Zhang Han glanced coldly at the Russians. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Under the glance, Madoff glared back, Petrin rolled his eyes to dodge, and the rest of the Russians also looked different.

Zhang Han smiled.

Zhang Han said: "First of all, I am sure that you will gather less than 2,000 people in a month, and in Tomsk and Hotsk, your maximum number of people is 2,000 people, of course, the further west you go, the more people you have, but it will take three months for you to take the familiar route from Tomsk to the trading city, and wait for you for half a month, foolish dreams." In addition, none of our army is particularly elite, they are all equally powerful, brave and good at fighting, you say that you will help us in half a month, I will say that we have ended the battle in half a month. ”

Madoff let out a deliberate laugh, and several Russians laughed playfully.

Petrin shook his head and said, "Lord Zhang, we are allies, don't over-interpret what we mean, we also have good intentions." And our men slowly moved half a year ago to the shore of the Hanhai Sea that you are talking about, where there is a new settlement, which we call Irkutsk. ”

Irkutsk would not appear until 20 years later, but due to the appearance of Zhang Han and Hutchison, this process was greatly advanced.

The Russians, like wolves smelling blood, built settlements on the shores of the Hanhai Sea before the trade began, and built castles, and the city called Irkutsk was built on the shore of the Hanhai, less than two thousand miles from the straight line between the city of Buying and Selling and Kulen, and most of it was an easy flat steppe area, this city was at the mouth of the river from the Yeseny River to Lake Baikal, and it was the best route of expansion from the Tor River to the Great River and then along the river to the Great Lake. In fact, most of the Russians' expansion at this time was carried out by rivers to estuary, and if it were not for Dezhnev being tricked to Taiwan by Hutchison, they would have made a detour from the Arctic Ocean to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River more than ten years later, and then began a new round of expansion.

"Wait until you build a settlement closer to home." Zhang Han said coldly: "Before that, I don't want to hear any similar proposals, besides, the second-hand news I got from the Mongols is not of much use...... Ladies and gentlemen, goodbye. ”

Patrin shrugged his shoulders, a look of grievance that had been suspicious of his good intentions.

Of course, the Russians themselves know that even if they can raise 2,000 people, it will not take a month, at least two months, and then they have to obtain the consent of the tsarist government, otherwise they will not be able to carry out a large-scale invasion war against a friendly Mongol tribe at will, Novosibirsk has just been pacified for many years, and the opponent of the Russians at the beginning is the twilight and decrepit Mongol Khanate, which also took decades to pacify, and these Mongol tribes further east, including several powerful khanates in Central Asia, the Oirats, The Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, no tribe is easy to conquer, Mobei is more distant, the Mongols are more powerful, Russia does not have the confidence to conquer by force, can only use the method of first cooperating and then slowly encroaching and encroaching...... Then Hutchison came.

The discovery that Hutchison was richer, stronger, and more civilized was frustrating to the Russians, who felt that there was no chance in the Far East, and that they were basically at the apex of expansion on the Yeseni River.

This time their proposal is not really trying to do anything, it is just a temptation, and of course if Hutchison shows weakness or weakness, then the Russians will respond further......

Madoff shouted: "We are purely good-intentioned, your military operation is too hasty and risky, and there is a risk of failure, Lord Zhang......"

"Mr. Madoff, please." Mo Zongtong took a step forward and shouted, "If this happens again, our conditions will be more harsh, not as you think." ”

This time, Madoff did not dare to shout anymore, and Hutchison's attitude towards negotiations has become more resolute, and it would be too stupid to come up with any excuse for the other side not to give in.

Even so, it caused an uproar in the courtyard.

In addition to the military and political personnel of Hutchison, of course, there were also quite a few Mongols in the courtyard, and all eyes were fixed on this group of Russians, many of whom began to talk in a low voice, and no one dared to say it loudly, but the whispers of the group of people buzzed like flies, which sounded even more upsetting.

Zhang Han didn't mind, but several attendants politely asked everyone to disperse.

The Russians walked away, and Madoff was a little smug, knowing that the affair, though disgusting to Hutchison, had not reached the point of breaking the negotiations.

This is a small move, the source of the Russians is, of course, the Mongols, and the people of Hutchison and the Han merchants will not cooperate with them, even if the Russians exchange some trade interests with the Han merchants, they still can't find a willing person, at this point, the Russians also feel that Hutchison's control is quite strong, fortunately, Hutchison has no way to really control the Mongols, especially after the main force guarding Mobei is sent out, the Mongols are active in private, and the Russians have more contact.

Zhang Han saw Zhang Ziming at a glance, he smiled and beckoned, and asked Zhang Ziming to come over.

"I've seen adults."

"No need to be polite." Zhang Han smiled and asked: "When did you arrive, are there many people coming from the Qingcheng Chamber of Commerce, what goods did you bring here, have you ever had contact with the Russians first?" ”

"Ah," Zhang Han asked a series of questions, and seeing that Zhang Ziming was a little difficult to organize his language, he patted his head and said with a smile: "I'm too anxious, in fact, I know that you have been here for two days, why didn't you come to see me on the first day." ”

Zhang Ziming smiled: "This is a new problem. ”

Zhang Han laughed, took Zhang Ziming's hand and said, "Let's go in and talk." ”

The people outside are looking at this side with envious eyes, and there are also middle and high-level personnel from the military department, but the more high-level they are, the more they know that Zhang Han sees people first outside and then inside, and he is a foresight for important people, not about distant relatives.

At that moment, Zhang Ziming accompanied Zhang Han to the small living room, and the servants had already removed the tea set of the Russians and replaced it with a small bowl.

Zhang Han smiled: "I don't know if you like to drink black tea and black tea like Mongolians, I have the best white tea here, I don't know if you are used to drinking it." ”

"Mongolians are not enough to eat, so they like to drink black tea to relieve the greasy taste," Zhang Ziming said with a smile: "My subordinates like to drink lighter tea, and they are not used to drinking milk tea." ”

"Me too, it's too fishy." Zhang Han saw Zhang Ziming take a sip of tea, and waited for him to put down the bowl before he continued: "We just sell them tea to make money, how to drink it is none of our business...... By the way, Brother Fu Qingming didn't come over? ”

"He's coming." Zhang Ziming said: "But you have to take care of the camel team, and if you don't have time to come over and ask the adults to say goodbye, ask me to ask the adults to ask for sin, and ask the adults to be safe." ”

"There's no need to make such polite fuss." Zhang Han groaned: "I'm afraid the situation here is a little unexpected for you?" ”

"Exactly." Zhang Ziming said with a straight face: "After coming, the subordinates and the old man were all dumbfounded...... The North City side is full of warehouses, and even furs and wool of all colors are piled up on the side of the road, and I heard that there are more people and goods in the north side of the city. My lord, my subordinates dare to say that within three years, the trade volume here will exceed that of Zhangjiakou, and even the scale will be far above it. ”

"That's a good judgment." Zhang Han said with a smile: "Now the upper echelons of the military department also think so. ”

The original trading point was supposed to be in Kyakhta, northeast of Kulen, at the mouth of the Lena River to Lake Baikal. However, now the Russians have not advanced to the upper reaches of the Lena River, nor have they advanced to the northernmost part, Irkutsk is already their closest stronghold to the city of Buying, according to the current situation that Hutchison exists in Mobei and will gradually increase its strength, it is estimated that the Russians have no chance to continue to advance to the east, if you look at the map, it is a cut in the middle of the territory of the Russian Far East, about half, about five million square kilometers of land, the Russians have no chance to get involved.

Zhang Han thought a little leisurely, the Russians are now happy with the trade with the Ming Dynasty, as well as the cooperation with Hutchison, they are quite happy, but they have not thought that the great empire that once spanned Europe and Asia may be cut off...... Of course, it is only Zhang Han's idea now, Hutchison does not have the strength to organize expeditions to the north and establish settlements, and the Russians will not allow Hutchison to rob furs and various specialties by himself, but this point will come sooner or later, just wait calmly.

Zhang Ziming told Zhang Han about their previous considerations, and only in the end did he say in a very sincere tone: "I also want to ask my lord to clarify his doubts, how can we maintain this long-term trade route." ”

Zhang Han muttered: "Compared with the big businessmen outside the mouth, your principal is not enough for them, and the source of goods you have is not as good as theirs...... You know, such as Wang Datong, such as big businessmen, their sources of goods are accumulated over decades, about groceries or cloth, or porcelain, silk products, the more bulky, the people basically can't do without the goods, the real monopoly of the source of goods, large quantities of goods can make a lot of money, ordinary commercial houses, the smallest grocery store dozens of taels of principal opened, Medium-sized trading houses only have a capital of a few thousand taels of silver, and they can feed them with a little residue leaking out of the mouth of the predators, of course, don't think about profiteering, they can survive by doing business smoothly, and they are the first to die with a little wind and grass.

The Han merchants on the grassland are stronger, they also have a considerable supply of goods, originally in Zhangjiakou when the market opened, more than a thousand tents stretched for dozens of miles, of course, it is impossible to be all herdsmen of the various ministries, the Mongolian ministries to the horse market is mainly to sell horses, Daming has a quota for buying horses every year, for example, the annual quota of Datong Town is 35,000 horses, more than this number will not be purchased, the grassland Han merchants are responsible for pouring more resources of the Mongolians to the Han merchants outside the mouth, and from the hands of the Han merchants outside the mouth, the Mongolian needs of the grain and sauerkraut and tea bricks, Of course, there are also gold and silver products and silk products that the nobles liked to get to the grassland.