Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1702
The conversation in Jigong Temple is relatively "pleasant".

Perhaps, it is really happy.Because everyone drank a lot of wine, there was no dispute or reluctance.

Before coming, these people almost had a faint guess in their hearts, but they couldn't prove it or they still took chances.

The imperial court's decree, the first to arrive in the states on the edge of Yinshan Mountain.

Fengzhou government soldiers who had just finished their summer harvest were called up urgently.They had three horses and two servants, carrying water, armor, large spears, and strong bows, and assembled everywhere.

This is what the chieftains saw when they went south.

In fact, there are not many soldiers.There are only [-] soldiers in Feng and Sheng prefectures. Because there are few parts, some people even have to participate in farm work in person, and their financial resources and combat effectiveness are very mediocre.

The town army is only more than 1, most of them are infantry, is it really scary?

They are not afraid of these soldiers, what they are afraid of is that old guy who watched the sea in Dengzhou.

So, in the end, I came to Dengzhou obediently, drank a meal of water and wine in a temple full of depressive atmosphere, accepted a condition that made them lament, and then stayed with this old thing to cater Flatter the horse and pretend to be happy.

Some things seem to be destined, and there is no way to change them.

At the end of July, Shao Shude brought them to Penglai Town, a place that competed fiercely with Chishanpu for the largest port in Dengzhou.

In the harbor, every time the bell rings, a ship leaves the harbor and heads north.

Thinking back more than 20 years ago, the most cargo carried by ships going north was food and ordnance.

Today, more than 20 years later, the goods they carried have quietly turned into commodities such as silk, candied fruit, wine, varnish, lampstands, rattan chairs, and even special high-value commodities such as Tonghua cloth from Yunnan. Both.

These goods have different shapes and values. To be honest, they take up a lot of space and are relatively troublesome to transport.

But need is everything.

If there is a demand, not to mention Yunnan, you can get the yak horns from Tubo, as long as you can afford it.

So businessmen like to unify the big market!
Shao Shude vaguely remembered that in the 17th century, the French Cardinal Richelieu and his successor Mazarin, relying on strong political skills, canceled the tariffs between the provinces and formed a unified market, which greatly promoted the prosperity of commerce and enriched the economy. The treasury of France was seized, which laid a solid material foundation for Louis XIV to make waves after he came to power.

In the 19th century, the customs union formed by Prussia in North Germany also broke down the trade barriers between the various states and formed a unified market. Then the North German Confederation was formed, and the economy promoted politics.

Da Xia is another case.

Shao Shude abolished most of the tax cards and carried out tax reform, to be honest, it was also to promote the formation of a unified market.In the previous era of feudal separatism, sometimes copper coins were not even allowed to leave the country, not to mention the plethora of tax cards and the atmosphere of deliberately boycotting goods from other towns. These greatly hindered commercial exchanges, which he could not tolerate.

There are more than twenty roads in Daxia, and the products of any one road must be low-cost and freely enter and exit other roads.This is the most basic requirement, but it was not met most of the time in history, and it was not fundamentally improved until the founding of the country in later generations.

"Did you see those boats?" Shao Shude asked.

"I see it." Zhuang Ao, Su Zhi, Hun Shizhi and others nodded.

"From Penglai Town to Lushun Port, if there is a good wind, it can be reached in one day and night. To Silla, it only takes three to five days." Shao Shude said: "A ship can carry thousands of grains. If it is on land, A hundred four-wheeled carriages are often required, and even more if it is an ordinary two-wheeled carriage."

All seven of them remained silent, quietly watching the densely packed ships in the harbor.

Every time the bell rings, a ship must leave the harbor, sometimes even two or three.

The ships leaving the port were floating on the open sea. After gathering a certain number, the whole team went northward, heading for Lushun, Yingkou or the mouth of the Yalu River.

It is already autumn, and there are only one or two months left of good wind.After autumn, the north wind will gradually take over the mainstream, and it will be more convenient to go south from Lushun to Penglai.

Shao Shude glanced at them, and said, "Do you really think I value your family property? How can you imagine the wealth flowing on the sea?"

"Back then, Liaodong was waiting for food. Except for immigrants, what was transported there was food, farm tools, cattle and other things. But 30 to [-] years have passed, and now Liaodong people even need furniture made of high-quality sandalwood. The needs of eating, drinking, entertainment, clothing, food, housing and transportation Explosive increase, what does this mean?"

"It shows that Liaodong, which I created by myself, has gone through the most difficult period after more than 20 years of development. Now, some of them have become rich and began to pursue a better life. There are a total of [-] government soldiers in the state, they are rich, and they are an important market that no one can ignore."

"Businessmen came here one after another, sharpening their heads to do this business. In this way, money can flow and taxes can go to the national treasury."

Having said that, Shao Shude turned around, looked at the crowd, and said, "With enough taxes, I can drive a large army, and there will be no disadvantages."

"Your Majesty is holy." Zhuang Ao and the other seven congratulated each other.

You can hear a bit of sincerity in these words, and it's not all flattery.

They lived in the grassland all year round, and their grandparents and fathers followed the saints through life and death, and they got a stable family business for them.Although we all know that the Great Xia is at its peak and the imperial army is brave and good at fighting, but as the saying goes, with a sharp weapon in your hand, you will kill yourself. Watching the number of people, cattle and sheep in the tribe increase little by little, the flattery words in your ears are pleasant to the ears day by day , no idea is impossible.

Psychological expansion, self-importance, probably all started here.

The sage ordered them to separate their families, and they agreed after a little hesitation, not daring to confront them openly.But if you say that you don't have any lumps in your mind, that's not right.

But today they were greatly shocked when they saw the numerous ships in Penglai Town and the goods loaded on them.

For example, the bright silk is a valuable item on the northern grasslands. It is so precious that you can't wait to handle it with care.But in Penglai Town, the dock laborers loaded the goods with expressionless faces, rude movements, and quick hands and feet, obviously used to seeing this thing.And those merchant ships are also transporting silk in units of ships.

There are also those unknown spices, tea leaves and even precious wood, which are handled by the laborers like garbage.

With the wealth surging here, what can the grassland tribes compare it to?
The only thing of value they have is probably the human population.

Yes, people are also a kind of wealth, and they can also create wealth or destroy wealth...

But now—oh, don't talk about anything, you can't beat the imperial army, and you can't even raise the idea of ​​resistance, so don't talk about anything.

"Liaodong is my field. It took more than 20 years to sow and care for it, and now it has finally produced fruit." Shao Shude turned around again, and his deep voice came from the wind: "[-] government soldiers, cross the big land. Xianbeiling, one person with two or three horses, who can resist?"

In other words, there is a difference between Fubing and Fubing.In the early Tang Dynasty, the most "top" Fubing had more than 100 mu of land, and the poorest Fubing had less than [-] mu of land. They were all Fubing, but their combat effectiveness was very different.

The 2000 people in Liaodong are basically top-level government soldiers, powerful, well-equipped, and living in a bitter cold place, no one can resist.Khitan can't do it, Shi Wei can't do it, Jurchen can't do it, neither can they.

The saint is not threatening, he is telling the truth.

He stated two facts.First, the wealth of Daxia is unimaginable to the tribes of the grassland. You don’t have so much money and supplies, you can’t even compare to a fraction, and sometimes you have to eat relief; In addition to the frightened forbidden army, there are also a large number of government soldiers. They are good at fighting, well-equipped and well-trained, and can easily defeat any opposition forces on the grassland.

This situation is really unsolvable.Also because of this, some dissatisfaction from before has long since dissipated, so let's accept fate honestly.

Based on this knowledge, they all calmed down and "watched the sea" with the saint.

At that time, when a ship entered the port and saw the yellow canopy on the high slope, the sailors rushed to the front deck and cheered loudly.

The sailors were well paid, higher than the Custodians, and their cheers came from the heart.

If no one started the ocean industry, they would probably still be farming by now.

"The ship has a deep draft and is fully loaded with cargo." Shao Shude was also very excited, and said, "Nowadays, ships returning from Liaodong often use copper blocks as ballast stones and are fully loaded with cargo. Official ships traveling between Penglai and Lushun, There are no less than 20 civilian ships every month. Liaodong’s grain is now being transported southward. In the next [-] years, the river on this white mountain and black water will be vigorously dredged, the road will be improved day by day, and the number of ships that can be accommodated by the dock will become smaller. More, the shipping in Liaohai will be more prosperous."

"No one can abandon Liaodong. If you don't abandon Liaodong, sea transportation will become more and more popular, and it will be deeply ingrained in the blood of Great Xia, and no one can separate it."

"You are still young, and you are fortunate to be in the grand event, and you can watch it longer than me."

"Your Majesty's Spring and Autumn Period is at its peak, it must be—" Hun Shizhi said.

"It doesn't need to be like this." Shao Shude interrupted him directly, and said with a smile: "I don't have to be responsible for the success. You—— and my descendants, just share the prosperity of this prosperous age."

The crowd was silent.

The sage was obviously already admiring the magnificent sea scene where hundreds of boats competed, and he didn't forget to beat them while talking.The implication is that it is probably better to let them not have all kinds of small thoughts, live a peaceful life of wealth and glory, and rest with the country.

In fact, by this time, there is no need for the saints to beat around the bush anymore, they have already accepted it.

On the pier, there was another burst of crying.

Under Wu Fu's urging, a dark group of common people staggered onto the boat, ready to leave the port and head north.

Undoubtedly, this is a slave who did not know where it was collected, and his family went to Liaodong to serve as a part of the army.

They should have been resting in Penglai Town for a while, and today is the day of departure.Under the mood swings, facing the direction of his hometown in the south, weeping bitterly.

Hun Shizhi and the others looked at each other.

If they fight against the imperial court, their tribe will probably end up like this, right?Thinking of this, he swallowed dryly.

"Big Xia is a very big place, and some places are still empty." Shao Shude said suddenly, "When you divide up your family, some people will come out. I don't want too much, so let's make a [-] tent."

"Of order." Seven people responded one after another.

20 tents are [-] people. It's completely a lion's mouth, and I don't know which corner will be moved to by the saint. Life may not be easy.

Now that he is in his twilight years, sometimes he reveals a sense of weakness and stagnation, and sometimes he is as ruthless as before, which makes people tremble.

He was dangerous now, even more dangerous than when he was younger, because the cords of affection that bound him were crumbling, and he could easily become moody.

"Those sailors love me. Those immigrants hate me." Shao Shude turned around again, his eyes swept over the seven people one by one.

All seven lowered their heads.

"It's only spring and autumn!" Shao Shude said with emotion, there was not much emotion on his face, only reluctance.

(End of this chapter)