Chapter 148 Korean Ginseng

Zhao Zhenglun sighed: "This ancient wind is full of the suffering of life and death in the world! Poor Mr. Jin was loyal to the country, but his family was ruined. God is unfair!"

"It's all forced by the little Japanese!" Yao Xi gritted his teeth and scolded, "My chief soldier and Jin Shulang are in good-looking. If it weren't for Japan, my chief soldier should have worshipped Jin Shu!" Damn, my Zhangjun and little Japan are swary!"

"Who said no!" Zhao Zhenglun sighed, "The Japanese entered North Korea and suffered the people. The city of Yizhou is okay. The people in other places are scattered and fled everywhere. I can't continue my business. My ancestors have been doing business for generations. I can't do anything but do business. If I can't do business, I have to be hungry!"

Zhou Charter laughed and said, "Mr. Zhao's family has a great career. Now he is fighting a war. It's true that he can't do business and can't make money. Why should he be hungry?"

Zhao Zhenglun sighed: "Zhou Zongbing doesn't know that those of us who do business actually bear great risks. My Zhao family has some savings, but I don't have much spare money. If I want to do a large business, I have to borrow money from someone. Well, a month ago, I raised 80,000 taels of silver and made a batch of Korean ginseng. I planned to ship them to the Qing Dynasty and then sell some tea porcelain from the Qing Dynasty. North Korea's Korean ginseng can sell it at a good price in the Qing Dynasty, and the tea porcelain of the Qing Dynasty also sells very well in North Korea. This time, it will be at least five times the profit. Now, when the war broke out, the Qing Dynasty sealed off the Yalu River, and my batch of Korean ginseng was smashed in my hands. Moreover, even if I could transport the goods across the river, the market in Jiulian City was closed, and no one did business in Manchuria. Of the 80,000 taels of silver, 60,000 taels were borrowed by me. This Korean ginseng can't be done. What can I give back to others? At that time, not to mention eating, I'm afraid I can't keep my head!"

Zhou Charter's heart moved and hurriedly asked, "Where are Mr. Zhao's treasures?"

"It's all in the stable behind here."

Yao Xi shouted, "I. Fuck! You throw such a valuable thing in the stable! You have a lot of fucking money!"

Zhao Zhenglun smiled bitterly: "In ordinary times, Korean ginseng is a treasure. In troubled times, Korean ginseng is garbage that no one wants! Not to mention Korean ginseng, no one wants beautiful jade jewelry. Those things can't be eaten as food!"

Zhou Charter nodded slightly: "Yes, Korean ginseng, jewelry and beautiful jade are all luxury goods. In troubled times, people want food that can fill their stomachs. No one wants to buy these useless things. If these goods can be transported to the south of the Qing Dynasty, and there is no war in those places, some people will still want to buy them at a large price.

Zhao Zhenglun's sad face: "I can't even cross the Yalu River now. Even if I can cross the river, I don't have the ability to ship goods to the south or Russia. I used to trade in Jiulian City. If I go further, my eyes will be blackened!"

Zhou Charter laughed and said, "Mr. Zhao, let's do a business. The reserve price of your goods is 80,000 taels of silver, and I will pay 100,000 yuan to buy it. What do you think?

Zhao Zhenglun was stunned: "Zhou Zongbing is not joking, is he?"

Zhou Charter laughed and said, "I, Zhou Charter, have always laughed. It is conditional for me to buy your goods. I don't have that much silver. The court only gave me a total of 5,000 taels of silver, plus Zhang Jun's background, about 8 thousand taels. Therefore, I can only give you 8,000 taels of silver first, and the rest on credit. If you can trust my Zhou Charter, give me the goods. I promise that I will give you 100,000 taels of silver in a month.

"I believe, I absolutely believe!" Zhao Zhenglun was overjoyed.

"You think about it before making a decision. This is 80,000 taels of silver!" Zhou Charter reminded.

"Zhou Zongbing, this product is worth millions, and I also believe in you! Anyway, this Korean ginseng has been smashed in your hand. Even if you take it for nothing, I don't complain.

Zhao Zhenglun is telling the truth that Korean ginseng cannot be preserved, and it will deteriorate over time. Now, he has reached the end of the country. Even if Zhou Charter takes the goods and doesn't pay, he will not suffer greater losses. What's more, Zhou Charter also gave him 8,000 taels of silver.

Zhou Charter said, "Then let's make a finale! Early tomorrow morning, I will ask Qian Yougui to pick up the goods and bring you 8,000 taels of silver. You and Qian have a letter.

Zhao Zhenglun said attentively, "Zhou Zongbing said a lot, how can Xiaomin have doubts? However, Xiaomin is quite curious. How can Zhou Zongbing make money with this batch of goods?

Zhou Charter laughed and said, "Didn't I just say that if you ship it to the south of the Qing Dynasty, Korean ginseng can be sold at a good price. Now the Qing army has banned the river. You can't cross the river, but my people can cross the river..."

"Brother, our people can't cross the river!" Yao Xi hurriedly reminded: "Admiral Song, who is opposite Jiulian City, strictly ordered us to stick to Yizhou. All Zhang officers and soldiers who cross the river will be punished by deserters!"

Zhou Charter nodded: "That's right, but they won't let my teacher Jin go back. He is an imperial envoy. Tomorrow, my mentor will return to Jiulian City. Qian Yougui took this batch of goods and followed his old man to cross the river. I will issue an official letter in the name of the general soldier of Yizhou and let Qian Yougui take it with him, saying that he was ordered to prepare for military pay. The court allowed me to recruit troops and practice bravery, but did not give money. To put it bluntly, let us learn from Zuo Zongtang of Zeng Guofan and our own ideas. We do business to raise military money, and the court will definitely agree. Qian Yougui took my official documents and followed my teacher. The local officials along the way did not want to embarras him. They could send this shipment to Beijing. When they arrived in Beijing, naturally someone would buy it.

Zhao Zhenglun nodded: "Yes, with the imperial envoy, you can naturally cross the river smoothly. Zhou Zongbing, according to my experience, if you can sell this goods to Russia, the price will be higher! Once you go, you can at least earn 500,000 taels of silver, but I don't know if the money is expensive or not.

Zhou Charter sighed: "To tell you the truth, Mr. Zhao, winter is coming. More than 10,000 officers and soldiers of Zhangjun are still wearing single clothes, and the money is expensive to the Qing Dynasty. We need to sell this item as soon as possible and replace it with cotton-padded clothes. Otherwise, in November, my brothers will be frozen to death! I'm afraid he can't go to Russia for only a month.

Zhao Zhenglun nodded: "Although Russia is close to North Korea, it is indeed difficult to trade thousands of kilometers away to the Ural west of Siberia. I heard that Russia is going to build a railway across Siberia and go straight to Manchuria. If this railway is opened, it will be much more convenient to trade with Russia.

"That's going to be the Year of the Monkey." Yao Xi scolded.

The two sides negotiated the deal, and the atmosphere became particularly harmonious. Zhou Charter and Zhao Zhenglun talked about the human geography of Yizhou City. As the general of Yizhou, they should know their jurisdiction.

Zhao Zhenglun lived in Yizhou for generations and knows the geography of Yizhou's mountains and rivers like the palm of his hand.

Yizhou City is located on the alluvial plain on the lower left bank of the Yalu River, across the river from Jiulian City in the Qing Dynasty. An official road leads from the south gate of Yizhou, south to Anzhou, and then to Pyongyang.

The city of Yizhou is narrow, with a radius of less than five miles, and there are only more than 10,000 residents in the city. In fact, Yizhou is not a city, but a slightly larger market town. The wall is originally very low, disrepair and even more dilapidated. Only the gate is well preserved, and most of the other sections of the city have collapsed.

The terrain around Yizhou City is open. There are several mountains in Donggu Mountain in the northwest, Donglin Mountain in the southwest and Chunshan Mountain in the east direction. However, the mountain is gentle and can only be regarded as a few small mountain bags. When the Qing army crossed the border, the people of Yizhou ran to these small mountain bags to hide, and many of them were looted by the Qing army. There can't hide people there at all, and of course, it can't build a blocking position. That is to say, there is no danger outside Yizhou.