The first month of the third year of Tongguang (918) was ordinary, just like this huge empire.

But Shao Shude likes such ordinary days.

With every passing year, the inertia of history changes a little.

The chariot of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties heading towards the abyss of history, under the constant braking of this veteran driver, has greatly slowed down and turned quietly, getting closer and closer to a better, flatter, and brighter road.

As for why he didn't step on the brakes all the way and then turn the steering wheel hard, it was because Shao Shude was afraid of overturning.

Social atmosphere is not something that can be achieved by issuing an order and establishing a new system. It has inertia, vested interests who are accustomed to this kind of atmosphere, and internal stress that needs to be released in some way.

Either it's a big bang-style concentrated release, or it's just a waste of time to kill it off little by little.

Be a friend of time, let the prison of the system be tamed little by little by the addition of time, and tame the monster of ethos.

Every year, Shao Shude seemed to see the monster locked in a cage, wailing and hitting repeatedly.

In the eighteenth year since the founding of Daxia, the physical strength of the monsters has been greatly reduced, and the atmosphere has changed visibly.

What is this called?

This is called turning the tide before it falls, and holding the building back before it collapses. If it had been anyone else, the cage would have been broken long ago, and he himself would have been chewed to pieces by the monster.

On the second day of the first lunar month, when the New Year was in full swing, Shao Shude had already started working.

He found Wang Heizi, who had become famous at sea and was awarded the eighth rank of Xuangjie Colonel.

Even though Wang Heizi was lively and majestic at sea, after entering the palace, he was very reserved. As the saying goes, "If you don't see the imperial palace, you will know how powerful the emperor is." His previous horizons were still too small and he had never seen the world.

He was shocked by the majestic and solemn palace, and intimidated by the guards with long halberds. He was very brave if he didn't tremble.

"Is Wang Qing still satisfied with Captain Xuanjie?" Shao Shude asked softly, sitting high on the throne with beauties surrounding him.

Wang Heizi took a sneak peek, then lowered his head and replied: "When I returned to my hometown, the county magistrate saw me and we were friends. The chief secretary was very polite and invited me to tea. The county magistrate and the county magistrate met me.

, and exchanged a few pleasantries. I am very satisfied."

"You paid for this with your life. It is normal to receive such treatment." Shao Shude said: "How old is Wang Qing?"

"Three out of thirty." Wang Heizi replied.

"It's a bit early to enjoy wealth and status in one's prime years. Captain Xuejie is a bit too young for a great talent like Wang Qing." Shao Shude said something, then changed the subject and added: "Thirty

When you are next year, don’t you want to be your wife and your wife?”

Wang Heizi was a little surprised.

There are two possibilities for being granted the title of concubine. One is to work diligently as a high-ranking official all your life, and you may have one or two places when you are old enough to become an official. The other is to make great contributions. This does not need to be based on seniority or purple clothes, as long as you have merit.

If it is enough, you can make your wife a wife and your son.

He is an eighth-grade unofficial official, so don't even think about it unless you accomplish extraordinary feats.

"I don't think so, I just have no chance." Wang Heizi said honestly.

"There is an opportunity now, would you like it?" Shao Shude asked.

"I am willing." Wang Heizi replied quickly.

It's not that he was obsessed with fame and wealth. In fact, for small people like them, it is very difficult to accumulate enough merit to make a wife and son, and it often requires risking one's life.

He had just been awarded a casual official position by hunting whales, and before he could fully enjoy it, he was going to fight for the chance of wealth and wealth, which he was unwilling to do in his heart.

But since the saint said so, how could he refuse? He could only bite the bullet and agree.

"Very good." Shao Shude said, "I need you to go to Dengzhou as soon as possible and bring your old brothers with you to pick up a new ship."

Wang Heizi listened silently.

"The Ping Navy will also send a ship to go south to Guangzhou with you." Shao Shude continued: "After arriving in Guangzhou, take a rest, replenish supplies, load goods, and then leave with a large merchant ship. Don't worry,

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has made an agreement with the owner of this ship and promised various benefits. He is willing to take you back to Dashi and leave around March. Time is running out, so you should leave Beijing as soon as possible."

Wang Heizi was a little confused.

He sailed to the east coast of Kishu, which can be called a long voyage. Where is the Great Eclipse? Tens of thousands of miles away? How many strong winds and waves were there during the period, and how many difficulties and obstacles were there? Is it really possible to go back and forth safely?

"I obey the decree." Wang Heizi had no choice but to agree.

Shao Shude nodded and waved him away. Next, an official went into detail with Wang Heizi.

He didn't do it on the spur of the moment.

In fact, I have long planned to visit various countries by sea. However, today's navigation technology is too backward and the risks are too high, so I have never made up my mind.

But after guiding ocean fishing for so many years, I dare not say how much progress has been made. At least the level during the prosperous Tang Dynasty should have reached or even improved.

A big misunderstanding is that many people always think that our ancestors once had a certain thing or a certain technology, and then assume that it has always existed.

But in fact, technology progresses and declines. It is people who carry technology. Without people, technology will regress.

Even if you have relevant technical books preserved, the effect will be very limited because you no longer have the talents to engage in this industry.

The consequences of talent shortages and shrinking industries are still common in the 21st century. Russian technology relies on archaeology and has been struggling for thirty years. Let alone aircraft carriers, surface ships can hardly be repaired.

The so-called lighting up a certain technology, and then you will always know it, is something that only appears in the game.

In the real world, lit technologies will go out and technology will regress.

In the past, it was possible to build a ship with a displacement of one hundred tons, but now it is difficult to build a ship with a displacement of more than ten tons, because you no longer have related industries.

The industry is gone, the talent is gone, experience is lost, and production tools are scrapped. When people want to recover later, they can only do archaeology and reinvent the wheel at the same time.

The waterwheel, which was reinvented many times in ancient China, is a good example.

When the Xia Dynasty was founded, why was it so urgent to introduce shipbuilding and navigation talents from Dashi and even Silla? Because your technology has regressed to a considerable extent, you just don't know it anymore, and you have to be taught by others.

After so many years of hard work, marine-related industries have grown from sprouts to seedlings, and have gradually begun to grow.

Near major ports, an entire industrial chain of logging, drying, cutting, processing, and shipbuilding has slowly been developed. More and more people are engaged in this industry, and production capacity is also increasing because of market demand.

If one day, the market disappears, these industries will gradually be unable to sustain themselves, gradually shrink, lose personnel, and everything will return to zero. What will be left for future generations to talk about is how prosperous a certain port was and how advanced shipbuilding technology was. I think

A time traveler can definitely reverse the decline and recover, because these technologies were mastered by our ancestors.

But the cruel reality is that the old craftsmen who have entered the grave will not crawl out to tell you the secrets of processing wood. The once young craftsmen have also lost their teeth. You have worked hard to find three or five who can barely pass on the wood.

At that time, the level of a small number of technical juniors was still very low. It would be impossible to rely on them to revive the industry in this lifetime, unless relevant talents from other places or even foreign countries could be introduced.

Industry is always more important than technology.

Without industry, technology will become rootless. With industry, technology can even innovate and make continuous progress.

****

At about the same time, food businessman Su Lieman was resting at his home in Guangzhou.

As a "Tibetan chief" - a position in the Tang Dynasty that allowed foreign merchants to govern themselves - Suleiman had a certain status in Guangzhou. Not only was he well known in official circles, he was also among the group of Persian merchants who came from across the ocean.

, the prestige is also very high.

Last year, the governor of Guangzhou summoned him to the government office for a confidential talk, but he became very silent after returning.

Yes, according to the requirements of the governor of Guangzhou, he needed to bring two official Xia ships back, which put him under a lot of pressure.

However, there is nothing we can do about it.

In the past few years, his caravan sank several ships in a row, causing huge losses and leaving him with a lot of debt.

He has been hiding in Guangzhou for two years and can no longer hide. People have to face reality. The money that should be paid must still be paid back. The only people who can help him are Xia people.

In fact, the Xia people made very thoughtful arrangements for him.

Not only did they give him a large amount of silk and porcelain on credit, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs also came forward to help him establish new ways to make money, such as finding land for a joint venture to build a Rose Dew production workshop.

Rose dew is a very strong-smelling perfume. Special flowers from Baghdad, Damascus and other places are collected, soaked in water, set on fire to evaporate the juice, and then packed in glass bottles and sealed with paraffin for transportation.

It sounds very simple, but in fact the specific details of the process are quite complicated, and craftsmen who have not been immersed in this art for many years cannot get a full picture of it.

In addition, it also involves a set of advanced colored glaze distillation equipment - this is another reason why the Tang or Xia people had difficulty mastering it, as they could not make more transparent colored glaze vessels.

Rose dew was first introduced to the Tang Dynasty more than a hundred years ago. As soon as it entered, it immediately swept the entire market. From the royal family to the nobles, everyone rushed to buy it. As for ordinary people, they could not afford it because it was too expensive.

"Liu Zongyuan received the poem sent by Han Yu and first washed his hands with rose dew..."

"In the later Tang Dynasty, the Longhui Palace was decorated with a rockery, with agarwood as the mountain peak, rose water, and storax oil as the river pond..."

"(Later) In the fifth year of Zhou Xiande's reign, Kunming presented fifteen bottles of rose water. It was obtained from the Western Regions. It was used to sprinkle clothes, and the fragrance was immortalized..."

This kind of fragrance is thorough and rich, and it is completely different from the incense used in torment and burning that was originally popular in the Tang Dynasty. It is liquid and very convenient to use. It has always been sold as a weapon to gain gold - because Dashi is local.

The output is not large, so there is no obvious cost difference between sea transportation and land transportation. To this day, a lot of rose dew is still transported by camels and enters the Xia Kingdom through the Western Regions.

Suleiman also wanted to do this kind of business because he knew how profitable it was.

After the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked him to return to Dashi, he secretly searched for craftsmen, and then used various methods to get them to Xia State. They all opened workshops and made money together.

He was a little afraid of this. If he did something like this, the consequences would be completely unpredictable, and the Creator might not necessarily bless him.

But people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs also made it very clear that in the early years, Du Huan was in Dashi, where he met Fan Shu and Liu Si from Jingzhao, Lu Li from Hedong, and Le Huan were helping them improve textile technology. How did these people get there?

They may be prisoners of war, or they may be skilled craftsmen who were poached by large food merchants with huge sums of money. The Tang Dynasty didn't mind this kind of thing, but now you have a few craftsmen who make colored glaze, distillation equipment and perfume. What's wrong with them?

Sulieman knew this was sophistry, but he really had no choice but to be determined and fight to the end.
To be continued...