SWDnovel Chapter 299 The Counterattack of the Four Major Merchants
Chapter 299 The Counterattack of the Four Major Merchants
"Do you think they'll hire someone to take the photos for them?"
Zhou Shiyue looked at the location of the Xida Trading Company and asked Wen Zongji.
Wen Zongji picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Wouldn't it be better if we really found someone to take the photos for us?"
Under the emperor's nose, with the Imperial Gazette Bureau monitoring intelligence for the court, no one could escape the Bureau's surveillance and have someone else take photos on their behalf.
If even the slightest clue is revealed, the courtyard purchased by the proxy will not only be taken back, but the money paid will also not be refunded.
It's like trying to fill a basket with water – all for naught!
Wen Zongji wanted to see who would want to be the unlucky one.
Zhou Shiyue squinted: "Merchants are known for their audacity and recklessness. I've heard that double the profit is enough to make them take risks. They're a group of people who know no respect and value profit over righteousness."
Zhou Shiyue's evaluation of merchants is a typical example of the contempt and prejudice that scholars have towards merchants.
However, it must be said that these prejudices did not arise out of thin air; they were created by the merchant class themselves throughout history.
Wen Zongji did not correct Zhou Shiyue's prejudice, but simply said, "No matter how audacious they are, they must still respect the law and the court. As citizens of Great Chu, they must abide by the laws of Great Chu. If they did not even understand this, they would not have achieved their current success and status."
Zhou Shiyue smiled faintly: "I hope they won't disappoint you... The ten million taels of silver from Huitong Money Shop will soon be sent to the Ministry of Revenue. What are your plans for using it?"
"Naturally, it's about buying land and building houses."
"Having already profited from this wave, is it possible to continue profiting?"
Zhou Shiyue felt that this method would probably only work once.
Wen Zongji laughed and said, "My lord, there will never be a shortage of people in the capital who want houses."
"Moreover, we can not only build residential buildings, but also commercial buildings, which we can then sell to outsiders who want to do business in the capital."
After Wen Zongji finished speaking, he thought of the business world in later generations, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
He only wanted to help the Ministry of Revenue get through its current predicament and had no intention of getting deeply involved in the real estate sector.
He is an official, not a merchant; we cannot put the cart before the horse.
Zhou Shiyue shook his head: "I'm not as smart as you. You managed to borrow this ten million, so you can decide how to use it."
Wen Zongji cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your trust, sir."
Although the ten million was borrowed by Wen Zongji, he used the name of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue will be the one to repay it.
The fact that Zhou Shiyue entrusted the silver to Wen Zongji for arrangement shows how much Zhou Shiyue trusted him.
Wen Zongji felt that he was actually quite lucky.
Whether in the Beijing News Office or the Ministry of Revenue, one can do things according to one's own ideas.
The Crown Prince and Zhou Shiyue both fully supported him.
The auction began while the two were talking.
The number of people who came today was more than double that of the previous auction for visiting slots. Even though they knew they had no chance of winning the courtyard, they were still willing to spend two hundred taels of silver to see this grand occasion.
The host this time is the same one as last time.
Wen Zongji listened to his opening remarks and then skillfully went into the flow.
Wen Zongji nodded: "This person has good adaptability. We can consider letting him go to these kinds of occasions in the future."
The Ministry of Revenue will need to sell houses for a while, which will require many people with good speaking skills.
Although scholars are generally eloquent, it takes real skill to demonstrate that eloquence in front of a large audience.
The auction for the first courtyard has begun.
It was the courtyard called "Between Mountains and Waters" that they had visited back then.
Starting bid: 5,000 taels!
With housing prices in the capital remaining high, the area east of Xiyuan is in an excellent location. If the land area were larger, it would be normal for it to sell for tens of thousands of taels of silver.
The starting price of five thousand taels is not high, and in some people's eyes it is even low.
The host had barely finished saying that each bid increase had to be at least one hundred taels when someone held up a sign: "Ten thousand taels!"
The first order was increased by five thousand taels.
This sentence seemed to ignite a spark, and everyone started bidding up the price.
They raised the price to 50,000 taels, and it's still going on.
At this point, the Cantonese merchants seemed to have grown tired of this trick of gradually increasing the price, and they were the first to raise their bidding paddle and shout, "One hundred thousand taels!"
Upon hearing this, the others fell silent for a moment, many looked around, and silently put down their signs.
Xida Trading Company hadn't bid before; this was their first bid.
Other businesses were still wary of Xida Business, thinking that since each business could only photograph one courtyard, Xida Business could only photograph one courtyard.
They can still take six more photos; there's no need to compete with Xida Trading Company.
Others seem to share this idea.
Then, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The crowd, who had been arguing fiercely just moments before, suddenly stopped bidding in unison.
The host on stage's expression changed slightly. He subconsciously glanced at the private room on the second floor where Wen Zongji and Zhou Shiyue were. Seeing that there was no reaction from the room, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Ten thousand taels for the first time!"
"Ten thousand taels, for the second time!"
"Ten thousand taels for the third time!"
"make a deal!"
The first courtyard belonged to the Guangdong Merchants Association.
What happened next made the atmosphere at the auction even more bizarre.
Because the three courtyards that were auctioned off next were all bought by people from the other three major merchant houses for 100,000 taels each.
What happened next made the atmosphere at the auction even more bizarre.
Because the three courtyards that were auctioned off next were all bought by people from the other three major merchant houses for 100,000 taels each.
This seemed to be an unspoken agreement among them: as long as Xida Trading Company made an offer, the other trading companies would stop competing for the number of people and give up first.
Thus, the auction of the courtyard, which was expected to be fiercely contested, ended at a speed that no one anticipated.
Each courtyard sold for 100,000 taels, totaling 100,000 taels of silver!
We have already exceeded Emperor Shun'an's requirements.
But Wen Zongji was not satisfied.
His expression remained calm: "So this is their counterattack. They're using this method to retaliate against the court's constraints on them."
They certainly didn't dare to risk breaking the law by having someone else bid on their behalf, but they could lower the auction price to thwart the Ministry of Revenue's plans.
One hundred thousand taels of silver would be a disservice to the effort Wen Zongji put into those small courtyards.
But it must be said that everything they did was reasonable, and others couldn't really criticize it.
It's simply a matter of seeing through people's hearts.
Xida Trading Company was confident that other trading companies would not dare to compete with them, and that as long as Xida Trading Company reached a tacit agreement, they could achieve all of this.
They were still mindful of the imperial court's reputation and didn't push the price down too much.
A small courtyard house selling for 100,000 taels of silver is an astronomical price, even in the capital.
It's just that Wen Zongji wasn't quite satisfied.
Zhou Shiyue snorted coldly.
Wen Zongji accepted it well: "It's normal for them to retaliate when we schemed against them."
You can't force people to accept defeat without even realizing it.
It's a pity we couldn't harvest the silver from the Xida Trading Company; they were all incredibly wealthy.
Because the three courtyards that were auctioned off next were all bought by people from the other three major merchant houses for 100,000 taels each.
This seemed to be an unspoken agreement among them: as long as Xida Trading Company made an offer, the other trading companies would stop competing for the number of people and give up first.
Thus, the auction of the courtyard, which was expected to be fiercely contested, ended at a speed that no one anticipated.
Each courtyard sold for 100,000 taels, totaling 100,000 taels of silver!
We have already exceeded Emperor Shun'an's requirements.
But Wen Zongji was not satisfied.
His expression remained calm: "So this is their counterattack. They're using this method to retaliate against the court's constraints on them."
They certainly didn't dare to risk breaking the law by having someone else bid on their behalf, but they could lower the auction price to thwart the Ministry of Revenue's plans.
One hundred thousand taels of silver would be a disservice to the effort Wen Zongji put into those small courtyards.
But it must be said that everything they did was reasonable, and others couldn't really criticize it.
It's simply a matter of seeing through people's hearts.
Xida Trading Company was confident that other trading companies would not dare to compete with them, and that as long as Xida Trading Company reached a tacit agreement, they could achieve all of this.
They were still mindful of the imperial court's reputation and didn't push the price down too much.
A small courtyard house selling for 100,000 taels of silver is an astronomical price, even in the capital.
It's just that Wen Zongji wasn't quite satisfied.
Zhou Shiyue snorted coldly.
Wen Zongji accepted it well: "It's normal for them to retaliate when we schemed against them."
You can't force people to accept defeat without even realizing it.
It's a pity we couldn't harvest the silver from the Xida Trading Company; they were all incredibly wealthy.
This seemed to be an unspoken agreement among them: as long as Xida Trading Company made an offer, the other trading companies would stop competing for the number of people and give up first.
Thus, the auction of the courtyard, which was expected to be fiercely contested, ended at a speed that no one anticipated.
Each courtyard sold for 100,000 taels, totaling 100,000 taels of silver!
We have already exceeded Emperor Shun'an's requirements.
But Wen Zongji was not satisfied.
His expression remained calm: "So this is their counterattack. They're using this method to retaliate against the court's constraints on them."
They certainly didn't dare to risk breaking the law by having someone else bid on their behalf, but they could lower the auction price to thwart the Ministry of Revenue's plans.
One hundred thousand taels of silver would be a disservice to the effort Wen Zongji put into those small courtyards.
But it must be said that everything they did was reasonable, and others couldn't really criticize it.
It's simply a matter of seeing through people's hearts.
Xida Trading Company was confident that other trading companies would not dare to compete with them, and that as long as Xida Trading Company reached a tacit agreement, they could achieve all of this.
They were still mindful of the imperial court's reputation and didn't push the price down too much.
A small courtyard house selling for 100,000 taels of silver is an astronomical price, even in the capital.
It's just that Wen Zongji wasn't quite satisfied.
Zhou Shiyue snorted coldly.
Wen Zongji accepted it well: "It's normal for them to retaliate when we schemed against them."
You can't force people to accept defeat without even realizing it.
It's a pity we couldn't harvest the silver from the Xida Trading Company; they were all incredibly wealthy.
What happened next made the atmosphere at the auction even more bizarre.
Because the three courtyards that were auctioned off next were all bought by people from the other three major merchant houses for 100,000 taels each.
This seemed to be an unspoken agreement among them: as long as Xida Trading Company made an offer, the other trading companies would stop competing for the number of people and give up first.
Thus, the auction of the courtyard, which was expected to be fiercely contested, ended at a speed that no one anticipated.
Each courtyard sold for 100,000 taels, totaling 100,000 taels of silver!
We have already exceeded Emperor Shun'an's requirements.
But Wen Zongji was not satisfied.
His expression remained calm: "So this is their counterattack. They're using this method to retaliate against the court's constraints on them."
They certainly didn't dare to risk breaking the law by having someone else bid on their behalf, but they could lower the auction price to thwart the Ministry of Revenue's plans.
One hundred thousand taels of silver would be a disservice to the effort Wen Zongji put into those small courtyards.
But it must be said that everything they did was reasonable, and others couldn't really criticize it.
It's simply a matter of seeing through people's hearts.
Xida Trading Company was confident that other trading companies would not dare to compete with them, and that as long as Xida Trading Company reached a tacit agreement, they could achieve all of this.
They were still mindful of the imperial court's reputation and didn't push the price down too much.
A small courtyard house selling for 100,000 taels of silver is an astronomical price, even in the capital.
It's just that Wen Zongji wasn't quite satisfied.
Zhou Shiyue snorted coldly.
Wen Zongji accepted it well: "It's normal for them to retaliate when we schemed against them."
You can't force people to accept defeat without even realizing it.
It's a pity we couldn't harvest the silver from the Xida Trading Company; they were all incredibly wealthy.