Dressed as a widow, raising cubs, farming and building infrastructure in Ming Dynasty

Chapter 53 Twenty Thousand Horses
That afternoon, Little Mute and Ah Heima went to Qin Liu to discuss the details.

Qin Liu pulled Old Man Lou along, and Old Lou pulled up a thinner man with a mustache in the team.

The two parties sat on both sides of a large table and officially began discussions.

Ah Heima stared at Qin Liu and said, "How many horses do you want to buy?"

Qin Liu turned to look at Old Man Lou.

Old man Lou turned to look at the man with the mustache.

The old man with a mustache asked on the ground: "How much can you sell?" He actually spoke pure Mongolian.

Qin Liu sighed: Mr. Lou, you have so many talents under your command!This mustachioed man kept a low profile along the way. Qin Liu didn't pay much attention to him, and he didn't expect to be able to participate in the negotiations.

Aheima stretched out two fingers.

Qin Liu, Old Man Lou, and the mustached man exchanged glances with each other.

Qin Liu made a mouth gesture: "Two hundred horses?"

Old Man Lou shook his head and said softly: "It will probably be two thousand horses."

The mustachioed man nodded and touched his mustache and asked Ah Heima: "Two thousand horses?"

Ah Heima sneered: "Twenty thousand horses!"

Qin Liu was stunned!

Old Man Lou was no longer calm. Instead, the man with the mustache could hold on, lowered his eyelids, and continued stroking his mustache on the ground.

Qin Liu looked at Old Man Lou as if asking for help.

Old Man Lou looked at the mustachioed man expectantly.

Ah Heima across from him also saw who the real owner was. He didn't look at anyone else, and his eyes fell directly on the man with the mustache.

The mustachioed man asked calmly: "Where's the price?"

Ah Heima said: "As for tea, seventy jins will be exchanged for a low-grade horse; for salt, 140 jins will be exchanged for a low-grade horse; for ironware, four hundred jins of wrought iron will be exchanged for a low-grade horse."

Qin Liu breathed the cold air deeply into his tailbone this time!

My Longevity!
The man with a mustache refused: "Impossible! Seventy kilograms of tea leaves are exchanged for a medium-sized horse. This was more than 100 years ago, during the Hongwu period! Nowadays, Liaodong, Southwest, and Northwest tea horses trade mutually, and fifty kilograms of tea leaves are exchanged for a medium-sized horse. A medium horse is the rule!
One hundred kilograms of salt in our Ming Dynasty is worth 30 taels of silver. 140 kilograms of salt is worth 42 taels of silver, which is enough to buy a fine horse!We still have to incur losses when transporting the salt to the border. We suffer a big loss at this price!

As for wrought iron, ordinary people can afford to buy a few kitchen knives.If the weight exceeds [-] kilograms, the court will keep an eye on it and conduct a thorough investigation into whether it is intentional rebellion.Not a pound of wrought iron, not even pig iron! "

Qin Liu looked at the man with the mustache with admiration.

Ah Heima was not a fuel-efficient lamp. He slammed the table and shouted angrily: "It has to be done even if it doesn't work! I'm going to settle it! Moreover, it must be paid with [-]% of the iron, [-]% of the tea, and [-]% of the salt." s price!"

After saying that, he glanced at Qin Liu and others fiercely, waved his hand, and several Mongolian guards with their swords unsheathed rushed in from outside the tent, and the swords were placed on the necks of Qin Liu and others.

There is a strong intention to kill them on the spot if they don't agree.

Qin Liu didn't panic now.

She looked at the little mute sitting opposite, frowning, saying nothing.

Old Man Lou and the man with the mustache were silent and motionless.

Seeing this, Ahei Ma had no choice but to ask the guards to put away their knives: "You don't want to drink wine as a penalty!" Aheima shook his sleeves and walked away angrily, leaving Qin Liu and others looking at each other. .

Old Man Lou and the man with the mustache also left.

Qin Liu was about to leave, but was stopped by the little mute: "Didn't you say that there are many iron ore and coal mines on our grassland?"

Qin Liu nodded: "We almost passed by Duolun last time. There are coal mines and iron mines there. In Baiyun Obo, north of Yinshan Mountain, there are also large iron mines there."

The little mute pondered for a while and then said: "We grassland people also used to make iron. It's just that over time, the tradition has gradually been lost."

Qin Liu looked at the little mute in confusion: "What do you mean?"

"As for ironware, if I can convince my father and mother to let the grassland have its own iron-making technology and craftsmen, it will probably be more attractive."

Is this easier said than done?
Qin Liu's eyes dimmed.

But the little mute’s eyes were bright: “I’ll try this!”

Qin Liu would naturally not object.

The little mute added: "Tomorrow is the Aobao Festival on our grassland. There will be gatherings in the afternoon and evening. I will try my best to let you see my mother again and communicate these things clearly."

Qin Liu nodded sincerely.

This iron tool was a life-threatening business in the Ming Dynasty, and it was impossible for them to get it.

This must be made clear first.

The suggestion made by the little mute is very good. It can not only solve the needs of the Mongolian royal court, but also reduce the resistance to negotiations.

The difficulty is that neither mining nor iron-making can be achieved overnight and requires long-term investment and accumulation.

After separating from the little mute, Qin Liu fell into a depressed state.

Twenty thousand horses!
According to the price of 40 taels of silver per horse, Duke Baoguo's government has to pay 80 taels of silver to buy it!
Even if it is halved, it still costs 40 taels of real money!

Even the most noble person in the Ming Dynasty would not be able to eat so many horses in one go!
This business is quite difficult to do!

The three gold ingots she regarded as treasures were brushed to the ground by Queen Manduhai with disdain. It is painful to think about it.

Will all my real money be wasted?
……

The next day was the Aobao Festival for the grassland people, so the little mute asked someone to bring Mongolian clothes to Qin Liu and others in the evening.

Qin Liu looked at the exquisitely made and gorgeous Mongolian women's robe, then looked at the green cloth clothes she was wearing, and sighed secretly.

It had been more than a year since she traveled to this world, and she was finally going to put on nice clothes for a while.When she was in Sandcastle Town, she was able to wear a lot of clothes. On the one hand, her financial strength was limited, and on the other hand, for safety reasons, she tried to reduce the possibility of others coveting her beauty.

Women are not involved in the Aobao Festival sacrifices, and men are mainly involved.

Aobao are generally built on higher hills.Most of them are made of piled stones, and some are surrounded by willow bars and filled with sand.It is generally in the shape of a round package or a domed square base.A number of flag poles or branches are inserted on it, and various colored prayer flags or silk strips are hung on it.Some of the bags contain grains, some contain bows and arrows, and some contain Buddha statues.Aobao vary in size and quantity.

First, khatas and sacrifices are presented, and then the lama chants sutras and prays, and everyone kneels down to worship. Then stones are added to the obao or repaired with wickers, and new prayer flags, five-color silk strips, etc. are hung.In the end, those who participate in the sacrificial ceremony must circle Aobao three times from left to right, pray for blessings and bless both humans and animals, and scatter the milk, wine, butter, snacks, sugar cubes and other sacrifices they brought to Aobao, and then Bow down in front of the Obo, add the stones you brought to the Obo, and decorate the Obo with wickers, hada, colorful flags, etc.

After the ceremony, traditional cultural and sports activities such as horse racing, archery, blue throwing, wrestling, singing, and dancing will be held.Some young men and women sneak out from the crowd, go hiking, talk to each other, talk about love, and make appointments to see each other again.

(End of this chapter)