The mountains were dyed red, the roads were rutted, and the flags were fluttering in the wind. The sun was gone, and the moon was bright. The horses neighed, and the people bowed in the mud. The wind was blowing, and the rain was falling.
During the spring plowing season, those who hoped for more rain suddenly found that the rainy season seemed to be extending. This added a trace of worry.
After Li Longji gave the order, the temporary disaster relief department quickly started to work. They sent telegrams to the various prefectures to check Chang Ping's warehouse. If there was anything missing, they were to report it immediately. If they did not, they were to be punished severely. They also sent conscription orders to the Zhang Family and Wang Family. If they needed supplies, the Zhang Family and Wang Family had to take out something.
They knew that if Chang Ping's warehouse was empty, the Zhang Family and Wang Family would definitely be prepared. If Zhang Xiaobao was not busy with other things and was not willing to follow the disaster all day long, he would have already distributed the supplies to the disaster areas.
Many people guessed that Zhang Xiaobao did not take action this spring because he was afraid that every disaster relief would be led by him. In the end, the people only remembered the Zhang Family and Wang Family and did not know the kindness of the imperial court. That was why he was indifferent.
Today, there was not a big disaster in Henan Province. Because of the bridge, the embankment on this part of the Yellow River was deliberately strengthened, so it was not washed away.
On the embankment, there were countless carriages. The muddy road was full of ruts, and occasionally there would be people pushing and pulling horses. When the wind blew, the flags would flutter non-stop.
"Mother, walk slowly. The road is slippery, and it is difficult to walk when it rains. We should build a three feet wide cement sidewalk. Wait for me to write a letter tonight and send it to the capital's Ministry of Works tomorrow. Let Minister Zhang see if he can find someone to pay for it."
On the road, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy supported a woman and walked with difficulty. His pants were covered in mud. He spoke to the woman as he walked.
The woman frowned slightly and advised, "How can you be involved in such a big matter as building a road? Even if you write a letter, you should send it to the Eastern Capital's Luoyang Prefecture first. "
"Minister Zhang is not in Luoyang. I can't count on the officials in Luoyang to do their best. How can I not be involved in such a big matter? I passed the imperial examination last year, so I should contribute to Tang. Otherwise, wouldn't I be wasting the merchants' money? The purpose of the Chaoyang operation is not to cultivate trash. "
The young man found an excuse for himself so that his mother would agree.
The woman looked at her son's stubbornness and sighed, "If you take action in Chaoyang, there will be more and more High Scholars. If you don't get a good ranking in the examinations, your High Scholar status will become worthless in the future."
"Learning is not only for the Spring Quarter Examinations, but also to increase one's knowledge, to understand reason, and to understand the greater good. This child has studied chemistry in school. Isn't the soap that I make very useful? Looking at the inner courtyard of the Zhang Family and Wang Family, they are still servants. When it comes to knowledge, I admit that I am inferior.
Mother, why did you come to my side again? There are so many carriages, and the horses are tired out. Be careful not to lose your temper and kick people. You can go to the other side. My body is agile, and even if I encounter a crazy horse, I can still avoid it. "
As the young man spoke, he pulled his mother back.
The woman had no choice but to listen to her son. In fact, she deliberately went over so that if there was any danger, she could help her son block it.
"Mother, let's walk on the grass. I heard from the other students in school that there is a war in Henan Province. It is called a war without knives and arrows. The Japanese's Wind Logistics wants to cause trouble, but the merchants of Tang Empire can't stand it and sent people here to deal with them.
Mother, look, the flag of Splendid Grocery. Mother, don't be fooled by their status as merchants, they are quite capable. I heard that the merchants who came this time are all in the top 100 of the list of billionaires. They are famous everywhere. Any one of them can affect the rise and fall of local prices. "
The young man saw a group of carriages passing by and pointed to the flag to introduce it to his mother.
"If they are so capable, wouldn't it be chaotic? I don't see them showing off. There are still two of them in Luoyang. Mother feels that the rice and noodles are still the same. " The woman usually did not care about such things and knew little. When she heard her son's words, her words were full of disbelief.
The young man walked to a nearby tree and broke off a willow branch. He waved it in front of him, afraid that a grass snake would suddenly jump out and bite him. He smiled and said to his mother, "Mother, you don't know.
It's not that they can't do it, but that they don't dare. The people on the top list are powerful, but there is someone even more powerful. He is above the list. Zhang Xiaobao, the son of Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Works, is close to my age. If the merchants on the list dare to attack the local economy, Zhang Xiaobao can immediately make them bankrupt. Unfortunately, I have never seen him. "
"Xiao Bao? Mother knows Xiao Bao. Mother has seen him before. There is also his fiancée, Cuckoo. She is so beautiful. Her pair of big eyes can speak. With one look, you can tell that she is a blessing to her husband. She is gentle, virtuous, and generous. She is very cheerful. "The woman finally had someone who knew.
"Ah? Mother, you have seen her? What does she look like? "The young man was interested.
"She is not as good-looking as my son. My son is the most good-looking in the Tang Dynasty. Even if you can't pass the Jinshi exam in the future, I will be satisfied if you can find a wife like Cuckoo." In the eyes of the woman, her son was the best.
The young man nodded helplessly. "I also think that mother is the best mother in the world. But mother's requirements for your daughter-in-law are really … really making things difficult for me. Moreover, I don't think she is gentle and cheerful."
"How is she not gentle and virtuous? She smiles at everyone. Mother likes her. "The woman wanted to set the standard for her daughter-in-law. The young man trembled.
"Mother, when she is riding a horse, she is also very steady. When she kills people, corpses are piled up like mountains. When blood flows like rivers, she blinks her cute big eyes and smiles. People say that it is better to hear the King of Hell cry than to see the devil laugh. Even if I can find such a woman, I would not dare to marry her. I would be scared to death by nightmares at night. Only Zhang Xiaobao, who talks about destroying countries with a smile, has the ability to control her.
Ah, mother, I suddenly thought of something important. We should not eat garlic recently. Tang Dynasty's merchants are fighting with Wind Logistics. On one hand, they want to raise the price. On the other hand, they are worried that ordinary people will not have a good life. We have to help them and let them rest assured. "
"Mother knows. We have been eating onions recently. That broken place in Japan dares to compete with our Great Tang. Let them know how powerful we are." The woman deliberately straightened her body and said disdainfully, showing the pride that Tang people should have.
The woman was not the only one who thought so. Others who understood the situation also supported her. It was just two months of not eating garlic. Now that their lives were better, eating other things was the same.
As a result, the merchants who participated in the sniping found that the situation was clearer. It was easier for them to operate. The price of garlic was adjusted according to Wind Logistics' actions, so Fengqiao Shoji could not gain any advantage.
Fengqiao Shoji could not sleep well for a few days. His eyes were red, and his skin was wrinkled. He was as haggard as a green bristle grass in the rain. However, he was not as tough as the green bristle grass.
Buying 50,000 strings of garlic at a high price only affected the price of garlic in a small area. It did not lead to a large-scale price increase at all. They wanted to sell garlic, but they could not sell it. The entire Henan Province's people tacitly stopped eating garlic. Even Zhang Xiaobao did not expect this. If they wanted to sell it to a distant place, transportation was a problem.
The mountain of garlic could not be taken care of because of the lack of storage. In the rain, some were damp, some were moldy, some were shriveled, and some were even rotten at the bottom. Every day, they lost a lot of garlic.
"Hahahaha …" A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. Fengqiao Shoji, who was standing by the window, suddenly laughed out loud. Yamamoto Kazamoto was frightened and thought that Fengqiao Shoji had gone crazy. Just as they were about to do something, Fengqiao Shoji stopped laughing.
"Wow, when I, Fengqiao Shoji, came to Great Tang, I actually made dozens of people on the top rankings of Great Tang attack me at the same time. Although I lost, who could do that? Who in the world can attract so many people to attack me at the same time? Even if I lose, they will make my name. "
Yamamoto Kazamoto nodded. Indeed, there had never been dozens of people on the top rankings of Great Tang attacking a single person.
Yamamoto was about to say a few words of agreement, but upon further thought, he realized that this wasn't the case. Even if several dozen merchants didn't work together, any one of them, given the wealth of their family, would only have a fraction of what Fengbridge-lord had. The reason for this was to show the unity of the merchants of Great Tang, and it felt like they were doing this for Zhang Xiaobao.
After hesitating for a moment, Yamamoto resisted the urge to say it out loud. It was better not to make things difficult for Fengqiao Shoji.
Fengqiao Shoji's face turned red with excitement. He continued, "I have an idea. I will continue to collect green onions and ginger. I still have a lot of money. I don't believe that the people of Great Tang will not eat anything. I will make them busy."
"Fengqiao Shoji, you can't do that. How chaotic can Great Tang be? If you personally collect the green onions and ginger, the prices of the two will increase by several times. It might even increase by dozens of times. It will increase our purchasing cost. "
Yamamoto felt that Fengqiao Shoji had really gone crazy. When he came, he brought sulfur and silver worth a million strings of coins. If he were to withdraw now, he would have less than 400,000 strings of coins left. If he were to collect more green onions and ginger, he might end up with nothing left. He was here to earn money, not to act rashly.
Fengqiao Shoji shook his head. "If the prices increase, won't the people eat? I want to see what Zhang Xiaobao can do to destroy his reputation and shatter his legend. "
"Yamamoto, Fengqiao Shoji, Yamamoto Shoji, all the supermarkets in Henan Province have put up notices." Just as Fengqiao Shoji made up his mind, a Japanese man ran in and shouted at the three of them.
"'Na Jiang'? Supermarkets? What kind of notice? " Fengqiao Shoji did not know how to speak anymore. He could only say 'what'.
"It's about the green onions and ginger. The notice says that from tomorrow onwards, all the supermarkets in Henan Province will supply green onions and ginger at the same price. Ten days later, they will supply garlic at the same price. The people of Henan Province can use their household registration to buy garlic. It's said that it's spring plowing and it's a great discount."
The Japanese man said. He meant that the price of garlic will drop in five days. However, he did not know that Fengqiao Shoji was thinking about the green onions and ginger.
When Yamamoto heard this, he whispered to Yamamoto Shoji, "Is it over? The supermarkets were established by the Zhang family. There are many chain supermarkets around them. They have many business partners. Before Fengqiao Shoji could do anything, Zhang Xiaobao had already blocked the road. His timing is really accurate. But I am puzzled. Where will the green onions in ten days come from? From elsewhere? He would rather lose money than sell them? "
"I don't think so. How can Zhang Xiaobao do the same thing as other Tang businessmen? Then he is not Zhang Xiaobao. Let's wait and see. There are still many things to do. Do you still remember Zhang Xiaobao's scheme? "
"Yes, he should have stopped earlier. The batch of garlic from Huainan Province was coming to attack our deposit. If we stopped immediately, we might have suffered less losses. But Fengqiao Shoji did not believe it. Sigh ~!"
Yamamoto did not dare to continue thinking about it. He waved his hand and asked the Japanese man to leave. He turned around and looked at Fengqiao Shoji, who was stunned, and sighed.
After a full 15 minutes, Fengqiao Shoji recovered from the shock, "What should I do? What should I do? "
"Lord Fengqiao, with the rest of your money, go to the Great Tang Bank and get the silver back. After deducting the interest, you should still have 350,000 strings of silver. Quickly sell off the overstock of garlic in order to make a comeback."
When Yamamoto came up with this idea, he wanted to cry but had no tears. In less than two months, they only had 400,000 strings of silver left. Including the sulfur that was not pawned off, they only had 500,000 strings of silver in two months. What kind of business could lose money like this?
Next, there was the storage fee. Because the goods were not from Great Tang, before they were sold, they had to specify where they were stored and what they were used for. Now that it was exposed, they had to pay a tax. When they first came in, they left with the tribute from Japan. The tribute had not been sent to the capital, so the purpose of the other goods was unknown.
Thinking about it, Zhang Xiaobao would solve this loophole. Yamamoto only hoped that there would not be any additional punishment.
Fengqiao Shoji could not think of any other way and nodded, "Okay, Yamamoto, Yamamoto, Yamamoto, help me."
The three of them took the loan contract and the remaining money from the Great Tang Bank and headed to the Great Tang Bank in the center of Luoyang.
When they arrived, before they could say anything, a person approached them and said with a smile, "Are you Fengqiao Shoji, Yamamoto, and Yamamoto?"
"You are?" Yamamoto was puzzled.
"I am Zhangjia Zhuangzi Inner Court Deacon, Xu Si. This should be Yamamoto. When we received the news, the young master said that Wind Logistics would not lose everything in one go. Yamamoto is Yamamoto. Japan is a great country, and Great Tang is also a great country. The people of Great Tang are kind and intelligent, and the people of Japan are kind and intelligent.
Yamamoto and Yamamoto have suffered losses before, and the young master believes that the two of you will change. He will persuade Fengqiao Shoji to come and repay the loan. He also said that Yamamoto is loyal and is talkative. Since Fengqiao Shoji is new, he will not respond. The first to speak will be Yamamoto, right? "
This person called himself Xu Si. He first said a few diplomatic words, then named Yamamoto and told them the reason.
In an instant, the backs of the three of them were drenched in sweat. Fengqiao Shoji was the most affected. Not only did he sweat a lot, but his face also turned pale.
He had finally witnessed Zhang Xiaobao's prowess. He knew that Zhang Xiaobao was currently staying in his hometown in Sanshui County. He was so far away, yet the telegram was sent. Not only did it prevent him from having any other ideas, it also allowed the Inner Yard to wait at the bank.
They only knew that Zhang Xiaobao's economic skills were not small, but Zhang Xiaobao had already analyzed their characters. Could it be that he was really invulnerable?
Yamamoto was used to it and admitted, "That's right, I'm Yamamoto. May I know why Xu Si is here?"
"If I say that I'm helping you, you will think that I'm a hypocrite. I'll tell you the truth. The young master wants to teach you a lesson. He knows that you guys are manipulating the price of garlic, but he still bought it at a high price. He wants to take over your Wind Logistics and offers you 10,000 strings of cash.
It's an exchange. The condition of the exchange is that we won't pursue the fact that you guys bought and sold the goods under the name of tribute. However, you have to pay the taxes. The silver will be 100% collected, and the sulfur will be exempted because Tang needs sulfur. The young master said that this is the last chance. Do you agree or not? "
Xu Si didn't say any pleasantries and directly told the three of them what the young master meant.
"Agree." Yamamoto and Yamamoto said at the same time. They didn't even think about it.
Fengqiao Shoji was still thinking about what Xu Si said and was trying to calculate the gains and losses. Seeing that the two of them had agreed, he was puzzled. Did the two of them finish analyzing the gains and losses?
"Fengqiao, since Zhang Xiaobao sent someone here, he definitely didn't mean to mock or bully us. He doesn't want to do that. His conditions must be the best for us. If we don't agree, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Yamamoto explained to Fengqiao Shoji. This was the reason why he and Yamamoto agreed so quickly.
Fengqiao Zheng 'er immediately lost his initial arrogance of wanting to be on the same level as Zhang Xiaobao. He realized that he was too far behind Zhang Xiaobao. It was no wonder that Zhang Xiaobao could make decisions with just a few words. Even the top merchants of Great Tang had to take the initiative to express their stance. In terms of economics, Zhang Xiaobao was like a god.
Just like how the ancestors of Buddhism said, one hand pointed to the sky and the other pointed to the earth. In the heavens and under the earth, he was the only one.
"I wonder … I wonder how Zhang Xiaobao is going to teach them a lesson?" Fengqiao Shoji's voice was trembling when he spoke. He wanted to know how Zhang Xiaobao was going to handle the logistics. He really couldn't think of anything.
"If Fengqiao Shoji isn't in a hurry to return to China, you will know later. Let's sign the contract." Xu Si said with a smile.
Fengqiao Shoji nodded. "Okay, okay. There's one more thing. Where did the garlic come from in ten days at the supermarket in Henan Province?"
"From Xinluo. After the young master found out about what you did, he immediately contacted someone at the border of Xinluo and exchanged an important technical formula for a large amount of Xinluo garlic. During this period of time, he has been transporting the garlic to Henan Province at the fastest speed. After eight days, he will be able to distribute the garlic. After ten days, he will be able to buy the garlic."
Xu Si didn't hide anything, but he didn't say what the technical formula was. This made Yamamoto and the other two curious.
Fengqiao Shoji wanted to return the money when he went to investigate in the future. After doing some calculations, he realized that Tang was willing to pay more for the sulfur. After paying 100% of the silver tax, he didn't have any money left. And this was because Zhang Xiaobao didn't pursue other matters. He was indeed ruthless.
"Xu-jun, isn't young master Zhang Xiaobao going to compensate the other merchants?" Fengqiao Shoji asked. He didn't believe that Zhang Xiaobao wouldn't do anything.
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