The chief helmsman of the 'Yang Dao Alliance', Shao Mingqian, Lu Chaohua, and Heng Wuxuan sat around a table.

"Have the families of the deceased brothers been appeased?" asked Shao Mingqian.

"The alliance leader can rest assured that everything has been arranged, and the losses have been counted, and there is no difference from the previous estimate. ”

"Well, good. No, what news do they have coming back today?"

Heng Wuxuan said: "Yesterday, more than 50 bandits robbed our caravan, and there were three 'Xuanyi guards' in the caravan who were secretly escorted, and the bandits failed to succeed, and six bandits were captured alive in this battle. ”

"What did you do?"

"It was sent to the local yamen, and the yamen sent them to 'Xiezhou' because the bandits were 'Xiezhou', and our people were unable to participate in the identification, as expected, these bandits should have 'escaped' at this moment. ”

"What did the three of them say about this?"

Heng Wuxuan said: "The three hall masters have all reported the case to the local yamen, but the yamen took it but did nothing, and the meaning of favoritism is very obvious. These bandits have only recently appeared, and they are numerous and strong in martial arts, and they are specially selected by our caravans, shops, and halls, and their identities are self-evident. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "It's not difficult to guess their identity, but they are in the dark and we are in the open, they can do something to us at any time, it is difficult for us to guard against, and the yamen deliberately favors us and we don't seem to be able to take advantage." ”

Shao Mingqian nodded and said: "Well, no matter how many bandits we have caught, as long as we find a reason for the yamen to escape, or to release the bandits elsewhere, this is a problem they have given us a long time ago." However, there is a law that must be broken, and this law may not be seamless. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "The gang leader is saying that we also pretend to be bandits to attack the four major gangs?"

Heng Wuxuan said: "No, we know that it is the hands of the four major gangs in Zhongzhou, but there is no evidence." In addition, the Yamen deliberately favored our actions at this moment, and the disciples in our gang were all naturalized, and they took the initiative to provoke the war without any evidence, which gave the Yamen a pretext for sending troops to encircle and suppress. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "Isn't it okay to have a war with the Yamen last time? Why are you afraid to deal with a few gangs now?"

Shao Mingqian said: "The situation is different, the last time they took in the master without leaving them, they were already opposed to the yamen, so they had to use strong words to demonstrate. Later, the emperor wrote the inscription, which is equivalent to being a guarantor, if we start up again for no reason, the ministers of the court will definitely force the emperor to send troops to encircle and suppress, this is probably the situation that Wu Jingguo wants to see the most. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "Wu Jingguo manipulates most of the ministers in the DPRK and China, which is indeed tricky. ”

Shao Mingqian said: "Therefore, our counterattack can only be achieved within the constraints of the imperial court law, which is undoubtedly a little more difficult. ”

Heng Wuxuan said: "Fortunately, the law of my court is still fair." ”

Shao Mingqian said: "It is a pity that the people who enforce the law are not fair enough, and the "Criminal Law" states that 'all robbers who have done it and have no wealth will have a hundred rods and three thousand miles.' But whoever gains the riches shall be beheaded without distinction between the first and the subordinate. According to the Criminal Law, these thieves should be beheaded for the crime of robbing the caravan alone. ”

Heng Wuxuan said: "Yes, back then, the four major gangs in Zhongzhou provoked trouble to fight with our gang, and the yamen came forward to mediate and did not pursue the two times, which has been considered a bias, and now our situation is even more unfavorable, under the operation of the double standard of the yamen, the people of the four major gangs can do it to us at any time, but we only have to be beaten, and the brothers in the gang will cause trouble in the long run." ”

Shao Mingqian nodded, and Lu Chaohua said: "It's not just a matter of whether there is an incident, the business has not been easy to do in the past two years, not only has there been no income in this troublesome gang, but also has to bear all kinds of financial losses and the cost of helping the public, which is not affordable." ”

Shao Mingqian nodded again and asked the two, "What good ideas do you have for the two of you?"

Heng Wushu said: "I have discussed with several deacons before, and there are three ways to try for the time being. First, although we can't take the initiative to attack the people of the four major gangs, we can send caravans to lure the enemy to rob them, and when the time comes, we can kill the mountain bandits in order to protect our property......;

Shao Mingqian said: "Well, this method is feasible, but you need to beware of the secret hand of the yamen." ”

Heng Wuxuan said: "Well, the caravan will secretly invite famous foreign squires to go with them, and with them to testify, the yamen will not blatantly play ghosts for a few Jianghu people, which is equivalent to gambling with their own black gauze hats." ”

Shao Mingqian said: "This is very good. ”

Heng Wuxuan continued: "Second, our people can't pretend to be bandits, and it's okay if they aren't our helpers. ”

Shao Mingqian nodded and said, "Well, the friends we recruited in 'Tangzhou', 'Dongxiyao City' and 'Weizhou' and 'Dalongcheng' should also come in handy." ”

Heng Wushu said: "Exactly." ”

Shao Mingqian asked again, "What is the third method?"

Heng Wuxuan said: "There are many hostile forces of the four major gangs, and we may be able to form alliances with other gangs. ”

Shao Mingqian nodded and said: "The matter of the alliance can be called to the sect elder and Tan Lao, it is not counted, you send someone to secretly monitor the movements of the four major gangs, and there is news to inform Zhongqing that it is convenient for them to set up an ambush." ”

"Good. "I agreed.

Shao Mingqian asked Lu Chaohua again: "Chaohua, do you have any good ideas?"

Lu Chaohua said: "The things sold by the four major gangs are really adulterated and shoddy, among which the 'Xianwei Gang' is short of catties and two, mixing sand in rice, and filling beef with pig and mutton to earn the difference are all common methods, and even more edible things are kept fresh by lime with a small amount of poisonous powder; the 'Yuanrong Gang' silk and cloth business is short of size, the silk is mixed with hemp, and it still remains acidic after rinsing, and it is easy to corrode the skin when worn; the 'Fenghuomen' uses materials to fill jade; the 'Bingjia Gang' porcelain business uses private kilns to fill official kilns, and the antique business is better at making old ones. What the four gangs did, the guild took the benefits and turned a blind eye, and the people dared to be angry but did not dare to speak. ”

Shao Mingqian nodded and said: "Well, the four gangs will change the name of their stores every one or two years, and the people will be fooled again. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "Yes, most of the people have suffered losses and choose to swallow their anger instead of suering, and the reason is nothing more than that they don't buy many goods, and they can't afford to hire a lawyer or are worried that they won't win." ”

"So, Chaohua, what do you mean ......?"

"We help them litigate, and the lawyer asks us to pay the money, and if they win, they will not suffer even if they lose, and this case will be sued one by one, and it will never stop every day, so that the yamen will be tired and have no time to deal with it, and the business under the control of the four major gangs will be notorious and unpatronized. ”

"Well, in accordance with the law, this is not a bad way, the people's lawsuits are increasing, and the adults in the yamen do not dare to be too partial in the face of official evaluations. Calculate how much silver, how much time, how many people you need, and if you can, start immediately. ”

"Yes. ”

"The autumn harvest is over, and it's time to pay taxes again, how is this year's 'Zhongzhou' harvest compared to last year, and what are the prices of wheat and corn? Chaohua, do you have any records?"

Lu Chaohua said: "There is little rain this year, only a few rains that can be seen in a year, the harvest per mu is nearly 20% worse than last year, the grain of the entire 'Zhongzhou' is about 20% lower, the price of corn is nearly 10% lower than this time last year, and the price of wheat is more than 10% lower than the previous two months, which is about half a percent cheaper than this time last year." ”

Shao Mingqian asked again: "How many of the major grain merchants have already started to harvest the grain for the autumn harvest?"

Heng Wuxuan said: "The three hall masters reported that there were less than ten major grain merchants who were collecting grain, and none of the major grain merchants were harvesting wheat, and none of them were harvesting corn, and less than two percent of the small and medium-sized grain merchants began to act. ”

"Chaohua, how is it compared to this time last year?"

Lu Chaohua said: " At this time last year, more than 30 percent of the grain merchants were already collecting grain, and the methods of the major grain merchants remained unchanged, first they did not collect grain but jointly reduced the price of grain to sell grain, creating the false impression that the grain price was reduced, and the peasant households were not good at doing business and were all small businesses, and there was no other way to sell the grain except to the grain merchants, and the price of rice was also set by the grain merchants, and there was no room for counter-offering, and once the grain merchants were unwilling to accept the grain, the peasant households had to sell it at a lower price, and at this time, the grain merchants not only did not accept it, but also sold a small part of the grain at a lower price, and most of the peasant households were anxious to lower the price again。

The larger grain merchants colluded with the yamen, the grain merchants suppressed the grain price, the yamen cooperated with the tax reminder, and the grain merchants returned to give the yamen officials benefits, every year, if the surplus grain of the peasant households could be sold at the market price, they would be self-sufficient after paying taxes in the general year, and there would be a lot more surplus in the harvest year, as long as it was not a year of catastrophe, it would not affect their livelihoods, but the grain merchants suppressed the grain price when they purchased, and doubled it when they were sold, and the situation became more and more severe in the disaster year, and the rice merchants and the yamen had been the most closely united in the past 30 years, and the grain prices were reduced by as much as 40 percent, and as a result, it became more and more difficult for the imperial court to collect taxes, the treasury became more and more empty, and the grain merchants and the local yamen became richer and richer。 It is expected that the price of wheat will be the lowest this year in another month, and then grain merchants will collect grain on a large scale; judging from the current situation, the price of grain sold by peasant households this year may be lower than last year's price, but this year's annual situation is not as good as last year's, and the price of these grains will inevitably be at least 20 percent higher than last year's price. ”

Heng Wuxuan said: "We sell at a regular price, and the profit is less than two percent, and they make easy profits." ”

Shao Mingqian said with a smile: "Some of the old people who contributed money in the gang have already been very red-eyed, and others are very red-eyed, complaining about the high price of grain we collect every year, and many people have withdrawn. ”

Heng Wuxuan said: "Grain trading is just word of mouth, we don't make money with this, and the excess wheat straw and corn straw that are asked to farmers every year are not a few, these things are useless except for making a fire, and it is a good thing for us that has no profit." ”

Shao Mingqian said with a smile: "These things are troublesome and troublesome, and others look down on them, forget it, we will also make a good profit on food this year." ”

Lu Chaohua said: "We also want to suppress prices?"

Shao Mingqian shook his head and said, "No, buy it at the original price." ”

Lu Chaohua was puzzled, Shao Mingqian said: "This year, except for the 'Gumengzhou' and its surroundings, the year seems to be less than last year, there must be a shortage of food, and in the middle of winter and early spring, it may become the most expensive season, we can stock up on some more." Chaohua, the next thing you need to do. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "Alliance leader, please command." ”

Shao Mingqian said: "First, in addition to Zhongzhou, inquire about the price of grain everywhere to see where it is cheaper, and only ask rice, millet, wheat, corn and other grains that can be stored and can be used as staple food; second, count our cash, gather the shopkeepers, staff, and helpers who are willing to pay, and all those who are willing to pay will borrow or join the household, and the tenants will sell and share, and the borrowers will look at and discuss, and the interest will be capped at one by sitting on the ground; third, all the silver tickets will be exchanged for gold, cash and Tongbao. Fourth, I will personally go to 'Osumi Heavenly City', 'Six Dragons Gang' and 'Juntian Jiuding' to borrow as much cash as I can. Fifth, he passed the letter to the three hall masters, suspended other business from the same day, only engaged in the grain business, and realized the goods in his hands at a reduced price. ”

"What is the Alliance Leader going to do?"

"Grain is the lifeblood of the world, even if it is the eight droughts in Kyushu, we should hold this lifeline, at least in 'Zhongzhou', we must occupy an absolute position in food. The financial resources of the four major gangs of 'Zhongzhou' are headed by the 'Xianwei Gang', and it happens that the 'Xianwei Gang' is engaged in the grain business. ”

Lu Chaohua said: "It turns out that the alliance leader wants to squeeze and kill the 'Xianwei Gang'?"

Shao Mingqian said: "Since the 'Xianwei Gang' dares to take the lead in selling rice at a low price, let them buy it at a high price this year, and we have the final say on how much the grain in 'Zhongzhou' will sell this year." ”

Lu Chaohua said: "But we don't have so much silver, the 'Dayu Heavenly City' has a bad relationship with us, and the 'Six Dragons Gang' and the 'Juntian Jiuding' have no friendship at all, so we may not be able to borrow money." ”

Shao Mingqian said: "There is no need for all three to give loans, one agreement is enough to play in 'Zhongzhou', as long as there are benefits, it is not too difficult for the three to negotiate into one." We have the lion's share, and the remaining small part of the business is left to the four gangs to fight for, and the price of grain will inevitably skyrocket. ”

Lu Chaohua asked again: "We collect so much grain, what will we do in the future?"

Shao Mingqian said: "Don't worry, you have your own way, no matter how good next year is, it will be in April and May, and we can sell a lot during this time. At the moment, the most important thing is to start in advance before the 'Xianwei Gang' and other grain merchants collect the grain, and the time is a little tighter. ”

"I'm easy to do, but the time for the helper is tighter. ”

"It's okay, you don't need to prepare it together, just have enough money in the early stage. ”

"Yes, the lower the grain price of such a large-scale collection, the better, and the current grain price is on the high side, should we stop the grain collection work for a while?"

"No, it's business as usual, so as not to be seen. ”

"Yes. ”