The Prodigal Son

The guards quickly determined the cause.

This matter itself is not a big deal.

It's simply that two groups of people have their eyes on the same basket of top-quality pepper.

One party had already agreed on a price of 15 taels per catty with the owner, and both parties were ready to complete the transaction. However, another group of people intervened and offered 16 taels per catty.

The deal fell through, and the party that originally offered the price was definitely not satisfied.

The two sides first had a verbal argument, and then started fighting.

As the leaders of both sides made their move, their respective followers joined the battle.

Finally, they even resorted to surgery.

After figuring out the reason for the matter, Yan Li frowned even more deeply.

"A pound of pepper can sell for sixteen taels of silver?"

Yan Li looked at Feng Shu beside him in disbelief, "I remember last year it was only about one and a half taels per catty, right?"

"Well... I'm not entirely sure either."

Feng Shu shook his head and smiled, then immediately ordered someone to summon the owner of the goods and asked, "Is there anything special about your pepper? Why is it so expensive?"

"My lord, the pepper I use is of the highest quality."

The owner cautiously replied, "This price is really not high! If it weren't for my creditors pressuring me so much, I wouldn't have bothered to sell it. If I had held onto it for a few more months, this batch of pepper would probably have gone up to twenty taels per catty..."

These days, pepper is in high demand.

Even with money, you might not be able to buy it.

Many people are hoarding goods while simultaneously indulging in a frenzy of food consumption.

The price of regular pepper is eight ounces per pound.

His basket of top-quality pepper sells for fifteen or sixteen ounces a pound, which is really not expensive.

Moreover, he bought them at thirteen taels per catty.

If he factored in the interest on the loan and sold it at fifteen taels per catty, he would probably only make a few dozen taels of silver.

He originally planned to hold onto it for another three to five months until the price was higher before selling it.

However, the creditors kept pressing for repayment, and the interest kept piling up, so he had no choice but to reluctantly sell.

After understanding the situation, Yan Li's expression relaxed slightly.

Looking again at the two groups of people kneeling on the ground, Yan Li was somewhat troubled.

It's really hard to judge who's right and who's wrong in this matter.

It's definitely wrong for one party to interfere when the other has already agreed on a price.

But as long as the transaction hasn't been completed, it means the deal hasn't been finalized. Someone is willing to offer a higher price, and the owner is willing to buy. If the party that originally offered the higher price doesn't allow the owner to sell to the one who offered the higher price, isn't that bullying and monopolizing the market?

After a moment's thought, Yan Li said sternly, "According to the laws of our dynasty, verbal negotiations are not valid contracts. A sale is established upon payment of money, issuance of market certificates, and weighing and delivery. The owner of the goods has the right to freely choose the buyer who offers the highest price..."

"Your Highness..."

The slightly overweight middle-aged man grew anxious and quickly spoke up.

However, after Yan Li glanced at him, he quickly shut up.

After calming the slightly overweight middle-aged man, Yan Li turned to the merchant who was raising the price: "You knowingly disrupted the negotiation by raising the price on the spot, which is a violation of the law, known as 'market manipulation'! Disrupting the normal negotiation order of the market is punishable by twenty strokes of the cane!"

"yes!"

The customers who wanted to raise prices dared not say anything more.

"If your dispute is merely a verbal altercation or a minor conflict that escalates to the authorities, then the above-mentioned measures should be taken!"

As Yan Li spoke, he suddenly changed the subject: "However, the two sides fought each other in the middle of the city, resulting in death and injury! According to the laws of our dynasty, in addition to compensating the dead and injured, the mastermind will be beheaded and his followers will be exiled to the army!"

As Yan Li finished speaking, both sides were stunned.

Beheading and public display?

Coming to their senses, the two merchants immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Highness, spare our lives!"

Yan Li waved his hand indifferently, "Drag him away! Hand him over to the authorities!"

"yes!"

The guards obeyed the order and immediately dragged away both sides who were still kowtowing and begging for mercy.

After the guards dragged those people away, Yan Li stood in the middle of the crowd and shouted, "The market has its rules. If there is any dispute, please let the government decide! Anyone who dares to break the law should think about how many heads they have!"

The onlookers fell silent, nodding in agreement.

After quickly handling the emergency, Yan Li and Feng Shu got back into the carriage.

As the carriage started moving, Yan Li's face was filled with sorrow and despair.

Seeing this, Feng Shu comforted him, saying, "This is not a big deal, Your Highness, there is no need to let this affect your mood."

"This is not a big deal."

Yan Li sighed with a worried expression, "I think the price of this pepper is a bit too high."

In just one year, the price of pepper has increased many times over.

Judging from this trend, prices should continue to rise.

Letting pepper prices continue to rise like this is probably not a good thing!

"Scarcity drives up value!"

Feng Shu chuckled, "Didn't the price of our dynasty's snow cotton increase many times over when it was sold to Daning?"

In Feng Shu's view, this was not a big deal.

It's just market forces!

Take the finest Yan jade, for example, isn't its price increasing day by day?

Moreover, the Yan state also produced Yan jade.

However, neither Da Ning nor Yan State produced pepper.

Da Ning didn't buy much pepper to begin with, and even less was sold to the Yan Kingdom.

Not to mention these ordinary merchants, as far as he knew, many officials in the imperial court were hoarding pepper, just waiting for the price of pepper to rise even higher so they could sell it and make a fortune.

Even his son seems to have hoarded over a hundred catties of pepper.

Under such circumstances, how could the price of pepper not keep rising?

"this……"

Yan Li was speechless. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Perhaps we can try to see if we can grow pepper!"

"Isn't that a bit difficult?"

Feng Shu frowned and said, "If it were possible to grow it, Da Ning would have done so long ago."

"Let someone else try it!"

Yan Li was still unwilling to give up. "Pepper is a hard currency. If our dynasty could grow it, it would be like silver growing from the ground."

"Very well, I will have someone try it when I get back."

Although Feng Shu thought Yan Li was being a bit delusional, he still agreed.

If pepper could really be grown, it would probably be more profitable than growing snow cotton!

"By the way, Your Highness, during this meeting with Qin Yu, we might be able to discuss the matter of pepper."

At this point, Feng Shu suggested, "If we can buy a large quantity of pepper at a low price and then release it, it's not impossible to earn several million taels of silver for the national treasury in a short period of time."

"That's like taking off your pants to fart—it's pointless!"

Yan Li's smile returned. "I'd rather have silver than pepper!"

"Oh, this..."

Feng Shu was slightly taken aback, then gave a self-deprecating laugh, "I was negligent."

"Alright, stop staring at the money."

Yan Li smiled, "In this meeting with Qin Yu, our main focus should still be on continuing to promote trade between our two sides! As long as we can maintain long-term trade with Da Ning, why worry about money?"

With the silver, we can buy more warhorses from Beiqi.

As long as I maintain a harmonious relationship with Da Ning, I can implement a policy of streamlining the army and simplifying administration after I ascend the throne.

If the State of Yan wants to truly develop, it must streamline its army!

"Yes, yes!"

Feng Shu nodded repeatedly...