The hot sales of coal, especially the long queues, made many businessmen envious.

With a little inquiry, you will find out that the low price is due to the government.

In fact, there is no specific pricing for coal itself. The market price mainly depends on the government. The previous high price was mainly because private enterprises were not allowed to do so.

Under control, the outflow is less, so the price naturally becomes more expensive.

The next day, the merchants felt that spring had come, and the government announced that from now on, chambers of commerce with sufficient strength would be examined and could apply to the government for documents for coal mining payment.

This means that as long as you find a coal mine and submit the corresponding qualifications to the government, you can mine and sell it yourself.

Although there are many clauses in it, it still caused a stir in the entire business community.

"The situation in the Ming Dynasty is getting more and more different. Even mining has been allowed to be run by the private sector. The good days for businessmen like me are finally coming to an end."

"When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was living among the common people, he did a lot of business. His Qunying Chamber of Commerce is the top of the business world and he knows a lot about business. That's why he did such a good deed."

"If the price of coal drops, people will be able to afford it. In the winter, many people will be saved from dying in the cold winter. This is a great merit."

“Hey, I wonder how many big merchants will become rich because of this.”

"What does it matter? Life will get better after all. But the wages of the miners are not a small amount. The notice clearly states that the safety of the miners should be guaranteed, and if there is an accident, they should be compensated."

"My goodness, this pension varies according to age, and it's thirty taels, which is really precious."

"Hmph, thirty taels is nothing to those big merchants. It's not as good as the reward given to the top performer by the brothel. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is kind and righteous. He should first set the rules. Otherwise, who would dare to go down to the mines?"

A large number of letters were sent from the capital to the entire Ming Dynasty. There were not many coal mines in the south, but there were a large number in the north.

The big business gangs from all over the capital were either dead or fled, leaving the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce as the only dominant one.

But this does not mean that business groups from all over the country no longer have bases in the capital.

On the contrary, after the capital suffered a devastating blow, business groups from all over the country paid more attention to the spread of news. After all, the rules of the world were established by the court, and businessmen understood the importance of information and intelligence even more.

The benefits of knowing some information in advance are huge. For example, the business group in Jiangnan has even opened up a special route dedicated to the transmission of intelligence.

Even if it means losing money on the goods on that trip, it is worth it.

"The capital is really bustling this year. In previous years, it would only be a few days before the end of the year that such a grand occasion would occur."

"The streets are bustling with people. It's so cold, but no one is staying at home."

On the second floor of a restaurant on a street near the Qinhuai River.

Li Jinglong looked at the scene outside the window and said to Zhu Di with some emotion.

Zhu Di nodded slightly and said with some envy: "I have to say that the Crown Prince is really talented in business. Even I have to admire him."

"It's not just the common people, but also the servants of Yihua in my palace, who rush to the streets every day. I have never seen such diligence."

Li Jinglong smiled and replied, "This must be a lot of money. I don't know why, but there are suddenly more people spending money on the street. Anyone with a little money will hide it well."

"Nowadays, everyone is rushing to buy this and that. Even the cold weather can't stop them. The prince really has something."

Zhu Di replied, "This is the group of British merchants of the Crown Prince. They buy goods from all over the country and then sell them at low prices. I heard from Yihua that the prices of some goods are several cents lower than those in Beijing."

"If I had known that this was the capital, the goods shipped here from all over the country would be sold at a lower price than in other places. It's simply unimaginable."

Zhu Di and Li Jinglong, or the entire Ming Dynasty, had never experienced the power of wholesale prices.

Zhu Ying had memories of his previous life, so he was naturally very familiar with this system. Although the transportation conditions were a little worse, the price reduction was real.

Most businessmen find this kind of selling at a low price unreasonable. It is common for merchants to make small profits but quick turnover, but such a large-scale dumping, involving almost all daily necessities, is really too terrifying.

Not to mention other places, at least at the docks on the Yangtze River in Beijing, huge amounts of goods are constantly being shipped in. Which store would dare to raise prices? That would be simply killing themselves.

"I wonder how my aunt is doing after entering the palace." After exchanging pleasantries, Li Jinglong asked.

Zhu Di also told him about Xu Yihua entering the palace.

As far as the entire capital was concerned, the only person Zhu Di could speak his mind to and communicate with was Li Jinglong.

Zhu Di shook his head slightly and said, "Yihua went to find Concubine Ning. Although Concubine Ning agreed to help mediate, she is very wary of the Crown Prince. She originally wanted to host a banquet in the mansion, but now it seems that she can only find another opportunity at the New Year's Eve banquet."

Li Jinglong nodded slightly upon hearing this, and then sighed: "His Royal Highness has too many methods. From what I have seen so far, he is proficient in military affairs, business affairs, political affairs, and personnel affairs. His talent is unmatched."

"Your Majesty is very happy every day now. This year, the harvests in various places are good, and the treasury is full. With the management of the Crown Prince, there is no shortage of money. It is said that the Crown Prince ordered to invite famous chefs from all over the country for the New Year's banquet, and the rarest food from all over the world will be gathered. The richness of the dishes at that time is unimaginable."

"Your Majesty has always advocated frugality, but although he readily agreed this time, it is clear that all the expenses will be paid by the Crown Prince."

At this point, Li Jinglong suddenly had an idea and said, "Recently, the government announced that it has granted the right to mine and purchase coal. If I remember correctly, there are many coal mines in Peking. Why don't you take this opportunity to get involved? I think you will make a lot of profit."

Zhu Di was a little hesitant when he heard this, and said: "This is a matter of business, the way of businessmen. I am a dignified prince, why would I lower myself to do such a lowly thing."

Li Jinglong immediately said, "That's wrong. The Taisun Group of Heroes Chamber of Commerce is now very successful and has brought great benefits to the national treasury. I know that many people also want to benefit from it."

"In the past, everyone was eyeing land. Ever since the incident with Duke Liang, many nobles have turned their attention to business operations. This is real money."

"Now, high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes have begun to be shipped to all parts of the country. It is clear that the price of grain will drop sharply next year. Now the only way to make enough money is to follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and engage in business operations."

Zhu Ying controlled the business and used policies to support it, and the money he earned from it was too staggering.

Although no one could calculate the approximate amount, any fool could understand that the goods were piled up like mountains at the docks and were being dumped on a large scale in the capital.

The rest of the chambers of commerce in the capital are just barely surviving.

With a population of one million, the profits gained from this are difficult to estimate.

Almost all walks of life are now under the control of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

The goods from each workshop are basically all purchased by the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce and sold to other places.

Because all goods coming in and out of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce are clearly marked, if you pay a little attention you can tell how large the volume of the goods is.

Zhu Di pondered for a while.

According to Li Jinglong, this is indeed the case.

Now the crown prince has taken the lead in doing business, and seems to be doing very well. This shows that in the future, the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce may change, and the status of businessmen will be improved to a certain extent.

At least when it comes to doing business, people are not so contemptuous anymore.

If we had known this before, even just a few months ago, the merchants in the capital, even a small yamen runner, could have ordered him around without any worries.

Even though this chamber of commerce has its own background, as a backstage force, it rarely shows up in business affairs.

According to Ming Dynasty law, officials and their families were prohibited from engaging in business, but at least many people secretly managed the business.

Now that Zhu Ying has laid all of this out in the open, the situation is very different.

When business groups in various places were hit, almost no one stood up to speak out, and they were allowed to be destroyed.

In fact, there is no big chamber of commerce that does not have the support of government officials. The so-called collusion between officials and businessmen has been like this since ancient times. If you want to become bigger, it is inevitable.

Now that the Crown Prince has taken action, no one can stop him, and no one dares to stop him.

Once involved, there is no chance of escape.

The royal family is different, or for princes like Zhu Di, or even noble dukes like Li Jinglong, there are no legal restrictions.

Strictly speaking, Zhu Di was also engaged in business, such as industries in the capital and shop management, but Zhu Di never took these seriously.

If it were the Zhu Di of the past, he would definitely sneer at Li Jinglong's words, but after experiencing so many changes, especially the change in his mentality yesterday, now that he thinks about it, he feels good.

"There are indeed many coal mines in Peking. If we can take them down, it will be a lot of money."

Zhu Di thought about it for a while and found that there was indeed great potential.

If you use your brain, you will know that the demand for coal in the north is an absolute necessity, especially from Beijing to Liaodong, Nurgan and other places.

Now that fertile black soil has been discovered there, the court will relocate a large number of people and troops.

There is no problem with the sales of this coal. Almost as much as can be dug out can be sold.

What's the difference between this and directly digging for silver?

There are also a large number of coal mines near Zhu Di's palace in Beiping.

The crooked tree on Coal Hill where Chongzhen hanged himself in the late Ming Dynasty also has a lot to do with coal.

Of course, the so-called Coal Mountain is not really a mountain with a lot of coal.

The place is beautiful with mountains and rivers, and has little to do with coal.

The reason why it is called Coal Hill is that in history, when Zhu Di built the imperial palace here, he once piled up coal, so Coal Hill is just a common name.

The real official name is Zhenshan, Wansui Mountain, an excellent Feng Shui treasure land.

There are orchards of hundreds of fruits below, and auspicious animals such as deer and cranes are raised.

After the construction of the Beiping Imperial Palace, pines and cypresses covered the mountain, and cranes and deer flocked in the garden. The Shouhuang Palace and other palaces and pavilions were built in the northern part of the Imperial Garden, and many precious fruit trees were planted. During the Double Ninth Festival, emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the present day would go to the mountain for banquets.

"It all depends on whether the Crown Prince will let me go during this year's New Year's banquet. If I can defend Liaodong, plus the coal mine business, I won't have to worry about logistics, so why should I be afraid of the grassland tribes?"

Zhu Di said with a sigh.

He has spent most of his life dealing with various ethnic groups outside the Great Wall, and wars of varying sizes occur almost every year.

It was not until this year that we went to the coastal areas to suppress the Japanese pirates.

When he learned that his elder brother Zhu Biao had passed away, he did have big ideas about being an emperor, and even felt like a dream come true.

But now, no matter what, whether in name or in reality, it cannot be changed.

The life he most wanted was to return to Peking and fight the barbarians on the grassland.

He had lived in the military camp since he was born, and followed the army in its conquests, and the same continued when he grew up.

If he were to become a rich and idle prince, it would be the end of him.

He was born to lead troops and fight wars.

…

"Annan is a truly magical place. It's almost New Year's Day, but I don't feel cold at all. On the contrary, I can hardly wear my armor or cotton clothes."

"The road ahead is a little too rugged, but it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. No wonder the boss once said that he wanted to occupy Annan. It is indeed a good place."

"There are mountains everywhere. It's difficult to fight if you're not familiar with the terrain. There's also a lot of miasma. When we got here, it was winter. If it was summer, it would be very hot."

"That makes sense. If we want to attack Annan, we can't do it in spring or summer. Instead, autumn and winter are the best time."

Annan has many mountains, a long and narrow terrain, and is mostly covered with dense forests.

The army was fighting here and was constrained everywhere.

Even if there are millions of troops, it is difficult to exert one-tenth or one-twelfth of their strength.

After several months, the 50,000-strong army that set out from the capital finally arrived in southern Annan.

The reason for this exclamation is that after passing through the mountains, we arrived at the southern plains of Annan.

The southern plains have a completely different feel from the mountainous areas the army had previously experienced.

The natural conditions here are very superior, and it looks extremely rich at first glance.

"The capital is just ahead. After such a long time, we are finally there."

Figures have appeared one after another in front, but under the threat of 50,000 elite troops, no one dares to stay.

Most of the Annan army is composed of indigenous tribes, usually with about 10,000 people, which is an extremely large scale.

An army of 50,000 was just a concept, something they had never seen in their entire lives.

Especially the neatly-arranged armor, which was shocking at a glance.

At this time, the royal capital had begun to fall into chaos.

Since the army came directly with documents, they should have been notified beforehand.

But because there are so many mountainous areas, it is easy to get lost, and there are only a few guides.

The advance notice may also be a deliberate intention to deter others.

Suddenly, 50,000 troops appeared outside the capital of Annan, and no one thought it would be a good thing.

In the Annan Palace, the eunuchs were so scared that they rolled and crawled.

"My king, my king, something terrible has happened. Something terrible has happened. The army outside the city is attacking the city!!!"

This loud shout made the already chaotic palace even more chaotic.