I studied in modern times

Chapter 743 Yelu Hongji: Please call me Xunzong!

Xing Shu acted very quickly and came to report the next day, saying that he had reached an agreement with the Liao people to increase the amount of Jiaozi by one million strings of cash.

Just wait for the Liao people to complete the delivery of the silver at the border.

The Song Dynasty will execute it immediately!

After the Liao people received the purchasing quota of one million strings of cash, they immediately started buying again.

But the main purchasing directions are concentrated on silk cloth, satin and tea.

Luxury goods, which were popular last year, have become a secondary trend.

Zhao Xu learned through Xing Shu that the Liao people had changed their purchasing direction.

His heart was touched.

So, a task was immediately given to Xing Shu.

After Xing Shu received the imperial decree, he immediately went back to carry it out.

Less than a day later, on the next morning, Xing Shu came to report, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission. The Liao envoy has fully agreed..."

"They even hope that Your Majesty can raise the price of cloth a little bit!"

Zhao Xu was naturally willing to follow suit: "I'll leave this matter to you, my dear minister!"

"As long as they are not too outrageous, the Liao people's conditions can all be agreed to!"

The thing he sent Xing Shu to do was to sell silk cloth.

But it is not the silk cloth on the market.

Instead, it was the silk cloth from the Fengzhuang Treasury left to him by his father.

To be precise, they are the old cloths in the 32 warehouses of Xining.

The youngest piece of cloth is as old as Zhao Xu.

As we all know, commodities like cloth, no matter how well they are preserved, will have various problems as time goes by.

For example, insect bites, decay, etc.

What's more, the storage conditions in the sealed pile warehouse are not very good.

However, Zhao Xu's father was a miser when it came to money.

It's almost like only going in and not going out!

During his reign, his Fengzhuang Treasury was only opened during the Five-Way War against Xia and the Battle of Yongle City, when large amounts of money were injected into the Ministry of Revenue.

The rest of the time, he was like a wealthy country landlord, holding on tightly to his sealed pile vault.

The gold, silver, copper coins, ivory and other things in the sealed warehouse are fine.

Things like tea and silk cloth would suffer huge losses.

Anyway, after Zhao Xu ascended the throne, he counted the treasures in Fengzhuang Ku several times.

Hundreds of thousands of pieces of silk cloth alone were found to be completely unusable and had to be thrown away and destroyed.

Hundreds of thousands of pieces of inferior and second-rate cloth were also found.

Most of them were sealed in the Xining period.

Zhao Xu was really troubled by these cloths.

Destroy it? But I can’t bear to do that.

Sell ​​it? If you don’t offer a discount or a floor price, it won’t sell at all!
Of course, he could actually choose to distribute the cloth to the soldiers in the inner counties as rewards or military pay.

For example, the Xuanyi Army in various places and the canal soldiers on Caohe River.

Even if these people get inferior or second-rate cloth, and the goods do not match the orders, they can only suffer the loss in silence.

Could it be possible that they could rebel?

Given the weak performance of the Xiang Army and Xuan Yi Army in various places, Zhao Xu could easily transfer a troop from Shaanxi to crush them with a crushing blow!

But in the end, Zhao Xu did not do so.

This is not because he has a change of heart.

Rather, now is the time for him to cultivate the market (cultivate leeks).

You can't lose the big because of the small!

Moreover……

As the emperor, he could certainly force the soldiers to wear inferior cloth as good cloth.

But the Song Dynasty's soldiers also have their own ways of dealing with the situation.

If they can’t fight against the imperial court, can’t they rule the civilians around them?

Believe it or not, these guys will turn around and seek compensation from the people around them.

Relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to draft water.

They have plenty of ways to recover their losses.

If it were in the past, it might not matter.

But now, Zhao Xu is deliberately maintaining the business environment of the Song Dynasty and providing convenience for merchants from all over the country.

How could he do such a stupid thing that would only end up shooting himself in the foot?
So, this matter is awkward.

Selling it at a discounted price?
Too bad!
Zhao Xu and the two palaces sent people to investigate the market.

The quality of silk cloth stored in the 32nd warehouse of Xining was considered as "old cloth" in the market.

The market price is no more than five hundred coins per horse.

But, this is the market price!

If one wants to sell off these hundreds of thousands of pieces of inferior and second-rate cloth, the only way is to lower the price, and the price must be reduced by at least half before someone is willing to take over.

In other words, the maximum selling price for each horse is two hundred and fifty coins.

it's good now!

A great man named Yelu Hongji was sent from heaven to buy all these hundreds of thousands of pieces of silk cloth at the market price at one time!
When Xing Shu told Yelu Ju and Yelu Yongchang that our dynasty has hundreds of thousands of pieces of Chen cloth, we are willing to sell it to your country at 80% of the market price, for four million.

Yelu Ju and Yelu Yongchang agreed immediately.

However, they took the opportunity to put forward a small condition - Song and Liao are brotherly countries!
Brothers should treat each other with sincerity.

What they meant was that they hoped the Song Dynasty would raise prices, and then they would eat up the increased price.

Of course, Zhao Xu had no objection to this.

But little did they know that Yelu Ju and Yelu Yongchang were both extremely happy.

The Song Dynasty offered 400 wen per piece for the inferior and old cloth.

They've already seen it.

Although the silk cloth has been stored for a long time, its quality has more or less been affected.

But, they can still be sewn into clothes!

They are still silk!

Don't take inferior or inferior cloth as silk!

You have to know that there were not only Han, Khitan and Xi people within the Liao Kingdom.

Their territory also included the Koreans from Bohai, Jurchen, and the newly conquered Goryeo land.

Outside of its influence, it also controlled tribes such as the Zhubu and Shengnuzhen.

In this situation, there is a huge gap not only between the ruling class and the ruled class.

The differences between different ethnic groups are so great that they are beyond imagination!
Not to mention anything else, the Zhubu people on the grassland used bows and arrows with bone arrowheads because the Liao people strictly prohibited the outflow of iron tools.

However, in the Jurchen tribes such as the Wuguo tribe, the Donghai Jurchen, the Shiwei tribe and even the more distant Wuwei tribe, most of the Jurchen people still remained in a fishing and hunting society.

Some of them are naked.

Just like last year, the Song Dynasty sold old and inferior tea to the Liao Kingdom.

In the Song Dynasty, even the lower-class urban residents were unwilling to buy this kind of tea.

But when it arrived in the Liao Dynasty, the price was increased several times by the middlemen.

But it is still popular because of its cheapness.

Because of this achievement, Yelu Ju’s father and three generations of ancestors were posthumously honored.

As a result, he was promoted to a higher rank.

Therefore, after learning the prices of these silk cloths and seeing the actual objects, Yelu Ju and Yelu Yongchang were very happy.

They are very clear.

The Liao army, which is now attacking Goryeo, is in short supply of this kind of cheap supplies that can be used to give out rewards lavishly.

Especially the soldiers from the Jurchen and Bohai tribes and the Korean volunteers.

How would they know the quality of silk cloth?
It would be great to get the silk cloth reward.

Therefore, he urgently reported the matter to Yelu Hongji through the Song-Liao national communication channel, while negotiating the price with Xing Shu.

……

In mid-March, the ice on the Hunhe River (formerly Yazi River, roughly the confluence of today's lower reaches of the Songhua River flowing eastward and the upper reaches of the Songhua River flowing northward, roughly located in today's Qian'an County, Jilin Province) had completely melted. Yelu Hongji's palace was located at the confluence of the three rivers of the Hunhe River.

The water from the Songwa River (Songhua River) and the Heishui River (Heilongjiang River) converge here, forming a unique scene.

At this moment, it is the time when spring flowers are blooming in Hunhe River.

Yelu Hongji held a grand banquet on the grassland outside the palace and drank with the leaders of the Donghai Jurchen tribes who came to pay homage.

As the name suggests, the Donghai Jurchens are a Jurchen tribe active in the coastal areas near the East China Sea (today's Sea of ​​Japan).

After drinking, both the host and the guests were in great joy.

The Jurchen leaders of various tribes in the East China Sea stood up one after another and sang praises to Yelu Hongji.

And, it's sincere.

no way!
Who said that the Liao people gave too much?
Since the Liao army invaded Goryeo, it wanted to win over the Jurchen tribes and reduce the risk of harassment from the flanks.

Yelu Hongji, under the advice of his minister Xiao Wuna and others to "use barbarians to control barbarians", followed the Tang Dynasty's strategy of using Tuyuhun to deal with Tubo.

By introducing the Jurchens, we could hedge against some areas where the Koreans were resisting more fiercely.

For example, Yelu Hongji generously gave the captured Goryeo Helandian area (now South Hamgyong Province, North Korea) to the Jurchens.

But it is not the Wanyan tribe that claims Helan Dian as their homeland.

Instead, it was the main characters coming to the court today, the Jurchen tribes from Donghai.

These Donghai Jurchens were allowed to enter the Helandian area to farm and settle down.

As a result, he won the support of the Jurchen tribes in Donghai.

At the same time, Yelu Hongji's move also successfully deterred the gentry from making unusual movements in various parts of Goryeo.

Because the Liao people used resolute means to show that - if the Koreans resisted the Liao Dynasty.

Then the Liao Kingdom didn't mind letting the Jurchens deal with them.

Compared with the Liao soldiers, the Jurchens were undoubtedly much more brutal.

The fact that the Koreans in the Helan Dian area have been fleeing continuously over the past six months is clear evidence of this.

Naturally, the Jurchen tribes in Donghai are the ones that support Yelu Hongji the most today.

At the same time, after doing this, the Donghai Jurchens and the Wanyan tribe became enemies.

For the Liao people, this was a win-win-win situation - the Liao people won three times.

It’s a win!

And this decision recently allowed the Liao people to win again - 70% of the Jurchen volunteers summoned by Xiaobudaye to fight in Japan were from the Jurchen tribes in the East China Sea.

This is the Jurchen women's token of allegiance.

Under such circumstances, the relationship between Yelu Hongji and the various Jurchen tribes in Donghai quickly became close.

He even began to publicly address the leaders of the Donghai Jurchen tribes as his beloved ministers, and at the same time conferred titles of governor, military governor, and other official titles on the leaders of various tribes.

This allowed the Liao Kingdom to extend its tentacles into the Jurchen tribes in the East China Sea.

But the Jurchens of Donghai did not have any resistance.

On the contrary very happy!
Each of them was extremely loyal to Yelu Hongji.

The flattery comes one after another.

There was even a Jurchen leader who called Yelu Hongji "Tian Khan".

This made Yelu Hongji so infatuated that he felt as if he was not in this world.

Of course, he is still very humble in his words.

"My dear minister, you are wrong!" He helped the Jurchen leader up: "Tian Khan is the euphemism for Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty!"

"I am still a little behind Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty!"

The leader listened and said immediately: "Your Majesty, I don't know who Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty is, and I have never heard of him!"

"In my heart, only Your Majesty deserves the title of Heavenly Khan!"

Yelu Hongji's face suddenly turned red: "You are truly a loyal subject to me!"

So he waved his hand and rewarded the Jurchen leader with 100 pieces of silk cloth, 50 pieces of cotton cloth, and 10 kilograms of icing sugar.

The latter received the reward and was as happy as a child.

Only Liang Ying, Liao's co-minister and privy envoy, who was sitting next to him, had a somewhat stiff expression on his face.

Because Yelu Hongji has been spending money lavishly for a month.

Under the generous reward of His Majesty, all the tribes became loyal subjects of the Liao Dynasty.

However, he also spent all the wealth he bought from the Southern Dynasty.

In just one month, more than one million strings of cash were distributed.

Many commercial goods, even those still in Bian Jing, had already been promised by His Majesty.

If we continue like this...

Liang Ying feels that the only option is to increase taxes.

So, after the banquet, Liang Ying, together with Xiao Wuna and others, came to Yelu Hongji's tent and began to persuade him to "save money".

Yelu Hongji naturally agreed readily.

However, Liang Ying and others already knew his routine.

Over the past month, Yelu Hongji had promised them time and again, "I will pay attention."

Looking back, the promise was thrown into the sky.

Still a big spender!

The various Jurchen tribes, the Bohai tribes, and even the surrendered officials of Goryeo could all benefit from him.

This year's first fish banquet turned into a grand reward-giving event for the Liao Kingdom.

To this day, there is still a steady stream of Jurchen tribes coming from thousands or even tens of thousands of miles away to attend the banquet.

So, Liang Ying said: "Your Majesty..."

"The Grand Master is in Goryeo, urging the army to be rewarded every day..."

"The army is now besieging Wang Ni Kaijing..."

"If the rewards are insufficient, morale will inevitably drop..."

"May your majesty understand!"

When Yelu Hongji heard about the war on the front line, he finally said seriously, "I know!"

"But you should also know, my lord, if I hadn't been here to contact all parties, how could the Grand Tutor be in Goryeo so smoothly?"

The first three times Liao invaded Goryeo, it was always due to fires in the backyard.

The fire in the backyard was caused not only by the resistance of the Koreans, but also by the disturbance caused by the various Jurchen tribes.

After learning from the three previous failures, Yelu Hongji came here and began to spend money lavishly to win over the Jurchen tribes.

The effect is immediate.

With the rewards and benefits, the Jurchen tribes not only stopped causing trouble for the Liao army.

Instead, he helped the Liao army and sent troops to conquer Goryeo.

However, there are also side effects.

That is, it feels really good to spend money!

Keep throwing money around and have fun!

When Yelu Hongji got old, he liked to be praised.

The Jurchen tribes, the Bohai tribes, and the Goryeo gentry were very much to his liking.

Just like today, the various Jurchen tribes in Donghai put the title of Heavenly Khan on him.

This is the title he wants most in his life.

Liang Ying and Xiao Wuna looked at each other and were about to continue persuading.

An eunuch walked in from outside the tent.

He came before Yelu Hongji, knelt down, and presented a memorial to him.

Yelu Hongji took it, glanced at it, and immediately burst into laughter: "My lords, please have a look!"

He sent this memorial to Liang Ying and others: "Yelü Ju and Yelü Yongchang, who were sent to the Southern Dynasty, have solved all the troubles for me and my beloved ministers!"

"A piece of inferior cloth costs only five hundred coins!"

“It’s a great deal!”

The silk cloth is always less than that, even if the quality is a little worse, even if there are more flaws.

But it's cheap!
Five hundred thousand strings of Jiaozi could buy seventy to eighty thousand horses.

How much is 500,000 Jiaozi?
Just one hundred thousand taels of silver!
It will be there if we dig for a few more years on Da'an Island.

If Xiao Budaye could find a few more silver mines, the silver he would dig out that year would be enough to pay for the goods.

And seven or eight hundred thousand pieces of silk cloth are definitely enough to reward the officers on the front line!
As for the soldiers on the front line, what should they do if they get the silk cloth but find problems with it?
Of course, they can only suffer a lot, and the infamy will be borne by Yelu Ju and Yelu Yongchang!
(End of this chapter)