Chapter 130 Business War in Western Xia

Song Renzong sat high on the throne, and he saw every move of the officials in the hall. The king was no longer a naughty child who teased the minister at the ** banquet. His sonorous and powerful answer was not humble and steady, but there was no lack of the momentum of the newborn calf that was not afraid of tigers.

Zhao Shu looked at Wang's side and thought about Sima Guang's intention. He thought it would be better to be a smooth favor. If the king's side did not good, he could also take the opportunity to impeach the king's side. He made up his mind and looked up and saw that Renzong was looking at him: "Father, since Wang Shilang is so sure, let's listen to what he said. " This is what Renzong said. He sent a decree to summon the king to take pictures and his followers into the hall.

The ministers who were just guessing the spirit of the emperor and the prince changed a little. It seemed that the atmosphere in the court had eased a little, and they all looked at the king's side waiting for his answer.

Wang didn't want to sell the customs. He told Renzong: "Since the alliance of Tanyuan, the border between Song and Liao has been peaceful all year round. Not only is trade flourishing, but also people's livelihood is stable. China can basically fill the silver deficit given to Liao by tax revenue; it is the same for Xixia."

"What I mean by increasing income is to open a tea farm outside here. According to what I have seen during my trip to Xixia, due to their eating habits, people in Xixia must drink strong tea after each meal, so the consumption of tea in Xixia is very large. This is also the reason why China's Chinese and Western Xia is 20,000 catties more tea than that of Liao, but 20,000 Jin is basically only the consumption of the palace and the rewards of ministers. It is not included in the people's daily drinking of tea. Therefore, if a tea farm is opened on the border, the profit of this court will be considerable.

After saying these words, Wang stood there calmly, waiting for everyone to ask questions,

The court immediately whispered to the ministers. Renzong asked Zhao Shu, "Your Majesty, you can see how much profit you have." He deliberately left Zhao Shu a chance to speak,

Just last year, when Wang's side picked up the tea farm, Zhao Shu was not present at that time, and he had an appointment with Wang's side. Now he remember that of course knows how much the tea is. He dares to hide it and said, "Before Wang Shilang took office, he also had a tea profit of 200,000 taels a year as a Bianjing tea farm."

"Wow." The discussion in the court was louder. He pulled Lord Bao Zheng, gave him a thumbs-up, and whispered, "Lord Bao, the adopted son, is very powerful." Bao Zheng hummed proudly,

Prime Minister Zeng Gongliang was a little confused. In the past ten years, private tea has been banned, and officials have sold tea to the whole country. Sometimes it is only more than 100,000 taels. He stood up and said, "I don't know why this tea is so profitable. Is it the huge profit of Wang Shilang who specializes in selling tea?"

When Wang Bing saw Zeng Gongliang's question, he must have fallen into the line if he didn't make it clear. Wang Bing raised his hand and said to Zeng Gongliang, "Lord Zeng, don't misunderstand that the tea profit is not high. This is due to the emperor Shengming, who ordered the cancellation of monopoly and the implementation of trade."

Renzong was also gratified when he heard Wang's words. Which emperor did not want to hear people say that he was holy? He smiled and pointed to the king and said, "You just tell these old ministers about the benefits of trade."

Naturally, Wang will not be timid. When it's time to show himself, he must not let people look flat. He raised his head and said loudly, "I think that since the State of Song implemented the 'money law', I have paid money in Tokyo and picked up goods in the south. The price of tea monopolized by the government is high, and the acquisition department pressed the price, and the tea farmers are unwilling to do not want to. If you sell good tea to the government, there will naturally be more people who take risks and smuggle tea. As a result, the tea production has plummeted and the government's revenue has been decreasing.

Since the emperor ordered the cancellation of monopoly and the implementation of trade, tea is taxed like ordinary goods. For ordinary people, the sales of cheap and good-quality tea have naturally increased, and the government's income is higher than before, which is where the tea profits have soared. "

After Wang said, the court praised, "Okay." That's right." The emperor's sage. The voice of admiration filled the court,

When Sima Guang saw Wang's side talking for a long time, he would talk about tea. He thought that the boy wanted to make a lot of money, so he stood up and said, "That's right, is the teahouse set up by Wang Shilang at the border official or private?" Didn't you say that the housekeeper's monopoly is not good? I'll see how you answer,

The king did not come back directly. He looked at the prince and said, "I only say that there is a profit. As for how the emperor and the prince arrange it, I have no choice but to obey orders." Sima Guang choked back in one sentence. Renzong smiled. This boy is a ghost elf. It seems that he also wants to fulfill last year's promise to open the tea market to the king last year.

Wang saw Ouyang Xiu looking at himself with a straight face. He continued, "I went to Yanzhou to control salt business this time, and I also applied price countermeasures. Under the heavy profit, there must be a brave man. After balancing the salt price of green salt and me in the Song Dynasty, no one will take risks. This is not a momentary policy. If we do business with Xia, our country can save the green. Salt, deal with price fluctuations.

Ouyang Xiu knew that Wang's words were said to him, and he turned his face and asked, "How does the king's servant know the floating of green salt?"

The king can't tell Ouyang Xiu that Xixia has an internal response, but he can deal with it even if he doesn't say the internal response. At this time, the servant with the picture next to the king has come to the hall,

Zhe Kejun held the picture in his hand. Zhang Ping stood beside Zhe Kejun and muttered in a low voice, "Brother Zhe, have you seen this picture? Can he do it?"

The inner minister who led the way stared at Zhang Ping fiercely: "Silence" and then walked into the hall and replied. Zhang Ping quickly closed his mouth. Soon the inner minister came out and asked the two upper halls to tell them the rules, such as not to look at it or talk about it. Zhang Ping nodded vigorously,

When Wang saw that they arrived just in time, he ordered them to open the picture in their hands. The two of them unfolded the picture at both ends of the painting and spread it to the end. There was still a part left on the scroll in his hand.

Wang pointed to the picture and said to Renzong and the ministers, this is the "Western Xia map of the business war" I drew. After he finished speaking, Renzong and the ministers looked at the picture, and they all laughed in the court. Lord Bao, Wang Anshi's expression was crying and laughing. Zhang Ping's palms were sweating, and he said in his heart, "What kind of famous is this?

Renzong's head is crooked on the left and his head is crooked on the right. He is far away from the picture. From a distance, the picture seems to be drawn by a five- or six-year-old child. The picture looks like a landscape from a distance: the upper half of the picture is full of tortuous peaks, and the middle seems to be a small piece and a horse. The horse is disproportionate, and the westernmost side of the picture. It seems that he has written a row of words. He really can't see clearly and pointed to the picture and asked Wang, "Wang, what is the bottom line of your painting?"

The king raised his head and said, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven** ten"

Now the ministers kept laughing. Some simply laughed and pointed to Wang and said, "Wang Shilang, if you can't draw, don't paint. If this flower hangs on Yunxuan, your Yunxuan's signboard will be smashed."

Renzong also made Wang Zong laugh or cry, and he also laughed a few times: "Wang, you have to tell it well, or I will punish you for stirring up the court."

When Wang saw that the effect was achieved, he asked Zhe Kejun to open the unopened part. On the far left side of the picture, the number was also marked like a ruler. Wang pointed to the picture and said to Renzong,

"Your Majesty, this is the price trend chart of Xixia salt horses that I have talked about in Yanzhou for several months. Please take a look at the different peaks, that is, the price relative to the left, and the fluctuation of the following months. From this chart, it can be seen that Xixia mainly focuses on the two largest two kinds of salt and horses in China's trade, in the four seasons of the year. Change."

When the king said this, everyone looked at it and saw the peak or the height or the ground on the picture. It was because of the staggered heights that made Renzong look at the mountain from a distance. The sound of ridicule gradually subsided. Most officials also looked at the picture carefully and seemed to have found some mystery.

Renzong understood the meaning of the bottom line. He pointed to the center of the picture and asked, "What is the middle part of the picture?"

Wang Bian looked around at the crowd. At this time, all the officials put away their contempt and waited for Wang Bian to answer Renzong's questions. Wang Bian then said, "This water is Qinghai Lake. The green salt of Xixia is produced here. Affected by the season, the salt production period is from June to August every year. As can be seen from the picture, the salt production period and one or two months after that, It is the time when the price of green salt is the lowest, so if the green salt in Xixia can't be consumed until now, it will affect the sale of salt more in the future. This is the place where Xixia people are nervous.

Renzong patted the armrest of the throne: "Good analysis, but why did you draw the horse so big?"

At this time, Lord Bao, Wang Anshi and the officials who supported the king were no longer nervous. They nodded and looked at the king.

Wang was confident at this time. He said more confidently: "Xixia's party horse is also an important thing for Xixia to be sold to our country, but Xixia's horse farm is so big. If it can't be sold, Ma Duo will trample on the good field. This cycle will lead to the reduction of grain production and unstable people's hearts, so I have Grasp it and let Xixia send horses to reduce the burden on the horse farm.

The court was suddenly full of praise. Even Zeng Gongliang was happy because of his proposal for trade. Originally, there were three propositions, but now the king has classified them into one category.

Prime Minister Han Qi thought for a long time to find out some loopholes next to the king, otherwise he would have no face. He asked, "As the king's servant said, if Xixia people don't raise horses, Xixia will have no horses to send to our country."

The king said with a smile: Most of the herdsmen who raise horses would rather buy horses at a low price than kill them. What's more, if the herdsmen do not raise horses and change their land, he still has to give Han Qi a step: "Lord Han has been a privy envoy for a long time, and he knows the importance of horses in the battlefield. If the Xixia people do not have horses, then we will You can be generous and occupy Xixia step by step.

When Zhao Shu saw that the overall situation was in hand, he simply took his army: "Beside the king, do you dare to set up a military order and send Xixia merchants to get horses."

The king laughed. There was no word "dare not" in his dictionary.