On the way from Chang'an, Chang Sun Jun had already gained a considerable understanding of Damascus.
Although it is known as the "Pearl of the West" and the "Land Blessed by God", in fact this city is quite ignorant and backward. Westerners have never been educated in Confucianism and do not understand what "benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust" are. They believe in "Survival of the fittest" means that whoever has the biggest fist gets the final say.
People here don't understand the meaning of creation at all. They think that the benevolence, righteousness and morality that the distant East emphasizes are completely empty. If they don't have it, they will rob it. Whoever is strong will be justified, and whoever is weak will die. Why bother with such false benevolence and hypocrisy?
Therefore, although they were far behind the Han people, they never looked down on the Han people.
The so-called legal system is in name only, it is just a tool created for those in power to better enslave civilian slaves.
Therefore, the people of Damascus never cared about things like Han Chinese killing each other.
They only care about whether anyone comes to Damascus to do business and whether it can bring them wealth. As for whether the Han people are dead or alive, they don't even bother to take a look.
Therefore, Changsun Jun dared to slaughter all Qin Changgeng's caravan not far from Damascus...
Changsun Jun felt guilty and calmly said: "I don't know anything about this, and I didn't rob or kill any caravans. The general must have made a mistake."
Azmi stared straight at Chang Sun Jun, silently.
Changsun Jun coughed dryly and said: "I came from Chang'an and accidentally lost the seal of my credential on the way. Therefore, I kindly ask the general to ask your king for instructions. When the matter is accomplished, I will be rewarded with generous gifts."
He can't get entangled in the murder of the caravan. The Damascus people really don't care about the life and death of the Han people, but this man is not easy to get along with at first glance. Wan is greedy and wants to arrest him and put him in jail, and then blackmail him. What to do if you blackmail me?
I am a piece of jade, and I must not break it to pieces in Damascus!
It's better to bring up the business quickly, so that Azmi knows that if you want money, I have enough, and you can help me get paid for it, instead of just focusing on the caravan robbery and extortion...
Fortunately, although Azmi is vulgar, he is not stupid. He thought about it and figured out the joints.
This Han man is thousands of miles away. Even though his family has a mountain of money, but the water from afar cannot quench his thirst, is it possible that he can be allowed to write a letter to his home in Chang'an and send it all the way to Damascus to redeem someone?
It's not impossible to do this. Anyway, just lock him up in the rain of arrows and wait for his family to come, but this will definitely cause trouble in the city. Once this matter reaches the ears of the Caliph, he may not be able to escape punishment.
The Caliphate had already coveted the fertile land in the east. Although the previous war failed to achieve the results of occupying the countries in the Western Region and approaching the capital of the Tang Dynasty, he had to return to the court due to the turmoil in the holy land of Mecca. But this thought has never weakened even a little bit.
On the contrary, it was because he unexpectedly ascended to the position of Caliph, and after taking control of the vast territory and powerful military force of the Arab Empire, he became increasingly desperate.
The Caliph's coveting of the Tang Dynasty was not a piece of land that had not yet been masked. The Caliph's desire for land was completely different from that of his predecessor. He valued real wealth more.
Everyone knows that the Silk Road is a channel flowing with gold, and the starting point of the Silk Road, Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, is where the world's wealth gathers.
Countless Hu merchants who have visited Chang'an have described the majesty and wealth of that city. If they could conquer it, how much wealth would they gain?
The previous war in Suiye River also made the Caliph see the strength of the Tang army, and he was wary of it. He would not rush to conquer that powerful empire with countless armies before it was internally stabilized.
However, the process of seizing wealth cannot be interrupted. Therefore, all cities in the Arab Empire were ordered to treat Han merchants well, attract as many Han merchants as possible to come to the Arab Empire for trade, accelerate the circulation of wealth, and make the empire
Get more tax dollars.
Therefore, if the caliph knew that he had put Han merchants under house arrest in order to extort wealth, he would definitely not forgive himself...
With thoughts swirling in his mind, Azmi said: "The Caliph is the leader of the empire, and he is also the messenger of God on earth. His status is extremely noble. How can anyone see him if he wants to? Even generals like us have difficulty seeing the Caliph.
On the one hand, foreign ministers like you are even more wishful thinking. It’s difficult, it’s difficult.”
Changsun Jun despised in his heart, it was still the same as Abdulla, who first emphasized the difficulties and then left the words behind... Couldn't these stupid Damascus people have some other tricks?
"We Han people have a saying, 'Friends have the right to spread wealth.' As long as the general can do this for me, then the general is my friend. As long as you ask, no amount of thanks will be a problem."
There is a popular saying in Chang'an today: "Any problem that money can solve is not a problem." It is said that this sentence was originally said by Fang Jun, and later spread and was regarded as a guideline by many people.
It may sound a bit crazy at first, but if you think about it carefully, you have to admit that it does make sense.
When a person reaches a slightly higher level, he will find that it is actually quite easy to accumulate wealth. In comparison, some things in official circles or rules are more difficult to deal with. If you can use money to open roads and solve problems, why not
Why not?
When Azmi heard this, he immediately smiled and the coldness and seriousness on his face disappeared instantly. He clapped his hands and praised: "You Han people are indeed smart. Only you can think of such incisive truths. Since you regard me as a friend, I will not hide it."
Tucked in, the price is one thousand taels of gold, what do you think?"
Changsun Jun almost bit off his tongue. He stared at Azmi in surprise. Is this person blind to his eyes?
In this era, the level of ore mining was low, so the output of gold and silver was extremely rare, both in the East and the West, so it was extremely precious.
The official exchange value of gold, silver and copper in the Tang Dynasty is one:ten:ten. The unit of the former two is "liang", and the unit of the latter is "guan". A guan is equivalent to a thousand coins, which means that one tael of gold is worth
Ten thousand yuan. This is still the official price. In fact, due to the extreme shortage of gold and silver, most of the time the currency in circulation is copper coins and cloth. The actual exchange price has increased a bit. It is roughly one tael of gold to exchange for 12,300 yuan.
About money.
This Azmi asked for one thousand taels of gold, which is more than one million guan, more than ten million yuan...
Even if it was pulled by horse-drawn carriages, it would take dozens of horse-drawn carriages.
Even if the eldest son's family has a great business, it is not easy to collect so much money in a short time...
Changsun Jun, however, had no trouble on his face and said with emotion: "I am going to Damascus as an envoy. It is impossible for me to bring so much money with me. If the general trusts me, I can wait until I return and send my confidants to follow me. As soon as I arrive in Chang'an, I will definitely have all the money." Offer it without delay."
"Haha, you think I'm a rough guy, so easy to fool?"
Azmi grinned and said: "When you return to Chang'an, what can I do if you are bent on cheating? That is Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Empire. It has millions of soldiers and is impregnable. Even our caliph can only look back and sigh. Not to mention a little general like me?"
Changsun Jun frowned and said, "General, this is going to be difficult for me. This mission is going to be a long journey with a simple carriage. No one would carry so much money with them..."
Halfway through his words, he was interrupted by Azmi.
Azmi stared at Chang Sun Jun, put away his smile, and said coldly: "Don't use these words to deceive me again. Before I served as the general guarding the city of Damascus, my duty was to be in charge of the market in the east of the city. I have been dealing with Han merchants for a long time, so I learned the Chinese language and can recognize a few Chinese characters. As far as I know, no matter which country the angels of the Tang Dynasty go to as envoys, they will always have the Emperor Jieyan to accompany the guards to highlight the Tang Dynasty. The majesty of the emperor who reigns over the world... Your Excellency only has a few dozen people around you. You have no credentials and no integrity. You have to massacre a group of merchants and plunder their carriages and goods to disguise your identity. You said you are an envoy of the Tang Dynasty. You are lying. Who?"
Changsun Jun had nothing to say.
After all calculations, he never expected that every move he made would be controlled by the Damascus people, and he would fall into an extremely passive situation.
He could only say: "I really don't have that much money on me. I will give it to you after I return to Chang'an, but the general is worried that I will cheat. So in your opinion, what should I do?"