Sit down and listen to your brother tell those stories from the past

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To show off his wealth, Emperor Yang of Sui invited the leaders of various ethnic groups from the Western Regions to Luoyang to watch the performances. The leaders of various ethnic groups requested permission for merchants from the Western Regions to come to Luoyang to do business, and Emperor Yang of Sui agreed, ordering that Luoyang be decorated. The trees inside and outside the city were wrapped in silk, merchants had to wear splendid clothes, and even those who sold vegetables had to cover the ground with beautiful grass*. When merchants from the Western Regions passed by inns and restaurants, the owners would warmly invite them to sit down. After they had drunk their fill and left, no money was charged from them; in fact, it was said, “China is prosperous, so food and drink are free of charge.” ” Emperor Yang of Sui’s vanity and extravagance could not deceive guests from distant places; some raised questions: \"Your country also has poor people who do not have enough clothes to cover themselves. Why then don’t you use silk to make clothes for them, when it is instead used to wrap trees?\" ”