Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Ankang is located in a narrow strip of the Han River Valley between the Qinling Mountains and the Daba Mountains. It is surrounded by mountains and has many large and small clans and barbarian tribes scattered among the mountains.

Not to mention a superior living environment, these clans and tribes are also full of competition. Only by showing enough strength can they enjoy resources and privileges in this area.

The Ankang Li family is the leading power in the region. Its clan power and dependent population number in the tens of thousands, distributed among Ankang, Weixing and other counties. Anyone who makes a living here may not know about the Southern Liang and Northern Wei Dynasties, but they must not know about the Ankang Li family.

The privileged status enjoyed by the Li family in Ankang is reflected in all aspects. For example, the long and narrow valleys on both sides of the Han River are all occupied by the Li family. If other forces do not get the approval of the Li family, it will be difficult for other forces to enter the water.

But even the head of a powerful clan with such powerful local power was kidnapped quietly in his lair. This was a great humiliation for the Ankang Li family, and it also caused other people in the country to be kidnapped by the Li family. The suppressed forces began to take action.

Li Qianzhe disappeared for several days, but when he reappeared in his clan's territory, he was carrying several bloody heads, all of which were leaders of forces who had had conflicts with his clan in gold mines or waterways.

The crowd was shocked to realize that the so-called disappearance was just to lure people to reveal their flaws and launch an attack. Those who wanted to provoke Li's family all stopped, while some who were still hesitant were happy.

Li Qianzhe's strong return shocked the hearts of everyone in the country, but he and his cronies understood what the truth was. In order to avoid such a thing from happening again, Li Qianzhe purged personnel within the clan and added many repair measures.

Although this encounter was a near miss, it was an outright shame for a local powerful man like him. He was simply ashamed to recall it. Some unimportant insiders were also driven away for various reasons. out of his sight.

But when his family asked what to do with those who followed him back to Ankang, Li Qianzhe was still a little undecided.

"The King of Yueyang dared to send people into the country to capture my brother, which shows that he underestimates my family. He colludes with the enemy, humiliates the border generals, and behaves extremely wildly. Sooner or later, disaster will befall! My family is safe in this place, and the mountains and wilds are everywhere. If you are able to support yourself, I really don’t need to conspire with such a person. If a disaster really happens, King Yueyang will never show mercy to my family, so I should stay away from him!"

After Li Qianzhe's brother Li Xian heard his brother's experience, he strongly opposed his brother's compliance with that bullshit covenant.

In his opinion, King Yueyang showed contempt for their family from the beginning and did not put them on an equal footing. If this matter really involves huge interests as stated, he may not abide by the decision. Share the benefits equally.

Especially for those who are familiar with the current political situation in Nanliang, the identity of King Yueyang itself contains a big crisis, and he does such deviant things.

For ordinary people who are eager to get ahead, they may be able to bet their lives and follow others, but the Li family has been operating in Ankang for several generations and has its own way of establishing itself. There is really no need to get involved in this muddy water!

After listening to this, Li Qianzhe couldn't help but sigh: "Today, the Supreme Being is getting older and fainter. Before, he believed in the Northern invaders and launched border provocations and entered Huaibei. He also used inhumane methods, so that the army was defeated and the country was humiliated. The country was divided into responsibilities. The kings each relied on their appearance to win, and tried to use their descendants to control the heroes, but they forgot that chaos was born in the court.

Counting the previous dynasties, all the clans were in civil strife and fighting with each other, and then outsiders took advantage of them! There is no great virtue in the Liang family. Looking at the behavior of King Yueyang, I am afraid that he is not immune to this. By keeping a respectful distance, you can indeed avoid being implicated. "

Hearing that his brother agreed with his analysis, Li Xian said again: "Then I will sink the slaves who returned with my brother into the Han River. I hope King Yueyang has a guilty conscience and will not dare to provoke and cause trouble again!"

"Wait!"

After hearing this, Li Qianzhe waved his hand, and after thinking for a while, he said: "The King of Yueyang is indeed incapable of making plans, but the man he works with, Xilu Li Boshan, doesn't look like a vulgar person. His words and deeds are all organized, and he does things well." Wise. Since this person is planning something, I think I might as well give it a try. If things don't go smoothly and the income isn't as expected, it won't be too harmful to withdraw.

What comes out of the mountains and wilderness will eventually be exhausted, and the circulation of things can be endless. Although King Yueyang is full of thorns, he is also alert. If he is willing to follow Li Boshan's plan, why shouldn't I dare? If everything goes well, it can also open up another source of business for my family. "

"The land of Xilu is small and the people are poor, and they have been controlled by Guandong all the year round. That Li Boshan was just a lucky man who was lucky for a while, and he was not considered a powerful man in his country. King Yueyang still had blood respect in the country. This disciple is worthy of my brother's help. Take it seriously?”

When Li Xian heard his brother's praise of Li Boshan, he couldn't help but frown and said.

Li Qianzhe laughed again after hearing this, and then said: "Logically speaking, what you said is correct. After the collapse of the imperial court, the Westerners became poor and weak, and struggled just to protect themselves. Although Li Boshan His country's current choice is not one of the best in the world, but when I met him this time, I was quite impressed by him. I wanted to work with him and be friendly with him, but I couldn't. It’s a great benefit, but it’s not a bad thing.”

Hearing the reason given by his brother, Li Xian couldn't help but be speechless, but he couldn't help but feel curious. He has regarded his elder brother as his role model in life since he was a child. This was the first time he saw his elder brother show such admiration for a certain person of his time, and he wanted to see what kind of charm this Li Boshan was.

After Li Qianzhe and his close relatives planned the matter, they arranged for people to go north along the mountain road on the south side of the Qinling Mountains to wait for the business travel team coming from the south of Guanzhong.

In late March, a well-armed caravan with thousands of people finally came south through the Meridian Road. After receiving reports from the eyes and ears distributed at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains, Li Qianzhe immediately led his subordinates and Zhao Yan, a disciple sent by Li Tai, to meet the caravan.

The leader of the caravan was Li Xiaoyong who stayed in Chang'an. Today, Li Xiaoyong is mainly responsible for personnel development and liaison outside Huzhong's officialdom. For example, he went west along the Chencang Ancient Road to Longyou to plunder temples, and he also hoarded food in various places in Guanzhong, etc. .

Long before Master Lang issued the order, Li Xiaoyong had already begun arranging personnel to explore several mountain roads from the south of the Qinling Mountains. After receiving the news from Jingzhou via Wuguan Kuaima, he personally led a team of subordinates directly from Jingzhou. Chang'an picked up a batch of spot goods and climbed over the mountains along the rugged Ziwu Valley Mountain Road. It took a full seven or eight days to reach the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains.

Li Qianzhe did not know Li Xiaoyong, but Zhao Yan, who was traveling with him, knew him and several Longyou natives who came south with him. After the two met, they briefly reminisced about old times, and then got down to business.

Li Qianzhe's family is powerful and owns a manor in the foothills of the Qinling Mountains. He introduced Li Xiaoyong and others to the manor nearby, and then began to inventory the goods shipped this time.

Each of the four cooperating parties sent one person to complete these tasks. Since this was the first time of cooperation, each of them was more cautious and reviewed the value and quantity of the goods very carefully.

Even though Li Xiaoyong did not carry much goods this time, the entire inventory process took several days. As a landlord, Li Qianzhe was very generous. After calculating the total price of the goods and converting them into gold prices, he directly delivered more than 130 kilograms of gold cakes to Li Xiaoyong and agreed on the time and place for the next delivery.

When the delivery was completed, all the goods were loaded onto the cargo ship. Li Qianzhe sent his brother Li Xian to personally escort the cargo ship south. They docked at Qixing County and met with the prefect Xi Gu to inventory and authenticate the goods before continuing down the river. . The journey of hundreds of miles from Ankang to Xiangyang took just over two days to arrive smoothly.

Yueyang Wang Xiaoqi was already waiting impatiently at the Xiangyang pier. As soon as the cargo ship landed, he personally boarded the ship to inspect the goods. First of all, he expressed his dissatisfaction because the quantity of goods was too small. These goods have not yet filled a cargo ship. Not to mention being sold in large quantities on the market, he can eat them himself!

But when he heard that the next batch of goods would arrive before mid-April, with only more than half a month between them, and that as the trade route went smoothly, the time would be further shortened, King Yueyang couldn't help but smile, and at the same time, he would arrive early. The prepared payment for this batch of goods was delivered to Li Xian who had pledged the goods.

Since Xiangyang is a sales center and the goods must be cashed in here, according to the agreement, the payment for the first few batches of goods will be temporarily paid by King Yueyang. After the sales are completed, King Yueyang will deduct the cost, and the remaining profits will be distributed among the families in proportion.

As for the sales channels, there are very strict and clear procedures for outgoing, warehousing, etc. in Xingshidi stores in Xiangyang and surrounding cities.

Although the Western Wei Dynasty was weak and crude compared to other regimes, when it came to various business procedures, it was far superior to the Eastern Wei Dynasty and Nanliang Dynasty. This was also the basis for the implementation of the decrees of the early Sui Dynasty such as Suo Maung Yue to rectify household registration. As an important adviser to the Bafu, Li Tai has also made a huge contribution to this. Naturally, he has to use these excellent work experiences in this cross-border trade.

After Li Xian received the payment in Xiangyang, he could have returned along the original route of Han River, but he was too curious about who Li Boshan was, so he arranged for his family to return, and he led a group of troops to cross the river from Xiangyang to the north. Head towards Mianbei.

There are no natural obstacles between Xiangyang and Mianbei, and it is difficult to fortify the plains of the plains. Li Xian and his party did not need to be very careful to sneak in. They only needed to avoid crowds and inhabited places to enter the Western Wei Dynasty. in Jingzhou.

However, they did not walk in Mianbei for too long. Soon they were surrounded by a group of knights with swords and armor in the countryside. Li Xian had no time to ask why his whereabouts were exposed, but he was too busy to reveal his identity.

When Li Tai learned the news in the city, he couldn't help but be puzzled. Could it be that the Li brothers were addicted to kidnapping, and instead of kidnapping them, they delivered the goods to their door?