My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 194 I am a big fool

   Qixia is full of merchants.

  Hearing about the auction here, many merchants came here.

  Business is nothing more than exchanging needs, but if there is a chance to make money, who wouldn't want to give it a try?

  Even if you don't intend to do this business, it's good to come here to watch the excitement.

  Of course, the most important thing is the reason for Dibao.

  This mansion newspaper is not only read by ordinary scholars now, at the beginning, some merchants also planned to be arty.

  But slowly, they realized that some of the edicts, orders, and reports published in this mansion newspaper were extremely useful for understanding the latest news.

   Don’t think it’s full of bureaucratic articles, but if you study carefully, you will find that the hidden information is very important.

  If you don't even know the latest government trends, what kind of business are you doing?

   As a result, the news of the auction was published in the mansion newspaper. Although it was only a small article in the corner, it quickly attracted the attention of almost all merchants.

  In addition to Qixia's side, it does have a lot of goodwill.

   Don't look at the scholars scolding Zhang Anshi for being powerful, but Zhang Anshi's business is doing big.

  From shipping to banks, many of them are closely related to merchants. Merchants cannot do without goods, cashing gold and silver, and even raising funds.

   Over time, everyone has formed dependence invisibly.

  Although there is no brand concept in this era, Zhang Anshi has established enough word of mouth in this Ming Dynasty.

   It's not that everyone thinks that Zhang Anshi is a noble character, but that he can probably form an image that... this person's business is so big, at least he won't sell inferior or inferior goods.

  This auction is something new, and this kind of auction is unique, so many people are willing to join in the fun.

  Now Zhu Jin, who is the same as Zhang Anshi's chief executive, is so busy that he doesn't touch the ground. The venue needs to be set up, and all personnel, as well as the marked reserve price, even the guarantor, and the personnel of the bank must be contacted in advance.

  In addition to the arrival and departure of merchants, and the sudden arrival of so many merchants, all the inns in Qixia are full.

Some merchants came to Qixia for the first time. Seeing such a scene, they couldn't help but be amazed at how lively this place is. They thought that maybe they didn't necessarily want to buy any treasures, but rather wanted to build some wine shops and inns here. thought.

  Mao, Zhang Anshi got up.

  Zhu Jin came to see Zhang Anshi excitedly, and said, "Master Hou, everything is ready, and the filming can begin in an hour and a half."

  Zhang Anshi calmly took a sip of tea and had a good night's sleep yesterday. At this moment, he looked refreshed.

  He smiled at Zhu Jin with satisfaction and said, "Not bad, not bad..."

  Zhu Jin hesitated for a moment, but said worriedly: "It's just that I heard some news..."

   "News, what news?" Zhang Anshi asked in surprise.

  Zhu Jin said: "I heard that the imperial court has sold all the cargo of the treasure ship."

  Zhang Anshi said: "They sell faster than me?"

  This really surprised Zhang Anshi.

  Zhu Jindao: "It is said that it sold 140,000 taels of silver... I'm worried... If the news spreads, then the goods we auctioned..."

   "The price is so low?" Zhang Anshi was taken aback.

  To be honest, Zhang Anshi never imagined that the luxury goods brought by nearly a hundred treasure ships were only sold for 140,000 taels.

   To put it bluntly, even the shipping fee is not enough. This is a rare product that has been transported thousands of miles across the ocean.

And...whether it is spices, ivory, rhino horn, or a large number of special products of Western countries, the original market price is like gold. Even if more goods are brought this time, the price will be lowered, but only sold One hundred and forty thousand taels... is unimaginable for Zhang Anshi.

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, because there was no sea ban, a large number of Arab merchants and Han merchants engaged in maritime trade, and shipped a large number of special products to the Central Plains for sale. It's really not easy. It can be said that this is a rarity in exchange for human life.

Zhang Anshi paused for a moment, then calmly said: "Don't worry, merchants are not stupid, they will naturally know the pros and cons, this thing, even if you hoard it, you won't suffer a loss, it can't be so cheap, what is the problem, although I don't know yet, But we'll auction off ours."

  Zhang Anshi is confident about this, because whether it is spices or these special products, they all have a characteristic, that is, they are rare and easy to store, which makes them valuable for hoarding.

For example, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, in the Tang Dynasty, because it was mainly sourced from abroad, it was not easy for Hu merchants to transport it to the Tang Dynasty, so... when the emperor of the Tang Dynasty confiscated his home, he copied a lot of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, for example, at that time In Yuan Zai, the biggest corrupt official, the emperor copied eight hundred stones of peppercorns from his home.

   After all, this thing has collection value, and compared to copper coins, this storage value is higher, and it is a luxury. Mostly, you can think of it as Moutai.

  Zhang Anshi thought for a while, and then said: "This auction is bound to succeed, if it fails...I'm afraid something will happen."

  Zhu Jin raised his eyebrows in surprise: "What happened?"

  Zhang Anshi didn't say anything, but he probably knew in his heart that if the real value of 140,000 taels of silver was sold, it would cost so much manpower and material resources to travel to the West, which means that this is a business that only loses money.

  Even if Daming had a big family and a big business, he still couldn’t afford such consumption.

  If it is played a few more times, wouldn't the court have to pay for everything?

   Therefore, today's auction is related to the continuation of the national policy of voyages to the West. Whether this voyage can be continued, or even persisted for hundreds of years, depends on now.

   Otherwise, not only the officials, but even the common people, there will be a large number of people who oppose the voyage, thinking that this is just a great feat, and that the imperial court uses the people's fat and people's ointment to put gold on their faces.

  …

  Zhu Di brought Yi Shiha and several guards to Qixia in micro-clothes.

  He was very surprised to find that there had long been humane street signs posted here, and walking along those street signs, he could see a conference hall.

   At this time, the place is already overcrowded.

  But almost everyone who wants to enter the venue needs to pay a deposit.

  Since the last time he suffered a loss of no money, Yi Shiha now always carries a sum of money with him whenever he goes out of the palace.

  So after paying the deposit, Zhu Di followed the flow of people and entered the venue first.

   I saw small stools arranged in an orderly manner in this venue, so that everyone was crowded like sardines.

  No way, there are too many people.

   Here, hundreds of people have been accommodated.

  Zhu Di only felt that the place was noisy and irritable, but many merchants loved this kind of excitement, wishing that the more lively the better.

  Yi Shiha approached the ancestral land, and introduced to Zhu Di in a low voice: "The Marquis of Annan asked Deng Jian to bring back about 30 boats, and what they brought back were mostly spices, ivory, and rhino horn..."

  Zhu Di nodded and nodded: "Only these?"

   "There are other specialties, but there are not many, and more are rare."

  Zhu Di nodded and said: "For tens of thousands of taels of silver, he also took great pains."

  Yi Shiha smiled, but didn't speak.

  At this time... In the center of the venue, Zhu Jin appeared in person.

At this time, he was holding an iron trumpet in his hand, and shouted: "Silence, silence... Now... our auction is about to start, the rules, everyone has seen it, if you are not familiar with it, you can look at it just now Hand out your charter."

"Besides, everyone has to hold on to your license plate. Come on, come on, let's get the first batch first. This first batch is the best spices brought from the West. This spices... Everyone You know, in previous years, one tael could be exchanged for one tael of gold, but now the bidding starts at a thousand catties."

   As he spoke, he shouted again: "The reserve price is one thousand taels."

  As soon as this remark came out, the merchants below began to commotion.

  One thousand two hundred and one thousand catties...

   This is tantamount to picking it up for nothing.

  Actually... Many people here have heard about the sale of treasures by the household department.

  But that matter has nothing to do with ordinary merchants.

   Before everyone knew what happened, they had already sold it. Who knows who took the goods and who gave the money.

  Although the appearance of a large number of spices and Western exotics will lead to the decline of these things.

   But the annual consumption of these things is also astonishing. Although this thing is expensive, many wealthy families consume it.

   I don’t know when I will be able to bring back new goods next time I go to the West.

  So someone immediately raised a sign: "Two thousand taels."

   Immediately after…

   "Three thousand taels."

   "Three thousand one hundred taels."

   "Four thousand taels."

   "Four thousand four hundred taels."

  At this moment, everyone in the hall became tense.

  Many people are calculating the market price of this spice outside.

not only…

   What everyone calculates is also the storage value.

   Some spices are stored for a long time, so the price is naturally higher.

   "Five thousand taels."

   "Five thousand three hundred taels."

   "Seven thousand taels..."

  At first people were asking prices like crazy.

  However, when the price is getting higher and higher, people who are willing to ask for the price begin to become scarce.

   "Eight thousand taels..."

   "Nine thousand..."

   "Ten thousand taels..."

  Several spice merchants have already begun to fight. They know the market best. Even at the current price, this thousand catty is absolutely profitable.

   "Eleven thousand two hundred and fifty taels..."

   "Thirteen thousand taels..."

   "Fifteen thousand taels." Someone was furious.

   "Fifteen thousand one hundred taels..."

   "Sixteen thousand taels..."

   People held their breath.

   "Seventeen thousand taels."

   "Eighteen thousand taels."

  The bidding reached here, and finally... there was no sound.

  The first batch of goods was directly taken by a spice merchant.

   Zhu Jinhong's face was all over the face, which was a good start, because there was still a lot of spices, a full 50,000 catties.

Unexpectedly, at this time, he said loudly again: "I just received news from the bank that the bank is willing to use spices and other things as guarantees to issue loans. Of course... only 70% of the deal Guaranteed price."

  As soon as this remark is made, merchants, you look at me, and I look at you.

   After going back to the auction, can you still borrow money from the bank to raise more funds?

  This means... the bank has given them at least half of the funds for the auction.

   In this way, almost everyone's funds are several times more abundant.

  People who used to have 10,000 taels of silver can mobilize 30,000 taels of silver to buy goods.

   Wait until the spices are sold, and then repay the loan from the bank with a lower interest rate...it will be profitable.

  So, when the second batch of one thousand catties of spices started to be auctioned, everyone became even more enthusiastic.

  Some merchants actually just want to take photos back and pass them on as family heirlooms to future generations.

  This thing... In the long run, the price will not go anywhere.

   There are also a few spice merchants who want to monopolize the goods.

  Of course, there are also people who want to take it as a gift.

  After all... giving money directly is unavoidably vulgar, and the threshold for calligraphy and painting is too high. In fact, this thing does not involve gold and silver, but the person who received the gift will know the value just by looking at it.

  So the price of the second batch of 1,000 jin of spices jumped up to 19,300 taels.

   All of a sudden, the people who had won the first batch of goods were happy.

  Many people's minds began to become active. After all, the later...the fewer goods will be available. Who knows what the future bidding will look like?

   It's the fifth batch, the sixth batch, and the seventh batch.

  The price has exceeded 20,000 taels of silver.

   Just when everyone is eager.

  Zhu Di, who was sitting on the small stool, sat stiffly in place, motionless, with an obviously bad look on his face.

  Even Yi Shiha at the side changed his face.

  At this moment, he took a cautious look at Zhu Di. Under the dim light, he could only see Zhu Di's side face. This face seemed to be frozen, like a stone sculpture.

   "Twenty-two thousand taels..."

  No one knows that every bid is tantamount to beating Zhu Di's heart.

   At this moment, someone suddenly shouted: "Thirty thousand taels!"

  But I saw a young man, after yelling, he patted his belly, looking very satisfied.

  This young man always bids at the most critical moment.

  Like a **** stick.

  Especially a rich and powerful spice merchant, who was directly gnashing his teeth with anger.

  At this time... the young man shouted thirty thousand taels, and the spice merchant was so angry that his forehead showed veins. He stared at the young man with a gloomy look, as if he wanted to eat people.

   "Thirty thousand and one hundred taels!"

   This time, the boy fell silent.

  Finally...deal.

  The boy continued to pat his belly happily, with a happy face, as if it was Chinese New Year.

  Many people looked at the spice merchant without sympathy. As bystanders, many people actually knew that the spice merchant was purely vindictive and was fooled.

   But after all, they are not the merchants. When everyone looks at others, they can always be more sober and objective.

   But when such things fall on him, it is another matter.

  Especially some big merchants, who value goodwill and face more than anything else. On the surface, the spice merchant seems to be jealous, but he is actually sneering in his heart.

   Do you think the old man is in a hurry? In fact, the old man is killing chickens to scare monkeys!

   Sure enough, in the future, when the spice merchant makes a move, there will be many fewer other merchants who are willing to fight with him.

  Fortunately, the young man always raised the bar just right. Although it cost the spice merchant a lot of money, the young man seemed to know that he should not blindly raise the price too high.

   After getting to the back, many people became anxious when they learned that the spices might be sold out soon.

This thing... even if it is 31,000 catties, it is actually profitable if it is retailed. In previous years, a thousand catties could be sold for at least 50,000 taels, which can be said to be much more expensive than gold. !

   Moreover, in this era, transportation is inconvenient and information is different. Although prices in many big cities in the south of the Yangtze River have dropped a lot, in Sichuan, Guanzhong, Hexi, Xiangtan and other places, they still maintain a high price of at least 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver.

  Whoever traffics there first will get huge profits.

   Not to mention, there are still many wealthy landowners in the countryside...

   After all, prices are transmitted wave by wave. In this era, this kind of price transmission may take more than a year.

   "Twenty-nine thousand taels..."

  After learning that there were not many spices, those who couldn't sit still finally started to take action.

   "Thirty thousand taels."

   "Thirty-one thousand taels..."

  When Zhu Di heard this, he just felt that it was a dull thump, beating on his own head and heart. He felt dizzy and dizzy in his head, and his heart was dull and painful.

  At the beginning, he was sitting here, smiling, thinking that he was going to make money, and he thought Zhang Anshi’s idea was good and interesting.

  But slowly... he became more and more aware of something wrong...

  How should I put it... It seems that everyone sitting here is extremely smart.

  But he, Zhu Di, is the only one, the number one fool in the world!

  Zhu Di is a very conceited person. Since he was a boy, he has set up great ambitions, thinking that he will make achievements far beyond those of his predecessors.

  After becoming the Son of Heaven, this kind of thought became more and more serious.

  Can now...

  Yi Shiha on the side clearly felt the change in Zhu Di, and subconsciously...went to touch Zhu Di's wrist quietly...

  He pretended to bump into it accidentally, but he was actually worried that something would happen to Zhu Di.

  When I touched it, I felt that Zhu Di's hand was extremely cold, as if even the blood was cold.

  Yi Shiha hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't hold back, leaning into Zhu Di's ear, and whispered: "Your Majesty, let's go."

  Zhu Di still sat motionless. For the first time, he began to learn arithmetic without a teacher.

   Mental arithmetic.

  This is the thirty-seventh batch.

  Up to now...the spices alone have been sold for 732,500 taels of silver.

  Behind...and more.

   Not to mention... besides spices, there are other...

   Bidding is still getting hotter...

  In this crowded space, people are in it, and everyone is calculating their own income and reserve price, each with their own plans.

  Some people are happy, some are crying, and some are upset.

  But there was only Zhu Di alone, and there was a feeling of...a thousand arrows piercing the heart.

  He looked at these merchants, no matter who they were, they all had smiling faces.

  They all seem to be smiling at him, the smile is... like a mockery.

  The most painful thing for a person is that a proud person is finally stripped naked and becomes an exhibit.

   Or... a person like this, ran naked on the street, ate feces, and was surrounded by people.

  Yi Shiha has been watching Zhu Di, his heart is getting more and more uncertain.

  He knows Zhu Di very well.

  So he hurriedly pulled away the guards on the side, and said in a low voice: "Go... Hurry up and invite Marquis Annan to come."

  Having Marquis Annan around...can prevent possible terrible things from happening in the future.

  The guard was still having fun, seeing the enthusiasm of the merchants, it was like watching a play. At this time, after listening to Yi Shiha's order, he still took a longing look, and then hurried away.

  ...

"What?"

  Zhang Anshi said in astonishment: "Why does Your Majesty always come to Qixia?"

  Zhang Anshi is drinking tea in the back room of the venue.

  When he heard that Zhu Di had come to join in the fun again, he had a big headache.

  Looking at the guard in front of him, Zhang Anshi quickly realized his slip of the tongue, and immediately said: "Don't get me wrong, I mean..."

  The imperial guard said: "Master Hou, don't say any more, the Grand Duke told you to go and see him quickly."

Zhang Anshi said: "Okay, okay, but let's not worry, people are still bidding now, the sale is half done, if something goes wrong, it's not good, we will wait here, after a while, the bidding is over, and then go See you."

  The guard hesitated and said: "Can this be done?"

  Zhang Anshi said bluntly: "You don't understand, the business is messed up, and the most uncomfortable thing is Your Majesty. Being rude is better than making less money."

  The imperial guard was taken aback for a moment, and actually thought it was very reasonable.

At this time, Zhang Anshi said again: "That's right, don't say that you will find me soon. When we go, we must be just right. It is best that after the auction is over, you find me just before a stick of incense." , when the time comes, I will rush over panting, so that the face of the Holy Majesty will be preserved, and we will show our dedication."

  The imperial guard couldn't help but smiled wryly and said: "Master Hou, you are humble... I dare not deceive you..."

  Zhang Anshi glared at him and said: "Who told you to deceive the emperor! Fuck your mother... someone, take this guy out and let him come to me again. In this way... it won't be considered a bully, right?"

  Guard: "..."

  Thinking about it carefully, he also figured it out, and said with an enlightened look: "Understood, let's look for it when you are humble."

  Zhang Anshi was extremely anxious: "Second brother, second child..."

   Zhu Yong on the side came forward: "You are here, you are here, brother, what's the matter?"

  Zhang Anshi said anxiously: "Hurry up and pull Qiu Song out of the auction house. His Majesty is also there. Qiu Song...is there, I don't feel at ease."

  Zhu Yong suddenly realized: "Oh, oh, it's still thoughtful of the big brother, so I'll go now."

   I waited for a while... Seeing that today's auction is almost over.

Zhang Anshi cheered up, first took off his shoes, then pulled his skirt to make his clothes look a little messy, and finally wiped a handful of long hair to make the bun loose. He rushed to the auction field.

  Many merchants, after the end, still have more to say, come out in twos and threes.

  Zhang Anshi waited at the door, but he didn't see Zhu Di come out for a long time, so he took Zhang Fu and entered the venue in a hurry.

  In the meeting place, the merchants who made the deal have long been invited to other places to complete the contract and pay the final payment.

  The merchants who didn't buy anything also left.

  In this empty venue, there are only a few shadows, surrounded by a few shadows.

   And that person, sitting upright in the dimly lit venue, remained motionless.

  Zhang Anshi hurried forward barefooted and said: "Minister Zhang Anshi..."

  The person sitting on the stool remained motionless.

   Zhang Anshi then raised his head strangely.

  Zhu Di saw Zhang Anshi's disheveled clothes and bare feet, unexpectedly at this time, his stiff face became slightly gentle: "What does it look like?"

   "Ah..." Zhang Anshi immediately said: "Thousands of death, ten thousand deaths, minister... minister... there is a crime of disobedience, ten thousand deaths..."

   "Take care of it." Zhu Di's voice was hoarse.

  Zhang Anshi nodded quickly: "Yes, yes...the minister has gone."

  After tidying up, he returned to the venue. The guards had already left Zhu Di and guarded the venue.

  Only Yishiha stood silently by Zhu Di's side like a wood carving.

  Zhu Di looked preoccupied and said nothing.

  Zhang Anshi couldn't understand, so he said with concern; "Your Majesty..."

  Zhu Di nodded hard.

   But there was no sound in response.

  Zhang Anshi looked at Yishiha cautiously.

  Yi Shiha gave Zhang Anshi a shut up look.

   Zhang Anshi understood, and stood respectfully.

   Zhu Di stood up suddenly, took a few steps, and then sighed heavily.

  At this moment, he turned his head to look at Zhang Anshi and said, "Today's auction only sells spices. Do you know... how much money was sold?"

  Zhang Anshi said truthfully: "Chen... I haven't read the accounts yet, later..."

   "I'll tell you." Zhu Di said calmly, "It's a total of 1,134,700 taels of silver..."

   "Ah...there are so many!" Zhang Anshi said.

  Who knew that Zhu Di went on to say: "This is just spices. Tomorrow, there will be all kinds of rare treasures, and there will be two more in the future, right?"

  Zhang An Shidao: "Yes, the first game is an appetizer. Tomorrow may attract more merchants. Of course, I don't know the actual effect..."

  Zhu Di nodded: "It's not easy, these merchants, even if it is more than 30,000 taels of spices, they are very happy to grab."

Zhang Anshidao: "Businessmen seek profit, so they are the most price-sensitive. Since they dare to accept 30,000 taels of silver, then for sure...these people have their own retail channels to ensure that they can earn back, and they can also make a lot of profits. Actually I don't know much about the price of spices, so I didn't inquire about it, because I don't understand. That's why I opened this auction, after all, merchants understand."

  Zhu Di looked closely at Zhang Anshi at this time, and said: "Then tell me, are there other people who, like you, don't know anything about the prices of Western specialties like spices?"

Zhang Anshi thought for a while and said: "It's hard to say. Although I don't know how much the price is, I also know that it is rare. On weekdays... ordinary people can't afford it. There is a saying that is good... I have never eaten pork. , have seen pigs run, right?"

  Although the emperor's surname was Zhu, the Ming Dynasty did not shy away from pigs during this period.

  Only during the Zhengde period, Emperor Zhengde felt that you were always pigs and pigs, as if you were scolding me, so he ordered people to change pigs into pigs.

  Of course, this kind of change is only on the official level, and it is often used in imperial decrees and official documents. As for what ordinary people call it, it is not within the scope of change.

  Zhu Di listened, and then said: "You mean, if you don't know the value of this thing, you are a fool?"

  Zhang Anshi smiled heartlessly and said: "It should be considered."

  Zhu Di suddenly said in an unusually calm tone: "So...you mean, I am that fool?"

  Zhang Anshi: "..."

  (end of this chapter)