With the traitor Hong Cheng out of the way, the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce encountered unprecedented difficulties in its expansion into the Western Region. Including Shopkeeper Sun, there were less than twenty merchants left with Su Ren. This was not the worst.
What makes everyone anxious is that the goods of these twenty companies are still piled up in the open air, and many of them have become moldy, especially silk and porcelain, and tea has suffered the most serious damage.
Lao Wang went to Su Ren three times a day, repeating the same sentence over and over again, hoping that Su Ren would find a way. He didn't care about the rags and broken soil, but the reputation of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce and the commitment of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce.
"Sir, if you don't think of a way, the remaining merchants may..."
Su Ren frowned: "I know the situation, but there is a way. If used, it is likely to hurt both sides. Such a method cannot be used easily, unless it is at a critical moment."
"Well, where is my husband? Isn't it a critical moment now? If this continues, the reputation we have worked hard to earn for the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce for seven or eight years will be completely ruined!"
Su Ren took a deep breath: "In that case, let's give it a try!"
People in the Western Regions are very interested in the goods of the Han Dynasty. Everyone knows that as long as the goods of the Han Dynasty are transported to the far west, even a piece of shit can be sold for the same price as gold. Su Ren led a caravan to Shanshan to provide goods to the Western Regions.
The camel passengers provided a very convenient condition, for no other reason than that they no longer need to take risks in the Hexi Corridor, which is known as the Road of Death.
Compared with those people in the Hexi Corridor, the horse thieves in the Western Regions are much more measured in doing things. These horse thieves know that the reason why they can live so well in the vast Gobi and deserts is the biggest reliance on the merchants coming and going. Therefore,
When the merchants provide them with enough money or food, instead of killing them all, they will provide protection for the merchants. Some powerful horse thieves control an area of thousands of miles, which is enough for camel riders to walk for a long time.
The people in the Hexi Corridor are different, not to mention the Qiang people. They live in poverty and will not stay here if they have any solution. Therefore, they have always robbed merchants with one word and three words. It is precisely because they have everything.
No, so they would rob the merchants without leaving anything, including their goods and money, and sometimes the women and children who accompanied the caravans were among them.
The most ruthless people are the Huns. The Xiongnu race could be regarded as barbarians in the past. Although their history is very long, it can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. For more than a thousand years, the Huns have done more than raising horses and herding.
The only skill he learned was robbery. Even now that he has become an empire, this bad habit can never be changed. In the eyes of the Huns, the best solution to anything they don't have is to rob. If they don't give it, they will kill. No matter how many people they kill, it won't matter.
question.
The camel travelers in the Western Regions all jumped for joy after seeing Su Ren's caravan. Everyone expected to make a fortune this time. When a group of camel travelers got the goods, they led hundreds of camels and played the melodious camel bells.
After the news that there were Han merchants in Qianni City spread throughout the Western Regions, it didn't take long for the nearby camel travelers to occupy almost all the inns and wine shops in Qianni City, and this trend was still increasing. I heard that there were already people in Dawan
Camel passengers from China are coming.
There were too many camel passengers, so the goods were naturally not enough to be divided. It might be better if everyone got a little bit. It was a pity that some people were dazzled by the immediate benefits and wished to collect all the goods in the hands of the Han people into their own hands.
Whether it is to raise the price on the ground or to ship to the west, it is still a good choice. Hongcheng relied on the support of Mo Cong and Shao Weng to sell the goods to several big companies in Shanshan Kingdom as soon as he arrived in Qianni City.
Merchant.
As a result, these large merchants in Shanshan Kingdom became the sought-after targets of all camel customers overnight, and the prices of some in-demand goods even changed three times a day. Just recently, the price of a coarse porcelain bowl has changed from the original price
One copper coin has risen to five silver coins, and there are signs of continued rise. The big merchants of Shanshan Kingdom laughed. Even though they repeatedly raised the price of their goods, many people still flocked to it.
However, no matter how much goods there are, they will be sold out. After the dozens of merchants from the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce contacted by Hongcheng have disposed of all the things in their hands, they still cannot satisfy the appetite of the camel passengers. The big merchants of Shanshan Kingdom continue to
He urged Hong Cheng to take his people back to Han to transport more goods, but Hong Cheng understood that this time he was just making a one-time deal, let alone whether he could transport more goods from Han Dynasty. Without Su Ren's protection and protection,
There is no guarantee whether they can make it out of the Hexi Corridor alive.
Hongcheng had no goods, but the merchants under Su Ren could not sell them. In the past, merchants did not dare to overcome such a polar situation. However, when the camel driver shouted the price of a coarse porcelain bowl to one gold coin, no matter it was
These camel passengers were merchants from Shanshan Kingdom and could no longer sit still. Someone had already contacted Lao Wang privately and secretly sold some, but it was a pity that there was still more backlog.
When the big merchants of Shanshan Kingdom found Lao Wang privately for the third time, Lao Wang sighed: "Everyone, it's not that I don't want to sell the goods to you, but there is really no other way. Yesterday the tax collector went to where we live.
He went to the place to count all the goods. He said that this kind of thing will continue in the future. If it is found that one of my goods is missing, we will be punished according to the laws of your Shanshan country for not respecting the king's order. This will require beheading!
"
"Shopkeeper Wang, I'm willing to pay three times the price."
"I'm willing to pay five times as much!"
Lao Wang still sighed: "Who doesn't love money, but what about life? As long as you ask your king to let go, let alone these goods, I will send people back to Han to continue transporting goods now! But, having said that, this
Once upon a time, I and these dozen or so friends lost all their goods, but we still haven’t recovered our money. It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but we can’t afford to pay for it in the long run!”
"Who wants the king to do such a cruel thing?" a Westerner sitting at the back of the crowd suddenly asked.
Lao Wang stood up loudly: "What this friend said is good, but we are Han people. We have no relatives or friends in Shanshan country, and we have no foundation. A tax collector dares to shout in front of me. I'm afraid the king will not listen to me.
,So, this matter still has to fall on you."
"We will go to the king to protest!"
Someone shouted, and immediately others followed. After three or five sentences, the whole room was almost on the verge of explosion. The temperament of the people in the Western Regions is as broad and angular as the Gobi Desert. In their opinion, everything can be easily solved.
, as long as a group of people are united, neither the city lord nor the king has the courage to compete with them. This is also a characteristic of the Western Regions. Whoever has more people standing behind him will naturally have a greater say.
Drinking tea and watching the angry Shanshan merchants go out, shopkeeper Sun frowned: "Brother Wang, will nothing happen if you do this? If the king of Shanshan really wants to kill someone, these merchants will be in trouble.
.”
Lao Wang smiled slightly: "Don't worry, it won't happen! No matter how stupid King Shanshan is, he will not kill these merchants. Seeing that without these talents, Qianni City is the largest force, and the countries in the Western Regions cannot farm or herd.
Business is their only way out. Merchants in the Western Regions are just like farmers in our country. When more than half of the farmers in the world rebel, what do you think our Majesty will do?"
Shopkeeper Sun thought for a while: "There is really no good way. There is no other way but to compromise! But..."
"It's okay. Even if the King of Shanshan is confused and is controlled by some people, he will not act recklessly. Even people like Mo Cong and Shao Weng are like this. Once the rich people of Shanshan Kingdom are cornered, there will be no way to destroy the country in Shanshan Kingdom.
Far."
"But, what if..."
"Haha!" Lao Wang pushed the tea in front of Shopkeeper Sun: "Try it, this is the best fried tea years ago, Mr. Su gave it to me, that's all, if I had known I wouldn't have taken it out today,
It is a pity to treat these guys with such a good thing. Mr. Su said it well, people who are not from my race must have different hearts. Mo Cong and Shao Weng are like this. No matter how many people die in the Western Regions, what does it matter?"
The mighty team is still growing. From Guifu Tower to the gate of the palace, the team of only thirty or forty people has turned into hundreds of people. The largest number are naturally merchants, and of course camel passengers from far away.
Some people followed to watch the fun, and some also wanted to get a share of the negotiation with the king.
The palace of Shanshan Kingdom is not very splendid to begin with, but it is just a little higher than other houses. Qianni City is not a big city either. One street is only a few dozen steps long, with three turns and two turns, waiting for the patrolling soldiers and public servants.
When people found out, the merchants had already arrived outside the palace. The people guarding the palace were all the king's cronies. When seeing these merchants, their response was very simple. Anyone who dared to approach the royal city privately would be killed without mercy.
It was not until after killing three that Mo Cong and Shao Weng learned what was going on in the city. After hearing Luan Da's report, Shao Weng was shocked: "How many people did you say?"
"In the beginning there were only a dozen people, but by the time they arrived in front of the palace, there were more than 200 people. After people died, it became even more."
"How much more?"
"About five to six hundred, right? Many foreign camel passengers were also involved!"
Mo Cong shook his head: "We still underestimated Su Ren's energy. This person is the best at taking advantage of the general trend. This time we did not only offend Su Ren, but also offended all the merchants of Shanshan Kingdom. This is not Han Dynasty, we are in trouble
Big!"
"So what, I will ask the king to order all those troublemakers to be arrested now!"
"Catch them? To put it simply, do you know what the reason why Shanshan Kingdom can operate is? These merchants support everything in Shanshan Kingdom. If these people die, the entire Shanshan Kingdom will be destroyed."
Shao Weng was a little puzzled: "How could it be? How can a merchant have so much energy?"
Mo Cong smiled and said: "Can you try it? If Shanshan Kingdom disappears in the future, don't blame me!" (To be continued)
