After the Battle of Lanzhou, Xixia's plan to send troops to seize the Hehuang area was frustrated, and Li Qi used both soft and hard tactics to make Xixia accept the plan to strengthen trade cooperation between the two countries. In fact, Xixia has always attached great importance to Song trade and is very concerned about it.
Needed. And the Song Dynasty often used this trick to force Xixia to surrender, which made Xixia very angry. Now the other party actually proposed to strengthen trade cooperation, how could they object. Moreover, there is a Jin Kingdom watching covetously on the side, which makes Xixia very angry.
The two countries are even more afraid to act rashly, lest others take advantage of them.
Nowadays, Xixia's economy is in recession, and people's dissatisfaction is boiling in the country. That's why Richard rushed to Tokyo in such a hurry to discuss trade cooperation. But since you have surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, the Song Dynasty will naturally receive you as a vassal state.
, Moreover, no matter what, the Song Dynasty is also a "big country" in the Central Plains. If you don't surrender to me and surrender to the Jurchens, isn't this a slap in my face? Song Huizong will certainly not hold a grand banquet to wash away the dust for Richard like he did before.
, even unwilling to meet with him. However, because Li Qi proposed a strategy of light and heavy garrison, the Song court valued Richard's trip very much, so they sent Zhao Huan to meet Richard.
Originally, Song Huizong would leave such matters to Zhao Kai, but now that Zhao Kai has lost power, Prince Zhao Huan has been stabilized. In addition, Zhao Kai and Li Qi are already incompatible, but Zhao Huan and Li Qi
The relationship between the two is getting closer and closer day by day, so it is only natural that this task falls on him.
"Prince, your Majesty is here. Li Qi is far away to greet you. I forgive you, I forgive you."
Li Qi slowly came to the front yard, and then quickly walked into the front hall, and quickly saluted Zhao Huan, Richard, and the officials involved in the negotiation. The hypocritical smile on his face was so embarrassing.
.
Richard's profession has received enough cold treatment. He took the initiative to come to Li Qi's door, and he didn't feel ashamed. After all, he was the one asking for help. He laughed and said: "Economy makes a strong statement, it's me who is waiting for you."
I’m sorry to bother you.”
"No, no, the prince is exaggerating." Li Qi chuckled and said, "I originally planned to visit the prince today, but Zhuo Jing is pregnant and really can't spare the time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Richard snorted and said, "That's really gratifying and congratulatory. It just so happens that I brought some small gifts today, and the cold weather has fallen, so maybe Madam can use them." He said and waved to the two attendants around him.
Take action.
This is necessary. If you don't bring a gift, I won't let you in. Li Qi was overjoyed. He saw only pieces of snow-white felt, about ten pieces, but they were definitely not made of wool. They were thicker than wool.
It looks even more beautiful and generous. At a glance, you can tell it is extraordinary.
Richard smiled slightly and said: "These fifteen pieces of felt are made of the best white camel fur in the country. Please accept it from the economic envoy."
"White camel?"
Li Qi's expression was startled. Even he who came later saw this white camel's hair for the first time. He kept saying in his heart, "It's the best, it's the best." If it is made into a coat, the red slaves will definitely like it and accept it with a smile.
, I will definitely accept it if I accept it.
Li Qi, who was secretly rejoicing, keenly caught the trace of disgust flashing in Zhao Huan's eyes from the corner of his eye. He suddenly realized that Zhao Huan had a very obvious advantage, that is, he was frugal. He was very frugal.
All the ministers in the court knew that Zhao Huan hated others giving him gifts. You must know that he was a man who dared to throw Cai Jing's gifts. For a prince, this is really commendable, but at the same time, his shortcomings are also very obvious.
That is weakness and lack of opinion. This is another fatal flaw for a prince.
Li Qi retracted his hand that originally wanted to test the quality, smiled softly, and said: "Your Highness must have ulterior motives for giving me such an expensive gift, right?"
Richard was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, I just gave him a gift as a meeting gift. What’s the purpose? He said hurriedly: “The economics is making me laugh, how can this be considered an expensive gift?”
"Really?" Li Qi was startled and said carelessly: "Oh, but I do like this felt. Otherwise, Your Majesty, how about I make a deal with you? If the price of this felt is at the same price,
Left and right, as much as you have, I have as much as I have."
consistent?
Richard was secretly surprised, "How dare you say that? I'll give you these pieces of felt. They are all used by our royal family. You can't buy them even if you have money. Moreover, the felt made of white camels is the best in the world."
Yes, even if it is an ordinary one, it will cost thirty or forty guans. For one guan, you can sell it to me.
Seeing the embarrassment on Richard's face, Li Qi chuckled and said, "Don't be offended, Your Majesty. I'm just joking. In fact, I know that the gift given by Your Majesty is fake. The real intention is to promote this kind of white camel skin. I understand, I understand."
"
Richard was stunned again, but he immediately remembered that there was a prince standing here. He knew that there were many rules in the Song Dynasty, so he quickly said: "Oh, it seems that I really can't hide anything in front of the economic envoy."
That’s right! That’s exactly what it is.”
Although Zhao Huan has no opinion, he is not stupid. Of course he saw that Li Qi's words were meant for him. In fact, if Li Qi accepted this gift, it was also polite and understandable. However, it can be seen that Li Qi's words were meant for him.
Qi still respected him very much, with a hint of happiness on his face, and he said: "Your Majesty, he is so generous with his fists, Li Qi, just accept it."
Li Qi knew that his goal had been achieved, he nodded and said with a smile: "Since His Highness has said so, if I don't accept it, it will seem a bit artificial." He said and cupped his hands towards Richard: "
Then thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Zhao Huan said again: "Okay, okay, let's sit down and talk."
The three of them sat down again.
The servants also served refreshments in a timely manner. This was probably the most miserable reception of foreign guests since the beginning of the Song Dynasty.
But no one cares about this. The three people sitting here all think about the great interests of the country.
As soon as Richard sat down, he couldn't wait to say to Li Qi: "Economic Ambassador, to be honest, our Lord is very interested in the idea of strengthening bilateral trade that you proposed in Lanzhou last time, so he sent me to discuss it.
.”
Li Qi chuckled: "Your Majesty is a wise king. How could he refuse such a win-win situation?"
Richard nodded with a smile and said: "However, I believe that if we want to strengthen trade between the two sides, first of all, your country must lift the ban on our Xixia green and white salt."
The main sources of income for the Xixia court were animal husbandry and salt. Xixia was located inland and had abundant salt resources, including salt ponds such as Wuchi, Baichi, Jilantaichi, Xixiangchi, and Wayaochi.
, loose salt produced in Gushuofangchi, Qiucichi, etc., as well as rock salt produced in the salt mountains in the Hexi Zoukou area. Qingbai salt has become synonymous with Xixia. However, Xixia has a sparse population. The huge salt resources exceed the population and are unknown.
How many times, if they only eat it in their own country, they don’t know how much salt will be wasted every year, so they can only need more export trade. It is no exaggeration to say that the export of salt is the economic lifeline of Xixia. Because the salt of Xixia is very cheap
, and the taste is quite good, so it is very tempting to people in other countries.
The Song Dynasty, which has a large population, is naturally their biggest customer, but the problem arises again. Salt is exclusively sold by the imperial court in the Song Dynasty. Your salt is cheap and tastes good. If the people all buy your salt, what will happen to our domestic salt?
, as a meal?
For this reason, the Song Dynasty and the Xixia Dynasty were often at loggerheads with each other. The ban was repeated over and over again. In fact, the Song Dynasty had been advocating a ban on the salt trade since Taizong. However, sometimes due to the military oppression of the Xixia Dynasty, they had to relax it, that is,
There are major bans and minor bans. As long as the relationship between Xixia and Song Dynasty breaks down, the Song Dynasty will definitely ban salt. Anyone who dares to smuggle will be severely punished. This gives Xixia a headache. At the beginning, Li Yuanhao was so arrogant that some people even said that he would use all the strength of the world.
.Invincible, but in the end he succumbed to the salt.
Zhao Huan smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, does your country only deal in salt?" As the prince, he naturally knew the reason. He thought to himself, if the ban is lifted, your annual salt profit in Xixia will be earned from me, the Song Dynasty.
Hundreds of thousands of coins go back. You are a rich country and a strong army. Who can guarantee that you will not send troops to the Song Dynasty?
Sweat! Today the prince changed his gender, and as soon as he said it, he became quarrelsome. Li Qi almost didn't laugh out loud, but he didn't make a sound. This salt is a big profit for the official, and the interests are huge and complicated, so he also
Don't dare to speak rashly.
Richard looked slightly embarrassed and said: "That's not true, but since we want to strengthen the trade between you and us, we must first be fair. No matter what is banned, this is not appropriate. The salt from your country can also be sold to our country.
, we are also very welcome.”
The salt in your Xixia can be used as food, so how can our salt get in? If you have the ability to sell all the food to me, Da Song, I will take as much as you have. Li Qi said with a smile: "Your Majesty, there is no way to do business.
There is no such thing as fairness, there are always gains and losses.”
Zhao Huan nodded and said: "The economic envoy is right. As we all know, in the northwest of our country, including Tokyo and Xijing, the salt from Shanxi Jiechi is marketed, and the income from Jiechi is also an important source of finance for the northwest and other places. Yours
If all the green and white salt is sold to our country, what will happen to our salt solution?"
This is an old topic. What should be said has been discussed and analyzed thoroughly by predecessors. Richard also understands why the Song Dynasty did this, but if you don’t open a salt road, how can you start talking about strengthening trade?
. Said: "Your Highness, you can't say that. The goods we in Xixia buy from your Song Dynasty every year are much higher than the goods you buy from my Xixia. Even if you lift the ban on salt, our profits will not be half as much as yours. Moreover,
We only need to buy 100,000 hu of dendrobium from China Green Salt every year. You are a big country in the Central Plains, so why bother worrying about it."
Zhao Huan said: "This has nothing to do with the big countries in the Central Plains. The national conditions of each country are different. How much your salt is sold in the Song Dynasty will be a huge loss for the court. Why don't you just ask us for money."
That's really good. Can't you tell that the prince has a business acumen? Li Qi secretly laughed in his heart. In fact, he also understood that Zhao Huan was so determined because he was afraid that he would let go. This shows how important this salt is.
.
But Richard is not a good person, he has done enough work, and said with a smile: "But your highness, have you ever thought about why you people like our salt? Because our salt is cheap enough. In other words, if
If your country is willing to lift the ban on salt, then your people will definitely be the biggest beneficiaries. If you people benefit, the entire Song Dynasty will benefit. Isn't this a win-win situation?"
Zhao Huan frowned when he heard this. It was really hard to answer this, because what Richard said was absolutely right. In order to increase the revenue of the state treasury, the Song Dynasty court put a lot of effort into this salt. It was expensive and had to be taxed.
, all things put together, the price is really ridiculous. It is understandable to say that it is the most profitable business. The people do not know how much they have been exploited by the court in this aspect alone. After all, the people are the ones who suffer the most.
.Therefore, people are very fond of Xixia’s cheap green and white salt.
It seems that it is time for me to take action. Li Qi suddenly said: "Your Majesty, your words are wrong. Yes, your green and white salt is indeed cheap, but it is not a necessity for us in the Song Dynasty. We can adjust the salt at any time according to our policies.
Price, but once your country’s salt comes in, our control over our country’s salt will be greatly weakened. What His Highness just said is very good. The national conditions of each country are different. Let’s be more straightforward. Your Xixia’s
Does the decision-making power rest in the hands of the people?"
The implication is that the people have no right to make the decision. The decision-making is made by the ministers in the court, and those ministers have to rely on salt to make money. How could they allow you, a powerful competitor, to come and steal their money.
His straightforward words left Richard with nothing to do. His words might be of some use to those hypocrites who want to be a bitch and also want to build a memorial arch, but when placed in front of Li Qi, they were simply vulnerable.
He also knew that Li Qi was very good at doing business. To deal with Li Qi, we could not start from local transactions, but had to start from the overall situation. He smiled and said: "In this case, why does the economic envoy propose to strengthen the trade between our two countries? If
If you can't sell this salt, then I really don't know where to start this trade."
Zhao Huan finally understood. This guy came here just for the salt.
Li Qi laughed, stood up, spread his hands, and said: "My lord, don't be anxious. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a mantra. There is only a matchmaker in the world that cannot be made, and there is no business that cannot be made. Buying and selling is such a thing.
There will only be one result, and that is profit, even if this transaction can only make a penny. Both parties can break it up and share it."
Richard nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, but I was confused."
Li Qi chuckled: "What I want to say is very simple, that is, what can we get from this deal? This deal is about your will and my will. If I knew that this deal was going to lose money, I would still be so stupid."
If we rush to do it with you, then it’s not a business, it’s charity. What His Highness said makes sense, you might as well ask us for money directly, and giving you money can be considered a favor."
Richard frowned slightly. He knew that Li Qi was bargaining, but he didn't know what Li Qi wanted, so he simply threw the question to the other party and said: "Since the economic minister said that there is no impossible business in the world, then
I don’t know how to make this transaction a win-win situation.”
Li Qi smiled and said: "Forgive me for offending, please, when your country makes requests to others, you should first examine yourself. We impose a salt ban on you, why don't you impose a horse ban on us, oh, yours
You can ban the sale of horses to our Song Dynasty. Not only that, you even use your control of the Silk Road to sabotage our purchase of horses from the Liugu Department, Ganzhou Uighurs, the Western Regions and other places. We can't ban salt. Damn it.
, you are really good at doing business. Moreover, you can also ban the goods we sell to you Xixia. We really don’t have to worry about not being able to sell them. Let’s talk about tea. I can sell it to Korea and Japan.
Sell it to Jiaozhi. If you have the ability, you won't secretly buy grain from Da Song Dynasty. Then I admire you, you are brave enough."
This man was indeed a talent. Fortunately, his third brother had a falling out with him at that time. Zhao Huan smiled slightly and said: "Our Confucian ancestor, Sage Kong, once said, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you."
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Richard's face, and he said: "It's not that we don't want to sell this horse, it's just that you and I repeatedly had large-scale conflicts. We sold horses to you, and you rode our horses to attack us.
, to use a Chinese saying, it is called cocooning oneself, and we have to do it as a last resort."
Li Qi chuckled and said: "Then I can also say that, we will give you money and food to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and when you are strong, you will come to attack us. Isn't this called self-imposed cocoon?"
The negotiations have undoubtedly reached a deadlock.
Richard looked gloomy and remained silent when he heard this. He originally thought that since it was Li Qi who brought it up first, no matter what, Li Qi would always find a way to get the Song court to show some sincerity, even though he knew it.
He received a cold reception at this meeting, but he finally put down his posture. However, he did not expect that Li Qi's words were so strong and aggressive that he almost lost his words.
Huh! You really think that I, Li Qi, am a good guy, and I will let you control me. Li Qi glanced at Richard slightly, an elusive smile flashed in his eyes, and said: "My lord, don't blame me, I'm just discussing the matter, nothing else."
His will.”
Richard forced a smile and said: "I know this."
Li Qi sighed: "Actually, after all, you and I are jealous of each other, that's why we are like this. But I don't know why there is such a fear. You said that our two countries have been fighting for nearly a hundred years, but we have gained
What is it? It is a waste of resources. No one gets what they want, but loses a lot."
Richard seemed to have seen a slight turning point and said: "Besides everything else, I very much agree with what the economic leader said. War is not good for anyone."
"That's it. In that case, why should we be on guard against each other?" Li Qi shrugged and said with a smile: "If we want to break this situation that has lasted for decades, only one party can reach out first. We, the Song Dynasty,
If you are willing to be the first person, you can sell the salt. As long as the price is right, there is no need to set any quantity restrictions. Anyway, as long as you open this mouth, those restrictions are equivalent to being in vain. Not only that, we, the Song Dynasty, can even completely treat you
Open your arms, but I want to know if you can be equally honest with us?"
Zhao Huan was shocked when he heard this. But he did not say anything. After all, during the negotiation process, you can never speak out against your own people, and it is not something Li Qi can make the final say on.
Richard couldn't help but feel elated after hearing this. If the Song Dynasty could completely open its arms to trade to them, it would be the most exciting news in this century for them. Moreover, they themselves would have to make money by selling horses. If it were a horse
If you can get such a lot of benefits, then of course this deal can be done. He said: "If this can be done, of course we will be honest with you. As long as you don't invade our country, we are actually willing to sell horses to you."
Li Qidao: "So, before that, we thought we needed to sign a peace treaty. Let's put down our weapons and pick up our goods to strive for a win-win situation."
Richard laughed and said: "The words of the economic commander really coincide with what I think!"
Li Qi waved his hand and said, "My lord, don't rush to agree, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Richard's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he said, "Economic envoy, please speak."
Li Qidao: "We have another request, that is, you must open the Silk Road to us."
Richard chuckled and said, "I thought it was nothing, of course."
Li Qi shook his head and said: "I trust the prince's character very much, but it does not mean that I can trust everyone in your country."
Richard frowned and said, "What do you mean by this?"
"My point is very simple. Whether you agree to this or not is not the key. The key is that we need to get a very practical guarantee."
"A very practical guarantee?"
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes, you Xixia must pay a deposit to our Song Dynasty every month. Let's not discuss the amount for now. The purpose of this deposit is to protect the merchants of our Song Dynasty and the merchants from the west who come to our Song Dynasty to do business."
The rights and interests of merchants. If we merchants or merchants who want to come to our Song Dynasty to do business suffer any man-made damage when passing through your Xixia, we will directly deduct an equivalent amount from this deposit to compensate our merchants.
, more refunds and less compensation, we will not ask you for a penny more. Of course, when our merchants enter your Xixia, both you and I must conduct detailed inspections."
"This---." Richard frowned upon hearing this. He never expected that Li Qi would make such a request.
In fact, if you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to understand that Li Qi's fundamental purpose is still to return to He. How could the Western Regions generation be just a Xixia like you? Otherwise, how would he have made so much profit? Li Qi was willing to try any business.
Only this loss-making business, he refused to do so.
Li Qi smiled again and said: "We are not doing this to embarrass you. To be honest, we just want to get the most basic safety guarantee. Moreover, this is of great benefit to you Xixia."
Richard was stunned when he heard this and said: "Oh? Forgive me for being stupid, but please tell the economic envoy clearly."
Li Qidao: "Think about it, your journey from east to west in Xixia is not a day or two. Those passing merchants still need the most basic food and accommodation, and they all have to pay for it. This has undoubtedly promoted the development of your country."
Economy, if it goes on for a long time, there will be more and more businessmen in the past, and this wealth will be far from immeasurable. Only a fool will refuse. I really don’t understand, what is the purpose of those immoral things you did in the past? As a result, many people today
Merchants would rather walk several times the distance than go to Xixia, you are calling yourself a cocoon."
(Happy New Year. Since it is the first day of the new year, I believe everyone has a lot of activities, so I will send out 6,000 words in one piece. It is the end of the month, and the monthly vote will be wasted if you don’t vote.) (To be continued. If you like this work,
Welcome to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.)