Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 546 What to do
Since the assassination, Chang Zhi did not choose to stay in the palace or leave Hangu City. Instead, he followed Ji Changfeng out more frequently.

He also learned simple Xirong language. He could help the merchants and people of Daqi with some simple translation in the trade market, which aroused his interest.

Ji Changfeng was very pleased with Changzhi's understanding.

This child grew up in a commoner's family. He does not have the inherent sense of superiority of those from aristocratic families. He is emotionally closer to the common people and can better understand their difficulties. This will be a blessing for the common people.

"What is happiness and what is satisfaction? Everyone pursues something different. Looking at the same thing from different angles will lead to different results. You need to look more, think more, and in the future you will be able to judge from different angles and make decisions later."

Ji Changfeng was still the same, teaching Chang Zhi anytime and anywhere.

"Sir, different people look at things from different perspectives and have different needs. How do we balance the interests of all parties?"

Ji Changfeng glanced at Chang Zhi and his admiration grew even greater.

This was his only disciple and the one he was most satisfied with. He wished he could pass on all he had learned in his life to him.

"Benefits are the satisfaction of one's own or others' desires, whether it be money, status, material things, or something else, depending on what one needs or wants. If you can see through people's hearts, you will understand what you or the other person needs."

See through people's hearts? How to see through people's hearts? Chang Zhi tilted his head and looked at Ji Changfeng.

Ji Changfeng smiled but did not answer, saying, "You need to figure it out yourself."

The master and his disciple looked at the children skipping away with baskets on their backs with gentle eyes.

The benefits these children need are nothing more than to earn a few more pennies so that they can have enough food to eat for themselves or their families, and have extra money to do what they want to do, or watch a play, and they will feel satisfied.

Children are like this, and so are all the people in the world.

As for officials, noble families, scholars, merchants, and craftsmen, what they seek and what benefits they want, you have to grow up to understand it yourself. This child is willing to think and often finds perspectives that ordinary people can't find, which makes Ji Changfeng very pleased.

Ji Changfeng is very confident that he will surpass his teacher.

The master and the apprentice taught each other and asked each other questions, and they traveled all over the mountains and rivers, and villages in the northwest. As they grew older, they came into contact with more and more things, and their horizons broadened.

The next day, the Yuefu Opera Troupe opened in the market with great fanfare.

The performance was not held in a theater, but in an open field in the market. A small platform half a meter high was built on the spot, and there was no curtain on the three sides of the platform, but only a curtain at the back, separating the front and backstage.

The backstage was just a private area cordoned off by linen for the actors to change their costumes.

Even though it was so simple, people who heard the news and rushed over still surrounded the stage in several layers inside and outside.

The children, who had obtained their parents' permission and came with coins to watch the show, were so excited when they heard that the show was not to be performed in a theater but in the open air. They put away their coins and tried to squeeze in through any cracks they saw.

They have to get to the front. If they stay outside, what else can they see except the adults' butts?
The opening of the theater had been advertised several days in advance, and everyone was looking forward to it. Many merchants who were about to return stayed for an extra day or two. Most of the merchants in the interior of the country stayed because they were attracted by its reputation and had heard of the name of the Yuefu Theater in the capital.

The merchants outside the Great Wall stayed there purely out of curiosity.

I don’t care whether I understand it or not. Anyway, after watching it, I can brag about it to my neighbors when I return home.

As a result, the curtain opened with the sound of loud and clear music. The first scene was several actors dressed in Western Regions costumes running onto the stage, which deeply attracted the tall, fair-skinned, high-nosed and deep-eyed Westerners and made them feel very close to them.

Are they performing their country's plays on the stage of Da Qi?

He stared at it intently.

When the people of Da Qi saw that the actors were not dressed in their own style, they became very curious and stared at the stage.

This is a pantomime, with good-looking actors, good-looking scenery, good-looking clothes, and good-looking movements, but there is no dialogue. No matter if it is an uneducated person in Da Qi or a Hu person who cannot understand Da Qi's language, they can all understand it.

The play is called "Hu Girl's Home".

A Hu woman was taken to the human market by her stepmother because her family was poor. A caravan saw that she was beautiful and good at singing, so they bought her and planned to take her to Da Qi to sell her for a high price. The Hu woman overheard the news and felt that the people of Da Qi were very fierce and could eat people. She tried to escape on the way but was caught every time. She was beaten all the way to Da Qi.

When she arrived in Da Qi, the Hu merchant asked her to dance in the market, hoping to attract people and sell her at a high price. As a result, an old woman from a farmer's family saw her and used all her savings to buy her back as her daughter-in-law.

The old man's son disagreed and refused to spend the wedding night together. The woman also looked down on her nominal husband. The two young people disliked each other and looked down on each other.

The two young people made a lot of jokes due to different cultures and languages. But the kindness of the family also made Hu Nv gradually feel the warmth of home. But Hu Nv still wanted to go back to her homeland, so she ran away after struggling for a while. Her husband and mother-in-law found her and made some dry food to chase her.

Finally, Hu was moved and chose to stay and live with her husband in Daqi. The couple learned what I said and you fetched water while I watered the vegetables. They fell in love with each other. Daqi's husband and family made Hu feel the warmth of home, and Hu used her intelligence to help the family get rich. Finally, they had a child and their life became better and better.

Lin Zhaoxia wrote the play herself, selected the actors herself, and supervised the rehearsal herself.

She lived in a multi-ethnic country, where all ethnic groups lived in unity and harmony. When she arrived in Da Qi, the war had stopped and trade had begun. No matter what the future held, she still wanted Da Qi and the countries in the Western Regions to live in peace. Of course, she had her own selfish motives.

In order to attract merchants from foreign countries to do business in Da Qi, Zhao Guangyuan has reduced the tariff by half compared to the previous dynasty. He wants to prosper the economy of the northwest, and he also has his political considerations. She can't help him with other things, so she starts with the details.

Unexpectedly, this play achieved unprecedented success.

When the performance was over, everyone clapped and praised the show. The waves of praise were getting louder and louder. The actors took their thanks seven or eight times, but the audience still lingered for a long time.

The reason why it is so good is that merchants and ordinary people from all over the world can understand it, and it is also because of the content. In addition to the content, there are various fighting segments and conflicts in the middle, which can make people cry and laugh, and the play is fascinating.

Extremely exciting.

The people in the eight layers of the streets clapped their hands until they were red. In broad daylight, under the scorching sun of early summer, they watched the show which lasted for more than an hour.

"Is there any tomorrow? I'll come again tomorrow!"

Children, the elderly, and merchants all approached the troupe to ask if the show would continue the next day. Merchants who were clearly on their way unloaded their luggage and prepared to stay a few more days.

They even say that if you stay a few more days, you might come across better goods?
The market was even more crowded. Those who could not find a place to stay went to the surrounding villages to seek shelter, or went directly through the pass to stay in Hangu City.

“Princess, you didn’t see it. Everyone was so enthusiastic. Our actors were stuck on the stage and couldn’t get off!” They wished they could continue to perform for a few more shows.

After hearing the manager's report, Lin Zhaoxia felt relieved. "As long as everyone thinks it looks good, that's good." It was worth her hard work these days.

"I think it's so good! If it were performed in a theater, the ticket prices alone would be huge. Princess, are we really not going to perform in a theater?"

How much less money will this make? The manager's heart aches. I thought the northwest was not as good as the capital, and I was afraid that not many people would watch it. Moreover, the trade market was a mixed place, and half of the people did not understand the Daqi dialect. What kind of play could they understand?

I thought there would be only a few people coming to watch the show. But in fact, there was a huge crowd. At a glance, it was a sea of ​​people.

It's so scary.

"It's agreed to be performed outside for half a month, so we have to perform outside for the full half a month. After half a month, the new play will be performed in the theater for three days, and then there will be one performance every day outside for free."

The play still has to be performed in the theater. There are always class differences at any time. The service for VIP customers must be done well. Only when the rich are well served will they be willing to pay. However, the VIP market and the market for the general public cannot be ignored.

First, we should build up the reputation that there are good plays to watch in the market. Then we can spread the word further, and attract more merchants to come to the market to do business.

Make the Northwest Trade a true business card of the Northwest.

Not only should they attract Hu merchants, but they should also attract more merchants from Daqi. In the future, regardless of whether the imperial court will provide food rations to the Northwest Army or not, if the customs duties and commercial taxes can cover the expenses of the Northwest Army, this will be of great benefit to Zhao Guangyuan.

The play "The Hu Woman's Home" brought the Qi Dynasty and the Hu people closer and their exchanges became more frequent.

There is an endless stream of people entering and leaving the border every day, and the trade fair is very lively.

"Your Majesty, last month's customs and commercial taxes exceeded one million taels. If we follow the previous dynasty's 200% tariff, we will collect more taxes than we do now."

Everyone was discussing in the meeting room. When they heard that they had received so much tax from the trade last month, everyone was delighted. Meng Yan couldn't help but suggest that if the tariff ratio was followed, the supply of the Northwest Army wouldn't have to worry about it.

The prince not only reduced the tariff by half, but also collected extremely low commercial taxes. How much more silver must be collected?

"What do you think?" Zhao Guangyuan asked.

Everyone pondered.

Fang Sheng thought for a moment and said, "I think the prince's move is very good and does not need to be changed. Because the tariffs and taxes are low, merchants from all over the world have flocked here, which is why the trade is so prosperous now."

"If the tax rate is raised, will they stop doing business?"

"Of course we will continue to do business. But the wool comes from the sheep. The tax rate we charge merchants is high, so the price of the goods sold by merchants to the people is high. In the end, the people still bear everything."

I believe that the prince has fully taken the people into consideration when setting such a tax rate.

Fang Sheng felt that the King of Yue was a man of great wisdom and lofty ambitions. Since ancient times, only those who win the hearts of the people can win the world. Fang Sheng agreed that the prince should promise small benefits to the people and give back to the people, so that he could win the support of the people in the future.

Those present were not stupid, and they all understood what Fang Sheng had not yet finished saying.

"Your Highness has an honorable reputation." They all praised.

Zhao Guangyuan nodded when he saw that everyone understood. It was rare that the generals in the northwest were not like those stubborn old men in the capital, arguing over a problem until their faces turned red. This made him feel a lot more relaxed.

"Your Majesty, we have received so much tax in just one month. What should we do if the capital sends people to collect it?"