The servants in the grain merchant's house each took out a torch, lit each other's fire, and prepared to burn the mountains of grain.
However, before the torch could be thrown down, he was stopped by the officials.
"Stop! No one is allowed to burn the food here!"
The officials scolded.
There was a sinister smile in the grain merchant's eyes. If his guess was correct, His Royal Highness would be anxious and would compromise with them!
"Haha! Sir, what do you mean?
We bought this food with real money, we didn’t steal it or rob it, so why can’t we burn it?”
The grain merchant said with a cruel smile.
"This is a proclamation issued by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and it was personally approved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Food is the foundation of the country. It is hard for the people to grow it. Anyone who dares to burn a grain of food will be punished by the nine tribes!"
The official said coldly.
What!
The grain merchant was shocked. He originally thought that what he was waiting for was the news that His Highness the Crown Prince had given in. Unexpectedly, His Highness the Crown Prince not only refused to give in, but actually issued such a decree.
The grain merchant said angrily: "You! You are too overbearing. This grain is not stolen, it is mine. Why can't I burn it?"
The official said coldly: "Hmph! The grain is yours, you can sell it. His Highness the Prince has said that if all grain merchants want to open their doors and continue doing business, the profit from this grain must not exceed 50% of the cost price of the grain.
.”
"As for how to define the cost price of grain, the Ministry of Household Affairs will set the price. When people sell grain in the future, this cost price will be a standard."
"At the same time, the imperial court's granary will also purchase grain at this cost price. If the people don't want to sell to grain merchants, they can sell it to the imperial court!"
"In short, if anyone dares to take advantage of people's crisis and increase the price of food several times, they are seeking death!"
"good!"
After the official of the government said this, some people among the people shouted "Hello!"
Immediately afterwards, those who had just excitedly thought that the prince was looking for trouble all clapped their hands and cheered.
"His Royal Highness is so awesome! He actually has a way to punish these grain merchants. From now on, when we buy grain, we can buy the cheapest grain!"
"Yes! We will have one more choice in the future. If the price of these grains is too low, we can sell them to the court!"
"Yes! I heard that the palace's granaries have been opened one after another. If they sell us food, we won't starve to death at all!"
"Haha! These hateful grain merchants really deserve to die. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, should punish them severely!"
…
The common people roared excitedly, but the expressions of the grain merchants changed drastically in an instant.
"You! You are too overbearing. We will burn down our own grain merchants. What can you do?"
the grain merchant roared.
Then, he turned around, looked at the servants behind him, and said coldly: "Why are you all so cold?
Burn it for me!"
Clang!
The official of the government directly drew his sword and said in a cold voice: "The Crown Prince has issued an order that anyone who dares to burn the food will be killed without mercy!"
hiss!
The grain merchant was so frightened that he took a few steps back, and all the servants were also frightened. They put their torches behind their backs and did not dare to put them toward the grain merchant.
"You! Okay! I've spoiled these grains, but I won't sell them!"
The grain merchant said coldly.
The official of the government said solemnly: "His Royal Highness the Prince said, even if you have gold and silver in your family, as long as it is not illegal and is legal income, then it is yours and the court will not rob it!"
"However, the food must not be destroyed. As long as your appetite is big enough, even if you eat it all, there will be no problem!"
Hearing this, the grain merchant said angrily: "Okay! I'll go back now and find hundreds of people to eat every day. I just won't sell it!"
After that, the grain merchant quickly asked people to pull the grain back, and the people in the square quickly dispersed.
However, what happened today spread quickly to all places, and the nobles of the aristocratic families were shocked by Lin Fan's operation, and at the same time they were also very angry.
"Haha! This dog prince has gone too far. The grain merchants can't even burn their own grains! He also imposes the price of grains!"
"Shameless! He dares to do evil things to grain merchants now, and he will dare to do evil things to us people in the future. I heard that he is also planning to increase export taxes!"
"Oh! I've also heard about this. People from the Ministry of Revenue have already started doing statistics. From now on, every time we send out a passenger ship, we will be charged a certain percentage of tax!"
"No! We must unite to do this. If he really does it, we will never have a good life in the future. Why don't we jointly file a petition!"
"No, we don't have any honors. If we jointly submit the memorial, we will be suspected of overstepping our authority. Why don't we find some adults to petition His Majesty on our behalf!"
"Yes! We are related to most of the officials in the imperial court. As long as they join hands and put pressure on the prince, even the prince can't do anything!"
…
After discussion, the nobles of the aristocratic families began to contact their respective officials. These people controlled half of the resources of the Ming Dynasty!
Put it all together, let alone a wealthy country, even raising an army of one million people is a piece of cake. The people they contact are naturally high-ranking officials.
In addition, they gave a lot of benefits. After these officials took the money, they all started to hand over the banknotes, and they all were handed over to Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen frowned when he saw these facts. Fan'er thought that he had few things to do, so he must find more things for himself?
"Your Majesty, according to my wishes, you don't have to worry about this matter. His Royal Highness is a great talent. He will definitely be able to manage it well!"
Wang Chengen said in a deep voice.
Emperor Chongzhen said in a deep voice: "Alas! What you said is very light, but how can I believe that Fan'er can handle this matter well?"
"Since these merchants can develop to the level of aristocratic families, it means that their strength and foundation are beyond the comparison of ordinary people!"
"If Fan'er fights with them, it's a good thing if he can win. If he can't, both sides will lose in the end. Moreover, Fan'er's prestige in the court will be gone!"
this……
After hearing this, Wang Chengen also frowned and said: "Your Majesty, how about you think of a way to suppress this matter temporarily, and then prevent His Highness from mentioning it. After a while, no one will mention it.
Got it!"
"Haha! If this matter is left to others, it may be possible, but Fan'er will not agree. Moreover, those noble families will not settle the matter easily. What should I do?"
Emperor Chongzhen smiled bitterly.
Deep down in his heart, he wanted to support Lin Fan, but if Lin Fan failed, the Ming Dynasty would have to experience another disaster!