In the Jiangnan region, the autumn harvest is half a month earlier than in the north.
As the most important grain producing area in Daliang, the entire Jiangnan area was prospering at this time. All the people were engaged in the fields, with fulfilling smiles on their faces.
After all, for local people, no matter what the selling price of grain is, at least the price of grain purchased from local grain merchants remains unchanged.
In Tangqi City, the Lin family almost came out in full force and began a large-scale grain purchase activity.
The old housekeeper of the Lin family set off with a mighty grain team in person. When he passed by Qin's business, he found that the door of the business was closed and it was no longer as prosperous as it used to be.
The old housekeeper couldn't help but sneer: "It seems that I am worrying too much."
"Now the Qin family has moved to Beixi County. All the shops in Tangqi have been closed. I am afraid that they will no longer be able to intervene in Jiangnan in the future. Without the support of Tangqi shops, it will be difficult for the Qin family's grain company to go south. Ascend to the sky. Even if we come here, we have already missed the best time to buy food."
The old housekeeper was in a good mood. The Lin family owned more than 100,000 acres of land. The annual rent collection alone was enough to make the Lin family the largest grain merchant in Jiangnan. In addition, every year, the Lin family's caravan has to go around to buy as much food as possible. It can be said that the entire southern food lifeline of Daliang is firmly in the hands of the Lin family.
If the Lin family is happy, they will supply food to the treasury. If the Lin family is unhappy, humming, I will also be hungry.
As long as the Lin family is still a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, the positions of Taibao Lin and the imperial concubine will be extremely stable!
Just when the old housekeeper was feeling proud, he saw a servant running over, rolling and crawling.
"Butler, something bad has happened! A troop of soldiers and horses is coming towards Tangqi in a mighty manner."
The old housekeeper snorted softly: "Why are you panicking? Could it be that Jiangnan's general soldiers are performing military exercises?"
"Chief Jiangnan, you also want to act based on the expressions of my Lin family, so don't take it to heart."
The servant wiped his forehead and shouted: "It's not the general soldiers. Looking at their clothes, they are all soldiers from the north."
"What?! Northern soldiers and horses?!" The old housekeeper's heart skipped a beat.
Previously, Qin Feng sent Ning Hu to station outside Tangqi City, relying on the pretext of "recruiting military rations", but he stole a lot of food! Even Changping County took advantage of it. Seeing Qin's business closed down and Ning Hu leading the troops away, the old housekeeper thought that he could finally have some peace and quiet for a few days. However, the sudden appearance of the northern troops was a wake-up call for the old housekeeper.
"Quick! Turn back quickly and cancel today's food purchase plan."
"In addition, go and inform the Commander-in-Chief to send troops to supervise the troops in the north. Don't let those troops enter the city!"
Just as the old housekeeper was giving the order, a thick and loud voice came.
"Old man, this Tangqi is under the rule of a saint. When will it be your turn to make the decision? I can come in when I want and leave when I want!"
The old housekeeper's face turned pale and he followed the sound, only to see Ning Hu, who had already left, come back again.
and……
There are also a large group of elite soldiers and horses accompanying him. Looking at this posture, there are one or two thousand people.
Ning Hu sat on the horse, held his head high, and shouted loudly: "The war in the north is tense, there will be a big war, and we need to stock up on food! Today is the autumn harvest in the south of the Yangtze River, and this general has come to purchase military rations on the orders of Qin Qianhu. . Before I arrived, the Ministry of War had already issued a notice to the Jiangnan General Soldier. Qin Qianhu was the special envoy to supervise the war. How dare the Jiangnan General Soldier disobey?"
In terms of status, the Jiangnan general is no less than a chariot or hussar general.
Especially the army under his command, which numbered more than 50,000 people.
However, Ning Hu did not take Jiangnan General Soldier seriously at all. After all, he had received orders from the Ministry of War and the special envoy Qin Feng to recruit troops, which was legal and reasonable. If the Jiangnan General Soldier dares to interfere, it will delay the war, and the Central Plains imperialists will come to beat him.
Ning Hu stared at the old housekeeper and smiled coldly: "Let's go to the Lin family to talk about purchasing food."
The old housekeeper was dumbfounded: "To purchase military rations, you should go to the county government office to negotiate with the county magistrate or the prefect of the state. You can even leave this task to the Jiangnan General Soldier. Why do you want to purchase military rations from my Lin family? My Lin family is a businessman. What we are doing is serious business. The purchase of military rations is both unreasonable and unreasonable."
Ning Hu's eyes were as wide as cow bells, and he was unreasonable at all: "Young lady, that's nonsense! The grain you buy from the people costs eight to ten cents per dou, but it costs thirty cents when you take it out. This Jiangnan grain is all Being monopolized by you gang of profiteers, I will naturally come to your Lin family to purchase military rations!"
"The special envoy of Qin has an order to purchase 500,000 stones at the traditional military ration price of ten cents per dou and send it to the north within half a month. Anyone who dares to interfere and delay the purchase of military rations will be punished as treason!"
The old housekeeper's face was as pale as paper and he exclaimed: "No! This is going to cost my life."
Ten coins per dou is almost equivalent to buying grain from the people, and there is no profit at all.
Ten buckets are equal to one stone, and one stone is equal to one hundred and twenty kilograms. Five hundred thousand stones is equal to sixty million kilograms, which is almost equivalent to the entire Jiangnan area, a year's harvest. Moreover, it will be sent to the north within half a month, which is an almost impossible task. That Qin Feng was clearly deliberately making things difficult!
Ning Hu frowned and glared, not giving the old housekeeper a chance to defend himself: "Just howl, if there are no grain trucks on the road in half a month, I will take your head off!"
Ning Hu said the cruel words, then pulled the reins fiercely, ignored the old housekeeper's wail, turned around and left Tangqi City. After all, foreign soldiers and horses are not allowed to enter the city. This is a rule and can only be stationed far away from the city.
As for the problem thrown to the Lin family, according to Qin Feng, it is called the 'broken window effect'.
First, give the Lin family an impossible task. The cunning and cunning Lin family will definitely mediate and reduce the food supply as much as possible. Even if it can only meet one-tenth of the plan, it will be enough to consume the cities in the north.
Ning Hu raised his head and said proudly to his subordinates: "Brother Qin said that these profiteers will not give in unless they are punished to death. Now that the war is approaching and food and grass are tight, these bastards are still buying at a low price." Selling at a high price and making it difficult for the country to make money, they are just a bunch of scum! By the way, send some people to patrol around."
"Local grain merchants must buy grain from the people at a fair price. If anyone wants to squeeze the price of the people's grain in order to hand over military rations and kill them on the spot, I will not believe it."
The deputy captain next to him asked in a low voice: "Ning Qianhu, this is the Lin family's territory after all. If you do something too outrageous, I'm afraid the Lin family will have a backlash."
Ning Hu glared: "What are you afraid of? The Central Plains Imperial Party is restraining the Jiangnan General Army. The Lin family is powerful and relies on various garrison troops. In the current national war, who dares to make a mistake? Even if I die, I will also send a message to Lin Taibao. , just let Lin Taibao go to the palace to complain."
"Evil people need to be punished by evil people!"
