Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1368 Booty

"This cloth... is only worth 280 yuan." Outside Shangshanfang, a charcoal merchant touched the silk in his hand and said immediately.

After a few months, some spoils from Khitan had flowed back to Luoyang, and a large part of them was tussah silk, that is, silk woven from tussah silk.

"280 yuan? Why don't you grab it?" the middle-aged man who looked like a servant said angrily.

280 yuan a piece, which is also a poor grade among miscellaneous silk.But in his opinion, the quality of this cloth is not bad. Although it is not soft enough and the color is not pure enough, it cannot be regarded as inferior miscellaneous silk.

"I don't know where this silk came from. I've been in business for so many years, but I've never seen it before. To put it bluntly, isn't silk still worthless? It's not some brocade, right?" The merchant asked carefully. After reading it again, he insisted: "The maximum is 290 yuan. If it is too much, I am afraid of losing money. If you go to another house to have a look, I dare not accept it."

Such things as Fanjin do exist.The most common ones are the brocades brought from Persia by Hu merchants from the Western Regions, and the other ones are Korean brocades and the like.Persian brocade is relatively thick and tough, and is not very popular with Central Plains merchants. In terms of silk texture, Gaoli brocade is not much different from Central Plains. The difference is in craftsmanship and techniques, that is, the technical gap has lowered the price of Gaoli brocade.

In addition, there are actually some silks that merchants have never heard of.For example, in history, there were wild silkworms in Punjab and Kashmir in India, but they had not been domesticated.This kind of silkworm also spins silk, but its texture is thicker. Local people use this kind of Punjab raw silk to weave satin, which is generally famous.

There are more than one species of silkworm in Persia, which may be close relatives to the Punjab wild silkworm. The texture of silk is thicker, and the texture of satin is tough.

Vietnam also has native silkworms, which also produce silk.

These local small silkworm eggs and small silk failed to shine so brightly that silk has almost become synonymous with China. To put it bluntly, it is still related to size and craftsmanship.

The size of our own country is small and cannot meet the large needs of businessmen.For example, the horses in the former Tang Dynasty and Uyghur exported 400 million pieces of silk a year at most.Such a huge transaction volume was actually eaten up by Hu merchants in the Western Regions (the Uighurs resold it), which shows that the scale of production is very important for brand building.

The production process is also very important.Silkworms need to be domesticated and bred so that the silk they spit out perfectly meets people's needs. Wild silkworms are definitely not good, and they have never been bred, so the quality is definitely not good.Textile technology and aesthetic level need the blessing of civilization, which is difficult for small countries to do.

Therefore, don't blame Fan Jin for being discriminated against. It is true that there are deficiencies in all aspects.

"This is the booty obtained by the iron cavalry army from conquest of Khitan, and the Khitan people robbed Bohai goods." The young man said, "My master fought in Liaoze and made many achievements in battle. The rewards he got are not of unknown origin. Silk."

The merchant was in awe when he heard this, and asked, "What is the name of your master?"

"Iron Cavalry Li Shaorong, have you heard of it?" the servant asked proudly.

The merchant shook his head and said, "I haven't heard of it, and I'm not a general anymore. Is Xu Hao as good as him?"

The smile on the boy's face froze a little, and he argued, "My general cut down the general and captured the flag, but he is no worse than Xu Hao. You are so ignorant."

The merchant pushed him away impatiently, and said: "Don't hinder me from doing business. Who is Li Shaorong? My father and brother are both members of the Tielin Army. I have heard them mention General Xu beheading generals and killing enemies since I was a child. Missed. When Li Shaorong saw such a hero, he would kneel down and call him father."

"Okay, okay, Xu Hao is amazing." The little boy swallowed a sigh of relief, and said: "290 yuan is 290 yuan, I am unlucky."

The merchant smiled, put away the tussah silk, and said, "Three hundred dollars for you. Since Li Shaorong went to fight Khitan, he is also a good man. If he can get rewards, he should not be bad, so I will count you ten more." Money."

After finishing speaking, he directed his nephew to weigh the charcoal.

The boy didn't expect such a turning point, he was surprised and asked, "Why are you willing to count more money?"

"Why are you talking so much nonsense?" The merchant gave him a blank look, and said, "Your accent is also from Kansai, where is your hometown?"

"It's from Xinqin in Linzhou."

"I'm from Changze in the prefecture." The merchant said, "You will benefit from being a servant in the house of the general of the imperial army. I can do business in Shangshanfang because of the care of my father and brother in the past. Now this How is the life compared to that in Guanbei?"

Shangshanfang is a place where dignitaries and dignitaries gather, and Princess Huile Shao Guoer lives here.

"It's so much better." The little servant seemed to be lost in memory, and said: "In the past, the Tuoba clan of Youzhou and the Zhe clan of Linzhou were at odds with each other, and they fought for control of the Dangxiang tribe. They fought twice in three days. .My father, my brother, and even when I was 15 years old, all went to battle. I don’t see meat a few times throughout the year, and it’s good to eat some brown rice. I don’t want to live that day again.”

The merchant nodded and said, "That's right. The ten cents are extravagant for the sake of the saint's great victory in the Northern Expedition. The saint keeps winning battles, keeps winning, and wins to the end. Only then can we live a good life. If another group of people enter Luoyang, you and I will have to pack up and leave."

The little servant was concerned, and said: "You are right. My youngest son danced with guns and sticks since he was a child, and I sent him to the Shanzhou Academy a while ago. General Li heard about it, encouraged him personally, and gave Zhang Liang a bow We Kansai people have to rely on ourselves for a good life."

While the two were talking, the charcoal had already been weighed.

The boy asked them to move into the donkey cart, and after saying goodbye, he drove away.

The merchant took a closer look at the bundle of silk and was amazed.

"The silk is not very good, but since it is obtained from the battle, it is extraordinary." He said, "You can be a trouser slave when you go back."

"Grandpa, I heard that the most valuable items in Khitan are fur goods, but I don't know what the top-quality leather clothes look like." A black-faced young man bared his white teeth and said.

"Fur? Then we have to go to Nanshi to have a look." The merchant sat down and said.

******
In the Changxia Commercial Firm in Nanshi, a batch of furs has just been launched.

The servants of the commercial firm spattered their saliva and tried their best to promote it, emphasizing that it was made of ermine fur, civet cat (leopard cat) skin, and marten fur seized from Khitan by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This selling point is not bad, and it has attracted some people to buy it. About seven or eight pieces have been sold, but it is still less than expected.

Maybe it's because it's expensive and ordinary people can't afford it, or maybe it's because of other reasons.

"In the pre-Qin period, there were many fur clothes. Many of the crown clothes in the "Book of Rites" were fur clothes. Why don't people love Qiu Ye?" Zhao Kuangming asked after wandering around the Changxia Commercial Firm.

"Before the Anshi Rebellion, there were quite a few. Daqiu Mian was made of black lambskin, but it was changed during Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty." Yao Ji said.

"Why change?"

"Xuanzong loves to enjoy. The big Qiu Mian is too thick, too heavy, and too hot, so he doesn't like to wear it."

Zhao Kuangming smiled, which really fit Xuanzong's temperament.

"Will the big Qiu Mian made of leather be restored today?" Zhao Kuangming asked.

Yao Ji thought about it for a while, and said: "It will definitely."

"Why?"

"I heard a piece of news, which is not true." Yao Ji said: "There are rumors in Luoyang that the sage doesn't really like to eat sea fish, kelp, whale meat and the like. Every time he gets this food, he will give more to his subordinates and soldiers. But he In order to get people into the sea, they pretended to like to eat to drive the trend. According to the middle-aged people who went out to buy in the palace, the sage prefers to eat mutton, beef, and venison."

Zhao Kuangming laughed again, and sighed after laughing: "The saint is really ruthless, he is ruthless to others, and he is also ruthless to himself."

"The sage's Northern Expedition to Khitan and Bohai, he won successive victories. Looking at what the Ministry of Internal Affairs has done, I'm afraid fur furs will become popular in the future." Yao Ji said.

"During the Northern Dynasties, were there many people in fur coats?"

"Not a lot." Yao Ji said, "There are more in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and less in the Later Zhou Dynasty. Even Nanchen, there are people who wear furs. One of Emperor Wendi Chen's dragon robes is a fur suit."

In fact, at the beginning, people in the Central Plains did not shy away from furs.Because human beings used wild animal skins as clothes at first, "Book of Rites" also recorded a large number of fur clothing specifications of various grades.

However, since the Western Han Dynasty, the leather clothing has gradually become "Hu Feng" due to repeated fights with the Xiongnu.Because Hu people only wear this, a stereotype gradually formed, which greatly reduced the number of leather clothes in the Central Plains.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the fur style picked up and continued until the Anshi Rebellion.

Before this time point, there were still a lot of leather clothes in the Central Plains, at least more than in the Han Dynasty.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the common people did not resist fur clothing much, but Confucian scholars began to resist in large numbers. They had the right to speak and belittled the status of fur clothing.

However, since it was the period when Wufu was in power, this kind of resistance was not complete.Taking Tang and Xia soldiers as examples, the edges of military uniforms were often decorated with fur.For example, in the murals of the tomb of Princess Changle in the Tang Dynasty, a circle of fur is added to the lower edge of the sergeant's skirt armor, which is called "animal skin battle skirt".

In addition, there are so many Fan soldiers, they don't care about anything, even those who wear animal skin pants.The most amazing thing is that in the tombs unearthed in later generations, there are still people wearing sexy leopard leather pants.

But in the Song Dynasty, the status of leather clothing plummeted to the point where people would be scolded for wearing it.

"One day, (Xu Xuan) saw that his son-in-law was also covered by Mao Qiu, and said to him: "Wu Lang is a high-ranking man, can you follow this?" Gentlemen who have practiced are not convinced.'”

This is Seo Hyun scolding his son-in-law.

"China and North Korea have been cunning and chaotic since the beginning, and their winds have not been governed, and the lotus felt is covered with bamboo. It is really annoying and has disciples."

This is Seo Hyun scolding his colleagues.

It can be seen from this that Shao Shude's initial worry was justified, that is, people in the Central Plains had a bit of a stereotype about leather clothes, thinking that they were the clothes of Hu people.

But it can also be seen that at least in the early Northern Song Dynasty, because of the cold weather, many officials in the upper dynasty still wore furs.It's just that as time went by, the scholars in the Northern Song Dynasty became more and more sensitive, and more and more people held the same idea as Xu Xuan, which gradually caused the decline of leather clothes, and finally completely equated with the barbarians, and disappeared from the upper class.

In fact, there is no need, it is just a piece of clothing, and the leather clothing worn by the Central Plains people in the pre-Qin period was much older.

"Since selling fish, the sage wants to sell leather clothes again. The clothes made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs are really amazing." Zhao Kuangming said with a smile: "Then—"

"How many more?" Yao Ji asked with a smile.

"Buy!" Zhao Kuangming laughed loudly, and said, "If you eat hu biscuits every day, you won't be able to wear hu clothes?"

After speaking, he asked his attendants to bring money and silk, and bought all those ermine coats.

"This fur is not bad, it's warm and pretty." Zhao Kuangming put on one on the spot and wondered, "How can it fit my size?"

"This is ready-to-wear." Yao Ji said: "Changxia Commercial House makes a few grades of clothing. A burly man can buy grade A clothes, and grade B is just right for the yamen."

"So that's how it is." Zhao Kuangming said, "Let's buy some skins too. It's cold in winter, so I can make some for my family when I go back."

Yao Ji laughed and said: "If the people in the Central Plains are like the yamen, why would the Khitan kill them? Just selling leather goods can make a lot of money for the headmen, and the shepherds can share some soup and water. What is it?"

Zhao Kuangming seems to have realized something.

"In recent years, Hetao honey has been popular in Kansai and Henan, and some even sell it to Xiangyang and Jiangling." I only heard him say: "Sugar production in Canzhou and Rouzhou is not uncommon in Luoyang. If you count wool and leather Qiu Yinshan and Dai Beifan have made a lot of money, no wonder they are so honest."

Yao Ji nodded and said: "Fan people join the army, they can be rewarded for their meritorious service, they can be ennobled and become officials, and they also sell woolen cloth, honey, brown sugar, leather goods, livestock, etc. Restricted, there is no bargaining place that is closed from time to time, and grassland herdsmen don't have to be brutally slaughtered when they buy goods, and life is indeed much easier. If this continues, I'm afraid they will be raised and abandoned."

"Is this the sage's art of war against the grassland?" Zhao Kuangming asked.

"Supreme Art of War." Yao Ji nodded affirmatively.

(End of this chapter)