There were 50 bowls of soy milk in a wooden barrel, which was enough for the King of the Ring Kingdom and his subordinates to taste. After seeing that the wooden barrel was full, Ang Lee asked the kitchen to make a fire to boil the freshly ground soy milk. Only boiled soy milk could be drunk.
If one mistakenly drank the raw soy milk, it would cause poisoning. In serious cases, it might even take one's life. This was because the raw soy milk contained a substance called saponin. It was this substance that caused poisoning. As long as this substance was destroyed, it would not cause poisoning.
The way to destroy this saponin substance was to boil it at high temperature. As long as it was boiled at high temperature, the saponin would be destroyed, so that the soy milk would become a non-toxic nutrient.
There was a misunderstanding here, which was the judgment of boiling. When the raw soy milk was heated to 80 degrees, it would produce a lot of white foam. In this case, many people would think that the soy milk was boiling. In fact, the soy milk was not boiling. This was just an illusion. If people drank the soy milk at this time, there was still a risk of poisoning.
The correct way was to continue boiling it for three to five minutes after the foam appeared. In this way, it could ensure that the saponin in the raw soy milk was completely destroyed. Only then could people drink it with confidence.
Ang Lee did not say anything. He just quietly looked at the milky white soy milk, waiting for the raw soy milk to boil. The King of the Ring Kingdom did not know what to say. He also looked at the soy milk in the pot.
At this moment, the two sides were in a state of cold war. Whoever spoke first seemed to be at a disadvantage. Therefore, no one was willing to be the first to speak.
The bottom of the pot was filled with honeycomb coal. It did not take long for it to burn completely. The huge flame made the temperature of the soy milk in the pot rise very quickly. It did not take long for a lot of white foam to appear.
Because the foam had been rising, soon a lot of foam left the edge of the iron pot and ran to the bottom of the pot. It made a sizzling sound and a very special smell.
In order to prevent a lot of foam from running to the bottom of the pot, the kitchen had to stir with a spoon to destroy the foam and continue to arch up.
"It's boiling, it's boiling."
The King of the Ring Kingdom could not help but say. After that, he suddenly felt embarrassed and quickly closed his mouth.
"It's not boiling. It needs to be boiled for a while. Your Highness, please wait a moment."
Ang Lee smiled faintly and answered the King.
After waiting for about three to five minutes, the raw soy milk was completely boiled. A rich fragrance of soy milk filled the air within a radius of 50 meters.
"Servants, prepare more bowls and give each of them a bowl."
Ang Lee ordered.
Soon, the chefs began to prepare the bowls. Other than the King's jade bowl, the rest were all porcelain bowls. This was to show that the King's status was extraordinary.
"Assistant Minister Li, it's ready."
The chef said.
"Add a big spoonful of sugar in every bowl. Only then will it taste better."
Ang Lee smiled.
Soon, dozens of bowls of soy milk with sugar were prepared and served in front of the king and the ministers of the Ring Kingdom.
Ang Lee looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, it won't taste good if it gets cold. Hurry up and try it!"
The King and his ministers looked at Ang Lee and then at the bowl of soy milk in their hands. None of them dared to open their mouths and drink it.
"Are you worried that the soy milk is poisonous? Yun 'er, give Ang a bowl too. "
Ang Lee calmly asked for a bowl of soy milk that was exactly the same. He gently blew on it a few times and began to taste it.
Seeing that nothing happened to Ang Lee after drinking the soy milk, the King and his ministers were relieved. They also began to drink the soy milk in big mouthfuls and kept praising how delicious it was.
"Your Majesty, how is the taste?"
Ang Lee looked into the King's eyes and asked.
"It's very sweet and delicious!"
The King praised sincerely.
"Good, good, good. As long as Your Majesty thinks it's delicious, then drink more. Is there more in the pot? Yun 'er, give His Majesty a few more bowls. "
Ang Lee said politely.
"Thank you, thank you very much."
The King was really addicted to drinking. He didn't reject Ang Lee's kindness and continued to drink a few more bowls. He even licked the white foam at the corner of his mouth without caring about his image.
"Have you had enough?"
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
"Thank you, Assistant Minister Li. Xiao Wang has had enough, haha!"
After drinking the soy milk, the King appeared to be very easy-going. The previous tension had disappeared.
"That's good. Does Your Majesty know why we are here?"
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
"Didn't you come here to have a look?"
The King pretended to be confused and acted quite well.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Your Majesty is drinking soy milk. Why do I feel like you are drinking wine?"
"This …"
The King didn't know what to say. He lowered his head and didn't speak.
Ang Lee laughed secretly. Could he get away with it by not speaking? Of course, it was impossible.
"Since Your Majesty doesn't want to say, then I will say it. Do you think it's appropriate for you to levy a 100% tax on the merchants of the Tang dynasty?"
Ang Lee asked sternly.
"Assistant Minister Li, we are collecting taxes from merchants. It has nothing to do with the imperial court of the Tang dynasty. Why can't we do it? There is a saying in the Tang dynasty, 'profiteers'. All profiteers are profiteers. Merchants earn the most money. There is nothing wrong with collecting a little more! "
One of the ministers of the Ring Kingdom voiced his opinion.
The King looked back at his subordinate with satisfaction. He felt that he didn't raise this guy for nothing. He played a big role at the critical moment.
Ang Lee knew that these guys would have such a shallow opinion. He explained the importance of business in detail, including three isolated villages and a lot of economic examples to prove the importance of merchant groups. He also explained that after heavy taxes, the price of goods would be passed on to consumers, resulting in a situation where the people couldn't make a living.
In the process of explaining business, Li An used a lot of new words and gave a lot of examples. The King and his subordinates were stunned when they heard this.
They all felt that Ang Lee's words were reasonable, but at the same time, they didn't want to give up the practical benefits of heavy taxes. They were always thinking of ways to excuse themselves and continue to levy heavy taxes on the merchants of the Tang dynasty.
"Assistant Minister Li, how much tax do you think should be the most appropriate amount?"
A minister of the Ring Kingdom asked.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "10% is enough. Our Tang dynasty collects a 10% tax on your merchants. You should do the same."
"10%? That's too little!"
The King was shocked. It was like cutting off his flesh! How could such a little tax meet his needs? This would greatly reduce his imperial income and seriously affect his standard of living.
Ang Lee said lightly, "10% is already a lot. Your Majesty should also consider the people of your country. If the tax is too high, the merchants won't lose much. They will impose the price on the people. Therefore, when you impose heavy taxes on the merchants of the Tang dynasty, the final result is that you are robbing the wealth of your people."
"10% is too little. It's really too little."
The King was still unwilling.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this time I am ordered by the emperor of the Tang dynasty to go south to open up the Maritime Silk Road. All the countries along the way must pay 10% of the value of the goods. No country can be an exception. Otherwise, I will invite them to Chang 'an to drink soy milk."
After that, he looked at the millstone next to him. At this time, Yun 'er was still grinding soy milk. Her movements were neither fast nor slow. She looked very leisurely, which was pleasing to the eye.
This was an obvious threat. Ang Lee was threatening the King of the Ring Kingdom. If the King didn't listen to him, he would use force.
"Can't we discuss it again?"
The King was a little unwilling to give up.
Ang Lee said with a serious look, "A monarch doesn't joke. How can the emperor of the Tang dynasty change his words at will? 10%. There is no room for negotiation. You'd better accept it. In addition, you should also spit out the extra tax you collected before. "
"Assistant Minister Li, how can we do that? The tax we collected has already been digested. How can we spit it out? "
The King was about to cry.
"Well, it's okay if you don't want to spit it out. But your country must agree to some of our conditions."
Ang Lee said.
"What conditions? Assistant Minister Li, just say them."
The King asked hurriedly.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "First, we can rent part of the port in the city for free for the Tang Army to use so that the navy of the Tang dynasty can maintain the peace in this area. Second, the navy of the Tang dynasty will enjoy special privileges. In the future, they will have the right to move freely in the coastal area of the city. As long as it does not endanger the rights and interests of your country, your country will not interfere. Third, we will allow free trade. All goods from all countries can be sold to your country, and the tax rate will be 10%. Fourth, if your country wants to impose exorbitant taxes temporarily, you need to discuss with the imperial court of the Tang dynasty. You are not allowed to secretly collect taxes from the merchants of the Tang dynasty. Fifth, if the people of the Tang dynasty commit crimes in your country, you are not allowed to interrogate them alone. You must interrogate them together with the officials of the Tang dynasty to protect the rights and interests of the people of the Tang dynasty. Sixth, a few days ago, your country despised the demands of the Tang dynasty, which made me very dissatisfied. This time, our army sent out troops and horses and suffered a great loss. Your country should compensate us for the loss. 100 gold bars and 100,000 kilos of coal. "
After saying six conditions in one breath, Ang Lee's mouth was dry. He quickly drank a mouthful of soy milk to moisten his throat.
When he looked up, the face of the King of the Huan Kingdom turned green. He probably did not expect that Ang Lee would make so many demands, which almost killed him.
But it seemed that he had no choice but to agree. The troops and armored artillery vehicles of the Tang dynasty had already arrived at the city. If they really launched an attack, the thousands of sloppy troops under his command could not resist in any case. At that time, Ang Lee might really take him to Chang 'an to drink soy milk.
The soy milk was originally very delicious, but at the thought of being escorted to Chang 'an, the King did not feel it was delicious. If he could not even guarantee his freedom, even the dragon's liver and the phoenix's gallbladder would not taste good.
"Come on, give the agreement to His Highness."
Ang Lee said lightly.
A soldier handed the agreement, which had already been prepared, to the King of the Huan Kingdom, along with a pen, ink, paper and an inkstone.
"Your Highness, sign it! I'm still in a hurry to go south to eliminate the pirates. "
Ang Lee urged.
"Oh, I see."
The King picked up the writing brush with trembling hands and signed reluctantly.
There were two copies of the agreement, and each side kept one copy. At this point, the problem of the Huan Kingdom was completely solved.
It had been two hours since the landing. It was before dusk, but now the sun had set and the sky was completely dark.
The King invited Ang Lee to live in the city. On the grounds that he did not want to disturb the normal life of the people in the city, Ang Lee set up a tent near the port and enjoyed the night view outside the city, which was quite interesting.
The army went south with a lot of materials, including portable generators, which could generate electricity at any time to meet the basic needs of the army.
At night, dozens of portable generators worked together and lit up the camp of the Tang Dynasty as bright as day. This further showed the strength of the Tang Dynasty and surprised the soldiers on the city wall.
Although the Huan Kingdom also had generators, only the Imperial Palace had them, which were given by the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. At night, the whole city was dark. There was no light except for the torches of the patrolling soldiers, of course, except for the moonlight.
Seeing that his camp was as bright as day, while the city was dark, Ang Lee sighed at the huge gap in national strength. Such a strong national strength must be maintained all the time. This was the significance of opening the Maritime Silk Road.
"Big Brother, the problem of occupying the city has been solved. Next, we should go south and attack the bigger group of pirates!"
Li Feiyu asked.
"No hurry. Step by step! There are many small countries in the south of the Huan Kingdom that impose more than 100% taxes on the merchants of the Tang Dynasty. We must make them compromise and not impose heavy taxes on the merchants of the Tang Dynasty. "
Ang Lee said seriously.
"Oh, then do we have to rest in the city for a few days?"
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "We have consumed a lot of coal, so we have to replenish it in the city. The King promised to compensate us with 100,000 kilos of coal, but I'm afraid it can't be ready in a short time. So, we have to stay for one more day. We can go south in the morning the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, I know."
Li Feiyu responded and went to arrange the troops.
It felt good to lie in the suburbs and enjoy the night view. The most important thing was that there were two young beauties by his side.
One massaged his shoulders, the other massaged his legs, and fed him fruits from time to time.
Before going to bed at night, Ang Lee wrote the agreement between the Mendu Kingdom and the Guda Kingdom. In this way, when they went to these two small countries, they could negotiate directly.
In fact, there was no need to negotiate. Because the agreement was written, the other side could just sign it directly. There was no need to spend energy negotiating. If they didn't agree, they would beat them up.
Early the next morning, the King of the Huan Kingdom respectfully sent 100 gold bars to express his sincerity. At the same time, he mobilized his people to transport coal to the port. 100,000 kilos of coal was enough for them to work.
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