The salt and porcelain things have been arranged, and if you want to see results, it is unlikely that you will not have a year and a half.

Salt is easy to say, and it is not worried about sales. Porcelain and tea still need someone else's help.

I turned my head and asked, "Qi Xuan, how many merchants are there in Daqin now?" ”

Qi Wan arched his hand and said: "There are only two families, one is the Ba clan, now the person in charge is Ba Taoyao, the other is the Wu clan, and now the person in charge is the Wu family." ”

I nodded: "This Ba clan is to provide a large amount of mercury for the Lishan Mausoleum and was valued by the emperor, I don't know what is special about this Wu clan?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the Wu clan has a large number of cattle, sheep and livestock in the northern area, and when the Wu clan started, it was through the use of livestock to trade silk silk with Guanzhong and Guandong that he became a famous wealthy merchant in Daqin."

"When the emperor inspected the northern land, he heard and witnessed the deeds of the Wu clan in business and the development of animal husbandry, and immediately gave the Wu clan the preferential treatment of 'than the feudal monarch', which was intended to make the Wu clan provide a large number of livestock for farming and food in our Great Qin. For example, today's cattle cultivators, almost half of them come from the Wu clan. ”

No wonder he was named a merchant of Great Qin by Ying Zheng and received strong support from Ying Zheng. One is to provide a great boost for himself, and the other is to provide a great boost for Daqin, which cannot be underestimated.

Now that I know their details, I said to Meng He: "Meng He, you go and see if Ba Taoyao has come back from Longxi, if Ba Taoyao and Wu Shimu are here, order them to come to the Sihai Palace to see me after the court meeting tomorrow." ”

Meng He was about to turn around and go out, but I stopped him.

"Forget it, if both of you are here, you will return immediately, and I will go to the court."

Meng He turned around and went out, and soon came back to report, both of them were there.

I didn't hesitate and immediately set off for Dongnanfang City.

When I arrived in the southeast city, there was no one else around, and the whole market was closed on the grounds of early closure. After all, the last attack was still vivid, and I had to learn how to win politics and clean the streets in advance every time I went out.

This meeting is in another quiet place next to the Peach Pavilion - Babbitt Terrace, which means nostalgic Qingtai and is the base camp of Babbit. Ba Taoyao, Ba Ling, Wu Shi Mu, and Wu Shi Xie are already waiting here.

I stepped in, and the four of them hurriedly bowed their heads: "Participate in Your Majesty." ”

I walked to the top position, sat down and waved my hand: "No need to be polite, sit down." ”

Tao Yao and Ba Ling were stunned when they heard my voice, and they couldn't help but look up at me.

Baling immediately covered his mouth with one hand, pointed at me with the other, looked at Tao Yao and exclaimed, "It's him!" ”

Tao Yao was obviously surprised, but he took over the Ba industry at a young age, and immediately pressed Ba Ling's hand and reprimanded in a low voice: "Don't be rude, sit down!" ”

Realizing his faux pas, Baling sat down with Tao Yao, sneaking a glance at me from time to time.

Wu Shimu sat on the side, muttering a little in his heart: "This Ba Taoyao clearly told me that the new emperor has just ascended, and it is not appropriate to meet him, so as not to disagree with the new emperor and the first emperor, and the business between my two clans will be interrupted." What do you think of this situation, she has already secretly seen His Majesty? This woman is so scheming! ’

Tao Yao naturally saw Wu Shimu's brows frowning slightly, and she didn't expect that I was the second emperor, but this was not the time to explain.

Looking at the four people in the seat, I smiled and said, "I have some things that need to be done by the two of you." However, I want to get to know you first, why don't you tell me about it? ”

Wu Shimu was slightly dissatisfied with Tao Yao, and immediately replied first: "Back to Your Majesty, the villain Wu Shimu is now the patriarch of the Wu family. Next to him is the villain brother, named Wu Shi Jie. My Wu clan is now mainly engaged in silk horse trading, now in the north, Longxi has 20 valleys of cattle, 30 valleys of sheep, slightly fewer horses, only five valleys. ”

Valley??? Did the Qin Dynasty have this unit of measurement???

I wondered, "What do you mean by valley?" ”

Although Wu Shimu bowed his hands to humility, he couldn't hide his complacency.

"The cattle and sheep of the Wu clan are countless, and they can't be measured by head or only, so they are counted by a valley!"

I was amazed, good fellow, what an immeasurable fortune, how rich!

I nodded with satisfaction: "Good." I, Daqin, are now implementing new farming tools, and the new farming tools can only be of maximum use by using cattle to plough, and you must fully support Daqin to cultivate cattle! ”

Wu Shimu arched his hand and said: "I am willing to serve Your Majesty!" ”

Then he looked at Tao Yao. I've met her twice, but I don't know much about her.

Tao Yao arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, Concubine Ba Taoyao is now in charge of the Ba clan." Next to the concubine is the concubine's little sister, named Ba Ling. Babbit's main business is Dansha mining, mercury refining, and today there are three mines in Ba County, and nothing else. ”

I nodded, "Good." ”

Dansha is also cinnabar, and cinnabar was mainly used for two purposes during the Qin Dynasty. One is for painting, the red coffin and red color painting that appear in modern archaeology are basically the cinnabar used, and since Buddhism was introduced to China, it is used on a large scale on Buddhist statues; The second is to refine mercury, using cinnabar, mercury and other alchemy, as for what kind of pill is refined, it is really full of tricks.

Whether it was painting or alchemy, it was the stuff of the rich or the aristocracy, more precisely the upper class. No matter how rich you are, alchemy is not a joke. The emperor wants to live forever before taking the elixir, and you also take the elixir, what do you want to do? Plotting to usurp the throne.

So many people don't understand why Ba Widow Qing can become a huge rich man in Daqin just by relying on a cinnabar. In fact, just like the current luxury goods, people take the high-end route, which will not be opened for three years, and will be eaten for three years. What's more, there is also Yingzheng, a "big customer", who uses 100 tons to 120 tons of mercury in Lishan Mausoleum alone, not to mention the "high-grade" cinnabar used in refining Dan.

At present, it seems that the Wu clan is a Rong clan after all, and their loyalty to Great Qin needs to be investigated. From the historical records, it can be found that the huge profits of the Wu clan came entirely from the unequal trading with the Great Qin.

Wu's cattle and sheep are necessary for Daqin, and no matter what time it is, the demand for ploughing cattle will always exist. However, the cloth of Daqin is not a necessary thing for the Rong people, and the number of Rong people in Beidi and Longxi is not very large.

The Ba clan mainly relies on Daqin, and without the consumption of these princes and nobles of Daqin, I am afraid that their cinnabar will have no market for a while, and it is easier to handle.

I'm afraid this is also the intention of Tao Yao to say to me when I was in Longxi, "Now it's just a long breath". I have just ascended the throne, and it is obvious that the pursuit of immortality is not very likely, and the cultivation of the tomb is not on the agenda. The loss of the emperor, a big customer, has an obvious impact on them.

At this point, I have already made up my mind.

"Both of you are businessmen, and the former emperor praised you a lot when he was alive, and your contribution to Great Qin is also obvious. Now I have something to hand over to you to do, and if you do it well, you will go further, and it will be beneficial to Great Qin. ”

The two arched their hands and said, "I would like to listen to Your Majesty's sending!" ”

I nodded.

"I want to open up the Silk Road for trade in the Western Regions!"