Rule over Ming Dynasty

Originally, the nobles in the capital were worried about the emperor's involvement in the Chiang family yesterday, but they found that the east was dark and the west was bright, and the plan to hoard rice for profit actually ushered in the harvest season.

In just one day, their rice shop sold [-] taels of rice.

You know, the price they bought rice for was less than [-] cents, but now it is sold for more than ten times the usual price.

Not to mention the profits from house speculation, even the profits from loan sharking are not comparable. It is simply a kind of naked robbery.

I thought that after Zhu Youtang cut off their loan sharking opportunities and prevented them from occupying the people's fertile land, the good days of their powerful people would be gone forever.

It’s just that facts prove that opportunities are earned through hard work, and even a small amount of rice contains amazing profits.

The next morning, the flower hall of the British Government House welcomed a group of guests, making the place particularly lively and festive.

"Haha... the Royal Rice store will be closed for three days. I can't stand it anymore!"

"I thought he would be hiding a secret warehouse, but I didn't expect it to be so bad!"

"It's a miracle that the Royal Rice Bank has been able to survive until now. How can there be even a grain of rice left!"

……

Although there was a major mistake in King Xing's affairs, it did not affect their happy mood at the moment. Now the rice shop they control has simply turned on the money printing machine mode.

Royal Rice Store suddenly announced a three-day closure yesterday, which was like surrendering to them with a white flag.

Although the Royal Rice Store advertised itself as raising grain, discerning people knew very well that there was no more rice for sale, so they had no choice but to close the rice store.

Even if they go to the countryside to buy rice at high prices, it is just a drop in the bucket, but it cannot change the fact that the Royal Rice Bank cannot continue to deliver rice.

"I can see clearly that there is no more rice in the palace!"

"What do we call this? This is another village with dark flowers and bright flowers!"

"Fortunately, Mr. Hou is wise, we gritted our teeth and persisted, and now we finally get a huge reward!"

……

The Marquis of Xiangcheng, Li Jin, and others were sitting around the table. Now they could be said to have watched the clouds clear and see the moonlight, but they were all respectful to Li Jin who insisted on shorting the royal rice warehouse.

In fact, they are also betting this time, betting that the rice grain in the imperial warehouse will soon bottom out, betting that they, the nobles, will have enough funds to pay for the imperial warehouse.

The plan to start shorting the imperial warehouse this time is accompanied by great risks. After all, each of them raised funds one after another, and some nobles even took out all their own wealth.

If all the rice they have hoarded now is sold at a high price, they will naturally make more money than loan sharks, but if it cannot be speculated, it will cause huge losses.

Facts have proved that their bet was right this time, and they won the power to set rice prices in the capital.

Even if Zhu Youtang used the money earned by Huangdian over the years to create an imperial warehouse to store rice, the warehouse could not be endless after all, and naturally he could not avoid the fate of being shorted by them.

After more than half a month of competition, they had the last laugh with the millions of funds they raised.

They now have a complete monopoly on rice in the capital, and the Royal Rice Store has absolutely no rice to sell, so they can charge whatever the price goes for the polished rice.

In order to disgust Zhu Youtang, they even refused to trade new coins, which also made the self-righteous emperor understand that their group of powerful people were not soft persimmons.

The joy of victory filled everyone's nerves, but they all toasted to celebrate, and they also frequently raised their glasses to pay tribute to the real hero, Marquis of Xiangcheng, Li Jin.

Li Jin, the Marquis of Xiangcheng, has also been under a lot of pressure recently, and now he is regarded as a hero. He toasted politely and said: "Thank you for your help, otherwise I may not have achieved the big harvest today!"

"Haha...we really got a big harvest this time!"

"Gah... are we a blessing in disguise this time?"

"If it weren't for that aggressive person, we might not have so much rice in our hands!"

"Yes, this time is indeed a blessing in disguise. Now that this large amount of grain is sold, we will have a worry-free life!"

……

Ruian Bo, Wang Yuan and others thought about how many times their funds had dried up, and they almost wanted to give up several times. Fortunately, they finally survived. At this moment, they felt a lingering fear. Now they were naturally enjoying their victory and looking forward to the upcoming huge profits.

In fact, they had no intention of challenging the Royal Rice Store. After all, everyone knew that the emperor was behind the Royal Rice Store, but the emperor refused to eat the meat that was fed to his mouth.

It was the Royal Rice Company that used secret imperial warehouses to suppress the price of rice in the capital and always kept the rice price at the usual price, which made them unable to get off the ground at that time.

If they choose to give in in order to avoid conflict with Royal Rice Bank, not only will the long-planned plan go bankrupt, but they will also have to pay a large sum of money.

After careful consideration, they had no choice but to continue raising funds and launched a plan to short the imperial warehouse, purchasing a large amount of rice from the Royal Rice Bank.

Although the investment has been increased, the income has also been increased invisibly. It can be said to be a huge gamble in the true sense.

Earlier, they thought that the emperor's repulsive appearance prevented them from making a fortune, but now they had more rice in their hands, which undoubtedly deepened their profits, and they found that the emperor was simply their money-giving boy.

"It's only tens of thousands taels a day, ten days!"

"Eighty thousand a day, eight million a month, eight hundred million a year!"

"So much, it's impossible, isn't it richer than the imperial court?"

……

Ruian Bo, Wang Yuan and others have already started to calculate the profits, but some people's level is indeed limited, but they gave a number that shocked everyone.

“It’s impossible for the Royal Rice Store to get rice, right?”

“The River Governor’s Office chooses to regulate the river, and it will take at least half a month before water transportation becomes smooth!”

"The bridges in North Korea were destroyed. I heard that the King of North Korea, Yi Sang, died of smallpox. Who has time to repair the bridges?"

……

Faced with some people's concerns about the arrival of grain from other places in Beijing, Ruian Bo, Wang Yuan and others seemed to have planned everything thousands of miles away and immediately guaranteed the goods.

In fact, ever since they implemented the rice stocking plan, they have been paying attention to the movement of rice grains in other places.

Originally, they had [-]% trust in controlling water transportation, but no one expected that the emperor suddenly proposed a plan to introduce Korean rice, which put their plan on the verge of bankruptcy.

Fortunately, they made repairs in time and destroyed the bridge in northern North Korea.

North Korean rice is now being transported back from Seoul, not to mention that the bridge in the north has been damaged. Even if the bridge is intact, it cannot be transported back in time to solve the food crisis in the capital.

That's why they are sure of winning this time. As long as they sell the polished rice they have accumulated at a high price, they will make at least a million taels of profit.

The sunshine is just right today, which is considered a good weather. While the Marquis of Xiangcheng, Li Jin, and others were enjoying themselves in the British government palace, a recruitment notice appeared in the capital.

Since Song Cheng took office, the Shuntian government office has also begun to pay attention to business, and has set up special recruitment boards everywhere. Workshops or shops that need workers can post them there.

It's just that today's situation is special. The Royal Rice Shop's announcement is very scary: "Urgent! The Royal Rice Milling Workshop is recruiting [-] rice milling day laborers. Those with experience will be given priority!"

"Five hundred, did you write it wrong?"

"I just came from the east side of the city, and there are also five hundred names written on the east side of the city!"

"It's one thing to have so many rice millers, but where do they get so much grain?"

……

When seeing this notice, many people's first reaction was that the number of people on it was wrong, but some people soon confirmed that the number was correct, which led to another question.

In fact, it was not only the Marquis of Xiangcheng Li Jin and others who were concerned about the grain storage in the imperial warehouse, but also the people in the capital. It was based on the judgment that the imperial warehouse was empty that caused everyone to panic.

Now the Royal Rice Company suddenly recruits rice millers, and there are still a large number of them, which makes many people confused.

Polished rice naturally comes from rice, and the threshing tool is called earth hulls. Those who know how to use earth hulls are rice millers. The efficiency of the soil rice mill was not low at first, but in the end, [-] people had to be recruited, which showed that Royal Rice Bank was about to get a batch of grain.

It's just that the roads from north to south can be said to be cut off now. Not to mention that it's not the autumn harvest season yet, and even the autumn harvest has been reduced due to the locust plague. How can there be a large amount of grain in the capital?

If there is not enough grain, recruiting so many rice millers at once would be a waste of personnel.

"No matter what you have to do, just sign up!"

"Yes, you will find out when we arrive whether it is true or not!"

"That's right, take a look and see what's going on. It won't be a lie after all!"

……

The onlookers quickly put an end to their unwarranted speculations. Some people decided to apply for the job, while others wanted to know the truth through the applicants.

"Speaking of which, my wife took over the job yesterday and hasn't come back yet!"

"The same goes for my family. They have been working at the dock outside the city gate, and suddenly they were hired by someone in the palace!"

"Don't scare yourselves. Royal Merchant has the best reputation. It probably takes a day or two to transport anything!"

……

Facing the unknown, it is inevitable to feel fear. Some people are worried because a large number of coolies were hired yesterday and have not returned yet. However, some people are comforting them.

In fact, it is common for coolies to be hired for several days. After all, some jobs need to be done for several days. If you want to make money, you must obey the employer's arrangements.

What's more, the longer the time, the higher the wages. It is very normal for this to disappear for a day.

That afternoon, carriages entered Beijing city one after another.

Just when some people felt panic, the group of people who had been hired returned, and everyone was filled with a bright smile, like a general who had won a battle.

People are in high spirits during happy events, and the banquet at the British government has not yet been dispersed.

Marquis of Xiangcheng Li Jin and others drank so much that they even forgot about everything until dusk.

At this time, a figure broke in, and Butler Li said with a pale face: "Master Marquis, I don't know what happened just now, but the people in the entire capital stopped buying rice!"

"Isn't Royal Rice Store closed for three days?" When he heard the news, Wang Yuan, Ruian Bo, was the first to stand up and asked in horror.

Butler Li swallowed hard and replied firmly: "That's true. The door hasn't been opened yet!"

"What's going on? Why don't the people in the capital buy our rice?" Zhang Ming, the British prince, had been very silent, and now he asked the question in confusion.

It would be nice if the Royal Rice Company really had the ability to produce a large amount of polished rice out of thin air, but they did nothing. As a result, no one would sell them high-priced rice. It was simply unreasonable.

Butler Li was also deeply puzzled, but still reported the information he had learned: "According to people in the capital, the Royal Rice Store has rice that can be used to redeem the payment! However, the Royal Rice Store did not sell rice, and no one saw the rice. In the end, everyone believed it!”

"Did he say that he can have it if he has it? I also said that I have a mountain of gold and silver!" Wang Yuan, Ruianbo, had already spent all his worth and said without anger.

"It's just that now people believe it. Although the Royal Rice Store is not open yet, people in the city really don't come to our store to buy rice!"

Butler Li was also very confused, but pointed out the current situation with a wry smile.

Although he still didn't understand: even though the Royal Rice Store was still closed and there were still two days before it reopened, the Royal Rice Store had won the absolute trust of the people in the city without any effort.

You know, no matter how strong the emperor's credibility is, it cannot withstand their suspicion. Why do the people in the city have so much confidence in Royal Rice Store?

The Marquis of Xiangcheng, Li Jin, clenched his fists tightly, and his sharp nails dug into the flesh of his palms and he felt pain: "I don't believe that the Royal Rice Shop can sell so much rice. It is absolutely impossible. It must be a smoke screen!"

"It is indeed impossible for the Royal Rice Store to have so much rice. It must be fake!" Zhang Ming, the British prince, also chose to believe Li Jin's judgment.

Perhaps they are unwilling to believe this cruel fact, perhaps they are not willing to fail, or perhaps they simply cannot afford to lose, so they do not believe that the Royal Rice Bank has sufficient rice.

"The food from Royal Rice Store is back!"

"Don't doubt it, the royal family has enough rice!"

"Don't eat overpriced rice. If you don't have any rice, I can lend you some!"

……

Although the Marquis of Xiangcheng Li Jin and others did not believe it, the people in the capital had spread the word by word of mouth, and miraculously, everyone stopped patronizing other rice shops.

"Whoever buys rice at a high price now is stupid!"

"Those people are too aggressive in buying, Royal Rice Store has enough rice tubes!"

"It doesn't matter if North Korea's rice doesn't come back. Why don't we have rice in the Ming Dynasty?"

……

The people in the capital seemed to have a grudge against those merchants selling high-priced rice. Not only did they no longer go there, but they also called on their friends to tell them not to go. Instead, they quietly waited for the Royal Rice Store to reopen the day after tomorrow.

In fact, the reason why they went to other rice stores to buy high-priced rice earlier does not necessarily mean that they have given up. The main reason is that they panic-purchased rice because there was no rice at the Royal Rice Store.

If they knew that Royal Rice Store still had plenty of rice, who would go there and buy high-priced rice instead of the affordable rice from Royal Rice Store?
  Just like this, as the panic of the people in the capital disappeared, some people were willing to go to borrow rice, or simply go hungry for three days, even if they were really broke.

At this time, the sky in the capital looked treacherous, as if a violent storm was about to usher in, or another bloody storm. (End of chapter)