When Du Zhongxiao was meditating on the Di Bao, Pan Zhen came in from outside and saluted Du Zhongxiao: "Zhijun, the transfer envoy is here, and the weavers in the territory are not allowed to use wool fabrics for autumn taxes!" Either use silk or cloth, otherwise it will be converted into cash. ”

When Du Zhongxiao heard this, he couldn't help frowning: "There are more and more wool weavers in the territory, and it is inconvenient to change like this." We have already sent the wool to be taxed to Luzhou, can't the officials of Cao Si see that they can make good robes. ”

Pan Zhen sighed: "Zhijun, it's useless!" How much silk and how much cloth is used, Cao Si has a convention, and they have to calculate the wool separately. We are a small volcano army, Cao Si doesn't take it seriously at all, where would he care about this. ”

In places like Hedong Road, where there is a strategic division, most of the power of the transfer envoy has been taken away, and the places along the border are equivalent to the transfer envoy with the army, and there are not many places to manage the volcano army. Most of the money earned by the Volcano Army here went to the hands of the Economic Strategy Division. However, the tax still went to the Transit Envoy, and there was a problem that they were not allowed to collect woolen fabrics, even if the collected fabrics were only transferred to neighboring states.

After thinking for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "Then there is no way, we can only ask the weaver to hand over the woolen fabric, we will sell it, and pay the money directly to the top." The money and grain we have here are transported to Fuzhou, and we will talk to Zhizhou when the time comes. ”

Pan Zhen nodded: "That's fine." - Zhijun, there is another way for the lower officials, I don't know whether to talk about it or not. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "If you have something to say, there is something bad to say between us." ”

"Today in the market, Xia Guan was meeting Zhang Junde, who had moved from the Western Regions, and took a blanket to sell. I saw that although the blanket was not big, it was just over my knees in winter, and it was very soft and gorgeous, and I was a little excited. When I asked him how much it was, the old man asked for 500 yuan, which scared me. After careful inquiry, I found out that it was woven from the finest very fine cashmere, and the same price as the same weight of common gold——"

Where is Du Zhongxiao willing to believe: "What kind of blanket, dare to compare the price to gold!" How many sheep can you buy for 500 guan! ”

Pan Zhen said: "I asked the old man to know that the price of this cashmere is really expensive. The cashmere they use is plucked from the goats one by one, and one person can only get a penny for a day's effort. A goat can only produce a few dollars a year. Coupled with the weaving artificial, it will naturally become a sky-high price. Even if it's not as good as gold, it's not far off. The blanket is very soft, and the winter is extremely warm, far better than silk. ”

Du Zhongxiao still knows cashmere, and he also knows that this thing is much more precious than wool. However, most of the time, it is scraped off the sheep with a grate and the wool and fluff, and then carefully selected. Pull it directly by hand, that's the best choice. It's just that I didn't expect the efficiency to be so low and the output to be so small.

Seeing that Du Zhongxiao was silent, Pan Zhen said: "What Xia Guan means, the entire Volcano Army, this kind of fabric is only three or five. In our small place, even if it is a big businessman in Tanglong Town, who would spend hundreds of yuan to buy such a small blanket. It is better for the government to collect it as a tribute, and the cloth and silk that have offset their autumn tax this year are convenient for the weavers. We dedicate this good thing to the palace, and if the saint likes it, it will also be good for the local people. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while, and his eyes lit up: "Yes, this is a good idea." We have a lot of hard work to engage in the wool industry here, but the court does not know the benefits of this thing. Even if you collect thousands of dollars a year, it will not be in the eyes of the important ministers of the court. If these few good things are offered, if the palace uses them to say good, it will be of infinite benefit to the wool weavers here. - It's just, is this thing really worth hundreds of times? ”

Pan Zhen said with a smile: "According to the lower officials, more than ten times will never be bought." There's no way, the lower officials don't have any money. But in Tanglong Town, although it is not easy to sell, 500 guan can still be sold. It's not about how much it's worth, but it's really not much of a fabric in the world, and it's rare and expensive. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought about it and slapped the table: "Okay, you go and let Zhang Junde take the blanket for me to see!" ”

In a small liquor shop on the edge of the Yellow River, Feng Yuan, Peng Yuanwai and Zhang Junde drank together. Two wool merchants, a large local weaver, inevitably had a drink when they got together.

When the three of them were drinking and talking, Pan Zhen brought two people here and said to Zhang Junde: "It's so easy to be outside, drink and have fun here, but I don't know how hard I am looking for you." ”

Zhang Junde was taken aback, and hurriedly got up and saluted: "I don't know what the official is looking for Xiao Lao'er?" ”

Pan Zhen smiled and pointed to the blanket in Zhang Junde's hand and said, "Good thing! Your blanket, the Zhijun wants to take it over and look at it. ”

Zhang Junde hurriedly asked: "Why do you want to see the army?" Don't you want to buy me? ”

Pan Zhen shook his head: "Although Zhijun has money in his family, he is still frugal, how can he buy such an expensive thing?" To tell you the truth, if the Zhijun really thinks it is good after seeing it, the government will collect it as a tribute and send it to the palace. ”

Hearing this, Zhang Junde's face relaxed, and said: "Don't hide it from the officials, this blanket was really sent to the palace as a tribute." ”

Pan Zhen said: "There is very little in the original production of this thing, how can it be sent to the palace?" ”

"It's not the Central Plains, it's when I came to the Central Plains to pay tribute, and there used to be this thing. He also said that the Central Plains officials liked this thing very much, and asked people in our area to weave it, and later sent it several times. When the road was blocked and the Central Plains road was blocked, it stopped. ”

Hearing this, Pan Zhen smiled and said, "I'm afraid this matter is not what the staff thinks." Fanbang tribute, for example, there are rewards. In addition to this, the people who come also trade privately. It was a team of tribute, and there were many merchants. Of course, what you let you weave may not be sent to the palace, and the merchant may sell it himself for a large profit. However, the fact that many of them were sold shows that the item is indeed popular. ”

In particular, the Song Dynasty would give back the value of the goods according to the tribute of merchants from other countries, which was equivalent to a special trade situation. However, doing business with the royal family is a rare large transaction in this era, and it is very profitable, and the surrounding small countries are eager to do it. There were too many comes, and the Song Dynasty didn't want to be wronged, so they were not allowed to enter Beijing, unless there was a special purpose, and merchants were not allowed to trade in the capital in the name of envoys.

The relationship between Khotan and the Song Dynasty was once warm, and hundreds of thousands of catties of frankincense in the palace came from this way, and this kind of blanket was also paid at that time. As long as it's really good, there will always be someone who knows the goods.

Since it happened, it was inevitable to let Pan Zhen sit down and have a drink.

After a few words of gossip, Zhang Junde said: "The most difficult thing recently is the autumn tax. We, the weavers, usually don't plant any land, and the grain is okay, but we just buy some in the market to pay taxes, but there is no way to make cloth. I've heard people say that the wool government doesn't want it, either cloth or cash. Now is the time to harvest wool, where is the cash? That's why I took this blanket and sold it. Otherwise, this is an heirloom treasure, who will sell it casually? With this blanket in hand, you can buy a new family business at any time. ”

Pan Zhen said with a smile: "The staff is right, the Transshipment Department has ordered that only cloth will be collected for the autumn tax. However, what the staff said just now is not right, even if you have this treasure, where can you get the money if you can't sell it? How can I buy a family business if I don't have money? If the army wants to see you, it is to find a way. ”

Feng Yuan also said: "No, as soon as I asked just now, this little blanket would cost hundreds of times, and I was so scared that I didn't dare to ask anymore." How much money do I make in a year? Can't buy a small blanket. We can't afford this kind of good thing! ”