Chapter 670: Tang and Song Trade?

Ever since Shi Jingtang rebelled, asked Khitan for help, and ceded Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, the Central Plains has been reunified and has been unable to recover this crucial strategic area. 【】Its loss made the territory of the Khitan and Liao Kingdom reach the Great Wall, and the heart of the Central Plains, which was almost flat, was exposed to the iron hooves of the nomads. Facing the situation in the north where there was no danger to defend, You Song Yichao almost broke his head. Even though its military equipment is the most advanced in all dynasties, facing the iron hooves of the nomads and its strategic disadvantages made it impossible for the Song Dynasty to cause large-scale damage to the nomads who came and went like the wind.

And the nomadic cavalry who grew up on horseback since childhood and came and went like the wind gave full play to the power of their own cavalry, and then the cavalry tactics reached their peak in the hands of the Mongols. However, the environment in the Central Plains is rarely capable of raising large-scale war horses. The loss of Youyun Sixteen States and the north not only resulted in a strategically passive situation, but also lost a large amount of land suitable for raising horses. As a result, the development of cavalry in the Song Dynasty has been in a very embarrassing position. The lack of cavalry cannot pose a threat to the nomadic iron cavalry, and the increase of cavalry is simply a lack of horses. And no matter how elite the army is, it is always difficult to consume large-scale cavalry.

It was not until the rise of a generation of national hero Yue Wumu that this situation was reversed, but it is a pity that Yue Wumu's achievements were on the verge of failure, and his ten years of hard work were exhausted, which made it a pity for future generations.

A large area of ​​land in the north was lost, and the Western Regions were cut off. In addition, the nomads prohibited horses from flowing into the Central Plains. Even if some horses were brought into the Song Dynasty by merchants, they were mostly castrated horses. It cannot be cultivated, and there are fewer war horses, let alone a certain scale. It is well known that the shortage of horses in the Song Dynasty was caused.

But one thing is that the industry and commerce in the Song Dynasty were very developed. With more than two million square kilometers of land, he created economic value that will surprise future generations.

Based on the US dollar in 1990, after 960 AD (when Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty), China’s per capita GDP was US$450, and reached US$600 by the end of the Song Dynasty. In Europe, in the darkness of the Middle Ages, it was only $422. After the failure of the Opium War in 1840, China's economy fell into a slump. In 1870, the GDP per capita was 530 US dollars. Due to the civil war, by 1950, China's per capita GDP was only 439 US dollars, still not as good as the 450 US dollars in the early Song Dynasty. It reached US$537 in 1952, but was still lower than the US$600 at the end of the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, his military strength is not weak at all, but sadly caught up with a bad era. Not only is there a lack of war horses, but also a strategic passive situation where there is no danger to defend. As a result of the martial arts of the Song Dynasty, the only thing that can be given to future generations is compensation...

However, when Zhao and Song Junchen learned that the descendants of the Anxi Army in the prosperous Tang Dynasty had established a country thousands of miles away and claimed hegemony in a foreign land, there were so many good horses in the country. Zhao Song began to have a different idea in his heart. If he could introduce the war horses of the Tang people through overseas trade, would he be able to form a certain scale in the country and form a powerful and invincible cavalry?

There is just one thing that they have to consider, that is, the cost of a war horse must be astonishingly high if it is transported thousands of miles away.

However, they had to try to introduce war horses, even if it cost a lot. After all, the other party has always kept the same blood in their veins!

"After your envoy returns to the country, please tell the lord of your country and express my greetings to him." Zhao Guangyi said with a smile on his face, his face flushed. The envoy sent to the Song Dynasty naturally responded, and then Zhao Guangyi said: "Your envoy once said that there are as many fine horses in your country as the hair of a cow. I don't know if it is true, or is it an exaggeration?"

The Tang envoy showed displeasure, and said: "You know, the Pope knows that although our country is small, it is by no means that our country does not have the strength to seize foreign lands. It is simply that there is no need for that. In a barbaric land, there are many savages. It’s like chicken ribs. But our country dominates the Mediterranean Sea, and it is a well-deserved hegemony. Whether it is Europe, Africa, the countries of the four borders respect our country. Even the big food country that fought with my ancestor Anxi’s army back then, After more than 20 years since the founding of the Tang people, the two countries joined forces to invade, but they were both defeated by our country. Therefore, your Majesty has no doubt about the strength of our Tang people. The number of horses raised in our country is almost as numerous as the stars in the sky .”

Zhao Songjun and his ministers looked at each other. Although they still had some doubts in their hearts, they were overwhelmed by the strong mentality in the other party's words, and they couldn't help but believe it in their hearts. However, although Zhao Song is very developed in overseas trade, how to trade between the two countries still needs careful discussion. For this reason, Zhao Guangyi began to try to talk about the establishment of trade between the two countries.

"Your country and I, Zhonghua, are blood brothers. If there are some words, I will not hide them from your envoy."

"Please speak, Your Majesty."

Zhao Guangyi nodded, and then said: "Since the unification of our dynasty, we have not been able to do all the work in one battle, restore the cloud, and conquer the northwest. Good horses are scarce, and it is a pity that we cannot do all the work. I heard that there are so many good horses in your country. I don’t know Can your two countries trade with each other?"

"Your Majesty, you mean to establish trade with our country and sell war horses?"

"exactly!"

After hearing this, the Tang envoy pondered for a while, and then said: "I, the people of Tang, are naturally willing to trade with my homeland. It's just that our two countries are separated by thousands of miles. There are many dangerous passes on the land, and there is a vast sea outside. How can we trade?" Said: "Furthermore, there is no need to go by land on the sea. The wind and waves are capricious and the turbulence is constant. Starting from our country, crossing Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, and arriving at the homeland, I am afraid that there will be no good horses in ten. In this way, the good horses who can come to the homeland alive Ma, the price may rise to sky-high prices. How to reduce costs is a problem that both parties must settle."

Zhao Song Junchen remained silent, this is indeed a problem, if it cannot be solved to reduce transportation costs. Then the price of a horse can climb to sky-high prices. As a result, this trade cannot be carried on at all. Because by then, the price of a horse may be more expensive than gold. Even if their treasury is rich, they cannot afford it.

However, the Silk Road on land was blocked by foreign races, and even if there were so many good horses from outside the region, they could not be introduced on a large scale. Khitan, the overlord of the grassland, would not sit idly by and watch the Southern Dynasties have good horses. Although the Maritime Silk Road is prosperous, as I said just now, there are no horses in trade wars. The extravagance is very expensive, and I can't afford to buy it. What's more, in order to form a huge cavalry, the size of the horses must be large in order to maintain a steady supply of war horses. Fighting not only kills people, but also war horses.

This is also the reason why the Song Dynasty's overseas trade was so developed, but there was still a shortage of horses. At that time, Southeast Asia and South Asia participated in the Maritime Silk Road, and the Arabs also participated. The Arabs have no shortage of good horses, but as said above, such a trade is too expensive to be worth it. The cost of buying war horses is enough for them to arm many infantry.

Suddenly, Tang Envoy seemed to think of something, and he said: "Your Majesty, I have an idea, but I need to go back to China to report the specific matter to my king to determine whether it can go ahead."

"Oh? Your envoy, please tell me." Zhao Guangyi became a little interested.

"If Your Majesty can send troops to recover the southwest and include this place in the territory, then build a good port at the mouth of the river and lead directly to the sea, then the horse trade may be feasible." The Tang envoy took a huge map, first pointing to the Southwest Dali Kingdom, and then Then he pointed to Burma below the Dali Kingdom, and then pointed to the mouth of the Irrawaddy River. He continued, "Once this place is under the rule, the war horses sent by our country can land here. After repairing, they can go up the river. , and build a city in the place where the big river flows, for the horses to rest all the way, and finally open a straight road to the southwest. Then it can be sent into your country.”

"And our country can seize the land of Egypt, build a good port city in the Red Sea, build large ships, and have many islands along the way, and also build transit resting places for men and horses to rest. In this way, the loss of war horses will definitely be reduced. However, it will still happen. It's expensive, but it will definitely be acceptable to both parties."

"However, there are many mountains and rivers in the southwest, and the roads are rough and difficult to walk. People have to be cautious when walking here, not to mention the horses that have come here from thousands of miles? If you are not careful, if you damage the horse's hoof or fall into the mountain stream, is it not a waste of success? Moreover, siege the city and destroy the country. It will cost a lot. Building cities and roads along the way will take more than a day's work, and I'm afraid it will take at least twenty years. The cost in the middle is a sky-high price! After conversion, it is enough for our dynasty to build an army of one million Moreover, there are many miasmas in the southwest, rampant diseases, many poisonous insects and ferocious animals, and savages are born. After a lot of labor and money, it does not matter whether we can see the results. Just resettling immigrants and recruiting corvees are enough to make the already stable people complain. " Hearing the bad idea of ​​sending the envoy to the Song Dynasty, a minister of Zhao Song Dynasty immediately refuted it. After facing the monarch, he bowed down and worshiped.

After Tang Envoy heard this, he realized that he had said something stupid, so he remedied, "Your Majesty, the foreign ministers are talking nonsense, please forgive me."

Zhao Guangyi waved his hand generously, "Your envoy has been away from the Central Plains for hundreds of years, and I don't know geography. How can I blame him?" Then he sighed, "Alas, in this way, the lack of horses in our court will be difficult to solve after all!" .

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