Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

In fact, when Zhu Jing'an just regained Jiangnan, he had already ordered the establishment of the Price Administration Bureau.

And in Jiangnan, they tried to use the imperial court's administrative means to control prices in Jiangnan.

It's a pity that the Ming court's main energy at that time was always on fighting the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, although the Price Administration Bureau was established, it has never been taken seriously. Until now, it is just an empty shelf without much function.

No one takes him seriously!
But now, since the Ming Dynasty has regained the capital and completed the unification war, it will focus on internal affairs.

Naturally, the functions of the Price Administration Bureau must be implemented.

When Zhu Jianzhuo heard this, he couldn't help but asked with some doubts.

"If the imperial court begins to control and manage prices, will it cause dissatisfaction among the people below?"

The Ming Dynasty could be as prosperous as it is today because of the great efforts of those merchants and gentry, and they all have considerable influence in the court.

Therefore, Zhu Jianzhuo was somewhat afraid of him.

Zhu Jing'an heard this, nodded and gave an accurate answer.

"There will definitely be dissatisfaction, but no matter how dissatisfied those businessmen are, the court cannot sit back and watch the price of food and other materials related to people's livelihood rise disorderly."

"At all times, people's livelihood must always come first."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Jing'an said something profound again.

"During the Jiashen year, the people who destroyed the Ming Dynasty were not merchants who were dissatisfied with the imperial court, but a group of peasants who had insufficient food to eat."

"Since ancient times, I have never heard of any dynasty or generation that died at the hands of merchants."

"Except for the two Song dynasties, which were destroyed by foreign invasions, all other dynasties were destroyed by peasant uprisings!"

Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was not the Manchus who destroyed the Ming Dynasty, but Li Zicheng's army.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty was actually able to enter the country after the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

Water can carry a boat and it can capsize it, that's all.

Zhu Jianzhuo heard this, nodded in approval, and then spoke.

"Jing'an, don't worry, father understands."

"Then the cabinet was asked to formulate measures to stabilize food prices..."

Seeing this, Zhu Jianzhuo couldn't help but speak.

“We still have to build the railway!”

Although the Ming Dynasty has only built the railway line connecting the capital and Tianjin.

However, the transportation capacity and convenience of railways have been initially revealed.

After the grain shipped by sea was unloaded in Tianjin, it was loaded onto a train. In most of a day, grain worth tens of thousands of dan could be transported from Tianjin to the capital.

This efficiency is really amazing!

If all the state capitals in the world could be connected by railways, then for the imperial court, if there was a local rebellion, the anti-rebellion army would really arrive at dawn and dusk.

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, he also spoke.

“The day when the railway network connecting the whole country is built, that’s when the Ming Dynasty will truly take off.”

……

Capital, Zhou family grain store!
There was a long queue at the door of the grain store. People wearing coarse linen and linen clothes stood at the door of the grain store, with anxiety visible to the naked eye on their faces.

Xiang He got up before dawn and queued up outside the grain store. He has been queuing until almost noon, and there is still a dark mass of heads in front of him.

Rubbing his stomach that kept swelling with sour water, Xianghe's face was full of sorrow.

If he can't buy food today, his family will really run out of food.

He could still bear it, but the women and children at home were already howling with hunger.

But at this moment, there was a burst of noise and noise from the front.

"Hurry up, why are you so slow!"

"That's right, I've been queuing all morning, but I haven't bought any food yet."

"Shopkeeper Zhou, we are all neighbors, so you should put more grain out and sell it!"

"..."

The people queuing up shouted towards the grain store.

Before he finished speaking, a clerk in his early twenties walked out of Zhou's Grain Store. He glanced disdainfully at the people queuing up, took out a piece of paper with writing on it, and slapped it on the price tag. superior.

The price on the price board changed from 390 yen per dou of white rice to 400 yen per dou of white rice.

The price of white flour also changed from 370 qian per bucket to 375 qian.

Seeing this scene, the crowd that had been waiting impatiently immediately exploded.

"What do you mean? Why did the price increase again?"

"That's right, the price has been raised twice today, right? In the morning, the price of white rice was 380 yuan per bushel, and in the middle of the morning it rose to 390 yuan. When did it happen? Why did it rise to 400 yuan? "

"Shopkeeper Zhou, come out and let's have a chat. They all belong to the neighbors. Is your price increase too much?"

Xianghe stood in the crowd and joined in the noise with the angry crowd, hoping to put pressure on the grain shop owner to lower the price.

However, when the waiter heard this, he said it in a very arrogant tone.

"What are you arguing about? What are you arguing about?"

"The water transportation has been cut off by the rebels. Now the entire capital is short of food. Since there is a food shortage, how normal is it for food prices to rise? Do you want to buy it or not? If not, you will go hungry."

When everyone who was originally angry heard this, the expressions on their faces were obviously stagnant.

Gradually, everyone fell silent, not daring to say anything more.

When the boy saw this, he snorted disdainfully and returned to the grain store.

In today's capital, the one who has food is the uncle!

Seeing this, Xianghe could only continue to line up.

This time he didn't have to wait long before it was his turn.

"I want three measures of new rice."

After saying this, Xianghe handed the money to the boy in charge of weighing the grain, and he was ready to receive the rice.

But when he saw what the boy was putting into the grain bag, his expression changed.

He grabbed the guy by the collar and roared.

"What do you mean? Why are you loading me with old rice? This rice looks a little black, is it still edible?" "The price I gave you is obviously the price of new rice!!"

When the guy heard this, he slapped Xiang He's hand away and said very arrogantly.

"New rice has been sold out for a long time, and only old rice is left."

"Do you want love!"

Xianghe's face turned red when he heard this. He grabbed his money and rice bag and spoke.

"I won't buy it. I won't buy it. These old rice are not for people to eat."

When the waiter heard this, he said with disdain.

"Whether you want to buy it or not, if you don't buy it, others will buy it. Go hungry!"

Xianghe angrily pushed past the people queuing up and left Zhou's grain store.

But he had just taken a few steps when his stomach rumbled again.

The moment his stomach rumbled, Xiang He paused. He couldn't help but think of the mother-in-law doll at home.

Gritting his teeth, Xianghe prepared to put his face in his pocket and buy the rice home.

Let the old rice be the old rice. It is better to eat old rice than to starve to death.

But as soon as he reached the door of the grain store, he was stopped by the boy who had just weighed the rice for him.

The guy scoffed.

"Don't you want rice? Aren't you still very strong just now? Why are you back again?"

Hearing this, Xiang He's old face felt hot, but he still gritted his teeth and said.

"Yes, I want it."

"I'm sorry, brother, I was impulsive just now, I apologize to you..."

After hearing this, the waiter nodded with satisfaction, but still spoke.

"That's pretty much it."

"Go back and line up again."

Xianghe opened his mouth and said.

"But I just came out of the grain store?"

The guy crossed his arms.

"Then I don't care, you either go to line up or leave now."

Seeing this, Xiang He could only grit his teeth and prepare to queue up again...

……

On the second floor of the grain shop, Zhou Kang, who was wearing brocade and had a plump figure, was sitting on a grand master's chair, listening to the reports from his accounting office.

"Shopkeeper, this time the water transportation is cut off and the capital is short of food, we have made a lot of money."

"You little man, if you do the math, the grain store has made at least seven or eight hundred silver dollars during this period."

When Zhou Kang heard this, he showed his big yellow teeth and said.

"In the past month, grain prices have nearly tripled, but old rice can still be sold as new rice, and there is still a price but no market. It must be profitable."

"I hope the water transportation incident can become a bigger issue. The bigger the incident there, the longer the water transportation will be cut off, and we can make more money."

Suddenly seeming to remember something, Zhou Kang asked.

"By the way, Lao Liu, I remember that there is still a batch of old rice from three or four years ago in the granary that has not been disposed of?"

Liu Min nodded after hearing this.

"Yes, shopkeeper, you remembered correctly."

"That batch of old rice has been stored for several years. I didn't even feed the chickens, so I just left it there."

"Shopkeeper, why do you suddenly think of this batch of old rice?"

Zhou Kang chuckled and said.

"That batch of old rice is just sitting there. Mix it up and sell it. At worst, the price will be lowered."

Liu Min said hesitantly after hearing this.

"But the shopkeeper, that batch of old rice is like that, maybe it will eat people to death, right?"

Compared with Zhou Kang, the shopkeeper, Liu Min, the accountant, is more or less conscientious.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that even if Zhou Kang makes money, he will not give him a share.

Otherwise, the bottom line between the two is not necessarily lower than the other.

Hearing this, Zhou Kang rolled his eyes at Liu Min and then spoke.

"Didn't I tell you? Let you mix it up and sell it."

"It's fine if you mix it with less, it won't kill you."

Seeing that Liu Min still wanted to regain his power, Zhou Kang's eyes widened and he spoke.

"Stop talking nonsense and do it."

Seeing this, Liu Min could only respond and prepare to do things.

At this moment, a waiter ran up from downstairs. The waiter held a newspaper in his hand, jogged all the way to Zhou Kang, and opened his mouth to report the report.

"Shop...Shopkeeper, something is wrong, something serious is going to happen!"

"Read this newspaper quickly. The imperial court has issued a statement in the newspaper, requesting grain merchants inside and outside the capital not to increase prices at will."

When Zhou Kang heard this, the expression on his face suddenly changed.

He grabbed the copy of "Da Ming Daily" from the clerk's hand and started to read it.

Soon, the expression on his face dropped, as ugly as if his parents had died.

Because, in this Daming Daily, the imperial court published an official document in a very formal format.

[As of today, the Price Administration Bureau begins to perform its functions. 】

[Grain merchants inside and outside the capital should not drive up grain prices at will and disrupt the market. They must cooperate with the imperial court to stabilize grain prices in the capital to protect the people's livelihood in the capital. 】

【No credit will be given if you violate the rules and be severely punished! 】(End of this chapter)