Although Jingzhao City in the Song Dynasty was no longer the east and west cities of Chang'an City, the Song Dynasty had already demolished the walls and opened shops along the streets. Unlike the Tang Dynasty, there must be designated markets, which made the Song Dynasty's economy more developed and the business more prosperous.

However, in addition to the shops along the street, there were also commercial concentrations in the Song Dynasty, and Wasi played this role. It was more complex in later generations, and it was concentrated in eating, drinking and having fun, but it was larger and more colorful than the complex in later generations.

There are six major tiles in Jingzhao City. Among them, Wanjiawan Wazi in Xicheng is the largest tiles in Jingzhao City. It covers an area of ​​about 300 acres, with thousands of shops, a Cuju stadium in the northwest corner, and a song shed that can accommodate thousands of people. As the New Year is approaching, Wanjiawan Wazi is crowded with pedestrians, and various shops are selling various goods from all over the world, which is extremely lively.

Li Yanqing walked casually in the Wasi as usual. He did not travel in condom. Although he was the Sichuan-Shaanxi Military Commissioner and the highest military and political chief of Shaanxi Road, he also had a normal life like ordinary officials. It was normal for him to go shopping, have a drink in a restaurant, or sit in a teahouse, and the people did not fear him because he was the highest official.

The Song Dynasty was a typical civil society. The gap between officials and the people was not very deep. The people were not afraid of officials and did not deceive the people. This was a very common thing in the Song Dynasty.

Li Yanqing wore a hard-cornered head, a white shirt, a leather belt, and a folding fan in his hand. He was dressed as a typical scholar. Although he was tall, his appearance was very ordinary. He was dressed up by an ordinary person. No one on the street recognized him as Li Jingluo. He was also the new leader of the Jingluo Mansion, Bo Cao Ye, who was the son of Cao Yan. He completed his studies in the Imperial Academy three years ago and was awarded the title of Jinshi. He served as an assistant teacher in Huangzhou. Because Jingzhao Prefecture School was upgraded to the Imperial Academy, it required a large number of professors. Cao Ye was transferred from Huangzhou to Jingzhao to become a professor of Confucianism.

However, because a large number of officials under Li Yanqing went to Hedong Road to take office, and the Jingluo Mansion was seriously short of personnel, Cao Ye was transferred to the Jingluo Mansion as the chief clerk. He was promoted from the ninth rank Wenlin Lang to the seventh rank Chaosanlang, which was also a skill.

Cao Ye has a cheerful personality and a steady worker. He is also a child of the Cao family. He is highly valued by Li Yanqing. He will take him behind him every time he travels. He is equivalent to the position of secretary in later generations.

Not far behind him, several personal soldiers followed him. If they encountered any trouble, they would have to rush forward.

"Officials will go to Guangji rice shop today?" Cao Ye asked with a smile.

Five days ago, Li Yanqing heard the butler complain that the rice price was rising too quickly, so he ran to a rice shop in the Wasi to buy rice. The price rose by 50%. The reason was that there were rumors that Song Xia would start a new war, which caused panic among the people to store grain, resulting in a widespread increase in grain prices. On the one hand, Li Yanqing asked the government to avoid rumors, and on the other hand, he asked Zhang Shun to strictly investigate the source of the rumors.

Now the rumors have subsided, so Li Yanqing came to take a look at the food prices today.

"I can only say let's take a look!"

Li Yanqing smiled and said, "I can't ask me for anything, otherwise the prefect should be dismissed from office."

"The strategy is right, it is not a good thing to interfere too much in these small things."

At this moment, a bang of firecrackers suddenly came not far away, and many people ran over, "It seems that a new store has opened!" Cao Ye said with a smile.

Many stores have indeed opened in recent months, mainly because the Song army seized Hedong Road, which gave Shaanxi Road security. The first thing merchants consider is safety. When the security problem is solved, the business quickly restored its past prosperity.

The one that opened today is a fur shop, named "Helan Lao Jian", which is indeed quite eye-catching, and this name makes people guess that this shop may be related to Xixia.

Li Yanqing immediately became interested. You should know that in addition to fur, livestock, medicinal materials, and wine, the weapons and horse harnesses of Xixia were also very famous.

Famous products include gold ornaments, cold-forged armor and Xia Guo sword. The sword-making technique of Xixia was once the best in the world. Even the Emperor of Song Dynasty's swords were Western Xia swords. Although the saddle of Xixia is not as famous as the good Khitan saddle, it is also exquisitely crafted and pays great attention to the feeling of a knight. It is more comfortable to ride on a horse and can travel long distances.

In addition, the iron armor of Xixia is also very famous, and the cold forged armor of the iron kite is even more famous all over the world. This is mainly because Xixia uses a large vertical double fan bellows, which can make the fire temperature higher and the iron tools created better.

However, the production of iron ore in Xixia is very low, and the Song Dynasty imposed a pig iron embargo on Xixia. Therefore, although the quality of the Xixia sword and armor is high, the output is extremely low. Only nobles can wear it in Xixia. In addition, only the cold forged armor is only worn by the 3,000 core guards of the Emperor of Xixia.

So it is reasonable to see that Li Yanqing was called the "Helan Old Sword" and he felt strange. You should know that Helan is almost the nickname of Xixia.

The shop door was tied with red satin to make various silk flowers. Several friends were warmly greeting guests. In recent years, wars have continued, and people generally lack a sense of security. The weapons business is indeed good. As long as they do not buy and sell long weapons and military crossbows and other forbidden products, the government will not interfere.

Li Yanqing walked into the shop with interest. The layout of the shop was no different from that of ordinary weapons shops. The shelves and the walls were hung with various swords, bows and arrows. Although they were called Helan Old Sword, Li Yanqing did not see a sword from Xixia.

At this time, the shopkeeper came up and smiled and said, "What do you want to buy when the guest official?"

Li Yanqing looked at him and saw that he was not a Dangxiang person, but a real Han man with a Sichuan voice, and smiled and said, "Since it is called Helan Old Sword. Is there a Xia Kingdom Sword here?"

"There are, there are, but the quantity is very small and the price is very expensive, so it was not put out."

"Can you take it out and take a look?"

The shopkeeper hesitated and carried a box out of the counter with his friend. Several guests next to him heard that there was Xia Guojian and surrounded him.

The box was opened, and eight swords were taken out. The scabbard was made of wooden, and a layer of luxurious leopard skin was sewn on the outside. The sword length was moderate. Li Yanqing picked up a sword and pulled it out half. He felt a cold air coming to his face. The sword blade shone coldly. He slashed on the wooden stake in the sword test, and the sword body was buried in the wooden stake.

"Good sword! Good sword!" Li Yanqing praised repeatedly.

Other guests saw the sharpness of the sword with their own eyes and went forward to grab the sword. The shopkeeper pressed the lid of the wooden box and whispered: "I said it was ugly in front. This sword is expensive. I can't afford to lose it. If you want to see the sword, let's talk inside!"

"Shopkeeper, how much does this sword cost!"

Li Yanqing returned the sword to the shopkeeper, and he wanted to see the other seven more.

"This is the authentic Xia Kingdom Sword. My boss also worked hard to transport it to the Song Dynasty. He would not give up a penny of five hundred taels of silver!"

Everyone immediately took a breath of air. Two thousand five hundred guan, if it was iron coins, it would cost five thousand guan, and there would be silver rare on the market. Who could afford it? Everyone shook their heads and turned around and dispersed. After everyone left, Li Yanqing smiled at the shopkeeper: "Let's go inside and talk!"

"Are the officials interested?"

Li Yanqing nodded with a smile, and the shopkeeper immediately invited Li Yanqing into the inner room.

Li Yanqing tried swords from the box, each sword was extremely sharp, which made him unable to let go. Li Yanqing smiled and said, "I want all these eight swords. How about giving up the price a little?"

The shopkeeper was stunned and asked after a while: "Your guest wants all the eight swords?"

"This kind of Xia Kingdom sword is hard to come by. Since I have encountered it, how can I let it go?" Li Yanqing smiled.

The shopkeeper pondered for a while and said, "If the customer is willing to pay gold, then 400 taels of silver will be a bite, which is the lowest price."

Li Yanqing also knew that the gold in Xixia was valuable. If he paid the gold himself, it would actually become 600 taels of silver. This was also a difference in gold prices between the two countries. However, being able to transport gold back to Xixia is a great skill. Both Song and Xia strictly prohibited gold and silver from leaving the country, and if they were caught, they would be beheaded.

However, the other party was able to transport the Xia Guojian, which was strictly prohibited from exporting in Xixia, to the Song Dynasty, and he was indeed capable.

He nodded, "Then it's three hundred and twenty taels of gold, and I'll turn around and have someone send it."

He gave instructions to the two personal soldiers, and they immediately went back.

Li Yanqing sat in the store and waited. The shopkeeper gave him a cup of tea and asked with a smile: "From the accent, the official does not seem to be from Jingzhao?"

"I am from Xiangzhou, Hebei. Now the world is in chaos and everyone is leaving their hometowns."

"Yes! Xixia suffered a rare snow disaster last year, with heavy losses in various places and has not recovered yet."

"Is the shopkeeper Dangxiang?" Li Yanqing asked tentatively,

The shopkeeper shook his head, "I am a Han native. I have lived in Xixia for a few years and have only come to Jingzhao this year."

Li Yanqing pondered for a moment and said, "I want to decide another hundred Xia Guojians. Is it possible to do it?"

The shopkeeper shook his head quickly, "It is difficult to buy Xia Guojian in Xixia, let alone smuggling it to the Song Dynasty. I can't agree to this."

Li Yanqing smiled again and said, "I am interested in the four forbidden products of Xixia, Xia Guojian, cold forged armor, bamboo cow horns, and Helan horses. Can we cooperate?"

The shopkeeper got up and closed the door, whispered: "Xia Guojian and Leng Zhuang Armor are controlled by the palace, and they are basically impossible, but Zhu Niujiao and Helan Horse are a bit possible. If the official is willing to trade in gold, let's think of a way."

Bamboo ox horns are horns called bamboo oxes. They are only produced in Xixia and are the best raw material for making bows. When they are handed over to good craftsmen to make bows, one stone bow can achieve the lethality of three stone bows. There were no good bow makers in Xixia, and the best bow makers in the Song Dynasty, but there were no such bamboo ox horns, so everyone tried to solve the problem by smuggling.

As for the Helan horse, also known as mountain horse, a war horse that can run in the mountains, it is also of great strategic value, especially for scouts, and is called the treasure of scouts.

Li Yanqing nodded, "How much goods can you get in these two things?"

The shopkeeper thought for a while and said, "Now I can't answer the official, let's go in a few days! The official comes again, and maybe I'll have news."

At this time, the two personal soldiers brought two packs of thirty-two ingots of yellow gold. Li Yanqing pushed the gold to him, "We'll make a deal!"

Looking at the yellow gold, the shopkeeper smiled and clasped his fists and said, "I believe that in a few days, there will be news that officials will be interested in."

Li Yanqing said goodbye and left. He stopped shopping in the market and went back to Jingliu Mansion. He sent someone to find Zhang Shun and said to him: "There is a newly opened weapon shop in Wanjiawan Wazi, called Helan Old Shop. If you send Deli's subordinates to keep an eye on them, I suspect they will smuggle pig iron into Xixia."
Chapter completed!