All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 192: Fire Dragon Burns the Warehouse
"In the Spice Islands, the mountains and fields are full of spices."

"Go up with your bag and pick whatever you want. Just be careful of poisonous insects."

"Some people were too greedy and wanted to throw away the food and water buckets to make room for the spices."

"We have the specific nautical charts and routes, and we'll just go there once a year from now on."

"The more than one million kilograms we brought back this time are far from reaching the limit of its supply."

"In order to increase the yield, we can also occupy more places with suitable temperatures and plant them artificially."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said, "You want to increase production? Come on, the ones you brought back are worthless and can't be sold."

Chen Ran looked at Zhu Biao who was busy checking various spices in the cabin. "What do you think these spices are worth, Prince?"

"Zihou." The prince came over with a handful of cloves in his hand. "No one expected you to bring back so many spices. There are too many to sell."

"You say we can't sell the goods in the world's largest market with a population of tens of millions?" Chen Ran also laughed. "It's only a question of whether we are willing to sell, not a question of whether we can sell."

"How about this." Chen Ran looked at Lao Zhu and said bluntly, "This is originally the product of Sihai Trading Company, how about letting Sihai Trading Company sell it?"

Old Zhu didn't say anything, only his eyelids were twitching.

He looked down on businessmen, thinking they were all rentiers who engaged in short selling.

If his wife and children were not the major shareholders of the Sihai Trading Company, he would have taken over it long ago.

There is no way. Even for Lao Zhu, once the matter involves his family, he will make adjustments.

Since learning that these spices were not as valuable as he had imagined, Lao Zhu's interest in them has greatly diminished.

Seeing the prince looking at him frequently, he simply said "you guys handle it yourselves", and then left without hiding his disappointment.

"Zihou." After Zhu Yuanzhang left, Zhu Biao spoke up, "The imperial court intends to conquer the remnants of the Yuan court, but lacks money and food to send troops. Father originally wanted to use the sale of spices as military pay."

"Prince, you need to understand this." Chen Ran pointed at the spices around him and said, "These are all from Sihai Trading Company. We just need to pay taxes."

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly, thinking, "Only you would think so."

He simply changed the subject and said, "Tell me what to do with all these spices."

"Yingtian Prefecture definitely can't digest it. Even if we sell it to big households all over the country, not to mention the cost of building shops in various places along the way, it still can't be consumed."

Chen Ran simply waved his hand and said, "Leave this matter to me, and you just wait for the money and food to be distributed."

"By the way." He asked again, "What is your lowest price?"

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly, "Just don't let it get damaged. It's up to you. The more the better."

"Understand."

Chen Ran nodded and said, "Leave it to me. However, you can only make a lot of money this year. Starting next year, the market will definitely plummet."

He acted quickly. He went home to rest for a few days, and when he came out, he sent invitations to spice merchants and department store merchants in Yingtian Prefecture in the name of Zhu Biao Donggong.

Of course, we can’t invite people from the East Palace. Old Zhu will definitely not agree to that.

The merchants were invited to a banquet on the largest pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River.

No one dared not to come to the invitation sent by the East Palace, even if they were sick, they had to come.

After all, it was recognized by everyone in the Ming Dynasty that the prince must be the heir.

Whoever dares to jump up and down will be condemned by the whole world~~~
Zhu Biao would not appear in such a place. The person who hosted the banquet was Chen Ran, who had been promoted to the Zuo Chunfang of the Zhanshi Mansion of the Eastern Palace and the fifth-rank Zuo Shuzi.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

When Chen Ran put down the wine glass in his hand, everyone stopped what they were doing and talked, and looked at him in unison.

Everyone knows that the main part is coming.

Sure enough, Chen Ran was heard saying, "As you all know, I brought back a large amount of spices this time. You all also know that the spice business is very profitable. I can earn as much money as I sell."

There were guilds in every industry in the Ming Dynasty, and spices were no exception.

The head of the guild immediately said, "Let your Excellency know that spices are something that only high-ranking officials would buy. So many of them have arrived at once, and it is said that there are as much as one million kilograms. Even if all the rich families in the Ming Dynasty eat them together, they still can't finish them."

"And then." Chen Ran slowly picked up the food with chopsticks and said, "Just tell me."

"We are willing to take all the goods." The leader smiled like a weasel stealing chickens. "But the price can only be 10% of the current price."

Their idea is simple: buy the goods, stockpile them, and then sell them bit by bit later.

As long as it is properly preserved and not exposed to moisture or fire, it can be sold for several years or even more than ten years.

This is a huge fortune.

Chen Ran put down his chopsticks and smiled. "I also understand a little bit about economics. If there are more goods, the price will naturally go down."

At this point, he stopped smiling and said, "But what if there is less cargo?"

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what he meant.

"The fire is coming! The fire is coming!~~~"

“What a big fire~~~”

There was an urgent clamor outside, and soon someone rushed in to report, "Something happened. The warehouse where the spices were stored in Shitoujin was flooded~~~"

Everyone was shocked.

Although the deal had not yet been concluded, the merchants were already confident that the spices were in their possession.

After all, in the entire Ming Dynasty, no one except them could consume millions of kilograms of spices, of course, the premise is that the price must be extremely compressed.

But now the spice warehouse is on fire, isn't it my own money that is burning?
In the midst of the chaos, Chen Ran ate his food and drank his wine leisurely. "Why are you in such a hurry? Just let it burn. Eat and drink. When you are full, then go and see."

Everyone gradually quieted down, and after looking at each other, they gradually understood. This is the fire dragon burning the warehouse.

This Mr. Chen is really ruthless. He didn't hesitate to burn most of the goods just to raise the price!
By the time Chen Ran had eaten and drunk his fill, he slowly stood up and led everyone to the warehouse next to the dock. The fire there had already been put out.

The air was filled with a pungent, strange smell of burning spices.

The merchants also understood that the spices were really burned and it was not just a show for them.

It's ruthless!

Chen Ran, standing with his hands behind his back, asked a monk in a black robe, "How many spices are left?"

The black-robed monk responded respectfully, "Only tens of thousands of pounds are left."

"Tsk tsk." Chen Ran shook his head and sighed, then turned to look at the merchants and said, "Originally, I called you all together to share the goods, but now there are only so few left. Let's talk about how to sell it later. Please go back."

Now the situation is reversed.

Before, when there were millions of kilograms of spices, merchants could lower the prices at will.

But now there are only a few tens of thousands of kilograms left, so it is the merchants' turn to come to Chen Ran for help.

In the next few days, merchants kept visiting, wanting to buy spices at high prices to sell.

But they didn't even see Chen Ran. Only the black-robed monk named Yao Guangxiao received them.

You can have spices if you want them, but the prices are slashed.

Yao Guangxiao accepted all kinds of gifts and specifically told the merchants who came to his door, "Don't spread the news, otherwise you can't do this business anymore."

Naturally, the merchants responded one after another, preparing to make a fortune in silence.

What they didn't know was that almost all the merchants in the spice business had come separately.

They all received similar instructions and purchased huge quantities of goods weighing thousands or even tens of thousands of kilograms.

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

"What a trick of setting the warehouse on fire." Zhu Yuanzhang, sitting on the dragon throne, snorted with narrowed eyes, "Most of the goods were burned in a fire, but the price was maintained. But this person is really evil."

"Boss, you have to be careful of this kid in the future. He is very ruthless and will definitely..."

"Dad!" Zhu Biao couldn't listen any longer and interrupted Old Zhu. "Nothing was burned. Only a few thousand kilograms of poor quality spices were burned to deceive the merchants."

"Ah?" Lao Zhu was dumbfounded. Is there such a thing?
"Those merchants were all scared, thinking there was really only a little left."

Zhu Biao explained with a smile on his face, "They all rushed to the Eastern Palace to buy them, paying a huge price and consuming millions of kilograms of spices in batches."

"It is said that they don't have enough money and grain, so they are looking for money from fellow villagers to borrow money, and even big merchants doing other businesses come to buy it. They all know that this thing is valuable, and they all want to get a piece of the pie."

He took out a thick paper and handed it over. "This is the income list."

"So many?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the clearly organized list carefully, with a surprised look on his face. "The money and grain for the northern expedition have been found."

According to the original history, Lan Yu, Feng Sheng and others had to wait for several years before they could start their northern expedition, and only after they had raised and stored enough money and food.

Now, with this money and food, we can send troops to fight.

"Here." Zhu Biao subconsciously imitated Chen Ran and touched his nose awkwardly. "Dad, if you want to use this money and grain, you have to write an IOU."

Zhu Yuanzhang'(°ー°〃)'

"This is really weird. This world belongs to me, Old Zhu. Do I have to write an IOU to use money and grain?"

"Dad." Zhu Biao took out another document and handed it over. "These goods are from Sihai Trading Company, and taxes have been paid."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyelids twitched as he looked at the tax receipt in his hand.

"Si Hai Trading Company."

He knew this business very well. The owners were his wife, son, relatives, and nobles.

Such a large amount of money and grain did not fall into my hands.
"Hmph!" Lao Zhu simply closed his eyes to express his dissatisfaction.

Zhu Biao stopped touching his nose and just scratched his head.

In the Sihai Trading Company, he and Queen Ma owned the majority, and the fourth brother was the third largest shareholder. Basically, the three of them had the final say.

But others had invested money after all, they were all relatives and friends, and it would be embarrassing to just give it all to the court without saying anything.

"father."

Zhu Biao thought about it carefully and said, "My mother and I have taken up most of the money, so it's fine for Dad to use it."

Old Zhu still had his eyes closed, but he made a "hmm" sound through his nose.

"As for the fourth child's share, I'll make the decision on his behalf and give it to Dad as well. That's more than 70%."

Old Zhu narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"There's nothing we can do about the rest." Zhu Biao simply laid it bare, "They're all relatives and friends, so we have to keep them to ourselves."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was silent again, he simply said, "This is just this time. When we go to the Spice Islands next year, we will use the court's navy and fleet, and then everything will belong to the court."

Old Zhu finally nodded and said, "Let's wait until next year for another fire dragon to burn the warehouse."

"Dad!" Zhu Biao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not stupid. This kind of thing can only be used once. No one will be fooled next year."

"What should I do?"

"Let's use Zihou's method. Next year, we will increase the quantity instead of the price, and sell them to the people on a large scale at super low prices!"

(End of this chapter)