There was a big raid in Rome, and many foreign businessmen, especially those from the East, were imprisoned overnight. Their goods are seized and they will be sold as slaves or as gladiators. This turmoil quickly spread to the entire area of Daqin. Many merchants had never traded tea, or even silk and porcelain, and were arrested.
A few days later, a public destruction of tea was held in the most famous arena in Rome. Hundreds of large wooden boxes were piled up on the central square. It is said that they were all teas trafficked by Eastern merchants. In fact, Putimius knew in his heart that in this operation, the entire Daqin collected only a dozen boxes of tea, and he deliberately placed a few hundred boxes, just for bluffing, showing how much real gold the Eastern merchants made from Daqin through tea. silver.
In fact, Putimius himself likes to drink tea very much. The boxes on the square didn’t even contain a couple of tea leaves. They were just withered leaves. The real tea leaves have been bought by Putimius and his The cronies divided up. Of course, the soldiers who were in charge of searching the caravan's residence did not forget to fill their pockets.
The Arena is the favorite casino of the dignitaries and nobles of the Great Qin Empire. The round grandstand was filled with people early on. A line of Qin soldiers lined up to enter the arena, pour pine oil on the pile of wooden boxes, a fire ignited, and the audience burst into thunderous applause. In fact, most people are not very interested in burning the tea leaves except for a pity. They are waiting for the later gladiatorial performance. The bloody scene is their favorite.
Although gladiator performances are often seen, they are different today. This time it was not professionally trained gladiators, but foreign businessmen who were arrested. These foreign businessmen have not undergone combat training at all. Although they are also wearing armor and holding swords and axes, even laymen can tell at a glance that they are not real fighters.
However, Putimius gave the order, and only one of the hundreds of merchants present could survive. Thus, a bloody melee was staged. The merchants awkwardly waved the swords and axes in their hands, and the ground was covered with blood and screamed again and again. The VIPs in the stands saw this group of amateur gladiators smashing into the sky, and each one leaned forward with a smile, which was even more enjoyable than the most popular female gladiator a while ago.
When the news came out, Kangju, Dawan, Wusun and other countries all mourned. Because Liu Xin had issued a decree long ago, prohibiting the big Han's caravan from going west, there were no Han Chinese among the merchants caught by Putimius, mainly merchants from several countries around the Western Regions. However, the losses of the Han merchants were not small, because at least half of these goods belonged to them.
The Han merchants who had suffered huge losses did not dare to count the hardships against the court because they had already violated the rules of the court. On the other hand, they had already made a lot of money in the previous period. A little loss will not hurt them, so they will not ask the court for help.
However, although Liu Xin did not allow the Dahan's caravan to contact the Daqin Empire, he himself secretly sent a team to Daqin to listen to the news. This team was actually established based on the disbanded Phantom Secret Spy. It is mainly responsible for snooping out information outside of the Dahan country. In the Dahan country, they will not have any privileges, and it is no different from ordinary Dahan citizens.
With such a team, Putimius issued a tea ban, and the news of the raid on foreign caravans soon appeared on Liu Xin's desk. Liu Xin was very angry about this happening.
Although the prices of tea, silk, and porcelain sold from Dahan to Daqin are high, they are all fair trade. One is willing to buy and the other is willing to sell. The promulgation of Putimius’s tea ban did not cause much direct loss to Dahan, and after leaving Daqin, these products are also not worried about sales, but in the long run, it will still have a certain impact on Dahan’s reputation. .
Liu Xin immediately told the Cabinet and the Sixth Ministry of the news. After discussing with Jushou and others, they felt that in this incident, neither the Dahan merchants were arrested nor the Dahan caravan suffered direct losses, so it should be handled in a low-key manner.
After repeated consideration, Liu Xin also felt that the most important thing for the big man at the moment is to recuperate, and it is indeed inappropriate to erect more powerful enemies. At the same time, because of the loss of the Dahan caravan, he did not ask the court for help, so he could completely stay out of the matter.
However, Liu Xin increased his vigilance because of this. Although the distance between Daqin and Dahan is tens of thousands of miles, Putimius's behavior has deeply worried Liu Xin. Such a domineering person can really do anything. He had to prepare in advance.
It is undeniable that the changes that occurred in the Great Qin Empire still had a certain impact on Dahan. The most direct manifestation was the decrease in the inflow of gold and silver, but the impact on the entire Dahan economy was still minimal. After leaving Daqin, Dahan’s tea, silk, and porcelain are still popular products in neighboring countries, and there is no need to worry about sales. The Han Dynasty, which was suffering from wars and chaos, is gradually recovering, and the market in Chang'an is also prospering day by day, and there is a faint tendency to catch up with Xiangyang. Putimius’ small actions did not attract the attention of the Han courtiers. As the work of the Han court gradually became more formal, the courtiers who had some leisure time began to reinvest their energy on one thing, that is, Persuade Liu Xin to save Hitachi as early as possible.
In ancient imperial dynasties, the establishment of the prince was a top priority. Only when the prince was confirmed as soon as possible, the ministers would feel at ease in their hearts. But on the issue of who should be the prince, the courtiers were divided into two factions.
One faction is the ministers headed by Chen Gong and Cheng Yu. They proposed that the ancestors should adhere to the rule of establishing a protagonist and make Liu Bang the prince. The other faction is represented by generals such as Xu Huang and Zhang Fei, as well as Jushou and Tian Feng, who have followed Liu Xin for many years. They believe that after Liu Bang has been adopted by Juchaohou Liu Zhong, he should no longer consider himself the eldest son.
These two factions hold their own views and argue endlessly every time they go to court, which makes Liu Xin a headache. In fact, before that, he had discussed with Ma Yun a charter for establishing heirs, and that was to see who made the greatest contribution for the big man. However, because the ministers proposed that every edict of Liu Xin must be reviewed by the cabinet, the charter for establishing heirs they drafted was too controversial and was not passed, so it has been shelved.
It was three days and one dynasty that day. After Zhang Gou'er sang the cliché "If something happens early, retreat if nothing happens", Guo Jia stood up and said, "Your Majesty Qizuo, the minister thought it would be an early decision. Crown Prince!"