The local bustling streets were not very wide. Compared with the Vermilion Bird Avenue in the Tang Dynasty, it was much worse. The width of the Vermilion Bird Avenue in the Tang Dynasty was more than 100 steps, or 150 meters, equivalent to 50 lanes in both directions. However, the width of the street here was much narrower, only about 20 steps. Excluding the sidewalks on both sides, the width in the middle could only accommodate four armored artillery vehicles side by side, equivalent to four lanes in both directions.
Because it was the most prosperous area, there were restaurants and restaurants on both sides. There were also many brothels. There were a lot of people coming and going, showing the prosperity of this place.
Li An's group used the armored vehicles to lead the way and headed towards the restaurant in a grandiose manner. They attracted a lot of attention, and the number of people who turned their heads was unusually high. There were even many children who curiously followed Li An's group all the way to satisfy their curiosity.
Ang Lee did not mind being followed by these curious children. He was used to this kind of behavior. When he was young in his previous life, Ang Lee lived in a poor village. As long as a car came to the village, there would always be a large group of children running over to look at the scenery, as if they were looking at a monster.
Now, the curious children following behind him were just like himself in the past. Looking at them gave him a nostalgic feeling.
In the Western Tianzhu government office, several young businessmen also went to treat. Since they had invited the officials of the Tang Dynasty, they naturally did not dare to not invite the local officials. Otherwise, they would not give face to the local officials. After Ang Lee left, they still had to rely on the local officials to take care of them.
"What are those businessmen doing here?"
The King looked at the chief officer of the port and asked.
"Your Majesty, they are all big local businessmen. They invited me to the banquet."
The chief officer of the port replied.
The King nodded and said, "Well, then you go to the banquet! These businessmen can bring a lot of wealth to Western Tianzhu. It's good to have more contacts with them. "
"Your Majesty, they also invited the senior officials of the Tang Dynasty to the banquet with me."
The chief officer of the port said.
"Oh, the senior officials of the Tang Dynasty are also going."
The King of Western Tianzhu was stunned for a moment and said, "Get ready. I'm also going to the banquet. Tell them that I'm the Governor of the Western Region and your superior."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The chief officer of the port responded and complained in a low voice, "Didn't you say last night that we're on the same level? How did you become a superior again today? "
Soon, the King of Western India and the port master brought a group of guards to the banquet.
Because the distance was closer, the King of Western India arrived earlier than Ang Lee and was welcomed by the merchant group. These were all officials, so no one dared to not welcome them. As for the complaints in their hearts, they could only endure it. If they did not have this ability, how could they do business?
After going upstairs, the Western Indian King and his courtiers all stood near the window and looked at the scenery outside.
The King had always been in the capital and rarely had the opportunity to visit the port. It could be said that he had not visited the port for many years. He was quite surprised to find that the port had changed so much.
The rapid development of this port was closely related to the increase of merchants from the Tang Dynasty. Especially in recent years, with the rapid development of the Tang Dynasty, more and more merchants from the Tang Dynasty chose to trade overseas. This was bound to drive the development of the overseas port and make it develop faster and better.
"It's only been a few years, but the port of Western India has developed like this. I remember that the last time I came here, this place was far from being so prosperous. This is all thanks to you."
The King said.
"Your Majesty, it's my duty to make the port more and more prosperous. It's not a credit."
The chief officer of the port said modestly.
"Hey, what's that? It's smoking."
The King of Western India was startled when he saw the armored artillery vehicles coming in the distance.
"Your Majesty, this should be the armored vehicles of the Tang Dynasty Army. Assistant Minister Li and the others will arrive soon."
The chief officer of the port had been to Ang Lee's camp. He had seen this kind of weapon and asked about it, so he naturally knew something about it.
In order to show the majesty of the Tang Dynasty, Ang Lee had sent 20 armored artillery vehicles and several command vehicles for this trip. The whole fleet was mighty and awe-inspiring, giving people a strong feeling of shock.
"So this is the armored vehicle! It can move on its own without the help of flatterers. Moreover, it's faster than a horse. It seems that the rumors are true! "
The King of Western India had heard of the armored vehicles of the Tang Dynasty, but he did not believe it. He could hardly imagine how an armored vehicle could move without the help of a horse. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, he realized that it was true and not a so-called rumor.
"Impressive, it's really impressive."
The chief officer of the port said intoxicatedly.
"Yes! The armored chariots of the Great Tang were truly too imposing. Who could possibly stop these gleaming chariots? The Tang Dynasty is invincible! "
The King of Western India immediately dismissed the idea of fighting against the Tang Dynasty. He originally thought that if he was forced, he would fight to the death with the Tang Dynasty. But at this time, he dared not think so anymore. Even if the Tang Dynasty forced him, he could not fight against the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, he would be no match for them at all. He believed that what he saw in front of him was just the tip of the iceberg of the Tang Dynasty's armored vehicles. The Tang Dynasty must have more armored vehicles.
In addition, since the rumors about the Iron-armored Chariots were true, then the more advanced weapons of the Tang Empire would naturally not be false. In this case, how could the small Western Tianzhu that he ruled be a match for the mighty Tang Empire?
At the thought of the Lion Kingdom ceding a lot of territory to the Tang Dynasty, the King's heart pounded. The Tang Dynasty fleet went all the way to the west and occupied a lot of places. Now that they had arrived at the territory of Western India, would they also try to occupy a piece of land in Western India? If the Tang Dynasty really made a territorial claim, what should he do?
A strong sense of worry lingered in the King of Western India. He was very worried that the Tang Dynasty would take a fancy to the excellent port of Western India. This port was a good port that Western India had operated for many years. It was a port that Western India could not lose. If this port was ceded to the Tang Dynasty, it was equivalent to cutting a large piece of meat from Western India. It would be very painful.
"Assistant Minister Li, this is the place. Let's get out of the car!"
The old businessman said politely.
Ang Lee nodded and asked someone to open the door. Then, he led everyone out of the car.
"Not bad. What a big restaurant. But compared with the restaurants in Chang 'an, it is much smaller."
Ang Lee was not in a hurry to go in. He stood outside to look at the scenery and familiarize himself with the surroundings. At the same time, he asked the guards to go in first to ensure the absolute safety of the banquet.
The King of Western India, who was standing on the second floor, naturally saw Ang Lee and others below. He asked, "The man standing in the middle is the Assistant Minister Li you mentioned, right?"
"Yes, that's him. I visited him yesterday. He is a good person."
The chief officer of the port replied.
"Assistant Minister Li, please come in. These are all local businessmen. They have long wanted to meet Assistant Minister Li."
The owner came out to greet them and bowed 90 degrees.
Ang Lee puffed out his chest and entered the restaurant happily. He saw hundreds of businessmen in the hall. These people were dressed well and were relatively older.
In addition to the businessmen, there were only chefs and guards left in the restaurant. The total number of people added up to more than a thousand people, filling the entire room.
The second floor was for the businessmen of the highest status. The environment was relatively spacious. There were cubicles and halls. In order to be together with more businessmen, the wooden boards of the cubicles were removed.
A large group of businessmen greeted Ang Lee warmly. Everyone looked at Ang Lee to understand Ang Lee through his appearance.
After a round of compliments, the banquet began. As the main character, Ang Lee naturally sat in the best position on the second floor.
However, Ang Lee's purpose was not to eat and drink. Therefore, he was not in a hurry to sit down. Instead, he stood near the railing and looked at the businessmen on the first floor.
"Everyone, I am very happy to be able to meet you here today. You are all businessmen, pillars of the city. Without you businessmen, the city would not be prosperous. Your contributions are the greatest. I propose a toast to you."
Ang Lee never discriminated against businessmen. He did not think that businessmen were the lowest class. Instead, he thought that businessmen were very smart and capable people.
In the later society, businessmen were the elites of the whole society. Especially the big businessmen, they were the elites of the elites. They were the people that the whole society yearned to be.
This was naturally because businessmen contributed more to the whole society. They played a very important role in promoting the prosperity of the whole society. Moreover, businessmen were very rich. With money, they could buy a lot of things they wanted. They could even buy status.
Especially in many Western countries, the establishment of their governments represented the interests of the businessmen. If a politician wanted to be the head of a country, he or she had to be in line with the interests of these businessmen. With the financial support of these businessmen, they could become the head of a country. Otherwise, they could only step down. This showed that the status of businessmen was high.
In the era of the Tang dynasty, the status of businessmen was the lowest in the whole society. Not only in the era of the Tang dynasty, but also in the dynasties before and after that, the status of businessmen was the lowest in the whole society.
This was because in such an era, technology was not developed enough and productivity was too backward. The most important thing for the people was to fill their stomachs. There had to be more people engaged in agricultural production to feed all the people. If they supported businessmen and raised the status of businessmen, more people would enter the business world. This would cause the number of farmers to decrease, which was not good for production.
Moreover, in the eyes of the ancients, farming could produce food, and forging tools could be used. Businessmen themselves did not produce anything, so they could only be ranked last.
Of course, in order to rule the people, the ruling class would definitely put their status in the first place to show their respect and make it easier to rule the people.
Farming could produce the most important materials and food, which was extremely important in the empire. Therefore, in addition to the ruling class, farmers were ranked second to show the importance of agriculture and food in the empire.
Various tools were needed in daily life, and these tools needed to be made by people. This industry was also very important, but it was less important than agriculture. Without tools, the people could bear it, but without food, the people would go crazy. Therefore, the people who made tools could only be ranked last.
As for businessmen, they did not produce anything. They were only responsible for transportation and exchange. It was the most convenient industry and the easiest industry to get rich. It gave people the impression that they were treacherous. Therefore, in ancient times, businessmen had always been synonymous with profiteers.
The purpose of the ancient empire to emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce was to make more people work on farming and fewer people do business. This was more in line with the productivity of ancient times.
If there were too few people working on farming and too many people doing business, it meant that there were too few people in charge of production. And if there were too many people in charge of exchange, the entire empire's materials would become less. This was naturally a situation that the rulers did not want to see.
Moreover, in ancient times, the huge ruling class did not work. In order to maintain the rule, they also needed to feed a huge army. They also needed to consume food and fodder. Therefore, food was often in a state of shortage. They had to let more people work on farming to alleviate the problem of food shortage. Businessmen had no other role except to promote prosperity.
In other words, only a certain number of businessmen were needed to meet the daily needs of the city's residents. There was no need for too many businessmen. Otherwise, it would be a waste of resources.
For example, in a small city with a population of 1,000 households, two merchants selling rice were enough. One merchant selling rice was responsible for 500 households. The people bought rice once every 20 days. Only 25 households would buy rice every day. It was completely busy. If there were dozens of merchants selling rice, it would be too much of a waste of manpower. At the same time, it would make the business of the merchants difficult.
In later generations, because of the increase in productivity, the people did not have to worry about food and drink. Therefore, more people entered the business field. There were too many people doing business, which directly led to the business becoming more and more difficult. Many businesses closed down after a few days. Bankruptcy and bankruptcy became a very common phenomenon.
Therefore, in general, there was nothing wrong with the ancient empire emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce. As long as it could ensure the harvest of food, at the same time, it could also avoid too fierce business competition and protect the interests of the merchants.
Being recognized by Ang Lee, these merchants were very excited. They whispered to each other, and the scene seemed to be a little noisy for a while.
Ang Lee looked at the merchants happily, waved his hand to signal them to be quiet, and then said, "Everyone, I can tell you clearly that this time, the Tang Dynasty is marching west to build the Maritime Silk Road of the Tang Dynasty. It is to promote the development of trade among the countries along the way and promote common prosperity. When the Maritime Silk Road of the Tang Dynasty is completed, you merchants will have a better life. You can easily make more money."
"Good, that's great. Our lives will be better in the future."
"It seems that the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty is here to help us. This meal is worth it."
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