From this day on, in a place unknown to the common people, the rich and powerful from those places began to gather in the capital for some unknown reason.
Many of these people came from various places, such as Shanxi merchants from Shanxi, Hui merchants and salt merchants from Lianghuai, and those wealthy families from Jiangnan.
After these people came to the capital, they did not go to the flowery streets and willow lanes to enjoy themselves. Instead, they stayed together in small groups and discussed something with each other.
The most important among these people are the leaders of the three major business gangs. Whenever there is turmoil in the court, the three of them are the first to come out.
The Shanxi merchants were headed by George Yong of the Qiao family, the Hui merchants were headed by Bao Shufang, and the salt merchants were headed by Wang Yinggeng.
This time is no exception. In the Zhuangyuan Building in the capital, the three major business gangs have fully booked the Zhuangyuan Building today just for their three leaders to gather here.
Before noon, these three people arrived one after another. They entered the innermost private room, asked all the servants and entourages to retreat as usual, then served a banquet, and then began to discuss matters.
Wang Yinggeng was the youngest among the three, so he was a little impatient and said directly: "Is what happened this time true?"
George Yong looked at the impatient salt merchant and shook his head, "Don't be so anxious. Let's have a drink first. It won't be too late to discuss the matter after we are full."
"Okay, my brother, I'm not in the mood to drink wine now. I'll finish discussing the matter soon, and then I can eat whatever I want. That's how I feel. Otherwise, I'll always be preoccupied with things and the food won't taste good."
Bao Shufang looked at him helplessly, "In that case, let's discuss the matter first."
George Yong could only nod his head, and then said: "I have received news from the officials in the DPRK. Alsileng Khan has returned from the west, and has brought back a large number of slaves and mercenaries. I am afraid he will not give up this year.
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Wang Yinggeng then asked: "What does the general in the court mean?"
George Yong picked up a glass of wine and took a sip, and then said: "What else can I mean? Of course I am going north to resist."
Bao Shufang was much older than the two of them and fell silent after hearing this. If someone else went north, the old man would not be optimistic, but he was still somewhat sure about Jia Ke.
Because Jia Ke has been invincible in every battle since his debut, even against the Tatar Jia Ke.
"If this is the case, then we should not be defeated this time when we go north."
As the leader of the three of them, George Yong naturally understood the situation very clearly, "I also agree with the old gentleman. Our prime minister fought on the battlefield. This time we went north to gather the strength of the whole country. I
It seems certain that we will be able to win the battle and achieve success immediately.”
Wang Yinggeng's mind was not on this, "If this is the case, then it seems that the court did not lie to us, and we will definitely get a lot of land this time."
Although Wang Yinggeng is the leader of the salt merchants, land in Jiangnan is very precious, and most of it is in the hands of aristocratic families. Although they are rich, they do not buy much land.
In ancient China, land was regarded as the lifeblood. Unless it was at the last moment, the land would never be sold.
Therefore, although these salt merchants are rich, the government's current administration is pretty good and there is no chance for them to plunder. Therefore, although they have spent a lot of money over the years, they have not bought much land.
This time Jia Ke gave them a bad check, but they thought this was an opportunity. If the imperial court could win, then a large area of land in the north would be waiting for them to collect.
Although Bao Shufang is optimistic about Jia Ke, he still doesn't want to take risks at his old age. "This is not the same as doing business. On the battlefield, the situation may change at any time. I think it's better to be more cautious."
But George Yong sat there with a drink and kept thinking. He was not thinking about the land and the victory or defeat of the court, but the changes in the future situation of the court.
Jia Ke is now Sima Zhao's heart, and everyone knows it. This time, he made a promise to the wealthy businessmen in the world to buy land, and many people only invested in him because of the land.
But George Yong doesn't think so. Whether Jia Ke wins or loses this time, it will not affect his control over the Central Plains world.
Then these businessmen may have to act based on the Jia family's face from now on. Now is the opportunity to invest. Otherwise, if you miss this time, it will be difficult to show your face in front of Jia Ke in the future.
After thinking about it, George Yong said to the other two people: "I think the army heading north still has a chance to win this time. If we invest a little bit, it will also give the court face."
Bao Shufang shook her head after hearing this, "I'm old and I can't bear such fear anymore. The world from now on belongs to you young people, and I won't get involved this time."
Wang Yinggeng curled his lips after hearing this. This old man was too cautious. Although Huizhou merchants have developed steadily in recent years, they have begun to lag behind Shanxi merchants and salt merchants because this old man is too conservative.
After hearing Bao Shufang's decision, George Yong asked Wang Yinggeng: "Brother, what do you think?"
Wang Yinggeng's eyes are now red, just thinking about the fertile land in the north. You must know that in ancient times, a family's land was the foundation. Otherwise, no matter how much money you have, you will not be favored by the gentry.
"I have nothing else to say. I have raised 1.5 million dans of grain, and this time all of it will be donated to the court for military use."
After hearing this, George Yong nodded. Although Wang Yinggeng was a little reckless, he still dared to fight. This time, he actually made such a big deal. If the court wins, it will get at least hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Wang Yinggeng will have it in the future.
It's fundamental.
George Yong also expressed his final decision: "I also decided to donate 2.5 million tons of grain to the court. After all, the Tatars invade the south every year. If we don't teach them a lesson this time, it will be difficult for us to do business."
Bao Shufang looked at these two people and shook his head, thinking to himself, he is still young and does not know how difficult it is to maintain success. Although they have donated so much food now, although they will not be short of money, once they lose it, they will be in trouble for a long time.
It is about to shrink, but this is good, just so that the Huizhou merchants under his command can encroach on their territory. The two of them have developed too much in the past two years. If this continues, they may not have a foothold.
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So these people stopped talking about court affairs and started drinking and having fun.
In the next few days at the Ministry of Household Affairs, many people began to donate grain to the court, especially George Yong, a Shanxi merchant, who donated 2.5 million dan of grain, and Wang Yinggeng, a salt merchant, who donated 1.5 million dan of grain, just to support the imperial court's Northern Expedition.
After Jia Ke learned about this, he understood the intentions of these two families. One was for the land in the north, and the other was to present a certificate of title for himself.
In this case, Jia Ke accepted their kindness, after all, the world's trade still relied on these companies.
In addition to them, other wealthy businessmen in the capital also began to take action. These people saw that even the leaders of the three major business gangs had donated food to the court to buy land. What do they have to fear from small families like them?
So these people almost crossed the threshold of the Ministry of Revenue. Because there were so many people, even Liu Wan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, had to come out to receive them in person.
Liu Wan registered the names of these people and the amount of grain and grass to be donated, and then he was a little surprised. The total amount of grain was more than 3 million tons.
If we add in the grain donated by Shanxi merchants and salt merchants in the past few days, this amount is much higher than the number specified by Jia Ke.
The extra food and grass were all land, so Liu Wan couldn't make the decision himself, so he hurried to the palace to report to Sun Yan, the head of the Military Aircraft Department.
Sun Yan got the news from Liu Wan, thought for a moment, and then said: "Businesses have gone up and down since ancient times. Since so many people are buying, we should raise the price."
Liu Wan had also worked in the Ministry of Household Affairs for so many years, so he naturally understood what Sun Yan meant.
Liu Wan said tentatively: "Then what does Mr. Yi Shoufu mean?"
"We will count the total amount of these grains, and finally see how much land we can get, and then divide it equally among them."
Liu Wan nodded immediately after hearing this. This was the only way to handle the matter.
The next day, the court's disposal plan was announced to the world, and the wealthy locals all discussed it together when they heard the news.
This matter seems to have disadvantages, but in fact it does not mean that it has no advantages. It depends on how much land the imperial court can obtain in this war.
If they get less land, they will naturally suffer a loss. If the imperial court wins a great victory and seizes a large area of land, it will not let them suffer a loss even if the imperial court does not sell all the land.
Businessmen and wealthy locals from all over the country felt relieved, and some even regretted that they had donated less food.
While Jia Ke was actively preparing to go north, Alsileng Khan in the north was not idle either.
Alsileng Khan has been having a rough time in the past few years. At the beginning, the grassland tribes began to split due to Jia Ke's relationship. He spent a lot of effort to reintegrate them, but the people in the Western Regions rebelled again.
In the past few years, Alsileng Khan had to refocus his efforts on the Western Regions, but he encountered black-clad predators in the Western Regions. These soldiers armed with religion were simply not afraid of death. If it were not for the prairie people who were skilled in bows and horses,
They were almost forced to retreat.
Fortunately, Alsileng Khan knew a lot about strategies. He fought against the masters in black several times and defeated them all, and expanded the land to the west for more than 1,000 miles.
Now that the black-clad emperor has been beaten by Alslen Khan, he has no temper at all, so he can only cede territory and seek peace. Therefore, Alslen Khan can lead a large number of slaves and mercenaries as a victor.
Returned to the grassland again.
Alslen Khan now once again focused his attention on the south, where he had his lifelong enemy.