Moreover, through the developed and convenient road facilities built in Xujiazhuang, the insurgent army led by Luo Rucai captured the surrounding counties of Qishan, Linyou, Fufeng, Yixian, Fengxiang and other counties in just a few days. The number of insurgents quickly expanded to
Three hundred thousand.
Then marching at an extremely fast speed along the Baoxi Highway, they headed straight for Xi'an, causing shock throughout Shaanxi and forcing the imperial army to take action.
However, the imperial court knew about this civil uprising on October 24 through the report of Xujiazhuang's "Oriental Times". It denounced the harm caused by grain speculation and asked everyone to consciously stop the behavior of grain speculation and hoarding.
Let food prices return to normal and give the people at the bottom a way to survive! Otherwise, they really have no choice but to take risks and rise up.
But even though this article in the "Oriental Times" was extremely scathing and made countless people blush with shame, there is still no sign of letting up in food prices.
Even Emperor Zhu Youjian, who had a large amount of grain on hand, only symbolically sold 8,000 shi of wheat to the market at a price of 8 silver dollars per shi, but it was quickly sold out, and not a single grain fell into the hands of the people. They were all speculated.
The person buys it.
Until October 26th. First update@
In the capital city, in a certain store.
Many grain merchants gathered together, the tables were filled with delicious food, wine and meat, and the beauties from the brothel were invited. The theater troupe was singing and dancing, and they were drinking, drinking, and enjoying themselves.
This extravagant banquet has been going on for many days, and the more food prices outside have risen, the more lively the food merchants in this store have, and they feel like they are having endless fun and living in a state of intoxication.
"Drink, drink again today!"
"The price of grain has risen to 15 silver dollars per stone, and it should rise to 16 silver dollars tomorrow."
"It's not up to us to decide how much it will rise. I don't think it would be interesting to slowly rise to 16 silver dollars. We might as well raise it to 17 or 18, which sounds more auspicious."
"It makes sense, then let's raise it to 17, so that people who are reluctant to spend money to buy food can quickly buy some."
"The capital's economic development has been very good in the past few years. Thousands of workshops, mines, restaurants, inns, etc. have been added, creating at least 300,000 jobs, and you can earn three or four silver dollars every month.
The salary is thirty or fifty silver dollars a year, and after three years of saving, it is hundreds of silver dollars, enough to buy five or six stone of high-priced grain, but these people are reluctant to spend money, and they want to force us to increase the price of grain to more than 20 silver dollars!"
"Yes, they are forced by these dead people. If they just obediently spend their money to buy food, why do we set the price of food so high? These mud-legged people have no sense at all. They would rather eat sweet potatoes every day than buy our food.
, let’s see how long they can last?”
"Can sweet potatoes be eaten as food? Are potatoes as delicious as rice and noodles? Are these damn people going to force us to buy all the sweet potatoes and potatoes and hoard them without leaving any room for them?"
"This still has to be blamed on Xujiazhuang. In previous years, when we harvested the people, it was easy and quick. But after corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes came out, it became more and more difficult to make money. I heard that some people's grain was suppressed.
I haven't harvested anything successfully in three years and everything is going to rot. Xujiazhuang is doing a lot of harm to people."
"Yes, after Xujiazhuang appeared, our life became more and more difficult every year. We have never experienced that kind of happy harvest, and our earnings are getting less and less. If Xujiazhuang didn't hinder us, we would
alright."
"It's a pity that Xujiazhuang doesn't have any weaknesses. If we can seize Xujiazhuang's weaknesses and harvest them in one fell swoop, we can make a lot more money than squeezing oil from rocks. It's a pity that we haven't been able to seize good opportunities."
"Hey, why doesn't Xujiazhuang end? With Xujiazhuang here, we can't even think about a good and comfortable life."
Hear these sounds around you.
Zheng Shiqi, who had been drinking sips, suddenly put down his wine cup and clapped his hands to attract the attention of the grain merchants. He said, "Everyone, I want to put grain away and throw away all the grain in my hands!"
As soon as these words came out, the scene suddenly became quiet. At least hundreds of grain merchants focused their attention on him and even stopped drinking and having fun.
"Brother Zheng, you are so good, why did you suddenly think of throwing grain?"
A grain merchant named Li next to him asked: "I don't know the reason."
"I am from the south. I recently received a letter. (This chapter is not finished yet!)
Chapter 243 Avalanche Moment
He said that my mother at home was sick and needed to go back to take care of her. In addition, my concubine gave birth to a son for me, and the family business also needed funds for turnover, so the food on hand had to be sold. Fellow colleagues, I wonder if you would like to take over Zheng
As for the price of certain grain, how about 10 silver dollars/stone? If no one takes it, I will sell it to the market at this price, and maybe some people will buy it."
As soon as Zheng Shiqi said these words, the expressions of all the grain merchants present changed.
Short. _o_m
When everyone agrees to go long, this guy wants to sell at a lower price and cash out?
Immediately, a big grain merchant named Zhu, whom everyone recommended as the president of the Beijing Grain Bank, walked up to Zheng Shiqi with a dark face and said: "Brother Zheng, your family is in trouble and you need money. Just ask us to borrow it, five thousand."
, I can lend you 10,000 silver dollars, but if you break the rules and damage the overall situation that we all worked hard to create, this cannot be compensated by a small amount of money. I hope you can put the overall situation first!"
"So I lowered the price to 10 silver dollars/stone, and I hope you will take over. I just don't want to ruin the overall situation."
Zheng Shiqi cupped his hands and said.
"Haha, the price is too high. You want to leave the market, but you also want to make a fortune from us. What you think is too good, Brother Zheng." The businessman surnamed Zhang sneered.
"This person has a mysterious origin and a weird identity. He seems to have appeared out of nowhere. I haven't seen this face in the past few years." There was also a grain merchant who looked at Zheng Shiqi with suspicion.
"Why don't you control this person and interrogate him strictly? Why do you want to ruin the important thing we are waiting for?" The grain merchant changed his face and actually proposed to control Zheng Shiqi.
"8 silver dollars/stone!"
Zheng Shiqi could only say loudly: "Everyone, I have something to do at home. I really can't delay. 8 silver dollars/stone. Is there anyone who can take over?"
"No, we have to lower it to 6 silver dollars/stone, otherwise we won't leave." President Zhu simply tried to show his disapproval.
"Okay, deal!" Zheng Shiqi said decisively.
Chairman Zhu's heart skipped a beat. No, the price was still too high, but he couldn't regret it, so he had to ask again: "How much grain do you have in your hand?"
"Not much, just 400,000 stones." Zheng Shiqi said.
Bang~
This was the sound of many cups falling and breaking.
400000?
This amount of grain stockpiles is at least in the top ten among the more than 100 grain merchants present. Where did this guy get so much grain?
Everyone didn't quite believe it, but they followed Zheng Shiqi to the grain depot he rented and counted it themselves. Sure enough, there were 400,000 shi, all of which were high-quality new grain.
In the end, more than a hundred grain merchants, you divide some and I take over, bought this batch of grain and paid a total of 2.4 million silver dollars.
Just looking at Zheng Shiqi, who was carrying a bunch of large checks, alone, and preparing to leave the capital alone, a trace of cruel murderous intent flashed in the eyes of Chairman Zhu and other grain merchants, and then he nodded to somewhere, and there were dozens of them immediately.
The muscular man chased Zheng Shiqi in the direction he was walking.
But a full night passed.
None of the thugs sent to carry out the interception mission came back, and Zheng Shiqi disappeared without a trace.
This bad news has cast a pall over the minds of grain merchants.
At this time, there was another grain merchant named Tao in the Grain Merchant Guild. He suddenly wanted to throw away the grain in his hand, citing family matters, and the price was only 6 silver dollars per stone.
"How much food do you have in your hand?" President Zhu asked, glaring at him.
"Not much, only 480,000 shi," said the businessman surnamed Tao.
Phew~
President Zhu almost spat out, 480,000 dan? Why did so much food appear again? He immediately stared at him and asked, "Tell me! Are you and that Zheng Shiqi in the same group? Who sent you here?" He had already
I smell a strong smell of conspiracy.
"President, we are all grain merchants and we are all in the same group. What do you mean by this? Just tell me if you can take over my grain. If not, I will throw it to the market." This man named Tao
Businessman Road.
"Accept! But only 5 silver dollars/stone!" President Zhu said through gritted teeth.
"Okay, deal." The businessman surnamed Tao was also very cheerful.
As a last resort, Chairman Zhu and other grain merchants scrounged here and there, or looked for backers, to collect 2.4 million silver dollars, and this time they sent a group to attack. (This chapter is not over yet!)
Chapter 243 Avalanche Moment
There was no chance for his men to kill him. During the transaction, the merchant surnamed Tao was surrounded by fifty burly men, who protected him extremely well, leaving him no chance to kill him.
By the third day.
As expected, in the Grain Merchant Association, a grain merchant named Wu appeared today. He also had 380,000 shi of grain in his hands and was willing to sell it at a price of 5 silver dollars/stone, hoping that the grain merchants would take over.
"Get out, get out! You are the scum and traitor among our grain merchants. I can't wait to take your life!"
Chairman Zhu was furious, rolled up his sleeves, and together with other grain merchants, wanted to beat the businessman surnamed Wu to death. Fortunately, he called the guards today, fifty strong men, and after rescuing him, he immediately
He expressed his position to the grain merchants: "Since you are unwilling to take over and have beaten me, I will meet you in the market for the low-priced grain of 5 silver dollars/stone!"
So that afternoon.
A full 380,000 shi of grain suddenly flooded into the capital's grain market, and was sold at hundreds of locations at the same time, at a price of only 5 silver dollars per shi!
This made some people in the capital, who were suffering from high food prices, cheer and immediately buy like crazy, forming long queues of hundreds of meters.
As for those sky-high-priced grains that have risen to 17.8 silver dollars/stone, faced with the impact of these low-priced grains, naturally not a single grain can be sold, and only fools will buy them.
And then... it collapsed.
Although in order to maintain high grain prices, grain merchants have taken all possible measures to suppress these low-priced grains of 5 silver dollars/stone, such as sending people to rush to buy, using official connections, and dispatching government officials to close shops and stalls on the charge of "disturbing the market"
Wait, but they couldn't stop it. Many government officials who showed positive behavior were killed and died in extremely miserable conditions. The people in the capital all clapped their hands and applauded... The survival space of low-priced grain cannot be suppressed.
On the contrary, it is endless. No matter how much low-priced grain they buy, hundreds of thousands more dan will come out the next day.
As for the funds in their hands, or in other words, the wealthy groups such as grain speculators, nobles, landlords, gentry, and lords have spare funds, it is conservatively estimated to be at least one billion silver dollars. By mid-November, in this food war,
It's all been used up.
The low-priced grains on the market have not yet been wiped out, and are still popping up in large quantities.
By the way, what on earth is going on?
The Ming Dynasty has never been defeated by the grain speculators. How come they were defeated this time? They were defeated in a muddle. Who defeated them?
Naturally, it was the grain merchants represented by Zheng Shiqi.
There are thousands of people in their group, and they are indeed the "partners" secretly supported by Xujiazhuang. They provide almost unlimited funds to support their purchase of more than 200 million shi of grain from the private sector, and then secretly transport it to the northern market.
Act as a "secret agent" to break into the grain speculators.
And when the price of grain almost peaked, they sold the grain in their hands at a price of 5 to 6 silver dollars per stone. At this time, the cost of grain speculation was already very high. If the grain speculators wanted to take over the 200 million stone,
The surplus grain must be paid for at least 1 billion silver dollars. After the first round of consumption in Xujiazhuang, and now facing the "backstab" of these hidden people, can they still get 1 billion silver dollars to eliminate these low-priced grains?
Obviously they can't get it out. They only have warehouses full of grain in their hands, and they can't get away any idle funds.
November 20th.
The headline on the front page of Xujiazhuang's "Oriental Times" pronounced all grain speculators to death:
[Xujiazhuang's low-price grain sales point has reopened. 50 million shi of high-quality rice from Nanyang has been opened today. The price is 0.5 silver yuan/stone. The price will remain unchanged for the next two years! 】
As soon as this report came out.
Countless grain speculators feel dizzy, as if the end is coming, or they vomit blood and fall down on the spot.
0.5 silver dollar/stone?
Two more years to go?
Doesn’t this mean that until all the grain they store in the warehouse becomes old and spoiled, they can’t even hope to sell it for more than 0.5 silver dollars/stone?
The sky is falling!
An avalanche-like scene suddenly occurred in the grain market. @ESSENTIAL\/书馆*First update~~.
Chapter 243 Avalanche Moment This chapter has been completed!