"It's rare for everyone to get together, come, and pick up the wind for Captain Zhao." Yu Zangyun raised his wine glass, "Captain Zhao is thirty years old, he is already a general, he is really a hero and a teenager, Yu has to obey." More than a dozen lieutenants at the two tables stood up with a smile, and some praised "Captain Yu said yes" and "Sure enough."

"Where, where, Captain Yu praised it." Zhao Xingde smiled and thanked him. According to Chen Qianli's instructions, he visited the veteran captains one by one, and when he arrived at Yu Zangyun, Yu Zangyun was extremely enthusiastic, and invited more than a dozen captains to accompany him, especially for him. Zhao Xingde was disrespectful, so he had to come to this Huayue Tower with Yu Zangyun.

All the captains drank it all, and everyone came to this reception banquet to see Yu Zangyun's face. After the toast, they talked to each other. For many Xia people, the captain of the Protector Mansion and the Pillar State of the Pillar Mansion are already the end of their official positions. Because the lieutenant is recommended by the sergeant, if he does not violate the law and discipline and is impeached by himself, the military government cannot remove him from office. There are few prime ministers in the Xia Kingdom who have been more than ten years, but there are many captains in the Protectorate Mansion who have more than fifteen years of qualifications, even if they are generals who lead the troops, they are all respectful to the old captains. Otherwise, it will be a great trouble to get into trouble in the Protectorate Mansion.

While talking, the little guy in Huayue Lou sent all kinds of delicacies to the price, and after the roasted hump cooked with various spicy ingredients was served, the cook cut the hump into thin slices on the spot, which was full of aroma and extremely attractive. Eaters need to pick it up with both hands and eat it wrapped in mille-feuille butter cakes, which suits the appetite of these fierce and rugged captains. Other delicacies on the market in Chang'an, such as manna soup, fumigated roe deer legs, goose and duck roast, gourd chicken, wine-stuffed fish breast, crystal cake, cherry cake, yellow cinnamon persimmon, powder soup and sheep's blood, wonton soup, etc., are all available, Zhao Xingde has tasted several, and the taste is not bad at all. He nodded secretly, no wonder the people in Guanzhong loved to gather in this Huayue Tower in Dunhuang. However, for Zhao Xingde, such an occasion is not enough, because he has just arrived, since he has this opportunity to meet more colleagues in the Protectorate Mansion, he can't miss it, let alone appear arrogant. Many lieutenants were also observing him, secretly judging whether this person was worthy of deep friendship.

"I heard that Captain Zhao was born in Kanto?" Yang Renji of the Aconitum Army asked, Huang Ti of the Iron Bone Army nodded, and Yang Renji asked, "How many wives and concubines does he have?" Huang Ti shook his head and said in a low voice: "I only have a wife's room, and there are no concubines." Yang Renji nodded, looked at Zhao Xingde, and sighed in a low voice: "The ambition is not small." ”

"Although Captain Zhao is from the Dragon Tooth Army, he is stationed in Chang'an, and he can be regarded as a person from Guanzhong." A military captain named Xie Ximin, Hu Yang, patted Zhao Xingde on the shoulder, leaned closer and whispered, "I heard that Captain Zhao is a contractor of Chunyu Iron Factory, he is really unseemly. ”

"Ashamed, ashamed." Zhao Xingde said humbly. Although the lieutenants can join the firm, they must report to the Protectorate for the record, so as not to discuss the state and abolish the public at the right time. The relationship between Zhao Xingde and Chun Yu Iron Factory, the Protector Mansion only needs to be carefully investigated, and it is easy to know. Because Guanzhong forbade indiscriminate felling of forests, and the Song State forbade iron tools to go out of the customs, so although the weapons of the Xia Kingdom were excellent, the price of steel was much higher than that of the Song Kingdom, and nearly eighty percent of the capital was used to buy charcoal and bamboo charcoal. Chunyu Iron Factory relies on the secret of making iron with coke, and the cost is much lower than that of the iron factory next to it, and the stalls have become bigger and bigger in recent years. In terms of output alone, Chunyu Iron Factory is already the largest iron smelting company in the Xia Kingdom, and it also casts artillery guns for the Ordnance Division, which naturally attracted the attention of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Protector's Mansion.

When he was in Chang'an, although he was busy with official business, Zhao Xingde often went to Chunyu Iron Factory, Chun Yuyue found that coke was stronger than charcoal and not easy to collapse, so Zhao Xingde and he worked together to improve the structure of the iron-making furnace, after increasing the height of the furnace, the thermal effect of the blast air was significantly improved than before, and the blast furnace that had just been built not only produced a large amount of iron, but also saved a lot of money in the fuel. Because of the decrease in the price of iron, those who used to use wood have switched to iron tools, and even some coal mining mines have replaced wooden tracks with railroad tracks. Chun Yuyue was also pushing the Protectorate to allow the iron mill to sell more fine iron to the Kanto region. The Song Kingdom also faced the problem of the high price of charcoal, the high price of refined iron, and the entry and exit of ironware were allowed, but as long as the price of refined iron in the iron factory was appropriate, the demand for the Kanto region was almost endless.

"Captain Zhao doesn't have to be humble, my family sold the iron mine in Guanzhong to Chunyu Iron Factory last year, and Master Chunyu has great respect for Captain Zhao." Xie Xi said with a smile. At this time, Shangguan Bo Jin of the Tiger Wing Army came over with a wine glass. Shangguan Bojin has served as the captain of the Protectorate Mansion for nearly fifteen years, and his seniority is higher than Zhao Xingde and Xie Ximin, and he also has a wide range of contacts in the Protectorate Mansion. Seeing him coming, Xie Ximin stopped talking, and only smiled beside him. Shangguan Bojin saw Zhao Xingde hanging a jade pendant on his waist, and said with a smile: "Captain Zhao, this piece of ancient jade is not bad. When Zhao Xingde was in Chang'an, he heard Shangguan Cheng mention this second uncle, and said with a smile: "This is a gift from the family." ”

"The legacy of the ancestors, not bad, not bad." Shangguan Bojin's eyes shifted from the jade pendant to Zhao Xingde, nodded, and said with emotion: "This is the inheritance of jade virtue, those unscrupulous profiteers, confusing jade virtue with the Southern Barbarian thief stone." In order to make a small profit, he wants to change the summer with raze, and his heart can be punished. He said it righteously, Xie Ximin nodded and praised: "Captain Shangguan is very right. Zhao Xingde also smiled and nodded. The trading houses that bought and sold Nanban Stone had nothing to do with them, so they couldn't make a feud with Shangguan Bojin for this matter. Several lieutenants sitting next to him also stood up and listened to Shangguan Bojin's words.

"What is Xia and what is Yi?" Shangguan Bojin clenched his left hand into a fist, rested his right hand on the edge of the table, and said impassionedly, "Let's not talk about those vanities." China has a great etiquette, so it is called Xia. There is the beauty of uniforms, which is called Hua. Beautiful jade, like clothing, is unique to my Huaxia, how can I let the barbarians mix up the pearls? If we don't ban it, the barbarians will use the money from selling my jade to hoard grain and grass, recruit troops and horses, and kill our people. How can we use our own money to give to the barbarians who come to kill us? Several lieutenants said yes, Shangguan Bojin's face slowed down slightly, he confessed to Zhao Xingde, and went to talk to Yu Zangyun.

"Captain Shangguan wanted to push Shu and Dali to send troops and destroyed the mines where the Nanban tribe mined jade. However, the Shu army had just beaten Annan, and they were worried that if they fought again, they would be angry, and it would not end well. The Protectorate is not good at being strong. Xie Ximin saw that Zhao Xingde was a little puzzled and explained to him.

"Oh, I see." Zhao Xingde nodded, he didn't expect that these thirty-six jade shops not only did not allow Nanban jade to be sold in the Central Plains and Xia Kingdom, but also really had the idea of destroying the country and killing people and destroying mines, so he couldn't help but be secretly frightened, and sighed in a low voice, "Why should the mine be destroyed, I occupied it, isn't it good to mine it for profit?" He thought in his heart that what Shangguan Boyu had just said was a bit specious. Judging from the ceremonial costumes, from the Xia Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, I don't know how much has changed. But from the point of view of jade, even if the origin of jade in the Xia Kingdom is in the Western Regions, before the Han Dynasty, it was not owned by the Xia Kingdom. Shangguan Bojin just forcibly monopolized the jade market for 36 jade stores.

"This, Brother Zhao doesn't understand," Xie Ximin smiled slightly, "The jade in this world is not only too little, but too much." If it weren't for the fact that the thirty-six jade shops controlled the production of all the jade mines and controlled the market, jade would not be so expensive. The mines in the hands of Thirty-six Jade Banks are enough to be mined for more than a hundred years. Therefore, any new mine is a burden for the 36 jade stores. They don't need new jade mines at all, they just don't want others to squeeze in. He looked at Shangguan Bojin, who was negotiating with Yu Zangyun not far away, with an envious look on his face, raised his wine glass and drank it all, "Brother Zhao, you can know that the Shangguan family is already rich enough to rival the country just by trading jade." ”

"Controlling the market seems to be at odds with the self-defending market, so the court has no idea?" Zhao Xingde was a little puzzled.

"How? They didn't force them to buy and sell, I really admire that this Shangguan family can run the thirty-six lines like an iron bucket. Xie Ximin smiled and said in a low voice, "Jade is a luxury thing, the more expensive it is, the more rich people will buy." Lowering the price of jade, the imperial court drew less profit from mining and jade trading. The expenses of the imperial court are not reduced, and the part of the shortage, is it impossible to increase the land endowment? It is equivalent to making ordinary people pay more taxes and let the rich pay less taxes. This is not the way to seek a country. Besides, the rich also want the market to be stable, and they don't want the people of the lower riba to wear things that are as dazzling as they are. To put it bluntly, this is identity. If everyone had it, it wouldn't be worth much. It is better to tolerate that the people cannot afford to buy a good peiyu than to let the people not have enough food and clothing because of excessive taxes. ”

"I see," Zhao Xingde arched his hand, "I have been taught." He didn't expect that there would be these meticulous considerations in the meantime, and his opinion on Xie Ximin and other captains of the Protectorate Mansion was a little different. He picked up his wine glass and said with a smile: "Captain Xie, talk about respect." ”

"I've been in the Protector's Mansion for a long time, so I naturally know these things," Xie Ximin smiled and waved his hand, picked up his wine glass and touched it with Zhao Xingde, but he only took half a sip and said in a low voice, "Brother Zhao is a clear-eyed person, and he has a good business, let's discuss it." Nowadays, both our dynasty and the Kanto region are vigorously cultivating firearms armies, and the amount of sulfur saltpeter has increased by more than 100 times compared with before. Sulfur is easy to say, but this saltpeter is hard to find. According to the current saltpeter inventory, not to mention the war to destroy the country, a few major battles will be consumed. ”

Seeing that Zhao Xingde was attentive, he leaned closer and said mysteriously: "Not long ago, my Xie family's relatives discovered a huge saltpeter mine in Gaochang, Xizhou, which is in the Gobi, but it is not difficult to mine. It's just that the price of saltpeter fluctuates too much now, and if we invest all our family property, the risk is also great. Listening to Chun Yuyue, the iron factory has benefited a lot in the past two years, Brother Zhao is willing to partner with us to do this business? ”