Liu Bei also knew many details about Liu Bei's daily life demonstrated by Zhang Rang for the first time.
According to Zhang Rang's arrangement, first of all, after Liu Bei woke up in the morning, there was a dedicated person to help Liu Bei dress and wash up. The clothes he wore were all made of precious and high-end Shu brocade. From head to toe, they were all made of Shu brocade. The Shu brocade was a one-stop service.
Full.
Then comes the washing phase.
Because Liu Bei attached great importance to the cleaning of the face and mouth, he made a toothbrush specifically for brushing his teeth. It was made of pig bristles and ivory. The materials were very hard to find, and the production process was very difficult. It also used specially made precious fine salt.
Brushing materials used to clean teeth two to three times a day.
After washing up, it was time for breakfast. Zhang Rang specially arranged a table of exquisite breakfast meals for the kings to see, so that they could see what Liu Bei ate.
They have never seen pasta, they have never seen fried eggs, they have never seen fried rice, they have never seen all kinds of fried and steamed food.
"His Majesty once said that the day's plan begins in the morning, so His Majesty got up early and had thirty-six meals, twelve drinks, and six porridges, all served in gold and silver bowls. Someone tested the poison and presented it
Your Majesty, this is the case every day, and you must not slack off."
The kings were envious and admired him endlessly. They all praised Liu Bei as worthy of being the emperor of the Han Dynasty. His exquisite life was really an eye-opener for them.
Then in the morning, in addition to handling official duties, Liu Bei also had to drink tea and eat refreshments.
Zhang Rang specially made green tea and black tea, which have not yet been popularized and are still in mass production experiments, and invited them to drink. He also brought out specially made small desserts for them to taste, telling them that this was the only tea they could taste.
A top-notch luxury product that only the emperor of the Han Dynasty and the royal family could enjoy.
Because the production is difficult and the output is low, this is an absolute royal tribute. Unless it is rewarded by the emperor, it is impossible for ordinary people to encounter it.
After that, it's lunch.
"Lunch is also a meal that His Majesty attaches great importance to. There must be ninety-nine and eighty-one items. Poultry, livestock, birds, sea fish, and mountain delicacies are all indispensable. The five flavors are complete. Your Majesty is in it and savors it carefully every day.
In this way, a day's shortage is absolutely not allowed."
While Zhang Rang introduced the meals to them, he also introduced to them Liu Bei's daily habits of enjoying these meals - of course, they were some so-called habits that Liu Bei himself didn't know about, or in other words, they were probably Liu Hong's previous habits.
Finally, there is dinner, with 8,864 dishes, fewer than lunch, but more exquisite, with less oil and meat seasoning, and more natural flavors of ingredients.
Zhang Rang also specifically pointed out that the ingredients used in some of the meals are top-quality ingredients that can only be produced on the seashore of Han Dynasty and the misty and rainy land in the south of the Yangtze River, and cannot be found in other places.
In order to keep these ingredients fresh and deliver them to Liu Bei's table as quickly as possible, the Dahan transportation system was under tremendous pressure, and they basically came at an expedited speed of six hundred miles.
In order for Liu Bei to eat fresh ingredients, the big man would do whatever it took.
The kings of the small country were filled with admiration and envy again, especially King Qiuci and King Wusun, whose eyes shone with envy.
They chased Zhang Rang to ask for more details, hoping that Zhang Rang would tell them the order in which Liu Bei tasted these foods. It seemed that knowing this, they could completely imitate Liu Bei's living habits, and then return to China to show off.
That's what they really thought. They really planned to completely learn Liu Bei's living habits and then go back to show off.
Among the countries in the Western Region, there are also some big and small, some rich and some poor.
Kingdoms such as Qiuci and Wusun are large in scale. The kings enjoy the worship of their subjects and have great wealth. Their economic foundation is definitely worthy of such enjoyment, at least they think so.
After seeing Liu Bei's exquisite life, they yearned for it and felt that this was the true style of a king, and this was the life that a king should enjoy——
Using the power of a country to afford luxury for just one person, what kind of lofty ambition is this?
So they hoped to fully learn Liu Bei's way of life, so they did not hesitate to introduce a large number of things that they could not produce at all. In order to maintain such a life, they would not hesitate to import everything, no matter how high the cost.
No one else said anything, even the newly restored prince of Moshan Kingdom crowded in the crowd with red eyes and asked Zhang Rang some details about Liu Bei's life.
He seemed completely unconcerned about whether his country, which had just recovered and was still in ruins, could support such a luxurious "imported life."
So according to the previous plan, Zhang Rang introduced them to stir-fried dishes, fried dishes, and various "innovative" palace dishes, and then told them some serious recipes in the Han Empire over the years in terms of food.
of innovation.
During the introduction, Zhang Rang also specifically pointed out that Liu Bei's daily clothes and office clothes were all made of Shu brocade, and all his bed utensils were made on a special Shu brocade production line. The entire production line only produced special utensils for him.
In his daily life, Liu Bei also wore gold and silver, doing everything he could to be extravagant, and his appearance was at the top level.
After that, Zhang Rang said no more and waited for the kings to make a series of requests themselves.
Not to mention other things, just some necessary kitchen utensils and condiments are something they cannot produce anyway, let alone serious top-level luxury goods like Shu Brocade.
Do you want such a "luxury" life?
Want to eat such delicious food every day?
Do you want to live a good life like Liu Bei?
Then you really need to get ready.
So, the money came.
Later that day, Liu Bei stayed in his study, listening to Zhang Rang's report, the smile on his face never stopped.
"King Qiuci and King Wusun were the most excited, and they were the first to ask for the purchase of palace utensils. The old slave told them that these items were expensive and extremely difficult to make. Even the Han Dynasty could only use them if they were royals. If
It may be really troublesome to order, but they said directly that money is not an issue.
When the old slave heard that, that was great, so he told them the specific price. They didn't care about the price at all. He just said that from beginning to end, they wanted everything they could buy, including kitchen utensils and condiments.
Well, whether it’s tea, His Majesty’s favorite drink, or Sichuan brocade, they want them all.”
Zhang Rang said with a smile: "I'm afraid there is no one in the world who is better than you at getting these people to pay for it, and the money they give out is all big money."
After hearing this, Liu Bei smiled and shook his head.
"Where is this? Lao Zhang, just wait. The things these kings personally buy are only small heads, very small small heads. The real big heads have to wait for these kings to go back. Where are they?
The powerful people will appear after they know about this matter. By then, there should be many powerful people from the Western Regions who want to come to Dahan to buy our things."
Zhang Rang nodded, and then became a little worried.
"But it's really expensive. The old slave always told you twenty or thirty times the price according to your request. A special iron pot we specially sent to Nichinan County is fifty times the price.
At this price, there shouldn’t be many people who will buy it, right?”
"It's not expensive, not expensive at all. You have to believe that those people are really rich, and for the sake of power, benefit and face, they will be willing to pay more and more money."
Liu Bei said with a smile: "The first thing these kings will do when they bring their things back is to show off. After showing off, the dignitaries over there will definitely follow, whether it is for the sake of face or to please their king.
As the saying goes, it is not the common people's turn to do such things. Their dignitaries and wealthy businessmen will definitely try their best to make their lives closer to ours, in order to prove their status and power.
Then it will look better, we can sell more things, and they can buy more things we want to sell to them, and then their lives will become more luxurious and refined.
Moreover, this will let their countrymen know that only our things are the best things, and only our lives are the best lives. They will envy, yearn for and respect the big man from top to bottom.
They will regard everything about a man as extremely noble, even if it is just chopsticks, spoons, dishes and dishes for eating, these normal things, in their eyes, are symbols of a man, a symbol of power, and a symbol of civilization."
As he spoke, Liu Bei picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.
"That's when we can really annex the Western Region and bring it into our hands. By then, we won't even need to use much force from the army. There will even be many more people in the Western Region who actively want to join the Han Dynasty, because they
They no longer want to continue their old life, they yearn for the big man."
Zhang Rang just smiled as he listened to everything Liu Bei said.
A few years ago, he would have been shocked and felt that Liu Bei's thoughts were far beyond what normal people could imagine.
But now, he is used to it. He is used to Liu Bei's confidence and determination to control everything with his superb means and super strength.
So he just smiled.
"Your Majesty is wise and far-sighted. The small countries in the Western Regions are nothing in front of Your Majesty. No matter how many people and soldiers they have, as long as Your Majesty wants to, tomorrow, they will change their country name and become a county of the Han Dynasty."
"It's not that exaggerated, but that's pretty much it."
Liu Bei looked at Zhang Rang with a smile: "Old Zhang, you did a good job this time. You acted with me and made these bumpkin really believe that this is how I live. You did a good job."
Upon hearing Liu Bei's compliment, Zhang Rang's old face immediately burst into laughter.
"It is my honor to serve His Majesty!"
"You, you always pick nice things to say to me. If things go on like this, I'm afraid I will become mediocre."
Liu Bei put down his tea bowl, walked up to Zhang Rang and patted his shoulder: "Don't dare to continue to praise me like this in the future. If I am lifted up by your praise, you will be in trouble."
"This is nothing at all. Your Majesty is definitely not the kind of person who would indulge in praise."
Zhang Rang said with a smile: "You can obviously live such a life, but you will never live it. Such a self-disciplined person is the only one I have seen in my life, so I can praise you as much as I want without worrying."
You have lost your heart."
"You old slave, you really choose good songs for me to listen to, hahahahaha!"
Liu Bei said nothing more and just laughed.
Of course this sounds nice, but when Zhang Rang said this, he was somewhat sincere, and he really felt that Liu Bei was not the kind of superior who would indulge in flattery. If that were the case, there would be no way he would be where he is today.
Because from the moment he became the inheritor of Zuo's Spring and Autumn Period, he had been surrounded by all kinds of good words.
If he had slacked off even a little bit, he would not have made it to where he is today, but he managed to withstand all the good words and words and get to where he is today step by step. On the day he ascended the throne, Zhang Rang knew that
Nothing can shake Liu Bei's will. His will is as strong as steel after the sixth technological reform.
After being emperor for so long, Liu Bei's life is still similar to the past. Although he is not as frugal as Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, he is still at the level of a normal rich man. There are people in every county in the entire Han Dynasty who can live this kind of life.
My childhood was good, but it was definitely not to the point of wearing gold and silver.
Especially Shu brocade, Liu Bei didn't use it at all. He thought that ordinary silk produced in other places was also very useful, and the clothes made were very comfortable to wear, so Shu brocade was rarely seen in the palace.
For Liu Bei, the greater significance of the production of Shu brocade is to sell it to the outside world to earn money, and it exists as a national symbol and a leading product.
In order to advertise and open up the market for Shu brocade, Liu Bei specially bought a few underwear, coats, and dresses made of Shu brocade this time. He wore them himself and acted as a model, and achieved very good results.
The kings of the Western Regions were crazy about this. Even though the price of Shu brocade was more expensive than gold here in Luoyang, they still placed a large order for more than a thousand pieces. King Wusun and King Qiuci were more like engaging in armaments
It was like a competition, and one person placed an order for one hundred horses.
Such large orders cannot be received at any time, which also made Liu Bei aware of the wealth of the ruling classes of various countries in the Western Regions.
A small country has a small population and a small population. But on the Silk Road, how could these rulers and their officials be poor?
The one who competes against the other will be rich!
Therefore, the land of the Western Regions became the dumping place for the Han Empire's products selected by Liu Bei. He planned to spend some time to defeat all the local products of the countries in the Western Regions, so that the products of the Han Empire could fully enter the markets of these small countries, and then win over them.
The most favorable tariff treatment.
It is estimated that it will be difficult to completely eliminate tariffs. Before annexation, we should give them some benefits, just like a piggy bank, and it doesn't matter if we give them a little.