The Tang Dynasty was now the most powerful country, and its strength far exceeded that of all the countries on this planet. Even if all the forces united, they were absolutely no match for the Tang Empire.
This not only strengthened the confidence of the people of the Tang Dynasty, but also made it difficult for advanced technology to be leaked. Because it was the most powerful country, it did not need the support of allies, and there was no need to give away advanced technology to its allies.
In the later years, the West was the first to rise. It developed very quickly in modern times, leaving all the countries in the rest of the world behind. However, because there was more than one country that rose, no Western country had an overwhelming advantage. In other words, if several weaker Western countries joined forces, they could defeat the most powerful one.
In this case, in order to protect their own interests, they not only had to desperately develop more advanced weapons, but also had to rope in their allies and let them share some of the pressure.
The stronger the fighting power of their allies, the stronger the national strength, the better it was for them. Therefore, they had to sell their own advanced weapons to these allied countries, and even transfer some of their technology so that these allied countries could produce their own weapons, so that they could become stronger countries.
In addition, in order to make more money and further develop more advanced weapons to maintain their own advantages, the Western countries did not hesitate to sell their most advanced weapons to backward agricultural countries. After all, if they refused to buy, the neighboring Western countries would take action. In this way, the business would be snatched away by others. Moreover, by selling advanced weapons, they could also rope in other countries and increase their own allies. After all, no matter how profitable a business was, they would not do it with their enemies.
Because many Western countries competed with each other, no matter how advanced the weapons were, it was impossible to make too much profit. This allowed many agricultural countries to take advantage of it.
Now, the Tang Empire did not have such a situation, because the Tang Empire was the most powerful country and had no competitors. Therefore, even if the price was a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times, it could still sell its high-tech products. For example, Ang Lee sold the worthless glass at a profit of more than a hundred times.
The other small countries did not have the ability to develop their own technology, and they did not even know how the glass of the Tang Dynasty was made. Therefore, they did not doubt the high price of the glass, and the sales volume was very high.
As for the automobile industry that belonged to the imperial court, the situation was the same. If they didn't sell it at dozens of times the original price, how could they be worthy of this unique business?
Moreover, the automobile industry still needs to continue to develop. The research and development funds are a huge number. If they don't sell it at a higher price, how can they quickly accumulate a huge amount of funds and develop more advanced cars?
Ang Lee remembered that in his previous life, Hua Xia had once sold an important weapon that no one else dared to sell to a rich country and reaped a huge profit that was dozens of times the original price. If they had sold ordinary weapons, it would have been absolutely impossible for them to earn such a high profit. This was a monopoly. Although other big countries also had such weapons, they were unwilling to sell them. In this way, Hua Xia was equivalent to doing a monopoly business. It was reasonable for them to ask for a profit that was dozens of times the original price.
The only thing that the rich didn't lack was money, so it was the easiest to make money from them. As long as it was a good thing that could reflect their identity, they would buy it no matter how high the price was. They would not care if they were cheated a hundred times or a thousand times more. This was the personality of the rich. Did they become willful just because they were rich?
There were many small countries along the way. The king of each small country and their ministers could be called rich. With so many rich people, they could completely consume the high-tech products of the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, with the progress of the Belt and Road, the development of these small countries would also accelerate to a certain extent. In this way, the rich people of these small countries would become richer and could buy more high-tech products of the Tang Dynasty. Step by step, the Tang Dynasty would be in an invincible position.
Of course, as the Tang Empire mastered advanced technology step by step, some industries that were relatively backward but in high demand would also be appropriately moved to these countries. After all, the pressure of letting the Tang Dynasty produce everything was too great.
When high-tech products could create hundreds or thousands of times more profits, why should they sacrifice the environment and mass-produce steel and other products that were not very profitable?
These products could be produced by all the small countries. It was just that their technology was backward and their output was extremely limited. However, they could indeed produce them. Therefore, if you sold them at a high price, they would not buy them. They were not stupid.
However, some high-value-added ironware and processed products, such as stainless steel products, could still be sold. The price could be slightly higher, but the profit would not reach a hundred times more.
In view of this situation, it was appropriate to sell the ironmaking equipment at a high price to those countries that had iron ore resources so that these small countries could produce steel faster and better. When they ran out of steel, they could import it to the Tang Dynasty. Then, the Tang Dynasty could use the cheap steel they bought to make advanced industrial products and sell them at a higher price. It was a scissor trade to earn money from the small countries.
In addition to directly selling the ironmaking equipment and other not-so-advanced equipment to the small countries, they could also let the businessmen of the Tang Dynasty buy the equipment and bring it to the small countries to mine iron resources in these small countries. In this way, it was better than directly buying the equipment because the equipment was still in the hands of the people of the Tang Dynasty.
In fact, even if the small countries knew some manufacturing skills, it was useless because the high cost of research and development was not something that they, who had no foundation, could afford. The Tang Dynasty was strong and could bear a high risk. However, once the research and development of the small countries failed, their many years of efforts would be in vain. They could not afford it.
In short, because of the advantage of mastering advanced technology, the Tang Empire would always be in an invincible position. The gap between it and other countries would become bigger and bigger, and the living standards of the people would become higher and higher. However, the premise was that there was no major turmoil in the empire. Otherwise, once the advanced Tang Empire split from the inside, competition would form between them. In this way, a lot of advanced technology would flow to other countries, and the advantages of the Tang Dynasty would be lost.
Therefore, the Tang Empire needed to guard against the inside, not the outside. As long as there was no internal turmoil, external forces would be useless. Since ancient times, strong countries were destroyed by internal forces, and only weak countries were destroyed by external forces. The only one who could defeat the Tang Empire was destined to be the Tang Empire itself.
The palace of Rao Yue was not far away. It did not take long for them to reach the gate of the palace. Looking at the palace, which was not very grand, Ang Lee sighed at the gap between the small countries and the Tang Dynasty. The palace in front of him was at most an ordinary building for ministers in the Tang Dynasty, but here, it was the place where the king of a country lived.
Although the buildings were generally low and lacked the grandeur they should have, the scale of the palace was not bad. It should be very comfortable to live in it!
"Your Majesty, so this is your palace! It looks good. "
Of course, Ang Lee would not belittle the palace. This was the most basic courtesy.
"Compared with the palaces of the Tang Dynasty, it must be far worse."
The King of Rao Yue replied.
Ang Lee stepped out of the car, stretched his body, and prepared to enter the palace. However, he saw that the King of Rao Yue was still sitting in the car. He seemed to be unwilling to get out of the car, as if he had not enjoyed enough.
"Your Highness, it's time to get out of the car."
Ang Lee reminded the King of Rao Yue.
The King of Rao Yue quickly got out of the car, smiled awkwardly, and invited Ang Lee into his palace.
It had to be said that the environment of the palace was very good. The roads inside were very smooth, and the small roads were made of smooth stones. As for the greenery, it was even better. The climate of a tropical rainforest was the most suitable for the growth of plants. The plants used for the greenery were naturally the best. It was very pleasing to the eye.
"The buildings are not tall, but the environment is very elegant!"
Ang Lee praised with a smile.
"Haha! Assistant Minister Li is too polite. Please come in. "
The King of Rao Yue invited.
At this time, the food was already prepared. As long as everyone was present, the banquet could start at any time.
Of course, in addition to the meal, there were also singing and dancing performances. These were indispensable to adjust the atmosphere.
The scale of the banquet was not big. There were only about thirty people. There were more than ten from the Tang dynasty, and more than ten from Rao Yue. However, the food was very sumptuous. It was enough to fill at least three times. The taste of the wine was very familiar. It was a strong wine from the Tang dynasty. Needless to say, it must have been sold by the merchants of the Tang dynasty.
Among the food, there were also many delicacies from the Tang dynasty, such as canned fruits. However, more than eighty percent of the food was Rao Yue's own specialties.
Eating the food of the Tang dynasty, Ang Lee felt as if he had returned home. The specialties of Rao Yue were even more eye-opening for Ang Lee.
This inconspicuous small country could actually invent so many strange delicacies. It was understandable that they ate ordinary fruits and fish, but they ate some disgusting animals. This made Ang Lee somewhat unable to accept.
For example, deep-fried rats, steamed spiders, and live worms. These things made Ang Lee sick. How could he have the courage to eat them?
"Can this thing really be eaten?"
Ang Lee frowned and asked when he saw General Luo put a big spider into his mouth.
Luo Jianjun smiled and said, "Delicious, very delicious. Eating spiders and drinking Tang dynasty wine is very delicious."
The subordinates who came with Ang Lee just smiled and nodded. No one dared to eat the spider.
It was said that the first person to eat crab was a hero. However, in front of them was a disgusting spider. Who could eat it?
However, Ang Lee felt that since it was delicious, it would be a pity if he didn't eat it. Since he had come here, why not eat it?
Seeing that the people of Rao Yue didn't have any reaction after eating the spider, Ang Lee boldly picked up a big spider and tried it like the people of Rao Yue.
"Not bad, the taste is really good. It can be called delicious."
After eating the spider, Ang Lee felt that the taste was really good. He also understood why the people of Rao Yue liked to eat such strange delicacies. It was just like how the people of Hua Xia liked to eat fried grasshoppers and fried maggots. This was the reason why people of Rao Yue liked to eat fried grasshoppers and fried maggots.
Hearing that it was a delicious delicacy, the rest of the officials of the Tang dynasty also tried it like the people of Rao Yue. Since they had come here, if they didn't have a good meal, they would feel sorry for themselves.
Ang Lee tasted all the local delicacies of Rao Yue. They were all good. Perhaps it was because it was his first time eating them, but the taste was really good.
The singing and dancing were also good and full of exotic charm. Especially the young girls, who only had a few leaves hanging on their bodies, looked very lively.
"Your Highness, the singing and dancing are very good. The girls are dancing very well. But why are they wearing leaves?"
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
The King of Rao Yue replied, "Assistant Minister Li, this is the tradition of our Rao Yue. In the past, our ancestors didn't have clothes, so they could only use leaves to cover their bodies. Although they had clothes later, the traditional customs were still preserved. Now they are wearing leaves made of silk, not real leaves. Is this silk produced in the Tang dynasty?"
"Oh, it's actually made of silk. It clearly looks like leaves! Am I seeing things? Come here. "
Ang Lee said with a smile and asked a girl to look over.
"Assistant Minister Li is calling for you. Why aren't you going over?"
The King of Rao Yue ordered.
The little girl walked over gently. She looked a little shy. After all, she was too young. She was probably only thirteen or fourteen years old. Her development was still not complete. She was completely a young loli.
"Little Loli, come here and sit on Uncle's lap."
Ang Lee grinned and requested.
Although this young loli didn't really understand Ang Lee's words, she could still understand what Ang Lee meant. She shyly walked in front of Ang Lee and snuggled into Ang Lee's embrace.
Seeing that the little loli was so obedient, Ang Lee was very happy. He quickly hugged the little loli and placed her on his lap. He was the ambassador of a large country and had the right to be impudent.
"Little Loli is very beautiful! Come, let Uncle take a look. Oh, these clothes are really made of silk. They look very realistic. They really look like leaves. "
Ang Lee touched the silk leaves on the little loli's chest and sighed.
Under the silk leaves was naturally something soft. Ang Lee naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. He gently pinched it a few times and felt that it was very good.
"Little Loli, how old are you this year?"
Li An asked in a tender voice.
"Twelve years old."
The little loli shyly replied.
"Twelve years old? Good! You are at the age of budding. Uncle likes little lolis at this age the most. Come, have a drink. "
Ang Lee raised a cup of wine and let the little loli drink it.
"It doesn't taste good."
The little loli refused.
Ang Lee was very gentlemanly and naturally wouldn't force the little loli. He smiled and said, "It's fine if you don't want to drink. Uncle won't leave tonight. Can you accompany me?"
"This …"
The little loli was a little hesitant.
Li An tilted his head to look at the King of Luo Yue Country and requested: "Your Majesty, I like this little loli very much."
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