There were a total of seventeen Dengzhou sea ships that were carried by Shixun, most of them were single-ship dealers, and there were two that owned more than one ship, and the total number of ship owners was eleven.

This so-called mansion was originally just a small courtyard built by the port, and his itinerary plan to go south to station in Zhou Rugao had already been sent to Guangling in advance by guò speedboat, so Guangling Taishou Xu Xuan vacated such a small courtyard in advance, which was convenient for Shixun to move in. In the countryside, the courtyard is small, and the hall is also small, and it is impossible for more than ten people to crowd into the house, so Shi Xun simply set up a seat in the courtyard and met with Zhuge Liang to meet those maritime merchant ship owners.

When they met, everyone saluted, and Shixun didn't ask for their names, but just waved his hand and allowed them to sit down. Two rows of straw mats had been laid out in the courtyard beforehand, which flattered the shipowners—it would have been extraordinarily gracious to have a place for their subordinates to sit before the dignified assassination of the history of the battle, and it would be considered extraordinarily generous if they did not have to kneel on the ground all the time to reply.

The businessmen Jia Qian gave up and sat down one after another, and several of them secretly exchanged glances, which means: The envoy treats me like this, do you want me not to sue after I go back? We have to set our feet, and we must not accept a little bit of grace, and forget the hatred of being coerced. If these boats are owned by us privately, then I will sell this face on the spot, the real owner of the problem is still hidden behind the scenes, the family business is big, and the power is strong, but not as easy to talk to a few of us.

When he saw that everyone was sitting down with their bodies turned sideways, it was Xun Cai who spoke slowly, but he did not explain the intention of holding everyone south, let alone ask them for advice, but asked: "Guanru and others are carried on the boat." Thread silk also. If you trade from Dengzhou to Yin and Cheng. How profitable is it? ”

The so-called Yin and Cheng refer to the two counties under the jurisdiction of Huiji County, both of which have a long inheritance of excellent ports, which are left in later generations, and these two counties plus Juzhang County in the north, that is, Ningbo City, an important coastal commercial town. The maritime trade in this area can be traced back to the pre-Han period and the Tang Dynasty. And the three counties are Mingzhou, which is the initial formation of Ningbo City.

Several shipowners glanced at each other, and then they recommended a guy in his forties, who was quite old in appearance and temperament, to answer Thorn Shi's inquiry. Although they have a non-violent and non-cooperative attitude, they must still be respectful to Shixun on the surface, and if there is an inquiry, as long as it does not involve trade secrets, then there must be a question and an answer - the difference in identity is too great, if they offend Shangguan, Shixun will directly tie them up and beat them to death for the crime of disrespect. That's reasonable, legitimate, and legitimate.

So the merchant replied simply, "Profit is four or fifty percent." ”

It was Xun who twisted his beard and smiled: "Not necessarily, but it is properly managed." Twice as profitable! ”

In these years, the development process of the Jiangnan region was relatively low, and the population was also sparse, so relatively speaking, the price was higher than that in the north, especially the output and quality of the Central Plains were definitely higher than that of silk and other things in the south of the Yangtze River. Shixun has already inquired clearly, the silk in Youzhou is generally 700 yuan per horse, and the silk (fine silk of double silk) is nearly 1,000 yuan per horse, and the price in Dengzhou is one or two percent lower, and if it is transported to Huiji, the price may be doubled. If you remove the cost and risk of one-way shipping, and carry other goods on the return trip, there is still a 70% profit margin - the other party said that 50% of the profit is a lie.

The other party arched his hand, as if to argue, but Shi Xun shook his head, stopped the other party from speaking with his eyes, and then asked: "Although Yin and Cheng are rich, the population is only the second middle county of the Central Plains, although the Huiji is wide, the household registration is not complicated......" At this time, Huiji County is roughly equivalent to Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province in later generations, and it is a first-class county in the whole world, but the population is less than 500,000. Because the vast majority of the land has not yet been developed, there are more barbarians such as Shanyue who are outside the control of the official family. Of the 14 counties in Huiji, 11 are located near Hangzhou Bay in the north, and the remaining three are located in the northern and central coastal areas.

So it's Xun said, there are not many Huiji, and they are not richer than other counties, and you can double the profit by transporting silk silk from the Central Plains, have you studied this problem? Why does Huiji County have such a strong digestive ability? They can't eat all these silk silks, so where are they transported?

The merchant replied: "The villain knows a little bit about it, and he will have his own sea vessels, and all the silk and silk that enter will be transferred to the state." ”

Yesun said yes, Xu Wen and Hepu in Jiaozhou are also good ports, and they can eat silk in large quantities. But the problem is that Jiaozhou is not as rich as Yangzhou, and the population is even more pitiful, you have transported the silk silk to Huiji over the years, and then transported it to Xuwen and Hepu by the Huiji, if it is digested, it is estimated that everyone in Jiaozhou can wear silk and silk - "Is there any reason?" "Where is the silk silk from Jiaozhou, do you know?

If this is asked by a scholar, maybe one out of ten will know the whereabouts of the silk, but what Xun is facing now is only a few merchants, and none of them are even from a scholar like Wei Xun, who is short-sighted and limited-sighted, and no one can answer at the moment.

Shi Xun smiled slightly, then waved his hand, and Zhuge Liang, who was sitting next to him, hurriedly handed over a book. Then he gave the book to the merchant who came out to reply, turned to a certain page, and ordered him to read it aloud - fortunately the merchants were still literate -

"Since the southern barrier of Japan, Xu Wen, and Hepu can be in May, there is the capital of Yuanguo, and the ship can be in April, and there is Yi Lu without the country; The ship can travel for more than 20 days, and there is a departure from the country; Walking for more than ten days, there is a country of Fu Gandulu. Since the husband of Gandu Lu can travel for more than two months, there is Huang Zhiguo...... Since Emperor Wu, they have all been presented...... and the applicants are all in the pearl of the sea market, the bi, the strange stones and foreign objects, the gold, the miscellaneous ...... From the Yellow Branch Boat Line to August, to Pizong; The boat can travel in February, to the south of the day, like the forest boundary cloud ......"

It is this passage recited by Xun Yao businessman, from the "Book of Han. Geographical Chronicles II is the earliest official record of the Maritime Silk Road. After the other party finished reading, he patiently explained, and at the same time lied wantonly: "Since the Huiji boat traveled thousands of miles to Xuwen and Hepu, the profit was three times greater; Xu Wen and Hepu traveled thousands of miles to Yilu and other foreign countries, and their nobles were extravagant and did not know how to raise silkworms, all of them were greedy for silk, and the profits were twenty times! And there are also pearls, bidias, and overseas strange things, and the city of China can be thirty times more profitable! Do you want to wait for it? ”

Yes Xun has not studied the ancient history of Southeast Asia, so what are the Yi Lu no Kingdom, Fu Gandu Lu Kingdom, Huang Zhi Kingdom or something, where are they all located, is it the Philippines or Malaysia, or Indonesia? That's a complete confusion. As for the boat trip, whether you need the schedule written in the book, how many winds and waves you may encounter, and the price level of various places, it is even more difficult to understand. The so-called "twenty times" and "thirty times" are all nonsense - anyway, there are no businessmen from Jiaozhou present at this time, and no one can raise objections.

In fact, Xun really hoped to get a businessman from Jiaozhou to show up......

However, as soon as this "twenty times" and "thirty times" nonsense came out, sure enough, the eyes of those businessmen lit up. Shi Xun struck while the iron was hot: "You don't want to wait for it?" "Aren't you going to make a trip or two like this and earn a lot of capital?

But he didn't expect that the old businessman's eyes had just flashed, and then he went out again, and said: "The waves at sea are dangerous, thousands of miles away, I am afraid that it is easy to go and difficult to return, we only trade in the East China Sea, and we dare not set foot in the South China Sea." ”

When Shi Xun heard this, he couldn't help frowning slightly, and said in his heart I drew such a big cake for you, and you didn't take the bait? Are you a profiteer? Looking at the rest of the people again, there are quite a few people who have a lot of light in their eyes and secretly lick their lips there. So he leaned back and said in a deep voice: "A hundred times the benefit of going back and forth, you are old, if you don't want it, you can retreat." I don't believe in the people behind you, and their hearts are like ancient wells and don't raise waves. "You old thing has lost its sharpness, so get out of here.

Of course that guy didn't dare to get out, Yexun was right, there were some things he couldn't decide, and the people behind him had the final say. If no one refuses to get on the thief ship of Shixun, then the retreat will be retreated, if you get out alone, these peers around you will benefit, and you must go back to the master's house and cut yourself alive! So the guy rolled his eyes and quickly cleared it: "Make the gentleman Rongyu, non-villains don't want to profit, but the waterway is unknown, how to go?" "I'm not familiar with the hydrology of the South China Sea, so I can't go even if I want to.

Shi Xun didn't bother to go around in circles with these businessmen, so he simply said bluntly: "Today, the imperial army is going to conquer Jingxiang, and Wu Huisun is not following the expedition, but wants to scratch Wang Shi, so I was ordered to attack his back." The coercion of you, etc., refers to Yin, Cheng, Yin, if you go down, you will be able to check the boat into my hands, and the same is true of its picture. but to take the map and you and so on, so that the trade is handed over to the state. And Yangzhou is under the city, Wang Shi will also enter Jiaozhou in the near future, and the map of Jiaozhou going overseas is easy to obtain. You will now have the map of Wu Hui with me, and the two pictures can be changed on a different day. ”

You hurry up and hand over to me the charts of Wu County and the northern coast of Huiji, and then when I take Yin, Cheng and other counties, and search for the charts of the southern part of Huiji and the eastern part of Jiaozhou, I will make a copy of it to you. In a few more years, the imperial court will unify Jiaozhou, and search for the charts from Hepu and Xu Wen to overseas, and naturally you will have your share. If you don't, then if I don't say it, you guys get out of here.

As soon as this remark came out, the businessmen could not whisper, and it was difficult to choose for a while. To say that you can exchange one chart for two charts, that is what everyone is happy with, the problem is that this one is a spot, but what Thorn Shi promised has not yet seen a shadow, it is a future, who can guarantee that he will not regret it in the future, and suddenly turn his face and don't recognize people? Besides, if you don't discuss such a big thing as the sea chart, I'm afraid you won't dare to accept it casually.

Of course, Shixun can't let them discuss with the main family - their main family is in Dengzhou, and they may even live in the mainland, and they come and go to report and ask for instructions, and the daylilies are cold. Fortunately, he had already calculated, and immediately used two hands, one hard and one soft, to force these merchants to bow down immediately. (To be continued......)