My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 125 Do you really think that the Jinyiwei are just there to eat and do nothing?
Suddenly at this moment, Zhu Cilang noticed that Xia Dewu seemed to be hesitant to speak.

He looked curiously and said:

"What? Do you have something to say?"

"Just say whatever you want to say. Don't hesitate. You are now considered a member of the Eastern Palace. You don't have to worry too much."

"Even if I'm wrong, I won't blame you."

Xia Dewu was certain when he heard this, and then he continued:

"Although on the surface, food prices haven't risen much, this is just a superficial phenomenon."

"Because I've noticed that recently, some grain stores have stopped selling grain, or are only selling a small amount each day, with each person limited to one kilogram of grain. They usually only sell for half a day before closing down."

"Does Your Highness know why this is happening?"

Zhu Cilang's heart moved slightly, and he understood the meaning of Xia Dewu's words, and then said:

"You mean, they're waiting for the disaster victims to arrive so they can take advantage of the situation and sell at a high price?"

Xia Dewu bowed and said:

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is wise. According to what I have thought, this is indeed their plan."

"In addition, these people secretly purchased grain from other grain merchants and hoarded it."

"They have already bought up most of the grain on the market. I estimate that by the time the disaster victims arrive, they may raise the price of grain to over five taels of silver."

Zhang Shize, who was standing by, was startled when he heard this and quickly bowed and said:
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will investigate immediately after returning. I will never allow such a situation to occur in my grain store."

"If they dare to take advantage of this opportunity to raise the price, I will chop them down on the spot!"

joke!

Taking advantage of natural disasters to stockpile food and then selling it at high prices, to put it bluntly, this is profiting from national disasters!

This is a serious crime!
Zhang Shize naturally would not allow such problems to occur in his own shop, because he knew the strength and temper of the prince in front of him.

If he really bumps into the muzzle of a gun, he will be skinned alive if not killed!

However, upon hearing this, Xia Dewu bowed and said to him:
"Don't worry, my lord. I have contacted the owners of these grain stores before. They did not take advantage of the opportunity to raise prices. Instead, they have been selling grain at normal prices."

When Zhang Shize heard this, he was so moved that he almost cried.

He thought to himself, Xia Dewu is really a grateful person!

It’s no wonder that I recommended him to the Crown Prince!
Of course, Zhu Cilang didn’t really care about this matter, because he knew that with Zhang Shize’s temper and character, he would not do such a thing.

Zhu Cilang continued to look at Xia Dewu and asked:

"Logically speaking, the imperial court's penalties for price gouging have always been severe, right? Why do these merchants still dare to do this?"

"Aren't they afraid that the imperial court will confiscate their property and exterminate their clans?"

Xia Dewu smiled bitterly upon hearing this:
"Throughout the dynasties, the imperial court has indeed imposed severe penalties on price gouging, but these merchants have long come up with their own countermeasures!"

"They would divide the food they received and hide it in several places. Then, when a famine struck, they would sell it according to the government's price, but only a small portion at a time."

"But this amount is definitely not enough. At this time, the court will definitely ask them to sell more grain so that the people can afford to eat."

"And at this time, they would deliberately show one of their granaries to prove that they don't have much food left."

"When the imperial court saw this, they naturally had no other options."

"Then someone will suggest that they are willing to buy some grain from other places at a high price and sell it here, but the price will also be higher."

"In order to stabilize the situation at this time, the imperial court naturally agreed."

"In the end, they just need to pull in a few carts of grain from outside the city to make it look like they have enough grain. Then they can launder all the grain they have accumulated and sell it at a high price!"

"In this case, even the imperial court will be helpless against them!"

When Zhu Cilang heard these words, he was speechless for a moment.

He never imagined that these merchants could come up with such a way to sell grain at a high price.

And what Xia Dewu said was right. If that were the case, the imperial court would have no way to deal with them.

Because in the end, the imperial court basically begged them to sell grain at a high price.
For a moment, Zhu Cilang fell into silence.

He has to find a way to solve this problem!

Seeing this, Xia Dewu and Zhang Shize didn't dare to say anything and could only stand there quietly.

After a moment, Zhu Cilang finally came up with a solution!
He looked at Xia Dewu and asked:

"You just said that these people have been hoarding large amounts of food recently?"

Xia Dewu nodded.

"That's right!"

"How much did they buy the grain for?"

Zhu Cilang continued to ask.

"According to my understanding, it's probably around three taels of silver."

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he suddenly laughed.

Just when Xia Dewu and Zhang Shize were somewhat confused, Zhu Cilang continued:

"I have just brought over a batch of grain from Fujian, approximately five million dan. I would like to give this grain to you to sell."

There is no doubt that Zhu Cilang was talking about the 5 million dan of grain that Zheng Zhilong had promised before, which had just arrived in the capital yesterday.

Xia Dewu was stunned when he heard this, then he said with some sudden enlightenment:
"Your Highness, do you wish me to sell this grain at a price below market value to stabilize grain prices in the capital?"

Zhang Shize, who was standing by, nodded thoughtfully when he heard this.

If these five million shi of grain were sold at a low price, it would indeed be possible to stabilize the grain prices in the capital.

However, Zhu Cilang then smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not asking you to sell these five million dan of grain at a low price. On the contrary, I want you to sell these five million dan of grain at a high price to those merchants who want to hoard grain."

ah? ? ? ? ?
ah? ? ? ? ?
The moment they heard this, Xia Dewu and Zhang Shize were stunned.

They looked at Zhu Cilang in disbelief, completely unable to understand what Zhu Cilang meant.

In this case, shouldn't we release a large amount of grain to impact the market and then find ways to lower grain prices?

Why do we still have to sell these grains to those merchants at high prices?
In this way, their food reserves will increase, while the food on the market will decrease. Doesn't that mean they will have the final say on the price of food in the future?
Seeing Xia Dewu and Zhang Shize looking confused, Zhu Cilang no longer concealed the truth.

He explained:

"To tell you the truth, not long ago, I ordered the Ming navy to purchase grain from overseas and ship it to Ming."

"Food from overseas is several times cheaper than in the Ming Dynasty. This food will arrive in about three months, and it will continue to arrive."

"With this grain, the current famine in Ming Dynasty can basically be solved."

"Furthermore, the food reserves in the capital are enough to feed the entire population for a year. Even with the disaster victims included, it can last for seven or eight months."

"Besides that, the summer grain should arrive in three months. This means that the capital is not short of food at all."

"But this matter is a state secret. Outsiders don't know about it, and naturally the merchants don't know about it either. That's why they mistakenly believe that the capital is short of food."

"In that case, I might as well trick them."

"Aren't they trying to hoard food at a high price? I'll satisfy them! I'll give them as much as they want!"

"When the summer grain and overseas grain arrive in Ming, do you think these merchants will panic?"

After hearing what Zhu Cilang said, Xia Dewu and Zhang Shize were stunned.

Because they never imagined that Zhu Cilang had already prepared a backup plan!

If this happens, those merchants who hoarded grain at high prices will probably go bankrupt.
After all, they would never have thought that the Ming Dynasty would actually purchase grain directly from overseas and ship it to the Ming Dynasty.
When that time comes, they will definitely sell the grain at a low price in order to lose less money.

By then, food prices will naturally stabilize, and may even be lower than before.

I have to say, this method is really great!

After figuring all this out, the two of them bowed with admiration and said:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise and wise! I am sincerely convinced!"

In fact, regarding disaster relief, Zhu Cilang also read a very useful method in a Ming Dynasty novel in later generations.

That is, there is no need for merchants to propose a price increase for grain themselves. The court can directly announce a price increase for grain, and it is best to raise the price to an unprecedented level.

Then the news of the increase in grain prices was told to more merchants, and even spread to all parts of the country.

In this way, merchants from all over the country will continuously transport food to the disaster-stricken areas in order to earn high prices.

By this time, the amount of food transported to the disaster area had reached an unimaginable amount.

At this time, the price of food naturally dropped.

After all, rare things are valuable!
If there is too much food, it will naturally become worthless.

But
Zhu Cilang found that this method was not feasible in the Ming Dynasty.
Because the first person to use this method for disaster relief was Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty!
It even evolved into an allusion called "using wisdom to relieve disasters"!
To be frank, anyone who has been educated knows this story and this method of disaster relief.

Most of the merchants in the Ming Dynasty were educated.
So, if someone really used this method to provide disaster relief in the Ming Dynasty, there must be something wrong with his brain!
Besides, the famine is not just happening in one place in the Ming Dynasty, but all over the country.

Those businessmen have too many choices.

Even if they transported a large amount of grain to the capital, once they saw that the grain price in the capital was too low, they could transport the grain directly to other places to make a fortune.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang could only adopt another method to deal with these businessmen who wanted to make money from the national crisis.

That means they will be starved to death!
In short, no matter how much food these merchants want, Zhu Cilang will sell it to them until they are completely bursting!
When they could no longer afford to buy food, Zhu Cilang would use the Daming Daily to tell everyone that the food purchased from overseas would be arriving soon.

At that time, these merchants who have hoarded grain at high prices will definitely sell off a large amount of the grain they have previously hoarded in order to avoid bankruptcy.

The price of grain in the capital naturally stabilized.

what?
You said they can take the food to other places and sell it at a higher price?
Please!

Do you really think that the Jinyiwei are just there to eat and do nothing?
If they dare to have such an idea, the Jinyiwei will immediately confiscate their property before they even start to act!
The food in the capital can only stay in the capital!
In addition, Zhu Cilang can make a lot of money through this plan. After all, these five million shi of grain were all given by his father-in-law.

According to the current market price, if all of them were sold, a profit of 15 million taels of silver could be made!
Why not? Thinking back, Zhu Cilang looked at Xia Dewudao again:
"Just do as I just said!"

"It's best not to go there yourself. Send some trustworthy people to contact the merchants who want to stockpile grain, and give them as much grain as they want."

"If they can eat all of these five million dan of grain, we will give it to them."

"If it's not enough, I will use the grain in the Taicang warehouse to sell to them."

"In short, the more food they buy, the better it is for us!"

"Also, this matter is known only to me and you two. You must not tell anyone else!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Dewu and Zhang Shize hurriedly bowed and said:
"I obey!"

"Then I will do it right away."

But at this moment, Zhu Cilang said again:
"Zhang Shize, don't leave yet."

Zhang Shize nodded when he heard this, and Xia Dewu left.

After Xia Dewu left, Zhang Shize asked:
"Your Highness, what else is there?"

Zhu Cilang asked calmly:

"Those nobles in the imperial court must have quite a few shops in the capital, right?"

Zhang Shize was shocked when he heard this, and thought that Zhu Cilang was going to attack the nobles again.

But then he answered honestly:
"Indeed, the Noble Family has been passed down in the capital for over two hundred years, so naturally their industries and shops are spread across all walks of life."

"Even though they voluntarily handed over some silver before, their wealth is still quite substantial."

As he said this, sweat was pouring down Zhang Shize's forehead.

He was really afraid that Zhu Cilang would launch another purge of the nobles.

However, Zhu Cilang did not react much when he heard this. He just nodded calmly and continued:

"Find some time and get them together for a meal, some drinks or something."

"Then persuade them, saying that the Ming Dynasty has been in trouble recently, and ask them not to cause trouble."

Zhang Shize heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, then he saluted and said:

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will definitely give them a thorough instruction!"

"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave!"

Zhu Cilang waved his hand.

"Go!"

Then Zhang Shize also left.

The reason why he said this to Zhang Shize was because Zhu Cilang knew in his heart that under the current circumstances, there would always be some nobles who would want to make a fortune from the national crisis.

But he really doesn't have time to deal with these things right now.

Moreover, many nobles had been killed before, and it would be a bit unreasonable to kill more.

Besides, if people knew that the nobles of the Ming Dynasty always wanted to betray the Ming Dynasty, he would feel a little ashamed!

Therefore, Zhu Cilang still wanted to warn them first.

Of course, if they don't listen to advice and insist on doing something at this time, then he can only start a killing spree.

After giving these instructions, although Zhu Cilang did not ask any more questions, the Jinyiwei still sent him various intelligence in a timely manner.

For example, which sons of nobles did Zhang Shize invite to drink and have fun that night, and what did they talk about during the meal?

The result was that a large sum of silver was delivered to the East Palace the next day.

Zhu Cilang knew that this was the nobles expressing their opinions, so he accepted it calmly.

At the same time, Xia Dewu was also taking intensive action. He sent people to contact several major grain merchants in the capital and began to sell grain to them.

Zhu Cilang actually didn't pay much attention to these things, but intelligence agencies such as the Jinyiwei, the East Factory, and the West Factory were not just for show.

Intelligence is continuously sent to the Eastern Palace every day, and he can check it at any time as long as he wants to.

This is the powerful intelligence system of the Ming Dynasty. Even if you don’t care about some things, you can know them at any time as long as you want to know.

To put it bluntly, even if Zhu Cilang wanted to know what the Prime Minister Xue Guoguan had eaten, drank, and which concubine's room he slept in tonight, he could get all the information within a quarter of an hour.

Of course, this is just an analogy. Zhu Cilang is not so bored as to investigate these trivial matters.

In the next few days, Zhu Cilang was most concerned about the production of cement.

Fortunately, cement production has been increasing significantly, with more and more raw materials being transported to makeshift cement plants and then made into cement.

In addition, Zhu Cilang has not been idle these days.

Because he knew that disaster relief was not simply about giving the victims food.

Every time there is a major disaster, there is a plague.

If he remembered correctly, there would soon be a large-scale plague epidemic at this time in the late Ming Dynasty.

He even remembered that he seemed to have contracted the plague in history?

According to historical records, the plague directly caused the death of more than half of the people in the capital!
You know, there are a million people in the capital now!

If what was recorded in history is true, then the plague would have killed half a million people!

And this is just the death toll in the capital!
As for how many people would die in the entire Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cilang really didn't dare to think about it.

So he had to prevent this from happening at all costs.

Although history does not clearly indicate the source of the plague, he could probably guess that it was probably caused by the bodies of the victims not being properly disposed of.

After all, after a disaster, there are dead bodies everywhere. If these dead bodies are not properly handled, they will rot and stink, and then attract animals such as rats to eat them.

These animals would then roam around and be caught and eaten by hungry victims, and the plague would naturally spread.

So, Zhu Cilang began to prepare some things to prevent the plague.

In addition to making masks, he also ordered the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to prepare large quantities of mugwort and sulfur for disinfection.

In addition, the Imperial Medical Service and private pharmacies also had to prepare large quantities of medicines to treat the plague.

Of course, alcohol, soap and other sterilizing substances are also essential.

In addition, Zhu Cilang also formulated a series of rules for the upcoming disaster victims.

For example, you cannot urinate or defecate anywhere, and you must go to the designated place to go to the toilet.

You cannot drink dirty or raw water, you can only drink boiled water. He will arrange for someone to boil water 24 hours a day.

In addition, illness must be reported promptly; if not, the individual will be expelled immediately.

He also reactivated some social welfare institutions established by Zhu Yuanzhang at that time, such as the "Yangjiyuan", "Huimin Pharmacy" and "Louzeyuan".

The so-called "Louze Garden" is actually a national cemetery used to bury the deceased for free.

From this point of view, Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude towards ordinary people is indeed impeccable.

However, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the national finances could not keep up and corrupt officials were rampant, making it impossible to implement these measures.

But now, Zhu Cilang has reactivated these institutions.

However, considering that the corpses after the disaster might cause a plague, Zhu Cilang decided that all the dead must be cremated to prevent the spread of the virus.

In addition, now is the time when man-made disasters are most likely to occur, so security must also be strengthened.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang stipulated that except for family members who could live together, other men and women must live separately to prevent things that should not happen.

There is zero tolerance for illegal acts such as theft and selling silver, and those found guilty will be executed immediately!
After doing all this, he integrated everything and compiled it into a "disaster relief manual"!
It is ready to be distributed to all parts of the country for implementation.

Of course, the necessary materials were also provided free of charge by the court.

It took three days to finish all this.

Looking at the "disaster relief manual" he had worked so hard to prepare, Zhu Cilang breathed a long sigh of relief.

He felt that he had thought of everything he could think of, so there shouldn't be any big trouble this time, right?

So, when the court was held the next day, Zhu Cilang, who had not attended court for a long time, finally showed up.

Wang Chengen shouted as usual:

"When there is something going on, we will start, and when there is nothing going on, we will retreat."

Immediately afterwards, Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu and Minister of Works Xu Shiqi came out respectively and gave a brief account of the food mobilization and disaster relief situation in the past few days.

Zhu Cilang was very satisfied with what he heard, and then he said:
"Everyone, regarding this disaster relief, I have some ideas. I'd like to invite you to take a look."

After saying this, he signaled Wang Chengen next to him to distribute the "Disaster Relief Manual" that had been prepared long ago to several ministers.

The ministers opened the manual and took a look, and were instantly shocked.

Because they didn't expect that the prince had thought so carefully. This booklet clearly listed everything from disaster relief to possible plagues, solutions, and post-disaster reconstruction.

If the above instructions are strictly followed, it seems that we can really ensure that there will be no outbreak of plague.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is so wise and virtuous. It is truly a blessing for the Ming Dynasty!"

Xue Guoguan was the first to come forward and compliment him.

Immediately afterwards, other civil and military officials present also echoed the sentiment.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise and brave, with extraordinary talent and wisdom. We admire him deeply!"

"With His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Ming Dynasty will surely prosper!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince's benevolence is known throughout the world. He is truly a blessing to the country and the people!"

Zhu Cilang sat on the imperial platform and blushed for a moment.

Aren’t these guys a little too good at licking?

I don't know if it's because he's afraid of being killed by himself.
(End of this chapter)