After moving the capital, Xiangzhuang was too busy, and finally had time to go to the ground. Today, he quickly sent Hu Yan to summon Bailixian and other ministers to a newly opened tavern to drink. After the Chu State moved the capital to Luoyang, many industries that depended on the nobles and nobles also moved to Luoyang, and Zhibuji also opened a semicolon in Luoyang.

Therefore, in less than half a year, hundreds of taverns, inns, chess houses and prostitutes emerged like mushrooms after a rain in Luoyang City.

Of course, Xiangzhuang came to this tavern to drink not to experience the sufferings of the people, but the palace was being repaired and the dust was so dusty that it could not stay there, so he simply sent troops to book the slightly decent tavern, and then invited Bailixian, Bishu and other civil and military ministers here to drink and discuss matters.

After drinking for three rounds, Wu She asked: "Why did you ask the Qin family and the Tang family to purchase a large amount of grain in Handan and Anyi? You should know that the State of Zhao is extremely strict with the entry and exit of goods. It would be fine if there was a small amount of grain, but if there was such a large amount, it would be impossible to transport it back to the State of Chu."

Xiang Zhuang said: "I asked them to buy grain in Handan and Anyi because we lack food."

Xiang said: "But the problem is that the shipping of so much food is hard to hide. How can it be transported back?"

Xiang Zhuang smiled and said blindly: "You are wrong. The food you bought from Handan and Anyi is not to be transported back to the country, but to be transported to Guanzhong."

"Transport to Guanzhong?" Xiang Tuo said in confusion, "What's going on?"

"Don't worry about what's going on, haha," Xiang Zhuang smiled, "In short, if the operation is done well this time, not only will the wealth of thousands of merchants in Guanzhong and nobles of Han Kingdom and nobles of Qi in the Kingdom of Zhao, but also the millions of stones of grain accumulated in Taicang, South Korea will also fall into our Ao Cang."

Xiang, Xiang Tuo and others looked at each other. It would be fine if they could rob Guanzhong, but they could also rob the millions of stones of grain accumulated in the treasury of Zhao and South Korea? How could this be possible?!

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Liu Ji Laohao is the largest grain store in Xianyang, but this morning it suddenly launched a wooden sign with no grain for sale. Hundreds of vendors who came to buy grain early in the morning were in an uproar.

Because before this, dozens of other grain stores in Xianyang City had been closed.

This year, the grain price of Guanzhong has been rising all the way, from fifty qian per stone at the beginning of the year to eighty qian. However, three days ago, the grain price in Xianyang suddenly soared like crazy, and it rose three times a day, in just three days. The grain price rose to two hundred qian per stone, and there was a price but no market.

Grain prices soared, and the wealthy families in Guanzhong also began to stockpile grain.

Today, even the old Liu Ji name cannot stand it and its listing is closed.

Although the Han Dynasty pursued the national policy of valuing agriculture and suppressing commerce, it only means that the status of merchants and handicraftsmen is low, which does not mean that there is no handicraft workshop in Guanzhong. In fact, Guanzhong does not lack large handicraft workshops, such as iron smelting workshops and weapons workshops affiliated to the court, which employ tens of thousands of labor.

In addition to the official workshops, there are also private workshops of all sizes. There are at least tens of thousands of handicraft practitioners in Xianyang and near Gyeonggi (including female workers and child workers). If all the handicraft practitioners in Guanzhong are added together, there are at least hundreds of thousands of people, most of them are full-time and they have to buy food to make a living.

Now, dozens of grain stores led by Liu Ji Lao were closed, and these handicraftsmen immediately cut off their food sources and they were hungry. In addition to these handicraftsmen who had no overnight food, there were even many servants who were also scolding because they could not buy food to support their wives, children and children.

For a moment, the whole of Xianyang was in trouble.

At the same time, there is a saying that the Prime Minister Bai Mo set up an official to specialize in salt and iron seriously damaged the interests of merchants in Guanzhong. Because the interests of merchants are not guaranteed, even old brands like Liu Ji Laohao are now closed. The implication is that the grain shortage in Xianyang is caused by Bai Mo's misconduct.

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"It's unreasonable, it's unreasonable!" Bai Mo was so angry that he slapped the table.

A few days ago, Bai Mo didn't care much about it, but today, even old brands like Liu Ji Lao were closed. What made Bai Mo even more angry was that these merchants turned black and white. They obviously did not sell grain, but they actually turned the raid and poured dirty water on him.

Originally, Bai Mo promoted the official business of salt and iron, and it only hurt the interests of salt merchants and iron merchants, but it had nothing to do with grain merchants. How could it cause the grain merchants in Xianyang City to close down? Obviously, behind this, the huge merchants and merchants in the relevant areas were threading needles and trying to put pressure on the court.

Chen Ping said: "Prime Minister, what should we do now?"

At this time, Chen Ping was inevitably a little dissatisfied with Bai Mo. He had already reminded Bai Mo to be sure to pay attention, but Bai Mo didn't take it seriously. This caused the disaster today. If Bai Mo could pay attention to this matter and put down his posture and explain it to merchants from all walks of life, how could these grain merchants join hands with salt merchants and iron merchants to cause trouble?

A disciple suggested: "Prime Minister, these unscrupulous merchants dare to hoard goods, so why would they send troops to search it!"

"Nonsense, won't it make things even more uncontrollable?" Chen Ping scolded without hesitation. The problem now is not just that grain merchants are hoarding, but even the noble families of Guanzhong have participated. What's the use of just sending troops to search a few grain merchants? Can they even copy all the noble families of hoarded?

The clerk said with a bitter face: "If you can't send troops to investigate, what should you do?"

"What should I do? It's easy!" Bai Mo smiled in a dark voice, "Release the grain of Taicang and sell it at a high price! Since those noble families are willing to help the evildoer, then the true nature does not have to be polite. Don't they want to hoard goods and make huge profits? The true nature is not as good as they wish, and they have to pay for it, hum!"

"Taicang's grain?" Chen Ping frowned, "But this is a reserve grain, you can't move it without any action..."

"The Grand Master doesn't have to worry at all." Bai Mo smiled sinisterly and said, "This matter is already a matter of concern. After the matter is completed, not only will all the stored grain in Taicang be returned in full, but the treasury can also get a lot of money in vain. This is a great opportunity. My little arm actually wants to compete with the court's thighs. They are looking for death!"

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The next day, Taicang, Xianyang, began to offer grain at a price of 300 coins per stone.

More than a dozen grain stores led by Liu Ji Lao also reopened, but the grain price has increased by 100 yuan compared to yesterday. Although the husband and servants who were waiting for the grain to be cooked in pain and wanted to scold their mother, they could only grit their teeth and buy a few more hu of hu. Who knows whether the grain price will rise again? Don’t look at it now, it might be even more expensive tomorrow.

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There are a lot of guests in Sima's mansion, and more than a dozen strong merchants still have seats. There are ten less powerful merchants who don't even have seats. They can only stand on both sides of the hall. Tonight they gather here to ask for a clear message. Next, should they take advantage of the high price to release grain, or continue to stock up on the price to push up the price?

A huge merchant asked: "Mr. Zhonggong, Baimo has been opening the Taicang for several days, and the grain shortage in Xianyang has gradually eased. Is it necessary to continue to hoard grain?"

Sima Ji glanced around the hall and saw that everyone was different in expressions, and knew that someone was shaken. This was reasonable. After all, the entire Han Kingdom was standing behind Bai Mo. The chance of winning against him was slim. Moreover, the price of grain has now risen to 300 coins per stone. If you can release all the grain stored in your hand, you can make a lot of money.

Sima Ji sneered: "I would like to advise you to give up the idea of ​​releasing grain. Bai Mo is waiting. As long as the gangs release grain, he will immediately lower the price downwards. At that time, the grain price will definitely fall to a low level that will make the gangs lose all their money. In this way, Bai Mo can buy back grain from you at an extremely low price to enrich Taicang."

Many grain merchants showed a look of awe on their faces, thinking that Bai Mo was really sinister and almost touched his words.

Sima Zhong then smiled and said, "You don't have to worry too much. Don't look at the price of grain that has risen to 300 coins now, but I can tell you very clearly that the good show has just begun. I can give you a solid foundation here. At the latest, the price of grain will definitely rise to 1,000 coins until the beginning of next spring!"

"What? Thousands of dollars?! Real or fake?"

"If it can really increase to thousands of dollars, then we will pay it!"

"Whether it is true or false, we have no way to go."

"Yes, yes, right, now, even if there is a cliff ahead, I can only walk forward with my eyes closed."

As soon as he finished speaking, a whisper suddenly sounded in the hall, some were excited, some were calm thinking, some were closed their eyes to rest, some were hideous and gritting their teeth.

A giant merchant immediately asked, "Mr. Zhong, what is his attitude there?"

The whispers in the hall stopped abruptly, and everyone raised their ears, because the ones mentioned by this giant merchant refer to the richest man in Guanzhong - the Lu family.

This time, the Lu family did not directly participate in the food hoarding in Guanzhong. However, they still secretly provided support. Now Bai Mo released the grain from Taicang, and the competition between the two sides was intensifying. If there was no support from the Lu family and the forces dependent on the Lu family, the hundreds of families on their side might not be able to bear it.

Sima Zhong smiled slightly and asked the giant shop who had just asked: "Mr. Shi, if you don't have the support from there, how dare I take the lead and sing a stage drama with Bai Mo? To be honest, everyone has made a clear statement over there. No matter how much grain Bai Mo put from Taicang, he will guarantee that he can eat it. If you have the spare energy, you might as well continue to eat it."

As soon as these words were said, the hundreds of merchants in the hall were immediately calmed down.

"What? Are you going to participate directly there? That's great, there's no problem now."

"I'll eat another 5,000 stones to come in. Humph, the grain stored in Taicang, Xianyang is only 500,000 stones. I want to see when Bai Mo can hold on to it?"
Chapter completed!