of Yiyang, serving as the "Commander of Yumen", not only managing the entry and exit of foreign envoys in and out of Yumen, but also directly presiding over the war of the Han Dynasty's return to the Western Regions.Ren Hong knew that Fu Jiezi's eyes were always looking at the west, and his footsteps would never stop at the bank of the Peacock River, and the second March when he told Lao Fu to stay in the mud was coming to an end.At this moment, Lu Jiuyu came to report that a group of Sogdians had come to ask for an audience.After asking clearly that the person who came was "Shi Bodao", Ren Hong slapped his palm."
I've been waiting for them for months, but it's coming!"
Wanting to ask the Sogdians to help find a few things by himself, Ren Hong was about to go out eagerly, but changed his mind again.After pacing back and forth, he instructed Han Dangdang and others outside: "And deliberately make things difficult first, block them for half a moment, and then let the Sogdians in." ”After being stopped and interrogated, and after removing all their weapons, the Sogdians were finally allowed to enter the Han army's dock.Shi Bodao had already removed the pointed hat on his head, revealing his short hair that had been cut to the top, and had specially smeared some oil, which was the rule of the Sogdians when they met His Holiness.Han Dangdang's obstruction did not discourage this old spicy businessman who had been back and forth on the Silk Road more than ten times, and he kept smiling no matter how difficult the Han military officials were."
When you can't sell the goods, just laugh."
These are the words taught to him by his father, an old Sogdian merchant who had also traveled on the Silk Road for many years.Like the top cut, the smile that never changes is also the hallmark of the Sogdians.After Han Dangdang and the others let them go, Shi Bodao asked the rest of the Sogdians to wait outside, and only walked into the courtyard with a hemp bag in person, bowed in front of Ren Hong from a distance, and said in fluent Chinese: "Shi Bodao, the envoy of the king of Su Xue Xiè of Kangju Kingdom, has seen Ren Shilang!"
”"It turned out to be Shi Bodao."
Ren Hong stood on the porch, playing with a big wooden stick that he didn't know what to do, and asked knowingly."
I haven't seen you for three months, what have you come from?
Could it be that he wants to try his luck at Yumen Pass again and see if the Marquis of Yiyang will let you go and wait for you to enter the customs to pay tribute?
”Shi Bodao raised his head, made a humble gesture, and smiled helplessly: "We are here, naturally it is related to the ban on trade in Kangju by the Great Han. ”