royal robes

Chapter 693
"I propose to find someone to talk to them. At this time, the Central Plains merchants no longer intend to sell silk and porcelain to Uighur merchants. If they only buy jade and then leave... This is a great deal for us. Moreover, when businessmen from the Central Plains come to the Uighurs in the future, they will bring nothing but an empty cart, buy jade and then leave.”

The speaker is called Ahmad, and he is the largest chief executive of Xizhou, Xikarakhan.He didn't really agree with extorting money from the people of the Central Plains, because it was not easy for the people of the Central Plains to travel long distances to Xizhou. Although they made a lot of money, it was hard money and they shouldn't be so hard.

But Ali Musa thought that the money should be knocked out, because almost all the money went into his pocket.The most powerful person in Xizhou is Ali Musa, because he is the younger brother of Uighur Khan Ge Renyu.The Uighur Khan was in Tingzhou, and he was in Xizhou, not far from Tingzhou.

Businessmen from the Central Plains generally would not continue westward after arriving in Xizhou, so Uighur Khan did not know about this matter, it was all the ghost of Ali Musa.Occasionally knocking a Central Plains businessman can make him squander for a long time, but this time there are so many, how could he miss this great opportunity to make money?

Mansur said: "I agree with Ahmad. My army will not kill unarmed merchants. It is a feat for such a large-scale caravan to re-travel the Silk Road. Why make things difficult for them? Perhaps because these people Well, it’s not certain that the Silk Road will be prosperous again. We will have countless silks and porcelains by then.”

"Now that the Central Plains is in chaos, how can there be extra energy to manage the Silk Road? There won't be any more. If you don't take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune, I'm afraid there will be no such opportunities in the future." Ali Musa said: "I still advocate sending troops to attack. I am no longer talking about collecting taxes, killing them all directly, and robbing them of all their money and goods. Only in this way can we really make a fortune."

Ahmad said angrily: "The Uyghurs are not bandits. We are simple people, how can we do such a thing. Mansur, no matter how much he instigates, he must never send troops, you know?"

"You are Sikarakhan, of course I listen to you." Of course, Mansur would not send troops to some ordinary businessmen, and it would not sound good to spread like this.What's more, the money can't reach his pocket, so why should he do this?If these businessmen give money voluntarily, he has nothing to do, but if others are not willing, he will not force it.

Ahmad said: "I will talk to their leaders personally later, and ask them to pay the original tax money to go to the city to do business. If they only buy jade and return to the Central Plains, this trip will be in vain, and the Silk Road will be lost." The meaning of the road. The so-called Silk Road, of course, transports silk, and we must not let these silks fall into the hands of others.”

Ahmad knows the importance of silk to the Uyghurs. For the sake of silk, the Uyghurs did not hesitate to turn against the Tang Dynasty. Food, clothing, housing and transportation...clothes naturally come first. The Uyghurs can make do with food, housing, and transportation, because the nature here The conditions are like this, no matter what they do, there is no way to improve them much. Their desire for fine silk far exceeds these things.

If the Central Plains merchants really wanted to transport these silk porcelains back to the Central Plains and not sell them to the Uighurs, even Ahmad, who was a good character, wanted to send troops directly to rob them.The big deal is to give them some money after the robbery is over.

In fact, Uighurs are rich in minerals, and they are not short of money.The most famous here are black sheep and fruit, and they are not short of food.It's just that the natural conditions here are really bad, and there is no way to breed fragile silkworms in large quantities, so silk is almost their only pursuit.

Everyone is eager to pursue a better quality of life, and the so-called quality of life of the Uighurs is silk.But the Uyghurs themselves will not take the Silk Road, they will always wait for the merchants from the Central Plains to come to their door.

There are some historical reasons for this. The Uyghurs have never made any money since the Han Dynasty began to walk the Silk Road, and they have all lost money.Because the Uyghur people were simple and simple at that time, they were always deceived by profiteers and the local government, and before it was time to do business, they lost all their profits by consuming all the way, so the Uyghur people did not take the Silk Road, thinking that this There is no money at all in the road, and only waiting for the merchants in the Central Plains to send the silk to Uighur, this is a business that is sure to make money.

…………

That night, Ahmad asked Mansur to rush directly to Hotan Town with a large number of troops. He brought so many troops not to fight, but to frighten the Central Plains merchants into obeying his orders.And I have already prepared very well, the tax is the same as usual, and the goods in a car are only charged five taels of silver, so they should not continue to object.

After doing business today, merchants from the Central Plains bought a large amount of Kunlun jade, not only white jade, but also sapphire, jasper, and black jade. If you go back to the Central Plains, you will make a fortune.

I was very happy, so everyone paid for meat and wine, and held a bonfire party to welcome Master Zong Xin. Even the residents and businessmen of Hotan Town didn't care how much they spent as long as they entertained all the people who had done business with them.

Uighurs only have wine here, and the wine here is far stronger and purer in taste than those in the Central Plains.There is also the black goat from Xizhou, which naturally has a different flavor.Although the camel meat here is also a famous local product, people in the Central Plains are not used to camel meat, so they prefer to eat the mutton here.

When Ahmad arrived, none of the businessmen showed panic, but contempt on their faces, because Master Zong Xin came, and it would be a dead end for these people to bring no matter how many troops they brought.They dare not fight. If they do, Master Zong Xin will let them know what it means to be miserable.

Ahmad was also in a daze, leading an army of 2000 people, these businessmen were not afraid at all, and even had a mocking expression on their faces.What is the situation?Could it be that the Central Plains has become so chaotic?These businessmen are not afraid of the army at all.

Just as he was thinking, Zong Xin also led the team to Ahmad.Although there are few people on Zongxin's side, it gives people an extremely strong pressure.Firstly, because Zongxin's cultivation has been raised to another level, and secondly, Zongxin's team has nineteen giant wolves, plus one Zhao Kuangyin's black bull... just looking at it makes people very scared.

"Monster..." Ahmad almost ran away, but Mansur held him by his side. Mansur was a general after all. Although he was a little scared in his heart, he had to stabilize the morale of the army on the surface.

Zong Xin and Zhao Kuangyin rode their own horses to the front of Ahmad and Mansur respectively. At this time, Zong Xin changed into his monk robes and cassocks again, which was a solemn appearance.

"You...you, are you the leader of this group of people?"

Zong Xin said gently: "Amitabha, so what if the poor monk is the leader? Is your honor bringing so many people here to fight?"

"No, no, no, master, don't misunderstand." Ahmad said: "I just want to talk about it. It is better for merchants from the Central Plains to go to the city to do business."

"The tax is too expensive, I really can't afford it."

Ahmad said: "It's different now. Earlier, the younger brother of the Uyghur Khan insisted on collecting such a heavy tax. I have already taught him a lesson. Now each cart of goods only charges five taels of silver, which is the same as other places. Everyone is far away. Come here, I can't wait too unkindly. Please go to the city to trade, so that everyone is also convenient."

"Why? Now I know I'm afraid? It's not such a cheap thing." Zhao Kuangyin said: "Don't think that you have a large number of people, only a few thousand, and you can't beat our mounts alone."

Zong Xin waved his hand and said: "Don't get too excited, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't like to talk. I just hope that I won't charge too heavy taxes in the future. The Silk Road has been opened. This is by no means the last time. If you want long-term development If so, I hope the tax can be a little less.”

"Not enough? I have already made concessions, so don't be too late." Ahmad said angrily: "Everyone pays the same tax, and I didn't bully the merchants in the Central Plains."

"You're right. It's not you who are bullying the Central Plains merchants, but the Central Plains merchants are bullying you. Haven't you understood?" Zong Xin suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "The fire is too small."

As soon as Zong Xin said that the fire was low, the merchants were already ready and had been waiting for Zong Xin to say this.The merchants sat around the fire, and what they sat on were a few bolts of silk.As soon as Zong Xin said that the fire was small, he immediately threw the silk under his buttocks into the fire, one, two, three, and quickly threw all the silk sitting on it into the fire.

For merchants in the Central Plains, these little things are worthless.Just take a piece of broken jade back to the Central Plains, and you can exchange it for countless silks, and what they throw are relatively cheap varieties. The purpose is not to burn silk, but to scare the Uyghurs.

"Don't, don't, don't...don't burn it." Ahmad said, "Listen to you, how much tax do you think should be collected?"

Zong Xin said gently: "Two taels of silver is almost the same."

"Okay, we only charge two taels of silver, but you must ensure that all the silk from these merchants is sold to the Uighurs. After you leave Xizhou City, you must never take a piece of silk with you."

Zong Xin glanced back, then nodded and said: "Things are originally for sale, as long as the price is right, no one will hide it. For us Central Plains people, silk is just an ordinary commodity."

Ahmad also knew that these Central Plains merchants came to Xizhou to sell silk and buy jade. It was impossible for them to hide silk and bring it back secretly. Isn’t this full of food?As long as the price is right, they will definitely sell.And the price of silk in the territory of the Uighurs must be more suitable than they imagined.

Ahmad's purpose is not to collect taxes, he only wants the high-grade silk from the Central Plains.It doesn't really matter how much tax you collect, as long as you get the silk, you can earn back as much tax as you want.But... This is indeed a bit of a bully. The original tax of five taels of silver suddenly became twenty taels, a decrease of 50%.In the past, those merchants had to pay [-] taels...

(End of this chapter)