Dongzhou Shengzhou Ya, Yelu Buhua and Yelu Yuanzuo frowned together when they heard Bai Lian talk about Tanglong Town. The situation there was much more complicated than they had previously thought. It's okay to do some business, but when it comes to deep collaboration, there's nothing you can do.

After Bai Lian finished speaking, Yelu Wuzuo asked, "How are the goods we brought are selling?" ”

Bai Lian forked his hand and said: "Business is still booming, but there are too many goods, and they can't be sold out in three or five days." The little one didn't dare not delay there, so he came back first to report to the captain. Their cabinet shop there can mortgage the goods to lend money, and this kind of thing is too small to call the shots. ”

Yelu Yuanzuo nodded and said, "Yes, that's exactly how it should be." Go down first, and we'll take matters into our own counsel. ”

Bai Lian promised and bowed and retreated.

Yelu Yuanzuo said to Yelu Buhua: "I don't want the people in the south to make it so big, we can't sit idly by." Brother, if you have leisure, why don't you take a trip to Tanglong Town, Du Zhijun there, he has seen it, and he wants to come and talk. ”

Yelu Buhua nodded: "That's all." Listening to what Director Bai said, the business in Tanglong Town was unexpected, especially the cabinet, I made a rough calculation, and it was extremely profitable. Isn't it a pity that we don't get a piece of the pie in front of Jinshan! ”

Yelu Yuanzuo sighed: "This kind of big thing, we don't come forward ourselves, and the subordinates are really unreliable." This Bai Lian used all the money from the sale of the past few days to buy wine. His eyelids are shallow, and he only thinks that selling wine can make quick money, and it is not too late to buy sugar when the bulk goods are sold. But I don't know that sugar is a rare thing, once there are more people selling it, the price will inevitably drop rapidly, and the sooner it is sold, the more money it will make. Alas—"

This time, Yelu Yuanzuo and Yewei did not spend two people, and the bulk goods they were aiming at were sugar, and they had the spare power to sell others. I didn't want to go to Tanglong Town in vain to see that the sugar stock was sufficient, so I chose to sell wine first to make quick money. Liquor used to be a forbidden item, but it was banned in Tanglong Town and was the preferred commodity for most merchants.

Yelu Buhua groaned: "Brother, in my opinion, the most important thing in Tanglong Town now is not to sell any goods, but to find out what kind of charter the southern kingdom is there. Listening to what Director Bai said, I vaguely felt that trafficking in goods was not necessarily the most profitable means there. - I'll leave tomorrow and go to Tanglong Town to see what the hell they're up to! Work hard to do business, you can't make a wedding dress for someone else! ”

In Tanglong Town, Du Zhongxiao and Zhang Qi sat idly.

The horses sold from the north, the good horses were sold out within a few days, and most of them were bought by the Volcano Army and the Linfu Road garrison. Now the horse market outside the city is all unbearable for the military, and most of them are stallions, and the people who come to buy horses are the surrounding Han farmers. Since the Volcano Army began to camp the fields, it announced the end of the policy of banning farming in this area, and people from the interior continued to enter here to reclaim the wasteland. On the other side of the Yellow River, Linfu Road also organized military tuns, and there were not enough ploughing cattle, so they could only be replaced by horses. The horses are not able to plow and water the land well, and the ordinary dry land is still competent.

Du Zhongxiao and Zhang Qi chatted about the situation in the past few days, and they were in a relaxed mood. The money earned here in Tanglong Town can support the reclamation of immigrants, and the surrounding population can support the commercial prosperity here, entering a virtuous circle.

At this moment, a servant outside came in and said, "Zhijun, there is a Feng member outside who asks to see you." ”

Du Zhongxiao hurriedly said: "Please come in!" He has been in Tanglong Town for some days, watching others make a lot of money, but he has not opened it, but he is afraid that life will not be easy. It is not easy to stay up until today to come to see me. ”

After a while, Feng Yuan followed the officials into the official hall and saluted Du Zhongxiao and Feng Yuan.

Du Zhongxiao ordered to set up a seat, ordered someone to serve tea, and said to Feng Yuan: "I haven't seen you for a few days, how are these days outside the staff?" ”

Feng Yuan sighed: "Since we went to Tanglong Town to rent a shop, we have not had business for several days, and we are inevitably anxious. Pity the heavens, yesterday I entrusted a merchant from Qiuzi came to Tanglong Town, brought dozens of craftsmen who were good at weaving wool, and hurriedly came to report to the army. ”

Du Zhongxiao was overjoyed when he heard this, stood up and said, "Are people here?" I thought it would take half a year later. Don't hide it, I have entrusted a lot of people to this matter, and to this day, only you can talk back. If everything goes well, it will pay off later. ”

Despite Du Zhongxiao's repeated efforts, it was still difficult for the Volcano Army to gather the craftsmen needed for the entire wool industry. The wool industry is not what the Central Plains is good at, even if there are some scale Khitan and party items, they are very rough and the products are not attractive. In the end, there was no way, Du Zhongxiao could only ask people everywhere and find a way to hire people from the Western Regions.

The grassland Silk Road north of Yinshan Mountain is generally a one-way trip, so you can only wait patiently.

Feng Yuan sat down and served tea, Du Zhongxiao asked carefully, only to know that it was a coincidence. Feng Yuan was in the fur business, knew some merchants from the Northland, and asked them to hire craftsmen from the Western Regions. When these people returned to the Western Regions, they occasionally encountered a group of craftsmen who were good at weaving wool in the Tatar territory north of Yinshan. After asking, I found out that it was when the party broke through the Guiyi army and the Ganzhou Uighurs that they were exiled there. Hexi was originally dominated by Han Chinese, and these people listened to the Central Plains government's recruitment of craftsmen and readily agreed to return. Not long after, he met the envoys of Gaochang State who paid tribute to the Khitan, followed them to Fengzhou, and then went to Tanglong Town, where he found Feng Yuan.

Since Yuan Hao broke through Shazhou, there are now three major forces in the Western Regions. The Black Khanate to the west was the most powerful and expanding. The Ghochang Uighurs were the second, and the Khotanese were the weakest. During the time of Taizong, the party did not rebel, the road was smooth, and Wang Yande was ordered to send an envoy to Gaochang, where the relationship with the Song Dynasty was warm for a while. Later, Taizong's northern expedition to the Khitan failed, and the news spread to the Western Regions, and the relationship between Gaochang and the Song Dynasty became cold and became intimate with the Khitan. In the last decade or two, Gaochangdu has no contact with the Song Dynasty. Their trade route with the Central Plains was along the steppe north of Yinshan Mountain, and they traded with the Khitan.

Compared with Gaochang, Khotan was in the south, and the trade route with the Central Plains was to enter Qinzhou through the Hehuang and Tubo regions, mainly trading with the Song Dynasty. Khotan was weakened and threatened by the Black Khanate, and gradually showed signs of vassalage. The caravans of the Black Khanate were often used in the name of Khotan to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty and reward them. For the people of the Central Plains, these forces far away in the world are not clear at all.

Gaochang and Khotan connect the Central Plains with two trade routes, one south and one north, which are called the North-South Silk Road by later generations. Qiuci is now under the rule of Gaochang, and the people there are good at doing business, and most of the caravans on the North Road are Qiuci people.

From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains regime maintained its rule in the Western Regions for thousands of years, with a deep degree of sinicization, and most of the officials and people were devoted to the Central Plains. The Song Dynasty's influence there faced two biggest problems, one was that the roads were impassable and communication was inconvenient. The other is that it was suppressed militarily by the Khitan, and the general forces were all vassals to the Khitan, and at the same time tried every means to do business with the Song Dynasty.

The party rebelled against the founding of the Song Dynasty, cut off the trade routes of the Western Regions, and also cut off the exchanges between there and the Central Plains. The Han people who remained in Hexi and the Western Regions lost their roots in the Central Plains and gradually became Fanhu. Coupled with the continuous invasion of the Black Khanate in the west, along with religious factors, the Sinicization color there gradually faded.

These fur craftsmen recruited by Feng Yuan originally lived in several counties in Hexi, mainly Han Chinese. As the party continued to move westward, they moved westward from Xiliangfu to Ganzhou and Suzhou, and the craftsmen of the last few counties were concentrated in the Guiyi army, which was dominated by Han Chinese. Eventually, Yuan Hao broke through the Guiyi army, and they entered Gaochang, part of which went deep into Mobei and reached the territory of the Tatars, where they mostly gathered near the trade routes.

After listening to Feng Yuan's description, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but sigh. Since the Han Dynasty, the four counties of Hexi have been Han land, mainly Han people. Later, the dynasties continued to move inward, and the Turks came from the north, and the Tuhun and Dangxiang came from the west, and slowly occupied the vast land from the upper reaches of the Yellow River to the middle reaches of the Yellow River. At this time, the founding party of the Xia State, there were only 12 out of 10 Han people in the territory, concentrated in a few large cities, and it had completely become a Hu land. The four counties of Hexi were isolated and slowly swallowed up by the surrounding areas.

This piece of land north of the Volcano Army was called the Hetao in later generations, and the Yellow River was harmful, but it was a set of benefits, which refers to here. This area, together with the irrigation plains in the area of Xingqing Mansion and Lingzhou, is the foundation for the operation of the Western Regions, and the four counties of Hexi are roads, and without the foundation, the roads will be gone.

In the past few decades of expansion of the party, many Han people have been driven out of the four counties of Hexi and have been displaced in various places.

After chatting with Feng Yuan for a while, Du Zhongxiao asked, "How many people are here?" Is there any accommodation arranged? ”

Feng Yuan said: "More than 100 craftsmen plus their families, plus some accompanying households, there are about 300 tents, and they are now camped outside the city. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "They are thousands of miles away, don't wait for them." Well, I'll have some good food here, and I'll invite them tonight." Tomorrow, he will be escorted by the army and go to the Volcano Army. They will be of great use in the future, and they should not stay in Tanglong Town for a long time. ”

Feng Yuan promised to report to the people outside the city.