Old Henis was very excited today. He put on a luxurious dress that he would only wear when attending the Persian royal banquet that year.
After thirty years of wandering, he once again received the respect he deserved from the nobility in the distant eastern world.
Only ten golden invitations to the investment conference were distributed throughout Beiting City, and one of them was delivered to his hands.
What an honor it was. Just when he was used to being a businessman selling speculation, and used to bargaining with those copper-smelling merchants for a copper plate, he met Zhang Pengjun Ma, who was noble and wise in every word and deed.
He saw at a glance that he was a descendant of the nobles of Elamshahr, saw his superior soul, and gave him the courtesy of a noble that he had not seen for a long time.
Now, even the respected prince has decided to settle down in his family. Just because he saw the golden invitation letter, he believed that being able to obtain this golden invitation letter proved that his old Henis was far away.
The Eastern world gained a foothold, gained a fertile living space, and forged friendship with the ruling class of the Eastern world.
The only worry was that after dinner the day before, an official from the Great Xia court came to visit.
That Daxia official, Wailang, a member of the household department, claimed to convey the will of the second prince of Daxia, and hoped that he would not reach any cooperation intention with the county horse Zhang Peng at the investment conference in Beiting!
If Old Henis can do it, then the United Commercial Banks from the four major families in Daxia will form a Silk Road trade alliance with Old Henis. Old Henis's caravan will enjoy the lowest commercial tax treatment after entering Daxia.
It even ensures that he will receive the same privileges as the Royal Caravan of Great Xia in the future.
At the same time, he also stated that the investment promotion conference held by Zhangpeng County Ma was nothing more than exploiting merchants in the name of commendation. Last time, he used the construction of water conservancy projects to make many Western Region merchants bleed. This time,
He also cleverly set up the name of "investment", and anyone with a discerning eye can see through the princess's mansion's intentions.
We just had to compromise under his power because we were doing business in Beiting. The Great Xia court had already been dissatisfied with Beiting's actions. This time, it promised all merchants in the Western Regions that they would destroy it together at the investment conference.
Zhang Peng, they can gain immeasurable benefits!
Old Hernis had a good impression of Zhang Peng, and he also admired Zhang Peng's talent and the market in Beiting. However, the conditions offered by the household clerk were also very attractive, and he could do business in the Central Plains.
, this has been his dream all along.
A few days ago, I heard that Lord Ma had disgraced the imperial court’s new champion. This shows that there are really many conflicts between Beiting and the Great Xia imperial court... This operation is clearly forcing the merchants of the Western Regions to take sides.
ah.
On one side is Beiting, who has given me full respect and courtesy, and on the other side is the Daxia court, which has given me huge benefits visible to the naked eye.
The choice between poetry and distance and wine and meat will always appear at key points in life.
How should I choose? Old Henis knows how much he has. Although he is an exiled Persian noble, the country has been destroyed. Now he is an ordinary businessman. He does not want to get involved in the power disputes within the Great Xia Empire.
.
But if you don't want to cause trouble, trouble will find you automatically. Now that the carriage is on the road, old Henis is still hesitant in his heart.
Looking at the increasingly lively street scene outside the carriage and the Shuiyun Tower getting closer and closer, Old Henis calmed down and said, that's it, just take care of what you have come and take it step by step. This time I will attend the investment conference.
Old Henis is just an ordinary businessman. I will choose whoever offers more benefits!
Since the news of the investment conference was released, the officials from Feng Yuxi on down have been inquiring and guessing about the real purpose of the meeting in the Princess Palace, as far as "soap", "bags" and "new women's clothing" etc.
When the products appeared, they realized that the Princess Mansion wanted to expand its financial resources!
From cement and bricks to soap, bags and new women's clothing, how could these well-informed court officials fail to see how valuable these commodities are!
And when they heard that these products were all created by Zhang Peng, they all beat their chests in annoyance. The first thing that annoyed them was that Zhang Peng had Zhu Taogong's skills but was working for Beiting. The second thing that annoyed them was these things.
The goods will accumulate a lot of wealth for Beiting in a short period of time and strengthen Beiting's power.
The investment conference, what a great investment conference! The officials of the imperial court finally understood how much of a hindrance it would have to the court's plan to take back Beiting if the investment conference was successfully held.
So they couldn't help it anymore, and several officials headed by the Hu family faction began to move around, meeting with various merchants from the Western Regions, using the maximum authority they could give to these barbarians from the Western Regions who they had looked down upon in the past.
The purpose is to let them collectively boycott the new products that Zhang Peng will launch at the conference.
I heard that many wealthy businessmen from the Western Regions have already obtained the benefits they dreamed of, and have fully agreed to the requests of imperial officials.
Therefore, if Zhang Pengjunma is not prepared for today's investment conference, he may suffer a huge blow.
Old Hoeness believes that Zhang Peng has little chance of winning, but what if he really wins?
Just like when he forced back Chakhtuo's army at the head of Setting Sun Pass, how about another miracle?
Having figured it out, old Henis suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. He respectfully said to the prince sitting opposite: "Your Highness, Shuiyun Tower has arrived."
"Uncle Henis, I have already said before that today, I am just your distant nephew, and I am coming to the business conference with you to get to know you better," the Prince of Persia hurriedly reminded.
"Well, then... Xerxes, let's get off the car, Shuiyun Tower is here," Old Henis hesitated, but still respected Prince Xerxes's wishes.
When the two got out of the car, a young man dressed in sky blue and white clouds came to warmly greet them. He had a sincere smile and was very hospitable without any humble temperament.
Prince Xerxes saw that he was well-spoken and well-informed, so he curiously asked: "How can a restaurant boy in Daxia have such a demeanor?"
The young man smiled and replied: "Mr. Henis is a big businessman on the Silk Road. You are his nephew. You must have traveled all over the country and met people. To be honest, everyone in this investment conference greets guests with dignity.
The young people serving tea and water are not from Shuiyun Tower."
"Oh? Not from the restaurant?" Xerxes became interested.
"Yes, we were all temporarily arranged by the Commander-in-Chief from the Agricultural Research Institute," the young man replied with a smile.
"Why is this? Isn't the Agricultural Research Institute an institution of higher learning established by the Beiting Army? How can students be allowed to take up lowly jobs?" Xerxes was a little confused.
"You don't know. This is not an insult to us. The merchants we are hosting at this investment conference are all merchants from the Western Regions. If we entertain merchants for the sake of a humble business, wouldn't we be insulting all the merchants from the Western Regions?" The young man's smile remained unchanged.
.
"That makes some sense," Xerxes said, slightly embarrassed.
"Jun Ma often says that many business people who travel north and south are very talented people. Every person who can make a fortune must have something special about him!"
When the young people talked about Zhang Peng, they clearly showed admiration: "It is not so much that we are here to entertain them this time, but it is an excellent opportunity to learn and communicate with them."
Seeing the twinkling light in the young man's eyes, Xerxes felt quite emotional.
As a prince of the exiled royal family of Sassanid Persia, he naturally has a wide range of knowledge. It is not that he has not come into contact with other officials, literati or generals of the Great Xia Kingdom, but their views on merchants are full of contempt, and they are full of contempt for the Hu merchants.
It's not even suitable for people to look at.
Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, this is the order of people's occupations in the Great Xia Empire. The social status of merchants is very low. But today, he refreshed his understanding. In Beiting, because of the commander named Zhang Peng, it seems that
Everything has become different.
The banquet hall was large, and the oriental-style decoration was pleasing to the eye. Hernes and Xerxes were led by the young students and walked towards their seats.
At this moment, many people have come to the venue, and most of them came with their wives. Bags and new women's clothing must be too attractive to them.
For a time, there were compliments, chatter, laughter, and compliments one after another.
When Xerxes raised his eyes, he saw the bright wall lamps in the corridors on both sides.
"Uncle Henis, look at those wall lamps, they are all glass lamps!" Xerxes showed a hint of panic for the first time after entering the banquet hall.
These glazed lanterns are uniformly made into the shape of a leaping fish and dragon. The belly of the fish is filled with wax, and there is a wick hidden in the mouth of the fish. When lit, it looks like the fish and dragon are sending beads.
There are already many sharp-eyed businessmen gathered under the fish-dragon lantern to take a closer look, and the knowledgeable ones have begun to silently evaluate it.
"Look, judging from the craftsmanship of this glass, it doesn't look like it's made by Dashi!"
"Yeah, it's obviously in better condition!"
"Tell me, could this have been created by the Princess's Mansion itself?"
"No way, cement, blue bricks, soap, and bags are not the same business as Jinshan. If this colored glaze was also made by the princess's mansion..."
Of course, there will also be people who are bewitched by court officials who will sneer and ridicule.
"Hmph, the princess's mansion is so luxurious and flamboyant. I see, sooner or later, the higher you climb, the harder you will fall."
"Zhang Junma clearly wants to use the new bulk commodity trade to tie us and other merchants from the Western Regions to his chariot. If Beiting and the Great Xia court clash with each other in the future, I am afraid that we will be killed!"
"How can the remoteness of Beiting compare with the wealth and power of the Central Plains? We'd better not put our treasure in Beiting."
Xerxes still doesn't quite understand the relationship between the Beiting and the imperial court, but in his understanding, the craftsmanship of making colored glaze is unique to their Persian empire. Even though the Persian royal family is living in exile now, it is because
Mastering the secret techniques unique to the world, such as glaze craftsmanship, you can still ensure prosperity.
But now the Daxia Empire has also mastered the technology of making colored glaze! He knows very well how profitable this technology of turning sand into treasures is. Once Beiting City starts to manufacture colored glaze products on a large scale, it will be a huge blow to the exiled Persian royal family.
impact.
"Xerxes, what are you worried about? Your brows are already furrowed," asked the young student from the Agricultural Research Institute.
Xerxes looked stern, and after thinking for a while, he said: "To be honest, Brother Su Han, I saw the glazed wall lamps on both sides of the corridor and estimated the value of these wall lamps. Hahaha, this really shocked me."
"Well, this glaze production process was accidentally discovered by our Agricultural Research Institute recently. For this reason, one of my technician friends was almost killed by the kiln explosion," a student named Su Han said with emotion.
The story he knows is, "Thanks to Jun Ma Ye's art, otherwise these magnificent colored glazes would have passed me by in Beiting."
"There is such a surprising story," Xerxes said, obviously interested.
Su Han stopped talking, and asked seemingly casually: "Xerxes, do you also do research on colored glaze?"
"No, no," Xerxes broke out in a cold sweat and quickly denied it, explaining, "It's just that I have several glazed treasures in my house, so I know that these glazed lamps are valuable, so I just use them as wall lamps, in case there are any.
People’s hearts are filled with evil intentions…”
Su Han smiled faintly and shook his head slightly: "Brother, you are worrying too much. Now the Shuiyun Tower has been protected by the guards of the princess mansion led by Lieutenant Ge Shuyan, with three floors outside and three floors outside. No one can even think about it.
Theft is being committed here... Come on, brother Xerxes, Mr. Henis, your place is here."
Xerxes saw his seat, a four-legged chair made of poplar wood, next to Hernes. The chairs surrounded a large round table, on which were pastries, tea and a list.
"Uncle Hernes, who are the people on the list?" After Xerxes sat down, he began to become interested in the other guests he was going to sit with.
Hoeness squinted his presbyopic eyes and looked at the names on the list, and then the expression on his face changed significantly.
"Hiss... Xerxes, you, you didn't reveal your identity when you came to Beiting, right?"
Xerxes' eyes widened and he looked around cautiously. After a long time, he said hesitantly: "I and several personal guards secretly entered the North Courtyard as part of a caravan of Uighurs."
Old Heness breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good, then the arrangement on the list is just a coincidence."
"Wait a minute, there was a little thing after I entered the city..." Xerxes suddenly remembered something, "While I was watching the supermarket construction site with the crowd, I met a girl. She was from Sole City. I
I chatted with her for a few words."
"What?" Old Henis's eyes widened instantly, and the expression on his face was very exciting, "What did you talk to her about?"
"We just talked about some experiences in Beiting City, and nothing else."
She gave it to me, and I ate some of it, and it tasted the same as what the great elder gave me before."
Old Henis looked at Xerxes, who was smiling innocently, and then at the golden melon seeds in his hand, and suddenly felt dizzy.
He glanced at the prosperous Prince Xerxes and sighed slightly in his heart, Prince Xerxes was still too young...