Following.

Guo An and Zhu Gaochi, as well as Ma He and Shen Zhuang and others, went to the auction room of the Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce.

In the huge auction room that can accommodate thousands of people, Zhu Gaochi looked depressed.

"I always feel that the teacher deliberately arranged things for me to make me tired!"

Ma He and Shen Zhuang couldn't help but look shocked.

Guo An was also full of surprise, "Your Highness has misunderstood, how dare Weichen arrange affairs for Your Highness?" ”

Zhu Gaochi looked incredulous.

"Since the teacher thought I was obese, I have been getting busier and busier every day, every day, I have to walk tens of thousands of steps without touching the ground, and I feel that I am losing weight every day!"

"Now, to check the auction items, the teacher will also let me come to ......"

Guo An didn't admit it at all, and shook his head again and again.

His Royal Highness thought about it a lot, Weichen just felt that His Royal Highness was the Prince of Daming, sitting in the deep palace all day long, not eating fireworks in the world, and not knowing all kinds of common sense outside, so he wanted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to know more.

Especially for these rare things in the auction room, although Ma He and Shen Zhuang and others are loyal to His Majesty, they will not be greedy.

However, in the future, those who have no ability to take over the auction, and when they see so many rare things, they will inevitably have thoughts that they shouldn't have! ”

"Your Highness, take a look at it and know what kind of charter the auction house is, so you don't have to be easily deceived in the future!"

Zhu Gaochi frowned slightly, "Teacher, will the managers of the auction house be greedy for money in the future?" ”

Guo An smiled slightly, "Your Highness forgives your sins, and Weichen doesn't know it, this is just a precaution!" ”

Zhu Gaochi didn't say much, just nodded slightly, and began to walk around.

On the side, Shen Zhuang still had a tense face, not daring to say more.

Fortunately.

Then.

Two laborers, carrying two bags of goods from one side, went to the warehouse behind the auction room.

And in the bag, there was a strong fragrance.

"What is this?"

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but ask.

Shen Zhuang glanced at the bag and hurriedly replied: "Back to His Royal Highness the Prince, this thing should be pepper!" ”

"Pepper?"

Zhu Gaochi's eyes lit up, and then his brows furrowed slightly.

"If it's pepper, how can it be so rough to handle?"

The appearance of pepper is similar to that of Sichuan pepper, but in the eyes of the Ming people, the status is very different.

Pepper not only has the medicinal value of eliminating phlegm, lowering qi and replenishing deficiency, but also can be used as a spice to flavor meat, and is mostly used for the fishy smell of beef and mutton.

Even for Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince, pepper is an extremely rare spice.

And now.

Two bags of pepper, like weeds, were carried by forced labor.

"Your Highness's lesson is extremely good, it is the negligence of Weichen!"

Shen Zhuang respectfully admitted his mistake.

And the two servants, this will also stand there cautiously, at a loss.

How did they know that this fragrant bag would contain spices and pepper that even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince valued very much?

Guo An realized something and asked, "How much pepper did you bring back this time?" ”

Shen Zhuang glanced at Guo An gratefully, and hurriedly replied: "Back to Master Hou, I brought back a total of 10,000 boxes of pepper, about 50,000 bags!" ”

Zhu Gaochi was directly shocked, "Fifty thousand bags? Or are they all these bags? ”

On the side, Ma He also said: "Back to Your Highness, it is this kind of bag!" ”

Zhu Gaochi hurriedly asked, "How many catties do you need?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, fifty catties per bag, a total of about two and a half million catties!"

"Hiss......"

Zhu Gaochi took a cold breath, "There are so many?" ”

Then, remembering something, he hurriedly asked, "How much does it cost to buy these peppers?" ”

Ma He replied: "Back to Your Highness, ten catties of pepper and one catty of grain, or one hundred catties of pepper, one or two teas, or one or two refined salts, and a piece of glassware......"

“……”

Zhu Gaochi's eyes widened directly.

"How can those barbarians abuse these rare spices so badly?"

I don't know what to think of, and the corners of Ma He's mouth twitched slightly.

"Your Highness doesn't know that these peppers are everywhere in those barbarian places.

In addition, these peppers only have a fragrance and cannot be eaten as food, so they will be used as dung by those barbarians.

If it weren't for the Song and Yuan dynasties, there were maritime merchants in the Central Plains who bought these peppers from them, so that those barbarians knew that these peppers still had some value.

I'm afraid, these peppers can only be reduced to sundries in those barbarian places! ”

"Sundries ......"

Zhu Gaochi's face was stunned, and he couldn't help but say indignantly, "Zhubi is covered with dust, and people are ignorant!" ”

Guo An couldn't help but defend those barbarians: "Your Highness, these foolish people are my friends of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

"Friends?"

Zhu Gaochi was stunned.

Guo An chuckled, "Your Highness, in my Ming Dynasty, more than ten taels of pepper, those Yi people will be sold to Daming for a few cents or more than ten cents." ”

"More than a thousand times the profit, such a pure and simple Yiren, should be my friend of the Ming Dynasty!"

“……”

After being stunned for a long time, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but nod with a firm face.

"What the teacher said is extremely true, those Yi people should be my friends of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Highness is wise!"

Ma He and Shen Zhuang also nodded one after another.

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but count again, "Two and a half million catties of pepper, even if one catty is sold for ten taels of silver, you can earn more than 25 million taels of silver!" ”

"More than two and five million taels? ……”

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but widen his eyes again, "Just a few peppers, can you make so much money?"

If you add to that gems, ivory, dyes, medicines, deerskins, corals, ...... Wouldn't those earn tens of thousands of taels of silver? ”

Of course, the money Zhu Gaochi said is all treasure money.

However, even if it is just a treasure banknote, it is a huge amount of money when converted.

Once the fleet goes out to sea, you can earn back the taxes of the Ming Dynasty for several years!

This will calculate the real money, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but tremble in his heart, with so much money, can his father keep it?

If those ministers in the DPRK and China knew about it, wouldn't they go crazy one by one?

"There won't be so many!"

Guo An smiled faintly and explained: "Your Highness, pepper is very profitable, but precious stones and ivory are also very precious in the eyes of those barbarians. Moreover, the number of gems and ivory is not too much! ”

"Returning to Your Highness, just as the Hou Ye said!"

Ma He said: "The gems and ivory are beautiful and beautiful, and those barbarians seem to know that my Ming people like these things."

Therefore, they ask for a very high price.

Often, a piece of glassware can be exchanged for an ivory or a few precious stones! ”

Zhu Gaochi: "......"

A piece of glassware worth one tael of silver or a few hundred dollars, in exchange for an ivory or gemstone worth tens of taels or even hundreds of taels of silver, a hundred times the profit, is this not profitable?

Guo An said again: "Your Highness, it is precisely because there are too many goods that the auction room is prone to corruption!" ”

"What the teacher said is very true!"

Zhu Gaochi nodded slightly, and then said to Ma He and Shen Zhuang: "Please take strict care of the auction house."

Although my father also knows that you are loyal, if something goes wrong, even if my father is unwilling to punish you, he will send someone to investigate it strictly! ”

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, Weichen (villain) will be strictly guarded!"

Ma He and Shen Zhuang hurriedly said with solemn faces.

"Don't be like this, this palace and the Marquis of Dinghai still believe in your talents very much!"

Zhu Gaochi said mildly with a full face.

On the side, a hint of relief flashed in Guo An's eyes.

Next, looking at the operation process of the auction room again, Zhu Gaochi was much more serious.

And Zhu Gaochi also opened his eyes again.

Until he got out of the auction room, he sat alone in the carriage with Guo An.

Zhu Gaochi suddenly spoke: "Teacher, those stewards and servants in the auction room are guarding so many rare treasures, can they control their hands and feet?"

Especially those forced laborers and account offices, as long as they silently save a pound of pepper, or a gem or ivory, they can sell dozens of taels of money! ”

"Your Highness has also noticed this!"

Guo An smiled faintly, and then said: "At first, they may be able to bear it, but after a long time, they will definitely not be able to bear it!" ”

"How's that for good?"

Zhu Gaochi hurriedly asked.

Sometimes, though, the Dharma can also blame the public.

However, those stewards and servants will never be able to bear it in the face of those rare things, even if they kill one stubble and come again.

"Your Highness, don't worry!"

Guo An still looked calm.

"Your Highness, these trivial matters of the auction room only need to be handed over to Shen Zhuang and them to deal with!

The Shen family, as a giant, has a lot of experience in managing the following stewards.

Moreover, the Shen family has a great cause, and they have finally attached themselves to His Majesty, and they will definitely do their best and will not let those stewards and laborers come to the house! ”

"What does the teacher mean?"

Zhu Gaochi inexplicably heard some different meanings.

…… (End of chapter)