Dahan first prince

Chapter 158

In February Renwu (11th) in the spring of the [-]th year of the Han Dynasty, due to the assassination of Prince Liu Ying, he entered the Chang'an area under high martial law. A sensational news completely broke the original tranquility.

——According to the order of Liu Ying, the crown prince of the Jian Kingdom, Prime Minister Xiao He signed and used the seal to promulgate the government decree of the Prime Minister: In the land of Guanzhong, where the household registration is still recorded in the commercial registration, the grain storage of each household shall not exceed a hundred stones!

In addition, a team jointly organized by the imperial historian, internal historian, and Tingwei Sanya began to go door-to-door to check and check the grain stored in the homes of Guanzhong merchants from the first day of the third month in the spring of the 11th year of the Han Dynasty.

If it is found that the store of grain in the merchant's household exceeds a hundred shi, all the grain stored in it will be confiscated for confiscation, and a fine of four liang will be imposed for every one shi in excess!

When the news came out, Chang'an vibrated, and Guanzhong was in an uproar!

Following the decrees written and printed by the prime minister's office and sent to various places in Guanzhong, they were posted on the dew cloths of county governments in various places, and almost the entire Guanzhong was confused by this inexplicable decree. mind.

——Prince, what exactly do you want to do?
Could it be that the assassination of the crown prince by the Changling Tian family made the court make up its mind to curb merchants from keeping slaves and raising scholars by not allowing merchants to hoard grain?
Before the people in Guanzhong could recover, several decrees were issued one after another, covering Lubu layer by layer.

——Find out: The Changling Tian family assassinated the prince, and the relevant Chinese businessman Goulian was ordered to conduct a thorough investigation by the Tingwei; those who knew the information, went to the local county government, county government, or Chang'an court before the Jiawu day (the first day of the first lunar month) in the spring of March. The lieutenants will be rewarded with ten gold for reporting;

——Because of the endless fighting in the Kanto region, Hangu Pass and Wuguan Pass were under martial law indefinitely; there were no emperor's talismans, festivals, or rumors or quotations from the Xiangfu, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the pass!

Violators will be punished as treason!
——From the first day of Jiawu in the spring of March in the 11th year of the Han Dynasty (the first day of the new year), merchants are prohibited from buying grain exceeding [-] shi, selling grain to merchants exceeding [-] shi, and prohibiting merchants from selling grain in the market!

Merchants who buy grain over a hundred shi, or sell grain in the market, will die; those who sell grain with merchants over a hundred shi will be fined four taels for every shi sold, and those who sell grain will be sold thousands of miles away!
Following the promulgation of a series of decrees that seemed to have nothing to do with each other, but actually complemented each other, Guanzhong fell into a strange silence.

At this delicate time when the public opinion is a bit at a loss and the people in Guanzhong haven't figured out what happened, a remote village north of the Weishui River ushered in one after another magnificent carriages... ·
·
"Everyone's here?"

In a "lobby" that looks a bit dilapidated on the outside, but actually has a universe inside, it is now occupied by luxuriously dressed figures with sad faces.

As the organizer of today's 'secret discussion', Chiyang Qian's patriarch, Qian Buyi, had a serious expression on his face.

Asked lightly, and waited for the servant beside him to nod quickly, Qian Buyi walked forward with a worried face, and sat down in the main seat in the hall.

It was precisely at the moment when Qian Buxin's buttocks were covered with thick mattresses, among the wealthy merchants sitting on both sides of the hall, several figures stood up.

"Mr. Qian!"

"With the current situation, we must not allow us to plan again, and it will be a waste of time?"

"Extremely great!"

"The prime minister's government has issued several decrees in succession, all of which have been promulgated throughout the Guanzhong. All of them have prevented us, the grain merchant Mijia, from making profit from grain?"

Hearing that these successive voices were slightly noisy and full of urgent questions, Qian Buyi only frowned more tightly.

Seeing this, among the merchants at the banquet, a slightly elderly figure finally stood up and bowed to Qian Buyi.

"In the past, we, the grain merchants of Mi Jia, all followed the Changling Tian family's lead. We followed the standards set by the Tian family, and never changed the price of rice."

"It's only been a few years. It's not just old people. All of you here have a family of rice Jia worth less than one hundred thousand yuan. Up to now, the land of a county is rich."

"Today, the court of Chang'an intends to exterminate our grain merchant Mi Jia, and the Tian clan assassinated the crown prince, and the three clans are extinct..."

"At this time when there is no leader among the dragons, Wanwang Qiangong came forward to clarify the future of our grain merchants and Mi Jia."

"—How should we respond to the order of the crown prince and the decree issued by the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

As the old man asked this pleadingly, the eyes of everyone in the hall also focused on Qian Buyi.

Seeing this, Qian Buyi was a little secretly pleased, and he did not forget to put on a suspicious expression on his face.

He bowed his head in 'meditation' for a long time before raising the corners of his eyebrows tentatively.

"Everyone, are you really willing to use Qian as the head of Mi Jia, a grain merchant in Guanzhong?"

Hearing this question, everyone in the hall frowned subconsciously.

After thinking about it for a while, they looked at each other again, but they finally suppressed their resentment and handed over the money without any doubts.

"We, hope that only the stallion Qian will follow..."

Looking in the hall, everyone was so arrogant in the past, wishing to put their nostrils to their own faces, but now they all bowed their heads to him, Qian Buyi finally showed a smug smile on the corner of his mouth.

After only a moment, that smile disappeared without a trace following Qian Buyi's frown...
"Um······"

"Since this is the case, I am being disrespectful, and I would like to discuss with you in the future, we will have a smooth path for Mijia, a grain merchant in Guanzhong!"

He said a word with a serious face, and bowed with everyone in the hall, and when everyone took their seats, he saw Qian Buyi raised his hand a little.

Almost at the same time as Qian Buyi raised his hand, several pieces of slightly yellowed silk cloth were carried forward by the servants at the side of the hall, and placed on the table in front of Qian Buyi.

Then, it was Qian Buyi who spread out all the pieces of silk cloth, arranged them in a little order, then raised his head and looked at the people in the hall.

"This number of silks means that in the past few days, the prime minister's government will issue a government order in Guanzhong."

As he said that, Qian Buyi picked up the silk cloth on the far right, without looking at the content on the silk, and said to everyone in the hall: "This is the cloth of the prime minister's mansion on Renwu (nineteenth) in the second month of spring. The "Forbidden merchants and merchants to collect more than a hundred stones of grain"."

"With this order, from now on, none of us, the grain merchant Mijia, can determine the price of rice in Guanzhong by hoarding grain."

After saying that, Qian Buyi put down the handkerchief and picked up the second one, but still didn't look at it, so he raised his head to look at the people in the hall.

"This is the order issued by the Prime Minister's Mansion on Jiashen (21) in the second month of spring, 'Prohibit merchants from buying grain, prohibit selling grain with merchants, and prohibit merchants from selling grain to the market'."

"This order will completely eliminate the way that we, the grain merchant Mijia, will buy and sell grain in the future to profit from the goods!"

With a slightly angry growl, he put Qian Busu on the handkerchief, and slapped it on the desk with no seriousness!
Looking around at the people in the hall with a fierce look in his eyes, he saw Qian Buyi lowered his head gloomyly and pouted at the other two pieces of silk cloth.

"The other two, one said: the order prohibiting entering and leaving Hangu and Wuguan."

"The plan is to make it impossible for our grain merchant, Mijia, to transfer the grain in our hands and sell it in the Kanto."

"On the other hand, I want to intimidate (hè) us in the name of 'Changling Tian's assassination of the crown prince, but there are still accomplices who have not been brought to justice'!"

Having said that, Qian Buyi finally straightened his waist and looked around at everyone in the hall with a serious face.

"The plans of these several government decrees have been clearly revealed."

"—First ban merchants from storing grain, and ban merchants from buying and selling grain, and cut off Hangu and Wuguan, blocking the way from Guanzhong to Guandong; moreover, they want to use the Changling Tian clan to coerce us... ··”

"The plan is to force us to sell all the grain in our hands before Jiawu (the first day of the new year) in spring and March; and in the future, we will not be able to carry out grain business."

"If we all follow the order and quickly sell the food in our hands, regardless of the future, this year alone, we will lose all our money..."

As Qian Buyiman's heavy voice fell, the complex expressions of anger, fear, anxiety, and helplessness reappeared on the faces of everyone in the hall.

After a little calculation, the expressions on the faces of everyone in the hall gradually became distorted.

Naturally, everyone understood Qian Busu's meaning.

——The Chaotang does not allow merchants to buy, sell, or stockpile grain. It simply wants to eliminate creatures like grain merchants in the entire Guanzhong!
And a decree of "prohibiting entry and exit from Hangu Pass and Wuguan Pass" completely blocked the escape route for everyone to run away with food and go to Kanto to make a last fortune.

As for complying with the government order, in the next less than ten days, all the grain in my hand will be sold...
"If we sell all the grain in our hands, not only will we not be able to make a profit, but we may even have to spend some of the cost of buying grain for last year's autumn harvest?!"

Hearing such a question from the corner, he saw the man on the left of Qian Buyi stroking the hair on his scruff with a face full of sarcasm.

"For profit?"

"Hey!"

"Half of the capital is returned, and I will be satisfied!"

"—You must know that the court decree is issued all over Guanzhong and made clear on Lubu!"

"Knowing that we are eager to sell grain, the rough and unruly people in Guanzhong, why don't you use your posture to force the price of grain to drop again and again?"

"Last year's autumn harvest, we bought grain, but at a price of [-] yuan!"

"In addition to the cost of the granary, slaves, Ding Zhilu, and rations, even if you sell them for [-] yuan for stones, it is by no means 'profit'!"

Hearing the man's words, all the people nodded their heads and complained incessantly.

Its content, left and right, is nothing more than dragging the family and taking care of the mouth, going up to the old and down to the young, and counting on themselves to support the family.

Seeing everyone saying what you said and me talking about their difficulties, Qian Buyi just sneered inwardly, leaned his upper body back slightly, and looked at the ugly behavior of everyone in the hall with relish.

I don't know how long it has passed, but in the end, the old man who proposed to let Qian Buyan talk about it was the first to turn away from his self-pity.

As more and more people stopped talking, the old man sighed sadly, and immediately bowed to Qian solemnly.

"We all started from a humble beginning and suddenly became rich with rice grains. There is really no good plan for this matter."

"In the past, the only person in Guanzhong that could be compared with the Changling Tian family was Qian Gong's Chiyang Qian family; today, Qian Gong is even richer in Jia Guanzhong, and he thinks we are the first."

"I also hope that Mr. Qian will read the old feelings, and don't hesitate to teach him!"

As he said that, regardless of his sixtieth age, the old man had no doubts about Qian, who was twenty years younger than him, and bowed his hands heavily.

After only a moment, everyone who reacted also imitated the old man's appearance, and Qiqi gave Qian Buyi his hands.

"I still hope Mr. Qian, enlighten me!"

Seeing how the crowd bowed their heads in front of him, holding back their resentment, Qian Busu felt a burst of joy in his heart.

There was a groan of enjoyment in his heart, but Qian Buyi put on a worried look on his face, and slowly got up from the soft couch.

"To solve today's difficulties, I only have three strategies, top, middle and bottom, for you to choose from!"

Responding to the sound, he raised three fingers, put Qian Buyi's hands on his back behind his back in a somewhat superior manner, and smiled jokingly.

"The next policy is to obey the order of the crown prince and sell all the grain in hand before the first day of Jiawu (the first day) in the spring of March."

"Oh, yes..."

"—A few days ago, Chang'an sent a letter, Yan Shaofu put up a notice in the grain market: at the price of two thousand renminbi, do not limit the purchase of rice grain."

"If you don't want to lose too much, you can also sell rice and grain in Shaofu, and you should stop the loss a little bit."

"In this way, this year, even if you make a profit without saying anything, you will not lose much; the money you get from selling grain in the Shaofu can also help you find a good career and continue to do business..."

When Qian Busu said this 'worst strategy' with a sarcasm on his face, no sign of approval appeared on the faces of the crowd as expected.

Seeing this, Qian Buyi pondered for a moment, then put a smile on his face.

"Middle policy, you can send your servants and servants to hide rice grains in remote mountains and remote fields for later use."

"——This time, the crown prince cut off our grain merchant Mijia's way of life with the force of the government order. However, when it comes to the autumn harvest, there will be no such grain merchant Mijia in Guanzhong. Who can buy the harvest from the head of Guizhou and store it in the warehouse? "

"The crown prince has acted like this, but the child has suddenly gained power, and he has acted indiscriminately!"

Having said that, he sat Qian Buyi back in his seat leisurely, and immediately smiled easily.

"I don't want to hide it from you, in the past few days, I have been able to believe that His Majesty has sent an angel back to Chang'an to pass on the decree issued by the crown prince!"

"It's another year, and Chang'an has a lot of discussions about things. It is said that His Majesty thinks that the prince is not like himself, and wants to be easy to be crowned and established as the King of Zhao."

"This time, Your Majesty sent an angel back again, but he couldn't bear to see the prince's misbehavior, so he sent an angel back with an edict to reprimand the prince!"

"It's even more unbearable, and it's unknown to use the angel to bring the emperor's edict to abolish and establish things!"

"If this is the case, you only need to sit quietly for a few days; when the angel arrives, the rice and grain you have hidden in the mountains will be reproduced and sold with names."

Hearing Qian Buyi's words, the first reassuring smile in the past ten days finally appeared on everyone's faces.

"As it is!"

"The crown prince is doing something wrong, can your majesty just sit back and watch?"

"It must be to send the emperor to reprimand the prince, and to abolish the orders of the prince!!!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as everyone started talking happily, the old man frowned worriedly.

After several struggles, the old man finally tactfully bowed his hand to Qian Buyi, and after a while he probed and said: "This strategy can be called complete."

"However, Mr. Qian just said, this is just a middle policy?"

"Could it be that apart from such a perfect strategy, Mr. Qian has another excellent strategy to deal with this matter?"

(End of this chapter)