Chapter 334: Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world
"Now we just need to find a way to solve the problem of money and food." Zhao Xing murmured.
It's almost the autumn harvest now. Heavy rains have caused disasters in Jiangzhou and other places, and the food is probably gone.
Disaster relief is only an immediate problem; the livelihood of most people in the next four weeks is the biggest problem.
Even if the floods pass, these people will still have no food to survive and will need relief from the court until next year's autumn harvest.
Originally, Zhao Xing planned to print more banknotes, but Han Zhang's donation just now gave him an idea.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing called Sanshui to give some instructions.
…………
The news of floods in Jiangzhou and other surrounding areas quickly spread throughout Bianjing.
However, this did not have much impact on the lives of the people in Bianjing.
To the east of the outer city is Sheng Wei's family.
Sheng Changsong was waiting at the door of the house. He saw a carriage approaching from a distance and hurriedly stepped forward.
After a while, the carriage stopped, and a middle-aged man got out of the carriage.
"Outside the horsemen!"
"Shangda people."
Ma Yuanwai is in his thirties, fat and almost blind when he smiles.
"People from Shanda personally welcomed me, which really surprised me." Ma Yuan said with a smile.
"You're very polite, horseman, please come inside."
Sheng Changsong smiled slightly, welcomed Ma Yuanwai into the door, and said: "Mao Yuanwai, I want to welcome others, first let the servants take you in and sit down for a while."
"It seems that Shanda people have invited a lot of people today. Can you tell me first what the matter is?" Ma Yuanwai said with a smile.
"Don't worry, the horsemen will know after a while."
Sheng Changsong smiled and called a maid to lead the way.
When the horseman saw this, he could only follow the maid with doubts.
Within the next half hour, people came to Sheng's house in carriages one after another.
There were dozens of people sitting in the main hall of Shengjia. These people were all businessmen who had business dealings with Shengjia Trading Company.
At this time, the main hall of the Sheng family was noisy. Among these businessmen, those who knew each other gathered together and whispered about the purpose of Sheng Changsong calling them here.
At this moment, Sheng Changsong and a sixty-year-old man walked in.
"Mr. Chen, please have a seat outside!"
After Sheng Changsong asked the old man to take a seat, he came to stand in front of the main seat, looked at everyone and said, "You may have doubts about me inviting you to come. Now that everyone has arrived, I won't go around in circles and tell you."< br>
After a pause, Sheng Changsong continued: "You must have heard about the floods in Jiangzhou and several nearby states, right?"
"People from Shanda, the flood in Jiangzhou has nothing to do with us, right?"
"Yes, we people all hang out in the Central Plains, so if there is a flood in the south of the Yangtze River, it has nothing to do with us."
"Maybe Shanda people have some good ways to make money and want to help us?"
Everyone started talking about it.
These people are all wealthy businessmen in the Central Plains. Except for a few who have business dealings with Sheng Changsong, most of them know that Sheng Changsong is working for the government, so they come here to give them face.
"Everyone!"
Sheng Changsong pressed his hands and said: "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. Now there are floods in Jiangzhou and other places, and the court lacks money and food to provide disaster relief. Although we are all merchants, we cannot be inferior to ordinary men. I invite everyone to come here today. I just want everyone to contribute money and food to the court for disaster relief.”
"Shangda people are right, everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. But we have paid all the taxes we should pay for doing business, and Shanda people now ask us to donate money and food. None of our money comes from strong winds. . But now that Shanda has spoken, I still have to give you this face, so I’ll give you one hundred taels of silver.”
In the crowd, an old man spoke.
"I donate fifty taels!"
"I will donate one hundred taels!"
After the old man finished speaking, the rest of the people in the hall spoke one after another.
Businessmen pursue profits. For them, the rise and fall of the world is none of their business.
Just stay far away, otherwise a flood would be an opportunity for many of them to make money.
From the moment Sheng Changsong opened his mouth, many people tasted it. Sheng Changsong should have been instigated by officials to do this.
Although there are shadows of officials, they are not afraid.
Even if the officials come, there is no benefit, and it is impossible to get them to donate money with empty words.
Besides, it’s not like they didn’t donate.
As soon as the old man spoke, the others immediately echoed, worried that there was someone in the crowd arranged by Sheng Changsong.
If the person arranged by Sheng Changsong was asked to speak up first and donate a few thousand taels or something, would they donate or not?
Which of the wealthy businessmen in Bianjing has no background behind them?
In other words, in the entire Song Dynasty, almost all those who could be called wealthy businessmen had some background.
Sheng Changsong and the others were not afraid at all, nor did they care. What they were a little afraid of was Zhao Xing behind Sheng Changsong.
"Everyone, listen to me first!"
Sheng Changsong pressed his hands and said with a smile: "Thank you for your support. I am very touched by you for giving me face, so here is a message for you as a reward for everyone!"
"I heard that the imperial court is preparing to reorganize because the northern and northwest mutual markets are in chaos. After the rectification, you need to obtain qualifications from the imperial court before you can go to the mutual markets to participate in transactions. In addition, the imperial court has similar plans for the Shibo Division."
"What?"
"Is what Shanda said true?"
"How can the imperial court do this? There has never been such a rule before?"
“Shangda people, don’t know what are the requirements for qualification?”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this and started asking questions.
Those who can be called wealthy businessmen in Bianjing do a lot of business.
Mutual trading and maritime trade are the most profitable businesses. Most of these wealthy businessmen are involved in one or the other, and some are involved in both.
But now Sheng Changsong told them that the imperial court had to reorganize and obtain the qualifications issued by the imperial court before they could participate in mutual markets and maritime trade. How could they not panic.
Although they can avoid formal channels and do not need to pay taxes if they smuggle, there are certain risks in doing so.
It's not that these people have a high level of consciousness, but that the imperial court's commercial taxes are not very high, and after years of operation, they also have a set of ways to avoid taxes.
Through formal channels, there is no need to take risks and the taxes paid are not much, so why take risks?
"I don't know the specific situation, but I think that when the court is in trouble, if we generously donate to help the court, the court will definitely appreciate our contribution, and it will be easier to obtain qualifications." Sheng Changsong said with a smile.
Everyone present was a shrewd person, and they had not reacted because the news was too shocking.
At this time, hearing what Sheng Changsong said, I still didn't understand.
The so-called rectification of the imperial court and the issuance of qualifications are all bluffs.
The purpose is to force them to donate money.
No, it’s not necessarily a bluff. If they don’t donate, it might actually come true.
By then, let alone being qualified, people like them might still be targeted, and they would no longer dare to smuggle.
Thinking of this, many people looked very ugly.
"What Shanda people said makes sense."
Mr. Chen, who arrived last, looked at Sheng Changsong with a smile and asked, "I wonder how much Shanda people think is appropriate to donate?"
"It's up to everyone to donate more or less. In fact, I just heard about this, it may not be true." Sheng Changsong said with a smile.
When everyone heard this, they cursed in their hearts. If it was all based on their hearts, wouldn't we have donated just now? Why are we talking about this?
If they were not afraid before, they all had backers behind them. If Zhao Xing wanted to do this, their backers would stop him.
But Zhao Xing had killed several civil servants and was an important minister in the court. He had a higher rank than most of their backers, so their backers might not be able to stop him.
"How much are Shanda people prepared to donate?" Chen Yuanwai asked.
"Haha, I plan to donate five thousand taels. After all, my sister is the empress of the palace, so she should donate more. You don't need to compare with me, just do what you can." Sheng Changsong said with a smile.
Everyone cursed inwardly, but they also understood that this number was the standard and could only be more but not less.
Although it hurts a bit, it's still bearable.
"People from Shanda are right. Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. I will also donate five thousand taels!"
"Me too!"
…………
(End of chapter)