Chapter 54
Just like the excitement of the palace, Rongguang Villa has been very busy these days.
When summer comes, the expanded pepper fields and the sweet potato seedlings ready for cutting need to be handled by manpower.
It was also at this time that the Zhang family brought people from the Ale tribe and sent the second batch of wool this year.
Because the wool stock of the surrounding tribes has been almost collected by her, she has to spend more time walking deep into the grasslands to find those more wealthy tribes to trade.
But the good news is that since they took the business road of Changling, they no longer need the protection of Bataan. Now, every time they run down, the profit is more than before. Although the people of the Ale people are working hard, the better and better life also inspires them to be more motivated.
After counting this batch of wool, Beisi wrote down a number on the account.
He raised his head and asked Mrs. Zhang, “This time it’s the same. Shall I replace all of you with food and salt?”
Mrs. Zhang shook his head and asked, “Beijing Temple Steward, we have almost bought the food in the past few trips. This time I want to change some prepared wool sweaters, is that okay?”
Beisi thought about it for a while, nodded and said, “Okay. But most of those sweaters have already been reserved. I can only give you a part, and the number is not much.”
During this time, the villa has been rushing to make the clothes needed by the Fengping army, and the sweaters have not yet been sold to the outside world.
Zhang shi nodded gratefully: “No need, you can give me fifty sets, all of which are adult men’s specifications.”
Beiji nodded.
He turned his head and instructed the people below to do it. Soon, someone brought out a stack of finished clothes from the wool yard.
Beisi took another package and said to Mrs. Zhang, “Princess Princess once reminded me of your daughter. These blankets and small clothes are for her. You can take them yourself later.”
Zhang was a little moved.
She was embarrassed to accept it, but thinking of Cao Mi’s attitude towards their mother and daughter, she hesitated for a moment, but she accepted it directly: “I don’t have time to go to Cannes to see the princess, and I also asked the steward of the North Temple to help me and convey my message to the princess. gratitude.”
Beisi nodded: “Well, I see.”
There are many people in the villa, and after an hour, the full wool on Zhang’s motorcade has almost been emptied.
Mr. Zhang instructed his own people to load the food and clothes that were placed next to them.
At this time, Liu Ge suddenly came in from outside the yard.
Instead of saying hello to Beisi immediately, he observed the wool piled on the side.
Seeing this, Beisi quickly greeted him: “Liu Jiang.”
Liu Ge nodded with him and said with a smile: “It seems that I am not here at the right time, are you busy?”
“It’s almost too busy.” Beisi handed the ledger to the assistant behind him: “You’re old here, but what needs to be ordered?”
Liu Ge is now regarded as a big celebrity in front of Cao Mi. When Cao Mi has any new ideas for making money, he usually arranges him to do it.
Correspondingly, Cao Mi also gave an order to let her subordinates fully cooperate with Liu Ge’s request within a reasonable range. Of course, what is unreasonable is not a direct denial. You can ask her for instructions before talking about it.
As soon as Liu Ge appeared, Bei Si naturally did not dare to neglect.
Liu Ge was also polite, nodded and said, “You know, I’ve been busy with the paper mill recently.
“I heard from the people below that new cashmere wool has come from the village, so I thought, I’ll ask you for some and see if I can use it.”
Beisi was a little surprised: “Can wool also be used to make paper?”
Liu Ge smiled awkwardly: “I don’t know either, just give it a try.”
It’s not difficult to make paper, what’s difficult is to make high-quality paper.
When Cao Mi was a student in his last life, he worked as a temporary worker in a children’s paradise with the help of a friend.
There, she needs to assist a specialized parenting teacher and accompany the children to do games or crafts.
“Paper making” was one of the most popular manual activities in the children’s world at that time. Simple raw materials can be processed into a finished piece of paper after certain steps.
The process is so simple that even five- or six-year-olds can complete it under the guidance of a teacher.
At that time, in order to answer the “100,000 whys” of the children in the work process, Cao Mi specialized in some knowledge of papermaking.
After Zhang Mao researched the ink, Cao Mi asked them to put the movable type printing technique aside first, and planned to open his own paper workshop first, so as to cooperate with the printing technique to produce more books.
However, although the papermaking method given by Cao Mi is useful, the paper produced is relatively rough and of poor quality.
Zhang Mao and others, who had just made paper and took the first step of the Long March, worked non-stop to study how to improve the quality of paper.
“It turns out to be like this.” Beisi asked understandingly: “Yes, how much do you need? I’ll have someone deliver it to you later.”
Liu Ge nodded happily: “Yes.”
He patted the sack next to him: “That’s it, you can go with three bags first. If you still need it, I’ll find you again.”
Beisi nodded in response.
Seeing that things were done, Liu Ge didn’t stay any longer, chatted with Beisi a few words, and left immediately.
On the other side, Zhang’s people loaded up the car and came to say goodbye to Beisi.
Beisi frowned: “Unlike before, stay in the village for one night before leaving?”
Zhang Shi shook his head.
She explained: “We are leaving now, and we can reach the county town at night. The wool has not been harvested very well recently, and this trip is already half a month later than the previously agreed time. This time I have to bring someone back soon. Yes.”
Kitaji nodded understandingly.
He didn’t stay any longer, only instructed: “In this case, you must be careful on the road.”
Zhang Shi nodded, and after saying goodbye to him, he left with his own people.
They left Rongguang Villa, passed Luoya, Qihui, Huaitong and other places all the way, walked for nearly 20 days, and finally came to Changling.
After crossing Changling, it is equivalent to returning to the outside of the Great Wall. After three or four days, it is the site where the Ale people are located.
Obviously they arrived at Changling, which is equivalent to “the door of the house”, but everyone in the Zhang family did not relax, but became more nervous than before.
A large number of soldiers of the Sheng Dynasty were stationed at Gayinchangling, and this was the only checkpoint on their way to transport wool.
Regardless of whether they were going out of the fortress or entering the Liaoning Province, no matter what the carriage was loaded with, the soldiers guarding Changling would always dutifully search their group from head to toe to ensure that they did not violate any prohibitions.
But on this day, Zhang Shi, who arrived at Changling, found that the situation seemed to be a little different – the number of troops in the city was doubled than usual.
Soon, she heard a somewhat familiar child’s voice.
After turning the corner, she found that a four-year-old child in ordinary clothes was negotiating with a general: “Here, it can’t be made into a round shape, but it has to be made into a square shape, do you understand?”
Mr. Zhang always felt that this voice was very familiar, and when he walked in, he realized that the speaker seemed to be Cao Mi’s second son!
She was surprised and surprised, her first reaction was that she didn’t believe that the noble second son of the royal palace would appear in this place in disgrace. On the other hand, because she saw the child’s appearance, she became more and more sure of her guess.
The soldiers in front of Qi An seemed to see him amused, and said, “Child, do you know what a square and a circle look like?”
Qi An puffed out his cheeks and replied calmly: “Of course I know that what you are repairing now is round, which is wrong.”
Several soldiers looked at each other and laughed.
One of them asked, “Hey, that’s smart. When my family was your age, he knew how to ask his mother for candy.”
He asked: “Where did you come from? Some people say that you are the son of the commander, but… how could the son of the commander be sent to brush horses at one time, and then be sent to give orders again, and they are not even recruits. What’s your job?”
Qi An took a step back, avoiding the hand he was about to touch his face.
He held his head up and said coldly, “I’m not the son of an officer!”
He was silent for a moment, and then reminded again: “In short, while you are only repairing to the average now, hurry up and change it!”
After the soldiers finished laughing, they stopped teasing him, nodded and resumed their work.
After passing the order, Qi An breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, he also found the Zhang family next to him.
Qi An had met Zhang several times in the palace before, and had an impression of her. The two had a face-to-face meeting, and Qi An looked away uncomfortably.
Seeing this, Mr. Zhang was confused, but he also looked away wisely.
But before she could go far, she was stopped by another person.
The person who stopped their team was also a child. Mr. Zhang took a closer look and almost lost his temper on the spot——
That child is not tall, but has a very calm temperament. It is Qi Rui, the eldest son of the palace.
Qi Rui glanced at Mrs. Zhang, and cupped his hands, “Sir, please also ask your wife to come with me.”
Zhang Shi was stunned for a moment, while the people accompanying the **** around the convoy chatted and discussed worriedly.
Before Mrs Zhang could speak, her uncle Gusi stepped forward with a frown and asked, “Which adult? Why did you send a child to give orders?”
Qi Rui pursed her lips and didn’t answer.
Seeing this, Qi An next to him hurried over to support his brother.
In the past, the second son of the palace would definitely use his chin to give them a dismay, but at this time, Qi An calmly grabbed Qi Rui’s hand and replied, “Your Excellency is dead, where can you ask?”
Zhang Shi quickly stopped Gu Si, who was still trying to argue, stepped forward and said gently, “Well, I’ll go with you, please… and ask the two young masters to help me lead the way.”
Qi Rui nodded and led Qi An to Qi You’s tent.
During this time, the documents of the imperial court have been delivered. As Qi You had expected before, in order to fool Feng Ping’s military pay, the above neatly approved his request.
Now, he brought people from Fengping to Changling, and he was going to personally preside over the affairs of the trade pass here.
Zhang Shi followed Qi Rui and Qi An, and soon came to the main account.
The three of them entered together, and the two brothers saluted Qi You in a similar manner: “My lord, someone has been brought here.”
Qi You raised his eyebrows, and said with a slight hook at the corner of his mouth: “Well, let’s go down.”
“Yes!” Qi Rui and Qi An replied and left together.
“Miss Zhang?” Qi You confirmed.
Although he was the one who brought Zhang’s mother and daughter close to the palace at that time, in fact, he only met Zhang a few times, and other things were arranged by the people below.
Mrs. Zhang nodded, bowed and knelt down: “See the prince, see the two generals, the woman is Mrs. Zhang.”
Lei Li and Chen He were also in the account at this time.
Mr. Zhang didn’t know Chen He, but he still remembered Lei Li who arrested them years ago and almost sent them to the guillotine. Seeing that the two of them were sitting on the left and right sides of Qi You, they directly called them “General”.
Qi You nodded: “Get up.”
He waited for the Zhang family to stand still, and then explained: “I asked you to come here because there is something I want to cooperate with the Ale people.”
Zhang Shi was shocked, and then calmly said: “My lord, please say that as long as the women can do it, I will never refuse.”
She used the self-proclaimed “people’s woman”, and apparently had no plans for the Ale people.
Qi You heard her careful thoughts, but didn’t care, and continued: “I know that the wool in the area of Alena has been almost consumed before, and now you buy wool outside the Great Wall, you will go to Shegao and even Pingjin. The mountain area, isn’t it?”
Mr. Zhang nodded and said honestly, “Yes.”
Qi You nodded with satisfaction and said straight to the point: “This king wants to open a trading port in Changling, so that all friendly soldiers and people of Sheng Dynasty can trade here. In addition, as long as they pass the inspection, the licensed caravan can How do you feel about entering the designated cities in Liaozhou to trade?”
After hearing this, Zhang Shi raised his head in shock.
She confirmed: “In Changling? Open the market of Rong people and Sheng Chao people?”
“Yes.” Qi You nodded, “It is currently in the experimental stage. The market will be open on the first and fifteenth of every month. The first market will be opened on the fifteenth of June next month.”
Zhang shi lowered his head and quickly understood the key point in Qi You’s mouth.
She asked, “Does the lord want to let the women inform those Rong tribes?”
“That’s right.” Qi You was very satisfied with her agility: “As far as this king knows, the Rong people usually trade with the Han Chinese caravans entering the grasslands, or the Rong merchants controlled by the people from Bataan.
“These caravans send things to the door of their tribe, and they sell them very expensively. Often a bag of salt can be exchanged for two or three adult goats.”
Zhang Shi recalled what he had seen and heard in the Ale tribe, and affirmed: “Yes.”
“If they are willing to go to Changling to trade, they can compare all the caravans and come up with a more reasonable price.” Qi You began to talk about the new regulations in Changling, “Of course, they can also buy for their own hands. The cattle and sheep are sold for a fair value.
“The army will draw a certain percentage of the transaction tax. Correspondingly, the army will maintain law and order in the city to ensure that they will not be harmed in the city.
“Do you think that if this is the case, does anyone want to come to Changling?”
Just as Zhang Shi was about to nod his head, he suddenly thought of something and hesitated again.
She thought about it for a while, and directly stated her concerns: “If there is such a thing, the women think that those Rong people are willing to come.
“They have been exploited by caravans for a long time, and many people are somewhat hostile to the caravans that go deep into the grasslands, but they endure it silently because they have to rely on them to bring goods.
“If the prince can open a trading venue, it would be better.
“But the women are afraid…”
Qi You raised his eyebrows.
Lei Li couldn’t wait any longer, so he directly interjected: “If you have any concerns, just say it.”
Zhang Shi was taken aback by his loud voice, and after stabilizing his mind, he said directly: “The women have heard that the big military merchants like Danba do not agree with the internal tribes to go to the Sheng Dynasty for the sake of profit.”
She pointed to herself: “The Ale people and the surrounding small tribes don’t care because they are too poor, but if they are the middle tribes on the Pingjin Mountains, they may be hindered. In particular, they also cooperate with the Rong people. The nobles are implicated, and they are fully capable of mobilizing the cavalry of the Rong clan to stop the Rong people going to Liaozhou.
“So, even if those people are willing to come, they may not be able to come.”
After Lei Li heard this, he smiled.
Under Zhang’s surprised eyes, he waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry about this, the lord has already thought about it.
“We have reached a mutually beneficial agreement with Danba. From now on, people and caravans passing through Changling, or Danba, will be protected from both sides.”
He leaned over and told him, “As long as the people who come here are honest and don’t have any dirty thoughts, they will be fine.”
Zhang Shi came back to his senses, and nodded suddenly: “It seems that the prince and the two generals have already arranged properly, it is the ignorance of the women.
“That being the case, the women will do their best to inform the nearby tribes and persuade them to go to Changling to trade.”
Hearing this, Qi You nodded in satisfaction.
He said: “What I told you today, you can tell those Rong people.
“In addition, except for Danba and Changling, most of the other trade routes have been cut off. If you find other secret trade routes that are still being used, you can report to the army camp in Changling, and the army will be rewarded.
“That’s the way it is. After the event is completed, I will exempt 30% of the tax that you Ale people need to pay for trading in Changling.”
Zhang Shi couldn’t help but knelt down and thanked him: “Thank you, my lord, and the two generals. The women will definitely live up to their trust and bring the news.”
“Well.” Qi You retracted his gaze, “If there are no other questions, you can leave on your own.”
Mr. Zhang nodded, and after bowing, he left the tent.
The author has something to say: thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 10 bottles of Zhen Zhen; 5 bottles of LOL;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!