Doctor of the Great Song Dynasty: In the beginning, Li Qingzhao and Li Qingzhao made a private decis

After Yelu Hongji taught him step by step, Yelu Yanxi's imperial skills became more and more mature. After the grandfather and grandson decided on a strategy to control Xixia, Yelu Yanxi stood up and left.

As soon as he returned to Taisun's mansion, Yelv Zhangnu hurriedly came to report.

"Your Highness, Grandson Qi, news came from various Jurchen tribes. Each tribe complained that the price of ginseng was too low and they were unwilling to sell ginseng."

“Complaining that ginseng prices are too low?”

Yelu Yanxi frowned.

Nowadays, it is well known that ginseng is expensive. There are rumors that the royal family of the Song Dynasty has purchased ginseng for thousands of years. In addition, doctors of the Song Dynasty used ginseng in large quantities for medicine. The price of ginseng has been rising again and again, especially the ginseng of the previous year is even more valuable. It's expensive, especially thousand-year-old ginseng, which is hard to come by, and even if you have money, you may not be able to buy it.

Although the Jurchens live among the white mountains and black waters, they are not isolated from the world. The sudden increase in the value of ginseng has naturally reached the ears of the Jurchens. However, ginseng in the Song Dynasty is very valuable, but the price of ginseng in the Jurchen land is as cheap as grass. Sitting on a treasure mountain but still living a miserable life, the Jurchens are naturally dissatisfied.

"In my opinion, the price of ginseng is too high. It's better to increase the purchase price of ginseng from various Jurchen tribes to appease the Jurchens. Anyway, it won't be much more money." Yelv Zhangnu suggested.

The price gap between Liao merchants and Song Dynasty ginseng was so great that ginseng smuggling was frequently banned, and the ginseng harvested by Liao merchants was extremely poor.

Yelu Yanxi waved his hand and said: "We must not increase the purchase price of ginseng. Once we give in, the Jurchen tribes will definitely make further progress. If we increase the price by [-]% today, we can double the price in the future. Can't we all be satisfied?"

Nowadays, ginseng accounts for a large proportion of the Song Dynasty's millions of orders. Once the profits are given to the Jurchen tribes, it will harm their interests.

"What do you think of Etai Sun?" Yelv Zhangnu asked.

Ginseng accounted for a large proportion of Song Dynasty's million-dollar orders. If they could not deliver on time, they would lose a lot of money.

"Instruct all the Jurchen tribes to strictly crack down on ginseng smuggling. Anyone who buys and sells ginseng privately will be severely punished! When no one buys the ginseng from the Jurchen tribes, the Jurchen tribes will naturally beg to sell it to us." Yelu Yanxi said coldly.

Moreover, Yelu Yanxi studied the emperor's scheming, and the price of ginseng was too expensive. Once the Jurchen tribes were allowed to control the interests of ginseng, they would probably rise rapidly, which would pose a threat to the rule of the Liao Kingdom. This was why Yelu Yanxi had been suppressing the Jurchen tribes. s reason.

Therefore, it is impossible to raise the price, and the benefits of ginseng cannot be distributed to the Jurchen tribes in any case.

"The subordinate understands!"

Yelu Zhangnu said with a ferocious expression.

As Yelu Yanxi's order was issued, the situation in Huining Prefecture and other large-scale sales centers was tense. Merchants in various Jurchen tribes were subject to the most stringent searches. Once ginseng smugglers were discovered, they were immediately severely punished.

Suddenly, the number of merchants who went to Jurchen tribes to smuggle ginseng was greatly reduced. There was only one seller of Jurchen ginseng, and that was the Liao merchant supported by Taisun Yelu Yanxi.

"What? This ginseng is at least 300 years old, and it's only worth seventy silver dollars!" Wanyan Agu said angrily in the Huining Prefecture Farm.

This is a 300-year-old ginseng. He and a group of Jurchen warriors took great risks before picking it. However, the price given by the Liao merchants was only worth seventy silver dollars. One silver dollar was only worth a hundred wen, seventy A silver dollar is equivalent to seven coins.The price is even lower than before.

The shopkeeper of Liao Shang opened his eyes and lied: "Wanyan warrior doesn't know something. The previous war between Song and Liao resulted in a large backlog of ginseng, which caused the price to drop sharply. However, for the sake of warrior Wanyan, the maximum price is 75 yuan silver coins. "

"That's nonsense. Nowadays, who doesn't know that the Song Dynasty placed an order of millions of dollars and purchased a large amount of ginseng, so how could there be a backlog of ginseng!" behind Wanyan Aguda, a strong young man yelled angrily. He was Wanyan Aguda's fourth brother. My younger brother Wu is begging for money.

The shopkeeper of Liao Shang was unmoved and said: "This is the price in Huining Prefecture."

"make a deal!"

Wanyan Aguda nodded helplessly, then handed over the 300-year-old ginseng in his hand and took the 75 yuan silver coin.

After walking out of the Liao merchant's shop, his fourth brother Wu Qimai couldn't help but said angrily: "Second brother, the Liao merchant has lowered the price so much, why do you still sell to him?"

They took great risks to find this 300-year-old ginseng. Nowadays, more and more hunters are looking for ginseng, and ginseng from previous years is becoming more and more difficult to find. It is often necessary to go to unknown and dangerous places to have a chance to obtain it.

Wanyan Aguda said helplessly: "Of course I know that the Liao merchants are lowering the price, but the Han merchants who cooperated with us have disappeared. We have no choice but to sell to the Liao merchants."

The Jurchen tribes make a living by hunting. Although the hunting tribes are brave, they are more difficult to grow than the farming and nomadic tribes because their food sources are not stable.

If the source of food is unstable, it will not be able to feed a large population. If you want to obtain daily necessities, you must trade with the outside world. Especially in winter, when food is in short supply, you must trade with Liao merchants to buy food for the winter. The tribe survives the crisis.

This is the biggest weakness of the Jurchen tribes. They must rely on the Liao Dynasty.

Wu Qimai was indignant. After walking around in Huiningzhou's market, he suddenly looked around and said mysteriously: "Second brother, does he know about the battle between Song and Liao? Why did the Liao country retreat without a fight?"

"I heard that the Song Dynasty's thousand fleets threatened Nanjing of the Liao Dynasty?" Wanyan Agu asked with a heartbeat. The Song Dynasty was the largest trading country of ginseng, so the Jurchen tribes naturally paid special attention to the news about the Song Dynasty.

Wu Qimai nodded and said: "Yes, a thousand sea ships threaten Nanjing. I heard that these ships can go to Nanyang for trade thousands of miles away, and naturally they can also come to the North Sea."

According to later investigations, Beihai is another name for Lake Baikal. In fact, the sea area east of Heilongjiang is also called Beihai.

"You mean, there are merchants from Song Dynasty who came to Beihai to trade ginseng?" Wanyan Aguda exclaimed.

Wu Qimai shook his head and said: "It's not Song merchants, there are even Korean merchants and Fusang merchants. Now Changbai Mountain ginseng is well known to the world. It is a hard currency traded with the Song Dynasty. It is naturally very popular, and it is said that the maritime merchants The purchase price is much higher than that of Liao merchants.”

Wu Qimai told him all the news he had learned.

Wanyan Aguda suddenly said excitedly: "Okay! If the Liao Dynasty can block our Jurchen land route, it will definitely not be able to block our Jurchen sea route. With the Beihai sea route, the rise of our Jurchen can only be expected."

The Jurchen tribes are sitting on the ginseng treasure mountain, but they are impoverished. The Jurchens are naturally very dissatisfied. Wanyan Aguda naturally wants to change the Jurchen status quo, and sea trade will be a good opportunity for the Jurchens to rise.

At that moment, Wanyan Aguda left Huining Prefecture and took Wu Qimai to Yongming Bay in the North Sea. Yongming Bay is the only ice-free port in the North Sea. In later generations, it also has a well-known name, Vladivostok.When Wanyan Aguda arrived at Yongming Bay, he saw a large number of ships parked on the bay.

In Yongming City, businessmen from Goryeo, Fusang, and Song Dynasty gathered. The biggest purpose of their coming here was ginseng.

Although the price of ginseng here is not as high as in the Song Dynasty, it is still within a reasonable range, and there are all kinds of goods. As long as you have ginseng, you can exchange for any goods you want.

Silk, porcelain, grain, Song Dynasty patent medicines, and even Goryeo and Fusang armors and weapons. If there are thousand-year-old ginseng, the Song Dynasty's sophisticated armor is not impossible.

Nowadays, the Song Dynasty is selling weapons in overseas countries. The armor of the Song Dynasty is not difficult to find. In a word, ginseng can be exchanged for anything.

"Second brother! I'm rich!"

Wu Qimai said excitedly when he heard the quotation from the maritime merchant.

The price quoted here is several times that of Liao merchants, and the older the ginseng is, the higher the price. The Wanyan tribe has the warrior Aguda, and they have a lot of ginseng, which is enough to exchange for a lot of money.

Wanyan Aguda looked at the prosperous ginseng trade and said calmly: "No, what the Wanyan tribe needs is not money, but weapons!"

At that moment, Wanyan Agu used half of the ginseng in his hand, bought a lot of armor and weapons, and took the rest back with him.

"Second brother, why are these ginseng not sold?" Wu Qimai asked in confusion. The prices of these maritime merchants were already extremely fair. They could not sell them directly to Song Dynasty. Now they could only sell the foundation to Liao merchants.

Wanyan Agu shook his head and said: "We will not sell it to Liao merchants, but give it to His Highness Taisun!"

"Dedicate it to His Highness the Grandson?" Wu Qimai looked at Wanyan Aguda in confusion. He could obviously earn a lot of gold and silver from maritime merchants, but Wanyan Aguda gave up his money and dedicated it to the Taisun behind the Liao merchants. Your Highness.

Wanyan Aguda sneered: "The price of ginseng purchased by maritime merchants is high, and the Jurchen tribes must come to sell it one after another, and the ginseng received by His Highness Taisun must be insufficient. But now our Jurchen tribe still relies on the Liao Dynasty, which is to exchange ginseng for No matter how much money you have, it will be in vain, so why not take the opportunity to give it to His Highness Taisun, so that my Wanyan Tribe can take a further step forward."

Wanyan Aguda thought of the cold ginseng trade in Huining Prefecture, and then looked at the prosperous ginseng trade in Yongming Bay. He could see the hidden dangers at a glance, and Wanyan Aguda found his understanding of Wanyan from this hidden danger. The best choice for the tribe.

"Second brother is wise!"

Wu Qimai was immediately impressed.

While other Jurchen tribes were thinking about how to make money from ginseng, Wanyan Aguda was thinking about how to strengthen the Wanyan tribe's military force and expand its power.

Sure enough, with the addition of maritime merchants, Liao merchants purchased less and less ginseng, which was unable to meet the Song Dynasty's demand for millions of ginseng orders.

"What? Didn't you collect the ginseng?" Yelu Yanxi said angrily.

In order to be able to collect ginseng, he had already used his connections with the imperial court to crack down on ginseng smuggling, but it had little effect. Could it be that the various Jurchen ministries wanted to spoil the ginseng?

Yelv Zhangnu said helplessly: "It is said that maritime merchants from Song, Goryeo, and Fusang purchased ginseng directly from Beihai, and the price was much higher than ours. Most of the Jurchen tribes sold ginseng to Beihai merchants."

He didn't expect those businessmen to be so cunning. When the Liao Kingdom was cracking down on ginseng smuggling on land, they actually sailed directly to the North Sea, penetrated deep into the Jurchen hinterland, and traded directly with the Jurchens. They were so pervasive.

"Sea merchant!"

Yelu Yanxi immediately gritted his teeth. At that time, Song and Liao were in confrontation, and Liao was threatened by the Song from the sea. Now, his purchase of ginseng was actually sabotaged by maritime merchants in the North Sea.

However, maritime merchants were good at pursuing profits and could sail freely on the sea. The Liao Kingdom had no navy. In addition, the North Sea was far away and the Liao Kingdom was beyond its reach. As a result, a large amount of ginseng was lost from the sea.

"Your Highness Taisun, there are maritime merchants causing trouble in Beihai. I'm afraid we won't be able to complete the million-dollar ginseng order from the Song Dynasty." Yelu Zhangnu frowned.

The Jurchen ministries are not stupid. The price of Liao merchants is low and the price of maritime merchants is high. They naturally choose to sell ginseng to maritime merchants. Moreover, maritime merchants drive sea ships with huge loading capacity. A large amount of ginseng can be transported in one transaction, and ginseng is sold every year. The output was extremely limited. Maritime merchants bought more and Liao merchants bought less.

Yelu Yanxi sneered and said: "Since the Jurchen tribes don't know how to promote themselves, I don't need to worry about the face of the Jurchen tribes. I will pass down the order to distribute the ginseng orders from the Song Dynasty according to the population of each Jurchen tribe, so that they can provide a quota of ginseng. If If it cannot be completed, then we will compensate you according to the price.”

Yelu Yanxi's price-based compensation was not based on the ginseng price of Liao merchants, but the price of ginseng of the Song Dynasty, to make up for his losses.

"Great Sun Yingming!" Yelv Zhangnu showed a hint of cruelty.

The Liao Kingdom overcame the Song and Xia Dynasties and became the most powerful country in the world, with millions of people controlling strings. However, the Jurchen tribes had a population of less than ten thousand, so naturally they would not take the little Jurchens seriously.

At that moment, Yelu Yanxi divided the orders from the Song Dynasty equally among the Jurchen tribes, which immediately aroused thousands of waves, and the Jurchen tribes were in an uproar.

They have sold all the ginseng to maritime merchants at high prices. Wherever there is excess ginseng, they will pay tribute to His Highness Taisun. They have given a punishment plan according to His Highness Taisun. If they cannot hand over the ginseng, I am afraid that they will not even sell it to sea merchants at high prices. It wouldn't be enough for Merchant Ginseng to spit out all his money.

At present, some Jurchen tribes rushed into the mountains in search of ginseng remedies, while others were in panic and asked for help from all sides, and some were indignant and prepared to fight against the Liao Kingdom.

"Second brother is wise!"

In the Wanyan tribe, Wu Qimai looked at his second brother Aguda with admiration. Among all the tribes, only the Wanyan tribe sat firmly on the Diaoyutai.

The Wanyan tribe easily completed the tribute task, which immediately impressed Yelu Yanxi. He immediately rewarded the Wanyan tribe and ordered the Wanyan tribe to attack the Jurchen tribe who dared to resist the Liao Kingdom.

Wanyan Agu was wearing armor and looked extremely heroic. He said solemnly: "The Liao Kingdom is so powerful that the Jurchens cannot fight against it. Now that the Wanyan tribe has gained the trust of the grandson, it is the opportunity for the Wanyan tribe to unify the Jurchens. Only the Jurchens are one." , and with the financial source of ginseng, the Jurchens can prosper."

Now Wanyan Aguda was ordered to go on an expedition. For the tribes he was close to, he used the ginseng in his hands to help them tide over the difficulties. For the hostile tribes, Wanyan Aguda united with the tribes he was close to to fight against them.

In a short period of time, the Wanyan tribe had the momentum to unify the Jurchen tribe. (End of chapter)