The news of 60 cents per pound of rice shocked all the grain merchants in the capital. They had seen such a playful person. They lost 20 cents just after taking over the business. How could they do this kind of business?
"Shameless, simply shameless, let's unite to find Xiao Letian... This matter cannot be settled, we have to live." The grain merchants looked at the mountains of rice piled up in the warehouse and were so angry that they almost vomited blood.
But when these yelling bosses saw the cold light on the bayonets of the New Army troops on the street, they all shrank back in fear.
"Masters, Xiao Letian is a god of murder. He can't even offend the imperial court. Let's go back and beg the master."
The master families mentioned by the grain merchants were actually the high-ranking nobles of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. This group of princes and officials not only consumed a large amount of banner salaries every year, but each family owned countless land and villages, and there were also big businesses in the city.
It can be said that most of the profitable monopoly businesses in Sijiu City have their shadow. Why are grain merchants not afraid of the court and wantonly raising grain prices too high? The key is that they have the backing of their masters.
But at this moment, all the grain merchants were dumbfounded. The master was completely helpless when facing Xiao Letian. More and more new troops were gathered in the capital. They didn't even dare to fart now.
"Grandma, the only thing the court wants to do now is to spend money to send away this god of plague. You still want me to mess with Xiao Letian, so go away. Anyway, the loss will be borne by your shopkeeper. Who asked you to hoard Xiao Letian's goods? Even if he has food, you dare to touch his things."
"It's all Xiao Letian's fault for taking advantage. You want money at the expense of your life."
Yes, ordinary people cannot take advantage of Xiao Letian's advantage. The rice price of 60 Wen per liter is not the bottom line at all. As new overseas rice was shipped to the capital the next day, the price of rice instantly avalanched to 50 Wen, which has reached the palace change. The previous price.
As the news that the capital had stabilized rice prices spread to all directions, the people who had fled the capital began to return to the Forty-Nine City. It didn't even take two days for the prosperity of the capital to be restored by Xiao Letian.
People came and went on the streets again, shops began to resume business, rice prices were stable, and commodity prices were stable. After the disaster, people began to make large purchases, and business prospered instantly.
50 Wen, 45 Wen, 43 Wen, 41 Wen... Three days later, the price of rice in the capital miraculously stabilized at the 40 Wen mark, and the entire court was stunned.
"The prosperous age of Qianlong is here again. How can the price of rice return to the price during the Qianlong period? Then Xiao Letian is really the God of Wealth." All officials were in mourning. Xiao Letian's methods can only prove that they are all a group of incompetent wastes. .
This is a matter of vision. Big businessmen who look around the world have such courage. In Nanyang, rice is harvested three times a year and the price is unimaginably cheap. Although the taste is slightly worse, who cares about the poor?
Some people may think that the cost of trafficking thousands of miles must be high, but in fact it is not. Water transportation has been cheaper and more efficient than land transportation since ancient times. It is for this reason that China dug the Grand Canal.
Sea transportation is more efficient than river transportation. The tonnage of sea-going ships was already very large in the middle of the 19th century. Sea-going ships carrying more than 100,000 tons have become very popular, and the safety of sea transportation is far better than before.
This is a power that the Qing Dynasty could not imagine. Countless Chinese goods were taken out of the country by sea ships, and in exchange for ship after ship of food, Xiao Letian wanted to use the lowest cost to crush the price of food in the capital. They don't care whether those grain merchants go bankrupt.
Anyway, Xiao Letian didn't want to stay in the capital forever. He was destined to lead his troops and leave here. He just wanted to leave an unforgettable impression on the people of the capital. The proverb "Follow the prime minister and you will have food to eat" is destined to be spread for thousands of years. century.
Xiao Letian knew very well that with the Qing Dynasty's skills, as long as he withdrew from the capital, food prices would not be able to remain at such a low level. By then, the rice price of 40 cents per liter would be expected to double and rise.
There are also those grain merchants supported by the princes and nobles. They will definitely have to make up for their losses after Xiao Letian is sent away. By then, the trend of fried rice will surge again, and the benefits that the people have enjoyed in the past few months will not be enough.
Comparing people with others will lead to death, and goods will need to be thrown away. Whether Xiao Letian is good or not can only be determined by comparison. The incompetence of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the love of the people like a son of Prime Minister Xiao of Donghai cannot be ignored by the people. One will eliminate the other. Over time, people will naturally make the right choice.
Facts have proved Xiao Letian's judgment. Just over four months after Prime Minister Xiao Donghai evacuated Beijing, the capital began to suffer from food shortages. Without the support of overseas food, it would be impossible to maintain the land price of 40 Wen per liter of rice. In just one Within a month, the price of rice in the capital rose to 95 cents per liter, and the people were miserable.
No one wants to listen to the court's explanation, and ordinary people don't think about the difference between overseas rice and Daqing rice. People only have a simple truth, follow the prime minister to eat, and follow the court to starve.
This was Xiao Letian's decisive blow against the Manchus. No matter how powerful the weapon was, it would be more effective without the support of the people. After the overseas rice incident, the reputation of the Manchurian and Qing court was completely hit the bottom.
Food was just one of Xiao Letian's weapons to compete for people's hearts. Three days later, in a place called Jinyu Pond in the south city of Beijing, Xiao Letian suddenly appeared in front of the people with his soldiers. The people who were deeply grateful for the 40 Wen Rice suddenly rushed to the scene. The streets cheered.
"The Prime Minister and the Dukes will live forever... With the Prime Minister, we will have food to eat... The Prime Minister and the Dukes will live forever..." As long as there is someone in the crowd, thousands of people will cheer together.
However, Xiao Letian did not bring food today. There was only one ditch in his eyes, and that was the famous Longxugou in later generations.
Longxugou originates from Hufang Bridge, passes through the Overpass, Goldfish Pond, and Red Bridge and turns southward to the moat outside Yongdingmen, crossing the southeastern part of Beijing's outer city. According to research, this small river Longxugou was already in existence in the Ming Dynasty. It existed, but it didn’t have a name at the time.
It was not until the middle of the Qing Dynasty that the river was named Longxugou. However, due to the decrease in water volume, this river, which was crystal clear in the Ming Dynasty, gradually silted up and became the famous smelly ditch in Nancheng.
The environment is not good, so rich people naturally don't want to live here. With the years of war and the gathering of refugees here, it has gradually turned into a large slum where the poor people live.
This is the original Longxugou described by Lao She. After the founding of New China, the Beijing Municipal Government made great efforts to transform it, clearing away garbage and building an underground river. Xiao Letian had never seen the true face of this river in his previous life.
Now, the real Longxugou in history was exuding stench in front of him. Even though Xiao Letian was mentally prepared, he was shocked by the sight in front of him.
"Is this still a place where people live?" There is no river flowing at all in the long stinking ditch. Garbage floats on the water, emitting a stench. The bodies of dead cats and dogs are floating in the garbage pile, and there are even dead babies hidden in it. .
There are dirt roads on both sides of the river. No one has laid bricks and stones here at all. There are muddy ponds after heavy rains everywhere. The surrounding shacks are short and messy. The black and thin people drag their dirty braids, and the children hold their fingers in their faces. Looking at the new army with admiration.
If there really is a hell in this world, then this place would definitely rank high.
"Fellows...I, Xiao Letian, am not here today to provide food for everyone. What I want to do is something you can't even imagine. From today on, I will turn Longxugou into a paradise..."
"Pass my order and start taking action..." Xiao Letian roared, and chaos immediately broke out around Longxugou.
The new army held rifles with bayonets installed and escorted groups of dejected Eight Banners soldiers, and these Eight Banners soldiers held shovels, wicker baskets and other tools in their hands.
After the Eight Banners soldiers passed by, there were groups of green soldiers from the capital. They also held various tools and came to both sides of Longxugou in disgrace under the escort of the new army.
When Xiao Letian saw that the people had almost arrived, he shouted, "Fill in the soil and build a dam to intercept the river water... Within a month, I will see a clean Longxugou... Not only that, the whole city of Beijing will be cleaned up." "
All the people were in an uproar. They never expected that after Prime Minister Xiao Donghai released the food, his second decree was to clean up the whole city. How come there were such strange officials in the world.
But no matter what, Xiao Letian's order was carried out unconditionally. Those Manchu and Qing army prisoners who had resisted the new army all turned into engineers at this moment and began to carry out deodorization work throughout the city.
Longxugou was cut off from the river. As the water level gradually dropped, soldiers began to clean up the river. Baskets of smelly sludge and garbage were piled on carriages and transported outside the city. This was the best fertilizer for landowners outside the city. They are rushing to get it.
In the streets and alleys, countless soldiers took shovels and brooms and began to clean up the mud on the streets. All the people were dumbfounded.
"Oh my God, the soldiers are sweeping the streets. What on earth does the Prime Minister want to do? Wait... Look, our alley streets actually have a layer of stone slabs."
That's right, in the eyes of the people, two hundred years of silt were shoveled away, revealing the stone roads paved during the Ming Dynasty. Only then did the people realize that the original Beijing city was not dirty or dirty. There will be soil on the ground on sunny days and mud on rainy days.
In the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty, the streets and alleys of Beijing were actually paved with stone roads and sewers for drainage. However, during the hundreds of years of Manchu rule, dust covered the original historical traces, and people have forgotten a long history.
"Prime Minister, what on earth do you want to do? Why are you spending your energy on such a thankless thing?" At that moment, even ordinary citizens didn't understand Xiao Letian, and everyone thought he was giggling.
But Xiao Letian knew what he wanted. Since the Qing Dynasty gave the people a dirty life, Xiao Letian would give the citizens of Beijing the cleanest world today.
The Manchus give you hunger, and I, Xiao Letian, give you food and clothing.
The Qing Dynasty gave you ugliness, and I, Xiao Letian, gave you heroic appearance.
The Qing Dynasty gave you filth, but I, Xiao Letian, am willing to give you the cleanest world.
Whether Prime Minister Xiao Letian of the East China Sea is good or not, the human heart is a steelyard, and it is the most fair steelyard. From now on, whenever the people of the Qing Dynasty mention the three words Xiao Letian, what comes to their minds is food and clothing. , clean and handsome are three labels.
Xiao Letian's governance was gentle and silent, and people's hearts were taken away in every moment. It was really the greatest misfortune for the Manchu Qing Dynasty to encounter such a troublemaker.
