"I came out this time mainly to look at economic issues. There's not much to say now. The economy shows no signs of recovery. When you go back, you have to put in some effort to get goods and money flowing. Only when the economy improves will the people's mentality change. They used to eat whole grain noodles, but now they have to eat these things. How could they sincerely follow us? If you let them eat white flour, then some people will agree with you. Maybe not many people at first, but they will gradually increase."
After hearing what Li Xiang said, Xiao Shougui took note of everything. He no longer cared about military affairs and would just be a civil affairs official in the future. Moreover, officials in both areas were equally important. Don't just look at those who opened up new territories. If you can't defend it, then what you conquered is not territory, but most likely trouble.
After a while, all kinds of delicious things were served. I have to say that these things are very delicious. The chef in the store should be quite capable. It’s just that he is a little slow. Looking at the boss, he seems to be able to hold on.
"Has it been like this since the war started?"
Since there were no other customers in the restaurant, Li Xiang could only invite the boss over to have a drink together. Of course, when you invite someone to dinner, you have to pay for the meal first. Otherwise, some bosses are narrow-minded and think that since they have eaten the guests' food and drinks, they have to serve some dishes or waive part of the meal fee.
Li Xiang's own hotels are all over the Tang Dynasty, so he understands this idea very well. If he were a wealthy man, he would just announce that the meal is his and would not ask others to pay. But it is obvious that the boss in front of him does not have that ability, so Li Xiang asked someone to pay for the meal first, which also won the boss's favor.
"It wasn't going well before the war. Back then, the Arabs were oppressing us here, and no one had much money. In fact, for a while I was thinking about closing the restaurant. The annual taxes were just too high, and it was overwhelming. But my personal ability was limited. If I didn't open the restaurant, my whole family would have nothing to eat. Now I can only barely make ends meet."
When talking about Arabs, the boss's face did not look good. They belong to the Slavs, so they have no good feelings towards Arabs. They can be regarded as invaders. The current Tang army will not cause trouble for you at will. Of course, those aristocratic families may not be the same.
"The economy will slowly get better. I heard that His Highness from the Tang Dynasty has already issued an order to invite merchants from the mainland to come here. Once the two places start exchanging goods, I'm sure more people will come to eat at your place."
Li Xiang deliberately led his boss into conversation to see if he could get some information that he didn't know. Although Li Xiang also had spies in various places, they were people from official departments after all. They knew what to report and what not to report. These people had their own obsessions in their hearts, so it was better for him to go out and find information in person.
"Is what you said true? In my opinion, the Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire are the same. They just treat our place as a source of money. Apart from the 400 million yuan they take every year, do they care about our lives? Although our economy is developing well, they will receive more taxes, but look at what the Tang Dynasty has done. Didn't they start killing people again yesterday? They killed all our former officials. Isn't it all for money? I heard that when they were fighting with the Arabs, they didn't get any money along the way, which means they didn't have enough funds. After killing all these officials, I'm afraid it will be our turn."
This boss was a bit of a scoundrel. According to their thinking, the officials and big businessmen of the Ali Dynasty were the first batch, and the middle-level businessmen were the second batch. When these people were of no use, they would probably start to act against the small businessmen. After all, they were not ordinary people and they still had some money. They might not be able to catch up with the officials and nobles, but there were more people in their class, and if they searched them to the end, they would not lose much money.
"How could you have such an idea? The Tang army has occupied this place for quite some time. Have they ever harassed you?"
Xiao Shougui said speechlessly that for ordinary people from all over the country, unless they committed some assassination attempts on the Tang army or did some other unpleasant things, they would never be attacked. This was also an iron rule within the Tang army.
Li Xiang and other generals of the Tang army are not fools. They try not to conflict with the local people in the occupied area. If there are too many conflicts, it will not be a good thing for us. After all, we are thinking of occupying this place for a long time. If there are still security incidents after three years of occupation, our casualties will definitely be over a thousand.
A thousand casualties is not a big deal for the entire Tang Dynasty, but if there are a thousand casualties in your territory, then the number will be as high as tens of thousands every year. Once this news spreads back to the country, I am afraid that not many people will support Li Xiang's foreign war.
"Isn't it because we have someone above us? Once all those richer than us are killed, it will probably be our turn. What do you two do? Why are you speaking to the Tang court?"
The boss was also a little alert at this time. Although these people were wearing the clothes of ordinary people in the Western Regions, it could be seen from the faces of the two people that these people should be wearing makeup. So when the boss thought of this, he immediately stood up from the ground and kowtowed to Li Xiang and Xiao Shougui.
"Please forgive me. I'm just a small restaurant owner. I really didn't expect things to turn out this way. Everything I just said is nonsense. If you're not satisfied, have your men whip me, but don't kill me. I promise to contribute all my assets."
This guy said very fearfully. In his eyes, his life was already gone. The Tang army was decisive in killing people. If you do your job well, nothing will happen to you. But if you are not satisfied with the Tang army, I am afraid someone will cause trouble for you.
