Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 172 Grain Merchant
This year's tax collection is very fast, and it takes less than a month to collect all the taxes in mid-June.There is still a large amount of surplus grain in the hands of farmers, and grain prices in several states have fallen rapidly.However, there is enough food in the market, and no matter how low the price is, it cannot be sold.

On this day, Yang Shen came in in a hurry and said to Wang Xiaolie: "Observation, a letter from Xiangyang said that there is a businessman in Ezhou who heard that Dengzhou has a bumper harvest of wheat this year and is willing to buy it. Chen Shenshi did not dare to make a decision, so he sent someone to report .”

Wang Xiaolie said, "A merchant, can he buy so much wheat?"

Yang Shen said with a smile: "Observe, this is an excuse for the merchants, how can they really be alone? These grain merchants all contribute their capital to do business across the state. Now that the price of wheat on the Liangzhe Road is soaring, no one can see it." Can selling wheat make money?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "Okay. You and I will go to Xiangyang tomorrow to see how this merchant is doing. It is useful to sell more food if it is collected. What is the use of storing it in the warehouse? After two or three months, there will be more Rice, we have no shortage of food."

Yang trial said yes.After a while, he said: "Observation, I'm actually very puzzled. If there were no major disasters in the past, these state troops should have received so much food. Why didn't they hear that food was hard to sell at that time?"

Wang Xiaolie smiled: "Because the grain harvested by the common people is not much left in their own hands. Not talking about the government and the purchase, but only the local rich and wealthy households outside the government. After the grain is harvested, the largest part will arrive. In their hands. These people have granaries, and the management is not good, and the amount is unclear. If there is too much food, they will be used to feed chickens and ducks. After two or three years, most of them will rot.”

How could Yang Shen believe it: "Is it so powerful? If so, wouldn't most of the world lack food?"

"Of course. There is no shortage of food in most places in the world. But those who have food can't eat it all, and those who don't have food can't eat enough. The inequality between the rich and the poor makes it appear that there is a shortage of food. If you think about it, it's like Tangzhou Dengzhou has a lot of idle land, so how could there be a shortage of food?"

Yang Shen smiled and shook his head, still not convinced.

Wang Xiaolie didn't say much, just asked about the situation of the businessmen in Ezhou.

When the population was the largest in the Northern Song Dynasty, descendants estimated that it was more than [-] million.It's hard to say whether there are so many, anyway, it won't exceed this number.About one-tenth of the population of Wang Xiaolie's previous life.At this time, the grain yield per mu was about one-sixth of that of later generations.If you do the math, you will know that the average grain output is not low.Logically, people should be able to eat enough.Some people can't get enough to eat, the main problem is distribution.

Generally speaking, the food loss of future generations can reach about [-]%.In this era, the proportion of food loss is even higher.If the efficiency of the government and the people is not high, it is not uncommon for most of the food to be wasted in vain.Take Dengzhou as an example, this year's bumper harvest, if it can't be sold in time, a large part of it will be rotten in autumn and winter.When the next year is green and yellow, many families may still have no food to eat.

If society cannot progress, farmers will be like this.I work hard every year, only relaxed during the harvest season, and the days are always tight.It is not enough to produce more food, but also to make full use of food.

The next day, Wang Xiaolie and Yang Shen traveled from Xinye to Xiangyang Mansion.

Chen Yuyi greeted him into the city and sat down at the yamen.Said: "This year Dengzhou has a good harvest of winter wheat, and it has spread to many prefectures in a month. Then a businessman from Ezhou came and said that he could buy a lot. I dare not make decisions on this matter, so I urgently report it for investigation."

Wang Xiaolie said: "In the past few years, many people from the Central Plains have gone south. They are used to eating wheat, and the price of wheat has risen a lot. Since last winter, the Jin army has been raging in Huainan, which has been affected. Now the places that can sell a large amount of wheat, We are the only one here. Dengzhou has the Baihe River to Xiangyang, and Xiangyang can enter the Yangtze River along the Han River, all the way down. This business is really done."

Chen Yuyi said: "The humble official thinks the same way. However, there are only three businessmen who came here. I don't know how strong they are."

Wang Xiaolie said: "As long as you can give money, don't worry about the rest. At noon today, we will hold a banquet and discuss with them in detail."

Chen Yuyi said yes.Go and order the soldiers to hold a banquet at the restaurant by the river and invite three businessmen.

Wang Xiaolie dealt with urgent official documents in the Yamen, looked at the evening, and went to the restaurant by the river with Chen Yuyi and Yang Shen.The three businessmen had already been waiting outside, stepped forward to salute, and entered the restaurant together.

Go to the pavilion on the second floor and sit down, the servants serve tea, and a few people chat.

Wang Xiaolie said: "Now the Jin army is going south to defend the country, and the army is flourishing for a while. It costs money to raise soldiers, but where does the money come from? The land in these states is considered fertile. Last year, the weather was good, but we just collected a few buckets more. Grain. We thought about selling the grain and getting some money back. It just so happened that a few of you came here to solve our urgent need. If you can really get the money, you will be making a great contribution.”

A member in the middle cupped his hands: "In Xiabeixing, I have been doing grain business in Ezhou since my ancestors. This one is Yu Zhifu, and that one is Kang Mingqi. Yu Yuanwai is in the same business as the next one, and Kang Yuanwai is in the Han Dynasty. Water runs the boat."

Wang Xiaolie looked at the three of them and nodded: "That's right. You have food sellers, and boats on the water, which are complete. If it is agreed, I will send someone to go with you and take a look at your business in Ezhou. Business."

"Should, should!" The three of them clasped their hands together.

Wang Xiaolie said, "I don't know how much wheat you can harvest? What's the price?"

Bei Xing looked at the other two, and said cautiously: "We are all big merchants in Ezhou, and it is no problem to collect hundreds of thousands of stones a year."

Wang Xiaolie shook his head again and again: "It's less, it's less. What is worth hundreds of thousands of shi? This year, in Tang and Dengzhou, plus Xiangyang Prefecture, there will be 200 million shi of wheat alone. In two or three months , When the rice is harvested, it is estimated that there will be more than one million shi."

Hearing this, the three of them were taken aback.As soon as he opened his mouth, it cost 300 million shi, Wang Xiaolie took a big breath.During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Bianhe River, as an important north-south traffic artery, transported only 600 million shi of grain to Kaifeng a year.In these few states alone, Wang Xiaolie had to sell grain for 300 million shi. Could it be that something went wrong with his brain?The three of them looked at each other and didn't speak for a while.

Wang Xiaolie said: "What? Could it be that you guys can't afford 300 million stone grains?"

Bei Xing said: "Observe, 300 million shi is not a small amount. In the past, the Bianhe water transport to the capital was only 600 million shi—"

Wang Xiaolie said: "It can't be compared like this. The Bianhe River transports grain all the way upstream, so a lot of trackers must be used. You transport grain all the way down the river, so how much is saved? The Yangtze River goes directly to Huainan and the two Zhejiang provinces. After arriving in Hunan and Jiangxi, the grain was transported to Ezhou, and there was no need to worry about selling it.”

Bei Xing said: "If you observe that there is really so much grain, the little ones will try their best to buy it. It's just - how much grain can be harvested in a few states? If you sell 300 million shi, what will the local people eat? "

Wang Xiaolie couldn't help laughing and said: "You can ask around, the people have enough food this year, so don't worry about what they eat. There are not many places in several states, but there is a lot of arable land. As long as the people work hard, there will be no shortage of food. "

Three million shi is three to four hundred million catties.This number sounds scary, but it's actually not much.In Wang Xiaolie's previous life, Nanyang alone produced nearly 300 billion catties of grain a year.Adding up several state capitals, three or four hundred million catties is not even a fraction.

Four hundred million catties of grain is 20 tons, which is nothing in later generations.In this era, the transportation capacity is limited, and it is difficult to transport without waterways.This kind of business must rely on water transportation.

Seeing Wang Xiaolie's firmness, Bei Xing no longer doubted it.Said: "Observe, so much food, I don't know how much is the price?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "I've asked, the price of wheat in Zhejiang and Jiangxi has risen sharply this year, no less than [-] wen a bucket. I sell [-] wen here, as long as you ship it to the place, there will be big profits. What do you think? ?”

Bei Xing looked at the other two, and said, "Fifty pens for a fight, the price is not low—"

Wang Xiaolie said with a smile: "Ten times the profit, that's fine. Beside you, don't be too greedy when doing business!"

Beixing smiled awkwardly.Said: "Long-distance trafficking, many accidents. It's not surprising to observe."

(End of this chapter)