Just as Xu Fanghai and Lu Ensheng set off for the Daqi Trade Road, Kang Kejing and He Tanchong also packed their bags and led the caravan to Luoyang to arrange for the acquisition of the second batch of slaves.
The first slave tooth business between the Northern Tang Dynasty and Yan State purchased 8,000 refugees and spent 150,000 guan.
After Kang Kejing went to Liangzhou to report the matter to Zhou Jun, the original suggestion he gave was to wait for a while. This would give Yan a waiting process, make it appear that he was not in a hurry, and facilitate future price negotiations.
.
Unexpectedly, the answer given by Zhou Jun was to ask Kang Kejing to seize the time and buy as many slaves as possible.
Although Kang Kejing was puzzled by this order, she still obeyed it.
When she arrived in Luoyang, the first thing Kang Kejing did was not to contact the Yan State court, but to hold several banquets in private, inviting the dignitaries of the Yan State to have fun.
At the banquet, Kang Kejing made some insinuations and inquired about the current situation in the Yan Kingdom.
Shi Siming now leads an army of 100,000 men and is stationed in Handan, across the river from Li Guangbi's army.
Emperor An Qingxu of Yan State issued imperial edicts several times, ordering Shi Siming to lead the Northern Expedition and recover Fanyang.
After Shi Siming received the imperial edict, he tried to evade it in every possible way but refused to go.
This move made the Luoyang court furious, but due to the army in Shi Siming's hands and the latter's prestige, the emperor and courtiers did not dare to do anything to Shi Siming.
An Qingxu and all the officials of the Yan Kingdom knew that if they were pushed too hard and forced Shi Siming into the Northern Tang camp, the gains would outweigh the losses.
But what the Luoyang court didn't know was that it wasn't that Shi Siming didn't want to go north, but that he was unable to go north.
On the other side of the river, Li Guangbi, as Fan Yang's military envoy, not only had the Anxi Army, the Beiting Army and the newly formed Fan Yang Army in his hands, but he was also equipped with nearly a hundred tiger squatting cannons on the city head, and his combat power was not inferior to Shi Siming's.
Moreover, Li Guangbi's battle plans and military strategies seemed to be naturally incompatible with each other for Shi Siming.
In the second year of Tianyou's reign, Shi Siming sent his general Liu Longxian with 5,000 forwards to march north to test the situation.
Li Guangbi found a surrendered general from Hebei and pretended to write a letter to Liu Longxian saying that he wanted to surrender. He also told about the traces of a grain transport team in the Northern Tang Dynasty.
Liu Longxian led his troops to intercept and kill the grain transport team. As expected, he won a great victory and returned home with a full load.
The Hebei general told for the second time that the Northern Tang Dynasty had armed convoys transporting Zhentianlei (Tiger Crouching Cannon) from Anxi to Fanyang.
This time, not only Liu Longxian was eager to try, but even Shi Siming was excited.
If he could seize the Sky-shaking Thunder and then imitate it for use, then Shi Siming's military power would be greatly increased.
Therefore, Shi Siming personally led the army this time, and based on the news, planned to ambush Beitang's transportation team.
Unexpectedly, Anxi's armed convoy was real, but instead of transporting thunderbolts, dozens of barrels of gunpowder were placed in the convoy. The sandbags outside the gunpowder were filled with gravel and iron sand.
Shi Siming sent troops to intercept the convoy, and the army just wanted to step forward to find out.
The gunpowder exploded and rubble flew everywhere. The Yan army suffered heavy casualties and almost collapsed its morale.
It happened that at this time, Li Guangbi led the cavalry to the battlefield, followed behind the Yan army, and covered them all the way.
General Liu Longxian of the Yan Army died in battle, but Shi Siming was cautious and watched from a high place far away from the battlefield, and finally escaped death.
From then on, Shi Siming stayed in Handan and never dared to leave the city.
Therefore, the Luoyang court's dissatisfaction and suspicion of Shi Siming grew day by day, but because the northern front really needed the latter to maintain it, they could only turn a blind eye and ignore it for the time being.
In addition to Shi Siming, there is another trouble for Yan State.
That is, Luoyang's treasury is almost dry.
At that time, An Lushan transported all the gold, silver and jewels collected from various places to Fan Yang's treasury. Unexpectedly, this move made a wedding dress for Zhou Jun of the Northern Tang Dynasty.
But now, the Yan State could not defeat the Northern Tang Dynasty, but its domestic expenses were increasing day by day.
Emperor An Qingxu of the Yan Kingdom alone spent an astronomical amount of money on having fun and having fun every day.
Not to mention the group of Yan courtiers in Luoyang, who originally lived in the bitter cold of Hebei. Since they came to Luoyang, the flowery land, everyone's life has been extremely extravagant.
As a result, everyone in the Yan Kingdom, from the emperor to the officials, would soon face a situation where they would have no money to use.
What to do at this time?
The courtiers of the Yan State who were born in Hebei lacked financial management talents, so the simplest way they could think of was to rob.
If you can't beat the north, then grab the south.
Jiangnan, known as the land of plenty, entered into the Yan State's plan for external expansion.
Kang Kejing, who had mastered this information, selected a day to go to the residence of Yan Zhuang, the Right Prime Minister of Yan State, with heavy gifts to visit the latter.
Yan Zhuang, as the right prime minister, now holds great power, but does not have Li Linfu's means. At this time, he is troubled by the Duzhi hole in the Yan Kingdom.
At this time, upon hearing the arrival of the wealthy Sogdian businessman Kang Kejing, Yan Zhuang immediately gave a loud order and ordered his servants to welcome him into the side hall.
When they met for the second time, Yan Zhuang couldn't help but feel happy when he saw Kang Kejing's entourage carrying in many large boxes. Each box was filled with valuables.
But he still pretended to have a calm expression on his face, and Yan Zhuang said to Kang Kejing: "It seems that the Kang family has made a lot of money in this slave tooth business."
Kang Kejing bowed and said: "Dear Xiangguo, Luoyang is going to the far west, such as Frankia, Byzantium and other countries. The distance is more than ten thousand miles. Along the way, there are thieves and rebels, sandstorms and evil miasma are endless, and the Kang family can only communicate with each other.
It’s just hard-earned money.”
Yan Zhuang smiled: "Calculating the steps, after the first business was completed, the Kang family did not waste much time and rushed to Luoyang immediately. It must be that the Tang Dynasty people are in demand in the Western slave market, so you are in a hurry
Come and see the truth."
Regarding this statement, Kang Kejing did not deny it, but said: "There is an old saying in the Tang Dynasty that only when you have needs can you ask for them. The prime minister and I naturally have needs before we can do business.
"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Hearing this, Yan Zhuang couldn't help but look at Kang Kejing one more time and said: "You Sogdian Hu Shang, you look honest, but you have a lot of thoughts.
It’s really fun to talk…”
Speaking of this, Yan Zhuang looked at Kang Kejing and suddenly asked a question: "I have always had a doubt in my mind. You bought thousands of slaves from Luoyang and you must pass through Anxi on the way. What did you use?"
How can we obtain the road guide to Anxi?"
Faced with this question, Kang Kejing was well prepared and answered: "Prime Minister Yan, let's put it this way, this business of Nu Ya is not only done by the Yan State, but also by the Tang State. However, on the surface, everyone
They all kept the news tacitly... Moreover, within the Tang Dynasty, wars had been frequent in recent years. Tubo, Dashi, Geluolu, Dabolu, etc. were fighting everywhere, and every border general was reporting to the court.
If you want money, many people point to this trade route to make a fortune."
Hearing this, Yan Zhuang had no doubts at all and asked with a smile: "Tell me, how much do you plan to buy in this slave tooth transaction?"
Kang Kejing: "In the last business, the Kang family had opened up the Tang Dynasty's trade route to the West. The slaves of the Tang Dynasty were hardworking and hardworking, and their craftsmanship and weaver skills were highly praised by Western countries. So this time,
I came here to expand the business."
"Oh?" Yan Zhuang emphasized: "How big is it?"
Kang Kejing stretched out three fingers and whispered: "Thirty thousand people."
Yan Zhuang's eyes widened and he was startled: "Thirty thousand people?"
Kang Kejing: "Thirty thousand people sounds like a lot, but when it is actually transported to the west, every slave market will not be divided much... Right Minister, listen, Ankara is Byzantine, Isfahan is a foodie, Frank
of Naples…”
Yan Zhuang held his forehead, stretched out his hand and said, "Stop it first. Thirty thousand slaves are not a small amount. Where can I find so many people to sell them to you?"
Kang Kejing came closer and whispered: "I heard that Dayan wants to use troops in the south of the Yangtze River, and is currently raising military pay. I can first take half of the 30,000 slave bids and give it to the State of Yan as a deposit."
Yan Zhuang was puzzled: "Deposit?"
Kang Kejing: "The Yan State has many famous generals and countless elite soldiers. In this southern expedition, it is natural to capture cities and territories... I want to make a deal with the Yan State. The Yan Army attacks Jiangnan and captures all the prefectures and counties in the south, including the land.
, all the wealth belongs to the Yan State, and the captured people and soldiers are left to me to deal with, how about that?"
When Yan Zhuang heard this, he couldn't help but feel happy, but after thinking for a moment, he asked: "What if the number of prisoners is less than 30,000?"
Kang Kejing: "This is simple. The Yan State can fill the vacancies from among the people under its rule."
Yan Zhuang thought about it and felt that this deal was a sure profit, so he agreed.
This chapter has been completed!