Ten days of pleasant mutual trading ended quickly, and the combined caravan sold a lot of things and bought a lot of things.

It was not surprising to Ma Yuan at all, he bought more than he sold, and on the books, the funds were even lost, but this was not important.

This part of the cost is paid, and there will always be a time when it can be recovered.

These small countries didn't expect them to buy much in the first place, but they could bring a steady stream of income to the Central Plains after opening up trade routes.

The long-term income in the future is definitely not comparable to this short-term expenditure at this time.

So bidding farewell to the two kings of the chariot with a chrysanthemum-like smile on their faces, the joint caravan set off again, striding in the direction of Yanqi Kingdom.

And what happened in Yanqi once again confirmed Ma Yuan's judgment, and the iron pot is very marketable.

Ma Yuan introduced to the king of Yanqi how to use iron pots to cook and cook indoors and in the wild, and also introduced the production process of army big pot dishes and big pot rice, which successfully attracted the interest of King Yanqi and Yanqi nobles, and they bought 500 iron pots and matching tableware and kitchenware in one go.

The Yanqi official bought a lot of iron pots, and the people were also very interested in the iron pots, and sold more than 300 and a lot of tableware, and all kinds of food-related goods sold very well for a while.

Then there are cloth, Shu brocade, horses, camels and other goods.

The transaction between the two sides adopts the method of gold and silver, or the negotiated barter, and engages in the transaction of large quantities of goods, and the kind of purchase is hundreds of sets, which is convenient for settlement.

Not only did the official caravans sell a lot, but the private caravans that accompanied them also sold a lot of things, and of course they bought more.

Camels, which were very suitable for walking in such an environment as the Western Regions, were widely praised by caravans, and Ma Yuan wrote in his routine report the needs and praise of camels from the Central Plains merchants.

Similarly, he also wrote about the popularity of iron pots in the Western Regions countries, and asked Guo Peng to pay attention.

According to Guo Peng's request, Ma Yuan had to write a letter to Guo Peng every ten days from the beginning of his departure, telling about the various things he encountered on the road and how to deal with them.

So it didn't take long for the end of December of the third year of Yande, when the capital was preparing for the New Year's banquet and the New Year's holiday, Guo received a report letter from Ma Yuan.

At this time, Guo Jin also happened to be by Guo Peng's side to assist in handling government affairs to increase his knowledge, so Guo Peng handed the letter to Guo Jin and asked him to read it.

"Do the countries of the Western Regions favor the iron pot?"

Guo Jin smiled: "My father's pioneering deeds in the army have affected the entire Wei State, not to mention that even the countries of the Western Regions have taken a fancy to the iron pot, if Guishan Anxi and Daqin also have a fancy to the iron pot, what kind of deal should it be?" ”

"Hahahaha, yes, yes, Ah Jin, you've grown."

Guo Peng said with a smile: "Rare is expensive, the iron pot that is only sold for a few dozen dollars in Luoyang can be sold at ten times the price when it is sold in the Western Regions, the farther the distance, the more expensive it is sold, and when it comes to Guishuang, I am afraid that it can be sold at the price of silver, and when it comes to Daqin, I am afraid that it can be sold at the price of gold." ”

Guo Jin was very impressed.

"The way of commerce is so wonderful, that a single iron pot can turn from iron to gold, and it is only a long way."

"It's the distance of the road that makes these things expensive, they are not worth much, but after crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, the hardships of business travel, isn't it money?"

Guo Peng smiled and said slowly: "Business travel will never suffer, all costs must be earned, in addition to adding money to calculate profits, this is considered success, the iron pot is just a medium, now is just the beginning, and when they are used to using the iron pot, it is the time when we really make money." ”

"The iron pot is a consumable item, it will be damaged, although the damage speed is slow, but it will be damaged after all, and when they get used to cooking and eating with the iron pot, if not, they will definitely try their best to buy the iron pot, and I am in the salt and iron official camp, the iron pot is only sold officially, what a lot of income is this!"

Guo Jin's face was full of joy, and he said: "Father is far-sighted, and the kings of the future generations of Wei are blessed. ”

"They must be able to control the caravan, control the taxes, control the grassroots, and control the salt and iron official camp without canceling it, otherwise, what kind of blessing is it?"

Guo Peng shook his head: "The mausoleum system of the first Han Dynasty was to suppress the Haoqiang, good for the king, good for Li Shu, and bad for the people, and several generations of emperors were also insisting, but later, the same was canceled, and the corruption and imprisonment of the three generations of the Later Han Dynasty's policy, but Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Ming were canceled when they arrived at Emperor Zhang."

No matter how good the policy is, it must be promulgated and implemented by people, how much discount will it be made, and when will it be canceled, can our father and son predict this? Your policy will stick to my policy, but what about your policy? What about your son's policy? The death of a person is the saddest of all. ”

Guo Jin was silent for a while.

"Father, what will happen in the future, is it really out of your control?"

"Ah Jin, people are not sages, don't think that you can do anything, a person's power is limited, in addition to doing things, cultivating inheritors is the most important thing, you are the greatest hope for the father."

Guo Peng patted Guo Jin on the shoulder.

Guo Jin nodded firmly.

"Alright, let's do what we need to do now, and let's talk about the rest later."

Guo Peng smiled and handed a warrant to Guo Jin: "Take it and hand it over to the cabinet, let the cabinet send it to the General Staff Department and the Military Department, a new round of garrison rotation will begin, so that the armies everywhere can prepare." ”

"Yes."

Guo Jin took Guo Peng's warrant, looked at it slightly, and frowned.

"Father, forget about the Jiangling camp, after all, the battle is over, Hanyang camp, Yuyang camp, Danyang camp, Chengdu camp, there is still a war in these four places that has not ended, is it a little inappropriate to change troops and garrison during wartime?"

"What's wrong?"

Guo Peng looked at Guo Jin: "This is a rule set for my father a long time ago, no matter when, the rotation of the army is the most important thing, and it cannot be changed in a war, now our army has fully occupied the initiative, retreat a little, and wait for the same to fight again." ”

Guo Peng waved his hand.

Guo Jin still didn't understand.

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Ah Jin, victory or defeat on the battlefield is not the most important thing."

Guo Peng looked at Guo Jin: "Why does your father cling to this, you still don't understand, right?" ”

"My son really doesn't understand."

Guo Jin lowered his head: "Please teach my father." ”

"The reason is very simple, the Wei army, do not recognize the generals, only recognize the commander, and the Wei army has only one commander, that is the emperor, all soldiers, must know the commander or not, all the generals, and must not know all the soldiers, the Wei army, will always be the army of the emperor of Wei, you put the army outside to fight, the time is a little shorter, it is good, the time is long, it is easy to send out, and it is difficult to take it back."

"What's the reasoning?"

Guo Jin's face was full of doubts.