Pushing the door in, it was the real Xiang and the New Year. The strategy of the Eastern Japanese has been approved in the Prime Minister's Mansion before the tenth day, the Son of Heaven has also used the imperial seal, and the 1,600 outstanding soldiers in the Liyuan Forbidden Army have also been assembled. Two days ago, Poyang Hou Gushi accompanied the first three monks of the East to come once. The first three claimed that he had borrowed money in the name of the king of the Japanese Dynasty, and that the matter of borrowing money in the name of the king of the Japanese was now called a "loan" and that the matter of the loan was already quite eye-catching, and that 4.27 million of the 6 million yuan would be sent to the military department in four batches within 10 months. Gu Shi also said that the first loan of 950,000 yuan will soon be delivered to the Ministry of War. But Gu Shi also mentioned another thing. Such a large amount of copper coins, the weight is nearly 10 million catties, let alone transport, even storage is inconvenient; Since this money was mainly spent on recruiting sea ships to purchase grain and hiring shipwrights and sailors in the southeastern states, and to facilitate the communication between the people of the Ministry of Rites in Goryeo, could the Ministry of War allow Gu Shi to offset them with the gold and silver ingots minted by the government and some of the physical goods? In the end, the three parties agreed that the military headquarters would receive 5,600 taels of gold and 78,000 taels of silver ingots, as well as a large amount of grain, pig iron, medicinal materials, wood, cotton and fur, and silk and linen at a bargaining price of 1 for 26 for silver and copper and 1 for 243 for gold and silver. The three parties also agreed that the money and grain would be delivered today. Because Huo Shiqi was responsible for the overall scheduling of the money and grain of the Dongwei strategy, Gu Shi could only find him if he wanted to handle the delivery, so Zhenqian and He Nian arrived at the yamen early in the morning, and rushed over to inquire about the news after signing the charge.

Huo Shiqi let the two into the house, waited for his subordinates to serve tea, and told them, "Gu Hou hasn't arrived yet." He also said, "This morning and evening have just opened, and no matter how fast Gu Hou's legs and feet are, he will inevitably come over when the time passes." ”

Zhenqian didn't speak. He Nian smiled and said, "Aren't I anxious? I volunteered to take on the errand of Goryeo, and in front of several adults in our Ministry of Rites, the words came to an end, and I won't come back until I finish the affairs of Goryeo! But the money of the first three people here is always less, so I can only sit in Beijing and spend time in the bitter time. Who knows what the situation will be like in Goryeo these days? He smiled to himself.

Zhen Qian and Huo Shiqi both smiled indifferently and were silent. Without money, they also suffered. But their mood is different from that of the Chinese New Year. One of them is an important minister of the imperial court, and the other is the fifth emperor of the founding son of the country, both of whom are successful people, and for them, it is not a serious problem for them to be a day earlier or later. But the Chinese New Year is about to reach the age of forty, but it is still not up to the seven pins of Langzhong, the road ahead is not smooth, but he coincides with the coincidence, and in an instant there is a trend of Kun Fish Peng, as long as the things in front of him are done well, he can't rise in the future, so now is the time when he is the most motivated, and he only has an earth-shattering action; Anyone can understand this feeling.

Huo Shiqi glanced at Fang Xu, who was sitting silently next to him, and was about to vaguely remind the New Year of the "taboo in front of people", and then heard the New Year change the topic: "Speaking of which, Guhou and them are a little strange this time. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, all dynasties, whether folk or eunuchs, have always been expensive gold and silver and light copper, how could they be willing to take out so many gold and silver ingots? Although Gu Hou said that the amount of money was too large to be transported and stored, it was a last resort. But I always think there should be some truth in this. ”

Why are they willing to give up gold and silver, it is difficult to say if they really know, but Huo Shiqi is a person who understands. However, the truth was not something he came up with, but what Jiang Tuan told him. Jiang Jun is very interested in the miscellaneous knowledge of these business transactions, and he is willing to spend time thinking about it. He said that since Shang Cheng pointed out that Kagoshima and Iwami Province in the eastern Japanese region produced gold and silver, then these two places must have mountains of gold and silver; No, no! What Yan Du said, which one of them has not been fulfilled? With the imperial army's conquest of the eastern Japanese, the news that Iwami Silver Mountain can mine 20,000 taels of silver and Kagoshima Gold Mountain can mine tens of millions of taels of gold will be revealed sooner or later. Jiang Jun even predicted that as early as the second half of this year, or at the latest in the second half of next year, the price of gold and silver will fall sharply. But this is only the first round of swings, and it is not just a round of swings. Regardless of whether the imperial court stood up to refute the rumors or affirmed the news, the price of gold and silver would continue to swing back and forth until three or five years later, when Iwami Ginzan and Kagoshima Gold Mine really began to be mined on a large scale, and the whole shipload of gold and silver began to be transported back to Dazhao, and then it really fell to a relatively stable position. Jiang Jian even suggested that Huo Shiqi could sell it if he had idle gold and silver in his hand at the moment, and buy it back when the news leaked and the price of gold and silver began to fall; All in all, even by buying low and selling high for gold and silver, you can earn a good fortune in three to five years. He also said that Xianggu Shi and the king of Qinghe County, including the one in the big inside, are doing this now. It's just that they didn't sell gold and silver in the market, but relied on loan contracts to cleverly avoid the risk of falling prices. But this is also a matter of secrecy, and it will certainly remind the shrewd merchants, even if they don't know what is going on, that they will make their own decisions to buy or sell, and that the first swing in the price of gold and silver will soon occur.

Zhenqian ignored the words of the New Year. He turned his head and glanced at Fang Qi, who had been sitting silently with a blank face. Huo Shiqi hurriedly introduced him: "Lord Huaichun, this is the big proprietor of Mingzhou Maritime Merchant Fang. He had the heart to serve the court, so Shang Shangzhu introduced him. As he spoke, he handed Shang Cheng's note to Zhen Xiang.

Zhen Qian took the note and glanced at it twice, his face showed a happy color, and he smiled at the other party and said, "Rare, rare!" Fang Dadong's family is loyal and righteous, and he is willing to send ships and people, money and food to help the court, this is a righteous act, and he should be commended! When this is over, I will definitely tell the Son of Heaven about your deeds, and the court will definitely reward you at that time. ”

Fang Chu never dreamed that there would be such a courtesy today. Lord Zuo Lang of the military department will speak to himself kindly, and there are many words of encouragement and praise in his words, and he said that he will not only help him to listen to it in the future, but also give him special commendations and rewards.

Zhen Xiang smiled and said to him, "You sit down first, I still have something to ask you......"

Fang Chu immediately jumped up, and said again and again: "Don't dare to ask for advice, never dare to be!" Even if the adult has something to order, as long as Fang can do it, even if it is bankrupt, he will never frown! ”

"You sit, you sit down." Zhen Qian said, "It's not enough to go bankrupt." When our dynasty was founded by Taizu, we will never allow the government to compete with the people for profit, let alone set up a name to plunder the people's property. Even if Fang Dadong's family returns the boat labor and money and grain, we will also compensate according to the market price. When he said this, he wasn't selling the city's favor. According to the household department's accounting, the total consumption of the three things in the Eastern Empire's strategy, including crusade, garrison, and mining, was 4 million; All this money was paid by the first three people, and there was no need for the court to pay a penny, so why did the court want Fang to repay it? As for Fang Xuan, as long as he can really help the imperial court understand the pros and cons of the current situation between Dongwei and Goryeo, Zhenqian will naturally help him ask for recognition and awards.

Zhen Xiang asked; "Fang Dadong, do you know the situation of Dongwei?"

Fang Chu nodded. For two hundred years, the Fang family has been trading with overseas for generations, and successive generations of parents have also had experience at sea. Before he became a parent, he also traveled around with the boat, on the one hand, to increase his knowledge, and on the other hand, to hone his mind. Da Yue, Zhenla, Tianzhu, Dongwei, Goryeo, wherever the Fang family's sea ships have been, he has been there. Dongwei and Goryeo are the foundation of Mingzhou's maritime merchants, and several big businessmen dare not relax a little, and the parents of the three families have to go over every other day. Three years ago, he had only been to Dongwei once, and he had met with several lords who had formed a good relationship with the Fang family; When he returned, he stopped by in Connecticut and Muju in Goryeo for a few days. The Cui clan in Kangzhou, Goryeo, and the Li clan in Wuzhou have also been friends with the Fang family for decades......

As soon as he said this, Zhen Xiang's spirit was lifted. The Eastern Japanese strategy was passed, but the imperial court was blind to the situation of the Eastern Japanese Kingdom, and the entire strategy was premised on the narrative of the former three and Shang Cheng. The first three don't say it, he is a person who has a request for Da Zhao, and what he says is not enough to be believed; Shang Yanshan's little bit of Dongwei insight is even more "heard from the Tao". But it was the prodding of such two people that actually taught this strategy to be approved, and it was obvious that no one in the Manchu Dynasty, whether it was the Son of Heaven or the ministers, could not give up those two mines! It's just that no one says it explicitly.

He immediately asked, "It is rumored that the Eastern Wa Kingdom is rich in gold and silver, I don't know if it is true or not?" ”

Fang Xuan's face was difficult to look at at at once, and he hesitated for a moment before he said: "Dongwei is rich in gold and silver, it should be true. The gold and silver of the Eastern Wa are one to seven, and the silver and copper are one to six hundred wen; This also needs to be the gold and silver minted by the workshop of the official governor of Heiankyo to have this market price. It is not uncommon for the lords of various countries to mint gold and silver for four or five or three hundred wen for one for one. By the way, this money system refers to all kinds of treasures after our Great Zhao Gaozong Dynasty. If it is changed to an earlier year, or a coinage from the Sui and Tang dynasties, the price is cheaper. As you know, the Eastern Wa Kingdom is a small country overseas, and bronze utensils are rare, not to mention the mining and smelting of gold, silver, copper and iron. I'm not afraid to say that I know from you, our Fang family does business with the Dongwei people, silk, cotton, porcelain, tea, spices, and medicinal materials are indeed large, but the bigger business is actually smuggling money and pig iron. In particular, when money is made, it is five times the profit when it is sold, and it is transported back in exchange for blister copper, and after refining it is cast into bronze ware, this is ten times the profit. There is also a lot of profit from gold and silver, but we maritime merchants do not go much. Their gold and silver were all sand gold and coarse silver, and when they were brought back, they had to be smelted again. It is necessary to set up a workshop for returning to the furnace for smelting, but the movement of the gold and silver workshop is too large, and the gold and silver flow out is too much, and it is easy to attract suspicion, so we usually transport blister copper back. Only occasionally meet merchants from overseas countries who take the initiative to buy gold and silver, will they make a last transaction. Even if it is bronze, it must be transported back and forth to Zhenla, and it can be purchased overseas under the pretense that it can be taken back and sold, otherwise it will attract suspicion. ”

Even if you really don't know the way of business, after listening to Fang Xuan's words, you can hear a lot of doorways. He couldn't help but smack his tongue in his heart: These businessmen have really gotten into the eyes of money, and they can come up with so many tricks in order to make money! At the same time, he also sighed that these Mingzhou maritime merchants took great pains to cover up the abundance of gold and silver in Dongyu!

But his face didn't move, and he continued to ask: "So, Fang Dongjia, I want to ask again, how is the strength of the Eastern Wa Kingdom?" ”

Fang Xuan saw that Zhenqian heard that he was selling copper and iron at home, and he actually looked as usual, and he was faithful to what Shang Cheng had said to him at that time. It seems that the imperial court really doesn't intend to pursue these maritime merchants who smuggle and sell smuggling! The court is so kind, he is a common man, and he should be a five-body spring to repay! He simply stopped hiding it, and first saluted Zhenqian and said, "If you really ask, Xiaomin dare not answer truthfully?" "I also gave a salute to Huo Shiqi and the New Year." Three adults, don't say I'm trespassing. The sailors on the sea boats in the small people's homes are also people who can dance guns and knives. My family's sea ships to Dongwa have always been a fleet of 10 ships, and each ship has 100 people. Just these more than 1,000 people are enough to sweep through all the small countries on the southeast coast of the Wa Kingdom! ”

"Fang Dongjia is so arrogant, can he rely on it?" Zhen Xiang asked with a smile.

"My lord, please think about it, the Dongwei people don't even have many bronze vessels, and they don't know how to smelt pig iron, and the national soldiers are basically bamboo knives and wooden guns, so what do they use to catch and kill the sailors on my ship? It is more than 1,000 members of the Fujiwara family in Heiankyo, known as the strongest army in the Eastern Wa, wearing only half armor made of a few pieces of bamboo, and holding only bronze knives and guns in their hands. What's more, the Eastern Wa Kingdom can only produce blister copper, and the bronze smelted is brittle and soft, and a little force is either distorted or broken by itself, so it can only be used to scare the officials and people of those small countries in the local area. ”

Zhen Xiang raised his face and laughed. Now, his heart has finally settled down. At the same time, he also realized that according to the situation of the Eastern Wa Kingdom described by Fang Xuan, it seemed that he had sent 8,000 men and horses, which seemed to be making a big fuss. However, anyway, this money is not from the imperial court, so let's take care of it, let's talk about it after we have a solid foundation......

Seeing that there seemed to be no problem with Zhenqian, He Nian hurriedly asked Fang Xuan: "You just said that you are familiar with the people of Goryeo?" ”

Fang Chu nodded. One of his uncles has a concubine, who is the daughter of the concubine surnamed Li in Wuzhou, and the younger daughter-in-law of his seventh brother and sister is the second daughter of the Cui family in Kangzhou.

"Would you like to go with me to Goryeo?" He rubbed his hands together excitedly. At present, Mrs. Xu Shilang of the Ministry of War has promised to repair a letter to her mother's family, persuading the Yang family of Hanzhou in Goryeo to agree to the borrowing of the Great Zhao Shuishi, and then talk about moving the Cui family of Kangzhou and the surname Li of Wuzhou, this sea route Goryeo has to borrow it, and if it doesn't borrow, it has to borrow!

Fang Shu said happily: "Sent by the adult, dare to disobey your orders?" "He served the court to order money and food, but it was just to turn his fortune out of misfortune and answer questions for them, which can only be regarded as a small achievement; But if you can accompany the Chinese New Year to Goryeo, this is the real merit, even if the imperial court does not commend and commend it, at least it will completely stop investigating the Fang family's private sale of copper and iron. Of course he was going; He's definitely going; Why didn't he go? Not only did he accompany the Chinese New Year to Goryeo, but he even made a more clever suggestion:

"Lord Zhen, Lord Huo, Lord He, in fact, in Dongwa and Goryeo, there is another thing that is more valuable than anything else, and it can also move people's hearts more. These two small foreign countries, both the government and the people, are honored to speak Chinese and write Chinese characters. I have traveled several times between the two countries, and on each occasion I have been asked if I can ask for a position in my court, and as long as I can achieve their wishes, they are willing to spend as much money as possible. I wonder if the imperial court can respond to their requests, this, this...... Get some paperwork and other things, is it possible to ......" The following words, he was a little difficult to say. He originally wanted to say that the imperial court could get some fake documents to tell him and take them over and fool around casually. But such a dirty thought, thinking about it in my heart, can never say it on my lips.

Zhen Qian exchanged glances with the two colleagues, and they both felt that it seemed feasible. As for the fake paperwork, it is not necessary, just give a false position. Zhenqian even drew inferences and thought of other places. Instead of letting the first three people bring back two million yuan to make contact, it is better to bring less money and take more official orders to go back, so that the people who receive the gift will not only increase their face but also lose their benefits, and maybe they will have a better impression of the first three people, the new king?

Before he could, though, he had to reward the man who came up with this amazing idea. He asked Fang Shu: "I look at Fang Dong's conversation, it seems that it is not an ordinary businessman. Excuse me, have you ever gone to school? ”

Fang Xuan's face suddenly showed a look of shame. He actually went to school, and he was also a showman, but he didn't pass the annual exam for two consecutive years, and his fame was taken away. He took the test a few times in the future, but he couldn't get the test again......

He smiled and said, "This is easy to do." You and I are going to Goryeo together, but it is not convenient for you to be a businessman. In this way, I will go back and send you a document from the Ministry of Rites to Mingzhou Prefecture, and ask them to withdraw the punishment of your fame. Here, let's consider you according to your Xiucai background, this ......" he twisted his beard. It's not for nothing that Xiucai goes to work in the six departments, but it's rare to have a position, and this also requires someone to stand up and recommend. But who would recommend a maritime merchant?

Huo Shiqi next to him said: "How about I recommend Fang Sheng?" "His own fame and fame have been taken captive; The same encounter made him have a natural good impression of the other party. He saw that the Chinese New Year was embarrassed, so he simply volunteered to be the recommender of the plan.

There is the recommendation of Huo Shiqi, a famous man in Yanshan, and the approval of Zhenqian, the squire of the Ministry of War, plus the New Year of the manager is now red and purple in the six departments, so before an hour, the appointment letter of the Ministry of Officials was sent down.

"Today, there is Mingzhou Fang, Xiucai was born...... The actual award is from the nine products of Bao Xinlang, and the Department of Rites and Rites of the Ministry of False Duties is from the eight products of the Chenglang. A certain year, month and day. ”