Chapter 150

"Mr. Mu Zhai."

Shi Kefa stared at Qian Qianyi with doubt. "Could it be that you deliberately arranged all this to deceive me?"

At these words, Qian Qianyi rolled his eyes. "Brother Xianzhi, you think too highly of yourself."

Staging a play just for you — how bored would one have to be to do such a thing?

The Marshal is not the kind of person who would do such a boring thing.

"Impossible."

Shi Kefa shook his head repeatedly. "How could the grain price in Jinling City possibly be this cheap?"

"One dou of rice costs at least three to five qian of silver."

"Wheat price is about the same as rice price."

"As for beans, they are cheaper, but each shi still costs at least two taels."

"Here." He pointed at the grain store. "Selling this cheaply — you must be fooling me!"

No wonder he didn't believe it.

Even in the various parts of Jiangnan, famed as the Land of Fish and Rice, grain prices had already skyrocketed to three to five taels per shi.

And if one continued northward, the prices would continue to multiply and soar.

For Jinling City's grain price to be this cheap at this time, Shi Kefa found it unacceptable.

This was completely at odds with the Great Ming's environment.

"This is indeed true."

Qian Qianyi explained patiently. "The Marshal investigated and seized all grain merchants everywhere; no matter whose background, it was useless."

"The Marshal decreed that all grain stores in every city are directly managed and operated by the Shogunate."

"As for the prices, they are also personally set by the Marshal, and are the same throughout Jiangnan."

"If you find it expensive, outside the city gate there are also farmers from nearby villages selling their household surplus grain, at prices even cheaper than the grain stores."

Shi Kefa felt it was inconceivable.

"How could that be?"

"Able to earn silver, why not earn it?"

"Where is there even a trace of a rebel's appearance?"

In truth, he was also extremely clear in his heart that this was winning over the people's hearts.

Rebels not plundering and even selling grain at low prices — that means they have the intention to govern the locality.

And governing a locality, the most important thing is winning over the people's hearts.

In the past, the hearts won over were those of scholars, the local gentry, the landlords.

The so-called "people" in "contending with the people for profit" were never the ordinary commoners.

But Lin Dao swept away the scholars, gentry, and landlords, and instead won over the hearts of the true common people.

Such rebels are far more terrifying than roving bandits.

They are truly aiming for a dynastic change!

Shi Kefa calmed his breath, looked at Qian Qianyi, and asked again. "Then aren't you afraid that the commoners will buy grain at low prices and resell it elsewhere?"

"Everyone in the city has a registered household."

Qian Qianyi looked at him as if looking at a fool. "Each household is limited to purchasing one dou of grain per day."

One dou is ten-odd jin; even if a family has ten mouths, it is enough to eat for a day.

As for whether the farmers in the villages would go elsewhere to sell grain.

Leaving aside whether they can pass the inspections and blockades along the way and the plundering of bandits and reach another place safely.

Even if they truly arrived, the starving-desperate crowds everywhere would directly rob them, and the local yamen and gentry would extort them; the farmers being able to return home alive would already be a great fortune.

Who would be crazy enough to do such a thing?

Although Jiangnan has switched to planting large amounts of cash crops, there is still grain.

Especially in the homes of those landlords and gentry, every household hoards full granaries and cellars of grain.

Lin Dao confiscated households all along the way; the grain seized was innumerable.

More importantly, his actual profession is a cross-time merchant, able to import in large quantities from the Modern World at any time.

This confidence is the root of daring to sell grain at low prices.

Grain prices are cheap, the people's living burden lightens, and the people's hearts become stable.

Even to the point of actively supporting and endorsing Marshal Lin who brought them benefits, for the sake of stability.

Raising grain prices to the death for petty immediate profit — that is what those stupid goods who amount to nothing do.

Shi Kefa stood there, silently watching, watching the commoners purchase various grains from the grain store.

Although the grain prices are relatively cheap, the commoners still mainly buy beans, potatoes, and the like.

Not many purchase rice and wheat.

Actually this is very understandable.

In the agrarian era, cities mainly operate the service industry.

Serving those high officials and nobles; even various artisans, in essence, are the same.

At this time, the served personnel in Jinling City have been almost entirely swept clean by Lin Dao.

This very intuitively directly affected the income of the city's households.

Shi Kefa said nothing, turned, and walked along the street observing.

The shops on both sides of the street were still open, only obviously there were not many customers.

Moreover, the customers were mainly women.

"Mr. Mu Zhai."

In front of a tavern, Shi Kefa saw two women buying several dishes from inside the tavern, along with a kettle of wine.

He immediately asked, "Whose maidservants are these? How dare they appear in public?"

"They are not maidservants."

Qian Qianyi shook his head repeatedly. "They are military dependents."

"Military dependents?" Shi Kefa exclaimed in surprise. "Military dependents buying wine and dishes at a tavern? Are they the dependents of a general?"

It was no wonder he was surprised.

The treatment of military households in the Ming Dynasty was extremely poor, and they were often subject to deductions and owed grain and salary.

Being able to eat wild vegetables on ordinary days was already not bad, yet they came to a tavern to buy wine and dishes?

Qian Qianyi smiled without speaking, gesturing for him to go ask them himself.

Shi Kefa then actually stepped forward, coming before the women to ask, "Are you military dependents?"

An aura of a superior swept over them.

The women looked at his official robe, then looked at the people around them, and suddenly realized this was an official from the Great Ming.

She responded warily, "So what if we are?"

Shi Kefa asked again, "Is someone in your family a general in the army?"

"My husband is a squad leader," the older woman replied.

"Then he has achieved great military exploits," Shi Kefa pressed on. "Did he receive a large amount of rewards? Otherwise, how could you have silver to buy wine and dishes here?"

Such words angered the women.

"You are very rude," the woman retorted immediately. "My husband is a squad leader, and his monthly pay is as much as twelve taels!"

"He gets one day off every ten days; it is only natural to buy him some tasty wine and dishes when he rarely comes home on leave."

"If the Grand Commander did not forbid soldiers from entering the city, my husband would come here to eat directly."

The woman glared at Shi Kefa, carrying the food box, turned around, and left.

"Wait."

Shi Kefa hurriedly asked, "If he is a squad leader, does he receive half of the money and grain?"

"Sir."

The woman sneered. "Do you think the Grand Commander is your stingy Great Ming emperor? In the Grand Commander's army, there are absolutely no deductions or withheld pay!"

"Bold!" The eunuch who had been silent all the way immediately flew into a rage.

To dare call the Imperial Uncle stingy—this is slandering the sacred person!

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was about to step forward to arrest her, but they heard the sound of 'clang' as swords were drawn all around.

The soldiers monitoring them directly surrounded them.

The eunuch and the Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately became honest.

They suddenly realized that Jinling City was no longer the Great Ming's domain.

Qian Qianyi hurriedly mediated, Shi Kefa apologized to the woman, and the matter was thus settled.

But the impact on Shi Kefa still existed.

Grain was sold at low prices, military pay was so high, and it was enough to distribute without any deductions.

Compared with that, the Great Ming side~~~

He dared not continue thinking.

One side was dead and lifeless, the other full of vigor.

How the future would be went without saying.

At this moment, Shi Kefa's only hope was that all these things he had encountered were fake, deliberately shown to him~~~

"Brother Xianzhi."

Qian Qianyi comforted him, "The Grand Commander commands a heavy army."

"Even for newly recruited soldiers, the monthly pay is as high as ten taels."

"And it is never deducted."

"These military dependents have now become the main consumers in Jinling City."

"They have plenty of silver in their hands."

Shi Kefa's complexion grew increasingly pale.

He said nothing and continued forward along the road.

In a short while, he stopped in front of a salt shop.

This time he first looked at the wooden board hanging in front of the shop.

"Today's salt price: ten qian per jin."

Qian Qianyi followed him over and simply explained, "The Yangzhou salt merchants have been wiped out by the Grand Commander."

"As for the private salt peddlers in various places, they can no longer do business."

"The Yangzhou salt merchants." Shi Kefa's expression was gloomy.

He knew the backgrounds of the Yangzhou salt merchants were incredibly powerful, even connected to powerful figures in the palace.

In the Great Ming, moving against them was as difficult as climbing to heaven.

But Lin Dao wiped them all out; this audacity and courage had no equal in the Great Ming.

"I can understand the destruction of the Yangzhou salt merchants," Shi Kefa asked in confusion, "but why can the private salt peddlers in various places no longer do business?"

Qian Qianyi smiled and reached out, pointing at the board and saying, "A jin of salt costs only ten qian."

His hand fell, pointing at the snow-white salt on the display stand. "Salt of such quality costs only ten qian a jin."

"The private salt merchants—what can they compete with?"

The best way to deal with private salt is to improve quality and lower prices.

As long as these two points are achieved, the private salt merchants themselves won't be able to continue.

Because no one will buy their salt.

Shi Kefa looked at the snow-white salt before him, then thought of the so-called official salt of the Great Ming, mixed with countless sand, stones, and dirt.

And the selling price was as high as dozens of qian per jin.

He closed his eyes and sighed silently.

Judging by the few things he had encountered, compared with them, how the common people of various places chose was already beyond debate.

On the Great Ming side, how could they possibly argue with Marshal Lin~~~

Shi Kefa, muddled, came to the Post Station.

Today's events had too great an impact on him.

If everywhere in the Great Ming were like Jinling City, it would long have been a time of peace and prosperity.

Unfortunately, this was the scene under the rule of rebels.

"It seems there really is a feeling of the end of a dynasty, a new dynasty and a new atmosphere."

As a subject of the Ming, Shi Kefa resolved to, for the sake of the Great Ming, use every means to persuade Lin Dao to accept pacification!

He waited for several days before finally receiving Lin Dao's summons.

The meeting place was in a garden with a beautiful environment.

Among the waterside pavilions and stone gazebos, Lin Dao sat on a stone bench drinking tea, with a beauty playing the zither beside him.

Shi Kefa came over to salute.

"Sit down and talk." Lin Dao reached out and pushed a cup of tea over.

"I know why you've come."

"Honestly, something like pacification, I've never even thought about it."

All words were instantly blocked in Shi Kefa's heart.

He asked in confusion, "If you're unwilling to accept pacification, why did you allow me to come?"

"That's because."

Lin Dao looked at him, a smile on his face, "I want to meet you."

Shi Kefa thought of various reasons, but only this one had not occurred to him.

"If one day you were trapped in a lone city, would you surrender, or die for your nation?"

Shi Kefa immediately straightened his face, "I would naturally die for my nation!"

Lin Dao smiled and nodded.

"After finishing the tea, go back."

"Ah?" Shi Kefa was greatly alarmed, "The matter of pacification~~"

"I said, there is no option of pacification here."

Lin Dao's gaze turned to the bamboo grove by the waterside pavilion, "I want to create a truly prosperous age belonging to the common people of the world!"

End of Chapter