While the south was busy with the imperial examination, good news suddenly came from the capital. The imperial concubine gave birth to a prince on the eighth day of October. The mother and son were safe.
The whole country was in an uproar and the whole country was celebrating. People from all over the country spontaneously set off firecrackers and ran around to celebrate. Especially the field armies and garrison troops in various places held grand celebration ceremonies one after another.
Almost all the soldiers in the entire Ming Dynasty were in a state of excitement, and they couldn't help but be excited and excited. His Majesty did not establish a queen, and the imperial concubine gave birth to a prince. According to the Ming Dynasty's tradition of establishing the elder rather than the young, it is almost certain that he will inherit the throne in the future.
Once the Red Lady's son inherits the throne, it means that the future of their descendants will be guaranteed. Especially the rebel generals who have surrendered, such as Liu Fangliang, are the most excited.
On the contrary, the civil servants were wailing in their hearts, but no one dared to show it at all. They did not expect that the red lady's belly was so promising that she really gave birth to the prince.
Although the Ming Dynasty established the elder rather than the younger, there was still a concubine instead of a concubine, but the noble concubine Hong Niangzi was canonized by His Majesty in the Huangji Palace with an imperial edict. At least she was an equal wife, not a concubine, even if
Even if your Majesty establishes another queen in the future, this prince's status as the eldest son will not be shaken at all.
Because of this, almost all the literati in the world are silently praying that the imperial concubine will give birth to a princess, but the reality is so cruel.
According to custom, when the emperor's first eldest son is born, the whole world must be amnesty and celebrate.
But what everyone did not expect was that what was issued this time was not an edict of amnesty for the world, nor a tax-free edict, but a 50% discount on all products in the royal stores for three days to celebrate with the people.
Such an alternative way of celebrating was really surprising and novel. The result was that within three days, more than a thousand royal shops around the world were almost crowded, and everyone went crazy.
Almost all the goods in the royal stores have been swept away. There is no way. Except for a small amount of luxury goods, the goods sold in the royal stores are almost all necessities of life.
For example, although the prices of cotton cloth, salt, and grain are much cheaper than before, they are still a bit too high compared to the income of ordinary people. Now the price has been reduced by half, and almost every household has gritted its teeth and decided to buy a complete piece of cotton cloth.
, the family all made new clothes.
Rice, wheat, refined salt and coarse salt were all sold out on the first day, and even many people didn't rush to buy them. But only cotton cloth was available in as much quantity as they wanted. Until the end of the third day of the event, there were still many large imperial stores.
Not sold out.
The reason why Zhu Cixiang held such a promotional event was really to let the people all over the world benefit from it and achieve the purpose of celebrating with the people.
Secondly, he wanted to set an example for future emperors and completely cancel the amnesty and tax exemption. After all, these are government affairs.
The royal store is the private property of the royal family. He thinks it is more appropriate to celebrate in this way, and it can also achieve the effect of universal celebration.
Judging from the feedback from various places, this is indeed the case. During these three days, the entire Ming Dynasty was almost more lively than the Chinese New Year.
"Your Majesty, the sales data of all the imperial stores have been reported and calculated. Within three days, the total transaction volume was about 3.5 million taels, of which nearly one million pieces of cotton were sold."
Liu Rushi came to the palace to report with a brochure in her arms, with a hint of excitement in her voice. She was obviously shocked by the huge transaction amount.
"So much, three million sold in three days?" The red lady who was teasing the child at the side suddenly opened her mouth in shock.
"Only three million?"
"It seems that the people of Ming Dynasty are still too poor, but at last they don't need to build new warehouses to stock up on cotton. At least they won't have to worry about it for half a year."
Zhu Cixiang was a little disappointed. In his opinion, the transaction amount of three million was not too much.
This kind of direct half-price promotion was the first time in Ming Dynasty. It was so attractive that it was beyond imagination. It also covered 90% of the prefectures and counties in Ming Dynasty. However, in the end, the sales volume was only 3 million, which only shows that the people of Ming Dynasty
Too poor.
"Your Majesty, according to the feedback from various places, the main reason is that the stores in various places have insufficient goods stocked. Otherwise, the sales volume should have doubled several times."
Liu Rushi was quite surprised to see that His Majesty was not satisfied, and then explained.
Zhu Cixiang nodded: "This time it is true that there is a bit of haste and insufficient preparation. However, although other products are out of stock, cotton cloth has never been out of stock, and most of the people who buy cotton cloth are ordinary people. It can be seen that the purchasing power of ordinary people has reached
The limit is that there are plenty of other commodities and the rich are taking the opportunity to hoard refined salt and refined grains."
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. Almost all the refined salt this time was bought up immediately."
Liu Rushi also nodded, admiring His Majesty for being able to guess the general situation without looking at the data. Such a wise emperor who also understood people's livelihood would find it difficult not to create a prosperous age.
"It seems that the production of salt must be increased, especially refined salt. Tell me how much money you have lost!"
Zhu Cihong waved his hands after speaking.
In ancient times, unlike now, this kind of half-price promotion was definitely a loss-making business.
Liu Rushi's face suddenly stiffened, and he said cautiously with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I lost nearly three million."
"Ah! Sold for 3.5 million and lost 3 million? This... this..."
The red lady opened her mouth even wider this time, as if she had seen a ghost, and accidentally made the child on the couch cry, and she was immediately in a panic.
Seeing this, Zhu Cixi was also amused, and secretly thought that this girl was really not suitable to be a good wife and mother, but she was reluctant to let those palace maids and wet nurses take care of her.
"My dear wife, I don't know. The profit margin of the Imperial Store's products is not high in the first place. If you give it a 50% discount, it's half the price. It's normal to lose so much."
Zhu Cixiang explained that he had already prepared in his heart.
The goods sold in the imperial store, except for refined salt, other grains, and cotton cloth, have very low profits. Originally, these goods could be sold for 7 million in total, and they should make around 1 million. The total cost is about 6 million, but now
However, only 3.5 million was sold. In total, the real loss should be 2.5 million.
"Husband..."
The red lady saw that she had lost so much money to celebrate the birth of her son. Although she was very moved, she was also a little heartbroken. She opened her mouth and didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry, my dear, just two to three million, how can it compare with our children?"
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand nonchalantly, then looked at Liu Rushi and said: "In this case, you should pay more attention to the management of the imperial store. You must save as much as possible under the conditions that the salary cannot be reduced, the price of goods cannot rise, and the quality cannot go wrong.
cost."
"It's Your Majesty."
Liu Rushi said quickly, but she was thinking in her heart that she really had to let the horse run and not let the horse eat grass. However, this was also the time to test her ability, so not only did she not find it difficult, but she was full of fighting spirit.
.
"Well, we'd better put more effort into transportation." Zhu Cixi reminded, as for increasing the types of goods to increase profits, there is no need.
In addition to industrial products, it is best for royal stores to sell only a few products related to people's livelihood.
After all, the main purpose of the imperial store is to stabilize prices and prevent profiteers from exploiting the people, and profit is secondary.