It’s the annual peak season for gold hunting at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In Changxia Trading Company, the goods shipped before the Yellow River froze were sold at such a fast speed that they had to urgently transport goods from two warehouses in Wudi and Penglai, transport them by horse-drawn carriage, and replenish their inventory.
As for the cost incurred, it is impossible to fully reflect it into the price of the goods, and you can only bear part of it yourself. Fortunately, the overall profit is sufficient, and this transportation cost is really nothing.
Zhao Zaiqing never goes to Changxia Commercial Bank to buy things. In his opinion, the goods provided here can be basically found if you search carefully in Nanshi. If it doesn't work, go to Xintan unloading place to have a look, maybe it is cheaper. The only way
The difference is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has a monopoly on many commodities in Liaodong and can supply them in large quantities and stably. But is mink skin really only produced in Liaodong? Obviously not, at least in Korea.
Therefore, when he saw Gao Lun leading some Mohetou people into Changxia Trading Company, he shook his head secretly, saying that the office was ridiculous. Sure enough, after a while, a group of people came out dejectedly.
Zhao Zaiqing secretly smiled, these poor guys.
After leaving Changxia Trading Company in a hurry, Zhao Zaiqing went back home first, took a shower and changed clothes before looking at the sun, then went out and went to Shangyang Palace. Perhaps he was in good luck and was sending people to present gifts to the palace.
After giving a batch of gifts to Concubine Zhao, the saint summoned him.
The meeting place was at Honzhiyuan of Shangyang Palace. After inspection, body search, and waiting, he finally walked in under the guidance of the guards. "Meet Your Majesty." Zhao Zaiqing saluted and paid homage.
"Sit down." Shao Shude said.
After Zhao Zaiqing sat down, he took a sneak peek.
Time is not forgiving. The saint is older than before, with a lot more white hair on his temples. His eyes are no longer as bright as before, as if he can directly see into the heart of a person's heart.
"I won't beat around the bush with you." Shao Shude said: "You have also made a lot of money in the past few years, and your strength is not what it used to be. I just want to ask, how many camels and horses do you have now, and how many vehicles do you have?"
"There are more than 4,000 camels and horses, and 700 carriages." Zhao Zaiqing replied. "The capital is not small." Shao Shude said with a smile.
In the early years when Zhao Cheng was still there, he specialized in commodity trading in the Western Regions and paid Zhao Yu dividends every year. Sometimes the dividends were less than 10,000 yuan, and sometimes they were 30,000 to 40,000 yuan.
After Shao Shude became emperor, Zhao Cheng no longer had to pay dividends. After all, after so many years of dividends, he contributed no less than 300,000 yuan, which was amazing, and provided a lot of help to his great cause of conquest.
After Zhao Cheng heard this, he did not dare to neglect and continued to pay dividends for three more years, contributing 80,000 yuan. He did not give up until Shao Shude repeatedly asked to stop.
"This is all your Majesty's kindness." Zhao Zaiqing said.
Shao Shude pondered for a moment and said, "If you want to transport grain from Lingzhou to Shazhou, do you have any idea?" Zhao Zaiqing was surprised when he heard this and said, "Your Majesty, the journey is long and one stone of grain may cost thousands."
"Of course I know it will cost a lot, so I'm just asking you if you can do it?" Shao Shude asked.
Zhao Zaiqing thought for a while and said: "Under a certain idea, warehouses can be set up in Lingzhou, Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Guazhou, and Shazhou to transport in sections. One group of people will only be responsible for one section, as much as possible.
Hiring local people who are familiar with the environment and roads can save costs to a minimum."
"Is this how you do your business in the Western Regions?" Shao Shude asked. "Exactly." Zhao Zaiqing replied.
Shao Shude stood up from the dragon chair with his hands behind his back. In fact, these businessmen should not be underestimated.
To put it bluntly, they are much more familiar with the situation along the way than the government. Where is it suitable to build a warehouse, where is the water source, which road is easy to walk, what is the local weather, which guides are good, etc.
Those who have been walking this road for many years, the government really can't compare with them. "I want to conquer the Western Regions." Shao Shude suddenly said.
Zhao Zaiqing lowered his head and listened quietly.
He was not surprised. As a famous businessman on the Silk Road, those who could reach his level were all well-informed people. Just last month, he got the news that Guzang County in Liangzhou had purchased 70,000 animals.
The sheep were sent to pastures to breed and be raised.
Most people may just ignore the news when they hear it, but Zhao Zaiqing keenly smells a hint of it.
Unusual meaning: The imperial court's pasture in Hexi raised very few sheep, most of which were horses, followed by camels.
What's the point of raising sheep for a government-run shepherd? It doesn't make sense.
Well, it’s not that I don’t know how to raise sheep, but they are usually pastures close to the capital, and a batch of them are sent there when the palace gives banquets. For example, the Shayuan Prison in Tongzhou, where livestock sent from various places during the former Tang Dynasty was fostered.
There, Chang'an can take whatever you need.
But the pastures in Liangzhou and Ganzhou will never be like this.
Zhao Zaiqing thought about it and found only one possibility: the imperial court was going to send troops to the Western Regions, and a large number of warriors would arrive in a certain period of time in the future, so he purchased sheep in advance and changed the livestock structure of the pasture. By the time the army arrived, 70,000 sheep had already been
They were fattened and even produced a large number of new sheep, which were used as military supplies.
Another thing that surprised him was that people all over the country were inspecting the inventory of grain depots and weapons depots, and even renovating and expanding warehouses. There was a lot of movement.
With such a comparison of the two, Zhao Zaiqing had actually made a guess, but he was not sure until today when he got the confirmation from the saint himself.
"The expedition to the west can certainly rely on the Tibetan tribe to supply cattle and sheep, but it is not enough and we have to transport part of the millet and wheat ourselves." Shao Shude added: "The bulk of it will naturally be transported by the imperial court, but it needs to be supplemented. Are you interested?"
In Shao Shude's impression, the logistics system of the Qing Dynasty's Western Expedition actually coexisted in a variety of ways: first, finding places conducive to colonization at key nodes, planting food in advance, and harvesting on the spot; second, in areas with abundant water and grass,
A small number of troops were stationed locally to herd livestock; third, the Mongolian tribes provided cattle and sheep, which was unconditional, and the Western Expedition troops even robbed the Mongolian tribes to obtain supplies; fourth, the government organized huge transportation teams to transport grain and grass supplies over long distances;
Fifth, private caravans transport grain and supplies and official purchases.
A variety of methods coexisted, ultimately effectively guaranteeing frontline military supplies and logistics.
Of course, the logistics demand in the cold weapon era is much smaller than that in the gun and artillery era, and it is easier to supply. But no matter what, the idea of coexistence of multiple methods is not bad, and the fault tolerance is greater.
After hearing this, Zhao Zaiqing felt a little bitter in his mouth, but he did not dare to refuse and could only respond: "I will obey your Majesty's order."
Despite his great wealth and fame, it is not an exaggeration to say that he would lose his entire family once he got involved in transporting grain and grass for the imperial court. His personal wealth was nothing compared to the consumption of more than 100,000 troops.
"I won't let you work in vain." Shao Shude said: "I have also found Kang, Zhuge, Tuoba and others. You and others can each collect a thousand camels and five hundred carriages to transport them in sections. As for the money required,
What’s the payment—”
Shao Shude walked around the hall for half a circle and said: "After I conquer the Western Regions, you will be the exclusive dealer in Khotan jade balls, Anxi cloth, turmeric, red salt, cinnamon sand, Dapeng sand, yak horns and other commodities. How about you?"
?The franchise period can be ten years or twenty years. This can be discussed."
The profits of Yutuan are very high, everyone knows this.
Guanbu is cotton cloth, a specialty of Anxi. The top brocade from the Central Plains costs a thousand yuan a piece, but the current price of Guanbu is more than 2,000 yuan, and it is still the wholesale price in Dunhuang. When sold to the mainland, the price has to rise.
.
Turmeric can be used as medicine or as a yellow dye, which is valuable. Turmeric and Dapeng sand are not only medicinal materials, but also gold and silver fluxes.
Yak horn is an important material for making high-quality crossbows. It is consumed in large quantities and the price is not cheap. "Your Majesty has orders, and I will respect them all." Zhao Zaiqing said with a happy face.
Of course, he was pretending.
Once the products such as jade balls and silk cloth are monopolized, huge profits will be made. Even if the monopoly period is only ten years, it will almost be enough to recover the capital.
But that’s not how things work out. The risks are actually very high. The most important thing is that the war lasts for who knows how long. Can he hold on until he gets the franchise and starts to make money back?
If the fight lasts for a few years, Zhao Zaiqing is 100% sure that he will not be able to survive even if he sells his property. But he has no room to refuse.
The profits in this matter were huge, and the risks were also huge, and the imperial court's military supplies could not be entirely pinned on them. The sage made it very clear that they were supplementary and only accounted for part of the grain supply. Therefore, he could not rely on military success or failure.
Use your hands to bargain, risk is something you can only do by yourself
Digested.
If you survive, the future will suddenly become clearer. If you cannot survive, you will go back to more than 20 years ago overnight. "I remember that you have two sons studying at Qinzhou Confucian Classics?" Shao Shude sat back on the throne and asked. "Yes.
"
"Let's do this." Shao Shude said: "I just received news that Chen and Yongzhou in Hunan have been restored, but there are many deficiencies. My son is quite talented in reading. One of them is the Yi Zhang Order and the other is the Lingling Order. He will take office next year.
.”
Only then did Zhao Zaiqing feel relieved and said sincerely: "Thank you, Your Majesty for your kindness." Although there was still a war in Hunan, the sage said that if he takes office next year, there would be no problem.
Ma Yin originally only had seven states, but now Wang Shi has taken over Dao, Lian, Chen, Yong, and Changsha. It is estimated that they are also besieged, and they should be at the end of their rope. I think of what Gao Lun said about Ma Yin before.
Having sent envoys to negotiate for surrender, Zhao Zaiqing felt even more relieved.
The third and fourth sons who study Confucian classics will not be able to inherit the family business in the future. It must be excellent to have a career as an official. Although it is unlikely that they will be promoted, they can at least spread their wings.
Keep two pieces of incense for the Zhao family. Even if he fails and loses his entire family, or at least dies, can the creditor chase him to Hunan? Most saints will not allow this to happen.
In this case, there is nothing more to say, just give it a try!
After talking about this, Shao Shude was in a good mood. He asked the lieutenant general to take Zhao Zaiqing to Lichun Palace so that Concubine Zhao could meet her relatives. He returned to the Imperial Case and looked at the map.
Today is the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and three layers of trenches have been dug outside the city of Changsha, completely besieging it. The armies of Tielin, Hengye, and Guangjie are attacking day and night, regardless of casualties.
Ma Yin did indeed leave the city with his envoys and put forward the terms of surrender: Please be granted the title of Duke of Xiang. When Shao Shude first saw this, he thought that Ma Yin had gone crazy.
Recalling that when he was first conferred, he was dissatisfied with not getting the title of king and refused to be a minister of the Xia Dynasty. It can be said that his desire is hard to satisfy.
In fact, if he had been more honest and accepted the canonization at the beginning, and then surrendered the two towns of Hunan and Guangxi, the Duke of the country would not have considered it, but the Duke of the county would have definitely decided.
But he committed suicide, and no one can blame him.
Thinking of this, Shao Shude summoned the palace official Jie Shi and ordered: "Draft a decree to confer Ma Yin as the uncle of Huating County. If he is willing to accept it, we will order tens of thousands of soldiers from Tan, Heng, and Shaozhou to put down their weapons and accept the imperial examination.
, reorganized. If you don’t want to, Wang Rong and Lu Yanwei are not far away.”