"Brother, do you think what this guy said is true or false?"
After leaving Li Tai Manor, Shi Jing rode on his horse and asked while rubbing the bruises on his face.
Shi Gong's eyes flashed, with a pensive expression on his face, and he muttered: "It's 30% true and 70% false. His family has a strong reputation, he is friendly with powerful ministers and generals, and he has no intention of supervising the local soldiers. It should be true, and the others are probably not true."
Really."
"Even if he wants to supervise the local soldiers, he still has to look at his own weight. How can our local disciples be controlled by such an inexperienced fool like this!"
After hearing this, Shi Jing snorted coldly. Although the two brothers had agreed on this plan, he was still filled with resentment when he thought of the humiliating appearance of being beaten and howled by his brother, and he already secretly hated Li Tai in his heart.
"You are the real idiot! When that boy came to visit and buy materials, you didn't have any suspicion or question? He went to the countryside to do business, but he bought flax and ointment at high prices for other things besides mulberry farming. There is something fishy about it.
But even if I had a little bit of vigilance, I wouldn’t let him gather so much local capital!”
Shi Gong pointed at Shi Jing and cursed angrily: "This guy looks rough on the outside, but he is very smart on the inside. He is friendly with Grand Master Heba, so he must have known the contents of the reward. Many materials were donated, but he only chose ointment to do his work. This
Your scheming heart can't be compared to a piece of cloth, ruler and silk?"
"I, I just want to add income to my family. If you are really smart, who would harvest the flax here in advance?"
Shi Jing looked aggrieved. Flax and sesame oil were not necessary for food and clothing. Even if prices rose during the famine years, they were still in a priceless state. At that time, he could not think of any calculation other than buying and selling.
Then he heard that Li Tai had a new oil pressure method in Hebei that produced considerable oil, so he had no doubts anymore, but was annoyed that the price should be higher.
Shi Gong was also full of irritation. The reward that Daxingtai was about to issue would be an excellent opportunity for local wealthy clans like them to make progress. After receiving the letter, he returned to his hometown, intending to raise materials to send to officials and seek awards, but he failed.
I thought that something like this happened in my hometown.
Five hundred dendrobium ointment is not too much, but it is still a full 60,000 kilograms. No wealthy household in the countryside would accumulate so much ointment. It is obviously not a reward prepared for mulberry farming families like them.
.
As for other materials that can be donated, it will also take a certain amount of time to raise them. This can reflect which of the big households in the county has deeper financial resources.
But I didn't expect that such a genius would appear in the village. He purchased a large amount of oil from various wealthy families in advance, and the situation immediately became weird.
"You have recently visited several companies in the countryside to check how much ointment the boy has in stock, and see if other people have any intention of buying it. He has so much ointment in his hands, so he must be planning to sell it at a price.
If the price is still affordable, don’t let other companies take the lead. If he is greedy, I will submit a complaint to the bank and make him lose everything and still be punished!”
Shi Gong said bitterly, while thinking of other plans: "I will go to Jingzhao to visit my family first. If my family has enough reserves, I will borrow a batch of other materials to be transported to the official first. I must ensure that the governor of the township and regiment of this county does not
Fall into the hands of others!"
"My family is more prosperous, and there are many people who are eager to stand out. I'm afraid it will be difficult to talk! In my opinion, the big plan will still fall on that kid."
Regarding the future of the family business, Shi Jing did not dare to neglect, and said in deep thought: "He said that he only has more than 300 dendrobiums of talent, which is still not enough to lose the reward. Then while we negotiate with him, we will search for the remaining goods of the people in the countryside, so that
There is no oil to buy from other houses, and even if they get the huge goods from that kid, they are not enough, so who would be stupid enough to buy them at a high price? Spreading goods in the countryside, at least you can accumulate some local reputation, it is better than giving it to that foreigner!"
When Shi Gong heard this, he felt something was wrong, but he was still thinking about how to persuade the Jingzhao family, so he didn't think too much about it and just said: "Even if it's a rush, the price must be measured.
Don't act recklessly."
The visit of the Shi brothers was like a signal, and there was an endless stream of visitors to Li Tai Manor. Obviously, these big families also knew the contents of the reward loss.
This is not because Daxingtai has been penetrated too deeply. There are no secrets at all. The expropriation of local materials is closely related to rural sentiments. Daxingtai is cautious in using orders. It has brainstormed in the government offices before and informed the masses before the order is issued.
Blowing the air also gives them a buffer and time to raise funds.
When Li Tai was purchasing oil, he visited more than a dozen wealthy families in the county. Shortly after the visit of the Shi brothers, five or six more families came to visit one after another, which shows that they all have a deep interest in losing the reward.
It can be seen that although the defeat at Mangshan dealt a huge blow to Yuwentai's hegemony, it had little impact on his prestige in ruling Guanzhong. Most of these powerful people in the countryside still supported the Western Wei regime.
After some thinking, Li Tai came to understand more clearly why Yu Wentai collected supplies first but not troops. In addition to the military considerations of moving forward before the soldiers and horses moved food and grass, it was also due to the gradual exploration of nostalgia.
If the people in Kansai do not have a high level of identification with his hegemonic regime and rashly recruit powerful tribes to join the army, not only will they not be able to increase their strength, but they will in fact exacerbate rifts and internal strife.
This Yuwen Black Otter was able to move forward step by step and not lose his position due to the defeat of the army, which made Li Tai, an ambitious young man who wanted to do something great, a great challenge.
The big families in the county were diligent in asking for help, but now the initiative was back in the hands of Li Tai. He naturally sat on the Diaoyutai without making a clear statement and responded with the same rhetoric as he did to the Shi brothers.
The ointment item in the reward box was not originally a competitive target for these large mulberry farmers, but because of the variable Li Tai, it became an option that cannot be ignored.
If these large local households want to avoid being controlled by Li Tai, it is actually very simple. They can all conspire together and piece together local resources for donation. After all, there are more than a dozen kinds of materials involved in losing the reward, and each family may be rich or frugal, and they can put it together.
After discussion, we can always satisfy a few things.
But the question is, can these local powerful people unite effectively?
If they can really put aside their differences and become close, let alone the positions of the leaders of several counties, counties and townships, I am afraid that even Yu Wentai and other North Town warriors will not be able to stand in Kansai! Even the former Wu Huan Hua
, then one will rise and one will die.
Two peaches kill three people, it has happened since ancient times. The competition between local people may not be as grand and fierce as the struggle for world supremacy, but the thorns in each chest are also full of thorns, and they will not recognize their relatives.
At the beginning of July, Daxingtai's reward price was officially announced, and the large local merchants who visited Litai Manor became even more enthusiastic. Some of them actively raised the price, while others made soft and hard threats, with different attitudes.
Li Tai responded with a smile to all these things. If he had planned it himself, he would have to consider whether it was worth incurring the resentment of so many villagers. But with He Basheng standing behind him, he would naturally not be afraid of these things.
The threat of hatred from the local tycoon.
The attitudes of these visiting villagers may not be the same, but one thing is relatively consistent, that is, they all believe that Li Tai hoards so much ointment just to buy it at a high price, not to donate it to himself.
The reasons why they came to this conclusion are surprisingly similar. The first is Li Tai's background. As a descendant of the Li family in Longxi, he does not need to lose anything to buy an official position, and he does not bother to be the commander of the township regiment. The second is
Due to his background, he was a foreigner from Dongzhou, so he was not qualified and had no ability to lead the township regiment.
Li Tai found this a bit funny, but also felt helpless. He really didn't mind whether the position of the leader of the township regiment was clear or dirty, light or heavy. Even if he didn't do it himself, he could still introduce one of the people to be rewarded, but
The latter reason has to be considered.
He is well aware of the xenophobia of Kansai folk customs. Otherwise, he can just farm with peace of mind, and there will not be many plans in the future.
In the final analysis, the prestige of officials and titles in the Western Wei Dynasty was just that. Only the collusion between officials and people could achieve the greatest effect. The capital and prestige of other towns and villages were very low. Even if he could win the title of governor, the local powerful would not give him a thumbs up or not. Instead, they would
breed more disputes.
A few days later, the Shi brothers came to visit again. This time, their attitude was not as respectful as before, as the brothers' names suggested, and they were not paving the way for a painful plot, but were aggressive.
"With this loss of rewards, Wuxiang County jointly gave the post of governor of the three capitals. To be honest, my family is bound to get the post of county governor. Not only does Shangfeng Tongsheng, the Jingzhao family also promised to lose 10,000 dendrobium of grain. But if it is not a last resort,
I don’t want the local affairs to spread to other counties.”
Shi Gong looked at Li Tai and said directly: "Mr. Lang must be a little curious, why have fewer and fewer people come to visit the buyer in recent days? This is because my family has collected two hundred dendrobium ointment, and there is almost nothing left in the countryside, and there is no such thing in other rural households.
I don’t have enough resources, so I turned to study elsewhere. The oil that the gentleman has gathered will become waste after this time. I will buy it back at a fair price, and we will get the best of both worlds. What do you think, sir?"
"The county lieutenant's plan really opened my eyes. I won't hide it from you. The previous highest bidder paid more than double the price, but the county lieutenant wants to buy it at a fair price. How can I accept this?"
Li Tai sighed after hearing this.
"The wealth of things in this world belongs to the wise. Li Lang made a miscalculation and did not blame others. There is no point in using his own impulse to make it difficult for the two families to get along in the future!"
When Na Shi Jing heard Li Tai sigh, his expression became more and more proud.
In fact, the oil collected by his family is far less than a hundred dendrobium. Firstly, Li Tai purchased too much before, and secondly, there is no shortage of local competitors. Now the price of sesame oil in Zuoyin Township has more than doubled. But as long as he can force Li Tai to sell the stock,
, the investment before and after can also be evened out.
"What Shi Hou said is really right. The resourceful and wise people in the world have it. You have not just miscalculated, but two. First, the oil I have stored is not only 300 dendrobium, but already 500 dendrobium. Secondly, you wait for the villagers.
People are buying indiscriminately in the countryside. Not only the price of oil is soaring, but the current price of flax is also increasing rapidly. After the Mid-Autumn Festival in the county, most of the flax will belong to me. I want to thank you and other villagers for helping me manage my business."
Li Tai smiled and said: "I don't care who gets the position of governor of this county. Even if the county captain wins it, I just want to say congratulations. The only thing I have agreed on is the amount of flax after autumn, and the promotion cannot be missed!"
When the Shi brothers heard this, their expressions suddenly changed, while Li Tai stood up from the table and sneered: "Our rural capital is very weak, so it is difficult to shake the big ones to collect debts. So I have been considering recently whether to use my hands to collect debts."
The goods in the order will be sold to others at this favorable price, and I will also ask Xian Kunzhong to cooperate with others in transporting the goods."