The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

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Not only did they bring back a ship full of exotic goods, but what surprised Su Jin was that there were envoys from the three countries of Luni, Daqin, and Persia who came with the ship with credentials and gifts. Pilgrimage to the rich and prosperous Song Empire far in the east.

Su Jin knew that the arrival of these envoys with the ship would cause a sensation in the court. Although Zhao Zhen was not a person who wanted to make great achievements, the fact that foreign countries came to the court because of his fame was a sign that he, the emperor, managed the country well, and he would be overjoyed.

Su Jin deliberately delayed the trip, met and sympathized with everyone, talked about the customs and dangers on the road, and couldn't help being fascinated and surprised; it turned out that after the fleet set off into the deep sea, it encountered a storm, and the huge waves almost destroyed the ship. All the teams capsized. Fortunately, God blesses the ship with minor damage but no major damage after the storm. The only worry is that the storm blows the ship away from the route. It took several days to find the correct route again, which was also one of the reasons for the delay of the voyage.

When they arrived at the ports of the countries along the way, the local Fans were extremely hospitable to these distant visitors. The king and ministers greeted them as honored guests, so they were delayed by some etiquette. Fortunately, the journey was difficult and dangerous. Rejoice, in the end, the sky will follow the wishes of the people. [

The joy in Su Jin's heart is not limited to these. The meaning of this merchant ship's voyage is not as simple as bringing back sixteen shipments. The contacts will be closer. In this era, the Song Dynasty is probably the most affluent country in the world, and most of the foreign countries are in a barren and backward period. The success of this voyage will undoubtedly bring more benefits to the Song Dynasty.

Su Jin couldn't say what kind of positive impact it had, but there is one thing that Su Jin was extremely proud of. This ocean voyage was hundreds of years earlier than the later Sanbao eunuch's voyage to the West. This was already a pioneering work. If it is distorted, there will be his deeds of Su Ji's ocean-going merchant ship sailing to the West in the history books of future generations, but I don't know how future generations will evaluate such a voyage.

One day after Pan Heng, Su Jin took the envoys from Luni, Daqin, and Persia to the capital, and the mistresses of Su Ji stayed in Mingzhou to direct the staff to unload the goods, classify and register them, and send them to various places at a fixed price. For sales, since the goods of these foreign countries are all in short supply, it took a lot of trouble in pricing. The goods were exchanged for commodities such as ceramics, tea and silk in the Song Dynasty by bartering, and the pricing was basically the same. There is no reference, so we can only compare the goods brought by a small number of foreign people who ventured across the ocean, and then sell them.

Roughly estimating the gross profit of this trip, several mistresses of the Su family were sticking out their tongues. The value of the goods they brought during this trip was more than 800 million, and the food wages and rewards of the people who came and went were 150 million. The total cost was less than ten million, but the exchange The value of the commodity is as high as five times, that is to say, the gross profit is as high as 4000 million, which is really a dizzying figure.

Take ambergris as an example. Each cake Suji is exchanged for ten catties of tea leaves and ten ceramic bowls, and the cost is only five pennies and five hundred cash. When ambergris arrives in the Song Dynasty, the price of high-quality ones is as high as A hundred guan, and some of the lesser ones are at least seventy or eighty guan for a pie, and the huge profit is ten or twenty times; of course, there are other commodities that make two or three times the profit. Under mutual hedging, the average is about five times; The risk is already equal to the sum of all the profits of all Su Ji's properties for one year. The daughters of the Su family didn't understand why Su Jin took the risk and squeezed out tens of millions of dollars to build a ship when money was extremely tight. This time, I realized that there are such huge profits in it. No wonder it is worth taking the risk. Not to mention five times the huge profits, it is one or two times. With Su Jin's character, I will try it try.

Yan Biyun knew that if Su Ji took this step bravely this time, tens of thousands of merchants would flock to it soon. With the import of foreign goods, the profits would not be so lucrative, so she organized the staff quickly To sell this batch of goods quickly, she discussed with Su Jin that after the returnees have a three-month rest, they will immediately embark on the second voyage. The time difference between profits and making a big fortune, from now on, the Su family will undoubtedly become the richest family in the Song Dynasty, with a net worth of billions.

Su Jin greatly appreciated Yan Biyun's courage. Even he did not expect that after the opening of the commercial road, the huge profits of foreign goods would be reduced, but Yan Biyun saw through the future trend at once. He is a traveler, and the huge profits from overseas trade were not discovered until today. And I don't know much about the consequences of opening the waterway. If Yan Biyun was a time traveler, I'm afraid the Su family would have been full of money long ago, and the gold and silver he earned would be piled up in the sky. She is more commercially sensitive than herself. .

Su Jin raised both hands to agree with Yan Biyun's proposal. He has always been just a leader, such as silver villages, mines and other industries. He only knows that these are profitable, so he is eager to open them, but in fact there is no Yan Biyun behind him. Helping him improve his flaws, and giving him management and business corrections by analogy, I am afraid that his grandma's family has already lost money; The minister rushed to the capital, and the servants who came to deliver the decree were in a hurry. This Mr. Su didn't seem to take the emperor's imperial decree seriously at all, and the arrival of the imperial decree was still delayed for a day, he really had the courage to go to heaven.

But this muttering was quickly suppressed by a few fine pearls presented by Su Jin. Eunuchs love money, which has never been broken, let alone the precious pearls. The servant who had never enjoyed a certain kind of pleasure also had an unprecedented orgasm.

The people going north is the half-constructed national road line. The national road under construction by the Development and Reform Department is distributed in a well-shaped shape. The road from Mingzhou to the west passes Jiangnan East and West Roads and crosses Jinghu North Road. It is named "National Highway Horizontal" The second-line road has been built for nearly a year. Although this national road has not been completed, it has already taken shape. The Department of Development and Reform requires that the road be ten feet wide. The foundation must be gravel, and the surface must be paved with fired green bricks It can't be just rammed earth and leveled, then sprinkled with gravel like the official roads of the Song Dynasty in the past.

Of course, the required specifications are so high, so the price is naturally high. Su Jinzai once joked that the four national roads were paved with copper coins one by one, which cost a lot of money; now it seems that such an investment is definitely worth it. In Mingzhou As far as the Hongzhou line, the road pavement is basically completed. The wide green brick avenue is straight and open. Ditches are dug on both sides for drainage and neat trees are planted. People and horses walk on it, and it is very pleasant to travel hundreds of miles a day.

The envoys from the foreign country who accompanied him kept their mouths open all the way, and even shouted such words as Allah, God, and God appeared. Su Jin was quite proud. The envoys learned through a simple translation that these roads were under the auspices of the young official in front of him. When it was built, people expressed their highest respect to Su Jin.

Going to Jiangling Mansion on Jingbei Road and turning north, you turn onto the vertical line of the National Highway. This is the first national highway built, and it is also a national highway that is close to completion, because it leads directly to Bianliang Kyoto, traces back to Mingzhu City, and runs through the Song Dynasty. The eight north-south roads in the west cost a huge sum of more than [-] million yuan on this road alone.

After getting on the vertical line, the team moves faster. Along the way, you can see the intersection of official roads, national roads and waterways. Newly built market entrances have sprung up like mushrooms. The mules and horse caravans loaded with goods on the national road are busy going south and north. Convenience promotes the prosperity of business. Although Su Jin expected all of this, after seeing it with his own eyes, Su Jin was still very excited.

It used to take more than 20 days to get there. Although Su Jin and his party took a big right-angle bend, they still saved half of the time. On the evening of April [-], Su Jin and his party returned to the capital, but their buttocks were still not stable. , an explosive news had reached Su Jin's ears, and Su Jin finally understood the reason why Zhao Zhen was eager to recall himself to the capital.