Chapter nine hundred and fiftieth food is the lifeblood of a
"Chen Jun, you have done a very good job on this matter. The price of grain in Shanghai is rising at a speed that even I find unbelievable, and the market is seriously lacking in supply. Not only that, the imperial army's military rations are also extremely tight, and they can only wait until the grain is produced.
It will be replenished when the grain in the district matures."
"Under such circumstances, the Gendarmerie Headquarters does need to reserve some rice. I have already applied to the Thirteenth Army Headquarters and will pay you one thousand yuan per stone of rice in Central Reserve Certificates. I will give it to you this afternoon.
Send it over." Kinoshita Eichi said with a frown.
Prices in the Shanghai stock market rose so fast that even Japan was caught off guard. Faced with this situation, they had no effective means to control the market. The key was that there was no food to adjust.
Not only that, the Japanese army's military rations were also greatly affected. In the production areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, due to resistance from all sides, the food requisition plan was severely frustrated. It was too far behind the target. The entire dispatched army was facing difficulties
Faced with the threat of food shortage, supply standards had to be lowered.
Chen Mingxiang went to Suzhou this time to handle the affairs of the Qingxiang Committee and sent a thousand tons of Suzhou rice to the Gendarmerie Headquarters. At least in terms of food, he would not have to worry about it in a short time.
The price of rice in the Shanghai market, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Food of the Jinling Government, is 820 yuan in central reserve coupons per shi for japonica rice and 800 yuan per shi for indica rice.
But now, one thousand yuan of China Reserve Certificates can no longer buy one stone, and the price of japonica rice on the black market has reached 1,500 yuan per stone of China Reserve Certificates.
"Your Majesty General, we can make do with other things, but food is the most basic guarantee for citizens. If the price rises to this level, most citizens will simply not be able to afford it, let alone buy it."
"As the most important industrial production base in the empire, maintaining social stability in Shanghai is the top priority. I'm worried that big trouble will occur due to lack of food!" Chen Mingxiang said with a worried look.
After he and Li Shi** received the grain, they immediately returned to Shanghai. Ten thousand tons of grain were also shipped from Zhenjiang to Shanghai on a ship. All he had to do was collect money.
The plan that he has wanted to promote for a long time is about to be launched at this time. Chen Mingxiang is preparing to cooperate with the underground party and stage a strike in Shanghai to force the Japanese businessmen to put pressure on the Japanese garrison and the Jinling government to solve the current predicament.
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The Japanese and the puppet government would never dare to kill the workers at this time, because their heads are squeezed by the door! The only way is to agree to some conditions to maintain the normal operation of the factory. The imperial army is still waiting for supplies from the Shanghai market.
At war with the US military!
When it comes to mobilizing workers, the Military Command can only look at it with a blank stare. Only the underground party, which is most attentive and intimate with the people, can do this kind of thing.
"Facing this situation, the Consulate General in Shanghai and the Thirteenth Army Headquarters, as well as the Navy and the Gendarmerie, held several joint meetings. There is really no good way to solve it. We can only wait until the rice is mature in July.
Only in the future can the food pressure be fundamentally relieved."
"I heard from the Suzhou Gendarmerie that you have transported a batch of grains this time, and they are going to be used by the municipal government to relieve people's livelihood. However, I have to remind you that you must not let the administrative agencies of the municipal government operate it. That would be three points.
It would be great if one of them can reach the hands of the public."
"These corrupt and greedy bureaucrats will not give up every opportunity to make money. When necessary, you can operate in the name of the Military Police Headquarters and the Consulate General in Shanghai," said Kinoshita Sakaeichi.
He believed that Chen Mingxiang was thinking about the interests of the empire, and wanted to gain some reputation and accumulate some capital for the future, so he actively considered the food shortage in Shanghai, and was even slightly moved.
Chen Mingxiang came out of the Military Police Headquarters and rushed to the Marine Corps Headquarters by car. He also prepared a thousand tons of rice for the Navy. If he wanted to have fun in Shanghai, no one could offend these two families.
"Chen Jun, you are an old friend of the Navy. Thank you very much for sending a thousand tons of rice to the Marine Corps this time. Of course I will not let you down. I will give it to you at the price of black market rice.
You want gold or dollars.”
"Admiral Zengo Yoshida, the commander of the fleet, has given you special instructions. Huatong Trading Company must help the navy continue to purchase supplies, especially grain, cloth and strategic supplies. All payments will be made by the Kodama Agency, and U.S. dollar gold can be used.
." said Kakuzaburo Makita.
The navy is a priority of the Japanese government. It has always had sufficient funds and is naturally very generous in its spending. It has never cared about the payment method of gold dollars.
"Your Excellency General, my biggest headache is food. The rest is easier to talk about. I wonder how many tasks the fleet headquarters will give me?" Chen Mingxiang asked, which was also what he expected.
"The navy has about 70,000 personnel in China. I need you to provide 30,000 tons of rice, all paid in US dollars. The price is based on the highest price in the market. The time is from now until the end of the year." Makita Kakusaburo said.
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Even at the lowest level, the Japanese army's food standard is one pound of rice per day, which is 35 tons for 70,000 people, and more than 12,000 tons in one year. If you compress it again, these 30,000 tons of rice can basically last for three years.
Survival guarantee.
The price of a ton of rice is currently 20,000. It is estimated that the price will at least double when the operation starts. Calculated based on 40,000 China Reserve Bonds per ton, 30,000 tons is equivalent to 1.2 billion China Reserve Bonds. Note, it is China Reserve Bonds!
There is no direct exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and China Reserve Bonds. It is roughly 5.5 yuan to one yen, 4 yen to one dollar, and 22 yuan to one dollar of China Reserve Bonds. In fact, with the rise of China Reserve Bonds,
Depreciation, one hundred China Reserve Bank Notes may not be exchanged for one U.S. dollar!
This depends on how Chen Mingxiang and Kodama operate the agency, but there will definitely be no surprises in the result. As long as the targets are met with quality and quantity, other behaviors can be accommodated. Isn’t it just spending a little more money!
Therefore, in this transaction, Chen Mingxiang, the Kodama Agency and the Marine Corps Command will finally get the benefits they need, and everyone is happy.
"Not to mention 30,000 tons of rice, even 3,000 tons of rice is still a problem for me now. Well, I'll find those businessmen who manipulate the black market prices. I may need the cooperation of the Kodama Agency and the Intelligence Division. I've never been too lazy.
Deal with these people." Chen Mingxiang said.
One of the key reasons for the rapid rise in rice prices in Shanghai is that those unscrupulous businessmen who are struggling to make a fortune secretly manipulate prices. These people, regardless of the lives of the people, hoard large quantities of grain and continue to raise prices. Not only the people hate this group, but
Even the Japanese and the Wang Puppet Government hated him so much that his teeth ached.
Out of their own interests, neither party wants the price of food in the Shanghai stock market to rise sharply. Once the order in the Shanghai stock market is disordered, it will be a very bad thing. The Japanese are thinking about reducing production capacity, and the Wang puppet government is thinking about finance and taxation.
