Chapter Four: An Uninvited Arrival (Part Two)

“Quick, go outside and rub it with snow, rub it so it doesn’t blister!” Originally, Zhang Qian only intended to let Zhou Jianliang experience the convenience of the stove up close, but he never expected to almost turn the man’s finger into a sausage. Feeling a pang of guilt, he hurriedly urged him to cool the burn with the snow.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Jianliang ignored his words. He first put the scorched yellow finger into his mouth and sucked on it casually, then stepped back half a pace. Bowing deeply for the third time, he said, “Brother Yongzhao, could you pass the blueprint of this stove to the Shuofang army? On behalf of all thirty thousand soldiers, I salute you in advance!”

“That’s no problem at all. The stove’s structure is extremely simple. The blueprint is right here on the desk behind me. After your meal, feel free to take it along with the hot pot!” The stove was originally meant for the Shuofang army, so Zhang Qian naturally wouldn’t refuse. Smiling, he stepped forward and once again supported Zhou Jianliang’s arm. “We hit it off from the start. Back at Zichen Hall, Brother Zhang received your righteous help many times. So, Brother Zhou, there’s no need to be so formal! Third Junior Brother, later you should go to the Jiazhang Office to make a set of these stoves as a sample for Captain Zhou to take with him. That way, when he returns to Shuofang, he won’t have to figure it out from scratch by looking at the blueprint.”

“Yes, sir!” The little chubby Ren Cong, not fully understanding, agreed readily.

He had seen the stove’s design—it was just a few iron sheets hammered together—and cost far less than the small copper hot pot. As for Zhou Jianliang, he had once stood up for their eldest senior brother before the emperor. That was enough for Ren Cong to consider Zhou a friend worth befriending.

However, upon hearing this, Zhou Jianliang blushed and hesitated. After struggling for a while, beads of sweat on his brow, he stammered an explanation: “Brother Yongzhao, Director Zhang, I’m not asking for the stove blueprint for myself. It’s to find blacksmiths within the Shuofang army to produce them in batches for our brothers’ use. I know this is unfair to you, Brother Yongzhao. But I am just a humble general, and my chief steward has always been upright…”

“Brother Zhou, don’t be so distant. Since I gave you the blueprint, you can do as you please with it! Not just for the army—if your men want to make them and sell them, that’s up to you. We’re brothers; no need to explain so much!” Zhang Qian felt a twinge of guilt dealing with such a straightforward man, but for the sake of his and Miss Ruby’s future, he still laughed heartily and waved his hand.

The more generous he was, the more guilty Zhou Jianliang felt. After much hesitation, he suddenly steeled himself and stammered a promise: “In the end, I cannot let Brother Yongzhao lose out too much! Well then, I have little to offer in return. After the next battle with the Turks, I will shamelessly ask the chief steward for a hundred enemy heads, to be credited in Brother Yongzhao’s name!”

“No, no, please don’t! What would I do with Turk heads?” Zhang Qian was startled, quickly loosening Zhou’s arm and stepping back with a wave. “Brother Zhou, keep them yourself. If those things came to Chang’an, I wouldn’t have a place to put them!”

“They aren’t for you to play with, but to help you gain rank!” Zhou Jianliang immediately saw Zhang Qian’s misunderstanding and gave a wry smile. “You’re currently a fifth-rank official with no noble title. In the Tang Dynasty, the easiest way to gain nobility is through military merit. The achievement of a hundred enemy heads should be enough to earn you a founding baron title. Though it’s not a promotion, it does allow upgrades in residence and carriage. This way, I won’t owe you too much!”

“In that case, I’ll thank Captain Zhou on behalf of my senior brother!” Before Zhang Qian could fully grasp Zhou’s meaning, Guo Nu eagerly jumped up and clapped Zhou on the shoulder.

“If my senior brother can be ennobled as a founding baron, Brother Zhou, just name the kind of armor you want, and we’ll get it for you!” Ren Cong also joined in, raising his cup to add to the cheer.

The three raised their cups, drained them in one go, then exchanged smiles, sharing a tacit understanding. Only then did Zhang Qian begin to sense the deeper meaning. Moved, he raised his cup again and took a hearty gulp.

It turned out Zhou Jianliang had his own reasoning. The day they both earned merit protecting the emperor, Zhou was promoted three ranks, while Zhang Qian jumped from the eighth to the fifth rank. The difference, in Zhou's eyes, was that Zhang had also presented blueprints for a windmill and a mechanized well.

Hence, Zhang’s stove wasn’t first offered to the emperor but given freely to Zhou, who was allowed to produce it at will in the Shuofang army. To Zhou, this was equivalent to the army taking away one of Zhang’s promotion opportunities. His compensation for Zhang was thus a hundred enemy heads.

The value of noble titles in the Tang Dynasty was no longer as great as in the Zhenguan era. Following custom, after the court acknowledged the merit of a hundred heads, Zhang would have no trouble securing a founding baron title with a little maneuvering. This way, Zhang wouldn’t suffer too great a loss, and Zhou wouldn’t always feel guilty about the matter.

“Brother Yongzhao, don’t feel undeserving. Your iron stove is a divine weapon for the Shuofang army!” No wonder Zhang Renyuan sent Zhou Jianliang back to Chang’an on official business. Though not cunning, Zhou was a thoroughly pleasant person to work with.

Fearing Zhang Qian might feel unworthy of the hundred heads, Zhou put down his cup and hurried to explain: “In Shuofang, after August each year, heavy snow falls. Even in the city, soldiers’ hands and feet develop severe frostbite. Thousands suffer injuries or die from the cold annually.” (Note: In the lunar calendar, August in the northern frontier is indeed marked by snow.)

The winters in Shuofang were bitterly cold. With insufficient firewood for the army, many soldiers were lost to frostbite and cold-related illnesses.

The most accessible heating material was peat. But peat was odorless and colorless poison. If placed carelessly in stoves, the whole tent could suffocate. Hence, the army strictly forbade peat use, enduring hardship rather than risking poisoning.

If Zhang Qian gave the stove blueprints to the Shuofang army for mass production, every group of ten soldiers could warm themselves in a large tent with an iron stove fueled by peat.

Peat burned hotter and longer than wood. Soldiers with a stove full of peat could sleep warmly through the night, waking refreshed and vigorous for battle or training.

“Peat? Is there a lot over in Shuofang?” Zhang Qian eagerly pressed for details.

“Abundant. Near the Yellow River, in some places it even surfaces. In summer, it can ignite from the sun’s heat, sending thick smoke skyward like a fiery hell,” Zhou said excitedly, sweeping his hand grandly.

“In that case, Brother Zhou, why not capitalize on this?” Zhang’s spirits soared. Grabbing Zhou’s arm, he dragged him back to their seats and, dipping his finger in wine, quickly sketched a rough “table” shape on the desk.

“If I’m not mistaken, the Yellow River looks something like this, and your current post in Shengzhou is at the bend. I recall you mentioning the chief steward wanted to build a city along the river but lacked funds from the court. Since peat is as common as earth there, why not dig it up and load it on boats to float downstream? Once the stove is widely used by ordinary families, daily peat consumption would reach hundreds of thousands of jin. Even at one wen per ten jin, the Shuofang army could easily recoup…”

“No!” Ren Cong interrupted loudly. “Senior Brother, goods transported over a thousand li only carry gold, pearls, silk, and jade! Shuofang is more than a thousand li from Chang’an. Transporting peat would multiply its price five to ten fold.”

“Senior Brother said to use the Yellow River for transport!” Guo Nu frowned and immediately countered.

“The Hukou Rapids prevent boats from passing through. Cargo must be transferred there, requiring countless laborers!” Ren Cong was a real expert on long-distance trade, shaking his head emphatically. “Besides, peat is found within a hundred li of the capital, though it takes effort to dig. Still, it’s far cheaper than transporting a thousand li.”

“Ah? Is that so?” Zhang Qian’s finger froze on the table, his expression souring.

His first grand plan to expand territory with a map was crushed before it even began by little chubby Ren Cong at the wine table. If he thought that felt good, he’d be kidding.

Without being able to tie the Shuofang army to himself through profit, Zhang Renyuan’s support would be just a pipe dream.

Even if Zhang Renyuan was as honest as Zhou Jianliang, he wouldn’t risk jeopardizing the Tang-Tubo marriage alliance just over an iron stove. Moreover, Zhou had already promised to repay one hundred enemy heads.

“Clerk Ren’s words are reasonable, yet still not nearly as insightful as your senior brother’s!” Just as Zhang Qian was about to bang his head in frustration, Zhou’s deep voice sounded in his ear again. “If these iron stoves become widely used among civilians, the Shuofang army needn’t haul peat all the way to Chang’an. Provided the price is low enough and transportation is safe, the dug peat piled in open areas will surely attract merchants. The nearby densely populated areas of Bingzhou and Fenzhou suffer bitter winters too. If every household lights a stove, the Shuofang army will be like living on a gold mountain!”

Having lived so impoverished, discovering that peat—ubiquitous in Shuofang—could be dug up and sold excited Zhou so much his voice changed pitch. “Besides, the Shuofang army catches many prisoners annually. The chief steward seldom kills them outright but feeds them well before releasing. Next time they dare invade, I’ll just capture them and put them to digging peat!”

“Bang!” Excited, he slammed the table, splashing soup from the hot pot.

Guo Nu and Ren Cong didn’t bother wiping it up. Guo quickly turned to Zhang Qian with a smile. “Senior Brother, Wang Ziyu is from the Taiyuan Wang family. Though aloof, he wouldn’t keep such a new source of wealth from his clan. Since your stove blueprint is meant to be circulated, why not let me copy one and pass it to him? The more stoves the Wang family sells, the greater the peat sales for Captain Zhou!”

Ren Cong, seated, rubbed his hands eagerly. “Senior Brother, leave the capital’s stoves to my Ren family. This winter, I guarantee at least ten thousand Ren households will install one!”

“Senior Brother, I’ll also get a copy for my grandfather. Near the capital, my family won’t compete with the Third Junior Brother. We’ll cover Dongdu, Luzhou, and Xiangzhou!”

…

From then on, Zhang Qian basically had nothing to do. In business, his junior brothers had far more expertise than he did. Within less than the time it took for incense to burn, they devised a detailed profit-sharing plan and even discussed how to jointly supply peat to thousands of households in the capital.

Thus, Zhang Qian’s initial plan to rally the Shuofang army as his backing, though somewhat compromised, could still proceed. He breathed a long sigh of relief.

Before he could finish exhaling, a soft knocking sounded at the door: “knock knock knock… knock knock knock… knock knock knock…” followed by the voice of Administrator Wang Jun from the Bureau of Imperial Carriages: “Junior Director, Master Li from the Bureau of Imperial Carriages wishes to see you. He is already in the courtyard. May I ask if you have time?”

“What a fragrance!” Before Zhang Qian could respond, a familiar voice sounded outside the window. “Director Zhang, is this one of your sect’s secret arts? I am Li Qi, Master of the Bureau of Imperial Carriages. I come uninvited—may I have the honor of joining you inside for a bit of fun?!”