The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Duchayuan, duty room.

Yan Chengjin ordered Zheng Qian to investigate thoroughly. About a quarter of an hour later, Zheng Qian walked in quickly: "Sir, Shouning Hou is indeed hoarding paper."

What are the Zhang brothers hoarding paper for?

Recently, my mind has been on the nine borders, and I rarely care about the things in the market. The Zhang brothers came back from the island country and made a fortune.

It was the time when there was money.

Yan Chengjin was thinking about whether to cheat the Zhang brothers to supplement the family expenses.

After all, after the engagement with the Li family, the warehouse lost 10% of its blood.

"Shouning Hou swept away all the paper in the capital. It is said that Shouning Hou bought two large ships. I don’t know where they are hidden. I am still looking for them."

Zheng Qian bowed and said.

From Liangxiang to Tongzhou, there are many water systems such as Lugou River, Lu River, and Liuli River. There are dense merchant ships coming and going, which is difficult to search.

Which one belongs to Shoushou Hou needs to be carefully searched. Without the order of the court, it is not convenient to openly check the property of the royal relatives.

Yan Chengjin thought for a long time, and before he knew it, half a day had passed.

It was 15:00 in the afternoon, the time to go off duty.

He took a sip of tea, took the teacup, and walked out of the palace. At this time, it was not the time to go off duty in the palace, and the courtyard was a little deserted.

He got on the sedan chair and returned to the mansion. As soon as he entered the alley, He Neng reported: "Master, Mr. Wang is here."

In front of the Yan Mansion, Wang Bushui paced back and forth anxiously, and finally saw Yan Chengjin's sedan chair.

"Sir, paper in the capital is almost more expensive than pork."

Yan Chengjin was trying to figure out why the Zhang brothers bought paper: "Do you have any news? Why are you hoarding paper?"

"Nowadays, there are more and more children in the capital who read books. Xiaoren Bookstore has to print many books every day, and the paper is far from enough. The price has been rising for a long time.

And now, the supply of paper mulberry bark used for papermaking has decreased by 80%.

Without materials to make paper, the price of paper in the capital has risen to three cents of silver."

The average wage in the capital is seven cents of silver a day. Just buying a piece of paper will cost half a day's wages.

Who can still afford to read this book?

"In the past, paper mulberry bark was in short supply. Why is the supply reduced by 80% now?" Yan Chengjin frowned, and his initial suspicion was expressed.

Wang Bushui had a sad face: "I don't know either."

"Let Qian Dongbao come to see me."

...

Fengtian Palace.

Zhang Sheng hurriedly walked to the front of the palace door with his clothes in his hand and asked the gatekeeper to go in and report.

Then, he strode into the palace: "Your Majesty, I want to impeach Shouning Marquis and Jianchang Earl!"

Xiao Jing's heart skipped a beat and he looked at Emperor Hongzhi.

Emperor Hongzhi was in a state of anxiety. There was no news about the crown prince yet. He was just in a bad mood, and his brother-in-law got into trouble again.

"Why do you want to impeach?"

"For some reason, the price of paper in the capital has been rising for half a month, and Shouning Marquis and Jianchang Earl took the opportunity to make a profit.

The Imperial College sent a memorial today, wanting to test the students, but there was no paper to set the questions." Zhang Sheng said.

There are two major printing institutions in the capital, one is the Imperial Household Department, and the other is the Imperial College.

There was anger in the calm voice of Emperor Hongzhi: "It's ridiculous. The capital is the capital, and there is no paper!"

Zhang Sheng also thought it was ridiculous, but the paper was really bought up by Shouning Marquis.

"What does Shouning Marquis do with paper?"

"I don't know either."

...

Shouning Marquis's Mansion

Zhang Heling drank Liu'an tribute tea and asked happily: "Bring the list to this Lord, and see what is missing."

The housekeeper hurriedly handed over the list, and all the purchased goods were in it.

Zhang Heling stared at every word carefully, muttering: "Paper is available, silk is available, pens are available, porcelain is available..."

A trip to the island country would cost a lot of money just for the sailors' wages.

And there is also food for everyone.

Both Korea and the Ming Dynasty respected Confucianism, and scholars needed paper to study.

But papermaking technology was not developed.

If we can sell paper to Korea, exchange it for Korean ginseng, and then transport it to the island country to sell it to the daimyo, we can make a lot of money.

The price of paper in Korea is high, while the price of silk in the island country is high.

"Brother, shall we set off tomorrow?"

"No, the price of paper in the capital has risen to three cents of silver, and His Majesty will definitely send someone to check, so we will leave tonight." Zhang Heling said seriously.

In order to make money, the two brothers are also people who do what they say.

Finally, they are willing to spend money.

A table was set up in the mansion, and chickens and ducks were killed. The overseas ship was hard, and they had to replenish their bodies in advance.

"Master, Lord Yan is here."

Zhang Heling suddenly became nervous and said firmly: "I won't see him!"

The housekeeper hesitated and said: "He said that if the master doesn't see him, he will immediately go to the palace to report to His Majesty."

This dog official, are we brothers in your way?

Zhang Heling cursed in his heart, and he was so angry that his teeth itched. If he met this guy, it would be bad.

"What should I do?"

"Let him in!"

Soon, the door of the mansion opened.

An old man in patched clothes, no doubt an ordinary citizen, came out with a smile and invited Yan Chengjin in.

Yan Chengjin walked to the main hall.

Zhang Heling hurriedly asked someone to take the chicken, duck, fish and meat down, so that Yan Chengjin could see it, and he had to share it with him.

Then, he said with a smile: "My dear nephew, have you had your meal? Then I will not entertain you. What do you want to do?"

The two Zhang brothers looked at Yan Chengjin in unison.

"I want to ask, Jing-58438, is this the ship number of Shouning Marquis?"

In order to avoid tax evasion, the court stipulated that all merchant ships must have ship numbers.

In addition, which shipyard supervised the construction, when it was supervised, and how deep the draft is, all must be clearly written.

Zhang Heling covered his brother's mouth tightly and said, "No."

At this time, Jinyiwei Ye Zhun ran up to report: "Lord Yan, His Majesty urgently summoned the cabinet."

His Majesty summoned him at this time, it must be because of the rising price of paper. A quarter of an hour ago, he heard that Zhang Sheng entered the palace to impeach.

Get on the sedan chair and come to Fengtian Hall.

Liu Jian and others stood solemnly, Zhang Sheng stood in the center of the hall, and Emperor Hongzhi looked serious, as if he was very unhappy.

Wang Ao said: "Your Majesty, Shouning Hou is arrogant and disrupts the court order, he should be punished!"

Beijing is the capital of the country, there are tens of thousands of scholars, plus hundreds of thousands of gentry, paper consumption is huge.

The information dissemination of the Ming Dynasty still relies on paper, so it is extremely dependent on paper.

Zhang Sheng frowned: "But the key is, why is there less paper bark?"

Even if the Zhang brothers exchanged all the paper back, they could not stop the rising trend.

Yan Chengjin bowed slightly: "I may know the reason for the increase in paper prices."

"Mr. Yan said!"

"It's because of the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars."

Emperor Hongzhi frowned, looking confused.

Liu Jian asked anxiously: "What does the war in the nine borders have to do with the increase in paper prices?"

"The raw materials used for papermaking in the capital are paper mulberry bark and mulberry bark, and paper mulberry bark is produced in Gansu and Shanxi. The people in these two places are fleeing famine.

Merchants are afraid of being affected by the war and dare not transport paper mulberry bark, so there is a shortage of paper in the capital."

The south uses bamboo paper and small leather paper.

Bamboo paper is made of bamboo. There are many bamboo forests in the south, and there is no shortage of raw materials.

The raw material used for small leather paper is hibiscus, which is also a tree in the south.

Emperor Hongzhi looked enlightened.

Liu Jian and others also showed clarity in their eyes. No wonder the price of paper began to change after the Ming Dynasty sent troops.

Shouning Hou's hoarding of paper has caused the price of paper to rise.

"But the war in the nine borders cannot be ended for a while." Zhang Sheng frowned.