At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Page 814

But Guo Peng doesn't want his country to be full of arrogance again after the difficult completion of social transformation.

They need to open their eyes to see the world and learn that there are many civilizations and countries in this world that are different from their own.

Not all countries are small countries like the countries in the Western Regions that cry and call you daddy. There are also very powerful countries with hundreds of thousands or even nearly a million soldiers that cannot be conquered by force.

Not all of them are vassal states, and they are not all eager to be canonized by the emperor of Wei to gain the legitimacy of their rule.

This is what Guo Peng hopes his people can understand.

And the country that can make them truly realize this fact in this era is of course the Roman Empire.

Guo Peng needs Rome, just like Rome also needs him.

The final result of the negotiation between the emperor and local forces did not exceed Zhang Liao and Simpi's expectations.

The emperor made a compromise, and the local forces also made a compromise. The two sides chose to share the fat in order not to be destroyed by their internal struggles.

The emperor divides a part, the local forces divide a part, and then the local forces continue to subdivide, and the emperor also needs to subdivide a little bit to give his supporters some meat to eat.

Emperor Caracalla raised his tone and made a bad attitude, and finally won a good profit for himself.

And it is determined that the goods of the Wei Empire will still land in Egypt and enter the Mediterranean through the Nile River. This route will not change.

As for how to arrange and divide the various forces after entering the Mediterranean Sea, it is too detailed, and the Wei Empire probably has no interest after knowing it.

Anyway, once the money for selling the goods is in hand, there will be no problem.

Of course, this trade is two-way. The Wei Empire can export goods to Rome, and there is naturally a demand for Rome.

In addition to what Wang Wei thought was worth importing and what the domestic dignitaries would definitely like, Zhang Liao and Simpi also told Wang Wei that the emperor had another need for Rome.

The emperor heard that the Romans had a lot of slaves, so he wanted to buy slaves from Rome and bring them back to Wei.

Wang Wei felt a little surprised.

"Your Majesty wants to buy slaves from the Lomo Kingdom?"

"Yes, His Majesty explained it like this. He heard from the interpreter from the Anxi Kingdom that the Lomo Kingdom often fought wars and acquired a lot of slaves. They were either used for farming or for work. Your Majesty thinks that we can also ask them to buy them. Some slaves went back to use it."

Simpi replied.

"However, during the Northern Expedition, His Majesty captured millions of prisoners of war in one fell swoop, and all of them were made into slave labor to work and build roads. That's a million people. Isn't that enough?"

Wang Wei still couldn't understand.

"As far as I know it's not enough."

Zhang Liao said: "Many places use slaves without restraint, resulting in the death of a large number of these slaves, so there is not enough manpower. Now when the Grand Canal is being built, the project in Yangzhou has to recruit local peasants to participate in the project. There is a big gap."

"It turns out that this is not incomprehensible."

Wang Wei shook his head: "It's just that His Majesty doesn't want to conscript civilian husbands?"

"Your Majesty is kind-hearted, and thinks that it is best for the people to do production with peace of mind, and try not to use them for these workmanship things, but they are still used now, which affects production to a certain extent.

The barbarians in the surrounding areas were almost wiped out. Now there are few slaves captured in Liaodong and grasslands, and not many slaves in Jiangnan. "

Simpi said: "We have traveled along the way, and we have seen many places where slaves are used in large quantities in the Lomo Kingdom. It can be seen that they really have a lot of slaves. Let's talk about it and try to buy these slaves at a relatively low price. "

Zhang Liao nodded in agreement, and Wang Wei had nothing to disagree with, so the matter was settled.

So in the following formal discussion meeting, Zhang Liao and Simpi discussed the details of the export goods with Emperor Caracalla who attended the meeting in person.

For example, how many bolts of various types of silk, how many types of porcelain, lacquerware, and iron pots are required, and how much is the luxury that has just emerged recently, called tea.

There are also some small batches of handicrafts, etc. Anyway, the large quantity of goods and the high specific price will probably make Guo Peng very happy.

The purchase quantity was so large, and Emperor Caracalla promised to reduce or exempt the customs duties, so the Wei Empire also offered some discounts on the price of goods to show its sincerity.

After the exchange of some preferential treatment given to each other by the two parties, both parties are very satisfied, and the details of the export trade are almost discussed.

Next is the import trade.

The Wei Empire proposed to purchase two main commodities of the Roman Empire, one was wine and the other was slaves.

The wine is easy to understand, the wine in Rome is very good, the Emperor Caracalla is very confident in it, but the slaves...

The Wei Empire also needs slaves?

Did the Wei Empire have no slaves?

Still want to buy?

"Our country is undergoing some very important large-scale projects, and there is an urgent shortage of labor. Your country has a large number of slaves taken from the war. If there are any surplus, I hope you can sell them to us. We are willing to pay a good price and buy them in large quantities."

Although it is said that population is indeed the source of wealth, there were sporadic population trade within the Roman Empire, and there are relative records to the outside world, but the number of slaves that the Wei Empire proposed to buy was indeed large, and many local forces' eyes turned red when they heard this number.

The first batch will require 20 male young and middle-aged slaves. They will send a large number of sea ships to transport them away in batches, and the price is negotiable.

Emperor Caracalla was very happy, and immediately patted his chest to make a big deal—he decided that he could help the Wei Empire to deal with this part of the slave demand.

Chapter 1388 One thousand two hundred and ninety eight Wang Wei is really depressed

The demand for slaves in the Wei Empire made Emperor Caracalla discover an excellent opportunity to make money.

And this is also an excellent opportunity to satisfy the appetite of the Praetorian Guards.

There is a sword hanging over the heads of Roman emperors in all dynasties, and that is the appetite of the Praetorian Guards.

The Imperial Guard has a big appetite, and there are two ways to satisfy the appetite of the Imperial Guard.

One is that the emperor offered money, in the name of [Emperor Bounty].

One is that the Praetorian Guards go out to battle, defeat the enemy, and capture them.

Choose one of these two methods, in short, you have to choose.

If you don't choose, there will be a big problem. You will be replaced and someone else will be the emperor.

Therefore, the emperor who has not fought for a long time is also in danger of life.

Now that the Wei Empire put forward a demand, Emperor Caracalla realized that it is entirely possible for the imperial guards to go out and catch them by themselves, and then trade with the Wei Empire, and the money they get will be divided between them and the emperor.

Save them from racking their brains to make money all day long!

Kill two birds with one stone!

Local forces want to intervene, and they also want to engage in slave trade with the Wei Empire.

So after the meeting, some people quietly approached Zhang Liao and Simpi and asked them if they needed a larger number of slaves at a lower price.

There are not many other things, but there are many of these things.

Give as much as you want, and if it is not enough, they will catch them again.

Of course the Wei Empire needs it, and the Wei Empire has a long-term demand for these cheap labor forces.

Guo Peng decided to repair the Dachi roads from Luoyang to the local area, especially the Shu road, and the Grand Canal project, which are all labor-intensive projects.

Our own people dare not use them to death, so of course these slaves don't care whether they want to use them to death or not.

Regarding how to manage the slaves, the Wei Empire has now figured out a mature and effective method, which can squeeze the blood and tears of these slaves to the greatest extent, and will never stop until they are squeezed into empty shells.

The ordering of some other somewhat unique gadgets is more like an addition, far less expensive than the slave trade.

For the goods sold by the Roman Empire to the Wei Empire, including the merchant ships from the Roman Empire to the Wei Empire, the Wei Empire will also give the same treatment to the Roman Empire, and the two sides will achieve reciprocity.

Emperor Caracalla was very satisfied, so the two sides signed a written treaty.

The treaty is in duplicate, and each party holds one copy. Based on this, they will abide by the agreement from now on and cannot violate the agreement. If they violate the agreement, the heavens and gods will never let him go.

This is the end of the matter, and the discussion is over, and everyone has found the greatest common denominator that everyone can accept from this trade.

Therefore, the forces of all parties have temporarily stopped their flags and drums, and seriously digested this big piece of fat, and have no other thoughts for the time being.

The mission of Zhang Liao, Xin Pi and Wang Wei was thus accomplished.

The specific missions have all been fulfilled, and the last task left to the three of them is to make an agreement with Emperor Caracalla that the two sides will exchange envoys and establish long-term embassies to facilitate the handling of some sudden trade disputes.

The emperors of both sides should grant certain powers to the envoys of the two countries, so that they have the power to deal with emergencies, and then inform the country.

For this idea, Caracalla agrees very much and thinks it can be done.

So he ordered to choose a place in Rome with a beautiful and quiet environment and close to his palace to build an embassy for Wei's envoys.

In order to demonstrate the wealth and strength of the Roman Empire and the importance it attaches to the envoys of the Wei Empire, Caracalla will appoint a team of excellent designers who repaired the palace for him to build an embassy for the envoys of the Wei State.

All the expenses are borne by him personally, and the Wei Empire does not need to pay any price for it.

Zhang Liao and Simpi were overjoyed and thanked Emperor Caracalla.

Next, there is the question of the candidates for the envoys. Zhang Liao and Simpi said that they will report this matter to His Majesty the Emperor when they return home, so that His Majesty can choose an excellent ambassador.

Before that, they will leave some staff and interpreters in charge of communicating with the people in Rome to ensure that there are no communication problems between the two parties.

In addition, Simpi also hoped that Emperor Caracalla could choose excellent ambassador candidates as soon as possible, and it would be best to go back with them, so that they could directly introduce His Majesty the Emperor Wei.

Emperor Caracalla said yes, so he quickly convened a meeting, and selected his most trusted figure from among his cronies and cronies to serve as the envoy of the Roman Empire in the Wei Empire.

This envoy must be loyal and trustworthy, so that he can be empowered and not worry about being betrayed.

And Zhang Liao and Simpi are also discussing, saying that they want to keep someone to temporarily act as the ambassador, which is suitable for communicating with the Romans, but they don't know who is better to choose.

Suddenly, Simpi rolled his eyes and thought of the right candidate.

When I told Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao also thought it was okay.

So the two called Wang Wei together and announced the decision.

Wang Wei was stunned when he heard that he would be staying here, and he would stay here for at least five months, until the first ambassador to Rome officially took office, and then he could go back.

"General, Minister, I have been staying here for so long. It has been several months. If I want to continue to stay, this...I feel homesick."

Wang Wei said that he misses his hometown very much. He hasn't passed several letters with his family after being away from home for so long. If he continues to stay, it is really a bit...

Simpi patted Wang Wei on the shoulder.

"General Wang, when I first came here, I thought you had a talent for doing foreign affairs. Now you are the one who is most familiar with the Lomo Kingdom among us and the one who has dealt with them the longest. You are familiar with everything. Not you, who else?"

Zhang Liao also patted Wang Wei on the shoulder.

"General Wang, since Xin Butang is so optimistic about you, you can do what you can, and make a sacrifice for me, Wei, and when we go back to report to His Majesty and let His Majesty know about this, His Majesty will be very happy and reward you, anyway, no more than five Moon, what do you think?"

The two big men patted him on the shoulder, which made Wang Wei unable to bear the feeling that the left and right were men.

Wang Wei pondered in his heart, thinking that this round-trip, plus the time for traveling and preparation, would take more than five months?

It's good to be back in six months.

In case something happened at sea, he would not be able to leave here by boat within a year.

Wang Wei really didn't want to stay in a foreign land thousands of miles away.

But now he is facing the situation where the left and the right are men, and he really can't allow him to resist forcefully.

Who made him a Jingzhou general, with the lowest qualifications.

Although Zhang Liao and Xin Pi were also surrendered ministers, they had more seniority, higher status, and greater authority than him.

What can he do if a senior official crushes someone to death?

So things settled down.

Wang Wei was appointed acting ambassador and led 20 interpreters from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 71 soldiers. A total of [-] people were stationed at the embassy of the Wei Empire in Rome until the arrival of the first ambassador of the Wei Empire to Rome appointed by the emperor.

During this period, Wang Wei could exercise the powers of the Wei Empire's ambassador to Rome stipulated in the treaty, and had the right to make decisions on business matters, without the need to negotiate with the country in advance.

The news was sent to Emperor Caracalla by their note, and Emperor Caracalla expressed his warm welcome.

After getting along for a few months, he felt that he still liked Wang Wei quite a lot.

After Zhang Liao and Xin Pi left Rome with the Roman ambassador to the Wei Empire and set foot on their way home, Wang Wei still hadn't reacted.

As a naval general who led troops to fight, why did he suddenly start diplomatic work?

So say tomorrow and accident, you never know which will come first.

But Wang Wei still made a plea.

He hoped that the fleet that came to pick him up would bring some Jiangnan rice and soy sauce, as well as a good cook. He wanted to eat rice and stir-fried vegetables very much, and his dreams were haunting him.

Zhang Liao and Xin Pi agreed to this request without difficulty.