12

Nie Huanzhang didn't delay in Liangzhou city. He left the same day he arrived, heading west. With a fast horse, he crossed several clans and reached Handu, the capital of Huichun Tribe, in about ten days. He arrived at the Erdu Inn, where he always stayed, and took the two hard cases from his horse into his room. These two cases were sent by Feng Yuan to the last town Nie Huanzhang visited before going to Liangzhou city. So, not even half a day after settling into Erdu, he was come to visit by someone. Upon seeing each other, they recognized one another that it was his old friend and business partner, Agar, in Huichun Tribe. They embraced each other and Nie Huanzhang said:

"Let's take a look at the goods first. We can talked slowly afterward." 

After inspecting the goods and completing the transaction, they left the inn, found a bar and sat down for some drinks and conversation. 

Agar asks:

"Huanzhang, why didn't you have been running goods for over half a year?" 

Nie Huanzhang sighed and replied:

"Don't mention this. A friend of mine in our country suddenly fell seriously ill and passed away. I'm still grieving."

"Was he also in our line of business?"

"Yes, you might have heard of Guan Yuheng."

Upon hearing the news, Agar was shock and stood up immediately:

"What? Mr. Guan is gone? Oh, my god, he was such a skilled person."

"Yes, very pity! But then again, it is very hard to do this kind of business now. What else can we do if we're not in this line of business? So, this time I brought some small goods to sell. You have inspected them which are not as valuable as before."

"I see, the goods are mediocre. But right now, there is a bit of tension in our country. Our government will check the goods very carefully now."

"I'm aware this situation this time on my way to come here. What happened? Is our business affected, or did your Khan forbid this kind of business?"

"No, he didn't forbid it but the scrutiny has increased. You don't know, we got a new Khan here and in the past six months he has changed quite a few rules. Our trade has been somewhat affected."

"Tell me the details."

"In the past we could do our business openly and honestly. Not only did the officials like the porcelain, the silk and the jade from your dynasty, even our Khan enjoyed them. So we made a lot of money and what we did was justified. But now, although our present khan also likes these things even more, he also wants to make more money from importing and exporting so he has started taxing us. He says we have to pay a 2% tax on the turnover. If we evade taxes, there are light penalties or heavy fines, and in severe cases, imprisonment and forced labor. Also, you guys bringing goods out also have to pay taxes, or else your goods will be confiscated and you'll be subjected to whipping." 

"What if we're carrying personal items?"

"This is where you can exploit the loophole. These rules are aimed at large-scale transaction."

"So, in the future, I won't be able to bring too many things out, just one or two items. And he doesn't restrict goods from our country coming in."

"Yeah, and the official commercial centers have been established, where the goods from your dynasty will be sold to more distant countries for making even greater profits. The businessmen can sell their goods to the commercial centers but the export of iron and horses which your dynasty needs is now prohibited from going to your dynasty. "

This surprised Nie Huanzhang because these were precisely the things His Highness needed so he asked:

"I didn't expect that in less than half a year, such significant changes would happen here."

"This is just the beginning. The new Khan wants to emulate the system in your country, reform the eight clans and take back their powers. It's causing quite a stir."

"But I am told it is normal in your Huichun Tribe that the power of eight clans have always held greater power and the Khan's authority was relatively small. So isn't the present Khan doing the opposite? Does he has this ability to reform the eight clans now? Has he lost his mind?"

"You know, my family is also prominent part of the eight clans, Jinghan clan and is one of the powerful families in our clan. My cousin is the leader in my clan. If my mother weren't a slave, I should have been involved in the clan's affairs. But I still know why Zakkel, the present Khan, wants to reform this form of decentralization. It is all because of the influence of a person from your dynasty. I heard that a young princess from your dynasty was married with the former khan more than 20 years ago. It was agreed between my tribe and your country that she would be the legitimate wife of the former khan and the mother of the present khan, Zakkel was demoted to the position of a concubine. Initially, this wife accepted this agreement to be a concubine, but when this princess arrived, Zakkel's mother, leveraging the powerful influence in her clan, Antares, forced the former Khan to acknowledge her as the legitimate wife, demoting your princess to be a concubine. You know, a concubine in our tribe is equivalent to a slave, just like my mother. They not only have to serve the khan but also the first wife. I heard that your princess refused to submit and was confined. It's said that Zakkel who was a child came into contact with this princess by a chance during that time. Since then the princess began to tell him a lot of stories about your dynasty. He gradually began to sympathize with her so he released this princess secretly. That is why his current policies are influenced by this princess."

"So, what happened to this princess? Did she return to my dynasty?"

"I don't know. Some say that she disappeared, some say she died and there are even rumors that she married a person from your dynasty who came to our tribe. There are all sorts of stories. Oh, do you know which clan opposes the present khan the most?"

"How should I know? And I am not interested in these things."

"It is Antares clan which Khan's mother is from. They say Zakkel's mother still holds a grudge against this princess. Watching her son deviate so far from tradition, fully embracing the system of your dynasty, infuriates her. She insists that he follows the old ways and continues to let the eight clans govern."

Nie Huanzhang smiled and asked:

"Where did you hear all this? Is it just hearsay?"

"Hearsay? You won't hear such rumors on the streets. I heard these from my dad and my brothers who were discussing with their advisers when I returned to the tribe. They had to decide whether to follow the present Khan or Antares clan."

"I think it is the same. They are mother and son who become to closer soon or later. Why can't they just get along? "

"I don't think so because it's not that simple. Now the leader of Antares isn't from the family of Zakkel's grandfather's. It's his mother's cousin whose name is Northam. Zakkel's grandfather has to obey Northam's order and Northam's son, Haji, has always been at odds with Zakkel."

"Now how many clans are following the present khan and how many clans are following Antares clan?"

"It's hard to say. The situation is quite fluid. Some clans are still undecided while others have already declared their allegiance. It's a complex situation. Now every clan is uncertain but there is one clan firmly supporting the present khan, Zakkel, that is the Hural clan. This clan is a peculiar clan and their territory isn't large, located to the southeast of Huichun Tribe. Their men, more or less, can speak your language. It's rumored, I heard, that people from this clan frequently interact with the folks from your country. Some even attend schools in your country. Additionally, you know that in our tribe, the eldest son becomes the clan's leader and the elder son takes on official roles in the capital. However, in the Hural clan, whoever has well-educated goes to the capital. Zakkel indeed values people from this clan and has implemented many of their rules. So, other clans are somewhat isolating the Hural clan."

"I don't care about your internal disputes. I just want to know if I'll have trouble doing business in the future. For example, will I face life-threatening situations if I go to the eight clans? You know I value my life now."

"You can always find me."

"You know, I can't rely on you every time. Sometimes you even trick me. Since I source goods from different places in my country, my directions vary. As you know, my entry points into Huichun differ and I might even go to Nanyue Kingdom in the southern."

"I know that in Huichun Tribe, I'm not the only middleman you work with, just as you're not the only person for me to receive goods. Everyone is the same but you're a righteous person, so, fine, let me tell you the detailed situation about the eight clans."

Huanzhang returned to Liangzhou city and told Yuhong Xuan all information which he got in Handu.

"It is Antares clan where Zakkel's mother comes from. The leader is Northam, the cousin of Zakkel's mother. This clan is both wealthy and military strong, with ample resource. It's the largest clan. This is the reason that Zakkel's mother dared to act ruthlessly against our princess. She wasn't afraid that we could send troops to Huichun. Despite suffering heavy losses in the war, the Antare was still rich. Also, the former khan believed that the war was provoked by Huichun itself so he compensated the Antare clan generously. However, despite the compensation from the Khan, Northam still harbors deep hatred towards Handu. Therefore, Zakkel's new policies faced opposition from Antare clan. Zakkel's mother was determined to protect the interests of her clan, leading to increasing conflicts between mother and son. Oh, Zakkel's wife is also from this clan. She was forcibly given to Zakkel by his mother."

Yuhong Xuan and his advisers were listening to Huanzhang carefully. Huanzhang continued:

"As for Doga clan, its leader is Ruta. The people from this clan are known for their bravery and stature. Their combat ability, as you know, are quite formidable. I think Your Highness knows better than me about this. Let me talk about their internal situation. When we mention this clan, we have to talk about another clan, Furu clan, because the two clans are more closer. The leader of Furu is Zandan, whose younger sister got married with Ruta in Doga clan. These two clans have had marital ties for a long time, understanding each other's strengths and weaknesses. They complement each other well and the people in Doga excels in warfare but their land in the northern is barren and sandy. On the contrary, the southern region where Furu is located has fertile land in agriculture and in the northern of Furu is rich in iron ore, the highest-quality source among of the eight clans. So they are somewhat independent-minded, not always heeding the Khan's directives, and maintaining a somewhat ambiguous relationship with Antares clan." 

"The Jinghan clan, relatively speaking, has somewhat weaker influence. The people in this clan prefer a more relaxed lifestyle, disliking violence and fight. They want to keep the old system and the old way for their life so they don't want to change. The horses produced by this clan are the best among the eight clans. However, they don't have abundant grain and need to purchase it from other clans, for example Furu. Sometimes, they even have to buy from our country. In my opinion, which Agar shared with me, this clan is likely to align with Furu because the Khan's new policies, particularly the ban on exporting horses and iron, have the most significant impact on Jinghan and Furu."

"The territory of Hural clan isn't actually large and it's situated to the southeast of Huichun Tribe and its border is on our southwest. Their men, more or less, can speak our language. It's said that people from this clan frequently interact with the people in our country and some even attend our schools. But a set of new policies in Handu are proposed by the members in this clan. So they are staunch followers of Zakkel, the new khan."

"The remaining three clans have weakened influence even further, but they get support from the different stronger power. Danghun clan is also a part of the Khan family, located between Handu and Antares clan. Although successive Khan have tried to uplift their own clan, they have often faced setbacks, mainly due to the suppression from Antare clan. The reason that the other clans have distanced them is precisely because Danghun clan is part of the Khan's family. Moreover, lacking both soldiers and funds, with no fertile land, Danghun can only use the relatively abundant iron, copper mines and horses to exchange for some grains."

"Yanjin clan and Xiyue clan are adjacent. Xiyue was originally the part of Nanyue Kingdom before, but since Nanyue Kingdom is a vassal state of our dynasty, the people in this clan resisted to be a part of a vassal state. Instigated by Huichun, they declared independence from Nanyue Kingdom and become the part of Huichun Tribe, but gained little benefit. As long as Nanyue Kingdom doesn't attack them, the people in Huichun won't interfere. Yanjin clan is even more pitiable. They could have joined Nanyue Kingdom, but being sandwiched between Xiyue clan and Huichun, they were forced to join Huichun."