Looking at Heishan's confused look, Li Yi smiled and explained.
"War does bring great risks to normal trade, but for these businessmen, this is actually a good thing."
"Because of the war, normal trade routes will be blocked and the flow of goods will not be smooth. However, people's demand will not decrease, but will increase. What consequences will this have?"
Heishan rubbed his head hard and thought for a long time, and finally said something in a very uncertain tone.
"Will...the price increase?"
"Bingo! That's exactly right. Think about it. You only need to spend a dime in the morning to buy two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk to make you full. But if one day you find that you can have all-you-can-eat steamed buns and soy milk." Suddenly it's not enough. If you want to eat as much as usual, you need to spend at least an extra cent. At this time, will you eat or not?"
Heishan thought about it and replied.
"Yes, if I don't eat enough, I won't have the strength to make money, and if I don't have the strength to make money, I won't have the money to buy food the next day. This is a vicious cycle. Of course I have to eat enough, so that I can ensure that I have enough food every day. I can earn enough money to eat, but if I skip one meal, I probably won’t earn enough to eat.”
When Li Yi heard this, he glanced at Heishan with some surprise.
I didn't expect that he would draw inferences from one instance.
"Yes, that's the right way to understand it. The same is true for city-states affected by war, because everything has a cost. If there are more goods, the price will naturally be cheaper. If there are less goods, then if you need to As long as you are full, the price of the goods will naturally increase, as things become more valuable when they are scarce!"
Montenegro suddenly realized.
"So for these businessmen, war is not only not a bad thing, but a good thing?"
"Advantages and disadvantages."
Li Yi neither affirmed nor denied Heishan's statement.
"Actually, the war does have a certain impact, that is, the supply of goods in the areas affected by the war is affected. Note that it is only affected, not completely cut off. Therefore, when there are fewer goods, prices will naturally rise, especially in In some areas where wars occur frequently, some daily necessities that were originally inconspicuous may be sold at sky-high prices overnight.”
Montenegro seems to have some understanding.
"I understand that as long as you have enough courage and risk your life to pass the war blockade, the goods you hold are likely to be sold at sky-high prices. Even if the quantity of goods is far less than before, the profit will be higher."
Li Yi nodded with satisfaction.
"A boy can be taught. It seems that you have understood the true meaning of doing business."
Montenegro was not proud, but continued his analysis.
"So, because the original North District was shrouded in the shadow of war, only the powerful businessmen were able to overcome the blockade and provide various commodities, thereby earning sufficient profits. Those small merchants and hawkers who were weak in power It can’t be done. Master, you have made a contribution to boost the courage of these small businessmen, so that they have no worries, and let these originally scattered businessmen gather together and let them join the game."
Li Yi smiled slightly.
"Let them disrupt the situation, and these people are fully qualified to be qualified spoilers."
Having said this, Li Yi sat back down, still looking out the window.
There, people were coming and going, shouting and shouting everywhere, and it seemed to become more lively. It looked like a scene of singing and dancing, peace and prosperity for the country and the people.
If you hadn't known it in advance, you probably wouldn't have imagined that this place is only less than a hundred miles away from the most intense war area in the North District!
Of course, these are all superficial phenomena, or strictly speaking, they are superficial phenomena deliberately created by Li Yi for his plan.
As early as he decided to carry out the plan to the end, he was already actively planning it.
The first step is to gradually stabilize prices here, increase competition, and prevent big businessmen from monopolizing market prices.
This trick is undoubtedly very useful.
Originally, businessmen in the Western District were more keen on taking risks and earning greater profits than those in other major districts.
They are not too afraid of war. On the contrary, they are just concerned about the high cost that will lead to losses.
For these individual traders in the West End, nothing is more painful than losing money.
In a way, this is even more uncomfortable than killing them.
Li Yi did nothing but gave them a promise and paid their travel expenses in advance.
Don't underestimate this investment. Hundreds of businessmen from the West District came to the North District and squandered all the gold and silver that Yue Wushuang gave him in an instant. In the end, there was nothing to continue. It was Chen Yuanxing who filled the final gap. hole.
So after spending so much money, is it useful?
I have to say that, at least for now, it has a great effect.
These businessmen from the West District are not just here to take a look.
Since someone was guaranteed and had the opportunity to get close to the war zone, instead of feeling scared, they felt a sense of excitement.
Just like moths, they know clearly that the fire will lead to death, but they still fly into the fire one after another.
As for human beings, except for a little bit of remaining reason, they are essentially not much different from moths.
This first step cost a lot of money, but so far, apart from the fact that the prices in Yuanxing City have gradually begun to decline and stabilize as Li Yi thought, there has not been much. Variety.
And this only involves business and trade, and it seems to have no connection with their previous plan to find the mastermind behind the scenes.
Montenegro, who had just figured out some business secrets, was even more confused.
He didn't understand the purpose of this first step. When he asked the owner, he just smiled and said nothing, looking mysterious.
The rest of the time, I just spent the whole day in the reserved restaurant box, eating, drinking, and sleeping until dawn, and seemed to have completely forgotten about this matter.
Just a few days passed, and when the originally high prices in Yuanxing City, from the most basic food prices to daily necessities, had almost dropped to pre-war levels, Heishan finally couldn't bear it anymore.
He decided that he must ask clearly today and what the master was going to do next.
However, someone had already been one step ahead of him and couldn't help it.
The inner city structure of Yuanxing City is different from other city-states. The entire inner city is arranged according to different layouts.
Because when Yuanxing City was established, the merchants who had obtained decentralized power had already established their own business territories and strongholds.
That's the inner city.
It can be said that every building in the entire inner city represents a symbol of a large business family.
The closer a building is to the core of the inner city, the higher its status and level will be.
Next to the core of the inner city, which is the square building of the city lord's palace, are three extraordinary buildings. From top to bottom, they all reveal the symbols of their status and financial resources.
Among the buildings, the most magnificent and largest, and the ones closest to the city lord's palace, are the Ouyang family in the south of the city, the Fu Lai family in the west, and the Yang family in the east.
There is no doubt that these three families are the three most powerful forces in Yuanxing City, except for the commander-in-chief of the city defense army who holds military power.
And the legendary little city lord came from these three families.
Therefore, some people privately jokingly call these three major merchant families the three imperial families, which means that under these three families, all are ordinary, and the only people who can be called imperial are those from these three families.
Naturally, the so-called Little City Lord cannot be spoken to the outside world, and the same is true for the real core power of Yuanxing City.
Externally, the three vice-chairmen of the Yuanxing City Business and Trade Committee are referred to as the representatives.
Who is the president, you ask? Naturally, it is the commander-in-chief who holds the military power of the Yuanxing Army.
From this point of view, Qiu Siyuan was really right.
In Yuanxing City, there is indeed no very formal position of city lord. Except for the commander of the city defense army who is only responsible for military matters, almost all the affairs in the city, large and small, are divided up by the three imperial families.
In the past, this Yuanxing City was equivalent to a place run by the three imperial families. Each of the three families performed their own duties and got what they needed.
However, due to the special nature of trade, it is naturally impossible to avoid infringing upon the wells and rivers, and exchanging what is needed is the only way to go.
Frequent contact means friction.
Although they treat each other like guests on the surface, in fact, it will not take a day or two for the three Yu family to kill the other two families and dominate them.
But most of the time, this is obviously unrealistic.
After all, the three Yu families are almost the same in strength, and their long-term close relationship has allowed the three Yu families to achieve a certain degree of integration.
At this time, it is even more difficult to get rid of the other party.
Because this is very likely to result in a thousand injuries to the enemy and eight hundred losses to oneself.
If you can't fight, you can only endure it. As time goes by, it will naturally cause the three parties to dislike each other.
And although you can't make big moves, it doesn't mean you can't make small moves, right?
As a result, the three imperial families in Yuanxing City fought against each other for as many years as they had been operating together.
But today is an exception.
Because these three families secretly made an appointment at a place and sat down.
They have something big to discuss.
