Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 150 Shi Kefa's Visit to Jinling (Part 2) (Bonus Chapter by Silver Alliance Leader Nuanyang1314)

"Mr. Muzhai".

Shi Kefa stared at Qian Qianyi with suspicion. "Could it be that you deliberately arranged all this to deceive me?"

Qian Qianyi rolled his eyes at these words, saying, "Brother Xianzhi, you overestimate yourself."

To arrange a performance specifically for you, how incredibly bored would someone have to be to do something like that?

The commander-in-chief is not the kind of person who would do such a pointless thing.

"impossible."

Shi Kefa shook his head repeatedly, "How could the price of grain in Jinling City be so cheap?"

"A bushel of rice costs at least three to five qian of silver."

"The price of wheat is about the same as the price of rice."

"As for beans, they are cheaper, but each shi (a unit of dry measure) still costs at least two liang (another unit of dry measure)."

"You guys here," he pointed at the grain store, "selling things so cheaply, you must be trying to scam me!"

No wonder he didn't believe it.

Even in the Jiangnan region, which is known as a land of fish and rice, grain prices have skyrocketed to three to five liang per shi (a unit of dry measure).

If you continue north, the price will continue to skyrocket, doubling in price.

At this time, the price of grain in Jinling City was so cheap that Shi Kefa could not accept it.

This was completely out of step with the environment of the Ming Dynasty.

“It is indeed true.”

Qian Qianyi patiently explained, "The Marshal has seized all the grain merchants in various places, and it's no use no matter whose background they are."

"The commander decreed that all grain shops in the cities should be directly managed, operated, and sold by the shogunate."

"As for the price, it was set by the commander himself, and it's the same all over Jiangnan."

"If you think it's too expensive, there are farmers in nearby villages outside the city gates who sell their surplus grain at prices that are even cheaper than those in grain shops."

Shi Kefa found it unbelievable.

"how come?"

"Why not make money if we can?"

"This doesn't look like a traitor at all."

In fact, he was very clear in his heart that this was an attempt to win over the hearts and minds of the people.

If the rebels don't loot or even sell grain at low prices, then they are genuinely trying to manage the area.

The most important thing in governing a region is winning the hearts and minds of the people.

In the past, the hearts and minds of the people that were won over were those of the scholars, the gentry, and the landlords.

The so-called "people" who compete with the people for profit are never ordinary people.

Kelin Road swept away the scholars, gentry, and landlords, and instead won over the hearts of the common people.

Such rebels are far more terrifying than bandits.

They were truly aiming for a change of dynasty!

Shi Kefa took a breath and looked at Qian Qianyi again, asking, "Then aren't you worried that the people will buy the grain at a low price and then resell it elsewhere?"

"Everyone in the city has a registered household."

Qian Qianyi looked at him as if he were a fool, saying, "Each household is limited to purchasing one dou of grain per day."

A single bushel weighs over ten kilograms, enough to feed a family of ten for a day.

As for whether the farmers in the village will sell their grain elsewhere...

Let's not even talk about whether they can withstand the checkpoints and blockades along the way and the looting by bandits and thieves, and arrive safely elsewhere.

Even if they did arrive, the starving crowds in various places would simply rob them, and the local officials and gentry would seize them by trickery and force. It would be a miracle if the farmers could even return home alive.

Only a madman would do such a thing.

Although the Jiangnan region has shifted to growing a large number of cash crops, it still has enough grain.

Especially the families of landlords and gentry, every household had granaries and cellars full of grain.

Lin Dao raided homes along the way, seizing countless amounts of grain.

More importantly, his main job is a time-traveling merchant, who can import large quantities of goods from the modern world at any time.

This confidence is the root of their courage to sell grain at low prices.

When grain prices are low, the burden on people's lives will be reduced, and people's hearts will be at ease.

In pursuit of stability, they even actively supported Commander Lin, who had brought them benefits.

For short-term gains, driving up grain prices to an extreme is something only fools who will never amount to anything do.

Shi Kefa stood there silently, watching as the people bought various kinds of grain from the grain store.

Although grain prices were relatively cheap, people still mainly ate beans, potatoes, and the like.

Not many people are buying rice and wheat.

In fact, this is easy to understand.

Cities in the agricultural era primarily operated in the service industry.

Serving those high-ranking officials and nobles, even various artisans, is essentially the same.

At this time, almost all the people in Jinling City who needed services had been swept away by Lin Dao.

This directly and intuitively impacted the income of residents in the city.

Shi Kefa didn't speak, but turned around and walked along the street to observe.

The shops on both sides of the street were still open, but there were clearly not many customers.

Moreover, the guests were mainly female relatives.

"Mr. Muzhai".

In front of a restaurant, Shi Kefa saw two women who bought several dishes and a pot of wine from inside.

He immediately asked, "Whose maid is this? Why is she showing herself in public like this?"

"Not a maid."

Qian Qianyi shook his head repeatedly, "They are all military dependents."

"Military dependents?" Shi Kefa asked in surprise. "Military dependents coming to the restaurant to buy food and drinks? Are they the general's military dependents?"

No wonder he was surprised.

Military households in the Ming Dynasty were treated extremely poorly, and their pay and rations were often deducted or delayed.

We're lucky to have wild vegetables to eat on a regular basis, why would we come to a restaurant to buy food and drinks?
Qian Qianyi smiled without saying a word, and gestured for her to ask him herself.

Shi Kefa then stepped forward and asked the women, "Are you military dependents?"

An aura of authority emanated from them.

The women looked at his official robes and then at the crowd around him, and suddenly realized that he was an official from the Ming Dynasty.

Be wary of responding with "So what if it is?"

Shi Kefa then asked, "Is there a general in your family serving in the army?"

“My husband is a squad leader,” the older woman replied. “Then he must have made great contributions in battle,” Shi Kefa pressed. “And received a large reward? Otherwise, how could you have the money to order food and wine here?”

These words angered the women.

"You are being extremely rude!" the woman retorted. "My husband is a squad leader, and he receives a monthly salary of twelve taels of silver!"

"He only gets a day off every ten days, and it's rare for him to have a day off to go home. It's only natural to buy him some delicious food and drinks."

“If the commander hadn’t forbidden the soldiers from entering the city, my husband would have come here to eat.”

The woman glared at Shi Kefa, picked up the food box, and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute."

Shi Kefa hurriedly asked, "If you are a squad leader, do you receive half of the money and grain?"

"This lord."

The woman scoffed, "Do you think the Commander-in-Chief is like your stingy Emperor of the Ming Dynasty? There is absolutely no deduction or delay in payment in the Commander-in-Chief's army!"

"How dare you!" The eunuch who had been silent the whole way immediately flew into a rage.

How dare you say His Majesty is stingy! This is slander against His Majesty!
Just as the Imperial Guards were about to step forward to arrest the man, they heard a series of clanging sounds of swords being drawn all around them.

The soldiers who were monitoring them immediately surrounded them.

The eunuchs and the Imperial Guards immediately became obedient.

They suddenly realized that Jinling City was no longer under the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

Qian Qianyi quickly mediated and Shi Kefa apologized to the women, thus bringing the matter to a close.

However, the impact on Shi Kefa still exists.

The grain was sold at a low price, and the military pay was so high that it was enough to be distributed without any deductions.

In comparison, over in the Ming Dynasty...
He didn't dare to think about it any more.

One side was lifeless, while the other was vibrant.

What the future holds, we can know without asking.

At this moment, Shi Kefa's only hope was that everything he had encountered was fake, a deliberate act intended for him.
“My virtuous younger brother Xianzhi.”

Qian Qianyi comforted the commander-in-chief, saying, "The commander-in-chief values ​​the army."

"Even newly recruited soldiers receive a monthly salary of up to ten taels of silver."

"And they never skimp on anything."

"These military dependents have now become the main consumers in Nanjing."

"They have plenty of money."

Shi Kefa's face grew increasingly pale.

He didn't say a word and continued walking along the road.

Before long, they stopped in front of a salt shop.

This time, he first looked at the wooden sign hanging in front of the shop.

Today's salt price is ten coins per pound.

Qian Qianyi followed and simply explained, "The Yangzhou salt merchants were all wiped out by the warlord."

"As for the salt smugglers in various places, they all couldn't continue operating."

"Yangzhou salt merchants." Shi Kefa's face darkened.

He knew that the Yangzhou salt merchants had powerful connections, even reaching high-ranking figures in the palace.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was as difficult as climbing to the sky to touch them.

But Lin Dao wiped them all out in one fell swoop, a boldness and courage unmatched in the Ming Dynasty.

“I can understand the annihilation of the Yangzhou salt merchants,” Shi Kefa said, asking with a puzzled look, “but why couldn’t the private salt smugglers in other places continue operating?”

Qian Qianyi smiled and pointed to the wooden board, saying, "A pound of salt costs only ten coins."

His hand fell, pointing to the snow-white salt on the display stand. "Salt of this quality is only ten coins a pound."

"What do the smugglers have to compete with?"

The best way to deal with smuggled salt is to improve quality and lower prices.

If these two things can be done, the smugglers themselves will not be able to continue their business.

Because nobody buys their salt.

Shi Kefa looked at the snow-white salt in front of him, and then thought about the so-called official salt of the Ming Dynasty, which was mixed with countless sand and mud.

Moreover, the price is as high as tens of coins per kilogram.

He closed his eyes and sighed silently.

Based on the few things I've encountered, it's clear how people in different regions should choose, and there's no need for further debate.

On the Ming side, how could they possibly compete with Commander Lin?
Shi Kefa arrived at the post station in a daze.

Today's events had a huge impact on him.

If all parts of the Ming Dynasty were like Nanjing, there would have been peace and prosperity long ago.

Unfortunately, this is the scene under the rule of rebels.

"From this perspective, it really does feel like the end of a dynasty and the beginning of a new one."

As a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty, Shi Kefa was determined to do everything in his power to persuade Lin Dao to accept the offer of amnesty!
He waited for several days before he was finally summoned by Lin Dao.

The meeting place was in a beautiful garden.

In the waterside pavilion, Lin Dao sat on a stone bench drinking tea, while a beautiful woman played the zither beside him.

Shi Kefa came over and bowed.

"Sit down and let's talk." Lin Dao reached out and pushed a cup of tea towards him.

"I know what you're here for."

"To be honest, I've never even considered the idea of ​​being granted amnesty."

A thousand words instantly choked in Shi Kefa's heart.

He was puzzled: "If you were unwilling to accept the imperial pardon, why did you allow me to come?"

"that is because."

Lin Dao met his gaze, a smile on his face. "I want to see you."

Shi Kefa considered various reasons, but he never thought of this one.

"If you were ever trapped in a deserted city, would you surrender, or serve your country loyally?"

Shi Kefa immediately straightened his face and said, "I should die for my country!"

Lin Dao smiled and nodded.

"After you finish your tea, go back."

"Ah?" Shi Kefa exclaimed in surprise, "The matter of surrendering to the imperial court!"

"I told you, I don't have the option of being offered amnesty here."

Lin Dao looked at the waterside pavilion and bamboo grove, "I want to create a truly prosperous era for all the people of the world!"

(End of this chapter)