I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 531 The Holy Emperor!
The entire Zichen Palace was completely silent.

Countless Han officials had already closed their eyes completely.

If they had a choice, they would want to go up and cover Liu Miao's mouth right now!

But it's a pity.

Ultimately, Liu Miao had the right to speak, so he could say whatever he wanted.

The southern barbarian envoy was somewhat surprised and finally dared to look up and steal a glance at Liu Miao.

It was only then that he realized that although the imperial city was magnificent, Liu Miao before him had a smiling face that made people feel comfortable and incredibly friendly. So, he gradually grew bolder.

"Your Majesty, please don't make such jokes. How could a city like Jinling possibly appear in that desolate land?"

In the past, these envoys from the southern barbarians would probably have thought that living in the deep mountains and forests, eating raw meat and drinking blood, wasn't so bad!
After spending so many days in Jinling and personally witnessing the prosperity of the Han Dynasty along the Yangtze River, the sense of disillusionment grew ever stronger.

Such a scene could only appear in Han areas, in China. Where else could it possibly appear?
Liu Miao laughed and said, "What I'm asking is not whether you want to, but whether you can."

"You may not know this, but when I first arrived in Jiangdong, Jinling was still called Moling. There wasn't even a city wall, let alone a city; there were just a few houses... But now, Jinling has already acquired the splendor of Luoyang in its heyday!"

Liu Miao looked at the envoys from various countries with their different expressions and said, "Since the Han Dynasty was able to establish Jinling in Jiangdong, why can't we help you build cities in your respective places?"

Nanjing was created from nothing.

If other places have the same conditions as Nanjing, can't we just build another Nanjing?
Of course, a large part of the reason for this is the unique and irreplaceable condition that Liu Miao chose to establish his capital here.

Even if only one-tenth of Nanjing were to appear in the lands of these envoys, they would be overjoyed!

The southern barbarian envoy's eyes lit up: "Does Your Majesty truly intend to help us build cities?"

"Of course!"

Liu Miao always considered himself a virtuous gentleman, and how could such a gentleman possibly tell lies?

"As I said before, the gifts you have presented are far too valuable and numerous for me to accept alone."

Gradually, Liu Miao revealed his intentions.

“Those things should have been enjoyed by the people of the Han Dynasty. Similarly, what the people of the Han Dynasty can enjoy, your people should also be able to enjoy.”

"If that's the case, why not exchange goods and resources and do things that benefit the country and its people?"

"When the time is right, trade will flourish, and naturally large cities will rise up. Isn't this what helps you build your cities?"

Liu Miao's words were very tempting, but the envoys from various countries were not fools.

Especially those envoys from Liaodong and Jiaozhi, who were considered "superior envoys." Gongsun Gong, son of Gongsun Du, and Shi Xin, son of Shi Xie, felt that Liu Miao's words were meaningless.

Trade, of course, is about exchanging what you have and what you don't.

But the Han Dynasty is vast and rich in resources, may I ask what it lacks?
Even the warhorses that the Han Dynasty previously lacked most could be obtained continuously from Youzhou after the Han-Zhao War!
Under these circumstances, no matter what goods they had, they could not sell them at high prices in the Han Dynasty... After all, no profit-driven merchant would go to another country to buy things that were already available in their own country, otherwise wouldn't they just be throwing the goods away and leaving them unsold?
but!
"I wish to send Han envoys to various regions."

Upon hearing this ancient and familiar name, the envoys from Buyeo and other countries who had some knowledge of "Han envoys" all frowned.

"These Han envoys will not interfere in other matters; they will only assess prices, discuss trade with your rulers and chieftains, unify prices, and facilitate the exchange of goods."

Liu Miao gave an example.

He pointed to Shi Xin and said, "Jiaozhi rock honey is sweet, but its annual production is extremely limited, and it is often more expensive than gold."

"I am sending an envoy from the Han Dynasty to help the people of Jiaozhi plant more sugarcane, which will greatly increase their production. Afterwards, I will discuss the price with your father and then transport it to the Central Plains to exchange for other goods."

The Han envoys Liu Miao is referring to now are clearly not the kind of Han envoys from the pre-Han period who would go to the heads of small states to defecate and urinate.

Liu Miao always believed that neither carrots nor sticks were as effective as the gleaming gold coins.

Giving them carrots is like feeding these ungrateful wretches with the blood of the Han people.

This was also the fundamental reason why Liu Miao was so angry before and threatened to kill the officials of the Court of State Ceremonies.

The money in the Han Dynasty's treasury didn't fall from the sky.

The money in the Han Dynasty's treasury is all the blood and sweat of the Han people!
Officials who don't shed blood or sweat will naturally take every last penny and use it like dirt, without feeling any guilt whatsoever.

But now, Liu Miao says no!
Give them a big stick?
That's a method that should only be used as a last resort! Once war breaks out, all industries will be devastated, and countless lives will be lost!
When Liu Miao was outside Ye City, he spoke to Zhang He with seriousness.

The people of the Han Dynasty are all very precious, and Liu Miao would not easily give up any life.

Therefore, only money, and only money, can stabilize the relationship between the Han Dynasty and the surrounding unknown world.

The essence of money is circulation.

You are in me, and I am in you; we can never be separated again.

For example, Jiaozhi.

If in the future, the sugar production of Jiaozhi can supply the entire Han Dynasty, then would Shi Xie or anyone else allow Jiaozhi to rebel?
Once a rebellion is launched, it means a complete break from the Han Dynasty, and the huge sugar industry chain of Jiaozhi and the people engaged in related industries will go bankrupt. It would be strange if these people didn't tear Shi Xie to pieces and swallow him whole!
But clearly, at present, the sugar from Jiaozhi (north Vietnam) cannot supply the entire Han Dynasty.

But it doesn't matter.

As long as this trade continues, the Cochin sugar industry will continue to grow.

The people, wealthy merchants, and landlords of Jiaozhi would be determined to increase sugar production.

even!

If the profits from sugar cane are high enough, the entire land of Jiaozhi may stop growing grains and instead be entirely planted with sugarcane in the future!

After all, if the money from growing sugarcane is enough for them to buy food, or even meat, then who would want to grow worthless food?

As for the Han Dynasty...

What's so scary about a place that only grows sugarcane but doesn't grow grain or smelt weapons?
It wasn't just about Jiaozhi, nor was it just about grain.

The key question is, what if the goods that the big man used to exchange for their products were all cheap items?
For example, the value of grain rapidly depreciated after the large-scale cultivation of Champa rice.

Furthermore, improvements to the water drainage system enabled the production of ironware and grain on a larger scale.

As long as they can continuously improve their techniques and expand production, the Han Dynasty can use its low-priced products to exchange for large quantities of raw materials from other places.

After that, these raw materials will be processed into goods and sold to them, and so on... so that these places will never catch up with the progress of the Han Dynasty.

In this process, everyone benefited from the expansion of total production.

The benefits mean that there is room for sustainability and fertile ground for peaceful coexistence.

This is only the first layer.

Most importantly, there's a second layer!
When trading with the Han Dynasty, it is inevitable that we will use Chinese characters, speak Chinese, and learn from the Han Dynasty.

As far as Liu Miao knew, there was no known entity in the world that had independently invented writing.

This means that the Han Dynasty had a complete monopoly on culture!
As trade continues and exchanges become more frequent, the influence of the Han Dynasty will spread more rapidly.

Whether it's the southwestern barbarians, Lin-yi, Fu-yu, or even further afield...

If the people there all speak Chinese and use Chinese characters, and they all have yellow skin, black eyes, and black hair, after several generations, will anyone still say that they are not Han Chinese?

The Han Dynasty needs to establish a new order!
This new order is not the tributary system that the Han Dynasty continued to follow from the Zhou Dynasty, nor is it the kind of military garrison rule that can only be maintained for decades by force. Rather, it is to truly achieve the goal of influencing all aspects of these places without sending a single soldier to them!
It nourishes things silently and gently!

After Liu Miao explained the purpose of sending Han envoys to various countries, many foreign envoys were taken aback.

Did they hear me right?
Will the big man help them farm? Will he teach them skills?
Is this something a great man like Han would do?
The image of a burly man in one's mind should be someone who simply takes off his clothes to reveal his flamboyant muscles, and then obediently makes everyone kneel down and sing "Ode to the Han Dynasty," right?

You've become so polite, it's really hard for people to get used to it!
"Your Majesty! I am willing!"

The first to emerge was not a "first-class envoy" nor the worst "last-class envoy," but Goguryeo, which was in the middle!

In their eyes, the Han people nowadays are incredibly reasonable!

Especially after witnessing the terrifying military strength of the Han Dynasty, they felt that Liu Miao was simply a holy emperor!

They clearly have the strength to easily kill you, but now they want to sit down and talk things over with you, and even treat you as an equal "person". For these envoys from small countries who were already prepared to bear the wrath of the Han Dynasty, this is simply heavenly news!
It's not easy!
For hundreds of years, this was the first time the Han Dynasty had been so gentle!

If we don't settle this matter now, do we want to wait for the inhumane tributary system of the Han Dynasty to be revived?
(End of this chapter)