Today's scene can be regarded as a wake-up call for Pan Shicheng, Wang Jiuxuan has been demonstrating that the scholars don't understand, it seems to be weak, but in fact, it is because these people can't cause any actual damage to the army, so they let it go.

Li Xianneng ordered the scholars to be forced to cut their braids, could it be that Wang Jiuxuan wouldn't, he just didn't want to do it.

"Who's to say it isn't. Wu Shaorong nodded in agreement, and said, "However, I'm afraid we have always underestimated Wang Jiuxuan's palace."

Today's incident is ostensibly because Wang Jiuxuan is not capable enough and asked Li Xian for help, but in fact, he is a good person and makes Li Xian a villain.

From now on, the people in Shilin will understand that Li Xian is a real hero, and they dare not get close, but will be more inclined to Wang Jiuxuan; that is, in the army, those officers may not be convinced by Li Xian's verdict, but relatively speaking, they will still be closer to Wang Jiuxuan.

Wang Jiuxuan lost a little face this time, but he captured the hearts of people inside and outside, and this thought was also good. ”

That's a good thing to say. Pan Shicheng couldn't help but show a thoughtful expression.

"However, the most important thing now is the price. Wu Shaorong's words changed, but he was to the point: "The food price in this Guangzhou city is very strange now, and I have to think about it more." ”

"yes, that's the real question. Pan Shicheng sighed and said.

The two bigwigs of the Thirteen Lines gathered together, naturally not just to talk about the trial of the case the day before, as businessmen, they paid more attention to the market situation.

In the eyes of the real business tycoons, the current prices in Guangzhou are very peculiar, pay attention, not too high or too low, but peculiar.

Wang Jiuxuan used various means to stop the rapid rise in grain prices, and also spent money to buy grain from outside to support the city, and even did not hesitate to lose a huge amount of money for this, and the effect of this was also obvious.

There have been signs of rising grain prices in Guangzhou, but the increase is not large, compared with when the Huaxia army first entered the city, that is, it has risen by one or two percent, and once the grain price is stable, other prices will not change too much.

However, since the start of the Eastern Crusade, Wang Jiuxuan no longer struggled to control grain prices, as if he was unwilling to lose any more, and the grain prices went according to the market price, that is, they continued to rise.

However, things are strange here.

Grain prices soared in a short period of time, once reaching a high point of five taels of silver a load, and then when everyone thought that grain prices would continue to rise, they suddenly turned around and began to fall, falling for fear of four taels, and now it is about three taels and five cents, and depending on the situation, it may fall again, and it is even possible to fall below three taels.

Other prices also fluctuate greatly, after reaching a certain height, they will go down, the most outrageous is the price of firewood, in the peaceful days, there are five cents of silver for a load of firewood, when the Huaxia army first entered the city, it was about one penny, and the highest once rose to three yuan, which almost made people complain.

Then, the price of this firewood began to dive, and now it was six cents of silver, almost comparable to the time of a peaceful day.

It is very strange that the prices of the rest of the various items have also fallen after reaching a certain height, and it stands to reason that now the Qing court is vigorously blocking the transportation of materials to Guangzhou, and this price can only go up, even if it reaches the highest point and then falls, it will only be a year or two later.

It is very strange for people who know the way of business to see signs of hitting the highest point and then declining in just a month or two.

On the surface, this is because Li Xian seized a large amount of grain and materials after the Eastern Expedition, and then put them in Guangzhou, so he suppressed prices.

However, according to common sense, even if some materials are captured, the Huaxia Army, as a rebel, should also be put into the treasury and stored, and it is already great to take out a small part to help the people, and now the amount of such materials is very strange, as if the Huaxia Army is not worried about the shortage of food and other materials at all.

Moreover, a comparison of the speed of delivery of such materials and the amount of seized materials reveals many interesting things.

"It seems that this Huaxia army has another channel to obtain a large number of materials, and it is the kind that has been stable for a long time, otherwise it would not be so bold, almost as many materials are captured, as many materials will be put in. Pan Shicheng said thoughtfully.

"yes, that's what makes it hard to figure out. ”

Both of them are experienced businessmen, and when they say this, they both understand what the other party thinks, so they don't need to say it thoroughly.

"And, more importantly, the risk of hoarding is growing.

This Li Xian is not Wang Jiuxuan, and when he starts to do things, he will not have such big scruples. ”

"It is this, yesterday's trial, did not mean to kill chickens and monkeys, and to show us businessmen.

If someone continues to want to buy grain in the market and hide it, and want to make huge profits, Li Xian will definitely confiscate it directly, didn't he do this in Dongguan. ”

When there was a famine and there was a shortage of grain in the market, the Qing court adopted a very simple method, that is, to ask the merchants to open warehouses and release grain, and if others did not agree, they would directly confiscate all their grain, and also ask for the people's lives in the name of asking for their lives.

It's just that in this way, you can get some grain for the time being, but it will lead to no one daring to traffic grain over, which is very harmful in the long run, and Wang Jiuxuan has used much milder means since he came to power, and has hardly used such a drastic method, but would rather spend money to buy grain from surrounding cities at a high price, and then sell it in the city.

However, when he arrived in Li Xian, he would not have so many scruples, and in Dongguan and other peripheral towns, he had directly confiscated the grain hoarded by merchants, and he had also shown his determination not to do things according to the general rules when the case was tried the day before.

Ordinary people can still be ignorant about this, and some bigwigs in the business world are keenly aware that the style of action of the Huaxia Army may change greatly.

During this time, there were quite a few merchants who secretly hoarded grain and other materials, and the total amount was quite considerable, if the Huaxia Army really issued a decree and confiscated them all or purchased them at a low price, then the fun would be great, and the most important thing was that the ordinary people would not oppose it, and they would probably applaud.

Wang Jiuxuan's methods were mild some time ago, but it was more like luring businessmen to hoard a large number of goods, and then catch them all and plunder these materials at a very low cost.

In short, the risks are high on both the market and policy fronts, and it doesn't seem feasible to hoard supplies and make high profits.

The Pan family and the Wu family are both big families in Guangzhou City, with extremely large assets, although they have always been close to the Huaxia Army on the surface, and they have not lacked etiquette, but out of the profit-seeking nature of businessmen, they have not lagged behind in hoarding food and materials, but now it seems that this is not the best policy.

After discussing for a long time, the two finally made a decision, and after each went home, they summoned their stewards and shopkeepers, and told everyone that in view of the high prices and the hardships of the people, they would sell the grain, cloth, tea, etc. in stock at a low price from now on, and at least more than half of the inventory should be cleaned.