"Not bad!"

"Can you show Father Khan, then?"

"Absolutely!" Min Min nodded happily, she stood up and said two words to the maid, who came out of the tent and took a sheep's skull and put it on a stake outside the tent, about fifty meters away from the tent. Minmin skillfully applied the medicine, shoved a lead wrapped in deerskin into the muzzle of the gun, tamped it with a strip, lit the fire rope, aimed for a moment, and pulled the trigger hard. With the sound of a gunshot, the skull of the sheep fell, and the maid hurriedly picked up the skull and brought it into the tent. Batur picked up the sheep's skull, only to see that there was a bullet hole the size of a walnut on it, which had been pierced.

Batur's face became solemn, with the power of this bird gun, as long as he is hit, even a warrior wearing heavy armor is a dead end, and more importantly, this bird gun is much lighter than the Russian arquebus, without a bracket, even a woman can easily aim and shoot.

"How? It won't hurt people! Min Min didn't seem to notice his father's face and smiled triumphantly.

"Great Khan, look here!" Batur's subordinates pointed to the copper pipe next to the medicine pool, it turned out that in order to prevent the shooter from being injured in the face by the sparks sprayed from the medicine pool, Liu Cheng asked his subordinates to set up a small device on the medicine pool, so that the sparks sprayed were along the copper pipe facing downward, so that the shooter would not be injured. Batur tried firing two more shots, and it was much more accurate than the arquebus he had obtained from the Russian merchants.

"Well, the craftsmen of the Han people are really ingenious, and we Mongolians can't do it!" Batur placed the bird gun on the ground and asked, "Minmin, where did you get this bird gun from?" “

"A Han merchant surnamed Xu!" Min Min smiled: "He has a lot of fun things there, I often go there, and once I saw him use this to hunt wild ducks, and I had to buy them if they were very useful." But he didn't sell it, so I took it and left. said to lend me a few days to play and then return it to him, and the surname Xu had no choice. “

"Great Khan, Min Min Beji should be talking about that Xu Hecheng, and he is the only one surnamed Xu among the Han merchants."

"The one who bought a lot of wool?"

"That's the man!"

"You go and invite him, be polite, don't attract other people's attention!"

"Yes, Great Khan!"

When he was invited, Xu Hecheng was directing his men to pack their luggage and count the goods in his warehouse, and in two days he was ready to set out on his way home, and the wind and sand and scorching sun along the way left an indelible mark on his appearance—the skin exposed on the outside of his clothes showed a complexion between purple and black. Like most wanderers, his heart was full of longing for his hometown at this time.

"Xu Dongjia!" Erji called Xu Hecheng according to the customs of the Han people: "Please come with me, the Great Khan will summon you." “

"Now?" Xu Hecheng looked at the Mongolian in front of him in surprise, as far as he knew, this Mongolian named Erji had a very high status here, and he didn't know if it was evil or auspicious when he came to find him at this juncture.

"Xu Dongjia, please rest assured, the Great Khan saw you for business matters!" Erji saw Xu Hecheng's thoughts, and said with a smile: "It's time for you to get rich!" ”

"Thank you!" Xu Hecheng's spirit was shocked, and he took out a small leather bag from his arms and stuffed it into the other party's hand: "It's a little meaning, and there is no preparation in a hurry." Not a tribute! “

Erji put the skin bag into his arms nonchalantly, and said with a smile: "Xu Dongjia, please come with me!" ”

When the two came to the king's tent, Erji motioned to Xu Hecheng to wait for a while, and then walked to the tent and said loudly: "Great Khan." A businessman surnamed Xu is here! ”

"Come in!" A deep voice came from inside the tent. Erji motioned for Xu Hecheng to enter the tent with him, and saluted like a ceremonial queen. After a few pleasantries on both sides, Batur smiled and said, "Xu Dongjia, what are your shortcomings these days. Just open your mouth! ”

"Thank you, Great Khan!" Xu Hecheng hurriedly thanked: "The villain is very satisfied with his stay here, and there is nothing lacking. ”

"That's good!" Batur smiled: "You also know that we are different from you here. Daming is rich in products, and nothing is produced. And we lack a lot of things in the steppe, and we can't live without you merchants, and you bring all kinds of useful goods, which are our friends of the Dzungar people! Also my friend of Batur! ”

"Thank you Great Khan for your love!" Xu Hecheng hurriedly responded: "Thanks to the Great Khan, the villain has also made a lot of money, and the Great Khan is the villain's food and clothing!" ”

"That's good, that's good!" Batur smiled: "Xu Dongjia, I remember that you once wanted to mine the copper mine in the Haba River, I don't know if you still have any intentions now?" ”

Xu Hecheng was overjoyed when he heard this, it turned out that half a year ago he found a piece of copper ore in the goods when he was trading with the Jungger people, and found that a large copper mine was found in the area of the Haba River at the southern foot of the Altai Mountains, and more importantly, it was identified from the quarried samples, which not only contained high copper content, but also accompanied by gold, silver and other precious metals. Xu Hecheng was overjoyed and made a request to the Dzungar people to mine, but Batur immediately refused, on the grounds that mining would anger the gods. Xu Hecheng had no choice but to put this matter aside for the time being, and wait for the opportunity to talk about it later, but he didn't want Batur to suddenly mention this matter today, wouldn't it be a pie to go out and smash it in the face.

"Great Khan, are you willing to mine the copper mines of the Haba River?"

"Not bad." Batur smiled and nodded: "Originally, I heard that mining will anger the gods, but the tribe spends a lot of money, if you exchange wool, leather, and livestock, I am afraid that the people will become poorer and poorer." I have discussed with my guru that it is okay to open a mine, as long as you make sacrifices every year, the gods will be considerate! Since you can mine, you naturally have to ask your friends first. ”

"Thank you, Great Khan!" At this time, Xu Hecheng had recovered from Fang Cai's excitement, and as a businessman, he naturally knew that "if you are courteous to others, you must ask for something." This Batur suddenly summoned himself and threw out such a big piece of pie, and he had long friends and short friends, so there must be something important to ask for. But what is it? Xu Hecheng's eyes wandered, and he suddenly saw Min Min who was sitting behind Batur and probing his brain, and his heart moved, so he smiled and said: "We Han people have an old saying, there are comings and goings, and it can last for a long time." The villain received such a great favor from the Great Khan, and he didn't know what he could do to repay the Great Khan, which was really embarrassing. ”

"Proprietor Xu, it's a coincidence!" Erji on the side interjected: "Min Min Beji borrowed a bird gun from you a few days ago. My Great Khan occasionally sees and likes it very much, but I don't know how many you have there, how much does one cost? ”

"So it's for this!" Seeing that he had just guessed correctly, Xu Hecheng was relieved and said with a smile: "That is for self-defense in the villain caravan, and there are a total of one hundred and fifty caravans." If the Great Khan likes it, the villain is willing to give half of it to the Great Khan. “

Erji originally held back enough strength to bargain with Xu Hecheng, but he didn't want the other party to express his willingness to give away seventy-five bird guns for nothing without waiting for him to speak, and he couldn't help but be a little stunned, and he didn't know what to say for a while. Batur on the side heard that Xu Hecheng was willing to give it away. There was no joy on his face: "Dong Xu, seventy-five is too little, can you have more, you don't need to worry about the price, just open your mouth." “

Xu Hecheng's face showed embarrassment: "Originally, when the Great Khan spoke, the villain should have dedicated all the one hundred and fifty firecrackers to the Great Khan, but the return journey was difficult and dangerous, if he gave all the talisman to the Great Khan, he was afraid that his life would be difficult to protect when he encountered bandits and horse thieves." ”

"I see!" Batur laughed, "What's so hard about that. I'll send three hundred cavalry to escort you back, so you can bring more of them next year, and I'll buy them all." ”

"Great Khan. You don't know! Xu Hecheng smiled bitterly: "This bird gun is also a militaristic weapon in the Ming Dynasty, and the villain is just a businessman, where can such a weapon be made?" These bird guns were given to the villain by a friend, and I didn't know how to explain to him when I went back. Where else can we bring some more? ”

"Xu Dongzhu!" Min Min, who was sitting behind Batur, was already a little impatient to listen, and interjected: "Since we are your good friends, just have more money with him." What's so embarrassing, is my father Khan going to let you make a loss-making deal? ”

Batur patted his daughter's little hand lightly and said with a smile: "Lord Xu, we Mongolians are all straight, not as bent as you Han people. In this way, let me make it clear: next year you send a thousand birds, and then two hundred a year, then the copper mining rights of the Haba River will be yours, and the copper will be drawn out of ten, and the rest will be yours, how about it? ”

Hearing the big pie smashed by Batur, Xu Hecheng's forehead immediately oozed a layer of sweat the size of soybeans, with his years of experience in mining, the copper mine in Haba River is a big rich mine that has never been seen before, and the annual output of gold and silver alone is no less than 20,000 or 30,000 taels of silver, not to mention the tax rate of 10 percent opened by Batur, which is simply a free gift. In ancient China, a copper-poor country, as long as the copper was shipped back to China, whether it was to make utensils or mint money, there would be at least a few hundred percent of the profits, compared to these, the value of a thousand bird guns was only a drop in the bucket. Under the bombardment of Batur's sugar-coated shells, Xu Hecheng was almost about to open his mouth to agree, but he still kept a trace of clarity in his mind, and said with a wry smile: "Great Khan, it's not a matter of money. ”

Erji smiled: "Proprietor Xu is laughing, you are a businessman, what are the problems besides money?" “

"I'm a businessman, but my friend is not a businessman, he is an official of the imperial court, a dignified three-rank general."

Hearing Xu Hecheng's answer, Batur and Erji glanced at each other, and both of them saw a clear look in each other's eyes. They naturally know that a big businessman like Xu Hecheng who is doing border trade must have a big backer behind him, and he can take out a firearm like a bird gun to sell. However, it is also common for the border generals of all dynasties to do business with Fanbang to make money to fill their pockets or subsidize military supplies.

"Xu Dongjia!" Erji smiled: "It turns out that you have such a big backer behind you, no wonder you can make such a big business, I am still disrespectful on weekdays!" But you have also seen that our Great Khan really needs this bird gun, and the Ming Dynasty has no border with my Dzungar people, even if they sell firearms, they do not need to worry about threatening the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but can contain the Mongols in the south and north of the desert, why not? ”

"Great Khan, it's not the villain's prevarication, it's just that this matter is really important, and I can make a decision alone if it's not a villain, and besides, there is a war in the northwest right now, even if there is a bird gun, my friend can't use it for himself, how can he sell it to you." When Xu Hecheng said this, he gritted his teeth and said: "That's it, I was blamed by my friends for dedicating these one hundred and fifty bird guns to the Great Khan, as for more villains, I really can't do it, please forgive the Great Khan!" ”

Hearing Xu Hecheng say this, Batur's face showed disappointment, and Min Min on the side smiled and said: "Lord Xu, you Han people are so strange, if we Mongolians ask for help, we will also give him our lives, not to mention just a few birds?" ”

Xu Hecheng smiled bitterly: "Min Min Beiji doesn't know, my friend is talented and knowledgeable, such as using flowing water to drive machinery to turn wool into flannel, making bird guns and many other things are all done by him, if it weren't for him, how could I do so much business?" How can I embarrass him when I have gained so much from him? ”

Min Min rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "A good friend naturally can't embarrass him, but is your friend a heavenly immortal?" ”

Xu Hecheng was stunned when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Naturally not, although my friend is smart, he is just an ordinary man." ”

"Then you can't get it, if it's a god in the sky, there's no way, but if it's a mortal, there are always things you want but can't get, you give him these things, and he won't agree to you as soon as he's happy?"

"Not bad!" Batur thought that it was hopeless, but he didn't expect his daughter to say Xu Hecheng speechless in just a few words, so he smiled and said: "Lord Xu, what my daughter said is good, I bother you to think about it again, it is Ben Khan's beloved thing, and he will not be stingy." ”

When Xu Hecheng heard this, he couldn't help but be secretly happy in his heart, what he did just now was just for one thing, and he didn't know how to say it, but he didn't want the Mongolian princess to speak so sharply, but instead did him a big favor, so he pretended to be hesitant: "My friend is a military attache of the imperial court, and his heart is to exterminate the thieves, or to be promoted to a knight, to be a wife and a son, although he likes money, he doesn't value it the most." “

"So what's most important?"

"Naturally, the soldiers are strong!" Xu Hecheng replied, biting the word "horse" very hard. (To be continued.) )