Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1634 The Observer

Throughout November, this huge empire spent "unremarkable".It was also at this time that news from the west came back one after another, which made Tam who was collecting news very complicated.

On the fifth day of November, he was invited to visit the mansion of Li Xun, the Minister of Commerce of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the second day, so he went out to buy some gifts.

He already knew Li Xun.The Persians, whose family has been doing business on both sides for 300 years, have not cut off contact with their hometown, but in the last one or two generations, they have gradually "Tangized" and wrote excellent Tang poems. The way of looking at things and thinking about problems is obviously also the habit of Tang people.

Twelve years ago, Li Xun was appointed by Shoi Khan as the secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs-a royal internal service agency-a low-level official.

Twelve years later, he has risen to head the commercial agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Perhaps the greatest help came from his sister, a 12-year-old pure Persian beauty, who performed dances when Shoi Khan visited the Lee mansion, where Khan was later forced to spend the night.A few months later, his sister's belly grew bigger, and Li Xun was promoted several ranks and became one of the main officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

While in Chang'an West City, Tam struggled with which gifts to choose.

"If you want to buy medicinal materials, I don't recommend that." Mansoor, a businessman from Baghdad, said, "Xia people are very healthy and rarely get sick."

"Why do you say that?"

"When I was in Guangzhou, five out of ten businessmen who came from Persia and Dashi died within a year. But the Chinese in Guangzhou are not like this. They are very healthy."

Tam was speechless.Is there a possibility that the Chinese are more adapted to the environment in Guangzhou?

"I heard that among the Persians in Guangling, at most three out of ten people died in one year," Tam said.

Mansuer nodded, and said: "The cannibals who go to Haizhou and Dengzhou will die at most one or two. But the Chinese seem to be healthier, they won't die so many people. Look at how tall they are, and how ruddy their complexion is."

Tam gave up talking about it any further.

It is said that there are only 4000 million people in such a vast country, and it is rich in products.A rough calculation will tell you how much food, meat, egg and milk each person can get, can you not be tall?
"What do you suggest I buy?" Tam asked.

"Buy some fragrant medicine." Mansuer made a gesture, and several big food guys brought a bunch of fragrant medicine.

In the context of Tang people, "fragrance" and "spice" are two concepts. The former is often associated with medicine, while the latter is inseparable from diet.

"This is agarwood, Xia people often use it during sacrifices. Oh, it is also used when going to the toilet to cover up the smell." Mansuer pointed to the first incense medicine and said.

According to historical records, when Shi Chong went to the toilet, there were often more than a dozen beautiful maidservants in gorgeous clothes neatly lined up beside him, frying powder and incense, mainly agarwood.

Is it perverted?At that time, people also thought it was abnormal. People who went to Shi Chong's house as guests were often "too ashamed to go to the toilet"-anyone who was stared at by a dozen gorgeously dressed beauties would be ashamed to shit and pee.

"Dipterocarpus (camphor) was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. It was mainly used as medicine. There were also monks who used it to rinse their mouths to treat bad breath. In the Xia Kingdom, there was a peculiar usage. His Majesty the Emperor ordered dipterocarpus to be placed in the wardrobe, which is said to be able to get rid of insects."

"Sandalwood, Patchouli, Clove, Ainaxiang, Jiaxiang, Jiangzhenxiang, Zhantangxiang..."

"Enough." Tam was too shy and didn't have that much money, so he only bought a small portion of agarwood and dipterocarp.

After paying the money, he did not leave, but instead asked, "You have been in Xia Kingdom for so many years, what do you think of this country?"

After thinking for a while, Mansuer said, "Xia people are very tall, healthy and strong."

Tam nodded to indicate that he was listening.

In fact, Mansoor's account is very similar to that in Suleiman's Travels - written 66 years ago.

Suleiman was a businessman who had traveled to China and India.After careful observation, he thought that the Chinese were healthier than Indians, and they were also much better-looking.

What surprised Suleiman the most was that most of the people he saw in China were tall. The word "tall" appears many times in the book, and he believes that Tang people are taller and stronger than Arabs and Persians.This is also in line with the records of the Persian kingdom. During the Battle of Talas more than 100 years ago, they were surprised by the tall figures of the Tang soldiers.

"They are beautiful, their skin is rosy, and there is no blacker hair than theirs. Xia Guo women let their hair flow freely, if you have a chance to go to Pingkang to see it—" Mansuer continued.

Tam's heart skipped a beat.

Writing needs to be connected with reality. What can be written at home?He calculated the money in his pocket, and decided to find an opportunity to go to Pingkangli to learn about the customs of the Xia Kingdom—he considered this matter out of a serious attitude, although it violated the basic teachings.

"In this country, there is everything for people to enjoy. There are beautiful forests, vast grasslands, flowing rivers, and a lot of land has been cultivated. They love to enjoy themselves very much. During festivals, everyone does not work, and there is carnival everywhere. Officials, nobles and even dance with serfs."

"It's kind of like Persia," Tamm said.

"This country is rich in flour, rice, and millet," Mansoor said. "The princes and nobles ate the best bread, and ordinary people ate corn and rice. People used rice to make vinegar, wine, and sugar."

"Is the food production high?" Tamm asked.

"Frankly speaking, it is very high. In Dashi, only a few places such as Syria and Baghdad can reach their level of wheat production."

Tam nodded again.

Syria and Baghdad are one of the most elite areas of the Great Food Empire, with dense population, prosperous business, well-maintained farmland and high output.Comparing these two places has already explained the problem.

"There are more than 300 prefectures in this country, maybe four hundred, I'm not sure," Mansoor said. "Each prefecture has officials and other cities attached to it. There are large populations living in the cities, and there are well-trained troops."

"Four hundred?" Tam was a little surprised: "How big is the city?"

"I have been to Guangzhou, Yangzhou, Bianzhou, Luoyang and Chang'an. I can only tell you that each city is very big, not much smaller than Chang'an." In fact, Mansuer is not very sure, but as far as the five cities he has been to are concerned, they are indeed very prosperous, which gave him the illusion that other cities are as big as they are.

"Four hundred Chang'an? Impossible." Tam shook his head and said, "Look at this city. Every morning, the royal stewards, servants, and general's servants ride or walk to purchase the items the master needs. Are there so many nobles in other cities?"

"I don't know." Mansuer was also a little confused and could only shake his head.

"What's their annual income?" Tam asked again.

Mansoor was stunned, is this something he can know?But he made up a figure: "According to a familiar eunuch, about one billion dirhams."

Tam gave him a suspicious look.

Taking his hometown of Bahanna as an example, the annual income of the capital city of Bahana is 28 dirhams, and the annual income of the largest city is 10 dirhams.

Shash (Tashkent) has an annual income of 60 dirhams because of its silver mines.

The annual income of the capital Bukhara is 118 dirhams.

The income of the whole country is 5000 million dirhams - one Arab dinar gold coin is about 4.25 grams, one Arab dirham silver coin is about 2.97 grams, and one Persian dirham is about 3.73 grams.

If Xia Guo's annual fiscal revenue reaches one billion dirhams, then there is really no need to fight this battle, just surrender.

"As far as I know, Xia Kingdom's financial revenue is not calculated in gold and silver coins." Tam said.

Dashi and Persia are societies where currency is gold and silver, is Xia Kingdom the same?According to his observation, obviously not.Well, the "billion" is probably nonsense.

Mansoor was a little bit overwhelmed by what he said, so he waved his hand and said: "I dare to swear by my faith, all this is true. You go, I will not talk to you again."

Tam apologized politely, then left, and soon returned to the posthouse where they were staying.

After spreading out the pen and paper, he began to write again——

"...The country ruled by Shoi Khan is a beautiful and fascinating place. The people are tall, healthy and beautiful, and they are very attractive to foreigners. The following has nothing to do with this book, but it is specially noted: To travel in the Xia Kingdom, you need two certificates. One is issued by the city official, which states the name, age, and religion of the traveler and the entourage;

"...This country is very stable. When Huang Chao slaughtered 30 Creator believers, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians living in Guangzhou more than 12 years ago, the Creator—let us praise the magnificence of the saints—completely withdrew their protection, and the whole country fell into chaos. But they recovered, and Hu Dazhi completely integrated the country. Now it is unbreakable and very stable, and businessmen from all over the world began to gather again."

"...Shoi Khan inherited the military system of the Tang Empire. 200 years ago, their soldiers, like us, had to spend money to fight, but now the soldiers' expenses are paid by the government. In other words, they are professional soldiers, more focused on the military. According to surveys, there are probably more than 100 million professional soldiers in this country. This number is very scary. Professional soldiers can travel across thousands of mountains and rivers, and can fight around the clock without worrying about their family's livelihood."

Footsteps sounded outside.

Tam put away the manuscript like a thief, and then put a finished report on the table.

Mahamu knocked on the door and came in, and soon saw the report on the table.

He picked it up and read it carefully.After reading it, his face was full of confusion.

"I think—" Tam organized his sentences and said, "We should discuss the details of the next negotiation."

"There's no time," Mahamu said.

Tam was taken aback.

"Emperor Xia has summoned him, and he is going now," Mahamu said.

(End of this chapter)