The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

For those who have a grudge, either just don't meet them, but since they were welcomed in, Heifu didn't take it too seriously. He accepted the apology of Mai Hui and Shi Gong, but just declined their gifts.

"Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, you two don't need to say more. I just hope that my cousin Yan can share a share of the honey and sugar market in the future."

Heifu's title is equal to Mai Hui, but his authority is as different as heaven and earth. Mai Hui and Shi Gong are not stupid. They know that they have offended someone they shouldn't have offended, so they admit their mistakes quickly, then apologize and leave...

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

But he saw that this man was over 30 years old, and his clothes were no different from those of ordinary Qin people, but his appearance was slightly different: he had a high nose, high cheekbones, deep eye sockets, a long face and thick beard. At first glance, he didn't look like Xia Zi, but like a Rong man.

Wu Shiyan was indeed a Rong people. A hundred years ago, the source of the Jing River was still a Rongdi land outside the border. There was a Rong tribe called "Wu Shi" who surrendered to Yiqu. Later, King Huiwen of Qin defeated Yiqu and subdued the Rong people. In the 36th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Yiqu was destroyed and Beidi County was established. Wu Shi County was also set up in Jitou Mountain. The Wu family has since submitted to Qin.

Before and after Qin Shihuang took power, a Rong merchant named Wu Shiluo appeared in Wu Shi County. He relied on mules and horses raised for generations to carry goods and do resale trade. First, he went south to Xianyang to buy silk, and then went west to the Qiang people to exchange silk for cattle and horses from the Qiang Rong King, and then brought them back to Guanzhong and sold them to the Qin government. He made a lot of money from going back and forth.

At that time, when Qin Shihuang wanted to unify the world, he needed a large number of cattle and horses for both the war of unification and domestic farming. So the emperor asked the Shaofu to contact Wu Shiluo and let him be an official merchant of Qin State, specializing in foreign trade. For more than ten years, he brought a large number of horses and cattle to Qin State, which not only ensured the smooth progress of the war, but also met the needs of projects such as the Mausoleum of Mount Li. In view of his contribution, which was completely comparable to his military merits, Qin Shihuang gave him the treatment of a lord in the form of "comparison", and he could go to court with the ministers at all times of the year.

This decree was announced together with the enthronement of Widow Qing as a chaste woman. In terms of wealth, Wu Shiluo and Widow Qing were comparable, both worth more than 100 million yuan, but in terms of status, Wu Shiluo was even better!

The reason why Heifu reconciled with Mai and Shi was mainly to give Wu Shi a face. Wu Shiluo was equivalent to the Minister of Foreign Trade of the Qin Dynasty, and he could not afford to offend him.

At this moment, the disciples and sons of the two richest men in the Qin Dynasty sat opposite each other, looking at each other with a smile, and it can be seen that this was not the first time they met.

When Heifu entered the room, he just heard Ba Zhong say, "Mr. Wu is really well-informed. He even found this place."

Wu Shiyan said in a somewhat stiff Guanzhong dialect, "How dare I? I just didn't expect that Mr. Ba and the Zhonglang Huling were old acquaintances. Why didn't you introduce me to him? If so, this misunderstanding would never have happened."

"How could I know that Mrs. Mai and Mrs. Shi would let Mr. Wu do what he wanted?" Ba Zhong glanced at Heifu, with something to say.

Wu Shiyan saw Heifu coming in, and stood up to explain to him: "Zhonglang Huling, the reason why I met Mai and Shi is because the wild honey from Beidi County was transported to Xianyang and was handed over to Shi's merchants for sale. In addition to salt and cloth, maltose can also be sold at a high price in the border areas! So I have contact with the two families."

"I heard recently that there is a new thing called brown sugar in the South City. I was just planning to take a look, but I learned that there was a lawsuit. I sent someone to inquire and found out that the person selling brown sugar was Zhonglang Huling's cousin. There is a saying in the Central Plains that in the affairs of merchants, harmony is beneficial to both sides, and conflict is harmful to both sides. So I took the initiative to come out and resolve this misunderstanding. I hope Zhonglang Huling will not blame me."

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

Heifu was interested: "Do the Qiang people also eat maltose?"

"It is the Yuezhi people who like maltose."

Wu Shiyan had his own purpose and did not hide it. He said: "From Wushi County, go west for 600 miles to the source of the Yellow River. After crossing the river, it is the land of the Yuezhi in Hexi. The clothing, food and language of the Yuezhi people are similar to those of the Qiang people. However, unlike the Qiang people who burn the land to cultivate, the Yuezhi people do not have cities and permanent farming. They migrate with water and grass, and move with livestock. They eat meat and milk to satisfy their hunger and thirst."

"Yogurt is delicious only when brine or maltose is added. Therefore, the King of Yuezhi Rong has to exchange hundreds of cattle and horses for thousands of kilograms of maltose from Guanzhong every year."

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

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

At this point, Wu Shi stated his purpose straightforwardly.

"I came here today, in addition to hoping that Mai and Shi can apologize to Zhonglang Huling and resolve the misunderstanding, I also hope that Zhonglang Huling can resell the brown sugar to Wu Shi in the future! Then Wu Shi can sell it to the Qiang and Yuezhi!"

Wu Shiyan was in charge of Xianyang for his brother, and he bought the goods needed in the Diqiang area, so he had a sharp eye.

After he got the brown sugar, he was surprised to find that compared to the semi-dried malt sugar that was difficult to preserve for too long, the horseshoe-shaped brown sugar was dehydrated and very dry. It was not only easy to carry and store, but also much sweeter than malt sugar.

What's even better is that from the fact that the merchants in Nanjun took out two thousand kilograms to sell at once, this thing is not like honey, which is difficult to mass produce!

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

Wu Shiyan was calculating the profit in his mind, and Heifu was also making his own calculations.

"This is really a business that comes to our doorstep!"

And it was a foreign trade order sent by Wu Shi, the largest official and businessman in Qin.

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

It is much more efficient to allow their own products to join this huge trade line and be directly wholesaled and sold by Wu Shi than to let the cousin who is unfamiliar with the place sell bulk brown sugar everywhere.

This is the immediate benefit. In the long run, if the brown sugar goes farther and farther on the camel's back and is sold to the Western Regions, or even to the Greek countries and Rome, maybe this line will no longer be called the Silk Road in the future, but the Sugar Road!

If sugar becomes the leading product of China's foreign trade in the future, who knows, two thousand years later, the British (assuming there is still Britain) will call China "Seets" instead of "China!"

Although he was impatient, Hefu looked very calm.

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

Heifu spread his hands and still pretended: "I am a court official. How dare I violate the law and engage in business rashly? However, I have heard from Yan that the production of brown sugar in Nanjun this year is not much, and the amount shipped to Guanzhong is only two thousand kilograms, and most of it has been sold..."

"It's so little, so little!"

Wu Shiyan was a little disappointed, but Heifu said: "But by next year, the amount of brown sugar shipped to Xianyang may double. If Mr. Wu likes it, you can buy half."

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

"I just proposed on behalf of my cousin. When Yan wakes up, I will let him visit and discuss this matter with Mr. Wu in detail..."

Heifu said: "You may decide on the contract first."

Wu Shiyan happily clapped hands with Heifu as an oath. Ba Zhong, who was standing aside, heard this and regretted it.

"It's hateful. It's all my fault for being too hesitant. I let this brat get there first!"

...

The Ba family is also engaged in trade. In addition to cinnabar as their main business, they also run well salt and Baitong businesses, which have a certain influence in Bashu and Dongting Wuxi.

As a businessman, Ba Zhong has long noticed the trade value of brown sugar, which is dry and easy to carry. Although Bashu prefers spicy foods such as ginger and pepper, whose children don't like to eat sugar?

So after Wu Shiyan left, he no longer hesitated, nor did he want to let Heifu owe him a favor. He immediately bowed to Heifu and said, "Zhonglang Huling, I also have an unwelcome request!"

"Brother Ba, why are you being so polite to me?"

Heifu smiled and said, "Do you want to buy brown sugar from my cousin like Wu Shiyan and sell it in Bashu?"

"Ba Zhong is more greedy!"

He raised his head, his eyes sparkling, "To be honest with Zhonglang Huling, as early as January, when someone sold brown sugar to Ba County, my mother sent people to Nan County to inquire. Although the specific method is unknown, it is known that brown sugar is made from ganzhe. I saw smoke billowing in the workshop and someone was constantly carrying firewood in, which must be the result of juice extraction and steaming."

Heifu restrained his smile. Although he knew that the method of making brown sugar was too simple to be completely concealed, he did not expect that Ba was so well-informed.

Ba Zhong said, "I have no other intentions. Although my mother benefits from brown sugar, she doesn't want to steal it privately, so she asked me to come to Xianyang in person to ask Zhonglang Huling."

"What do you want to ask me?"

Heifu took another pot of wine and filled it for himself and Ba Zhong. He only wanted to scare Mai Hui and Shi Gong, but if Ba Guafu Qing wanted to steal his business, he could do nothing.

Ba Zhong bowed again and said, "Can you send craftsmen to Shuzhong to open a workshop? Neijiang in Shu County is hot and there are also many wild mulberry trees. My family can send Bo children to burn the wasteland and plant them. The annual output should be far better than Anlu. Then let the cavalry sell brown sugar to Bashu and Wuxi, and the profit will be more than one million! The huge profit from the money and silk, Ba is willing to share it with Zhonglang Huling, what do you think?"

Are you here to give money again? Heifu was stunned when he heard it. This is no less than the profit of Wu's wholesale brown sugar for sale in the west. It is like sweet wine, attracting greedy mosquitoes and flies...