Yang Ji and Ni Chuluo Khan negotiated various cooperation agreements. Due to strategic needs, the two had a falling out in front of the armies of both sides, showing a posture that they could not reach an agreement. After that, Yang Ji gathered in Yizhou The army entered the border of Gaochang. Nichuchuluo Khan was afraid of the power of the Sui army and did not dare to fight. He hurriedly led the Turkic and Gaochang coalition forces and officials from the eastern cities to retreat to Gaochang City, the capital of the Gaochang Kingdom.
The Sui army fought without bloodshed and divided the Gaochang Kingdom into two halves from northwest to southeast. The eastern third of the border line between the north and south was included in the territory of the Sui Dynasty.
In order to let Yang Ji stay in Liangzhou for a long time so that his business could continue, Ni Chuluo Khan took the initiative to retreat and used the hasty retreat of Western Turks and Gaochang to achieve Yang Ji's reputation.
However, Yang Ji didn't want Liangzhou, which he had worked so hard to build, to become someone else's wedding dress. Now that he had the "famous reputation" brought out by Nichuluo Khan, he became the most suitable person to take charge of the western frontier of the Sui Dynasty. It will be of great benefit to him now and in the future. The key is that this move does not harm the interests of the Sui Dynasty.
Hao Yuan and Li Daliang were the only people in the Sui Dynasty who knew the truth. Instead of having any dissatisfaction with the cooperation between Yang Ji and Ni Chuluo Khan, they sincerely appreciated it.
Just because a smart politician closely links private interests with national interests, allowing the people to support him is tantamount to supporting himself. Only politicians who take into account both public and private matters can make the country prosperous and strong and be loved by all people. If Yang Ji acted like a corrupt official and harmed the interests of the Sui Dynasty for the benefit of his family, it would not be something a wise politician would do.
The intersection of the two lines across the city was the bridgehead for the Sui Dynasty to control Gaochang and march into the Western Regions. In the city lord's palace, Yang Ji sat on the main seat and looked at the official letter of surrender sent by Niluo Khan. He couldn't help but chuckle, and handed the letter of begging to Hao Yuan who was standing beside him, and said with a smile: "Ashnadaman is a very capable person under the attack of many forces. He is a very capable person. He has been fighting for so many years. You can also donate countless treasures and 50,000 taels of gold to the progress, which is quite generous."
The 10,000 sets of second-hand weapons traded by Yang Ji and Nichuluo Khan were worth 400,000 Qin gold coins. I originally planned to pay 200,000 gold coins and 30,000 jins of silver, but the Great Sui market did not recognize the Great Qin gold coins, so I could only keep them for collection. After discussion, the gold coins were exchanged for 150,000 gold coins in cash. It is said that Yang Ji made a profit. Now, he actually got fifty thousand taels of gold, which really surprised Yang Ji.
Hao Yuan took the book of begging for surrender from Yang Ji and read it again, and said: "Rouran spans the east and west of Jinshan Mountain. After the Turkic Khanate replaced it, its territory increased instead of decreasing. The Turks not only inherited the wealth of Rouran, but also dominated the two grasslands. During three hundred years, they plundered countless gold, silver, jewelry, and rare antiques from various ministries under their rule and the Central Plains. Later, Zhou and Qi were eager to get married, and spent their treasury and northern wealth to bribe the Turks, so Tuobo The Khan often said, 'I am always filial to my children in the south, so why should I suffer from poverty?'. And Ashina Daman and his father inherited the vast Western Turks. If it were in its heyday, it would have cost tens of millions of taels of gold. , if gold, silver, jade, rare treasures, and antiques are also included, it would be even more."
Yang Ji was stunned when he heard this, but thinking about the whereabouts of these gold and silver jewels in later generations, Yang Ji couldn't help but become curious. Could it be that they were all in the treasury, hidden families and the homes of wealthy people?
He felt that this idea was not impossible! Leaving aside the national treasury, bosses Ma and Wang, who are known as the richest men, were said by many people in later generations to be wage earners from some hidden family. If this is really the case, then the wealth of the hidden family behind them is really extraordinary. Can imagine.
When my thoughts turned to the current business, I couldn't help but feel a little proud. I used ten thousand "second" hand swords and ten thousand "second" hand bows to earn 150,000 taels of gold and 30,000 jins of silver. The money can be made much faster than my mother.
It seems that no matter what era, arms are the most profitable business.
Perhaps Yang Guang can be encouraged to go into the arms business and sell all the "second-hand" goods that have been eliminated to foreign races. This can not only recycle waste, but also promote the development of mining and smelting. Moreover, with more skilled craftsmen, it can also speed up the update of weapons and equipment technology. Replacement.
"Although Ashnadaman and I are making money from our business, it's not easy to transport this stuff across the sea." Yang Ji tapped his finger on the table. Whenever a war ended, he would usually count the trophies scattered all over the floor. , reported to the Ministry of War, weapons and equipment are the top priority, and those that can continue to be used only need to be polished. This is a D-level weapon among the fourth-class weapons, which means that it can be sealed for use, but more cannot be used anymore. , this type needs to be smelted into new weapons.
If the war had just ended, I would have made this deal, but I could have paid less for Ding and other horizontal knives and Ding and other bows. It seems a little late now.
Hao Yuan said with a smile: "We are at war and confrontation with the Western Turks and Gaochang. It is reasonable for the young master to transport them from Ganzhou to Yizhou to prepare for the war."
"Oh?" Yang Ji looked at Hao Yuan after hearing this and said, "You mean to make a time difference?"
Hao Yuan was startled, thought about the meaning of "time difference", nodded with a smile and said: "What you said is true. Now the whole army thinks that we are going to fight the Western Turks, but they don't know that the Western Turks surrendered to the Sui Dynasty." , we can make a fuss about the messengers and the Turkic envoys. First send the messengers to Guazhou and Ganzhou, and bring in 10,000 or 20,000 sets of weapons and equipment. When the news of the Turks begging for surrender spreads, the weapons are already on the way. Although there will be no fighting in the future, It’s a Turk, but horse thieves also suffer weapon losses.”
"It makes sense, it makes sense. Immediately send an order to move all the weapons such as Ding and others from Ganzhou." Upon hearing what Hao Yuan said, Yang Ji had an idea. There were many good weapons and equipment in the Sui Dynasty. It was almost impossible to keep the weapons such as Ding and others from Ganzhou. Use it to eat ashes. If there is too much of it and it takes a long time, it can be reported for smelting. And since I have the right to mine and smelt, I can "smelt" Ding and others in the future. At worst, I can use new iron to cast new weapons.
It's just that this is the first time in Yang Ji's life that he has extended a sinful hand to a public weapon, and he is somewhat nervous and somewhat wary of everything.
"Here!" Hao Yuan responded, and then suggested: "Sir, the Western Turks' submission to me in the Sui Dynasty also means that the short, convenient and safe South Silk Road is completely connected. No matter what business or caravan is in the future, We can’t get around these few miles of newly acquired land, so it’s best for our own people to take charge here.”
Yang Ji nodded and said: "I am going to report to the Ming Dynasty and set up the Xizhou General Manager's Office in half of Gaochang. The candidate for the general manager is Zhang Dinghe, the deputy general manager of Ganzhou."
To this day, Yang Ji has promoted Wang Bian, Wang Wei, and Yao Junsu in Liangzhou, and has also promoted the real power of Mai Tiezhang and Xue Shixiong. However, these five people are all Yang Guang's confidants; and Yin Shishi It is true that he is the backbone of the King Wei family, but he is the son of Yin Shou, and today's position as a soldier is also achieved by himself. It has nothing to do with Yang Ji. If Yang Ji never gives any hope to the King Wei family, it is inevitable that he will It chilled the hearts of the older generation.
And Zhang Dinghe is my father's old subordinate. He is not only good at civil and military affairs, but also good at fighting. What's rare is that he has always been loyal to the "Prince Wei's Mansion". It can be said that Zhang Dinghe deserves the most credit for my mother being able to monopolize Juyan Road. Having him take charge of Xizhou not only takes into account both public and private matters, but his transition from deputy to full position is also a reward for this general of the King Wei family.
After the discussion, Hao Yuan drafted an urgent report to the court on "The Western Turks surrendered in fear of war" on one side, while Li Daliang wrote an order on the other side for the transfer of Ding and other weapons and equipment.
As for Yang Ji, he opened a one-foot-square rosewood box. This was a gift from Niluo Khan to him. The guy said he wanted to give him a generous gift. Could this be it?
The first thing that caught my eye were two daggers. The scabbards and hilts were inlaid with colorful gems. When I pulled them out, I saw that the blades of the daggers were covered with beautiful patterns. The magical lines showed the natural beauty of artificial carving. The deep colors The texture makes the blade reflective, making it appear more secretive if it is intended to hurt someone unexpectedly.
Yang Ji knew that this was a dagger forged from Persian pattern steel. Although it was expensive, it was not in line with the generous gift that Nichuluo Khan said.
He put down the dagger and took out the yellowed booklet under the dagger. When he saw the contents clearly, his eyes lit up and his heart started beating wildly.
The main text of the book is composed of curved words with a year, and there are translated Chinese characters next to it. The content recorded on it is actually the smelting technology of Persian pattern steel.
The unique smelting technology and forging method of pattern steel is a unique technology of the Persians and has always been a secret. Occasionally, steel ingots were introduced to the Sui Dynasty, and they were also very expensive.
Continuing to scroll down, there is another unique Persian technology, which is the production method of Luodai.
Luodai is a thrush that was passed down from Persia to the Sui Dynasty. It is favored by aristocratic women. The shop I opened in Dongshi has this stuff. I can sell a longan-sized Luodai for more than 100 yuan in retail. The price, if converted into gold, is just over one tael, but in the capital, it is in a situation where it is marketable but priceless.
I made some profit from the price difference, but the people who made more money were obviously the Sogdians who transported Luodai from Persia to the Sui Dynasty.
But after reading the formula, Yang Ji discovered that the raw materials for this thing were actually woad, indigo, and indigo. The production method was the same as the dye used for dyeing cloth. The stems and leaves were first picked back in autumn, and then soaked until the leaves rotted. When the skin falls off, remove the dregs, add an appropriate amount of lime and stir thoroughly. When the stems and leaves turn from dark green to dark red, remove the foamy substance from the liquid surface and dry it in the sun. At this time, the strong dye is called indigo. In addition to this production process, there are also Indigo can be made through steps such as soaking, fermentation, indigo production, refinement, and water flying. This is a very ancient craft that has long been spread among the people.
However, apart from being used for dyeing cloth and making ink strips, there was no further research and development in the Sui Dynasty. However, Persia used it to make a lot of money from women. They first ground the indigo material into powder, and then used vegetable oil to mix the powder with It was made into mud and rolled into the size of longan, and Luo Dai, which was more expensive than gold, was born.
The products produced by these two technologies can make a lot of money in the Sui Dynasty. It is no exaggeration to say that they are priceless treasures. However, Nichuluo Khan actually came to "teach a man to fish" and gave this technology to To save yourself, this is not just as simple as "a generous gift".
After roughly scanning these two techniques, Yang Ji took out the letter written by Niluo Khan to him. When he opened it and read it, he couldn't laugh or cry.
Although the Turks were Rouran smelting slaves who started out as blacksmiths, their basic smelting conditions were really poor. Therefore, even though they had the technology to smelt patterned steel for a long time, they were defeated by basic conditions such as furnaces and heat. , couldn't make pattern steel no matter what, so he simply gave it to himself, hoping that after the Sui Dynasty made the steel, they would sell some to him.
Luo Dai technology has always been in the hands of the Turkic royal family, and the royal women can't even use up the Luo Dai tribute paid by the Sogdians, so where is the need to produce such gadgets? It's just that these two techniques were recorded in the same book, so they were easily translated into Chinese characters. But to Yang Ji, the last and simplest step was worth more than one hundred thousand taels of gold.
"General Manager!" At this time, a guard stepped in, bowed and saluted: "Bring Ma Nianzong, the head of the Ma family in Gaochang."
"Oh?" Yang Ji nodded, put the book away close to his body, and said, "Please."
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