After an exotic dance, Li Deming slowly brought the topic to political affairs.
"Sir, regarding the market, I wonder what your Majesty's will is?"
Although he had drunk some wine, Lu Yijian's head was still very clear. When Li Deming mentioned business, the drunkenness in his mind immediately dissipated.
"Your Majesty is very satisfied with King Xia's sincerity."
"However, before leaving, His Majesty also asked me to convey a few words to King Xia."
Hearing the word 'however', Li Deming's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had a bad premonition.
As we all know, if there are words with "but" and "however" in them, you don't need to listen to the first words, and the words after "however" are the key.
'The Emperor of the Song Dynasty has a big appetite.'
However, even though he was dissatisfied, Li Deming was still respectful on the surface.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
Lu Yijian said calmly: "The first point is that in the future, all goods flowing into the Song Dynasty from Xiazhou must pass through the quarry.
Smuggling is strictly prohibited!
After the opening of Qiancha, our court will set up a special anti-smuggling team. Once it is discovered that items in Xiazhou have been smuggled into the Song Dynasty, the King of Xia will bear all the consequences!"
"impossible!"
Upon hearing such an unequal treaty, Li Deming subconsciously rejected it.
Immediately afterwards, he noticed Lu Yijian's displeasure, so he quickly explained.
"The envoy must also know the situation in Xiazhou."
"There are many tribes in Xiazhou. Although Xiao Wang can ensure that the Li family will not participate in smuggling, there is nothing that Xiao Wang... Xiao Wang can do about other tribes."
In fact, what Li Deming said was not entirely an excuse.
Xiazhou Li family is a political power composed of nomadic people. There are many ethnic groups in the territory, and nomadic people have the tradition of living in groups.
Within the Tibetan tribe, which is bound by blood relations, Li Deming's words are not easy to apply. People only recognize the tribal leader and not Li Deming.
Even during the Li Yuanhao period, when Xixia was founded, this phenomenon had not completely changed.
In short, the grassroots organization of the Xiazhou party is not a township system, but a tribal system.
The shortcomings of the tribe are obvious. Li Deming's control over the grassroots is very weak. The orders he issues can only control the tribal leaders who have joined him.
As for the next step, it depends on whether the tribal leader cooperates.
Lu Yijian chuckled: "King Xia, please be patient. Since your Majesty has put forward these conditions, he will naturally provide corresponding solutions."
"If King Xia feels embarrassed, he can pass this rule to all tribes."
"If a member of the Wei Mu clan has made a mistake, and our court pursues King Xia, King Xia can also continue to pursue the Wei Mu clan."
"With so many layers of responsibility, it's not difficult to trace the source."
"King Xia, what do you think?"
After saying this, Lu Yijian looked at Li Deming with a smile.
As soon as these words came out, Li Deming's face suddenly turned green and white, which was very ugly.
Can it look good?
This plan is too vicious!
Li Deming's back molars were almost broken. This plan was obviously to drive a wedge between him and his subordinate tribe.
According to the regulations of the trading market, all items must be traded on the market, but there are no trading markets everywhere.
Among tribes far away from the market, who is willing to travel thousands of miles to the market to trade?
Is there no charge for transportation?
Isn’t there any money for losses?
Secondly, we need to pay taxes on on-site trade. Although the taxes are relatively low, no matter how low it is, it is still money. For the hard-working Dangxiang people, every penny is hard-earned money.
In addition, many scarce goods and materials related to military and civilian livelihoods are strictly restricted from trade.
Even though the Dangxiang tribes in Xiazhou all surrendered to the Li clan, they were not monolithic and had conflicts with each other.
Good people can be bullied by others. If a tribe wants to grow stronger, it is necessary to improve its military force, and improving its military force cannot do without iron weapons and horse gear.
Many small and medium-sized tribes do not have the ability to smelt. If they want iron tools and horse gear, they must either rob them or buy them at high prices.
However, materials such as ironware and horse gear are restricted goods that are strictly prohibited from flowing in.
In order to expand the military power, they had to buy them at high prices through smuggling.
Half a moment.
Li Deming gritted his teeth and said: "This regulation is too unreasonable, I forgive Xiao Wang for not agreeing to it!"
On this occasion, Li Deming took a huge risk by saying this.
What if envoy Song is angered and the negotiations break down?
As the Song Dynasty severely cracked down on smuggling, the lives of various ministries in Xiazhou became increasingly difficult.
Farmers will rebel if they don't have enough to eat, and the same goes for nomads.
Now, the leaders of various ministries in Xiazhou have begun to doubt Li Deming's ability. Although they have not yet reached the point of rebellion, if the situation continues to deteriorate.
Who knows if someone else will start a new one?
During the reign of Emperor Taizong, wasn't there civil strife within Xiazhou Dangxiang?
Li Jipeng accepted the canonization of the Song Dynasty, but Li Deming's father Li Jiqian was unwilling to surrender to the Song Dynasty and chose to rebel.
We must learn from the past and take precautions.
On the one hand, he had to compromise with the Song Dynasty, and on the other hand, he had to be wary of his subordinate tribes. During this period, Li Deming was physically and mentally exhausted.
"hehe."
Seeing Li Deming's flat refusal, Lu Yijian was not only not angry, but smiled indifferently.
"King Xia, I have already told you to be patient and don't be impatient."
"You didn't even listen to the specific details, so you just refused?"
"By doing this, can I think that King Xia intends to tear up the previous treaty, or is preparing to renege on it?"
Hearing these words that were half a joke and half a threat, Li Deming calmed down instantly and immediately lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"Xiao Wang, I don't dare!"
"Please give me your envoy's instructions."
Lu Yijian smiled lightly: "Since I have made a request, there will naturally be corresponding conditions."
"According to His Majesty's wishes, our country will open five forays in the border areas. The specific locations can be discussed in advance by both parties."
“Secondly, the tax rate for materials that are in short supply in our country, such as cattle, sheep, and horses, is only fifty to one tax, while other materials generally follow the principle of thirty tax to one.
Of course, specific details are also part of this negotiation.
Thirdly, if there is a serious famine in Xiazhou, after verification, in the spirit of... and in the spirit of benevolence, our court will appropriately relax the grain sales ban.
Finally, civilian iron items such as scissors and pots will also be removed from the banned list. However, the purchase of these civilian iron items is not only limited, but also requires registration."
On the other side, when Li Deming heard these conditions, his mouth gradually opened.
This...this...
This is simply unbelievable!
The Song Dynasty actually relaxed the ban on the sale of grain and ironware?
Although there are restrictions, once this hole is opened, there will be more room for maneuver.
Civilian iron tools are always made of iron. After buying them, they can be re-melted and used to make weapons!