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

Chapter 302 Low Grain Prices Hurt Farmers? The One Who Tied the Knot Must Untie It!

"Trash! They are all a bunch of trash!"

"I sent you to find those Shanxi merchants! They still have some goods on hand!"

"What about the Dongting Gang? Tell them to hoard all the grain, and not allow a single grain of rice to circulate in the market!"

"And you lot, who gave you permission to sell grain! Who gave you permission to sell silk and cloth! You're all a bunch of short-sighted fools!"

"I'll kill you all! You bastards!"

As soon as they stepped into the lobby, they heard a hoarse roar from inside, and Wang Xijue and Wang Shizhen immediately shivered.

Seeing that the two were about to enter the main hall, the Xu family steward hurriedly stepped forward to advise them.

"Oh dear, gentlemen, please slow down."

Wang Shizhen frowned and asked, "How is Lord Xu? What's going on here?"

The steward quickly said, "Gentlemen, please keep your voices down. My master is in a bad mood."

He sighed heavily.

"Ever since the futures market prices fell for several days, the master has not been able to sleep well for a single day. He has also recently summoned many merchants from Taicang Prefecture to ask him questions."

The master was so disappointed in his son that he drove away many gentry and merchants.

"Grand Secretary Xu, we had no choice but to do this."

"Please forgive me, Grand Secretary Xu, I have elderly parents and young children to support."

"We are truly ashamed to have gone ahead of us."

As they were talking, a commotion broke out.

Immediately afterwards, a group of gentry and merchants rushed out of the main hall, looking as if they had encountered a plague.

Those standing outside the lobby couldn't help but chuckle, and couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

Has Xu Jie become this terrifying?

Wang Xijue gritted his teeth, glanced at the rather dark and gloomy hall, and let out a heavy sigh: "Let's hurry in and pay our respects to Lord Xu. This matter should be settled."

The steward's face paled slightly: "These days, the master has been unable to sleep well at night, and even the divine medicine from the palace is ineffective; the more he takes it, the more restless he becomes."

Many of the servants in the manor have also been flogged. You two gentlemen should be careful not to displease the master again.

He dared not mention it, but in reality, more than a dozen servants in the Xu family had been beaten to death in recent days. If anyone failed to gather information or delivered bad news, they would be severely punished.

This shows just how volatile Xu Jie was.

Upon hearing this, even Wang Xijue and Wang Shizhen hesitated, exchanging glances.
Wang Shizhen said cautiously, "Otherwise, let's discuss it again. It's almost midnight, so let Master Xu rest early."

“But…” Wang Xijue looked troubled, but then he thought that searching for Xu Jie was no longer meaningful.

Just as the two were about to leave, a hoarse voice suddenly came from the lobby entrance.

"What are you two still delaying for? Are you waiting for this old man to pass away?"

Wang Xijue and Wang Shizhen were startled and turned their gazes to the person. Who else could it be but Xu Jie?
Inside the tea room, Xu Jie was dressed in a somewhat disheveled Taoist robe, with his white hair tangled together, but his face remained calm and composed, and his eyes were very deep in the darkness.

It seems to be an old dragon still lying dormant.

A series of crisp clanging sounds rang out—the sound of teaware colliding with each other.

Wang Shizhen saw this and quickly reached out to take the violently shaking teapot. Xu Jie's hand was already somewhat out of control.

"Master Xu, let us handle the tea-brewing."

Xu Jie withdrew his hand, which was red from the hot water, but his face remained expressionless as he gritted his teeth and said.

"After all, I'm getting old, and my mind is a bit muddled. Back when I was young, I wouldn't hesitate to stay up all night, let alone until midnight."

Back in the days at the Wenyuan Pavilion, countless days and nights were spent without sleep, all for the sake of the common people.

Wang Xijue's gaze fell on Xu Jie's side. Even though Xu Jie tried to hide his right hand, which was tucked into his sleeve, it was still easy to see that it was trembling.

Xu Jie is old, but not as old as before; he is truly at the end of his life.

Wang Shizhen poured Xu Jie a cup of hot tea and placed it on his left side with great care. He exhaled and said.

"It is we students who are so incompetent that we cause Master Xu so much worry; we are truly ashamed."

"As Mencius said, 'Even with wisdom, it is better to seize the opportunity.'" Xu Jie lowered his eyes, making him appear even more aged and decrepit.

"The momentum is no longer in our hands; it's like a hot teacup—one wrong move and we'll lose everything."

With a loud crash, the teacup that Xu Jie had just raised with his left hand slipped and fell over again, wetting the hem of his clothes and shattering on the ground.

Little did they know whether Xu Jie's words were a genuine expression of emotion or an attempt to justify himself.

Wang Xijue panicked: "What should I do? What should I do?"

Unable to find anything to wipe it with, he had no choice but to use his own sleeve to wipe it, which only made Xu Jie's Taoist robe wetter.

"No need~"

Xu Jie waved his hand dismissively, then stared at her with wide eyes and said...

"Now that things have come to this, what's the use of being a mender? I can only blame myself for not paying attention back then and not laying a solid foundation!"
Now, the more they try to explain, the worse it gets!

It's unclear whether Xu Jie was referring to wiping his wet clothes or to the Jiangnan Market, which had become a ruin.

"It can be wiped clean! The student wiped it clean right away! It's clean right away!"

Wang Xijue seemed to have fallen into a state of madness, constantly wiping his face with his sleeve, his face sometimes contorted in rage and sometimes weeping bitterly.

"waste!"

Xu Jie was immediately enraged. He kicked the other man to the ground, finally losing his temper, and pointed at Wang Xijue on the ground, cursing angrily.

"What are you using to wipe it! Wang Yuanyu, how glorious you were back then! You passed the imperial examination in the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, ranking first in the provincial examination and second in the palace examination, becoming the second-highest scorer. Later, you entered the Hanlin Academy and were a prime minister!"

But look at yourself now! You're nothing but a stray dog! So utterly dejected, manipulated by a mere child!

These words were undeniably harsh, yet they inadvertently included Xu Jie himself in the insult.

"Master Xu! Master Xu!" Wang Xijue prostrated himself on the ground and wept bitterly. "How can I not grieve? My eldest son was intelligent and studious from a young age, well-mannered and knowledgeable. But after entering the capital, he was bewitched by Zhang Shiyuan and became his disciple! My family is from Taiyuan, and we have always been a family of scholars and farmers, which is how we have accumulated this great fortune."

He spread his hands, almost in despair, and said, "Now all my plans have failed, and everything is like a dream."

The student contemplated suicide, but felt ashamed to face his ancestors!

"Master Xu! How can your students not be in pain!"

After saying this, Xu Jie pounded his chest so hard it throbbed, as if he wanted to rip his heart out.

Wang Shizhen could no longer sit still. He immediately knelt down before Xu Jie, weeping bitterly as he spoke.

"Master Xu! This can't go on! The futures market has fallen by nearly 70% in recent days. Grain, cloth, and coal are being sold at discounted prices from last year, but nobody is interested."

Some merchants, in order to recoup some meager profits, even sold grain at a price as low as 30%.

When did my Jiangnan region fall to such a state?

In autumn, the prices of goods hoarded by the Jiangnan gentry were deliberately inflated, nearly doubling compared to previous years.

It should be noted that this year is not a year of major disasters.

But in the past seven days, the prices of goods have dropped by 60% to 80%, completely drying up the Jiangnan market. Even with their vast wealth, Wang Xijue and his associates could not withstand such losses.

Not to mention, in order to combat the decline in commodity prices, they have taken on a lot of futures and commodities and mortgaged a lot of farmland and real estate in exchange for enough silver.

"enough!"

Xu Jie slapped the weeping Wang Xijue across the face and glared at him, saying...

"Do you think crying and wailing here will kill Zhang Shiyuan?"

Wang Xijue dared not utter a sound; he quickly kowtowed and said...

"Please, Master Xu, save me!"

Wang Shizhen, as if grasping at a straw, hurriedly prostrated himself and kowtowed, saying, "Please, Lord Xu, save us!"

At this point, the two kings were completely thrown into disarray and had run out of tricks.

Xu Jie staggered and took two steps back. He was the pillar of this group. Without him, the Jiangnan gentry would collapse. This was why he could not die.

But he is, after all, human, not a saint. How will he cope with this overwhelming force?
"The best course of action now," Xu Jie said, enunciating each word clearly. "We've reached a critical juncture of life and death; we can no longer afford to worry about anything else."

Wang Xijue's eyes widened as he asked, "Does Lord Xu intend to send someone to eliminate the ringleader?"

He couldn't think of any other way, so the only solution was to make Zhang Shiyuan disappear from the face of the earth, which would solve everything.

"Bastard thing!"

Xu Jie cursed angrily, then leaned against the rosewood bookshelf, supporting his head with his trembling right hand.

"Even if Zhang Shiyuan is gone, the predicament in Jiangnan cannot be resolved!"

With Xu Jie's wisdom, it wasn't hard for him to realize that the collapse of prices in Jiangnan was no longer something that one person could control; it was a complete systemic collapse.

Zhang Shiyuan was merely using their strength against them, leading them step by step into this trap.

Wang Shizhen nodded and said, "What Master Xu said is true. Merchants in the north and south are now like frightened birds, and they can't withstand any more setbacks. Not to mention how difficult it would be to assassinate Zhang Shiyuan, let alone if Zhang Shiyuan were to actually die."

In my view, the situation in Jiangnan will only become more chaotic and degenerate.

Originally, everyone thought they would take advantage of Zhang Shiyuan's failure to make a fortune.

But no one ever wanted him to die. After all, Zhang Shiyuan brought the futures market, the commercial atmosphere of economics, and a whole host of new concepts and novel products to the business world.

Zhang Shiyuan can fail, but he absolutely cannot die.

If he dies, that will be the real collapse.

Wang Xijue had a bad feeling: "So, what does Master Xu mean?"

Xu Jie slowly exhaled and said with a complicated expression.

"The one who tied the knot must untie it; there is only one person in the world who can solve the predicament of Jiangnan."

His lips were a little pale and trembling.

"To be honest, we're not exactly locked in a life-or-death struggle with Zhang Shiyuan."

"Count it up."

Xu Jie's face was somewhat stiff, and the smile he forced was terrifying.

"Shiyuan is still my grand-disciple, what can't we talk about?"

The Ministry of Revenue's duty hut.

This place has become a world of charts and data, with more than a dozen display boards set up, listing various figures related to people's livelihoods during the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Xueyan looked radiant as he held a scepter in his hand and pointed at a price trend chart.

"These gentry and merchants are reaping what they sowed. By hoarding such a massive amount of goods, far exceeding local demand, and then selling them all at once in a short period of time, they naturally drove prices down."

"After this confrontation, the gentry and merchants of both Beizhili and Nanzhili will be squeezed out of their wealth, which will then be returned to the common people."

He sighed and said, "The weather is getting colder and colder. In this freezing weather, there are only three things: food, cloth, and fuel."

Xishan now uses a miraculous method to produce briquettes, and has produced huge amounts of coal in various parts of Beizhili, which should be able to alleviate the 'fuel' problem.

Then, with the 'Heavenly Weaving Machine', they seized the wonders of creation and produced a massive amount of cloth and silk.

With the futures market crashing, food prices have also plummeted, which should mean fewer deaths this winter.

The person sitting in front of him was none other than Zeng Shengwu, the Minister of Works.

Since Zeng Shengwu began studying charting techniques under Zhang Yunxiu, he has made increasingly advanced progress in statistics.

Now, thanks to Zhang Shiyuan and his influence, the Ministry of Works has gained an increasingly high status in the imperial court. In addition to overseeing construction and government offices, it also manages all kinds of handicrafts, water conservancy, canal transport, and artisans across the country. It now shares the responsibility with the Ministry of Revenue for the statistical analysis of various aspects of people's livelihood across the country.

It can be said that these two have become the most important figures in the imperial court.

Zeng Shengwu naturally sided with Zhang Shiyuan, but instead of echoing Zhang Xueyan, he frowned and said...

"This economic approach is quite ingenious, but it is not without its drawbacks."

He then proceeded to analyze the situation.

"Firstly, the low price of grain hurts farmers. When grain prices are low, not only gentry and grain merchants suffer losses, but also many small farmers."

Secondly, the grain output of this world is finite. According to our statistics, the grain produced by our Great Ming this year, when accounted for by the millions of people, is far from enough.”

People who deal with numbers all day tend to become more rational.

Zhang Xueyan frowned and pondered before explaining, "It's true that low grain prices hurt farmers, but it's not a good solution either. At least it's a little better for people who can't afford to eat."

It was inevitable that the interests of landlords and middle peasants would be harmed, but now the Ming Dynasty could only take care of some impoverished people who could not survive.

Zeng Xuewu shook his head again and said, "Grain production is fixed. According to economics, production and demand are fixed. Production is far from sufficient. Your prices have fallen in the short term, but it is only a matter of time before they rise again."

Not to mention, if grain prices are low, how many farmers will be willing to plant grain the following spring? This is the real crux of the problem.

The historical precedent of dynasties prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was not without reason. While decision-makers had limitations due to their times, they were not necessarily pedantic.

If promoting commerce could truly strengthen a nation in ancient times, emperors and ministers would have implemented it long ago. Why is it Zhang Shiyuan who is advocating for it?

Zhang Xueyan was stunned. He sighed and said...

"The situation here is complicated. We will write a 'statistical report' and submit it to the Prime Minister and His Majesty."

This "statistical report" was naturally learned from Zhang Yunxiu.

The backyard of Renmin Medical Clinic.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Liu Wan'er, with her short legs, hurriedly waved the newspaper and shouted loudly into the yard.

"That old scoundrel Xu Jie has surrendered! He even wrote an article saying he wants to come to the capital to pay his respects to Commander Zhang! Commander Zhang is truly admirable; he actually managed to make the powerful families of Jiangnan bow down! This time, we have achieved a great victory!"

Inside the courtyard, Princess Yongning, Zhu Yaoying, had a face as white as snow, with a hint of rosy glow against the backdrop of the snow.

She stuck a spring-embroidered knife into the waist of the imposing snowman and turned her head in surprise as she spoke.

"Xu Zisheng is actually going to the capital?"

(End of this chapter)