nucmednet Chapter 389: Disaster Year
Chapter 389: Disaster Year
This locust plague came suddenly, like an unexpected storm.
Fortunately, with Zhao Sheng's trapping method and the active participation of the people, even those in the city who saw the profit to be made went to the countryside to help.
With the joint efforts of everyone, the number of locusts was greatly reduced in its infancy.
The locust plague also attracted the attention of some officials in Qin.
The area from Chang'an to the east of Shangjun was basically not affected too much, but the situation further west was not so lucky.
One reason is that the locusts in the west appeared relatively late, and the other is that there is no effective incentive to organize people to eliminate locust larvae.
In the acquisition plan, both locusts and insect pupae in the soil are included in the purchase.
This move led some farmers to dig out places in the land where locust pupae might be hidden, greatly reducing the probability of large-scale locust outbreaks.
But when the weather warmed up again, the insect plague in the west finally broke out, but it was too late to take measures at this time.
This insect plague even directly affected local areas of the grassland. The grassland lost the protection of green grass, and the cattle, sheep and horses raised there suffered a devastating disaster.
Dun Chanyu felt this threat directly and knew that his territory might be invaded.
At this time, he had no intention of organizing people to invade the south. Instead, he decided to migrate some of the herdsmen deeper to the north and make full preparations for defense.
Some small tribes had no other options, so upon hearing that Yiyu and Jiweizhou could trade cattle, sheep, and horses for food, they gathered here, intending to trade. Such a large-scale operation would inevitably carry enormous risks.
Although cattle, sheep, and horses were valuable, they were not something Zhao Sheng could easily digest. Therefore, Zhao Sheng sent an official document to Kyoto.
In the imperial study, Zhao Hui sat alone at the table, carefully opening the official letter from Zhao Sheng and reading it.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he realized that there were not only business opportunities here, but also opportunities to enrich the country and strengthen the military.
"Quick, call Prime Minister Fan over to discuss matters." Zhao Hui shouted excitedly.
The chief steward Wang Defa beside him was startled by the sudden sound. After a start, he hurried out of the palace to look for Fan Wenyuan.
Soon, Fan Wenyuan was annoyed by Wang Defa's urging and stumbled all the way to the imperial study.
Zhao Hui was sitting there with a beaming face, as if he had discovered a rare treasure.
"Your Majesty, why did you summon me here?"
Fan Wenyuan asked while panting.
Zhao Hui, who was still immersed in joy, heard Fan Wenyuan's question and hurriedly ordered him to take a seat.
"Prime Minister, Mr. Zhao has sent a letter saying that parts of the northern grasslands are suffering from a locust plague, and some tribes are selling off their cattle, sheep, and horses at low prices. He suggests... what do you think?"
Zhao Hui said impatiently.
After listening to Zhao Hui's words, Fan Wenyuan thought for a moment and felt that this plan was feasible. He said:
"The cattle and sheep can be used to pay off debts to the wealthy families, and the horses can be used for military training. This way, the court can still make a profit. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone. I think it is feasible."
"Haha, this is a godsend, let's do it."
Zhao Hui was so excited that he suddenly stood up, clenched his fists, and his eyes flashed with excitement.
When Fan Wenyuan saw the emperor stand up, he felt it was inappropriate for him to continue sitting, so he quickly stood up and bowed slightly to show respect.
So the two began to make a detailed plan and discuss how to exchange grain for cattle, sheep and horses.
The imperial court's grain reserves could not be used at will, so the most likely option was to borrow grain from wealthy landlords. But how to borrow grain was a complex matter.
That afternoon, the emperor summoned Wei Rong and others to the Chuigong Hall and said that he had some cattle, sheep, and horses, and planned to mortgage them to these wealthy families at a 20% discount.
After some intense bargaining, it was finally agreed that sheep would be exchanged at a 30% discount, cattle at an 15% discount, and horses at an 20% discount.
Moreover, the basis of these prices is not the market price, but the wholesale price.
How could the wealthy families who needed cattle and horses not be tempted by such a favorable price? However, the sheep would have to wait for the heavy-duty combination sale.
After some discussion, the ministers felt that they would not suffer any loss, so they agreed to it. They were each responsible for their respective areas and lobbied the wealthy households to repay.
In fact, this time Zhao Sheng and the merchants on the grasslands had negotiated a 50% discount to Yiyu or Weizhou. Zhao Sheng owned a large amount of land there, so he wouldn't let the cattle, sheep, and horses starve to death for a while.
After the vehicles transport the animals to the capital and designated locations, Zhao Sheng will share the profits with the merchants.
In this world, no one would be so active in something that had no benefits. Mr. Zhao's loss was nothing more than heavily processed food from old grain.
But everyone praised these foods.
This barter method was carried out smoothly in Yi Yu. It was not only recognized by some tribes on the grassland, but also approved by some noble families and wealthy people in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It also benefited some merchants who instigated the two sides.
Everyone got what they needed and together they got through this disaster year.
"Your Majesty, my family is doing business in Wanquan and has learned that the food needed for the cattle, sheep, and horses is less than half of what is required for this transaction. The price Weizhou offered us is far too high. I'm afraid this may be an attempt to deceive the emperor."
Lu Yipeng brought Wang Wenyuan from the Wang family over and spoke to Zhao Hui with a serious face.
"Do you really mean what Minister Lu said?"
Zhao Hui knew that Weizhou would make some profit, but he didn't expect it to be so much. He was also skeptical about what Lu Yipeng said.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter from my brother to me. You may take a look."
Lu Yipeng handed the letter to Wang Defa, who passed it on to Zhao Hui.
Zhao Hui opened the letter and took a quick look. It was indeed an ordinary family letter. There was no confidential information in it. It just mentioned that the price of Yi Yu's cattle and sheep was extremely cheap, and there was a specific price description.
The general meaning was to let Lu Yipeng find a way to purchase a batch of cattle, sheep and horses inside the pass so that he could sell them at a good price in the future.
After receiving this letter, Zhao Hui's expression turned somewhat unhappy. He said, "My dear, please leave the letter for now. I will consult with someone and make appropriate arrangements after the results are known."
Seeing that the initial goal had been achieved, Lu Yipeng left the study.
After a while, Fan Wenyuan and Wei Rong were invited over.
Wang Defa handed Lu Yipeng's letter to the two of them for review.
"Well, the two ministers, tell me, how should we handle this matter?"
Zhao Hui asked anxiously.
Fan Wenyuan and Wei Rong looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.
In other words, they don't know whether they should rush to express their views on this matter.
"Why, do you have nothing to say or are you afraid to speak? But you can speak freely, and I will forgive you."
After a long time without the two of them speaking, Zhao Hui seemed a little impatient.
"Your Majesty, if this letter is true, the price is too unreasonable. Even in years of disaster, cattle and sheep have never been sold at such low prices. The prices here show some signs of being suppressed."
Fan Wenyuan knew that Zhao Sheng was involved in this transaction, and he wanted to step in and deal with it.
Wei Rong also understood some of the mysteries and said:
"If it's a large-scale transaction, perhaps the price can be lowered in this disaster year. However, the cost of the land, feed, labor, and transportation required for the cattle, sheep, and horses after the transaction is clearly inconsistent with this statement."
Zhao Hui was pleased to see that the two men had reached a consensus, and that their arguments were reasonable. He nodded in satisfaction and said to Wang Defa:
"Go and return the letter to Minister Lu. Come back as soon as you are there, and don't say anything more."