This negotiation ended in vain, and Richard was not in the mood to stay in the Qin Mansion any longer. After a few casual greetings, he stood up and left.
Li Qi just said a few polite words and did not stay.
After Li Chaer and others left, Zhao Huan sighed and said: "Li Qi, I think that even if we talk about next year, there will be no results. With the price of salt, I think they will definitely not agree.
."
Li Qi smiled and said, "I know that."
"Then you still say that?"
Li Qi chuckled: "Your Highness, you must have never done business."
Zhao Huan was stunned and thought, since ancient times, have you ever seen any prince doing business?
As soon as these words came out, Li Qi also reacted, knowing that he had made a mistake, and hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing."
Zhao Huan smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, tell me quickly, what is going on?"
Li Qi explained: "Your Highness, this deal is negotiated. Since we want to negotiate, we must bargain. Until the last moment, both parties will never tell the bottom price in their hearts, so before the result comes out, we will all
Leave yourself some room. Let's put it this way, if the base price in my mind is one penny, then if I quote ten penny, I will have nine penny to operate. Anyway, as long as it is higher than one penny, then I will make a profit, and vice versa.
Likewise, the other party will definitely force me to reveal the lowest price, and it depends on who is more patient."
Zhao Huan nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense, but what is the minimum price in your mind?"
"Two hundred cents for two coins. This is my lowest price. Even if it's one cent less, I won't accept it." Li Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and said.
Zhao Huan asked again: "What about the horse?"
Li Qidao: "The ideal number in my mind is 30,000 horses per year, but the horses in Xixia are indeed a bit tight now, so I plan to use 10,000 good horses in the first two years, and in the third year, it must be increased to 30,000.
match."
Zhao Huan nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, sighed, and said: "In fact, no matter what, once the salt ban is lifted, it will be them who will make money. Our salt salt will not be able to sell their green and white salt. Once their green and white salt
If it flows into our Song Dynasty, then this money is more than a hundred times better for them than what we get."
What he said is not an exaggeration at all. If Xixia could generate hundreds of thousands more fiscal revenue every year, its national power would increase by leaps and bounds. Relatively speaking, the Song Dynasty spent twice the price to buy horses, because
Xieyan will definitely suffer losses as a result. Calculating the pros and cons, the Song Dynasty will undoubtedly still suffer losses.
However, Li Qi did not think so. He smiled and said: "Your Highness, since we in the Song Dynasty want to develop the economy, we must increase import and export trade. Yes, on the surface it seems that we have indeed suffered a loss, but if we can gain
If we use the markets of various countries in the Western Regions, the domestic production industry will develop rapidly. Now our country is financially empty, and it is difficult to support it only by relying on the domestic market, so we must rely on foreign markets to restore our economy."
Zhao Huan nodded a few times and said: "But how do you convince the emperor and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty? This issue has been debated endlessly since Taizu Shengshang founded the country, but the results are consistent, that is, Qingbai must not be allowed to
Salt flows into our country, and even if it loosens a little occasionally, it is because of the situation. Now that everything is stable, I think it will be difficult for my father to agree."
Li Qi nodded and said: "I know this, so I just lowered the price to the death. The purpose is to give myself a buffer. If the emperor really refuses, then I can use this to rebuff them."
Zhao Huan felt a little relieved when he saw that he still had some room left.
As everyone knows, Li Qi is bound to win this deal. He actually knows what lifting the ban on salt means to Xixia. If it were ten years ago, he would not pay attention to Richard at all, but now he really has no choice.
He knew very well that it was impossible for the Song Dynasty to withstand the attacks from both Xixia and Jin at the same time. Once the Jin invaded and Xixia took the opportunity to sneak attack, Hengshan would be lost, and even Hehuang would not be protected. Tokyo, on the other hand, was completely vulnerable to the two countries.
The door has been opened, and by that time, it will be impossible not to move the capital.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, Xixia should be weakened at this time, but Li Qi thought exactly the opposite. He knew very well that once a country encounters internal difficulties, it will inevitably transfer internal pressure to diplomacy, and then force Xixia to
Determined to stand on the same line with the Kingdom of Jin, Li Qi could only do the opposite, give Xixia enough temptation, and let them have at least one idea in their hearts, that is, Song Bumie is more interested in us.
It's beneficial. Even if the temptation now can buy Xixia a little hesitation in the future, Li Qi thinks it's worth it.
Because the key still lies in the Kingdom of Jin. If he cannot defeat the Kingdom of Jin, it won't matter whether Xixia comes or not. If the Song Dynasty can repel the Jin soldiers, then he will have more ability to intimidate Xixia and draw Xixia to his side.
In addition, the imperial court is exploiting the people too fiercely. The people are really holding on for their lives, and now they have reached the limit. Since we want to promote the national economy, expensive daily necessities will directly affect the reform.
As a result, if the people have worked so hard to earn so much money, but end up using it all to buy salt, this is equivalent to the court taking away the circulating funds in the market. The less funds flowing in the market, the more depressed the economy will be.
, this is tantamount to running counter to the opposite, so the introduction of Xixia salt can also promote the economic development of the country to a certain extent.
All in all, this is a gamble.
Li Qi, who started from scratch, faced the weakest Song Dynasty. He could only make a big gamble, but the bet was a bit big. Once he lost, countless lives would pay for it, including his own.
But what troubled him was that not everyone thought the same as him. No, it should be said that he was the only one in the government and the public who thought so. How to convince Song Huizong and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty was better than Richard.
Negotiations are more difficult.
Whenever this happens, Li Qi will think, why am I doing this? Since history is like this, then just let it continue to roll, why bother to do this stupid thing of changing fate.
But this was just a thought. Reading this piece of history in a history book had already made him very troubled. He really couldn't accept seeing the scenes of human tragedy happening with his own eyes.
So, he quickly took out the dozen pieces of white camel felt and looked at it. What is this? This is glory and wealth, this is the temptation of power. If you want not to lose all of this, you must be firm in your thoughts.
Unable to waver in the slightest, he constantly used his greed to inspire his confidence.
What Zhao Huan said was absolutely correct. When he went back and reported the contents of the negotiations to Song Huizong that day, it immediately caused an uproar in the government and the public. The ministers united and opposed unanimously, including Cai Jing and Gao Qiu. This man of salt
The benefits are so huge that no one can resist them. This means that no one wants to lose.
Without salt, how would they get such a high salary? Without salt, how would they get the money for their luxury? Without salt, how would they make extra money? But they would never think about where all this money comes from.
?
It is derived from the hard-earned money of the people.
Of course a country must be supported by its people, and it is reasonable to pay taxes. This is the responsibility of every citizen and cannot be shied away from, but you cannot go too far. You cannot drive out all the people.
To this end, Song Huizong immediately convened a temporary meeting.
Inside Chongzheng Hall.
The atmosphere was very serious, and everyone looked solemn, including Li Qi.
Song Huizong was not in the mood to play those imperial tricks anymore. He looked directly at Li Qi and said: "Li Qi, what you did in this matter is so disappointing to me. The ban on salt has been decided for a long time. How can you easily do it?"
Is this enough?"
Li Qi cupped his hands and said: "Report to the emperor, this and that time. If we don't agree to Xixia, then they will definitely not be willing to cooperate with me, the Song Dynasty."
Cai You hummed: "It's nothing to worry about a small enemy. They don't need to buy tea, copper, or food from me, the Song Dynasty. If they dare to fall out with me, the Song Dynasty, within three years, there will be no more Xixia in the world."
That’s it.”
The others smiled and nodded.
Tsk tsk, you really have such a strong tone! Li Qi said with a smile: "The British public opinion is right. If this is the case, Xixia will surely perish. However, if you compare yourself with your own feelings, if someone stands in front of you with a knife, you will have no way to retreat."
What would you do in this situation? I believe everyone will choose to fight to the death."
Tong Guan smiled and said, "That's just right. If they dare to come, I will make sure they never come back."
Tsk! To win against a small Xixia, you have to take advantage of others when they are at their weakest. Your self-confidence can be inflated to this point. If you have the ability, go find a golden man to practice. If you can win, I will win.
JJ will accompany you as a eunuch. Li Qidao said: "The military ability of the king of Guangyang is comparable to that of Han Xin. I have no doubt about this. However, war must be profitable. Xixia was fighting to the death at that time. We can't afford to accompany him to death."
, and given our current financial situation, how can we still withstand the trouble! Moreover, Xixia has surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, we must act cautiously, otherwise, we will not be facing a Xixia, but Xixia
A two-sided attack with the Kingdom of Jin."
Sure enough, once the Jin Kingdom came out, Tong Guan didn't dare to brag anymore. He had seen the ferocity of the Jin soldiers' iron hoofs.
Li Bangyan stood up and said: "Even so, there is no need to impose a salt ban on Xixia. We can buy more of their livestock and sell them more goods."
Xiao Ding frowned and said: "Xirong's salt production is endless. Now that the ban is lifted, it is possible to donate millions of salt to feed the border people, and there is no way to prevent it! This is really inappropriate."
Huang Xinren also stood up and said: "I still remember that Bao Longtu once said, 'The land of Yuanhao's several states will be donated to Qingyan'. If we lift the ban, it will be the same as that of several states in Xixia.
Let me raise them, but raising tigers will be dangerous."
Cai You suddenly glanced at Cai Jing and asked with a smile: "Dad, what do you think of this?"
Cai Jing was startled for a moment, sighed secretly, and said: "I thought that in the Wubai Salt Pond, the Xia thieves looked upon all the soldiers as if they were commanding officers. Cutting off the salt would be equivalent to destroying both arms. We must not let go easily until the end."
He originally didn't want to stand up, but he wouldn't agree with it. Anyway, he knew that Li Qi's suggestion would definitely fail, but Cai You forced him to stand up. As a result, the Prime Minister, the Third Division, and the Privy Council unanimously opposed it.
, even if Li Qi was very eloquent, he might not be able to convince Song Huizong.
Song Huizong nodded frequently and said to Li Qi: "Li Qi, do you have anything else to say?"
Li Qi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, what Grand Master and the others say is very reasonable, but I think we must do this business based on just one point."
(Guaranteed monthly tickets will be available soon in the Year of the Horse... Please give me monthly tickets, please recommend...) (To be continued...)