At this moment, everyone in the Prefect's Mansion finally understood Liang Xiao's tactics.
He is planning to kill all the rice merchants who have evacuated Yanzhou!
This group of rice merchants who maliciously created a grain shortage and forced the prefecture to raise rice prices will have to shed their skins even if they don't die.
"They transport grain back and forth and go to surrounding towns to stock up. The food consumed by the people transporting grain and the animals pulling the cart is also a big expense. Now that they are back in Yanzhou, and including the purchase price, the total cost must be It’s already more than eighty coins and one stone..." Qin Xun was amazed and asked, "Will this move affect Marquis Lanling’s reputation in the rice business world, so that no rice businessmen will dare to come here in the future?"
Liang Xiao just smiled but blurted out famous quotes from capitalists.
"If they don't do it, there are people who do it!"
"If nothing else happens, rice merchants from Youzhou and even around Youzhou will also come here after hearing the news and rush to sell rice. But I have found out the background of this group of rice merchants... All rice merchants involved in creating grain shortages will only No entry allowed, no exit allowed!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh and clapped their hands.
Rice merchants have been a hugely profitable industry since ancient times. You may not be able to do it without a certain background.
Most of the rice merchants in Yanyun Land are from big families.
Liang Xiao was the prefect of Yanzhou and had overall military and political power. He wanted to keep these rice merchants stuck in Yanzhou... and he had high-sounding reasons at his fingertips.
Qin Baili praised: "Not only are there people to do it, but rice merchants from other places are coming one after another after receiving the news. When there is more grain in Yanzhou, the price of grain will naturally fall. If it is not sold, it will rot in the warehouse. By then they will You will understand how stupid you were to do this in the first place!"
Liang Xiao smiled mysteriously: "You go and make announcements, and I'll go play with the landlords. They've been restless recently."
After saying this, under the admiration of everyone, Liang Xiao turned around and went to the courtyard to meet the landowners.
At this moment, hundreds of landowners, big and small, gathered in the courtyard, and everyone looked anxious.
They firmly believe that there will definitely be a food shortage in Yanzhou.
Because almost all the grain on the market was taken away by the rice merchants, Liang Xiao and Dongye Hongji, the two governors of Yanzhou, did not compromise at first.
Now that Liang Xiao has taken the initiative to raise the price, in their view, he only compromised because he couldn't hold on.
Their negotiation with Liang Xiao has been going on for many days.
The price of rice in Yanzhou has really skyrocketed. Those rice merchants who forced the prefecture to raise prices have succeeded!
Now they just want to sell their land and leave Yanzhou.
After all, when civil unrest breaks out, they, the landowners, are often the first to bear the brunt.
The land in their hands is already a hot potato and cannot be taken away!
Even if they are lucky enough to escape, when the people of Yanzhou are in dire straits, with no one to farm their land, how will this land be different from wasteland?
In the Yanzhou land market, more and more landlords are selling land.
Especially those big families are planning to resell all the farmland in Yanzhou.
Only the Higashino family left 300,000 acres of farmland unsold.
"Marquis Lanling! We are selling the land, all of it!"
These landowners are anxious and anxious, which is very different from the arrogance of the past.
Liang Xiao looked around the audience and said with a smile: "Now that you have made up your mind... I have obtained your majesty's consent to buy land in my own name first. One acre of fertile land will cost 600 cents, and one acre of thin land will cost 300 cents. Now I have it on hand. One million taels can be traded immediately. The court's bid is the same as mine, but it may take at least a month for the court's money to arrive. You can sell it or not as you wish."
"What? Forget about 300 fen for Susukada! Only 600 fen for fertile land? That's too much!" The landowners became anxious.
Liang Xiao said in a deep voice: "First, these fertile fields are only fertile fields in name, and the yield is not much higher than that of Susukian. Second, Yanzhou faces Beihu, so the risk of buying land is extremely high. I will pay 800 and 400 wen When the time came, if you didn’t sell it, you would have missed the best opportunity to sell it, so you can’t blame me!”
Everyone's intestines were filled with regret.
Liang Xiao's analysis was not unreasonable, and they knew it well.
Soaring food prices are often a sign that people are in dire straits. Famines can also lead to cannibalism, such as exchanging children for food.
What's more, the dead who have just been buried in the grave will be dug up and their bodies stolen and used as meat.
With fewer people, the land will certainly become less valuable.
The landowners looked at Liang Xiao who was sitting calmly at the table and wished they could give him a shoehorn.
They usually plundered and seized a lot of land from farmers... Now, they actually had to sell it to him at a loss!
Not allowed? Then you can only lose everything!
Almost everyone believes that there will be a food shortage in Yanzhou. After all, the trends of rice merchants cannot lie to others.
What's more, there are Beihu people in the north who are eyeing him.
The reason why Liang Xiao was calm was that he had figured out the situation and thoughts of these landlords.
He estimated that one mu in Dazhou was equal to 0.9 modern mu.
As one of the hundreds of counties and cities in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Yanzhou has a total of 6.5 million acres of cultivated land, making it a county with a large amount of cultivated land.
The ten counties of Youzhou occupy more than 50 million acres of cultivated land.
However, the land output here is unstable, with an average yield of less than one stone per mu, and it faces the threat of Beihu, so the land price is not high.
Moreover, 5.5 million acres of the land are in the hands of these landowners...
Seeing that Yanzhou was about to collapse, these businessmen wanted to run away with their buckets, so how could they miss real estate.
On the day when the price of rice reached one hundred cents and one stone, some landlords simply sold their mansions to him.
Those mansions are where the knights headed by Xiahou Qingyi currently live...
The land in Yanzhou is barren, only relatively speaking.
Liang Xiao can be sure that as long as we manage it well, improve agriculture and farm tools, and build water conservancy, Yanzhou will be a fertile land in the future!
After all, the Yellow River in this area has not yet changed its course!
As long as Beihu is expelled and the stability of Yanzhou is ensured, the price of the fields... can at least triple!
"Sell!!"
Finally, some landowners could no longer restrain themselves and took the lead in taking a stand.
"Marquis Lanling! So you plan to spend all the one million taels of silver today?"
Liang Xiao took out the official documents from the imperial court with a meaningful smile on his face.
"That's right! The rest will be purchased by the imperial court. I have already explained it just now. You can consider it yourself. After I spend 1.2 million taels, others can only come to me to sign a contract with the imperial court."
Everyone began to make plans in their minds.
Liang Xiao can pay immediately!
The money paid by the court may need to go through layers of review, which is time-consuming and you may not be able to get the full amount.
"Marquis Lanling, we can sign the contract now and pay the money in one hand and the land deed in the other!"
Everyone rushed towards Liang Xiao but were stopped by Lei Hong and others.
"The Marquis said it! Good quality and low price should be given priority!"
"Good quality and low price?" Everyone was stunned for a moment and then understood what it meant.
Liang Xiao is also in business, so he naturally has to consider whether the location of the farmland is safe, whether the quality is good enough, and whether the price is low enough...
"My fertile farmland is in the center of the city, and the price per acre is 620 cents. The thin farmland in the south of the city is 350 cents per acre!"
"My fertile farmland is in the east of the city. It's safe there and close to the official road. The price is 600 cents per acre, and the Susukaku farmland outside is 300 cents per acre!"
…
Within two quarters of an hour, the landowners who had come together to negotiate with Liang Xiao began to raise prices.
In the end, everyone was dejected and reported their lowest price.
The farmland under their names has been registered with the government, and Liang Xiao naturally knows the quality and yield of the farmland. They have nowhere to brag about it, for fear of backfiring and being caught by Liang Xiao and lowering the price.
After Liang Xiao negotiated the final price with everyone, he asked his men to register one by one.
The price of fertile land ranges from 600 to 700 fen, and that of Susukino farmland ranges from 300 to 400 fen.
In the end, Liang Xiao's one million taels of silver secured one million acres each of Botian and fertile land, totaling two million acres.
Liang Xiao also traded with them on behalf of the imperial court. The imperial court invested 1.08 million taels of silver and purchased 1.2 million acres of fertile land and 1.2 million acres of thin farmland, totaling 2.4 million acres.
All the landowners made a contract with Liang Xiao in order. After signing and depositing the money, they counted the banknotes on the spot and laughed from ear to ear.
“Finally sold!”
Seeing that Liang Xiao was still smiling, all the landowners secretly laughed in their hearts.
Once Yanzhou collapses or falls under the iron heel of the Northern Hu people, Liang Xiao's one million taels of silver will be completely wasted!
