Chapter 94

Chapter 95: Adaptability

In the hustle and bustle, it was soon the Mid-Autumn Festival again. Zhao Cheng warmly received the leaders of the three newly incorporated merchant caravans and hosted a banquet for them. The banquet was set up in the small square of the front hall, with the bright moon overhead and red candles burning brightly around, adding a unique charm to the scene.

After a few rounds of drinks and several courses, Zhao Cheng looked at a middle-aged man on his left. The man was not particularly good-looking, with a face full of blemishes, but he was very robust, standing over six feet tall, which would be nearly 1.9 meters in today's terms. While everyone else had stopped eating, he still held a wine bowl in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, drinking and gnawing as if he hadn't eaten for eight lifetimes, completely ignoring the disdainful looks from others.

"Mr. Sun, how is the wine?" Zhao Cheng smiled and asked.

"Good wine! I've only heard about it in the past, but never tasted it. Today, I finally know what it's like. I'm afraid no other wine will be as good from now on!" Mr. Sun, whose real name was Sun Erqian, was named so because his mother had a difficult labor, and his father had to borrow two silver coins to hire a midwife to save his life.

"If this wine is sold in the northwest, what do you think the market will be like?" Zhao Cheng waved his hand, signaling a young eunuch to refill Sun Erqian's wine.

"Second Master, you flatter me by calling me 'Mr. Sun.' Just call me Erqian!" Sun Erqian put down his wine and meat, stood up, and said, "People in the northwest love wine. They can go three days without food, but not a day without wine. The wine from Lingzhou is called fine, but compared to the wine from our manor, it's nothing. When our wine gets there, those barbarians will probably sell their wives to drink our manor's wine!" His words were amusing, but he spoke them seriously, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"Erqian, is business in the northwest good now?" Zhao Cheng asked again.

"Second Master, the court has been waging frequent wars in the northwest in recent years, and many of the trade fairs have been closed. The remaining ones open and close irregularly. I've had to sell my goods at a discount twice because the fairs were closed, and I lost money," Sun Erqian said with a bitter face.

"Old Sun, I heard you were caught by the border troops for smuggling copper coins and horses. It seems you had to pay a hefty price to get out!" Zhang Que, the leader of another merchant caravan, revealed Sun Erqian's past.

"Hehe, Old Zhang, everyone knows the tricks. We're both like crows on a pig; neither of us is any whiter than the other!" Sun Erqian remained calm and retorted.

"You two arguing in front of the Prince is quite inappropriate!" A man dressed in a scholar's robe, who looked like a merchant, interrupted them.

"Old Liu, you don't understand. We deal with the Liao, and the two countries haven't fought for over a hundred years, so business is naturally good!" Zhang Que said with a cold snort.

"Mr. Liu, didn't you lose money this time because you tried to pass off inferior goods? You brought back a bunch of old horses!" Sun Erqian, seizing the opportunity to strike back, revealed Liu's past.

"Old Sun, haven't you done the same? You know how you made your fortune!" Liu Song, red-faced and flustered, shouted back, losing his composure. In commerce, there is always a mix of honesty and deceit. The minority ethnic groups were generally more honest, while the Han people were more cunning, especially the corrupt officials who would stop at nothing to amass wealth. The Han people used old tea, inferior silk, and silver bars with copper inserts to deceive the minorities, who in turn used sick and weak horses to "return the favor."

Zhao Cheng shook his head and said nothing, allowing the three to bicker. From their arguments, he could glean some useful information. The Song Dynasty, for military reasons, often imposed economic sanctions on the Western Xia, closing the borders and trade fairs. In reality, the economic structure of the Western Xia was unreasonable and incomplete. Agriculture was concentrated in small alluvial fans in the Hengshan area, and due to the climate, they could only farm once a year, with insufficient grain production to meet domestic demand. Livestock was a significant part of their economy, but they needed to trade with the Liao and Song to obtain essential goods. The Song Dynasty traded mainly for horses, but even if they stopped trading, they could obtain horses from other sources, so the impact was minimal. The Western Xia, however, had to find ways to obtain essential goods, leading to rampant smuggling.

Smuggling was a high-risk, high-reward illegal activity, which was the direct cause of the smuggling trade between the Song and Western Xia. The western minorities primarily ate meat, and tea helped with digestion. The Han people's silk weaving technology was advanced, and silk products were always in high demand. In some regions, the minorities considered silk to be a treasure, and they would wrap a piece of silk around the deceased to ensure their peace in the afterlife. Rich people would wrap several pieces to ensure their ascent to heaven. Such customs further stimulated the demand for silk. When normal trade was banned, a bolt of silk in the Western Xia could cost over ten guan, or even fifty guan, which was close to the price of a horse, while in the Song Dynasty, a bolt of silk cost only one or two guan. The price difference for tea was even higher, and with profits of several dozen times, it naturally attracted many merchants from the Central Plains to trade and engage in various smuggling activities.

"Where did the Prince find such unscrupulous merchants? There are so many good people, but he insists on using these 'immoral, uneducated, and uncultured' guys. The ship captain didn't come today, but I heard he's not a good person either, often engaging in piracy at sea!" The chief steward, Zheng Lu, looked at the three men arguing fiercely and angrily said to Zheng Shou beside him.

"The Prince might have a deeper intention," Zheng Shou whispered, pointing at the Prince, who was listening with great interest.

"The Prince always emphasizes honesty in business, but look at these people. I'm afraid they will ruin the reputation of our manor!" Zheng Lu sighed, worried that the Prince would be influenced by them.

"Hehe, don't worry, Chief Steward. I think the Prince might be planning something. That's why he brought these scoundrels back!" Zheng Shou smiled.

"You're right!" Zheng Lu shuddered, thinking that the Prince's actions were always unpredictable but often brought pleasant surprises. This time might be no different.

The next day, Zhao Cheng spoke to each of the three men separately. When they came out, Sun Erqian looked terrified and nervous; Zhang Que seemed to have learned a lot and was still deep in thought, even when he went to bed; Liu Song, on the other hand, was overjoyed, and some even heard him laughing out loud in the toilet. The three men stayed in the manor for five days, preparing various goods before setting out. Of course, each of them had a new assistant, and new faces appeared in their caravans. Everyone understood that these were the Prince's "supervisors," but they also understood that as "newcomers," they couldn't expect immediate trust. It was already fortunate that they were still in charge of their caravans, so they didn't dare to complain.

It had been several months since the "prince kidnapping case." Chen Tang, who had led the investigation, had been promoted to a position in the capital, and the county of Xiangyang had been upgraded, with its magistrate transferred to another state as a vice-governor. Those who should have been promoted were promoted, and those who should have been rewarded were rewarded, but Zhao Cheng had received no news. The capital had sent word that the ministers had differing opinions and had discussed the matter several times in the court. Some believed that the prince should be escorted by troops when he was outside the capital, as there were precedents in previous dynasties and in the current dynasty. Others argued that since the Song Dynasty, princes had always lived in the capital, and their safety was the responsibility of the palace guards. There was no precedent for sending palace guards outside the capital. The two groups were still arguing, citing historical examples and searching for new evidence, while ignoring Zhao Cheng's safety.

"Bureaucracy is truly deadly. This incident proves it once again!" Zhao Cheng sighed after hearing the report. With the deepening of Prime Minister Cai's reforms, the situation was getting worse. The Hebei, Hedong, and Jidong regions were experiencing "banditry," with groups ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand people rebelling against the government. Even the capital region was plagued by "thieves," causing fear among the wealthy. As his territory expanded and his business grew, he would inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. They might still be wary of his "reputation" as a prince, but one day they would come to "uphold justice and enforce the will of heaven." With only a few dozen guards, he couldn't protect his wealth, which he had accumulated with great effort.

"The only solution is to work within the framework of the Baojia system!" Zhao Cheng thought, pacing around. In 1070, Wang Anshi implemented the Baojia system, which organized households into groups of five, twenty-five, and two hundred and fifty. The Baojia were a form of local militia, and the Song court took measures to integrate them with the regular army. During the farming off-season, the Baojia were trained in military skills, and those who excelled could be promoted or exempted from some taxes. In 1075, the system was extended to the Hebei, Hedong, and Shaanxi regions, with training conducted from October to January. Later, the winter training period for Hebei and Hedong was changed to November to February, and the system was extended nationwide.

After Emperor Shenzong's death, the young Emperor Zhezong ascended the throne, and the anti-reform faction came to power, abolishing the Baojia training. Although winter training was still officially required, it was largely neglected. However, the Baojia system remained in place in the countryside, meaning that training local militias was still legal.