He had already received the news from his father's dispatch, so he arranged the affairs at hand as soon as possible and prepared to return to Beijing - calculating the time, there was only one month left.
Zhao Yi (h), the governor of Lezhou and commander of the state army, came out of the city to greet him.
This gentleman is a member of the Zhao family of the Zhongwu Army, the nephew of Zhao Jue, and the eldest son of Zhao Jue.
Shao Shude and Zhu Quanzhong fought fiercely for many years. When the Chen-Xu war broke out, the situation suddenly became clear, and the Zhao family came to join them. Later, he entered the court as an official, dedicated the two states of Chen-Xu to the court, and set an example for all towns in the world.
Zhao Lu, the eldest son of Zhao Yan, is currently the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, holding a high and powerful position.
As the eldest son of Zhao Jue, Zhao Yi's development can only be said to be mediocre. He bounced around as an official in various states in the Central Plains and was not promoted for many years. If he wanted to become a governor, he had to get the "old, young, border and poor" area.
However, he is a military man, and would rather be the leader in the border areas than the assistant officer in the Central Plains. He really can't play the official role, which is more frustrating. In the past, he was a government official, and he only wanted to be flattered by others, and he never had to
You can imagine how uncomfortable it is for him to curry favor with others.
"Zhao Shijun's efforts to keep the water flowing were certainly meritorious, but why did he sit back and watch the Goryeo bandits build a city on the south bank instead of attacking them and overturning their shells?" Shao Chengjie asked.
Zhao Yi looked ashamed.
Shi Gaozhaowang, the governor of Lezhou, watched with cold eyes. He came out to smooth things over and heard him say: "Your Highness does not know something. The thirty counties in the north of Yunnan have no strong soldiers at all, and they have always been bullied by Goryeo and Bohai. Last year, during the Northern Expedition to the Bohai Sea, Xubei sent 5,000 troops, so what?
This is the first time that the men have gone to the battlefield seriously. A jade cannot be made into a weapon without being polished, and the soldiers cannot be used without training. Isn't this still training? The defense of the city is acceptable, but the strategy of crossing the river to the south is difficult for them."
Shao Chengjie glared at him, and Gao Zhaowang subconsciously avoided his eyes, lowered his head and shut up.
Bohai, Xijing, and Nanjing were all captured by the King of Qin himself. Even Longyuan Mansion in Tokyo and the princes in Leibei theoretically surrendered to him.
A while ago, Falcon City was in crisis, and the King of Qin sent troops to rescue him, forcing Wang Jian to retreat.
With all this, the prestige of the King of Qin in this area is quite high. Anton, Shenzhou Prefecture soldiers, Yingzhou Prefecture soldiers and Fans, Wei Shengjun, Dongbei Tutuan villagers and even the two capitals and Bohai are willing to demote their officials and generals.
Listening to his drive, there are also those who are eager to make progress, secretly betray their sincerity, and submit letters of allegiance. I am afraid that they have gathered a large number of party members.
Even Gao Zhaowang himself has visited once or twice, but he has not yet completely surrendered.
"If your troops are not good, then practice them quickly. In this world, the people in your hands will speak for themselves after all." Shao Chengjie said: "The Koreans are sly and sly, and they are not like kind people. I estimate that sooner or later, they will have to cross the river to go north, and they still need someone.
A perfect strategy."
"What is the best strategy?" Zhao Yu and Gao Zhao looked at each other and asked.
"How many soldiers are there in Lezhou?" Shao Chengjie asked without answering.
"There are still more than 3,800. We are recruiting athletes these two days and plan to expand the number." Zhao Yu replied.
"Soldiers are more valuable than more." Shao Chengjie said: "Recruitment is suspended. The existing sergeants should be reorganized. Those who are weak in martial arts and weak and timid will be eliminated. I will select some elite and brave soldiers from the Wei Sheng Army for you.
, incorporated into the state army. They are skilled in bow and horse, and have rich experience in battle formations. With the old leading the new, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers can be greatly improved. "
"Yes." Zhao Yu and Gao Zhaowang looked at each other and agreed in unison.
The King of Qin still recruited envoys. He had the right to do so without any reason to object.
"Yin Xuan of Falcon City has surrendered to the imperial court. He still has two to three thousand people under his command. You must watch and help each other with him to fight against Goryeo." Shao Chengjie warned again.
"As ordered." The two of them responded again.
Shao Chengjie looked at the renovated Pyongyang City and decided to stay for a few more days.
Today, he is no longer alone. More and more civil and military officials are gathering around him, and there are even more countless people who have secretly betrayed him.
He also needs people to arrange. He also needs to be rewarded. He also needs to lay a good foundation.
He didn't have to worry about his father's opinions because he didn't cross the line and was within the allowed range.
Li Tangbin, Lu Huaizhong, Gao Renhou
This kind of general, as long as he has served as a camp commander, will try his best to arrange his own people before the end of his term, let alone the prince?
He already has a strong foundation in Shu, and he also has a certain influence on the Guannai Road. He conquered many places in the Liaodong Road with his own hands, and it is natural for him to arrange his own affairs.
Shao Chengjie carefully recalled his mother's teachings, patience, patience, patience. His father is already fifty-two years old. Every year that passes, he becomes older and older, and according to his mother's words, he becomes more sensitive.
Everything should be done in moderation, but it is really difficult to grasp the degree of this, because for an old man, the standards are constantly changing. What you can do today may be taboo tomorrow.
Shao Chengjie raised his riding whip irritably. He would rather stay with the warriors than doing anything else. But these things have to be done, because warriors also need wealth and official titles. Without these, who will work for you?
****
Zhongye, the Prime Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, came to Longquan Mansion from Longyuan Mansion. At that time, Shao Shude was playing with his children in Cheng'en Hall.
In November last year, the Bodhisattva slave gave birth to a son for him.
In December, after suffering for a long time, Xiao Chongsheng, who was almost exhausted, gave birth to a daughter. Coupled with Yue Liduo's son in August, Shao Shude had three infants by his side, whom he visited every day. He was very precious.
When Chu Zhongye came, he was in the room of the Bodhisattva slave.
The biggest butt in the harem is filled with the glory of motherhood. She puts all her attention on her children and smiles all day long. There is no trace of the expression of a bitter girl.
Shao Shude will naturally not be stupid enough to mention that your first son Yelu Laogu was killed by me. He will only say things that the Bodhisattva slave likes to hear, so he can fight for milk with his son every day, which makes him feel so happy.
"When you are sleepy, go to the kang and lie down for a while. I will come when I go." Shao Shude carefully placed his son on the kang and said.
"Yes." The Bodhisattva slave responded obediently, keeping his eyes on his son.
Shao Shude straightened his robe and walked outside. Seeing Chu Zhongye waiting there, he asked, "Is the ice cellar ready?"
"Three of them were completed before winter. Unfortunately, the time is short and the digging is not big enough. After the spring sowing, Dou Fuyin will recruit servants to help expand." Chu Zhongye replied.
"Are there any Mohe people coming to cause trouble in winter?" Shao Shude sat on the dragon chair, gently opened the teacup, and took a sip of fragrant tea to get rid of the fishy smell in his mouth.
"No. Before winter, the power of Silver Saddle was heard far and near. The Tibetan people were afraid and did not dare to do anything wrong." Chu Zhongye replied: "However, in winter, Tibetan people do come to the door to sell prey."
"Oh?" Shao Shude knew that winter is actually the peak season for commercial activities, because transportation is more convenient than summer. In order to exchange for life and even survival supplies, the cold does not stop people who live here all year round, but he is still very interested in what they buy, so
Asked: "If you catch a prey, why don't you eat it yourself instead of selling it?"
"Your Majesty, the Tibetan people also know that it is more cost-effective to exchange meat for grain." Chu Zhongye said.
Shao Shude laughed dumbly and said: "Maybe we need to build a grain depot to store more grains and beans. Besides grain, what else do the Tibetan people buy?"
"Shuofang Shengshao has been sold out." Chu Zhongye said: "A little tea has also been sold."
"Shuofang raw barbecue is not cheap, can Tibetan people afford it?" Shao Shude asked curiously.
"For this thing, the Tibetan people are even willing to spend everything they have. I did hear that someone brought prey to exchange for food, but ended up drinking it all in wine. After returning empty-handed, his wife and children were scolded, and the house was restless." Chu Zhongye laughed.
Said: "Actually, these Tibetan people are easy to deal with. It would be a pity to kill them. It would be better to let them make money for the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Shao Shude nodded, took the account book handed over by Pugu Chengen, and looked through it casually.
From November last year to March this year, for five months, a total of more than 3,000 skins were collected in the camp of the Ministry of Internal Affairs near the estuary of the Tuomen River. The skins were of different appearance and categories, including cheap ones.
Sheepskin, deerskin, pigskin, as well as expensive fox fur and mink skin, the total value is more than 12,000 yuan. However, the total value of the grain, shochu, tea, ironware and other materials they paid is less than this fraction, among which
The profits are really exciting.
Of course, monopoly trade should have huge profits, and you can make money twice once you buy and sell. This is also the most primitive and original motivation of colonial trading companies. If you do not give monopoly rights, you will only take risks to colonize if you are mentally ill.
.
"Profit of ten thousand yuan..." Shao Shude put down the account book with satisfaction.
This is the profit of a trading post, and it does not include the meat and fish stored in the ice cellar that have yet to be liquidated.
To be honest, compared with the profits from fur, these "cumbersome businesses" can be cut down, and the energy and resources can be concentrated on developing fur businesses with higher profit margins. But Shao Shude's purpose is not only to make money, he also wants to cultivate a shipping business.
If there is no large amount of bulky cargo to be transported, how can we expand the size of the fleet and cultivate maritime power?
"Have you found the island ranch?" Shao Shude asked.
"I found one, and there are no tigers or wolves on it." Chu Zhongye replied: "I also identified two peninsula pastures. The narrowest part of the isthmus is only a few dozen steps. If fenced, it would be even better than the island pasture."
"It's very good that you can draw inferences from one example." Shao Shude praised: "We must pay close attention to the hunting of sea animals."
Marine animals are mainly sea lions, seals, beavers, sea otters, walruses, fur seals, etc. There are some at the mouth of the Camelmen River, but not many.
"The Ping Navy sent ships northward last year and caught a few fur seals. According to them, there were not many fur seals caught near the mouth of the Tuomen River. If you want to make a big profit, you have to go farther north." Chu Zhongye replied.
"You guys can discuss this matter." Shao Shude said, "I only have one thing to say, not everyone can hunt sea beasts. Make some cards and plates, and only those who hold them can hunt. If not, you can lock them up and put them in prison."
The young men in the Imperial Manor who are familiar with guns and clubs are not just for free, they must be put to good use."
"According to the decree." Chu Zhongye responded.
When the saint ordered five hundred young men to be selected from each imperial village to go north, Chu Zhongye didn't understand it at first. Now that he saw such a huge business prospect, he suddenly understood. Do business with a sword. Without a sword, you can't do business in this wild land.
of.
"After the spring of this year, we will seize the time to complete the Tuomen River Commercial Station. Wait until the second half of the year to open a new one. What do you prefer?" Shao Shude asked again.
"I think we can open one in Lizhou."
"Why Lizhou?"
"Lizhou is mountainous, and there are many Mohe tribes hidden in the mountains. They don't know the king's laws. I think we can connect them through trading stations and slowly incorporate them into the king's culture."
"Yes. I will send troops to the northwest next. If you have time, you can recruit some strong savages, I will need them."
"Your Majesty, this is an easy matter." Chu Zhongye said with a smile: "Last winter, the Mohe leader owed money to the trading station. I saw that he was so drunk that he was worried about how to get the debt. If he can pay the debt with a strong man,
That’s easy.”
Shao Shude was speechless. It had only been one winter, and debt slaves were about to appear? He had a hunch that as the Great Xia Dynasty's rule in Liaodong became more and more stable, more and more armed trading stations opened, and trade became more and more prosperous, debt was inevitable.
There will be a large number of them, because the savages cannot resist the erosion of Central Plains commodities, and they are a relatively weak party in this kind of trade.
Damn it, why did it happen like this? In previous deductions, this kind of thing was not considered.
He carefully considered the pros and cons.
Under the long-term unequal trade, what will the savages do? Will they rise up to resist during the Boston Tea Party? Or will they continue to be "chronically poisoned" and continue to lose furs, medicinal materials, meat, fish and even human beings?
This requires the art of trading again!
Shao Shude felt that things should not be too ugly.
He wanted both furs and humans, but he couldn't let the savages feel too disadvantaged.
Perhaps this seemingly fair but actually exploitative trade relationship needs to be packaged.
In an instant, he had already thought of several ways.