Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: The maritime merchants in the old Southern Han Dynasty, mainly the Liang and Huang families, are interested in maritime trade and money houses, but their funds are far from enough. I, as the host, will propose a plan. When the time comes, Madam Shen will ask the merchants from Jiangnan whether they are willing.
Chen Jiali said: Your Majesty, please make it clear.
I am sure that there are a lot of silver mines in Dongdao. Guo Shao said directly that as long as the imperial army opens up the sea route and establishes a foothold in Dongdao, it will be able to obtain a large amount of gold, silver and copper mines. These precious metals will be minted into coins after being transported back to the country and circulated through major banks.
Now I want merchants in Jiangnan and Nanhan to raise 3 million strings of cash or silk and other goods that are easy to transport.
When she heard the number three million strings of cash, Chen Jiali's mouth opened in surprise.
As expected, the merchants at that time were so-called rich, but they were still far from being comparable to the government. Three million guan was not much for Guo Shao. When he had just defeated the three major kingdoms in the south, Shu, Tang and Han, Guo Shao had tens of millions of guan of wealth. Now it was all gone. It was not enough to spend.
Guo Shao glanced at her and said: Madam Shen, don't be anxious. These three million strings of cash are not given to the national treasury for free; together with the cost of your investment in the bank in the future, they will be counted as the capital contribution of each family. However, the maximum share of each merchant cannot exceed 49%, and the remaining capital contribution will be the share of the royal family. I will use the gold and silver coins from Dongdao to offset it.
Chen Jiali asked: Since the national treasury is short of military funds, why should the royal family take the lion's share
Guo Shao smiled and said: "When a bank lends money, it must take into account the interests of the people. I don't trust the self-consciousness of merchants. As Mrs. Shen said, merchants value profit. In all walks of life, who doesn't work hard for their own family? Mrs. Shen thought, who in this world can think for the people
Chen Jiali also laughed and said: It's the emperor
Guo Shao said calmly: "That's right. Civil officials are greedy for money, military officers are greedy for merit, and merchants are greedy for profit. I own the world and have everything I need. I only want the country. Of course, I want a strong country and a rich people, so that the country can be stable forever."
Chen Jiali still had a smile on her face and complimented: Your Majesty is truly a wise and enlightened monarch, and the world is fortunate.
The words were spoken lightly, not seriously.
At this time, Guo Shao took a breath and said softly: I suddenly remembered a small thing.
Chen Jiali seemed to be listening carefully and took the opportunity to look at Guo Shao.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: When I was in a poor position, I had a good friend. That friend was very poor, but when my mother died, he borrowed money to buy a cypress coffin for her. He said that when my mother was alive, she really couldn't let her live a good life, so she must have a good coffin when she died.
When Chen Jiali heard this, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.
Guo Shao said lightly: I was also very poor at that time, but I lent him money. Because I understand his intentions, it is a pity. I have also experienced such regrets.
Guo Shao smiled reluctantly when he said this. In this life, I no longer have such regrets. But somehow I am still not satisfied. What I can do now is to make people in the world have fewer such regrets. Let most people in the world have enough food and clothing, and let those with ambitions live a good life.
After he finished speaking, several people in the palace fell silent. Even Zhou Xian, who was making tea, glanced sideways and looked at Guo Shao with a strange look.
After a long time, Chen Jiali said in a strange voice: I am willing to take out all my family's wealth and try my best to persuade other businessmen to invest.
At this time, the tea was served. Guo Shao picked up a small cup and said, "Mrs. Shen, please believe me. I value honesty the most in my life. Honesty is the basis of the rules of the world. I will definitely make the money back."
Chen Jiali whispered: It is not uncommon to have a heroic lord, but the rarest thing is for a saint to have compassion.
In the hall on the hill of Shangjing, a young boy in his teens, holding a scepter, sat on a chair decorated with tiger skins and beasts, and asked Xiao Siwen next to him: Is the news true
Xiao Siwen said in a deep voice: "It should be correct. My subordinates have already established themselves in the Tokyo Merchants, and the envoys have also verified this news. Xu State wants to use military force against Japan because it discovered that there is a silver mine in Shanyin Road in Japan. From various signs, Xu State's treasury is now empty, and even military funds have begun to be raised from merchants. Now it may want to supplement military funds from mining in Japan."
He paused and continued: Not long ago, the envoys of the State of Xu sent people to meet the ruler of Japan, hoping to enthrone the ruler to establish a bond of loyalty between the ruler and his subjects, but it seems that they were rejected. With the warmongering behavior of the ruler and his subjects in Tokyo, the whole court was furious and shouted for war. Unfortunately, Japan seemed to be unaware of this.
Yelu Xizhen said: "I don't know much about Dongdao, but the small country in Donghai is definitely not a match for Xu State. The distance to Donghai is long, and Xu State can't use its strength. At this time, if Xu State is trapped in Dongdao, or suffers a great loss there, it will be beneficial to Liao. On the contrary, if Xu State succeeds, its national strength will increase, and Liao will be in greater danger."
The young Khan frowned and said: "But the Liao Dynasty has never been good at ships, so it is impossible to reinforce Dongdao. Moreover, the Liao Dynasty previously reinforced the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Northern Han Dynasty Pingxia, but suffered losses. Now the tribes may not be willing to do so either."
Xiao Siwen said: "The Khan is wise. The Liao Dynasty's biggest threat is Xu State. Helping Xu State's enemy is for the Liao Dynasty. Liao Dynasty cannot send troops to Dongdao at the moment. We can send envoys with letters to inform Japan and let them prepare early. We can also send people who are familiar with military affairs to instruct Japan's troops."
The Khan Yelu Xian listened to Xiao Siwen's advice and nodded immediately, saying: "Who do you think is qualified?"
Xiao Siwen said: Yang Gun.
After leaving the hall, Xiao Siwen immediately invited Yang Gun to come and discuss the matter.
Because Yang Gun saved his life despite losing his troops in Pingxia, he was demoted to a commoner. When he went to Xiao's house to see Xiao Siwen, he was wearing animal skins, without a hat, and had a bald head. The ups and downs of life are unpredictable. Yang Gun was once a famous general and a nobleman in the Liao Kingdom. He commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and horses for many years, but now everything has been taken away from him. At first glance, he is almost like a herdsman.
Although he was in a miserable state, he looked grateful when he saw Xiao Siwen: "Thanks to Mr. Xiao's kind words, otherwise I would have died."
Xiao Siwen said calmly: Although you have lost many soldiers and generals, it is not because you are not good at using troops, but because of bad luck. I think General Yang is still a talented general of the Liao Dynasty, it would be a pity if he died.
After hearing this, Yang Gun was so moved that he placed his hand on his chest and bowed to express his gratitude.
Xiao Siwen said: "However, the losses in the Pingxia battle were very heavy, and someone had to take the blame. It was not unfair for General Yang to be stripped of his title and dismissed from office. There is an opportunity to redeem himself and make meritorious contributions recently. General Yang, please don't let me down."
Yang Gun hurriedly asked: How can I be employed by the court
Xiao Siwen said calmly: "No one else would be willing to do this job, after all, they have to risk the boat capsizing to go to Dongdao. But I am worried that there is no one with talent and insight."
Yang Gun was puzzled and asked: Lord Xiao wants to send me to Dongdao
Xiao Siwen said: According to the news from Tokyo, Xu State intends to use military force against Japan in order to seize Japan's mines. The Khan and his ministers mainly decided on two things with Xiao Siwen and Yelu Xizhen: one was to warn the Japanese monarchs and ministers to prepare early, and the other was to suggest plans for their military preparations.
There have been wars in the Central Plains grasslands for hundreds of years, and the battle tactics are no longer what they used to be. Japan is isolated overseas and cannot keep up with the times. I think they will suffer a great loss when facing Xu's army, so someone is needed to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the Xu army. The Xu army's gunpowder, artillery, siege muskets and artillery techniques are unprecedented. General Yang has seen them and can remind the Japanese generals.
Yang Gun pondered for a long time. Aren't there only Japanese people on the East Island? Even if someone gave them guidance, could they defeat Xu Jun
Xiao Siwen said: "The Liao army did not participate in the war, so even if our army was defeated, it would not be blamed on General Yang. As long as you are appointed, it is nothing more than a difference in merit and hard work. If you have no hard work, now let's see which noble is willing to go."
Yang Gun gritted his teeth and said solemnly: "My life was saved by Lord Xiao. As long as you command me, I will go through mountains of swords and seas of fire."
Xiao Siwen said earnestly: "Xu State is in great trouble, General Yang must do his best in this matter." Another thing is that General Yang and others went to Dongdao and saw the battle formation, and they could learn more about Xu's military tactics, which would be of great benefit if Liao and Xu went to war again in the future.
After hearing this, Yang Gun bowed and said: Mr. Xiao has far-reaching concerns.
Xiao Siwen sighed: "Guo the blacksmith is ambitious in his conquests. He has been expanding from Hexi to Donghai, Youyun to Nanhan. Liaoxi and Liaodong are rich in products and will surely be watched by the tigers. At this time when the country is facing its fate, we dare not ignore it."
Xiao Siwen personally organized this matter and had received envoys from Dongdao in the capital, but the court had never sent anyone to the east, so it was impossible to directly dispatch official ships. Fortunately, private trade had never been cut off. Ginseng and medicinal materials from the old Bohai Kingdom were the favorite purchases of Japanese merchants; Japanese knives, screens, silk fabrics, etc. were also bought by Liao nobles.
The Liao officials could only find merchants from the two countries to assist in this matter, so Yang Gun and several of his followers had to disguise themselves as merchants, blend into the caravan, first pass through Goryeo, and then cross the sea to Japan.
No wonder anyone with a little status in Liao was unwilling to do this job, as it was really risky. Liao and Goryeo had not yet torn their relationship apart, but their relationship was not very good, because they had always been fighting for the territory of Bohai. If the envoys were discovered by the Goryeo people, it would be hard to predict what the result would be.
Fortunately, the caravan was familiar with this route and knew many Koreans. The land journey was relatively smooth. When they arrived in the south of Korea, they had to change boats to cross the sea. This was something the Khitans were very reluctant to do. They used to ride horses on the grasslands and rarely took boats on the river. Suddenly they had to take a boat to cross the vast ocean, which was a dangerous task.
The sea is different from the land. Merchant ships are not big and are not built sturdily. If you are unlucky and encounter strong winds and waves, there will be nothing you can do once the ship capsizes, and the risk is extremely high.
Yang Gun stood on the old deck and felt extremely desolate for a moment. The lonely boat was swaying and the endless sea was all around. He felt like he was on the boat, drifting like duckweed with an uncertain future.
The Spring Festival is approaching, I wish all book friends happiness and a happy family. The lunar calendar year 2015 is about to pass. This year, Xifeng has relied on the support of all book friends. I sincerely thank and apologize. Brothers and sisters understand that the updates may not be stable for about ten days during the New Year. I am sorry everyone.