novelAbuy Chapter 30 Grain Prices
Chapter 30 Grain Prices
Although she had never met Zhao Guangyi, it did not stop her from feeling contempt for this second king.
It's normal for benefits to be transferred. Recently, the Song Dynasty has just been established. Zhao Kuangyin was very busy, but Zhao Guangyi was almost even busier. He was basically building relationships every day and wished he could eat eight meals a day outside.
But for a prospective crown prince to resort to the corrupt tactics of colluding with officials and businessmen in the Gulf region is indeed somewhat disgraceful.
In the end, he was just a young man in his early twenties who hadn't had time to experience life. He was far from being the cunning, ruthless, and vicious Emperor Taizong of Song who would later become famous. His most important task now was to become well-known and win people's hearts.
He didn't need to win over the mid- to high-ranking officers, nor was it his place to do so. The senior officers of the entire Palace Guard were basically Zhao Kuangyin's confidants, so his energy was naturally mainly focused on the mid-level officers, primarily the military officers of the various garrisons, such as the commanders and officers at the level of Yuhou and Zhihuishi.
Inviting guests to meals and promising benefits—it was all done in one go. However, since they had just come from the Five Dynasties period, the officers and commanders were all seasoned veterans. They were never stingy with food and drink; they would take whatever was offered, and they were all good at saying nice things.
But most people just let Zhao Guangyi's promises go in one ear and out the other.
Let alone the fact that Zhao Guangyi hasn't even clearly defined his status as the crown prince, even if he had, it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference. The soldiers of the Five Dynasties period didn't have much respect for the emperor himself, let alone the crown prince.
Fourteen emperors have come and gone in fifty years. Who knows if you, the crown prince, can become the heir apparent, or how long you can hold the position?
To win over these veterans, empty promises are useless; you have to actually get the money. Zhao Guangyi himself understood this principle, but giving them money directly was out of the question. So, he could only engage in an exchange of benefits. Naturally, the brick and tile factory was the one connected to Wang Jun and Wang Lu.
On one hand, they promised to renovate the dormitories and build houses for all the soldiers. On the other hand, they arranged for the families of these people to work in the brick and tile factory and earn high wages. Some of them were even given official positions and could even manage the accounts of the brick and tile factory.
Of course, Wang Jun didn't actually lose out. Zhao Guangyi had practically handed over the tea resale rights in Kaifeng to him. He could make bricks to exchange for tea, and then sell the tea for money. It was actually very profitable, and the extra money he earned was enough to cover the wages he paid to the people he had brought in.
Han Ling'er was just saying that casually. After complaining, she still had to get things done. As for whether the brick factory would become more and more chaotic, Wang Jun himself didn't care, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Oh, Madam, there's something else."
"What is it?"
"We need to buy more grain. The boss said that recently, when we're collecting mud, our factory will provide a meal for anyone who delivers 100 catties of good mud a day, using the money we make from selling tea."
Han Ling'er frowned: "He means well, but how much money will this cost? Grain prices are so high now. Hasn't the imperial court already provided grain relief in the south of the city? Why does he need to take charge of this?"
"The boss said he's made a lot of money selling tea recently, and he told us to display the Second King's banner when we distribute meals, saying that we can only afford to eat because of the tribute tea from the Southern Tang Dynasty given by the Second King."
Han Ling'er frowned even more deeply, and muttered with a pout, "They're going to make a name for the Second King again, but in the end, all the money they earn will probably be lost. This workshop is so big, and they're just wasting their time every day."
Han Ling'er wasn't making baseless accusations; the price of rice in Kaifeng was indeed rising rapidly. Before the Lunar New Year, it was 75 wen per dou (a unit of dry measure), which was already quite expensive, but now it's 120 wen.
The factory already pays for the mud they buy, and then they provide an extra meal. With grain prices already so high, providing an extra meal is practically charity.
"Alright, I'll personally handle the grain purchase and porridge preparation. When distributing the porridge, have Fifth Brother send more people to keep an eye on things, lest the people arranged by Second King take advantage of the situation and line their own pockets."
Six Monkeys nodded: "Yes, that's what the boss said too."
"It's really strange. The imperial court has already started providing food relief, so why is the price of rice still getting more and more expensive?"
………………
"It's really strange. The imperial court has already started providing grain relief, so why is the price of rice still getting higher and higher?"
Zhao Guangmei asked Wang Lu the same question.
Zhao Kuangyin has been neglecting Zhao Guangmei's studies lately, spending his days hanging out with Wang Lu. He's really enjoying learning to cook from Wang Lu, and when Wang Lu accompanies him to the market to pick out vegetables, Zhao Guangmei can't help but complain.
"You're still concerned about food prices?"
"Of course I care! My elder brother is trying to win people over by distributing military rations, but why isn't it working?"
"It's working, isn't it? I see most of the common people in the city praising the emperor as a benevolent and wise ruler. You have to think of it this way: even with the emperor opening granaries to provide relief, grain prices are still rising so quickly."
"If it weren't for the government's grain relief, people would be starving to death!"
"How could anyone starve to death in Kaifeng? If people could starve to death in Kaifeng, then the whole world would be filled with corpses of the starving. Wouldn't that truly be a sin of our Zhao family?"
Zhao Guangmei pouted, kicked a pebble on the roadside, and frowned deeply as she looked at the rice price sign at the entrance of the grain store, looking quite angry, which surprised Wang Lu.
Objectively speaking, Zhao Kuangyin did a really good job.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, he led his troops into the city. On the fifth day, he officially ascended the throne. On the seventh day, Zhao Kuangyin issued the first edict on people's livelihood after the founding of the dynasty: the people who had been conscripted to dredge the canal before and after the Zhou dynasty, and whose dry food was provided by themselves, would be provided by the government from now on. This was to be established as a permanent system.
On the twelfth day of the first month, an imperial edict was issued, dispatching envoys to various prefectures to provide relief to disaster victims.
On the first day of the second lunar month, because the price of grain in Kaifeng had been rising, he personally ordered the opening of granaries in the south of the city to distribute grain to the poor in the south of the city, hoping to stabilize the price of grain and bring the market price of grain back down.
Such an emperor was absolutely unique in the Five Dynasties period. While others changed dynasties by plundering, Zhao Kuangyin opened granaries and distributed grain, thus establishing a completely different character and style for the Song Dynasty from the very beginning compared to the Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou dynasties.
Even so, it still couldn't stop the continued rise in grain prices. After all, dynastic changes always come at a price; there is no such thing as a dynastic change that is completely unrelated to ordinary people.
Zhao Guangmei was, after all, a beneficiary of the existing system, the core of a corrupt feudal group, and it was a chaotic era like the Five Dynasties. In fact, even if the Zhao family did not become emperors, they would still be a top military family. Wang Lu originally thought that someone of Zhao Guangmei's background should have been used to the chaos of the times.
People inevitably become numb after living in this kind of era for a long time. Wang Lu, a modern man, had already become somewhat numb after only a few months. However, it seems that Zhao Guangmei was not numb at all. She even got upset because of these ordinary people who were like duckweed and weeds.
"The Emperor has done all he could. The founding of the Song Dynasty is worlds apart from the previous Five Dynasties."
"Couldn't we have done better?"
"This... is difficult."
"You know why, right?"