Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

Marx once said...

Li Tai couldn't remember it clearly, but that was what it meant. Looking at the stunned expressions of the two people in front of him, he knew that the effect he needed had been achieved.

"No wonder you, Bo Shan, insisted on persuading me to open up the Han River. It turns out..."

King Yueyang was astonished. He almost revealed all their plans when he opened his mouth, but he quickly stopped talking after a while. After being silent for a while, he sighed again: "Gold is precious, iron is cheap, what does it mean to me? But sincerity is like uncle As Shan said, only by making the best use of things can we achieve superior good governance. Of course, we hope that those who know it will appreciate it. Isn’t it a pity that it is covered with dust and dirt? It is our responsibility to discover people and make them better. Its brilliance shines upon the world!”

After Li Tai heard this, he smiled and nodded. See, isn't this a way to seek common ground while reserving differences? Although everyone belongs to different countries, when it comes to greed for money and appreciation of talents and treasures, they all have the same mood and there is no difference between them!

Compared with King Yueyang, who is still a little bit stubborn and unable to let go of his airs, Li Qianzhe is much more direct.

He pondered for a moment, then looked directly at Li Tai and said, "So, Governor Li plans to buy Tibetan goods from the Western Regions from Chang'an, pass through the Qinling Mountains to Hanzhong, and sail south along the Han River on a fast boat?"

At this point, there was nothing to hide. Li Tai nodded after hearing this question, and in order to show his strength, he said: "It's not Chang'an Soumai, but it was transported directly from Longyou. . The year before last, I accompanied my father-in-law, the Duke of Henei, to Longping to quell the rebellion. After several battles, the old road to Hexi was completed. Now, the righteousness of my sect includes Guazhou, Dunhuang, and Qinhe.

The water and soil in that village are not as fertile and livable as those in the pass, and the income from farming and animal husbandry is very small. The villagers can only make a living by taking advantage of this area to travel east and west and sell goods. But it is a pity that Guanzhong is also a small place, the people are poor, it is difficult to consume, goods are stagnant in transit, and food and clothing are not enough, which makes people sad. Because I have a deep friendship with the people from that region, I couldn’t bear to leave them alone, so I worked hard in the hope of creating a way for them to survive..."

In terms of distance alone, the route to Hanshui via Ziwu Road does not have any obvious advantages over Wuguan Road. However, coupled with the ancient road conditions and logistics costs, the time and transportation capacity saved by the Han River from Ankang to Xiangyang alone are far beyond the Wuguan Road.

What's more, if Li Tai transports large quantities of goods from Wuguan, all of them will inevitably fall into Yu Wentai's eyes. The boss is so poor that his eyes flash green every day, which is really a destabilizing factor. Li Tai is also worried that all business activities are carried out under Yu Wentai's nose.

"Admiral Li is indeed an expert in upholding justice, which is admirable. But words and deeds must be judged by merit. I wonder if Governor Li has a plan to judge deeds by merit?"

Li Qianzhe is obviously more pragmatic than the still a little hesitant King Yueyang. Although he has not yet expressed whether he wants to join, he has already asked about a more realistic and specific plan.

Li Tai also admired his approach. Even if he took out the basic road map he sketched, of course it did not include the layout of the cities and garrison in the respective territories of both sides, but only marked a basic landform feature.

With this simple map, Li Tai explained it carefully to Li Qianzhe. The merchants from the Western Regions who controlled this route were first gathered in Sifang City in Longyou, then came east along Longguan, and rested temporarily after arriving in Chencang.

There was originally a manor property in Duguxin in Chencang, which was used to store and transport Longyou timber from the east along the Weishui River, but Li Tai used his wife's mouth to get it from his father-in-law.

Now that Dugu Xin is no longer in charge of Qinzhou and has been replaced by Director Yuwen, his family's timber business can no longer be run with great fanfare. So Li Tai used the manor to buy some land and property nearby, and borrowed the grain he had stored up last year to build a temporary transit center where business travelers and goods from Longyou could stop for a short break.

At the same time, after Hanzhong and Shuzhong are all captured by the Western Wei Dynasty in the future, the Chencang distribution center can be used as a base for sales south of the Qinling Mountains.

Li Tai's people were responsible for transportation until they crossed the Ziwu Road. After the goods arrive in Ankang, a preliminary inventory can be carried out, and then they are packed into boxes and shipped south along the Han River to receive distribution in Xiangyang.

The process of bringing goods south is such a process, and the specific steps for delivering money and goods also need to be clear. This kind of cross-regional and even cross-border business activities requires a unified value assessment, coupled with the large-scale high-end goods transactions. Once the respective value determinations are slightly deviated, it will involve very huge gains and losses.

Although Li Tai is a supplier of goods, he does not need to deliberately emphasize this identity during the cooperation process south of the Qinling Mountains. He and King Yueyang and others will invest in purchasing the goods shipped to Ankang, and then they will share the profits from the final sales from Ankang to Xiangyang in proportion.

Regarding the specific profit distribution plan, Li Tai proposed that he would occupy 40%, King Yueyang would occupy 30%, Li Qianzhe would occupy 20%, and Xi Gu of Qixing County would occupy 10%.

It goes without saying that Li Tai occupies the largest share. After all, without him, there would be no source of wealth from this trade route. Therefore, neither King Yueyang nor Li Qianzhe objected to this, thinking it was a matter of course.

It is also understandable that King Yueyang takes 30%, because these products need to be realized and sold in Xiangyang, a large town in Jiangbei, so King Yueyang's contribution and credit are also not small.

As for Li Qianzhe getting 20%, to be honest, it is a bit small. After all, the geographical location of Ankang is too important. This alone is enough for Li Qianzhe to occupy 20% of the profits. Not to mention the shipping, transportation and other matters of goods, all of which require Li Qianzhe to arrange personnel to be responsible.

However, no matter how much shares Li Qianzhe holds here, Qixing County will inevitably have fewer seats. If the gap between them is too great, even if the final income is still considerable, it will probably be regarded as a shame by the other party. In the long run, it is a hidden danger of uneven distribution of spoils.

So Li Tai proposed a compensation plan for this point, that is, they will invest in proportion to receive the goods in Ankang, and these payments, no matter in what form, need to be exchanged for gold in Ankang for delivery.

First of all, the prices and monetary systems in the north and south are quite different, while the value of gold is relatively uniform. Secondly, if the payment is converted into gold, it is also more convenient to transport it back to Guanzhong. And when trading with Hu merchants, gold can also be used directly as currency.

Ankang has many gold mines. As a wealthy local tyrant who has occupied that place for a long time, Li Qianzhe's family certainly has industries and accumulations in this area. The gold mined by his family also needs to be sold for cash, but now it can be done directly at home. In this way, Li Qianzhe not only gets convenience, but also enjoys some hidden profits.

"General Li is fair in his judgment and kind in his invitation, which makes people convinced. I am fortunate to be involved in this matter. Thank you for your appreciation and trust!"

When Li Qianzhe heard that Li Tai had even considered this and specially arranged a compensation plan for himself, he was also very moved. He stood up from the table and clasped his fists to Li Tai.

Li Tai had been planning this matter for a long time, so he naturally considered all aspects. Now that he had clearly described it, King Yueyang had no objection after listening to it. He just smiled and said, "Today, we have formed an alliance on the Han River and made a plan. We must swear to heaven and earth and trust each other! It's a pity that the prefect Xi of Qixing County was absent. But in any case, if I break this alliance, you two can punish me and throw my sword in front of me, and I will return when I see blood!"

As he spoke, he ordered someone to bring a long wooden box wrapped in brocade and a snow-white lamb.

After the wooden box was opened, there were four short swords of similar shape inside. The short swords were made of ivory handles and decorated with jewels and agates, and the scabbards were inlaid with rhinoceros skin and coral shells, which looked very gorgeous.

The King of Yueyang distributed a short sword to each person, and took one in his hand. He turned around and solemnly pressed the lamb, wiped its neck directly, and then used his fingers to dip the lamb blood on the blade and smeared it on his lips.

Li Tai looked at the flaming red lips of the King of Yueyang, and then looked at the lamb lying on the ground and twitching. He couldn't help but feel a little resistant to the blood oath ceremony. What's more, it looks a bit unserious for others to kill horses and you kill sheep. Are you going to roast it later?

But seeing that the King of Yueyang had a solemn face, and Li Qianzhe also drew his sword and waited in line, Li Tai could only follow the local customs and bite the bullet to give the lamb another knife, and smear the lamb blood on his lips.

After Li Qianzhe did the same, the three of them drank again.

As for the poor lamb, Li Tai was not able to eat it either. Instead, King Yueyang insisted that not one lamb should be left behind. He ordered his subordinates to pack it up and send it to Qixing County with the last short sword by express boat to give it to Xi Gu who was absent, to show that the alliance was officially established.

Although a basic process and plan were determined at this gathering, the details still need to be negotiated and adjusted. Some unexpected problems in the details also need to be discovered and supplemented in the actual actions.

After the plan was discussed, King Yueyang prepared to arrange personnel to send Li Qianzhe back to the country with courtesy, and Li Tai also ordered his disciple Zhao Yan to follow him and stay in Ankang to prepare to receive the goods.

As for whether Li Qianzhe really joined in, it is useless to think too much. Anyway, Li Tai also used "each of them is upright and seeks common ground while reserving differences" to unify the thoughts of several people who were in cahoots with each other. The specific situation will still be revealed in the event.