When Qin Huaidao faced Fang Xuanling's inquiry, he smiled confidently: "Shibo, the other task is also simple. When tax is paid next year, the price of grain in each county will be about three cents per bucket. At that time, the imperial court will give each county money to buy grain to offset the tax.
, In other words, we spent eight coins to buy two buckets of grain, right?"
"That's the truth, but it costs money to reach Chang'an. The food gap in Chang'an is not a small amount, and the court cannot afford so much money." Fang Xuanling reminded.
"It doesn't cost the court a penny."
"What, you don't want any money from the court, tell me, what are you going to do?" Fang Xuanling was shocked and asked, even sitting upright.
Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin also looked at Qin Huaidao curiously, feeling a little surprised. How could they get this food if the imperial court didn't provide any money?
Qin Huaidao explained seriously: "Shibo, I will bear the transportation cost without paying a penny, but there is a condition. The fleets of three grain merchants will be lent to me, and they will be returned to the court afterwards. It is difficult to handle without enough vehicles."
"This is simple. It can't be done in a day or two with so much grain, and the cost is not small."
"Xie Shibo reminds me, I know it." Qin Huaidao interrupted: "Save transportation costs, a bucket of grain can be sold for six cents when brought to Chang'an..."
"Wait a minute, the imperial court cannot sell grain, compete with the people for profit, it is inconsistent with etiquette..."
Qin Huaidao interrupted again: "Shibo misunderstood. I paid for the purchase and transportation of the grain. After it was brought to Chang'an, it was sold at the price of six cents. One person is limited to one kilogram per day. Each county of Jingzhao Prefecture purchased 10,000 stone grain input.
In Chang'an, just 200,000 shi can enable 300,000 people to buy a pound of grain every day for two months. Without the purchasing power of 300,000 shi, I don't believe that other grain merchants can sustain it. Even if they can, I won't be afraid.
Spring will begin in a month, and the people can dig wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger, and I can continue to purchase grain and work with them."
Fang Xuanling was a little surprised. Is two hundred thousand dan enough? His mental arithmetic ability is very strong, but he was embarrassed to ask because it would make him appear incompetent. He asked: "The question is, can you hold on?"
"Shibo, why can't I hold on? I bought it for five cents, sold it for six cents, and still made a cent. What are you afraid of? You dare to accept as much as you want. In the coming year, you will spend three cents per dou to buy grain and pay taxes for the people. You can offset the one cent you earn every day.
The loss is only two cents, two hundred thousand shi is a loss of 20,000 taels of silver, plus freight, food loss, etc., the maximum loss is 30,000 taels."
Is it that much? Fang Xuanling couldn't keep up with his mental arithmetic, so he decided to go back and do the math, and said: "Thirty thousand is a lot. If you really want to do this, the court can cooperate and give you ten or twenty thousand."
As a subsidy, as long as it can bring down the price of food, the Holy One will definitely agree."
"Shibo, I bought it for five cents per dou and sold it for six cents. In the future, I will use three cents to buy grain to help the people offset taxes. There are still three cents left. I can buy a dou of rice with these three cents. I will sell it to Chang'an for five cents per dou next year.
, the cost of selling grain is all recovered, once it comes out, as soon as it comes in, it is even, only the transportation cost is lost."
"Is it really a tie?" Although this was embarrassing, the matter was so important that Fang Xuanling still asked.
Qin Huaidao smiled and said: "To put it simply, it means buying for five cents and selling for six cents. Because you don't have to pay back the tax for a bushel, you can still make a net profit of one cent for each bushel now. No matter how much you collect, you are not afraid. When there is a good harvest next year, you can buy six cents.
When I get two dou, I will use one dou to offset the tax, and I will take one dou back to Chang'an and sell it for five cents, which will just recoup the cost, and there will be no loss in the long run."
Fang Xuanling understood it this way, and smiled excitedly: "Hahaha, wonderful, wonderful, buy it for five cents, sell it for six cents, buy two dou back in the next year, one dou will be tax-deducted, and one dou will be shipped back and continue to sell.
It just happened to be a tie. My nephew's method is like turning clouds and rain with his hands. I will go to the palace to face the saint. I dare not say anything else. The freight will be subsidized for you. I can't let you work in vain."
"Thank you, Uncle Shi. If nothing happens, we will go back to the Supervisory Office." Qin Huaidao stood up and said.
"It's getting late, let's have a meal before leaving."
"No, let's do it next time."
After Fang Xuanling found out how to stabilize the price of food, he hurriedly entered the palace and sent the person out of the palace without asking him to stay.
On the way back, Cheng Chumo couldn't help but said: "Brother, is it really not a loss?"
"Why do I feel so mysterious? Even if I don't lose money, it's all for nothing." Yuchi Baolin also said.
Qin Huaidao smiled and said nothing, how could it be possible?
There are some things Qin Huaidao didn't say just now. All the incoming and outgoing are calculated as refined grains. The coarse grains in the counties outside Chang'an are not worth three cents, but two cents, or even less. Coarse grains are hard to swallow, but they are worth making wine.
A good thing, that’s what you earn with blood!
Next year when the room is built, it will be time to make wine and open a barbecue restaurant. This plan has been decided for a long time, and I even made a trip to Ganzhou for this, which has been delayed for a long time.
…
Manna Hall.
Fang Xuanling came in a hurry. When he entered the palace, he shouted joyfully: "Your Majesty, good news!"
Li Er was a little surprised. Fang Xuanling was usually known for being calm and cautious. He didn't change his color even after Mount Tai collapsed. What happened today? Is there really good news? He asked: "Ai Qing, but my wife agrees with you."
Taking a concubine? This is good news."
"Uh... Your Majesty is joking, it's the price of food. There's something to be done about the price of food." Fang Xuanling quickly explained.
"Really? Give me a seat. Come on, tell me." Li Er's eyes lit up and he became excited.
Someone immediately brought a low stool, and the two of them sat down around the stove. Li Er saw Fang Xuanling looking around and said knowingly: "You can go down first."
The servants and waiters who were serving in the palace left one after another. Li Er looked at Fang Xuanling and asked: "My dear, is there really a way to solve this problem? This is not a trivial matter. Don't let me rejoice in vain."
"Your Majesty, I'm ashamed that I couldn't share your worries for Your Majesty, but there is really a way. However, I didn't come up with it, it was Qin Huaidao." Fang Xuanling said truthfully.
"Huaidao... can he do anything about such a big thing?" Li Er obviously didn't believe it.
Fang Xuanling smiled: "I didn't believe it at first, but after listening patiently for a few words, I changed my mind. Your Majesty, please let me explain it to you slowly and in detail."
With that said, Fang Xuanling recounted the previous conversation one by one, and finally added: "Your Majesty, before I came here, I asked someone who is proficient in arithmetic to do the calculation. I calculated it twice and it was accurate. It took half an hour. Huai Dao
But he just opened his mouth and showed his ability in learning, which makes me feel ashamed."
"Sell in lieu of tax?"
Li Er's eyes were shining, he was a little excited, he deduced it carefully in his mind, and found that some calculations were not correct. He thought that if Fang Xuanling said that it would be okay to find someone to calculate it, he said with emotion: "This boy, before
He proposed to use work instead of relief, hire workers instead of labor, and now he has come up with selling instead of taxes. Each of them is a good strategy for governing the country. It has never been done before. I still underestimated his talent. He is both civil and military, and the second brother Qin will have a son."
"Your Majesty, there are two more things. The two rights of land are separated and wasteland is cleared according to the size of the land." Fang Xuanling reminded.
"Yes, yes, these two are equally exquisite and unparalleled. At such a young age, he is comparable to a temple veteran. Did he get these methods from the cave of the pre-Qin warlock? I have already seen his observing, smelting, and medical skills. They are extraordinary. Maybe they are extraordinary.
He also got strategies for governing the country, otherwise there is no way to explain it. I remember that it was difficult for him to study when he was in the Imperial College."