The Struggle of the Reborn Prince

Chapter 95: Adaptation

In the midst of the busy schedule, the Mid-Autumn Festival of the year soon arrived. Zhao Tong cordially received the heads of the three newly recruited caravans and hosted a banquet. The banquet was placed in the small square in the front hall, with the bright moon in the sky, and the surroundings.

The red candles were shining brightly, which gave it a special atmosphere.

After three drinks and five dishes, Zhao Tong looked at the middle-aged man on his left. He didn't look very good, with a face full of pimples, but he was very tough and over six feet tall.

He is now nearly 1.9 meters tall. Everyone else has stopped using their chopsticks, but he is still holding a wine bowl in one hand and a chicken drumstick in the other, drinking and gnawing as if he has never eaten in eight lifetimes, regardless of the contempt of others.

gaze.

"Shopkeeper Sun, how do you like this wine?" Zhao Tong asked with a smile.

"I have only heard of good wine in the past, but never drank it. Today I know the taste. I'm afraid it won't be fun to drink anything else in the future!" Shopkeeper Sun's nickname was Sun Erqian. It is said that he was born when he was born.

His mother had a difficult childbirth, and his father borrowed two coins to hire a midwife to save her life. That's how he got his name!

"If this wine is sold to the northwest, how do you think the sales will be?" Zhao Tong waved his hand and asked the attendant Xiao Huangmen to fill Sun Er's money with wine and asked.

"Second Master, I can't afford to be called the shopkeeper. You might as well call me Er Qian!" Sun Er Qian put down the wine and meat in his hands and stood up and said, "Northwestern people are good at wine. They can go without food for three days, but

We must not live without wine for a day. Although the wine produced in Lingzhou is known as fine wine, it is nothing compared to the wine in our house. Where our wine reaches, those barbarians will probably sell their wives to drink the wine in our house.

!" What he said was funny but serious, making everyone laugh.

"Erqian, is business easy in northwest China now?" Zhao Tong asked again.

"Second Master, the imperial court frequently used troops in the northwest in the past few years, and some of the forecourts were closed. Now the remaining ones are opening and closing very abnormally. I also had to close the fortresses twice because of them.

The goods were sold at a reduced price and you lost money?" Sun Erqian said with a grimace.

"Old Sun, I heard that you were caught by the border army for carrying copper coins and smuggling horses. It seems that you spent a lot of money to escape!" Zhang Quejie, the manager of another caravan next to Sun Erqian, said

Got his old background.

"Haha, Lao Zhang, everyone knows what's going on. The two of us are like crows landing on pigs, and neither of us is any fairer than the other!" Sun Erqian's expression remained unchanged and he retorted.

"How unbecoming of you two to quarrel in front of the prince!" A guy sitting at the end wearing a uniform and looking like a Confucian businessman interrupted the two of them.

"Old Liu, we are no better than you. We are traveling to the Liao Kingdom. The two countries have not been at war for more than a hundred years. Of course, business is easy to do!" Zhang Que said with a cold snort.

"Shopkeeper Liu, you lost your capital this time, isn't it because you passed off inferior quality and let others see the flaw and brought back a bunch of old horses!" Of course, Sun Erqian would not miss the opportunity to attack his opponent.

Timely uncover the truth and dig out the root causes.

"Old Sun, haven't you done any of these things? Everyone knows how you earned your fortune!" Liu Song was robbed by Sun Erqian, and of course he refused to let him go. He shouted anxiously with a white face.

That gentleness disappeared in a blink of an eye. It is said that buying and selling is business, and fraud is inevitable in commercial activities, and bilateral trade at that time was no exception. Generally speaking, people from ethnic minorities are more honest, while Han people are slightly more honest.

Treacherous officials, especially those who are corrupt, will use any means to amass wealth. The Han people used old tea, second-hand brocade, and silver with copper nuggets to deceive the ethnic minorities, and they used sick and weak horses to "repay".

Zhao Tao shook his head and said nothing. He allowed the three people to fight like dogs at the banquet, but he could also learn some real and useful things from it. The Song Dynasty was in need of military struggle, and frequently imposed economic sanctions on Xixia, sealed the borders, and closed down the market.

In reality, the socio-economic structure of Xixia is unreasonable and imperfect. Agriculture is mostly concentrated on small alluvial fans in the mountains around Hengshan. Affected by the climate, farming can only be done once a year. Grain production is not abundant and cannot satisfy the needs of Xixia's domestic needs.

consumer demand. Xixia's animal husbandry occupies an important position in their economy, but it requires trade with the Liao and Song Dynasties to obtain daily necessities. The Song Dynasty's transactions with them were mainly to obtain horses, but once the trade with them was terminated

, it can also be obtained from other channels, and the impact of ending trade will not be significant. In order to obtain daily necessities, Xixia had to find ways to exchange them, thus giving rise to rampant smuggling activities.

Smuggling trade is a high-risk, high-return illegal economic activity, which is also the direct reason for promoting smuggling trade between the Song and Xia Dynasties. The ethnic minorities in the west mainly eat meat, and tea can aid digestion. The silk weaving technology of the Han people is well-developed, and silk fabrics have always been popular.

Popular, ethnic minority people in some areas regard brocade as a treasure. When a person dies, he or she will be wrapped in a piece of brocade before he can rest in peace. When a rich person dies, he or she will be wrapped in several pieces of brocade in order to ascend to heaven. Customs like this have stimulated their interest in brocade silk.

demand. When normal trade was banned, a piece of silk in Xixia could cost more than ten guan, or even more than 50 guan, which was close to the price of a horse, while a piece of silk in the Song Dynasty only cost one or two guan. The price difference of tea

It would be even higher. Stimulated by dozens of times of profits, it certainly attracted a large number of businessmen from the Central Plains to trade in spite of the ban and participate in all kinds of smuggling activities.

"Where did the prince find so many profiteers? There are so many good people who are not used, but these guys who have no morals, no quality, and no cultivation." The captain of the fleet is not here today, but I heard that they are not good people.

Good people often engage in unprofitable business at sea!" Zheng Lu, the chief steward who was accompanying him, said angrily to Zheng Shou next to the three guys who were so noisy that they blushed and felt like they wanted to overturn the table.

"The prince's move may have a deeper meaning!" Zheng Shou took a sip of wine and secretly pointed to the old god, and the prince said with great interest.

"The prince used to tell us that we must be honest when doing business, but you see how good these people are. I am afraid that they will destroy the sign of our palace!" Zheng Lu sighed and said, he was also afraid that the prince would let them lead the way.

"Haha, don't worry, boss. I guess the prince is trying to trick someone again, so he found these messy people and came back!" Zheng Shou said with a smile.

"Well, what you said makes sense!" Zheng Lu said with a start. The prince's work has always been difficult for people to figure out, but he always surprises people. This time may be the same.

The next day, Zhao Tong talked to three people respectively. When they came out, Sun Erqian looked frightened and trembling; Zhang Que, on the other hand, seemed to have attended a big class and had not yet digested what he had learned until he went to bed at night.

He still looked like a thoughtful nerd; Liu Song was not like the two of them. He was as happy as if he had eaten a duck's fart. Some people even heard him hiding in the toilet and laughing loudly. The three of them stayed together in the house.

In five days, all kinds of goods were prepared and set off one after another. Of course, each of them had a deputy by their side, and several new faces also appeared in the caravan. Everyone knew that this was the 'supervisory army' sent by the prince, but they could also

Understand, after all, they are still 'newcomers' and cannot gain the trust of the leader immediately. It is a blessing to still let them take responsibility this time. How can they dare to talk more.

It has been several months since the 'Prince Kidnapping Case'. Chen Tang has been promoted to Beijing because of his leadership in solving the case. Xiangyang County has also been promoted and sent to other states as a general judge. He should be promoted.

They were all promoted, and those who should be rewarded were also rewarded. But when the matter came to Zhao Yu, there was no letter. News came from the capital that the ruling officials had different opinions, and they went to the court to discuss it several times. Some thought that the prince

When leaving the capital, troops should be sent to protect them. This has been followed by previous dynasties, and this dynasty also has precedents. Another group of people who oppose it believe that since Emperor Taizong of this dynasty, the princes have lived in the capital, and their safety has always been controlled by

Dianzhi's squads are responsible, but there is no precedent for Dianzhi's army to be sent abroad. The two groups are still arguing endlessly, citing scriptures, looking through ancient books, checking files, and looking for new evidence every day, but they have forgotten the safety of the person involved, Zhao Tong.

!

"Bureaucracy kills people, and this incident has fully proved it!" Zhao Tao sighed after listening to the report. Now as Prime Minister Cai's new policy continues to deepen, the situation is getting better and better, Hedong Road,

"Groups of thieves" appeared on Hebei West Road and Jingdong Road, ranging from hundreds to thousands, rising up to fight against the government. Even in the Gyeonggi area, "thieves" were operating in public, and the rich people's expression changed. Their territory expanded.

The business is getting bigger and bigger, which will inevitably attract the attention of interested people. At this time, they may still be worried about their prince's "prestige", but one day they will be unable to restrain themselves and come to "act chivalrously and do justice for heaven".

At that time, with the dozens of nursing homes in the house, he was definitely unstoppable, and the millions of wealth he had managed to save were going to be robbed by others.

"The only way now is to make a fuss about the Baojia Law!" Zhao Yu thought in circles. After Wang Anshi promulgated the Baojia Law in the third year of Xining, it was stipulated that five households would be one Baojia, and 25 households would be one big Baojia.

, the establishment of Dubao for one household of 250 was implemented in all villages. Baojia was a rural soldier. In order to implement "joint troops with Ding" and "jointly recruit soldiers", the Song Dynasty adopted two methods: "shangfan" and "teaching review"

Measures. It is stipulated that during the "farm break", "Baoding can practice martial arts". After passing the school examination, those with strong martial arts can be promoted or exempted from part of the tax. In the eighth year of Xining, Hebei, Hedong and Shaanxi were also ordered to implement it.

During the off-farm training, from October every year to the first month of the following year, volunteer Baojia went to prefectures and counties in batches to participate in teaching exercises. Later, the winter training time in Hebei and Hedong was changed to November every year to February next year.

That is, combat readiness duty) is implemented nationwide.

After the death of Shenzong, the young Zhezong of the Song Dynasty had just ascended the throne. The anti-reform faction came to power and abolished Tuanjiao. Although it was stipulated that "Winter Religion" was still implemented, it was actually in a state of "abolishing", and the Baojia system in most rural areas is still preserved to this day.

, which means that it is still legal to train rural soldiers.