Ang Lee loved the horsehair embroidery so much that he couldn't put it down. He held it in his hand and carefully observed it. He stroked the horse's mane on the embroidery very lovingly and praised the excellent skills of the embroiderer. The person who could embroider such a beautiful pattern with horsehair must be a beautiful young lady. Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, Ang Lee thought so in his heart. Even if she was an old woman in reality, she must have been a beautiful young lady when she was young.
The shopkeeper was obviously unwilling to give up his treasure. He looked at the county magistrate next to him with a painful expression. He was probably begging for mercy and asking the county magistrate to spare him, a small businessman. The county magistrate finally had a chance to please a high-ranking official. How could he let a small businessman ruin his good business? He glared at the shopkeeper angrily and asked him to quickly offer up some embroidery.
In fact, for a businessman who had been doing business for a long time, a little loss of goods was not a big deal. It was completely bearable, but the pain was inevitable. It was like an office worker in the future who was cheated of a month's salary. It was nothing unbearable, but one could imagine the pain. No one was willing to be cheated of a month's salary!
Ang Lee knew very well what the shopkeeper's mood was like at this time. Ang Lee, who had lived two lives, had also experienced such things. He had once been cheated of a month's salary. The pain lasted for at least more than a month. It was indescribable how painful it was.
Because he understood the small businessman's heart, Ang Lee didn't want to embarrass him. It was not in Ang Lee's character to force people, and he would not do so.
"Since this embroidery was sold from Dongnu Province, there must be a lot of such embroidery in Dongnu Province."
Ang Lee said.
"Of course. I heard that people over there like to use horse's mane for embroidery. It's much more expensive than our embroidery in Sichuan. In fact, there's nothing good about horse's mane. It's just rare. Some people recognize it."
The shopkeeper said.
"Oh, can such expensive embroidery be sold in Wenchuan County?"
Ang Lee asked curiously.
The shopkeeper said with a smile, "It is not easy to sell in Wenchuan County. Basically, no one wants to buy it. However, every year, big businessmen from Beijing and Yizhou come to buy it. I just sell it to them directly. I heard from them that selling it to Beijing can make several times the profit."
"How much profit can you make if you buy it and sell it?"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
"Fifty percent. At most, fifty percent. They can go directly to Dongnu Province. Although it is more troublesome to pass the customs, there is always a solution... hehe. cking."
The shopkeeper said with a smile.
Li An nodded. Because transportation was still not very convenient, selling embroidery from here to the capital was several times more profitable. In the future, when the railway was built, the cost of transportation would be greatly reduced. It was unlikely to be several times more profitable. Even a 50% profit would be very good, especially when the more expensive the goods were, the lower the profit margin. In this way, people everywhere would be able to buy relatively cheaper goods. This was also a good thing, which was the great significance of building the railway.
"This embroidery is good. I am going to Dongnu Province. I can see more of this kind of embroidery there. Haha!"
Ang Lee said with a smile and returned the horsehair embroidery to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper suddenly felt relieved. He was running a small business. If he gave Ang Lee a few embroidery, he would have been busy for half a month in vain.
"Let me tell you a piece of news. Dongnu Province will soon become Dongnu Province. Once this matter is settled, Dongnu Province will be the same as other provinces and counties of the Tang dynasty. When you sell goods, you will no longer need customs clearance documents. You can save a lot of customs clearance fees."
Ang Lee suddenly said.
This matter was basically set in stone. Ang Lee was not worried about someone making trouble. As long as Ang Lee went to Dongnu Province in person, no one could make trouble. There was nothing wrong with saying it early to make the people of the Tang dynasty happy.
When the county magistrate and the shopkeeper heard this, they were suddenly very surprised. They looked at Ang Lee incredulously, and then quickly lowered their heads.
"Assistant Minister Li, is the imperial court preparing to send troops to Dongnu Province?"
The county magistrate asked nervously. The shopkeeper next to him did not dare to interrupt.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Send troops? What troops? It was Queen Dongnu who proposed to merge into the Tang dynasty. The imperial court has sent people to Dongnu Province. I am inspecting the railway, so I will go and have a look."
"Unexpectedly, there is such a good thing. Your Majesty is really lucky!"
The county magistrate said lightly. In addition to shock, there was a trace of doubt on his face. He really couldn't understand why Queen Dongnu suddenly wanted to merge into the Tang dynasty. Wasn't it good to be an independent king? Or was there something in the Tang dynasty that attracted her to merge into it?
Ang Lee knew that the county magistrate would have such an expression. He immediately felt quite proud and said with a smile, "Queen Dongnu wants to merge into the Tang dynasty completely for my sake. Who asked me to be so handsome? Alas, it's also annoying to be too outstanding! "
The county magistrate was so surprised that he was completely speechless. Looking at Ang Lee's serious appearance, it didn't seem like he was joking. But if this was true, it was too bizarre. It was simply unbelievable.
The county magistrate was just a minor official. He didn't dare to question Ang Lee's words. Even if Ang Lee's words were extremely incredible, he didn't dare to say anything. He could only nod in agreement.
"Let's go and have a look elsewhere."
As Ang Lee stepped out of the embroidery shop, he heard the whispers behind him. The shopkeeper and the shop assistants believed what Ang Lee said without a doubt. How could a high-ranking official of the imperial court dare to speak without thinking? For ordinary people, it was naturally a great thing that the Tang dynasty could increase its territory, especially if it took the initiative to submit. The people also had a sense of national pride.
"Assistant Minister Li, there are all livestock, fish, and turtles selling there. It's dirty and smelly. Let's not go there!"
The county magistrate quickly took Ang Lee to the end of one street. Because the other street was too dirty, he suggested that they shouldn't go there.
Ang Lee waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. It's a little dirty. Let's go and have a look! "
If he wanted to know more about this county, he naturally had to walk around more. Only in this way could he better understand it.
"Yes, there are quite a lot of mountain goods here! It seems that there are a lot of hunters in our Wenchuan County! "
As soon as Ang Lee entered the street, he found that there were more peddlers selling all kinds of game and wild fruits. Wild hares, wild dogs, pheasants, and wild birds were everywhere. Although it was a little dirty and smelled of blood, it was enough to reflect the prosperity of this place. It also seemed to indicate that there were a lot of hunters here. Many of the peddlers were hunters themselves, which could be seen from their clothes.
He casually asked about the price. Generally speaking, it was very amiable. The price of these game was not expensive. Compared to the price in the capital, it was only about twenty to thirty percent. After all, there were not many people here, so there were relatively more hunters. Naturally, game was much cheaper. Because there were too many people in the capital, there was no supply of game around, so the price was high. If the game in Wenchuan County was transported to the capital, it could be sold for at least three to five times the price. Of course, whether it could be profitable was not certain. Because the railway was not available now, transporting game was not easy. The transportation cost was still relatively high. If the transportation cost was too high, it might not be profitable even if the price was ten times higher. Especially the game that had been shot, it had to be sold as soon as possible. If it was made into salted meat that was resistant to corrosion, the appetite would not be very good and the price would not go up. Therefore, most of the game could only be sold locally or sold in Yizhou, which was a little farther away.
"This person's clothes look like he's from Dongnu Province! Are there people from Dongnu Province in our county? "
Ang Lee saw a hunter. From his clothes, he could tell that he was from Dongnu Province.
The county magistrate hurriedly said, "Yes, there are at least fifty people from Dongnu Province in our Wenchuan County. Basically, they are all hunters. Most of them are men. Some of them have married and had children in our county. This one came from Dongnu Province last year. He is still a bachelor. He lives alone and has no place to live. He usually stays in a dilapidated temple and comes to the county to sell the game he hunts in exchange for money to buy wine."
Ang Lee nodded and said, "People like him are all dangerous people! He has no attachments and no scruples. If you say that he is robbing in the mountains, I completely believe it. Of course, this is only a possibility. You can't just wrongly accuse a good person, right? How many hunters like him are there in our county? "
"Well, there are about a few hundred of them. Our county is very poor. There are many bachelors who can't find a wife."
The county magistrate said.
"Well, these people are all suspicious. When you have nothing to do, you can investigate these people carefully. I think it is very likely that these people are the ones who are blocking the road and robbing people. They often stay in the county and know everything about your county government. It is easier said than done to eliminate them."
Ang Lee said.
Although he could not be sure, Ang Lee felt that these bachelors were very suspicious. These people who had no attachments and no savings could be regarded as very dangerous people. They were very likely to commit crimes in order to survive. It was entirely possible that they would block the road and rob people.
The county magistrate nodded in agreement. He felt that Ang Lee's words made sense. However, there were hundreds of such wandering hunters in Wenchuan County. It was very difficult to investigate them. Without sufficient evidence, they could not casually convict people. Therefore, it would be a long and arduous task to catch these temporary robbers who blocked the road.
"Looking at your clothes, you must be from Dongnu Province!"
Ang Lee said, trying to get close to him.
The hunter from Dongnu Province seemed a little nervous. After a moment of silence, he replied, "Yes, I am from Dongnu Province."
He spoke in a well-behaved manner. There was nothing wrong with him, nor did he seem to be a bad person. He seemed to be a simple ordinary person.
"Oh, then why did you come to the Tang dynasty? Isn't it good to live in Dongnu Province?"
Ang Lee asked.
Although this was suspected of invading other people's privacy, it was still necessary to ask in order to understand this person.
"Last year, there was a drought in my hometown. There was not enough food to eat. I was hungry every day, so I ran out. There was food here and there was more game, so I stayed here temporarily."
The hunter from Dongnu Province replied.
"Oh, so there was a drought in your hometown. How serious was the situation? The situation should have improved this year!"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
The hunter from Dongnu Province replied, "It was very serious. Many people in our village starved to death. It was better this year, but there was not enough food. Most people who left home last year did not go back. They did not want to burden their hometown. The Tang dynasty is richer, so it's better to stay here in the Tang dynasty. I don't want to go back."
"The Tang dynasty is rich, haha! This is true, but the Tang dynasty is not rich in Wenchuan County! The capital is the real rich place! Haha! "
Ang Lee could not help laughing. Although the Tang dynasty was rich, Wenchuan County was not a rich place in any case. It could almost be regarded as the poorest and most backward place in the Tang dynasty. It was inaccessible and had a small population. It was only a county-level unit. No matter how one looked at it, it was not rich. However, it was actually richer than Dongnu Province. With the prosperity of the imperial court, the tax on remote counties was reduced a lot. Even many farmers and hunters in remote areas did not need to pay taxes, which greatly reduced the burden of the common people. As a result, even a small county like Wenchuan County was much richer than Dongnu Province.
At this time, Ang Lee seemed to be a little disappointed. He originally thought that Zhao Yefu wanted Dongnu Province to be merged into the Tang dynasty for his own sake. He thought that it was because he was too charming. But now it seemed that the situation was not so simple. Dongnu Province was in a certain crisis. Although there were losses when it was merged into the Tang dynasty, these crises could be directly blamed on the Tang dynasty and let the rich Tang Empire solve these problems. This was a very effective way.
For the Tang dynasty, this was also a great thing. After taking over Dongnu Province, the Tang dynasty had to pay a lot of money for this. At least, they had to continue to invest in the early stage and send a certain number of troops. All these cost money. However, Dongnu Province was only a small country with a small population. With the current strength of the Tang dynasty, it was fully capable of solving these problems. Many of the huge difficulties that had been a long-standing problem for the imperial court of Dongnu Province were simply a drizzle in front of the Tang Empire. They were not even problems at all.
It was not that the hunters of Dongnu Province did not want to go to the richer capital. It was just that the capital was too far away. The climate was also very different from their hometown. It was easy for them to get acclimatized. In addition, they knew very well that although the capital of the Tang dynasty was rich, it was meaningless for them, who had no culture and business sense. Although it was richer there, it was difficult for them to survive.
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