"Do you Mauryan have a soft spot for towers?" Yuan Hua looked at the tower standing in the center of Fahrenheit City and asked curiously.

Since entering the Mauryan Dynasty, he has not seen this kind of tower, almost every city has it, and the tower in front of him is nearly 100 meters high, even if it is a majestic palace.

"This is a stupa for the Buddha to live in, and His Majesty lives in it most of the time." Ashande explained.

"The Mauryan Dynasty is different from my Zhao Kingdom, the monarch of the Mauryan Dynasty, Ashoka, believed in Buddhism, and built stupas all over the country, and expanded them many times, and in the past few years, he also expanded the stupas of the past Buddha." Zhao Mu said to Yuan Hua in a low voice.

He used to be very dismissive of Ashoka's behavior, in the Central Plains, no monarch is obsessed with religion to such an extent, let alone a monarch who allows religion to affect the power of the monarch, let alone a generation of male lords.

Perhaps Ashoka was just lucky enough to unify the entire cultural circle, and in fact he was a fame-seeker.

Until one day, Zhao Mu suddenly thought of the Kunlun god of the Huns.

He didn't see the battle of Hetao with his own eyes, but he had heard from many people that even the scum of the Xiongnu could make the Kunlun god, and the population and strength of the Peacock Dynasty were many times that of the Xiongnu, and the believers were more religious......

Thinking of this, Zhao Mu shuddered a little.

You must know that the Mauryan Dynasty was not only a religion of Buddhism, but also a deep-rooted Brahmanism, the smash hit Jainism, and it is said that Ashoka's father Bintou Sara and grandfather Chandragupta both believed in Jainism in their later years.

There is no doubt that the strength of the Mauryan Empire is definitely not as simple as it seems.

Similarly, the struggle within the Mauryan Empire was bound to be fierce, and even Ashoka could only suppress it, not resolve it.

When the guards saw Ah Shande, they hurriedly came over to salute and whispered a few words to Ah Shande.

"Brother Wang is studying the Dharma, there is no need to interrupt, let's go to the palace first." Ashande said with a smile.

"For the sake of Buddhism, do you even care about national affairs?" Yuan Hua said in a deep voice, where is this Ming Jun, the faint Jun is almost the same, even the King of Qi can't do this kind of thing.

"Although Brother Wang likes to study Buddhism, he will find time to deal with government affairs every day and will not delay state affairs, but it is just a coincidence that we came, and Brother Wang has just finished bathing and changing clothes." Ah Shande said, leading Yuan Hua and Zhao Mu into the palace.

Yuan Hua and Zhao Mu didn't have too much to say about this, the cultural customs are different, and talking too much will only cause unnecessary contradictions, as for how Ashoka governs the country, that's a matter for others, and they don't have to put their beaks too much.

The royal palace of the Mauryan Dynasty was very gorgeous, no less than the palace of the king of Zhao, a strong armor soldier straightened his back, guarding the palace, his eyes were bright, and if there was an aura that connected them into a whole, as long as one person was attacked, everyone would react immediately.

"The strength of this legion is definitely not inferior to Zhao Feicai, but if you encounter it on the battlefield, it is still Zhao Feiqi of my Zhao Kingdom who is superior, after all, Zhao Feiqi is a cavalry." Yuan Hua made a judgment in his heart, what he didn't know was that the Peacock Legion was also a cavalry, just guarding the palace, so it didn't ride a horse.

"The executive is in charge of the transaction, not me. But there's no rush in this matter for now, let's have a good rest first, and then play in the city for a few days, and then talk about trading. Don't worry, although the business of our Fahrenheit City is not as good as your Handan, it will not be inferior in other aspects." Ashande said with a smile.

At the same time, in the city of Tamma, Bai Ling and the Roma family made a deal to exchange silk and porcelain for a hundred shipwrights and a hundred blacksmiths, and a few breeders who were good at raising elephants from another family.

Bai Ling also invited several monks to the state of Zhao.

In addition to this, some animals and plants that are not available in Zhao Guo or are difficult to see were also purchased.

In short, as long as Zhao Guo doesn't have it, he has to get some back, and as for whether it's useful or not, I'll talk about it later.

Even if it's useless, you won't lose much.

In fact, buying a shipwright, a blacksmith or something is not the most important thing, these and the official of the Mauryan Dynasty can also buy, of course, the price paid will be relatively large

, and there won't be a lot of them.

What Bai Ling wants to do is to bundle interests, and through silk, porcelain, paper, tea and other unique commodities of the Zhao State, the interests of these families and the Zhao State are firmly bound.

These commodities can only be provided by Zhao Guo, and they are very profitable, as long as any family hugs Zhao Guo's thigh, it is not a dream to be rich and rival the country.

"Mr. Bai, what's your caravan coming over next time?" After the feast, the head of the Roma family asked.

"If this goes well, when we return home, we will arrange for the next fleet to come over soon." Bai Ling said.

"When the time comes, Mr. Bai must first find us to cooperate, and our Roma family will give Mr. the highest transaction price." The head of the Roma family said with great courtesy.

"Well said, well said." Bai Ling said with a smile.

The next day, Yuan Hua and Zhao Mu finally met Ashoka.

Unlike what he imagined, although Ashoka was the king of a country, he didn't have any shelves, and sat on the futon casually and talked to the two.

Emperor Ashoka knew a lot, whether it was governing the country, business, military, cultivation, religion, etc., he was very proficient, and his views were also very unique, which could inspire people and cause them to think deeply.

During the conversation, Ashoka always had a kind smile on his face, very affinity, looking at Yuan Hua or Zhao Mu, nodding from time to time, people couldn't help but be convinced.

If he hadn't known that the monarch in front of him was the king of the Peacock Empire, Yuan Hua would have thought that he was a knowledgeable and talented scholar.

It wasn't until the evening that Yuan Hua and Zhao Mu reluctantly left the palace.

"Ashoka is the most knowledgeable man I have ever met other than Brother Wang. Talking to him, you can hardly feel the passage of time, half a day passes quickly, and there is always a lot to gain. Brother Wang's knowledge is also very profound...... But it's too fanciful, and some of them I don't even understand, and it's more comfortable to talk to Ashoka in comparison. But...... I don't like Ashoka's admiration for Buddhism in his words."

Zhao Mu has never believed in religion, he always feels that these people are very stupid, they don't want to work hard when they encounter difficulties, they rely on themselves to solve problems, but they rely on the Buddha to help them solve them.

As early as thousands of years ago, the people of the Central Plains only believed in themselves, not in those ethereal things.

Although the Mo family used ghosts and gods to warn the world and make people have a sense of awe, they never regarded ghosts and gods as a belief and let people worship them.

Confucianism respects ghosts and gods and stays away.

Ximen Leopard Zhiye even sank a lot of wizards and goddesses directly into the river to break feudal superstitions.

Zhao Mu, who grew up in this environment, couldn't understand Ashoka's approach at all.

And as far as he knew, not only Ashoka, but also Ashoka's father, Ashoka's grandfather, all of them were religious in their later years, but they believed in Jainism.

Essentially, there is no difference.

There are reasons for weakening Brahmanism with the help of other religions, but Ashoka's belief in Buddhism is by no means false, even extremely religious, it is said

Ashoka's grandfather died of hunger strike because of the teachings of Jainism.

"Different soils naturally produce different fruits. But I still think we're good." Yuan Hua said with a smile.

"That's nature, the sons of our Zhuxia are not comparable to their religions." Zhao Mu's face was full of pride.

The two stayed in Fahrenheit for more than a month before setting off for home.

On the last day of the eighth year of King Kuo of Zhao, the caravan returned to Zhao, bringing with them a large amount of grain, cotton, jade, spices, and more importantly, opening a safe and stable trade route between Zhao and the Mauryan Dynasty.

Soon, Zhao Guo organized a caravan again, but this time there was no need for Yuan Hua and Zhao Mu to go in person.

Seeing the benefits of maritime trade, the imperial court began to favor fishing boats, and Zhao Kuo once again allocated a billion yuan in materials and money to build ships and develop technology, and to build ports in eastern and western Liaoning.

Zhao also sold the eliminated ships to the Zhao people at a reduced price for them to do business or fish, and Zhao's commerce could not only rely on the imperial court, but wanted real prosperity.

It is also necessary to let the people and businesses develop.

Spring has arrived, and the people of the Central Plains have survived the harsh winter, but they have not ushered in the spring rains.

The earth on the ground was dried into fine grains of sand, and when a little wind blew, it was dusty, and the fields were desolate, without a trace of green.

Only the riverbed was still faintly wet, and tenacious weeds emerged from the crevices in the mud of the riverbed, and before they could grow up, they were dug up by the hungry people to satisfy their hunger.

The Han and Wei governments continued to order disaster relief, but the two countries fought a war for two years the year before and the year before last, and there was a drought last year, and there was not much surplus grain in the treasury, so it was soon unable to support it.

But this is not the worst news, and soon, worse news will come.

In February, the state of Chu took advantage of the famine between Han and Wei and sent troops to attack Nanjun, intending to recover the remaining cities of Nanjun in one fell swoop, as well as Nanyang, Shangyong, Shangyu and other places.

In the palace, An Ning's stomach bulged slightly, and Zhao Kuo gently put his ear on An Ning's stomach.

"He just looked like he was kicking you." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.

"Nonsense, I'm kicking you. The little guy must have sensed that you were watching him, so he was upset." An Ning hugged Zhao Kuo's head, and her face was full of a peaceful smile.

"Hahaha, you dare to kick the widow, and when he comes out, the widow must beat him." Zhao Kuo laughed.

"King, Xiangguo asks to see you." At this time, Liu Ping's voice came from a distance.

"The widow will go and see first." Zhao Kuo patted An Ning on the back.

"State matters." An Ning leaned over and said.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Kuo came outside, and Wei Wuji was already waiting in the hall.

"King Yu, the envoys of Wei and Korea are asking to see you outside." Wei Wuji said.

"Together?" Zhao Kuo raised his eyebrows.

「…… Yes." Wei Wuji nodded.

"The widow went and looked." Zhao Kuo walked outside.

Soon, Zhao Kuo met with the envoys of Han and Wei.

"The foreign minister pays a visit to King Zhao." When the envoys of Wei and Korea saw Zhao Kuo, they hurriedly bowed down and saluted.

"Two messengers, please." Zhao Kuo said weakly, "I don't know what happened to the two envoys coming to my Zhao country?"

"King Zhao, the foreign ministers have come to ask for help. Since last year, drought has occurred in various parts of the Central Plains, and it has continued until this year, and the drought situation has not only not improved, but has intensified. In order to help the victims, the grain in the treasury has long been consumed, and even the monarch has begun to cut back on food and clothing. However, the state of Chu disregarded the general righteousness and took advantage of the drought between our Wei and Han countries to raise troops to attack our two countries. As the leader of the Three Jin Alliance, the king must be the master of our two countries." The envoy of Wei leaned over and bowed, and said with a handful of snot and tears.

"This matter was originally inconvenient for the widow to manage, but the widow heard that the drought in Huaibei and other places in Chu was not lighter than that of Wei, but Chu ignored the disaster and allowed the people to flee and even starve to death, taking the opportunity to attack Wei, which is really unkind and unjust. The widows will send envoys to rebuke the king of Chu and order him to withdraw his army." Zhao Kuo said.

In recent years, Zhao has successively annexed a large amount of land in Yan and Qin, and is in urgent need of recuperation and internal stability.

Zhao Kuo's goal has never been the Central Plains, the Central Plains is just, to achieve his grand goal, he needs a population, a large population.

If he unifies the Central Plains, the population of various places is reduced by half, and there are only one or two million people left, and it will take decades of recuperation to barely be comparable to the Peacock Dynasty, then it will be a fart.

All along, he has been trying to reduce the war as much as possible, reduce the casualties in the war, and retain the vitality of the Central Plains, such as the battle against the Yan State, even if the strength of the Zhao State has crushed the Yan State, the Zhao State still planned for several years, and finally destroyed the Yan State with almost no casualties.

The only exception is the Qin State, the Zhao State originally did not want to fight with the Qin State, but the Qin State could not hold back and took the initiative to attack, if the Zhao State did not defeat the Qin State, it would inevitably affect the future layout and development.

According to Zhao Kuo's plan, in addition to the war against the surrounding Hu people and Rong Di, there is only one internal war left, and that is the battle of unification.

At that time, the strength of Zhao State will inevitably surpass the others

Above all countries, even if the five countries are united, they are not the opponents of Zhao.

It's a pity that this time things still didn't develop according to Zhao Kuo's expectations, and the Chu State launched a war.

"I hope that the King of Chu can understand the current affairs and take the initiative to withdraw his troops." Zhao Kuo thought in his heart that if he was forced to send troops to support, it would be impossible for the Chu State to withdraw his troops without paying a price.

"Thank you, King Zhao. Thank you, King Zhao." The envoys of Wei and South Korea said gratefully.

They thought that this mission would be very difficult, so the two of them partnered, hoping to increase some of their right to speak, but they didn't expect King Zhao to be so good at talking.

"I am the same as the three Jin Dynasty, the widow is the leader of the alliance, the Wei and the Han are also the people of the widow, the Chu State hurts the people of the widow, how can the widow be indifferent." Zhao Kuo said awe-inspiringly.

"The minister has one more request." The envoy of Wei leaned over and said.

"Say." Zhao Kuo said.

"I ask Zhao to lend me food to Wei for disaster relief." The Wei envoy knelt on the ground.

"Ask Zhao Guo to lend me food for disaster relief in South Korea." Seeing this, the South Korean envoy also hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"Disaster relief is okay, there is no need to borrow food, the widow can directly send the grain to Wei and Korea, but the widow has one request: disaster relief must be in the name of my Zhao State." Zhao Kuo said in a deep voice.

Free to read.