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

Chapter 301 Zhang Shiyuan saved us! We've made a killing!

Around the Yingtianfu Futures Market, there are often small newsboys selling various local Jiangnan newspapers to merchants coming and going in the futures market.

Upon hearing statements such as "So-and-so is very optimistic about cotton futures and has purchased an additional 100,000 taels of silver," gentry and merchants would immediately swarm forward and buy up all the newspapers from the newsboys' hands.

But once they got their hands on it, these people would tear the newspaper to shreds, muttering angrily.

"It's all a scam. These big players keep saying they're going to hold up prices, but they're secretly dumping their shares!"

"I still have 50,000 taels of silver worth of cotton cloth stockpiled at home. Now I'm completely ruined. The price has dropped by 40%, and even at half price, no one is interested!"

"Don't worry, everyone. I've heard that there will be famines in various places this year, and cotton and grain will definitely be in short supply. Don't rush to sell. Hold onto them, and the price will surely rise one day!"

"Go to hell with your money! I'm selling you all my 50,000 taels of silver in futures contracts at half price. If you can come up with the silver to settle the transaction, I'll kowtow to you three times!"

In just three or four days, both the futures trading markets in Beijing and Nanjing were in complete chaos.

The once bustling and joyous atmosphere of the futures market is gone.

Instead, everyone who came out of the futures trading market looked ashen-faced.

Some people lost almost all their wealth overnight and fainted in the trading market.

In recent days, the Imperial Guards and government officials have been coming to the market every day, partly to prevent trouble and partly to deal with merchants who have fainted or passed out.

Every morning, many corpses can be seen floating in the moat of the capital city.

On the Qinhuai River in Yingtian Prefecture, the pleasure boats that used to parade and dance at night gradually came to a halt. With nothing left on the boats, the girls on board dared not go onto the deck at night.

Because corpses could be seen floating down the Qinhuai River from time to time, and many of those corpses, dressed in fine silks and satins and with large bellies, were, upon closer inspection, former patrons of the girls.

Whether in the capital or Yingtian Prefecture, many people were shouting something loudly.

"We must maintain our confidence!"

"This is Zhang Shiyuan's treacherous scheme. Xishan is doomed. Futures prices will rise again. Wait until it rises before you run!"

"Gentlemen are already rushing to buy and stockpile goods, and prices will rise again soon. Winter is here, and prices are bound to go up. If you sell now to break even, that would be a short-sighted and loss-making move."

Even so, it could not prevent the futures market from collapsing further.

When the bubble bursts and market confidence collapses, it has a ripple effect. What was originally a shaky castle in the air crumbles completely once the last piece of the stick is removed.

"Why did this happen! These people have broken their promise. They agreed to buy more together, but they've settled the accounts! My silver! A full three hundred thousand taels of silver, that's my life savings!"

On the second floor of the Thirty-Nine Teahouse, just like the merchants crying and wailing downstairs, Wang Shimao also stared at the green display board with red eyes and roared madly.

In order to earn more money, Wang Shimao invested almost all of his accumulated wealth over the years into this venture.

The Wang family of Taicang was a wealthy family with "three generations of nine high-ranking officials and eight ministerial positions." Wang Shizhen and Wang Shimao served as officials for many years and owned various shops in both the north and south.

He used to be able to earn nearly double the profit through the futures market, but now he has lost more than 100,000 taels of silver.

Even with the remaining 200,000 taels of silver still falling, there was simply no one interested in trading the futures contracts.

"I'm done playing! I'm done with futures trading! Give me my money back! I'll give you all my futures contracts!"

Downstairs, merchants would occasionally break down and shout in front of the trading counter, only to be dragged out by the Imperial Guards shortly afterward.

Wang Shiqi was completely frozen. He grabbed Wang Shimao beside him and said...

"Uncle, didn't you say the price would rise in the next few days? Five days have passed, why is there no sign of it rising? What went wrong! What tricks did Zhang Shiyuan use!"

Wang Shimao said with a bitter face, "We had previously gathered a group of merchants and gentry and agreed not to sell futures. Now it seems that people's hearts are unpredictable. The entire futures market has become a mess, and everyone is thinking about selling the futures they have on hand first."

"Uncle! I've lost 500,000 taels of silver! Nearly half of our family fortune! If it's all gone like this, how can I face Father?"

Wang Shiqi then waved his fist and swept all the fruits, vegetables, and drinks on the table clean.

“We not only have futures contracts, but also piles of supplies in the warehouses in Tongzhou, and even more cotton cloth and grain in Taicang Prefecture are piled up like mountains.”

If prices continue to collapse, how will my Wang family survive?

The three members of the Wang family, Wang Shizhen, Wang Shimao, and Wang Shiqi, not only had futures contracts, but also a large amount of stockpiled goods.

Everyone knows that the futures market is a Xishan industry, and since they are at odds with Xishan, they naturally won't invest most of their money in it.

It can be said that, compared to the futures they purchased, the accumulated commodity assets are the real bulk of their business.

"No!"

Wang Shiqi said with red eyes.

“We cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom. Uncle Shi still has friends in the capital. With my father’s influence, he can surely gather people of insight from all walks of life to jointly accuse Zhang Shiyuan of embezzling public funds! He must be manipulating the market.”

"Easier said than done!"

Wang Shimao spread his hands and said.

"The prices in this futures market also come from various shops. Can Zhang Shiyuan really buy up all the shops in the city? It can't be faked."

"You're going to sue him? They've already gone out to trade overseas; what can the emperor do to him? He'll just keep delaying."

Wang Shiqi retorted, "Even if the emperor protects him, can he silence the dissent of the officials? If we unite as one, resign our posts, and force the emperor to abdicate, he will surely give us some face."

Wang Shimao narrowed his eyes, his previous sharpness long gone, and said helplessly, "These days, the upright officials who were pressuring the emperor outside the Meridian Gate have all returned. Can you guess why?"

He asked himself the question and answered it with a sigh.

"They also lost money. The people of the capital hate Zhang Shiyuan and his ilk. Who can resist the urge to make a quick buck in the futures market? They're all busy looking for futures buyers. Where would they find the time to impeach and force the emperor to abdicate?"

This can be considered an unintended consequence. Zhang Yunxiu did not intend to punish these upright officials, but the collapse of the futures market had an intangible impact on them.

With a thud, Wang Shiqi sat down on the ground, as if his soul had been scattered.

"What should I do? What should I do?"

This thing is like a soft knife. If Zhang Yunxiu sends the Embroidered Uniform Guard to investigate him, he can still fight back without fear of death and argue his case.

But Zhang Yunxiu doesn't confront you directly; he simply lets you jump into the pit yourself.

Now that it's all in black and white, with the futures certificate right there, even if you're in the right, you're now in the wrong.

Even if they berated Zhang Yunxiu mercilessly, it was all in vain.

"There is still some hope."

Wang Shimao gritted his teeth and said, his body trembling slightly.

"We must quickly write a letter and ask Mr. Xu from Jiangnan, the gentlemen, and the Shanxi merchants to help us raise the price of these goods at all costs!"

He knew all too well that if prices could rise again, there was still a chance to recover all their losses; otherwise, it would be utter ruin.

Cheng Guogongfu.

Zhu Yingzhen was exerting force on a huge stone lock.

"Ah~"

"drink!"

"ah!"

"drink!"

It was winter, but Zhu Yingzhen was shirtless, radiating heat from his body in the courtyard.

He put down the stone lock, which weighed a hundred pounds, and reached out to the butler beside him.

"Bring me a handkerchief." The butler quickly stepped forward and handed over the towel, his face beaming with smiles.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency! Your strength is increasing, and you are quite like the master in his prime."

Zhu Yingzhen was panting heavily from exhaustion, but upon hearing this praise, he still smiled sincerely.

He said with emotion.

"Xishan is really amazing. He kicked my gambling addiction in no time. Now I stay away from the futures market and work from sunrise to sunset. I read books every day, lift this stone weight, and practice archery and horsemanship. It's quite a fun thing."

The butler chuckled and said, "Your Excellency has truly experienced the joy of making progress in your studies and improving every day."

After saying this, he took out a newspaper, handed it to Zhu Yingzhen, and said with a smile.

"This is the latest edition of the Wanli Daily. Your Excellency has been living a life of abstinence these past few days, so it would be good for you to take a look at the latest news."

"Wanli Xinbao?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yingzhen reacted as if he had encountered some evil spirit, immediately jumping far away and glaring at it as he spoke.

"Zhu Wu, do you want me to make a mistake?"

He looked heartbroken.

"I finally managed to kick my addiction to futures trading. What are you up to by bringing this here? Do you want to ruin all my efforts?"

Butler Zhu Wu looked embarrassed and immediately said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, please rest assured. If it were a few days ago, I certainly would not have dared to show it to you. But these days, there has been a lot of trouble in the futures market. The Duke of England specifically sent someone to deliver the newspaper so that Your Excellency could take a good look."

"The British Duke?"

Zhu Yingzhen looked suspicious.

The Wanli Xinbao newspaper regularly published a lot of information about the trade of goods in the capital and the price fluctuations of recent days.

In the past, Duke Zhang Rong of England would never have allowed him to see it, but today he actually sent someone to deliver it to his residence, which was unprecedented.

Zhu Yingzhen's expression turned somewhat solemn. He stretched out his hand and said, "Bring it here for me to see."

Who knows, during my seclusion, something truly earth-shattering might have happened in the capital.

Zhu Yingzhen took the newspaper from the butler, his hands trembling slightly. He suppressed his urge to immediately flip through the futures section and first looked at some news.

Even so, he still saw something amiss. When he saw the words "futures market crash," Zhu Yingzhen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly opened the futures section.

It was fine if he hadn't looked, but once he did, Zhu Yingzhen almost froze. He stood rooted to the spot, as if the cold wind was about to freeze him.

The steward, Zhu Wu, was startled and quickly fetched some clothes for Zhu Yingzhen to wear, reminding him to put them on.

"My lord, it's cold outside. You should go inside and take your time. Don't catch a cold."

But Zhu Yingzhen ignored him. He turned around, grabbed Zhu Wu's shoulder, and his face was somewhat ferocious.

"The futures market has collapsed! The futures market has avalanche! All futures prices have crashed, and countless people have lost everything! Zhu Wu, you've lost everything!"

Zhu Wu was terrified. He had thought his young master was already fully recovered, but now it seemed he still needed treatment.
He had some doubts.

Should we inform the madam about this and then send the lord to the Western Hills to receive the lightning therapy? Who knows, it might actually cure his illness.
With a thud, Zhu Yingzhen suddenly knelt on the ground, holding the newspaper high, his face a mixture of tears and smiles.

"A full million taels of silver, and these people lost it all so easily, they've lost everything."

He laughed, pounded the ground, tears streaming down his face, and shouted.

"Zhu Wu, Zhang Shiyuan didn't lie to me. Once you get trapped in the futures market, it's like being haunted by a demon. If you're not careful, you'll be doomed!"

"My Lord." Zhu Wu's expression was complicated, unsure whether to cry or laugh. Fortunately, the Duke's Mansion had already sold off all of its futures contracts before this.

"Zhu Wu!"

Zhu Yingzhen got up again, grabbed the butler's hand, and said with a look of wild joy on his face.

"Speaking of which, we actually made quite a bit of money. Previously, Zhang Shiyuan sold all our futures contracts and returned the money. I thought he just couldn't stand seeing us make money."

It looks like we've made a killing!

Zhu Wu: "."

Compared to the situation in the capital, news from Jiangnan usually arrives one or two days later.

However, the collapse in Jiangnan happened much faster than in the capital.

It rises quickly, and it collapses quickly too.

Compared to the gentry and nobles in the capital, there are many merchants in Jiangnan who seek profit and avoid harm. Now, in order to sell their futures contracts and inventory, they will stop at nothing.

The market went into a frenzy, and even the biggest hand couldn't stop the avalanche.

late at night.

Wang Shizhen sat in the sedan chair, staring at the information he had gathered during the day, and sighed helplessly.

"Brother Yuanyu, we are finished!"

For seven consecutive days, the gentry of Jiangnan exhausted all their resources, even mortgaging their land and property, in an effort to stabilize the prices of goods.

No matter how much they bought, grain, cloth, and silk were continuously transported from outside.

Previously, the hoarding and speculation by the gentry in Jiangnan had created an invisible but massive demand in the region.

Goods from all over the country flowed into the Jiangnan region in an endless stream, far exceeding their original demand.

Previously, with the Jiangnan gentry protecting them, things were still manageable for the time being, and many merchants would hoard their goods and wait for the collapse of Xishan.

But at this moment, the dire situation in the futures market has completely detonated commodity prices.

A massive influx of goods into the market caused prices in Jiangnan to collapse even faster and more drastically than in the capital.

Wang Xijue sat in another sedan chair. Through the curtain, Wang Shizhen could not see the other's expression, but she could feel the atmosphere of despair emanating from the sedan chair.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Three sounds followed in quick succession, the sound of something—either a head or a fist—violently striking the sedan chair.

The sedan chair carriers around them immediately fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

Wang Shizhen sighed and said, "Brother Yuanyu, why must you be like this? Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. We..."

He wanted to comfort the other person, but as he spoke, he found himself at a loss for words.

This represents the lifeblood of all the gentry families in Jiangnan, with millions of taels of silver invested. Now, all that remains are moldy and insect-infested grains and cloths in the warehouses, and cold, hard certificates in the futures market.

Who could remain indifferent in that situation?

Let's go see Master Xu!

The sound of a leisurely carriage came from Wang Xijue's sedan chair.

"Perhaps Master Xu might have some solutions."

Wang Shizhen's face lit up with hope, which then vanished in an instant. He looked at the gate of the Xu residence and sighed.

"That's all."

(End of this chapter)