Polu was the first place where the coffee tree was found, and Shengdeng was the second place. Maybe there were more places with this kind of coffee tree. There must be some in Africa far to the west. As long as the climate was tropical, most places should be able to grow coffee. The coffee industry had a promising future.
After staying for a short while, Ang Lee chose to leave. His next stop was Gekuluo, which was also a very small country. However, this small country was not on the island of Sumatra, but on the coast of the Eurasian continent.
This location was probably in the region of Thailand and Myanmar in the future. It was a very important location and could be regarded as an important place in the busy Malacca Strait. Unfortunately, because there was no deep-water port, this area had never attracted the attention of future generations and had not been developed.
However, in this era of the Tang dynasty, shipping ships were relatively small and did not need a particularly strong deep-water port. Therefore, Gekuluo also had a very good opportunity for development. It could completely rely on the east wind of the route opened by the Tang dynasty to achieve great development.
Along the way, Ang Lee was really busy. Of course, the harvest was also very good. The rulers of the countries along the way all agreed to cooperate with the Tang dynasty. They were willing to be the underlings of the Tang Empire, which was very good and the only choice for these small countries.
The reason why the Tang dynasty wanted to include all the countries along the way in the cooperation framework was that the more small countries they cooperated with, the more advantageous it would be for the Tang Empire.
In this way, the Tang dynasty's businessmen had more choices. They could choose any small country to invest in, and the places where they needed to resupply were plentiful enough to resupply the fleet at any time.
The most important point was that these small countries could form a competitive relationship with each other, which was a good thing for the Tang Empire, a very good thing.
When there was only one advanced powerful country in the world, and the rest of the small countries were all backward countries, the powerful country's life was very good, and the large group of weak countries' lives were relatively tight.
In terms of cooperation, the stronger countries could only provide inferior technology to the weaker countries. This way, all the weaker countries would have such technology and compete with each other. This way, the stronger countries would be able to obtain relatively cheap low-level products. After some simple processing, these low-level products could be transformed into high-grade products.
On the other hand, because there were no competitors, the high-grade products made by powerful countries could be sold at a very high price, allowing the poor and weak countries to pay for them. As a result, the gap between them and the weaker countries would become larger and larger.
Ang Lee's deepest memory was of the Western powers of the future. They had taken the lead in the Industrial Revolution and colonization of the Great Seas. Thus, they had risen to power earlier.
After their rise, they began to bully the backward countries, plundering resources from the backward countries on a large scale. By buying at a low price and selling at a high price, they accumulated a large amount of social wealth.
Because the Western powers had entered a virtuous cycle, the backward countries had never been able to catch up with them. Their products had always been in the lead and could always maintain their advantage, leaving the backward countries helpless.
For example, the backward countries could only sell backward agricultural products and primary industrial products with extremely low profits. As long as the price was slightly higher, the powerful countries would not buy and would instead choose to buy cheaper products. However, the high-end products produced by the backward countries could be sold at dozens of times the price. It was no different from robbery.
The Tang Empire was now a sinful powerful country. With the most advanced technology, it could produce many high-grade products that the weaker countries could not produce. Thus, it could sell them at a very high price, while the large number of backward countries could only maintain the most basic low profits. The more small countries that cooperated with it, the more advantageous it would be for the Tang Empire.
Ang Lee's arrival had given the Tang Empire a first-mover advantage, so it was in a better position. Many of the technologies developed by Ang Lee could be sold at dozens or even hundreds of times the profit. For example, things like glass balls were really worthless, but because no one else could make such high-tech transparent glass balls, they could be sold at a very high price.
The cooperation was indeed mutually beneficial, but to a certain extent, the Tang Empire would definitely gain the most benefits, while the small countries could only gain very little. This would cause the gap between them and the Tang Empire to widen. They had no choice but to passively accept this fact.
Ang Lee felt sad for these backward small countries. However, if they did not cooperate with the Tang Empire, the situation of these small countries would be even more difficult, and the lives of their people would be even more difficult.
Between hard work and more hardship, of course, it was better to choose hard work.
What left a deep impression on Ang Lee was that the wages of the people of Hua Xia in the future were very low, really low, about one-tenth of the wages of the people of the powerful countries.
Why was it so low? Why were the wages of the powerful countries high? This was naturally because the powerful countries in the West had mastered the most advanced technologies and could sell the advanced products they produced at a very high price. Moreover, they could also have good sales. Most of the industries in Hua Xia were relatively low-profit industries, so the wages naturally could not be increased. This was also something that could not be helped. If the wages of the employees were forcibly increased, for example, it would lead to the collapse of the enterprises.
In order to maintain the survival of the enterprises, it was necessary to keep the wages low. Other than that, there was no better way.
This was the so-called first-mover advantage. It was the case for the country, and it was the same for individuals. After a person made a fortune, he only needed to buy more fixed assets and collect rent every month. The income could be several times that of an ordinary worker. This was also something that could not be helped.
This was also the reason why many people resented their birth. A good birth could make people struggle less for decades, while a bad birth could make people struggle for a lifetime, and they could not surpass those who were born with good birth.
This was life. It was very cruel and also very realistic. It was useless to be unconvinced. It was also useless to blame their parents for being born in a bad country.
Hua Xia was not so bad. If one was born in a backward country full of war, life would be even more difficult. Even filling one's stomach would be a big problem, not to mention living a happy life.
The Tang dynasty should feel lucky because the arrival of Ang Lee made the Tang dynasty look down on the whole world and trample all the small countries under its feet, so that they could never rise again.
After the fleet set off, they directly crossed the western entrance of the Malacca Strait and went straight to Geguruo.
On the way, they saw many passing merchant ships. More than half of them were ships of the Tang dynasty, and many of them were ships of the western countries.
These ships were all owned by merchants. In order to do business, they had to travel the sea for many years. It was very difficult, but of course, the profits were also considerable.
After the pirates near Malacca were taken down, it became much safer for the merchants to do business. The scattered pirates were no longer a threat to the powerful fleets. After all, many merchant ships were in groups, and there were many armed guards. They were more than enough to deal with a small number of pirates.
"It can be seen that most of the merchants passing through Malacca are from our Tang dynasty. There are also many merchants from Arabia. The sea route is quite busy!"
It had not been long since they passed through the strait, but they had already encountered several merchant fleets. This was enough to show that there were many fleets passing through the strait.
"These merchants are all people who do not wake up early if there is no profit. If not for the fact that they can earn a lot of money, they would not be so active."
"Our soldiers have worked hard to eliminate the pirates, but these merchants have benefited. They should get some benefits, hahaha!"
Seeing the busy trade route, everyone was very happy. This showed that what they were doing was more meaningful. Opening up the sea route was undoubtedly the right choice.
"Assistant Minister Li, good news! The officials and soldiers sent by the imperial court have already arrived at Dragon Tooth County. Many family members and common people have also moved to Dragon Tooth County. From now on, Dragon Tooth County is not much different from the territory of the Tang dynasty. "
A small boat carrying messages approached and reported this important news.
Ang Lee was very satisfied. He nodded and said, "Very good. The efficiency of the imperial court has increased a lot! They sent officials to Dragon Tooth Gate so quickly. This is really great. So many common people have also moved here. In the future, the merchants of the Tang dynasty who pass through Dragon Tooth Gate will feel like they have arrived at home. "
Occupying the Dragon Tooth Gate was of utmost importance to the Great Tang. This location was far too advantageous. The Dragon Tooth Gate was located at the eastern entrance of the Straits of Malacca, and it was also the narrowest part of the straits. Establishing a reliable stronghold here was of immense value to the Great Tang in controlling the straits.
In the era of the Great Tang, when the tonnage of ships was still small, all the ships were able to smoothly pass through. Later generations, the ships that passed through the Dragon Eye Strait were all large merchant ships with tonnage above one hundred thousand tons. Merchant ships with tonnage below one hundred thousand tons were completely capable of safely passing through the Strait of Malacca. Stopping at the Dragon Tooth Gate to resupply was a pretty good idea.
Of course, in addition to Dragon Tooth Gate, Malacca and Rising Island also needed to be deployed and gradually localized. This was even more important for controlling the Strait of Malacca.
Although the countries along the way did not dare to make things difficult for the merchants of the Tang dynasty, it did not seem to affect anything without these strongholds. The merchants of the Tang dynasty could still do business with peace of mind.
But in general, it was different. With the troops of the Tang dynasty at these key locations, the merchants of the Tang dynasty would have more support. They would be more confident and could do business with peace of mind.
In addition, although the pirates had been eliminated by Ang Lee by force, there was still a possibility of a recurrence. If they wanted to completely suppress the revival of the pirates, they must station troops at the key locations. The lagging navies of the small countries along the way could not do anything to the pirates. Only the powerful navy of the Tang dynasty could completely deter the wanton pirate gangs and ensure the safety of the Strait of Malacca.
In addition, speculations alone were unreliable for many things. Although the strength of the Tang dynasty was very strong, if they could not maintain a strong military presence in Nanyang for a long time, the small countries along the way would inevitably be disloyal. This time, Ang Lee's negotiation went so smoothly because he had a powerful navy that could destroy any small country. If Ang Lee had only taken a small boat to visit the various countries, he would not have been so lucky.
The aristocrats of the small countries were not stupid. They only needed to take a look at the huge fleet led by Ang Lee to know the strength of the Tang dynasty. In front of the powerful Tang Dynasty fleet, they naturally did not dare to be disloyal.
After all, this powerful naval force was in front of them. If this navy was in Guangzhou, the kings of these small countries would not know what choice they would make. The pirates would also be disdainful of the officials of the Tang dynasty, and the opening of the Maritime Silk Road would be impossible.
As long as a strong naval force was maintained in the Dragon's Tooth Gate and other places, whether it was the small countries along the way or the pirates who wanted to make a comeback, they would completely dispel their little thoughts and behave themselves. Therefore, it was extremely necessary to maintain a strong naval force in this area.
However, in order to maintain a strong navy, in addition to considering weapons and soldiers, the quality of their lives also needed to be taken into consideration.
Since ancient times, all the soldiers who guarded the borders would die in one generation. This was because the soldiers who guarded the borders were all located in remote and uninhabited areas. In such areas, there were no women living there.
There were only men and no women, which meant that they could not reproduce. After the soldiers guarding the border died, there would be no more children.
In addition, the soldiers guarding the border also needed a warm family. Only in this way could they have a goal in life. Without a family, life would become very boring.
Therefore, in order to let the officials and soldiers live in peace, their families also had to be moved. In addition, in order to further enrich the population, many people had to be moved to further increase the size of the population, forming a county with a large population, and increasing the power.
The people accompanying them were the families of the officials and soldiers, and the rest were mostly fishermen and businessmen, as well as a small number of craftsmen.
The fishermen came to the Dragon's Tooth Gate to fish for a living, while the businessmen fancied the location of the Dragon's Tooth Gate and built it into a logistics center for their goods. It was a very good choice for the soldiers.
In order to attract people to the Dragon's Tooth Gate, the Tang dynasty also gave a lot of preferential policies. After all, people cared about benefits. Without enough benefits, who would be willing to go to the Dragon's Tooth Gate? The businessmen also came for profit.
For example, the Dragon's Tooth Gate was designated as Wang County, which was a relatively large county, and the county magistrate's rank was relatively high.
In the Tang dynasty, the highest-level county was Jing County in Chang 'an City, followed by Ji County, and the third-class county was Wang County. Below them were Shang County, Zhong County, and Xia County.
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