nanming man

Chapter 517 Guaranteed food price
The time has entered the summer of 1646 AD, and the originally turbulent world seems to be afraid of the remaining heat, so it calms down.

After the Qing army fought again and again and destroyed Li Zicheng and Mobei Mongolia, they needed to take a breath and digest the territory. In addition, the master of the Eight Banners couldn't stand the heat in the south, so he didn't make any big moves.

After Zhang Xianzhong won Hanzhong, it was not easy to surrender Liu Zongmin, and Wu Sangui did not have the support of the Qing army, so the two sides could only confront each other, and no one dared to start a war rashly.

After the conflict between Gao Yihuan and the Ming Dynasty, the two sides reached a compromise. Wei Wu’s soldiers and horses lived in the southwest of Wuchang, and there were forts controlling the river.

For a while, the war in the world calmed down, giving the people a rare chance to breathe.

Yuezhou City was under the rule of Gao Yihuan, and there were few cities with relatively developed commerce.

Because of the location of the land, there are businessmen from Huguang, Jiangnan, and even Fujian and Guangdong gathered here.

Of course, Huguang mainly produces grain, so the merchants gathered here are mainly grain merchants from all over the world.

At this time, the summer harvest is about to begin, and the grain in Huguang will mature again. Merchants from all over the country gradually come to Yuezhou to buy the grain in Huguang, and then transport it to various places for sale.

At this time, on the wharf outside Yuezhou City, a merchant ship from Nanzhili had just docked, and several grain merchants got off the ship.

The leading young master glanced at Yuezhou City, with a smile on his face, and said to the people beside him as he walked, "I heard that this year Huguang has abundant rainfall and sufficient sunshine, and the summer grain must be ripe this time!"

"When the grain is ripe, there will be a lot of grain in the market. I think the price of grain should be lowered, at most one tael per shi." A potbellied businessman said with a smile.

The leading son waved his folding fan, "Now that the imperial court and the north are falling out, the food can't be sold in Beizhili on the bright side, and there is a lack of buyers. I think seven yuan per stone is more reasonable."

"Young master, last year the price of grain in Huguang was one tael or five renminbi, and now half of it will be cut off. I'm afraid they won't sell it!"

The young man shook his fan, full of confidence, "No matter how low they are, they will still sell! Once the summer grain is ripe, the government will collect taxes. If the mud legs don't sell grain, how can they have money to pay the tax? There is enough grain in Huguang, and there is no shortage of grain in the local area. , Who will they sell to if they don’t sell it to us? Could it be that the piles are rotten at home?”

"My son is right. When the government calls for taxes, the mud legs can only sell the grain in order to pay the tax. We lower the price, and they have to sell it. When we sell it separately, give them copper coins, and wait for them to exchange it for silver. When paying taxes, we can also increase the ratio of copper coins to silver, and make another fortune!" A man with a mustache who looks like a teacher said with a flattering smile.

"That's right!" The young master was quite proud, "When I came here, I have already discussed with several other big grain companies. As long as we don't accept it, they will come and beg us to collect the grain. Naturally, we can decide the price of the grain. .Seven qian, it is seven qian, not more than a penny. Besides, Mr. Zhao has a good idea, and he does this when he buys grain!"

The young man waved his folding fan and said with a sneer, "The emperor suddenly raised our taxes, making business difficult. We must reduce costs to make up for the loss!"

Several businessmen laughed one after another, busy echoing each other, flattering the young man.

This group of people are all businessmen from Nanzhili, but the young master who is the leader cannot be regarded as a businessman. He is Zhu Guoci, the younger brother of the Duke of Baoguo, Zhu Guobi, who is in charge of managing part of the property of the Duke of Baoguo.

Now that the Donglin Party has lost a lot of power in the court, it is unable to prevent Zhu Cihong from cleaning up taxes and raising business taxes.

After Nanjing passed the new tax law, the gentry and merchants in the southeast were forced to pay a lot of money, which caused a lot of losses. However, there are policies on the top and countermeasures on the bottom. Nanjing has learned from the experience of the Chongzhen Dynasty. The tax increase this time is mainly aimed at gentry and Big merchants wanted to extract some money from these rich people, but these people could immediately think of many measures to transfer the additional taxes levied by the imperial court to ordinary people.

After saying that, the group of people had already left the pier and saw that there was a tea house by the lake, so they went in together.

After entering the teahouse, Zhu Guoci frowned slightly. Inside, the gentry, scholars, and traffickers mixed together to eat and drink tea.

The businessman accompanying him called Xiao Si and asked if there was any private room. After being told that there was no room, they could only find a seat by the window and sit down.

The teahouses and restaurants in Nanjing are divided into grades. The rich and prestigious invite them upstairs, while ordinary people are in the lobby downstairs. I don’t want Yuezhou to have no rules like this.

Of course, there are many dignitaries in Nanjing, and there are also many rich people. Although Yuezhou’s commerce is relatively well-developed, there are not so many dignitaries after all. Except for a few high-end restaurants in the city, other shops are doing business for ordinary people, so There is no basis for high-end consumption.

After everyone sat down, they greeted Xiao Er and ordered all the best food in the shop.

After a while, seven or eight fish and shrimp-based dishes, such as Dongting whitebait, shrimp cakes, and Huihui fish, were served.

Zhu Guoci and the others ate a few bites, and the taste was not bad. While they were eating, they suddenly heard someone beside them discussing the harvest of this year's crops, discussing grain prices, and other things about the exchange, which aroused his interest.

At this time, Zhu Guoci was holding a piece of delicious fish maw with chopsticks, and was about to put it into his mouth. He was listening to the conversation of the diners next to him.

Not far from them, sat a businessman in brocade, and a government official in Confucian uniform.

At this time, the fat-faced businessman held up his wine glass and said, "Brother Zhou, the military government has set a minimum grain price so that the people can sell their grain directly to the grain depots in the county. What do you think?"

The man surnamed Zhou is a thin man, he should be a member of the public family, he has a bit of embarrassment on his face: "This, it's hard to say!"

The fat businessman hurriedly poured wine for him, and asked Xiaoer to serve some hard dishes, flattering him: "To be honest, after the military government made this resolution, they set the price of food at one tael or five renminbi per shi. If you dare to accept it, you are afraid that if you accept it, you will not be able to sell it, and it will be thrown into your hands. Brother Zhou, just treat it as a small talk, and give me some news!"

"Okay!" The man surnamed Zhou hesitated for a moment before he said bluntly: "I think the military government's decision first benefits the common people. If the grain price is higher than the guaranteed reserve price, it can be sold to merchants. If it is lower than the guaranteed reserve price, it can be sold directly. Give it to the military government. Now I look at the people in Huguang, and my heart will be towards the handsome man. But don’t think that the people will benefit, and you merchants will suffer. I tell you absolutely not.”

The fat businessman was a little puzzled, "Brother Zhou, if we collect grain at a high price, if no one takes the order, wouldn't it be a loss?"

The man surnamed Zhou said with a smile: "There are wars everywhere now, people starve to death in some places, and there is no food to eat. How can food be sold for three or four liang? Are you afraid that the food will not be sold at a good price? In the past, others deliberately suppressed Huguang The price of grain, the common people are in a mess. Now the military government wants to manage the grain trade in a unified way. An exchange is established in Yuezhou. The grain purchased by the merchants in this province will be traded on the exchange. Set up the exchange and close it for a few months. You are still afraid of starvation Don't kill them! At this time, the uncle is the one who has food."

Zhu Guoci listened, her heart trembled, and the chopsticks suddenly fell on the table~
(Thanks to Yuzz who is thirsty for the reward, thank you for your support, ask for a book list, ask for a monthly ticket, recommend, and subscribe.)
(End of this chapter)