The fertile water of farming does not flow to outsiders' fields

Looking at Xue Yinsong's blank gaze, Que Hongze patiently explained: "Although the grain roads are not involved in local affairs, the procurement of grain basically relies on local supplies. For example, our southeast grain roads, because the climate is humid and rainy, the storage conditions are extremely difficult. , so there are not many grain reserves, but the total of 100 warehouses is 100 million dan. Grain storage costs a lot. Ordinary rice needs to be replaced after five or six years of storage. Sell the old rice and buy a new batch, based on 20 million dan. Generally, the inventory in China will be updated by about [-] tons per year, but this also depends on the price of rice in that year. If the price of rice is too high, not only will we not be able to purchase it, but we will also sell rice at a reasonable price in accordance with the imperial order to ensure local supply.”

"The inventory of grain roads in the northwest and northeast is 2-3 times that in the southeast of my country. The Northeast is basically not a problem to purchase a large amount of rice because of the fertile land, while the northwest is dry and mainly produces coarse grains. The grain road purchases are mainly in the Jiangnan area. Unlike us, The Northwest Grain Road is the military grain reserve, no matter how high or low the price of rice is, they must ensure that the stock is regularly replaced and replenished.”

Xue Yinsong caught something vaguely, and couldn't say it for a while, so he listened carefully, and sure enough, Que Hongze said again: "The warehouse of the southeast grain road is located in the south of Fuchun County, and the procurement location of the northwest grain road is also in Fuchun County. Therefore, the rice in the southeast direction is transported to Fuchun County by specialized traveling merchants, so once the rice price in Fuchun County is controlled, even if it is only an inflated price, it will be a big loss for us to purchase grain."

"Only when the price of rice is one-third higher than usual, the imperial court will order it to be stabilized. There is a lot of room for fluctuation." Jia Chengbo added.

Xue Yin only felt that Song was suddenly enlightened, as if he saw a light guiding him: "I believe that the He family has not dared to control the court, who are they going to deal with?"

Jia Chengbo said with a smile: "Brother Xue is really powerful, what he said really hit the mark. Of course the He family didn't have the guts to control the grain price of the imperial court. They just came to make the grand master feel uncomfortable. Two of the grand master's direct disciples were with Mi Liang Related, one is Liu Minzheng of Northwest Liang Dao, and the other is Si Nongqing Li Zhengyuan."

Que Hongze said with a smile: "Last year Liu Minzheng suffered a big loss, this year I'm afraid he will grab food from me in advance, we have to beware of him." Several people laughed at the same time, Jia Chengbo laughed and cursed: "He and I come from the same family. Brother, you must tell him about this."

The little scholar asked: "The He family and the Grand Master used to have a festival? The family of merchants would like to make money through harmony, so why would they take the initiative to draw a clear line with the Grand Master?"

Fu Binglin immediately explained: "I really know a little bit about this matter. In fact, it was a harem dispute. In the end, the He family won. Not only was Madam He successfully promoted to imperial concubine, she was also diagnosed by the imperial physician as having a dragon son."

Que Hongze was taken aback, and immediately thought deeply: "This is not good. It is disrespectful to the empress that the concubine comes out first, but this empress is from the grand master's family."

Jia Chengbo said: "When I was idle in the capital, I heard rumors that the emperor didn't like the queen, so he seldom went to the queen's bedroom. Now that the queen has no children and concubines go out first, I'm afraid there will be a lot of future troubles."

Seeing that Xue Yinsong was half-understanding, the little scholar explained with a smile: "My Celestial Dynasty follows the eldest son succession system, and the convention is to appoint the eldest son of the empress as the crown prince. Only when it is confirmed that the empress has no children, will a noble concubine with a higher status be appointed. the son of."

Xue Yinsong nodded and pondered for a while before saying: "The current emperor is only in his prime, and the empress is not without opportunities."

Jia Chengbo laughed and said: "This harem is not a place to wait for leisure, everything has to wait for changes. Cough, why do you think a few big men are talking about the harem? Come, come, drink tea."

Several people raised their glasses and drank, Que Hongze said with a smile: "I'm here today because I have something important to do, so let's have a drink with Mr. Xue first."

Xue Yinsong raised his glass according to his words, only to hear Que Hongze smile and say: "Good! Although tea is used instead of wine, the aroma of this tea is overflowing, which is even better. Mr. Xue, although we met for the first time, the relationship between people Time is really a word of fate, now that we have met our eyes, we should work together, I have a deal here, I wonder if you are interested?"

Xue Yinsong raised his jaw slightly: "Businessmen pay attention to the word profit, as long as it is profitable and does not violate the laws of the heavens, of course I am willing to do it."

Jia Chengbo laughed and said, "Just by hearing Brother Xue's words, I know Brother Que's bet is right."

Que Hongze said with a smile, "It's very simple. You will resell the old rice I bought from the southeast grain depot, and you will also purchase the new rice, but it must be executed at the price I give you. What do you think?"

Xue Yinsong pondered deeply, and then said after a while: "The problem of reselling the old rice is not a big problem, but the purchase price of the new rice does not depend on me. If the market price is too high, what should I do?"

Que Hongze smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about this. The purchase price fluctuates according to the market price of the year. I'm just acting in your name. Otherwise, as long as the He family knows how to collect rice from the grain road, they will inevitably drive up the price of rice."

"The amount of rice harvested by the grain road is hundreds of thousands of dans. I'm afraid it won't take a month." Xue Yinsong said: "If I can't explain the whereabouts of this rice, the He family will immediately see where the flaw is. It will drive up the price of rice."

Que Hongze said with a smile: "The amount of rice harvested in the big warehouse is huge, of course you can't eat it, let alone your store, even the grain merchants in Fuchun County can't eat it. The new rice purchase I mean refers to the rice in Fuchun County. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of land around Fuchun County, and this part of rice was controlled by the Rice Grain Guild controlled by the He family in the past, which not only kept the price of rice extremely low, but also cheated farmers. You poor farmer, last year a lot of land was planted with wheat, and if this continues, Fuchun County will no longer produce rice in a few years."

Xue Yinsong frowned, and after a while he raised his head and replied calmly: "It's not because I'm timid and afraid of getting into trouble, but I just want to deal with the He family with my current strength. If I don't miss the bottom line, otherwise I will never act rashly because of a moment of kindness in three to five years."

Jia Chengbo clapped his palms and laughed loudly: "Sure enough, I have hit the mark. I said Mr. Xue would not agree easily, so hurry up and take out your letter."

Xue Yinsong saw that everyone was smiling, and then looked at the puzzled expression of the little scholar, and then smiled with certainty: "It seems that I have passed the test?"

Que Hongze took out a letter from his bosom and said with a smile: "Don't blame us for taking advantage of Brother Fu. In fact, he didn't know about it, but he didn't expect that Brother Fu knew Mr. Pei earlier, and it saved Brother Jia and me."

Fu Binglin shook his head and sighed: "I said why you are in such a hurry to see Mr. Xue, but it turns out that there are other important matters."

Xue Yinsong took the letter, but it was written by the young prince. In the letter, he only said that Que and Jia are good friends, and they want to do something in Fuchun County. If you can provide some convenience, I would be very grateful.

The letter was not sealed, and the little prince didn't say anything special. Xue Yinsong read the letter and said with a smile: "Since there is a letter written by the young prince, it is only the orders of the two adults."

Que Hongze said in a serious tone: "The little prince only said that you and him are close friends, and that you are a very loyal person, so we came to you to find a solution. But don't worry, I will support you in terms of money, so you don't have to worry about it." , after the matter is completed, I can guarantee that the resale of the old rice in the Southeast Liangdao will be exclusive to you until I transfer away."

Jia Chengbo said with a smile: "As long as the cancer of the He family can be destroyed, the Northwest Food Road will surely give some benefits. Brother Xue, let's do it. It's no problem to ask for money or people. If there are not enough shop assistants, I can give you another one." Find a few experienced hands who know the details."

Xue Yinsong received the good letter and said with a smile: "You two must have plans in mind? Why don't you tell me and listen."

Jia Chengbo said: "I don't have a fully detailed plan for the time being. I want to resell the old rice through you for the time being. The price of the old rice is [-]/[-]th of the regular price, so that brother Xue can at least stabilize the current situation. When we receive new rice Raise the price to make a fortune, and strive to raise the price of new rice."

Xue Yinsong thought about it and asked, "Why must Fuchun County grow rice?"

Jia Chengbo said: "I can answer this for you. Rice has high temperature and climate requirements, so there are not many places where rice can be grown nationwide, and wheat flour is easy to be hungry. The main supply of rice grain is the main supply for marching and fighting."

The little scholar who hadn't spoken for a long time suddenly said, "I haven't fought anyone for at least ten years, right?"

Fu Binglin nodded and said: "Yes, although there have been no wars for many years, there are still tens of thousands of frontier soldiers in the north, and they must consume a lot. Besides, I still eat rice as the staple food. If the large area of ​​wheat is not enough good for the long-term.”

Jia Chengbo added: "Army consumption is a staggering figure. If the food supply line exceeds a thousand miles, it will become very difficult. Take the mule and horse food team as an example. A car of mule and horse food will be consumed by itself after two months of transportation." One-fifth, don't look at the amount of rice in the Southeast Liangdao, it can't support an army of 30 people for more than half a year, if it is replaced by wheat flour, the consumption will be even greater."

Xue Yinsong fell into deep thought, and said after a while: "Okay, then please Mr. Que deliver the rice as soon as possible, and I will start reselling it as soon as I receive it."

Que Hongze said: "Okay, the old rice is transported once a month, and when it arrives, the previous month's grain payment will be collected, and the grain price will be determined by me."

"I still have to explain to the He family why there is so much old rice in a steady stream!" Xue Yinsong laughed, "Why don't you teach me, so that I can pass the test smoothly."

Jia Chengbo pondered for a moment and said: "It is absolutely impossible to have anything to do with the grain depot, otherwise the He family will immediately know that the grand master is behind."

Xue Yinsong thought to himself that the young prince also took the route of the grand master, so did he also count as a member of the group and followed the route of the grand master?

Que Hongze also found it difficult: "I have 20 tons of old rice to replace. With such a large amount, I really can't think of anyone to trust."

Fu Binglin and Xiao Xiucai on the side also frowned and thought for a while, only to hear Fu Binglin say: "I have a way, but it's very reluctant. Remember the flood last year? It destroyed Zhao, Qi, Jiao, and Ji. Zhou, why not infer that it is the rice from Zhaozhou, after it is flooded, it will be disposed of later, and it is reasonable to sell it at a low price."

Xue Yinsong pondered for a moment and said: "I am from Deyang County, Zhaozhou. Last year, the flood was so severe that even the house was gone, let alone the rice. If you want to check it, you will know it. To be on the safe side, it is better to say that it is from Jeju. Miba, among the four prefectures, only Jeju is the least affected."

Que Hongze clapped his palms and said with a smile: "Okay! Then act according to Brother Xue's plan. I will go back to the grain depot today, and within three days the rice will arrive. I will let people spread the news secretly, saying that Jeju is short of money and heard that it is rich." The price of rice in Chun County is high, so I come here to sell rice."

They all felt that it was appropriate, and after discussing the major issues at once, they chose some major issues in the capital to talk about at Xue Yinsong's request, and the backyard was full of chatter and laughter.