Qin Official

For those who had a problem with them, they would either just disappear, but since they were welcomed in, Heifu did not take advantage of them. He accepted the apologies from Mai Hui and Shi Gong, but declined their gifts.

"Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, there is no need for you to say anything more. I just hope that my cousin Yan can share a piece of the honey and sugar market in the future."

The title of Heifu is the same as that of Mai Hui, but the power and authority are worlds apart. Mai Hui and Shi Gong are not stupid either. They know that they have offended the wrong people, and they recognize them quickly, and then they just take their leave...

After the two left, Heifu returned to the house, but U Thiyan did not leave, but continued to stay at the table.

But I saw that this man was in his thirties, and his clothes were no different from ordinary Qin people, but his physical appearance was slightly different: he had a high nose, high cheekbones, deep eye sockets, and a long face with a thick beard. At first glance, he did not look like Xia Zi, but looked like Xia Zi. A Rong man.

Wushiyan is indeed a Rong people. A hundred years ago, the source of Jingshui River was the Rongdi land outside the country. There was a Rong tribe named "Wushi" who surrendered to Yiqu. Later, King Huiwen of Qin defeated Yiqu and subdued the Rong. In the thirty-sixth year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he destroyed Yiqu and established Beidi County, and also established Wushi County in Jitoushan. The Wushi clan then surrendered to Qin.

Around the time when Qin Shihuang came to power, a merchant named Wushi Luo came out of Wushi County. He relied on the mules and horses he had raised for generations to carry goods and do resale trade. First, he went south to Xianyang to buy silk silk, and then to the west to Zhuqiang, where he exchanged the silk for the cattle and horses of the Qiang Rong King, and then brought it back to Guanzhong and sold it to the Qin government. Come and go again and again, and make a lot of profits.

When Qin Shihuang wanted to unify Liuhe, he needed a large number of cattle and horses for both the unification war and domestic farming. So the emperor asked the Shaofu to contact Wu Shiluo and asked him to be an official and merchant of the Qin State, specializing in foreign trade. Over the past ten years, he exchanged a large number of horses and cattle for the Qin State, which not only ensured the smooth progress of the war, but also satisfied Li The needs of mountains and other projects. In view of the fact that his contribution could be compared with his military achievements, Qin Shihuang gave him the treatment of a king in the form of "bi", and he could go to court with his ministers at four times every year.

This decree was announced together with the conferring of a virgin title on Widow Qing. In terms of wealth, Wu Shiluo and Widow Qing were on par with each other, with a net worth of over 100 million yuan. However, in terms of status, Wushi Luo was even better. A bargain!

The reason why Heifu reconciled with the Mai family and the Shi family was mainly to give face to the Wushi family. The Wushi family was equivalent to the foreign trade minister of Great Qin, and he could not afford to offend him.

At this moment, the disciples and sons of the two richest men in the Qin Dynasty were sitting opposite each other, both looking at each other, half-smiling but not smiling. It was obvious that this was not the first time they had met.

When Heifu entered the door, he happened to hear Ba Zhong say: "Wu Jun is really well-informed, and he actually found this place."

Wu Shiyanze said in a somewhat stiff Guanzhong dialect: "How dare you, I just didn't expect that Bajun and Zhonglang Huling are old acquaintances, why didn't you introduce them to me? If so, this misunderstanding would never have happened."

"How did I know that Mai and Shi just let Wu Jun do what he wanted?" Ba Zhong glanced at Heifu, and there was something in his words.

When Wu Shiyan saw Hei Fu coming in, he stood up and explained to him: "Zhonglang Huling, the reason why I met Mai and Shi is because the wild honey from Beidi County was shipped to Xianyang and was to be handed over to Shi's merchants. For sale. In the border areas, in addition to salt and cloth, candy can also be sold for a high price! Therefore, we have connections with the two families."

"I heard recently that there is a novelty called brown sugar in Nanshi. I was just about to come and take a look, but then I learned that there was a lawsuit. When I asked someone about it, I found out that the person selling brown sugar was the cousin of Zhonglang Huling. There is a saying in the Central Plains that when it comes to merchants, peace will bring both benefits, while disputes will bring both disadvantages, so I took it upon myself to resolve this misunderstanding, and don't be surprised if I hope that I will succeed."

It turns out that in addition to the resale trade of silk, cattle and horses, Wu Shiluo also transported some Central Plains items needed overseas, such as salt, cloth, sugar, etc.

Hei Fu became interested: "Qiang people also eat malt candies?"

"Those who like caramel are Yuezhi people."

Wushi Yan had his own purpose and did not hide it. He said: "From Wushi County to the west six hundred miles to the source of the river, after crossing the river, it is the land of the Yuezhi in Hexi. The Yuezhi people are told that their food, language and language are slightly different from those of the Qiang. It's the same, but unlike the Qiang people who burned the land and cultivated it, the Yuezhi did not have a city to cultivate the fields all the time. They moved around following water and grass, followed by livestock, and cooked meat and cheese to satisfy their hunger and thirst."

"The buttermilk must be marinated with salt or caramel to make it palatable. Therefore, the Rong King of Yuezhi used hundreds of cattle and horses every year to obtain thousands of kilograms of caramel from Guanzhong."

Heifu was fascinated by what he heard. He had heard about the Yuezhi. He had never thought that the Yuezhi was still entrenched in the Hexi area, so close to the Qin State, and there was not much friction between the two sides.

And the trade route opened by the Wushi brothers can be regarded as the earliest Silk Road, right?

Speaking of this, Wu Shi bluntly stated his purpose.

"I came here today. In addition to hoping that Mai and Shi can apologize to Zhonglang Huling and resolve their misunderstanding, I also hope that Zhonglang Huling can resell the brown sugar to Wushi in the future! Wushi will then sell it to Zhuqiang , Yuezhi goes!"

Wushi Yanwei's elder brother was based in Xianyang, purchasing goods needed by the Di and Qiang lands, and he had a ruthless vision.

After he got the brown sugar, he was surprised to find that compared to semi-dried glutinous rice cakes that were difficult to preserve for a long time, those horseshoe-shaped brown sugars were dehydrated and very dry. They were not only easy to carry and store, but also had a much sweeter taste than glutinous rice cakes.

What’s even better is that, judging from the fact that a Nanjun merchant took out two thousand kilograms for sale at one go, this product is not as difficult to mass-produce as honey!

"If this thing can be sold to Qiang and Di lands, it will surely please the Rong kings! Brother, I can exchange it for more cattle and horses!"

Wu Shiyan was calculating profits in his mind, and Heifu was also calculating his own calculations.

"This is really a door-to-door business!"

Moreover, it was a foreign trade order sent by Wushi, the largest official businessman in Qin State.

The Qin Dynasty suppressed small and medium-sized traders and strictly prohibited them from leaving the country. Only the Wushi government controlled the trade between Qin and the Qiang and Yuezhi, which was equivalent to the beginning of the Silk Road.

It is much more efficient to have our own products join this hugely profitable trade line and be directly wholesaled and sold by Ushi than to have a cousin who is not familiar with the place sell bulk brown sugar everywhere.

This is a short-term benefit. In the long term, if brown sugar travels farther and farther on the camel’s back and is sold to the Western Regions, or even to Greek countries and Rome, maybe this line will no longer be called the Silk Road in the future, but renamed sugar. Way to go!

If time passes and sugar becomes China’s leading foreign trade product, who knows, two thousand years later, the British (assuming there is still Britain) will not call China “china”, but “sweets!”

Although he couldn't wait in his heart, Heifu looked very calm on his face.

"Wu Jun should ask my cousin about this matter."

Heifu spread his hands, still pretending: "I am an official of the imperial court, how dare I violate the national law and do business rashly? However, I have heard that Nanjun did not produce much brown sugar this year, and only two thousand kilograms were shipped to Guanzhong. , most of them have been sold..."

"Hate less, hate less!"

Wu Shiyan looked a little disappointed, but Hei Fu added: "But next year, the brown sugar shipped to Xianyang may double. If Wu Jun likes it, he can buy half of it."

Half of it is not bad, enough to exchange for hundreds of cattle and horses. Wu Shiyan smiled: "It's a deal!"

"I am just suggesting on behalf of my cousin that when Yan wakes up, I will ask him to visit and discuss the matter with Wu Jun in detail..."

Heifu said: "You may finalize the deed first."

Wu Shiyan happily high-fived Hei Fu and made an oath. Ba Zhong on the side heard this and couldn't help but regret it.

"What a shame, it's all my fault for being too hesitant and letting this guy take the lead!"

…

Ba Shi was also engaged in trade. In addition to cinnabar as his main business, he also ran well salt and Botong businesses. He had a certain influence in Bashu and Dongting Wuxi.

As a merchant, Ba Zhong has long noticed the trade value of brown sugar, which is dry and easy to carry. Although Bashu prefers spicy things such as ginger and pepper, whose child doesn't like sugar?

So after Wu Shiyan said goodbye, he no longer hesitated or tried to let Hei Fu owe him a favor first. He immediately bowed to Hei Fu and said, "Zhong Lang Hu Ling, I also have an unkind request!"

"Brother Ba and I, why are you so polite?"

Heifu smiled and said: "Are you going to buy brown sugar from my cousin and sell it in Bashu like Wu Shiyan?"

"Ba Zhong is more greedy!"

He raised his head and his eyes were bright: "To be honest with Lang Hu Ling, as early as January, when someone sold brown sugar to Ba County, my mother sent someone to Nan County to inquire about it. Although the specific method of making brown sugar is unknown, it is known that brown sugar is made of It was made by Gan Zhe, and the smoke was billowing from the Yuan Yuan workshop, and someone kept bringing firewood into it, which should be obtained by squeezing juice and cooking it."

Heifu suppressed his smile. Although he knew that the method of making brown sugar was too simple to completely hide it, he didn't expect that Pap's information was so well-informed.

Ba Zhong said: "I have no other intentions. Although my mother is interested in the benefits of brown sugar, she is not willing to steal it privately, so she asked me to come to Xianyang in person to ask for the household order of Zhonglang."

"Asked me what?"

Heifu took another pot of wine and filled it for himself and Ba Zhong. He also threatened Mai Hui and Shi Gong, but if Ba Widow Qing tried to steal his business, he was helpless.

Ba Zhong bowed again and said: "Can we send craftsmen to open a workshop in the middle of Sichuan? There are many wild tadpoles in Neijiang in Shu County. My family can send Bo boys to burn the wasteland and plant them. The annual output should be far better than that of Anlu. Let's send the cavalry team again. Sell ​​the brown sugar to Bashu and Wuxi areas, and the profit will be more than one million! The money obtained is a huge profit, and Ba Shi is willing to share it with Zhonglang Hu Ling, how about it?"

Are you here to give money again? Hei Fu was stunned when he heard this. This was no less than the profit from selling wholesale brown sugar to the West. It was like sweet wine, attracting greedy mosquitoes and flies...