After informing Qi Jiguang about the auction method, the meeting between Gao Jingshi and Qi Jiguang came to an end. After hearing the news, Kaiping Zhongtun Guard Commander Xuecheng held a banquet for the two of them in the commander's Yamen.
As mentioned before, Kaiping is located at the junction of Luanzhou, Yongping Prefecture and Fengrun, Shuntian Prefecture, more than 400 miles east of the capital. It leans on the remnants of the Yanshan Mountains with crisscrossed mountains and ravines to the north, borders the vast tidal flats of the Bohai Bay to the south, looks to the east of the winding Great Wall, and overlooks the Shun and Yong Plains to the west. It was the ancient Yan Youzhou's barrier to resist the invasion of foreign invaders. Throughout history, it has defended Guzhu, protected Youyan, strangled the Great Wall, and garrisoned Luanzhou. It has been a battleground for military strategists. Its strategic position is very important. The surrounding prefectures and counties cannot surpass it.
Although Kaiping was only a small city due to the garrison of the garrison, it was an important transportation area after all, so it was connected in all directions, with merchants gathering, carriages and horses, and abundant wealth. It has a longer history than Daodi, Qiaocheng, and Zhenzi Town. It is recognized as the first of the four ancient towns in Luanzhou. The Jingdong area is known as the "overfilled Kaiping City".
Throughout the history of Kaiping, the evolution is complicated and the jurisdiction has changed: it was Jizhou during the Tang, Yu and Xia Dynasties, and it was Guzhu Kingdom during the Shang Dynasty. Later, it belonged to Yan, Liaoxi, Beiping, Shicheng, and Khitan successively, and it was an important garrison area for successive dynasties. During the Qin Dynasty, it belonged to Youbeiping County. During the Han Dynasty, Shicheng County was established here as the county seat. It was later renamed Haiyang County. After the Jin Dynasty, it belonged to Liaoxi County. During the Five Dynasties period, Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty, Shi Jingtang, ceded land to Khitan (the Later Liao Kingdom), which belonged to Pingzhou. "The captured households from Dingzhou were moved here and the Yong'an Army of Luanzhou was established." There are mountains and rivers here, and in the middle is a small plain formed by the alluvial of the Luanhe River system. It has successively governed Yifeng County, Macheng County and Shicheng County.
Historically, Kaiping spanned two counties: Shicheng and Yifeng. Until the first year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, the Kaiping Zhongtun Guards first moved from Daning Shaling to Zhending, and then moved north to Shicheng Waste County in the third year of Yongle. As a result, due to the heavy military garrison, the old governance of Shicheng Waste County It became an important military town. Because the garrison was Kaiping Zhongtunwei, the place was first called Kaiping Town. (Wufeng’s note: Yesterday, a reader left a message and mistook Kaiping for Kaiping County, Guangdong. I was really dumbfounded, so here I will once again introduce the location and history of Kaiping.)
Kaiping Zhongtun Guards has two commanders, two commanders and magistrates, five ministers, five chief ministers, eleven deputy thousand households, thirty-two deputy thousand households, one guard, town governor, and fourteen officials. , with 5,677 soldiers, it is an important military fortress within the Great Wall.
After Kaiping became an important border town in the north, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, attached great importance to the defense here and sent important ministers to garrison Kaiping many times: "In the first year of Yongle, Jiaxu, Gaoyang King Gaoxu prepared the border for Kaiping"; in the eighth year of Yongle, in the seventh month of autumn, Ming Chengzu's relatives Come to Kaiping to work the army; "In February of the eleventh year, Yingcheng's uncle Yan prepared for Kaiping"; "In September of the twelfth year, Guiwei, Cheng'an Marquis Guo Liang and Xing'an Bo Xu Heng jointly prepared for Kaiping"; "In the autumn of the eighteenth year in July, Dinghai, Xing'an Bo Xu Heng dedicated himself to guarding Kaiping and guarding Beijing"; "In July of the 27th year, he issued an imperial edict to the world, and Wu'an Marquis Zheng Heng led Xue Lu to prepare for Kaiping."
Among the military leaders who guarded Kaiping were kings, marquises, and uncles. Their high titles were very rare in the history of guarding at the county and town levels at that time. This shows how much the imperial court attaches great importance to Kaiping and also highlights the military strength of Kaiping Town. The importance of status.
At present, the Kaiping Zhongtun Guard does not have two commanders, but only one, Xuecheng. By coincidence, Commander Xue from Xuecheng is the sibling and younger brother of Xue Qian, who is currently in charge of Yang Wuhou Yin. He is also the uncle of Xue Yuan who participated in the Gao pragmatic Jian Xin Zhai spring outing last time. .
At the banquet, Xue Cheng was particularly affectionate towards Gao Jingshi. He even insisted on inviting Gao Jingshi to the table in front of Qi Jiguang, his immediate boss, which made Gao Jingshi quite embarrassed. The first position was given to Qi Jiguang.
Originally, Qi Jiguang was not a vain person, and he had always respected literati. This time, he benefited a lot from Gao Pragmatic, and he was willing to let Gao Pragmatic sit on the table. It surprised him. After all, although Gao Jingshi was born into an extraordinary family and is now a close minister of the prince, Gao Gong is only Gao Jingshi's third uncle and not his biological father. Although the prince is the crown prince, he is still young after all. Xuecheng's performance is unavoidable. A little too much.
When it was time to toast during the banquet, Xue Cheng mentioned, "When the official heard that Gao Shi read about how to make that soap, it was like turning stone into gold. Now that the sales in the capital have only been open for a few days, the five shops are busy and overcrowded every day. It can be said that they are making progress every day." When "fighting for gold", Qi Jiguang suddenly realized.
I contacted the news that reached Jizhou in the evening, saying that on the day of Xinzhai's spring outing, several dignitaries from the capital gathered at the Duke of Chengguo's mansion. Within a few days, "Jinghua Soap" in the capital opened five stores at the same time, with limited sales on the first day. His soaps were directly sold out by several nobles... Qi Jiguang understood that there must be some connection here.
Next, Xue Cheng's words became even more explicit: "Look, Gao Shidu, our Kaiping is small, but to the east is Yongping-Shanhaiguan, which is the main road into Liaoning. If Gao Shidu is interested in selling soap to Liaodong, our Kaiping It can be used as a place to change hands..."
Qi Jiguang was naturally a rare genius in terms of military affairs, but he was not good at business. After hearing these words, he couldn't help but think to himself: Think about how expensive the soap is. How many yuan can you sell it for in a small town like Kaiping? As for changing hands...what's the use of changing hands?
But Gao Pragmatic didn't seem to look down on Xue Cheng at all. He looked at him with a smile and asked: "Commander Xue, we Ming people don't talk secretly. Do you want the agency rights of soap in Liaodong?"
"Right of agency?" Xue Cheng was stunned for a moment: "May I ask Gao Shidu, what is the right of agency?"
Gao Pragmatic smiled and said: "The so-called agency right simply means that if a Liaodong businessman wants to run soap, our Jinghua Soap Factory will not ship the goods to him. If he wants to get the goods, he can only take it from you."
Xuecheng was shocked: "Is there such a good thing?"
"How?" Gao Pragmatic, like a devil tempting people to give up their souls, said in an unpredictable tone: "As long as Commander Xue can agree to Gao's conditions, he can win the exclusive agency right to supply Liaodong soap. In the future, Liaodong If a merchant wants soap, he can only get it from you."
Xuecheng's throat moved again and again, and he thought to himself: Could it be that I am about to become rich? That Guoshi soap sells for one tael of silver a piece. If I were to take over the entire Liaodong agency, I would probably be richer than the Marquis of Yangwu if I changed hands every year!
"I don't know... what are the... conditions for being a high school official?" After all, it was the money that moved people's hearts. Commander Xue, who was living in the small town of Kaiping, was so excited that he almost stuttered when faced with such a good thing.
