"What do you mean?" Sun Yueling is unknown. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Qi Liao took a long time, and said leisurely: "My brother is very knowledgeable, how could he not have heard the story of 'everyone is gold'?" ”

Sun Yueling was surprised: "What does this have to do with the current cotton hype? Of course, he knows this allusion, which is the story of the king of the Zhou Dynasty who worked hard and lost money to cast the bell and provoked the resentment of the people.

It's just that at this juncture, what does Qi Liao mean by saying this, is it to rely on the power of the Qing Discussion to influence the current cotton hype?

Qi Liao smiled slightly and continued: "Lu listened to Ji Sunzhi's words and chased Confucius, and Song Xinzi's plan was to imprison Mo Zhai, the reason why the two of them suffered was because they were too powerful. Now, the solution I have come up with for you is also from this. ”

Sun Yueling seemed to catch a little eyebrows, and asked tentatively: "You mean, let me launch a review of the Times, and do not hesitate to create rumors to encourage the cotton market to heat up?" ”

Qi Liao nodded and said, "Yes, that's exactly what it means." ”

"Will this work?" Sun Yueling still felt incredulous in his heart.

"Don't underestimate the power of rumors." Qi Liao Zhengse said, "Once the rumor spreads, it can take root in the hearts of tens of millions of people, and some people deliberately promote it, which can often cover up the facts and subvert the truth." Kong and Mo suffered because they were burdened by rumors. The so-called 'three husbands become tigers in the city, and loving mothers tend to do so', which is also the truth. ”

Sun Yueling gasped, Qi Liao's idea was really ruthless, why couldn't he think of it. However, spreading rumors to influence the market is not a joke, and now as a Jiangnan celebrity, if the rumors are punctured, I am afraid that he will be ruined immediately.

couldn't help frowning and said: "Not to mention whether the rumors created among the people can affect the price of cotton cloth, even if it can be successful, I am now the head of Fenghua Society, if it is discovered that I am the initiator of the rumors, then ......" said this, and did not say any more, but looked at Qi Liao's reaction.

Qi Liao waved his hand and said: "Brother is too worried, since I plan to help you in this matter, I naturally won't let you show up, besides, your Fenghua Society may be able to create some gossip, but it is far from enough, I am afraid that it may not be able to affect the rise and fall of cotton prices......

Sun Yueling asked, "Then what do you mean?" ”

A smile appeared at the corner of Qi Liao's mouth, and he asked rhetorically: "If this rumor came from the Weaving Bureau, which procured for the royal family and was in charge of the entire Jiangnan silk and cotton trade, would you say that people would believe it?" ”

Sun Yueling was shocked when he heard this, and said: "Weaving yamen? "Suzhou Weaving Bureau is a government agency set up by the imperial court in the south of the Yangtze River, responsible for supplying silk cloth to the inner palace, in addition to supplying satin for the entire royal family, it also has the right to "lead weaving, purchase, procurement", and can directly purchase raw silk cotton cloth from the people. If it is really as Qi Liao said, the weaving bureau released the wind to buy cotton cloth, the credibility of this rumor will be greatly improved, and the price of cotton cloth may rise sharply.

Qi Liao looked surprised when he saw him, and said with a smile: "I have a life-saving grace in Suzhou weaving eunuch Li Shi, and the friendship is extraordinary, I believe that as long as I come forward to ask for it, Li Shi should sell this favor to me." In this way, there is no need for your Fenghua Society to come forward, but the Yamen of the Weaving Bureau secretly spread rumors, so the weight of this rumor may not be believed. As long as the price of cotton cloth rises sharply, you joint trading companies will take the opportunity to get rid of all of them, and there will be nothing to do. ”

Sun Yueling was excited when he heard Qi Liao say it so easily, but then he thought that after all, this thing was a little unkind, and if it was discovered, he would really have a discredited reputation, so he hesitated for a while.

Qi Liao seemed to know what he was thinking, and continued: "Brother, this is the only way I can think of to help you at the moment, otherwise, you can only admit the loss and swallow this bitter fruit." Besides, you don't need to come forward in this matter, even if it is the Yamen of the Weaving Bureau who will be hacked in the future, what else do you have to worry about? When the judgment continues, you will be blamed! ”

Sun Yueling gritted his teeth, nodded violently, and said, "In this case, please leave this matter to the fourth brother." After the deed is completed, everyone in the United Trading Company will be grateful! ”

……

In the next few days, a piece of gossip quietly spread in the streets and alleys of Suzhou City, and there were not many people who believed it at first, but with the continuous spread of the news, coupled with the help of people with hearts, soon the news was exaggerated and overwhelmed, and passers-by knew it.

When Sun Yueling heard the news, he couldn't help but be shocked by Qi Liao's handwriting.

It turned out that when the price of cotton cloth gradually fell, there was a wind from the yamen of the Suzhou Weaving Bureau, saying that it was due to the wedding of the king of the palace and the imminent marriage of several princesses, and the silk brocade cotton silk reserves in the palace were very scarce, and it was necessary to purchase cotton cloth to solve the needs of the moment, and this task naturally fell to the yamen of the Suzhou Weaving Bureau, which was responsible for the procurement of silk cotton in the south of the Yangtze River.

In addition, Li Shi, the eunuch of the Weaving Bureau, also took a number of entourages to the east and west cotton markets in Suzhou City, and it is said that he also talked with some cloth merchants and cloth sellers for a long time, discussing some matters of purchasing cotton silk.

was able to perform this play so realistically and grandly, Sun Yueling had to admire Qi Liao's ability. Under his operation, the cotton silk trading market in Suzhou, which was like a backwater, was violently stirred, and it became more and more intense, gradually boiling, and became vibrant again.

Many gullible rumor-believing traders have re-intervened in the speculation of cotton prices, trying to take advantage of the urgent need of the royal family to speculate and make a lot of money. With the joint participation of small traders and hawkers, many big traders couldn't sit still, and finally joined the speculation war of rising cotton prices. As a result, the price of cotton cloth that fell to two taels and one horses soared more violently than every time before, and it had broken through the six taels mark within three days, and there was a trend of continuing to rise, and it was about to approach ten taels. Among them, I don't know how many people took the opportunity to untie and go ashore, and I don't know how many people rejoined it to buy it, and the cotton cloth trading market was full of people all day long, and the goods were in and out, so it was not lively.

At this time, the Yan brothers, Shen Yang and others who got Sun Yueling's order did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly sold out the cotton cloth stored in the warehouse and the contract in their hands.

Perhaps Gao Shihe saw the strangeness of the rebound in the price of cotton silk, or perhaps Gao Shihe listened to his advice, this time he did not stop and watch, but sold out the stored cotton cloth early, and let all the traders affiliated to the Tung Shan Association follow suit, so the traders attached to the Tung Shan Association also followed suit and sold all the cotton cloth in their hands.

Six days later, the price of cotton cloth has reached an unprecedented price of nine taels and one horses, and the traders who linger in the cotton cloth market every day and compete for speculation are still in an endless stream, scrambling to be the first, lest they miss every opportunity to make a fortune. In today's cotton market, almost as long as someone is willing to deliver the goods and transfer the contract, it will be snapped up immediately, and some wealthy merchants will not hesitate to buy it at the price of ten taels and one horses.

Early in the morning of the seventh day, the cotton cloth trading market in the West Market was already packed and crowded. Many vendors clubbed their necks and rolled up their cuffs outside the trading house, and as soon as the door opened, they were the first to squeeze in.

Someone also said excitedly: "Today's trading price will definitely break through the ten or two mark, if it can't reach this price today, I don't think someone can take a cotton silk from my hand." An old cloth dealer in the city who spoke, he had already stopped, and when he saw that it was profitable, he rejoined the hype, and this time he added bricks and tiles to bet on it, and did not hesitate to press all the capital.

Someone next to him smiled: "I said Lao Wei, you are an urgent child, how can you let the price of cloth rise again, now I don't know how much less I want to make when I sell it, now the king of faith and several princesses are married, and the weaving bureau wants to buy an amazing amount of cotton silk, if I were you, I would have to rise to fifteen taels and sell again!" ”

"That is, with the royal family behind as a guarantee, are you afraid that the cotton cloth in your hand will become waste? Even if the royal family doesn't want it, don't there be other big patrons who need it? Others chimed in.

After a noisy shout, everyone seemed to have taken a reassuring pill, and felt a lot more confident, and the people who wanted to ship couldn't help but hesitate, this time is a great opportunity to stock up and make a fortune, if you sell early, you don't know how much profit you will lose.

At this moment, the crowded crowd suddenly dispersed to both sides, only to see a team of black-clothed soaps walking in front, passing through the crowd and coming to the gate of the trading house, the leader of the person stood on the steps, suddenly spread out a roll of silk cloth notice, and read aloud: "Recently, it has been rumored in the market that the palace is going to purchase cotton cloth on a large scale, and the political envoy of Jiangsu is here to tell you that this matter is purely false, it is a complete rumor, the silk cloth in the palace is sufficient, and there is no need to buy from the people, please tell each other, don't believe it." With that, he ordered a silk cloth notice to be posted on the wall of the front yard of the trading house.

As soon as these words fell, the crowd seemed to be thrown into several explosive mines, and they exclaimed in surprise. Some people fainted on the spot, some people were angry, some people cried out in despair, some people were incredulous, and the list was different, but the bright red Yamen seal on the notice pierced people's eyes like a sharp knife, announcing the authenticity of the notice to everyone.

The angry crowd boiled, and in an instant they gathered in front of this group of soaps, roaring angrily, asking them for explanations. The head of the soap officer pressed the knife on his waist and said loudly: "You are waiting for you to hoard goods and disrupt the cotton silk trading market, and the political secretary yamen has long issued a document advising you to abide by the law and not speculate. Now you are gullible in rumors, so who is to blame for today's loss? ”

Even if this person's voice is reasonable, but under the great changes, people's hearts are impetuous, and those traders who have lost all their wealth can bear it, and they all shout, saying that they want the yamen to compensate them for their losses.

The soap Li who was the leader was angry, and suddenly drew his sword and shouted: "Whoever wants to make trouble, follow me to the yamen to make it clear!" ”

……

That night, in the back house of the political envoy of Jiangsu, Sun Yueling said to Cao Changhe: "This time the cotton silk hyped up the turmoil, and the political secretary Yamen came forward to stabilize it, Cao Gongzhen is a model for governing the place, and he admires it so much!" ”

The release of a paper document refuting the rumors by the political secretary of the political department immediately plunged the boiling cotton silk speculation into a cold state, and the price of cotton cloth also reversed amazingly, falling in a straight line, falling from 10 taels to 3 taels in one day, which shocked everyone. The originally hot cotton silk trade suddenly turned cold, although some people wanted to sell at a loss, no one dared to buy, and those trading contracts that were more expensive than gold for days were like waste paper at this time, and they felt panicked in their arms.

This time, I persuaded Cao Changhe to come forward to refute the rumors, which was Sun Yueling's own idea. Although the United Trading Company has been untied and landed, it is not a good thing to let the cotton silk speculation trend continue after all, and it is the people at the bottom who will suffer, so he can't sit idly by and ignore this, and now let Cao Changhe come forward to calm down this turmoil, which can be regarded as making some compensation within his ability, so that the turmoil affecting several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River will be calmed down as soon as possible.

Of course, his persuasion to Cao Changhe was naturally not that the United Trading Company was to solve the problem, but that since the United Trading Company had been established, and the price of cotton cloth was so volatile, it was really not conducive to future cross-sea trade, so he hoped that the political secretary and the yamen would come forward as soon as possible to calm down this turmoil.

Cao Changhe waved his hand and sighed, and said: "It's easy to come forward and it's hard to finish, those bankrupt traders may do something out of the ordinary under pessimism and despair. Although this matter was dealt with in a timely manner, how to deal with the aftermath is indeed a big problem. ”

Sun Yueling was silent for a while, of course he could understand Cao Changhe. Originally, Cao Changhe was forced by Mao Yilu to build the Wei Zhongxian Ancestral Hall, and now although the hype has been calmed down, there are many problems left, and those traders who have lost too much money are enthusiastic, and they actually regard the Yamen of the Political Secretary as the first evil that ruined their lives, and many people threatened to compensate for their losses, otherwise they would have to stay in the gate of the Yamen.

He was also a little embarrassed about this, after all, Cao Changhe was in such a big trouble to help himself, and he couldn't help but say: "Gong Cao, if there is a need for Fenghua Society, just open your mouth, and the contemptible people will definitely go all out." ”

Cao Changhe shook his head and said: "I know my brother's kindness, but this matter should not be blocked, as a political envoy of one party, if I can't even deal with this trouble, then I am in his position and unworthy of being a parent official." ”

Sun Yueling breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and still asked unconsciously, "I don't know how Cao Gong plans to deal with these loss-making vendors?" To be honest, he was also very curious about what Cao Changhe could do to deal with the aftermath of this incident.

Cao Changhe smiled faintly and said, "Although these people are greedy for profit, after all, they are my Ming people, and they have to be treated differently." Those who lose their minds and dare to disturb the order of the government will be arrested and questioned; However, for those traders who have suffered heavy losses, they should be appeased, and if they are outsiders, they should be given appropriate travel fees to return home, so that they can return home safely; The most important point is that the cotton hype this time is all caused by rumors, and the most calming thing at this moment is to arrest the perpetrators and put them in prison, so as to completely resolve the aftermath in front of them. ”

These words were eloquent and reasonable, which made Sun Yueling admire them very much. But when I heard the last sentence, I couldn't help but feel a shock in my heart, the initiators of this matter were Qi Liao and himself, could it be said that he and Qi Liao had to be held to thank the loss-making traders? Even if, as Qi Liao said, it is not his turn to be responsible for this matter, but it is the weaving yamen who will be blackened, but if Li Shi is affected because of this, how can he be embarrassed?

Although Sun Yueling is confident that he can persuade Cao Changhe to only calm down the situation and not hold the relevant rumor-mongers responsible, in this case, can this be regarded as collusion between officials and businessmen?

This matter is really troublesome, and he can't help but be in a dilemma.