Cao Sengnu smiled and said: "Wang joined the army and became an official in the Tang Dynasty. The most important thing is to go to heaven to listen. This General Renshou is a popular figure in the two capitals. As long as he takes the place of any banquet or safari,

As soon as you open your mouth, for as little as three days or as many as five days, your name will ring in the emperor's ears. Do you think this is awesome?"

"So, this General Renshou is really talented in both civil and military affairs!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "People must ask for something when they are polite, so why did you spend so much effort and money to see him?"

"Temple thing!"

"About the temple?"

"Yes, Wang Shenjun should know that his uncle was a Hu Shang from Zhaowu. Zhaowu was originally located in the north of Qilian Mountains. He was driven away by the Xiongnu during the Han Dynasty and had to move westward. Later, the kings were divided into kings, including Kang, An, Cao, Shi and Mi.

, Shi, He, Mu and other nine surnames, all with the surname Zhaowu, established their respective countries. And the surname Cao is one of these nine surnames!"

"Oh? So, your family is also a descendant of a prince?"

"Wang Shenjun was joking. The whole country in my country has the surname Cao. How can there be so many children of princes? Besides, my family has been in the Central Plains for five generations. Even if my ancestors are really of princely blood, it has already faded away to this day!"

Cao Sengnu smiled and said: "It's just that we Zhaowu people mostly believe in Zoroastrianism. We have a Zoroastrian temple in Chang'an, but someone secretly framed us and asked the court to order the temple to be destroyed and banned. That's why we want to befriend that noble man!"

"Just to say a word to the Zoroastrian Temple for Jin Renwen? Are you willing to spend so much effort?"

"Wang Canjun, you don't know something. We Zhaowu people are mostly engaged in business. Whenever we go to a place, we first go to the local Zoroastrian temple to inquire about news, accommodation, store property, and when encountering lawsuits, we can't do without the Zoroastrian temple! If we take the Zoroastrian temple

If the temple is ruined, how can we Zhaowu people survive?"

It turns out that the Cao family are not Han people from the Central Plains, but are Hu Shang from the ninth surname of Zhaowu, that is, Sogdians. These Sogdians originally lived in the area from Zhangye to Dunhuang in northwest my country, and were called Yuezhi people. During the Western Han Dynasty, the Yuezhi people were conquered by the Huns. Defeated, they had to move westward and fled to the Amu Darya River Basin in Central Asia. Due to its geographical location at the crossroads of the east-west Silk Road and the north-south arteries, the Sogdians were mostly engaged in merchants and were a famous commercial nation.

Starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of Sogdian merchants moved to the Central Plains through trade routes. There were settlements in cities around Chang'an, Taiyuan, Luoyang, Hexi towns and other trade routes. Since most Sogdians believed in Zoroastrianism, there were also Zoroastrian followers in these cities.

temple.

According to records from the Tang Dynasty, in these temples, "Shanghu people prayed for blessings, cooked pigs and sheep, played pipa, drums and flutes, sang and danced drunkenly." However, in fact, in addition to religious sacrifices, these temples were also responsible for exchanging information, mailing letters,

Social and economic functions such as storing property, organizing funerals, acting as judicial agents, and even mailing payments. For the Sogdians who are mainly engaged in business, these temples also function as exchanges, banks, lawyers, business stations, etc. Once destroyed,

, the commercial network on which they relied for survival would suffer a devastating blow. Therefore, it is not surprising that once there are rumors of the destruction of the Zoroastrian Temple, they will run around looking for channels that can lead directly to the upper levels to defend the temple.

"If that makes sense, I would like to ask, how much money are you willing to pay for this Zoroastrian Temple?"

"Other people don't know, but if it were our Cao family, we would not hesitate to destroy the family and defend the temple!"

"Destroy the family and defend the temple?" Wang Wenzuo looked at Cao Sengnu in confusion. Businessmen value money most. Isn't this guy talking big?

Cao Sengnu saw Wang Wenzuo's thoughts and said solemnly: "Wang Canjun, in my opinion, no matter how much gold, silver, silk and silk are used, the more they are used, the more they are used. If we can save the Zoroastrian Temple, one hundred thousand

You can get all the golden beads with just a piece of paper, so why should you care about those tangible things?"

"What a talent!" Wang Wenzuo looked at Cao Sengnu in surprise. Wasn't what he said just now the prototype of credit currency? Since these Zoroastrian temples have the function of storing property and mailing letters, the next step forward is to issue money orders.

, and the bill of exchange is one step further, it is banknotes, and banknotes are one step away from credit currency.

No wonder some people say that long-distance trade is the mother of finance. Indeed, in ancient society, only long-distance trade had the characteristics of large capital, high profits, high risks, long time, and long distances. Finance was needed to share risks and raise funds.

Compared with the Han people, who have always valued agriculture over commerce, these Sogdians do have innate advantages in the financial industry.

"Brother Cao values ​​righteousness over profit, Wang is very impressed!" Wang Wenzuo grabbed Cao Sengnu's arm: "You want to meet General Renshou, right? Everything is covered by me!"

After saying that, he immediately took out a pen and paper, wrote a thousand words eloquently, said many good things for Cao Monk and Nu, and praised the Zoroastrian Temple for helping the poor, advocating good and punishing evil, and destroying it would cause hundreds of harms but no benefit, and finally signed his name

, he also took off the precious sword that Jin Renwen had given him and handed it to Cao Sengnu: "This sword is a gift from General Renshou. If you take this sword with you, he will know it as soon as he sees it!"

"Yes, yes, thank you Wang Wenzuo for joining the army!" Cao Sengnu hurriedly took the sword and the letter, and looked at Wang Wenzuo with surprise and doubt. He went to see Jin Renwen this time, but he didn't expect him to live in seclusion.

Hearing Wang Wenzuo's line from his mouth, he thought about giving it a try with every shot, but he didn't expect that the other party was so enthusiastic and even gave him the sword given by Jin Renwen, which made him a little scared.

"You're welcome. I won't hide it from you. I'm also quite interested in this merchant business. We'll still have to get closer and closer in the future!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile.

"Ah?" Cao Sennu opened his mouth wide, and was secretly vigilant. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, all Chinese dynasties have regarded merchants as a despicable industry. This is also the reason why Sogdian merchants can develop so smoothly in the Central Plains. In Cao Sennu's view,

Come on, if officials like Wang Wenzuo who are "born from a noble family" are interested in merchant affairs, they are probably people like Shi Chong who block roads and rob and take advantage of them. Wang Wenzuo was so excited that he didn't notice Cao Sengnu's thoughts at all.

"Grape, I mean sycamore, you should know that, right?"

"Of course I know, but I don't know why Wang Canjun said this?"

"This grape is a good thing. The wine produced has a unique flavor that cannot be matched by other wines. People from the Tang Dynasty, Baekje, Goguryeo, Mohe and Japanese all like it. By the way, Cao Sheer, do you like it?"

"It's not bad?"

"Just okay?"

"No, no? I like it, I like it very much!" Cao Sengnu responded quickly. He didn't know why Wang Wenzuo suddenly brought the topic to wine, but he had just done him a big favor, so he couldn't help but flatter him.

"Cao Sheer, let me ask you, what is the most important thing in this business?"

Lewen
Chapter completed!