Cao Sengnu smiled and said: "Wang joined the army and became an official in the Tang Dynasty. The most important thing is to reach the heaven to listen. This General Renshou is a popular figure in the two capitals. As long as he takes the place of any banquet or hunting trip, As soon as you open your mouth, your name will ring in the emperor's ears for as little as three days or as many as five days. Do you think this is awesome?"
"So, this General Renshou is really talented in both civil and military affairs!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "People must ask for something when they are polite, so why did you spend so much effort and money to see him?"
"Temple thing!"
"About the temple?"
"Yes, Wang Shenjun should know that his uncle was a Hu Shang from Zhaowu. Zhaowu was originally located in the north of Qilian Mountains. He was driven away by the Xiongnu during the Han Dynasty and had to move westward. Later, the princes were divided into kings, including Kang, An, Cao, Shi and Mi. The nine surnames such as , Shi, He, and Mu all have the surname Zhaowu, and each established their own country. And the surname Cao is one of these nine surnames!"
"Oh? So your family is also a descendant of a prince?"
"Wang Shenjun was joking. The whole country in my country has the surname Cao. How can there be so many children of princes? Besides, my family has been in the Central Plains for five generations. Even if my ancestors are really of princely blood, it has already faded away today!"
Cao Sengnu smiled and said: "It's just that most of us Zhaowu people believe in Zoroastrianism. We have a Zoroastrian temple in Chang'an, but someone secretly framed us and asked the court to order the temple to be destroyed and banned. That's why we want to befriend that noble man!"
"Just to say a word to the Zoroastrian Temple for Jin Renwen? Are you willing to spend so much effort?"
"Wang Canjun, you don't know something. We Zhaowu people are mostly engaged in business. Whenever we go to a place, we first go to the local Zoroastrian temple to inquire about the news. We can't live without the Zoroastrian temple for lodging, storing property, and encountering lawsuits! If the temple is ruined, how can we Zhaowu people survive?"
It turns out that the Cao family is not Han Chinese in the Central Plains, but Hu Shang, a member of the ninth family of Zhaowu, that is, Sogdian. These Sogdians originally lived in the area from Zhangye to Dunhuang in northwest my country and were called Yuezhi people. During the Western Han Dynasty, the Yuezhi people were defeated by the Huns and had to move westward and fled to the Amu Darya River Basin in Central Asia. Because of its geographical location at the crossroads of the east-west and north-south arteries of the Silk Road, the Sogdians were mostly engaged in business and were a famous commercial nation.
Starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of Sogdian merchants moved to the Central Plains through trade routes. There were settlements in cities around the trade routes such as Chang'an, Taiyuan, Luoyang, and Hexi towns. Since most Sogdian people believe in Zoroastrianism, there are also Zoroastrian followers in these cities. temple.
According to records from the Tang Dynasty, in these Zoroastrian temples, "Shanghu people prayed for blessings, cooked pigs and sheep, played pipa, drums and flutes, sang and danced drunkenly." However, in fact, in addition to religious sacrifices, these Zoroastrian temples were also responsible for exchanging information, mailing letters, and Social and economic functions such as storing property, hosting funerals, acting as judicial agents, and even mailing payments. For the Sogdians who are mainly engaged in business, these temples also function as exchanges, banks, lawyers, business stations, etc. Once destroyed, , the business network on which it relies for survival will suffer a devastating blow. Therefore, it is not surprising that once there are rumors of the destruction of the Zoroastrian Temple, they will run around looking for channels that can lead directly to the upper level to defend the temple.
"If that makes sense, I would like to ask, how much money are you willing to give for this Zoroastrian Temple?"
"Other people don't know, but if it were our Cao family, we would not hesitate to destroy the family and defend the temple!"
"Destroy the family and defend the temple?" Wang Wenzuo looked at Cao Sengnu in confusion. Businessmen value money most. Isn't this guy talking big?
Cao Sengnu saw Wang Wenzuo's thoughts and said solemnly: "Wang Canjun, in my opinion, no matter how much gold, silver, silk and silk are used, the more you use them, the more you use them. If you can save the Zoroastrian Temple, one hundred thousand You can get all the golden beads with just a piece of paper, so why bother about those tangible things?"
"Talent!" Wang Wenzuo looked at Cao Sennu in surprise. Wasn't what he said just now the prototype of credit currency? Since these Zoroastrian temples have the function of storing property and mailing letters, the next step forward is to issue money orders, and the one step further forward is to issue banknotes, and banknotes are one step away from credit currency.
No wonder some people say that long-distance trade is the mother of finance. Indeed, in ancient society, only long-distance trade had the characteristics of large capital, high profits, high risks, long time, and long distances. Finance was needed to share risks and raise funds. Compared with the Han people who have always valued agriculture over commerce, these Sogdians do have innate advantages in the financial industry.
"Brother Cao values righteousness over profit, Wang is very impressed!" Wang Wenzuo grabbed Cao Sengnu's arm: "You want to meet General Renshou, right? Everything is covered by me!"
After saying that, he immediately took out a pen and paper and wrote a thousand words eloquently, saying many good things for Cao Monk and Nu. He also praised the Zoroastrian Temple for helping the poor, advocating good and punishing evil, and destroying it would cause hundreds of harms but no benefit. Finally, he signed his name , and then took off the precious sword that Jin Renwen gave to him, and handed it to Cao Sengnu: "This sword is a gift from General Renshou. If you take this sword with you, he will know it as soon as he sees it!"
"Yes, yes, thank you Wang Wenzuo for joining the army!" Cao Sengnu quickly took the sword and letter, and looked at Wang Wenzuo with surprise and suspicion. This time he went to see Jin Renwen, but he didn't want him to live in seclusion and Dumen didn't see visitors. Later, he learned about Wang Wenzuo's line from his uncle, so he thought about giving it a try, but he didn't expect that the other party would be so enthusiastic. Even the sword given by Jin Renwen was given to him, which made him a little scared.
"You're welcome. I won't hide it from you. I'm also quite interested in this merchant business. We should still get closer and closer in the future!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.
"Ah?" Cao Sennu opened his mouth wide, and was secretly vigilant. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, all Chinese dynasties have regarded merchants as a despicable industry. This is also the reason why Sogdian merchants can develop so smoothly in the Central Plains. In Cao Sennu's view, Come on, if officials like Wang Wenzuo who are "born from a noble family" are interested in merchant affairs, they are probably people like Shi Chong who block roads and rob and take advantage of them. Wang Wenzuo was so excited that he didn't notice Cao Sennu's thoughts at all.
"Grape, I mean sycamore, you should know that, right?"
"Of course I know, but I don't know why Wang Canjun said this?"
"This grape is a good thing. The wine produced has a unique flavor that cannot be matched by other wines. People from the Tang Dynasty, Baekje, Goguryeo, Mohe and Japanese all like it. By the way, Cao Sheer, do you like it?"
"It's not bad?"
"Just okay?"
"No, no? I like it, I like it very much!" Cao Sengnu responded quickly. He didn't know why Wang Wenzuo suddenly brought the topic to wine, but he had just done him a big favor, so he couldn't help but flatter him.
"Cao Sheer, let me ask you, what is the most important thing in this business?"
Lewen
