But anyway, the benefits of giving potatoes are all really in hand, as long as Li Shimin is not full of malice, how he is willing to use potatoes, Shi Lei doesn't care. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

His main focus was on how to sort out the situation after he took office. If he doesn't get the people up and down in Guangzhou, not only will his plan to build a base and make a fortune come to naught, but it is also a question whether he can wear this hat steadily.

So he had to cheer up and go to the welcome banquet organized by the Guangzhou Assassin, I heard that this time all the famous figures in Guangzhou have almost arrived, and they all want to have a good relationship with him, the guy in charge of the armed forces, and in the future, they will inevitably rely more on the army under his command.

After entering the boundary of Guangzhou, although Shi Lei was very low-key, he was stuffed on his own one-acre and three-point land, but in fact, he arranged his subordinates early to collect the situation in Guangzhou, mainly the members of the special forces who followed him and laid a good outpost for him.

He nested in the past few days just to digest the information at hand, too deep things, may not be able to analyze, at least to have a relatively clear understanding of the political pattern of Guangzhou, don't go to the wrong temple to burn the wrong incense, in the future, he is here in Guangzhou, it will not be easy to carry out work.

Although Guangzhou is not well-known in the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty, it is actually very famous in Lingnan, and it is also a relatively prosperous place. Although the population is still a little small compared to the area that is not small here, the people who can take root in this place have a good life compared to other Lingnan counties.

And since Guangzhou can become Shangzhou, this scale is definitely not small, but Datang's own population, there are about 150,000, of course, this is the population of the whole territory of Guangzhou, most of them are distributed in the surrounding rural areas, mainly to grow food, and the resident population who really lives in Guangzhou is about 20,000.

And the situation in Guangzhou is still relatively special, a Guangzhou city, but it is divided into two counties to manage, roughly speaking, the west belongs to Nanhai County, the east belongs to Panyu County, and there is no separate unit of Guangzhou City. It's just that they are all subordinates of Guangzhou County, and many things can be decided by Thorn Shi, but there is not too much trouble.

In addition to the agriculture that depends on the survival, occupying the largest labor force, the handicraft industry in Guangzhou is also relatively developed, mainly for foreign trade services, such as porcelain, silk, these are obviously for those foreigners who come here to do business, want to market inland is not so convenient, the competition is also different.

One of the most active industries in Guangzhou is still overseas trade, and many Arab and Persian merchants have come all the way to carry spices, rhino horns, ivory, and other small but expensive luxury gadgets to come to Guangzhou, a port with a long history.

After waiting for the completion of the distribution of their own goods, they will pull the specialties of the Tang Dynasty, those unusually beautiful silks and porcelain, as hard currency, and run back to their respective countries to sell, and the profits they will earn will be more once and again, which is an important reason why they can take risks and cross the ocean to do business.

Of course, Shi Lei felt that there was another reason that prompted them to come to Guangzhou, at this time, there was no city department in Guangzhou, that is to say, there was no customs, so naturally there would be no tax.

Even if Datang still has all kinds of restrictions on them, this benefit is still great, the same as legal smuggling, how can it not make people rush to it.

It's just that the people who do business with them are not the locals in Guangzhou, and there are not necessarily a few people in the whole of Lingnan who can afford to consume the top luxury goods in the hands of these merchants. Lingnan is not a developed area, and the real rich ones are Feng Ang, and they have a few local emperors.

The real trading partners of the merchants are actually those powerful people from the inland, and they have to be those with more powerful influence. The caravans under the hands of these people, while buying goods from the merchants, would also sell the luxurious silk and porcelain they needed most, and also make money twice back and forth.

And these top luxury goods will eventually be distributed to Jianghuai and the northern rich places led by Chang'an, which also gather a large number of wealthy people in the Tang Dynasty.

But this work is really only capable of being done by the caravans under these magnates, one is that the requirements for the amount of capital are too high, and ordinary people basically do not have this capital. Another requirement for connections is not a little bit.

If you don't have a strong strength as a guarantee, you can't even enter the local market, and these businesses for the elite are naturally controlled by local powerful people, so without this influence, it is unrealistic to break through the barriers set up by their joint efforts, whether consciously or unconsciously.

There is also a historical reason, the ocean-going trade, in fact, is only now on the table, in the past, this kind of trade was more through the so-called "tribute" such a form of completion.

These merchants from various countries, actively or passively became the envoys of various distant states, or countries that simply did not exist, heard the prestige of the Central Plains Continent thousands of miles away, so they would rather risk their lives than come to see the great clouds of the Central Plains Empire.

Then the emperors, who were deceived and were very happy, would give them several times the amount of their contributions, so that they could see the generosity and prosperity of the Central Plains Empire, of which silk and porcelain were still the majority.

Up to now, although with the passage of time and accumulation, there has been more and more understanding of the real situation of these overseas countries, but there are still many restrictions on these merchants, except for some port-type cities, which are open to trade with them to a limited extent, ordinary merchants still can't contact them.

This kind of foreign trade activities, which contain huge benefits, are basically still in the hands of various nobles, and they must have a certain amount of power as a guarantee.

Even if in order to encourage the development of private business, the Tang Dynasty specifically prohibited the noble merchants in the law, as well as the behavior of competing with the people for profit, but in fact, the effect is still relatively limited.

It's just that now Shi Lei has also become one of the beneficiaries, so he naturally doesn't comment on this.

It is precisely because Guangzhou has such a special background that it is not surprising to see businessmen from different countries and business spokespersons of the Tang Dynasty at this reception banquet.

And the one who came out to greet Shi Lei was a familiar face, who once wanted to sell the house in Chang'an and give it to Shi Lei, and wanted him to pull his brother, who was also the current Guangzhou Thorn History, who was at the same level as Shi Lei, but led his boss.

It's just that the other party's attitude still makes him a little strange, and he can't be said to be flattered, but compared to Shi Lei's current identity, his courtesy seems to be a bit out of specification, which can't help but make Shi Lei mutter a little in his heart. (To be continued.) )