Chapter 49: Searching for an Interpreter

  The Hexi Corridor is the only way to the Western Regions, and it is also an important part of the Silk Road. The reason why it is so important is entirely due to the geographical factors of the Hexi Corridor. The Hexi Corridor is backed by the Qilian Mountains with over 4,000 meters of snow-capped peaks in the south, and connected to the vast desert in the north. It was the snow water from the Qilian Mountains that nourished this magical land, making it rich in water and grass, and abundant in products. Throughout history, it has been a place of contention between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu.

  Zhang Qian was detained by the Xiongnu twice when he first traveled to the Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor, until Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu and the Hexi Corridor came under Han control. The Han established four counties in this region: Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang, known as the Four Counties of Hexi. For over three hundred years after that, the Four Counties of Hexi changed hands between the Han and Xiongnu several times, always being a focal point of contention between the two sides, until the Xiongnu split into northern and southern tribes, and the Northern Xiongnu were defeated and forced to migrate westward, giving the Han an opportunity to regain complete control over the Four Counties of Hexi.

  Liu Ze led his troops to march day and night, hastening their pace, and after more than a month they arrived at Yangguan. Yangguan, along with Yumenguan in the north, is known as one of the two gateways to the Western Regions, and it is also the westernmost point under actual control by the Han court. It was here that Tang poet Wang Zhihuan wrote the famous lines: "Let me urge you to drink another cup of wine, for once you leave Yangguan there are no more old friends."

  Yangguan, as one of the most important post stations on the Silk Road, was bustling with shops and people, a rare prosperous place on the western route. Liu Ze found an inn to accommodate his troops, fortunately, all the inns here were carriageways, merchants came and went, and it was nothing to accommodate several hundred people's business teams.

  Liu Ze ordered Pan Feng and Wu Anguo to arrange for the troops to rest, while he himself went with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to the city gate to handle the documents for passing through.

  The procedure was extremely simple. The officer who handled the matter lazily asked Liu Ze about his destination, what kind of goods he was selling, and how many people were accompanying him. After that, he collected a handling fee of one yuan and stamped a piece of sheepskin paper with a seal to complete the formalities.

  Originally worried about how to pass the inspection, Liu Ze made it much easier, but soon his mood became heavy again. During the Han Dynasty, the imperial court strictly ordered merchants not to sell iron ingots and iron products to the Xiongnu and other foreign tribes, while the border control checkpoints responsible for inspections, such as Yangguan, were mere formalities. He himself was carrying a large number of weapons and armor without being questioned, if it were true that merchants sold ironware to foreign tribes, then the imperial court's ban would be nothing but a waste of paper.

  After a sigh, Liu Ze led Guan Zhang to stroll along the Yangguan Earth Street. The market in Yangguan was not large, with only one long street, but there were many shops on both sides of the street, and the variety of goods was diverse. Compared to the prosperity of Luoyang, the shops here looked much simpler, and the local customs were also much more rustic. In addition to the local border people and business travelers, there were also many Westerners, chattering in their own language as they conversed.

  Zhang Fei didn't understand the foreigner's language (although Lukou was Persian, he spoke fluent Central Plains dialect), and said with surprise: "The people on this side speak very strangely, mumbling and muttering, not a single sentence can be understood."

  Liu Ze was taken aback, but he immediately thought of something and secretly cursed himself for forgetting. The destination of this trip was Congling, where the big Yan people wouldn't speak Chinese, so if they wanted to do business with them, they had to find an interpreter.

  Liu Zesi thought for a moment, then led Guan Zhang and the others into an inn, preparing to ask around where they could hire a translator who was familiar with the Western Regions language. The shopkeeper saw that the three men were dressed in bright clothes and had an extraordinary air about them, and hastily invited them to sit down in the shop.

  "Shopkeeper," Zhang Fei shouted, "do you have good wine and fine dishes here?"

  "Our store has excellent roasted mutton and fine grape wine, both of which are famous on Yangguan Street." The shopkeeper said with a smile.

  "Let's start with a dozen or so pounds of roasted mutton, and then bring out a few jars of good wine. I want to drink my fill." Zhang Fei was indeed very hungry, and he opened his mouth to ask for a dozen or so pounds of mutton.

  Before long, the shopkeeper brought up a large plate of roasted mutton and three jars of wine. Zhang Fei didn't care about anything else, tore off big chunks of mutton and wolfed them down.

  Liu Ze took a look at the broken and dusty cases, smelling the pungent smell of mutton wafting from the roasted lamb, and suddenly lost his appetite. He looked up to see Yun Chang with the same expression, and the two couldn't help but exchange a smile.

  Zhang Fei chewed on the meat and said vaguely, "Why aren't you eating? This mutton isn't bad, but compared to the pork from my old home, it's far inferior!"

  Liu Ze beckoned the shopkeeper over, but he wasn't sure if the current person was in charge of translating for foreigners. He asked, "Excuse me, is there someone here who speaks the languages of the Western Regions?"

  "You said you're an interpreter, but I don't know what business you're in or which country in the Western Regions you want to go to?"

  "I'm in the horse business and I'm heading towards Congling this time."

  "That customer is looking for an interpreter who can translate the Wusun Dawan language, there are not many interpreters who know this language, if you want to hire one, the price will be much higher than hiring an interpreter who knows the Xiongnu Yu Tian language."

  "How much is needed every month?"

  "Our translation fees are not calculated on a monthly basis, but rather on a per-trip basis. One trip to Congling costs around 10,000 yuan."

  "It's not calculated by month or day, heaven knows how long this trip will take, if it takes a year or two, isn't that a big loss?" Liu Ze heard about this rule for the first time and was very curious.

  The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Qiongling is thousands of miles away from Yangguan, the road is treacherous, it takes at least a few months to make a trip, if there are any unexpected situations, one or two years is not surprising. When encountering such a situation, what you bosses should worry about is that Tongyi has someone to take care of their meals every day, they don't worry at all."

  Liu Ze nodded and said: "Money is no problem, can you help find two interpreters?"

  "What bad luck, those few interpreters who are fluent in Wusun and Dayuan languages have all been hired by the merchant caravan, I reckon it'll take at least two to three months for them to return." The shopkeeper shook his head with difficulty.

  Liu Zei was anxious as soon as he heard it, let alone wait for two or three months, even if it were only two or three days, he couldn't wait. "Can the shopkeeper think of a solution for me? These two or three months are absolutely unbearable for me."

  The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead and said: "How could I have forgotten him?" He pointed to a guest sitting in the corner of the wall, "This Mr. Jia is proficient in the languages of various Western Regions countries, not only can he speak the language of the Xiongnu, Wusun, and Dayuan, but also the languages of Loulan and Qiuci are extremely fluent, it's just that Mr. Jia's price is ten times higher than that of ordinary interpreters, so it depends on whether you can afford it or not."

  "100 taels of gold? He's got some nerve asking for that. Why doesn't he just rob someone instead?"

  The shopkeeper smiled awkwardly and said, "This is also the reason why Mr. Jia has not been able to make a deal, after all, 100,000 yuan is not a small amount of money."

  "Third brother, don't speak rashly. Since this Mr. Jia dares to ask for such a high price, he must have something extraordinary about him. Please trouble the shopkeeper to introduce us, and I will thank you with gold and silver." Liu Ze restrained Zhang Fei and politely said to the shopkeeper.

  "It's nothing, don't mention it. If you're willing to hire this Mr. Jia, I'll be eternally grateful."

  "What does this mean?" Liu Ze was puzzled.

  The shopkeeper glanced at the guest and said, "Sir, you don't know that Mr. Jia is a local Wuyi native who has been awarded the title of filial piety and has served as an official. Later, for some reason, he abandoned his post and returned to his hometown. Although he makes a living by interpreting, he is also proud and arrogant, refusing to give up the 100,000 yuan commission. I don't know how many customers have been scared away. Look, every day he comes here to get drunk, owing me a lot of wine money. If you can hire him, it would be good if you could pay off his debt."

  As he spoke, the shopkeeper led Liu Ze to Mr. Jia's table, where Liu Ze carefully examined this person, who was about thirty years old, with a pale face and short mustache, slender build, already half drunk, with a look of despair on his face.

  The shopkeeper shook him and said: "Mr. Jia, wake up, there is a businessman who wants to hire you to go to Congling."

  Mr. Jia narrowed his triangular eyes, his drunken eyes blurry, and glanced at the store owner before saying impatiently, "I told you earlier, don't bother me if you don't have 100,000 yuan."

  Liu Ze took a step forward and said loudly: "I've paid one hundred taels of gold, I hope you can condescend to accept it."

  Upon hearing this, Mr. Jia's intoxication was completely gone, and he looked Liu Ze up and down, seeing that although he was young, his dignified and composed demeanor showed maturity and stability.

  "Really?"

  Liu Zeqian smiled and said: "Absolutely no joking, we can make a written agreement as proof."

  Mr. Jia took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Good! Shopkeeper, bring me pen and ink!"

  The shopkeeper immediately brought out brush, ink and wooden slips. Liangzhou was far from the Central Plains, people still used wooden slips as the main writing material, paper had not been applied to this place yet.

  Liu Ze smiled slightly and asked Guan Yu for two pieces of silk, discarding the wooden slip.

  Mr. Jia was also a knowledgeable person, and when he saw what Liu Ze was holding in his hand, it turned out to be high-quality Shu brocade. This place was on the Silk Road, and Shu brocade was a common sight, but Liu Ze actually used it for writing, which was extravagant enough to shock him secretly, and he couldn't help but look at Liu Ze with new eyes.

  "May I ask your honorable surname and great name, what business are you in?"

  "There was a man from Youzhou named Liu Ze, who had opened several shops in the capital. He heard that there were fine horses in the Western Regions and wanted to buy some to take back to the Central Plains."

  "Mr. Liu has come from afar, I'm afraid it's not just for a few ordinary horses?"

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  "I suppose Mr. Liu has come for the sweat-blood horse." Mr. Jia narrowed his beady eyes, with a resolute expression.

  Liu Ze secretly felt a shock, this Mr. Jia's eyes were really poisonous, just relying on his own intention to go to Congling and find Dawan Wusun to interpret, he had already determined that he was looking for the sweat-blooded horse, which was unbearable. At this time, he did not deny it, but smiled slightly and said: "Has Mr. Jia seen a sweat-blooded horse?"

  Mr. Jia shook his head and said, "The sweat-blood horse is a divine steed, rarely seen from start to finish. With your shallow connections, how can you possibly catch a glimpse of its majesty? I advise Liu Zhuang to give up this business. After the Da Yan Kingdom was destroyed by the Xiongnu, the sweat-blood horse has become a legend. For ten years, no one has laid eyes on it. Liu Zhuang, you're unlikely to reap any benefits from this trip."

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