"In reply to the angel, our tribe does possess many of the things you have mentioned. If the Great Han requires them, I am willing to offer them all..."
Upon hearing Chu Qian's questions, Lan Minggan made no attempt to hide anything and generously offered to give them away for free.
Those things weren't rare treasures to them; if they could be used to befriend the Han Chinese, that would be ideal.
Upon hearing this, Chu Qian was not pleased at all. Instead, he said with a serious expression, "Chief Lan Minggan, what you said is not right. Our Great Han is a celestial empire and has the responsibility to help friendly nations and protect others."
Now that your esteemed tribe has acknowledged our Great Han as its suzerain state, it is our Great Han that should be providing you with protection and support. How could we possibly accept your gifts without giving them away?
Chu Qian's words, on the surface, appeared righteous and awe-inspiring, befitting the demeanor of a great power like the Celestial Empire.
But in reality, he had other plans.
In his view, his mission to sail to the Western Ocean was mainly to open up sea routes, promote the Han Dynasty, and establish some overseas bases.
Chu Qian knew something about the emperor's thoughts.
He knew that what the emperor wanted was for all nations to be bathed in the glory of the Han Dynasty, for people all over the world to be influenced by the culture of the Han Dynasty, to speak the Han language, wear Han clothing, and so on, instead of being like a band of robbers who only knew how to plunder and destroy.
Therefore, it is best to conduct trade on an equal footing with the tribes and countries along the way, so that people in all regions will know that the Han Dynasty is indeed a celestial empire, and thus encourage them to actively accept the Han Dynasty's teachings.
"The angel is right. I was wrong to judge a great man by my own petty standards. I hope the angel will not take offense!"
Seeing Chu Qian's serious expression, Lan Minggan quickly bowed and apologized, his respect for the Han Dynasty growing even stronger.
In his view, the Han Dynasty was extremely powerful, yet it did not bully the weak. This was the true Celestial Empire, and he had made the right decision to serve it.
Seeing this, Chu Qian nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile:
"Chief Lanminggan, you can instruct your people to bring out all the items from your tribe. After we calculate the price, we will arrange for someone to conduct an equal transaction with you!"
"Yes, an angel!!"
Lan Minggan respectfully agreed, and then gave an order to one of his subordinates behind him.
When the people of the tribe learned that they could exchange those ivory and spices for legendary items such as porcelain and silk from the Han Dynasty, they were immediately excited.
Soon, the people in the tribe brought out everything they had in their homes, and Lanminggan also ordered his men to move everything from his storeroom to the open space.
Chu Qian and Jian Shuo also came out of the house and came to the open space in the tribe.
Looking at the ivory, gems, spices, and other items laid out on the open ground, Chu Qian smiled, then turned and instructed one of his subordinates, "Go, call all the merchants over and let them see these things. If any of them want to trade, have them register, and I will arrange it!"
"yes!!"
The subordinate agreed and then quickly ran towards the shore.
The merchants who received the notification also rushed over in droves, their faces beaming with joy.
The merchants' eyes lit up when they saw the items in the tribe.
These things may be common here, but they would be considered quite precious in the Han Dynasty.
Spices, in particular, were luxury items that circulated among the major families.
Unfortunately, although the tribe had a lot of these things, there wasn't enough to go around with so many merchants.
In an instant, all the powerful figures turned their attention to Chu Qian.
Before setting sail, they had an agreement that all transactions could only be arranged by Chu Qian and Jian Shuo.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Chu Qian smiled and said, "There's no need for you all to be impatient. There's more than one tribe here, and this voyage will take us to more than one place. Everyone will have the opportunity to trade; it's just a matter of sooner or later."
"Envoy Chu is right!"
"We are willing to follow Envoy Chu's arrangements!"
Upon hearing this, the group of merchants all nodded in agreement, expressing their willingness to follow Chu Qian's arrangements.
After some consideration, Chu Qian selected several caravans of small and medium-sized merchants to trade with the tribe.
These small and medium-sized merchants' ships were small and carried relatively little supplies, so they could not sail with the fleet for long periods of time.
Therefore, arranging for them to complete the transaction first and letting him return first is the most appropriate course of action.
Of course, their comings and goings also attract more people to the area, further promoting immediate trade and greatly helping to establish supply points in a short period of time.
Everyone agreed with and accepted Chu Qian's arrangement.
Soon, the small and medium-sized merchants who had obtained the right to trade arranged for people to unload the porcelain, silk, tea, spirits, glass and other goods from the ship.
These things are also very attractive to the people in the tribe.
As the saying goes, it's about exchanging what you have and what you don't. What's commonplace to you might be a rare treasure to me.
In the eyes of Han Dynasty merchants, being able to exchange a porcelain bowl for an ounce of spices, or a foot of silk for two ivory tusks, was an extremely good deal.
Similarly, in the eyes of this native, being able to exchange these ubiquitous plant and animal bones for those exquisite porcelain and silk is practically like getting something for free.
The transaction between the two parties went very smoothly.
After the transaction was completed, Chu Qian also issued them a receipt for the transaction.
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