Kou Zhong arrived at Sijun Garden happily and said to Kou Ji: "Young Master, Zhang Yuan and Yu You have returned home."
Kou Ji was overjoyed and said, "Hurry up and tell them to wait in the side hall."
Zhang Yuan, Yuyou returned to his hometown, and his horse trading with the Qingtang and Ganzhou Uighur tribes can be put on the agenda.
Previously, he and Kou Zhong had found out some details about Qingtang and Ganzhou Uighurs from An Ziluo and his entourage.
However, the two of them did not take the initiative to come to discuss horse trading with envoys from Qingtang and Ganzhou Uighur tribes.
Kou Ji's status was that he was an important minister in the DPRK. If he approached the envoys from Qingtang and Ganzhou Uighurs to discuss the horse trade, he would definitely be regarded as an official horse trade by the two envoys.
If the court's Inspector Youma hears the news and intervenes, it will ruin Kou Ji's plan.
That's why Kou Ji summoned Zhang Yuan to the capital, intending to leave the matter of buying horses to Zhang Yuan and Kou Zhong.
Kou Zhong left Sijun Garden and took Zhang Yuan and Yu You to the side hall.
Not long after they arrived at the side hall, Kou Ji also appeared in the side hall.
Zhang Yuan and Yu You quickly stood up and saluted Kou Ji.
"Villain Zhang Yuan..."
"Fish swim..."
"I have met the young master..."
Kou Ji looked at Yuyou with a smile, nodded with satisfaction and said, "Have your injuries been healed?"
Yu You bowed deeply to Kou Ji and said, "Thanks to the young master's intervention, I was able to save my life."
Kou Ji smiled and said: "It's fine...just sit down."
After sitting down, Kou Ji said frankly: "You two have been in Baozhou for a long time. You must know the situation in Baozhou and you also know that Baozhou is short of horses.
I urgently summoned you two back because of horse matters."
Zhang Yuan heard Kou Ji's words and only waited for Kou Ji's instructions.
However, Yuyou asked Duozui, "I wonder what you plan to do with us?"
Kou Ji smiled and said, "Of course it's to buy horses... Kou Zhong and I have already checked. Currently, the only people who can buy us horses that won't be castrated are Qingtang and Uighurs."
The reason why Kou Ji said Uighurs, not Ganzhou Uighurs, is because among the places in the Western Regions, there are not only Ganzhou Uighurs, but also Shazhou Uighurs, as well as some Uighurs scattered throughout the Western Regions.
As long as he was willing to buy good horses for Kou Ji, Kou Ji would be willing to get in touch with them no matter what part of the Uighur they were.
Yuyou was stunned when he heard this.
He thought that Kou Ji was going to let the two of them steal horses.
After all, he had helped the imperial court obtain a group of horses before, and not by any serious means.
So he naturally thought that Kou Ji was going to send them to do some things like roosters and dogs, but he didn't expect that Kou Ji actually asked them to go the right way and sell horses.
Zhang Yuan didn't think as much as Yu You. After hearing what Kou Ji said, he asked: "Young master, how do you plan for us to buy horses from the Qingtang people?"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "Before you come back, I have inquired with Kou Zhong. The Qingtang and Uighur tribes have many horses in their hands. They have chosen a place that is short of cloth, salt, some small tribes, and also need some tea bricks.
I plan to ask Kou Zhong to help you provide these things, and you will contact Qingtang and the Uighur tribes to buy back the horses from them."
Zhang Yuan said thoughtfully: "Young Master, are you not going to come forward?"
Kou Ji shook his head and said with a smile: "I can't come forward. If I come forward, the nature will change. If the horses are bought back by then, they will inevitably be divided up by the imperial court."
Zhang Yuan nodded.
But Yu You said with a grimace: "There doesn't seem to be anything I need to do here..."
Kou Ji shook his head and said: "You are wrong...your task is precisely the most important. Not only do you have to ensure the safety of Zhang Yuan when he buys horses in the Western Regions, you are also responsible for returning the horses safely to Baozhou.
go."
Yu You said blankly: "This... I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to do it alone."
Yuyou can be considered self-aware.
With his martial arts skills, protecting Zhang Yuan would not be a big problem.
But transporting horses was not something he could do alone.
Once he transported more than a hundred horses from the Western Regions into the Song Dynasty, he would definitely be targeted by many people.
The first people to keep an eye on him were probably the soldiers stationed on the border.
No matter how powerful he is in martial arts, he will still die when facing thousands of soldiers.
Kou Ji smiled and said, "I will dispatch a patrol of horse guards to help you."
After hearing this, Yuyou nodded slowly and agreed to take on the job.
With the help of the horse guards, he felt somewhat confident about transporting the horses.
Others don't understand the Horse Guards and just think of them as a group of old guys who ride around on horses all day long, but Yuyou understands the Horse Guards.
That was a group of elite soldiers selected from tens of thousands of soldiers.
Although he is a little older, his combat effectiveness is far stronger than that of ordinary soldiers.
Yu You had seen with his own eyes that a group of a hundred horse thieves were killed by a patrolling horse guard team of only ten people.
When Kou Ji saw that Yuyou had agreed, he smiled with satisfaction and said, "In recent days, envoys from various ministries have arrived in Bianjing City one after another. You two should set off quickly to contact those envoys and conclude the horse purchase transaction as soon as possible.
You don't need to worry about cloth, salt, and tea.
As many horses as they can provide, we can give them as much cloth, salt, and tea as possible."
Zhang Yuan and Yu You nodded heavily.
Kou Ji smiled and continued: "In addition, after reaching a horse deal with them, you can also buy wool, cotton and other items from them."
Zhang Yuan and Yuyou looked confused.
Only Kou Zhong seemed to have thought of something, and a bright smile appeared on his face, "I admire the young master's skills."
Kou Ji smiled calmly.
Zhang Yuan and Yu You still looked confused.
Kou Zhong smiled and reminded the two of them, "The young master has just built several textile workshops outside the city. Wool and cotton are all available for spinning."
Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yuan's eyes widened in astonishment.
Zhang Yuan cried out: "Use their wool and cotton to weave cloth in exchange for the horses in their hands?"
Kou Ji nodded and smiled: "If they provide enough wool and cotton... I can make a lot of profit in exchange for the horses in their hands."
"hiss……"
Zhang Yuan and Yu You both looked at each other and took a breath of air.
The two of them are not people who are industrious and indifferent to grains.
The two of them still had some idea of the difference between the value of wool and the value of cloth.
Kou Ji's move is not bad.
Use the wool and cotton in the hands of the Qingtang people and the Uighurs to spin them into cloth in exchange for the horses in their hands.
There is just one more step in the middle.
But Kou Ji's purchase of a horse is equivalent to spending no money.
Not only does it cost nothing, but it also makes a lot of money.
It is equivalent to the Qingtang people and the Uighurs who gave Kou Ji both horses and money.
Seeing that the two of them were in shock, Kou Ji smiled and said, "How?"
Yu You said with a complicated expression: "After the Qingtang people and the Uighurs know the truth, I'm afraid they will hate you to death."
Kou Ji smiled calmly and said: "By the time they know the truth, I will have already changed enough horses."
Zhang Yuan had different ideas from Yu You. After listening to Kou Ji's words, he pondered for a long time and said: "Young master, if you allow me to stay in Qingtang and other places, I will definitely find a way to make all Qingtang people happy."
People, Uighurs, help us herd horses, herd sheep, and grow cotton."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and stared at Zhang Yuan, silent.
He had to admit that Zhang Yuan's proposal made him a little excited.
If Zhang Yuan could get all the Qingtang people and Uighurs to get off their horses and help him herd horses, herd sheep, and grow cotton, then he would no longer have to worry about horses in the future, and the Song Dynasty would not need to worry about the lack of horses in the future.
Problems to worry about.
More importantly, Jiao Siluo, the hero of Qingtang, will also be strangled in the cradle. The Qingtang people will not rise again, nor will they become a threat to the Song Dynasty in the future.
Perhaps three generations later, Qingtang, Ganzhou and other places will be assimilated and included in the territory of the Song Dynasty.
It can be said that Zhang Yuan's proposal has many benefits.
But precisely because it was Zhang Yuan who proposed this proposal, Kou Ji had to think more about it.
How powerful Zhang Yuan's destructive power is is not difficult to know by looking at the wars between Xixia and the Song Dynasty after the founding of Xixia.
If such a highly destructive person arrived in Qingtang and failed to influence the Qingtang people and Uighurs, but was influenced by them instead, he would definitely become a disaster for the Song Dynasty.
Kou Ji didn't want to personally cultivate an opponent to go against him.
Kou Ji thought for a moment and said: "Right now, we are in Qingtang, and the Ganzhou Uighur horse trade has not started yet. It is a bit premature to talk about this topic now.
Besides, Jiao Si is also a person. Can he watch you instruct his people to herd horses, herd sheep, and grow cotton?
Moreover, you have never been to Qingtang, Ganzhou and other places, and you do not understand the local people's conditions.
If you do something like this rashly, you are likely to get into unnecessary trouble."
Zhang Yuan's expression darkened when he heard Kou Ji's words, "I understand..."
Kou Ji nodded, waved his hand and said, "Go down and rest. Rest for a day and start working tomorrow."
Kou Zhong, Zhang Yuan, and Yu You all responded and exited the side hall.
The next day.
Zhang Yuan withdrew some money from his residence, selected two clever followers from his residence, and went out to contact the envoys from various ministries.
Zhang Yuan hung around among the envoys from various ministries for three to five days.
He returned to his house and reported his results to Kou Ji.
In Sijun Garden.
In the study room.
Kou Ji lay on his side on the chair, Liu Heng sat aside with his head hanging down, and Zhang Yuan stood in front of Kou Ji with a bow.
"Young Master, I have been in contact with those foreign envoys recently and found that the horse business is not easy to do."
Zhang Yuan said respectfully.
Kou Ji asked: "How?"
Zhang Yuan said solemnly: "They seem to know that we are short of horses in the Song Dynasty, so the prices for horses are very high. It is easy to exchange cloth, salt, and tea from them for some inferior horses."
But it is difficult to exchange for the good horses in their hands."
Kou Ji frowned slightly and said, "Is it impossible to do something?"
Zhang Yuan shook his head and said: "That's not true. They can also exchange for the good horses in their hands, but they only want iron."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "As long as iron?!"
Zhang Yuan nodded heavily.
Kou Ji pondered: "I can't give them iron... But if I don't give them iron, they won't give us good horses... They will only give us some bad horses... But what's the use of wanting bad horses?"
Kou Ji pondered again and again and asked Zhang Yuandao: "Didn't they say that other things can't be exchanged for good horses?"
Zhang Yuan shook his head.
Kou Ji frowned and said, "Is there no way to get their good horses?"
Zhang Yuan whispered: "It's not impossible..."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and asked, "How do you say that?"
Zhang Yuandao: "After the villain learned that they only wanted iron, he realized that it was impossible to trade good horses directly from them, so the villain changed a trading method.
The villain buys wool and cotton from them, buying wool and cotton at a high price
But the villain told them to use good horses to help us transport the wool back.
They agreed."
Kou Ji was slightly startled, shook his head and said with a smile: "I thought they really didn't have enough food and salt, but I didn't expect that they were just being clever. Cotton and other items are not worth much in the Western Regions, and wool is even worthless.
They probably think that by selling these worthless things to us at a high price, they can take the opportunity to raise the value of good horses a lot, allowing them to make a lot of money."
Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "The villain thinks that's what they think."
Kou Ji laughed and said, "They think we are fools."
Liu Heng interrupted abruptly and said, "It would be nice for such a fool to do something."
Kou Ji nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, it's good for such a fool to do something."
After Kou Ji finished speaking with a smile, the smile on his face faded slightly. He stared at Zhang Yuan and said seriously: "Zhang Yuan, when you talk to me in the future, don't gasp, otherwise you will die."
The smile on Zhang Yuan's face froze and he said quickly: "I know I was wrong..."
Kou Ji snorted lightly, waved his hand and said: "Go down and do your work. Remember to reach a deal with the envoys from various ministries as soon as possible. It is best to send people to their tribes as soon as possible to bring our horses back.
The sooner this is done, the better; if it's too late, things will change."
"The villain understands..."
Zhang Yuan agreed and exited the study.
After Zhang Yuan left, Liu Heng said calmly: "Your subordinate is not bad."
Kou Ji said with a smile: "Of course there is no mediocre person who can only use it for our Kou government."
Liu Heng hummed and said nothing more.
Kou Ji stared at Liu Heng and muttered: "In recent days, you have been running to my house every day. You don't speak when you come here. You look listless. When I ask you what is important, you don't say anything."
Liu Heng was silent for a long time, then suddenly said: "I don't know what to say..."
Kou Ji glanced at Liu Heng with a smile, "Then let's wait until you know what to say."
After a pause, Kou Ji pretended to remember something and said with a smile: "The girl from Qingtang hasn't bothered you anymore in recent days, has she?"
Liu Heng was stunned, and whispered with mixed feelings in his heart: "No..."
Kou Ji nodded and said: "That's good... But even if she comes to bother you, you don't have to worry about it. I bumped into An Ziluo two days ago. An Ziluo said that his sister was making a lot of noise in Bianjing City, and he planned to send someone
Send his sister back to Qingtang in advance.
I heard... I will never bring her to Da Song again..."