met free Page 1933
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He happened to be in charge of receiving Li Renli, the envoy from Western Xia.
"I've heard that the Prefect is an old friend of the Prince of Liang of the Ming Dynasty,"
Li Renli cupped his hands and said...
"I have long admired His Highness Prince Liang's talent and reputation, and I regret that I cannot meet him in person,"
"I wonder what kind of gifts the Prince of Liang would like?"
Linghu Xu said, "King Liang does not like extravagance; ordinary gifts will suffice."
"Since Your Excellency possesses poetic talent,"
"A poem is sufficient as a gift,"
"King Liang must be very pleased."
Li Renli was strictly disciplined by his elder brother.
Despite being the Prince of Shu, he was a penniless wretch.
All the money was spent collecting antiques and calligraphy.
He heard Linghu Xu's suggestion
He was even happier.
He considered himself to be a kindred spirit of Zhao Yuan.
Accompanied by Linghu Xu,
Li Renli toured the famous scenic spots of Chang'an.
After a ten-day delay, we finally continued our journey.
Guanzhong, a region heavily exploited and left with much wasteland by Emperor Huizong of Song.
Li Renli already felt that the family was exceptionally wealthy.
When he arrived at the territory of Luoyang Prefecture...
This place has not suffered much from war.
The extent of its wealth shocked Li Renli (Henan Prefecture had been renamed Luoyang Prefecture).
The deputy envoy was named Cao Changyong, a cousin of the Liang King of Western Xia.
The two stood on the deck.
Heading towards Kaifeng along the Bian River,
Merchant ships could be seen coming and going everywhere along the way.
"How can one imagine the wealth of China without seeing it with their own eyes?" Li Renli exclaimed.
Cao Changyong remarked, "It's a pity we're too far away to bring troops over to seize it."
Li Renli almost collapsed upon hearing this.
This is such a spoilsport!
It's like casting pearls before swine.
Li Renli rebuked, "Your ancestors were also Han Chinese."
"How did you come to have adopted barbarian habits?"
Cao Changyong said, "The Great Xia is already impoverished and exhausted. How can we survive without resorting to robbery?"
"Can you conjure up money and food?"
Li Renli said, "As long as we treat the people with kindness, allow them to recuperate and recover, and cease our aggressive military campaigns,"
"The Great Xia will be able to get out of its predicament within ten years."
"maybe."
Cao Changyong was too lazy to say more.
The current food shortage situation in Western Xia.
In fact, it was much more serious than the situation in the Ming Dynasty.
The Zhu family father and son just haven't started exploiting each other to the fullest extent yet.
The Western Xia, however, forced the people to hand over their surplus grain.
They sent troops to plunder grain and wealth from Han territory.
Especially in the direction of Dingbian Army and Xi'an Prefecture (Haiyuan),
The people living on the border of the Western Xia were extremely poor.
Whether Han Chinese or Tangut,
Farming and animal husbandry are not enough to make a living.
They had to rely on salt smuggling to make a living.
Use the salt from the Western Xia Dynasty.
In exchange for grain and cloth from Guanzhong,
Han Chinese merchants transported grain and cloth there.
However, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, grain transport from Guanzhong was already prohibited.
Countless people on the borders of Western Xia starved to death.
They cross the border and steal our food every few days!
Similarly, the people living on the Chinese border are also suffering greatly.
The imperial court's salt tax was too heavy.
Smuggled salt was also expensive.
Without the cheap Xixia salt,
People living on the Chinese border cannot even afford salt.
The official ship was getting closer and closer to Kaifeng.
Looking at the outline of the city wall in the distance.
Li Renli's eyes seemed to be on a pilgrimage.
Tokyo, Bianliang, was the ideal capital for this Western Xia prince!
He hoped his mission would be successful.
From this day forward, the two countries will be friends forever.
There will be no more years of war.
When everyone governs with benevolence and cares for the people, the world will be at peace.
This is not entirely an outdated idea.
But in the last thirty years,
The Western Xia was constantly at war.
The people grow some grain, but it all goes to war.
Agricultural decline, commercial stagnation
With internal strife raging, the whole country is hoping for a few years of peace and stability.
Therefore, historically, when Li Qianshun died...
Emperor Yi Inhyo ascended the throne.
Initiate localization reforms immediately.
And it vigorously developed its domestic affairs.
Such aggressive reform measures,
Surprisingly, it did not provoke much resistance.
On the contrary, it gives the feeling of being the popular choice.
Even the Tangut nobles wanted to rest and stop fighting.
Chapter 1693 The Spy
Reality went more smoothly than Zhao Yuan had anticipated.
Raise the grain purchase price slightly more.
Merchants then continuously transported grain here.
It mainly comes from the Huaihe River Basin and the Luoyang Basin.
Who knows where they usually hide the grain!
The imperial court directly purchased these high-priced grains.
A portion was reserved as strategic reserves.
Some of the profits were sold to merchants at a loss.
This operation greatly broadened the horizons of Tokyo merchants.
I've only ever heard of the imperial court buying low and selling high.
I have never seen the imperial court buy high and sell low.
This demonstrates the difference between the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty.
This also demonstrates Zhao Yuan's determination to stabilize grain prices.
Which grain shop dares to sell above the official price?
Once verified, they can expect their property to be confiscated and them to be exiled!
Not only are more and more grain merchants arriving in Beijing,
Other merchants also flocked to the area.
Hotels of all sizes in Tokyo
Businesses have gradually resumed operations.
Even Fanlou has reopened for business.
However, alcoholic beverages are still subject to purchase restrictions and are expensive.
Li Renli arrived in Tokyo at the end of April.
That's exactly what happened.
Before even entering the city, one is overwhelmed by the sights.
The Court of State Ceremonial sent people to lead them into the city.
After arriving at the location, inquire about the situation.
Li Renli, both excited and surprised, asked...
"Is this Duting Post Station? Not Duting West Post Station?"
"This is Duting Post Station. Please come in, Your Excellency," said the official from the Court of State Ceremonial with a smile.
Receiving such courtesy,
Li Renli was confident that the negotiations would be successful.
Duting Post Station was a place specifically for receiving Liao envoys.
Later, it became a special reception center for the Kim envoy.
Second-rate countries like the Western Xia
They could only stay at Duting West Post Station.