Chapter 934 The mighty Tang Dynasty, the Celestial Empire, was abundant in resources and held supreme power, which was only natural.
The mighty Tang Dynasty, where all nations came to pay tribute!
As the Emperor's birthday approaches, it's no exaggeration to say that Chang'an is packed with people.
Not to mention the East and West Markets, all 108 wards of Chang'an City were packed with people, and even the three outer cities that had been expanded long ago were filled with foreigners from various countries.
All the small countries and tribes that came to pay tribute brought their own caravans. Those that were nearby had more people, and those that were far away also had quite a few.
It is universally known that the Tang Dynasty, this great Eastern power, possessed the world's finest products.
Here you'll find porcelain as delicate as a beautiful woman's skin, tea with a refreshing aroma that's incredibly beneficial to the body, and colorful silks that will leave you breathless.
It is home to some of the world's smartest people, as well as towering and imposing Imperial Guards. This land also possesses an all-encompassing spirit!
Some of the foreign tribes who arrived early, after only a few days in Chang'an, hurriedly sent messages back home, asking people to raise the standards of their tribute ceremony, hoping to send more of their people to Chang'an to learn the etiquette, culture, and skills of the Tang Dynasty, so that their own homeland could also become prosperous and splendid.
Within the Tang Dynasty, from the Temple Gate to the Eastern Turks and then to the Opium Case, the civil officials in the court were angered.
In the past, the Tang Dynasty treated small countries and tribes that came to pay tribute with "generous gifts and meager returns," meaning that if they gave us some local specialties as tribute, we would give them back a lot of good things.
Therefore, the economic losses are considerable.
According to the civil official, "The great Tang Dynasty, the Celestial Empire, is rich in resources and holds immense power. It is only right that it should be so."
Therefore, the value of the gifts returned by the small tributary states and tribes to the Court of State Ceremonial was always greater than the value of the tribute they presented. In the eyes of the civil officials, this was a great favor from the Tang Dynasty to these vassal states.
Of course, this was indeed a blessing, since the Tang Dynasty's closest neighbors, Silla, Baekje, and Japan, all used regular script as their script.
Even today, there are still many students from these three kingdoms studying at the Imperial Academy.
However, due to the unruly resistance of the Eastern Turks and the Champa in the south against the Tang Dynasty in the past two years, the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to send troops to fight in the east and west, and in the south and north. In the court, from civil officials to military officials, everyone felt that they could no longer give these vassal states a friendly look.
A civil official who wants to trip someone up really knows how to be clever.
Therefore, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonies discussed the matter thoroughly and finally decided on more than a hundred regulations for the vassal states that came to pay tribute this time.
The first point is that, in addition to ranking the vassal states according to their national strength, if any of the equally powerful small states can provide more or more valuable items, the Court of State Ceremonies can arrange for them to have their seats at the front of the table.
If you give more, I can give you a spot to study in Chang'an.
Of course, you have to pay to study here. Tuition, food, and everything else have to be paid for. If you don't have money, forget about it.
At this point, would you dare say you don't want to pay tribute? Don't want to give money?
Then we have to bring up what Emperor Taizong said.
Emperor Taizong once said: "For several years, Gaochang has neglected to pay tribute and has not shown the respect due to a vassal state. The country has set up official titles and allowed my officials to become their subjects. How can this be allowed!"
At the beginning of this year, all nations come to pay tribute, yet Wen Tai has not arrived. Zengcheng has fortified its defenses with deep trenches; preparations are underway for a punitive expedition!
Afterwards, the Kingdom of Gaochang disappeared, and the Tang Dynasty gained a new county called Gaochang, which was under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate.
Now, with the black powder that Du Qinghui and his team have developed, such a powerful weapon has played a decisive role in the battle against the Eastern Turks. How dare the small countries of the Western Regions not pay tribute?
Who wants to become the next Gaochang?
Even the mighty Eastern Turks had to bow down, how dare you little Karamians disobey?
The best course of action is to obediently submit and pledge allegiance.
Since the Emperor's birthday celebration and the pilgrimage of all nations have coincided, shouldn't the vassal states put even more effort into their birthday greetings to the supreme ruler of the Tang Dynasty?
Therefore, Dewdrop has been seeing more and more people of different races on the streets on her way to and from school these days.
Right now, the midday heat of late summer is still intense; if you were in a less crowded area outside the city, it would be much colder.
Just like the last time when Dewdrop went with Li San Niang to the Ping An Women's Medical College outside the city, she wore a cloak.
Dewdrop and Aqilaya sat together at a table by the window in the main hall of the dessert shop. Each of them had a bowl of brown sugar glutinous rice balls in the dessert soup and they drank it facing each other. They talked and gestured as they scooped the soup with spoons.
Yes, Aqilaya of the Zhenlapohe tribe is the foreign girl who gave Dewdrop the rope of true love at the city gate. Now she is also studying at the girls' academy where Dewdrop is studying.
However, Aqilaya was still a child in the newly opened monastic class, after all, she couldn't even speak Chang'an Mandarin fluently yet.
"Sweet, delicious, delicious."
Aqilaya expressed her love for the brown sugar glutinous rice balls to Dewdrop in such a concise way. Dewdrop had recently gotten used to Aqilaya's way of speaking, using only one or two words at a time.
"Xiaoya, if only you could put the same energy you have for drinking sugar water into learning Mandarin."
"It's been so long, and you still can't speak a complete sentence in Mandarin. Won't your grandma be angry that you're not studying hard at the academy?"
Aqilaya understood most of what Dewdrop said, and she smiled and replied to Dewdrop, "Grandma is busy, Jenna is busy too, offering tributes, gifts, not enough, buying more, busy."
Dewdrop was so clever that she knew what Aqilaya was going to say as soon as she heard her words: "I was wondering why. There have been a lot more foreigners on the streets lately. In the past, we only saw them in the West Market and at the city gate."
"Oh dear, you're busy at home, but you still need to keep an eye on things. It's not easy for our young lady to get an education."
While the two young girls were talking slowly and deliberately in the dessert shop, in the West Market, in Xing Yu's shop called Supermarket, Zhenla Pohebu's daughter, Zhenna, and the female headwoman, who was also Aqilaya's grandmother, were leading people on a tour of the three-story supermarket.
The abundance of items inside was dazzling and broadened their horizons considerably.
After staying there for about an hour, the group couldn't resist buying a lot of things and hired a donkey cart by the roadside to help transport the goods back to their accommodation outside the Honglu Temple.
After arranging for someone to follow the donkey cart back to deliver the goods, Jenna, the female chieftain, and several servants arrived at a tea stall.
"What should we do?"
"The goods from the Tang Dynasty are so much better; they have everything. The precious items we brought are far too few. How can they compare to the Moling tribe?"
Jenna's brows furrowed with worry as she watched her chieftain speaking softly in the words of the Pohe tribe.
The female chieftain lowered her head and drank her tea. After finishing the cup, she finally raised her head and said, "Then let's present all the gold we brought this time!"
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