The name of Polo refers to the Sanskrit word "Prajna Paramita", which means reaching the other shore.
Boluo Fort is located on Huangyun Mountain on the south side of Wuding River. It is built according to the terrain and is an important location.
The wall is three feet and five feet high, exceeding the height of Mizhi County. There is also a small urn city built outside the south gate.
Inside the fort is built the residence of the Chinese Association’s General in Yansui Town, with nearly a thousand troops stationed there.
Boro Fort is not only an important thoroughfare in and out of Mongolia, but also has coal mines, alkali fields and other industries nearby. At the same time, local ceramics are exported to Mongolia, Ningxia, Yan'an and other places.
There are more than 20 temples inside and outside the fort alone, which shows its prosperity.
It was already half an hour later, and Li Zicheng and the other three took a short rest at Jieyin Temple by the Wuding River and began to go up the mountain.
After entering Boluo Fort, Li Zicheng and Li Zijia found a good restaurant to sit down, while Baijiuhe went to look for an acquaintance.
He quickly brought Hu Maozhen.1
Li Zicheng stood up and greeted, "Brother Hu, please sit down quickly. The sky is huge, and eating is the biggest."
Hu Maozhen clasped his fists and said politely, "Thank you, Brother Li, for spending the money."
Once you are polite on the lips, you are no longer polite on the bottom. There is no shame in licking the plate clean these days.
The four of them had enough to eat and drink, and talked about buying a horse.
Mongolian horses cost eight taels of silver for the best ones, seven taels for the medium ones, and six taels for the inferior ones. The border army changed hands and the best horses cost twenty taels.
Hu Maozhen wiped his mouth and said, "...As for the army and horses in the fort, Brother Li has to choose the ones, which are at least thirty taels."
Bai Jiuhe couldn't help complaining: "Brother Hu, my ninth brother is one of our own, you don't dare to fool me."
Hu Maozhen apologized and said, "Second brother, you are also a member of the army. How dare I raise a random price? If you are a foreigner, you may not be able to get it even if you give forty taels of silver..."
Not to mention the daily ration of fifteen kilograms of alfalfa and fodder for a top-class horse. At least five kilograms of millet, five kilograms of beans, and two eggs should be added to the daily ration, which is better than what people eat. The cost is high, and the price is naturally high.
What's more, it's a well-trained military horse.
Horses are timid and easily frightened.
Weeds on the roadside swaying in the wind, or debris blowing in, may cause stress reactions in horses.
Take cavalry archery as an example. The cavalry constantly changes angles and positions on horseback, and even the sound of the bow and arrow being released may startle the horse.
Not to mention hearing the sound of gunfire.
What are the consequences of a situation like that when a war horse appears on the battlefield?
Therefore, a qualified war horse must not only have a strong physique, but also need to overcome its natural weakness of timidity. It must turn a blind eye to many external interference factors.
Moreover, when cavalry fights, they also need to trot, trot, run, strike, etc.; they may have to hold the weapon tightly with both hands and cannot hold the rein, and can only control the horse through legs, waist movements, passwords, etc.
In the complex battlefield fighting environment, the war horse will continue to fight even if it is injured.
The male horse must be castrated, otherwise the enemy will seduce a few beautiful young mares and the game will be over.
For all of the above, ordinary horses simply cannot meet the requirements without hard training.
In short, the cost of training a qualified war horse is huge.
Baijiuhe was born in the border army, so he naturally understands this, but he still has to make a counteroffer.
"Brother Hu, although my ninth brother only bought two horses this time, he will definitely buy dozens or hundreds of horses in the future. There are many people doing this business, please give in."
“Let’s see, my three brothers will follow me to the racecourse to have a look, and we’ll discuss the price after we’ve made our choice.”
Hu Maozhen was helpless. He was just a pawn, and even if he didn't get a penny in benefit, the horse price wouldn't be able to drop much.
Several people set off to go down the mountain.
After crossing the ditch and climbing the mountain, everyone was covered in white hair and sweat.
During the break, Hu Maozhen pointed to the deep ditches on the road and said, "One day when I get rich, I will fill up all these ditches!"
Li Zicheng smiled and said: "Brother, you are very ambitious. One day, I plan to build ten bridges on the Wuding River first."
"Brother Li is still honest."
…
There is a Moqi pier in Zangliang Temple. Standing on the beacon tower, you can see dozens of miles around, and you can vaguely see Yulin City in the northeast.
There is a stream seven or eight miles long and wide at the bottom of the pier, which is a natural pasture and a good place for grazing horses.
Hu Maozhen contacted Shangguan and soon brought over a dozen military horses.
"Guests, look at this horse. It's fat with bones, but lean with meat. The horse is six years old..." Sun Xice, the horse shepherd, introduced it diligently. 2
Li Zicheng touched his pocket, and finally bought three winning horses with tears in his eyes, costing seventy taels of silver. They did not come with saddles, but they gave him a lamb as a gift...
At his peak, he had nearly 700 taels of cash, but now he only has 80 taels left.
The sun was setting and we couldn't make it back to Huaiyuan Fort today, so everyone went back to Boluo Fort to stay temporarily. We also went to buy three pairs of saddles to go with them.
Hu Maozhen worked tirelessly and insisted on inviting a few people to go to the rotten compound to find a wife.
Li Zicheng declined with an excuse and gave him a lamb and five taels of silver. He also borrowed three sets of bed rolls from him - the inn did not provide them.
There is no decent inn in Boluo Castle. There is a big bunk bed that can accommodate ten people on the kang.
Li Zicheng lived with Lao Xier in the same room.
Shen Bensheng was over fifty years old and a native of Hongdong. His ancestors were salt merchants. After the corruption of Kai Zhong Fa, he found other businesses. He was involved in grain stores, fur shops, banks, and printing bureaus.
But if a person wants to walk, his back will not stop him, and his heel will hit him when he farts.
In the middle of the year before last, Lin Dan Khan, who moved westward, used the autumn wind to sweep away the fallen leaves and defeated the Tumote tribe in Guihua City (Hohhot). Old Shen, who was doing business with Bu Shitu, went bankrupt.
At the beginning of last year, Jinong (Prince or Deputy Khan) of the Ordos tribe was deposed by Lin Dan Khan. Old Shen had another bad business.
Last autumn, more than fifty fur boats heading south from Mongolia capsized in the Yellow River. Old Man Shen wanted to cry but had no tears.
Last month, Ma Shouying, Badajingang, Shangtianhou and other peasant armies rushed into Shanxi, and Old Shen's base camp in Hongdong County was looted.
This is a complete break.
Large and small shareholders were unable to advance capital, and more than a dozen firms in various places had to be liquidated one after another.
Nowadays, businesses have unlimited liability. If the store fails to pay, it is another question whether the accounts receivable can be recovered. The debts owed by the company must also be compensated for the failure of the company.
Old Man Shen has just finished settling his accounts in Boluobao, and next he has to go to Yulin and the capital to settle his accounts.
In his words, the most important thing in doing business is honesty, otherwise who would believe you?
Being sincere doesn't mean not being evil.
For example, Old Han Shen's printing office does not require collateral for loans, but only relies on the borrower's creditworthiness.
Loans are generally repaid with interest on a daily or monthly basis. Some are repaid in the morning or in the evening, and some are repaid in ten or thirty days.
Every time it is returned, it is stamped with a seal, hence the name "usurin money".
Since this kind of loan does not require collateral, you only need to promise to pay it back when it is due, so it is also called "Ying Zi Qian".
Most of the loan recipients are candidate officials and businessmen.
Candidate officials often stayed in Beijing for several years, receiving gifts from time to time, socializing, and spending a lot of money. When they ran out of money, they had to borrow money from the printing bureau.
"When you meet someone to borrow money, you must first ask for a discount. For example, nine deductions are called one thousand, but they are actually nine hundred. There are even those who have twenty-eight deductions. In addition to the deduction, three points of monthly interest will be added."
Three points of profit is stipulated in the Ming Dynasty Law, "Anyone who lends money privately or pawns property shall not make more than three points of profit per month. Although there are many years and months, it is only one profit for each dollar. Violators will be punished." Businesses everywhere can abide by this.
If you borrow one hundred taels of silver and pay it back one month later, with principal and interest, you should pay back one hundred and thirty-six taels. If you repay it after one year, the principal and interest will be one hundred and thirty-six taels. No matter how long the time is, the arrears cannot be
The interest becomes interest accrued on the principal.
There are policies above and countermeasures below, and discounts emerge as the times require.
If your repayment ability is limited, for example, if you borrow 700 taels of silver, you will be charged an interest rate of 400 taels and 30% of the interest. That is, the loan deed is 700 taels, but you actually get 280 taels. At maturity, the principal will be 700 taels plus interest.
.Black or not?
In addition to imposing discounts and charging high interest rates, the printing bureau sometimes even follows loan officers on assignments to collect debts.
Therefore, someone wrote a poem and said: If you profit more than three points, you are afraid of breaking the rules. You write too many deeds cleverly. It is pitiful to exploit the land without a cone. What can you do if you swallow your anger?
This is a bank with a good appearance, a printing office, and other private moneylenders. It is common for 5 cents to be paid. There are even 1 cents to be added.
In addition, loan sharking with compound interest rates is not uncommon.
When a bank lends money, it depends on whether the other party has the ability to repay, not whoever wants a loan can. That's why private loans and loan sharking are rampant.
Loan sharking is difficult because it is not easy to collect debts. Several lenders and borrowers are killed almost every month. The higher the interest rate, the higher the lender's mortality rate.
In the words of Old Man Shen, "If you can't afford to pay back, sooner or later you will be forced to have your family ruined. It's better to just fight the debt collectors. If you kill one, you'll be enough, if you kill two, you still earn one."
That's too far.
Can business today make small profits but quick turnover?
That won't work.
For example, fur trafficking involves long distances, difficult transportation, and various natural and man-made disasters. A small profit can go bankrupt in an accident.
In addition, for large-scale trade at this time, let alone advance payment, it is not even possible to have cash and spot goods. It is normal to deliver goods first and pay later. The account period is long and may not be collected even if it is delayed for one or two years. Funds are seriously squeezed, and the proportion of bad and bad debts is high.
Another example is when the printing bureau lends money and there is no collateral. If you can get 60% of the loan back on time, how can you maintain a small profit?
The cost of doing business is too high.
Li Zicheng chatted with Old Man Shen for half the night, which helped him deepen his understanding of today's business.
"Old Shen, do you want to do pawnshop business?"
"Why can't it be done? Just ask a minister to start it. Little brother, are you interested?"
"I'm short of money and I need to sell some things."
"What is it? How many are there?"
"Gold and silver jewelry, pearls, agate, ginseng, deer antlers and the like...the quantity is uncertain, the value ranges from several hundred to several thousand taels of silver each time."
Old Man Shen's eyes lit up and he whispered, "The stolen goods are 30% off."
"Profiteer!"
"Hey, take the risk!"
"Su San left Hongdong County and came to the street... The more he thought about it, the more he felt resentful. There are no good people in Hongdong County..."
Six years ago, Feng Menglong published "Warning Words", but Su San has not been adapted into a drama.
Li Ziguo stopped piracy.
But Old Man Shen was not happy. After hearing this, his beard trembled with anger.
"You are a handsome young man, and you may be a good singer, but you are talking nonsense! Why are there no good people in Hongdong County?!" This chapter has been completed!