A tall, burly middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes stepped forward and bowed to Liu Zhi.

There was a bearded translator next to him, stumbling to convey his words.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, my name is Aulus. Eleus Antony, sent by His Majesty the Great Führer, to form an alliance with the kingdom. ”

According to calculations, the ancient Roman Empire was at the height of the Antonines. Patron is also the fourth of the Five Sage Emperors.

He was the stepson of the previous Führer, Hadrian, and the nephew of his wife, the first of all to be born in Gaul.

As a young man, he entered the Roman government, successively serving as treasurer, chancellor, consul, and governor of the provinces of Asia.

In his later years, Emperor Hadrian admired the 17-year-old young man Marcus Aurelius Antony and intended to pass on him, but considering that he was too young, he chose Antony, who was already in his fifties at the time.

The only condition was that Marcus Aurelius must be adopted and the position of head passed to him.

It is estimated that Hadrian mainly likes him to be loyal and honest, and he is relatively old, or he will die in a few years.

Funnily enough, however, Anthony Pius lived until he was 74 years old, reigning for 23 years, the longest reign of the Five Sage Emperors.

Even during the period of the Five Sages Emperor, it was called the Antonine Dynasty because of his name.

And Marco. Aurelius did not become head of state until he was 41 years old, and he co-ruled with his brother Lucius Verus.

But that's all for later, now Anthony. Pius remained in power for at least ten years, and he was one of the most virtuous rulers in the history of ancient Rome.

This man loved religion, justice and peace, and was an amiable old man with a simple life.

After his accession to the throne, he first exempted the people from their tax arrears, donated a large amount of private property to the state treasury, and covered all the expenses of the festival.

At the same time, they also buy wine, oil, rice, and wheat at their own expense and distribute them to the common people free of charge.

He himself was good at managing money and governing the country diligently and thriftily, so after his death, the treasury was full, and the balance reached 2.7 billion cestax.

Antony was diligent in court politics, threatened to "care for others as he cared for himself", implemented a policy of legal freedom, restricted the use of torture instruments on slaves, and severely punished his master for killing slaves for no reason.

He also rewarded education, provided education for poor children, and expanded the privileges of teachers and philosophers.

Militarily, it mainly adopted a defensive policy and did not take the initiative to attack other tribes, but in the war against England, it also pushed the border forward by a hundred kilometers.

It can be said that this was the most glorious period of the ancient Roman Empire, and there were even many small Western countries that took the initiative to attach themselves and wrote letters requesting to join Rome.

In the same period, only the territory of the Han Dynasty could be compared, but the degree of wealth and strength could not be compared.

At this moment, Aulus, who was born in a wealthy family as soon as he heard it, presented Liu Zhi with precious gifts such as rhino horns, ivory and tortoiseshell.

It also clearly expressed the desire for direct commercial and trade exchanges between the two countries.

The envoy of the Sabbatical State next to him, a young man who called himself Agar, was clearly unimpressed by his words.

After he finished speaking, he immediately took the initiative to run forward, and although the saluting action was noble and elegant, his expression could not hide his arrogance.

"Great King of kings, I send my most respectful greetings to Your Majesty, which is a gift from my King."

He presented dazzling rubies, corals, and exquisite tapestries of weavers, and his face was smug, probably thinking that this thing could shock Liu Zhi.

At this time, the Sabbatarian Empire was under the reign of Vologasis IV, an ambitious young emperor who succeeded to the throne in 148.

As soon as he ascended the throne, he launched an eastward crusade against the Kushan Empire, and the funny thing is that after a long three-year war, he was defeated by the famous king of the Kushan, Gasega I, and returned with a feather.

However, this man was also quite skillful, and in the case of starting a war, he still ended the civil strife in the Parthian Empire, so that he was full of ambition and began to covet the surrounding countries again.

This time, Deng performed the Western Regions, and he immediately wanted to detain it, so he repeated the trick and did not allow the mission to go further.

However, Deng Yan had already anticipated this situation, and made a look of conviction, blinding the other party.

They rested in peace, pretending to be on the lookout, and Vologasis IV sent cavalry to protect the whole process, in fact they were watching.

Two months later, Deng Yan generously resigned and took the initiative to ask him to send troops to escort him, which finally dispelled his suspicions.

As a result, after leaving the country, Deng Yan concealed the rest of the envoys, secretly turned back, and entered the Roman Empire from the southern detour, and the two greatest countries of the same period finally got in touch.

As a result, the rest of the country was helpless, after all, he deceived first, and was afraid of the powerful force of the Roman Empire, so he could only support him.

So there was an embarrassing picture of the envoys of the two countries walking together, and the two of them looked at each other unpleasantly along the way, especially Agar, who was arrogant and rude, and repeatedly provoked Aulus.

Deng Yan also mediated in many ways, and Aulus's character was more tolerant and generous, so he could walk all the way safely.

When it came to the time of poisoning, Deng Yan considered that it was almost winter, and if he encountered a heavy snowstorm in the middle line, he might suffer heavy losses.

After consulting with several major envoys, he changed to the southern route, went all the way south from Tianshuang, passed through Tianzhu and Ailao, and then entered Yongchang County, Yizhou.

There, he wrote what he saw and heard along the way into a recital, and sent someone to send it to Beijing as soon as possible, and presented it to Liu Zhi's imperial review.

Because of this, Liu Zhi learned everything about the situation, and ordered Yizhou to set up additional trade zones in Yongchang, Kunming and Chengdu.

Now the envoys of the two countries appeared to be tense from the beginning, and the atmosphere was very tense.

However, Liu Zhi is very unaccustomed to Agar's arrogance, what kind of madness are you, do you think that your combat power is unparalleled, it is not an exaggeration to say that although my Han has declined, in terms of force, it can easily solve your small resting country.

It's just that he still needs to rest in peace between Rome and Han, so he doesn't plan to do so.

Immediately afterwards, the envoys of a number of countries such as Ailao, Tianzhu, Guishan, and Rinan also came forward to meet and presented all kinds of rare and beautiful gifts.

Liu Zhi held a grand banquet to wash the dust for them, and he deliberately displayed the exquisite and delicate utensils of his country, and the delicacies of the country, which were full of color, aroma and flavor.

Charcoal burned in the wall, and the spring in the hall was melting, and the singers wearing various exquisite silk skirts danced.

Seeing that the envoys of various countries were dizzying, they were amazed, and they were full of praise for the beauty and elegance of the Han Empire.

The resting envoy Agar, who was always arrogant, as if he looked down on him, but unfortunately his mouth was very honest and he kept eating and drinking, but he couldn't stop.

Aulus, on the other hand, was very polite, praising the hospitality of the Han from time to time, and most of the envoys from other countries were very decent.

After the banquet, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites personally arranged a place for them to stay, and the Honglu Temple was unprecedentedly lively.

The next day, Liu Zhi met with Deng Yan alone, and he still wanted to hear with his own ears how he felt about Western countries.

This time, Deng made a comprehensive assessment of the customs and customs of various countries, national conditions and national strength, as well as purchasing power, and friendliness to the Han Dynasty.

He was also shocked by the strength of Great Qin, focusing on a comprehensive study of Rome's distinctive social system.

He even secretly brought back a set of Roman laws in a parchment scroll for Liu Zhi's reference.

The model of the coalition of the Senate in ancient Rome found it very novel to him.

Indeed, his system was a strange blend of slavery and feudalism plus democracy, and it was indeed a very advanced concept in the world at that time.

Compared with the fully mature feudal social system, each has its own merits and has its own points to learn from each other.

The two chatted for a whole day, and in the evening, Liu Zhi left him in the Zhongde Palace, and the two continued to talk at night.

It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books, this trip to the Western Regions has opened Deng Yan's eyes, he has seen many exotic scenery, and his thinking has become more and more mature.

"The King of Rest is very belligerent, and your Majesty needs to be more wary if he wants to maintain long-term trade relations with them."

In the end, Deng Yan said worriedly, in view of the bad history of the rest country, his suggestion was naturally not unreasonable.

Liu Zhi is also very clear about this point, the profit of long-distance trade is simply calculated in a hundred times, who can not be tempted?

In particular, the geographical location of the country of rest is excellent, just stuck between the two superpowers, in the face of such a high amount of wealth, how can he not be greedy.

As for the other countries, the Ben of the rest of Edom would not be restrained by him, so it did not have much of an impact.

The key still depends on Rome's attitude, Liu Zhi pondered for a while, and then said to Deng.

"From tomorrow onwards, you will accompany the envoys of various countries to make rounds of inspections, contact business, and pay attention to what they need.

Also, the formula of new things such as cement, gunpowder and matches, we must pay attention to protect it, and we can't let people steal it. ”

So far, Liu Zhi has implemented a strict management system for the formulation of gunpowder, and so far several workshops are in the deep mountains and old forests, surrounded by heavy guards.

However, if you are smarter, you can analyze some of it with the finished product, but it is even more difficult to produce it.

Some things seem simple, but they fall short of the slightest mistake.

"No, the minister will definitely send someone to keep an eye on everyone, and he won't let them take advantage of it."

After all, almost all the envoys showed a strong interest in the gunpowder of the Han Dynasty and wanted to buy it at a high price.

There was also a strong interest in other new things, such as paper, wine, matches, and sugar.

Even the interest in these things goes beyond traditional silks and handicrafts.

Know that ornaments are just embellishments, and those things are inventions that improve the quality of life.

The two chatted all night, and made detailed plans for the envoys and business issues.

On the second day, Liu Zhi announced the appointment of Deng Yan as a special envoy, who was responsible for communicating with envoys and doing business with envoys of various countries.

This is a much-anticipated fat difference, and for a while, all the big families came to the door, openly and secretly probing his style, and the Chengen Mansion was even more crowded.

Deng Yan took their group to tour the scenic spots and markets in Kyoto, and they were warmly received everywhere they went.

Many of them thus reached initial trade assistance with the Hu merchants, and Jingshi was originally the distribution center for goods from all over the Han Dynasty.

Here are all the specialties of more than a dozen states in the country, and caravans can buy any goods they want without having to go out of Beijing.

For a time, all kinds of fine silk, gold and silver ornaments, lacquerware and pottery products became sought-after goods.

Due to the different purchasing power of various countries, high, medium and low-end buyers are not worried, and the huge order volume makes everyone smile and squint.

Of course, trade goes both ways, and this time many of the Maisons sent people out to inspect the situation and brought back many samples.

Wool products for Sabbath and Kushan, precious stones, coral, ivory, rhino horn, tortoiseshell and other luxury goods from various countries have been ordered.

Soon it was the New Year, and Liu Zhi invited envoys from various countries to participate in the grand New Year's Day pilgrimage, which shocked them.

In the first month, the envoys of several major countries wrote one after another, asking to meet the emperor alone, and it seemed that they could not hold back to discuss the conditions.

Liu Zhi did not agree immediately, but directly rejected their request under the pretext that he would not work during the festival.

This dragged on until the middle of the first month, and seeing that the spring season was about to bloom, it was a good time for the caravan to set off.

Agar was already impatient, and he was clamoring to see him in Honglu Temple, and Liu Zhi agreed to meet him, but he arranged several people on the same day.

When they were all full of expectations, they hoped to be able to win more benefits in the hands of His Majesty the Emperor with their incorruptible tongues.

Anyway, this emperor looks young and amiable, so he should be very good at talking.

When they arrived at the living room of the Zhongde Palace, everyone found that they had all pulled the time to come, and they looked at each other for a while, and they were a little embarrassed.

At such times, whoever sees the emperor first will be more advantageous to whom, and the other small nations know that they cannot compete with them, so they gather around and whisper, guessing which of them will get His Majesty's favor.

However, the first thing Liu Zhi summoned was the first country in the southwest, Ailao, which surprised them.

As envoys from one small country after another walked in front of him, Agar couldn't sit still.

Sabbatical and not on good terms with their neighbors, they get along well with the humble and polite Aulus these days.

You must know that Daqin is also a beautiful and rich country, and you can also trade with them and communicate with each other.

If they unite and put aside the Sabbatical Empire to do business, then the purpose of his trip will be completely lost.

Vologassis IV was also a brutal monarch, and when the time came, if he was not happy, it was possible to behead him directly.

Sure enough, not long after these people entered, they all came out with happy faces, and it is estimated that they have all reaped the benefits.

Thinking about it like this, he couldn't hold it anymore, and hurriedly went to Zhang Rang, who was in charge of guidance, and asked to meet him early.

Zhang Rang smiled all over his face, "Rest assured, envoy, according to the rules of our big man, the most honored guests are often left last."

Originally, His Majesty valued you the most, but if you disrupt the order, those who don't know will think that you are not taken seriously. ”

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