sweeping the world

Chapter 956 Bullying the World
The reason why Liu Yan, the Romans, Persians... and even people from some small countries, went to northern Xinjiang to watch the actual combat of the firearms troops was not that he suddenly became mentally disabled, let alone a decision under some diplomatic pressure.

The Han Empire does not need to succumb to anyone now. On the contrary, the Han Empire has any requirements. As long as it is not too much, any country, including Rome and Sassanid, will make a conclusion based on their own strength. There is a rebound, but the so-called rebound is more of a struggle within the ability.

"The gunpowder of the Han Empire is an artifact given by the gods, and we may not be able to obtain it through normal diplomatic relations." Cicero was very sure of this, and he persuaded: "No matter what kind of difficulty, how much time it takes, Rome needs a knowledge of gunpowder."

The surrounding environment is full of the sound of rolling wheels, and there are all Romans in the carriage, and Cicero lowered his voice again, so that it is difficult for the Han driver to hear.

They have made the greatest efforts in all aspects to obtain gunpowder, but they have faced repeated failures, but they will never give up because of repeated failures, and will work hard until one day they will reap the results.

"If we can't get gunpowder..." Flavis spoke in a dark voice in the dimly lit carriage, "We can't let the Persians take the lead."

Similar dialogues will also be held on the side of the Persians. This time they are eager to go to northern Xinjiang to watch the actual combat of the firearms troops of the Han army. In addition to seeing what the firearms troops are like with their own eyes, they also want to find ways to obtain gunpowder on the battlefield. idea.

If possible, they not only want to obtain some gunpowder, but also bribe or kidnap Han people who know how to prepare gunpowder. However, everyone knows that it is not easy. Even if they really succeed, how to deal with the subsequent reaction of the Han Empire will be a mystery. Big problem.

"We have all seen the power of gunpowder with our own eyes." Xias would be deeply shocked every time he thought of the scene he saw in the Asan Plain: "We all know why Your Majesty has repeatedly yielded to the demands of the Han Empire."

In the same dark compartment, one could still vaguely see the gloom on the faces of several people.

Sasanian is different from Rome. The Persians and Han people now only have one Hunnit as a buffer on land. The Hunnit has been hit hard by the Han army recently. into Sasanian territory.

"Gunpowder, gunpowder, gunpowder!" Xyas repeated three times in a low voice: "We must get it!"

If there is no gunpowder, even though the Persians are afraid to fight the Han Empire, they believe that even if they pay a high price, the final result of fighting the homeland defense war will be their own victory.

It is a kind of offense and defense. One side sticks to the local area and the other side travels long distances to give the Persians confidence. Moreover, the Persians believe that even if they are not as powerful as the Han army, as long as they are not afraid of sacrifice, they will definitely offset the lack of military equipment and even training. gap.

If the Han army used firearms, it would not be a question of whether they were afraid of sacrifice. No matter how afraid they were of death, they would still have to die with value. If they died without any bones left before being "bang" and did nothing, what value would they have?
Different places, almost the same time, Julian and Xeas are indeed good friends, and they said the same thing tacitly: "Our current compromise is because we really can't afford to offend the Han Empire. And this situation is urgent Needs to change!”

The Han Empire is bullying the whole world!

For a weak country, as long as the royal family is not replaced and the country is subjugated, or the small country simply does not have the courage to refuse the request from the Han Empire, such as those countries in the three continents, countries with good ports, the Han Empire asks for lease, even if they don’t want to, they can only I can agree.

At present, there are too many countries whose ports are leased by the Han Empire, including Rome and Sasanian. The only difference lies in the size of the concession and the length of the lease.

Kalabagas (formerly known as Kalabalas), Rambajiana, Bharava, Ravindara Kuta, Trakutaka, Liangsatrapu and Frank were all leased by the Han Empire Ports, among them, the lease period of the two Satraps has reached the minimum of 300 years, and the maximum period of the other countries is 3000 years.

In the above-mentioned countries, the port rent is only a pitiful one gold coin, and some other concessions are also only one gold coin.They regard the lease of ports and inland concessions as an act of paying protection fees.

Whether it is a coastline port or an inland concession, the Han Empire will dispatch troops of different sizes to garrison based on the assessment of importance.

In fact, whether it is 300 years or 3000 years, it is talking about lease, but what is the difference between directly ceding the territory and becoming part of the territory of the Han Empire?
Unless those countries are strong enough to subdue the Han Empire one day, those leased ports or concessions will never be able to return.

There is another possibility, such as the civil strife of the Han Empire itself, which can be forcibly taken back by those countries through the civil strife of the Han Empire, or it can be given up by the Han Empire voluntarily, and those territories will be returned to other countries.

Rome and Sassanid also had ports leased to the Han Empire. Rome was the province of Egypt, Mauretania, Tarago (Spain), Gaul, Italy, and the Balkans (Greece). Peninsula) and the province of Asia Minor at least one port, and as many as six ports.

That is to say, except for the provinces of Carthage, Syria (occupied only in part) and Dacia provinces, which were not leased by the Han Empire, all other provinces had their ports leased by the Han Empire.

Sasanian had only three ports leased by the Han Empire because of its much shorter coastline, Gedlosia had two, and Barbysania had one.

Different from those other small countries, the Han Empire leased ports from Rome and Sasanian. The maximum period is 99 years and the minimum period is only 15 years. Depending on the geographical location, the rent is based on the gold coins of the Han Empire. The price ranges from It ranges from two hundred gold coins to three thousand gold coins.

At the same time, Rome and Sasanian refused to lease inland concessions from the Han Empire because they were unwilling to have Han troops stationed in the interior.

Those big and small countries, they don't really understand why the Han Empire leased ports or inland concessions.

The small country simply thought that the Han Empire was to ensure the supply safety of its military or civilian ships, and the more malicious thinking direction was that the Han Empire was showing off its might.

Big countries will think in more directions because of their horizons. It is certain that the Han Empire is showing off its strength. In addition, it can be roughly understood that business and trade are involved.

In today's era, if Liu Yan had not indicated the introduction of a tax such as tariffs, there would be no such thing as tariffs in countries around the world.

As long as ships from other countries go to the Han Empire, they not only need to pay tolls at various checkpoints, but in fact, goods are also charged for customs clearance, which is more than one charging behavior.For example, you have to pay once when you pass through Malacca, and you have to pay again when you arrive at Zhanghai (South 1 Sea) which port you want to dock at.

Don’t think it’s over when you pay the fee when you go ashore. When you transport the goods to the market in a certain city, you need to pay the fee again when you enter the market, and you have to pay the fee again when you put it on the shelf and sell it. If you change the venue repeatedly Reaching "Wan Tax" is not a dream, but something that will happen in reality.

Rome and Sasanian drew on the tariffs of the Han Empire and formulated their own tariff laws. They originally wanted to collect tariffs from Han merchant ships, but there was a scene where the Han Empire leased ports.

According to the negotiations (oppression) between the Han Empire and other countries, since all the power of the port no longer belongs to the countries before the lease period expires, the countries naturally have no right to collect taxes. There are no tariffs at all.

Not to mention whether the difference is discovered or not, there will be no change whether countries discover it or not. Small countries dare not talk too much, and big countries choose to be patient with fear. They can only accept the fact that the Han Empire enjoys trade privileges.

At another time and in a different location, a group of Waiguoren looked at the long city wall and towards a majestic pass. They were so shocked by the scenery in front of them that they didn't know what to feel for a moment.

They have already reached Yanmen Pass. The city wall that looks like it extends to the end of the world is naturally the Great Wall (the Han Dynasty), and the majestic pass is Yanmen Pass.

"I heard that the Han Chinese completed the construction of those city walls as early as 500 years ago?" Xiceas asked Cicero: "The Egyptians built the pyramids to bury the pharaohs, and the Han Chinese built the same epic architectural level. Resist the invasion of the steppe people."

"So the Egyptians were completely conquered by the Romans." Cicero really had a special understanding of the history of the Han people, and told Xeas the history of the Great Wall, especially explaining that the Great Wall we see now is not the most primitive The Great Wall: "The earliest history of building the Great Wall can be traced back to the Warring States period of the Han people, and then their first emperor ordered the sections of the Great Wall to be connected. The Great Wall we see now is their First Empire and Second Empire period built."

The so-called first empire is the Western Han Dynasty, and the second empire is the Eastern Han Dynasty. In order to distinguish the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, various countries call the current Han Empire the Third Empire stage of the Han people.Otherwise, the country is still named Han, but there have been several turbulences and dynasty changes. It is really difficult to distinguish the current Han Empire from the Eastern Han and Western Han Dynasties. What difference would there be if the country still uses "Han" as its country name?

After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the attention paid by the Han Dynasty to the Great Wall was lowered again and again. Later, only individual sections of the Great Wall were maintained and repaired in a planned way, and most of the remaining sections of the Great Wall were left to fend for themselves. Relationship, because the rammed earth city construction method had long ago collapsed on its own or was vandalized, it became a large or small gap in the long city wall.

During the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a court meeting to repair the Great Wall. The key problem was that the Sima family had no money in the treasury, and at the same time, there was not enough labor due to the sharp decline in the population due to the long civil war. The proposal was passed but no actual action was taken.

The Great Wall they see now, except for the section of the wall around Yanmen Pass that looks perfect, the section of the wall farther away is actually mostly collapsed gaps.

There was also a discussion about whether to repair or maintain the Great Wall, and later it was decided to let the Great Wall evolve by itself.

There is nothing complicated about such a resolution. The northern border has been pushed deep into the grassland, the value of the Great Wall has been infinitely reduced, and repairs require an astronomical amount of national money and unknown labor. Is it just to become a scenic spot? Just go to waste money?
"Although I don't want to admit it, our Great Wall is a small shrimp compared to it." Flavis has seen several Great Walls in his own eyes: "We are trying our best to maintain the perfection of the Great Wall. The Great Wall looks very old and full of gaps."

The Romans also had their own Great Wall, which was built in different geographical locations at each stage, such as the "Germanic Defense Line" on the Black Sea coast, the Danube River Basin, and the "Hadrian's Wall" on the island of Great Britain, etc.

Although their Great Wall and Zhu Xia's Great Wall have the same name and the same purpose, but the construction methods are different.

The thickness of the Great Wall built by the Romans was no more than six meters, and the highest was no more than ten meters. rice thick.Such a creation does not need to be destroyed for a long time, and it will fall if it is destroyed by less than a hundred people.

Their sections of the Great Wall are basically in plain areas, especially in urban areas. The result is not difficult to imagine. However, they contributed a lot of bricks and stones to the surrounding residents to build houses, leaving only the bare base to prove that there was once a Director of the city section.

What Flavis said was not so obvious, but everyone who should understand understood it.

The Romans were still trying their best to ensure the perfection of various sections of the Great Wall. Isn't it because they were facing the "rise of the barbarians"?

The reason why the Han people don't care about the Great Wall is because the Han people are no longer a threat in the north, and naturally they don't need to waste state money and labor.

"We set off from Chang'an..." Julian was silently calculating how far we had traveled: "To arrive at this place called Yanmen Pass, the total distance is close to a thousand miles?"

People who understand geography have given a positive answer.

"After landing at Jingkou, the total distance from Jiankang to Chang'an is more than [-] Hanli." Julian took a deep breath and was shocked by his own calculation: "Yanmen Pass is not a frontier, continue to the north for two thousand miles It is. The vastness of the Han Empire is far beyond imagination!"

Although Rome's territory was large, in fact it was not long enough in depth. Most of its territory was on the coastline. If it was fighting with a maritime power, there would be defense loopholes everywhere, and any place could be used as a breakthrough for the enemy.

Xeas just heard a tail, and he calculated it silently, and concluded that from the south coast to the north grassland, and from the east coast to the western regions, the Han Empire has a depth of hinterland that is scary enough to kill anyone. Nightmare for intruders!
(End of this chapter)