Niu Xianke explained: "Not to mention the barbarians, it is the Han people, and it is not easy to learn the art of growing tea and picking tea. In fact, the tea that Xiaguan and the Tubo people traded with each other was not produced in Rongzhou at all, but bought from Yazhou. ”

"That's right...... But this king took it for granted. ”

Cui Geng originally hoped to rely on the trade of the tea horse road to cross the gap of hundreds of years. Only now did I find out that this gap was not so easy to cross, and my mood was depressed.

He thought to himself that if the barbarians could not benefit from this trade, then there would be little point in developing the "Ancient Tea Horse Road". After all, he did not do this for money, but for the long-term peace and stability of the southwestern states.

What can I do?

Cui Geng tapped a few cases and said slowly: "Then is there a way to educate these barbarians and let them seriously learn the art of planting tea and picking tea?" ”

"That's going to be hard." Niu Xianke smiled bitterly: "Those ghost masters regard the barbarians in their headquarters as private property, and they don't want them to have more contact with the Han people at all, so as not to open up the wisdom of the people and be difficult to control." There is very little communication, so how can we talk about education? ”

This is reasonable, the barbarian ghost masters rule the tribes with the technique of "ghosts and witches". These witchcrafts are not only fake, but also very low-level. Compared with Taoism and Buddhism, it is simply vulnerable. The barbarians have been in contact with the Han people for a long time, so they naturally don't believe in any "ghost and witch" techniques, and the status of the ghost masters is unstable.

Cui Geng frowned slightly, and said: "Then the key to this matter is to make these ghost masters feel that the benefits of barbarians learning to grow tea are far greater than the interests of their own rule, which is really not easy to do." ”

"Uh......" the cow cyclamen said again.

Cui Geng said: "What does Niu Thorn Shi want to say? But it doesn't hurt to talk about it. ”

Niu Xianke said hesitantly: "If you want to educate the barbarians, it is not necessarily the benefits of money and money, but more than the interests of the ghost lord's rule. ”

"Why?"

"There is a saying that Li Lingzhi is faint. As long as the benefits obtained by the ghost lord in the short term are huge enough, it is enough to make them give up their long-term plans. ”

"But here's the thing...... This planting of tea trees, to the beginning of picking tea leaves for money, is by no means a year or two of work, how can the ghost master get huge benefits in the short term? ”

Niu Xianke said cautiously: "Let the barbarians profit, and you don't have to rely on tea, it depends on whether you are willing to be willing to do so." ”

"What do you mean? What is there to be reluctant from this king? ”

"What does Xia Guan mean...... Frosting! Don't you have a few frosting workshops in Yangzhou? If you are willing to open a few in Rongzhou, let the barbarians grow sugar cane to sell...... Sugarcane is much easier to grow than tea, it's just hard work. ”

After a pause, he took the initiative to find the steps and said, "Of course, it's not too peaceful here, and secrecy is a big problem." If King Ji didn't want to, he didn't say anything at the time. ”

"Yes, how could you not want to?" Cui Geng's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "Niu Thorn Shi, you really woke up the person in your dream with a word." ”

This is entirely from the bottom of my heart.

For Cui Geng, how to make a fortune is all based on the experience of later generations, and sometimes it is inevitable to drill the tip of the horns.

For example, now, when he knows about the Ancient Tea Horse Road, he just thinks about using tea to trade with the Tibetan people, but he doesn't think of white sugar and rock sugar.

In the historical records, of course, there is no record of transporting white sugar on the Ancient Tea Horse Road.

Without it, the sugar-making skills of the Han people were still learned from Tianzhu by the Tang Taizong, and there was no technical advantage.

But now it is different, Cui Geng invented white sugar and rock sugar in advance, and they can be used as fist products for export.

It turned out that the frosting workshop in Yangzhou did not further expand its scale, mainly due to the limitation of raw materials, not Cui Geng's secrecy. After all, although the profit of this white sugar is large, if it affects grain production, it will be a waste of money.

However, in Zhouzhou, Yaozhou, Rongzhou and other places, the land is barren, with a lot of rain and a large temperature difference, which is naturally suitable for growing sugarcane but not for heavy grain. It is only fitting that sugar cane cultivation is vigorously promoted here, and that the cross-border trade in sugar is developed.

As for the secrecy of the secret recipe? Take 10,000 steps back and say, what if it is really leaked? As long as the secrets are not leaked within a few years, and those barbarians are familiar with the Han barbarian way of exchanging crops for money, Cui Geng's goal will be achieved, and he will teach them to grow tea in the future.

Immediately, he said angrily: "Then take Rongzhou as a pilot and build a frosting workshop." All officers and men stationed in Rongzhou can join the shares and make temporary ...... 100,000 share capital. ”

"This ...... It's not right. Niu Xianke said: "The frosting workshop will make a steady profit, and Rongzhou is already satisfied that it can collect taxes, and then let the officers and soldiers join the shares...... Isn't that taking advantage of you for nothing? ”

"How can you say that?" Cui Geng shook his head and said: "This king's frosting workshop still depends on the protection of all officers and soldiers. Let everyone take shares, it is a matter of mutual benefit, and it is not possible to talk about who takes advantage and who suffers. ”

Niu Xianke said: "Even if there is no part of the frosting workshop, there is a military justice department, and the soldiers dare not do their best?" All in all, King Ji's move is really benevolent, righteous and generous, and the generals of Rongzhou City have thanked King Ji. ”

"Don't just thank King Ben, in addition to the safety of Rong Prefecture, you must also mobilize the Han people, and even urge the barbarians to plant sugar cane."

"That's nature."

Let the officers and soldiers become shareholders, this is still the wisdom of Cui Geng to open a wool workshop. The soldiers are far away in Rongzhou, and there is no monetary reward, and their subjective initiative is really very different.

After talking for a while about the details of promoting sugarcane cultivation in Yaozhou, Niu Cyclamen suddenly remembered something.

He said: "There are wild sugarcane in the mountains and forests of Rongzhou, and it is said that as long as the frosting workshop is built and the profits are high, there will naturally be ghost owners who will instruct their men to sell sugarcane." When the ghost lords received the benefits of selling sugar cane, even though they knew that this matter would shake their foundation in the long run, they couldn't stop. After all, if you sell your sugar cane and increase your strength, you will have the opportunity to annex other tribes. But if they refuse to sell their sugar cane and rest on their laurels, they risk being swallowed up by other tribes. However, Xia Guan is still a little worried......"

"What are you worried about?"

"It's hard at the beginning. There are not no smart people among the barbarians, and if we stop this trade in the first place, and all the barbarian tribes don't trade with us, it will be difficult. ”

Cui Geng said: "The ghost masters of the barbarians are big and small, but there is no difference between the top and the bottom. Even if someone sees through our schemes, can they still stop all the barbarians from doing business with us? ”

"Some barbarians are very prestigious, and if he is right, the barbarians will obey."

"Who are the barbarians with high prestige?"

"Recently, there are three ghost masters who have been in the limelight among the barbarians, named Liu Guangyi, Hao Daquan, and Yang Wenjiang."

"Three ghost masters?" Cui Geng's heart moved, and he said, "But the three ghost masters who deceived Xiahou Biao of one million and a half million yuan? Oops! With such a large amount of money in their hands, even if they don't see through our schemes, they may not be able to see the benefits of sugar cane! ”