Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 311: Shocking News
With the large sum of money supported by his father, Duke Qin Zhang Chuan, as start-up capital, Zhang Chen was able to come up with some really big ideas.
Before, Ah Liu did not go to Xingtai with him, but the retainers of the Duke of Qin's Mansion protected Zhao Si and Luo Xiaoxiao, a pair of blacksmiths and carpenters, and safely arrived in Xingtai. Then the two leaders led the craftsmen recruited by Zhang Chen, and in just ten days they modified ten new looms. The few weavers who had been recruited before but had been eating idle meals started working.
Then, Zhang Chen sold the cotton that he had stockpiled in several warehouses to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu at a "high price" and recovered the money he had lent. Then, he sent people to secretly take the cotton yarn spun in Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's workshops, as well as the cotton yarn purchased by the two, and took it to his own weaving workshop to weave cloth. He then sold the woven cotton cloth to a cloth shop with which he had already established contact.
With this virtuous cycle, the secret weaving workshop had more and more looms and more and more cotton yarn, and naturally the output increased. So much so that when no one else noticed, the price of cotton cloth on the market fell by 10%.
Then, Zhang Chen used the money from the sale of cloth to give back to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu in the form of banknotes through Fulong Bank...
This is just like the typical left hand throwing a ping-pong ball to the right hand, the right hand then throwing the ping-pong ball on the ground, the left hand catching the ping-pong ball that bounces back to the right hand... He was having a lot of fun doing this repetitive transaction, and the price of cotton was raised again and again. Finally, because Zheng Yuanwai and others also began to test the waters, he immediately lowered the price of cotton.
In the end, his price remained stable at four times the cotton price. As for Zheng Yuanwai and others, after tentatively releasing some cotton, they were cheated by his sudden price drop. After calculating that Wang Shen had little cotton left, they immediately stopped.
No one was going to compete . Most people were going to wait until "Wang Shen" ran out of stock, and then raise the price to make a fortune from the Qin Guogong Mansion behind Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. Of course, Zheng Yuanwai and others even prepared a perfect cover-up for this, and did not intend to reveal their true identity.
As for Zhang Chen, when he heard that wealthy families like Zheng Yuanwai of Xingtai went to Cangzhou to purchase cotton at high prices, and that their warehouses were overflowing, and that some people even sent messengers to Jiangnan to contact shipping companies for cotton, he was overjoyed and rewarded the guards his father had given him, especially the one who often gave him advice.
However, although he was having a blast acting, it made the eldest prince of Cangzhou and the wealthy families suffer. Although they hurriedly began to stockpile cotton after learning about Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's "prodigal" behavior, in the business world, falling behind means being beaten... no, starving. This was simply unbearable for the eldest prince who had just tasted the sweetness of profit.
As the new cotton had not yet been harvested and there was a lack of raw materials, they were unable to start work. So they desperately stockpiled cotton, intending to sell it to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, who were collecting cotton while desperately expanding the scale of their workshop. As for their own workshop, it was closed.
The result of the shutdown was the dismissal of workers. The result of the dismissal of workers was that a large number of unemployed poor people, with no way to make a living, directly surrounded the palace in Cangzhou - compared with Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, who had illegitimate identities, the eldest prince, as a descendant of the royal family, was naturally qualified to live in the palace. This was also the only preferential treatment the emperor gave to his son.
"Now, the palace that was ordered to be built by Emperor Taizu when he toured the country, and which most of the emperors before me rarely lived in, has been broken into by hundreds of poor people. Some are spinners, and some are family members. The Cangzhou government, which only has a small number of garrisons, sent out runners and archers to drive them away, but they were beaten to a bloody pulp by the angry people, and the eldest prince was also held hostage."
When the emperor said this, Zhang Shou could no longer maintain his relaxed expression. He was silent for a while, then said in a deep voice: "I am not trying to shirk responsibility, but my original intention was just to let Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu use Zhang Chen's money to create momentum, and Zhang Chen returned the funds through cotton cloth. I really didn't expect that the storm would spread from Xingtai to Cangzhou."
"Really didn't expect it?" The emperor chuckled. Seeing Zhang Shou looking at him calmly and frankly without any guilt, he thought of his eldest son and second son who were almost competing with each other for worse, and could not help but sighing again.
"It's a good thing I didn't send the boss to Jiangnan. He has already caused such a mess in Cangzhou. If he really went to Jiangnan, he might have forced the entire Southeast to revolt! And those short-sighted and greedy guys, they have already gained so many benefits, but can't they restrain themselves a little and give others a way to live?"
"Merchants pursue profits, and this has been the case since ancient times."
Zhang Shou paused, then suddenly said bluntly, "Your Majesty said that he was greedy, but in fact, when the wealthy families of the Eastern Han Dynasty annexed land and the people were living in poverty, did they really not think about the consequences of the ants being pushed to the extreme? So many noble scholars who read the books of sages, how could they all ignore this? In the final analysis, they turned a blind eye to what they didn't want to see, and turned a deaf ear to what they didn't want to hear."
"As long as I feel that the people's livelihood has nothing to do with me, I will naturally feel at ease. Moreover, I grew up in a large mansion and am used to being bossed around. As long as I think that everything I get is not stolen or taken, but is obtained in a fair and just way, I will feel that the ants should behave themselves. If I give you a little benefit, you should be grateful, and if I don't give you anything, you can't make a fuss."
"But have they ever thought that even their own servants can pretend to obey them for a small profit, let alone the civilians who are doing everything to survive? If one person offends them, they can easily eliminate him with all kinds of means, but what about eight, eighty, or even a thousand and eight hundred people? Once the flood of the people is formed, it will be like a surging force, and any obstacle can be crushed."
In fact, Zhang Shou wanted to use the four words "humane flood", but these four words together sounded too chivalrous...
The emperor was shocked by the last sentence. This was because this sentence structure, which was common in later generations, had a great impact today. Especially when he thought of the scene in the palace in Cangzhou, he naturally had to consider worse consequences.
"According to you, I should severely punish those greedy people?"
"No, that's not what I meant." Zhang Shou shook his head and said calmly, "People often say that if a county magistrate destroys a family, a prime minister will be exterminated. What about the imperial court? If the imperial court takes action, not to mention a few big merchants, even dozens or hundreds of them can be easily taken down. But the emperor is not willing to do this, right?"
"You understand me."
The emperor smiled to himself, "Yes, it is easy to kill one person to warn the rest, and it is also easy to suppress this incident, but as Emperor Taizu once said, a single spark can start a prairie fire. Not only can the fires ignited by the poor, but the fires ignited by the rich and powerful can also start a prairie fire. It is possible to use officials to govern business, but we have to be careful about how to govern."
He paused as he spoke, and the look he gave Zhang Shou became a little strange.
Emperor Taizu had used the power of the government to punish merchants, but with his authority and power at the time, he still suffered a huge backlash. That was one of the reasons why Taizu later changed his methods, gave up his eldest son's insistence on emphasizing agriculture over commerce, and carefully cultivated Emperor Taizong. Of course, these secrets are now known to only a very small number of people.
This time, Zhang Shou asked Zhang Chen to secretly help Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. Although he used some crooked tricks, he did not mobilize any government power at all. Of course, the government office in Xingtai was completely unable to provide any help, which might be one of the reasons. But no matter what, he was really surprised that the whole situation was changed by such means.
The premise is that there was no civil uprising in Cangzhou... But instead of blaming Zhang Shou, who was good at strategizing, Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, who were good at winning battles thousands of miles away, it is better to blame his eldest son who was really rotten to the core. Instead of blaming the queen who always doted on her son, it is better to blame him as a father who gave up training and disciplining his eldest son in a fit of anger, which led to his indulgence and made him become like this.
He paused and said in a deep voice: "Zhang Qing, are you willing to go to Cangzhou?"
When the emperor mentioned the matter of Cangzhou, Zhang Shou had already guessed it. Now that he heard it, he was immediately in tears. He thought about it very seriously for a while, and then said seriously: "Your Majesty loves me so much, I shouldn't refuse, but this is beyond my ability. If Your Majesty really wants me to go, I want to recommend a more suitable candidate."
The emperor did not expect Zhang Shou to refuse so straightforwardly. He was a little angry at first. However, when he heard Zhang Shou said he wanted to recommend someone, his anger suddenly turned into suspicion. But the next moment, when Zhang Shou said the name, he could not help laughing.
"I recommend the eldest son of Duke Zhao, General Mingwei Zhu Tingfang."
"Zhang Qing, do you think this is a recommendation without avoiding relatives?" The emperor laughed and scolded, "Why don't you just say that you recommend your eldest brother-in-law?"
"I just decided on the marriage, and the three words 'brother-in-law' are not quite accurate." Zhang Shou coughed and said very seriously, "Brother Zhu can only be considered a quasi-brother-in-law at best."
Is there any difference?
The emperor was both angry and amused, but after a moment's silence, he had to admit that the candidate recommended by Zhang Shou was indeed good. Before Zhang Shou appeared, Zhu Tingfang had always been the best among the younger - he was far ahead of his peers and no one could match him. Now that this battle had been fought, it was even more so. There was no comparison between the young Jinshi and the talented scholars.
But even though he thought so, he still teased, "Aren't you afraid that Zhu Tingfang will go to Cangzhou and beat up Zhu Tingjie after meeting him? When your second uncle cries for his parents, will he hate you for instigating him to go to Cangzhou?"
Zhang Shou didn't expect the emperor to tease him about this, and was caught off guard for a moment. Just at this moment, he heard Chu Kuan's voice not far away: "Hey, why is Miss Zhu here?"
"Don't stop me. I want to see the emperor and seek justice. Those people are always focusing on Ah Shou's shortcomings. What are they doing? They are not paying attention to so many important matters. Are their salaries paid just to find fault? It is totally unreasonable!"
Chu Kuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But when he saw the emperor nodding slightly at him not far away, he still let Zhu Ying go with a smile. He saw Zhang Shou also looking at him, smiling as always, but he remembered what he had heard before about today's scenes. While smiling at each other, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.
The favor he wanted to sell failed, and he was still surprised that Zhang Shou could get the support of Xiangyang Bo Zhang Qiong so easily. Moreover, the most important question was whether Zhang Shou had noticed the tricks he was playing.
Zhu Ying ran straight to the emperor in a huff, but suddenly her eyes flashed and she saw that it was Zhang Shou who blocked her way. When she first saw that handsome face and those eyes that seemed to speak with a smile, her anger instantly vanished, and her momentum was reduced by seven points. Finally, she glared at Zhang Shou with a look of anger but actually joy.
"Get out of the way. I'm going to ask the Emperor for justice!"
"The emperor has come to the Imperial College to judge the case." Zhang Shou knew Zhu Ying's temper. After explaining, he smiled and said, "Although my thin arms can't twist the thighs of some old men in the court, I am not so weak that I can't withstand a blow. But the emperor just asked me another question. Yingying, why don't you help me answer it?"
"What's the problem?" Zhu Ying's train of thought was indeed mislead by Zhang Shou. After he made way, she immediately looked at the emperor in confusion. The momentum of launching a war to demand justice had disappeared without a trace.
Seeing this, the emperor could only sigh that there was always someone better than him, and then he said lightly: "Yingying, something happened in Cangzhou. I originally wanted your son Shou to go there, but he declined the offer because he was unable to do so. Instead, I recommended your elder brother to go."
"Huh?"
Zhu Ying's face changed immediately. Although she usually didn't like to use her brain, she was not stupid. The two words "Cangzhou" revealed too much. Especially since Zhang Shou declined but recommended Zhu Tingfang, she felt that there was definitely something wrong. So, she immediately went forward and grabbed Zhang Shou to one side, asking him what happened.
When she heard what happened, she was shocked and angry. She stormed back to the emperor and said stiffly, "A Shou recommended my elder brother because he believed that he could handle the situation. But... the eldest prince caused such a huge disaster, but now someone else has to deal with it. What about him? Shouldn't the emperor give an explanation?"
In this case, Zhang Shou could not say it, and others did not dare to say it. The only one who could speak and dare to speak was Miss Zhu. Although the emperor was embarrassed, he could not get angry, because Zhu Ying had always been so straightforward and never beat around the bush since she was a child.
He took a deep breath and finally said word by word: "Since he has caused such a disaster, I will naturally not protect him!"
