Wang Huili said: "Your Majesty, about 10,000 miles, it takes about four years to get here from Chang'an. ”

Hearing the figures Wang Huili said, it was obvious that the ministers present were a little surprised.

Constans II nodded and said, "It is indeed very far away! Then he asked curiously, "You don't seem to be too short, are you all very short there?" I heard that your horses are only three feet high, so how can they carry you? ”

The information asymmetry in society will cause great prejudice and misunderstanding, just like many people abroad, especially those in developed countries, do not understand the actual situation in China, and in their impression, China is still in tatters and very backward.

In ancient times, information was even less developed, separated by a mountain, and old and dead did not communicate with each other. In this era of the Tang Dynasty, there were indeed horse breeds with a height of about one meter two in the Wano Kingdom and Yunnan in China, and Constans II probably heard some rumors, and he couldn't tell the difference between the Tang Dynasty and the Wanu people at all, and in his mind the Oriental people were all the same.

A general standing on the right side said playfully: "Your Majesty, you can imagine what a group of dwarfs from the East would be like when they meet the cavalry of our Roman Empire riding such short war horses?" Ha ha! The Romans in the main hall burst into laughter.

The king was speechless about these ignorant Romans. He said without humility or arrogance: "Your Majesty, your knowledge is really extensive, there is a place called the Japanese slave country in the east, there are indeed horse breeds like you said, we have more than a dozen horse breeds in Datang, their height is basically the same as your country's horse breeds, and some horse breeds exceed the height of your country's horse breeds." ”

Wang Huili's height is about 1.75 meters, and he said: "The height of our Tang Dynasty people is not much different from that of your countrymen, and my height is among our Tang Dynasty people, which is of medium stature, and there are more people who are taller than me." ”

Constans II nodded, and did not continue to ask. When Queen Kent Tanka saw Wang Huili wearing a silk robe, she asked curiously: "I heard that the material for weaving silk grows on trees, but what kind of tree is that?" What does it look like when the silk just grows? ”

Before entering the main hall, the king warned himself not to offend the Romans, lest he cause trouble for no reason. His biggest fear now was that the Romans were asking very stupid questions. He couldn't answer.

Queen Kent Tanka asked such a question, which made him laugh. After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Royal Highness, what you said has a certain truth, the source of silk is indeed related to a kind of tree, this kind of tree is called mulberry in our Tang Dynasty, a kind of insect growing on the mulberry tree will spin silk cocoons, it eats the leaves of the mulberry tree. The material from which silk is woven is the silk spit out by this insect, which is processed. ”

Constans II asked, "I heard that the land in the east is very cold, and most of them are poor mountains and bad waters, how did you Tang people live?" Can you eat enough? How big is the country? Is it comparable to the prosperity of Constantinople? After saying that, he looked at Wang Huili, and hoped to see Wang Huili say something envious of the glory of Rome.

Wang Huili felt that this question was too easy to answer, he didn't want to offend these Romans, but he was from the Tang Dynasty and had the inherent pride of the Tang Dynasty, and this matter involved the reputation of the Tang Dynasty, and he didn't want the Romans to look down on the Tang Dynasty, which he was proud of.

So, he said as politely as possible: "Your Majesty, the climatic conditions in the east are not much different from the climate here, and the territory of our Tang Dynasty is vast, and the climate of the four seasons of the year can be shown at the same time, and the products of our Tang Dynasty are also relatively rich, the people are well fed and clothed, and our capital Chang'an has its own merits compared with Constantinople of your country." ”

The Minister of Commerce said contemptuously: "What do you mean by having its own merits? With a population of 400,000 and more than 8,000 shops, Constantinople is the richest and most prosperous city in the world. ”

The other Romans also felt that Wang Huili was vague, and they did not dare to tell the truth about Chang'an for fear of embarrassment.

In order to save his life, Wang Huili had already decided not to provoke the Romans, but when he heard that the Romans despised his country, he really couldn't help it, but he still said in a calm tone as much as possible: "Your Majesty, Chang'an City is now the largest city in the East.

At present, it has a population of about 1.4 million, and its commerce is also relatively developed, including two cities, the east and the west, of which the west market gathers all kinds of merchants from all over the world, about 30,000. Although Wang Huili's tone was flat, it was extremely shocking. The Romans stared at each other and fell silent for a moment.

The Minister of Commerce was slapped in the face, a little annoyed, and he said angrily: "You are talking nonsense. The Roman Empire was the most powerful country in the world, and we had a population of 30 million, so many people could have a prosperous metropolis like Constantinople. How many people did you have in the Tang Dynasty? How dare you boast like this. ”

Seeing the angry appearance of the Roman merchant minister, Wang Huili couldn't help but laugh in his heart, the current population of the Tang Dynasty has reached 150 million, and the Romans are less than a fraction of the Tang Dynasty. However, Wang Huili was really too lazy to continue arguing with such an ignorant person, he smiled faintly and did not say anything.

Although Wang Huili did not want to provoke the Romans, his demeanor made the Romans present feel the contempt conveyed by him. So, these people were even more annoyed, and the Minister of Commerce was about to say something, but Queen Kent Tanka spoke first.

Kent Tanka had asked about silk, and she felt very embarrassed because of her ignorance, and now that she saw Wang Huili like this, her heart was even more dissatisfied, and she said, "Why do men in the Tang Dynasty have such long hair? Men and women are not afraid of lice? ”

The humiliation in Kent Tanka's tone made Wang Huili feel a little angry in his heart, and he held back the anger in his heart, and tried his best to maintain a calm tone and said: "Her Royal Highness Empress Qiqi, we Tang Dynasty people pay attention to filial piety, and Sage Yun: Parents who are affected by the body should not be discarded. Our hair is given by our parents, and we should try to take care of it as much as possible to show filial piety to our parents, which is an oriental virtue. As for what you said, the problem of unhygienic long hair, this does not exist, and like women, as long as you pay attention to washing and combing your long hair, there is no problem of uncleanness. ”

Wang Huili tried her best to maintain a respectful tone, but his attitude of neither humility nor arrogance made Kent Tanka even more annoyed, and she raised her eyebrows, and she was about to go crazy.