All Hail Cousin Brother

There were fewer supplies in the north, and they were exploited at all levels. In the end, the people who were exploited were the Youjun who needed the supplies.

Youjun was passive and was "seeking" the local gentry. Naturally, they would not take Youjun seriously.

It was also after the case of King Zhou Li that a group of wealthy gentry were punished. The court gave Youzhou the privilege of being exempted from salt tribute, allowing Youjun to have the right to purchase supplies independently. Those wealthy gentry had to look at Youjun's eyes to act.

After Yin Huaixi guarded the northern border, his control over the northern border was gradually strengthened. Although the government was not under the rule of Prince Wu Mu, it still had to fear the majesty of Prince Wu Mu and gradually began to develop trade.

After walking around Liancheng, Yu Youyao's heart moved slightly.

Liao Province has very obvious geographical advantages. It has resources such as food, medicine, industry, and soldiers. As long as it can be utilized, it can be self-sufficient, produce and sell itself, and do not need to rely on the court.

Liancheng has little cultivated land but many mountains and forests. Raising tussahs can strengthen the army and enrich the people. It can develop the primary economy, followed by fruits and seafood.

Xie Mansion knows better than Yu Youyou in this regard. As early as Xie Mansion decided to come to the Northern Territory, Xie Mansion also successively purchased many characteristic industries in the Northern Border area and made a lot of preparations for establishing a foothold in the Northern Territory in the future.

In a year and a half at most, the Xie Mansion can revitalize the entire city.

Over the past few years, Yu Youyao has successively purchased many properties in the northern border area, and the city has developed forests. She used Yin Huaixi's connections to buy two villages with hills in the northern border. The hills were mainly planted with elm and oak trees, and arranged for people to come over. Raising tussah silkworms and producing tussah silk are all bought to Youjun for use in making armor.

On the second day, the steward of Zhuangzi came to greet her and brought her account books.

Liancheng is considered the northern border, and there are few places that are less affected by drought, but even so, the output of tussah silk produced in Zhuangzi has been reduced by 40 to 50%.

Fortunately, Tussah Silk's profits are considerable, but there are no losses.

The sweet potatoes grown in the farmland were not affected, and the yield was very impressive. Most of the sweet potatoes produced in the village were sold to You Jun at a low price.

After Yu Youyao looked through the account books, he asked several stewards: "I want to expand the cultivation of tussah silkworms. What do you think is the possibility of this?"

One of the blue-robed stewards shook his head: "I'm afraid it's difficult. Seventy percent of silkworm breeding in Liancheng is in the hands of local large households, and the remaining 30% are small individual farmers, which is not a viable business."

Another gray-robed manager also said: "The four big families in Liancheng have monopolized the tussah silkworm business in Liancheng and controlled the price of tussah cocoons, forcing the retail investors to sell the tussah silkworm cocoons they worked so hard to raise at a price lower than the market price. Sell ​​it to them at twice the price, and they sell it to silk merchants at a higher price and make huge profits from it."

Yu Youyao understood: "But all the tussah cocoons they produce are supplied to the imperial court for purchase?"

According to what the stewards said, the four families acted very domineeringly. The four families shared 70% of the business, and each family only had more than 20%. However, they indulged the unworthy retail silkworm farmers and shared the remaining 30%.

No matter how you look at it, there is a problem.

Yu Youyao thought about it carefully and understood.

The four major families in Liancheng control most of the tussah resources, and they have to deal with court purchases. The prices purchased by the court are generally lower than the market price, and they have to manage them up and down, layer by layer, and the bulk of the silkworms are taken over by those responsible for purchasing. The four of us worked hard and could only make a small amount of money.

When the imperial court purchases supplies, it is impossible to monopolize all local supplies.

The 30% in the hands of retail investors has become a loophole for the four big companies to exploit and profit.

They teamed up to control the operations of Tussah, so that retail investors had to rely on them to survive, buying low and selling high, making huge profits and taking away the hard-earned money of retail investors.

Even if retail investors unite together, 30% will not be able to fight against 70%, and they will not be able to make waves.

Those silkworm farmers were crushed to death.

"exactly!"

The two stewards looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh to themselves. The eldest lady is really a powerful person, and she immediately understood the twists and turns inside.

"For so many years, the individual sericulture farmers in Liancheng have been oppressed by the four big families and have suffered miserably. In the past few years, the northern border has been in bad weather, and tussah production has decreased every year. Small households have invested more in sericulture and earned less. There have been many With so few people, we can’t even maintain our livelihood. Earlier, the eldest lady’s Zhuangzi was also targeted by someone, but the people of the four families didn’t dare to embarrass themselves when they learned that there was someone behind Zhuangzi.”

Yu Youyao frowned: "As far as I know, the three northeastern provinces are very large. The area suitable for raising silkworms is the same as that of Henan and Shandong combined. There is still room. There are more than 30 counties and districts in the three northeastern provinces. Silkworm breeding is actually not as good as Henan and Shandong, which shows that this is the case in the entire Northeast region."

The case of King Zhou Li made many noble families in the northern territory restrain themselves a lot. However, it is not as cold as a day. If you want to revitalize the trade in the northern territory, Liancheng, which is strategically located, is the top priority.

Tussah silkworms were one of the main materials for making military armor. How could she tolerate these inhumane gentry monopolizing the city's tussah silkworm market and strangling You Jun's throat? !

Yu Youyao's eyes were dark, with a hint of coldness in them.

The two stewards nodded solemnly: "What the princess said is absolutely true."

Yu Youyao thought for a moment: "Spring silkworms will start to be raised in a while. You will contact the individual silkworm farmers who are hard to make ends meet in Liancheng, provide them with some help, and make a contract with them. The cocoons they produce will be sold to us at the market price. "

Retail investors are oppressed by the Four Families. Under normal circumstances, they would still be afraid of the power of the Four Families and would not dare to cooperate with them.

But this time, that time!

Retail investors work hard to raise silkworms just to survive. If they can't even survive, what else is there to fear?

If we don't fight hard, the fate of hundreds of thousands of refugees outside the city will be their fate in the future.

The steward in gray clothes was hesitant: "Here, you are directly confronting the four major families. A strong dragon cannot defeat local snakes. The four major families in Liancheng unite, and we..."

Yu Youyao chuckled lightly: "Send the names of me and King Wu Mu to the Liancheng County Yamen another day. According to the jargon, this is called worshiping the mountain gate. I, the newly appointed Princess Shaoyi, don't know if it will work in Liancheng County. "

The steward in blue looked excited. He had long been dissatisfied with the behavior of the four families: "The eldest lady is right."

The steward in gray clothes immediately realized that Princess Shaoyi had a great reputation in the north, and hundreds of thousands of refugees outside the city all supported Princess Shaoyi very much.

Princess Shaoyi was not seeking personal gain for herself, but for Liancheng, the thousands of retail silkworm farmers who were oppressed by the four major families.

There is little arable land in the north, so raising tussahs is the best way out for the refugees.

We need to unite with retail sericulture farmers to forcefully open the tussah silkworm market monopolized by the four big companies in Liancheng and further expand tussah silkworm breeding. Only then will the refugees outside the city have a way to survive.

Everything the princess did was for the people.

It is what everyone expects.