In the following days, one hundred thousand shi of grain entered Gusu City every day and was sold to the people.
The grain shops in the city are basically deserted, and no one comes to buy. But the strange thing is that the grain merchants are not in a hurry. Instead of lowering prices to save business, the prices marked on the signs are getting higher and higher, reaching 100 yuan. Fifty cents per liter.
"Haha, King Yan wanted to stabilize food prices, but we couldn't do what he wanted..." Lu Wencai laughed proudly.
Xu Xueqian sneered, "He is in a hurry, but we are not in a hurry. It would be better if no one buys our food now. If you want food, go to him and see how much food he can have to fill this bottomless pit!"
"Hehe... As of yesterday, in Pingjiang City, Changshu, Huating and other prefectures and counties, we have bought 400,000 shi alone. After all, King Yan does not have much food on hand, and he can only last for a day or two at most. At that time, it will be a good time for us, and we have the final say on the price of food!"
Lu Wencai's eyes flashed with greed, as if he saw mountains of gold and silver running towards him.
It was right to use the food shortage to force King Yan to give up the realm, but it did not prevent them from taking this opportunity to make a fortune. As for the life and death of the people, what did it matter to them?
Xu Xueqian's wrinkled old face was filled with contempt, "It's ridiculous that King Yan only knows the limit but doesn't know the limit. He is so stupid!"
"I don't think so." Xie Tang shook his head slightly and said calmly, "He should have done this intentionally to give the people the illusion of sufficient food, reduce people's panic, and at the same time put pressure on us. Moreover, it is possible that he also I found some food, so I feel more confident.”
"Oh? More than half of the grain stocks in Pingjiang and Jiaxing are under our control. Where else can he find it? We have already said hello to the gentry in Changzhou and Anji Prefecture. We will definitely not sell grain to him." Lu Wencai Puzzled.
Xie Tang chuckled, "If it's an ordinary price, they probably won't sell it. If it's three, four, or even five, if they see a profit, someone will still sell it..."
"Wuguan? Then King Yan will lose money?" Lu Wencai was surprised.
"King Yan is not a businessman. As long as he can alleviate the food shortage, what if he loses a little money?" Xie Tang paced and continued, "However, I guess he can't buy too much, otherwise the local food prices will also be raised. , for him, the gain outweighs the loss.”
Xu Xueqian gritted his teeth and said harshly, "No matter how much he can get, we will just buy it all. It's just money. We have plenty. Otherwise, we might as well send people to Changzhou and Anjizhou to buy grain and directly buy the grain there." The price of food is rising, blocking his way out!"
"Mr. Xu's plan is feasible." Xie Tang agreed. "With our financial resources, we can control the food supply of most of western Zhejiang."
They just did what they said. This group of powerful people had very strong operational capabilities. They immediately sent a large number of people carrying heavy sums of money to nearby states and counties.
Dongting Dongshan was still a pure lake island at this time, not connected to the land, and its area was much smaller than that of later generations.
The northern and eastern part of Dongshan is separated from the land by a waterway more than ten miles wide, which has always been called the "Big Gap".
At this time, the large gap has been blocked, and hundreds of military ships are cruising around, prohibiting idlers from entering.
The ships in one place seemed particularly dense. From time to time, soldiers jumped into the lake and dived deep into the lake, seemingly searching for something.
Not far away is a polder on the shore of the island, which was originally occupied by the Liu family but had been confiscated by Zhao Mengqi.
Outside the polder, there are many large ships docked. From the shape, it seems that they were originally military ships, but now there are a large number of craftsmen busy on them, as if they are undergoing renovation.
The others in Xietang thought that King Zhao Mengqi of Yan should be very anxious now, looking for food everywhere, but they didn't expect that he was lazily lying on the armchair at this time, holding a fishing rod in his hand, waiting for the fish in the lake to wish. Take the bait.
Zhao Fei squeezed his shoulders diligently, "Fourth brother, do you really want to give me a farm?"
"As a gentleman, eight horses are hard to chase. How can I still lie to you? As an elder brother, shouldn't I buy you some dowry?" Zhao Mengqi half-closed his eyes, his face full of contentment. .c
Zhao Hui was overjoyed, but still couldn't believe it, "It's been a long time."
Fifty thousand acres, you really gave it to me? "
"That's of course, but to be precise, what I'm giving you is the ownership of these 50,000 acres and 2% of the income rights."
"This little girl naturally saves money, but even if the income is one hundred and two, that's a lot of money and food every year. Let me do the math, fifty thousand acres... fifty thousand..."
Zhao Fei was stuck, trying to figure out how much benefit she could get, but she couldn't figure it out all of a sudden.
"Let me help you figure it out." Wanwan saw that her neck was red from holding it in, so she couldn't bear it and helped her. "These fields are the best paddy fields. The annual yield per mu is at least three stones, which is fifteen dollars per year. If you have ten thousand shi, then you can get three thousand shi. The price of food in Lin'an is usually between five and two guan. In other words, you have at least 5,000 guan every year. The key is to always have it."
"Five thousand strings!" Zhao Hui was so happy that she couldn't find Bei, and the strength in her hands couldn't help but increase a little.
This money may not sound like much, but for an individual, even a princess, it is actually a lot of money.
In the Song Dynasty, nobility rarely came with fiefdoms, and even the food estates were mostly symbolic. They did not get much economic benefits, and they were all paid out in monthly salary.
According to regulations, in the Song Dynasty, the eldest daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Song Dynasty had a monthly salary of qian, rice, and silk in spring and winter. The number was very large, while the princess's monthly salary was 150 guan. When Enqing met, it was slightly increased to 200 guan, and in Daozhong it increased to 30 guan. Baiguan is equal to the salary of the prime minister and the privy envoy, which is considered very generous.
Zhao Fei is Zhao Yun's only biological daughter and is the most favored. However, her monthly salary is only about 200 guan. Without a particularly large reward, her annual income will not exceed 3,000 guan.
Now, as long as she has a name and doesn't have to do anything else, she has nearly doubled her income, and that's not a happy ending.
Moreover, Zhao Mengqi also said that this was just a first try. If his plan worked, more farms would be named under her name in the future.
Of course, Zhao Mengqi did not give money to Zhao Hui for no reason, nor did he intend to use it for personal gain, but he had some ideas about the land system.
At this time, although the imperial court also had a lot of official and public land, due to management problems, it was easy to be embezzled by powerful people. In this case, we might as well try an alternative kind of privatization, and put the ownership directly in the name of the royal family, so as to use it privately. Private, prevent powerful embezzlement.
For example, these 50,000 acres of land are nominally owned by Zhao Feng, but a special management organization has been set up. In order to ensure his own profits, Zhao Feng can monitor the accounts at any time, and also has certain personnel rights and discussion rights, but he cannot interfere with the specific management. , which is roughly the relationship between shareholders and corporate management in later generations.
Of course, that's not all. Zhao Mengqi also plans to "list" the farm, issue shares, and turn the farm into a "joint-stock" company.
As for whether this idea is feasible, we have to try it before we know. For the time being, many wealthy people in Lin'an and Anji Prefecture have shown considerable interest, so Zhao Mengqi has many sources of food.
"Fourth brother, can I still buy a share in my own farm?" Zhao Fei asked again.
Zhao Mengqi replied casually, "Okay, but do you have food?"
Zhao Fei smiled and said, "I don't have it, but my uncle's house should have it. If I ask to borrow it, he must give me some face."
Her uncle was Jia Sidao. As a first-level official, his salary and rewards were very generous, and he also had a lot of land. He collected at least tens of thousands of dan in rent every year.
When Zhao Mengqi heard what she said, he nodded, "That's okay. Anyway, the income rights for an acre of land are 20 dan, and they can be sold for grain. A household can't exceed 20% of the total acre."
At this time, Qian Xiaopang, who was sitting next to him, had his feet wrapped like big rice dumplings. After listening to the conversation between the brother and sister, his eyes couldn't help but roll, and then he pulled Qian Duo's arm to indicate that he had something to say quietly.
Qian Duo was looking at the lake in a daze, and when Qian Xiaopang pulled him away, he couldn't help but stare at Qian Xiaopang with a look of displeasure on his face, "Are you seeking death!? Do you really want to become a cripple?"
"Sister, I have something serious to talk to you." Qian Xiaopang blinked his little eyes desperately, and then lowered his voice, "His Royal Highness Zhou Guo knows to prepare a dowry for himself, don't you know? Brother, I will give it to you. I thought of a good idea. If you want to hear it, just come over here.
. "
"Huh? What do you mean?"
He was talking, but Qian Duo couldn't help but put his ear to it.
After the siblings murmured for a long time, Qian Duo sorted out his thoughts, walked up to Zhao Mengqi, put his hands on his hips, and said condescendingly, "Hey! What's this deal about selling your land?"
Zhao Mengqi stretched out his little finger and dug his ears, as if he didn't hear anything.
Qian Duo became anxious, bent down and slapped him on the chest, "I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"
"Hey who is it?" Zhao Mengqi glanced sideways at her.
Qian Duo was stunned, knowing that Zhao Mengqi was teasing him, but now that he had something to ask for, he had to lower his posture, "Your Highness, can you tell me about this land sale?"
"Call me, brother, come and listen." Zhao Mengqi twitched the corner of his mouth, looking cynical, "If it sounds nice, I will reluctantly explain it to you."
Qian Duo stamped his feet angrily, "You have to push even further!"
You also need to be able to accommodate my brother's size.
Zhao Mengqi cursed with no concession on his face, "It's purely voluntary whether you scream or not. I don't like force..."
Seeing his playful look, Wanwan and the others laughed dumbly. These two people were not tired of playing this enemy game every day.
Qian Duo bit his lower lip and hesitated for a while before reluctantly murmuring, "Brother..."
"What? The voice is too soft and can't be heard clearly, so it doesn't count." Zhao Mengqi rolled his eyes. He didn't call him daddy. Was he so embarrassed?
"elder brother!"
This time the voice was louder, but very stiff. After shouting, the domineering Qian Duo actually blushed.
Zhao Mengqi shook his head and said in disgust, "Eh... it's stiff, stiff, and emotionless, so it doesn't count!"
Qian Duo suppressed the resentment in his chest, feeling that he would suffer a big loss if he just let it go, so he risked his life, held his throat, and shouted delicately, "Brother Meng Qi..."
The voice was numb and sticky, causing goosebumps to the people around him. Qian Duo himself even blushed, buried her head in her chest, and just wanted to find a hole in the ground to get in.
In fact, Zhao Mengqi's heart trembled when he heard this, but he just wanted to tease Qian Duo and always deliberately made her do things that were inconsistent with her character.
"This is more or less the same. She looks a bit like a woman. Hehe, selling land is a little complicated. I will only say it once, so you have to listen carefully..."
