Zhao Ning took a quick look and saw that there were nearly a hundred sheep. Each sheep in Gyeonggi Road was sold for 90 guan. People with a wealthy family could not afford it, unless they were rich.

These hundred sheep could be sold to Tokyo for more than 9,000 guan.

A large ship traveling through the Grand Canal is sold for one thousand guan, and 10,000 guan is the threshold for becoming rich. As long as your wealth exceeds 10,000 guan, you will be a rich man.

Think about it, a rich second generation in the 21st century said that he has a private yacht, which is a level higher than having a sports car.

Think again, a certain 21st century boss said he has 10 ocean-going transport ships for international trade.

The currency in circulation in a county city is about 5,000 guan.

Now let’s take a look at the level of this nine thousand guan transaction.

This is just the sale of sheep, this caravan also has various other goods.

People who do this kind of business are either rich or noble.

The skinny man was actually very nervous, and his whole body was soaked with sweat, not just because of the hot weather, but because he was worried that Zhao Ning and his gang would intercept their goods.

Zhao Ning just said that he would pay for it, it was just a test.

When he learned that it had been booked, he roughly knew that this was an industrial chain.

There are specialized people who buy sheep in the north and then hire powerful people to escort them south.

Who ordered these sheep?

It might have been sold to wealthy people in various prefectures in Hebei, or it might have been sold south to Tokyo.

Not far from here is a branch of the Yellow River on Hebei West Road. Many goods on Hebei West Road go to the ferry there to get on board.

Zhao Ning smiled and said, "It's nothing. I'm just curious, so I asked casually."

Zhao Ning did not continue to force them.

It is even more impossible to cut off their goods.

Just think about it, if the emperor blocked the road and robbed the merchants, if word spread about it, would he still need the popularity he had finally built up?

It's hard to build a good reputation, but it's easy to destroy it.

Besides, these are all the people of the Song Dynasty. Many of them are just transporters. They live in the open air, risk their lives for escorts, and only earn a little hard money to support their families. Behind them are families.

Adult life is never easy.

"excuse me!"

Seeing Zhao Ning leaving with the people, the skinny man breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone continued on their way.

Jing Chao said: "Official, these people have so many sheep, they may have been smuggled in the north."

"I know."

Jing Chao was a little surprised, and he continued: "Since the officials know it, why don't they stop it?"

"What if it wasn't smuggled in from the north?"

Jing Chao wanted to say something more, but was blocked by this sentence.

If it wasn't smuggling, but someone else's goods were robbed, and this matter spread, it would probably cause a sensation in the world.

The emperor paid a private visit incognito and intercepted the people's goods. What do ordinary people think of such an emperor?

Zhao Ji wouldn't dare to blatantly rob someone on the road, would he?

Zhao Ning added: "Even if it is smuggling, if it is intercepted, can the smuggling be stopped?"

Jing Chao said: "Officials know better, but I was confused."

Historically, the Song Dynasty also had strict penalties for smuggling. For example, the "Jiayou Compilation" stipulates that if a copper coin goes out of China, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Hedong will be punished by one hundred if it does not exceed one hundred.

One year as a literary apprentice, one level will be added for every one hundred literati, only three years, and he will eventually be assassinated and assigned to the military prison city of Yuanhe Prefecture. If he is more than one year, the leader will be executed, and the follower will be assassinated and assigned to the military prison city of Yuanhe Prefecture.

If the above is consistent, the leader will be punished with death, and all the accomplices will be sent to the border guard.

This shows that during the Song Dynasty, the outflow of copper coins was so serious that the Song court promulgated severe punishments.

However, despite this, there are still countless people doing smuggling business at the border.

Why?

Because it is difficult to check.

In ancient times, there were no product barcodes, nor a complete supply chain system. It was impossible to track the product. Even if the product is placed in front of you, how can you be sure that it was smuggled?

Are there words such as "Da Song" and "Da Liao" written on each sheep?

Or maybe a sheep that speaks Chinese is a Song sheep? A sheep that doesn’t speak Chinese is a barbarian sheep?

Therefore, the currency war lasted throughout the two Song Dynasties, and the Song court was unable to resolve it.

Later, copper coins in the Southern Song Dynasty were sucked away in large quantities, copper resources became increasingly scarce, and the currency could not keep up, so they had to issue a large number of banknotes. However, there was a lack of deep understanding of the issuance of banknotes, which led to a large-scale financial and economic collapse.

Zhao Ning looked back and said: "Send a few people to follow carefully. Don't alert the snake. Watch where they transport the sheep. If necessary, arrest the leader alone for interrogation."

"yes!"

Zhao Ning rushed to the distant village with his people.

Not far ahead, you can already see some farmers harvesting wheat in the fields.

The crop cycle in the north is longer than that in the south. Wheat in the north is sown in autumn and harvested in early summer.

It is already mid-May (lunar calendar) and it is already midsummer. A lot of wheat has been harvested in the fields, and there is not much left.

Beginning in late May, various places in the north began to collect summer taxes.

After entering the crop area, Zhao Ning asked the large team to stop and find an open space to rest.

He himself took about a hundred people with him, dismounted his horse, and walked forward.

Seeing those golden wheat, Zhao Ning felt a sense of security in his heart.

Food is the most important thing for the people. In this era of shortage of supplies, these can keep people alive!

He kept looking around, suddenly squatted down, picked a wheat branch, and observed the wheat carefully. Some wheats produced very few grains, and even if they did, they were very shriveled.

Obviously, there is a lack of fertilization.

People's livelihood is withering, and even the excrement may be greatly reduced.

Zhao Ning stood up and looked around with some worry.

There are also some fields that are empty, obviously for rest.

He suddenly thought of Chen Min (fu). If Chen Min's theory could be quickly implemented in Hebei, would it speed up the recovery of Hebei's agriculture?

Moreover, if large-scale town supervisors can be established in Hebei, the New Agricultural Policy can be implemented in villages, and strong mobilization power can be used to mobilize agricultural production and plan fertilizers, will food production be increased?

Zhao Ning frowned.

If you don't come out and see it with your own eyes, you really can't imagine how difficult it is in Hebei and Hedong right now.

Tensions are rising on the northern front again at any time, the internal struggles within the imperial court are fierce, and the lives of the common people are difficult!

Zhao Ning walked some distance further and saw someone in the field ahead.

Zhao Ning stopped and asked a young man in the field: "This little brother, I see your wheat harvest is good."

The young man quickly said: "The officials are joking, there are many wheats that have not yet set grains."

The young man was tanned, looked honest and fawning, and even a little afraid of Zhao Ning.

Zhao Ning asked: "Is it enough to eat?"

The young man looked at Zhao Ning for a few times and said, "It would be great if he doesn't starve to death."

Zhao Ning smiled and said: "Fortunately, the imperial court has exempted taxes for several years, so you should be able to have enough to eat, right?"

Zhao Ning remembers that he exempted Hebei and Hedong from agricultural taxes, poll taxes, and buying, purchasing, and boss money for ten years.

As soon as he asked this question, a girl suddenly ran over quickly and shouted to the young man in the field: "Brother! Wang Mazi is here!"

The young man quickly threw the sickle into his backpack, then put the basket on his back and prepared to run. The girl also rushed to the field and followed her brother and started running very fast.

At this time, a man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks had already ran over and rushed towards them.

Maybe the young man was too thin and he was carrying a basket of wheat, so he was quickly overtaken by the people behind him.
Chapter completed!