stubborn thief

Chapter 248 Lion Ticket

Since the beginning of spring in the fourth year of Chongzhen, the news that Liu Chengzong, the former Qinghai propaganda envoy, opened the market in Juerwan seemed to have grown four legs, and spread throughout Amdo with the spring breeze.

There are countless Fanmin and herdsmen who come from all over the world every day, but most of them just come to inquire about the news, and their leaders are still watching.

The first order from Juerwan City came from the Seventh Department of Riyue Mountain. Gongbu Dorji exchanged four hundred catties of gunpowder for fourteen military heavy-covered boiling water pots of the Lion Army.

Ordinary pots boil water early here. To solve this problem, Liu Chengzong entrusted the craftsmen of Chieftain Chen to thicken the walls of the pot and cast a heavy lid, so as to achieve the effect of a simple pressure cooker and heat the water.

Liu Shizi was reluctant to deal with this deal...it basically didn't make any money.

It was entirely because Gonpo Dorji heard that they were short of gunpowder, so he bought a few hundred catties, and then gave each leader of the Seven Divisions of Riyue Mountain two iron pots at the cost price.

The gunpowder was prepared very well, and Liu Shizi hoped that Gongbu Dorji would not mix it in the future.

For this matter, Liu Chengzong specifically asked Chen Shifo to change the quotation, replacing the gunpowder on it with nitrate and sulfur.

The proportion of gunpowder used in the Seven Divisions of Riyue Mountain is the proportion of gunpowder used by Liu Ji in the third year of Hongwu.

The proportion is not much different from the proportion of Qi Jiguang gunpowder that passed through Jiubian in the Wanli year. The main problem is that the purification process of nitrate is a little bit poor and the purity is not enough.

So in theory, at least it is necessary to increase the proportion of nitrate to [-]% and increase the amount of charge to achieve the properties of normal gunpowder.

If the nitrate is sent, even if the purity is not enough, the gunpowder craftsman of the Lion Army can solve it; but if the sent gunpowder has been prepared, it is difficult to handle.

But Cao Yao has a solution.

He asked Shicheng to make this batch of gunpowder into a powder bag for the lion cannon, which was used to empty the cannon.

Empty cannons were a common tactic used by the artillery of the Ming army. Before the enemy entered the range of range, empty cannons were fired at the enemy to trick the enemy into taking advantage of the reloading time to quickly engage in battle, and then fired live ammunition to injure them severely.

With the opening of Juerwan, the status of the chieftain of the Chen family in Xining has also risen.

There was no other reason, because Liu Chengzong's military craftsmen had no time to cast iron pots, and Chieftain Chen's site was close to the iron smelting field, so the task of casting iron pots was outsourced to Chen Shiwen at Chen Shifo's suggestion.

Chieftain Chen of Xining is happily driving a team of yaks to deliver a new batch of iron pots along the Huangshui River towards Juerwan.

Juerwan is bounded by hundreds of households and has two markets.

The west side of the market faces Western Fans and Mongolia, and the east side of the market faces Xining chieftains and Han people.

In order to deliver goods to Liu Shizi, Chieftain Chen and Chieftain A of Nianbo's office went all out.

The brigade, led by two Tuqian chiefs and four Tuqian chiefs behind them, led 50 horse and infantry, charged fifty yaks, [-] iron pots, and [-] axes, and escorted chariots in a hurry.

Chen Shiwen went straight to the Baihu House in Juerwan, and when he saw his second brother Chen Shifo who was welcoming him, he was not in a hurry to hand over the pots, but just pulled him aside and asked eagerly, "Are you sure, these batches of pots can be exchanged for 600 yuan?" Taels? I borrowed 150 taels from Tusi Li to rush to make this batch of iron pots."

Seeing that his brother was anxious, Chen Shifo felt secretly happy.

He imitated his elder brother in the past, put on the airs of a native official, took two steps, turned around and asked, "How much do you want?"

"Three cents per month, for a period of one year. You can't pay it back early, and you will pay two hundred and forty taels next year."

To be honest, Chen Shiwen has never done such a thing. For a long time, they have believed in being diligent and thrifty in housekeeping, keeping a steady flow of water, and not swollen faces to pretend to be fat.

Anyway, they are chieftains who live together with heaven and earth, there are them when there is Da Ming, as long as you know the current affairs, they will still be there when Da Ming is gone.

One generation spends the money of one generation, and the next generation will always have the money of the next generation.

Only this time, when Liu Shizi entered Qinghai, his second brother kept persuading him, which made Chen Shiwen want to give it a go.

These iron pots were not easily made by Chen Shiwen's family. According to their production capacity, they could make more than a hundred iron pots. The rest were made by craftsmen who borrowed money from Chieftain Li and hired Chieftain Li.

Many chieftains in Xining have their own choices in this matter.

Some people have the ability but don't want to get involved, and some people don't have the ability but want to get involved, thus forming such a strange situation.

The little chieftains couldn't wait to become suppliers of the Juerwan Commercial City, while the big chieftain was worried that Liu Chengzong would blackmail them with force, so he took advantage of the opportunity to lend money to the little chieftains to join this feast of handicrafts.

Anyway, even if Liu Chengzong doesn't give money to the little chieftains, the little chieftains can't default on their arrears.

The chieftain A who came from Nianbo was in the same situation as Chen Shiwen, the only difference was that the chieftain of the Chen family provided heavy cast iron pots, while the chieftain of the A family provided axes with wrought iron embedded steel.

Chen Shifu calculated the principal and interest in his heart, waved his hands and said: "It's okay, enough is enough, brother, you send the iron pot to the Baihu Office, and the third master's people will inspect the goods there. After the inspection, don't ask for silver, but for lion tickets."

"Lion ticket?"

"Yes, the marshal asked the third master to bring the flower tickets made by the weavers. They can be used as money in Juerwan. They are divided into denominations of 16 taels, eight taels, one tael, five dollars, and one dollar, which are equivalent to silver. One tael Exchange one or two."

The third master Chen Shifo said was Chengyun.

Chen Shiwen was puzzled and asked: "Since one tael is exchanged for one tael, why trade it?"

"You can't buy things in the east market if you don't change them. The east and west cities only accept lion tickets. What's the cost of this batch of iron pots?"

Chieftain Chen said, "Two coins per mouth."

"That's fine. If you exchange it for silver and go back, it's 300 taels, and you can only earn 60 taels. After paying back the interest, you can only earn [-] taels."

Chieftain Chen felt... Wasn't that the case?
His chieftain's yamen earns only a few dozen taels a year, and he can earn 60 taels on this trip. When he goes back, he will continue to make iron pots, which will last ten years in one year.

Unexpectedly, the second brother shook his head and said: "But if you change to the lion ticket, you can buy more than 900 sheep in Dongshi and go back. In Xining, a sheep costs five yuan, and it costs 450 taels to go back."

Chen Shiwen stared wide-eyed. How could he earn more than 200 taels for this trip?

"But you have to act fast, while there are still sheep in Dongshi."

Hearing this, Chen Shiwen hurriedly asked the soldiers to lead people to the Hundred Households in Juerwan, and he also planned to say goodbye to his second brother, but after taking two steps, he still couldn't suppress his curiosity, and asked instead: "Master Buddha, can you Tell the elder brother, handsome, how much does it sell for an iron pot?"

Chen Shifu smiled: "Brother, I can't say this, you should hurry up and buy sheep, and don't tell others if you make money... Let me tell you, if the price of sheep in Xining falls in the future, you won't be able to make money."

Don't look at Chen Shifo talking to his family here, as if he has a high position in the Lion Army.

But he himself knew very well that he was an interpreter.

So he did what Liu Chengzong asked him to do; he never dared to do what he was not asked to do.

Besides, he couldn't say anything about it.

Gonpo Dorji of Riyue Mountain exchanged [-] catties of gunpowder for [-] iron pots capable of boiling water. Although the quality of the gunpowder sent was a little inferior, it was still worth two or four per hundred catties.

The marshal said that it was already the cost price of the iron pot, and the cost of a pot was six cents and eight cents... But the Chen family brothers knew very well that the production cost of the iron pot was two cents, and the cost of the iron pot was two cents for the commander-in-chief. Five cents.

Not to mention that one or two lion tickets in the west can buy five sheep, and one or two lion tickets in the east can buy three sheep.

It's just opening a robbery shop, what's there to say about this thing.

Chieftain Chen nodded to show that he understood, and then asked, "Can we sell pot directly in West Market?"

"It can't be sold. The East and West cities are directly managed by the third master. No one can sell things there. They can only exchange things for lion tickets."

Master Chen smiled, and didn't say any more to his brother.

Why is this called the Qinghai Xuanwei Envoy, just like those chieftains in Xining, they also have a monopoly.

However, what is monopolized here is all the smuggling business on the border, and it has been made public.

From Juerwan to Xiningwei, there are all Liu Shizi's people, and there will be no smuggling here from now on.

Liu Chengzong was also at the market.

But he wasn't in the East Market, he was shopping with Bai Yan Taiji and Dai Qing in the West Market.

To put it bluntly, Taiji is so attractive. When he was walking in the market, he wanted everything, and he kept praising Liu Shizi.

"This knife only needs a lion ticket? Fair, fair!"

On the contrary, Dai Qing almost meant it. The leader who came from Mobei was not as poor as Bai Yantaiji, but on the other hand he was not as rich as Baiyan Taiji in livestock.

Therefore, Dai Qing was basically reluctant to buy anything in the market, and he looked at Bai Yan Taiji as if he was looking at a big fool.

What did Dai Qing say? Chen Qindai, who brought him here, didn't even translate for him.

But in fact, there is no need to translate. Dai Qing’s biggest doubt is that Chen Qindai is talking about five hundred Han soldiers... On the west side of Danjuerwan, he saw thousands of Han soldiers when he came over.

Liu Shizi asked, "What is this guy mumbling about?"

Before Chen Qindai could say anything, Taiji pouted his lips and said in a bad way that he learned last winter: "Don't pay attention to him, the commander-in-chief, he'll just complain... He doesn't even look at what this place is, where can I buy it?" to such a good thing."

I don't think these things are expensive, on the contrary.

If it weren't for the fact that the productivity of the Lion Army's equipment has not been improved, it is said that Taiji is very willing to take out all the livestock, storm a wave of equipment in Liu Shizi, directly change the troops, and turn around and kill Dai Qing.

Now that Liu Chengzong has approved his request to be stationed in Muhaibei, only Dai Qing is the stumbling block in front of him.

Their tribes are all herdsmen, and the grazing land in Haibei is just that big.

There are many people in Baiyan's department and good equipment in Daiqing's department, so if Daiqing doesn't go to other places, sooner or later the two families will go to war for robbing the pasture.

"You have also seen the things. The quality is the same. Bows, arrows, waist knives are all weapons made by the guards. The cotton armor without armor in the guards is the same price as the knife. The sleeveless cotton armor with armor is more expensive. Eight taels of lion tickets."

Liu Chengzong smiled and introduced the price of weapons and equipment to the two of them one by one: "A full set of cotton armor costs 20 taels. Take a look, and then buy some daily necessities in the tribe, not weapons and armor."

After hearing this, Taiji was not happy: "Marshal, what do you mean, don't sell it to me? This is too uninteresting. I plan to ask Razun to come here to buy things. Many people will come!"

"It's not for sale." Liu Chengzong shook his head with a smile, and raised a finger: "Go to a battle with me. You send troops and bring your own food. When you come back, for every two people who have weapons and ride horses, I will give one or two." Lion ticket."

"Injured, one tael per person; unfortunately killed, two taels to the family."

Yan Yan calculated in his heart that if he sent two thousand soldiers, he would be able to make a guaranteed profit of 500 taels of lion tickets, which would be equivalent to [-] head of livestock.

If they are all dead, then there will be two... Thinking of this, he quickly stopped talking, shook his head one after another, and cursed himself for being a fool.

Appropriate, so appropriate.

"Going to war with the court?"

Saying that Taiji is gearing up: "I have long wanted to break into Xining!"

Unexpectedly, Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said, "It's not Xining, it's Baili. Do you know the place?"

"Malcon?"

Bai Yan suddenly realized that although he still didn't know how Dunyue Dorji provoked Liu Chengzong, he knew very well that Liu Chengzong took his people to fight in his heart.

plateau.

Thinking of this, Bai Yan chuckled and glanced at Dai Qing: "Marshal, then don't take this kid, he only has 800 people, and he has never been to Wei Zang, they can't... How many people do you want, I will give you Get it together!"

Seeing that he agreed so readily, Liu Chengzong was taken aback for a moment.

He thought that Bai Yan might be willing to send soldiers, but he didn't expect soldiers to be so easy to recruit, so he simply waved his hands and said: "Three thousand, but this is not for everyone, I have a request."

Hearing this number, Bai Yan was even happier.

There are three thousand shepherds in his tribe, isn't this job tailor-made for him?
Immediately, he took care of everything: "Marshal, these 3000 people are all on me! Just ask for anything."

Liu Chengzong said with a smile: "I can't loot on the road, can I do it?"

As soon as these words came out, Bai Yan's face became ugly.

"Don't let the looting... Marshal, I can let the people go to fight." Pretending to be apologetic: "But it's too difficult not to be looted, what should I eat?"

Liu Chengzong was still smiling and didn't speak.

He knew very well what the Mongolian army next to Ming Dynasty looked like in this era.

They are all poor and crazy, and it is impossible to fight without looting, and even the biggest motivation for fighting is looting.

Because of this, on the surface it seems that poverty only affects their living conditions, but in fact it also affects their combat effectiveness.

Bai Yan suddenly said: "Marshal, let's not loot on the way, but go and grab Dunyue Duoji, okay?"

Before Liu Chengzong could speak, he said, "If it's not enough to grab Dunyue Dorji, then I have to go to Tibet to grab Zangba after fighting Dunyue Dorji."

Liu Chengzong looked at Bai Yan with complicated eyes, he was very envious.

Envious of Bai Yan, the Qinghai-Tibet area seems to be as easy as walking on flat ground.

For him, taking Xining as the center, leading the army to advance southward to Yushu and westward to Hami was almost the farthest place he could think of, and he could go to the farthest place.

After Dai Qing said something, Chen Qindai said: "Commander, if Dai Qing said he would go to Tibet, he would go too."

"La Zun will also go, haha, Commander, can we have more people?"

The more I think about it, the happier I am. If we organize a war to enter Tibet, Lazun and Guru may reconcile in the war: "Six thousand, six thousand troops, the commander-in-chief doesn't care about others, give me lion tickets for 2000 people Just do it."

"Our brother will help you clean up Dunyue Dorji, and the commander will help us enter Tibet."

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)