When it comes to the Silk Road, many people must first think of the story of Zhang Qian's coming out of the Western Han Dynasty. Zhang Qian set out from Chang 'an with various commodities from China and went to the Western Regions through Xiongnu, thus realizing the commodity trade activities between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions. Zhang Qian took out handicrafts such as silk, ceramics and tea from China, and introduced pomegranate, blood BMW and grapes from the western regions.

This is the first time in the history of China to trade with other countries in the Western Regions. Because of this, Zhang Qian was hailed as the first China man who opened his eyes to see the world, and some even called him the Columbus of the East. The concept of the Silk Road came into being, and the commodity trade between China and the West began to take shape.

The passage of the Silk Road is the basis of commodity trade, and the Tang Dynasty ensured the smooth flow.

If you want to have normal trade with the west, you must have a normal trade channel. In the Han Dynasty, the Silk Road fortress passed through the territory of the Huns.

It is precisely because the capital of the Western Han Dynasty is in Chang 'an, which is closer to the north, that Zhang Qian has access to this road. According to Zhang Qian's way, it is to borrow the Huns.

We know that Zhang Qian, Su Wu, etc. They were stumped by the Huns. To some extent, the attack on Xiongnu during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty actually promoted the development of the Silk Road.

Seeing that the Han people are rich, Ambassador Wu Sun's return to China is beneficial to the Han people. Later, for the rest of the year, all the people Qian sent to communicate with Daxia were foreigners, so Northwest China began to communicate with Han. But Zhang Qian hollowed it out, and later people in the past called it Bo Wanghou, thinking that it was superior to foreign countries, and foreign countries believed it. -Historical records

But if the road is always in each other's hands, it will always be bad for the development of the Silk Road. After all, the essence of commodity trade actually lies in the circulation of commodities, and the circulation of commodities depends on this passage of the Silk Road.

The Han dynasty controlled the western regions many times, but it was divided by the Huns many times because it did not completely solve the Xiongnu problem. At that time, the Huns regarded this road as their own way to get rich. As long as the caravan of the Han dynasty passes by, it is a good time for them to have a good meal.

Therefore, throughout the Han Dynasty, there was no unimpeded trade with western countries. In the Tang Dynasty, in order to completely solve this problem, the Tang Dynasty directly opened this passage from China to the Western Regions, firmly controlling Xinjiang and Central Asia.

On the one hand, it made the Tang Dynasty a huge empire; On the other hand, it promoted the development of the Silk Road. During the Tang Dynasty, the territory between the Tang Dynasty and neighboring Central Asian countries can be clearly described, which shows that the trade at that time was quite frequent.

The records of Jia Jian, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, give us a new understanding of the Silk Road.

Jia Jian is not as famous as he thought, but he painted the territory of the Tang Dynasty and Central Asian countries at that time. It can be seen that he not only has the talent to kill the government, but also has a strong geographical knowledge background.

However, what Jia Jian described in an article surprised us a little. For a long time, we thought that the so-called Silk Road was such a road opened by the Middle-earth Dynasty to sell silk and tea to the west.

On the first day, Yingzhou entered Andong Road, on the second day, Dengzhou entered North Korea and Bohai Road, on the third day, Zhou Xia left the Great Wall and connected with Datong Yunzhong Road, on the fourth day, the surrendered city entered Huihe Road, on the fifth day, Anxi entered Xiyu Road, on the sixth day, Antang Tianzhu Road, and on the seventh day, Guangzhou was connected with Haiyi Road. -"Four Emperors of Vantage"

In the description of Jia Jian's Four Emperors of Hua Di, we find that this road is not like that at all. Jia Jian's description clearly shows that these roads are the ways for other countries to pay tribute to the Middle-earth Tang Dynasty.

This is more interesting, because these countries all want to pay tribute to the middle-earth Datang, so they have opened up a series of channels to enter the Datang. The Middle-earth Dynasty was not worried about selling goods at all. On the contrary, it was difficult for them to pay tribute, so they were worried.

Of course, without the earlier opening of the Silk Road, the messengers of these countries could not have found the passage to Middle-earth so easily.

Overseas trade in the early Ming dynasty was not considered by the state treasury at all.

The opening of the Silk Road undoubtedly promoted the exchange of non-governmental trade. During the Tang Dynasty, although the official statement of the Silk Road was foreign tribute, it could not deny the trade between foreign businessmen and Chinese businessmen.

Especially in the Ming Dynasty, a large number of overseas businessmen transported goods from their own countries to the territory of the Ming Dynasty for sale. What was the attitude of the rulers of the Ming Dynasty at that time?

Tributes from overseas countries and places with private property are all tax-free. -"A Record of Ming Taizu"

For example, during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, North Korea paid tribute, which was a good thing. However, along with the envoys from North Korea, there were also businessmen from North Korea who carried a lot of goods and sold them in the Ming Dynasty.

Then some ministers expressed their dissatisfaction, and they applied to Zhu Yuanzhang in the hope of taxing the goods brought by these people. In the long run, the domestic commodity market will be infringed.

Do you think it is good for the state to suppress people at the end of business tax? Today, barbarians are eager to invade their interests and gain geometry, but they are generally humiliated. Taxation is not allowed. -Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming Dynasty

These ministers are prescient, but Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude makes everyone compare. He thought he was not far from Wan Li, so he brought some small commodities, and I didn't care about this tax.

If Zhu Yuanzhang with deep pockets is just an example, then the extravagance and waste of his son Judy is different. Because Zhu Yuanzhang made the beginning of tax exemption, North Korea, Japan and other western countries sent missions to the Ming Dynasty for trade many times.

At this time, the quantity is still relatively large. If there is no tax, it will be a big loss. However, Judy says it's not easy for people. Not far from Wan Li, they envy the prosperity of our great country and forbid taxation.

It can be seen that there was no habit of taxing goods entering China from overseas in the early Ming Dynasty. Because they don't care about money at all, they feel that they will lose face if they accept it.

Moreover, when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, most of his overseas trade was at a loss, basically the kind where the money he earned was not enough for his travel expenses. Even many goods are given to other countries as friendly gifts for free.

From this perspective, was the opening of the Silk Road initiated by China and Turkey? May have become a question. If trade doesn't make money, what is it for?

Trade is profitable for businessmen, but strategic layout for politicians.

Unfortunately, the trade we see is still a relatively narrow concept. In our impression, the reason why businessmen trade is of course to earn each other's money and sell their own goods.

For example, in the Tang Dynasty, a large amount of tea, ceramics and silk were sold to West Asia and Central Asia in exchange for real money. However, the first person to open the Silk Road was not a businessman. Zhang Qian is the envoy of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, not a businessman.

Accurately speaking, Zhang Qian is a politician, so why did he go to so much trouble to open up this overland Silk Road? I think later emperors gave the best answer with actions.

For rulers, the Silk Road is by no means a channel for them to make money. At least before the Ming Dynasty, the role of the Silk Road was mainly strategic.

The Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty kept the Tang Dynasty in the position of Tiankhan. Only after these roads are unblocked can the reputation of the Tang Dynasty become famous all over the world.

The Silk Road in Ming Dynasty was actually a road to spread fame. Zheng He's plan to go to the West made the Ming Dynasty appear in the eyes of the whole world.

The powerful fleet and rich commodities made foreigners truly feel the strength and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. Judy intended to create a prosperous situation in the Tang Dynasty, and he really did it.

The political ideal of Yuan, Mai, Han and Tang Dynasties was really realized during the Yongle Emperor. Zheng He's voyage to the Western Seas perfected the whole process of the Silk Road, and the combination of land and sea made the reputation of the Ming Dynasty spread all over the world.

Almost at that time, people all over the world were eagerly dreaming of visiting the prosperous Ming Dynasty one day. In the Ming Dynasty, the Silk Road was more than just a road of commodity trade. It is also the road of political and economic exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and overseas countries.

It is popular in modern countries to formally establish diplomatic relations between one country and another, but the process of establishing diplomatic relations needs such a channel to be realized. The Silk Road played such a role in the Ming, Tang and even Han Dynasties.

Looking back at Zhang Qian's distant back, we may find that his back is straight and upright. Because Zhang Qian embarked on a road to spread Chinese culture to the world, and embarked on a road that the Han Dynasty was eager to communicate with the world.

Looking closely at Zheng He's appearance on the ship, many people repeatedly criticized Zheng He's voyage to the West as a loss-making business. But what we didn't expect was that Zheng He's body carried Judy's desire to communicate and establish diplomatic relations with other countries in the world.

The Silk Road, with a long history, flowed for more than 2,000 years from the Western Han Dynasty, and now it runs away after more than 2,000 years. After that, the Silk Road will continue to grow wider and wider.