Chapter 10 Contest (Two New Year’s Eve)

"The bright moon emerges from the Tianshan Mountains, the vast sea of ​​clouds, and the wind blows tens of thousands of miles, blowing across Yumen Pass. The Han Dynasty went down to Baideng Road, and Hu peeked at Qinghai Bay. From the battle field, no one was seen..." It was late at night, and the bright moonlight spread into the imperial study room through the glass window, evenly scattering beside Zhu Yuanzhang's desk. Two tribute candles were scattered on the desk, illuminating the house.

Facing the moonlight outside the window, Zhu Yuanzhang was full of poetry. Although he had never read any books when he was young, he could still appreciate the artistic conception of Li Bai's mountain moon. "The Han Dynasty descended from Bai Deng Road, Hu peeked at Qinghai Bend." Now, what Hu Qi is peeking at Qinghai Bend?

Turning back from the window, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the picturesque map of the country. In some places painted on silk cloth, because Zhu Yuanzhang kept stroking his hands, it turned black. In the place where he stroked the mo most, small red flags were densely filled with red flags. It was the boundary between the actual control areas of the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia. Each flag represents a ward. In the direction of Liaodong, there are more than a dozen red stars pinned into an arc with needles, like a noose, firmly sucking towards the Jinshan tribe. In the northeast of the Fishing Sea, there is a huge star that is particularly conspicuous. It is Su Ceyu who was inserted behind the enemy, known as the Devil Whip.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang took out two more red flags from the desk, one inserted into the river and the other inserted into the islands of the South China Sea. The boy Wu'anguo was right in the memorial that there were no eternal enemies and friends, only eternal national interests.

"Long live, today is such a good mood", a gentle female voice rang at the door.

"Zi Tong, come in." Zhu Yuanzhang agreed, withdrew his gaze and walked towards the desk filled with memorials. More than 200 memorials every day are really tired. Usually, there are Grand Tutor Li Shanchang or Grand Secretary to help pick them up. Today, Li Shanchang, who was on the rotation, suddenly took a leave of absence. He had to read all the memorials alone, and he was only a little surprised until now. Elder Li Shan, and Zhu Yuanzhang thought helplessly.

Empress Ma and a few palace maids walked in gently and took a basket from the palace maids. It contained the newly cooked grain porridge and some peasant side dishes. Zhu Yuanzhang was born in poverty and could not forget the food of these people when he became an emperor. The imperial kitchen could not make the taste. Every autumn, Empress Ma would personally cook grain porridge for him.

He picked up the mixed grain porridge, Zhu Yuanzhang took a few sips while it was hot, ordered the palace maid to step down, and took Queen Ma's hand and said, "Zi Tong, thank you for your hard work."

"What's the hard work? Do some miscellaneous work, exercise your hands and feet, and promote blood circulation. I heard that the Grand Master did not come today. I was afraid that the emperor would be too tired alone. I was a woman and could not help much. It was not a matter of duty to serve the emperor to have enough food."

"Zi Tong, come, sit down, I'll tell you something interesting. Our son-in-law, hey, I'm so laughing to death." Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously in a good mood today, so he took Empress Ma to sit next to the desk together.

In addition to the memorials, there were also a bunch of secret reports sent by the Jinyiwei from all over the place, which were neatly pressed under the paperweight.

"Our son-in-law, you say that the Marquis of Pingliao, what's wrong with him? Didn't Your Majesty say he was messing around two days ago?"

According to Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention, he originally planned to rush from Wu'anguo to Peking after all the forces had finished performing their full performance. Unexpectedly, a woman who suddenly appeared completely disrupted his plan. Before Zhu Yuanzhang's Jinyiwei found out how many gods there were in Peiping, Wu'anguo had arrived in Peiping. After Zhu Yuanzhang received the news, he was so angry that he shouted loudly after the court dispersed, calling Wu'anguo ungrateful and not acting according to his plan. For more than twenty days, Empress Ma had spoken a lot of good things for Wu'anguo in the palace. Finally, because of Liu Ling's deceased father's death, Zhu Yuanzhang calmed his thunderous anger.

Today, Wu Anguo, who was once privately called a fool by Zhu Yuanzhang, obviously became a popular again. While laughing, Zhu Yuanzhang introduced the situation to Empress Ma.

"Although I thought Wu boy was disobedient, I ordered the Jinyiwei to do my best to help him stabilize the political situation in Peking. Today, the Jinyiwei sent me a bunch of reports. It's so nonsense. This kid has killed those bastards."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, why are you becoming more and more confused when you listen? You should drink water slowly first, don't eat while laughing, be careful of your health." Queen Ma was inexplicably informed. The Jinyiwei would say good things to the minister. This was the first time in the first time.

"Listen to me, on the seventh day after Wu Bo arrived in Peking, all the local major merchants in Peking followed his orders to unite. The Zhang family, Yang family, Xu family, Zhan family, and the Gao family from the Western Regions reduced the price of their rice shops, directly lowered the price to the level at the beginning of the year. The autumn harvest was approaching, and the other small merchants had to lower the price of rice shops." Zhu Yuanzhang became happier the more he thought about it, and as he spoke, he couldn't speak.

Empress Ma was shocked when she heard this. What trick did Wu'anguo and Guo Pu play? At this time, the rice price was downward? Autumn has arrived, and the grain price was damaged. At this time, the rice price was reduced. Can the people who grow grain be happy? While he was confused, Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "Several troublemakers incited local elders to go to the prefect's office to make sense. The price of grain has been high for a year. At this time, the people are certainly not happy. The prefect Xu, who made meritorious service, took the leading gentry.

In the mansion, after two hours of talk, several gentry left happily. Guess what? The second day after this incident, the government office issued a notice, and two newspapers in Peking reprinted it. Officials from various places under the jurisdiction of the governor of the Peking Government Office counted the number of farmland this year. After the autumn harvest, each household could sell grain to Zhanji Store at the actual number of cultivated muses at a fixed quota. Zhanji purchased it at the average price on the market last fall, which was higher than the price they sold rice themselves.”

Queen Ma even more strange. Buy at high prices and sell at low prices. These merchants in Peking must have been confused by Wu boys. Even if you have money, you have never seen anyone who loses money. Besides, those guys who hoard goods in Peking can let Wu Anguo do this? Thinking of this, looking at Zhu Yuanzhang's happy look, I knew that Wu Anguo must have won a game. I smiled gently and said, "Your Majesty, although Wu Anguo is a little reckless, he is very clever in making a calculation. I think he will never do the money-losing transaction."

"Yes, after receiving this report, the Jinyiwei couldn't guess what Wu boy was doing, so he never dared to report to me. What happened next was even more interesting." Zhu Yuanzhang said happily: "About ten days later, Jiangsu travelers, Xu Jinru, saw that the government did not show up, gritted the bullet and fought against many merchants in Peking. He hired a rascal to line up to buy rice at the Zhang family's rice shop, clamoring that if Beijing sells it like this, he would collect as much as he would pay the bill in cash, and he would not have to sell it to others."

This shameless guy, Queen Ma snorted contemptuously, thinking to himself that he had so many books, but he didn't know the word "shame". He knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had some more words, so he listened to his husband's detailed explanation.

"As a result, before the government came forward, the Zhan brothers suddenly pulled more than 200 carts of rice to block the door of his mansion one day and asked him to pay the cash bank. The Xu family from Jiangsu was stunned and surrounded the fun. The people were so happy and cheered." Zhu Yuanzhang's introduction gradually brought personal emotions. He had some information about the unscrupulous merchants who were making trouble in Beijing through the Jinyiwei. Although the behavior of these people did not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they seemed really angry. They were beaten up, so it was really happy that Zhu Yuanzhang had trouble.

"Long live, don't you say that the situation in Peking is very messy? Do the other families are just watching the Xu family be fooled by the Zhan brothers?" Queen Ma is a good partner to listen to the story. At the critical moment, she knows to interrupt and mobilizes her husband to continue talking.

"Of course those bastards wouldn't give up so much. They were going to join forces to buy and hoard the rice from the Peking merchants. They made a lot of money in the Beijing stock market. Anyway, they were sure of it. Guo Pu was unwilling to use the government to suppress them. As a result, before they could take action the next morning, Tianjin Wei sent a few hundred carriages of rice to Peiping, and lined up more than ten miles from the cement road. It was said that Ying'er got it from Annan, and it was transported to Tianjin from sea to Tianjin, and sent it to Peking overnight. Tianjin still had hundreds of thousands of stones, and it would be as much as you want. With the carriage that delivered the rice, there were iron canned fish, which was the one we had tasted. Although it was not delicious, it was meat at all. They called this thing in Peking. There was also a kind of bargain.

The mouths of the pottery can be sealed with wax, and they can be kept for several months. Some sea fish are sold very cheaply and most people can afford them. As a result, many black-hearted merchants who hoarded rice and grain in Yongping were frightened and took out the rice in their hands. Some people also asked the Zhan family to buy them at the price last fall. The bastards of the Xu family, Di family, and Yu family could not hold on in the end, and sold all the rice in their hands at a low price, which was even lower than their initial hoarding price. As a result, Wu Xiaozi secretly sent someone to buy the grain back and sealed it in the official warehouse in Peking as a reserve to supply it to the grain store controlled by the merchants in Peking at a low price. In the past month and a half, those black-hearted merchants who reselled grain would have a big loss."

Zhu Yuanzhang was happy and Queen Ma was relieved when she heard it. The specific operation was definitely not so easy. The details of the Jinyiwei were not clear, but on the surface, these were enough to make Zhu Yuanzhang happy to have a good sleep. No matter how mean and polite the ministers were, Zhu Yuanzhang would never forget his food and clothing.

"Where did Tianjin get so many meters? I remember Ying'er only got about 100,000 stones of rice?"

"Hey, Wu Boy looks honest on the surface, but in fact he is very good at lying. The cement road cannot see the depth of the ruts. I guess even if it is not a cement road, he will have a way to press the car with stones to make outsiders confused. According to the Jinyiwei report by Wu Boy, the 200 car of rice in the previous two hundred carts were all real, which was the total amount of grain in the hands of all the merchants in Peking and Gao Deyong from the Western Regions. Later, those hundreds of cars were basically filled with grass and stones in sacks. Only can fish were real goods, and only about twenty cars were just scared. This kid is a ghostly and genius." Zhu Yuanzhang himself admired Wu Anguo's beautiful hand. He used the strength of the government, and the other party might not be willing to submit. Using the weakness of dealing with greed for money to make a breakthrough, how could these black-hearted rice merchants not be fooled?

Empress Ma was very happy when she saw her husband's happy appearance. She saw Zhu Yuanzhang laughing so happily for the first time since the Mongols invaded the south. She added a bowl of porridge to her husband and asked in a low voice: "What will Your Majesty plan to deal with the unscrupulous merchants in Peking next?"

"Dispute? I won't deal with it anymore. Let's see if the Wu boy play. I told the Jinyiwei to contact Wu boy, ask for money and give power. We must use the same method and treat the other person's body. Since they are willing to play, let Wu boy stay with him to the end."

What the Jinyiwei did not report was another war without seeing the smoke of gunpowder. Wu'anguo won a complete victory in the rice price battle, so they tried to report the details to Zhu Yuanzhang as much as possible. The stock market battle has no clue yet, so they could only keep the information in the back of the rice price battle and briefly mentioned it. They admire Wu'anguo's business acumen, and they couldn't see the ending battle, so they should suppress it and wait until they have a good look. Especially the Jinyiwei who has been arranged in Peking, they hope that Wu'anguo will win from the bottom of their hearts, so they intentionally or unintentionally safeguarded the emperor's confidence in Wu'anguo.

The stock market battle and the rice price battle had already begun. The day after Wu'anguo arrived in Peking, the Zhang family, Yang family, Chen family, Xu family and some major factories in the former Peking suddenly used a sum of funds to purchase the stocks in the factory at a price slightly higher than the market. This made the workers very happy. Now there are almost only sellers and no buyers in the Mingdi Building stocks. The boss understands everyone and buys the idle stocks. There is no reason not to sell them. Most people not only sell their own shares, but also beg the boss to sell the stocks in their relatives and friends. According to the owner's wishes, the factory manager did not make any trouble for these workers. They just told them that since they have sold, don't take risks anymore. The stock market risks are high and not always available.

After almost the acquisition of the stocks in the hands of workers in Peking, the opponent was probably ready to hear the news. The largest bill number in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Ji Piao No. and the loan-making bank, jointly issued a notice. From now on, each semicolon will no longer accept stocks as loan mortgages, and will never waver no matter how much interest the borrower promises.

The news came out, as if it was worse than injury. The stock market in Peking, which had just improved, collapsed immediately. The shopkeeper of Mingdi Building was so anxious that he squatted at the gate of Wu'an's country and refused to leave. He insisted on Wu'anguo coming out to give him an explanation. Wu'anguo, who had always had a good relationship with the shopkeeper, did not see him and closed the door to thank the guests, not knowing what he had to do at home.

When the stocks fell to the lowest point and the food price war officially began, Fatty Gao said it right, who was the most cost-effective to bet on these things. The Beijing stock market was originally a false fire, and it was a matter of time before the bad businessmen took advantage of the situation. The speculation of Gao Deyong and others only made this time advance. It is unrealistic to get back the money that was circulated in the stock market, but it is not difficult to make the other party hurt through the interaction between the stock market and the grain market. Peking merchants occupy the right time, place, and people. As long as the division of labor is reasonable, the chance of victory is very high.

Wu Anguo returned, stabilizing the people's confidence in various businesses. Zhang Wu and others' actions were to try to get the least people to participate in the final gambling. The "Beiping Xinbao" of the Zhan brothers was responsible for creating rumors. The strategic goal virtue developer was Wu Anguo, and the real behind-the-scenes manipulators were the three major profiteers, Zhan Zhen, Zhan Yi and Gao Deyong.

When the food price war was in full swing, Zhang Wuge suddenly announced that all industries controlled by the Zhang family in Peking will no longer expand production this year. Major shareholder Zhang Wu and second shareholder Zhan Zhen jointly decided in the absence of Li Shanping, who holds the third largest shares, that of the profits this year, they will pay out 100,000 taels of silver to share dividends according to the shares.

This news is even more shocking than the shock caused by the joint efforts of the Piaohao no longer accepting stocks as collateral to provide loans. The stocks in Peking fell to this point, and the dividends received by those who hold Zhang's stocks were almost the same as the current price of the stock. Speculators of all sizes rushed into the Mingdi Building like flies. The food dispute is no longer important to some people, and the stocks represent the money of Baihuahua.

After four or five months of cold weather, the scene of Mingdi Building in Peking finally became popular again. The sound of abacus beads began to ring again every day, and the guy's soles began to wear out quickly again. However, this season's stock market is different from before. The stock price has no rules to find. Every day, it rises and falls several times, and big and small profiteers are trying to kill in the stock market.

There are new news every day, and people can't tell which side is true or which side is false. After several rounds of games, some people finally couldn't support it and withdrew from the stock market with the few remaining funds. Rising, falling, falling, falling, rising, not knowing whether the hunter trapped the wolf or bit the hunter.

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers, the latest news, the boss of the silk merchant Yu was jointly sued by many merchants to the prefect's office and sentenced to three years in prison." The sound of newspaper boys selling was spread throughout the streets and alleys. At this time, stocks could no longer be a shortcut to make a fortune in people's eyes. Everyone knows that the risks there are too high. In the summer, Yu Si, a speculator who is still in the stock market, accidentally fell into the trap. Because of short selling, he became the first person in Beijing to go to jail for stock fraud.

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers, and Boss Li of the Peking Dye Factory joined the Peking Chamber of Commerce and invested 100,000 taels to buy Peking Woodenware Stocks." The sudden jump of businessmen who joined either party would no longer arouse everyone's curiosity.

Unlike the initial goal, the people in Peking did not win greater victory in the stock market. The imperfect rules gave themselves opportunities and gave the other party the same opportunity. The stormy rice price operation war was a follower like Xu Jinru; the nervous and exciting stock speculation was only a scammer of the world of Yu Si. For the businessmen with the support of Wang, Xie, Di, and Bai, the losses in the food war were not enough to make them retreat, and they still had enough capital to turn the tables.

"Brother Gao, long time no see you. Let's look for a place to have a cup of tea and have a chat." After meeting in the stock market, Gao Deyong and Xie Wuya, who have become opponents, still greet each other, as if they have been friends for many years.

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say, we have opportunities."

Speculators such as Wang, Xie, Di, and Bai are not in a hurry. Even if they accidentally lose the battlefield in Peking, they can still move to other places. No matter where they are, they will be strong enemies of Peking.

Wu'anguo and Guo Pu were not in a hurry. They would never fight alone. In addition to the Peking merchants behind them, they also had a trustworthy friend. For an opportunity, the man had been preparing at sea for three years.

Everyone is waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to kill opponents and death.
Chapter completed!