Chapter 32: Asking for exclusive operating rights!
Seeing a group of people walking towards this side, the Jinyiwei immediately became alert.
After all, among these people, there might be someone who is unfavorable to Xiao Yan, although Xiao Yan now enjoys a high status in the hearts of the people.
When the person came closer, Xiao Yan could see the person's appearance clearly. He saw that it was a young man who came with a group of people.
thump!
When this person came, he knelt down without saying a word.
"Who are you and what do you mean?"
Xiao Yan was a little confused.
"I, Sun Ruicai, kowtow to Your Highness!"
When he heard this name, Xiao Yan knew who they were.
"Are you the current head of the Sun family?"
Sun Ruicai fell to the ground and didn't dare to look up.
"It's the common people!"
Xiao Yan immediately laughed and said, "I haven't even looked for you yet, but you came to my door!"
"Do you know what crime you have committed?"
Sun Ruicai said calmly: "It's driving up prices, but it's also a helpless move!"
From the moment Xiao Yan met Wang Zhi, he knew that the increase in market prices was definitely not the idea of these businessmen.
"Oh? You said you had no choice, then you need to give me a reason!"
"Look up and talk!"
Only then did Sun Rui carefully raise his head.
"Your Highness, we raised the price based on the order of the Ministry of Revenue. We were also wondering at first, isn't this price increase contrary to the new policy?"
"It was not until today when Wang Zhi was executed that we realized that this was Wang Zhi's own fabrication and not an order from the Ministry of Revenue!"
Xiao Yan still looked at Sun Ruicai coldly. This sentence actually took the court out of the middle, which was quite telling.
"That's not enough reason for me to let you go. After all, you participated in raising the price."
As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, the people before him started to speak.
"Your Highness, Boss Sun's offer is actually still acceptable. Other people's grain prices have increased to five taels of silver, but he only wants two taels and a half. Although it has increased a lot, it is still acceptable."
"If it weren't for this, we would have starved to death long ago."
Xiao Yan didn't expect that Sun Ruicai was not blinded by greed.
"Really?"
Sun Ruicai then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Highness, I know the benefits of this new policy. To put it bluntly, it is for the benefit of us merchants."
"If we raise the price, we will only damage our foundation. If you find out, something bad will happen sooner or later!"
"But I really can't bear the pressure from the Ministry of Revenue. If I lose all these businesses at once, I will be ashamed of my ancestors!"
"So even though the price has increased, the common people know to leave a way out for themselves, so the price increase is very small, not enough to affect people's food."
"Usually, our regular customers can't come up with money all at once, so I ask the shopkeepers of the grain shops to give them credit."
"In fact, I am thinking of returning the silver to everyone when I have the chance. After all, this money is very valuable!"
Xiao Yan felt that Sun Ruicai still had a conscience. Regardless of whether what he just said was true or not, at least he managed to control the price increase.
"But you are involved in this matter after all. Can you tell me how to solve it?"
Sun Ruicai glanced at the people around him, but he was unable to say anything.
" Your Highness, if you can find a quiet place, I will definitely give you an explanation!"
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yan glanced at Cui Mansion.
"Come with me, Duan Tianya will follow me!"
The three of them went straight into Cui's mansion, found the study, and pushed the door open.
"Tell me, how are you going to give me an explanation?"
Sun Ruicai took a deep breath and said, "I am willing to give away three pounds of my property just to protect my family. I hope Your Highness will grant me your wish."
Hearing this explanation, Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "How foolish! Killing you would be a waste of time."
Sun Ruicai didn't expect Xiao Yan to be so direct.
"Your Highness, my property is not going into the national treasury, but is being given to you personally!"
Xiao Yan was slightly stunned and said: "What difference does it make? Won't we all be alone sooner or later?"
Sun Ruicai quickly explained: "Your Highness, you have just taken over the throne, so naturally you need to train your own people, and all of this costs money."
"It's not appropriate to spend the treasury's money. Many people are watching it, so the treasury's money cannot be touched!"
"Then the Sun family's money is your trump card!"
Only at this point did Xiao Yan become interested.
"Tell me, how much money does your Sun family have? If it's less, I really am not interested."
When Sun Rui heard that Xiao Yan was willing to talk, he realized that the Sun family was alive!
"Your Highness, the Sun family has over 5 million taels of silver in cash for your use!"
Hearing this number, Xiao Yan was a little bit unbelievable. This was just a small Sun family, ranked as the third largest merchant in Beijing.
You have to know that there were heavy taxes before and the profits were pitifully thin.
But even so, the Sun family still accumulated more than 5 million in wealth, which shows that the Sun family has a deep foundation.
"You gave me more than five million taels directly. I'm afraid you have other ideas. Who can listen to me?"
Sun Ruicai did not expect that Xiao Yan had already thought of the conditions he would put forward.
"I just said that I hope Your Highness will protect my family."
Xiao Yan said disapprovingly: "It's just a matter of words, let's talk about something practical, this is fine!"
After his family was protected, Sun Rui said, "Your Highness, I want to be your dog, a loyal dog."
"I only ask Your Highness to protect my Sun family's eternal foundation!"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed unconsciously.
"You mean you want me to be your backer?"
"But your five million chips are not enough!"
Sun Ruicai bowed and said, "Your Highness, although my Sun family ranks third among merchants in Beijing, I dare say that the wealth of the Li and Cui families combined may not be as much as that of my Sun family!"
"They rely on being rich and unkind to amass wealth, but they can't accumulate much."
"And my Sun family relies on wisdom and integrity! It's just that my Sun family doesn't want to compete with them for this title."
"I understand that the tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind!"
Xiao Yan was quite satisfied with this answer.
"Make a fortune in silence, well, you've done a good job. Tell me about your plan!"
Xiao Yan also wanted to know what kind of medicine Sun Ruicai was selling.
"Your Highness, my Sun family can help you run the business of the Li and Cui families , and the proceeds will naturally belong to you."
"Of course, this includes my Sun family. However, I hope to give my Sun family the exclusive rights to operate tea, cloth, and oil. In this way, I will definitely build a business dynasty for Your Highness."
The table where Xiao Yan's fingers tapped looked familiar to Duan Tianya.
Sun Ruicai was also sweating profusely as he waited for Xiao Yan's reply.
"Exclusive rights are impossible. If you monopolize everything, you will be able to build a huge business empire."
"But this empire can destroy a country very quickly. It will only take a blink of an eye!"
Sun Ruicai seemed to have expected Xiao Yan to say this, and quickly said: "Your Highness Ding, if you can't give me the operating rights for the whole country, I can give me the rights for the capital. I will also build a business empire."
“It’s just that time will go slower!”
