The Confucian students in the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty made a lot of jokes when learning arithmetic.
For example, it is a provable axiom that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180°. As a result, people often calculate it incorrectly, and then they will say that this is just a theorem, which does not mean it is true. Sometimes it will be 183°; When recruiting soldiers, some people count the number of people incorrectly, which leads to the conclusion that people can be incomplete, such as an abnormal household; for example, when counting years, it can be calculated that a person's mother is 9 years old and gave birth to an 18-year-old child. Son, at this time, Confucian students will say that this is normal, such as a stepmother.
For the sake of arithmetic that I cannot learn, I find all kinds of strange reasons to force things out, which is in line with Zhu Yijun's stereotype of the humble Confucians. I think, therefore I am, I think that I am right, my thinking is completely correct, and what is wrong is this world.
In non-Euclidean geometry, it is true that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle may not be 180 degrees, but non-Euclidean geometry will take another 200 years to study in the fertile geometric soil of the West until Gauss, the prince of mathematics, comes to study it.
The miscellaneous reports of the Ming Dynasty were in full swing, and at this time Wang Rulong of the Daning Guard received an edict from the Ming Emperor to open a mutual trade and only collect wool.
This was the result of the court discussion. Wang Chonggu's official woolen factory has continued to expand, even borrowing money from national and internal funds to expand. However, his expansion is not disorderly or uncontrolled, but a little bit. Expansion, expansion is carried out based on production capacity, raw materials, demand, etc.
Both Antonio and Legas expressed their strong interest in Ming Dynasty's wool, and they always hoped that Ming Dynasty's wool could be exported. In the field of textiles, Daming had no rivals.
But the problem now is that Ming Dynasty does not have enough internal consumption, and export sales are a false proposition.
The expansion has caused some troubles. For example, the supply of raw materials is tight. The woolen official factory has reserved raw materials for three months. After three months of winter, it is directly cut off. After autumn, wool can no longer be harvested, because you If you dare to shear sheep in late autumn, the sheep will die for you.
This tribute market is scheduled for November, and Tuman Khan can sell some wool.
Wool is also used in the grassland, so there is no need to worry about running out of stock. However, the people in the grassland use fleas and dirty felt, so Daming can receive wool.
Zhou Liangyin was exiled to Daning Guard as a military counselor, and this time, Zhou Liangyin will serve as an envoy to the Golden Summit of Tuman Khan. He needs to perform meritorious service to be promoted, so he is really working hard.
Zhou Liangyin was born as a Confucian scholar. He was not good at doing things, but he was willing to learn. After he went to Zhangwu and Hou Yuzhao to exchange experiences, he secretly started farming in Daningwei.
Secretly, it does not mean hiding from the court or the emperor, but without making a big fanfare. Anyway, Hou Yuzhao was in front of him. Hou Yuzhao was scolded first, then Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, and finally Zhou Liangyin.
When someone was charging at the front, Zhou Liangyin was still willing to work quietly behind to build momentum.
His quiet work indeed concealed the opinions of the officials in the court, because Hou Yuzhao attracted most of the firepower.
Zhou Liangyin secretly performed meritorious services, but the emperor discovered it. He even specifically mentioned Zhou Liangyin in the imperial edict to Wang Rulong, saying that he was still useful and that the emperor's leniency was not in vain.
"Your Majesty only gave silver but not iron pots, cloth, salt and other items?" Zhou Liangyin was stunned.
I was surprised by the generosity of the imperial court. Even the Ming Dynasty did not have enough silver. They actually settled trade in silver in this tribute market. Even in the tribute market in the northwest, silver was only an intermediate pricing currency, and most settlements were made in silver. Price of goods.
"Wool is also a thing that protects the grassland from the cold. This time the imperial court took away the cold thing and only gave it silver. Our Daning Guards must be prepared to receive raw and cooked barbarians." Wang Rulong, the chief military officer of Daning, had a look on his face. miscellaneous.
If Tuman Khan agreed to give him only silver but not the necessities of life, he would be digging his own grave. On the grassland, wool also protects against the cold.
Who cares about fleas and smelly food when you're about to freeze to death?
If they really only give silver, the Fanyi under Tuman Khan's tent may have to flee into the Daning Guard.
There was a flow of people between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Barbarians. For example, in June of the fourth year of Wanli, Shi Maohua, the governor of Shaanxi, and Dong Shiyan, the governor of Shaanxi, jointly reported that they had caressed a total of 71 tribes of native and familiar barbarians outside Taozhou. Moved, surrendered repeatedly, and offered four of the heads of the thieves, including you and others. They also captured two people, Rong Bu and Ban Bu Ya, and compensated a total of 267 horses, cattle and sheep to prove their guilt. The imperial court issued an edict to behead the rebellious chieftains and resettle the native and familiar foreigners outside the country.
After resettlement, when they were all naturalized, they were all treated as Han citizens.
Similarly, there were also people who fled to the North during the Ming Dynasty. These people were called rebels in the North.
The reason why the Ming Dynasty did not agree with Anda's request for tribute was related to Anda's recruitment of Han traitors.
It was not until the fifth year of Longqing that Anda Khan sent nine leaders of the Han rebels, Zhao Quan, Li Zixin, Wang Tingfu, Zhang Yanwen, Liu Si, and Zhou Yuan's head to the court, a total of ten people, that the peace negotiation was considered successful.
These are all leaders of the White Lotus Sect, operating in poor border areas such as Shaanxi and Shanxi. In the 33rd year of Jiajing, when they saw that Anda Khan was able to invade the capital, they chose to flee into Anda Khan's tent. In just ten years, In the remaining years, a Han rebel army consisting of about 50,000 Han rebels was established in the Bansheng (Hurhot) area of Fengzhou.
These people disguised themselves as monks and beggars, wandered around the country, and even entered the capital to conduct reconnaissance and spy on intelligence, causing great trouble to the Ming Dynasty.
This is also one of the reasons why the Ming Dynasty suffered repeated defeats in the northwest.
Since Anda Khan handed over Zhao Quan and others, the number of Han rebels serving Anda Khan has gradually decreased to more than 10,000 people.
These Han rebels are still the solid supporters of Ada Khan to this day.
Wang Rulong has been at the border for a long time. If the Tuman Khan really agrees to the silver settlement, the refugees will flood into Daning Guard. How to resettle these people and screen out spies has been done for two hundred years. Son, of course there are various ways.
"The imperial court will continue to fight." Zhou Liangyin keenly sensed the situation. The imperial court would continue to use force against the Tuman Khan and would not stop until the Tuman Khan was completely driven out of Liaodong. If there was no fight, it should not only give silver.
It is only reasonable to give them what they need in life and let them live in peace.
"We must fight, but it is enough for our border troops to defend the city. If we fight, the Beijing camp will come." Wang Rulong asked Zhou Liangyin to relax. He would not let Zhou Liangyin get the credit for charging into the battle. He tied two chickens with one hand. A scholar with great strength will be killed even if he goes to the battlefield.
Zhou Liangyin has evolved from being a useless scholar without the power to tie a chicken, to a level where he can copy two chickens with one hand.
"Whose idea is this? It's so harmful!" The more Zhou Liangyin thought about it, the more he felt it was wrong. This kind of idea was not something that the wise men in the court who talked about benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust all day long could come up with!
"Censor Zhou, be careful what you say, be careful what you say." Wang Rulong reminded Zhou Liangyin with a slight embarrassment not to talk nonsense.
Wang Rulong was so cautious, and Zhou Liangyin instantly realized that this bad idea came from His Majesty.
Silver can't be eaten or drunk, let alone keep warm. Moreover, with the existence of Daning Guards and the cleanup of ethnic groups in the northwest, all smuggling lines have been cut off, and there are very few goods that can be exchanged for silver.
"Ahem." Zhou Liangyin coughed twice in embarrassment, and he said doubtfully: "Tuman Khan is not stupid, can he agree?"
"What do you think this is?" Wang Rulong popped out three coins from his money bag. The beautifully crafted silver coins rolled in a circle on the ground and lay firmly on the table, shining with silver.
Not silver, but silver coins.
This is the currency used by the Ming Dynasty this time. Silver coins are a kind of hard currency, and they are very beautifully made and are rare good things.
"The imperial court is minting money, but the output and scale are very limited now. Things are rare and valuable, so Tuman Khan cannot help but refuse to agree." Wang Rulong looked at the silver coins with a complex expression. He was very doubtful that even without strong troops, The emperor could also play Tuman Khan to death.
Wang Rulong's judgment was correct. He only knew one thing but not the other.
The biggest anti-counterfeiting feature of silver coins is to blow them, but in fact, if lead and tin are added to them, they can sound even an inch away. When the little emperor demonstrated the fake silver coins in the Wenhua Hall, he almost scared Zhang Juzheng to death.
The emperor took the lead in making counterfeit coins. This thing was completely experimental. It was said that Zhu Yijun tested whether the rolling printing machine could roll lead and tin. As a result, several lead and tin coins he made could also sound.
The imperial silver coins of the Ming Dynasty have been added with 11% copper. This is because silver is very soft and copper is added to ensure its hardness. However, what the little emperor took out was a fake silver coin that is difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake!
Zhang Juzheng firmly objected. The silver content of the silver coins involves His Majesty's credibility and must not be careless.
In the end it couldn't happen.
Zhou Liangyin set out with twenty silver coins. He was going to persuade Tuman Khan to exchange wool for silver coins. This transaction would definitely not be a loss.
When he passed Taotu Mountain, he looked at the captives in Taotu Baitu Official Factory who were working hard before winter came, and for no reason he had the illusion that people can be tamed.
There were more than 7,000 captives in Tao Tu Mountain, and only 70 of them were watching these prisoners. If someone were to make trouble in the middle and give the Daning Guards the strategy and tactics of the center, the Daning Guards would really not be able to withstand it.
But just these seventy people were able to see these seven thousand people. It was just a short fence, which kept these prisoners safe, and there was no trouble.
The rules that Qi Shuai set for the prisoner-of-war camp are: Anyone who exposes one person for treason can be freed, and anyone who exposes three people for escaping can also be freed.
Just these two simple rules directly made everyone in Tao Tushan's prisoner camp feel in danger, and they were all targets in each other's eyes.
It is not easy for 70 people to manage these 7,000 people, so they directly let the cesspit generals and the thousands of households under the native barbarian Khan's tent manage these prisoners of war.
This is also the reason why Zhou Liangyin believes that people can be domesticated. Where can these prisoners of war go? He ran back to find Tuman Khan. Tuman Khan was still worried that they were traitors or spies, so he ran towards the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty would treat them as fugitive prisoners. If they were caught, they would be dead. Jianzhou was a good place to go, but they had to climb the Great Wall.
It’s good to have a head start in life.
At least Daming promised to work for five years before he could be released, or he could continue to make a living digging clay in Taotu Mountain. He could earn six to seven taels of silver a year. If he was lucky, he could even find a wife.
Whether it can be fulfilled depends on the war pressure of the Ming army. If the pressure is relatively high, all these people will be sent to the front line to fill the line.
Zhou Liangyin looked at the houses where the prisoners lived and sighed with emotion. These people would never run away. At least they would not freeze to death while working in Taotu Mountain. They were all completely covered by the white-haired wind.
On the way to the golden-domed tent of the Tuman Khan in Quaning Guard, Zhou Liangyin couldn't help but think about what war was. Once he fell into this thinking, Zhou Liangyin began to think about it for no reason. War seemed to be an attempt by emperors and khans to realize their own goals. He was so ambitious that he sent a common man to travel thousands of miles to the battlefield to kill another common man.
The farmer's son kills the herdsman's son, or the herdsman's son kills the farmer's son.
As soon as this idea came up, Zhou Liangyin was frightened and sweated all over. His idea was a crime of disrespect, but he was immersed in this idea and became more and more confused the more he thought about it.
After leaving Qinglong Fort, Zhou Liangyin immediately felt the enthusiasm beyond the wall.
Even under the banner of dispatching envoys, many tribes did not get the news and came forward to plunder. They felt that Zhou Liangyin's convoy was a fat sheep, and they were repelled by the accompanying Daning Guards.
It was the first time Zhou Liangyin experienced this kind of thing, and he was completely frightened. The arrows hovering above his head and the sound of nails hitting the car became his nightmare. He had never experienced anything like this before. When he dreamed, he often dreamed of that The sound was then pierced by thousands of arrows.
After more than ten confrontations, large and small, Zhou Liangyin finally arrived at Quanningwei and saw the golden-domed tent and the stretching tents.
Zhou Liangyin opened the car window and saw children one after another. It was already late autumn. These children had no shoes, wore thin robes that did not fit, and were unkempt around the camp. The children were piling up cow dung for the winter; there was an unpleasant smell. The smell was permeating the air, a smell mixed with the strong smell of blood and mutton.
In order to survive the winter, some sheep were killed, their skins were stripped and smoked, and the leather was tanned, that is, the skins were soaked in a fermented gold soup with salt. The skins were cooked thoroughly, dried in the sun, and tanned with a crescent-shaped wooden blunt knife. , these furs can only be worn by adults, children are not qualified at all.
Especially for shoes, women and children basically don’t know how to wear shoes. These shoes are called Baoligari. Zhou Liangyin bought a pair. They are made of sheepskin and are very warm.
After meeting Tuman Khan, Zhou Liangyin was given a lamb hat made of short-haired lamb skin, and Tuman Khan also took out a gold-topped black leather hat made of bearskin, which was given to the Ming Dynasty. A gift from the emperor.
"Whenever the cold wind comes, people think of warm long woolen sheepskin robes. Whenever friends from far away come, you can hear the singing of spiritual birds, thanking the angels for their arrival." Tumen said with great sincerity. greetings and received Zhou Liangyin.
"This is..." Zhou Liangyin saw a woman. Looking at these clothes, it was not difficult for him to suspect that this woman was the legendary Sanniangzi.
Tumen said with a smile: "Mrs. Zhongshun, Princess Shunyi, isn't this a coincidence? The third lady came all the way to discuss the wool business with us."
"The Third Lady came with enough sincerity, but Andahan was too greedy."
After Zhou Liangyin chatted with the deputy envoy's other military counselor for a while, he asked directly: "What price did Mrs. Zhongshun give Tuman Khan? The price given by the Ming Dynasty was six coins per bag of wool. How much did Mrs. Zhongshun give?" Woolen cloth?"
In fact, Zhou Liangyin's base price was eight silver coins, not six coins. He just quoted a price to test their reaction.
Even though Qi Shuai was in the capital, he was already able to make judgments about the situation on the grassland. As expected, the left and right Tatar wings were not inseparable from each other, but had always communicated with each other.
"Damn Daming and Anda Khan, your purchase price is obviously one silver and two cents per bag of wool, how come you only give us six cents when you get it! It's half less, how can you make sense!" One arm was broken. The thousands of households in Khalkha quickly said with great anger.
Zhou Liangyin's expression remained as usual, but he also understood that Sanniangzi's price was also six cents of silver.
"Sanniang's business is very good. This resale will double the profit." Zhou Liangyin immediately started to fan the flames. This was the main purpose. Whether to buy wool or not was secondary. Anda Khan had no ability to turn wool into cloth. He will only lose money holding the wool.
The third lady held her forehead, and if Hai broke her arm, she should just take a good rest, so why bother!
"Didn't the Ming Dynasty also give the price of six coins? Let's do it to each other. The Daning Wei business is not bad." The third lady deliberately took the Daning Wei out of the Ming Dynasty with these words. It seemed that the deal was done by the Daning Wei. Doing it, not Daming doing it.
There is a difference, and a big one.
Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said: "That's wrong. This is a business of the imperial court. Whether it succeeds or not is the imperial court's business. If the Daning Guard makes a deal with the Tuman Khan, tomorrow all the officials of the Daning Guard will be pushed to Tonghui." He beheaded people in public, Yinjie captured people, and just beheaded more than 700 people."
Those guys who were hung up on the Tonghui River and were all reselling firearms, gunpowder, and armor, not just iron pots, salt, cloth, and tea. They just sold these. After I paid tribute, the northwest Selling these is also legal.
Selling firearms, gunpowder, and armor is an act of traitor to the Han people.
Zhou Liangyin doesn't want to be fooled by Sanniangzi. There are some things that must be made clear. Tuman Khan can't even think about paying bribes to smooth things over. There's no chance at all.
"Whoever bids the higher price will be the one I sell to," Tumen said cheerfully. The third wife could not earn twice as much, and she still had to pay for the trip.
Zhou Liangyin looked at the pictures and said calmly: "We will pay this price, six yuan, whether you like it or not."
Sanniangzi felt a familiar feeling. He looked at Zhou Liangyin's tone, movements, and style of doing things, and vaguely saw a person, Wang Chonggu.
That's right, it's Wang Chonggu.
When Sanniangzi negotiated with Wang Chonggu and Wan Shihe twice, she felt like this. People in the Ming Dynasty were always so arrogant, as if buying your things was a gift.
"Tuman Khan, please think clearly. You sold it to Sanniangzi. She will sell you other things for a little extra money. This money went around and around and ended up in her pocket. The money given by Ming Dynasty is money. ." Zhou Liangyin took out a silver coin and kept playing with it in his hand.
Zhou Liangyin held a boomerang and hit the third lady on the body.
This was said by Sanniangzi when she was meeting the saint. Sanniangzi did not ask for an increase in the price of wool, because she knew that as much as the price of wool increased, Ming's goods would increase. Now Zhou Liangyin returned these words to Sanniangzi.
"You!" Sanniang stood up suddenly, pointed at Zhou Liangyin, and stamped her feet angrily!
How good it was in the Ming Dynasty in the past. There were cheap Confucians everywhere, who were ashamed of speaking and making money. They looked sanctimonious all day long and did not talk about business. Even if the love was there, the business was awarded to you without any intention of making money.
Nowadays, there are fewer cheap scholars in Ming Dynasty. They are all Xunli, all of them have sharp teeth and sharp tongues, and all of them are eloquent, and all of them are amassing profits.
"Didn't I tell the truth?" Zhou Liangyin looked at Sanniangzi and said in surprise: "I told you what was on your mind and you became angry with shame?"
"What's the point of arguing with a woman!" Sanniangzi sat down again and looked at Zhou Liangyin and said angrily.
Zhou Liangyin said cheerfully: "The third lady is talking more and more like the literati in the court, and she talks nonsense."
"First of all, you are here on behalf of Anda Khan, and I am here on behalf of the Ming Dynasty. Secondly, I am a scholar, but I can't beat you, a woman who is skilled in bow and horse. What you say is what you say, so don't do this."
Whether doing business or negotiating peace, if, like Wu Dui, you think the other person is a woman and despise her, you will suffer a big loss.
The third lady forced Anda Khan to hand over his savior Zhao Quan and facilitated peace talks, which was not an easy matter.
Zhao Quan rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and entered the grassland, saving Anda Khan's life. Anda Khan and Zhao Quan were Anda, which means sworn brothers. In the end, Zhao Quan was sent to the capital to be beheaded in public.
Anda Khan gave his half-brother a knife and sent Zhao Quan directly to the guillotine.
"The Ming Dynasty will not raise another cent of silver, but the Ming Dynasty can pay with silver. This is the condition of the Ming Dynasty." Zhou Liangyin threw the silver coins to Tumen, stood up and left. When he walked to the big tent door, Zhou Liangyin said with a smile : "Tuman Khan sent someone to look for me after he thought about it clearly. We will discuss the time, place and regulations of the tribute market."
"If you don't want to, then forget it."
Zhou Liangyin left the golden-domed tent. He took a coin and kept tossing it around. He looked outside the tent where he stayed, waiting for Tuman Khan's decision. He actually didn't care whether the wool business could be concluded. The court The main task of subcontracting is to sow discord.
With one silver coin, you can completely interrupt the trend of the left and right wings converging, and you can't make more money.
Of course, Wang Chonggu also sent a special letter to Zhou Liangyin to ensure that the negotiation was completed. After all, having another source of wool would be conducive to the adjustment of supply and demand, and would also be conducive to the expansion of the Ming Dynasty woolen official factory.
Zhou Liangyin threw the silver coin high again, then caught it with his hand, opened it and saw a smile, it was the front.
A timid big man walked into the camp and said in a muffled voice: "The Great Khan invites you!"
Zhou Liangyin walked into the golden-domed tent with great strides. The third wife had already left, and only Tumanhan's people were left in the tent. It seemed that they were not having a pleasant conversation.
Zhou Liangyin said with a bright smile: "Tuman Khan made a wise choice."
"Compared with Anda Khan who goes back on his word, I believe more in the credibility of the imperial court." Tuman Khan said after being silent for a moment.
Anda Khan has a very bad reputation in the grassland, especially in the business field. Prices will rise if he changes hands. The question Zhou Liangyin talked about is not whether it is possible, but how much to add. Maybe he can do business with Anda Khan. Still have to pay.
"Actually, I would rather have iron pots, salt, tea and cloth for trade." The Tuman Khan wanted goods even more. As for silver, as a khan, he still knew that silver could not be eaten or worn. For the barren Tuman tribes, The most important thing is the pot.
Yes, there are no pots on the prairie.
One hundred and twenty kilograms of wool can be exchanged for a three to four kilogram iron pot. Even so, Tumanhan wanted to exchange for the iron pot.
Zhou Liangyin frowned. As soon as Tuman Khan said these words, the expressions of the ten thousand households in the big tent immediately changed. It was obvious that this was Tuman Khan's decision, not what the ten thousand households thought.
"This is different from what we agreed." Zhou Liangyin shook his head and said, "Sister Niang hasn't gone far yet. You can chase her back. We only have silver."
Tuman Khan shook his head and said: "But when the silver is distributed to the leaders of the various tribes, they will only hide the silver instead of exchanging it for goods."
"The problems faced by the Ming Dynasty and the grassland seem to be somewhat similar." Zhou Liangyin looked at the tens of thousands of households in the account and said with emotion. Sure enough, as he guessed, Tuman Khan still wanted the goods, but the households didn't think so. They were more interested in the shiny silver coins.
Meat eaters are despicable and fail to think far ahead.
Sure enough, it's the same everywhere.
"Then let's use silver. The Ming Dynasty's official roads and post roads have not yet been repaired. It's okay to transport silver, but it's not easy to transport goods here, right?" Su Bahai said immediately after hearing Zhou Liangyin's insistence.
"Yes, we have silver in our hands, so shouldn't we buy whatever we want? Khan, let's buy silver."
"The Ming Dynasty also has the same difficulties as the Ming Dynasty. The Daning Guards are not enough and they are sold. How do the soldiers of the Daning Guards feel? The emperor of the Ming Dynasty cannot do this."
"Just take silver this year, and exchange for some goods at the tribute market next year. It's just useless wool."
…
Ten thousand households tried to persuade Tumen, but Tumen waved his hands slightly dejectedly and said: "Angel, let's agree on a time and place. When the time comes, the money and goods will be settled."
Tuman Khan finally chose to compromise.
Zhou Liangyin stayed in Quaning Guard for three days and met with several thousands of households. He said openly and secretly that if the households wanted to bypass Tuman Khan and do business with the Ming Dynasty, they could just send envoys to Qinglong Fort.
Zhou Liangyin doesn't have any burden of conscience when it comes to provoking people inside and outside and sowing discord. He's just here to do this. If he can divide, he will divide!
When Zhou Liangyin returned to Daning Guard, Wang Rulong, the commander-in-chief of Daning Guard, after hearing the details of Zhou Liangyin's mission, looked at Zhou Liangyin up and down, and couldn't help but said: "I really should dig out the heart, heart, and intestines of you scholars and see if they are Not black!”
"Counsellor Zhou, did you secretly read the conflict?"
Zhou Liangyin replied angrily: "I'm already on the sidelines. If you don't look at the contradictions, are you waiting for Your Majesty to take off my head and go to the underworld to look at the contradictions?"
The evaluation of Wang Rulong, a scholar, sounds like a curse.
Please give me a monthly ticket, wow! !
(End of chapter)
