On the vast grassland, a carriage was galloping, and the conservatives, under the leadership of Zhou Heju, fled a little deserted, and the road was not a place to speak, and everyone had a gloomy face.

They didn't use the coachman from the northwest, but brought it themselves, and after walking out about 2 miles, they stopped, Zhou Heju hadn't spoken yet, and a few younger ones asked directly, what was going on.

The words were very polite, Zhou Heju didn't speak, and an official in his 30s next to him directly interjected and helped Zhou Heju say: "You can't blame Lao Zhou, this plan can't be implemented!" ”

There are also people who know how to do it, Zhou Heju suddenly felt a lot less pressure, if he doesn't understand everything, it will be difficult for him to convince.

After the official finished speaking, he took the initiative to analyze Han Qi's words, as well as his understanding of some cavalry consumption in the Privy Council.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were a few stupid people who could be officials, and the younger ones were just young and vigorous, Zhou Heju explained it so heavily, and everyone was stunned, they didn't expect that it would be like this at all.

"Is the consumption of cattle and horses really so big?" A young official who was unwilling to admit defeat said unwillingly.

But as far as he himself is concerned, he has already believed this, they are all conservative officials, and they have all been sent here to carry out this task, there is no essential difference between them, and there is no need to speak for Han Qi in this regard.

At the same time, according to common sense, a tall and sturdy man is always a little more than a short and thin man.

The horses of the Northern Song Dynasty as a whole were also larger than people, not to mention the tall horses from Western Xia, standing taller than even a person, let alone a cow.

Ordinary people can weigh more than 1 stone, which is already good, but the weight of a cow is at least eight or nine stones, and the heavier ones even exceed 12 stones.

Weight does not represent the amount of food, but it will not be less than a person to eat, even if it is just as much as a person to eat, more than 20 million head of livestock, is an impossible task.

In an instant, all hope was in vain, and the blow was bigger than before, this is a hope that is full of hope, but it is directly obliterated, and the road that you have worked so hard to think of is a dead end in itself.

Next, on the way back to the tent, there was no conversation in the car, everyone was thinking about their future.

The younger ones have the backing of the family, and they are a little better, they have time and are waiting for the comeback, but for officials like Zhou Heju, who are over 40 years old, there is no hope.

If, at this age, he is the head of a state and county, because he has not seen a lot of the world, he may end up with four or five officials, but in Bianliang, he even served one term in several of the highest organs in the Northern Song Dynasty, if there is no accident, at least it is a third grade, which is a huge difference, and this failure will almost never have a chance again.

Back in the tent, Guo Tian saw the dejected crowd, and knew the result without asking, and asked, "What's the matter, what kind of conspiracy did Han Qi play again!" ”

Zhou Heju didn't speak, and returned to his tent in despair, one who was good friends with the Guo family, and quietly pulled Guo Tian aside, and explained simply, Guo Tian was also shocked.

He didn't expect that the final result would be like this, which is a little too unbelievable.

He thought he was clever and clever, but he didn't take Han Qi's eyes at all, and said unceremoniously that Han Qi had a plan, those cattle were a pit, and there was no perfect preparation, let alone tens of millions of them to get away, even if it was tens of thousands, it was not easy.

Just now in the tent, while waiting for Zhou and Ju, Guo Tian and the others also made some ideas, and gave some examples in the middle, but no matter how many ideas they had, it was impossible to be like now, which made them at a loss.

Those who have been to the ranch returned to the tent in frustration, Guo Tian and a few acquaintances, but they stayed where they didn't move, and after a long time, Guo Tian suddenly laughed wildly.

On the side, colleagues thought that Guo Tian was hysterical by the current situation, and hurriedly wanted to wake him up, but unexpectedly, Guo Tian gritted his teeth and said: "Even so, I have to give it a try!" ”

The person next to him didn't dare to offend Guo Tian, but he still wanted to persuade him, but he had just made a start, but was interrupted by Guo Tian: "Do you remember the Cow and Horse Conference?" ”

"Cattle and Horse Conference?"

They came here because of this Cattle and Horse Conference, of course they know about the Cattle and Horse Conference, but why did Guo Tian mention the Cattle and Horse Conference, with the help of the problem of the Cattle and Horse Conference, whether from the front or from the side, it has been proven that there is no way, what is the use of mentioning it?

Guo Tian's face was hideous, as if he was squeezed out of his teeth, and he said word by word: "Didn't you bring the merchants over, didn't you say that the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference, as well as the previous transactions, also traded millions of various animals?" ”

This is public news, whether it is the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference, or the later Lingzhou transaction, this is huge, the total amount of more than 30 million transactions, greatly supporting the construction of the entire Lingzhou water conservancy.

It can be said unceremoniously that without this massive transaction, the current Lingzhou water conservancy would not have been so smooth.

The transaction of 30 million yuan represents at least 2 million or more large livestock, in Guo Tian's view, 2 million heads have been smoothly taken away, I heard that it was immediately put to use, and made a lot of money, these chambers of commerce have taken advantage of this opportunity to expand a lot of business scope.

2 million heads can be done, 20 million heads, there is no reason, in Guo Tian's simple thoughts, it does not mean that 2 million, how much more difficult than 20 million, he didn't even think about it, from the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference to the Lingzhou transaction, before and after, the time for preparation and direct experience in the middle has exceeded 3 months.

The people next to him didn't dare to speak, the reason why they gathered around Guo Tian was because of Guo Tian's background, they were officials, maybe businessmen were not very important in their eyes, but like Guo Tian, they didn't care at all, and they were really a minority.

At this point, I have to mention the difference between the reformers and the conservatives, the reformers are dominated by Fan Zhongyan, and the reason why they came so violently but faded so quickly is that they have no other strength except for the official position itself and the support from Renzong.

After losing Renzong's support and, at the same time, losing their official position, they were able to wield very little power.

However, conservatives are different, they are unwilling to change, they are often the kind of vested interests, they have already lived very well under the old system, and even encroached on the power that originally belonged to others, so that they can develop well, in this case, the reformers are their biggest enemy.

Behind the conservatives, all are old-fashioned aristocrats, big landlords, this era, is the official and aristocratic as the noble, the status of the merchants has been slightly improved, but the status of Confucianism, agriculture and industry, they are still at the bottom, and they also have control over the color and type of clothes.

Which one has reached a certain level of big businessmen, with an annual turnover of more than 10 million, but their status is still not very high, and without a certain background, maybe, they will be swallowed, and behind them, there are always all kinds of backstage.

Ordinary officials may become the backstage of ordinary merchants, and when they reach a certain level of businessmen, their backstage is either the big nobles themselves, and these big nobles are also somewhat connected, perhaps, in the Northern Song Dynasty, the official can't solve it, but from top to bottom, the official and the businessman together should be able to give something.

After Guo Tian went back, he directly used his family relationship and found a group of businessmen to come over.

I have to say that Guo's generals were very influential in the entire Northern Song Dynasty, Guo Tian didn't even report back to the family, and directly used his name to find some businessmen in Jingzhao Mansion, and soon, not even 7 days, even their joint request to Bianliang to write a letter, when there was no reply, these businessmen arrived.

Guo Tian's attitude towards businessmen was not so pleasant, and after he tangled the businessmen together, he immediately announced arrogantly that they would find a way to get 20 million animals back to the Central Plains.

These businessmen are really confused, what 20 million, is this a joke?

After listening to Guo Tian's proud statement, these big businessmen were stunned, they can be regarded as wealthy, but their status in the government is really low, they have already paid a lot of real money on the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference and Lingzhou Trading, but they still don't know anything about the news of the Lingzhou Peace Conference, that is, when they arrived at Guo Tian, they got the exact news.

This news is important, at least for businessmen, this is all about the future.

Even if it was the previous Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference, as well as the Lingzhou Trade, the cattle and horses they traded were only a very insignificant part, and there were at least 20 million cattle, horses and sheep, and the total number of cattle and horses exceeded 12 million.

Temptation, great temptation, what a huge fortune this is, and what kind of profit it will bring if it were in the hands of any one of them.

Guo Tian was a little arrogant about these businessmen, but he still knew the priorities, and hurriedly made a huge promise, saying that it was a big deal.

It can be said politely that if it is really according to what he said, the businessmen can get a huge amount of help after helping him fulfill such a wish, and even have the friendship of Guo's generals.

Although the temptation was great and the promise was not high, these businessmen kept a light mind, and in the end, they restrained the temptation.

What can be looked down on by the Guo family cannot be said to be the strongest among the top ten Northwest businessmen, but they are about the same, at least 2 of them have participated in the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference and Lingzhou Trading.

Those who have not participated may not think that how many difficulties there are are in it, isn't it just cattle and horses, as long as the government gets it, they will not bring it with them by the way, and when they go to Jingzhao Mansion or Bianliang, they can also eat in their hands, and they have saved a lot of money on the road.

It is precisely because they have participated, especially those who have witnessed the Cattle and Horse Conference and the Lingzhou Transaction, that they know very well how difficult it was to do it before.

In the Cattle and Horse Conference, because of their efforts, coupled with the propaganda of the northwest, gathered the businessmen of the entire north, including 1,500 famous and surnamed, a huge number of businessmen, and hundreds of thousands of people, which digested the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference.

After Weizhou, they got huge horses and carriages, and then there was a Lingzhou transaction behind, but they went to Lingzhou people are a minority, almost only one-third of the big merchants, the total amount of transactions is basically the same, but it is mainly cattle, such a transaction, it is less than one-third, but the number is much more, in this case, for their control, is a huge test.

There was no accident in the previous cattle and horse conference, but in the Lingzhou transaction after that, there were a lot of accidents, four or five businessmen teamed up to get thousands of cattle back, or killed a lot of cattle and sheep, and existed as meat, so that they could get things back.

Even so, thousands of heads, which had already made them anxious, arrived in Jingzhao Mansion, and they even used some grain and soybeans, which forced them down.

In business, for the sake of the future, they will make higher profits, for example, if they send cattle to a suitable place, a place that is more suitable for reclamation, and this part of the income can be taken back, even if it is a little loss on the surface, it is acceptable.

Even so, in the later period, in order to pursue quantity, they also had huge problems, and there were several large-scale incidents, and a few of them were unlucky businessmen, and even went bankrupt all at once.

not only lost everything he earned before, but also almost got into a lawsuit, and decades of hard work were all wiped out all of a sudden.

More than one million cattle, there is such a big problem, after this, with the decrease in demand in Lingzhou, this trade route is cut off, they may not know, how many cattle and sheep there are in Lingzhou, but looking at the posture of Lingzhou, as long as they buy, they will sell, far from the limit.

But the reason why I didn't do it was because the risk was very high, and we had to make adequate preparations, and digest the cattle and sheep we had obtained before.

On the premise that even the business operation and the cattle and horses who are clearly making money can't do it, agreeing to Guo Tian's request is hell.

Guo Tian's promise, as long as he has a little business experience, he knows that it is unreliable, and even Guo Tian himself does not have those rights.

The reason why they received Guo Tian's order to arrive in Lingzhou so quickly was to save face for the Guo family, and to maintain respect for the children of the Guo family, but it was absolutely impossible for them to gamble their lives for such a child.

The operation of a business has huge risks, and this is especially true if it is done by the government.

However, knowing that this is unreliable, but he can't just refuse it so bluntly, it will bring them big trouble, this Guo Tian is a gentleman, he doesn't care how he can do it or not, if he really wants to spoil their affairs, they are also very troublesome.

Several businessmen exchanged glances in private, and at this moment, without saying much, they knew each other's thoughts.

Soon, the eldest of them stood up and said, "Young Master Guo, can we discuss it!" ”

"Discuss?" Guo Tian's face was happy, he didn't realize at all that the merchants were discussing countermeasures to deal with them, and sure enough, after a few people muttered for a long time, they came over, and it was the businessman just now who stood up and spoke.

"Young Master Guo, we discussed it, it can be done!"

Guo Tian's face was overjoyed, and he said loudly: "Very good, then hurry up and do it, I will also urge the center and let them give an order!" ”

Seeing that Guo Tian was obviously off topic, the businessman was also confused, but fortunately, he was experienced, and immediately said: "Young Master Guo, don't worry, we said that we can transport it away, there is a premise!" ”

"Prerequisites?" Guo Tian's face was displeased, and he said, "It's so troublesome, let's talk about it!" ”

Feeling Guo Tian's unkind gaze, the businessmen still stubbornly said the result of the discussion just now: "That's the case, we have calculated, the cattle and horses should be well cared for, and if they are conservative, a large livestock will need to invest at least about 1.5 yuan." ”

"What? 1.5 heads, are you kidding? A young official next to him spoke out in a lost voice.

At this time, Guo Tian hadn't realized this problem, so he turned his head and asked, "What's wrong, Xie Yun, how is 1.5 runs?" ”

Xie Yun smiled bitterly and said: "A simple 1.5 guan is not a large number, I'm afraid that even the price of a dish on the upper floor of Fan is not enough, but Guo Shao, this is 20 million heads!" ”

20 million heads, Guo Tian was stunned for a moment, and immediately said angrily: "Are you stupid to me, is it possible that cattle, horses and sheep are all the same price?" ”

The merchants had already prepared and began to list little by little, the cost of personnel, the cost of livestock, which may be a little difficult for people who have not experienced it.

These businessmen have just experienced the Weizhou Cattle and Horse Conference and Lingzhou Trading, and some have even participated twice, especially the latter, who also went from Lingzhou, which is very referential.

Listed one by one, from the consumption of personnel, the huge number of cattle, sheep and horses, the need for a lot of personnel, people eat, cattle and horses eat, plus on the road, especially through the farmland need to pay attention to the place, these together, 1.5 is still a little, for cattle and horses, a trip down, are more than 2.5 runs, this 1.5 runs is an average number.

Guo Tian's face turned a little green, and he felt a little, as if he had done another stupid thing, and he wanted to get angry, but he couldn't do it.

At this time, the last sentence of the merchant gave him a blow at one time, including sheep at one time, the total number of animals in a trip could not exceed 800,000, otherwise, it would not be able to dominate, and it was prone to many accidents.