Chapter 193: Accident

Zhou An said with a smile: "My lord, this silk can be sold for a few dollars in Song, but the value of it when it is shipped out will increase tenfold." and then exchanged for jewelry and spices, and his value increased tenfold. 100 times the profit. Moreover, the strength of this Yangping Chamber of Commerce is too strong, especially the production base of Northwest Road, which is low in price and good in quality. Seventy percent of the business in the Song Dynasty is done by them, and we have to make a little money by sea. ”

"Wouldn't that be nice? Everyone earns their own. Do not conflict with each other. ”

Zhou An said politely: "It's also good for adults to coordinate." Otherwise, it will be said that this voyage, the Yangping Chamber of Commerce will inevitably get a piece of the pie. Then slowly stationed in shipping. Our merchants in the southeast can only go to drink the northwest wind. "The Yangping Chamber of Commerce has abundant funds and has frequent contacts with important officials in the imperial court. These are all incomparable to the Southeast Chamber of Commerce. Zhou An is very pleased with the self-discipline of the merchants of the Yangping Chamber of Commerce. Of course, he also knew that most of the credit was made by Ouyang's mediator.

Zhou An handed over a contract and said, "My lord, this is a little bit of the Southeast Chamber of Commerce. ”

"A little bit of a point?" Ouyang took it and took a look, ha! There are 10 properties on the contract, including a 10% stake in the shipping company. This is not trivial, according to last year's profits, Ouyang has this contract, and he can pay a dividend of 700,000 yuan at the end of the year. Ouyang put the contract back in Zhou An's hand and said: "Shopkeeper Zhou, I will not help the Southeast Chamber of Commerce because I have this contract, nor will I help the Yangping Chamber of Commerce because I have a share in the Yangping Chamber of Commerce." Too much to worry about. ”

Zhou An hurriedly said: "We definitely don't mean this. If there is no adult to guide you, there are various opportunities for adults to help. The Southeast Chamber of Commerce does not have such a scale......"

"Shopkeeper Zhou!" Ouyang said: "The Yangping Chamber of Commerce was the first money I invested, because I was helpless, because I knew that if I didn't invest, I was afraid that it would not be established." Besides, although I, Ouyang, am not as wealthy as you, it is still relatively easy to make a million dollars. Besides, Shopkeeper Zhou is a white wolf with empty gloves for me, this kind of thing is going to be done, and if there is any dispute between the north and the south in the future, I'm afraid I won't be able to speak. ”

Zhou An saw that Ouyang had made a decision, so he reluctantly accepted the contract and said, "My lord, you can come to the Southeast Chamber of Commerce if you have any needs in the future." If I want to frown, I will be in vain. ”

"Shopkeeper Zhou is polite." Ouyang saw that the last boat had also disappeared and said, "The people have left, and we should disperse." ”

A scholar left a poem in Xiaoshan and engraved it on a smooth stone wall of the wharf, admiring the majesty of Wang Shi. Maybe they thought it was just a feat, but Ouyang knew that no matter whether this voyage was successful or not, it was impossible for the names of Liang Hongyu and Li Bao to be buried in history.

Without a regular tryst with Liang Hongyu, plus the four seas are leveling, Ouyang's leisure days have come again. But plans can never keep up with change, and even the most elaborate plans can be thwarted by accidents.

The accident came out of the poor Western Xia. There was civil strife in Western Xia. The poorer the more chaotic, the more chaotic the poorer. Since one of the eight clans of the party has been persuaded by Xiao Yin to settle in the northwest military road of the Song Dynasty, there are only seven left. These chiefs generally served as the governors of the states and sat on the same land. However, due to the shrinkage of the territory, the contradictions between clans and between clans and between clans and royal families have become more and more acute.

Contradictions are the product of any era, and the Song Dynasty also had contradictions, especially after Ouyang provoked the development of business. However, the Song Dynasty took advantage of foreign wars to resolve or delay domestic contradictions relatively easily. The Tangut people would also do this, and when there was no internal unity, they would assemble to commit the Song Border, which was a method they had been using for nearly a hundred years.

The Song Dynasty has changed from what it used to be, especially the Northwest Military Army, which has become the most elite forbidden army in the Great Song Dynasty after several years of training. But it happened.

The cause of the incident was caused by Fei Ting. Fei Ting's clan was originally in the Song occupation area, and after moving north, he has not settled in the offering area. In addition, Western Xia was worried about the northward invasion of the Northwest Military Road, and abandoned production in preparation for war. Fei Ting's life was even more difficult. As a nomad, when life is difficult, the best solution is to plunder. And the most robbed and wealthy place around Western Xia is only the trading area of the Hexi Corridor. There were two barracks stationed in this area, one under Liangzhou in the Song Dynasty and the other under the Western Xia. Between the two there are 100 acres of trading land.

Since there was no danger to defend here, neither side had set up defenses in this area. Song only had a vicarious successor to maintain order, a military attache of the nine ranks, who led a hundred sergeants to station. The same was true of the Western Xia, where both sides believed that the place was flat and lacked any defensive value. At this time, 5,000 people from the Fei Ting clan were killed.

The deputy lieutenant of Western Xia led people to intercept and was captured alive. The wolf smoke of the Western Xia side has risen, and the Song side immediately sent troops, and after learning the situation, in addition to sending someone to report the news, he led a hundred soldiers to protect the caravan and evacuate. It's just that after walking less than ten miles, he was overtaken. All the merchants and soldiers were killed, and then the Western Xia defenders were wiped out. Fei Tingshi was very satisfied that he was about to live the free life he had before, and left calmly with his belongings and merchant daughters.

If this kind of thing happened two hundred years ago, it was very normal to disturb the borders, and there was no rice and no grain to find the Central Plains. Even a few years ago, the Tangut people used to do this. But what happened so far is very wrong. The Western Xia court was still in the dark about this matter. After receiving the report from the Northwest Province of the Great Song Dynasty, Xiliang sent reinforcements only to see a corpse, and the general who led the troops was furious. Immediately play the appeasement division. The first thing Han Shizhong did was to arrange his troops, and asked people to urgently recruit six generals who were training outside, including Liu Qi, to return.

The matter was reported to the imperial court, and the imperial court also saw that it was a single incident, and based on the strategy against Liao, it was ready to send people to negotiate with Western Xia and hand over the culprit. But the court did not expect that there would be an uproar among the people. First, local officials reported that local merchants had asked the Song Dynasty to declare war on Western Xia. Later, the disagreement in the court increased, and the civil officials suggested that Xingshi should ask for the guilt, while the Privy Council supported Zhao Yu and asked the Western Xia to hand over the culprit. They understood that once the Western Xia was used, the Liao strategy would definitely have to be postponed again.

The Yangping Chamber of Commerce was the most intense, and there were two heavyweights among the businessmen who were killed, namely two promising sons and nephews of Yangping University graduates who had been sent by the original shareholders to intern in the trading area. The Yangpyeong Chamber of Commerce expressed great dissatisfaction with the weakness of the imperial court, and at the same time said that if the imperial court could not protect the safety of the merchants of the Northwest Province, the merchants would be evacuated from the Northwest Province.

The businessman has a point, they won't stay without a safe business environment. At the same time, Western Xia only received the envoy, but he did not take action against the chief of the Fei Ting clan. It's not that he doesn't want to do it, but there are three tribes that have lost their land and they all express their understanding to the Fei Ting clan. Nearly two months later, when the people's voices calmed down a little, Guazhou was attacked by the Yeli clan of the Dangxiang clan.

But this time the Yeli clan was not so lucky, after the incident, there was already a general who led his subordinates to train defense in the two states of Shagua. As soon as the alarm was received, the general immediately sent troops, and more than 13,000 people surrounded the 3,000 Yeli clan. After being partially killed, the son of the chieftain of the Yeli clan led his men to surrender.

It seems to have ended peacefully, but the truth is that the businessmen began to evacuate en masse. All local employees were abandoned, and the Chamber of Commerce was working hard to transfer finished or semi-finished products such as equipment, grain and leather. The economic damage was small, and the local society caused great chaos, and the Northwest Military Road was immediately put under military control. Although Zhao Yu sent Ouyang to negotiate with the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce said that in order to ensure the safety of the merchants, they would all evacuate to the south of Huixian. Ouyang's face didn't seem to be worth much compared to their lives.

At the end of November, a preliminary agreement was reached between the imperial court and the merchants, and the northwest military route strengthened the protection of the merchants, and the merchants resumed production and hired local labor. This winter was particularly cold, especially in the northwest. As expected, there was another looting in early December. Although due to the timely dispatch of troops, there were no large casualties. But the merchants' distrust of the imperial court grew. Even the local tribes reported their dissatisfaction with the court to the pacification department.

This matter is no longer a solution. The Northwest Military Road and the Western Xia border are very long. The Hexi Corridor borders, Shagua Prefecture also borders, and Lingyongle also borders. If the imperial court did not take effective measures, the already prosperous Silk Road would inevitably be re-depressed due to the rampant banditry. Now, the imperial court has finally begun to face up to this problem, otherwise it will be even more difficult to deal with after the beginning of spring. As a result, the old practice of having a holiday of 20 days before the New Year's Festival was cancelled.

Ouyang didn't care about these things, he just negotiated with the Chamber of Commerce according to the requirements of the imperial court, and he understood that the negotiations were fruitless. The Northwest Military Road is too wide, and to guard against Tibet, you have to accumulate troops in Heihan and train, and the source of troops is not much, let alone such a wide border. The imperial court didn't plan to trouble his old man anymore, and there was no one at the end of the year, except for the New Year's reward.

However, after all, this matter is one of the two hottest topics in the Great Song Dynasty, so it is natural to discuss. Another hot topic is, of course, the long-distance fleet. According to Temasek, the fleet has left Temasek in its entirety and is fully line-up. It is expected to celebrate the New Year at sea or in Tianzhu.

Ou Ping was more puzzled: "Why do you say that this Western Xia has not moved for a long time?" ”

"It's not that there's no movement. According to unpublished reliable sources, the Western Xia court was trying to negotiate with the tribes of all sides. Huilan said: "But there is no way, although there are only seven tribes left, there are only half of the feeding areas left." Coupled with the preparation of Xixia last year and this year, the domestic production situation is very bad. Even Li Qianshun may not eat better than we do now. So the Western Xia simply didn't have anything extra to give to these tribes. ”

Gan Xin said: "Ou Ping, you calculate, even if an emperor gives birth to four children, one becomes the emperor, and the other three want to be the prince?" When there are more people, there are fewer things. How many states are left in Western Xia now? In addition, many people envy the life of the military people in the northwest, and they have fled here, and the population has withered. This winter came early and ruthlessly, and the chieftains of those tribes had made brocade clothes and delicacies, and since they had no land to eat, they robbed them. Raising troops by war has always been a natural idea for them. ”

Ouyang Dao: "The main reason is that now the Western Xia Imperial Court can no longer order these tribes. Everyone has selfish intentions. Just like cats, since the owner doesn't give good things to eat, then change the house. The battle a few years ago really drained the blood of the Tangut people, forcing them to put down their hoes and become robbers. ”

Wang Baofu asked: "Brother, why doesn't the emperor send troops?" ”

"The emperor is thinking about something else." Ouyang smiled: "Don't be so involved in so many children. Let's go out after eating. Come, I'll give you a New Year's money first. ”

"Consistently? My brother is so stingy. Wang Baofu said with a smile: "Last year, I went out for a spin and collected more than 1,000 yuan of New Year's money. ”

"......" Ouyang asked the sitting with a black face: "Who gave it?" ”

Zhan Ming said while eating: "My lord, who doesn't know that Baofu is your sister when you go out all the way?" Yangping is also a place where merchants gather...... Baofu, this year I want to take a boat to Baiyun District to play, and those who have money are over there. "The new county yamen is Gan Xin, and Ouyang still lives in the yamen of the old county seat. However, now it is not a county office, and all of them are Ouyang's private residences.

"Well, I'll go now." Wang Baofu threw the dishes and chopsticks and ran away.

Gan Xin added: "It's not that the silver ticket is not collected. ”

Ouyang Khan: "You ......"

The girl of the Su family smiled: "Don't worry about adults, Baofu is to compete with children." It's not up to you to turn around. Baofu is very well-behaved. ”

"Yes!" Ouyang nodded.

Continuing to chat, Ou Ping spoke first: "Young master, I'm a little worried. ”

"Worried about what?"

"The young master didn't see it, now it's a businessman who is forcing the palace court. forced the imperial court to change its plan against Liao and fight against Western Xia. Ou Ping and Zhou Ping mixed up for a few days, and said: "The terrain in the north of Western Xia is complicated, even if troops are sent on both sides of the Northwest Military Road and the Yongxing Military Road, I am afraid that there will not be two years without much success." Wouldn't it be four years from now? The adults also know that the emperor attaches great importance to the battle of Liao, and all parties are preparing according to the plan, and if this happens, I am afraid that the emperor will be very dissatisfied with the merchants. 1”

Ouyang shook his head: "On the other hand, businessmen already have a weight to influence the decision-making of the imperial court. I understand the emperor, at least for the time being, the advantages of businessmen still outweigh the disadvantages. Even if you want to attack the businessman in the future, you will be a tactful means. I think the emperor has already understood a little bit that the Great Song Dynasty is now based on business. Domino effect. You should also know that the merchant is a double-edged blade. If it is handled well, the two sides will win each other, the Great Song Dynasty will be rich and strong, and the more soldiers can be raised, the more prestige the emperor will have. If it is not handled well, the Great Song Dynasty will be weakened, disputes and civil strife will be imposed, and foreign invasions will be possible. If it is said from the sea, unless the emperor prohibits the sea, there is a possibility of civil strife in the southeast to deal with the Southeast Chamber of Commerce. For the Yangping Chamber of Commerce, if the emperor wanted to use troops against Liaojin, he would not dare to offend them. If you don't use troops against Western Xia and Liao in the future, no businessmen will dare to follow up and pacify the place, and the imperial court will invest manpower and material resources in this area, which will be very large, and the place will not be stable. ”

Zhan Ming asked, "What do you mean...... The imperial court has decided to use troops against Western Xia? ”

"If you don't use it, you will lose trust with the people." Ouyang Dao: "The emperor is the emperor of martial arts and faith, and he must know how to choose. ”

"Alas...... It's going to be war again. Gan Xin sighed and said: "Over the years, I have been fighting almost every year. I'm really afraid that the emperor will be reckless. ”

"No!" Huilan said: "The royal newspaper once conducted a survey this year, if the Song Dynasty implemented a policy of reckless military force, it could sweep away the Western Xia, Liao, Jin, Tubo and Dali. Song Ke recruited 8 million young and strong people, more than the entire population of these countries combined. Weapons, iron, stone, and so on are abundant. The official warehouse hoarding can be used by tens of millions of people in April. If you really use force, it will be terrifying. It is understood that the emperor adopted the method of stabilizing the country and expanding the country, and even if there was another war, it would not hurt the vitality of the country. There is also the possibility of more prosperity because of the war. ”

Ouyang smiled: "Gan Xin, haven't you seen that the two major chambers of commerce are very supportive of the imperial court's use of troops abroad?" Not only Liao and Western Xia, but also many courtiers also used troops against Tubo and Dali. It is said that it can make Da Song have no worries. These people are all out of the same nostril as the merchants. The more places are occupied, the more money the merchant makes. In fact, it is to occupy the market occupied by the merchants of other countries. ”

Whelan nodded: "In this general direction, whether it is land or sea, the court and the merchants are consistent. It is the use of foreign troops. The more land the Song occupied, the richer the merchants became. The emperor is an emperor for thousands of years, and the merchant is full of gold and silver. To each his own, he takes what he needs. So Ou Ping, it's nonsense for you to worry that the emperor will attack businessmen. ”

"It's hard to say if you don't fight." Ouyang sighed. Either the United States will fight if it has nothing to do, and this war is indeed very effective in easing domestic contradictions. But...... After all, there will be a day when the war will be over, can it be that Zhao Yu is instigated to learn from Genghis Khan and fight all the way to the west? Ouyang knew it wasn't realistic. No matter how ambitious Zhao Yu is, he will be satisfied with the surrounding countries. In any case, even if there are contradictions now, it is undeniable that the imperial court and merchants are still in the honeymoon period. Unless there is no war, the two have a fish and water relationship. In fact, Ouyang felt that fighting the war was also the honeymoon period between himself and Zhao Yu.

As Ouyang expected, after the beginning of spring, the imperial court issued a letter to the Western Xia, in addition to asking for the surrender of the first evil, asking the Western Xia to compensate the families of the deceased merchants for millions of yuan. And a guarantee that it will not happen again in the future. Not to mention the money, even the people of Xixia can't hand it over. The Fei Ting clan is second only to the Tuoba clan. The Western Xia was defeated in the peace talks, and they already had complaints. He united the two other tribes that had lost their feeding grounds and demanded that Li Qianshun return to the nomadic era. In their view, growing food is not as fast as grabbing it.

In April, Song finally moved. Yongxing Military Road sent troops from Lingzhou to storm Hengshan and coerce Xingqing Mansion. With firearms and equipment, plus explosives bags to break the city and open up mountains, and heavy artillery, Hengshan no longer has natural dangers. Everything is a cow, a ghost, a snake and a god in front of firearms. The Northwest Military Road sent troops from Xiliangzhou and Shazhou. Xiliangzhou echoes the Yongxing military road, and Shazhou directly takes the military town of Xixia - Heishui Town.

Not counting the internal and external troubles, the merchants of the Western Xia Dynasty have taken refuge in the Song Dynasty, after all, there were also many Western Xia merchants in the previous deaths. Less than three days after the army was dispatched, Fang Dang's clan lobbied the Li tribe through Xiao Yin's wife's tribe to accept the jurisdiction of the Song Dynasty, and sent 2,000 young men to cooperate with the Song army. There is no worst, only worse. The Liao people also want a piece of the pie. Western Xia was embattled for a while, although relying on the Song army's geographical advantages and unaccustomed to the water and soil, it could still resist stubbornly. But even Li Qianshun knew that if this continued, Western Xia would die sooner or later.

At this time, the Western Xia people made a conspiracy and suddenly declared themselves vassals to Liao, willing to bring the Western Xia into the territory of Liao. And the Liao side really didn't dare to agree to Western Xia for a while. When the Song Dynasty heard about this, they sent envoys to the Liao State. For a time, the storm was everywhere, and under the chain reaction, the Song, Jin, and Liao began to prepare for a full-scale war. For a hundred years, several countries that have accumulated grudges against each other have begun to prepare for a big gamble.