In the second year of Emperor Xiaoren's reign, just after the first day of the first lunar month, wealthy businessmen from all over Tanzhou or representatives of noble families came to the Rongsheng Inn in Dangyang County to pay homage to the "Mu family" who was touted by Sun Huai and had become rich and famous all over the world.
Big shopkeeper".
Chu Nanzhi guessed that it must have attracted so many people's attention because she booked the most prestigious Rongsheng Inn in Dangyang City and spent a lot of money on Shopkeeper Sun.
However, she did not rush to meet everyone who came. Instead, she met several well-known merchants under the recommendation of Sun Huai. This not only gave Sun Huai a great face and made him trust her more, but also
He also raised his own court.
The wealthy businessmen who were lucky enough to enter the inn cherished this hard-won opportunity, and they all thoroughly explained their family background.
After several days of meetings, I learned from the wealthy businessmen that they all came here for farm business, and the price of each acre of land was as low as five taels of silver. This made Chu Nanzhi feel a little curious.
Although Tanzhou is not as prosperous as Luyan Port and Jinling City, it is also a blessed land of the empire. As far as she knows, in the entire Tanzhou, even in the most remote county, an acre of land on the outskirts of the city can be sold for seventy or eighty percent.
Two silver coins, let alone a prosperous place in the state like Dangyang County.
Furthermore, according to what Shopkeeper Sun said, the land that the nobles concealed was reclaimed by the army and was originally awarded to them. They concealed the amount to avoid taxes, but it was legally owned.
Even if the court found out, it would only be held responsible for evading taxes and would not confiscate the land.
What's more, the Empress Dowager has already said that as long as the nobles cooperate with the new policy, they will not be held accountable.
So what is the reason why these people are eager to sell their legally owned land at a low price?
"Is it because the taxes are too heavy?"
Chu Nanzhi lay on the bed and thought about the reason.
According to the number of acres of land reported by wealthy businessmen, it ranges from tens of thousands of acres, which indeed meets the maximum tax requirements, but the fields they hold have no cost, so even if they pay heavy taxes, they are still profitable.
Even if it is to cooperate with the New Deal, they can wait a little longer and sell according to the market price, and are not in a hurry.
This is by no means a reason to sell land cheaply.
After thinking hard for a while, her thoughts gradually turned to the rumor that was widely circulated in Beijing about the numerous breeding tribes in Qinghe Land.
"Could it be that Ji Huaizhang really wants to rebel?"
Thinking of this, Chu Nanzhi suddenly had a bad feeling.
The most troublesome thing about raising a private army is food and salary. But at this juncture, their great supporter Lin Yanjun died, the Ji family was under suspicion, and the land of Qinghe suffered a snow disaster. Now the food and salary are sufficient, and they can stabilize the situation.
Military morale has become an urgent matter.
The Qinghe Iron Cavalry is said to be three hundred thousand, and rumors say that the Qinghe Tribe has far exceeded this number. What makes Chu Nanzhi very puzzled is how Ji Huaizhang managed and hid this number if he really had any objections.
A huge army?
At this level, Chu Nanzhi also gradually realized that the death of Lu Huan and Xia Yuan was probably due to this incident.
It's a pity that the man behind the scenes tried so hard to create so many disasters but only revealed the matter of raising the tribe in Qinghe Land without telling the specific situation in detail. It can be seen that this man not only wanted to force Ji Huaizhang to a dead end.
So simple.
It seems that this person has a deeper intention.
Thinking of Sang Qi, Ma Laifu and the four guards following him, Chu Nanzhi also began to worry about everyone's safety.
If Ji Huaizhang cannot find out how to control his private army as soon as possible and obtain specific numbers, not only will his own life be in danger, but the entire empire will fall into chaos again.
She thought about it for several days in the inn but couldn't find a way out.
In a blink of an eye, it was Shangjiu. On this day, Sun Huai led Sun Li, the son of the county governor, to the inn to pay him a visit in person.
As soon as the two met, Sun Li became a little wary. He looked carefully at Chu Nanzhi, who looked calm and composed, and asked hesitantly: "Shopkeeper Mu looks familiar, where have I met you before?"
"
When Sun Huai heard this, he immediately frowned and hurriedly said, "Young Master, I'm afraid you have mistaken the wrong person. This is the first time for Shopkeeper Mu to come to our Tanzhou."
After that, he quickly introduced to Chu Nanzhi: "This is the nephew of Brother Yu's clan, and he is also the most respected eldest son of my clan leader."
"Head of the Sun family?"
Chu Nanzhi pretended to be surprised and nodded: "The most famous person in the Sun family in Dangyang is the prefect of the county. I guess Lang Jun is the son of the prefect's family, right?"
"good eyesight."
Sun Li continued to examine her and replied with a smile: "You are Sun Li, the son of the prefect."
"Disrespect, disrespect."
Chu Nanzhi looked at his arrogant and domineering posture, and while leading his uncle and nephew to sit down, he sighed with interest: "I didn't expect that the famous prefect would now be reduced to selling land."
"Ahem, Shopkeeper Mu doesn't know something."
Although Sun Li despised these merchants, he was from the Zhao family's caravan after all, so he did not dare to neglect them.
In order to help the imperial court to relieve the disaster, Zhao Taigong spent several million taels. At present, he was probably the only one who could help Qinghe Xungui tide over the difficulties, so he explained in a polite and high-sounding manner:
"My aunt is the most sympathetic person to the governor of the state. Although she is only a concubine, my uncle has been very considerate of our Sun family in recent years. Now the queen is personally visiting, and Tanzhou has suffered another natural disaster and the court has not rushed to provide relief. My uncle
Strict orders were issued to ask the noble family to save money and provide relief to the victims. My aunt also wanted to do her part, so she thought of selling the private property given by my uncle in the early years at a discount to help the people affected by the disaster tide over the difficulties."
"Aunt Ling really understands justice and can be called a hero among women."
Chu Nanzhi wanted to laugh when she heard this, but in order not to alarm the snake, she still pretended to compliment her, and then said categorically: "Based on your aunt's sense of righteousness, I am willing to help you with all your money and take over all the land."
"Oh? Are you serious about this?"
Sun Li somewhat questioned her financial resources.
But Chu Nanzhi waved his hand carelessly: "It's absolutely true, even if I am a merchant with 10,000 courage, I would not dare to lie to the prefect."
"Okay, based on Shopkeeper Mu's generous character of spending a lot of money, I can trust you."
Sun Li finally put aside his grudge and said decisively: "Right now, I have 200,000 acres of Yongye farmland in Dangyang County."
"Two hundred thousand acres?"
Chu Nanzhi looked stunned when she heard this.
She didn't expect that shopkeeper Sun was an honest man. It seemed that this guy really didn't lie.
This was the biggest number she had heard in recent days.
It's just that 200,000 acres of fertile land, even if it costs 50 taels of silver per acre, would cost a million dollars. Where can I get so much money at once?
Thinking of the two hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver donated to the treasury, she suddenly felt sick.
Sun Li once again showed doubts about her reaction: "Why, Shopkeeper Mu thinks he can't afford these fields?"
"Ahem, I'm afraid the young master looks down on our Zhao family caravan."
Chu Nanzhi smiled calmly and said: "This small amount of money is not something to be afraid of. It's really harmful to me to go through all the trouble to come to Tanzhou just to make a profit of hundreds of thousands of taels and spread it around."
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After a pause, she immediately made a gesture with ease: "If you say less, it will be doubled."
"Four thousand leanings?"
Sun Li and Sun Huai were both dumbfounded and stared at her in disbelief.