kvmb Chapter 307: Either He Is Cheating or He Is on His Way to Cheating
Chapter 307: Either He Is Cheating or He Is on His Way to Cheating
Where do these merchants get the confidence to trample on Lord Gu?
Patriarch Bai, Patriarch Meng, and Patriarch Liu were all filled with regret.
Patriarch Wei and Patriarch Wu were also very uneasy, and their previous arrogance gradually disappeared.
County Magistrate Qin was standing next to Gu Shaoyu. He had long hated these grain merchants in his heart. He saw them coming in with such an arrogant look on their faces, and then they were as scared as rats when they saw Lord Gu. He thought to himself, "Bah!"
They deserve it, Lord Gu should chop them to pieces!
After a long time, the head of the Wei family could not help but speak. He was the largest grain merchant in Baiyang County and the leader of these people.
"Master, why did you call me here?"
Gu Shaoyu put down the teacup in his hand and asked, "How much is the price of rice today?"
"Two hundred coins for a dou." The head of the Wei family lowered his voice. Elder Gu must be furious, right?
No! Gu Shaoyu's expression remained the same.
"It's nothing. Last year, the earthquake in Zhongzhou caused the price of grain in the capital to rise to 600 coins." Gu Shaoyu said, "I came to you today to discuss with you. Food is extremely precious now. 200 coins is a bit low. Why not raise the price a little bit higher?"
"..."
"Three hundred coins, what do you think?"
After Gu Shaoyu finished speaking, he saw the five people looked incredulous. Instead of asking them to lower the price, they were asking them to raise the price?
"Three hundred coins?"
"Ah."
"Why? Is this too high?" The head of the Wei family asked tentatively. He secretly pinched his thigh and it hurt!
"No! Last year there was a huge earthquake and the price of rice was over a thousand coins."
As soon as he finished speaking, County Magistrate Qin exclaimed, "Mr. Gu!"
Gu Shaoyu turned his head and looked at him: "What's the matter?"
"Three hundred coins a dou, are you mistaken?" County Magistrate Qin said anxiously, "Three hundred coins, ordinary people can't afford it at all."
Gu Shaoyu did not answer him, but continued to say to the five major grain merchants: "You five have a lot of grain on hand, let's set the price at 300 coins per dou, no higher, okay?"
The five people were almost stunned. Did Lord Gu know what three hundred coins meant?
Three hundred wen is already very high, okay?
Last year, after the autumn harvest, the price of a dou was only 30 wen, and the price of old rice was even lower, about 20 wen. In winter, it started to rise to 50 wen, and later all the way up to 200 wen.
Lord Gu said to sign a contract with a price of three hundred wen of rice?
If it rises to 300 wen...
My old swan, I’m rich, I’m rich!
They hurriedly said, "We have no objection, no objection, just three hundred wen, and no more increase." The five people said hurriedly, with smiles on their faces.
Gu Shaoyu said, "Well, since you all agree, let's sign a contract. From today on, you will sell it for 300 coins per bucket. Don't sell it below the price! The government will issue a notice to make the 300 coins public."
County Magistrate Qin was so angry that he didn't want to talk anymore.
Gu Shaoyu asked him to bring paper and pen.
County Magistrate Qin had a dark face and was in a bad mood. He refused to sign the contract.
Gu Shaoyu didn't care and asked Xie Yu to write - from today onwards, the rice shop of Wei family/Wu family/Bai family/Meng family/Liu family will sell rice at a price of three hundred wen, which cannot exceed or be lower than three hundred wen. Anyone who violates this will be killed without mercy.
County Magistrate Qin felt that only the last three words were somewhat pleasing to the eye.
The contract was drafted, signed by each household head, and stamped with the county seal.
Gu Shaoyu ordered County Magistrate Qin to post notices everywhere, adjusting the price of rice to three hundred coins per dou.
"Oh, right? Not only should we post it in Baiyang County, but we should also post it in the capitals of the neighboring states. We should post it in all the busiest downtown areas. The wider the better."
"Prince Rong is rebelling in the next state," said Magistrate Qin, unable to bear it any longer. "Lord Gu, if you post this notice, won't the price of rice soar? The people will poke at your spine and curse you!"
"It doesn't matter." Gu Shaoyu said, "Let them scold me as they please."
There are always many people who don't understand the truth and curse, but when the truth comes out in the end, they will shout "good" loudly.
County Magistrate Qin took people to post notices. Xie Yu took the time to ask, "Why did you set a high price of 300 coins with them? This price is simply unaffordable for ordinary people."
Gu Shaoyu smiled and asked, "Two hundred coins of rice, can ordinary people afford it?"
Xie Yu shook his head. Not to mention the common people, even he, as the eldest son of the Xie family and the young patriarch, could not afford such a price of rice.
No, even with a hundred coins, ordinary people can’t afford it.
"Since they can't afford 200 wen, then what's the harm in 300 wen, or even more?"
"But with such a price, the people will certainly be extremely dissatisfied, and it will easily lead to a civil uprising."
Xie Yu said worriedly, "Prince Rong is in the next state, the people are in turmoil, and your safety is even more of a problem."
"Don't worry, the price of grain will definitely come down. Didn't you ask County Magistrate Qin to post everywhere that the price of grain in Baiyang County is 300 coins? What do you think will happen next?"
Xie Yu thought about it for a moment, and immediately a door was pushed open in his mind.
He got it.
Brother-in-law, you’ve killed three birds with one stone.
"With such a high price, rice merchants from all over the country will rush to buy up large quantities of rice and plan to transport it to Baiyang County in Zizhou to make a fortune.
When Prince Rong started his rebellion, he could only rely on the grain he had stored before. He wanted to buy cheap grain outside, but he couldn't get any!
In addition, as long as the grain merchants enter Zizhou, the losses on the road, labor costs, carriage costs, warehouse rental fees, the cost is very high. If the grain is not sold for a day, the cost will increase by a day, and the price will inevitably drop by then..."
Oh, his brother-in-law really is such a ruthless person!
Ling Xun was also surprised when Lord Gu said that the price would increase. He had been trying to figure out the reason behind it until Lord Gu asked all family heads to sign a contract and he saw one of the clauses: it must not be higher or lower than three hundred coins.
He understood immediately! This was definitely a deep pit that Gu Ge Lao had dug for the five major grain merchants!
"The price must not be less than three hundred coins, and no one will be spared." It seems that the price is high and they can make huge profits, but in fact it is a disaster for the five major grain merchants.
"Ling Xun, you continue to write the rice price notice and send Hongying and the others to post it everywhere. Make sure more grain merchants, big and small, see it."
Ling Xun responded and immediately went to write the notice, and the female soldier rode a fast horse to a farther place to post it.
When the county government's notice was posted, the local people were first shocked, and then they went wild and cursed.
"What a bastard, he must be in collusion with profiteers. Two hundred coins is already high enough, but he comes and raises it by a hundred coins!"
"Let's go to County Magistrate Qin and file a complaint, and tell him to get out of here."
"God damn it, please send down thunder to kill this treacherous minister!"
……
When County Magistrate Qin came back from outside, he didn't dare to tell others that the people outside were scolding Gu Shaoyu. He just paced back and forth anxiously.
Gu Shaoyu said, "County Magistrate Qin, starting from tomorrow, you will go to each intersection and watch. Remember, do not stop any grain trucks entering the city."
County Magistrate Qin had no idea what the man was up to, so he just lowered his head and said nothing.
A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death. Lord Gu is much higher than him, what can he do!
On the day the notice was posted, Li Hailong, the governor of Zizhou, had already rushed to Baiyang County. On the way, he heard countless people cursing Gu Shaoyu and County Magistrate Qin, and he couldn't help laughing.
Go ahead and curse, curse as hard as you can!
Lord Wei said that this man was full of evil intentions, and as soon as he could find evidence of him, he would immediately file a memorial to denounce him to death, completely discredit him, and bring him down from power.
"As soon as you arrived in Zizhou, you openly raised the grain price so high. Although I don't know what you are up to, but since you have handed the handle to me, how can I not make good use of it?"