Chapter 1995: The Yang Clan of Ganzhou

The sprawling mountain ranges were natural walls, the snow-capped peaks gleaming under the sunlight were valiant generals, and the dense forests were stalwart guards, all together protecting Zhuhai, this pearl that the gods had dropped upon the mortal world.

The mountain range on the eastern side of the Zhuhai Basin was precisely the region where snowy peaks were densely concentrated—majestic, towering, and dazzling snow-capped summits were everywhere, enough to make one's eyes go wide. Among the escort convoy, there were quite a few officers and soldiers setting foot in Anxi for the first time, and as they marched, they could not help but look around, taking in the surrounding scenery.

For those from Ganliang, it was generally only after passing the Gaochang Road and crossing the Tianshan Mountains that one felt the difference of foreign lands, experiencing some distinct local customs and ways of life. Of course, with tens of thousands of Han military personnel, civilians, and merchants flooding in, a comprehensive transformation of this land had already begun.

Military supplies that could be directly escorted by prefecture-level officers and soldiers were already considered special materials. For instance, what Yang Fu was transporting on this trip included large quantities of gunpowder, fire arrows, arrowheads, iron spears, as well as salt and raw iron.

All were fine goods, hard currency that circulated throughout the realm, and most were produced in the workshops of Liangzhou. As the capital of Hexi and one of the core hubs of the northwestern border defense, Liangzhou City had seen remarkable progress in its handicraft industry over the years. Numerous official, merchant, and civilian workshops and factories had sprung up, the most notable being the iron-smelting, gunpowder, and firearms factories established with imperial approval.

It could even be said that these military-oriented factories had been built specifically to support the Western Expedition. They were large in scale, employed many craftsmen, and had high output. A portion of the various craftsmen the imperial court dispatched to support Anxi had been drawn from the three major factories of Liangzhou.

In fact, up to the twenty-sixth year of Kaibao, apart from strategic weapons like cannons that were directly allocated by the capital region, most other military supplies were dispatched from Helong, and Liangzhou was the largest transit point among them.

At the same time, having to bear both the production and supply of materials while also fulfilling transit functions, the burden on the officials, military, and civilians of Hexi naturally increased year after year—especially in the past two years. Even when the old King Ming was in office and excelled at management and coordination, and paid particular attention to defense, Hexi had reached the point of being unable to bear the load.

If one were to say that in the Longyou region, corrupt officials accounted for a large share of the problems, then Hexi could be said to be purely burdened by the Western Expedition, contributing its strength, its sweat, and its blood to it.

Deputy Commander of Prefectural Military Affairs—the rank was not low at all. In the military system of the Great Han, it was merely an insignificant mid-level officer, but in Ganzhou, he was a figure of considerable standing.

Yet even such a prominent figure had to personally undertake the bitter task of escorting supplies, a job for auxiliary soldiers, and had done so three times in total. Of course, throughout the entire Hexi officialdom, military and civil officials from dozens of prefectures and counties, from County Defenders and above, had basically all personally escorted supplies to Anxi at least once. Only the principal officials of the prefectures could be exempted from this duty. As a military officer, Yang Fu making a few extra trips was also within reason.

Of course, among the convoy of over seven hundred people, more than four hundred were conscripted laborers and corvée workers—such a ratio of officials to commoners was already considered high. The laborers responsible for the heavy work also could not help but look around, except their gazes were more drawn to the pastures and farmlands in the mountain-lake basin.

If it were just wild grass and wasteland, that would be one thing, but after several years of development, a batch of relatively mature agricultural and pastoral production areas had already emerged. Along the shores of Zhuhai, one could see stretches of wheat fields in excellent condition, already at harvest time—it looked to be a bountiful year.

At the same time, there were also vast pastures, with lush green grass and visibly rich fodder. At every interval along the road, one could see herders tending their cattle and sheep.

Here by the shores of Zhuhai, farmland and grassland seemed to have merged—this was the confluence of agriculture and pastoralism. Two clearly different civilizations, yet they did not appear to conflict. Of course, the land was vast and the population sparse, giving both farmers and herders ample space—perhaps that was the main reason this harmony was maintained.

During the campaign against the Kara-Khanids, the slaughter had been heavy, causing a sharp decline in the local population. Therefore, in present-day Anxi, there was basically no land conflict; what was serious were the ethnic and religious contradictions.

The laborers and corvée workers generally had small mental capacities and no room for much thought. Seeing that vibrant agricultural and pastoral production area, all they felt was envy. Hexi certainly had plenty of farmland and pastures, but the working conditions there were vastly inferior to those of the Zhuhai Basin. Not to mention anything else, this boundless blue lake alone was an extremely formidable foundation for water conservancy.

Yang Fu could be considered a "regular" in Anxi, so naturally he was not as astonished by these sights as his subordinates who had never seen the world; his expression remained calm throughout.

Still, there were ripples in his heart. Setting everything else aside, at least the changes around Guo City were considerable. Every time he came, he could discover extremely obvious progress, and along this journey, he noticed that even quite a few irrigation canals had been dug.

Yang Fu could not help but think of a piece of land his family had enclosed in Anxi—it had been acquired on his second trip to Anxi, also by the shores of Zhuhai, more than thirty li west of Guo City. It was not large, only about two thousand mu.

Originally, it had just been in response to the imperial court's call. He had arranged for some hands from the clan to come and manage it, and had also captured some local natives to do the labor. Because it was so far away, he had not placed much importance on it before—he had not even carefully reviewed the output and accounts of the past two years. The distance was simply too great, making it truly inconvenient.

The Yang family was a major clan of Ganzhou, sharing the same lineage as the late Earl of Changwu, Yang Tingzhang. Yang Tingzhang had been Guo Wei's adopted son. Although the Yang clan had suffered a heavy blow in the "Consort Kang Rebellion" (Yang Tingzhang's second son, Yang Xun, was seriously implicated), it remained a core force within the Guo-Chai faction. And the Ganzhou Yang family's ability to take root, grow, and prosper in Ganzhou was also thanks to the protection and support of Yang Tingzhang when he commanded troops in Hexi in his early years.

The reason for going into all this was simply to explain that Yang Fu's branch of the family had its roots in Ganzhou, in the Great Han. In the past, the family's development focus had been mainly in two directions: upward and eastward. "Upward" meant the Hexi Circuit; "eastward" meant the imperial court.

But after these three trips west, having seen and heard with his own eyes, and personally witnessed the development and changes in Anxi, he could not help but be genuinely tempted. The conditions here were indeed good—especially in the lakeside area centered on Guo City. Apart from being a bit far away, there were almost no other drawbacks.

Perhaps the Yang family's future development should pay more attention to the west. Yang Fu thought to himself that this time he should take a good look at the condition of the Yang family's land around Guo City.

For clans like theirs, diversifying investments and developing in multiple directions was also the norm. The Great Han under Emperor Liu's governance was an era of expansion, and it had already been expanding for nearly thirty years. Even though the imperial court had begun adjusting its policies, it was merely slowing the pace.

There was no doubt that the Great Han's external expansion and colonization had formed a wave over the past thirty years, and Emperor Liu had indeed cultivated a batch of "expansionists."

In such a social environment and era, families like the Yangs, with ambition and connections, had participated relatively deeply. The Ganzhou Yang clan was considered a minor branch, but with Gan and Su as their base, their influence had already risen to the circuit-level administration, even extending beyond the Hexi Circuit. Even the Gaochang Circuit, which had previously received little attention, now bore traces of the Ganzhou Yang family's activities after becoming a war-free hinterland.

Yang Fu was only thirty-six years old and about to be promoted to Commander of Ganzhou. At such an age and position, his future was boundless. Naturally, he was also a core figure of the Yang family, wielding considerable influence. If he set his mind to something, he could always mobilize a portion of resources to invest in Anxi.

In fact, people as tempted as Yang Fu were no longer few in number, especially among the powerful families of the northwest. The Western Expedition was indeed a costly undertaking that drained both labor and resources, but through the long war, it had also enhanced the Han officials' and people's understanding of the Western Regions, deepening the ties between the Great Han's northwest and Gaochang and Anxi. These were bonds forged in iron and blood—close and profound.

Through the Western Expedition, an interest group had been born. Besides obtaining benefits from the imperial court and drawing nourishment from the common people, the Western Expedition itself could also bring substantial profits. The Kara-Khanids had after all been a minor power; when a state fell, its body naturally became a fine feast for vultures and gluttons to enjoy.

Setting everything else aside, the vast expanses of water, grass, and fertile land in the Zhuhai Basin alone were a precious and easily obtained wealth. In the past, due to war and population, development had been relatively slow.

But in recent years, as the front line had shifted massively westward, even Talas had been taken, and Guo City shone like a bright star by the shores of Zhuhai, its allure growing ever stronger. When it came to managing land and cities, the Han people had no shortage of patience.

Present-day Guo City was the key rear base that the Anxi Protectorate was focusing on building. The population was gathering, industry, commerce, agriculture, and pastoralism were flourishing, and there were profits to be made. Even ordinary merchants came and went frequently—how could the upper classes ignore it?

Anxi used Guo City as its logistics base for the Western Expedition, and they could likewise use it as a bridgehead for sharing in the spoils of war. The only thing that dissatisfied them was that the imperial court had begun reducing its support for the Western Expedition—that would mean a large chunk of their interests would be lost.

Of course, in terms of external expansion, the powerful families of the northwest had another very important driving force. Just like those families and forces that engaged in overseas trade and colonization, once they arrived in foreign lands, the expansion of their power and the spread of their "freedom" were plainly evident. Back home, with the imperial court's authority burning bright, their actions were always somewhat restricted. Under normal circumstances, who would want a tightening band around their head?

Especially for the rentier class of the northwest—in this vast realm, they were the ones most frequently and most harshly squeezed by the imperial court. From this perspective, there was also a latent desire to break free from the "cage."

And the political environment of Anxi was the most lenient for them. After all, whether it was marching to war or pacifying and governing, the Anxi Protectorate needed the support of these ambitious "men of talent."

Yang Fu's stirring thoughts were also somewhat influenced by this trend. The Yang family was no small household; previously they had maintained a certain air of dignity, seeing no need to scratch for food in such distant places. But now, times had changed, and circumstances had undergone some subtle shifts.