Tribute is not trade, but it is ten times more profitable than maritime trade, the most profitable business in the world.
Generally speaking, sea trade has a profit of fifty to seventy times. However, if foreign envoys pay tribute to the goods they carry to the court, the rewards they receive can be equivalent to ten times the value of the goods. Because only in this way can it be reflected
The wealth and generosity of the heavenly kingdom.
In other words, if the same ship of goods was honestly traded with the Song Dynasty, it could only earn fifty to seventy times the income, but if it was used for tribute, it would have a profit of five hundred to seven hundred times!
What does it mean to work for one vote to last a lifetime? This is called to work for one vote to last a lifetime...
Of course, the subject of tribute must be the state. The generous rewards of the Celestial Empire are based on the submission of foreign states. As the saying goes, "I will follow the king's way, and all the summers will come and return."
However, a gentleman named Ma in later generations said that a profit of 300% is enough for capitalists to trample all laws and morals in the world, let alone a profit of 500 times. Therefore, incidents of pretending to be envoys of other countries to pay tribute have occurred since ancient times.
What is shocking is that these desperate people can often succeed, and only a few of them are discovered and beheaded.
This is not because of how clever their deception is, but because the Celestial Kingdom’s ignorance of the world makes it easy for scammers to take advantage of the loopholes. Another reason is that of the four emperors of this dynasty, two were in wrong positions and one had auspicious syndrome.
, the other is holding back his energy and wants to be a benevolent king for eternity, so he has no resistance to the coming of all nations, and is willing to be the one who is taken advantage of. The so-called good deeds, local officials turn a blind eye in order to gain credit and leave their names in history.
At first glance, as long as they are not too fake, I will be happy to introduce them to the court.
Of course, the treasury of the Song Dynasty was no longer as wealthy as it was during the time of Taizu. No one could afford this kind of business of buying goose feathers for thousands of gold, but it had to be paid tribute, so the court came up with a compromise -
The number of tributes for each country is stipulated. For those that are close, one tribute is paid once a year. For those that are far away, one tribute is paid for several years. For tributes outside the specified number, the border officials and the Municipal Shipping Department will not allow them to be released.
As soon as this move came out, the phenomenon of pretending to be envoys was greatly reduced. It has even disappeared over the years. But after the Seljuks took over Baghdad, Aziz realized that an opportunity had arisen... He knew very well that the Seljuks were arrogant and arrogant.
With his character, he would never pay tribute to the Song Dynasty. Then the official tribute must have been cut off.
It has been three years since the Seljuks took control of Baghdad, and it happens to be the year of tribute. Since the Seljuks will definitely not come, Aziz will go for them to avoid wasting the quota.
He persuaded his creditor to give him one last chance to sell off his property and take this adventure. In order to increase the success rate, he bought a complete set of customs clearance documents... Under the rule of the Seljuks, all the original palace bureaucrats were unemployed. As long as they were willing to pay
Money. They will help you create any kind of documents. He even hired an official who had been on a mission to the Song Dynasty as his personal attendant to embark on this fraud trip. Unfortunately, the guy was in poor health and died during the trip.
He'll be sick and die...
Because of the sudden death of the official, and because he had been to Guangzhou and Quanzhou several times. He was worried that someone would recognize him and reveal his secret, so he chose an unpopular port like Qinzhou Port, hoping that he could fool the customs.
The capital city is easy to say.
In fact, he also deceived Wang Han into a daze, but it wasn't just bad luck. He was also very lucky, he actually met Chen Ke...
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"Okay, I've finished what I need to say." Aziz spread his hands and said, "Master Chen, you can despise me as a swindler as much as you like."
"No, no, I appreciate your courage and wisdom. If you didn't meet me, you should be able to succeed." Chen Ke shook his head and smiled: "If possible, let's make friends."
"Making friends?" Aziz said with wide eyes, "Your Excellency and me, a...scammer?"
"Don't call yourself a fraudster." Chen Ke shook his head and smiled: "I can help you clear this charge."
"Oh," Aziz said happily: "How to wash it off?"
"I will talk to Mr. Wang tomorrow and tell him that you are actually here to ask for help from the Song Dynasty to restore the country. Naturally, he will not pay attention to you anymore, and the matter will be settled." Chen Ke said with a smile. He
Liu Yue'e behind her was helpless... This person was so bold and had no moral integrity at all.
"I understand what you mean, sir," Aziz suddenly understood and said, "How about I give you ten pounds of gold to help you with your work?"
"Personnel affairs..." Chen Ke looked back at Liu Yue'e and said, "Do I look like a corrupt official who asks for bribes?"
Liu Yue'e nodded firmly.
"Damn." Chen Ke rolled his eyes and said, "Let's see how I deal with you when I get back."
"My lord, is this too little?" Aziz said with a gloomy look on his face: "At the moment, I really can't afford more money, but don't worry, I will still have generous gifts after the tribute is successful."
"Shut up!" Chen Ke said with a gloomy face: "As an official of the Song Dynasty, if I help you make Song Dynasty look like a fool, am I still considered a person?"
"This..." Aziz didn't understand: "Since you don't allow me to pay tribute, how can you be friends?" No matter when, people who betray their country will not get true respect, and vice versa.
"Can't we be friends without paying tribute?" Chen Ke's expression softened and he said, "How much money do you owe others in total?"
"Eighty thousand dinars..." Aziz then explained that dinars are Arabic gold coins, and 80,000 dinars are equivalent to 1,144 kilograms of gold... which can be converted into about 180,000 taels of silver.
, but you can’t make it back without relying on tribute.
"Holy shit..." Chen Ke couldn't help but curse.
Seeing that Chen Ke was frightened, Aziz's expression darkened, and the cabin fell into silence again...
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"How much can you sell this cargo for?" After a long silence, Chen Ke raised his head.
"About fifty thousand guan." Aziz thought about it.
"Okay, I'll take out the remaining 130,000 yuan!" Chen Ke gritted his teeth.
"Sir, is this a joke?" Aziz said in shock.
"Am I kidding?" Chen Ke said with a heartbroken face.
"Oh no no, Mr. Chen, you are truly my noblest friend." Aziz shook his head exaggeratedly, stood up and saluted: "Tell me, what do you want from me? Even if you ask me to give you my heart and soul,
Okay." Of course, how can there be a free lunch in the world?
"Dear friend, don't say that." Chen Ke said lightly: "I don't need your organs, as long as you can teach my people a few gadgets."
"What baubles?" Aziz asked with a wary look. As a shrewd businessman like him, he naturally knew that the 'baubles' that the other party was willing to spend 130,000 taels of silver on were definitely not a baubles.
"I just need you to teach my people how to find their way on the ocean." Chen Ke picked up the wine glass and turned it gently.
"Is this..." Aziz pondered for a moment and said: "It mainly relies on experience. An experienced captain knows where there are reefs and shoals, and what signs there are before the storm arrives. He knows how to use the color of the sea water, small islands and reefs, and various
The appearance of different kinds of birds, etc... to determine the position of the ship."
"Really?" Chen Ke said with a half-smile, "How can there be so many signs for you to recognize on the ocean?"
"Your Excellency is right, sailing in the open sea is very dangerous, and you will get lost if you are not careful." Aziz said: "So the most important thing is to use the signs of the land coast. Therefore, most of our merchant ships sail along the coast. When they come to China,
The same is true. We set out from Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and sailed all the way along the coast through India, Ceylon, Myanmar, Malacca, and all the way to the Song Dynasty... I can take the adults with me to get to know us when we return.
route."
Chen Ke listened patiently to what he said, and then said calmly: "Do you think a trip like this is worth 130,000 yuan? Is my money so cheap?"
"..." Aziz said after a while: "This is how we all walk."
"Then forget it." Chen Ke stood up and said, "I think I have shown my sincerity and wanted to make friends with you, but you are still deceiving me."
"My lord, please stay." Aziz quickly stopped him and said, "I am also very sincere."
"No, you hid the most important thing from me." Chen Ke said coldly.
"What?" Aziz said with narrowed eyes.
"Star-pulling technique." Chen Ke paused and said, "Or it's called latitude navigation technique!"
"I don't understand what you are saying?" Aziz shook his head blankly.
"Coastal navigation is not only time-consuming, but also subject to all kinds of harassment." Chen Ke stared at Aziz like a sword and said: "And you are not sailing along the coast at all, but on the far sea! What you rely on is this 'star-pulling technique'
', or in other words, latitude navigation method!" After a pause, he said word by word: "Only this is worth 130,000 yuan, my friend, are you right?"
Aziz was stunned and didn't know how to answer.
"Since we are in trouble, let's forget it." Chen Ke shook his head and said to Liu Yue'e behind him: "Let's go."
"Wait a minute..." As Chen Ke quickly stepped out of the hatch, Aziz's hoarse voice sounded: "You devil..."
Before Chen Ke could speak, Aziz's nephew, a young man named Bagheri, shouted excitedly. Then the two started a heated conversation.
Although they spoke in Arabic, Chen Ke could guess that Bagheri would definitely oppose his uncle and hand over the star-pulling technique.
Opposition is inevitable, because that is the biggest secret of the Arabs across the seven seas. It is precisely because they have mastered this secret that they have monopolized the maritime trade routes, turning merchants from all over the world into their wage earners.
