Han Shizu

After entering the Kaibao period, Tokyo's annual imports of various food materials from the outside are basically stable at about 700 million shi, and even if there are fluctuations, the changes are not great.In his early years, Emperor Liu suffered from food shortage, so he developed the habit of storing food.

In the entire Gyeonggi area, the imperial court has always maintained a grain reserve of about 2000 million shi in the large and small warehouses distributed at various ferries and transportation hubs.This amount is not small, at least it can meet the needs of the people in Gyeonggi for three years, but in fact it will take longer.

According to Emperor Liu's original plan, it was required to store at least ten years for national use, and he was doing it according to this goal at one time, but later found that the management cost was a bit high, so he had to lower the requirement. At the same time, it was allocated from the official warehouse every year Grain is put into the market for renewal.

Therefore, with the resources in the hands of the imperial court, no matter how high the food price is, it can stabilize and adjust it at any time.

Beginning in April, only in Tokyo, the imperial court successively put 200 million shi rice, millet, wheat and other food materials on the market in batches.The effect achieved was immediate. The price of food that had been flying over the heads of the people in Tokyo for several months was immediately suppressed, like mercury pouring down the ground. Within half a month, it was reduced from 31 to [-].

However, under the intentional control of the imperial court, it could no longer be lowered. Obviously, [-] Wen is the price of food that the imperial court thinks is more appropriate.For the vast majority of people in Tokyo, this is still not a low price. After all, it has nearly doubled compared to the original price, but compared with Liushiwenyi, it seems that it is not so unacceptable.

But no matter what, after the imperial court took the initiative to calm down the situation, the people's distress in Tokyo was finally alleviated.The people of the big Han, no matter the people in the market or the small people in the countryside, have always been docile, and they are easy to look forward to harvesting. As long as they can live on, they can muddle along. question.

In this wave of skyrocketing food prices, the sufferers are naturally the people represented by the scholars and the people of the two capitals, but for the farmers all over the world, it is nothing less than a good news. At least, in the past six months, the same more food can be exchanged for more money.Under this premise, their lives can indeed be improved. The food to fill the tax is reduced, and there will naturally be more used for livelihood.

However, in this trend, it is obviously impossible for the peasants to grab most of the benefits, but the exploiting classes such as nobles, bureaucrats, and merchants who are oppressing them.

At least, those businessmen engaged in grain trade, transportation and related industries are full of food and earn a lot of money.In the past 20 years, the business of the Han Dynasty has been increasingly developed, but the status of merchants has not been substantially improved. In addition, the imperial court has harvested and squeezed waves from time to time, and many merchants have to add a little bit more while they are painstakingly making profits. careful.

Of course, this part mainly refers to those well-known and wealthy merchants, and ordinary small merchants and hawkers cannot attract attention.Regardless of the size of the merchants, in some businesses, they pay great attention to their own goodwill and behavior.

Especially food, a business that is related to the national economy and the people's livelihood, rarely dares to mess around. After all, there are too many people staring at the court, not to mention the Wude Department, the Imperial City Department, and the various departments. The censor of the court would speak up whenever he found an opportunity, and beat him up.And the grain merchants of the big Han, who can be so well-behaved, have to be a little bit greedy under the harsh punishment methods of the imperial court. There are hundreds of merchants.

But this time is different, the imperial court's relaxed and even indulgent attitude is almost on the surface, and it is difficult for ordinary people to detect it. How can those businessmen who are immersed in it not know.

Although it can't be said to be "ordered to raise prices", grain merchants big and small in Tokyo took advantage of this opportunity to boldly raise prices.Otherwise, with the normal supply of food and materials in the Tokyo market, even if there are objective factors such as war and production reduction, it is impossible to show a soaring trend.

For a long time, under the suppression of the imperial court, many grain and oil merchants have not gained much benefit from the low grain price. Even those big grain merchants can only rely on their scale to maintain.

The meager profits once caused a large number of grain merchants to change their careers. In the past 20 years, the increase in Doumi Wuwen was also to increase the enthusiasm of the grain merchants, and the relaxation was adopted just now.

But how ruthless it was suppressed in the past, how crazy it was when it was released. The changes in food prices in the past six months have already proved this point.The imperial court's deliberate indulgence, coupled with the crazy rentiers of the gluttons in the profit chain, jointly triggered this "grain price breakthrough".

Of course, food prices are only one aspect, accompanied by rising prices of various living materials, such as oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.Compared with the rise in food prices, the performance of salt prices is even more significant.

By April 22 of Kaibao, the price of salt in Tokyo had climbed to 95 cents per bucket. Unlike food prices and subsequent suppression, after the salt price rose, it seemed that there was no intention of falling.

In the mid-Tang Dynasty, there was a saying that half of the world's taxation and salt benefited, but now, the Han court really began to wield the sickle, ruthlessly harvesting the benefits brought by the salt business.

Due to these circumstances, a frenzy of buying materials inevitably broke out in the Gyeonggi area. Although this brought huge pressure on the supply of materials, it also allowed the court to take advantage of this to recover a large amount of copper coins.

No matter how much noise there is, there will be a day when it will subside. With the promulgation of the imperial government's guidance and pricing of various necessities for daily life, such a wave of price increases has finally receded. After that, many people in Gyeonggi felt it personally. , The cost of living has risen sharply, especially for those small citizens, life has begun to be difficult.

This "price reform" was basically carried out under the leadership of the Political Affairs Hall and the Financial Secretary. Although Emperor Liu had been paying attention, he never expressed his opinion. They act.

When a problem arises, a solution must be sought, and new problems that arise during the process of resolving old problems can only be left for the future. In terms of temporary advantages and disadvantages, always choose to pursue advantages and avoid disadvantages, or take the approach of great advantages and disadvantages, This is what Emperor Liu has always advocated.

If we say that the prosperity of the Han Dynasty in the past was based on the huge agricultural system, and the imperial court maintained the prosperity of Kaibao’s prosperity by sucking the blood of farmers, then from now on, for a long time, the spearhead will be directed at merchants and ordinary people in those cities. As well as small handicraft workers, part of the pressure that farmers borne in the past will also be transferred to urban residents.