Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 2727 The smallest coin

  Chang'an.

  Dahan Chamber of Commerce.

  When Cui Hou received the order conveyed by the hussar guards, he couldn't help feeling a little headache.

  『Prices of spices, jade, and cattail wine? ”Cui Hou’s big shopkeeper asked, “This... how much is the price increase? 』

  Cui Hou shook his head, "I didn't say anything. 』

The big shopkeeper suddenly didn't know what to say, and after a pause, he said: "Master, although the price can go up or down, there must be a reason for raising the price. You can't just raise the price if you like it." , isn't this a loss of credibility...』

The pace of life in the Han Dynasty was actually very slow. Some people would never go out of ten miles in their lifetime, so many times the shops were open for a lifetime. For decades of old customers, it is not impossible to raise prices temporarily, but there must be an explanation , otherwise it will inevitably be criticized by customers.

   Cui Hou’s headache is not the price increase, but what is behind the price increase.

   After all, is it a businessman, isn't it a very common thing to raise prices? Needless to say, the price fluctuates when the spring, summer, autumn and winter seasons change on weekdays. Sometimes there are three prices in the morning, middle and evening in a day, and it is not uncommon.

  It’s okay to raise the price, but Cui Hou doesn’t know how to raise the price and how much is appropriate.

   And the most critical question, why the price increase?

  『How about...go ask? ’ said the shopkeeper tentatively.

  Cui Hou pondered, but didn't answer right away.

  Cui Hou has been bragging about his friendship with the hussars in the Dahan Chamber of Commerce, but in fact Cui Hou is a little afraid of seeing the general of the hussars.

  He felt that today's Feiqian is no longer what it used to be.

Although occasionally what Cui Hou said can’t be completely bragging, he did sit at the same table with Fei Qian in Luoyang City for a period of time before, and chatted happily, but now Luoyang City, which is said to be immortal for a thousand years, has been destroyed. How can this friendship between people never change?

  Furthermore, there was an internal problem in Cui's caravan last time. After being caught by Fei Qian, Cui Hou became more and more unwilling to see Fei Qian. If not, Cui Hou can still pretend to be an ostrich. Every time they met, Cui Hou deeply felt the disparity in status.

  But it’s not good to see, after all, if you don’t know the target, what should you do?

  So Cui Hou could only dawdle for a while, and then went to the Hushi Mansion Yamen to ask for an interview.

   Fei Qian did not come out in person, but sent Xu Chu to come.

   This is nothing, after all, with Fei Qian's current status, it is impossible to come to greet Cui Hou in person. Of course Cui Hou wouldn't complain, but he felt a little sour in his heart.

Xu Chu didn't mean to bring Cui Hou into the inner courtyard directly, but led Cui Hou to the side of the corridor. When Cui Hou felt that something was wrong, he explained to Cui Hou with a smile: "President Cui, my lord asked me to explain." I'm sorry, he has something to do right now, so it's not convenient to see you, if you are here because of the price of commodities in the Western Regions, you might as well go and see Zhen Zong..."

  『Zhen is engaged? It was only then that Cui Hou came to his senses. Going forward, after exiting the corner gate, it was the residence of foreign officials.

  Feelings themselves just go in circles?

  Xu Chu smiled and squinted his eyes, looking very kind and harmless to humans and animals, but Cui Hou knew in his heart that this kindness was just Xu Chu's mask.

"Ah, it's okay...ah, no, it's not right to come here to disturb the hussars. If you can get the hussars to give you advice, you can do whatever you want. I hope Captain Xu will thank the hussars on my behalf..." before Cui Hou himself was still hesitating whether to see him or not, but now he couldn't even see him? But Cui Hou couldn't say anything, so he could only thank Xu Chu, then walked out of the corner gate along the road, and turned to the official house.

  Cui Hou seldom comes to the official office, because Cui Hou believes that the Dahan Chamber of Commerce is his territory, so the official office is somewhat strange to him.

Along the corridor, Cui Hou walked into the official houses, and saw the blue bricks and white walls, Zhulan black tiles, houses lined up in front of him, the big and small officials who came and went, those who walked hurriedly were sweating, those who walked slowly were calm and calm, and those who panicked were in a hurry , It is simply a miniature picture scroll of life.

  Cui Hou suddenly felt a little out of place.

   After standing there blankly for a while, Cui Hou walked forward, looked at the wooden sign erected in front of the official house, and then found Zhen Mi. When Cui Hou saw Zhen Mi, he almost couldn't recognize her...

Zhen Mi was wearing a red and black official uniform, sitting on a white thatch mat, and was asking the little official something, her face was serious, completely different from the gorgeous impression left by Cui Hou before, if I had to use a simple word to describe it , that is clear. Like Liuli, although she is not completely without makeup, but the light application of Fendai does not cover her jade muscles, coupled with the red and black official robes on her body, the upright Jinxian crown, bright eyes and bright teeth, Cui Hou also felt a little bit Not angry but mighty.

  What surprised Cui Hou the most was that in Zhen Mi's house, almost all the utensils were ordinary, that is, used by ordinary officials, without complicated decorations or grace. Even the white thatch mat that Zhen Mi was sitting on didn't look new, Cui Hou could see ink marks on the mat that might have been left by someone who used it before, and even at the edge of the mat, there were some scattered and Tiny holes...

   Such a thing, Zhen Mi can sit still?

   Isn't she an obsessive eater, a lover of beauty, extravagant and extravagant, clean?

   Is this really Zhen Mi?

  Before Cui Hou heard that it was Zhen Mi who entered the official residence, but he didn't pay much attention to it. Cui Hou felt that with Zhen Mi's habits, she might be squeezed out, bullied, or demoted if she didn't stay in the officialdom for a long time.

  It’s like the boss of the company in later generations only drives a four-lap A4 to work, and then his employees not only drive briefs, but also use a big G model car for transportation, so what will others think?

  Do as the Romans do, not just for the "country".

  According to his previous impression, Cui Hou felt that even if Zhen Mi could stay in the official residence, she would definitely be uncomfortable. Either Zhen Mi felt uncomfortable, or made other officials feel uncomfortable. But he never expected that Zhen Mi had changed so much. If he hadn't met Zhen Mi many times before and would never admit his mistake, he would almost have thought that the person in front of him was just another person with a similar appearance!

   Cui Hou was stunned for a moment, but Zhen Mi looked up and saw Cui Hou standing outside the house.

  『Since it’s old knowledge, why feel cramped? ’ Zhen Mi said with a smile, ‘President Cui is a rare visitor! I'm sorry, no wonder! 』

  『How dare, how dare! "Cui Hou hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his hands, "Cui is an ordinary person, don't dare to come here to disturb you... Now I can see Mrs. Zhen... Uh, Zhen's professional demeanor is better than before. I'm so envious..."

   Cui Hou's remarks were not purely for the sake of invitation, but were indeed made out of feelings.

  When Zhen Mi first came to Chang'an, she had to pay a special visit to Cui Hou. If she wanted to please Cui Hou, she looked at Cui Hou's face cautiously, but now it's the other way around.

  As for Cui Hou, at the very beginning, he prided himself on his old acquaintance with hussars, and he felt that he was running around in business for hussars, worked hard and made great achievements, but in the end he almost became a prisoner.

   Now it seems that Zhen Mi's choice is the right one. Although Cui Hou seemed to be the leader of the Great Han Chamber of Commerce, but here, he still had to be polite to Zhen Mi, nodding and bowing. Although it is not a high position to be in this position, this authority is enough to make people enviable.

  In addition to the position, the change in Zhen Mi's appearance also surprised Cui Hou, and he was very moved.

...

  『President Cui is polite,』 Zhen Mi invited Cui Hou to sit down, and then asked the servants outside to bring in some tea, and then said to Cui Hou, 『Everything is well in the chamber of commerce? 』

"Yes, yes, everything is fine..." Cui Hou said in general, and it was not a lie, because for a period of time, the overall business operation was relatively stable, and there was nothing special. Hou Yuan was also a veteran in business, so he didn't find it difficult to do it. After narrating for a while, Cui Houcai mentioned the Hussar's price increase order on the Western Regions, and then asked, "I am irritable and idiot, and I have failed to understand the Hussar's deep meaning. Then I went to see Huqi, but Huqi ordered me to come down to find Zhenzheng...so Yan Yan came here, and hoped that Zhenzheng would not hesitate to give me advice...』

  Hearing Cui Hou's words, Zhen Mi couldn't help but pursed her lips into a smile.

  To be honest, Cui Hou had never been so polite in front of her before.

  However, Zhen Mi will not make a fuss. After all, Cui Hou also specifically mentioned Huqi, which is also an opportunity for him to show that he also has someone behind him...

   Specifically, whether someone above is stronger or someone behind is better, there is really no need to distinguish between high and low at the moment.

  Then Zhen Mi laughed and said: "President Cui can get the errand sent by Huqi, no matter how difficult or easy, it is a good thing after all. Since the concubine is a minister, she should naturally do her duty and go all out. Also ask President Cui to speak bluntly, what is the worry about? 』

  When Cui Hou talked about the matter, Zhen Mi was stunned, "Understood, my lord asked President Cui to come here, I'm afraid it's because of my concubine's appearance..."

  Actually, before Cui Hou came, Zhen Mi was notified.

Zhen Mi got up, went to the bookshelf behind her, found an archived playlist, put it on the table, gently pushed it forward, motioned Cui Hou to take it, and said at the same time: "A few days ago, my concubine died." , Feeling the economic and trade exchanges between Shandong and Shanxi, commodity trading, trading fairs, etc., so I wrote a memorandum, focusing on the key points of commercial goods... Hushi asked Chairman Cui to come here, most likely because he wanted Chairman Cui to have a look Look at this chapter..."

   What Zhen Mi said seemed to be just to take a look, but in fact it was not.

What Fei Qian meant was that when it came to buying and selling goods from the Western Regions, and even things from the Dahan Chamber of Commerce, Zhen Mi was more researched and understood the key points, so Cui Hou was the one who asked Cui Hou to learn from it and follow Zhen Mi's advice. Not just looking at the memorial that Zhen Mi wrote before.

   Otherwise, you just need someone to hand over the memorial to Cui Hou, wouldn't it be over?

   Cui Hou was quite surprised to see that Zhen Mi didn't deliberately make things difficult or anything. He was slightly taken aback, then bowed his hands to thank him, and then took the archived memorial and read it. As a businessman, it is always a habit to have rare goods to live in. It is also a habit to always think of selling high prices when you have good things, but if you go too far, it will often make people feel treacherous and intentional. While Cui Hou was surprised, he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

  『Gold, silver, copper? ”Cui Hou looked at the items written by Zhen Mi, which seemed to occupy a large space, and couldn’t help repeating softly, “Shandong is so luxurious, likes gold and silver, melts into ingots, and stores more... See also Guanzhong Copper Expensive, more transportation, less maneuvering, private coining, often proud... Zhen is engaged, this... Excuse me, what does this mean? 』

Zhen Mi nodded, her face gradually became serious, "President Cui, although my concubine was born in Ji, but now I live in Guanzhong, and I am a servant of Hushi. Naturally, the great cause of Hushi should be the most important thing. I don't know what President Cui thinks or not? 』

  Cui Hou nodded repeatedly, "Of course! Take it for granted! 』

  『Shandong has been suffering for a long time. ”Zhen Mi said slowly, “President Cui should say he doesn’t know about the import of bad copper from Shandong? ! 』

  『This…』 Cui Hou shook his hand slightly, and then smiled wryly, 「It’s true…just…」

  Cui Hou hesitated to speak.

   With moving eyes, Zhen Mi took out a few coins from the side of the table, and threw them on the table with a clang.

"This is an imitation coin from Shandong. It is lighter in quality and thinner in flesh, and it is prone to black rust when exposed to rain and moisture..." Zhen Mi pointed to the coin and said, "This is Zhengxi money... the meat is good, the outline is round, and the lines are clear. , not afraid of wind and rain, not easy to rust...Chairman Cui, do you really not know about this copper coin? 』

  Looking at the small copper coins on the table, Cui Hou couldn't help sweating a little.

  『As for copper coins, there are more imitations...』 Zhen Mi took out some small copper coins under the copper coins for change, and said with disgust, "Look, these are, they are simply worse than bad money!" 』

Gold and silver coins, for ordinary people, are basically invisible and unusable. Even copper coins, in some small transactions, must use a smaller currency unit, that is, copper. Come. And this copper coin is the smallest coin of the Han Dynasty at the moment. It usually has no pattern, and it is usually a small round copper coin of one baht or two baht.

Because this kind of small copper coin is easy to cast, and there are no anti-counterfeiting measures. Compared with the previous Zhengxi coins, there are also the hussars coins that are more difficult to imitate. A large amount will naturally make money.

In addition, because these imitation small copper coins are also used in Shandong, the difference in copper prices between Guanzhong and Shandong has been formed. It is a cycle of constantly looking for various opportunities to input bad money.

"Chairman Cui is not ignorant, but he just doesn't get into this matter..." Zhen Mi looked at Cui Hou meaningfully, "I'm afraid it's for the sake of the number of trade, and it's cited as a result... If you investigate deeply, it will definitely affect business, reduce trade, and reduce the income of the Dahan Chamber of Commerce. Lowered, damaged President Cui's reputation...』

  『No no no! ”Cui Hou waved his hands again and again, “I definitely don’t mean that! I'm... this, I do know about this, and I'm collecting relevant information... I definitely didn't deliberately hide the hussars! I am preparing to report this matter to the hussars! 』

  Cui Hou almost shouted loudly.

  He can only pretend to be stupid at most, how can he say that he deliberately deceived?

  This is a completely different meaning, okay!

  Zhen Mi stared at Cui Hou seriously, then suddenly smiled after a while, as if the frost had melted, and the spring breeze was blowing on her face, "President Cui is in charge of the Dahan Chamber of Commerce, and such matters are up to President Cui to decide." There is no need to say too much to the concubine, the concubine is just discussing the matter... But what does President Cui think about the gold, silver, copper coins and goods from the Western Regions? 』

Cui Hou wiped his sweat, let out a long breath, turned his head quickly, and then realized, "The goods from the Western Regions are mostly used by the children of the gentry, and the price is increased now to bring back the gold and silver coins that have flowed out." ? Zhen is engaged, I don't know if what I say is right? 』

  Zhen Mi smiled, "My concubine is just a little girl with little knowledge... Naturally, Chairman Cui made up his mind on this matter..."

  『No no, Zhen is engaged, I sincerely ask for advice! ”Cui Hou repeatedly cupped his hands at Zhen Mi, “Please Zhen Zheng not hesitate to enlighten me, give me some pointers!” 』

  Zhen Mi smiled gently, "President Cui has something to offer, but he doesn't know whether he should accept it or not. Why don't you just give the hussars a seal... Wouldn't it be a thousand times better than a concubine's lie?" President Cui, my concubine still has official duties here, so I won't leave Cui Hui to sit for a long time, and if I'm rude, I still look at Haihan. 』

"Here, uh, okay..." Cui Hou subconsciously wanted to take away the watch badge that was prepared, but was stopped by Zhen Mi, and couldn't help handing it back in embarrassment, and then said goodbye. On the surface, he was still polite, but in his heart Among them, Zhen Mi was scolded.

  Wei Xiaozi and what is difficult to raise!

  Is it bad money, when is it not?

  Hasn’t the hussars done this before?

Besides, bad money can’t be used in the regular market in Chang’an. At most, it can only be exchanged for usable money in Qingyin Shop. The loss is huge, so it is usually used secretly in the countryside. It's not like he goes to the countryside every day, isn't it normal?

  And regardless of whether it is export or import, goods will be purchased and trade will be carried out, which will be included in the trade volume of the Dahan Chamber of Commerce. The higher the trade volume, the better it is that Cui Hou is in charge of the Dahan Chamber of Commerce. As for these counterfeit currencies, there is no inspection and supervision in the market anyway. What does the chamber of commerce have to do with it? What does it have to do with him, Cui Hou? It's not that he asked the people in Shandong to cast it privately, and he didn't get any benefit from it!

  How could this be his fault?

   Besides, does the Dahan Chamber of Commerce have the right to enforce the law?

   Nope, so what's wrong with that?

   Cui Hou muttered in his heart, while feeling a little resentful, but when he got to the back, he looked up at the eaves of the mansion, stood there for a long time, then heaved a long sigh, lowered his head, and continued to move forward slowly.

  『ε=(ο｀*)))Ah…』

  I have to write a good letter when I go back.

  Not only must we clearly explain the matter of gold, silver and copper coins, but we also need to talk about the pricing arrangements for goods from the Western Regions...

  Cui Hou was covered in sweat just now, when he walked out of the official residence, a gust of autumn wind blew in, making him shiver uncontrollably, and quickly wrapped his hands around his neckline.

  Cui Hou looked back and suddenly felt that he was getting farther and farther away from the hussars.

  Before, we could sit together at the same table, chat and discuss with each other, but now...

  The world is changing, so it is.

  But Cui Hou still muttered, what is this hussar up to?

  (end of this chapter)