Subsequently, while Chu Qian arranged for Kemolai and Daruk to clear out the fifty-two cities in the south, he also sent a large number of surveyors with his army to explore the mountains and hills in the southern part of Parthia.

After some surveying, the mineral resources hidden in the southern territory of Parthia did not disappoint Chu Qian and his group.

Not to mention other places, the mountains on the east and west sides of Ansu City alone contain a large amount of copper, iron, silver, and a small amount of gold.

In those hilly areas, large coal mines and some unidentified black liquids were also discovered.

According to rough estimates, the entire southern part of Parthia contains various mineral deposits of immense value. If converted into silver, it could fetch at least 300 billion taels of silver.

Today, after years of vigorous development and the support of various technologies, the annual income of the Han Dynasty, including national taxes, industrial and commercial taxes, foreign trade, and the exploitation of various resources at home and abroad (including the silver mining in Yamatai), is only about one billion taels of silver.

The mineral resources in southern Parthia alone are equivalent to the total revenue of the Han Dynasty over three hundred years.

Such a vast amount of resources greatly excited Chu Qian and the others.

While ordering people to collect samples of various mineral deposits and draw up a map of their distribution, Chu Qian also ordered the recruitment of a large number of able-bodied men to begin building factories to mine and process these minerals.

At the same time, Chu Qian also sent a slave purchase order to Anxi, offering five gold coins per slave and stating that he would take as many slaves as he could, regardless of age or gender.

The issuance of the edict to purchase slaves immediately caused great unease among the Parthian king and his ministers.

Having suffered heavy losses previously, this is a good opportunity to earn some money to make up for them.

So they turned their attention to the Persians within their borders and the Kushans on the eastern border.

As for Rome, they dare not provoke it for the time being.