Recreating the prosperous Tang begins with summoning players

Chapter 591 Donation
This merchant player came to Yangzhou with Wang Yaping. His name is Luo Yun, and he has been a merchant since he entered the game.

Unlike other players, Luo Yun's biggest hobby is reselling goods.

And this set of "business system" in Datang Fengyun is exactly the same as the real world, which also makes Luo Yun, who has no capital to do business in the real world, very excited.

After reselling cotton in Longyou and accumulating some capital, Luo Yun began to resell goods from Longyou to Chang'an.

Although Longyou's products are very easy to sell in Chang'an, the cycle of this journey is too long and the dangers on the road are too many, which is not friendly to Luo Yun. He soon gave up his business career and started a new business. .

This is the most essential business model. Buy low and sell high. To put it bluntly, it is hoarding.

The commodity Luo Yun chose was grain.

Luo Yun soon discovered that the price of grain in Chang'an fluctuated greatly, and doing grain business in Chang'an was a super profitable business.

Because of the war and desertification, Chang'an's population has far exceeded the upper limit that the agriculture in the Guanzhong region can afford.

The extravagance of the public and nobles, coupled with the huge population influx in Chang'an, also forced the Tang Dynasty to send grain to Chang'an. This is the system of gang grain.

The grain collected from the Eight Ways of Jiangdong was transported to Chang'an by water transport, which also allowed the people of Chang'an to eat relatively cheap grain.

However, this kind of food is heavily dependent on external supply, which will lead to extremely unstable food prices, and any disturbance will affect the price of food.

And relying on the players' quick delivery of news, Luo Yun quickly made a fortune in Chang'an by hoarding.

He only needs to hoard the grain before the bad news reaches Chang'an, and then sell the grain after the price of Chang'an's grain rises, and he can make a fortune.

But soon Luo Yun discovered that this kind of hoarding business did not make enough money.

Although the player's news is fast, he doesn't have enough food in his hands, and he doesn't make enough money even if he sells it at a high position.

The real big grain merchants in Chang'an often have their own grain delivery channels, and can make a lot of money with a grain price fluctuation.

So Luo Yun simply went eastward from Chang'an, preparing to build a granary in Yangzhou and transport grain to Chang'an.

When Luo Yun arrived in Yangzhou, he happened to meet Wang Yadong who was in charge of the Shipping Department, and Luo Yun saw another way to make money.

Shibosi is Datang's customs and also Datang's external port. Isn't it easier to make money here?

Luo Yun tried to buy silk and other commodities in Yangzhou, and quickly opened up sales, becoming a famous silk wholesaler in Yangzhou.

However, Luo Yun still did not forget his original intention and spent money to buy a large amount of grain in Yangzhou, but he did not expect to see Zhang Duanyang's post asking for help.

Only then did Luo Yun realize that this is the biggest deal!

If the player can control the Pengcheng and Huaishang areas, then what money can't be made!

The Huaishang area is the starting point of water transportation. If you can control Huaishang, you will control the golden waterway of the canal.

In fact, the Huaishang area was originally a rich place with dense water networks and ports close to the sea. Is there any businessman in this world who is more profitable than Lu Buwei's investment?
Luo Yun, who had already hoarded a large amount of food in the south of the Yangtze River, simply contacted Zhang Duanyang directly, and proudly expressed that he would donate all the food in his hand to Zhang Duanyang!

Luo Yun rented a grain ship in Yangzhou and headed north directly to Pengcheng.

Players in the Yangzhou area also donated generously. Zhang Duanyang did not expect these merchant players to be so energetic.

While Zhang Duanyang was dealing with the refugee problem in Pengcheng, Chang'an was also worrying about the financial problems of the empire.

Now the water transportation is threatened by the rebels, and the silting of the Bian River has made it impossible for the money and grain in the south of the Yangtze River to be transported to Chang'an City, making the already hard-pressed Datang court even more stretched.

But the money that the imperial court should spend must not be less, and the soldiers on the front line need to be paid, otherwise Luoyang will be lost if the army does not work hard.

Li Heng has suffered this kind of loss, so he naturally knows that this money cannot be saved.

The frontline troops cost money, and the salaries of court officials also had to be paid.

But looking at the bottoming out of the national treasury, although Li Heng subsidized all his private money, there was still a big gap.

Now the imperial court still owes half of the salaries of all the officials. Those big officials are fine, but ordinary officials only need their salaries to support their families.

Today is the time to rest and take a bath. Wei Yingwu took a carp and came to the house of his friend Gu Kuang.

Wei Yingwu and Gu Kuang are Jinshi on the same list, and now both are officials at Yushitai, they are inseparable friends.

Gu Kuang came from a poor family, he was Li Mi's disciple, but now Li Mi is not in Chang'an City, so Gu Kuang moved out from Li Mi's house.

After becoming a Jinshi, Gu Kuang took his wife to Chang'an from her hometown, and rented a house in Chang'an with the help of Wang Chengwei.

Wei Yingwu was born in Wei's family in Gyeonggi. Although it is only a side branch, he is from a big family after all.

Wei Yingwu had a house in Chang'an, and after he became a Jinshi, he got the support of his family, and his life became more and more prosperous day by day.

Since Zhengdan this year, the imperial court has only paid half of the salary. Wei Yingwu knows the situation of his old friend, so he brings some fish and meat to visit from time to time, also in order to alleviate Gu Kuang's embarrassing life.

Gu Kuang's wife opened the door and saw the fish in Wei Yingwu's hand with joy on her face, but she was Gu Kuang's wife after all, so she hurriedly informed Gu Kuang in the room that Wei Yingwu was here.

Gu Kuang put down the "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" in his hand, and hurried out to meet Wei Yingwu.

Seeing the big carp in Wei Yingwu's hand, Gu Kuang couldn't help but said, "Brother Yibo, you are always like this and I won't let you come to the door next time."

Wei Yingwu handed the gift to Gu Kuang's wife with a smile and said, "Why, Brother Bu Weng doesn't welcome me when I come to visit?"

Gu Kuang smiled, the two were old friends, so naturally there was no need to be polite, and Wei Yingwu welcomed Wei Yingwu into the house, only then did Wei Yingwu realize that Gu Kuang didn't even light the oil lamp in order to save money.

Gu Kuang sighed and said, "It's not easy to live in Chang'an. If it weren't for Mr. Zhuangyuan and Brother Yibo taking care of us, our family would really not be able to live in Chang'an."

The courtyard where Gu Kuang lived was close to Yushi Terrace, and it was considered a relatively good real estate in Chang'an. If Wang Chengwei hadn't come forward to negotiate the price, it would be impossible for Gu Kuang to rent a house at this price in this location.

Like Gu Kuang, many poor censors who were officials in Yushitai had to rent their houses to Fangshi in the south of Chang'an, and they had to walk for an hour every day to go to the government.

Yushi is the Qingliu Huaxuan of the imperial court, and the treatment is the highest among all officials.

It can be seen how high the living standard in Chang'an is. This time, the imperial court has only paid half of the salary since Zhengdan, and many grassroots officials are almost unable to survive.

Gu Kuang's situation was even better. Wang Chengwei and Wei Yingwu sent some things over from time to time, and finally he was able to survive in Chang'an.

But those officials from poor families are not so relaxed. I heard that many officials have begun to find other ways to make money.

Wei Yingwu said: "A few days ago, "Chang'an Daily" came to ask Brother Bu Weng to make an appointment for a manuscript. Why did Brother Bu Weng refuse?"

"Chang'an Daily" is a newspaper just established last year, and it mainly publishes news released by the imperial court.

Although major events that happened in the court would be posted at the yamen or the gate of the city, the Chang'an Daily collected and summarized the news and decrees of the court for the people of Chang'an.

In addition to this section, "Chang'an Daily" also has a gossip section and an entertainment section like the Longyou Daily.

Nowadays, many of Yushitai’s colleagues use their pseudonyms to contribute articles to Chang’an Daily. After all, Chang’an Daily pays a lot of money. If they can publish one or two articles a month, it will be enough to improve their lives.

With Gu Kuang's literary talents, it was easy to publish a few manuscripts in "Chang'an Daily". Before, the editor of the daily newspaper came to ask for manuscripts, but Gu Kuang refused.

Gu Kuang sighed and said, "As the censor of the imperial court, I have received the retouching fee of "Chang'an Daily". How can I act impartially in the future? Gu Kuang can't take this money!"

Gu Kuang said again: "When the court's salary comes down, I will definitely repay brother Yibo's kindness these days."

Wei Yingwu smiled and didn't answer. Gu Kuang's literary talents and character are first-class, but he is too straightforward, but it is precisely his straightforwardness that makes Gu Kuang a good censor.

The two continued to chat, and then they talked about the court situation.

Wei Yingwu said: "It's difficult for the court. I heard that a few days ago, the Ministry of Industry froze to death a seventh-rank Sizhi because the price of charcoal was too high and there was no money to keep warm. If this continues, I'm afraid something will happen."

Gu Kuang also sighed. In fact, most of the low-level officials have nothing to greed for, and they are ordinary people who support their families with their salaries.

Food, clothing, housing, and transportation in Chang'an all cost money, and now it is winter to burn charcoal for heating, which is a huge expense. With such a half salary from the imperial court, the officials really couldn't support it soon.

Wei Yingwu said: "I heard that Donggong proposed to open a donated prison."

"Donate to prison?"

Wei Yingwu was well-informed, and he whispered: "Just donate money to the court, and you can get a Guozijian's birth quota. This news has spread among the major families in Chang'an."

"What! Isn't this selling an official title!" Gu Kuang, who has always been upright, jumped up and said.

Wei Yingwu pulled him and said: "The supervisor is not an official. If the Imperial College wants to become an official, it has to pass the examination of Shangshe. This is not considered to be selling an official. Isn't this the imperial court can't do anything about it? It's not a way to go on like this!"

(End of this chapter)