The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 191 Mr. Du

Just half an hour after the Shenwu Palace discussed the urgent matters, the Changping warehouses in the five cities in the southeast, northwest, and north of Yecheng were activated for the first time.

The effect was immediate. In just one morning, the price of food quickly returned to the level of the normal period.

Food prices have returned to normal levels, but it has caused another consequence. Many people are seriously dissatisfied with the high-priced rice they bought, especially many small rich people suddenly paid tens of dollars more for rice, which made them suddenly Losing tens to hundreds of pennies is unacceptable even if ordinary people lose a few pennies.

So the rice shops where the people had just dispersed to buy food were soon overcrowded again. In front of each grain shop, there were hundreds or thousands of people arguing. The angry people begged for the money they had lost. Some of them A rogue who takes advantage of the chaos to blackmail.

Zhongshi!

The Yao Family Rice Shop was crowded with people who demanded their money back. The quarrels and disturbances of the people made the rice shop unable to operate normally.

The staff of Mihang also had a good reason, and one of them shouted angrily: "A few days ago, our boss specifically explained to you that His Highness just came back from a big victory, and the Turks couldn't have come so fast. They say our boss is hoarding and is a profiteer. Now that the price of rice has fallen and we are asked to refund the money, will you make up the difference when the price of rice has risen? Who can blame us for not forcing you to buy grain from the beginning to the end? I listened to the rumors , blame you for being stupid."

Although these words are ugly, they are not unreasonable, because since ancient times, the common people have followed the crowd blindly, and there are few rational people.And the businessman's goal is to make money. If you rush to buy it like this, he will be a fool if he doesn't raise the price.

But the man's words angered the people, and some people shouted: "Kill this profiteer!"

All of a sudden, stones and mud balls were thrown at the clerk, and the clerk was covered in blood. At this time, the crowd was already aroused, and more and more stones were thrown at other clerks and shops. The guys had to use the table as a shield to resist.

A manager ran over in a panic and shouted: "Please calm down, calm down, the boss is settling accounts, and I will give you an explanation soon."

The crowd gradually quieted down, and everyone urged: "Repay the money quickly, or your shop will be smashed!"

"Okay, okay!" The steward replied repeatedly, and ran back sweating.

In the inner hall, the owner and his wife anxiously watched a handsome, gentle and elegant accountant settle the accounts, and paced back and forth distractedly. They are shrewd new small businessmen. Seems a bit bewildered.

It was just an expedient measure for the owner to ask the little steward to appease, it was nothing more than to buy time for the government to come. The food was surplus food collected by their family from various villages with sweat and sweat.This is about to lead a good life, how can he be willing to lose money?

At this time, the handsome accountant got up and cupped his hands and said, "Proprietor, I have already figured it out. It is based on 230 cents for a bucket of rice. These days, I will earn an extra 510 seven guan, plus [-] three cents."

The steward hurried back and said in a low voice, "Brother, why don't you give some of it back to the common people?"

"shit!"

The owner said angrily: "How can I pay it back? Oh, he said Yiguan and you will pay him. If he said Qianguan, he would sell our whole family and still not be able to pay it back."

Small businessmen like them have a clean background. As long as they don’t hoard food maliciously and break the law, the court will support them. Otherwise, they will not only take back their management rights, but also be punished.

The steward said very frightened: "Brother, what if someone from outside calls in?"

"This..." The proprietor was stunned for a while, and asked the accountant who was as calm as water: "Mr. Du, the government has been late, what should I do?"

Mr. Du laughed and said, "It depends on whether the proprietor wants to pay it back or not?"

The owner looked at the small plaque issued by the government with the engraving "Business is humanity, and Tao is also Tao", gritted his teeth, and said with a painful face: "Our family used to be refugees. If His Highness hadn't accepted them, our family would have People have starved to death and frozen to death long ago. Our royal family will never forget this kindness. When we small businessmen were trained by the officials of the Ministry of Commerce, the officials also repeatedly emphasized that we should do business with integrity. I decided to take two hundred guan return to."

Wang was in a hurry, "How can I do that?"

Proprietor Wang snorted heavily, "Officials from the Ministry of Commerce said that doing business should be smooth and long-term, and getting rich overnight will kill people. Business must be honest. If you are not honest, others will not buy your things next time. We cannot Too greedy, otherwise there will be retribution."

Mr. Du looked at Proprietor Wang very unexpectedly, and it really surprised him to say this from this stingy proprietor.

"This!" Mrs. Wang was extremely distressed.

Proprietor Wang snorted and said: "Don't forget, if we operate illegally, the Ministry of Commerce will not only confiscate the management rights, but also put our family on the list of untrustworthy people. Three generations will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination. You think our royal family will not be able to lift our heads for generations. Is it?"

Since ancient times, the people have discriminated against merchants very much, and even beggars have a higher status than merchants. After Yang Guang came to power, there were special divisions of military, civil, craftsman, merchant, and slave.

Among the five classes, the merchant class is only a little higher than that of slaves, and even the fabric, color, and style of clothes are severely restricted, and even horses cannot be ridden. Anyone who violates the law will be severely punished. Just don't even think about it.

But after listening to Wang Dongzhu's words, Mr. Du knew that businessmen in Yecheng could also participate in the scientific examination.

"Can merchants participate in the imperial examination now?" Mr. Du had been in Yecheng for less than half a month, so he really didn't know this.

Patriarch Wang said with reverence: "After His Highness came to power, all restrictions on merchants and craftsmen were completely abolished, and merchant and craftsman registrations were cancelled. This is another great gift from His Highness to us businessmen after taking us in. If we break our promise to the world for the sake of short-term gain, we will not be able to take the exam for three generations... At that time, we will be sinners of the family, and we will have no face when we die. ancestors..."

Mr. Du suddenly realized, no wonder this stingy proprietor wanted to pay back the money no matter how painful he was. It turned out that he was thinking about the future of future generations, but the trick of breaking his promise really hit the businessman, who is the lifeblood of the world. .

I really don't know who came up with the idea, it's simply exhausting people's hearts.

This trick, of course, was created by Yang Tong.

Yang Tong knows that the struggle for the world is a struggle for comprehensive national power, and the economy is the most important thing.

The reason why he did so well is that Yang Guang left him a large amount of money, food and supplies. The huge warehouses full of money, food and military equipment, and the astronomical sums, are definitely the most heaven-defying golden fingers. The effect obtained is hundreds of millions of times stronger than that of 'divine power given by God'.

It's just that the wealth Yang Guang left to him can't bear children after all, and naturally it is decreasing year by year. Although the harvest is bumper every year under the rule, in fact, the national treasury has a negative growth every year. The reason is that the territory expands and the population soars. The "work for relief" will consume a lot of money and food, coupled with the continuation of the war, it can be said that it is beyond the means.

Now, he doesn't dare to use up his previous reserves anymore. Even if he uses them, he will replace them with new ones. Unlike Li Yuan, who has the support of the consortium behind the scenes, he can only accumulate everything by himself. If you want to use up Yang Guang's money and food, if you encounter a disaster year or a large-scale war, you will be in big trouble.Therefore, it must rely on its own economic development to achieve revival, which relies on the creativity and vitality of businessmen to increase fiscal revenue.

He initially encouraged the ordinary people under his rule to engage in business, but there was little response. The reason is that after entering business, the common people lost their normal status. At this time, the abolition of merchant registration and craftsman registration came into being, thus alleviating the worries of the common people.

The objects of slavery mainly come from foreign captives and the family members of the enemy who have been severely punished. For example, the children of the Wang family in Taiyuan and the Wen family in Taiyuan are now all the lowest slave status. In addition to serious war criminals in civil wars, ordinary prisoners are also civilians Citizenship, but they need to undergo labor reform ranging from 25 to [-] years. After the period of serving their sentences, they can enjoy the treatment of normal people. There are no restrictions on their family members, and they still live the lives of normal people. It is difficult to register.

At this time, Proprietor Wang asked anxiously: "Mr. Du, have you thought of a way?"

Mr. Du said: "This kind of matter is unclear, and it can only be resolved by the government. Before the government arrives, it will grab a couple of dollars from time to time and spread it to the crowd from a distance to buy time."

Steward Xiao Wang’s eyes lit up, he grabbed two slings of money and ran outside, only to hear screams outside, the crowd seemed to run away, and after a while, Steward Xiao Wang ran back again, “Brother, Mr. Du’s method works, outside Everyone is looking for money on the grass, and it's a mess."

After spraying it three times in a row, Wang Dongzhu, who lived like a year, saw that the government hadn't arrived, and he was restless in a cold sweat: "Has the people from the government arrived?"

The steward Xiao Wang who came back from the sidelines said, "Not yet, I haven't seen any yamen servants in other stores."

"How should this be?"

"Hmph, now I know I'm afraid? Where did you go when the price went up because of greed?" At this moment, a strange voice came from the side door.

Everyone turned their heads in surprise, and saw more than a dozen big men walking out of the side door, all of them with swords across their waists, and the leader was a heroic and burly young man with extraordinary momentum.

Proprietor Wang was startled, and tremblingly said, "Who are you?"

"In Shenguang, the patrolling army."

(End of this chapter)