Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 171 Accidents
With consideration in mind, Zhang Shenyan became more and more delicate.

Xiangyang City is clean and densely populated, with about 20 people. Although this is not a previous figure, considering the military disasters in the past few years, it is not bad.

Those in short and brown clothes solicit business, those in long robes and silk go shopping leisurely, old people and children walk by slowly, these are rare in troubled times.

"Grain store—"

He looked up and stepped in.

"Old man, do you want rice?"

At this time, a guy hurried over and saw that he was dressed gorgeously and had a smile on his face.

"How much is the rice price?"

Zhang Shen said that ringshou is the same, there are all kinds of rice.

"Sixty coins for a bucket of brown rice, seventy coins for aged rice, one hundred coins for polished rice, eighty coins for high-quality glutinous rice, thirty coins for soybeans..."

The clerk introduced it carefully, and seeing Zhang Shenyan's serious face, he smiled and said, "Old man, nowadays in Huguang, all grain sellers pay this price."

Zhang Shenyan calculated in his heart that Shi Mi was about one tael, and Jiangnan was already two taels. Considering the different regions, this price is not too expensive.

"Oh? What? You guys still have an agreement?"

Zhang Shenyan said in surprise.

"Where is it!" The man looked at him carefully, shook his head and said with a smile, "You must be from other places, and you don't know much about us."

"Huguang Province, anyone who sells grain must join the grain trade. There is a limit to the high price and low price. If you bid randomly, you will not be able to do business."

Although I don't know the high price and the low price, but Zhang Shenyan knows numbers after all. The highest price in the grain shop is only one tael or five. The price of ordinary brown rice is only six cents per stone, which is really affordable.

"Your price is so low, doesn't it mean that the rice is flowing out, and Nanjing can get two taels of stone rice!"

Zhang Shen said that if there is a way, there is no way.

"Who wouldn't want to?"

At this time, the shopkeeper saw that Zhang Shenyan was an unusual person, so he hurried over and said with a wry smile, "Not only is there a tax on entry, but there is also a tax on exit."

"The grain tax is also one tenth tax, which is very high. Moreover, Jiujiang Zuo Zongbing has to scrape a layer. When they arrive in Anqing, Chizhou and other places, they also have to pay the tax."

"Furthermore, Taipingfu (Wuhu) is a rice market operated by Huizhou merchants. We transported rice for thousands of miles, and the price difference has long since disappeared."

Hearing this, Zhang Shenyan nodded: "This food business is controlled by the imperial court!"

"That's right, you're amazing!" The shopkeeper said with a wry smile, "The Military and Political Secretary personally manages the rise and fall of food prices without his consent."

Hearing this, Zhang Shenyan nodded, turned and left.

"Shopkeeper, why does this man keep asking questions!"

"Don't worry about it so much, look at his appearance and temperament, he is not an ordinary person."

The two men in the grain shop murmured.

After leaving the grain shop, Zhang Shenyan exclaimed: "There is no hiding for profiteers. If it is implemented in Nanzhili, it will not be easy to stabilize the price of grain?"

Immediately, he thought of the gentry behind the grain merchants, the nobles, and couldn't help shaking his head and smiling wryly: "Who can keep a promise? Even the emperor can't!"

Walking on the street, he suddenly realized that this was very different from Nanjing.

Even in the prosperity of Nanjing, it is unavoidable that starvation is everywhere in the streets, prostitutes are swarming; excrement is everywhere, and diseases are plentiful...

However, in Xiangyang City, the streets are neat and clean, and there are no beggars starving to death, let alone prostitutes peddling on the street, or hooligans.

This made him a little uncomfortable.

Immediately, a group of yamen servants in soap uniforms, holding five-foot-long water and fire sticks, suddenly started running.

I saw that a wine shop was very lively, three feet beyond the street, a shed was built and two chairs were placed to increase the number of guests.

A dozen or so people directly demolished the wooden shed, in a hurry.

Facing the shopkeeper's begging for mercy, watching the crowd increase, the leader stood out and said loudly:

"It's not that we're going to be executed without guilt. You're building a building that is facing the street. If you don't care about it, you're three feet and I'm three feet. How can anyone walk?"

"This one will be dismantled for you, and there is still a fine, five taels of silver, go to the yamen to pay it quickly."

With that said, the group walked quickly again.

The shopkeeper sighed, helpless.

Zhang Shenyan walked over and asked, "Why are these people so arrogant?"

"This is the newly established Urban Management Department. It is up to them to control floods and fires, rectify the city's appearance, and build roads and canals."

The shopkeeper said helplessly: "In the past, it was under the supervision of the head of the shop, just stuffing some money, but now it doesn't work!"

Zhang Shenyan was stunned and left directly.

There are square chiefs in the city, chamber chiefs near the city, and li and Jia in the villages, all of which are run by wealthy households and self-government.

Now all the powers of these square chiefs in the city have been collected, and the management of the city is also dedicated.

A city of Xiangyang has given him too many surprises.

Seeing the leopard in the tube, assisting the King of Hanyang must be a figure comparable to Zhuge Liang.

It's a pity, it's a pity that he committed himself to the King of Hanyang.

On the street, a simple and low-key carriage, under the protection of several guards, slowly entered Xiangyang City.

Inside the carriage, a woman in her twenties was slightly raising the curtain and watching curiously.

Her hair was partly pulled and partly combed, and the headband was lightly tied like fine beads and broken jade, and the white jade hairpin was inserted horizontally.

Kneeling on the soft cushion, the round thighs are folded, showing a perfect and tight roundness.

With her beautiful eyes, she looked at the scenery of Xiangyang City in amazement, and murmured: "Under Zhu Lang's rule, it really is a peaceful and prosperous age."

Thinking of this, she clasped her chest with both hands and squeezed out an arc, her exquisite facial features were full of smiles: "I haven't seen you for a few months, Zhu Lang is getting more and more capable."

However, immediately, she frowned, feeling uneasy in her heart: "Zhu Lang is married, I don't know what will happen to his wife, and what will happen to me?"

Thinking of this, she became more and more uneasy.

Hanyang Palace.

Sun Xueniang's hair is in a ponytail, she wears a jade skirt, and she wears a loose white skirt. Her words and deeds are dignified and generous.

She ordered people to clean up the other courtyard, stood aside, looked at the furniture and decorations, and entered little by little.

"Sister, why are you so focused!"

This is, a girl in a light red jacket and skirt, bouncing over, combing a double-snail bun, like a rabbit.

Sun Damianang pursed her lips, hugged her sister's arm, and said dissatisfiedly: "The King of Hanyang accepts a concubine, and you still help entertain it, it's too much."

"What do you know!"

Sun Xueniang shook her head, Yu pointed at her sister's forehead, and said with a light smile, "The male master is outside, the female master is inside, and His Highness is fighting outside. I will naturally be in charge of this palace."

"Furthermore, this Miaoxian followed her from Xi'an to Hanzhong, and now she has come to Xiangyang. It can be seen that His Highness loves her very much."

Sun Damiana puffed up her face, no matter what her sister said, she felt wronged by her.

Thinking about it, she looked at her sister's chest, which seemed to be a little bigger than it was a few months ago.

"Princess, people have arrived!"

At this time, a servant came to report.

(End of this chapter)