The Great Han Dynasty: From Feng Lang Juxu to the Eternal Emperor

Chapter 151 Wei Ning’s Memorial

Wei Ning saw off Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, feeling a little warm in his heart.

Ever since his mother left, no elder has been so kind to him. He was lucky enough to meet Wei Qing and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Both of them hold high positions of power, but they both love and care for themselves.

No matter what, we need to think about Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. No matter how future generations evaluate him, at least Wei Ning thinks he is very good now.

The emperor is short of money... Is there anything I can do to help him increase tax revenue at the national level?

Wei Ning sat in the study and pondered, without any good ideas for a while.

……

In the past two days, the business of the post station has officially begun. During this period, Weining summoned Tian Zhong and Zhao Ce once.

He needs to first understand the economic situation in various places.

Weining rarely goes out, and his activities are limited to Lantian, Chang'an and Dingxiang.

He knows the price and economic levels of these three places and is familiar with them, but he doesn't know the other places.

Weining needs Tian Zhong and Zhao Ce to collect income, consumption, and prices of various commercial items in various regions and industries.

This would make it easier for him to intuitively understand the Han Dynasty. Scholar-officials never paid attention to these small things. What they paid attention to was how to realize the great governance of the dynasty and how to advise the monarch on benevolent governance.

These are all too false and empty for Weining.

Zhao Ce and Tian Zhong are both reliable and efficient, especially Tian Zhong, which makes Weining even more pleased.

It was a very correct decision to recruit Tian Zhong for his own use.

In less than five days, Tian Zhong had already given Weining a rough summary of the economic situation in various places.

In spring and February, the weather gets slightly warmer.

Wei Ning sat in the study room of the Hou Mansion and carefully looked at the local economic situation sent by Tian Zhong.

At first, he just wanted to simply understand the economic situation in various places, so that he could adjust the basic price of the station at any time.

But as he watched, Wei Ning's eyebrows suddenly frowned.

He found that prices in various places in Yue were very unbalanced. For example, vinegar in Chang'an only sold for five cents and three cents per dou, but in Xinzheng and other places, it sold for five cents and eight cents. The further you went to the north, the more exaggerated it was. In some areas, it even sold for Eight coins and nine cents.

Different regions have different sources of raw materials, so it’s understandable that prices vary, but the difference of 01:30 is no problem, it’s really a huge difference.

Chang'an is a fertile area, so the prices are cheap, but Xinzheng and other places are in Guanzhong and not too remote. Why are prices so high?

Wei Ning ordered people to summon Tian Zhong and asked Tian Zhong why.

Tian Zhong cheered and said to Wei Ning: "Master Wei Hou, at first I didn't know that the same thing would be so different in different places."

"You are so awesome. If you hadn't asked me to collect these, I wouldn't have even noticed them."

He is more or less a member of the lower class of elites, so he is naturally not so sensitive to prices.

It was only when Weining asked him to collect prices that he realized there was such a fishery involved.

"I checked the reason later, and it's simple to say. The level of local commodity prices is all determined by the merchants themselves."

"It depends on their mood."

Wei Ning's eyes widened and he looked at Tian Zhong in shock: "Huh?"

Tian Zhong nodded: "Yeah, that's it, you can't fake it."

Market regulation did not appear in the Han Dynasty, at least not yet.

At first, Weining believed that the price of goods was determined by factors such as the wealth and poverty of the place, the difficulty and cost of obtaining the goods, and so on.

He never expected that the price of goods in various places was actually based on the mood of the merchants.

This is ridiculous!
Weining nodded and asked Tian Zhong to leave first.Commerce in the Qin and Han dynasties had just started, and the rulers had not yet organized agriculture, let alone spent time on commerce.

It was not until the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the country began to pay attention to business and prepare to seize profits from businessmen when the country ran out of money.

But if this kind of barbaric robbery of businessmen's interests is not curbed, it will radiate to the people across the country and bring disaster to the people.

Wei Ning sat in the study and thought for a moment. He wrote a memorial seriously, and then said: "Send it to the palace and give it to the emperor."

"Here."

After everything was done, Weining took General Red out and wandered aimlessly around the city and suburbs of Chang'an.

He thought about it for a long time at home, but he couldn't think of any way to help Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty get some money at the national level, so he went out for a walk to sort out his thoughts.

……

Weiyang Palace.

In the afternoon, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty completed the memorial. After the paper was promoted throughout the country, the efficiency of national affairs also improved.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finished approving the memorial, he lay on the couch and took a nap.

After waking up, the eunuch cautiously said to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Zhenbei has sent you a memorial."

"Oh?"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very interested. This boy actually submitted a memorial?
He has never seen Wei Ning write a memorial to him.

I want to take a closer look at what this guy wrote.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened Wei Ning's memorial and read it carefully. His expression gradually became serious from the initial relaxed and comfortable look.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finished reading, he took a deep breath and said: "Go! Summon Sang Hongyang, Li Cai, and Zhuang Qingzhai over."

"Here."

Not long after, Sang Hongyang and the two Han prime ministers came to the main hall of Weiyang Palace respectfully.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty calmly handed the memorial in his hands to the three of them and said, "Let's take a good look at it and tell us what we think."

After Li Cai and Zhuang Qingzhai read it, their expressions changed slightly, and they handed the memorial to Sang Hongyang.

Sang Hongyang was a financial officer, and this memorial is about finance.

The content of the memorial is Weining's statement, which states that commercial prices in various places are unbalanced. The words in the middle of the memorial are particularly eye-catching.

"Suppose the price of vinegar in Xinzheng is ten cents, and that in Chang'an is five cents. The price of Xiangxiang rice is one hundred cents, and that in Guanzhong is fifty cents. What should we do?"

"Should the state regulate the market and maintain price levels in various places?"

We have never considered these things, nor have we heard from the officials below. The common people complain endlessly, but they have no say!

The people in the north are suffering, but the gentry are not. If the prices here are high, they will be higher. I spend money transporting goods from low-priced places in Chang'an to sell them here. I can make a lot of money, which is a good thing.

So who will inform the court about these things?They are a class with vested interests.

They didn't know, but Wei Ning knew. Wei Ning thought this matter was very important, so he wrote a memorial to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, hoping that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would take action to regulate the markets in various places.

Otherwise, it will still be the local people who suffer in the end.

When Sang Hongyang finished reading, cold sweat dripped from his forehead. He looked at Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carefully, only to find that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's face was a little dark.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said sarcastically: "Haha, the Marquis of Zhenbei has no court officials, but he is more nosy than high-ranking officials like you!"

It seems to be mocking Weining, but in fact it is mocking Sang Hongyang and the two prime ministers for their inaction.

"I, I, I, I... you know the crime." The three of them clasped their fists together.

(End of this chapter)