Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The first meeting of the trip broke up unhappy.

In this current situation, the leaders in Tokyo cannot connect at all because they do not trust each other.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, all the leaders in Kaifeng City were related to the powerful officials in the court, and most of them were spokespersons of the royal family.

The reason why the royal family members did not end up personally was because the brothers Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi severely punished the powerful for disrupting the market. Later, a routine gradually formed, that is, each cultivated white gloves. They were able to reap benefits and the court also saved face.

Only if things get too big will the court take action to punish them.

For example, the coal industry caused public dissatisfaction in Tokyo, and even a large number of people froze to death in winter, followed by coal-grabbing stampedes.

The imperial court couldn't stand it anymore, so it simply flipped the table and the government became the largest wholesaler and retailer. As a result, the market became monopolized by the government, which manipulated coal prices to the detriment of the people. The private market was opened up due to pressure from public opinion.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the first people to be punished were the dignitaries of the previous dynasty, and then they forcibly split up and relocated prominent families.

Leaders from all walks of life in Tokyo lost their support in an instant, and some people were even implicated in having their homes ransacked.

After the first year of material control ended, big businessmen began to join the new powerful. Subconsciously, I followed the old method and wanted to cooperate with the royal family, clan members and relatives.

Unfortunately, except for Zhu Guoxiang, Zhu Ming and his son, all the royal family members of the Ming Dynasty were underage.

Bai Qi barely counted as one, but he was never in the capital.

And what about the relatives?

The Zhu family's father and son were extremely strict and had no way to deal with it. They even did not allow relatives to live in the capital!

Important ministers at the level of cabinet ministers and ministers generally do not have contact with the head of the line.

Because - I lost my status.

At most, the subordinates of important officials make money and then honor the important officials in the name of giving gifts.

Therefore, the big businessmen in various industries in Tokyo attract the descendants of powerful people, as well as the middle and lower-level officials of the six ministries.

In last year's major case, a bunch of officials were investigated and punished in the Sixth Department, and even the descendants of powerful people suffered. The big businessmen once again lost their backers.

When people are in panic, how can these big businessmen dare to join forces to cause trouble again?

…

Li Dunyi went home in a luxurious carriage and went straight to see his old father.

"How?" Li Mao asked his son.

Li Dunyi replied: "I'm scared out of my wits, what else can happen?"

Li Mao nodded and said: "It's okay to take your time, but you can't go against the prince. My Li family can continue to be rich for two hundred years by obeying the court."

Putting aside the royal family, relatives and dignitaries of aristocratic families, just talking about the businessmen inside and outside Tokyo, Li is definitely the richest man in Tokyo!

When they were doing business in Kaifeng, even Zhao Kuangyin had not yet worn the yellow robe.

During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the northwest border was in a critical situation and the imperial government had insufficient finances, so it borrowed money from wealthy businessmen in Tokyo.

The Li family alone borrowed more than 200,000 yuan. Afterwards, the court simply refused to repay the debt and only granted officials to a few members of the Li family to pay off the debt. Moreover, they are all junior officials in the capital who are in the eighth or ninth grade. They have no real power at all, and they cannot be promoted if they continue to spend money (similar to the official positions that Qian Chen bought with donations).

This matter was written down in the history books, without even mentioning his real name, only "Li's merchant", "Li's wealthy merchant in Beijing" and so on.

Because they don't deserve it!

The Li family also hired famous teachers to educate their children on the official career path. But the children and grandchildren grew up in a honeypot, and few were willing to study hard. In the past 100 years, only two Jinshi have been produced.

Logically speaking, as the richest man among the merchants in the capital, and with a serious Jinshi in his family, he should be promoted steadily by using money to pave the way.

The actual situation is exactly the opposite. The family of relatives who the Li family relied on deliberately suppressed the Li family's son from being promoted smoothly.

The Li family has changed from merchants to gentry, so how can I control it in the future?

You should continue to do business honestly!

Not only did the rich and powerful suck blood from the Li family, but the imperial court often asked for money, and every time they appointed minor officials to pay off debts.

It's not easy to be the richest man in Beijing.

When the Ming Dynasty investigated and dealt with the dignitaries of the previous dynasty, the Li family immediately sold out their backers. When supplies were scarce in the capital, he donated cloth to the court, which was used to make clothes for soldiers.

Even in last year's major case, the Li family was able to escape calmly and was only fined 200,000 yuan.

"Grandfather, father!"

Li Wenzhong walked in with cupped hands and bowed to the two elders.

Li Mao instantly put on a friendly smile, waved to his eldest grandson and said, "Come here, Sir. How did you do with your homework today?"

Li Wenzhong walked to his grandfather: "It's not bad."

Li Mao took his grandson's hand: "Although you failed last year, you can still retain the title of Juren twice. Even if you fail the exam two more times, you have to take the exam again, and you have to be admitted to the Jinshi. If you don't have a Jinshi in your family, even if you don't Even the richest person in the world is being bullied, and his family fortune of millions is nothing more than passing smoke."

Li Wenzhong said: "The Ming Dynasty is not like the former Song Dynasty. As long as you abide by the law and do business, you will not be exploited. I heard that the court issued bonds many times. The first two batches of war bonds issued in Sichuan have now been repaid to the merchants with interest. "

"What do you know?"

Li Dunyi said disdainfully: "When the dynasty was first established, it was natural to keep its word. In the previous dynasty, Emperor Taizong and Taizu punished the powerful businessmen. After one or two generations of emperors, the court will not be so disciplined. While the court still keeps its promises, I, Li Dunyi, will The family should take the imperial examination and become an official, and quickly transform from a family of merchants to a noble family of gentry! Don't worry about the business at home, concentrate on studying hard."

Li Wenzhong could only say: "My child has studied mathematics, physics, astronomy, and geography very deeply, and it is more than enough to take the imperial examination. Even the chemistry proposed by the officials last year, my child is also studying seriously, and often invites Tai students to discuss it." It’s just those Confucian scriptures that still need to be studied diligently.”

"Next year you will take the Taixue exam," Li Dunyi said. "I have already inquired about it. Next year's Taixue exam will focus more on miscellaneous subjects than before. Since you are proficient in those miscellaneous subjects, you must be very confident about getting into Taixue." Alas, if I had known that the government was going to promote chemistry, you should have reported to the agricultural students after you failed last year and took the opportunity to study in Taipei University with chemistry."

The three generations, grandfather, father and grandson, chatted for a long time around the imperial examination and seemed not to care about business at all.

Suddenly, Li Wenzhong asked: "I heard that the imperial court established an exchange, which had a great impact on the big businessmen in Tokyo."

"Don't worry about this, it's important to have a good time and study!" Li Dunyi said.

Li Mao also said: "My Li family has been able to do business in Kaifeng for two hundred years and has survived the changes of the Song and Ming dynasties because we know how to assess the situation. We did not stand up to oppose the reform of Wang Xianggong in the previous dynasty. When the old party launched an attack, we followed the trend. And for. It's the same now, whatever the prince wants to do, we follow the prince. It's just an exchange, anyone can buy goods. With the financial resources of the Li family, we can still make money, but not as much as before."

But Li Wenzhong said: "In fact, there are loopholes that can be exploited, but you have to master a certain degree and don't make the prince anxious."

Li Mao looked at his grandson with interest: "Tell me about it."

Li Wenzhong said: "Winter is coming soon, and the prices of coal and cloth are bound to rise. Coal cannot be controlled. The coal dealers in Tokyo are privately involved. Once private parties manipulate coal prices, the official banks will immediately take action. After all, the coal dealers in the former Song Dynasty did so. There was a big chaos, and the court has been paying great attention to it since then. But our propaganda is different, people are not killed so easily, and the court is more tolerant."

"After the weather gets colder, you can scan for goods at the exchange. You can even raise the price directly to buy the goods before merchants enter the exchange."

"With the exchange, it is more convenient than before. Because the delivery order purchased on the exchange has a limited delivery period. As long as we take action, other big merchants in the cloth bank will follow suit, and it will be ready within a day or two. Mark up the price of cloth."

"Once the price of cloth rises, the small and medium-sized merchants who have already bought the goods will not pick up the goods in order to make a profit. Instead, they will rush to sell the goods before the pick-up period, which means they can make a fortune without doing anything. .”

"In this way, small and medium-sized merchants are also controlled by us, and all large, medium and small cloth merchants in the entire capital join forces to speculate on cloth."

"The government's response was lagging behind. They did not dare to do it easily because Four Hundred Miles urgently transferred goods. Because Four Hundred Miles urgently involves the Ministry of War, it will eventually be reported to the Ministry of War and the Cabinet, and if it goes wrong, they will be held accountable. Transaction The officials of the office will definitely summon the big merchants from the cloth shop to talk first."

"We just follow the officials' instructions, give them enough face, and allow them to achieve the political achievement of stabilizing cloth prices."

"At this time, the price of cloth has risen very high, and we can release a large number of goods. You know, we are the first to scan the goods, and we can buy a large amount of cloth at a low price. We can make a lot of money by lowering the price a little. And we have warehouses where the remaining cloth can be stored.”

"But those small and medium-sized businessmen who follow the trend and buy at high prices will definitely make money if they sell early, but they will lose money if they sell late. They may be raising money to speculate in goods, but suddenly the price of cloth drops, and the goods list also limits the delivery of goods. Period. If they don’t sell at a lower price, they have to pay warehouse fees. If they sell at a lower price, they have to lose money.”

"When the price of cloth continues to fall, countless small and medium-sized cloth merchants will rush to reduce the price. We sell a lot of cloth when the price is high, and when the price of cloth plummets, we can buy the goods back at a low price."

"Inside and out, I made money twice, and I also gave the government enough face!"

"And all these things will not affect people's livelihood too much. After we buy back the cloth at a low price, and then store it in the warehouse and ship it out little by little, the price of cloth will slowly rise back to the normal level. At this time, a large amount of cloth They are all stored in warehouses by several large merchants, and small and medium-sized merchants can only purchase goods from us."

"As long as the cloth price returns to normal, the exchange will not rush to adjust the goods."

"If some merchants learn that the price of cloth in Tokyo has soared, they will rush back to ship the goods. By the time they ship the cloth, the price will have been lowered. We can continue to lower the price and sell at a low price, so that those merchants can only sell at a loss. , we will take the opportunity to buy new products from merchants at extremely low prices.”

"Of course, it's best not to lower the price too hard at this time, otherwise the exchange will become a decoration, which is tantamount to offending the prince to death."

"Therefore, it is okay to make money several times, but it cannot completely collapse the market. It is best to let the merchants make a little profit with the newly shipped cloth, and no matter how hard they are, they cannot lose money. If they lose money, the exchange will It's over, the prince will definitely use the knife if he gets angry."

Li Mao and Li Dunyi looked at each other with indescribable shock in their eyes.

Li Mao was overjoyed. He grabbed Li Wenzhong's hand and said, "My grandson is really a business genius!"