Chapter 206 Business
Li San Niang listened to Li Kui and Wang Gui's explanations while eating her soup dumplings.
Wasn't the Longevity Festival established to celebrate Emperor Wu's birthday?
The purpose of holding the Longevity Festival was firstly to celebrate Emperor Wu's birthday, secondly to showcase the glory of the Celestial Empire to the surrounding vassal states, and thirdly, to some extent, to stimulate the local economic development centered on Chang'an.
This is one of the reasons why the Ministry of Revenue was willing to approve the funds; of course, a portion would be spent first, and more would be recovered later.
Because Emperor Wu was a rather ruthless person, he really went all out and killed a lot of people when he first ascended the throne. Even those who disobeyed him in the Tang Dynasty, whether they were ministers, noble families or royal families, if they disobeyed him, he really killed them.
So how did she manage the foreign tribes that were causing trouble on the frontier?
Emperor Wu believed that if he defeated you, made you submit, and obeyed him, then you would be a good person.
But Empress Wu was different from others; she would never allow others to encroach on her interests for the sake of empty fame.
For example, after these foreign tribes submit, they may outwardly comply but inwardly defy them, and within a few years they will rebel again, as seen in the recent Turkic rebellion.
If this had happened to emperors before Emperor Wu, they would have sent troops to defeat them, make them submit, and then bestowed some gifts upon them; that would have been the end of it.
Even the rulers of these small border countries are still the same group of people.
But how could Emperor Wu do such a losing business?
Take the recent Goguryeo incident, for example. They had clearly submitted to the emperor five years ago, but last year they didn't pay tribute. Emperor Wu directly sent troops to kill the current king, his direct relatives, and the ministers who had rebelled behind him, and installed a collateral relative, a boy who was only seven or eight years old, as the new king.
Before Emperor Wu sent troops, some civil officials in the court said that such a war was against the will of Heaven and that it would only cause suffering to the common people.
Emperor Wu listened to this in person, and then immediately sent an urgent imperial edict to the general stationed in Linhai. He didn't say the exact words, but in plain language, it was: "Knock them down for me, kill all those who should be killed, and don't worry about the food supplies. I will send them to you later. My dear minister, my dignity depends on you!"
By the time the court officials realized what was happening, the seven-day mourning period for the previous king of Goguryeo had already passed.
From then on, the surrounding small countries that had submitted to the might of the Tang Dynasty, such as Wa (Japan) next to Goguryeo, Annam and Nanzhao in the south, and many tribes and small countries in the west, all hurriedly sent people with gifts to Chang'an.
The envoys brought letters of state written by their kings, all conveying the same message: "The Great Tang is the eldest, and we are all the younger brothers. The younger brothers should listen to the eldest, and whatever the eldest says goes. We are very obedient, so please do not kill us."
Therefore, although Emperor Wu's birthday celebration may not be a grand affair with all nations paying tribute, envoys from dozens of small countries and tribes will certainly come to present gifts, making Chang'an a bustling and lively place.
Li San Niang did not go to the East and West Markets, nor did she visit the nine city gates of Chang'an.
The queue at the city gate had been forming for five or six days.
Because of the curfew, some people were afraid they wouldn't make it in time, so those who hadn't entered the city after the curfew set up tents outside the city, waiting to enter the city early the next morning.
Therefore, you can imagine how large the crowds in Chang'an will be during the Emperor's birthday celebration.
This is why Li Kui believed that if Wang Gui went to Zhuque Street to sell things, he would definitely be able to make money.
As long as there is foot traffic, your products will have a chance to sell, and once they are sold, you can make money.
"So you're here to sell fruit?"
"Yes, there is a mountain north of our village, and there is a kind of sour fruit on the mountain. It is sweet and sour and very delicious. My fellow villagers and I harvested a lot a while ago, and we were thinking of each carrying two baskets to Chang'an City to sell."
Wang Gui smiled憨厚ly: "Later, the first time we came, we didn't know that we had to ask the yamen runners for a number in advance to sell goods in the market. We were lucky to meet Brother Li, who helped us out of the predicament."
"This year, for the Emperor's birthday celebration, we wanted to earn more money, so we thought we'd come to the city to sell fruit."
Li Kui, this burly man with dark skin and a thick beard, was not a local either. Because of his strength, he used to work as a porter in a shop, carrying heavy loads. Later, he made a fortune by successfully trading as a middleman and started working as a middleman pulling boats.
Although Li Kui was a big and burly man, he was generous and righteous. He knew many government officials and was generous with his money. He had a good relationship with the officials and was always able to get information before others.
This time, he learned about this from a yamen runner under the Jingzhao Prefecture, so he found Wang Gui and told him to go to Zhuque Street to sell it, saying that he would definitely make money.
After listening to the two men's back-and-forth conversation, Li Sanniang finished her soup noodles, carefully drinking the last bit of soup from the bottom of the bowl. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and smiled at Li Kui and Wang Gui, saying, "I have some ideas, gentlemen, please listen to me."
Li Kui had just realized that Li San Niang was no ordinary young lady, knowing that his own appearance had caused him a lot of suffering.
Let alone young women, even men wouldn't think he was a good person just because he was burly, dark-skinned, had a thick beard, and spoke loudly.
If it weren't for the fact that I got to know quite a few government officials on the streets through my work as a middleman, I would definitely be assumed to be a bad guy by everyone.
Once, he saw a child accidentally knocked down and went to help him up, but the child's mother thought he was hitting the child. She yelled and summoned everyone on the street, including the patrolling police. The child was only three or four years old and was already crying loudly in fear. He couldn't come out to explain anything.
Li Kui was so aggrieved that he almost burst into tears on the spot.
Finally, an old man sitting in a roadside teahouse rushed over and explained to everyone that he had seen another person rushing and bumping into the child, and that Li Kui was going to help the child.
That cleared up the misunderstanding.
Li Kui saw the woman holding the child awkwardly apologizing to him repeatedly, so he didn't say anything, just waved his hand and left.
However, from then on, he would not be so reckless. If he encountered someone who needed help, he would mostly stand by and watch, calling others to help, making sure that no one would get hurt.
When Wang Gui and his fellow villagers came out to sell fruit, he was just strolling around the market when he saw them arguing with the yamen runners. It looked like a fight was about to break out, so he rushed over, quickly understood the situation, and helped Wang Gui and his friends out of the predicament. That's how they got to know each other.
“Li San Niangzi seems knowledgeable, and being from Chang’an, she must have some good ideas.”
Li San Niang smiled, neither admitting nor denying. When she first arrived, she had worried about money because she needed to buy a house to register her household after getting a divorce.
Thinking about earning more money, if it weren't for saving someone and wanting to practice medicine, this wouldn't be a story about a female doctor in the Tang Dynasty, but rather a story about a female protagonist transmigrating to farm and do business.
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