Except for wages and river water, everything is rising. This sudden surge in prices makes everyone feel like they are in the fog. Even the grain merchants who directed this drama are still in the fog at this time.
They began to feel a little anxious. If the price continues to rise like this, their food may really rot in their hands.
Originally, they just wanted to teach those restaurants a lesson and make some money back, but they didn't expect that these restaurants not only bought into their account, but were even more aggressive than them, and almost sold their meals for more than gold. Those restaurants
How could the people afford it? They could only live a tight life and eat one meal as two meals. As a result, the economy undoubtedly experienced a short-term stagnation.
In the main hall.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty sat on the dragon's throne, holding a piece of plum blossom cake in his hand, and said cheerfully: "Since I came to the throne, this is the first time that a minister has given me breakfast. I am very happy."
The first sentence of the morning court speech made the officials a little stunned. They couldn't help but look at each other and asked with their eyes who had sent this breakfast.
Song Huizong smiled and said: "Li Qi."
Li Qi stood up and said, "Wei Chen is here."
"I'm very grateful for your thoughtfulness, but the plum blossom cake you gave me tastes very ordinary. It shouldn't be made by you, right?"
It turns out that this kid is causing trouble again.
Everyone began to cheer up, and they didn't know when it started. Now, as soon as Song Huizong and Li Qi started to answer questions, they felt cautious and panicked.
Li Qi replied: "Your Majesty is really awesome. Once you taste it, you will know that it is not made by Weichen. On his way to court this morning, Weichen saw an old man selling plum blossom cakes at the street corner. Weichen had not had breakfast at that time.
, so I went forward to buy one or two to fill my stomach, but as I passed by, I realized that the old man’s plum blossom cakes were very novel, so I bought a few more to give to the emperor to try."
Song Huizong exclaimed, "Novelty? What's so new about this plum blossom cake? Why didn't I taste it?"
Li Qidao: "Reporting to the Emperor, although there is nothing novel about this plum blossom cake, it can make people unforgettable after eating it."
The more Song Huizong listened, the more curious he became, hehehe said: "Is there such a thing? I have tasted it just now, and it is not as unforgettable as you said. It is just an ordinary piece of plum blossom cake."
Li Qi smiled and said: "It is precisely because it is so common that it makes people feel incredible. Does your Majesty know how much a plum blossom cake like this costs?"
The ministers' eyes widened when they heard this, and they understood what Li Qi was going to say.
This kid loves to play tricks. He actually used a plum blossom cake to induce the rise in prices. It was really laborious, but it saved me a lot of trouble. Cai Jing smiled slightly and began to fall into trance.
Song Huizong was completely fooled and asked subconsciously: "I wonder how much money it will cost?"
Li Qi raised two fingers and said: "Fourteen cents."
Song Huizong was surprised and said: "A plum blossom cake costs fourteen cents? There is nothing special about it at all?"
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes, the old man also said that this is the cheapest he sells in the capital. Wei Chen ate the cake. Thinking of the fourteen cents, the plum blossom cake immediately became extremely delicious. I don't know.
Does the Emperor feel this way?"
Song Huizong laughed loudly and said: "I don't feel that way. But the price of this plum blossom cake is really surprising!"
Cai Sui stood up and said: "Your Majesty, prices in the capital have suddenly skyrocketed. Each glass of wine has been sold for one hundred and eighty yuan, not to mention pigs and sheep. It takes a lot of money to buy it."
Song Huizong took a sharp breath and said: "What---what's going on? There have been no wars or natural disasters recently. Why have prices risen so high?"
Li Qidao: "Reporting to the emperor, all this is because of food."
Song Huizong snorted and said, "What do you mean by that?"
Li Qidao: "Since the grain in the capital has been monopolized by those big grain merchants, the price is naturally decided by them. Now it is the eve of the autumn harvest, and the grain in the hands of the people is extremely limited. They naturally stockpile grain to raise grain prices. This kind of behavior
The business method is very common, but the prices are getting higher and higher, and now it is out of control, causing the prices of all commodities to rise. The last time Weichen went to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense, Weichen almost went bankrupt.
.”
You have a lot of money, even if you burn all the incense in Xiangguo Temple, I'm afraid it won't be enough for you.
Song Huizong slapped the table and said, "How dare these profiteers do this? I can't spare them."
Li Qidao: "Your Majesty, for the current plan, the only way for the imperial court to open a granary and release grain is to impact the market and bring down the price of grain."
Huang Xinren hurriedly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible." He said and said to Li Qi: "Economic envoy, it's not that our Third Division is stingy, because the Kaifeng granary is in the recovery period and there is not much food at all.
This will bottom out as soon as the granary is opened."
Cai You said again: "Your Majesty, the court can issue an order to punish those profiteers and order them to lower the price of food."
Song Huizong nodded slightly.
Li Qidao: "This method is inappropriate. Every business has its own rules. Although those grain dealers who raise grain prices should be punished morally, it is also a commercial method. If the court uses unfounded measures to
Forced intervention under such circumstances may have a more negative impact, and with the current situation, even if the court intervenes, it may be difficult to stop it."
As soon as these words came out, many ministers stood up to oppose Cai You's actions. After all, they were the real big grain merchants. If the court did this, it would be extremely detrimental to them.
Song Huizong frowned and said: "This won't work, that won't work either, so what should we do?"
Cai Jing stood up at this time and said: "To report to the emperor, I believe that it is urgent to implement the new Changping warehouse system. Only in this way can we fundamentally put an end to this phenomenon."
This is a tacit understanding! Li Qi sighed secretly in his heart and said: "The Grand Master is right. The reason for the increase in food prices this time is because the land is in the hands of a very small number of people. If there were more farmers,
If there is land, then this situation will not exist, and the court should take immediate measures to avoid permanent consequences."
Song Huizong nodded and said: "As for the specific content of the new Chang Ping Cang method of economic envoys, I have already read it and feel that this method is very feasible. I wonder what you, my dear friends, do you think about this?"
Cai Sui, Gao Qiu, Bai Shizhong, Zhao Huan, and Li Bangyan all came forward to support Li Qi.
Song Huizong nodded and said: "That's good. This matter has been settled. All your beloved ministers will discuss this law immediately. After three days, I will ask for a more detailed regulation."
"I obey my orders."
All the ministers said in unison.
Song Huizong said again: "Regarding the price of goods in the capital, the Commerce Bureau has its unshirkable responsibility. I don't want this situation to continue. Li Qi, you must find a way to prevent the rise in prices."
Li Qi cupped his fists and said, "I obey my orders."
...
After resigning from the court, Cai Jing immediately found Li Qi and said, "Is your kid also responsible for this?"
Li Qicuo said in astonishment: "Why did the Grand Master say that?"
Cai Jing snorted and said: "Don't pretend to be confused in front of me. You are clearly taking advantage of the rise in prices to put pressure on the court to speed up reforms. If it weren't for this rise in prices, your Changping position would probably be the fastest."
It would have to wait until next year to be implemented, and it would not be so smooth, but now it is several months ahead of schedule."
This old guy's eyes are really vicious, really. He is so old, and his eyes should be dim. Li Qi smiled and said: "To be honest, I am indeed taking advantage of this price increase to speed up the new law."
The process. But the rise in food prices has nothing to do with me. I am just giving them a little help."
"You guys are really --- haha, it seems that anything you do can be used to your advantage." Cai Jing smiled and said, "But are you sure you can lower the price of food? Even if
If you implement your new normal position today, it will take a long time to achieve results. You still have to find a way to solve this urgent problem."
Li Qi said hey: "Of course, of course, since the people can put pressure on the court, then in turn, any policy of the court can also cause considerable repercussions among the people, and prices will definitely be affected. Plus, I am in the middle
If we use some small measures, the price of food will definitely come down."
Cai Jing stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and laughed and said: "Yes, yes, this method is really feasible for both pros and cons."
...
Just that afternoon, six more rice shops suddenly appeared in the capital. Cheap white rice seemed to fall from the sky. It was a pleasant surprise. What was even more surprising was that all these six rice shops were open.
Opposite those rice shops, it looks like a fighting arena.
The largest rice shop in the capital is the Gujia Rice Shop on Mahang Street. However, at this time, there are people standing in front of the Gujia Rice Shop, and it is almost packed. However, the saddest business in the world is that those who cannot enter the store.
The customers all turned their backs to the Liu Family Rice Shop, and all their eyes were fixed on the newly opened rice shop opposite. However, in addition to the snow-white rice, there was also a huge wooden runner placed in front of the new rice shop.
"Shocking price! Shocking price!"
A young boy of fifteen or sixteen years old stood in front of the door, watched the gong, and roared passionately: "Dear fellow villagers, my boss is very upset when he sees that the price of rice has soared, and the people in the capital cannot even guarantee the most basic life.
, so we opened a warehouse to store grain, and each bucket was sold for only one hundred and eighty cents. One hundred and eighty cents, which is fully double the current price of grain."
"Wow!"
A thunderous exclamation sounded.
The young man shouted: "What, it's low enough. However, our proprietor's family's power is very limited after all, and it is impossible to take care of everyone in the capital. Therefore, for the sake of fairness, my proprietor implemented a lottery system. I believe you have seen it.
This is a giant wheel. There are many small balls in this giant wheel. Some small balls have 'yes' written on them, and some small balls have 'no' written on them. Anyone who draws 'yes' can enter the store to buy rice.
However, each person can only buy one bucket, and cannot buy more. This is also to allow more people to buy it. I hope you can forgive me. But if you draw nothing, we can only say sorry and come back tomorrow. Today we only
There is a limit of 100 customers, which means we only sell 100 buckets of rice and we will close the shop when it is sold out." (To be continued...)