Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 508 Bai Mo, You Are Still Young

Within a few days, the autograph letters of Han Wang Han Xin and Zhao Wang Zhang Ao were sent to Weiyang Palace in Xianyang in an expedited [-] miles. Han Wang Liu Heng did not dare to neglect, and quickly sent Yulin Guards to summon Bai Mo and Chen Ping into the palace.

After circulating the letters of King Han and King Zhao, Bai Mo was silent, but Chen Ping said: "I really didn't expect that these two mere merchants actually have the skills to bring King Han and King Zhao here as reinforcements, hum. "

Through this year's training, coupled with the accumulation he had accumulated when he was the prince, Liu Heng, the king of the Han Dynasty, has gradually gained his own opinions on handling government affairs. He said to Bai Mo and Chen Ping: "Father Xiang, grand master, the two merchants are not worth mentioning, but Now that it has attracted the attention of King Han and King Zhao, it is a major issue between countries and should not be ignored."

Bai Mo bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please don't worry, the subject and Grand Master will handle this matter well."

After Bai Mo made his statement, Liu Heng didn't say anything more, and immediately got up and left after telling the two of them a few words.

Bai Mo and Chen Ping went out of the palace together, and Chen Ping said as he walked: "Prime Minister, since King Han and King Zhao have already participated, I'm afraid we won't be able to procrastinate any longer. Do you want to talk to them again?"

"That's for sure, maybe we have to make some concessions." Bai Mo sighed, and said, "However, Feng Ji and Guan Zhong should have received urgent letters from King Han and King Zhao, and they probably won't be like before. Asking prices like that, but this result, I am afraid it will not be what we want, it can only be a compromise situation."

"We have worked hard for several months, but in the end these two guys got a big deal. It is indeed infuriating." Chen Ping snorted, and said, "But having said that, as long as the 80 shi borrowed food can be returned , and then return 50 shi to the warehouse, it doesn't matter, anyway, the treasury can still have a slight surplus, so it won't be a waste of work."

Bai Mo's bottom line is 150 million renminbi and 150 million shi, but the other party asks for 150 million renminbi and 330 million shi, so if the two parties make a compromise, the final result is likely to be [-] million renminbi and [-] million shi, with an average price of [-] renminbi. , compared to the average price of [-] yuan per stone sold by white ink, it can only be regarded as a slight surplus.

On the other hand, the other party didn’t do anything, just took 30 shi of grain for a circle, and took away a whole 100 million shi of grain from Guanzhong without spending a penny, oh no, not only did they not spend a big money , and even got [-] million yuan from Guanzhong for free. Such a huge bargain is simply blatant robbery.

As expected by Bai Mo, Feng Ji and Guan Zhong did receive an urgent letter from the country, so this time, the process of the negotiation went smoothly, the two sides didn't even make a test, they went straight to the middle, and Han Guo After paying 150 million yuan, the agreement to buy [-] million shi of grain was quickly signed.

Originally, Bai Mo only wanted to sign a verbal agreement, but under the insistence of Feng Ji and Guan Zhong, he finally signed a written agreement and put it in charge. The turmoil that dragged on for nearly half a month finally resolved into nothing, but Bai Mo did not Knowing that he finally climbed out of this pit, but immediately fell into another deeper trap.

Looking at the gradually receding figures of Bai Mo and Chen Ping, Feng Ji and Guan Zhong smiled sinisterly.

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The next day, Xianyang Taicang Ling ran to Bai Mo and complained, saying that the two major grain merchants refused to accept gold and only agreed to pay for grain with five baht. They are all gold. According to the current exchange rate of one tael of gold to three thousand renminbi in Chu State, a total of 16 taels of gold was paid to Xianyang Taicang.

"What did you say?" Bai Mo asked in amazement, "The two major grain merchants refused to accept gold?"

The Taicang order nodded, and said with a bitter face: "They said that the direct circulation of gold in Guanzhong is forbidden by the king's edict, so they can't violate the edict of the king, so they can't accept gold."

"What's this called?" Chen Ping, who was discussing with Bai Mo in the prime minister's mansion, said angrily, "The king's edict is only aimed at merchants in Guanzhong. They are Han Xin and Zhao Shang. Why don't they accept gold?"

However, Bai Mo clearly smelled the smell of conspiracy, so he fell silent at the moment.

"But we can't accuse them of being wrong, can we? Anyway, they are only obeying the king's edict, and we can't care too much about it." Taicang Ling shook his head with a wry smile, then turned his head and said to Bai Mo, "Prime Minister, why don't you step down from office?" Or return all the gold back to the treasury, and then withdraw [-] baht from the treasury?"

"Aren't you talking nonsense?" Chen Ping said angrily, "Where did the treasury get so many five baht?"

Taicang Ling was taken aback when he heard the words, and said in puzzlement, "Didn't the prime minister get a hundred million yuan from selling grain before?"

Chen Ping pointed to the Taicang order, and said with a wry smile: "It is true that the prime minister earned one hundred million yuan from selling grain, but more than half of it was gold. The five baht money is less than [-] million yuan, plus the treasury The original five baht in Li was only thirty million yuan, how can we get the fifty million yuan?"

Taicang Ling said with a sullen face: "Taishi, what should I do?"

Seeing Bai Mo groaning silently, Chen Ping said: "Well, the old man will follow you to Sanjiangkou."

Taicang Ling sat up on his knees, bowed his hands and thanked him, and said, "In that case, Grand Master Lao will come."

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Sima Jixing hurried into the study and said to Sima Zhong: "Second brother, something happened, something happened!"

Sima Zhong put down the scroll and said confusedly: "Third brother, what happened in Guanzhong that made you so excited?"

Sima Ji flicked his sleeves, knelt down opposite Sima Zhong, and said with a big laugh, "I just got the news that the two major grain merchants, Feng and Guan, refused to accept gold, so they obeyed the edict of the King of Han, hahaha."

Sima Zhong frowned, with a somewhat displeased expression on his face, and said, "What's there to be happy about?"

Sima Ji didn't take it seriously, and said: "Second brother, didn't you find something out of it? To tell you the truth, Bai Mo is in big trouble now, hey, as long as I think of Bai Mo's deflated appearance, my little brother can't help being happy ,Ha ha."

"Bai Mo is in big trouble?" Sima Zhong was puzzled, "The two major grain merchants refused gold, what trouble does he have?"

Seeing that Sima Zhong still didn't know what to say, Sima Ji had no choice but to explain patiently: "Second brother, think about it, the two major grain merchants Feng and Guan only agreed to trade with five baht, but there is not so much five baht in the treasury of the Han Dynasty, what happened in the end?" What to do? Bai Mo or Chen Ping will definitely come forward to negotiate with the two major grain merchants, and agree to pay in gold at a par price."

Sima Zhong nodded and shook his head again, and said, "It doesn't seem to be a problem?"

"No problem?" Sima Ji smiled, "Second brother, there is a serious problem in the middle!"

Sima Zhong really didn't have much talent in business, so he said urgently: "Sir, don't be fooled."

Sima Ji smiled, and then said: "If Bai Mo or Chen Ping come forward, Feng and Guan will definitely give in in the end and agree that the Han Kingdom will use gold to buy grain, but the exchange rate between this gold and five baht coins may not be the same. That is, one tael of gold is exchanged for four thousand yuan, which is common in all countries, second brother, tell me, what price will Feng and Guan give Bai Mo?"

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"What did you say?!" Chen Ping couldn't believe his ears, he stared at Feng Ji, and his cold voice almost burst out from between his teeth, "One tael of gold is exchanged for one thousand renminbi?!"

If the price is exchanged according to this ratio, the 15 taels of gold that Bai Mo earned from selling grain can only be exchanged for 5000 million yuan, plus the 15 million yuan received directly, it is only [-] million yuan, which is far from [-] million yuan. It’s still a bit short of the boss. If you want to fill it in, you have to take out [-] taels of gold from the treasury, and you have to empty the treasury?

Feng Ji was unmoved, and said flatly: "Master, this price comparison is already very fair."

Guan Zhong also echoed: "That's right, Grand Master, recently Chu has implemented predatory trade strategies against other countries, and the outflow of gold is very large, and the price compared with five baht coins has dropped greatly. Of course, Chu's domestic The price comparison is fairly stable, if the Grand Master has a way to transport this batch of gold to Chu State, it must be able to exchange for a good price."

"Mr. Feng, what's your name?" Chen Ping was furious when he heard the words.

If Chen Ping really had a way to smuggle gold into Chu State, why would he need to talk nonsense with Feng and Guan here?
Feng Ji spread his hands, and said with a wry smile: "If the grand master can't smuggle gold into Chu, then we have nothing to do, so we can only give this exchange price, please forgive me."

"You guys are robbing!" Chen Ping said angrily, "This Grand Master will never agree."

It is a fact that Chu State implemented predatory trade strategies against other countries, and it is also a fact that the price of gold to five baht in various countries has been falling. It fell below [-] yuan, but Feng Ji suddenly offered a price ratio of one tael of gold to one thousand yuan, which was indeed too cruel.

"Teacher, why don't you speak so harshly? We didn't mean to force you, and we don't have the ability. If the grand master thinks that we are unreasonable, he is really unwilling to accept this exchange price, so he can ignore it completely. As long as you trade with five baht, we will still abide by the previously agreed price, heh."

Feng Ji spoke nicely, but he was sneering in his heart: I'm just trying to steal, so what can you do to me?As long as you can't come up with enough five baht, you deserve to be robbed by me, hum, Bai Mo, you're still young!

"It's unreasonable, it's unreasonable!" Chen Ping jumped up and left in a huff.

Feng Ji and Guan Zhong stood up smiling, and bowed to Chen Ping's back: "Teacher, go slowly, I won't see you off."

It wasn't until Chen Ping's figure was gone that Guan Zhong said worriedly: "Brother Feng, is it too much for us to ask for such a harsh price? If the monarch and ministers of the Han Dynasty become angry from embarrassment, then the gain will outweigh the loss."

"When doing business, you always have to ask for a price, don't you sit on the ground and bargain? One tael of gold to one thousand renminbi is just our asking price, not the final price. If Bai Mo and Chen Ping are not satisfied, they can continue to negotiate, but they sell We have to spit out all the profits from the food we eat." Feng Ji said flatly.

(End of this chapter)