Fenghou

"Follow the order!" The two saluted and left.

……

Chen Qing arranged for his own soldiers to send Tie Huolei to Lu Wei, and he put the matter aside for a while after being busy.

At this time, he saw the two pieces of cloth next to him, and immediately became interested. He wondered how the weaver girl Yang Xiaomei had improved the cotton cloth?

Chen Qing tore off the upper layer of oil paper, but inside was the second layer of packaging, which was wrapped with a layer of linen. Chen Qing immediately understood what the other party meant, to compare himself with the linen!

He untied the fine linen cloth, and finally revealed a white and fine cotton cloth, also called white folded cloth, which made Chen Qing couldn't help but exclaim, it was as white as snow, delicate and dense, and had a silk-like smoothness to the touch. Gives a very upscale feel.

Chen Qing was satisfied. He mainly wanted to know how far the cotton cloth could be woven, and he did not disappoint himself.

Of course, Chen Qing also knew that ordinary people could not weave this kind of high-end cotton cloth. The output must be small and the price was high. In fact, he was more concerned about the mid-end cotton cloth, which had the value of promotion.

In addition, the raw materials of cotton cloth must also be guaranteed. The first is cotton, and the second is cotton. The cotton is mainly produced in Ryukyu Island, and there will also be some in Fujian Road. The problem with cotton is not a big problem. The key is cotton. At present, it is only in the Gaochang area. For planting, it is best to find a state dedicated to planting on Shaanxi Road.

Thinking of planting, Chen Qing suddenly remembered something. The year before last, he asked all states to promote the planting of alfalfa on the banks of streams and fields. I wonder how the progress has been?

Chen Qing immediately ordered Chao Qing: "This afternoon, I will call the counselors of the Internal Affairs Hall to discuss important matters. You should inform them first, and I will tell you the specific time later."

Chapter 938 Trading

At noon, Lu Wei came to the Peony Hall of Juxianglou. He carried a wooden box. As soon as he entered the door, Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up at the same time, and Lu Tang also stood up, and the three pairs of eyes fixed on Lu Wooden box in weft hands.

In particular, the tension and expectation in Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua's eyes were fully revealed. The things in the wooden box were too important to them, and Lu Tang was equally nervous. His hope of making a fortune could be realized was also pinned on this wooden box.

Lu Wei came in and put the wooden box on the table. He sat down and drank two glasses of wine. Wang Shuang gave Zhou Hua a wink, and Zhou Hua hurriedly locked the door to prevent anyone from entering without permission.

Lu Wei drank another glass of wine and said lightly: "Don't worry, when I came, I observed carefully, and no one followed me."

Wang Shuang laughed dryly, "I also have men watching downstairs. I'm not afraid that the guards will come to investigate, but I'm afraid that the bartender will come in to deliver the food and he will see it, so be careful."

Lu Wei took out a key, unlocked the small lock on the wooden box, lifted the top cover, took out a rather heavy package from inside, and carefully placed it on the table.

Lu Wei put the wooden box on the ground, and then said: "This is the iron fire thunder. There are four sizes of iron fire thunder, five catties of iron hedgehogs, twenty catties of iron dogs, fifty catties of iron pigs, and 120 catties of iron dogs." Rhinoceros, this is a five-jin iron hedgehog, five catties refers to the amount of medicine, plus the weight of the iron shell, it actually weighs eleven catties."

"Can Lu Sima open it?" Wang Shuang asked.

He also learned some common sense about Tie Huolei from a soldier recently. Although it was just superficial common sense, it was much better than the black eyes before.

Lu Wei untied the cloth knot, revealing an iron lump in the shape of a flat wine jar, shining with a dark luster.

Wang Shuang squatted down and took a closer look, and immediately saw the engraved serial number, Xihuoqi No. 635. The "one" at the front indicates the first type of iron hedgehog, and the "[-]" at the back indicates that [-] pieces were manufactured.

With this number, there is no problem, it is an authentic Xijun Tiehuolei.

"This is a remnant mine. The matchwire is gone. It is the kind you were expecting. Luckily, this batch is the only one that has been repaired because there is no matchlock."

"Is there no blueprint?" Wang Shuang asked again.

Lu Wei shook his head, "I made it very clear before that there is no blueprint. If you still have hope for the blueprint, then there is no way to make a deal."

"We also know it's unlikely, so we're just asking casually."

Wang Shuang was elated and couldn't hide his joy. He sat down and asked with a smile, "Can Lu Sima tell you about its origin?"

Lu Wei wrapped it up again with cloth, put it back into the box and locked it, and then said calmly: "This batch of Huolei arrived in the middle of the night last night. I personally picked up the goods. They come from Hedong Road, Hanzhong Mansion and Xi'an Helu, this fire mine was returned from Hanzhong Mansion, and the soldiers accidentally pulled out the matchlock. Hanzhong Mansion returned three in total, but I changed the three to two, and transferred a single page, so I couldn’t find it on the warehouse side. "

Zhou Hua said anxiously: "You can give us this iron fire thunder!"

"Of course, but at least we have to negotiate the price first, how much money, how to give the money, what beliefs you two may have, and don't value money, but it has nothing to do with me. Everything I do is just for money."

"Of course the money will be given!"

Wang Shuang laughed twice and said: "The 20 guan mentioned earlier includes the blueprint, but if there is no blueprint, it may be..."

Lu Wei interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "I don't care how much you can get, but we agreed on [-] guan, and if there is one penny less, the deal will fall through. You can come to me after you think about it!"

After speaking, Lu Wei picked up the suitcase and left. Wang Shuang was so frightened that his face turned green, and he said hastily, "Lv Sima wait a minute."

He rushed forward like an arrow and bowed again and again, "It's easy to talk about money! Easy to talk about!"

Of course, Lu Wei was just posturing, so he couldn't make the other party suspicious.

He stopped in his tracks and asked again, "What about the money?"

"The main reason is that we don't have 400 guan in our hands, so let's do this! We will pay you [-] taels of gold first, which is equivalent to [-] guan, and the remaining [-] guan will be paid off later."

Lu Wei sneered and said: "You are not locals, you ran away with your things, where can I find you?"

"Lu Sima, please trust us, we will not leave, just in Jingzhao, we are letting other people send things away."

Lu Tang also stepped forward to persuade: "Don't worry, big brother. Both Wang Dongzhu and Zhou Dongzhu are trustworthy people. I can guarantee that I will definitely give you money and will not cheat you."

Zhou Hua also said: "This is how we do business. We are also middlemen. We pay the deposit first, and then we will give it to you after the other party gives us the money. As you said, we are not locals, you are a high-ranking official of Jingzhao. It is so easy for you to kill us, in fact, you are using our lives as collateral."

Lu Wei nodded, "It sounds like this. I can give you the things first. According to what you said, give me 400 taels of gold first, but I have a condition."

"What conditions, Lu Sima, please tell me!"

"I don't know you well, what should I do if you run away? So I ask you to meet my brother every day to prove that you are still in Jingzhao."

"Yes! Yes! Brother Lu hangs out with us every day during this time, as soon as we are gone, he will notify you immediately."

Speaking of this, Wang Shuang immediately gave Zhou Hua a wink, Zhou Hua also took out a small box, opened the box, took out fifty ingots of gold from it, all ten taels of one ingot, and pushed them to Lu Wei together.

"This is 500 taels of gold. We only have so much gold. Let Lu Sima accept it together!"

Lu Tang looked at the golden gold, and couldn't help swallowing. Lu Wei divided the gold into two, and he accepted 400 taels, and the other 100 taels pointed to Lu Tang. He should also have an intermediary income!

Wang Shuang hesitated for a moment. He had already negotiated with Lu Tang in advance, and he could not get 20 guan without blueprints, so in the end he could only give him [-] guan.

In fact, Wang Shuang didn't want to give him a penny, so Wang Shuang pushed the gold to Lu Wei, "Lu Sima should keep the gold, and I will give him some every time Lu Tong. Doubtful, the risk is high."

Lu Wei nodded, "It makes sense, Jingzhao Neiwei has a lot of guards, so we must pay attention to the risks, okay! I will accept it as a deposit."

Lu Yan watched helplessly as Lu Wei left with 500 taels of gold, and couldn't help crying in his heart.

Wang Shuang took Tie Huolei out for a closer look, and was sure it was real. He was very excited and said to Zhou Hua, "I will rush to Xianyang immediately and arrange for someone to send it away, so as not to have long nights and dreams."

They had already bought a batch of sheepskins in advance, and they could dig a shape out of the sheepskins and hide the wooden boxes in them. Fortunately, the Sichuan-Shanxi Xuanfu Envoy encouraged business and never inspected caravans. Let it go, even the commercial tax is not collected.

Wang Shuang took the wooden box out of the restaurant and got into his carriage. The coachman flicked his whip, "Drive!" The carriage started and ran towards Xianyang.

Zhou Hua filled Lu Tang with a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Don't worry! Your portion will definitely be given to you."

"I'm poor now! I won't be paid until the beginning of next month, and I have no money in my hands."

"You work in the granary, right?" Zhou Hua asked thoughtfully.

"Yes! I only care about the account books, not about the physical goods in the warehouse. It is impossible to steal some old rice and sell it."

Zhou Hua thought for a while and smiled: "In fact, there are ways to make money in the account book. A lot of data in it is confidential. As long as it is confidential, someone is willing to pay for it."

Lu Hang's eyes lit up, "Is there such a good thing?"

Chapter 939 Cotton Cloth

Lu Wei went directly to Chen Qing's mansion, put the wooden box on the table, and gave his younger sister Lu Xiu a wink, and Lu Xiu said to the guard maids around: "You all stand down!"

Both the maid and the guard retreated to the hall. Of course, one of Lu Xiu's personal guards was still by her side. Unless she was with King Yong, the personal guard would not leave.

Lu Xiu smiled and said, "Xiao An is fine, what does brother want to show me?"

Lu Wei opened the box, and it was full of shining gold. Lu Xiu was surprised: "Where did you get so much gold?"

"It's 500 taels in total, and it's still the other party's deposit. King Yong said it will be handed over to you, and you will keep the accounts for me. I should have told you!"

Lu Xiu suddenly remembered that her husband had told her that the elder brother would give all the benefits given to her brother by the spies of the Kingdom of Jin, and keep it by herself.

"I see, I put it away for you."

Lu Xiu asked the female guard to carry the box aside and asked, "Did you buy brother's new house?"

Lu Wei nodded, "This opportunity is too rare. The price of [-] guan is only [-] guan. I want to seize this opportunity. Thank you for lending me the money."

Lu Xiu asked with a smile: "Does it mean that you can earn [-] guan once you change hands?"

"No such thing!"

Lu Wei quickly waved his hand and denied: "I just want to buy an ancestral house for my descendants. I don't care about it myself. By the end of the year, I can normally be promoted to a fifth-rank official, and I can live in a five-acre house. After I retire in the future, I will You can move to your own residence."

"Didn't you allocate ten acres of land in the south?"

Lu Wei smiled wryly and said: "I have two sons. The eldest will inherit my mansion in the future. What about the second? I will definitely have children after me, so I have to prepare some for them too!"

……

Lu Wei bid farewell and left after a while. At this time, Chen Qingzheng and the counselors of the Internal Affairs Hall admired the wooden cotton cloth, and the fineness, whiteness and comfortable feel of the wooden cotton cloth were praised by everyone.

Zhang Miao said with a smile: "My wife seems to have bought this kind of cloth too. It came from Gaochang. The whiteness is similar, but not as delicate. The price is very expensive. A piece of cloth costs five pennies. The main reason is that it is very breathable. It's comfortable in summer."

Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "Mr. Zhang is talking about Gaochang white stacked cloth, which is grass cotton cloth. This is wood cotton cloth, which grows on trees. The quality is better than grass cotton, but because of its short fiber, it is not good. Weaving, so it is necessary to mix some grass cotton in it. There are many such cotton trees in the southeast coast, especially on Ryukyu Island. It will gradually replace fine linen, what do you think will happen?"

Jiang Yanxian reacted quickly, and said with a smile: "The hemp field can be used to grow food."

Zhou Kuan slapped the table and said, "That's right! Ma Tian occupies [-]% of the land, liberating [-]% of the land, this is a huge change!"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "It won't be so fast. After all, there is a process of adaptation, one generation! I estimate that 20% of Ma Tian will be liberated in about [-] years."

Zhao Kai asked from the side: "Your Highness, how about Mu Mian's capital?"

Chen Qing said slowly: "The cost is one hundred Wen per catty. This is the price after removing the cotton seeds. If the cotton seeds are not removed, it will be fifty Wen per catty. Then we will remove the cotton seeds ourselves. It is about [-] Wen per catty." Wen per catty, I guess they will choose fifty Wen per catty, the quantity is too much, one person can pick up hundreds of catties a day, and will not focus on removing seeds, which will take three or four days, which is a good deal for them I know it."

"Fifty Wen a catty!"

Everyone exclaimed, Guan Shigu laughed and said: "The imperial court used to give two catties to each of the high-ranking generals of the Western Army every year, worth sixteen guan qian, that is, eight guan qian per catty. Wen Yiliang, how many times the profit is this? It should be more than a hundred times! 160 times!"

Chen Qing shook his head with a smile, "It can't be calculated like this, or else it won't be able to replace fine linen. Counselor Zhao, what is the market price of fine linen?"

"Around a hundred words!" Zhao Kai replied.

"The market price of wood cotton cannot be higher than 150 Wen, because its quality is much higher than that of hemp, so everyone can accept 150 Wen, but no higher price is acceptable. Our net profit is about [-] Wen per catty. Merchants can also benefit.”

"But merchants will also go to the southeast coast to purchase wood cotton, and they may not buy from us, unless it is a monopoly."

Chen Qing said indifferently: "There is no need for a monopoly, let them go to purchase, they will soon find that selling 150 Wen, not only will they not make money, but they will also lose money, and the transportation fee alone is beyond their ability."

At this time, Zhou Kuan asked: "Your Highness said just now that this kind of cotton cloth is mixed with grass cotton, but where does the grass cotton come from?"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "This is one of the main things I discussed with you. Wood cotton can get raw materials from Quanzhou and Ryukyu Island, which is within our control, but grass cotton is mainly produced in Gaochang, and the output is not large, so We must introduce grass cotton planting, and I consider planting grass cotton specifically in Lanzhou, where the light and heat conditions are more suitable."

"Your Highness, why don't you consider Fengzhou? Over there is the North Yellow River Plain, which can be developed by taking advantage of this opportunity." Guan Shigu suggested.

Chen Qing smiled and said: "Actually, I have considered Fengzhou. There are many plains, fertile land, convenient irrigation, and sufficient light and heat. It can completely become a large granary and grow grass and cotton. But the problem now is the population. Insufficient, planting cotton and picking cotton requires a lot of labor, followed by safety issues, before we completely clean up the grassland nomads, we cannot migrate a large number of people to Fengzhou, so Fengzhou can be considered after ten years."

"But the population of Lanzhou is not large!"

"There are miners and their families in Lanzhou. I consider using them to grow cotton."

The miners near Lanzhou are mainly 10 Xixia soldiers and their families, a total of [-] people. They have all been changed to mining status. They have been mining for generations, and their families live together. Of course, they have income and can support their families. Food and clothing are warm, and children can study for free. At the same time, several temples have been built there to guide and appease them spiritually.

It is a good idea to use miners and their families to grow grass cotton, which can increase the income of miners and at the same time get a lot of grass cotton.

Chen Qing's plan was unanimously agreed by everyone.

Everyone dispersed with excitement, Chen Qing called to stop Jiang Yanxian.

"The year before last, I asked for alfalfa to be planted in large quantities on all riversides, fields and creeks."

Jiang Yanxian smiled slightly and said, "It's already being implemented. When the spring begins next month, your Highness will go to inspect the spring plowing, and there will be surprises."

Chen Qing smiled happily: "Then I look forward to seeing you!"

……

Back in the official room, Chen Qing let Lu Wei and Zhong Huan who had been waiting for a long time come in.

When it comes to reporting specific situations, Wang Hao usually asks Zhong Huan to face King Yong by himself, which also gives him a chance.

"His Royal Highness, our people followed Wang Shuang to Xianyang. He just got the news from Xianyang. He carried a wooden box into the yard. In addition, Wang Shuang bought a batch of goods from Xianyang's men a few days ago. Thousands of sheepskins, Tie Huolei will probably be hidden in the sheepskins and transported away."

"Very well, let the inner guards monitor all the way. If conditions do not permit, they would rather give up monitoring than be discovered by the other party."

"We are also planning to arrange a caravan to wait in Hedong City and start from Hedong Road to Daming Mansion in Hebei. It is estimated that they are more likely to go to Fuyang Xing."

"It's not spring yet, can they pass the Taihang Mountains?"

"It should be possible. This year's East Road is the same as ours. There was a heavy snowfall. I saw other businessmen who came from Hebei a few days ago. They said that the heavy snow did not block the road."

Chen Qing nodded, "Be considerate in selecting businessmen. You must choose local people, and you can't have a Chinese accent. In a word, you need to monitor, but you can't make the other party suspect."

"Humble job will definitely make careful arrangements!"