"Excuse me, Your Excellency." After Zhu nodded, Annaus bowed and saluted, and then handed over a jade seal from a Roman sculptor.
Zhu looked at the delicate, warm and bright bloodstone seal and was a little stunned. Are all Romans so generous? This thing is not ordinary precious, the material itself is enough to be called top-notch, and although the carving craftsmanship is similar to that of the Central Plains, the technique has a sense of shortcut. This is already a top-quality seal.
In fact, when Annaus came, he took a lot of these things. After all, just like silk from the Central Plains, there were sculptors everywhere in Rome. The hobby of the Romans was sculpture, and the average level of professional sculptors was higher than that of the Han Dynasty. It's higher here.
As for jade, China has been mining jade everywhere since the Stone Age. Even if there are high-quality jade, the proportion is not that high. Rome only started to mine jade after contact with the Han Dynasty two years ago, so it is naturally very generous. .
However, Zhu accepted it in the end, because Annaus asked if he could meet with the teacher who taught elementary school, and other teachers also gave a copy.
After all, this thing is tied. Although Rome does not have this name, it still has the same thing. Therefore, Anaeus brought several seals with him when he came. As long as he could stuff Odenathus into the school, he would have less things to do. , there are not many bundles that should be given.
Therefore, Zhu accepted this thing and said that when the Mengxue teacher comes tomorrow, he will accompany him there, just in time to meet and inform him of the situation.
After Annaus left, Zhu looked at the winter sunshine that passed through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows behind him, looking at the seal that was delicate and moist, showing a sense of vitality under the sun, and marveled at the level of wealthy Romans. Have a clearer understanding.
In fact, Anaeus and Odenatus were surprised at this time by the large cloak on Zhu's body. It was obviously pure white, but when his back was turned to the sun, the feeling of seven-colored glass appeared on it. , but Zhu, who had long been accustomed to wearing silk of this level, felt nothing at all.
"The marquis of the Han Dynasty is really extravagant. The silk has not been bleached at all, but it is still dazzling." Annaus said with emotion when he left with Odenatus.
"How much does that one cost?" Odenatus looked at the clothes he was wearing, and suddenly he didn't look so pretty anymore. "I feel like I haven't seen it before."
"That is tribute-level silk. We have never encountered even top-grade silk before, and tribute-level silk cannot be bought even if we want to buy it in Chang'an." The accompanying officer sighed and said, "There are many types of silk in the market. The best garment shops in the world only have fourth-grade silk, while fifth-grade silk is not circulated and is in the hands of the great nobles of the Han Dynasty."
Even if there is tribute-level silk, how careful would you be to sell it in a garment shop in Chang'an? Although Liu Tong turns a blind eye to the major families withholding part of their tribute output, you are blatantly selling it in Chang'an City. If you sell this thing, will the dignity of the Han Dynasty still be lost, and will the majesty of the emperor still be there? Therefore, on the surface, this kind of thing is not in circulation.
Of course, each major family has its own channels. Strong ones such as the Wu family in Shu, and the Yuan family in Runan have such weaver girls directly in their own family. Those who are vegetable can only buy some through channels every year to make clothes for themselves.
This kind of thing is mainly used to make crown clothes. Generally, after the prince is conferred, a set of ready-made clothes will be sent to him. After that, he can make it himself. Anyone who can get into the prince can get this kind of thing.
Rome is miserable. You can't buy it. Anyway, there is nothing in the world. The best is the fourth-level top quality. If the Romans saw this kind of thing in the past, they would go crazy for it, but now they have seen better and top quality. Silk naturally doesn't smell that good.
"New Year's gifts and gifts are actually the only way we can get this kind of silk. The annual output of this kind of thing seems not to be high." The attendant explained helplessly.
This is also the reason why the New Year's gifts prepared by Rome for the Han Dynasty are of extremely terrible quality in the eyes of the Han Dynasty. I am just waiting for you to return the gift. Then it will be the New Year in Rome. The gifts given by the Han Dynasty are also consistent with the Han Dynasty. This is what he likes, and Rome has no shortage of rare treasures. Three hundred pieces of tribute and two thousand pieces of top-quality silk are available. Rome is happy, and so is the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, Liu Tong has been preparing gifts for Rome in the past two years. If the silk comes from the internal funds, the various jewelry from Rome in return will also return to the internal funds. Chen Xi wants to go to Liu Tong to collect taxes. Well, the eldest princess has to pay taxes.
"By the way, this is also thanks to the sharp decline in the number of royal families in the Han Dynasty in recent years. In fact, the amount of tribute silk we have received in the past two years has exceeded the amount of Han Dynasty's own use." The attendant was also helpless, but this is also in line with Rome. Awareness of rare treasures.
"The output is so low?" Odenatus looked at the attendant in surprise. Although he was still a child, he already had the logic of an adult, so he deeply felt that the output of this thing was too low. Ordinarily the Han Dynasty was so big.
"Yes, it's very low. If the nobles of the Han Dynasty agree to change their clothes, it will probably not be enough." The attendant said helplessly, "They only have formal clothes made of this kind of silk, and ordinary clothes wear this kind of silk. They are all equivalent to great nobles like Claudius."
"Does that mean we just met a super noble?" Odenatus asked curiously, and Anavus was also curious.
"That school is the only military school in the Han Dynasty, a place to train generals." The attendant said seriously, and the two of them suddenly realized.
"Why didn't you report this? We in Rome should also establish such a school." Annaus looked at the attendant and said, "No wonder that nobleman is the vice-principal."
"Well, there was a principal before, and now the principal is also the eldest princess." The attendant nodded and said, "As for the relevant information, I have sent it to Rome, and Your Majesty should have received it, but it will take some time to form it. .”
"Tomorrow I will take you to see the teacher. Don't bully other people when you go there, and have a good relationship with those people." After Anavus arrived at his home in Chang'an, he warned Odenatus, " But don’t be afraid of others bullying you.”
"Can I take them to Rome?" Odenatus suddenly asked a question that made Anaeus fall into silence.
"It's possible, but you can't use coercion." Annaus thought for a moment and said. Although Odenatus's idea was bizarre, it was not impossible.
"I'll go see if there's anything I can watch then." Odenatus said with a bit of arrogance. Anavus sighed, just do whatever you want, just be happy.
The next day, Liu Tong went to Bai Qi with a large amount of sauced rabbit meat.
"Let's go, Zhi Jinwu, bring some people with you. Today, I will take you out to see the schools in Chang'an, one by one." Liu Tong, who was followed by a female official and three maids, faced the already empty Weiyang Palace. The side hall greeted.
Anyway, Liu Tong's job before the year was either to distribute cakes to the elderly, to visit the young children in the school, or to supervise the pastry shop to make cakes for the New Year. This is a job that is very suitable for Liu Tong. Liu Tong will come here every year Running back and forth.
"Okay." Bai Qi jumped out of the jade seal while holding Han Xin's face, and Han Xin was still a big pile of scum, and it would take him a long time to fight.
When Liu Tong brought Bai Qi over, Si Niang's face was bulging, as if she was angry that Liu Tong didn't take her to find Han Xin just now. However, when Liu Tong got closer, he could see clearly that Si Niang was trying hard to open her mouth. The contents were swallowed.
"Ah, you secretly ate the sauced rabbit meat I prepared again." Liu Tong looked at a jar that had been opened. The inner air was separated from the body and heated directly by the immortal magic, so the sauced rabbit meat exuded a delicious fragrance.
These rabbits were all prepared by Liu Tong yesterday. Although eating the white rabbit was partly due to Si Niang jumping around, Liu Tong himself had prepared a lot of rabbit meat for the school.
After all, compared to other large animal breeding, Chen Xi finally found that chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits are the best to breed, especially rabbits. They reproduce really fast, but diseases are a big problem. As for the problem of domestication, this problem is not It's not big. In the pre-Qin period, Chinese people kept rabbits.
What's more, there happened to be a professional rabbit breeder at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he was the kind that has been recorded in history. In the Later Han Dynasty, "Shu Lin, a Confucian scholar in Guanghan, was the prefect of Dongjun. Crows nested in the beams of the hall and rabbits were born under the bed." Although this man has died, his son is still alive.
Liu Yan was asked to raise rabbits. The level was good and the rabbits were raised quickly. Chen Xi thought that if it were not for large-scale breeding, but there were still some technical problems, he could only let Liu Ru's son be raised in Shanglinyuan first, and then Shanglinyuan Liu Tong is half as good at raising anything, so Liu Tong now has a lot of rabbits.
Although the rabbit tastes very good, the report from the Yuan family has already reached Chang'an. Liu Tong is going to eat the Ancient God of Breaking Worlds next. If he raises more rabbits, he will be useless, so Liu Tong asked the eunuch to order most of the rabbits to be eaten there. The rabbits were made into sauced rabbit meat and will be distributed to various schools today.
In Liu Tong's words, children can grow stronger by eating some meat, but the elderly are still suitable for things like pastries.
However, the rabbit meat sealed in the jar was now opened by Si Niang. After heating it with magic, she ate a lot of it.
"Ah ah ah, how could I raise such a noble concubine like you?" Liu Tong looked like I was going to be blown away. Si Niang turned her head and thought for a moment, then put a piece of it to Liu Tong's mouth. With a depressed expression, he still swallowed it in one gulp. After chewing a few mouthfuls, he said, "Well, the taste is okay, but the salty taste is a bit strong, so you can't eat more."
"This is pickled rabbit meat, and it may have been preserved for a long time." Bai Qi said calmly. In fact, compared to Han Xin who looked at Liu Tong with the expression of a descendant of the Han Dynasty, Bai Qi recognized Liu Tong. The degree is quite high, and a monarch who can supervise and distribute food to the people during the New Year is not too bad in Bai Qi's opinion.
"Oh, yes, it will take a long time to eat after all." Liu Tong looked at the jar of meat and sighed, while Si Niang scratched her hair.
Liu Tong once thought that she was miserable, but after inheriting the throne, she went to see the people and found that her misery during Dong Zhuo's chaotic years was not at the same level as the misfortune of the common people. Her misery was already as beautiful as a jade in the eyes of the common people. The standard of living is unimaginable.
Think about the worst time in official history when Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty returned to the East. Cao Cao still served meat porridge, but the people at that time might not be able to eat a meal of meat in their lives.
"Let's go, let's distribute the meat first." Liu Tong sighed while holding the jar. Since when did he worry about the country and the people? In the past, I had the impression that I had always been a fool and just lived my own life. This position might be really toxic.
"If the students in Chang'an have meat to eat, what about the students in other places?" Bai Qi asked casually.
Liu Tong sighed after hearing this, "I think I have tried my best. Besides, even if I want to send it to other places, I can't do it. There is not that much meat, and there are only so many rabbits in total. Just sending one to Chang'an will reach the limit." , but I did mention it to Chen Zichuan."
Liu Tong said in a matter-of-fact tone, always finding problems and then not being able to solve them. Anyway, I have already told the most capable assistant minister under my command, and then it would be best if the assistant minister can solve it. If it can't be solved, then it doesn't matter. Even my most capable assistant ministers can't solve it, so there's nothing I can do about it.
"There are more than a thousand schools in the entire Han Dynasty alone in the county. They were built by Shangshu Pushe and various businessmen. It cost tens of billions to build the schools." Liu Tong sighed and said, there is only one school in a county. The cost of building a county school is so high. Taking into account teachers, meals, and accommodation, a huge amount of money must be invested every year.
However, Chen Xi was carrying out large-scale construction projects and fighting external wars at the same time. There was no trace of domestic turmoil at all. Many times, Liu Tong felt that if Chen Xi couldn't solve the problems he discovered, then no one would be able to solve them. .
"I heard that there are nearly a million troops fighting outside, right?" Bai Qi asked casually.
"Yes, Shang Shu Pushe is an immortal. Ever since he came to power, I have never heard of a shortage of money in the treasury, nor a shortage of supplies. Most of the time, he has to expand the treasury." Liu Tong had a look of admiration on his face. Said, "So I told Chen Zichuan about the problem you asked before. If he can't solve it, then there is nothing we can do."
Bai Qi nodded silently, yes, although Liu Tong's approach was a bit opportunistic, it was very correct. If you can't figure it out yourself, you can find a professional. If a professional can't figure it out, it's useless to worry yourself. Moreover, Bai Qi also felt that Liu Tong You're right. If the old man can't handle it, then I'm afraid others won't be able to handle it either.
"You are indeed qualified to be an excellent emperor." Bai Qi said with a slight sigh. If you can worry about the people, and still find people to ask for methods and implement them, you can be regarded as an excellent emperor anyway, and such a simple thing Conditions, many people can’t do it!