Please ask me to be the emperor

The reason why rumors spread so widely is because believers are willing to believe them. The ban imposed by Lu Xiangsheng, Hong Chengchou and others not only failed to achieve the desired effect, but instead strengthened the rumor that "Luoyang is short of food, ten times more than usual".

Later Karl Marx once said in "Das Kapital": If there is 50% profit, it will take desperate risks; for 100% profit, it will dare to trample on all human laws; if there are 300% profit, it will take risks. For profit, it dares to commit any crime, even risking hanging.

Although the businessmen of the Ming Dynasty have not yet evolved into capitalists, this does not prevent them from strictly demanding themselves according to capitalist standards.

These people are like flies that smell bad smells and move when they smell benefits. In addition to many who were originally grain merchants, there were also Lianghuai salt merchants and Hedong salt merchants who temporarily changed their businesses and also participated in the grain trade.

When a large amount of grain and grass arrived in Luoyang via water and land transportation, the price of grain in Luoyang naturally began to plummet.

Zuo Lengchan and Zhang Shenyan, the old mountain chiefs, couldn't help but said with joy: "Nowadays, the price of grain is less than eight cents of silver per stone, which has never been heard of since ancient times. The rebel army is gathering grain at the right time. Please send the taels of silver to the treasury as soon as possible and buy it as soon as possible."

"I wonder what price you two think is good for buying grain?" Zhang Shun frowned when he heard this and couldn't help asking.

The old mountain leader only said that Zhang Shunyu thought the price was high, and quickly explained: "It is not cost-effective to buy it at the market price of eight yuan now. If we wait for more than ten people and the world's food and grass are exhausted, I am afraid the price will drop to six yuan." No more than seven cents.”

"It's just that time is running out now. If it's any later, I'm afraid there will be other grains that have already heard about the grain prices in Luoyang and no more grains will be sent to me. By then, we will be able to buy some grains at low prices in time, and we will not be able to fill up the granaries in the city. Full."

Zhang Shun shook his head when he heard this and said with a smile: "I won't take advantage of others' danger! The cost of buying food for others is about one tael of silver and one stone. Plus the transportation, one tael of silver can be used to protect capital and even make a slight profit."

"Now our rebel army has no shortage of money. Since they are sincerely sending food to me, how can we let the visitors suffer?"

When the old mountain chief Zuo Lengchan heard this, he almost got angry with Zhang Shun. I have spent so much effort and advice on your feelings, but am I being a villain in vain?

Zhang Shun also knew that this was not the time to belittle his own people or elevate himself. He quickly raised his hand to the old mountain leader Zuo Lengchan and said with a smile: "This matter is really difficult for Mr. Zuo. People say 'long-term business'. I have been thinking about it these past few days and we can't do a one-time deal." .”

"Now there are more than 26,000 soldiers under our rebel army. These people eat horse chews, and they are afraid that they will not be able to survive without a hundred thousand shi of food a year. If I wait for the small profits in front of me, be greedy for cheap, buy One hundred and eighty thousand dan of grain is worth nothing."

"I think we have a lot of silver in our treasury, and we have accumulated 27.8 million taels of silver. What I said before is true and sincere. Although this gold and silver are good, we can't take them with us in life, and we can't take them with us in death. I can't eat when I'm hungry, and I can't drink when I'm thirsty. Why not take this opportunity to exchange for millions of stones of food to feed our people and soldiers?"

Laoshan Chief Zuo Lengchan, former Nanjing Ministry of War Minister Lu Weiqi and Zhang Shenyan were all shocked by Zhang Shun.

Especially Lu Weiqi, who originally worked in Nanjing and had heard a little bit about the amount of grain transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital every year. He couldn't help but subconsciously asked: "Does your lord know how much grain has been transported to the capital every year since the Grand Canal was dug? "

How could Zhang Shun know this? He casually thought of a number and asked, "Isn't it tens of millions of stones?"

Lu Weiqi slapped his thigh and said with a helpless smile: "My general, how can there be so many? The cannons are connected from end to end, working day and night, and they only cost more than four million dan per year."

"You ask for a million dan just to ask for it. I'm afraid the grain merchants around here have hired a million helpers and they can't even finish it!"

It turns out that in this era, not only was the production capacity low, but the transportation methods were also extremely backward. For example, the peace cart used by Zhang Shun to transport grain could only carry more than ten stones. The 400-ton shallow boats that are common in inland river transportation can only carry 400 shi per boat.

If Zhang Shun's idea of ​​purchasing millions of shi of grain was followed, it would probably take 100,000 flat cars or 2,500 shallow boats to complete.

In addition to transportation, loading and unloading is even more troublesome. A strong man can only carry one stone of grain at most at one time. If he carries it one or two hundred times a day, he will lose his strength.

In addition, one loading and one unloading require manpower at both ends. It takes more than 10,000 people before and after to complete the loading and unloading work.

Lu Weiqi talked earnestly for a long time, but Zhang Shun's eyes lit up. He couldn't help but smile and said: "Since Mr. Lu is confident, how about I take charge of this matter?"

How can Lu Weiqi be willing to obey? He hurriedly waved his hand and refused: "My subordinates are still responsible for supervising lawlessness, and the communication with the village has not yet been completed. How can I have free time to do this?"

This is not because Lu Weiqi is self-effacing. His family originally came from a scholarly family. Lu Weiqi also learned a lot about economics, but only talked about farming and other matters. Confucius' saying, "If the four bodies are not diligent, the five grains cannot be separated," I am afraid he is referring to people like him.

Seeing that Lu Weiqi didn't respond, Zhang Shenyan was now responsible for preparing for disasters and rewarding farmland, and he was very busy for a while.

Zhang Shun looked at the old mountain leader with evil intentions and said with a smile: "I don't bother the two masters about anything. Since this plan comes from the old mountain leader, I would like to ask Mr. Zuo to bother me a little bit, okay?"

"No, no!" Zuo Lengchan quickly bowed his hand and said, "'Seventy years are rare in life'. I am over sixty this year, and I don't have many days to live. If I give King Shun a gift, It’s okay to think of a way, but if you have to work hard, I’m sorry that I can’t do anything!”

When Zhang Shun heard this, he realized the same thing. How could he ask an old man in his sixties to do all the work for him?

He didn't laugh and said: "Although I claim to buy millions of dan of grain, in fact it's just as much as I can buy. Why should the old man be afraid? In this case, I don't force it. I wonder if Mr. Zuo has anyone who can recommend him. I?"

Zuo Lengchan is an old man and has eaten more salt than Zhang Shun. He didn't smile and said: "Since King Shun has a question, I don't want to talk about it."

"This matter of purchasing grain is no different than other matters. There are grains that are full, dry and wet, and there are shelled and shelled grains. There are also differences between rice, millet, barley, wheat, corn, soybeans, and black beans. It is easy to find people and wait for them. Those who have been dealt with by profiteers must be held accountable."

"In my estimation, Li Baihu should have returned to Luoyang in the past two days. He has been engaged in this matter for many years, so he naturally does his part. It is best to leave this matter to him."

"There are also more than ten people including my disciple Huang Deqing who happen to be idle at home and can be Li Baihu's assistants. Although these ten people are not very capable, they can still cope with calculations and accounting."

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