After Liu Wei left, Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "If my guess is correct, the way to make money in Bailixia is probably in the north?"
Cao Gan was shocked: "You... how could the young master know?"
This "Young Master" was called out without Liu Wei present. Gao Pingshi was quite satisfied, but what was even more satisfying was Cao Gan's reaction.
It seems that my estimate is correct. The business that Bailixia really depends on for a living is really trading with the Mongols.
Gao Pragmatic was not like some ministers in the imperial court who firmly opposed any trade with the Mongols. In Gao Pragmatic's view, the Ming Dynasty's trade with Mongolia was not only profitable, but even completely crushed by the Ming Dynasty.
Mongolia's huge economic size can achieve the purpose of using economic means to control Mongolian ministries. Therefore, he not only supports trade with Mongolia, but also hopes to greatly expand the scale of this trade until the Mongolian ministries form "There is no way to leave the Ming Dynasty."
"Survival" is a serious economic dependence. At that time, Mongolia will be said to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, why not?
This is the mindset that Gao Pragmatic developed as a minor politician in his previous life: If something can be solved by economic means, political means will not be used; if it can be solved with political means, military means will not be used.
I insist on having the ability to kill you, but I also insist on never starting a fight until the last moment. After all, in a war, first of all, there will inevitably be too much loss, and secondly, there will inevitably be accidents.
"Sun Tzu's Art of War: Planning and Attack Chapter" says: "In all methods of military use, the whole country is the best, and the destruction of the country is second; the whole army is the best, and the destruction of the army is the second; the whole brigade is the best, and the destruction of the brigade is the second; the whole army is the best, and the destruction of the country is the second.
Killing is the next best thing; the whole army is the best, and breaking the army is the second best. Therefore, winning a hundred battles is not a good thing; subduing the enemy's soldiers without fighting is a good thing."
Isn’t it more cost-effective to use economic means to gradually control Mongolia and make Mongolia gradually come to my use than to use all the strength of the country and spend huge manpower, material and financial resources to conquer Mongolia? Besides, even if Mongolia is conquered, will the Han people go to Mongolia to build a city on the left and another on the right?
City? How much effort did the Han people have to spend to maintain the occupation of the Mongolian grassland that was not suitable for farming?
Unless productivity and military revolution have reached the level of later generations, Gao Pragmatism insists that conquering Mongolia with Mongolia is a good way to achieve long-term peace and stability.
What's more, the Mongols can not only turn enemies into friends with the Han people, but can even become comrades-in-arms with the Han people: you must know that wild boar skins may jump out and cause trouble in the future, and Mongolian friends need to send troops to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty - of course, now
Not friends yet.
When Cao Gan asked this, Gao Pragmatic laughed, but did not answer him. Instead, he continued to ask: "You are trading with the Mongols. What do you sell and what do they sell? Or are you bartering?"
Gao Pangshi's question made Cao Gan a little excited, and said: "The Mongols need a lot of things, such as satin, cloth, cotton, needle threads, comb grates, rice salt, candy, tassel cloth, otter skins
, sheepskin boxes... I like all kinds of things, want all kinds of things." After a pause, he added: "As for us, we have a wide range of things, horses, cattle, sheep, mules, donkeys and horsetails, sheepskins,
We also accept the fur coats and these."
Gao Pragmatic was a little surprised: "Why do we still have otter skins for sale? Mongolia doesn't have them?" It has to be said that Gao Pragmatic's understanding of wild animals is not very good. He thought that Mongolia should have an abundance of various animal skins.
, and the leather-making technology is also very advanced.
"Otters mostly inhabit rivers and lakes. That's not to say there are none in Mongolia, but there are far fewer than us. Besides, they live as nomads, so they don't often hunt otters and the like.
The winter in Mongolia is quite cold, so otter skins are very useful to them. In addition, we Han people are skillful in making leathers that are exquisite and durable. Therefore, the Mongolians like to buy otter skins from us Han people, especially the Mongolian nobles, who all like otter skins." Cao Gan
explained.
Gao Pragmatic thought for a while and asked, "Don't you sell those iron pots and the like?"
Cao Gan shook his head and said: "The price of iron pots and other items cannot be said to be uneconomical, but the government and border troops sometimes check. The villain thinks that anyway, he can support Bailixia and his gang by doing other businesses.
, there is no need to violate the ban just for a few iron pots, attract the attention of the government, and ask for trouble."
Gao Pingshi praised: "Okay, your idea is very smart." Then he asked: "But I heard that the official market is not often open...are you going to the private market?"
In fact, the direct trade exchanges between the Mongols and the Han people have not been interrupted at all. Let’s not talk about the distant Ming Dynasty. During the Yongle period, Arutai started the “tribute trade” with the Ming Dynasty. “One tribute per year, or another year.”
This kind of "tribute trade" is an official trade, mainly due to the request of the Mongolian feudal lords. They hope to obtain double rewards through tribute, and obtain high-end silks and satins that they cannot produce themselves but want to enjoy.
product.
This kind of "tributary trade" and the mutual market trade among the common people are commercial activities of a different nature, and are not the same as the exchange activities between the nomadic and agricultural economies. Didn't Marx say, "Every nation
The mutual relationship between each nation depends on the productivity, division of labor and the degree of development of internal exchanges of each nation." The "tributary trade" in the early Ming Dynasty was a trade method that was compatible with the socio-economic development of the Mongolian region at that time.
Around the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the social economy in Mongolia developed. In the 16th year of Chenghua, Dayan Khan, known as the little prince in the "History of the Ming Dynasty", eliminated the separatism and melee situation within Mongolian society. During the Jiajing period, "Little Prince"
The prince was the richest and most powerful, with more than 100,000 men under his control, a lot of livestock and shells, and a little tired of soldiers, so he moved to the east of the country and was called a barbarian. He was divided into tribes and there were many in the northwest.
, As the day progresses and the moon subsides, I will order the little prince, Ji Nang, to answer the tribes' three or four hundred thousand. Looking at those who were running for their lives in poverty in the past and did not see horses and arrows, it will prosper or decline."
It can be seen that the development of livestock production and population growth in Mongolia during this period allowed them to exchange more livestock products as commodities on the one hand, and on the other hand they also experienced the situation of "many tribes and insufficient food". In this
Under such circumstances, Mongolia will inevitably have a strong demand for foreign trade in order to exchange its own livestock products for grain and other consumer goods produced by the Han people. When this demand cannot be met, the Mongolian rulers can only launch a war.
, in an attempt to open the door to trade with the Han people. The "Gengxu Revolution" is actually a microcosm of this type of war.
During this period, although there were frequent armed conflicts between the Mongolian and Han rulers and inter-ethnic wars on and off, trade activities actually appeared spontaneously among the people, which was known as "private market" in history.
"Private markets" are not new in recent times. In fact, they have already appeared as early as the Hongzhi period. "Recently, it has been heard that the northern barbarians often brought their horses to the private markets at the border to pay tribute. Those who got the goods in the market returned to their powerful families because they made huge profits."
Under the "huge profits", merchants and people will flock to it, "merchants from far and near mostly trade iron goods with captives, and residents in villages and cities also follow suit." Although the Ming Dynasty issued a series of bans in an attempt to ban "private markets", the Mongolian and Han Dynasties
The trade activities between the Mongols and the Han people are an inevitable product of the socio-economic development of the Mongols and the Han people, and cannot be suffocated by the Ming Dynasty using the coercive power of the state.
This is not the case. How could Gao Gong take the opportunity to push forward the important matter of "I answer tribute" in the coming year? It can be seen that there are various foundations for doing this. As long as the Ming Dynasty has a politician who can truly look at the problem from a practical standpoint
, you will definitely follow the trend.
The private market is a concrete manifestation of this foundation.
***The author has something to say***
Cao Gan: "Master, I have written so many chapters, and today I finally start to show the importance!" Gao Pingshi: "Kneel down and call me Master." Cao Gan: "I want to complain about the title of this chapter. This is
A serious slander against me, the prodigal son!" Gao Pingshi said: "Kneel down and call me young master first."
