The first county magistrate in history

Chapter 275 I can’t afford it, but I can ask for it for free

Li Shouben, who has been a profiteer all his life, is now at his wit's end.

He discovered that this plague god was best suited to being a profiteer.

If the God of Plague became a profiteer, he would definitely be the ancestor of profiteers in the world, no doubt about it!

Li Shouben gritted his teeth and said with a flattering smile, "Sir, we know we shouldn't hoard goods, but after all, there are reasons for this. We were coerced by others, and it was not our will.

The price of each batch of grain we purchased was different, but on average, the cost was five thousand coins. Ultimately, we are merchants, and we were coerced into spending everything we had to buy grain. Now, all our wealth is tied up in this grain. "Your Excellency, please be compassionate to the people and don't let us become victims of this disaster, right?"

After saying this, Li Shouben was covered in cold sweat. He was really afraid that this plague god would go crazy and kill him on the spot.

Unexpectedly, Qin Zheng actually nodded.

He said, "What you said makes sense."

Qin Zheng knew that Guanxi was not a grain-producing area, so the price of grain here was always higher than other places even under normal circumstances.

This is also one of the reasons why grain merchants want to cause trouble in Guanxi, because the profits here can be maximized!

But, five thousand coins for one dan. The price Li Shouben quoted was way too high. Five thousand coins was five taels of silver, and one dan of grain was one hundred and twenty catties.

Grain was indeed expensive in Daqian, but in high-yield areas, it was 700 to 800 coins per dan, while in other areas, it was around 1,000 coins per dan. Even if there was a food shortage in Guanxi, the maximum price was around 1,500 coins per dan.

Five thousand coins per dan, how many times has the price increased? And it's still the cost price, so how much more should they add to the price when selling it to ordinary people? Moreover, there is no demand for it. Ordinary people can't even buy food at a high price.

These profiteers are so hateful.

However, Qin Zheng was not in a hurry.

Li Shouben and others were more anxious than him.

Qin Zheng didn't expose it either!

Li Shouben and others breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.

Just slow down a bit!

Li Shouben bowed and said, "Thank you, Master Qin, for your consideration!"

Qin Zheng said, "However, the relief grain allocated by the court this time is sufficient. Therefore, the silver allocated by the court this time is not much, and is only for emergencies. You can't afford to buy the grain you have hoarded!"

Li Shouben and others were stunned.

You were talking so excitedly and you took all the money. Now you say you can't afford it?

So you don’t want it anymore?

No, you have sealed off the city and not a single grain is allowed to flow out. The rainy season is coming soon. If the grain gets moldy, it will be worthless.

Li Shouben and others became anxious.

"Sir!" Li Shouben said, "Since you are not from Guanxi, you may not know this. Guanxi is mostly hilly and sandy, with few plains. There are not many fertile fields. Even in times of drought, we still need to transport grain from other places. Therefore, the grain prices in Guanxi are the highest in our dynasty.

Although the grain and silver allocated by the court can solve this year's crisis, what about next year? And after that, it is almost impossible to completely solve it! "

Qin Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly. "Manager Li, are you threatening the imperial court? You don't intend to do the same thing every year, do you?"

Li Shouben's face was covered in sweat, but he gritted his teeth and said, "My lord, I am not a threat, nor do I dare to threaten the court. But what I say is the truth. In Guanxi, grain merchants from all over the world have gathered. My lord, you can't sanction all of them, right? If that were the case, who would dare to come to Guanxi? I'm afraid that even in normal times, Guanxi would suffer a famine due to food shortages."

Qin Zheng looked at Li Shouben in surprise. This man is quite brave!

Isn't this a threat?

But, what he said is indeed true.

Otherwise, if the food crisis in Guanxi could be solved simply by sanctioning the grain merchants, wouldn't the Empress do it? It would have been solved long ago.

The difficulty lies in the fact that there is indeed a shortage of food in Guanxi.

This is also one of the reasons why Qin Zheng did not start a massacre.

Qin Zheng said calmly, "Shopkeeper Li is absolutely right. Therefore, the imperial court has decided that starting next year, all grain will be centrally allocated by the imperial court, eliminating the power of local governments to freely allocate grain. Soon, the Daqian Dynasty Grain Supervision Bureau will be established to oversee granaries and distribute grain evenly. A Price Bureau will also be established to monitor prices. Appropriate laws will also be introduced to assist. By then, the famine in Guanxi will no longer exist."

Food Bureau?

Price Bureau?

Lord Li Shouben was completely dumbfounded.

What is shocking is not these new words.

These new words can be understood literally.

What dumbfounded them was that the imperial court actually came up with a solution!

Qin Zheng looked at Li Shouben's stunned expression and felt not happy, but rather a little melancholy.

The Grain Bureau and Price Bureau have been established, and Hongtong County has successfully piloted them.

These are all included in the Hongtong County transformation plan and the Imperial Capital transformation plan.

They will be implemented and promoted step by step.

But there are too many things that Daqian needs to change.

He felt that even if he were given a hundred years, he would not be able to complete the transformation.

It is impossible for Qin Zheng to stay in Daqian for a hundred years.

Daqian can only be regarded as one of his missions.

His hundred years belong to this world, not to any country.

When he took the official post and became the magistrate of Hongtong County, it wasn't to set an example, to lead by example, but because he truly wanted to lay low. He felt this century-long mission was simply impossible to accomplish. Besides, he had no wife, no children, no parents, no ties. Laying low wouldn't affect anything, except that he couldn't go back.

But, he slept with the empress, and he felt that regardless of whether he was a time traveler or not, as a man he should take responsibility.

If he had not been appointed as an imperial envoy, he would not have had such an epiphany.

Since the hundred years have not yet arrived, why should we give up the mission?

Moreover, seeing the current situation of Daqian, he was indeed very angry.

He also wanted to test how capable he was as a time traveler.

He also wanted to know why he was chosen to save this plane of time and space, the repairman of the ninth dimension world.

In this world, it was the Empress who changed his mind about lying down. It can be said that the Empress was the starting point of his mission, but the end point was definitely not the Empress.

He knew very well that this world, the people here, and everything here would just be passing moments in his life after he completed his mission and traveled back.

no matter who!

So, after sleeping with the empress several times, he didn't want to and didn't dare to sleep with her again.

If you have a child, you will really have concerns.

Especially the performance of the empress made him gradually lose interest in this woman, and as for responsibility, it has faded.

Everything he did for her was enough to make up for it.

Of course, this is what he thinks as a man. As a woman, you may not think so. After all, it is a woman's chastity.

But no matter what, he just did what he was supposed to do.

At this moment, Qin Zheng felt a sense of disgust. He hated this world and even more so these unscrupulous businessmen.

At this moment, Li Shouben and others panicked.

If this is true, doesn't it mean that Qin Zheng is not afraid of their threats?

Doesn't it mean that if you want to kill them, you can kill them?

Li Shouben wiped the cold sweat from his face and asked in a trembling voice, "Sir, are you sure you don't want to take our food?"

Qin Zheng smiled and said, "It's not that I don't want to accept it, it's that I don't have the money. How about buying it on credit first?"

Credit?

Li Shouben and others almost jumped up. Isn’t it the same as giving it to you officials for free if we give it on credit?

You are planning to ask for it for nothing!

Li Shouben's face turned ugly.

I've never seen such a difficult official. He's simply a scoundrel!