The three envoys were very happy to hear this.
The three of them were all excited when they thought that if they could bring such a treasure back, they would definitely be appreciated by the king and make a great contribution.
"But..." Han Du's next words made the three people's hearts tighten.
Everything is afraid of a but, but there will always be an unexpected story behind it.
Han Du was no exception. He smiled and said, "However, the price of this treasure banknote needs to be re-determined."
Redetermine the price of treasure banknotes? What does it mean?
The three envoys looked at each other, wondering what medicine Master Han was selling in his gourd.
Han Du smiled and asked the Korean envoy, "I wonder how many tributes your envoy brought when he came to pay tribute this time?"
The Korean envoy was a little dissatisfied with Han Du's attitude of asking about the tribute so rashly, but he still explained: "This envoy came this time and brought various treasures, including ginseng, sea green..."
"Stop, stop, stop," Han Du quickly waved his hand to stop the Korean envoy before he could finish speaking. What Han Du wanted to know was not what the tributes were, but how much worth of tributes Goryeo brought.
He raised his head to look at the official of the Ministry of Rites on the main seat and asked, "Sir, I wonder how much worth of tributes Goryeo brought this time?"
The officials of the Ministry of Rites were somewhat dissatisfied with the philistines of Handu. The vassal countries came to pay tribute to express their belonging to the Ming Dynasty and regard the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain country. There's a saying that goes, etiquette is less important than affection. How could you ask someone in public how much the gift they brought was worth?
However, I thought that Han Du was specially sent by the emperor after all, and his superiors had specifically asked him to cooperate with Han Du. The official coughed awkwardly, but still told Han Du, "About ten thousand strings."
Han Du showed no expression after hearing this and continued to ask: "Then what is our return gift?"
"Thirty thousand strings."
The tribute was 10,000 guan, but the return gift was 30,000 guan. Han Du finally understood why vassal states like Goryeo paid tribute every year. I even heard that in the tenth year of Hongwu's reign, Goryeo came to pay tribute five times a year.
What kind of tribute is there? This is simply doing business and engaging in foreign trade.
Double the profit, how can you make money from paying tribute when doing business?
The envoys from the three vassal countries listened as they should, without the slightest bit of embarrassment on their faces.
Seeing this, Han Du chuckled and couldn't help but shake his head.
The Korean envoy asked in surprise: "What do you mean, sir?"
The envoy to Goryeo said: "Don't you think it's too much for your envoy to exchange ten thousand guan for the wealth of Ming Dynasty's 30,000 guan? And as far as I know, your 10,000 guan is still at the price of Ming Dynasty. Come to calculate it, if you calculate it based on the price of goods in your country, it is not ten thousand guan at all, but at most 3,000 guan."
"Does your Excellency want to reduce the return gift?" The Korean envoy's face also turned cold, and he completely lost the enthusiasm just now. Sure enough, no matter who you are, it is easy to get hurt when talking about money.
"My lord, please don't forget that the tribute and return gifts are determined by the imperial court. The amount of the return gifts has been fixed for a long time. How can it be easily changed? The Ming Dynasty is rich all over the world. Doesn't the rich return gifts just show the majesty of the kingdom?"
What the Korean envoy meant was that this return gift was not decided by you as an official. It was jointly decided by His Majesty the Emperor and the court. How could you be allowed to change it rashly on your own? If you want to reduce the tribute and return gifts, there is no way. Do you want to give up the majesty of the country?
Han Du took a sip of tea unhurriedly and said with a smile: "But your envoy did not bring back any gifts from the imperial court. As far as I know, your envoy brought back only a few of the royal gifts intact. Apart from that, you guys cashed in the rest and turned them into copper coins and took them back?"
Daming's return gift would not be copper coins, but mainly silk, tea, porcelain and the like. In addition, if Lao Zhu was happy, he would give him whatever he wanted. Of course, this kind of reward from Lao Zhu has almost never happened in recent years, because Lao Zhu himself is so poor that he loses his pants, so how can he still give a casual reward? Doesn't it cost money?
But none of these messengers brought back silk, tea, porcelain, especially porcelain. It's not that these things are of low value in these vassal countries. On the contrary, these things are also of high value in vassal countries, and only a few princes and ministers can afford them.
The reason why they want to cash out these things and then bring back the copper coins is simply because the copper coins are more valuable in their country and can make more profits. The Ming Dynasty copper coins are exquisite in shape and their value in their country is unimaginably high.
"Why do you say such things, sir?" The Korean envoy was displeased, but his tone was softer.
In the past, officials of the Ming Dynasty would not pay attention to the value of copper coins at all. They would only take it for granted that what they could buy for one penny in the Ming Dynasty would also cost one penny to buy in these vassal countries. But the actual situation is simply not the case.
But the Master Han in front of him was obviously different from the previous officials. Not only was he aware of the past actions of himself and others, but he also didn't know where he got the news about the low prices in his country.
Those who are good will not come, and those who come will be unkind.
The Korean envoy was stunned and defended himself: "Since it is a return gift from the Ming Dynasty, it is natural for me to handle it. I feel that silk and tea are easy to get damp, and porcelain is inconvenient to transport, so I exchanged these for copper coins to bring back the money." Loss, why not?”
"The envoy is right. Since it is a return gift from the Ming Dynasty, it is appropriate for the envoy to deal with it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with it." Han Du chuckled lightly and said in a different tone: "Then do you want me to report to the emperor?" In return for the gift, I can just give the copper coins directly to the envoy, which saves the envoy the trouble of cashing it out. As for the treasure money, don’t worry about it, okay?"
"You!" The Korean envoy almost got up in anger.
Seeing Han Du's attitude, he knew that talking to Han Du would not have much effect, so he turned to look at the official of the Ministry of Rites on the throne and asked: "My lord, this is what the emperor has promised. Does your country want to Are you going to break your promise and get fat?"
When the officials of the Ministry of Rites heard this, they also felt that Han Du's actions were a bit too much and felt a little embarrassed. But he had no choice. Even though he was the chief officer now, he had already been instructed by his superiors on this matter. He was just a facade, and the decision-making power still rested with Han Du.
So he looked at Han Du tentatively and said, "Master Han, look, although this matter is..."
Han Du glanced at him expressionlessly, wanting to see what kind of words he could say.
