Zhu Gaochi was a little bit embarrassed when his wife told him that women are kind.
He felt that Xu Jingchang did this completely deliberately to harass people, create a trap and trap the grain merchants, which was not very kind.
But Princess Zhang made it clear that this was not a business deal, but a life-and-death struggle. She had been talking about innovation for several years, and talked all day long about overthrowing Neo-Confucianism, reforming Confucianism, and re-establishing official learning.
You don’t think you can successfully accomplish these goals while retaining the gentry group, do you?
Even the Confucian family has been destroyed, and even the Confucian ancestral graves have been digged up, and they are still merciful. Who are you showing it to? Are you moved?
"Well, they found my father-in-law and asked your family to help. What should they do?"
"What else can I do?" Ms. Zhang sneered: "How much can they give? Can they beat the second child with their little filial piety? It would be too much to ask me to change my mind with just three melons and two dates.
You're looking down on me. Don't worry, I'm aware of it."
Now that Madam has said so, what else can Zhu Gaochi say?
"I finally understand. You are all better than me. I'm really ashamed of myself!"
Mrs. Zhang looked at him and said with a smile: "Your Highness, don't be like this. At least you still have self-awareness. This is already amazing."
Zhu Gaochi raised his brows wildly and his face turned livid with anger. You are really good at comforting people!
He simply went directly to Jishan Temple to see Master Yao and stopped playing with you.
When Zhu Gaochi stepped into the temple, he was still a little nervous. He hadn't been here for a long time. He swore to God that he either despised Master Yao or was too busy with government affairs and had too many things to do.
The old monk didn't mean to blame him at all. He even wished that no one would come and let him meditate in peace.
Obviously, this is a luxury.
Someone has already come to the door.
"Your Highness, have you figured it out? Have an opinion?"
Zhu Gaochi was stunned for a moment, and then said: "I have an idea. I don't intend to let the wealthy gentry control the food. I want to take back the imperial court."
Yao Guangxiao paused and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, throughout the ages, starting from Qin Shihuang, cars have been on the same track, and books have been written on the same text... All dynasties have been thinking about increasing their power. This dynasty is no exception. But let the veterans speak for themselves.
, this matter is not easy.”
Zhu Gaochi asked curiously: "Young Master, I have listened to several people's opinions, and I also want to hear your opinions. How should I choose?"
Yao Guangxiao muttered: "Your Highness, the people of the Central Plains cultivate intensively and work hard. After a year, apart from paying taxes on grain, the remaining grain is barely enough to survive. The gentry occupied the land, but they were able to collect land rent that was much higher than the land tax."
They collected this grain, sold it to grain merchants, and transported it to the city to support the city's workers. When the gentry earned money, they would buy silk furniture to give the city's workshops something to do."
Yao Guangxiao concluded: "When I was chatting with Xu Jingchang, he said that this seems to be called a trade cycle... Relying on trade, cities and villages are connected together. Now that we want to shake the grain merchants, what will happen to the rations of the people in the city?
What to do? The gentry is unprofitable, so who will buy silk? And according to Lao Na, the price of food continues to fall. What if the people abandon the land and no longer cultivate the land? "
Yao Guangxiao's snow-white eyebrows were slightly frowned, obviously not optimistic.
The economic cycle is linked one link to another... If you want to suppress mergers and attack the gentry, it will also hurt the urban people and even the farming people.
If one thing goes wrong, it will cause a big mess that is out of control.
"Young Master, I understand what you said, but the current matter is inevitable. I would like to ask Young Master, is there any way to make up for it?"
Yao Guangxiao thought for a while and said in a low voice: "The Duke will make preparations for this matter, and His Majesty will not sit idly by and ignore it. It's just that their actions were a bit rough and wrong. Your Highness must uphold benevolence and take more care of the people.
Slowness makes it round."
Zhu Gaochi thought about it again and again, and finally nodded, "Young Master, I will live and eat with you in this temple for the next few days. Let's go over the details together. What do you think?"
Yao Guangxiao nodded, "It's okay, tomorrow is changing rapidly, and I have to think carefully about many things."
…
On the second day after Zhu Gaochi moved here, it began to rain lightly in Yingtian City. This is the case in the south. As soon as the end of autumn and winter comes, the continuous light rain is as dense as cow hair. The dark spots are not intense, but they will not last long.
, that is, the clothes are soaked and cool from the inside out.
Those places where food is stored are like this.
As we all know, storing grain is a very troublesome thing. It must be both fireproof and waterproof... Especially nowadays, building a granary requires not only deep digging, but also several layers of lime, and the walls must be moisture-proof.
A good granary can store food for decades without the food rotting.
Similarly, this kind of granary is expensive to build, and few people except the imperial court have the strength to build it.
As for the merchants who trafficked in grain and even purchased a lot of grain, they could only pile the grain in the open air, or at most cover it with mats.
Layer after layer to prevent rainwater from seeping in.
Therefore, although the price of food has become cheaper, the reed mats in Yingtian have more than doubled.
But even so, how can we prevent it?
After three consecutive days of rain, some of the rainwater soaked the food... At dawn this day, it was still dark, and almost everyone was in sweet sleep.
A carriage came out of the warehouse, loaded with rotten grain.
They planned to find a secluded place, but abandoned it.
But just when they were about to throw it away, a team of uniformed guards suddenly appeared.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time! If you dare to abandon food, you are committing a heinous crime. You will be sent to jail immediately and tortured severely!"
These people who secretly transported food may not have expected it.
I am actually lucky enough to visit the imperial prison.
Jin Yiwei didn't need to use any great memory recovery skills at all, he confessed everything directly.
They are the family of a grain merchant surnamed Xu in Jiangxi. They have no place to store their grain, so they can only store it in the open air. It is eaten by insects, rats, and moldy due to rain and rain. They have lost at least 20% of their food. I hope the court will be merciful and give them a way to survive!
"I've already said, don't disturb me for ordinary trivial matters. Those who abandon food will be fined three times." Xu Jingchang said impatiently.
Qianhu, the Jin Yiwei who was doing the work, was startled and very embarrassed.
Xu Jingchang saw his hesitation and hummed: "What's going on? Is there anything difficult to do?"
Qianhu said helplessly: "Grand Governor, this Xu family is said to have some relationship with Huang Shangshu."
"Huang Shangshu? Are you from the Ministry of Rites?"
Qianhu nodded vigorously.
"Is it my father-in-law?"
Qianhu nodded harder!
Xu Jingchang frowned and chuckled for a while, "So, I can't stay out of it?"
This time Qianhu didn't dare to talk nonsense.
Xu Jingchang waved his hand and asked him to step back.
Since that day, people have continued to abandon food... However, Jin Yiwei is very strict and cannot escape the eyes of the judge.
There are even businessmen who are very cruel. They don’t want the food anymore. We should run away from the head office!
As a result, all the grain merchants who escaped were captured without exception.
You can't underestimate Jin Yiwei's ability!
We thought we had no intention, but we still let you escape. Wouldn't it be too incompetent!
All the grain merchants that can be counted are specially watched by Jin Yiwei, who is absolutely unable to fly.
You think you are here to sell food, but in fact you have fallen into a dragnet.
It’s not okay to hoard it without selling it, but it’s not okay to abandon it casually!
But no one is buying it on the market and the price keeps falling. What can we do?
Some grain merchants have even jumped into the Qinhuai River.
Ministers of various ministries, censors of the Supervisory Council, and even the Sixth Section of the Ministry...More and more people are targeting Xu Jingchang, impeaching him one after another, accusing the imperial court of living without food and living up to the divine grace.
"Mr. Dingguo, if you still can't come up with a solution, I have no choice but to submit a letter and ask your Majesty to make a decision!" Jian Zhiyi hummed. This could be regarded as an ultimatum.
Xu Jingchang suddenly laughed, "Jian Tianguan, don't keep blowing your beard and staring... Didn't I just have an idea? How about we go to the Jiangxi Guild Hall and meet all the grain merchants?"
Jian Yi thought for a while and said with a smile: "I won't go. Your Duke Ding is proficient in businessmanship. You can talk to them."
Xu Jingchang nodded, "That's fine, but the result will have to be discussed and approved by Wuying Palace."
Jian Yi agreed. He could almost think of Xu Jingchang's face. This guy promised that he would not be lenient when he added insult to injury.
But three days later, when the negotiated draft was placed in front of the ministers of Wuying Palace, everyone still gasped. Especially Xie Jin, his eyes almost fell out.
When it comes to evil intentions and ruthless hands, we have to look at Xu Jingchang.
Xie Jin once tried to spend 800,000 taels of silver to buy grain at a low price...but when he got to Xu Jingchang, he asked the court to pay?
What are you thinking!
The imperial court is helping you solve your problems, so how can you ask the imperial court to provide money?
It can't be done!
Therefore, all grain merchants paid deposits ranging from 3,000 to 50,000... as the price for the court's help in handling grain.
In other words, if your food is taken away, you still have to pay!
Selling grain at a loss is a yes!
How could such a ridiculous thing happen?
The three views of the ministers were shattered, and they felt that the whole world was not good.
When it comes to ruthlessness, compared to Xu Jingchang, they are really far behind, and they can't even catch up with him.
However, Xu Jingchang was not entirely deceptive... In the last part, he proposed the establishment of a general grain trading company.
This time, all grain merchants who are willing to cooperate with the court can gain the power to purchase grain in a certain area.
Every year, the imperial court will set a guide price. After paying the land tax, there will still be surplus grain that can be sold to these merchants. The merchants will then transport the grain to the corresponding areas according to the instructions of the Grain Headquarters.
Since grain prices have been capped, the profits from long-distance trafficking are definitely not huge, but there is still some profit.
"Ding Guogong, you asked the court to set the price, but since ancient times, the price of grain has fluctuated according to market conditions. If those big households who really have land and grain are unwilling to sell grain, these grain merchants will not be able to collect grain, so what should they do?
What should I do?" Luo Qian asked bluntly.
Xu Jingchang smiled faintly, "This is not easy, just apply the laws I promulgated in Yingtian again... No hoarding, no price gouging, no waste and abandonment... Once these behaviors occur, their fields will be taken back.