The capital of Kangguo, formerly known as Samarkand, was then called Kangju City. The sergeant of the Chengying Battalion set off at the time of the day and urged the pack horses to go quickly, and arrived at Kangju shortly after noon.

When Zhao Xingde just set foot in Kangju, he seemed to think that he had returned to Bianliang. Because of the lack of rain in autumn and summer, two ice and snow meltwater outside the city are introduced into the city, and clear streams can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, in front of the court and behind the house. There are hundreds of thousands of residents in the city, shops and restaurants are all over, the market is bustling with people, the faces are no different from those of the Central Plains, the bargaining is in Chinese, the men often wear woolen robes suitable for keeping out the cold, and the belt is hung with peiyu, daggers and other playthings. The woman's head is wrapped in brocade Luopa, and it is embroidered with decorations such as tangled branches, flowers and birds, which is more beautiful than that of the Central Plains.

The Xia army was good at field warfare and rarely camped in the city, and the Chengying camp lived in the west of Kangju City. Here is also the earliest Kanto immigrants to reclaim a piece of place, around the post house there are many Central Plains style of Taichi pavilions, during which many small fields are planted with vegetables, fruits and flowers, when it is late autumn, the edge of the vegetable garden is densely packed with clusters of chrysanthemums, the fragrant wind gusts of wind can not be dispersed, although there are not so many precious varieties in Chang'an, but there are more uninhibited arrogance, between the pavilions and fields, occasionally see visitors to appreciate chrysanthemums, and make people feel as if they are in the suburbs of Chang'an.

Captain Duan Huaixian went to the road Cao to fetch the document and the military newspaper, and the three marching horses fought for half a day of leisure, and wanted to see the capital of the river, so they persuaded Zhao De to go with the three of them. Along the way, Kim Chang-tae praised: "The city run by this autonomous chamber of commerce is indeed more prosperous and lively than ordinary towns. ”

Zhao Xingde nodded and said with emotion: "The wealth in the entire river has probably gathered here." ”

"Not necessarily." Sima Junfang said with a smile, "Most of the people who spend a lot of money in Kangju City are passing by the God of Wealth. In this place in the river, the more hillbillies, the more solid the family. The four of them laughed and came to a tall pavilion, where many merchants with serious faces and hurried manners came and went.

"This is the Ticket City, go in and have a look." Jin Changtai walked in first, and Zhao Xingde was full of curiosity about this place, so he followed in.

"I can't believe that this tax stamp can still be bought and sold." Zhao Xingde said with emotion. I saw that around the hall of Fangshi, there were countless blackboards hanging, on which were written the comparison of gold, silver, copper, iron, salt, sugar, silk, silk, cloth, wheat and millet tea, etc., and the guys behind the counter were busy greeting customers. This is actually a place dedicated to buying and selling Jiaozi and exchanging tax stamps.

Kim Chang-tae also took out a tax stamp from his bosom. Zhao Xingde borrowed it from him, looked at it carefully, and really couldn't see anything strange. There are complex patterns on both sides of the front and back, the front seal book "when the money is ten runs" and the big seal of the prime minister's house, the back of the official book "two horses of silk in the treasury, two stones of wheat, one or two taels of silver", as well as the large seal of the treasury, the small characters also indicate the treasury collection of this ticket. The tariff imposed by the Xia State on merchants was one out of ten, and if you held such a tax stamp, you could offset the customs duty payable by 100 yuan of goods. Many merchants who traded between the East and West did not want to bring more goods for free when they trafficked, so they bought tax stamps from the Prime Minister's Office in advance.

Sima Junfang and Huang Zongdao didn't know why, but Jin Changtai smiled and said, "Fortunately, I am here today, so I will let you have a long experience." "His family opened a big trading house, and he will inherit the family business in the future, so he knows these ways very well.

Seeing that the three of them were listening attentively, Kim Chang-tae cleared his throat and said triumphantly: "In addition to the use of tax deductions, the state treasury later increased the issuance of tax stamps based on the accumulated materials, and the holders of tax stamps can go to a specific treasury to exchange for the materials indicated on the back of the tax stamps. Such a tax stamp is in the territory of our court, just like the best credit of the handover, although the price of the endorsed material is higher than the market price, but the credit endorsement of the treasury is absolutely safe. ”

Every few years, the National Treasury would notify the merchants to exchange their tax stamps. Sometimes the denomination of the money on the front of the tax stamp remains the same, but the value of the materials on the back will be replaced, for example, the materials endorsed by a tax stamp with a denomination of 30 yuan were originally five horses of gold and one or two wheat and ten stones, and after being replaced, they became fifteen horses of silk in the silver five taels of wheat and ten stones.

The treasury has no special preference for the selection of materials, and has always issued a new batch of tax stamps for increasing the materials in the treasury, so that the people can share the burden of the treasury reserves, and also allow merchants across the country to get enough easy-to-carry tax stamps to trade with each other. Tax stamps are mainly exchanged and bought between merchants, especially in the coupon market. The people of Xia still use a lot of gold, silver and copper coins, or small payments issued by a reputable big trading house like Fuhaixing.

However, if the actual price of a tax stamp endorses goods that is much higher than the denomination of the goods on the front of the bank, the merchants will go to the treasury to exchange the goods and sell them for a profit. If the actual price of a tax stamp endorses goods that is significantly lower than the face value of the currency, the merchant will refuse to use the tax stamp and will use it to pay the tax as much as possible. Therefore, the proportion of the reserves printed on the back of the tax stamps is extremely exquisite, so that the fluctuations in prices between them can be largely offset, and small fluctuations are not enough for merchants to profit from them. The officials of the treasury had a hard time, and every once in a while, several scholars who were good at calculations would be invited to help with the plan.

In addition to the tax stamps in the treasury, the main trading objects of the merchants were the Jiaozi, cotton, and wheat of various goods, whether they were in the warehouse, growing in the ground, or even before the seeds were sown. In this way, in the exchange of vouchers, the price of various materials and the ratio of exchange for other goods is also one of the important bases for the treasury to adjust the proportion of materials stored behind the tax stamps.

Jin Changtai talked endlessly, except for Zhao Xingde's slight understanding, Sima Junfang and Huang Zongdao heard it in a fog, dumbfounded, and only accompanied Jin Changtai to look at the blackboard one by one, and finally didn't see the reason.

After coming out of the city, the four of them bought some local specialty preserved meat and candied fruit as dry food, and returned to the camp before sunset.

At dusk, Captain Duan Huaixian returned to the official post and immediately summoned the centurion and the marching Sima to participate in the military meeting.

"There is a detachment military affairs in the General's Mansion, and it just so happens that we are here." Duan Huaixian put a volume of military books on the table and motioned for everyone to read it.

General Wang Tongdeng's book unfolded, and several officers leaned over to look, "Is there actually a secret vulture nest of the Hassan faction nearby?" Sima Junfang exclaimed in a low voice. Several officers who knew the situation in the river frowned.

"What is Hassan?" Zhao Xingde asked confusedly.

Sima Junfang glanced at him and said slowly: "The Hassan Sect, even in the eyes of the believers who believe in the same god as them, is a heresy. But they are ruthless. Assassination was often used as a means to coerce princes and nobles in various places. ”

"I see," Zhao Xingde nodded, "This sect can actually rely on assassins?" ”

"Exactly," Sima Junfang nodded, and he was responsible for explaining the enemy's situation to the officers, so he told him what he knew, "The so-called eagle's nest is the secret of the Hassan faction's training of assassins. They often choose to hide on the top of the mountain and build a fairyland-like garden palace. With the gold, silver, and jewels obtained from the plundering of past merchants, the decoration of the place was splendid, and the palace was full of pipes for the circulation of wine, honey, and milk. There is a beautiful maiden in the garden who is controlled by the Hassan sect. This sect preaches at the foot of the mountain, often confusing the youth into saying that dying for the leader can lead to heaven. ”

Although the officers had long heard of the notoriety of the Hassan, there were still a few of them who knew about it, so they all listened quietly, and Sima Junfang continued: "While these young men were doubting, the Hassan sect put the drug in their drinking water, and carried them into the garden of the eagle's nest in batches, and let them enjoy themselves. These young people were so comfortable that they thought this was what the sect called heaven. They were enchanted again, and when they woke up, they returned to the world. So the leaders of the Hassan sect called them again and asked them if they had really seen heaven, and the young men were simple-minded and often replied that they had seen it. So the leader of the Hassan sect sent them to assassinate them, saying that if they died for the sect, they would go to heaven after death. In order to return to heaven for pleasure, these young men committed assassination without risk, but they sought an early death, so they often succeeded. ”