Chapter 56 Tea Horse Smuggling

Travel to the Shaanxi border.

"Oh, there is an inn, a good name! Let's live in this house!" At dusk, Su Wu Niang pointed to the inn plaque and shouted.

"Okay, just this one. I'm starving to death. Go ahead and fill your stomach!" Li Mengyang came all the way and obeyed Su Wu Niang, saying that he had walked in by himself.

This inn is antique, with six square tables and one lamp in each corner. Four people found a corner with a lamp and sat down, ordered a few dishes, sat there to rest, and waited for the dishes to be served...

Wang Shouren looked at the adjacent table: three or four Han people and two Mongolians, drinking soundly, pushing cups and changing cups, calling them brothers and brothers. It's so lively.

When the meal came, four people stretched out their chopsticks and were about to eat, and three people came in outside the door - one of them was dressed as a typical playboy with a stingy face; the other was his entourage, dressed as Han; and finally came in as a Mongolian. Wang Shouren is very puzzled. How can the Han and Mongolians here be so harmonious?

Just as Wang Shouren looked at the "not stingy" and saw the four of them. He secretly came to the store's ear and asked, "Shopkeeper, what do these four people do?"

The shopkeeper said, "I just came in, and the little people don't know what they do. Maybe they are in business!"

"Do business? What's the business of thin skin and tender meat!" He said without any squinting.

"You..." Su Wuniang was about to point at him and scold him for something, but she was held down by Wang Shouren. Wang Shouren whispered, "There are three teachings and nine streams in the inn. If you are angry, it's not worth it!" Hurry up and eat!"

After dinner, the shopkeeper took them to the inn in the backyard - the backyard was a quadrangle courtyard, and there were more than ten guest rooms. With a "squeak", the shopkeeper pushed the door open and said, "Please!" At that time, Wang Shouren observed several other rooms - contrary to the excitement of eating - each room had lights, but as soon as he entered the door, everyone was silent, and Wang Shouren suddenly had a strange feeling...

Su Wuniang wiped the table with her hand and looked at it through the light: "Ah, so much dust! If I open an inn, it will be an absolute five-star hygiene standard!" At this time, I found that Wang Shouren was silent and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Wang Shouren did not answer, but asked seriously, "Brother Xianji, you grew up in this generation. Do you know why the Han people and the Mongolians drink at the same table and are so harmonious?"

Li Mengyang put his fingers to his mouth, made a "boo" mouth shape, and then said to Gao Daquan standing by the door, "Brother Gao, close the door!" He motioned everyone to come over again.

Li Mengyang said mysteriously, "No matter what happens tonight, don't go out..."

It turns out that those Mongolians and Han people often trade in inns - tea and horse business!

Li Mengyang lowered his voice and said, "Shaanxi is located in the western fortress and the climate and geographical conditions are extremely suitable for raising horses, so it has been an important horse breeding area since ancient times, but it is far from enough for the court to rely on raising horses by itself! Therefore, through the tea horse market, the tea in the south of the Yangtze River is exchanged for foreign horses. These horses, especially Mongolian horses, are directly used as superior war horses! In order to ensure the supply of horses, the court issued a decree prohibiting private use and selling tea. However, due to the government's policy, the tea and horses were cheap, so the Central Plains and extra horse dealers colluded and risked the death of Ling Chi to communicate with each other privately!"

Wang Shouren listened and breathed a sigh of relief for a long time: "Oh, so it is! It's really 'shrimp has a way, fish has a fish way'!"

Su Wuniang asked, "Do Mongolians have to drink tea?"

Li Mengyang raised his hand and said, "That's a good question! Miss Su is really observant! Historical books have long recorded that 'the people of Xifan, who grow cheese, have been stagnant after eating for a long time, and they can't live without drinking tea. Fan Rao horse without tea, so China has the benefit of picking mountains, and it is easy to take advantage of the yellow. Mongolians would rather have no food for three days than tea for a day!"

Gao Daquan stared and said, "So, they would rather lose their heads than change tea!" And the tea collected by the government for exchange is very expensive and not cost-effective!"

Li Mengyang said, "That's right! And in the transaction, there are also people who kill and overstock goods if they can't reach an agreement!"

Wang Shouren asked, "What did the Shaanxi political envoy do?" Is there no one to guard the border city?

Li Mengyang sighed: "Hey, the Chinese people's 'benequity" skill has been played well. The court stipulates that the government can only trade with gold medals in tea horses, but who sells them in private? There are also some royal relatives and nobles, high officials and rich merchants. If they have money, they can communicate with the sky. If they want to investigate, they can't start!"

Wang Shouren nodded and sighed, "I'm afraid I found it. It's also shrimp and crab. The real dragon head will not appear!" Bo'an has finally learned a lot here!"

Gao Daquan asked, "Can't you report to the officials and let the government arrest them?" The government obviously doesn't care, and it's not like a word!"

Wang Shouren shook his head: "If only it were so simple! You only see their people. Have you seen them trading? The newspaper officer also has to get all the stolen goods!" He looked at Su Wu Niang and said, "Wu Niang, your money is finally useful! Daquan, go and find the store!"

"What are you going to do?" Su Wu Niang asked.

"You will know in a while!"

After a while, Gao Daquan came in with the store.

Whether you are smart or not, look at the eyes - this store is a clever man, and Wang Shouren was convinced of this at first sight.

As soon as the store entered the door, he said, "I have seen several guests!" He looked around and said, "I don't know what's the matter with several guests looking for the little ones?"

Wang Shouren smiled and said, "Do you know what we are doing here?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly replied, "I have never seen several guest officers. How can I guess what you are doing here?"

Li Mengyang immediately understood Wang Shouren's intention, so he said, "Are you really confused or fake? What can we do when we come here?"

I don't know what the store's home decoration looks like: "I really don't know the small one! The little one never inquires about what the guest officer is here for!"

Wang Shouren raised his head to Su Wuniang. Su Wuniang immediately reacted, turned around and took out a piece of gold and put it on the table and said, "When we first arrived here, we are not familiar with the place. The boss is well-connected and well-informed. Please lead a thread to build a bridge!"

The effect of this gold ingot is really amazing. The store, who didn't know it just now, instantly obeyed a lot: "The villain only knows how to serve people. The villain has never been engaged in this business... However, what kind of business are you going to do?"

Su Wuniang smiled andly: "Ha ha, it's the four-legged one who travels thousands of miles a day..."

The store shouted in panic, "This is going to kill the head!" The small ones are old, and the small ones..."

Su Wuniang played with the gold in her hand and said, "Well, look at the golden yellow, where should I put it?" With that, Su Wuniang put it in her pocket and the shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Well, then you do the business. You don't know anything about the small one, but there is a guest officer next door who got more than ten horses and put them in my inn. You can talk to him. I'll go and say hello to him first. Several guests drink a pot of tea first, and wait for a "A moment!"