As for the Princess of the Western Regions, she can only stay in Dahan for the time being.
There is also a very wonderful reason: to stay and cultivate feelings with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Maimaiti secretly gritted his teeth in anger. Dahan was really going too far.
Their princess of the Western Regions had to stay in Dahan as a hostage, and their envoys, not only could not take back the grain, but they could not even take away the vermicelli that they had agreed to trade with.
How are they going to report to the King of the Western Regions?
How many lives dare to go back?
Mai Mai Ti hardened his heart and said, "My Lord, the King of the Western Regions once told me that all matters concerning the princess' marriage will be decided by me."
Lan Eucalyptus nodded, "So?"
"So I agree to the marriage now." Mai Maiti gritted his teeth, "The princess has come thousands of miles to marry you, so Dahan should show his sincerity."
Lan Euan was unmoved. "Then what do you think sincerity is, ambassador?"
Mai Mai was filled with anger, but he didn't dare to vent it at all. He replied in a frustrated tone, "So, I think that Dahan should go back to the Western Regions with me, and take the vermicelli for the transaction with him."
Lan An raised his eyebrows. "It's fine for the betrothal gifts to go back with you, but the trade between Dahan and the Western Regions is a two-way street. How can you take the goods away without paying?"
Maimaiti almost couldn't catch his breath. "Your Majesty, my princesses from the Western Regions have all stayed in Dahan. My Western Regions is also a great country with strong soldiers and horses. We will not betray our loyalty just for this little bit of food."
Lan An didn't say anything. He knew that what Maimaiti said was true and made sense.
Maimaiti continued, "When the time comes, I will send the princess's dowry, goods, and money to Dahan to congratulate the princess and the crown prince on their wedding, and to establish a harmonious relationship between the two countries."
This is his last resort. He cannot go back empty-handed. If...if the prince does not agree...he will just run into a wall and die in this palace.
This would save him from having to bring trouble to his family if he returned to the Western Regions. Who knows, if he did so, the King of the Western Regions might even avenge him for the reputation of the Western Regions.
Blue Gum knew that even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered.
But 500,000 kilograms of vermicelli is impossible.
It is not available in Dahan now, so we can only buy it from Hyundai. Such a large quantity will arouse suspicion.
Lan An would never let Qing Qing Qiu Ze's family get into any trouble for Da Han.
"Fifty thousand catties." Lan An finally made the decision. "This is my Dahan's final concession. I hope the ambassador will consider it carefully."
Maimaiti is going crazy. What can he do with 50,000 kilograms?
Lan An continued, "As you know, the vermicelli has not yet started mass production. It was originally intended to be used as military rations and distributed to the army. Fifty thousand kilograms of it were squeezed out of the soldiers' rations. If the vermicelli is properly stored, it can be kept for a long time. I believe you will experience its taste and the feeling of filling your stomach."
Seeing that Maimaiti was still hesitating, Lan An added fuel to the fire, "You originally just wanted to take some food back to report to your superiors. As for how much, does it matter? When the Western Regions send the dowry over, you can wait for the prince and princess to get married, and then you can take the rest of the goods back. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
Mai Maiti had given up hope. He couldn't argue with this prince, he couldn't beat this prince in a fight, and he couldn't do business as well as this prince.
"Okay." Mai Mai tried to compromise, "Please, Your Majesty, draft and complete the contract as soon as possible. I will bring the contract back to the Western Regions for Your Majesty to review."
That’s an explanation.
When doing business, writing contracts is necessary.
The contract is a two-way binding one. Even if the buyer doesn't mention it, Blue Ann will implement it one by one.
The wool and cotton they want may not seem valuable in the Western Regions, but Chu Qiu Ze will have a way to make them more valuable. If the contract is not clear, and the Western Regions become jealous and refuse to honor the contract in the future, they will have to find another source of goods.
It will be so troublesome then.
It is better to plan them one by one in advance.
The negotiation terms have been agreed upon and the contract signing process is proceeding quickly.
Chu Qiuze did not delay and delivered 50,000 kilograms of vermicelli overnight.
After that, the old emperor issued an edict to grant the marriage. After all, the princess could not take Maimaiti back, so the imperial edict must be taken back.
The journey of the envoys from the Western Regions was full of twists and turns, but fortunately the result was quite good.
When they came, there were more than a dozen carriages, and when they left, there were dozens of carriages.
Apart from the 50,000 kilograms of vermicelli, the rest was the betrothal gift to the princess from the Western Regions.
When they first came from the Western Regions, they presented some jade articles, fruits, and wine. Na Dahan was a man of great courtesy and reciprocity.
All things can be added a little bit, or replaced with equivalent things, but they are still things with no real use and are only good looking but not practical.
You give me Hetian jade, I give me ice jadeite; you give me fruits, I give me various nuts; you give me wine, I give me red wine and strong liquor.
No matter how you look at it, Dahan has a good reputation.
After seeing off the envoys from the Western Regions, we were on our way back to the imperial city.
Chu Qiuze was gloating over the misfortune, "Do you think that if Maimaiti takes these things back, will he be beaten to death by the King of the Western Regions?"
Lan An smiled and said, "Not really. When our Dahan envoys send the betrothal gifts, the King of the Western Regions will always give them some face."
That's the truth.
When they received the guests from the Western Regions, they entertained them with fine wine, delicious food and beautiful women, and they did a good job on the surface.
Even though the envoys from the Western Regions were slapped in the face at the reception and were dissatisfied, they could not find any fault with Dahan.
"Oh, right." Chu Qiuze thought about this arranged marriage again. "What does the young prince think of this marriage? Does he really like the princess from the Western Regions?"
Like, maybe I like it.
It is natural for young men of seventeen or eighteen to like graceful and beautiful women.
But it’s hard to say how long this love can last and how deep it is.
"The marriages among the royal family always bring benefits. The prince cannot have only this one concubine. My brother will probably find another marriage for him in the future. It can be a concubine or a principal wife. He needs to balance the relationships in the prince's mansion." Lan An explained.
Chu Qiuze pouted, "Then this little prince is too pitiful."
Lan An shook his head. "It doesn't matter whether he is pitiful or not. He will ascend to the throne in the future and will have more concubines."
In addition to the royal family's desire to have more children to continue the family line, the main purpose is to balance the relationships among the ministers in the court.
Not to mention the crown prince, even the old emperor had no choice in this matter. In order to balance the government and prevent his ministers from forming factions, his harem was somewhat eccentric.
Chu Qiuze disagreed. "In fact, the best balance is monogamy. If the emperor only has one wife, the empress, he doesn't need to balance the harem, nor does he need to use the harem to balance the relationship between ministers. At that time, the crown prince will not have any major disputes, and there will be no situation of quarrels between brothers."
Each of them has their own reasons, and Blue Eucalyptus has no way of refutation. This is all caused by the differences in times and culture.
However, Lan An still prefers the monogamous system of the 21st century. One couple for a lifetime, how wonderful it is.
Wait a minute, maybe one day, Dahan can develop like it did in the 21st century, with safety, freedom and happiness.
Lan An has read the history of the 21st century, so he naturally knows how China has come to where it is today step by step, and how much blood and tears have been shed to achieve this day.
But Dahan is different. Dahan does not need to and cannot copy the historical development of China, because they have a plug-in like Chu Qiu Ze, and all developments in Dahan are incomparable.
The carriages traveled nearly twice as fast on the flat concrete road, making transportation and daily travel much more convenient for the people.
The public oxcart implementation plan that Chu Qiuze had provided earlier is now on the road, and one can ride from the south to the north of the city for just one copper coin.
Although the number of stations and ox carts is not yet perfect, these are all progress and will be perfected sooner or later.
The school, which was started to be built at the end of last year, has now begun to enroll students. According to the memorials submitted by local officials, the enrollment situation is full and those children would rather stand in the classroom and must go to school.
After all, tuition is free, and the prices of pens, ink, paper and inkstone have also come down. The paper that used to be the most consumed is now worthless.
As long as the family is not so poor that they can't even afford food, they are willing to send their children to school. Even if they can't get a good job or pass the imperial examination, at least they can learn to read and do math and don't get cheated when they go out.
It is conceivable that in three to five years, Dahan may not be able to find illiterate teenagers.
Compulsory education and universal illiteracy eradication were things we never dared to think of before.
The medical book developed by Chu's mother and Chu Tianze based on the combination of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine has been sent to the Imperial Hospital; medical alcohol, catgut for surgery, surgical instruments, etc. have also been developed.
I heard that a few days ago, the Imperial Hospital successfully performed a surgical operation on a patient with intestinal tuberculosis, and the patient has now recovered.
This was the first case of Dahan curing intestinal obstruction, and it was worthy of being recorded in history. Even the old emperor gave him a commendation.
Dahan’s medical treatment has achieved a qualitative leap.
There are also various toiletries on the market, both high-end and civilian models, meeting the needs of people of all levels.
Especially ordinary people, once they take a bath with soap, they can't stop using it.
Who wants to be smelly and disgusting when you can wash your hair and body cleanly?
As for the weapons and equipment in the military camp, they were pulled out before to slap the faces of the envoys from the Western Regions. It was not an empty show, but because Dahan now really has such strength and capital.
They love peace, but they are not afraid of war.
After another two or three months, the potatoes and sweet potatoes were harvested, the people no longer had to worry about going hungry, and the soldiers in the barracks would be able to eat their fill every day.
"Qingqing." Lan An thought about this and asked again: "Where is the progress bar of your long-term mission of keeping the country peaceful and the people safe now?"
"Huh?" Chu Qiuze was still a little confused. He almost forgot about this mission.
Speaking of this, Chu Qiu Ze immediately opened his control panel.
Mission progress: 37%.
It was only 10% at the beginning, but now it has increased so much, Chu Qiuze is already very relieved.
Dahan has been developing in a positive direction. It may take three to five years, or even thirty to fifty years, to achieve the system's requirements of national peace and prosperity.
Chu Qiuze was not in a hurry. In his heart, Dahan was already half his family.
Helping Dahan to develop better and letting the people live a better life, Chu Qiuze no longer just regards it as a task to be completed.
He is Dahan’s idol and a part of Dahan.
After thinking about it, the issues raised before may be put on the agenda.
"My dear husband, let's get ready and go on a private visit." Chu Qiuze said after careful consideration: "My brother's health is still good now. We can take the prince with us and come back when he gets married. What do you think?"
Only by getting close to the masses and the common people can we know what they really need.
"Okay." Lan An held Chu Qiuze's hand, "However, before we set off, we have one very important thing to do."