Liu Che tied up his ribbon and then walked out with Zhang Tang and others.<
The powerful people who were originally gathering in small groups to discuss, saw Liu Che coming out, and they all knelt down: "I'm waiting to see His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Liu Che took a casual look and saw that each of the eighty-five powers had a good spirit. In terms of the dress of the wearer, these powers were unique and unique, which made Liu Che feel very special.
After two observations, Liu Che determined one thing.
That is, these powerful people or the families behind them are still full of respect for him, the prince.
At least, I will be more accommodating in terms of face and dignity.
Otherwise, the current situation would not have occurred.
Regardless of whether they are far or near, the authority of each of the seventy-five counties in Guanzhong appears in Sixianyuan.
Not even one was late.
After thinking about it, Liu Che knew that this was also reality.
In China, the real masters are never businessmen, but bureaucrats with the power to kill.
The so-called county magistrate who destroys the family and the magistrate who destroys the family.
No amount of money can match the sharpness of a sword.
only……
Looking at these arrogant people, Liu Che took a step forward, opened his hands, and said: "Please don't be too polite. This time, I am here to ask you all. I have something to ask all the local sages..."
Although Shuquan were merchants, in the eyes of the Han Dynasty and the court, they were not considered merchants and were not bound by city registration.
This is because the status of a person with authority is equal to that of a country elder in the countryside.
It is an extension of state power. In a sense, those who exercise power are also members of the ruling class.
That's why Liu Che was able to meet these people in Sixian Garden openly.
Otherwise, as a prince, he would meet with a businessman who was running a failed business. If word of this spreads, public opinion will immediately boil!
Everyone stood up and bowed together: "Thank you, Your Highness. If Your Highness has any mission, we will go through fire and water, even to the death!"
Liu Che smiled slightly and tried to make his attitude as friendly as possible. But he complained in his heart: "Would you go through fire and water? I will not give up even if I die? I believe you are the only one who has a ghost!"
In the previous life, during the chaos between Wu and Chu, the merchants in Guanzhong almost collectively stood on the fence and watched. They even prepared the rituals and procedures to welcome King Wu to Jizong Temple. As soon as King Wu entered Chang'an, they shouted "long live" three times.
The most intuitive example is that the counter-rebellion army went out to fight. Marquis Che who accompanied the army could not find a place to borrow money.
In the end, only the Wuyan clan lent five thousand gold to Zhou Yafu to pay for the expedition expenses of the Chehous.
And the interest rate is as high as ten times!
Liu Che felt very uncomfortable every time he thought of this matter.
As a ruler, deep in his subconscious mind, he was ten times wary of all possible traitors and rebellious ministers. And the businessmen also proved with practical actions that they were not loyal ministers of the Liu family at all, but just some who were benefited.
Driver guy.
But the Wuyan family dared to lend at such high interest rates, and in the end all the principal and interest were recovered.
This made Liu Che somewhat wary of the merchants in Guanzhong.
In the past few days, Liu Che has been supplementing information and discovered a lot of interesting things.
For example, at this time, businessmen will collude with bureaucrats to form a community of interests.
However, they have not yet evolved to the extent of providing officials with shares and dividends.
Generally speaking, these businessmen only contribute some money and silk to their related households on a quarterly basis.
Therefore, Liu Che does not need to worry for the time being. If these merchants are touched, there will be a crazy counterattack like the Shanxi Merchant Group and the Salt Merchant Group in the Ming Dynasty.
In other words, although these businessmen have protective umbrellas and backers behind them, those protective umbrellas and backers may not really stand on the side of these people.
The answer is simple, if there are no dry shares and dividends.
Then Zhang San can be filial, and Li Si can also be filial.
Bureaucrats do not have to sacrifice their future, reputation and reputation for annual fixed filial piety.
This is completely different from the status of the Shanxi Merchant Group and the Zhejiang Merchant Group in the Ming Dynasty.
After all, your own things and other people’s things are two different things!
Thinking like this, Liu Che felt confident.
It is true that several big families in Guanzhong have close ties with the palace and the government, and every year they have a large amount of wealth that is given to the officials of the palace and the court.
However, such interest ties are fragile.
Once the news is wrong, a large number of officials will immediately cut off their tails to survive, and even fight against the businessmen who were originally filial to him in order to cover up their crimes.
Just like in the previous life, after Xiaozhu issued the decree, a large number of business families in the past went bankrupt.
But no official stood up and said a fair word on behalf of the businessmen.
It is impossible to happen like in the Ming Dynasty, when someone touched a businessman a little bit, and immediately a large number of Qingliu jumped out and shouted: Don't compete with the people for profit.
Therefore, to be honest, if Liu Che really goes all out, he can definitely wipe out the entire businessmen and aristocratic families in Guanzhong!
Kill him, his head will roll, and his blood will flow like a river.
It's just... Although it's fun to do this, what do you do after the fun is over?
not worth it!
Liu Che is a prince, and he and these businessmen are from two different classes.
There is no need to risk your political reputation for businessmen.
You have to know that Liu Che's father smashed Prince Wu to death with a chessboard on the streets of Chang'an. Even now, people in both the government and the public are still quietly discussing this matter.
It is no exaggeration to say that this incident will become a stain on Liu Che's life.
Moreover, Guanzhong is Liu’s base.
Maintaining prosperity and stability in Guanzhong is in Liu Che's own interests.
There is no need for him to smash all the pots and jars, just to make others laugh!
But after thinking about this clearly, I feel confident and will not be timid or hesitant.
Liu Che looked at the more than eighty men kneeling in front of him at this moment, with a condescending feeling in his eyes.
It was as if the eighty-five people kneeling in front of him were not humans, but ants.
Liu Che thought about his words and was about to speak. At this moment, Wang Dao suddenly came over and whispered into his ear: "Your Highness, the eldest princess is here..."
Liu Che looked slightly startled when he heard this.
Liu whoring?
What is she here for?
Liu Che came back to his senses in an instant, raised his hands to the powerful people and said: "Everyone, please wait a moment, I have some personal matters, go and go!"
Then, Liu Che, led by Wang Dao, headed towards the living room at the front door.
As they walked, Liu Che asked, "Has the eldest princess told you what happened?"
This is also what's strange about Liu Che.
There are no special circumstances at this time, and generally the elders will not go to the younger generation's home easily.
Because that is double disrespect for yourself and your descendants.
"Back to Your Highness, I don't know. The eldest princess didn't say..." Wang Dao lowered his head and said, "It's just that the eldest princess brought a man with a Shandong accent!"
"Shandong?" Liu Che was confused. Shandong at this time certainly did not refer to the Shandong Province in later generations.
The so-called Shandong refers to the vast area east of the Taihang Mountains.
Probably including North China and South China in later generations.
It is completely different from Shandong later!
At this time, Shandong is not a good place. What do the people in Guanzhong say when they scold their mother?
Shandong barbarian!
However, people who spoke with a Shandong accent at this time were not necessarily from southern or northern China.
Probably because of the exchanges between the Qin and Han Dynasties, people all over the world migrated and communicated with each other. People who were originally from the Chu Kingdom may have become Guanzhong people, such as the Yuan An family.
It used to belong to the Qin people, but now it may have become a barbarian vassal state, such as Zhao Tuo in South Vietnam.
Anyway, just go and take a look first and you will know!
With this idea in mind, Liu Che walked slowly into the living room. Then, he saw Princess Liu of Guan Tao leading a strange man. She was sitting in a corner of the living room, talking and laughing as if they were talking about something.
Liu Che glanced at the man. Just with this glance, Liu Che felt that his eyes were blinded.
It can be seen at a glance that the clothes all over this man are made of fine Sichuan brocade. The clothes on his body alone are worth at least tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition, he wore two pieces of jade that were worth a lot of money.
In addition, Liu Che also noticed that the pattern on the man's sleeves was embroidered with gold thread.
To sum it up in one sentence, this person just didn't write these four characters on his forehead: I am a rich man.
"He is not from Guanzhong!" Liu Che immediately thought of this.
Although there are many big dog owners in Guanzhong, they are under the emperor's feet. Anyone who dares to wander around in such a ostentatious manner will undoubtedly seek death.
"Probably the nouveau riche from that place..." Liu Che guessed in his mind.
Nowadays, the Han Dynasty is under the rule of the Han Dynasty, which is a time when Chinese industry and commerce are booming.
I don’t know how many people took advantage of this opportunity to accumulate wealth.
The prosperity of industry and commerce at this time was described from one aspect in a biography of colonial merchants written by later generations.
Throughout China, from south to north, from grasslands to mountains, there is almost no place without flourishing industry and commerce.
So much so that Jia Yi, Chao Cuo and others all clamored for the need to strengthen the weak base and put forward their own strategies and policies in this regard.
Liu Che didn't think much, he bowed directly to Liu Piao and asked: "Auntie is free to come to my nephew today, but is there something?"
At this time, the man who was talking to Liu Piao immediately came out of the queue and bowed.
But Liu Prostitute stood up, smiled, and said: "Prince, my aunt is here to introduce someone to the prince..."
Liu Nunu pursed his lips, pointed at the man kneeling on the ground, and said: "This person is Cheng Zheng from Linqiong, Shu County. My aunt thought that maybe he could help the prince solve some troubles, so she simply brought him here. The prince should
Don’t you blame Auntie for making the decision on your own?”
Liu Piao burst into laughter as he spoke.
Liu Che shook his head, feeling dumbfounded in his heart.
Liu Piao is a person who sometimes does some second-rate things.
Liu Che remembered that in her previous life, she had raised a pretty boy, but she actually took the pretty boy out to show to the piglet...
What's funny is that in the end, the eldest princess of the Han Dynasty was buried in Ba Ling together with the pretty boy after her death.
can only say……
The Liu family is so weird, Liu Che is used to it.
However, Liu Prostitution posed a problem for Liu Che!
You can tell at a glance that this man is a businessman!
The Han Dynasty was not like the other countries in the Warring States Period, where merchants and the like could enter and leave the palace at will. If word spreads, Liu Che Shao will inevitably be criticized!
But everyone has been brought here, what else can Liu Che do?
A slightly ugly smile appeared on his face. Liu Che reluctantly cupped his hands and said, "Please get up..."
When the man heard this, he was not polite. He immediately stood up and even had the courage to look up at Liu Che.
This made Liu Che feel both funny and angry.
These actions of this man made Liu Che involuntarily connect him with the coal bosses of later generations.
But immediately, what Liu Piao had just said was recalled in his mind.
Linqiong Cheng Zheng family?
Isn’t this Zhuo Wenjun’s father’s lifelong enemy?
When did this person actually come to Guanzhong?
However, Cheng Zheng is a real big dog!
In his previous life, Liu Che heard that someone listed him as the richest businessman in the world along with Zhuo Wangsun, Dao Jian of Qi and others.
It is said that his family's wealth is in the billions, he has thousands of slaves, he travels like a king, and his business goes to South Vietnam...
The important thing is that for Liu Che, whether it is Cheng Zheng or Zhuo, they are all the people he will contact next.
Because these two companies have mastered the most advanced cast iron and iron smelting technology today!
The most important affairs of the country are sacrifice and garrison!
Whoever masters iron has the ability to wage war!
It is ridiculous to think that the wealth and business of Cheng Zheng and Zhuo can be so great.
In fact, it sucked the blood of the Han Dynasty and the imperial court and grew up step by step.
At the beginning, the largest iron-smelting and coin-making businessman in the world was none other than Deng Tong, a close confidant of Liu Che's imperial grandfather.
Don't think that Deng Tong can only flatter others. If that's the case, how could he have dominated the trust of a generation of Ming masters for a long time?
Behind the backs of his favorites, Deng Tong was actually Liu Che's imperial grandfather, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, who served as the people's eyes, ears and money bag.
At that time, half of the money made in the world was made by Liu Bi, King of Wu, and the other half was made by Deng Tong in Shu County.
To be able to make such a big business and compete with Wu King Liu Bi, Deng Tong's ability and skills are more than just ordinary?
In addition, Deng Tong was also the person in charge of all the properties of the Shaofu and the royal family in Shu County at that time.
In addition to countless mines and salt ponds, he also has a large-scale iron smelting workshop under his name.
It was just what Liu Che saw from the Shaofu archives.
At its peak, Deng Tong owned and managed hundreds of workshops of various sizes in Shu County, with an annual output of four to five million jins of iron.
But now, those workshops have shrunk to less than ten, with an annual output of only 40,000 to 50,000 jins of iron.
In just two years, the entire Han royal family's official workshops in Shu County immediately plummeted without Deng Tong.
Only a ghost can believe this kind of thing!
At the same time, the wealth and workshops of Cheng Zheng and Zhuo expanded like rockets.
Up to now, the annual output of these two companies is at least 300,000 kilograms of iron.
Liu Che thought of the records in the Historical Records: When he arrived at Linqiong... he fell in love with the people of Yunnan and Sichuan, and became rich enough to have thousands of children. The joy of hunting in the fields and ponds was planned for the king.
This is a description of Zhuo's wealth and power.
From this short description, the tip of the iceberg of Zhuo's wealth has been revealed.
That is to say, Zhuo has one thousand servants.
Han Dynasty law stipulated that the head tax for slaves should be levied in five calculations, one hundred and twenty coins, and five calculations of six hundred coins.
That is to say, the Zhuo family only pays 600,000 yuan in taxes for their slaves a year!
It’s enough to support a year’s rent and taxes for Chehou, who owns a town with three thousand households!
But that's not what Liu Che is focusing on now.
But...
Liu Che looked at Cheng Zhengying with a smile and asked: "Sir, since you came from Linqiong, do you know where the southern Yunnan tribes are now?"
When Cheng Zhengying heard this, he couldn't help but his face twitched. What he was most worried about finally inevitably happened.
In fact, whether it was Cheng Zhengying's cast iron business or Zhuo Wangsun's business.
All require a large population, mining and smelting!
Before, Deng Tong had the royal family as his backer, as well as convicts and sons-in-law who came to mine mountains for smelting, so he didn't feel bad even if he died!
But it was his turn to make this deal with Zhuo Wangsun.
Then comes the problem.
The total population of Shu County was so small that it was simply not enough to support and bear the great iron smelting enterprise of him and Zhuo Wangsun.
what to do?
If there is a way, if you are poor, you will change, and if you change, you will be successful.
Linqiong is located close to the barbarians in southern Yunnan.
In the Qin Dynasty, the Qin army at its peak suppressed the entire southwest. At that time, all the barbarians in the southwest submitted to the crossbows of the Qin army. When Qin Shihuang came to power, in order to expand his control over the southwest, he dug a five-foot road.
.Moreover, officials were dispatched to the blank areas that had not been touched by the Central Plains regime before and carried out preliminary control.
At that time, the Qin State had great power over the world. Who dared not to obey?
All the countries in the southwest were trembling with fear and surrendered to Xianyang.
Unfortunately, more than ten years later, the huge Qin State collapsed.
After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, in order to effectively control, even South Vietnam was abandoned, let alone the barren southwest region.
As a result, the vast area south of Linqiong no longer belonged to China.
In this way, businessmen are given a world of potential.
Whether he is Cheng Zhengying or Zhuo Wangsun, they all have the same purpose in valuing Linqiong.
1. There are large iron ore mines here that can be mined and smelted.
Second, it is close to Southwest Yi, so manpower is cheap!
The chief of the southwestern Yi was willing to pay two or three strong slaves for a piece of beautiful silk!
In addition, there are horses from the Zeo Kingdom, maids from the Bo Kingdom, and yaks. Gold from Yelang and ivory from the Dian Kingdom are all highly praised specialties.
In particular, the maids of the Bo Kingdom, after special training, have fascinating magical powers and are sold to all counties in the world. Even in Chang'an, there are many nobles who are willing to buy them home at high prices.
As a big businessman rooted in Linqiong, Cheng Zhengying has forged "deep" friendships with various kingdoms in the southwest over the past thirty years.
Taking the ironware, silk and spices from the Central Plains, they exchanged batches of "special products" from the tribes of these small countries.
The largest transaction among them is undoubtedly slaves!
Otherwise, his iron ore would still be useless!
However, this is a serious crime. Han law stipulates that trading with the vassal state without permission is equivalent to a death penalty.
Although Southwest Yi is not a vassal state and does not pay tribute to Chang'an, once this matter is exposed, he will die without a burial place!
According to Cheng Zhengying’s own information channels, in the past two years alone, with the expansion of his business with Zhuo Wangsun, two small countries among the barbarians in the southwest have been destroyed, and all the citizens have been captured and turned into slaves. Finally, in
In his mine...
Even once, Cheng Zhengying discovered that there were strange things in the slaves he sent.
After asking about it, I found out that they were slaves imported from Shendu by the Dian Kingdom. They were large in quantity and cheap. Just one piece of silk could be exchanged for ten strong slaves...
Then Cheng Zhengying bought a hundred of them in one go.
Until now, they are all dead...
Because he died so quickly, Cheng Zhengying felt deeply that although self-poisoned slaves were cheap, they had to be used. From now on, he would no longer purchase self-poisoned slaves from outside...
But how dare he say these things?
Once he says it, he will immediately become the devil and will definitely kill the whole family!
Therefore, Cheng Zhengying hurriedly knelt down and said solemnly: "Your Highness, although I am in Linqiong, I have always abided by the law and obeyed the rules of Emperor Gao. I dare not go west to the pass to have an affair with the Yi Di!"
"Haha..." Liu Che smiled and shook his head.
What a liar you are!
Your business is not limited to wandering around the southwestern Yi!
When Zhang Qian dug his way through the Western Regions, people in Daxia saw silk and tea, which are specialties of China. When asked, they said they came from Shendu, and then the businessman Shendu bought them from the Dian Kingdom. Where did the silk from the Dian Kingdom come from?
Ask yourself to know!
What's more, in his previous life, Liu Che saw with his own eyes that slaves from the Bo country could be bought in Chang'an. What's more, the maids from the Bo country actually formed an industrial chain in Chang'an and became a brand, so that no one in Chang'an Chehou could have it.
A maid from Bo country would not be ashamed to go out!
At that time, the maids of the Bo Kingdom were just like the Silla maids of the Tang Dynasty. They were widely praised slaves and cost a hundred gold each!
besides……
In his previous life, Liu Che didn't quite understand why Sima Xiangru was able to open up the relationship with the barbarians in the southwest, thus kicking off the spread of the Central Plains civilization to the mountainous areas of the southwest.
After becoming the prince, he consulted the Qin palace archives and records in Shiqu Pavilion.
Liu Che figured out one thing. At least in the mountainous area hundreds of miles away from Shu County, the Qin State General Chang Yi had effectively ruled that area and sent officials and soldiers there.
And why did Chang Yan go there?
Because during the period of King Wei of Chu, Bashu belonged to the State of Chu.
At that time, King Wei of Chu sent Xi Qiao, a descendant of King Zhuang of Chu, as a general to lead his troops westward and launch a campaign of conquest in the southwest.
Thousands of miles of land were spread.
Unfortunately, after the victory at Xiqiao, I turned around and found that my hometown had been seized by the Qin people and I could not go back. I could only take root there and establish a country. This is the history of the establishment of the Dian Kingdom.
Therefore, just like South Vietnam, the southwest region has actually been favored by our ancestors for a long time and was even conquered.
In fact, many local tribes and countries are inextricably linked with the Central Plains, and at least have some common ground in culture.
What's even more interesting is that Liu Che discovered that according to the memorial reported by the envoys sent by the Han Dynasty to South Vietnam, the King of South Vietnam Zhao Tuo actually had a younger brother in the southwestern Yili, well, it was the Yelang Kingdom...
It's funny. It's the Yelang country where Yelang is arrogant.
Therefore, in fact, Southwest Yi is not a land of Yi and Di that has never been influenced by the culture of the Central Plains.
In fact, hundreds of years before the establishment of the Han Dynasty, Chu and Qin successively took over and began to conquer and develop the southwest region.
It can be said that without the efforts of the two generations of Chu and Qin, Xiaozhu later wanted to conquer the southwest region so easily and even set up counties and counties to make it an integral part of the Han Dynasty. In the end, the Han Dynasty did not rebel. This
is it possible?
Therefore, Liu Che smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Gu regards you as an elder. Why did you deceive me?"
Liu Che took a step forward and said: "Prince Zhuo and his grandson, letters are sent to my father's court every year. Do you think the emperor doesn't know what you have done? Do you not know?"
"Zhuo Wangsun, I will kill your ancestor!" At this point, Cheng Zhengying's psychological defenses collapsed, and he actually cursed a big Sichuan curse.
Liu Che didn't take it seriously either, he chuckled and said: "The maids from the Bo country, tsk tsk, the horses from the Zuo country, tsk tsk... The business of gentlemen is huge!"
Cheng Zhengying finally couldn't bear it anymore and collapsed to the ground. He felt that in his doomsday future, he had nothing to worry about in order to survive. So, just like turning the tables, he told how he and Zhuo Wangsun bribed the king of the southwestern Yi and how they sold him. The population, how to dig mines, and how to buy Deng Tong's "abandoned" workshops at a "suitable price" were all revealed to Liu Che.
Liu Che was stunned when he heard this.
When did the merchants of the Han Dynasty evolve to this point?
They used silk, ironware, salt, and tea to buy slaves from the southwestern Yi, but they actually bought slaves exported by Third Brother?
It really feels like the British Empire was selling black slaves in later generations!
Well, forget it. In order to expand the scale of production, it is normal to use some means, and the southwest is a place where slavery and primitive tribes are mixed.
Moreover, most of the dead miners are not Chinese, at least not yet...
Liu Che didn't bother to worry about it.
But you actually colluded with the palace eunuchs sent to Shu County, bribed local officials, and joined forces to cause a certain workshop to become inoperable and a certain mine to be depleted...
Liu Che seemed to see the faces of some people in later generations...
Really...
Liu Che scratched his head and finally had to admit it.
Tai Shigong is really right!
As expected, they are the people of Yunnan and Shu!
Liu Che really didn't know. If these guys continue to play without restraint and without limits, and the scale continues to expand like a snowball, when their products are produced but cannot be sold, will there be an economic crisis like the Western Han Dynasty?
No matter what, Liu Che knew that it was time to end this unscientific method of operation.
However, Cheng Zheng Ying and Zhuo Wangsun did at least one thing right this time, which was to harm foreigners.
Liu Che quite agreed with this matter.
Liu Che took two steps forward, walked to Cheng Zhengying, helped him up, and asked kindly: "Sir, I just said that I bought a hundred slaves with body poison through the King of Dian. May I ask, sir, where are the body poisons?"
"Go two thousand miles west of the Dian Kingdom..." Cheng Zhengying was not as domineering as he was at the beginning. He was only thinking about one thing: Since the emperor already knew about my matter, why didn't the emperor take action?
He really didn't dare to think about it anymore.
Liu Che asked playfully: "Do you have any of your men who have been to the poisonous country?"
"No..." Cheng Zhengying shook his head and said: "Xiaomin's men have only been to the Dian Kingdom as far as possible, and they have never been to Dian Kingdom. It is said that it is a long and high road from the Dian Kingdom to Shendu Mountain. It is said that when they set out on the journey, the Shendu slaves prepared more than 300 slaves. When they were driven to the Dian Kingdom, only a hundred or so were left..."
Liu Che laughed after hearing this. The Three Kingdoms are indeed still the same. No matter ancient or modern, they have not changed. They are the best countries on earth to rule and the easiest to colonize.
"I gave you a task, sir..." Liu Che said with a smile. He didn't expect that Cheng Zhengying would reveal the truth so quickly, but since he had taken advantage of others, he had to make good use of it.
"Your Highness, please give me your instructions!" Cheng Zhengying immediately knelt down as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.
"After Mr. returns home, he will send a team of capable men to the Kingdom of Dian, and then let the King of Dian send guides to escort Mr.'s people to take a trip to Shendu. Even if they cannot reach Shendu, they must do their best to collect all information about Shendu. !" Liu Che looked at him and said: "Do you understand?" (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
ps: Well, the businessmen at that time were indeed so awesome, especially Zhuo Wangsun and Cheng Zheng from Linqiong. They really lived a cheating life~
Then, I can only get 7,000 today, and the remaining 5,000 will be replenished tomorrow.
