Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 288 I Willing to Be an Ichi Kurama

The reasons for the reduction in the price of government-collected grain were multiple and complex. A key factor was the recovery of government troops' fighting spirit, the stabilization of Liaodong's security, and the decrease in looting. Furthermore, the garrisons in various cities and forts could and must provide support before the civilian escorts collapsed. If a guerrilla general neglected his duties, causing unacceptable losses to a caravan, he could file a complaint with the Military Preparation Office and receive compensation. Upon verification, the officer would be dismissed and awaited prosecution.

Xiong Tingbi knew very well that if merchants were robbed on the road and the government army was unable or afraid to fight, then no one would dare to send food to Liaodong.

"Sell!" Zhu Hui replied through gritted teeth.

The purchase price of grain inside the Great Wall ranged from eight to one or two taels of silver per dan. Taking into account the wages of the caravan crew, the escort agency's fees, and the cost of food and donkey food, the cost of transporting grain to Haizhou was roughly two to two and a half taels of silver per dan. Even if it were sold for three and a half taels of silver, the profit would still be substantial.

"Okay. You can go now." Zhang Quan handed Zhu Hui the slip he had prepared long ago. He had never intended to make any exceptions for Zhu Hui from the beginning. "Take this and go to the treasury to withdraw the silver."

"Hmph." Zhu Hui snorted coldly, then said with a sarcastic bow, "Thank you, sir."

Even if he made money, it didn't mean Zhu Hui would reap the benefits. The profits from the donkeys, mules, and grain hadn't met his initial expectations. He'd definitely lose the reward on his return, and he'd have to suffer another setback. What bad luck!

Zhu Hui snatched the note from Zhang Quan's hand and left in anger. Turning around, he spotted and recognized Ding Baiying among the onlookers. Ding Baiying met his gaze and, without avoiding it, offered Zhu Hui a bow, acknowledging his greeting.

But Zhu Hui only raised an eyebrow and didn't respond. This woman had a decent background, but with her unkempt hair and gangster-like demeanor, she didn't look like a woman at all. There was no need to provoke her.

Ding Baiying didn't care and just smiled silently.

Just as she was about to leave and go find a horse dealer to buy a horse, she heard Zhang Quan shouting, "Listen up! Rules are rules. You know whether you can make money or not! Whether you have connections or not, don't even think about trying to get close to my military office! It's useless! As long as I'm in office, I'll treat all of you merchants with one standard and one rule, and I'll treat you all equally! If the clerks under-weigh the weights and over-report the usual rates, you can come to the yamen and file a complaint. But if anyone else wants to argue with the clerks about these useless things, then take your things and get out."

After saying that, Zhang Quan left the market surrounded by a group of officers and soldiers.

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"Excuse me!" The banging and hammering in the blacksmith's shop made a loud noise. Ding Baiying had to shout at the top of his lungs to get the old blacksmith's attention.

"Sir, are you going to buy a knife?" The old blacksmith stopped hammering and put the ironware back into the furnace. He turned around and saw Ding Baiying dressed as a warrior, so he changed the subject and asked, "Sir, do you want to sharpen your knife or buy one?"

"Sharpen the knife. Add some oil." Ding Baiying took off his sword and handed it to the old blacksmith.

"Hmm." The old blacksmith took the knife, gently pulled it out, and found that it had several cracks on it. His eyes immediately became alert. "What do you do for a living?"

"Bodyguard." Ding Baiying took off his badge and handed it to the old blacksmith.

"So you're the master of the escort business. That's not surprising." The old blacksmith nodded slightly. Female escorts weren't common, but they weren't unheard of. "Your knife is made of good material, but it's been used for a long time, hasn't it? It's become thinner and a little bent. I suggest you get a new one and sharpen it a few more times. You never know when it might break."

“.” Ding Baiying was stunned. Her gaze shifted to the knife and her expression became complicated.

The old blacksmith thought the female escort was reluctant to part with her money, so he advised, "Bear the brunt of my disgrace, but escorts are not like farmers. If a farmer's hoe breaks in the field, he can just replace it with a new one. But if your sword breaks when it shouldn't, it could be fatal."

"Oh," Ding Baiying sighed. "That's fine, then let's buy a new knife. A good one."

"Of course. My family's craft has been passed down since the Hongwu Emperor, when the prefectures were abolished and the military was established. We've been hammering iron for over two hundred years. We wouldn't do something that would damage our reputation," the old blacksmith said with a smile. "Leave this old knife with me, and I'll give you a 30% discount on the price. How about that?" Good steel is tempered through repeated refinement, and recycling scrap ironware can save a lot of effort.

"No, let's grind it." Ding Baiying shook his head and said, "This was passed down to me by my master when I was starting out. I have to keep it."

"Oh!" The old blacksmith suddenly realized. "So it's an old sword passed down from generation to generation. It's really time to let it retire and rest." The old blacksmith was about to make an offer when he saw Ding Baiying pick up a spear head and examine it from side to side.

"You want another spear head?" the old blacksmith asked with a smile. This was another business opportunity.

"I'm not very good at using a gun." Ding Baiying shook his head slightly, but he was reluctant to put it down.

"As for a gun, you just poke it," the old blacksmith said. "An inch longer, an inch stronger."

"Okay, how much is it in total?" Ding Baiying asked.

"A knife, a spearhead, and some sharpening and maintenance." The old blacksmith calculated and said, "One string of silver and fifty taels of silver, or two taels and five taels of silver."

"Isn't that a bit too expensive?" Ding Baiying was shocked by the offer. "Forging a sword in the interior of the country wouldn't cost more than one tael of silver at best. Even if you add the spearhead, you shouldn't charge me more than two taels and five cents, right?"

"It's the same price everywhere," the old blacksmith said apologetically. "Since General Xiong took office, the government's weapons manufacturing plant has been operating non-stop, causing the price of iron ore to rise. If they don't raise the price, I won't be able to get my money back. If you think it's not worth it, you can pay with copper coins."

Ding Baiying didn't bring any copper coins. Apart from the reward given to her by Liu Biaotou, she only had banknotes and silver on her.

"How about this, the price is still the same. I'll install the gun barrel for you." Seeing that the female guest was still hesitant, the old blacksmith said.

Ding Baiying took out the only two pieces of silver from the purse and handed them over, then picked out a small silver nugget from the purse she was carrying. "Weigh it. It should be enough."

"Okay." The old blacksmith took the silver and quickly weighed it. "Exactly two ounces and five cents. I'll get you a good knife right away."

"it is good."

Soon, the old blacksmith brought out a plain knife. "Please test it. If you're not satisfied, you can exchange it."

Ding Baiying took the knife, pulled it out, weighed it, and then twisted his wrist. "It's quite handy."

"I chose this knife based on the shape of yours," the old blacksmith said proudly. "It's made of good material, too." He handed over a small hammer. "Hit it yourself and hear it."

When the government inspected knives, they would randomly select and then violently inspect them. But it was not easy to inspect civilian knives in this way, because violent inspection would inevitably cause nicks and the cost of wear and tear was something no one wanted to bear. So they usually took a small hammer and struck it, then listened to the sound. Good steel made similar sounds, but shoddy items each had their own unique sound. Ding Baiying knocked it to test it, then nodded with satisfaction. As she handed back the small hammer, she asked casually, "You should be a craftsman, right? Don't you work for the government?"

"Yes. The government sends errands every month, and we'll just give them all when the time comes," the old blacksmith said. "It's not like we can't find some spare time."

In reality, it wasn't just the work that enriched them; the government also provided them with ore and scrap iron. Even if artisans didn't risk their lives by cutting corners, they still had a significant amount of iron left over each month. As long as the government didn't investigate, they could keep it and use it to make farm tools or civilian weapons, which they could then exchange for cash, effectively making a net profit.

The blacksmiths and artisans thought they were profiting from the government. But in reality, the government at all levels deliberately failed to investigate. Each weapon required a specific amount of iron, and the more they made, the more they saved and the more they earned. In other words, Xiong Tingbi was indirectly giving the artisans who made military equipment a profit in order to boost their production.

If the limited amount of rice allocated by the court was used to subsidize artisans, they would have to work at a low intensity. If they worked too hard, they wouldn't even have enough to eat, and they'd have to run away. To increase the amount of rice allocated, they would have to negotiate with the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the censors who were watching closely. In peacetime, this would have been fine, just submitting a memorial and engaging in a war of words, but now it was wartime, and Xiong Tingbi had no choice but to act this way.

"Is this it?" asked the old blacksmith.

"This is it." Ding Baiying nodded.

"Then please wait a moment. I will load your gun and sharpen your knife." The old blacksmith then put away the silver in his hand.

"No rush." ​​Ding Baiying said, "I still need to buy a horse. Do you know where the horse dealer is?"

"Horse dealer?" The old blacksmith shook his head and said, "There are no horse dealers in Haizhou."

"Why are there no horse traders?" Ding Baiying asked.

"The entire livestock trade in Haizhou is monopolized by the government," the old blacksmith said. "Except for livestock old enough to be slaughtered, all other livestock can only be sold to the government. I suspect this isn't just the case in Haizhou; it's probably the same across Liaodong."

"Ah" Ding Baiying couldn't help but frowned. "How could this happen?"

"That's the rule. I have no choice." The old blacksmith turned around and began to polish Ding Baiying's old knife.

"Is there a black market?" Ding Baiying subconsciously lowered his voice.

"What?" The old blacksmith didn't hear clearly.

"Is there a black market?" Ding Baiying raised her voice slightly.

"No!" The old blacksmith shook his head hurriedly. "If you're caught trading privately, you'll be sentenced to death according to military law. No one dares to do it."

While the government vigorously cracked down on illegal traders, it also refrained from forcing purchases by lowering prices. The price at which the public sold livestock to the government was the same as the market price at the time the policy was implemented. At the same time, the government continuously and systematically raised the purchase price. This directly eliminated the huge profit margins that were essential for the growth of the black market.

"If you want to buy an animal, you can go to the government office. They sell mules or donkeys." The old blacksmith did not stop his work and offered advice in a hoarse voice.

"Can we still buy livestock from the government?" Ding Baiying was shocked again. This Liaodong area was really strange, different from the interior of the country in every way.

"The notice says that citizens can apply to the government to buy draft animals," the old blacksmith said. "You can try, but I don't know if they'll sell them."

"Ok."

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In recent months, the Shenyang-Fengtian defense line has gradually stabilized, the inland Tatar refugees have gradually withdrawn, and public security has gradually stabilized. Consequently, the General Administration Headquarters decided to officially activate the military and civilian settlements and restore production on a large scale. It was against this backdrop that the government's policy of selling livestock was proposed by Inspector Yang Lian, approved by General Xiong Tingbi, and ultimately implemented by government offices at all levels.

Specifically, the government allowed civilians to purchase draft animals from the government to restore production in the settlements. Anyone, regardless of household registration, could apply to the government to purchase draft animals as long as they provided detailed address and farmland information.

In Haizhou, this policy was implemented by the Minister of the Imperial Court, concurrently serving as the Military Preparations Office for the Jinfu Haigai Military Region, and the adjacent Haizhou Guard Commandery. Over the years, the Military Preparations Officer, or rather the Military and Military Officer, had effectively become the superior authority of the garrison offices. Civil officials in various prefectures also oversaw military farms and horse administration, while detailed matters were generally handled by the civilian officers of the garrisons.

Ding Baiying followed the instructions and came before the eighth-rank governor. He was in charge of the sale of draft animals by the Haizhou government.

"My humble servant greets the governor." An eighth-rank official is still an official, and Ding Baiying, as an ordinary bodyguard, naturally has to kneel down and salute.

"Tell me. Where do you live? How many people are there? Where are your fields? How many acres do you have?" The magistrate didn't even look at her. He mechanically asked a few questions, then flipped open the booklet and picked up his pen. "Donkeys, mules, and cows all have different prices. Money or silver is acceptable. After you write them down, pay 20% of the purchase price. Once the yamen officers have verified the authenticity of the purchase price, if you're short of paying the full amount, you can take them away."

As soon as the governor finished speaking, a yamen runner beside him knocked on the wooden board with words on it. "Here's the price. Do you understand? If not, I'll give it to you."

"I understand." Ding Baiying said.

"Then you can see for yourself." The bailiff retreated halfway, happy to save himself the trouble.

She found that the price on the sign was slightly higher than the price quoted by the fourth-rank official to Zhu Hui. She couldn't help but think: The government is openly profiting.
The female escort was overthinking it. This year, Liao's production focus was on the large-scale restoration of military settlements. Since these settlements required centralized livestock use, the government's sale of livestock was simply to maintain the normal flow of draft animals among the people, allowing those who could afford to keep them to continue to do so, and preventing production from being reduced by the government's monopoly on draft animals. The government's selling price was slightly higher than the purchase price. This wasn't for profit, but to prevent unscrupulous individuals from arbitrageurizing the government. As for the impoverished, unregistered residents and those without property, they would continue to live the same way they had in previous years.

"Which one? How many?" The governor dipped the ink.

"I'm not a farmer, I'm a bodyguard. I wanted to buy a horse but there was none on the market. I heard that the government had one for sale, so I came here." Ding Baiying said.

"Escort." The governor finally raised his head. "Which escort agency are you from?"

"Hang it in Yingtian Prefecture, under the Yuanwei Biao Bureau." Ding Baiying handed over the badge and document again.

"A bodyguard from Nanzhili." He took the sign, unable to confirm it, but convinced himself. "Forget horses, I can't even sell you a mule."

(End of this chapter)