"Bang bang, bang bang, bang bang..." The sound of firecrackers continued continuously, the air was filled with the smell of sulfur, and the new year came in a blink of an eye.
According to local practice, all the yamen in Qingzhou City had a holiday on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the official seals and account books were sealed, and the main halls were locked.
Although the imperial court stipulates that on the tenth day of the first lunar month, all officials must return to the government offices to handle official business. However, usually, during the entire first month, there are not many people in the government offices.
Unless there is an invasion of foreign enemies or a bandit rebellion, officials of all sizes usually have to wait until the third day of February before turning their minds back to the yamen. The common people, in addition to having sworn enemies, rarely file lawsuits in the first month.
.
But this year, the situation seemed to be different. It was only after the sixteenth day of the first lunar month that Jingdong East Road was full of official cars parked in front of the Luebusi Yamen Gate. From Ding Wei, the transshipment envoy, to petty officials from various counties who came to deliver messages.
, everyone who came in and out of the Yamen had extremely solemn expressions.
Something big happened!
Anyone with a little bit of vision will immediately understand when they see this scene that the entire Jingdong East Road will probably face a huge storm next.
Some well-informed people quickly figured out the outline of the specific "disaster".
Food shortage plus salt shortage!
A sudden food and salt shortage has swept through every state and city on Jingdong East Road.
From the opening of the market on the sixth day of the lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, in less than ten days, the price of rice on the market has risen five times.
Today, the price of rice in the various prefectures below has risen from 60 cents per dou at the end of the year to 90 cents. The price of rice in Qingzhou City officially exceeded 100 cents per dou yesterday and is heading towards 120 cents.
Wen ran wildly!
As for the price of salt, it has skyrocketed.
Although the Salt and Iron Industry of the Song Dynasty was government-run, the government was only responsible for approving the salt output share and tax collection standards. The specific transportation and sales would still be left to various wealthy merchants.
And various wealthy merchants, after the beginning of spring, unanimously announced that there was a shortage of coarse salt. In just ten days, the price doubled and a half!
This is a rare situation on Jingdong East Road in the past 25 years!
Although Jingdong East Road is mountainous, its food output is basically self-sufficient. Huainan East Road, adjacent to Jingdong East Road, was the largest coarse salt production area in the Song Dynasty.
Except twenty-five years ago, when the Song Dynasty failed miserably in its campaign against Liao Dynasty and the emperor made a donkey cart to escape, at other times, grain and salt prices have been relatively stable on Jingdong East Road.
Even after the beginning of spring every year, when there is no harvest, rice prices will rise regularly, and the price of rice rarely exceeds 100 cents.
As for the price of salt, it is stable between forty and sixty cents per catty all year round. It is rare to see more than seventy cents every ten years. It is unheard of to exceed one hundred cents per catty. (Note: Prices were very expensive in the Song Dynasty.
.The normal price of coarse salt is about thirty-seven cents per catty. In the Ming Dynasty, it was usually two cents per catty.)
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being rude! The matter is urgent. Food and salt are the reassurances of the people. If this trend continues, there will be big trouble sooner or later!" The most anxious person on Jingdong East Road right now is probably the transfer envoy.
Ding Wei. After entering the Yamen of the Economic and Social Affairs Bureau, he went straight to the second hall where Wang Qinruo handled official business and reported in a low voice through the door and window.
It’s no wonder that he messed up. The transshipment envoy is responsible for stabilizing prices. Rice and salt prices have always been the weather vane of local prices. As long as rice and salt prices start to rise, the prices of other items will definitely soon rise.
"Stepping up to the top"!
Once a large number of people flee from famine or starve to death, the court will definitely hold them accountable. At that time, whether it is his fault as the transporter or not, he will be pushed out to save the court's reputation and calm the public's anger!
In that case, even if Liu Cairen is around to encourage the official family, he will inevitably go to Lingnan to live for three to five years. And as long as official luck is interrupted, it will easily fall into ruin. If he wants to make a comeback, I'm afraid
It still takes ten years of hard work!
"So, you came just in time! Come in quickly, there is nothing rude between you and me!" Wang Qinruo had just sent away Huang Wan, the magistrate of Qingzhou. Before he could take a breath, he heard Ding Wei's voice and immediately gasped.
respond.
He is an experienced and capable minister. Although his ability is not as good as Kou Zhun, Lu Mengzheng and Wang Dan, he can still be ranked among the top ten in the Song Dynasty. However, the soldiers on the front line were not defeated, and there was no local incident.
In the case of floods, droughts, and locust plagues, food prices and salt prices suddenly rose, but they were far beyond the scope of his experience!
Therefore, even if Ding Wei didn't take the initiative to come to him today, he would go straight to the transportation department after taking a breather. If nothing else, he would at least first find out how much grain was left in the Changping warehouse and how much coarse salt the salt warehouse could produce.
, these two things, let’s ask the truth first. (Note: During the Zhenzong period of Song Dynasty, Changpingcang was returned to the management of the transfer envoy. During the Shenzong period, a separate Changping Division was established.)
Without looking at the books, he had many years of experience as a local and central government official. He had long known that the figures on the books were all to fool the court. He had to ask the actual figures first before he could speculate on the use of Changpingcang and Yancang.
, can the problem be solved?
"Thank you so much for your understanding!" When the heat of the moment came, Ding Wei didn't care about any more politeness. He immediately pushed open the door of the house and strode in. "Thank you, Sir, we can't let the price of rice and salt continue to rise.
The population of Jingdong East Road is quite dense. Each county has a population of 20,000 to 30,000, and the population of Qingzhou City is close to 150,000. These people are not farmers, and they don’t have much food at home. They don’t eat salt, anyway.
We can still survive for three to five months. If we are short of food, ten days..."
"Of course I know that we cannot allow rice and salt prices to continue to rise. What Huang Wan said just now is exactly the same as yours!" Wang Qinruo frowned at Ding Wei and interrupted breathlessly, "The question is, can I change myself?
Come out with rice and salt. I have to ask you and the various prefects and county magistrates below about the size of the warehouses in your hands!"
"The edible grain in Changping Granary is 65% of what is listed on the books! There are 1,236,000 kilograms of coarse salt!" Ding Wei was considered a capable person and gave the answer immediately, "In addition,
Thirty-and-a-half percent, 20 percent can only be used to feed livestock. One-and-a-half percent is an inflated account, and according to the usual practice, it must be offset by transportation losses!"
"How much is sixty-and-a-half percent?" Wang Qinruo was overjoyed and couldn't wait to ask. As for the other three-and-a-half percent, he just pretended not to hear it.
"More than two million dan! Half of it is wheat, and the other half is corn and sorghum!" Ding Wei thought about it for a while, and in his answer, in addition to anxiety, there was also a hint of pride.
Being able to guarantee that 65% of the grain in Chang Pingcang's account book was the real figure was already rare in the Song Dynasty. If another transshipment envoy had been used, I am afraid that even 50% of the grain on the account could not be obtained.
However, Wang Qinruo's next words made him immediately raise his heart to his throat, "Two million dan, Jingdong East Road currently has about three million people in Dingkou. Most of them are farmers, and they should have food in their homes. In fact,
Those who need to sell grain to make a living only need about 200,000 yuan! Take half of the grain stored in Changpingcang..."
Immediately, Ding Wei didn't care about saving face for Wang Qinruo anymore, and interrupted loudly with a grimace, "You can't calculate it like that, Enxiang! One million stones of grain seems like a lot, but if you put it on the market, it will be gone in a blink of an eye.
Sold out.”
"Can't you hold on for even a month? The weather here is warm. In another month, the canal will be thawed. By then, the white rice from the south of the Yangtze River will be transported!" I know that Ding Wei has been a transshipment envoy in other places and has rich experience.
, Wang Qinruo glanced at him and asked in a asking tone.
"Enxiang, the biggest problem right now is the people's hearts. People's hearts are unstable. It's useless even if you take out all the rice and grain from Changpingcang!" Ding Wei was also forced to become anxious. He gritted his teeth and simply told the truth, "
I can guarantee that under the current situation, as much grain as the government sells, the people will immediately buy it. If there are still some people who take the opportunity to hoard, no..."
Halfway through his words, he paused and shook his head with red eyes, "There must be some young people who are hoarding. The government released grain to stabilize the price of rice, bought it in large quantities, and stored it, waiting for the price of grain to increase several times again. Coarse salt
The situation is the same! Your Majesty dares to risk your own future, and I promise you that we will not be able to hold on until the canal thaws!"
