Even if Cao Cao and Liu Bei knew the role of craftsmen, they would not reuse them. This also gave Jia Rong a chance to leave the princes far behind. Now the weapons of the Xiliang Army have far exceeded those of the princes, not to mention
Weapons are so sharp. Just explosives can help Jia Rong seize countless strong cities. Not every city will seal the city gates and completely fight.
With explosives, the city gates that are difficult to conquer in this era will surely tremble under the iron cavalry of the Xiliang Army, and the cavalry will dominate the battlefield to a greater extent.
"How are the results of the secret development?" Jia Rong turned his attention to Pu Yuan. Seeing that there were burn marks on his face and the clothes on his body were also holes, Jia Rong could not imagine that the minister of the Ministry of Industry in the DPRK would be
This look.
"Your Majesty, there are only a dozen or so of the one hundred craftsmen responsible for the research and development, and the rest were all killed." Pu Yuan looked a little unnatural. The Xiliang Army was developing rapidly, and his craftsmen also swarmed up.
But there are still not many real talents. No one would think that he has too many talents. He invested a hundred people at once, but more than ten people survived. This result was difficult for Pu Yuan to accept.
"You are also the minister of the Ministry of Industry in the imperial court. Why don't you pay attention to your image? Look at these clothes. You haven't changed them in a long time. Be careful of the ministers in the imperial court impeaching you." Jia Rong said with a smile.
Guo Bang on the side also laughed together. Jia Rong proclaimed himself emperor, and Guo Bang became the general of the Huben Army to protect Jia Rong's safety. Huben was an important force in defending the palace. He commanded three thousand cavalry and was the strongest in the army.
Composed of elite cavalry, no one in the Liang Kingdom dared to ignore this sworn brother to the Holy One.
"Your Majesty, you also know that Weichen is a blacksmith. How can he have time to deal with this? When the army goes to war, those generals will come to Weichen to ask for weapons. If Weichen says they don't have any, I'm afraid..." Pu Yuan hesitated.
said.
"Okay, let's not talk about those useless things. The things developed must be kept absolutely confidential. This is an important weapon that can change the world's structure. You must also pay attention to etiquette."
"The humble minister obeys the decree."
The craftsman's workshop developed gunpowder and lost nearly ninety skilled craftsmen. Such losses were exchanged for the successful development of gunpowder. Their deaths were worth it in Jia Rong's eyes. To a certain extent, their sacrifices paid off in exchange for gunpowder.
The probability of soldiers in the army surviving on the battlefield came down. The Xiliang army fought bravely and skillfully. Facing the fortified city, they were still helpless. After destroying the opponent's city gate, they could not tolerate him from leaving the city to fight. At that time, the Xiliang army
They can give full play to their own strength and eliminate the enemy in one fell swoop in the field. The sacrifice of these craftsmen is to provide greater advantages for the enemy on the battlefield. They died a worthy death. The compensation for the dead craftsmen is very generous.
Sure enough, under the control of the Xiliang Army, in just one month, the prices of goods under Cao Jun's rule rose crazily. There was a lack of supply of raw materials. Even if some businessmen worked hard, they would not leave money without making money.
They were sold cheaply and the disappearance of some merchants made goods in the city become scarce.
Yesterday, things that were worth two yuan are now worthless today. In the beginning, they could only be bought for one yuan. How can the people afford it when it has increased so much all of a sudden?
And after a few days, the merchants no longer even accepted banknotes. They would not accept any money as long as it was real gold and silver, not five-baht coins. Of course, these were just words in secret.
This situation has attracted people to take their money to the bank to exchange it. No matter how nice the bank staff say it, people are willing to exchange the banknotes in their hands for five baht coins instead of such a banknote that may depreciate at any time.
thing.
It's okay for the Yanzhou Bank to scare the people, but it has to be weighed if aristocratic families come to exchange money. The situation under Cao Jun's rule now is not only panic for businessmen, but also for aristocratic families. No one wants the huge amount in their hands to turn into a pile of waste paper.
, even if Cao Cao's order is strict, it will not work.
The merchants had already exchanged the banknotes for real money before, but they did not panic. The people under Cao Jun's rule rarely bought Xiliang Bank's banknotes. This was also a means of suppression by Cao Cao to promote his own
develop and suppress other princes.
At this time, this kind of suppression became a burden, and Xiliang Bank naturally would not recognize the Yanzhou Bank banknotes in the hands of ordinary people.
"What should we do now?" Cao Cao felt anxious. If he was rushing to the battlefield, sending soldiers would be nothing. But now something like this happened in the bank, and the common people and merchants exchanged the banknotes in their hands for money.
Yanzhou's warehouse is not rich. During the previous battle against Jingzhou, a lot of money was even temporarily collected from the treasury. In other words, many coins became a deficit and there was no actual money for exchange. Once this situation continues, for Cao Jun's
The finances will be a huge blow. Cao Cao now has no joy at all as he has just established a bank and money is pouring in.
But at this time, the city was already in an uproar. Although the people did not say anything openly, in their hearts they were extremely disappointed with Yanzhou Bank.
"Lord, judging from my humble position, there must be Xiliang troops causing trouble at this time. In Yanzhou Bank, there are currency exchanges everywhere. Why is this not the case in Xiliang Bank? Moreover, the number of merchants in the city has dropped sharply, so that prices have increased.
I'm afraid it was also the work of the Xiliang Army. Jia Rong valued merchants and even made Wei Guan and Mi Zhu Ministers of Household Affairs. The Zhen family in Jizhou also transferred their industry to Luoyang. The three families joining forces are no small feat." Xi Zhicai analyzed.
road.
"Yes, the Xiliang army is ready to move. I'm afraid they want to plot Yanzhou. Controlling merchants can only be effective in a short period of time. Over time, it will be difficult for merchants to sell the goods in their hands. Without profits, how can they obey Jia's orders?
Glory." Cao Cao said coldly, feeling a little ashamed of some of the methods used by merchants to pursue profits, but at this time, he had to admit the influence of merchants.
In his opinion, as long as there are some benefits, there will be no worries about no businessmen coming, but Jia Rong's actions will only disgust the businessmen.
The Mi family and the Wei family are two major business families under the rule of the Xiliang Army. Of course, the Zhen family has just joined the Xiliang Army, and the family's industry has not yet developed. When these three businessmen work together, one can imagine their influence.
, even if there is a loss, Jia Rong’s will must be carried out.
After half a month like this, Cao Jun's treasury was completely empty of coins, and all the money that had been collected through the bank was gone. If a war breaks out, Cao Jun's movement may be a big problem.
At this time, merchants came with their goods. In the past, the profit was only a few dozen percent, but by transporting the goods to Cao Jun's rule, the profit could easily reach 300% or 400%. Here
With such profits, some businessmen's complaints against Jia Rong all disappeared.
Let you have a shortage of goods first, and then sell them. Now, almost half of the coins accumulated by Cao Jun went to the hands of merchants, among which the Wei family, the Mi family and the Zhen family accounted for the majority.
Cao Cao could only watch this happen and had no choice. Even without banks, the Xiliang Army could still obtain huge profits through such means. This is the effect when the influence reaches a certain level, even if
They are lowly businessmen. When they join forces, the influence they exert is so great that it's scary.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Wei family, the Mi family, and the Zhen family united all the merchants to reorganize the Liang Kingdom Chamber of Commerce and group the merchants together. In that case, such actions in the future will become faster.
With this profit as a premise, many businessmen are willing to join.
Jia Rong looked at the letters from Cao Jun with a satisfied smile on his face. He wanted to see Cao Cao's expression at this time. If the Xiliang army came to the city, what would they use to resist? After the army ran out of food and grass,
Where can we fill this huge loophole?
If the Xiliang army does not launch an attack, just two or three such attacks with merchants will be enough to completely collapse Cao's army's economy. The soldiers will have no pay, the people will have no food left in their homes, and the people will have no means of livelihood.
Of course, Jia Rong's current purpose is just to make it difficult for Cao's soldiers to support a major war.
"How about it? Don't underestimate the role of businessmen. Once they unite, they can change the situation." Jia Rong said with a smile.
"Your Majesty is wise." Jia Xu and other officials bowed and worshiped.
Even if they broke their heads, they would not be able to think of such a plan, and Jia Rong seemed to have it at his fingertips. Some officials even vaguely doubted whether it was true that the lord came from the future and was familiar with the development of history, as was rumored in Bingzhou back then. However, these rumors
After arriving among the people, Jia Rong became the emperor who came down to earth to save the people from the misery of war.
However, such words can only be hidden in the heart. Now Jia Rong is a high-ranking emperor, with the power of life and death, and his blood flowed thousands of miles in anger.
At this moment, Cao Cao is very busy. There is no food in the treasury. He will definitely feel panic. Once the Xiliang army takes this opportunity to launch a war, it will be fatal for Cao Cao. For the first time, Cao Cao feels that money is so important.
, looking at the names of the merchants on the roster in his hand, there was boundless anger in his chest. It was them who put Cao Jun's finances into crisis. Cao Cao's territory was vast and there was no shortage of talents. Faced with such a problem, he was still a little confused.
It's difficult to handle, and even the talented people under my command can't offer any good advice.
Fortunately, Cao Cao's army does not lack resources and occupies a vast area of land. It can gain profits just from mining and selling coal. However, these are a drop in the bucket for the huge army. Cao Cao is not so stupid that he will give the banknotes in his hand to the army.
The soldiers in the army are used as military pay. If that is the case, even if the soldiers do not mutiny, their trust in Cao Cao will be reduced to the lowest. Now under the rule of Cao Jun, who knows that the money in Cao Jun's bank is worthless.
