In December of the first year of Hongxing in the Ming Dynasty.
Now is the coldest time of the year in Wuhan. The north wind is howling, snowflakes are all over the sky, and even ice floes can be seen on the Han River and the Yangtze River flowing eastward.
The scene of ice floating on the Han River and the Yangtze River would be unimaginable in later generations, but for Hubei people like Yao Daqiao and Ye Jiaxin, it was a scene they could see every year.
It's just that for the two of them, this winter is particularly cold...not cold from the outside in, but cold from the inside out!
Their hearts are now so cold that if they were dug out, they might just be two ice lumps!
Now the two people were walking one after another on a dike near Hanzheng Street, next to the Han River filled with ice...
Now the price of feudal bonds has fallen below 50 taels per piece... Yao Daqiao's position has also been liquidated. After a final reckoning, he lost 220,000 yuan in this feudal bond speculation wave. Two pieces of silver!
He entered the field with 380,000 taels of kills, and now he only has 160,000 taels left... If the 380,000 taels were all his own money, it would be nothing. However, of the 380,000 taels, 280,000 taels are payment for goods that need to be paid before the new year.
But he only has 160,000 taels left on hand, and is still short of 120,000 taels...
One hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver!
If it were before Li Zicheng came to Huguang, Yao Daqiao would not have been forced to wander around the Han River every day with 120,000 taels of silver.
At that time, he owned 20,000 to 30,000 acres of paddy fields in Hubei, which alone were worth hundreds of thousands of taels... But these paddy fields were all divided according to population calculation, and Yao Daqiao also deposited the land in the Twelve Under the name of a person. So he didn't even get the rice to redeem his land, and his hundreds of thousands of taels of land were just gone.
However, there was still a little bit of property left in Wuchang Mansion, which was enough to support the big businessman, so after Li Zicheng was driven away, he took advantage of the fact that the court was eager to find someone to go to Hubei to buy white rice and made a comeback.
However, the comeback of Yao Daqiao is somewhat false. The market is quite large, but the foundation is very thin. It relies on borrowing and demolishing the east to make up for the west. Due to lack of capital, Yao Daqiao has been in and out quickly in the past two years. Although he has made a lot of money, he has also missed the opportunity to make big money when food prices soared.
So before the "vassal debt incident", what supported the Yao family's apparent prosperity was its own capital of more than 100,000 taels...
Now all the money has been lost, and he still owes 120,000 taels!
And as soon as he lost all his money, Ye Jiaxin, who relied on him to make a comeback, also suffered bad luck...
Ye Jiaxin is now a land-renting farmer. He does not own his own land and operates on rented land. The business is doing well, and the harvest this year is very good. After all costs, there is still a profit of about 2,000 taels, of which 1,400 taels belong to Yao Daqiao, and he has 600 taels himself.
Good times seemed to be coming, but Yao Daqiao suddenly lost another 120,000 taels... Now the farm that Ye Jiaxin and Yao Daqiao cooperated with could not be saved - the farm assets (farming tools, land leases, etc.) They all belong to Yao Daqiao. Ye Jiaxin is only responsible for the operation and can only share 30% of the profits.
Now that Yao Bridge collapses, the farm will have to be sold out, and Ye Jiaxin will get nothing but 600 taels of dividends. Now that I have been entrusted by Mrs. Yao, I have to watch Yao Daqiao every day... Don't let your mind wander!
This vassal debt crisis caused a lot of trouble for a group of gentry and merchants in Wuhan. Some people committed suicide every few days.
And Yao Daqiao lost a lot of money, he was ranked in the top 10 among a bunch of losers!
I don't know if he couldn't think about it anymore, but Yao Daqiao suddenly stopped and faced the surging Han River, motionless.
This frightened Ye Jiaxin who was following him.
Are you about to jump? He is about to jump, can he save himself? It's very dangerous to go down into such cold river water, so let's forget it!
Ye Jiaxin waited for a long time, but Yao Daqiao didn't jump, so he took a breath and took a few steps forward: "Brother Yao, please don't..."
Yao Daqiao didn't seem to hear what he said, and just muttered to himself: "Okay, it's all okay... The shops on Hanzheng Street can't be saved, and the Yao family's mansion has to be sold out! This one But I lost miserably! I, Mr. Yao, have nothing but half of the Yao family street!"
We lost with only half a street left, and it was still half a street in the center of Hankou! I don’t know how much it will be worth in future generations? However, housing prices in Hankou are not high now, and Yaojiazhai Street is not a commercial street, so half the street is not worth much.
"Brother, you still have half a street, so don't let your imagination run wild!" Ye Jiaxin hurriedly said, "I only have seven or eight hundred taels of silver left in my possessions, aren't I fine?"
"Am I not doing well?" Yao Daqiao looked back at Ye Jiaxin, "By the way, why are you following me every day these days? I don't owe you money, right?"
"No, no!" Ye Jiaxin shook his head quickly, "I, I don't have anywhere to go, so I was thinking that Brother Yao, you must have something to do..."
Yao Daqiao nodded: "So that's it... Since you asked, I really have a way out, I wonder if you are willing to follow me?"
"Is there really a way out?" Ye Jiaxin asked, "Where to go?"
Yao Daqiao did not answer directly, but asked: "Do you still remember Peng Juren?"
"Peng Ziqin?"
"Yes, that's him." Yao Daqiao said, "He also suffered a loss... I met him outside the Maritime Commercial Bank yesterday, and he was crying like a tearful person. He told me that he had lost a lot. We’ve got a solution, get ready to go abroad and have a try!”
Peng Ziqin got some rice to redeem his fields, became an official again, and his life gradually got better. But he was not satisfied. Being a ninth-grade Zhizhi official meant that he would not be successful, his official salary would not be much, and he would not have much opportunity to make money.
So he thought of speculating on feudal debts... and ended up being a leek.
Ye Jiaxin asked: "Going abroad? Where to go?"
"Go to the Shuizhenla Kingdom," Yao Daqiao said. "That country's uncle Zheng Sen has acquired a piece of land there, which can be cultivated for farming. Someone is needed to run it, and Peng Juren wants to sign up to be a farming official, so that he can be promoted to two level, you can also get a double salary, and you can also get a piece of land in Shuizhenla Circle, with an area of less than 5,000 acres. He asked me if there was anyone I could recommend to manage the land for him... How about we go together? ?”
"Let's go to Shuizhenla Kingdom together?" Ye Jiaxin asked, "Is it far?"
"Far... to the south of Annan Dutongsi." Yao Daqiao said, "Wealth and wealth are sought in danger! Are you going?"
"Go!" Ye Jiaxin stamped his foot, "I still have 700 taels, which can be used as capital!"
...
"Your Majesty, these days, the gentry and merchants in Wuhan are suffering from the vassal debt, and many families have gone bankrupt..."
"Your Majesty, this is a petition signed by the gentry and businessmen of Wuhan, requesting a thorough investigation of the mastermind behind the sudden rise and fall of feudal debt!"
"Your Majesty, I also feel that it is unusual for the feudal debt to rise and fall like this. There must be a traitor causing trouble!"
East Lake Palace, Qinzheng Palace. Emperor Zhu, who had just sent away Wu Sangui, Ma Shiying, Zhu Cijiong and other debt collectors, had not been clean for a few days when he encountered new troubles.
Some desperate gentry and businessmen were unwilling to take risks at their own risk, but wanted the court to find out the mastermind... It seemed that there were a few ministers who were sympathetic to them and spoke for them at the court meeting.
"Is there someone behind this matter? I never thought there would be such a treacherous person!" Of course Zhu Cixiang took it very seriously, and his face suddenly darkened.
This is undermining national financial security! This is digging into the feudalism of the Ming Dynasty! Such bad guys must be caught and severely punished!
"This gangster must have been sent by Li Guo!" Zhu Cixiang said solemnly, "It may also be sent by Dorgon...Zhu Chunjie!"
"I'm here!"
Zhu Cihong said: "I ordered the Jinyi Guards to thoroughly investigate this matter... If there is really a culprit, I must find him out! No matter who it is, I will not let him go lightly!"
Zhu Chunjie immediately patted his chest and promised: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will investigate thoroughly!"
"Okay!" Zhu Cixiang nodded heavily, "Go and investigate! Even if it is found that a relative of the emperor is involved, I will punish you severely!"
