The sun was right, the clouds were in the lake, the water was flowing over the hills, and the leaves were dense. The Jing Forest heard the sound and the feathers fell. It was desolate.
The original Jian 'an Prefecture was now separated from Jian' an County. On the road to here, the group endured the scorching sun and the sultry woods and walked hard.
"Thirsty, still thirsty." Xiao Bei, who had drunk a lot of water, rubbed the dust mixed with sweat with her sleeves. Her face was flushed, and she pouted and said that she was thirsty.
Xiaoyuan quickly handed over a water bag. "Hold on a little longer. According to the approximate location, we should be reaching the letter soon. That was the place where the Commander-In-Chief worked. It's big and spacious."
"I can't hold on anymore. My heart is so cold. I haven't seen a single person along the way. What kind of lousy county is this? If there's no one, who will govern it?"
Xiao Bei drank a lot of water and stuck out her tongue to lick her sweet lips. She still felt thirsty even though she was full. She muttered and found a high place. She stood on it and looked around with binoculars, hoping to find someone. Then, as the county magistrate of Jian 'an County, she could play a role.
The group stopped and found a shady place to rest and replenish their water.
Xiao Hai still looked indifferent even if the sky fell down. Xiao Zhu took the drawing board and insisted on sketching. Zhang Gang, Zhang Qiang, and Zhang Fang Fang seemed to be affected by genetic factors. Their parents used to live in the mountains, so they were more adaptable.
Xiaoyuan muttered, "Heaven is strong, a gentleman should strive to improve himself." to encourage herself.
The one hundred children who were guards had grown a lot taller. Although they were tired, they still fulfilled their duties. Some of them rested, and some of them dispersed to prepare for unexpected situations.
In a circle about one kilometer away from them, there were four hundred adults scattered around, hiding in the dark. The four hundred people were wearing camouflage uniforms, hats made from the nearby grass on their heads, and field boots on their feet. Each of them had a long gun in their hands, and the barrels of the guns were wrapped with camouflage vines, trying to prevent the sunlight from reflecting on the scopes.
This group of people was naturally arranged by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. First, they were responsible for protecting Xiao Bei and the others. Second, it was a kind of training. They brought what they should carry and were not allowed to enter the county to resupply in the open. They were also responsible for the safety of Xiao Bei and the others.
Once Xiao Bei and the others finished their official positions, they would also finish their training.
Xiao Bei wiped his face with a wet towel. When a gust of wind blew, he felt refreshed. He shook the waterskin twice and saw that there wasn't much water inside. He took out a small pouch from his pocket and pinched some salt into it. He shook the pouch a few times and drank it with his eyes closed.
"Aiya, party members, we still have to persevere. We can't give up halfway. The road ahead is bright. It's filled with hope. It's …"
"Xiao Bei, can we not be so bureaucratic? I know you've been learning a lot. Take a break. Once you've regained your strength, you'll be on your way. I reckon that there are still people in the Martial Manor. They won't all move away. When the time comes, you can tell them that we don't need this anymore. "
Xiao Yuan didn't wait for Xiao Bei to finish speaking. He grinned and waved his hand.
It was not easy for Xiaobei to organize his vocabulary. He was just about to practice speaking like this when he was interrupted by Xiaoyuan. He was clearly unhappy.
"The others are not saying anything. You're the only one who's pouring cold water on me. When we enter the city, it'll be your responsibility if we don't see anyone."
"Okay, I'll take responsibility. If there's no one, I'll resign and become a commoner. What do you think?" Xiaoyuan had also drunk a lot of water. He looked at the dust floating in the sunlight through the leaves. There was no part of his body that didn't feel uncomfortable.
In addition to them, there was one other person in the group. He was the only adult. When the others were resting, he was responsible for keeping watch.
Looking at the children and the weeds on the road ahead, he stood with his hands behind his back and said loudly, "The long wind blows through the dense forest. The fragrant grass is green and the sparse clouds are sparse. The changes do not change for ten thousand years. The vicissitudes of life, the wind and rain, the rain and the rain.
"Uncle Li Bai, oh, brother, do you want to drink again? You've drunk almost all the wine we brought. You can't drink anymore. When we enter the city, we'll ask people to look for fruits. We'll use this wine as a starter to brew wine. If you drink it all, there won't be any left in a year. "
Xiaobei took out the exercise book from his bag and wanted to look at the questions. When he heard Li Bai's voice, he pouted and put the exercise book back. He really didn't want to talk to Li Bai about the wine.
Li Bai originally wanted to drink. When he came here, he brought five water bags of wine. He drank four bags along the way and only had one bag left. When he wanted to take a sip, he was stopped by Xiaobei and others. They said that if he had the first sip, he would want the second sip. It wouldn't take long for him to finish the last bag of wine. He had to force himself to hold back.
Thinking of this, Li Bai looked very helpless. When he came to Jili from Penglai, he was ready to meet Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and let them directly recommend him to be an official in the capital. Who knew that the two had left in advance and left a message for him to be an official here with a group of children.
They said that after a year, when Xiaobei and others knew what it was like to be an official, they would go back to Jili with them and arrange for them to go to the capital.
He didn't know how to survive a year.
"Well, I've rested enough. We can continue. Work hard. When we reach the city today, we can have a good rest. Don't be in a hurry to look for people."
Children recovered quickly. After a while, Xiaobei was full of strength again. Looking up at the sun, he gritted his teeth and decided to hold on and finish the last part of the journey.
Hearing Xiaobei's words, the group of children quickly packed their bags and stood in a row. They surrounded the nine most important people and began to move forward.
Li Bai was also tired and hadn't had lunch yet. Seeing Xiaobei start to move, he had to follow him, hoping to reach the destination quickly and then eat a full meal to recuperate. After more than a month of traveling, he was obviously thin.
When the children moved, the people in the distance also moved. They only ate a little and didn't dare to eat too much. They were afraid that the blood would gather in their stomachs and the blood supply to their heads would be insufficient, which would affect their reaction speed.
The sun gradually set in the west. When the sky was full of red clouds, the city wall finally appeared in front of them. It was the outer city of the Governor's Mansion of Jian 'an. The wall made of mud was only a little higher than Xiaobei and others. The adults could jump over it as long as they tried hard.
The outer city wall was full of weeds and there were a few wild flowers swaying in the wind. It looked very sad.
At this time, Xiaozhu took out a map and looked at it. Then she pointed to the place in front of them and said, "There is a col here. After the col, you can see the inner city wall. You don't have to continue to spend the night in the wild."
Hearing Xiaozhu's words, the children became much more energetic. They took small steps and sped up. Li Bai rubbed his stomach, which had been so hungry that he didn't feel anything, and also followed the children. He looked at the setting sun again and hid behind the colorful clouds like an egg yolk.
The col on the map soon appeared in front of everyone. Compared with the canyon, the mountains around the col were not so high. It was like a basin, and the area was bigger than the canyon. Usually, it was formed by the erosion of a river, but there was no river. It was like a small plain, but it was uneven.
The group of children lowered their heads and hurried on with all their might. As they walked, the person in charge of scouting ahead suddenly stopped. One of them turned his head and happily shouted to Xiaobei, "Xiaobei, there are people farming here. The beans that they're planting are obviously not left behind in the past."
"Where? Where? Let me see. "Xiaobei rushed forward happily and carefully observed.
Sure enough, the ridge and gully that should have been barren was still there. Bean seedlings grew there, but they had not borne fruit yet. The seedlings were not full of weeds like they had seen on the road.
"Spread out, let me see how much of the place is planted with beans." Xiaobei was happy. If there was food growing on the ground, it meant that there was someone managing it. If there was someone, he would not be an official without an army.
The children spread out and ran out, carefully stepping on the ground. They only stopped when they stood in a place where there was no food growing.
"There is rice here. It's dry rice. It doesn't grow well." A child's guard stood in the distance, gathered together and shouted to Xiaobei.
"There are cucumbers here. They are in a frame, but the leaves are yellow. It should be because they haven't been watered for a long time." Another child stood in the distance and shouted.
"Where I am standing is a small river. There are small fish swimming in the river. There is wheat planted by the river. It seems that it can be harvested." A third voice sounded.
As the children found a place where there were no more crops, one business after another sounded one after another.
Xiao Bei listened to the sounds of movement and used his binoculars to look around, estimating the approximate area. After seeing all the children standing there motionless, Xiao Bei nodded in satisfaction. "The area is really not small. I don't think a single family can handle it. How big is the cucumber field? Let's water the cucumber field first. "
After shouting, Xiaobei took the bag on her back to the front and pulled out something that looked like a round pancake. She fiddled with it a few times and pulled it up. A bucket made of cloth and steel wires suddenly appeared in front of Li Bai.
Li Bai had never seen such a strange thing. He asked in confusion, "What is this?"
"A bucket. This bucket is easy to carry and can hold a lot of water. It can be folded and stretched, just like the sleeping bags and tents we used when we came here. Isn't it fun?"
Xiaobei picked up the bucket and ran toward the river. She said to Li Bai, who was running next to her.
Li Bai nodded. "It's fun."
He had never seen such a strange thing. He had seen buckets made of bamboo, wood, and ceramics. Rich people also had buckets made of iron, but he had never seen a bucket that could be folded.
He followed Xiaobei to the river and watched the children work together to fill the buckets with water and carry them to the cucumber field. He was stunned for a while and muttered to himself, "The Zhang Family and the Wang Family are really amazing. Even the buckets are different from those of other places."
Looking at the buckets of water being poured into the furrows, a group of children took out folding shovels. This time, Li Bai was no longer surprised. It seemed that everything could be folded. He wondered who came up with this idea.
Seeing Xiaobei and the others working hard to water the cucumber field, Li Bai raised his head and looked at the sky. He said to Xiaobei, "If we don't hurry, it will be completely dark."
"It's okay. We can still walk in the dark. There are people here. We are the Strong Children's Sapling Protection Group. We have to take good care of the saplings. In a few days, we will be able to eat cucumbers."
Xiaobei insisted on watering the cucumber field. Since she found that there were people here, her fatigue seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
The sun finally set at the foot of the mountain. The sky was not completely dark yet. Under the efforts of the children, the cucumber field finally became moist.
At this moment, the cheerful and melodious sound of a flute suddenly reached everyone's ears. There was no specific tune, as if the flute was played according to the mood of the flute. Even if the flute was repeated in the same place, there were still a few differences.
Xiaobei and the others looked in the direction of the sound in puzzlement. This was a mountain valley, so the sound came from all directions. It took Xiaobei and the others a while to find the source of the sound.
They saw two cows coming from the west, one in front and one behind. Sitting on the back of the cow in front was a child, who was about two years older than Xiaobei and four or five years younger than the guards. The child placed a bamboo flute in front of her mouth and leisurely walked diagonally forward. It seemed that she wanted to go home through the mountain valley.
"Hey! Sigh! That, that … Wait a moment. " Xiaobei's eyes were fixed on the shepherd boy, as if she was afraid that he would suddenly disappear. She tiptoed, waved her arms, and shouted with all her might.
Her clear voice echoed through the mountains, attracting the shepherd boy's attention.
The sound of the flute suddenly stopped. Xiaoyuan saw the child open his mouth and widen his eyes as he looked in their direction through the binoculars.
Xiaobei wanted to take a closer look at her people, so she continued shouting, "Hey! Come here, come here. Is this your land? "
The child on the cow's back was clearly frightened. He looked over nervously and hesitated for a moment. Finally, he mustered his courage and made the cow walk over.
When he came close, he saw a group of children in front of him. Some were older than him, while others were younger. There was also an adult standing by the side. He observed the clothes the adult was wearing and then realized that he was only wearing a pair of pants. He lowered his head in self-abasement and hesitated, refusing to let the cow walk forward.
He didn't come over, but Xiao Bei couldn't wait any longer and ran towards him. When she was in front of him and looked at the obedient cow, Xiao Bei revealed what she thought was her cutest smile. She asked the little boy on the cow, "Is this your land? How many people do you have? Where do you live? Is the food you planted today enough to eat? Why didn't you move away with the others? What's the tune you're playing? Do you have any other livestock or poultry in your house? You … "
Xiaobei, who felt that she was an official and had to understand the people, asked one question after another. The boy on the cow's back was completely dumbfounded.
Seeing that the boy did not speak, Xiaobei became anxious. She was about to go forward and pull him down when Xiaoyuan ran to the side and grabbed Xiaobei. She said to the boy, "We are not bad people. We are all good children. We helped to water your house."
Hearing Xiaoyuan's words, the boy's serious vigilance was obvious. He pursed his lips stubbornly but did not say anything.
At this time, Li Bai shook his head and walked forward. He said to the boy, "Go, we won't stop you. Go home quickly."
When the little boy saw the only adult coming over, he patted the bull's back with his hand. The bull under him very intelligently took two steps back before it turned around and continued to walk in the direction it wanted to go. The little boy didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Looking at the back of the boy, Xiaobei regretfully smacked her lips and said to Li Bai, "Why did you let him go?"
"If I don't go, how can I find the adults in his house? Let's go and have a look. " When Li Bai saw that there were really people, he completely gave up. When he came here, he knew that most of the people here had moved away. He thought that Xiaobei and the others would go back to Jili Province after seeing that there were no other people. Then, he could go back with them and see Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. He would try to find a way to get them to recommend him.
Now that he saw them and got to know them along the way, he knew that Xiaobei would never give up. Even if there was only one family, Xiaobei would be an official until the end. Therefore, he could not go back. Otherwise, if Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were angry, they would not recommend him or even say a few bad words.
Xiaobei's eyes were still on the two cows. She stretched her neck and looked again. Then, she nodded and said, "Then let's go. When we get to the city, we can boil some hot water and take a good bath. We can sleep at night. Tomorrow, we will get up and do homework. Yes, we must do it."
*****
When Xiaobei and the others followed the two cows and left, a pigeon flew out of the woods and quickly headed for Jili Province.
Compared to the younger brother and sister who found the people who were still alive, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, who were waiting for someone to assassinate them by the mud river, were very disappointed.
The place and time where they appeared every day had not changed. The guards also did not see them. Even so, no one came to kidnap them.
"I guess it's because our status is too low to be valued by others. That's why no one came to assassinate us, let alone kidnap us."
Zhang Xiaobao was tired of fishing. During the day, he had to deal with many things at night, which consumed a lot of energy. He threw the fish he caught into the net that was covered with stones and flushed in the water. Then, Zhang Xiaobao said helplessly.
Wang Juan narrowed her eyes and dozed off. When she heard Zhang Xiaobao's voice, she echoed, "Yes, we're not worthy of being assassinated. It means that they don't like us. What should we do?"
"Don't worry. Think of a way to make them like us. Whether it's the Japanese or the Xinluo people, we have to find an excuse to make a move. Tonight, I'll write a letter and send it to the merchants in Jiangnan East to let them take action."
Zhang Xiaobao decided to take the initiative and force others to attack him and Wang Juan. That way, he could find an excuse.
"What if no one touches us?" Wang Juan did not think that the Japanese and the Xinluo people had the guts.
"I guarantee that they will do it. If you don't believe me, just watch me. There won't be any problems within half a month." Zhang Xiaobao said with certainty.
Wang Juan thought for a while and finally understood Zhang Xiaobao's meaning. She agreed, "That's good. We can also see the reaction of all sides. You arrange it. I'll sleep for a while. Li Longji sent his troops to the Turkic steppe. Maybe he will directly take action."
"I'm really worried that he will take action. The current Turkic steppe is different from the previous one. Previously, there were many internal conflicts. If the Tang Empire didn't attack them, they were willing to submit. But once they find that the Tang Empire has the absolute advantage, all their internal conflicts will disappear and they will turn to the outside world. I hope that the person leading the troops won't be rash just because they have weapons."
Zhang Xiaobao said as he took out a fishing rod from the side. He looked at the bait that had been eaten and the remaining hook was bare. He put the bait on again and threw it with all his strength. Accompanied by the whistling sound of the air, the lead fell into the water again, rippling circles of irregular ripples, which were immediately washed away by the current.
Five days passed quickly. Zhang Xiaobao still came to fish every day, but he no longer cared about whether the fishing rod was moving or not. He freed up his hands to arrange homework for his younger siblings.
"Come and listen. See if this question is okay? En, Little Wolf said that I can run five li in a quarter of an hour. You little lambs can only run three li. I'm currently six li away from you. Tell me, how far is the furthest your home is from me? Can you return home by the time I catch up to you? "
Zhang Xiaobao read word by word. He held a pen in his hand and marked the words with pinyin. Sometimes, he would make a few mistakes so that his younger siblings could correct them.
Wang Juan had a smile on her face the entire time. After hearing Zhang Xiaobao's question, she sighed and said, "Back then, you should have become a teacher. I remember that when I was studying, no teacher ever taught me like this. They all followed the textbook and occasionally gave me some application questions, but they were all extremely boring.
If every teacher could be like you, I believe that children would have more fun learning, and they would not be so resistant to learning. Unfortunately, there are very few, really very few. "
"Of course, these are my younger siblings. I have to put in a lot of effort to make them willing to learn. In fact, I can't blame those teachers. They teach so many students, and there are many lessons every day. If they were all like me, wouldn't they be exhausted to death?
Do you think storytelling is such an easy thing? If it was really easy, there would not only be a small number of people writing fairy tales. Fortunately, we have a good starting point now. Many teachers in schools have also approved of our method. I hope that all teachers in the future can follow suit and form a tradition. "
Zhang Xiaobao did not go to school much. Even if he heard Wang Juan say that teachers were not good, he still felt that it was a blessing to be able to be taught.
Wang Juan was a little disapproving. "It's all because of the enrollment rate. A teacher's salary is linked to a child's exam results. Children have good memories. As long as they memorize hard and then get a high score in the exam, that's enough.
Actually, I think that teachers' salaries are too low. We should continue to raise it. We should have a salary of 10,000 yuan a month. Those who can't build a good foundation for the students should be fired. A high salary can also be used on teachers. Also, unless the teacher in charge of an elementary school is affected by irresistible factors, they should be taught from Grade One to Grade Six. "
"Then when this matter is over, the two of us will make a rule and let the current teachers follow it." Zhang Xiaobao did not want to continue thinking because he could not understand Wang Juan's words. He felt that it was good enough as long as he could sit in school and study.
Compared to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's leisure, Li Dong, the leader of the newly established Business Alliance in Xinluo, was not relaxed at all. The negotiations were in a deadlock from time to time.
He also knew that the conditions offered by Zhengzheng Construction were good. He wanted to agree several times, but the other businessmen in the alliance still thought that it was profitable and wanted to force Zhang Tie to make concessions.
Previously, when Zhang Tie was alone, he could play the emotional card. However, at that time, the people in the alliance thought that Zhang Xiaobao was alone and did not have enough energy. They thought that Zhang Xiaobao wanted to build the road as soon as possible. Therefore, they pressured Zhang Tie to compromise.
However, when they pressured Zhang Tie too much, Zhang Tie turned hostile. Now that they continued to negotiate, it was useless to play the emotional card. Zhang Tie found a team that was in charge of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Business.
It was called the Negotiation Team, and it was indeed worthy of its name. When it came to negotiations, there was no place to start. The foundation of Xinluo's party had been completely taken away by the other party.
"Guys, the day before yesterday, the Negotiation Team of Zhengzheng Construction said that today is the last time. If we can't pass, they will build the road themselves. They don't need our 1 million strings of coins. By then, if we want to send our goods out, we have to pay for that road. Their road might not be built in the place designated by us.
Tell me about it, what's the bottom line? I will talk to Zhang Tie after a while. Actually, I'm most worried that Zhang Xiaobao would play other tricks when he gets angry. It's not that I look down on us, but I'm really not a match for Zhang Xiaobao in terms of tricks. "
Li Dong called those who were here for the last negotiation to the third floor of Changfeng Building and told them.
1 million strings of coins was really nothing for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. Even though they had very little liquid capital, they could easily take out 1 million strings of coins.
If they couldn't take out 1 million strings of coins, they could call for help. By then, when so many businessmen in Tang heard that they were looking for someone to cooperate with them, they could even provide 100 million strings of coins, not to mention 1 million strings of coins.
However, this amount was too much for the businessmen in Xinluo. At the beginning, the 20-odd businessmen couldn't afford it at all. At the same time, they didn't want to manage such a big thing by themselves. Therefore, later on, they found some familiar businessmen and formed an alliance. By then, they had over 100 members.
At this moment, the 100 people started to ponder after hearing Li Dong's words.
After a while, someone asked, "I want to know, once the road is fixed, whose shop it will be connected to, whose shop will be the closest, and who will be the most popular? How can Zhang Xiaobao guarantee this?"
Li Dong knew what this person meant. It wasn't about who was the closest, but where the road would be fixed. It would be best if it could be fixed in a curve and then build a wall to block it. At that time, all the shops would be taken care of.
"Alright, I'll ask about this. It's best to meet everyone's requirements," Li Dong said after some consideration.
"I have a question," another person said. Previously, he didn't have many questions because he had been conflicted about the division of the toll fee paid by the businessmen after the road was fixed. Now that the other party didn't agree, he could only return to reality.
"What I want to say is the standard of goods set by the Tang Empire. I used to sell things to the Tang Empire by water and land. Their standard is too high, and we don't have such good technology. As a result, the price of the same raw material is several times higher than ours after they process it once.
Shouldn't this be adjusted downward? Or should they give us the technology so that we can also grasp it? Otherwise, we will be at a disadvantage. When we smelt copper and sell it to them, they will process it and decorate it on jewelry. The price of copper will be more than six times higher than ours. "
After this person finished speaking, he sighed and looked bitter.
The others nodded secretly. It was indeed as he said. Due to the technical limitation, the price of the same raw material was very different. The more they thought about it, the more sullen they felt.
How could Li Dong not understand? But when he heard this person's words, he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it won't work. The people of Zhengzheng Construction are discussing the road with us. It has nothing to do with the goods. If it were us, we wouldn't use the road to talk about the technology of the goods.
How about this? I'll mention it when we negotiate with them later today. Even if they don't agree this time, I'll ask them if they can negotiate with us again about the rules of the goods. "
No one had any objections this time. They stood up and a few people who had met Zhang Tie with Li Dong walked out together to participate in the last negotiation.
Zhang Tie, who was waiting in the other room, was not in a hurry at all. He knew that at the beginning, the Little Young Master had planned to connect the river. However, as things developed, the Little Young Master was no longer satisfied with just connecting the river. He started to make a bigger plan.
Since the plan was big, he naturally could not think about solving the problem in a short period of time. Connecting the river was no longer a single goal. He had to make some concessions for the bigger goal.
Of course, he believed that the Little Young Master would definitely be able to connect all the dots in the end and teach Xin Luo a lesson. He would let them know that they should not interfere in things that they should not interfere in.
After a short while, Zhang Tie's team and Li Dong's team sat at the two ends of the negotiation table.
The last negotiation involved a lot of specific matters. Unlike the first negotiation, Xin Luo only considered the division of profits. Therefore, it took them a bit more time. From the morning, they had lunch at noon. When the sun set in the evening, they had lunch and had a short rest. When the evening lights shone and the morning star reached the middle of the sky, the tired people finally settled the matter.
As for the division of profits, there was no change at all. Zhengzheng Construction would pay 10 million strings of cash. 80% of the profits would be sent to Xin Luo in Jili Province. 20% of the profits would be sent to Xin Luo in Jili Province. 1 million strings of cash would be sent to Xin Luo in one go. 20% of the profits would be sent to Xin Luo from Xin Luo.
After this matter was settled, no one raised a new question. According to Li Dong's opinion, the road in Xin Luo should be curved so as to make it convenient for the businessmen who paid the money.
However, Zhang Tie's team generously proposed that the road should not be curved; instead, they should start from the border and build several forks. They would pass through the shops of the businessmen who paid for Xin Luo in a straight line. Some places for stalls would be built on both sides of the road.
The stalls would belong to the shops of the businessmen who paid for them. They could rent or sell the stalls. Others were not allowed to set up stalls on the roadside where there were no stalls.
As for this point, if the fee was not enough, Zhengzheng Construction would pay a part of the fee. They would definitely build all the roads. By then, Xin Luo could set up checkpoints on the roads and collect customs duties.
After this plan was proposed by Zhang Tie, Li Dong's team became dubious, 'When did Zhang Xiaobao become so kind-hearted?' Zhang Xiaobao's consideration was too thorough and comfortable. They had never thought that they would be able to earn money from the specially built roadside seats. If it wasn't for Zhang Xiaobao's criminal record, he would definitely be a great philanthropist.
After this matter was settled, the businessmen of Xin Luo happily raised one million strings of coins and sent them to Zhang Tie the next day. Among them, more than 500,000 strings of coins were banknotes of the Tang Dynasty. Xin Luo's own currency system was not perfect. They used to use the copper coins of the Tang Dynasty, but now they dared to use the banknotes of the Tang Dynasty.
They were also learning from the Tang Dynasty to make their own currency. They did not want to continue relying on the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, it would be easy for problems to arise.
This time, they were just experimenting. Xin Luo did not dare to imitate the Tang Dynasty to make banknotes for fear of being counterfeited. However, they made an alloy. The specific metal was kept a secret, and the content of each metal was also kept a secret. In this way, the volume and weight became the way to test the authenticity.
It accounted for one-tenth of this transaction, which was equivalent to 100,000 strings of coins of the Tang Dynasty.
However, during the exchange, because the Tang Dynasty had a technological advantage, the ratio was larger. Ten coins of Xin Luo could be exchanged for one coin of the Tang Dynasty. The specific purchasing power was not easy to calculate. It involved the price of manpower, cost, and the difference in the value of goods due to the influence of technology on both sides.
Li Dong had made a rough calculation and felt that Xin Luo was at a disadvantage. In terms of purchasing power, Xin Luo's money was not worth this much.
After solving the problem of road construction, Zhang Tie generously sold another technology about weaving and silkworm breeding. After Xin Luo's people were familiar with it, they could also make good-looking silk. In this way, they would not have to continue to rely on the Tang Dynasty.
Li Dong gave this technology to the Xin Luo Imperial Clan who had contacted him. He even made a great contribution. He wanted to increase the value of his country's currency after mastering the technology.
Hearing Li Dong's occasional thoughts, Zhang Tie was a bit worried. After arranging the road construction, he found Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and told them about it.
"Young Master, Young Lady, that's the way it is. Shouldn't we think of something? Otherwise, if Xin Luo's currency becomes valuable, we will suffer a loss. "
Zhang Tie knew that he should not give advice to the young master and young lady, but he still couldn't help saying it.
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, Zhang Xiaobao suddenly burst out into laughter. His laughter grew louder and louder. Finally, he covered his stomach and rolled on the ground.
"Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter. How could such a silly person increase the value of the currency? Does it mean that his internal inflation or purchasing power will increase? Hahahaha, I can't take it anymore. My stomach hurts. Cuckoo, pinch me. I'm going to burst out laughing. "
Wang Juan also pursed her lips and smiled as she told Zhang Tie, "I know you're loyal, but don't worry about this. Xin Luo is tired of living. How dare you link your currency with Tang Dynasty's currency? Do you know what your young master does?
Forget it, you won't understand even if I tell you. Just treat it as if it didn't happen. Build the road. The quality must be guaranteed. Even if it's Xin Luo's currency, it can't be fake, which will weaken the reputation of Zhengzheng Construction. Go ahead. "
After receiving the assurance of the young master and young lady, Zhang Tie felt much more reassured, even though he didn't understand why Xin Luo's currency would suffer a loss when it was exchanged with Tang Dynasty's currency.
"Hmm, young master and young lady are very smart. Don't worry about other things. Build the road first. After that, let Xin Luo's people connect the river."
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