"A little obsession of the poor monk made the two of them laugh!" Chesang stood up, walked up to Liu Cheng and took out a wooden box from his arms, put it in front of Liu Cheng and said with a smile: "The poor monk also has a little gift for adults!" “

Liu Cheng took the wooden box with a smile on his face, opened it casually, the smile on his face immediately froze, he pushed the wooden box back and said, "Such a heavy gift, please take it back from the master!" ”

"My lord is laughing!" Chessan pushed the wooden box back again: "Pink Skull." What difference does golden dung make in the eyes of monks like us? If the adults refuse to accept it, it is a photo. ”

"No merit is not rewarded!" Liu Cheng's attitude was very resolute, and he pushed the wooden box back again.

"Are you two pushing around guessing dumb riddles? Let me see what it is? Min Min on the side saw the two of them pushing around, curiously stretched out to open the wooden box, everyone couldn't help but gasp, it turned out that the wooden box was placed in dozens of small thumb-sized gems, shining dazzling under the illumination of the light.

"What a beautiful gem!"

Min Min couldn't help but take out a ruby from the wooden box, only to see that the ruby was about the size of a little finger, like coagulated blood under the light, emitting a charming light, then she took the wooden box on her cuffs, so that it turned over, the contents fell on the carpet, dozens of gems of different sizes were scattered, and for a while, the breathing of everyone in the room suddenly became heavy.

Chesang said with a smile: "Beji really has good eyesight, this pigeon blood red is a treasure dedicated to the Buddha by the king of the Ava Dynasty more than a hundred years ago, enshrined in front of the Buddha statue in Rashlunbu Temple for more than 100 years, with the blessing of the Buddha power of the masters of the past generations, if Beji is brought on the body, it will definitely be able to turn evil into good fortune, and become auspicious in trouble!" “

"Is what the Guru said true?" Min Min asked as she gripped the pigeon's blood red in her hand.

"Amitabha, monks don't speak. How dare the poor monk deceive Beji! Chesang smiled, and he picked up another gem in his hand: "There are three jewels in the Buddha realm: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; There are seven treasures in the house: chalcedony, beeswax, clams, pearls, coral, gold, and silver; If you get the three treasures, you will be Cathay, and if you get the seven treasures, the people will be safe. This pigeon's blood red is the best of the Seven Treasures, and Lama Sonam Gyatso carries it with him at all times, and he will be healthy for a lifetime. “

Liu Cheng watched coldly at the lama on the sidelines, agitating a three-inch tongue, desperately trying to persuade Minmin. Obviously, the other party has seen his special relationship with Minmin, and since he can't open the gap from himself for a while, he adopts an indirect strategy. A detour to open the gap from Minmin's side. However, although this method is old-fashioned, it is really easy to use, and from ancient times to the present, women have not not waved a white flag when they encounter jewelry. Although Min Min is very smart, she is also a woman after all, if she doesn't want to be uneasy in the next house, she still honestly eats this sugar-coated cannonball, but after eating, you have to figure out what is hidden under the sugar-coating, and see if there is a way to eat the sugar-coating. The shells were spit out.

"Master Chesan!" Liu Cheng carefully put all the gems on the ground back into the wooden box and closed the wooden lid again: "We Han people have an old saying: 'If you are courteous to others, you must ask for something!'" I'm afraid this gift is not for nothing, right? “

Che Sang was stunned when he heard this, he didn't expect Liu Cheng to say it so bluntly. Unlike the monks of the Central Plains, the monks of Tibetan Buddhism at that time were not just simple religious people, they were closer to the church of the European Middle Ages. In order to pray for the peace and happiness of the underworld, the secular aristocracy of Tibet often donated large numbers of people and land to the temples. At the same time, many of the children of the nobility themselves would become monks and become high-ranking monks. The monks were unable to pass on the property of the monastery to their children, and over time the monasteries accumulated more and more wealth. It gradually became the economic, cultural and religious center of Tibet, and even had a strong military and political power through foreign missions, gradually overpowering the secular regime. Therefore, there were extremely brutal struggles between the temples and the secular government, between the temples and between the temples, and even between the monks inside the temples, which were fierce enough to be between the soldiers and the monks, and some were hidden under the robes and sleeves of the monks only between the temples and banquets. Like Lama Chesan, who worshiped at the age of four in the fourth **** Lobsan? Under the knees of Choji Gyaltsen, a senior monk who grew up in Lashhunpo Monastery, as soon as he was sensible, he was wallowing with conspiracies and lies, how could he be frozen for Liu Cheng's words.

"General Liu's words are wrong!" Chesang said with a smile: "In your eyes, these are valuable treasures, but in the eyes of us monks, they are the magic weapons of the Buddha's body, and in front of the Buddha statue in Lashhunpo Monastery, it can be said that they are piled up. The poor monk gave the general because you, as a military general, have killed a lot of evil, and if you wear these treasures with you, you can protect the country. Although I have something to ask the general, but the gift is a gift, and the request is to ask for each other, and the two have nothing to do with each other, and the general can rest assured! ”

"Nothing to do with it?" Liu Cheng smiled a little ambiguously.

"It doesn't matter at all!" Chesan answered it in no uncertain terms.

"If that's the case, then the official will be disrespectful!" Liu Cheng suddenly laughed, and he took the wooden box to his side: "Master Chesang, if I don't agree to you later, you must not regret it!" ”

"Rest assured, adults!"

After this episode, the banquet continued. But there was one more thing in everyone's hearts - what did this big lama give such a big gift to ask Liu Cheng to agree to, but Liu Cheng didn't ask, and Chesang didn't mention it, the two of them seemed to have completely forgotten about this matter, but they fished the appetite of the people next to them. When the banquet was about to end, the two didn't mention half a word again, as if it hadn't happened at all.

Liu Cheng returned to his residence, and just changed into a civilian robe, his subordinates came to tell Zhao Wende to ask to see him. Liu Cheng ordered him to come in, and after a while, Zhao Wende entered the house with a mysterious face, and said in a low voice: "My lord, I have gained a lot this time!" ”

"Rewarding?" Liu Cheng smiled: "Let's hear it? ”

Zhao Wende looked left and right, Liu Cheng understood what he meant, and waved his hand to signal his subordinates to exit the house, and only the two of them were left in the house at this time. Zhao Wende took out a leather bag from his waist, carefully untied the string tied to the leather bag, and poured the contents onto the table, only to hear the sound of ping-pong, and a bunch of small gold nuggets the size of chess pieces appeared on several cases.

Liu Cheng casually picked up a small piece, put it in his mouth and bit it, leaving a shallow tooth mark on the gold nugget, obviously this is a gold nugget of high purity. He lowered his voice and asked, "Where did these come from?" “

"It was in that copper mine that after excavation, it was found that there was an associated gold ore vein on the side!" Zhao Wende's face was full of irrepressible excitement: "The purity is very high!" “

"That copper mine in the Haba River?" Liu Cheng asked, "How much is the output over there?" Who else knows? ”

"Yes, my lord really has a good memory! Now it can produce eleven or two taels of gold a day, and the families of the people who are working there are all in the Central Plains, but they will definitely not be able to hide it after a long time, and it will be leaked out sooner or later. Zhao Wende said in a low voice: "The first batch of gold is hidden in the backpack of the camel I was riding, just outside. ”

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded, he walked to the door and said in a loud voice: "Du Gu! “

"The last general!"

"You personally go and bring the backpack on Lord Zhao's camel to me, there must be no mistake!"

Du Gu sensed something in Liu Cheng's tone, and hurriedly nodded, "Yes." I'll be there right away! ”

Liu Cheng returned to the house, paced back and forth a few steps, and asked in a low voice, "How long do you think you can hide it?" How many veins are there? ”

"I heard from the master who opened the mine that the ore vein is just a branch of a large ore vein, but the big ore vein is buried deep and is not easy to mine. As for how long it can be hidden. Speaking of this, Zhao Wende showed a wry smile on his face: "I can't say this clearly." “

Liu Cheng nodded, he also knew that his problem was a bit difficult for a strong man, after all, there was no impermeable wall in the world. What's more, this kind of thing involving a lot of wealth, although he and Batur Khan have a good relationship now, they are just friends of interests, and Li Li will naturally share with Li. If you let them know the news. It is not impossible to tear up the agreement and regain control of the gold mines.

"My lord, now the plan is only to hide it for a while, this time I will go back and recruit another group of people to speed up the mining!"

"That's all there is to it!" Liu Cheng nodded: "What you do in the gold mine can only be done by trustworthy people." “

"Your Excellency. One more important thing. As Zhao Wende spoke, he took out a letter from his sleeve and presented it: "Your Excellency, please take a look." “

Liu Cheng took the letter and opened it. I saw that it was densely packed with Russian.

"Russian?" Liu Cheng frowned.

"Do you recognize Russian characters, my lord?" Zhao Wende couldn't help but be shocked, his hand shook, and a piece of paper fell to the ground.

"How so!" Liu Cheng saw that Zhao Wende's face changed greatly, and hurriedly smiled: "It's just a casual guess, I've seen Francowen and know that Western Yidi characters are like this, and your side borders the Russians, so that's why I said so." ”

"I see!" Zhao Wende smiled bitterly and picked up the paper that fell to the ground and handed it to Liu Cheng: "It scared me, in order to translate this letter into Chinese, I spent a lot of effort to find an interpreter, if you even know this, my strength will be in vain." ”

"Jiansheng, you think too much, where do I know any Russian characters!" Liu Cheng snorted, pushed the matter over, and carefully looked at the translation manuscript handed over by Zhao Wende, it turned out that the letter writer was named Stroganov. Mursinov, who claimed to be a member of the Stroganov family, a representative of the merchants of the city of Tomsk, in the name of all the Russian merchants of the city of Tomsk, requested trade with the Ming Empire. At the end of the letterhead, the merchant wrote: "In the vast lands ruled by the Tsar, the best furs, gold, amber, beautiful women, strong men, and horses; And in your land, there is an abundance of fine ceramics and tea, an elixir that can make people healthy. I am sure that your cooperation with the Stroganov family will bring great benefits to both sides, and as a faithful servant of the tsar, I look forward to hearing from you. Your friend Stroganov. Mursinov. “

"This Stroganov . Who exactly is Morsinov? How did this letter get to you, and did you reply? Liu Cheng read this somewhat awkward Russian name with some difficulty, and asked Zhao Wende, this sudden message made him a little dizzy.

"I have already inquired with many merchants that Tomsk is a fortress of the Russians on the right bank of the Tomi River, only 120 miles from the mouth of the Obi River. This Stroganov. Mursinov's family was powerful and wealthy in Russia, and the fortress was founded by his ancestors who conquered the local Tatars. When Zhao Wende said this, he lowered his voice and said: "I think it's better not to let Batur Khan know about this matter, so I casually replied to a letter and made a mistake." “

"Jiansheng, you did a good job!" Liu Cheng nodded approvingly, as a traverser, he knew better than anyone the virtues of the Russians, and for the next two hundred years, these ambitious Slavs rode sleds and horses to conquer the largest land on earth for the sake of God, Tsar and Fur. He read the letter again, and in it the Stroganov . Mursinov addressed himself to Lord Governor-General, and it was clear that the Russian businessman had made a mistake that was not too small or too small.

"How could he write to me?" Liu Cheng asked, "I mean that Stroganov. Mursinov. “

"I guess it has something to do with the victory that Batur Khan fought some time ago." Zhao Wende explained. It turned out that in the 20s of the fifteenth century, in the east of the Golden Horde, there was an Uzbek Khanate centered on the lower reaches of the Syr Darya River, this emerging nomadic khanate adopted a fierce expansion policy, and the contradictions between the nobility within the country were extremely acute, and the sons of the last khan of the White Horde, Barak Khan, Kereh and Ganibek, after the failure of the resistance, led their troops to flee to the then Eastern Chagatai Khanate in 1456. The Taras River basin, the land known today as the Seven Rivers region, was given to them, where they multiplied and gradually formed the Kazakhs of today. The so-called Seven Rivers region refers to the seven river branches that flow into Lake Balkhash, including the surrounding areas south of Lake Balkhash, east of the Central Asian River, and centered on Lake Issyk-Kul and the Chu River, roughly including the area of today's Almaty Oblast, Zhambyl Oblast, Kyrgyzstan and Ili in Xinjiang. Compared with the surrounding arid steppes, this land has abundant water and is suitable for agriculture and pasture, and has been an important node for the migration of nomadic peoples from east to west in the steppes of Central Asia since ancient times. (To be continued.) )