Chapter 155: Shocking the world

Zhao Xing bowed to several Shangguan Gong and quickly answered Sodi's question: "Mr. Steele, I think you have roughly understood the dispute just now. I can give you a discount to introduce you to the Hangzhou Pier to ship frosting. But next time you come to Song State, I hope you can ship back a batch of black slaves with higher quality, preferably female slaves. I will still pay with frosting - this will be a long-term trade contract, how about it?"

Sodi blinked and replied: "I vaguely heard that the frosting of Song State is controlled by the four giants of "Zhao Chengjiaopu". I also heard that someone has opened up a frosting trade to Europe. Are you one of them... Sorry, please forgive me for being reckless, I didn't ask this question.

Sir, there are more than a hundred Malay blacks on my boat. In addition to this group of blacks, I also have some ivory, mahogany, tortoiseshell, and pearls. If your promise counts, I am willing to give you all the goods on the boat. But I hope you can give me a certificate to carry frosting directly in Hangzhou Port. I hope this certificate is valid for a long time. If I can't come to Song again, I hope my agent can still pick up the goods in Hangzhou with this certificate - he will pay with the highest quality black slave."

There was no telephone in this era, and commercial information exchange was poor. Therefore, even though Sodi knew the opening of the frosting trade route, they did not know who was operating behind the scenes and where to buy enough goods; of course, even if they purchased enough goods, they did not know which port to ship to and who to sell them. Therefore, Zhao Xing's promise was equivalent to giving Sodi a new trade route for free - of course, it was a trade route for selling Zhao Xing's goods.

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and replied: "If you go back, I hope you will travel with Wang Yuanyu's fleet in Vietnam. I hope you can recommend some local merchants to him."

Sodi agreed happily, and Zhao Xing took the opportunity to turn to the officials present and answered Wang Zishao's question just now: "This vassal merchant said that the country stationed in Nanyang has risen again. This country was established in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty and was called "chola".

This is a Tamil Kingdom. During the Tang Dynasty, they conquered the entire Indian Ocean. Not long ago - about 20 years ago, this thousand-year empire conquered the Three Buddhas and made the Three Buddhas recognize their sect sovereignty.

Recently, the country stationed in Nian officially established an administrative agency in southern Tubo, and set up a checkpoint in the capital of Sanfoqi, "Paulang", which specifically targeted Song merchants and large-scale food ships in Malacca. This group of people was plundered, and Mr. Sodi said that in the future, there will be fewer and fewer ships from South China Sea, which will affect our Song Dynasty tax revenue."

"What? Didn't the Three Buddhas pay tribute to us? Why... they are actually some other vassal states? And... During the Renzong period, the monks stationed in Nian Kingdom came to us to preach scriptures. It seems that they are quite charitable people. How could they be as vicious as you said?" Fan E asked in surprise.

There are some tributes to the Great Song Dynasty, but "supremember" is the trick of officials when translating. He added "supremember" when translating, which is a necessity for tribute trade. In fact, in India and Malaysia, they recorded "trading with the Song Dynasty". The three supremembered by the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the State of Sarai and the

But this truth cannot be explained to Fan E.

Zhao Xing smiled bitterly and replied: "The Buddha also has the wrath of the Vajra and lion, let alone the Buddhists? When a person robs, he picks up the butcher knife. Afterwards, as long as he puts down the butcher knife, he will become a Buddha immediately! So, don't be deceived by their humility, their smile may be for your wallet."

Fan E just wanted to recommend Zhao Xing to the capital, but in fact he wanted to win over the Shu Party to support his Grand Canal Plan. However, Li Zhichun's statement made him know that Zhao Xing was not a person who was willing to be an official in Bian Jing City. Li Zhichun had a close relationship with Su Che, and what he said could basically represent the attitude of the Shu Party. Although Zhao Xing was unwilling to be an official in the capital, which made it difficult for Fan E to understand, Li Zhichun was the highest official present, so he was not convenient to get involved in this issue. So his attention turned to Sodi and hurriedly asked about the situation of the country stationed in Nian.

Zhao Xing handed over the translation work to Kasili, and took Wang Zishao himself to discuss the issue of Mizhou stone: "Sir, the craftsmen have already thought about a few stones in advance. There is a stone here that is of the best quality, do you see?"

Wang Zishao took a light green stone that Zhao Xing took out from his arms, with some black marks on it. He thought for a long time and saw a little meaning. It seemed to be a big river, with smoke and clouds gushing on the river, like a painting of ink and wash.

"What did you call it?"

"A river of spring water flows eastward... Sir, do this light green stone pattern look like a rushing river? Several vertical vertical patterns on the river are like willows on the shore, and then there are faint fine lines floating in the white mist. A rising sun on the river reflects the river water passing east..."

Li Zhichun came over and looked at the inkstone in Wang Zishao's hand, and echoed repeatedly: "It's not bad, it has a lot of fiction. The fish eyes on the inkstone are also very unique, just to wash the pen tip..."

Wang Zishao nodded, and Suo Wendao, who was standing behind him, also nodded frequently. Then, Wang Zhizhou sighed in pain and said, "It's a pity that there are few inscriptions on the inkstone. Let me do this. I will write the words back and find a craftsman to carve them on the inkstone!" After that, Wang Zishao stuffed the inkstone into his arms as if nothing had happened. This behavior made Suo Wendao spit out and let Zhao Xing breathe frequently.

"What else?" Wang Zishao stared at Zhao Xing's bulging arms and said intimately: "Li Ren, I'm eating so much food, is it comfortable to hold that pile of hard things in my arms? Take it out quickly and put it aside first."

As soon as Zhao Xing took out the stone, Wang Zishao immediately asked kindly: "Li Ren, what did you say to the vassal man just now? It's a joke!"

Zhao Xing looked at Sodi and found that the other party was answering Fan E absentmindedly, his ears were high, paying attention to the movements of Zhao Xing. He quickly cleared his throat and replied: "I told him that next time I come to us, I should bring some ostrichs. I will charge that thing, and I will charge it at a high price... Don't, my stone!"

The stone disappeared in a blink of an eye. As Zhao Xing was talking, several officials divided the stone inkstones that Zhao Xing carefully selected, and even a few of the broken stones were spared. The snatched the broken stones asked, "What are you going to do if this stone is square or round?"

"Screen! The stone pattern is messy and there is no view. I plan to polish it smoothly on both ends and inlaid it on the pane frame, and stand it in the courtyard as a screen, which has a unique taste... Well, if you use mahogany as a grid... it is inappropriate, the stone pattern is either white or green, and it is better to use green sandalwood as a grid, which is even more ancient."

Wang Zishao was very curious. He stretched out his hand with a puzzled look, trying to take the stone from Suo Wendao and observe it carefully. But Suo Wendao did not give him a chance. He flipped his hand and put the stone in his arms, saying very culturedly: "Yes, Li Ren said this, so I have a pastime in my spare time - let the carpenter set up a grid and cut the stone into squares of the same shape and size. In addition to official business, you can learn to put together puzzle patterns by yourself, and maybe you can put out a stone painting... elegant things!"

Li Zhichun immediately answered: "In this way, Mizhou stone cannot be wasted a single drop."

Wang Zishao and Suo Wendao looked at him and smiled proudly.

Yes, this is the key to things. It is so elegant that it is a picture-based artistic conception from the messy stone patterns, and then designing an inkstone based on the stone patterns. It is added with the creation of literati, so each pair of inkstones represents the taste of literati.

This shows that many Mizhou stones can be sold without polishing. Because even if the stone patterns cannot create artistic conception, those low-key stones and larger-scale stone murals can be used.

Mizhou is out now!

Sodi suddenly shook Fan E and replied to Zhao Xing here: "What else do you want besides the ostrich? Do you need wax? I'll bring it to you together?"

Fan E was confused: "Ostrich, what kind of thing? Why do you want this thing? What is wax? It is also a thing produced by bees?"

"The pronunciation of 'zoology' in the Great Qin language (Latin)" Zhao Xing replied: "The "Xu Bowuzhi" written by Li Shi of the Jin Dynasty records the strange beasts produced by the ancient country of Puli along the coast of Zhongli (Somali). They are more than ten feet tall. However, their necks are nine feet long. They are 'like a camel, and they are as big as a cow, yellow, with a front foot five feet high, three feet low, and a head high upward'.

This is a kind of deer. Because its neck is too long, it is called a 'giraffe'... Strange, how did Li Shi know so much? Has he been to Africa too? If he had heard the legend, then who told him?"

Zhao Xing said something close to himself and said to himself. Wang Zishao was satisfied and asked leisurely: "What about the ostrich? Is it a bird like a camel?"

"No, it is a big bird, big like a peacock. No, it is bigger than a peacock. Ostrich skin can be made of soft and delicate leather; the meat is as delicious and nutritious as the best beef; the egg it lays weighs several pounds. It is easy to raise, just eat grass, and it is very cold-resistant to drought and hunger." Zhao Xing replied lightly.

He deliberately forgot to say that ostrich oil is actually a truly valuable commodity. It is a cell and muscle tissue repair agent. When a modern football player is injured or injured, the team doctor will apply or spray something on the injury of the player, and then the player can stand up again in about 1 to 2 minutes to play normally. This is the effect of the famous ostrich oil.

In addition, there are ostrich feathers, which are both a fashionable ornament for women and the main component of making quills. It is so important that the ostrich trade did not gradually shrink until the birth of a new style of fountain pen.

Wang Zishao also deliberately replied lightly: "Since Li Ren thinks this thing is good, I also want a few to raise it. Li Ren, tell him, I want it too."

Fan E ignored these two greedy officials, and he was in a hurry to see the inkstone.

Just now, Fan E hurriedly ended the inquiry, and Sodi was worried, always paying attention to the movements of Zhao Xing here, and spoke very unhappy. Fan E didn't find out anything. When he heard the movements here, he quickly ended the topic and ran over to observe the stones. Unfortunately, he came a little late and the spoils had been divided up. He could only observe the stones in Li Zhichun, Wang Zishao, Suo Wendao and others.

These people were too stingy and grabbed their hands tightly. Fan E could only look at the bulging chests that everyone had turned into, and drooled and said, "Mizhou used to only offer silk and oxen, but now, there is another tribute. Let's take action quickly."

Fan E was the former magistrate of Mizhou. He was even more familiar with the situation in Mizhou than Wang Zishao. So he was not worried about not being able to find good stones. The only regret was that Zhao Xing had taken action too quickly and had already protected the existing stones. The news spread too quickly, making everyone begin to cherish their courtyard walls.

Li Zhichun had a different view of Zhao Xing. He ordered Wang Zishao: "As soon as the Duan inkstone was released, the people of Duanzhou were very distressed. This time, good stones were released in Mizhou, so don't fall into the situation of Duanzhou people. In this way, it is also a good thing to control the stones in the hands of Mizhou Tuanlian and Mizhou Government Office. Lord Wang, don't force the people too much."

Zhao Xing had no choice but to admire this kind elder. Wang Zishao also knew Li Zhichun's character, so he quickly got up and left his seat and agreed respectfully.

The banquet was singing and dancing, and several Shangguans whispered here, and several Shangguans gathered here and were a little disrespectful to the guests. Wang Zishao first woke up. He called his servants and handed the piles of chickens and dogs in his arms to the servants. He held the wine glasses and looked for merchants to fight for wine one by one.

Suo asked Li Zhichun and toasted. Fan E pulled Zhao Xing aside, not talking about the issue of stone, and talked about the trade in goods: "Lie, the tax paid by Mizhou Shibuchang last year was 860,000 guan. Now that he wants to be promoted to the Maritime Bureau, the tax paid must be stronger than last year.

But I used to vaguely hear something wrong with the trade routes in Nanyang. Just now, several vassal merchants talked about this. I wanted to call you to ask the vassal merchant Sodi. Now it seems to be true. Do you think this place will gradually shrink in the future?”

Zhao Xing slowly replied while recalling: "Before the country of garrison rises again, I heard that Tubo's territory went deep into the sea, but Tubo did not establish a stable rule in the local area. Now, garrison is equivalent to taking advantage of the situation and occupying all the coastal land that originally belonged to Tubo. Strangely, Tubo seems to be unaware of it, or he doesn't care if he knows it."

Fan E whispered: "You don't know yet. Our army won a great victory in Qingtang. The magistrate of Minzhou and Taozhou was restored. The enemy chief Guozhuang was captured and was taken to the capital. Maybe they couldn't take care of themselves."

It is said that the winning rate of the Song Dynasty's foreign war exceeded 70%, which is far higher than that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. As for the others,..., don't mention it!

Zhao Xing shook his head: "It's not like this. Tubo is a loose tribal alliance. The southern Tubo is south of the Himalayas, and the news between the north and the south is isolated. There can only be a few months of communication time every year. However, the road is extremely high and it is difficult for ordinary people to breathe. Northern Tubo may not care about the passage of coastal land, but I wonder, why is there no movement in the south of Tubo?"

Fan E found that Zhao Xing had a strong ability to speak in a long way. He wanted to ask Zhao Xing's speculation on the prospects of the Mizhou Maritime Control Bureau, but Zhao Xing brought the topic to the foreign situation in the blink of an eye. He decided to correct this mistake, and then stared at him and asked again: "Li Ren, you explain what the prospects of Mizhou in 2019... I was not asking the stone question, I was asking the situation in Banqiao Town.

Because I, Lord Li, Lord Wang, and Lord Suo, jointly recommended you as the county magistrate or county magistrate of Jiaoxi County. Generally speaking, the court will not reject the recommendations of local officials, so... Now, you are about to take office, so I must give me a clear statement."

Zhao Xing looked at Fan E and replied calmly: "If the Mizhou Maritime Bureau wants to develop, it does not depend on the South China Sea, but on Goryeo and Japan. However, Goryeo and Japan dare to come to Mizhou, but a strong naval army is needed to ensure that the Dengzhou naval army must be strengthened to enable it to block the Bohai Sea and prevent the Liao people from leaving the port. And our Mizhou regiment training... may be able to adopt an escort strategy, such as: to escort all the vassal ship formations, the navy escorts the merchant fleet from leaving the port on a fixed date - what do you think of this? "

Fan E considered: "If the formation of vassal ships leaves the port, it will be easy to manage and tax. However, in this way, I am afraid that the ships trained by the Mizhou regiment are far from enough. How many ships should be used before and after? The imperial court maintains such a fleet..."

Fan E pondered without saying a word, and Zhao Xing immediately added: "The court maintains such a fleet, and there is no need to pay. As long as the private ships are allowed to drive themselves, they will be treated as 'utility' and will be uniformly allocated by our Mizhou Troupe."

Let the people spontaneously escort the vassal ships - is there such a fool in the world? Fan E was about to refute it, but when he saw Zhao Xing's meaningful smile, he immediately understood.

Of course, the voluntary escort among the people is not at no cost. For example, they can carry some private goods. However, this is something that can only be understood but not expressed. As for how to manage this group of "utility" so that they will not affect normal trade because of the excessive rampant incorporation of private goods, then - the matter of the Mizhou regiment training in the management of the naval army is a matter of the Mizhou Maritime Bureau, and the matter of the Mizhou Maritime Bureau in tax management, Fan E "is not in his position and does not do his own politics."

Thinking of this, Fan E smiled. He pointed to the Jurchens present and introduced to Zhao Xing: "This group of people are merchants in Jinzhou. Their war horses are very good. The court also expects them to sell more horses, but recently they have brought fewer and fewer horses. If there is a way for them to sell more horses in Mizhou, even if the tax revenue of the Maritime Warrior Department is still 860,000 jin, the Maritime Warrior Department is worth it."

Zhao Xing glanced at the Jurchens and replied calmly: "There are fewer and fewer war horses - I think they are preparing for war."

Fan E obviously misunderstood Zhao Xing's words. He tilted his head and thought for a while, and said with an oh, "Will someone fight in the bitter and cold land of Liaodong be fought? No, I have to report it to the court. If the Jurchens are really harassed, the court will have to do anything to help them."

Zhao Xing sighed, shook his head, and retracted his body into the seat.

He originally wanted to remind the court that the Jurchens are now strong with the support of the Song Dynasty. They are not harassed by others, but want to harass the Song Dynasty... But he can't say this. Why can he say so sure in the tone of the prophet? And who would believe it?

The Jurchens were indeed fighting against the Liao Kingdom. Perhaps Zhao Xing was worried too early. The Jurchens have not yet risen to rob the Song Dynasty, but now, they have begun to prepare to dominate Liaodong.

Fan E encouraged several times, and saw that Zhao Xing was really unwilling to have contact with the group of Jurchens, he turned to another question: "People say that being alone is wise, and I have one more thing to ask you.

I have been suffering from a shortage of money in the Song Dynasty for a long time. Now I am the Minister of the Jin Dynasty. The court wants to make some efforts to mint money, but I heard that the inflow of vassal coins was supported by your teacher. How can I teach me about this matter?”

Zhao Xing blinked his eyes and said, "Fan Jinbu, I heard that the people dissolved copper coins privately and cast copper ware. The profit was more than five times the profit with one hand. Is this true?"

Fan E nodded. But before he could express his opinion, Zhao Xing immediately continued to say according to his own ideas: "Re-separating the lead and tin in the copper coins and casting them into copperware. This takes a lot of effort, but it can get five times the profit. According to this calculation, the value of a copper coins is at least ten times underestimated. What if we appreciate the value of copper coins ten times? In this way, casting copperware is not profitable, who will still cast copperware privately?"

Fan E was stunned when he heard this. He was frightened by Zhao Xing's boldness. But Zhao Xing still said: "I went to travel to the South and the West. There was no money shortage problem in the countries there. Why did I have money shortage problems in China? I have been thinking about this for a long time, and one day I suddenly realized it. It turned out that the monetary system of my Song Dynasty was not sound.

The so-called monetary system means that the coins minted should have a "multi-level exchange rate"... Can Fan Jinbu understand this word? Let me say it more clearly. The only coins in my Song Dynasty were copper coins. Although gold and silver could be used for trading, they all had color, weight and volume problems, which made exchanges very troublesome, and even required professionals to apply professional knowledge.

My Song Dynasty spent a lot of energy on purifying the varied silver, but the purified official silver was distributed to the people, and the people would use various means to mix lead and tin into it, return it to the government, and then start another cycle. With this effort, why not cast the silver into silver coins directly?

A complete monetary system should have three-level currencies, gold, silver and copper. However, the current coins in the Song Dynasty are only copper coins, which is the only benchmark currency that cannot be selected. In this sense, gold and silver that are not minted into coins cannot be considered currency, but can only be said to be a "deserved precious metal". If coins are minted into coins and used as benchmark currency for exchange, then the entire currency system will be established.

Lord Fan, think about it, we used to have only coins and no monetary system. Coins of Yizheng weighed eight or nine jin (Songjin), which was a lot of troublesome to trade. If we appreciate the value of copper coins, then one hundred coins were Yizheng, equivalent to one or two silver. Then we minted silver coins worth one jin, what would happen if we minted silver coins - ten copper coins were exchanged for one silver coins. During the transaction, a large number of copper coins were replaced by silver coins, and copper coins became an auxiliary currency. So will we still have a shortage of money?

Similarly, we can mint gold coins worth 'one cent', which can greatly reduce the use of silver coins. Then our final benchmark currency is gold. If the third-level gold, silver and copper currency exchange system is established and improved, our Song Dynasty will soon be free from the money shortage problem."

Fan E understood this time, but he was frightened by the boldness of this plan and said stutteringly: "How is it possible to make the copper coins appreciate ten times immediately, wouldn't that reduce the people's property ten times overnight? This is the wealth of the disabled people. Such people will be scolded by the ages... However, the prospects that Li Ren said are indeed tempting. According to Li Ren, can I really stop the shortage of money forever?"

"Of course!" Zhao Xing was talking about the results of modern economists' research on ancient Chinese economy. This may exceed the understanding of the ancients, but it is in line with science. "A sudden appreciation of currency may cause chaos in the public. So how about we change the method? Use new technology to cast 'pure copper silver coins'..."

Zhao Xing pointed to the Sodina and said, "Have you seen the vassal money brought by the vassal merchants? During the Han Dynasty, they had coins made by stamping. It was better to buy machines from the vassal merchants... This method was difficult for the court to accept, so let's change the method. The court chose the list of talents for talent, or searched for such talents in the judiciary. Someone would definitely get this thing for me to the Song Dynasty - the things were all thousand-year-old antiques. As long as you have the intention, you would definitely get it."

Zhao Xing talked with Fan E here enthusiastically. Several officials came here occasionally and heard it. All they heard was a bunch of words "money". In order to show their aloofness, they immediately left the conversation site.

When Fan E talked about this, he felt that the impact he received today was too many, so he needed to digest it slowly, so he hurriedly ended the topic and finally reminded him: "Li Ren, today's banquet is actually my farewell banquet. After this banquet, I will set off. I hope to arrive at the capital before the Tianning Festival. From now on, Jiaoxi County will be handed over to you, and you must manage it for me.

Well, I will write to you in the future what we talked about, and we will talk slowly. But this matter is too shocking and you should not be hyped around."

Zhao Xing agreed readily, and then followed Fan E to pay a visit to the merchant’s wine one by one.

The banquet ended in the middle of the night. When Li Zhichun was about to leave, he specially asked Zhao Xing to thank him: "Li Ren, I've tried the boots you sent..."

Li Zhichun pointed to the boots on his feet and said, "It's very good, very light and soft. You're kind. Haha, the cane you sent is also good, but why did you hide a knife in your cane? I live in countless people, and I defend myself with kindness, so why do you use weapons... But the knife is very good, and the straw raincoat is very good.

You come to my house tomorrow, Fan Jinmen left, and I should say goodbye. However, my brother came to visit from the capital recently, and he was a little depressed and unsuccessful. He was a little disgusted and treated me for a while. He had a good relationship with Huang Luzhi and Qin Shaoyou. He wanted to meet you when he was in Bianjing City, but unfortunately you were a busy person. He also wanted to meet you. Tomorrow you would bring the sects with you."

Taking the ru Ren with her means that it is not as good as Liao Xiaoxiao. She pouted and got on the carriage and carried the lights to walk home. Liao Xiaoxiao did not forget her responsibilities, reminding Zhao Xing: "Li Zhichun's younger brother Li Zhiyi, wife Hu, whose name is Shuxiu, and whose courtesy name is Wenrou. He was born in Jinling, Changzhou. He was a surname of "high-severance and Xifeng Festival". He reads classics, history and Buddhist books, and has good knowledge of poetry and is particularly good at arithmetic.

It is said that even Shen Kuo had doubts during his life, he often asked her for advice, and sighed repeatedly, "I have to be a man, I am a good friend." Hu Wenrou despised Shen Kuo's behavior. When Shen Kuo framed Su Xueshi, she once said to Li Zhiyi: "Zizhan (Su Shi) was famous for a while, and reading his books made people have the ambition to kill themselves and achieve benevolence. The king is good at encountering the same thing."
To be continued...