Zheng Jian did not stay long in the Volcano Army, and after three days he left to return to the Baode Army, from where he crossed the river to Fuzhou. Before leaving, he left a Du Kongmu, who stayed here to summarize the experience of the volcano barracks and prepare to promote it to Linfu Road.

Seeing Zheng Jian away, Du Zhongxiao hurriedly arrived in Tanglong Town to find out what Feng Yuan was talking about.

Zhang Qi welcomed into the yamen, sat down for tea, and Du Zhongxiao said: "Deployment, a few days ago, the hand party item was meticulous, what is going on?" ”

Zhang Qi said with a smile: "A few down-and-out robbers from the party want to rob our casino outside the city." Fortunately, Director Li was sharp-eyed, seeing that these people were unusual, and after discussing with the Khitan's False Liben, he took the lead and sent them to Dongshengzhou. We don't have to do it, the Khitan people have gained credit for nothing, and everyone is happy. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, thought for a while, and said, "Deployment, this matter is still a little inappropriate." The robbers who came to Tanglong Town should be dealt with in Tanglong Town. People were sent to the Khitan, and it seemed that everyone benefited, but I was afraid that the Khitans would have ideas. ”

Zhang Qiqi said: "What do you think?" They are fighting against the party, and it is just right to deal with them in detail. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head and sighed: "That's the way it goes. But what kind of place is Tanglong Town? It is the territory of our Great Song Dynasty. Here to help the party members grasp the details, what do others think? I am most afraid that the Khitan people will have to make every inch, thinking that they also have a share in Tanglong Town, and they forgot that they are just here to make money. ”

The Khitan guards here have no official status, and Yelu does not spend money on soldiers, but only saves money for hiring people. Du Zhongxiao attaches great importance to the identity of the local official, lest the Khitan people have bad intentions in the future and stretch out their hands to Tanglong Town.

Zhang Qi didn't care. There are many territories in the border areas of the Song Dynasty and the Khitan, and within a county, even the two countries can be divided between the tax and the servant, which is a trivial matter. Nominally speaking, the two countries are allies, and mutual cooperation is due, and there has always been a lot.

This time, Du Zhongxiao was stationed in Tanglong Town, Zhang Qi returned to the Volcano Army, and the two rotated.

The days in Tanglong Town were a little boring, and Du Zhongxiao often took Thirteen Lang to wander around the city, so much so that most of the shops knew him. The city is strictly managed, unidentified people are forbidden to enter, and the security is much stronger than outside the city.

In the afternoon of this day, the weather was gloomy, the wind was blowing again, and it was not too hot, so Du Zhongxiao took Thirteen Lang out of the yamen. It's rare to have such a cool and good weather, and the streets of the city are very lively. In this era, poor families had two meals a day, and lunch was just a supplement, and the business of the restaurant was very prosperous.

The wheat harvest in the camp was completed, the price of wheat dropped rapidly, and the pasta in Tanglong Town was much cheaper. The food at each store has become mainly pasta-based. In addition to all kinds of cakes, steamed buns and steamed buns are also varied, and some people even opened a special dumpling restaurant.

Bought a pack of mulberries from a basket vendor and ate them, while Du Zhongxiao took Thirteen Lang to wander around.

Unconsciously walked to the market, anyway, there was nothing to do, Du Zhongxiao walked in. With the opening of the trade route, a large number of goods from the Western Regions were sold here, and many Hu merchants lived in Tanglong Town. The grassland trade route was more convenient than the trade route of Tubo and Qinzhou, and closer to the capital than the sea route of Guangzhou, where merchants from the Central Plains gathered in large numbers to purchase all kinds of luxury goods from the far west.

Entering the market, Du Zhongxiao felt that something was abnormal. Today's weather is cool, but there are not many stalls in the market, which is very different from usual. Du Zhongxiao walked around a little, and was about to leave, when he suddenly saw a bunch of people pouring out from the cabinet shop, and the crowd was angry and noisy.

Seeing that things were unusual, Du Zhongxiao asked Shisanlang to find the official who guarded the market and asked him what was going on.

The official arched his hand and said: "Official, the caravan from Khotan has recently brought a large amount of frankincense, no less than 200,000 catties. They were supposed to make a lot of money, but they didn't expect that when they got here, the price would fall and they wouldn't be able to sell it. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The goods in the market are on the market, and if they can't sell them, they have to sell them slowly, what are they going to do in the cabinet shop?" ”

The official said: "Their capital was raised by issuing bonds, and now that the price has fallen, and they can't afford to repay the principal and interest, how can the people who buy bonds be willing to do it?" The cabinet shop gave these people a guarantee, so they had to take money from these merchants in the Western Regions, which made a fuss. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, somewhat understanding what was going on. Bonds can be bought and sold, they are financial, and this is the bursting of the bubble.

The Song people love incense, the demand for frankincense is huge, and the price is high, a pound of high on the market can be sold for two dollars, and the low should be consistent. This kind of cargo is suitable for weight, small volume, and can be stored for a long time, making it an ideal cargo for long-distance trafficking.

The existence of bonds in Tanglong Town enables businessmen to quickly realize and increase their capital rapidly. Not only the merchants of Khotan, but also merchants from other places, seeing the profits, joined in the frankincense trafficking. In the mainland, it is equivalent to the status of hard currency, so that the price of frankincense is strong, and the bonds are sold out as soon as they come out, and the first two months are very lively. Since everyone believed that the bonds would not depreciate, they were regarded as currency by many merchants, and the merchants in Tanglong Town and Dongshengju circulated in them, further enlarging the market.

Unexpectedly, not long ago, the Beijing Palace suddenly sold hundreds of thousands of catties of frankincense, the market was suddenly saturated, and the price plummeted. Frankincense suddenly could not be sold, the bonds were difficult to cash, and the price of the bonds plummeted with the risk. Under the chain reaction, most of the merchants in Tanglong Town and Dongsheng Prefecture were involved, and they rushed to cash in like a squeeze.

There is a cabinet shop in Tanglong Town, which is nothing more than collecting frankincense at the market price and exchanging bonds in proportion. The merchants who issue bonds here will not lose all their money, but still have some capital. There is no cabinet shop in Dongshengzhou, and if you lose it, you will lose it, and no one will take care of the goods if you can't sell them, so you will first arrest the businessman and lose the bonds, and sell the goods at a low price, and the price of frankincense here in Tanglong Town will fall every day. Many of the merchants who issued bonds in Dongsheng Prefecture completely lost their money and took on debts.

Without bonds, businessmen can still wait for the price to rise and sell slowly. With bonds, creditors are in a hurry to cash in, and in a short period of time a large number of goods are thrown into the market, prices avalanche, and a large number of businessmen are involved.

Some time ago, there was a booming business, but due to the sudden drop in the price of frankincense, the merchants in this area were in a panic.

Du Zhongxiao looked at the surging businessmen, nodded, and took Thirteen Lang back to the yamen.

In terms of frankincense trade, Tanglong Town has sold one or two hundred thousand catties in the past few months, and without the sudden sale of the Beijing Palace, the 200,000 catties transported later can also make money. Suddenly, the businessmen engaged in this industry became destitute, and some of them were also heavily indebted. Where did all the money go to the front? Piled up at the frankincense goods collected at a low price in the cabinet.

The cabinet has enough capital, only makes guarantees, does not engage in financial transactions, and has no losses in this turmoil, but has taken advantage of this opportunity to purchase a large amount of frankincense at a very low price. If the price of frankincense rises back later, plus the interest charged, the cabinet can earn hundreds of thousands of yuan. It is equivalent to the merchants who have been desperately selling goods in the past few months, and they have all worked for the cabinet shop in vain.

From the first day of the issuance of bonds, Du Zhongxiao knew that this situation would occur, so it was strictly forbidden for government properties to buy and sell short, and it was forbidden to engage in any transactions of a financial nature. As for the businessmen who actively participated, there was no way.

Back at Yamen, Du Zhongxiao ordered the sergeants to intensify patrols and strictly prohibit anyone from gathering to make trouble. He also instructed the officials of the yamen to take the initiative to inquire about the situation of the merchants, and if there were any destitute people, they would be rescued in time. Even if they are penniless, they must ensure that they are fed, drunk, clothed, and warm, and paid by the yamen until this turmoil passes. This is a send-off in the snow, so that the businessmen have confidence in Tanglong Town.

The value of a businessman is the capital, and the other is their years of experience and business channels. After surviving this difficult time, many people were able to use their experience and channels to make a comeback and bring prosperity to Tanglong Town again. At that time, the cabinet can lend money again to earn interest.