Chapter 724: See Who Can Hold On

The imperial court has always levied taxes in two forms: in kind and in currency. Taxes in kind consist of staple crops such as rice, wheat, beans, and millet, while those in currency are paid in money. When the Great Ming treasure notes were first issued, one string of notes was worth two dan of rice. However, due to excessive issuance, their value gradually dropped to almost that of scrap paper. In the early years of the Yongle reign, thanks to favorable weather conditions allowing for recovery, thirty strings of treasure notes—equivalent to just over 300 copper coins—could buy one dan of rice. But after three northern expeditions and continuous conflicts in Jiaozhi, which drained the military and state treasuries, the price of rice in both the north and south has now risen to around 700–800 coins per dan, causing great hardship for many commoners.

As a result, the price of rice soared to 200 coins per dou. If it weren’t for the signs in all rice shops stating that they had little stock left and urging quick purchases, angry crowds might have smashed these shops. Now that word spread that the government was selling rice at 150 coins per dou, long queues formed immediately at Guide Gate and Wuxian Gate, with farmers discussing the situation fervently.

“If Brother Liu hadn’t stopped me just now, I would have led everyone to smash those unscrupulous rice shops!”

“Brother, don’t you know? My second son works in one of those rice shops and knows exactly the situation. It’s said they really don’t have much stock—only twenty or thirty dan in the whole shop—and they’ll have to close once it’s sold out. It’s the same with all the others. In Guangdong, disasters strike as soon as summer arrives, so these shops also have no surplus rice…”

“Liu Lao San, are you defending those unscrupulous merchants? I’ve seen those rural farmers bring grain to the city to sell. Last autumn, those merchants charged 400 coins per dan! Yet now they’re selling it for 2,000 coins per dan, claiming they have no stock… If it were really that scarce, where would the government’s rice come from?”

“But who knows how long the government will be able to sell rice at this price…”

In the long queue west of Guide Gate, a few men in coarse short shirts argued noisily when suddenly a loud gong sounded. Soon after, a government official shouted, “Everyone, listen up! By order of the provincial authorities, the government is selling rice starting today. This rice was brought here from the grain stores of neighboring prefectures by the provincial administration. The price is 150 coins per dou, with a limit of one dan per person… But if you want to buy more, it’s simple—just join the queue again! There’s plenty of rice, so there’s no need to rush today. You might even get a better price if you come back tomorrow!”

After calling out twice, all the hundreds of people in line heard it clearly. The government had indeed distributed rice at fair prices during times of high grain prices before, but always in limited quantities. While the current limit was still significant, it seemed that those in charge said anyone who wanted more could just join the queue! Moreover, from their tone, it seemed they implied prices would become even lower in the future! As a result, the agents sent by the grain merchants among the crowd were momentarily stunned. As people who had bought grain themselves saw others in line getting it a second time, soon three or four of them quietly left Gui De Gate.

“Did you really hear that clearly? Did those officials really say that?”

“Absolutely! I even saw many commoners surrounding those officials, asking various questions, and they answered them all. I also saw quite a few people queue up for a second time and still get grain.”

“How many people had bought grain by the time you returned?”

“Reporting to my lord, there were about six or seven hundred people, some of whom bought it twice. Now that they see there’s plenty of grain, some have started to leave.”

In the main hall of the Xu family’s mansion, upon hearing what the grain merchant’s employee had witnessed that day, Xu Zhengping immediately felt a profound sense of crisis. This time, it was the three largest grain merchants in Guangzhou City who raised prices. To avoid provoking public outrage, they deliberately spread the rumor that there was a shortage of grain. Just yesterday, one of the merchants closed down after selling a hundred dan of rice, only reopening this morning under the pretense that more goods had arrived, in order to prevent the government from intervening forcefully. No one was pursuing them now, but with the government selling grain like this, his plans were ruined.

Xu Daya, who had been executed a few days ago, was just a minor branch of the Xu family and not a significant figure. Yet his death cut off the route of selling young men and women to foreign merchants, preventing him from raising money to pay off Marquis Gu Xingzu of Zhenyuan for now. If he couldn’t make money from grain this time, all the money he had spent stockpiling grain earlier would be wasted!

“Send some people over to buy grain for me. See how much grain is available there! Let’s see who can hold out!”

While others were speculating about how much the government had invested this time, the planner was calmly handling official affairs in the second hall of the Administrative Office, while the executors were leisurely sipping tea and chatting with the few people who had come. Due to the extremely hot weather in Guangzhou throughout the year, all the windows around the room were wide open, and water drawn from below powered mechanical devices that made wooden fans spin automatically. Several large rattan chairs were arranged around a carved fir side table, but everyone sat in different postures—some with their feet up in ease, some sitting only half on the chair, and some with their backs straight as if meeting dignitaries. Only the three people in the corner were still focused on brewing tea using purple clay teapots.

At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, the country was in chaos, and even long-established families often fell apart. Many nobles from the Hongwu era also declined in status. Thus, Zhang Zhuo, who had grown up in a prominent family and later witnessed its rapid rise, was naturally regarded by a group of pretentiously cultured merchants as a model of good manners. At that moment, seeing Fang Jing put down the teapot and Li Guoxiu and Rui Yixiang step aside to sit, Zhang Zhuo gave them a slight nod, picked up a small, delicate purple clay teacup, and gestured to the others. Instantly, everyone present bowed and thanked him repeatedly before each taking a cup.

“After this great disaster, your willingness to help rebuild the examination hall shows great compassion. If more talented people can emerge in Guangdong, it will be thanks to your generosity. However, since funds have been raised, planning, renovation, hiring workers, and other matters also require your attention. It’s all about charitable giving—if some people take too much, it loses its meaning.”

Building roads, bridges, temples, bell towers… It was common for the government to assign tasks to merchants. So these merchants in the room were all shrewd. At first, when Fang Jing and two assistants came to ask them to contribute generously to rebuild the examination hall, they all pretended to be poor, much to the three men’s frustration. But when Zhang Zhuo sent a letter a few days ago, their attitude changed instantly. They offered 200 guan each, eagerly contributing, and within a few days, the 2,000 guan was gathered.

So much so that Zhang Zhuo actually suggested letting them manage the use of these funds for the examination hall’s renovation, leaving everyone looking at each other in surprise. In the end, it was Chou the Fat one who was the most perceptive. He immediately said with a smile, “Sir, you’re really honoring us. In that case, we’ll definitely make sure those workers work diligently and build a fine examination hall!”

Though he appeared rough-looking and fat, he was actually meticulous in heart. Seeing Zhang Zhuo nodding with a smile, he tentatively asked, “I heard that the government offices and provincial administrations are selling grain at Wuxian Gate in Guidede Gate—what a truly meritorious policy. But please forgive this humble man for speaking frankly: those three grain merchants have already stockpiled plenty of grain, waiting to make a profit now. What if they try to sabotage things by buying up all the grain supplied by the government?”
Zhang Zhuo glanced at the crowd and saw concerned expressions on everyone’s faces, realizing they were all eager to know whether the government could indeed bring down the high grain prices and cause those wealthy merchants a heavy loss. Thinking that Zhang Yue had managed to secure connections on their side, he closed his fan casually and said confidently, “If those people have the ability, let them go ahead and buy it. In the coming days, grain will keep arriving in Guangzhou. We can just wait and see. After a month or two, everyone will know that Huguang had favorable weather this year, resulting in a bountiful harvest!”
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room immediately agreed, smiling and overjoyed. Chu the Fat Man glanced at the manager from Wuyue Merchant Group who had come to persuade him to take on the role of supervisor, feeling extremely relieved. Seizing the opportunity, he added, “Since the lord is so confident, we can rest assured. As we are all merchants from Guangdong and want to do something, if the government is in need, this humble man has five hundred dan of grain that can be lent out!”
Everyone knew that Chu the Fat Man seemed simple-minded but never did anything without profit. With his lead, others, considering that those wealthy merchants had offended the provincial administration, also expressed their willingness to “lend grain.” Yet, in response to their enthusiasm, Zhang Zhuo shook his head with a smile: “If that time comes, we will indeed need your help. But what I’m asking of you now isn’t to lend grain; rather, I want you to help with another matter when it matters most.”
An impatient merchant quickly asked, “What kind of help?”
“Buying grain.”

Over five full days, three thousand five hundred dan of grain were sold at both Guide Gate and Wuxian Gate, far exceeding the estimates of Xu Zhengping and the other two grain shops. The ordinary people found that although grain prices remained unchanged, they could still buy grain as long as they queued. After a couple of days, their panic gradually subsided, and most of those queuing to buy rice were employees from the three grain shops or hired helpers. As a result, they consumed about half of those three thousand five hundred dan of grain. Even so, when they saw ship after ship carrying grain arriving on the Pearl River and cart after cart delivering grain at the city gates of Guangzhou, the three shops gradually found it hard to cope.

So, on the morning of the sixth day, wooden signs hanging outside the three grain shops were changed to show a price of 150 coins per dan. Yet just as they hung up these signs in the morning, the price at Guide Gate and Wuxian Gate dropped to 140 coins per dan by afternoon. Instantly, the city was filled with chatter. Many people who had initially thought rice was too expensive now, seeing the price drop, returned with bags to buy rice at the two gates. Thus, the three grain shops were no longer deserted—they had not a single customer left.

“Seven days already, and they’ve sold at least ten thousand dan of grain, of which we’ve purchased at least five thousand dan! If this continues, our warehouses will be filled to capacity, and what a huge investment this requires!” Xu Zhengping snapped at his employee who came to report the accounts for a long time before finally saying, panting, “Go back and tell them to lower the price to 130 coins per dan. Grain prices are extremely high in all the prefectures and states of Guangdong. I don’t believe they’ll keep lowering prices—the provincial government doesn’t have that much money to lose! They can’t hold on!”

Since Xu’s Grain Shop reduced its price, the other two, seeing the situation turning unfavorable, had no choice but to follow suit. This indeed brought in a lot of business, with middle-class families coming in droves to buy grain by the dozens of dan each day. But before they could rejoice that they had finally stabilized their position, news came from Guide Gate and Wuxian Gate again.

The grain price had dropped to 120 coins per dan!

Guangdong is adjacent to Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Huguang, and none of these neighboring areas are major grain-producing regions. Therefore, Guangdong usually relies on self-sufficiency. Now, with military requisitions and natural disasters, business has poured in. The three largest grain merchants all have strong backing and have been in the grain trade for many years, so it’s natural that no one can compete with their united front. But who could have expected that the provincial government would suddenly announce grain sales at fair prices at the peak of prices, causing them to keep dropping until they reached their current level?

By this time, even ordinary people realized that the government was in conflict with the grain merchants. The government sold grain at a price that competed directly with that of the merchants: 200 coins per dou of rice on the government side, while the merchants offered 150 coins per dou. When the merchants lowered their price to 150 coins per dou, the government reduced it to 140 coins per dou; and now it had even dropped to 120 coins per dou, with prices still falling. People in the streets began to speculate that the merchants initially ordered their own employees to pretend to be ordinary people to buy grain, hoping the government would run out of stock. Yet despite the merchants’ efforts to buy large quantities of grain at almost 100 or 200 stones each, the government seemed to have ample stock. Now, aside from the Xu family, the other two merchants dared not buy more grain rashly.

Over the past two months, the government’s grain sales had never stopped for a single day. As grain prices continued to drop, the people who had been rushing to buy grain gradually became more relaxed, and fewer people went to the government or merchants to purchase grain. Grain prices in Guangzhou Prefecture dropped to 90 coins per dou, while prices in other counties also returned to their normal levels before the disaster. All three grain merchants were utterly devastated. It was not until this time that Xu Zhengfang received news that nearly knocked him unconscious.

All the grain sold by the Guangzhou Prefecture government and the local administrative office actually came from the stockpiles of the military units and garrisons!

Who would have thought that the military units, which usually took care of their own affairs, would risk helping out at such a time? Over the past month, they transferred more than 20,000 stones of grain from various military units to Guangzhou and Zhaoqing prefectures for the government to sell at fair prices. Later, they bought the same amount of grain back from the merchants at lower prices through other channels—essentially just swapping out the stock in their warehouses. Through this process, the military units made at least 2,000 to 3,000 guan, while the grain merchants not only failed to make a profit but also suffered losses.

Just as Xu Zhengfang was determined to try again to raise grain prices, the new supervisor of the Maritime Trade Office, eunuch Zhang Qian, finally arrived. Accompanying him were several envoys from before, along with a fleet of grain ships from Huguang.

This year’s new rice had finally arrived.