At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

He saw his own future from it, and saw his own wonderful future.

So he tried his best to get along with Simpi, courted Simpi everywhere, and tried to find topics to chat with him, talk about life, and talk about ideals.

After drifting at sea for more than two months, the only person who can chat with Xin Pi relatively is Zhang Liao. This is a unique good opportunity, and it is a good opportunity that no one can imagine.

So during more than two months of drifting at sea, the hearts of the two middle-aged men gradually got closer.

They talked about the past, the present, the future, their childhood experiences, their choices and circumstances during the turbulent end of the Han Dynasty, and their feelings about being senior officials and generals now.

Perhaps the common experience of being both surrenders made Simpi more tolerant of Zhang Liao's identity. Before arriving in Rome, the two had chatted about everything, and after arriving in Rome, the relationship became even more harmonious.

This time, Zhang Liao also agreed with Simpi's idea, so he agreed with Simpi's idea, and planned to do his best to help him, so that he felt a sense of accomplishment.

The two reached a consensus on this matter, decided to do this, and then put it into practice.

After deciding, Xin Pi and Zhang Liao decided to rest.

But at this time, Wang Wei stopped the two of them from wanting to rest with an inexplicable smile.

"General, Butang, Emperor Loumo considers that we have come from a long distance, and we don't have a woman to take care of us, so we feel somewhat uncomfortable, so..."

Wang Wei didn't continue to speak, but his expression already represented everything.

That expression is an expression that any normal man can immediately understand at a glance, the curvature of the corner of the mouth, the message conveyed by the eyebrows, there is no need to explain at all, as long as one glances over, one can understand immediately.

It can be said that it is a tacit thing for normal men.

Of course, Zhang Liao and Xin Pi are also normal men, they have no strange hobbies or thoughts, and they have no feeling for the long-yang addiction of some high-ranking officials they heard about, so they all realized something.

Women are not allowed on ocean-going ships. This is the emperor's rule, so no matter how uncomfortable it is, you can only hold back or find a way to solve it yourself.

Although Zhang Liao and Xin Pi are not young and their desires have weakened, they are still normal men after all.

It's okay not to say that it's okay not to release it for such a long time, Yuan Yang's body is exhausted and the feeling is not deep, when this mention is made, the two of them suddenly feel an evil fire burning in their stomachs.

Zhang Liao's expression became a little strange.

"General Wang, it looks like you have a lot of experience?"

"Fortunately."

"How about Loumo's women?"

"The body is enchanting, charming, and the limbs are strong. It feels very different from the women in the Central Plains. General, please don't be polite."

Wang Wei spoke very euphemistically.

Simpi is a scholar, so he is too embarrassed to interrupt, but seeing the two soldiers talking about this issue with a calm expression, he is also very itchy.

After the verbal conversation was over, it entered the practical stage. Xin Pi and Zhang Liao saw dozens of waiting ladies prepared for them by Emperor Caracalla, and their eyes turned green.

Their appearances are quite different from those of Central Plains women, their skin color may be white or brown, and some may be darker, but without exception, they are all enchanting and beautiful, especially the large and full breasts, which make people feel very satisfied.

And they all stared straight at Zhang Liao and Xin Pi without any sense of shame, their winking eyes were like silk, as if they could seduce people's souls.

Zhang Liao and Xin Pi swallowed their saliva one after another, feeling parched.

"These?"

Zhang Liao looked at Wang Wei.

"Even if you choose, it doesn't matter if you have one person or two people. Of course, I still suggest that the general and the minister should exercise a little restraint for their health, and don't go too far. We still have business to do."

As a person who has experienced it, Wang Wei is already familiar with all these things.

Over the past few months, Wang Wei has experienced the tastes of many women with different skin colors and appearances in advance, and he has the right to speak about this.

Zhang Liao and Xin Pi decided on the woman they wanted to choose with dry mouths. Those who were selected were very happy and followed them away, while those who were not selected were slightly disappointed and retreated helplessly.

His Majesty the Emperor will be rewarded for being able to serve these distinguished guests from afar.

And if you are lucky, you can be taken away to live in that mysterious, rich and powerful country, maybe you can live a little better than now.

Those who are selected will have that chance, so they will definitely use all their abilities to make these two distinguished guests feel at home.

Wang Wei did not choose.

Emperor Caracalla sent three good-looking court ladies to be his concubines. He played a little too much a few days ago, and his back was sore.

After all, he is not a young man anymore. If he is too indulgent and cannot get out of bed, it will be a shame.

Both Zhang Liao and Sim Pi are in their 40s, and they cannot be regarded as young people in this era. They are both grandparents in the country of Wei, so they should be highly respected.

But at this moment, the two of them had the feeling that old men were talking about teenagers, and felt that they were very mighty and invincible.

Facing the exotic demon girl, she was so fierce that she wished to let them see the descendants of Yan and Huang immediately. She didn't rest much all night. She thought she was very tired, but unexpectedly she was full of energy.

So the next day, both Zhang Liao and Simpi got up late.

It was Wang Wei who received the first wave of visiting guests on their behalf.

Afterwards, the three agreed that Zhang Liao would contact the local forces, and Simpi would contact the Emperor Caracalla, so that neither party would be left behind, and the issue should be clarified.

In a seller's market, the initiative should have been in the hands of the seller, not the buyer. The previous initiative was a false one, and they didn't need it.

They want to return the false initiative to Rome, take the real initiative, and sit back and watch the situation change.

So the offensive and defensive transpositions were exchanged, and the real diplomatic mediation began.

Zhang Liao and Simpi seem to give up the dominance, but in fact, this is the act of holding the dominance in their hands, because the core of trade - the goods are in the hands of the Wei people.

Wang Wei accompanied Zhang Liao in contact with local forces, and the two sides discussed some very specific issues.

Zhang Liao said that the merchant ships of the Wei Empire would dock in Egypt, and they had to dock in Egypt. It was impossible to dock in other places, and they could not go to other places to dock.

Without relying on the Nile River and the port of Alexandria in Egypt, the goods of the Wei Empire could not enter the Mediterranean Sea.

How about selling to all parts of the empire?

This is the most beneficial and cheapest method for Wei, and there is no possibility of any changes.

Since Egypt is under the direct control of Emperor Caracalla, it is impossible to bypass Emperor Caracalla to solve the problem. They must reach an agreement with Emperor Caracalla, and then come to discuss this matter with the Wei Empire.

Otherwise, Emperor Caracalla would kill the high tariffs in one bite, and the trade cost of the Wei Empire would be greatly increased, so it would be better not to come.

How much the ocean-going fleet cost, Zhang Liao and Simpi knew better than anyone else.

Especially the tea bricks that are as expensive as gold sold inside and outside the Wei Empire, the kind of things that are not seen at ordinary times, are provided for them to drink as if they don't need money.

Such a large cost expenditure, if you can't earn more, ocean trade will have no meaning to the Wei Empire, and it will also have no meaning to His Majesty the Emperor, will it?

Unless you can persuade Emperor Caracalla to reduce the tariffs, the less the better, the less, the more goods we will come, it is best not to charge tariffs at all.

The local forces felt that Zhang Liao's worries were not unfounded. If the emperor could not be dealt with, the goods from the Wei Empire would not come at all, so what money would they make?

The question raised by the Wei Empire is reasonable, and they decided to hold a meeting to discuss this issue.

On the other hand, Simpi also found Emperor Caracalla, and with the help of a powerful translation team, discussed this issue with Emperor Caracalla in depth.

He emphasized that their goods must choose to land in Egypt, so there is nothing to worry about, but can Egypt alone, including the city of Rome, consume their huge amount of goods?

They will carry a very large amount of goods - Yande's ten-year peace has brought Wei's production in all aspects back to the heyday of the Eastern Han Dynasty, or even worse.

It takes time to stimulate domestic demand. The production of luxury goods and handicraft products in the Wei Empire has already been oversupplied. Losing Rome, an important external market, will deal a great blow to the industries of the Wei Empire.

Therefore, the shipment volume must be maintained at a certain level, otherwise many industries will face the problem of elimination and downsizing.

Simpi said that many people, including Wang Wei, have raised this issue with him, and some other people from local forces have also approached him and confessed to him, so he wants to ask Emperor Caracalla a very serious question .

If Emperor Caracalla wanted to monopolize this part of the interest, could he really guarantee that the local forces of the empire would not interfere with it and use despicable and dark means to damage the commercial interests of the Wei Empire and the emperor himself?

For example, sending people to act as bandits and pirates, robbing halfway, or damaging roads and ports, all kinds of ways can affect the sales of Wei Empire goods within the empire.

This not only harmed the commercial interests of the Wei Empire, but also harmed the interests of the emperor himself.

Once such a thing happens, can the emperor solve it completely and safeguard the interests of the Wei Empire?

If not, it is a question of whether the Wei Empire wants to maintain direct commercial relations with Rome.

Chapter 1386

For Simpi to say such a thing, it is obvious that he already has a certain understanding of the situation in Rome.

Emperor Caracalla knew this well.

So he expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the behavior of those local forces obstructing it, and was very angry that these guys revealed his old background to the Wei people.

But he couldn't control the mouths of these people.

Killing his younger brother just now had brought him a political crisis, and he clearly realized that he could not monopolize this part of the interest.

The reason why he made rumors that he wants to monopolize is that the so-called lion opened his mouth and then sat down to bargain.

After all, he is the emperor and has the power to exert extreme pressure. In order to obtain high profits, he feels that he has to do this, and he must do this in order to protect his interests.

Otherwise, his interests cannot be maintained, and how can he obtain huge wealth to maintain his status?

The appetite of the Praetorian Guards is a bottomless pit. If you don't feed them, you will not be able to maintain your throne and rule.

In any case, although he thought so in his heart, his rationality never thought that he could monopolize this part of huge commercial interests.

This big piece of fat is too greasy, and he will be bored to death if he eats it alone, so he must share it.

But on the basis of profit sharing, it should be no problem to occupy a large share.

The Emperor's respect is so important, why should he still be gossiped by others?

Now that the people of Wei State have opened up the issue, he has nothing to argue with. He can only say that the Wei State side should be calm and calm, and they will coordinate this matter internally.

Zhang Liao and Simpi successfully kicked the ball away and threw the problem to the Romans themselves. Then they, accompanied by Roman officials, began to tour the entire city of Rome.

Wang Wei had already visited, so he took Zhang Liao and Simpi to visit the city of Rome as one of the guides.

Right now, everything in Rome is open to them for free, so they visited many public places in Rome.

Such as squares, theaters, libraries, temples, large baths, and the Colosseum.

The square was the place where the Romans held public gatherings. It is said that this was a rule hundreds of years ago.

Romans like to get together to talk about the world, and some leaders will give political speeches, which are called eloquence, which sounds quite interesting.

They will express some of their own views on politics and the like, and use gorgeous rhetoric and wonderful rhetoric to convey their thoughts, it seems that this is because they can be appreciated by their superiors.

Seeing this scene, Simpi couldn't help but think of those academic debate meetings held in Taixue.

He felt that it was similar to this scene. The emperor never prohibited academic debates or political debates.

And on the big square in front of the palace, there are always many people gathering there to chat.

They have never seen a theater or something like that. They saw some Romans wearing all kinds of strange costumes, acting out what happened in the past.

"I've seen it before and found it interesting. Although I couldn't understand what they were talking about, I could generally understand what they were talking about through an interpreter. Anyway, it was some very interesting stories."

Wang Wei commented on these theaters in this way.

It’s worth mentioning that the Romans were very fond of these theaters, they loved the theater very much, so many people made a living doing it.

This made Zhang Liao and Simpi feel like those musicians and dancers in the palace, and their nature seems to be similar.

And now with the popularity of pubs, more and more pubs have begun to introduce musicians and dancers to perform performances to attract customers, which feels similar.

I have never seen a library that is so open and open.

Zhang Liao and others entered the library and saw many scholars and other figures reading books in the library, or having some debates with each other.

"Are all the people in Loumo literate?"

Simpi was surprised. He thought that the open library might mean that everyone here could read and write.

Wang Wei shook his head again and again.

"How is it possible? They use sheepskin to make paper, and bird feathers to make pens. The schools are aimed at the children of the rich and powerful. It is impossible for ordinary people to be able to read and write. Of course, they will not come to this kind of library. There are also government-run schools in China, but they are not many and not systematic."

"Parchment for paper? Feather for pen? That's interesting."

"Well, remember that before we didn't have paper, we also used bamboo slips to make paper, and carving knives as pens, but it's pretty similar."

Neither Zhang Liao nor Simpi knew Latin and Greek, and could not read Roman classics.

But the accompanying interpreters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were very interested in this, so they asked the Roman officials if they could borrow some books to watch.

The Roman government agreed and allowed the interpreters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to borrow books and read them back, but they had to return them on time and not damage them, otherwise the consequences would be serious.