When workers have money, the first thing they think of is improving food for themselves and their families.
Thanks to the affordable fish and meat on the market, which are cheaper than rice, the smell of meat has begun to waft on the dining tables of Haiqingcheng residents. Many families have even canceled their staple food and rely on fish and meat to eat every meal.
The grain merchants who had made a fortune by hoarding goods were now suffering, and had to lower the price of grain again and again, even to a level lower than their purchase price.
There is no way. The acting lord of Haiqingcheng's wharf is now in control. They are not allowed to transport food by sea. The cost of land transportation is too high. People and horses chew on it along the way. If a truck of food is transported out, half of the food may not even be transported.
There are no cars left.
Instead of letting it moldy and rot in the granary, it is better to sell it cheaper and replenish your own blood.
Facing the huge consumer market in Haiqing City, small businesses with a sensitive sense of smell have taken advantage of the situation. Various shops have sprung up one after another, and the sound of firecrackers opening new stores can be heard almost every day.
Income from fish harvests, shop rents, port usage fees...a huge amount of income was continuously transported into the private treasury of the lord's mansion, and was then reinvested in a new round of infrastructure construction.
From an economic point of view, this method of not distinguishing public and private accounts has great disadvantages, but Luo Jie's purpose is to reactivate Haiqing City's economic cycle as quickly as possible, so he can only choose this simplest and crudest method.
Way.
Fortunately, in this feudal era, the lord was equivalent to the local emperor in the territory. He had the supreme power to set taxes and amend laws. Even if there was any trouble, he could easily get it back on track.
That is a very shameless final explanation.
Coins themselves have no value, but they form value once they are circulated.
Under the disturbance of Luo Jie, an unruly catfish, the market in Haiqing City became more and more prosperous, and even formed a chain effect that affected many surrounding industries.
The most obvious one, and the one with the greatest impact, is the land rent of cultivated land around Haiqingcheng.
Originally, the land rent in Haiqingcheng was as high as 70% of the farmland. The farmers worked hard for a year. After paying the land rent, the food left over was not even enough to feed themselves. They had to dig wild vegetables and do odd jobs to survive.
But this year is different from previous years. The lord has recruited workers several times in a row, and has wiped out all the young men and women in the farm laborers' families. Seeing that spring plowing is approaching, only a few old, young, women and children are left.
In the past, farmers begged their owners to rent land for farming, but this year it was completely reversed. The gentry who owned land at home lowered the land rent again and again, but no one was willing to renew the lease.
The reason is simple. You can earn much more money by doing odd jobs in the fish processing factory run by the lord of the city than by farming.
For the first time, the landowners in another world experienced the terrible scissor gap between workers and peasants.
Of course, having so much land abandoned is not what Luo Jie wants to see.
He simply hired old farmers who were no longer as physically strong as young people but had more experience to cultivate the land under the name of the lord's mansion.
Although this form of large-farm employment requires far more costs than the traditional form of land rent, it also needs to fully bear risks such as reduced production and cessation of production caused by climate disasters.
But Luo Jie originally looked down on the harvest from the land. The fishing and processing one-stop service that had entered a virtuous circle and Haiqingcheng's commercial tax revenue provided him with a steady stream of cash flow, and he was fully capable of taking part of it.
Feed back agriculture.
However, this agricultural subsidy, which is purely to ensure that cultivated land will not be abandoned, has dug up the lifeblood of large landowners who rely entirely on land rent.
Farming the land for the lord not only pays monthly wages, but also converts into food that is more than the harvest of a farmer who owns his own land in a year. In this case, not to mention just reducing the land rent to half, even if the land rent is not collected,
In comparison, there is no competitiveness at all.
Country people don't have much education, but they are very good at accounting!
The big landowners around Haiqing City are almost on the verge of collapse. Now it is no longer a question of whether to collect land rent. Unless they follow Luo Jie's example and pay people to farm the land, there will be no farmers to join them.
about.
But what are they planning?
They had never thought of filing a joint petition to the Imperial Capital, but when they thought about it they collapsed on the spot. What were they suing for?
Farmers are not slaves. They work for whomever they are willing to work. The lords did not openly rob their land, and did not restrict the freedom of the farmers. Just because they could not afford to pay the farmers, they went to the imperial capital to complain.
?
Let alone whether we can win the lawsuit, I'm afraid the nobles in the imperial capital will laugh out loud if word spreads.
In desperation, these former big landowners had no choice but to survive. They elected representatives to go to the lord's mansion and begged Luo Jie to purchase the land in their hands.
The new wharf in Shaowan Bay is about to be completed. Instead of holding on to this bit of land, it is better to find a way to show off and seize the time to order two large ships. Maybe we can also take the express train of sea trade.
Even if you think it is risky to go overseas, the business in Haiqing City is now booming. Opening a shop in a few storefronts is also a way out.
Of course, there is a group of stubborn old-guards in any group.
There were a few large landowners who were unwilling to give up the land in their hands, and at the same time were unwilling to sit back and wait for death. They secretly pooled together 10,000 gold coins and actually hired a killer to kill Luo Jie secretly.
The results are also conceivable.
A group of amateur killers, recruited from nowhere, ran into the den of professional killers known as the Oberg Society. They didn't even see the real owner they wanted to assassinate, so they were wiped on the neck in a daze.
Knowing the mastermind behind the assassination from the survivors, Luo Jie launched another round of brutal purges without hesitation.
Hundreds of corpses were hung to dry like dead pigs at the top of the city. The squires and nobles in Haiqing City were completely frightened by the lord's methods. They were as obedient as little sheep and handed them over honestly.
The land deed was paid and left, and no one dared to do anything wrong.
From this moment on, Luo Jie had completely subdued the local forces in Haiqing City. From now on, government orders were passed unimpeded, and no one dared to disobey them openly or secretly.
…
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
The prosperous Haiqing City is like a black hole for talents, continuously attracting human resources from the entire Taidong Province to flow eastward.
The original old city can no longer accommodate the increasing number of foreign residents, and it is urgent to expand into new urban areas.
Fortunately, Luo Jie no longer needs to do it himself. The smart and studious "Chelsea" has fully understood his economic cycle theory in practice and can completely direct the next work on his behalf.
On this day, Luo Jie came back from inspecting the construction site and was about to take a shower and change clothes. When he opened the bedroom door, he found that there was an extra person in the room.
Blue hair, military uniform.
It is "Esdeath" whom I haven't seen for a long time.
"Tazmi, I miss you."
"Esdeath"'s confessions are always so simple, direct and touching. Luo Jie quickly stepped forward and opened his arms, but "Esdeath" took advantage of his height advantage and lifted him directly from his armpits. After spinning a few times, he was crushed.
On the bed.
"Wait...wait a minute, I haven't taken a shower yet."
"It's okay, I like the smell of you."
The next day, early morning.
Luo Jie and "Esdeath" cuddled up on the bed, eating a sumptuous breakfast brought by the servant.
"Tazmi, aren't you curious why I came?"
Luo Jie shook his head and smiled: "I made such a big noise in Haiqing City, I would be surprised if you didn't come."
"Actually, the reason why I came here this time is a bit self-serving, but mainly because I want to see you."
"Esdeath" kissed Luo Jie gently on the cheek, stood up and put the eaten plate on the low cabinet aside, went to the window and opened the curtains, wearing only a white dress that just reached the hip line.
Shirt, looking at the bustling and lively city below with interest.
"Moreover, I just want to see what you are doing. To be honest, before I came here, I heard a lot of rumors about you bullying the place. I wanted to come and warn those officials and nobles who were disobedient.
Now it seems that it is no longer needed.”
Luo Jie also came to the window, hugged "Esdeath"'s strong and muscular waist from behind, and said with a smile: "It turns out that my bad reputation has spread to the imperial capital. It seems that those people have said bad things about me.
Bar."
"Someone actually accused you of several crimes in front of His Majesty, saying that you killed the nobles indiscriminately, robbed their properties, looted the people's fat and built large-scale construction projects, and caused widespread complaints among the people. However, you were blocked by Minister Ernest.
Got off."
"Oh? The fat uncle was so nice to me?" Luo Jie was a little surprised.
"It's just a favor." "Esdeath" said disapprovingly: "The crimes listed for you are not serious crimes at all in the current empire. The key is to see who is doing it. I am standing behind you, no one
Dare I really do anything to you."
After a pause, "Esdeath" twisted his body, faced Luo Jie and hugged his neck, saying in a relaxed tone: "It's just that I don't understand. You took the initiative to invite Ying to the fiefdom before, and you didn't mean to use yourself as bait to attack the night attack."
Did you lure out the killer? Why do you seem to be doing the opposite?"
"About this matter... let's go around the city first, so that you can more easily understand what I am doing."
The two of them put on their clothes, got into the carriage that had been waiting in the courtyard, and slowly drove out of the lord's mansion under the tight guard of a group of soldiers.
Along the way, whenever they saw this carriage with the lord's emblem, no matter whether they were pedestrians or vehicles, they all stepped aside to get out of the way. Many people even bowed to the carriage and saluted, their eyes full of reverence and gratitude.
Being used to the fear and avoidance of nobles by the residents of the Imperial City, "Esdeath" was quite surprised by the attitude shown by the residents of Haiqing City.
Her pleasure is to abuse and ravage, but that is only against the enemies of the empire. For the ordinary people who are law-abiding under the empire, she is still happy to see the prosperous and peaceful scene in front of her.
"Wait a minute." "Esdeath" stopped the carriage and bought a bunch of croquettes on the roadside. He took a bite and his eyes widened unexpectedly. He threw a gold coin to the boss as a reward. He turned to Luo Jie and said, "Taste."
Not bad, do you want to try it?"
Continue to kneel down and apologize... Women's clothing really doesn't exist...