Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 252 This official is bullish!

After leaving the study, Zhang Yunxiu immediately called Yu Xiangdou back.

Yu Xiangdou has been following Zhang Yunxiu lately, and he has become much more composed. He is calm in the face of important matters. However, he has picked up some catchphrases and often curses others as "dogs".

He rushed to the Zhang family mansion in a panic, and upon hearing the details, he angrily cursed.

"Something like a dog."

Yu Xiangdou looked indignant.

"These aristocratic families from Jiangnan are simply outrageous, openly defying the imperial court. How dare they disregard His Majesty?"

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and said with a smile, "These people are very bold. During the Hongwu period, they dared to go against Emperor Taizu Gao. For money, they would even turn their backs on their own family. What wouldn't they do?"

"My lord, then we..." Yu Xiangdou squinted his eyes, looking very expectant.

Zhang Yunxiu said somewhat lazily, "Spread the word: Jiangnan is in dire need of cotton, silk, and grain. I am bullish on the 39th futures contract!"

For thousands of years, feudal rulers have shared the common understanding that drastic price fluctuations are harmful.

This would plunge agricultural production into a state of instability, allowing merchants to exploit ordinary people to the point of destitution by taking advantage of price fluctuations.

This is why there was so much opposition when Zhang Yunxiu promoted the "futures trading" market.

However, this "futures market" did not become, as others had expected, an accomplice for gentry and merchants to exploit the common people.

On the contrary, many wealthy young men spend their days in the futures market, getting unkempt and losing all their family's money in the process, eventually losing everything.

Zhu Yinghuai, who was on leave today, rushed over from the Western Hills to see if his elder brother, Duke Cheng, Zhu Yingzhen, was still breathing.

"Open long positions in cotton! Close out short positions in silk!"

Early in the morning, just as the teahouse opened, a frenzied crowd surged in, shouting out prices at the various wooden signs.

Zhu Yinghuai immediately spotted his older brother, Zhu Yingzhen, standing on the second floor, waving a flag and shouting.

His white robe had turned yellow and black, and his hair was disheveled, making him look neither human nor ghost.

Zhu Yinghuai went upstairs and stopped his crazed older brother, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Brother, if you continue like this, I'll have to take over the position of Duke of Cheng."

But Zhu Yingzhen's eyes were bloodshot, and he completely ignored what his younger brother was saying, instead speaking with a hint of madness.

"Have you read today's Wanli Xinbao? Something's happened in Jiangnan. I heard that the prices of all kinds of cloth, silk, and grain have skyrocketed."

I have already invested over ten thousand taels of silver here, and this is the perfect opportunity to recoup my investment.

The futures market is like a battlefield, where the winds of change are ever-shifting. I imagine our ancestors, when leading armies into battle, were well aware of this as well.

Zhu Yinghuai couldn't help but laugh.

If our ancestor Zhu could see that he had such an unworthy descendant who gave up his rightful title of Duke of Cheng to spend his days gambling in teahouses, he would crawl out of his coffin and strangle him to death.

He helplessly spread his hands and comforted his older brother, saying, "Brother, I'm very busy. All the performances at the Xishan Theater are booked up, and I also plan to tour Southern Zhili in the future."

Brother, you should bear with it and do a good job as the Duke of Cheng.

"Damn it! This is so troublesome!"

Zhu Yingzhen stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth and said irritably.

"Let whoever wants to be the Duke of Cheng be it, don't stop me from making money."

Zhu Yinghuai was startled and shook his head repeatedly. This really was a complete spendthrift!

But an elder brother is like a father, so how could he, as the younger brother, discipline his elder brother?
Suddenly, I remembered the words of admonition from my master, Zhang Yunxiu.

"Trading futures involves risks; proceed with caution."

This thing has both advantages and disadvantages, but it can truly amplify the desires in people's hearts.

Seeing Zhu Yingzhen sinking deeper into depravity, Zhu Yinghuai couldn't bear it. After much thought, he realized that only two people could stop him: Duke Zhang Rong of Yingguo and his master Zhang Yunxiu, the instigator of the whole thing.

After thinking it over, Zhu Yinghuai chose the latter.

After all, the master was only blundering people, but if Duke Zhang Rong of Yingguo found out, it could really be fatal.

Just as Zhu Yinghuai was leaving the teahouse, another pair of brothers got into an argument.

“Brother Jiongbo, I think there’s something fishy about this news. Jiangnan is a major cotton and silkworm producing area, so how could the price suddenly skyrocket?”

Perhaps someone is interfering; given Zhang Tongzhi's shrewdness and resourcefulness, things will likely change soon.

Wang Heng, dressed in a blue robe, stood out from the other disheveled people in the teahouse, appearing aloof from the world. He continued his analysis.

"I recently invested 10,000 taels of silver in the futures market. At first, when I saw the price fluctuations, I would get excited and, out of fear, I would follow the strategy of chasing the rise and selling the fall. After a few days, I lost more than 1,000 taels of silver."

Recently, I've also studied various economic theories from Xishan, as well as the economics column in the Wanli Daily. I realize that our actions contradict Zhang Tongzhi's original intention in establishing futures trading.

He paused for a moment, then shared the experience he had gained from his recent research.

"Brother Jiongbo, listen to my advice. The futures market is not for you to spend all your time in it, seeking momentary thrills and profits."

Today, Xishan is changing rapidly, with all kinds of products emerging one after another. If we just find a few promising futures, invest deeply and hold them for the long term, we will surely make money.

Like you guys.

"Noisy!"

Wang Shiqi, who had been wearing the same clothes for who knows how many days, became quite impatient with his friend's rambling.

“Buying is buying, selling is selling, why are there so many grand principles? Zhang Shiyuan is very cunning, he made me lose 200,000 taels of silver here, but this is only temporary.”

Times have changed!

He gritted his teeth and squinted as he spoke.

"You don't think the rumors about soaring prices in Jiangnan are unfounded, do you? It must be that Father and the elders are having a power struggle with Zhang Shiyuan!"

At this moment, how can we boost the morale of others while diminishing our own?

In my opinion, not only should we not stop, but we should also invest even more money to completely bankrupt Zhang Shiyuan and Xishan!

For a time, shouts and curses rose and fell throughout the teahouse.

"Zhang Shiyuan! You scoundrel! Hand over the silver!"

"This is it! I'm going to get back everything I've lost!"

These gentry and wealthy merchants who spent their days in the futures market mostly lost money; only a very small minority managed to make a profit.

Wang Heng looked at these people who had fallen into madness with some surprise.

His mouth was slightly open, and his eyes seemed to see through everything.

He muttered to himself as he pulled out his recent notes and looked at them over and over again.

Thinking about what I've seen and heard in the teahouses and the ordinary people I've met in the streets and alleys these past few days...

Wang Heng truly wanted to put into practice the principle of "unity of knowledge and action".

However, in this futures market, he saw nothing down-to-earth, nothing to pursue his true self, only the amplification of primal desires.

For a moment, he seemed to have a sudden realization, and began to mutter something.

"One should let one's mind dwell nowhere, yet give rise to it."

"May all sentient beings be freed from suffering and attain happiness."

(End of this chapter)