The border between Gongmangzhou (Sichuan) and Tubo is the Jinsha River, and there is a cable iron bridge on the river. This iron bridge was jointly built by Tubo and Datang, and is an important port of Longyou Road leading to the Mangkang area of Tubo.

The Tibetans and the Tang Dynasty each set up a border checkpoint on both sides of the strait to check passing merchants.

At half past eight o'clock in the morning, the caravan began to pass, and a caravan from the Tang Dynasty returned from the other side. This caravan often passed through this port, and the officers and soldiers at the checkpoint were already familiar with each other, and they greeted each other from afar.

"Captain Wang, you're on duty again today." The head of the caravan said enthusiastically.

An officer of the border armed police said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Li, Wishing you prosperity, what goods did you bring back this time?" ”

Shopkeeper Li said: "We understand the rules, this is a list of goods, there are no prohibited items, please check it." ”

The armed police officer said: "This is the rule, then we will check." As he spoke, with a wave of his hand, more than a dozen armed policemen stepped forward to inspect the goods.

Datang encourages foreign trade, but stipulates that some materials are not allowed to be shipped abroad.

The embargoed supplies are mainly strategic goods such as salt, iron, copper utensils and food. The embargo is only external, and in turn, Datang encourages the sale of industrial products and the procurement of strategic materials mentioned above.

The Tibetans basically had no industrial products, and the only things they could exchange with the Tang Dynasty were cattle, sheep, livestock, grain, salt and iron.

For merchants, the population of the Tang Dynasty increased rapidly, there was a great demand for grain and other daily necessities, and the price also rose a lot, and it was profitable to transport grain and other daily necessities back from Tibet.

Industrial products were in great demand in Tibet, the prices were very high, and the business of the merchants was very good.

Due to the gap in science and technology and production capacity, there was a serious asymmetry in trade, and the Tubo people got cheap industrial products, while the Tang people got actual living materials. For example, a piece of soap can be exchanged for dozens of catties of grain. The national strength of Tibet has been weakened little by little, and the corresponding national strength of the Tang Dynasty has been increased little by little.

The high-ranking people in Tibet were not completely unaware of this situation, but they were powerless to stop it - the nobles of Tubo were already accustomed to using the industrial products and luxury goods of the Tang Dynasty, and they could not prohibit it at all.

Captain Wang and Shopkeeper Li chatted while waiting for the results of the inspection. Soon after, an armed police soldier came to report, and he said: "Report to the captain, no prohibited items were found. However, they carried several sets of glass cutlery. ”

Glass products are high-end consumer goods, which are prohibited from being sold in Datang, and all of them are exported except for a small amount of products used for royal rewards.

The price of glass products is extremely high due to the very small quantity in China. As a result, many merchants buy from abroad and then ship them back to China for sale, and they can still make huge profits.

Not long ago, Li Su found out about this problem and couldn't laugh or cry. Later, some people in China went to Japan, admired foreign countries, and spent 12,000 yuan to buy back a smart toilet seat, only to find out that it was made in Hangzhou, China. Become a laughing stock for a while.

As a result, the armed police issued another notice prohibiting the return of products made by Datang to Datang.

Captain Wang said: "Shopkeeper Li, I'm sorry, we have just received a notice that glass products can only be shipped abroad, not into China, I advise you to ship them back to Tubo and sell them locally." ”

Shopkeeper Li had no choice but to leave the glass products in Tubo. However, he did not worry and was ready to ship these glass products to India to sell, and still make money.

With the armistice between the Persian Empire and the Arab Empire, the Tang Dynasty ushered in another period of peaceful development.

Under the leadership of Wei Zheng and others, various domestic affairs are developing step by step. Li has freed up his energy to focus on solving some of the problems that he believes need to be addressed.

Tai Chi Hall, Li Su's office.

Li Dan said: "Your Majesty, you just read the chapter, the products of the industrial city, there has been a phenomenon of unsalable, the Chang'an area has been saturated, the industrial development of various provinces has also improved, relying on the domestic sales of this market, there will be a large backlog of products, that is, the phenomenon of the economic crisis you once told us." ”

Wei Zheng said with emotion: "My dynasty has always been short of materials, and I didn't expect this situation to occur. In the past, the emperor talked about the phenomenon of economic crisis, and the minister was skeptical at the time, but now this situation has really appeared. ”

Li Dan said: "Is it to control the speed of domestic industrial development? ”

Li Su said: "It doesn't matter. The domestic industry still needs to be vigorously developed, the world is very large, and the domestic market is saturated, so we will engage in foreign trade. In the past, foreign trade was carried out by merchants in a piecemeal manner, but now it has to rise to the national level.

I would like to set up a Ministry of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce, set up foreign trade bureaus in all states of the country, and cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to open up the international market.

The trade between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet has been carried out very well, and we can refer to the example of Tibet to carry out foreign trade with countries such as the Persian Empire, the Arab Empire and India, and the market prospects are very broad.

In addition, after the Datang Navy is perfected, it will build a large ocean-going commercial fleet and open maritime trade routes, and its products can be sold to South America, Africa and Europe.

In the past, foreign trade activities were carried out independently by merchants, and the scale was too small and unsafe.

Within the scope of a state, one or several trading companies can be organized to go to a certain country or region in a group. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for negotiating with various countries and paving the way for foreign trade companies to trade abroad.

If conditions permit, the Ministry of Foreign Trade can also establish overseas institutions to open up markets in the local area, and the caravan is only responsible for procurement and transportation, production, transportation and sales of one-stop services, which can greatly improve the efficiency of foreign trade. ”

None of the ministers had an opinion.

Huo Qiang, the Minister of Commerce, was promoted all the way from an ordinary businessman to Li Su, and now he is a member of the imperial court.

He said: "The emperor's proposal is very good, and the minister has this idea, and he will immediately set up a foreign trade department after he returns."

The minister has a proposal that the Ministry of Foreign Trade can organize government-run foreign trade institutions, so that the scale of foreign trade can be larger and more efficient. ”

Li Su shook his head and said: "This is not good, it will achieve great benefits in the short term, but it will crack down on and suppress non-governmental business activities." The Ministry of Commerce and Trade is only a management body and does not engage in business activities of its own.

If, under certain conditions, a large transaction is to be carried out with a certain country, the Ministry of Commerce may entrust the Ministry of Foreign Trade to temporarily set up a corresponding commercial and trade agency. ”

What Li Su wanted to implement was a free market economy, in which the imperial court controlled the entire economic development by the market itself, except for the control of strategic materials.

Li Ke, Minister of Agriculture, said: "Your Majesty, the export of agricultural products has always been prohibited, which has enriched the domestic material reserves, but to a certain extent, it has also discouraged the enthusiasm of farmers.

The minister has a proposal, can some products be allowed to be exported? ”