Chapter 646 Commerce in Shuzhong

Chapter 646 Commerce in Shuzhong

Li Qianzhe's trip to Sichuan was not actually an envoy. At least he did not go to Sichuan to communicate with the local officials on behalf of the Jingzhou General Administration. Instead, he went to Sichuan privately with goods to contact local wealthy people for sale, and used smuggling to do so. More appropriate.

Shuzhong is currently the territory of Xiao Ji, King of Wuling in the Southern Liang Dynasty. Due to its unique geographical location, it has been minimally affected by Hou Jing's rebellion downstream. Xiao Ji, the king of Wuling, has been in charge of Shuzhong for more than ten years, and he has made great achievements in the governance of Shuzhong.

It's just that after the nest is overturned, there are no eggs left. Today's Shuzhong is only relying on its geographical advantage to delay the spread of the war, and it will inevitably be involved in it after all. Moreover, Xiao Laoba himself is not a peaceful person. How can he be willing to be lonely with such a strong strength?

The so-called victory over Shu is that as early as when Hanzhong was captured, Li Tai already had the idea of ​​​​Shu in mind. But he also understood that he was not the only one who had such thoughts. There must be a balance within the gang. Even if the Tai government had decided to attack Shuzhong, he would not be held responsible.

However, the interests and resources of a region are multi-faceted, and it is not just about conquering cities and occupying land. There are other ways to influence and control some of Shu's human and material resources.

Li Qianzhe was a wealthy man in Ankang, whose territory was rich in products and gold resources. Because he controlled a considerable amount of hard currency, he maintained close contacts with the wealthy families and merchants in Sichuan. Although Hanzhong is currently not under the control of the Jingzhou Governor's Office, Li Qianzhe can also enter and leave Shuzhong through other channels.

Because of his surrender and his assistance to Li Tai in conquering Nanzheng City, after the end of a series of wars last year, and with Li Tai's efforts, Li Qianzhe was directly awarded the official positions of Hussar and Kaifu when he returned. , and was granted the title of Duke of Ankang County, and served as the governor of Jinzhou in his native Ankang.

However, since Li Tai had another appointment for him, Li Qianzhe was in charge of the affairs of the general administration, and his brother Li Xianjuxiang was responsible for the affairs of Jinzhou.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of both parties, the relationship between Li Shizhi and Li Tai in Ankang is now similar to that between Li Shizhi and Yu Wentai in Gaoping.

Li Qianzhe introduced himself to Li Tai's disciples, and Li Tai also gave him great trust. Before returning to the court to report on his duties, he arranged for Li Qianzhe to carry a batch of rare fashionable goods to Sichuan for trade. Naturally, The important item of white sugar is indispensable. Xiao Bodhisattva couldn't even taste the white sugar, so Li Qianzhe took more than a thousand kilograms directly to Shuzhong.

During this trip to central Sichuan, profit-making from trade was secondary, but more importantly, it was to get in touch with the local wealthy families in central Sichuan to explore the possibility of cooperation with each other. Just looking at the large amount of Shu Brocade that Li Qianzhe brought back this time, we can see that this trip was a great success.

Shu Brocade not only means a high-end fabric and a hot commodity in Shu, but also has a greater significance. It can be said to represent the crystallization of the most advanced productivity and production technology in Shu.

Shu brocade has been famous all over the world for a long time. As early as the Shu Han period, there was a saying that "the people are poor and the country is weak, and the only resource for decisive battles is brocade ears." It has become an important strategic material.

For people outside of Shu, Shu brocade is just an expensive and popular gorgeous fabric. It is best to have it, but it does not affect normal life if you can't have it.

However, Shu has already formed a series of social division of labor and resource allocation around Shu brocade. From the supply of raw materials, the monopoly of technology and the control of sales channels, all processes are in the hands of the powerful families in Shu.

A piece of Shu brocade represents the social structure and order of Shu. Its complex raw materials and cumbersome craftsmanship basically eliminate the possibility of small civilian households participating in production as independent individuals. It can even be said that mastering Shu brocade is equivalent to mastering Shu.

After Li Tai came to this world, he was able to see Shu Brocade only because of his father-in-law Duguxin's arrogance. Under normal circumstances, it is rare to see Shu Brocade for sale in the Guanzhong market.

It was not until the Hexi trade route was opened that Longyou merchants could obtain supplies of Shu brocade from the Hu merchants and Tuguhun people in the Western Regions, and then transport them to Guanzhong for sale, but the price was more than several times higher than before.

Because of the existence of Shu brocade, a leading product with excellent performance, Shuzhong is also a relatively strong presence in the Silk Road trade. Later, the reason why the Northern Zhou Dynasty was able to benefit a lot from the Silk Road trade was also closely related to the control of Sichuan.

Shu brocade is much thicker than ordinary silk fabrics. Although the more than 20 carriages are fully loaded, the total is only more than 3,000 horses. But if you want to convert it into ordinary silk fabrics, it would take more than a dozen Gao Aocao to stop it.

With the current market conditions in Guanzhong, a piece of Sichuan brocade of only average quality can't be obtained even if it costs a hundred pieces of silk. This is of course because there is no direct trade between Guanzhong and Shuzhong, and things are rare and expensive. After going around and selling a few hands, the middlemen will naturally eat the difference, but the value of Shu brocade itself is definitely not low.

Due to the complex and cumbersome technological process, brocades in Sichuan are generally produced in workshops, with different people responsible for different links. For example, some Sichuan brocades with more complex patterns and higher quality can only be weaved by a few centimeters per day by even the most skilled weavers. Of course, most Sichuan brocade cannot reach this level, but the time used is far beyond that of ordinary fabrics.

When there is no specific scale to measure the value of goods, the craftsmanship and labor contained in different goods are a direct reflection of their value. Therefore, the value of a piece of Sichuan brocade easily exceeds the price of dozens of pieces of silk.

But what Li Qianzhe brought back from this trip was not only the fabrics and money, but more importantly, the human relations behind them. So Li Tai checked the Shu brocades and put them in the warehouse, and he took Li Qianzhe's hand into the hall and asked him about his trip.

"The last general has old acquaintances with the Qiao family, a wealthy family in Brazil, and they often had money and goods exchanges in the past years. This time, he entered Brazil through Shangyong. Because of the introduction of his clan members, he met many wealthy families in Bazhong and displayed their latest goods. It is very popular, especially the frosted candies, and the people are very enthusiastic about buying them, and they are all sold out in an instant..."

Li Qianzhe carefully talked about his experience of visiting Shu, but of course he also slightly modified his words.

In fact, most of the goods he carried were left in the cold by the powerful chiefs of Sichuan. In their words, although they were exotic treasures, they were actually just ordinary things in Sichuan.

After all, Shuzhong's position in the Silk Road trade is much more important than Guanzhong, and it cannot be reversed in an instant. The goods carried by Li Qianzhe may be robbed elsewhere, but in Shu, they are a bit uninteresting.

But when he took out the white sugar, these Shu people were immediately shocked. In fact, there are many stone honey products in Sichuan, and the daily consumption among the powerful Shu people is not low. However, because of the comparison, the pure and rare white sugar is more and more obvious.

With more than a thousand kilograms of white sugar, Li Qianzhe originally thought that he would have to contact a few powerful people from Shu, or at least have to go around Chengdu to complete the bulk cargo. However, he did not expect that he was squatting in Brazil before he had time to move, and he was picked up by several local powerful people. Join forces to make a good deal.

Sugar condiments were considered luxuries in ancient times, and white sugar can be said to be a luxury item among luxuries. Even though there is no obvious improvement in taste, it is just a change in appearance. But the Shu people are used to the beauty bonus of Shu brocade, so they naturally don’t think there is anything worth paying for the beauty.

More than 1,000 kilograms of white sugar were sold, and Sichuan brocade worth hundreds of thousands of pieces of silk was sold. The profit was so staggering that it was simply staggering. Li Tai was quite surprised by this huge return, but the Shu people still felt that there was still room for the price to continue to rise.

The price they paid included part of the costs of regional monopoly operations. In short, no matter how much goods Li Qianzhe provided, they would eat them all, and Li Qianzhe was not allowed to operate other sales channels in Shuzhong. Although Brazil belongs to the middle of Sichuan, it is still far away from the surrounding areas of Chengdu, where the essence of the heart is located. It is conceivable that once this batch of white sugar is sold near Chengdu, the price will inevitably go up to a higher level.

Li Tai is not so greedy as to squeeze the last mile of profit. The purpose of testing the waters was to seek cooperation from local people. It's just that if you want to eat this bowl of rice, you don't just have to have money, it also depends on whether you have the strength.