Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1327

Attacking opponents from the economic level is not a new thing, it has appeared in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, but this is not a conventional method after all, and the people who understand it are only a very small number of people who understand business.

This small group of people definitely did not include Hauge, nor did it include the vast majority of officials in the Kingdom of Jin.

The crisis in the Kingdom of Jin spread throughout the Guanzhong area. The people of the Kingdom of Jin, who had experienced the sharp drop in cotton prices, started panicking for food again like a frightened bird.

Grain prices soon surpassed those in the last years of Chongzhen. The people in the city were afraid of running out of food, so they desperately went to buy grain at home. They would have to store grain for at least a few months to feel at ease. Seeing this, some grain companies deliberately reduced their shipments. This has accelerated the rise in food prices.

The price of food in Chang'an broke through a record high within a few days, and many people in Guanzhong recalled Guanzhong more than ten years ago. The panic has seriously affected the stability of the Jin Kingdom.

At this time, the imperial court of the Kingdom of Jin began to sell grain from official warehouses to stabilize grain prices, and seized many grain accounts on the grounds of cracking down on hoarding. Only then did the grain prices in Chang'an barely stabilize, and the grain prices in Chang'an were reduced to three taels per shi.

After Hauge returned to Chang'an, he was furious about this. He originally wanted to take advantage of this cotton planting event to suppress the cabinet and make a deal with the cabinet. The county magistrate of Lintong who was escorted to Chang'an was beheaded the next day to appease public anger.

At this time, Jin Guo was in a state of desperation, and had never encountered such a thing before. For a while, it could only stabilize Chang'an. As for other regions, it was difficult to take care of it for the time being.

Northern Shaanxi, south of the Great Wall, west of the Yellow River, and Suide Prefecture and Yulin Prefecture to the north of Yan'an Prefecture are remote places, but the shock that occurred in the Guanzhong Plain has also affected here.

Compared with the Guanzhong Plain, it is located on the Huangtu Plateau, with barren land and limited food production, making it a poor and miserable place.

Wang Yongqiang, the commander-in-chief of Suiyan, was originally stationed in Yan'an, but after the Ming army regained Shanxi, he was transferred to Suide Prefecture and Yulin Mansion to prevent the Ming army from breaking into northern Shaanxi from Pianguan, Wubao and other places, avoiding Tongguan and threatening Guanzhong.

Wang Yongqiang is a warlord in northern Shaanxi. He has tens of thousands of acres of land and tens of thousands of tenants. After participating in the attack on Shanxi, he gained a lot of population. The trilogy expanded from 3000 to [-], and the tenants also had [-] households. More than [-] people.

For Wu Sangui and warlords like him, the Kingdom of Jin adopted a tax-subsidy system. After stipulating that part of the tax should go to the central government, the rest of the tax would belong to them.

As for the distribution of taxes, different places are somewhat different. For example, Wu Sangui is powerful and occupies Hanzhong, so he can tax more independently, while Wang Yongqiang, a warlord with less power and less important position, can tax less independently. .

He originally had 5000 parts, and the court of the Kingdom of Jin only recognized this number, and calculated according to the number of [-] when dividing taxes. However, Wang Yongqiang, like all other warlords, had the need to expand his troops, so he immediately ordered the [-] parts. Expanded to [-] people.

The extra 2000 people need to eat, drink, pay military salaries, buy equipment, and the taxes left by the Kingdom of Jin are not enough for his expenses. Yulin and Suide are not rich places, so it is not easy for him to search for them. If the search is too ruthless, and the people go elsewhere, then he will not be worth the loss.

The power of a warlord comes from the people under him, so the warlord always has the desire to expand his army.

After Wang Yongqiang expanded his workforce to [-], he had no money to support him, which made him very worried. When he was worried, the price of cotton in Guanzhong rose sharply, and Wang Yongqiang naturally joined the ranks of cotton farmers without hesitation.

The policy of three grains and seven cottons of the Jin Dynasty court is equivalent to a piece of waste paper to him, and he hardly thinks about it. All the land under his name is planted with cotton, and he also encourages the people in Suide Prefecture and Yulin Mansion to do the same. Variety of cotton to get more taxes.

Wang Yongqiang had a very good plan. Like many smart people in the Kingdom of Jin, he wanted to sell cotton to buy food.

Calculating the price difference in this way, he can still make a lot of money, but he didn't expect that the news of the sharp drop in cotton prices and the soaring price of rice would spread just as soon as his cotton was harvested and ready to be shipped to Chang'an.

At this time in Suide Prefecture, Wang Yongqiang was pacing back and forth anxiously in the Jietang, the residence of the General Army.The state of Jin has always been short of food, and Yulin and Suide Prefecture are naturally even more scarce. Wang Yongqiang wants to sell the cotton and collect grain at a high price. Now that the cotton has not been sold, the grain in his hand is not enough for a month.

Wang Yongqiang's eyes were bloodshot, obviously he hadn't slept well, and there was a big blister on his mouth, which made him very angry.Sitting in the lobby is a man named Gao Youcai, a general of Suiyan who guards Fugu County in the north of Yulin, and confronts the Ming army across the Yellow River.

According to the regulations of the Kingdom of Jin, Juntian could not grow cash crops but could only grow grain. However, he was encouraged by Wang Yongqiang to grow cotton as well, which was regarded as a misfortune by Wang Yongqiang.

Gao Youcai looked at Wang Yongqiang dangling in front of his eyes, and his brain hurt, so he said: "Junmen, counting from the time, the people sent out should have come back."

Wang Yongqiang stopped, "Yeah! I should have returned yesterday. I don't know if I'm in a hurry. I can't spare him when I come back."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant rushed into the hall to report, "Report to the military gate, Liu Shoubei is back."

Wang Yongqiang was overjoyed when he heard this, and asked anxiously, "Where is the man?"

"Reporting to the military gate, people just entered the city!"

Gao Youcai, who was at the side, couldn't help interjecting: "Hurry up and let Liu Shoubei come to see the military gate!"

The servant left in a hurry, and after about a cup of tea, a dusty man entered the lobby.

Without waiting for him to salute, Wang Yongqiang stepped forward impatiently, grabbed the man's arm, and asked anxiously, "How's the situation? What do the people from Xintai say?"

The man was Liu Shoubei, named Liu Chengyong, a confidant of Wang Yongqiang, who was sent to the south by him to inquire about cotton sales and grain prices.

Liu Chengyong saw Wang Yongqiang's face full of anticipation, he didn't know how to speak for a while, and Gao You waited for the food to go back to the pot, so he couldn't help but said anxiously: "Cheng Yong, what's the situation, what are you talking about!"

Liu Chengyong sighed before saying anything, Wang Yongqiang and Gao You saw this, and their hearts immediately turned cold, they couldn't help letting go of his arm, and took a step back, "I really fell!"

Liu Chengyong calmed down his emotions, cupped his hands and said, "Junmen, General Gao, the price of cotton has fallen so badly that you can't sell one tael per load in Guanzhong. The Xintai Company can't be counted on. The company has closed down, and Sun Dongzhu owes too much. hanged himself."

Wang Yongqiang and Gao Youcai's faces turned pale. The Xintai ship that promised to collect cotton fell down, and even the proprietor died, so their cotton would definitely fall into their hands.

Gao Youcai couldn't help panicking: "What should I do? If cotton can't be sold, where can I get money to buy grain?"

Wang Yongqiang became restless for a while, and started to walk back and forth again. After walking a few steps, he suddenly looked at Liu Chengyong and said, "Go to Yan'an again and see if there is any food in Suiyan Governor's Yamen, and ask Dong Futai to lend me some food first!"

Gao Youcai also nodded, "Yes, borrow some emergency first, and pay it back later."

But Liu Chengyong shook his head, "Junmen, I specifically inquired about it in Yan'an when I came back. The imperial court transferred all the grain stored in Yan'an to Chang'an to stabilize the grain price, and Dong Futai has no surplus grain."

There was really no way to go, Wang Yongqiang started to pace in frustration again, Gao Youcai frowned, and after a while, he suddenly said: "Junmen, why don't we ask the court for food directly!"

Wang Yongqiang frowned and was still thinking about it, but Liu Chengyong who was standing suddenly said: "Junmen, General Gao, this is absolutely impossible, the prefects of several counties in Guanzhong that have been seriously replanted with cotton have been beheaded, and their heads are still hanging in Chang'an The city is a public display. The emperor is in a fit of anger, and asking the court for food at this time means that we use military fields to grow cotton, and we are not asking for it!"

Wang Yongqiang and Gao Youcai were stunned for a while, the food was almost running out, and they really had no choice.

Just when the two of them felt a little hopeless, the famous family member Ding ran in hastily just now. He looked at the people in the hall, walked up to Wang Yongqiang, and whispered in a voice that only he could hear: "Junmen, there is a person from outside the house." , claiming to be from the east of the river, saying that he has something important to see the military gate."

"Hedong?" Wang Yongqiang didn't shy away from Gao Youcai and Liu Chengyong. After a moment of surprise on his face, he said directly, "Let him in."

Not long after, a literati was brought into the festival hall, he glanced at several people in the hall, exchanged glances with Liu Chengyong, then immediately looked away at Wang Yongqiang, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "My lord, Hu Xiaosheng has seen Wang Junmen. "

(Thank uyhwiw for the reward, ask for a monthly pass, recommend, subscribe, and ask for support for genuine reading.)
(End of this chapter)