"Young Master, all the letters that should be sent have been delivered."
Gao Pangshi, who has returned to Guo University's scholar's residence, is sitting in the pavilion outside the study. He has several thick stacks of manuscripts and files in his hands, reading them one by one. Standing next to him is a twelve-year-old scholar. The three-year-old boy is Cao Ke, the son of Cao Gan.
Cao Ke had already become Gao Jingshi's book boy when Cao Gan took refuge with Gao Jingjing. However, because he was too young at the time, he never really worked as a book boy. It was only in the fifth year of Wanli that he took on the important position of book boy - It's really important, almost like a confidential secretary.
For example, Gao Pangshi wrote more than 20 letters overnight last night, and Cao Ke was responsible for sending people to deliver them to the corresponding people today.
"Yes, I understand." Gao Pangshi responded lightly, suddenly raised a file in his hand and asked Cao Ke: "Your father followed An Da to Qinghai last year? What was his previous report to me?" The minister did not mention this matter, he only said that he was inspecting the Qinghai trade route." Cao Gan and his son were both highly pragmatic servants, so he did not call him "your father".
Although Cao Ke's mother looks similar to Cao Gan, of course, it may be that the scar on Cao Gan's face and the missing ear caused his original appearance to be changed a lot. In short, Cao Ke looks like a rather handsome person. The handsome young lady and Gao Pingshi, a tall and handsome young master, make a very well-matched pair of master and servant.
The young lady, Cao Ke, listened to Gao Pragmatic's question and quickly explained: "My father thought that the eldest young master was busy preparing for the exam last year, so he made a brief report. It was definitely not intentional concealment. These files recorded my father's entire itinerary."
Gao pragmatic waved his hand and said: "It's too trivial. I don't have time to read it all now. Come and tell me what the main things happened."
"Yes, young master." Xiao Zhengtai said seriously: "Actually, my father did not go to Qinghai with me. Anda had already arrived in Qinghai the year before last, and exchanged titles with the Great Lama Suonan Gyatso (this title is a sensitive word) , I won’t write about it), and then Anda stayed in Qinghai. But last year, Anda’s subordinates, the Qing Dynasty, allied with the left-wing Mongolia to cause trouble on the border. The hard love and ambiguous attitude of the king of Shunyi who stayed behind, Indifferent to Qingba, Mr. Guo Ge was very angry after receiving the report from Wu Huanzhou Gong (Wu Dui), the governor of Xuanda, and asked my father to go to Qinghai to invite me to return to Guihua City."
"Did I agree?" Gao pragmatically asked.
"Some things happened in the middle, but I still agreed." Cao Ke said: "There is one more thing, I don't know whether to say it or not."
"Say it."
"I heard that I surrendered to the Yellow Sect, and after I returned to naturalization, I began to vigorously promote the Yellow Sect. Although it has only been half a year, according to my father, the life of shamanism in right-wing Mongolia is very difficult now, and my father is still a little worried."
Gao pragmatic laughed and said: "Tell your father that Tumut's belief in the Yellow Sect is a good thing, so that he doesn't have to worry. Not only does he not have to worry, but he should also vigorously cooperate with King Shunyi to completely eliminate the influence of shamanism and let the Yellow Sect It blooms everywhere on the grassland."
Although Cao Ke was a little confused, he immediately nodded in agreement.
Gao pragmatic thought for a while and then asked: "How did my good friend behave in the Qingbadu incident?"
"Bahan Naji is still a good friend." Cao Ke said with a smile: "When Qingbadu first caused trouble, Bahannaji informed Duke Wu Huanzhou of the situation. Later, Qingbadu united with left-wing Mongolia. After getting up, he returned Han Naji to Duke Wu Huanzhou to convey the news to the imperial court, saying that he was willing to send troops to fight Qingbadu and asked for the imperial court's approval."
"Oh? There is such a thing?" Gao Pingshi thought for a moment, then laughed again: "This good friend of mine has learned a lot. With the strength of his direct tribe, he should have no problem defeating Qingbang. , but coupled with left-wing Mongolia - if not the entire left-wing Mongolia, he can't win."
Cao Ke asked curiously: "Then why does he call it a wise man to ask for a fight?"
"Because the court will not approve it." Gao pragmatic sighed: "Our court just likes to think about others. There will be many people in the court who feel that Han Naji should not be involved in the matter of Qingbadu. , especially when Han Naji is likely to be unable to defeat the opponent - Han Naji is the leader of the pro-Ming faction among the right-wing Mongolia. If his strength is greatly damaged, will there be other troubles in the right-wing Mongolia? , it’s hard to say. Haha, my good friend saw this and took the initiative to ask for a fight. In this way, he used Ming’s words to once again strengthen his position in the right-wing Mongolia, and at the same time I also sold it well to Daming."
"So that's the case, then he is much smarter than before." Cao Ke said with emotion.
Gao Pragmatic smiled: "People will always grow up, just like you."
Cao Ke smiled shyly and said: "Oh, by the way, young master, my father said that the trade routes in Qinghai have also been opened, but there seems to be nothing good in Qinghai. Apart from some cattle, sheep and horses, there are only cordyceps and green salt. But. The people in Shaanxi are eating Lu salt provided by the Ma family, and Sichuan has its own well salt, so we can only do business in cattle, sheep and horses, and then there is the business of medicinal materials such as Cordyceps, and my father feels that there is no need to invest too much."
Gao pragmatic thought for a while and said: "Let him figure it out by himself, but in addition to what you said, the fur business should also be possible."
In fact, Qinghai is quite rich in resources, but these days Qinghai has been taken care of by Anda, and the traffic conditions are bad. Gao Pragmatic has neither the interest nor the ability to engage in the development of the western region, so he has to let nature take its course and do something. Just do some business.
After Cao Ke agreed, Gao Jingshi continued to read the file. After a while, he asked again: "Have the trade routes in the Western Regions been opened? Can the kind of horse I want be bought now?"
Cao Ke said: "My father said that the trade routes in the Western Regions are sometimes open and sometimes not, and cannot be regarded as a complete and usable trade route. However, we did get some horses, but not in large numbers, and even fewer stallions were selected from them. But At present, we have managed to build a horse farm and are trying to breed improved horse breeds. However, my father said that he asked many horse breeders about this matter, and they all said that it is difficult to breed stable new horse breeds. Things may not be accomplished in ten years.”
Gao Pragmatic waved his hand: "If it doesn't work in ten years, then fifteen years. If it doesn't work in fifteen years, then twenty years. I can afford to wait and let your father treat this matter as a big deal - tell him, this matter
If the matter can be accomplished, I would be happier than earning an extra million taels of silver."
Cao Ke was really shocked when he heard this, but Gao Pragmatic was really not kidding. One of the important reasons why he wanted to open up the trade routes in the Western Regions was to get good horses, whether they were Kazakh horses, Ahal Tekin horses, or Akhal Tak horses.
Whether it be horses, Arabian horses or other excellent horse breeds, he will accept them all and is willing to spend time slowly cultivating and breeding them.
In fact, his requirements are not particularly high. He would be very satisfied if he could produce a horse breed that is as stable as the Ili horse of later generations and performs well in all aspects.
The two continued to talk for a long time about many things that Gao Yingshi didn't understand in detail after he left Beijing. It wasn't until the concierge came over again and sent more than 20 replies. After Gao Jingshi read the replies, he said:
He waved his hand and asked Cao Ke to take away all the files.
Holding a stack of replies in his hand, Gao Jingshi murmured: "Your Majesty, I'm going to borrow your Thunder King tomorrow. I'm sure you won't mind... Well, of course not, you took the initiative to let me use it."