Chapter 1056: Chapter 892: The Benefits of Establishing a Chamber of Commerce

Originally, Mr. Sun had thought the court would definitely issue some restrictive document; he just hadn’t expected it to come this quickly.

The Sun Family’s trading firm also owned a grain shop, and not a small one. When the Xia Family started acquiring grain earlier, the Sun Family had also bought some.

But afterward, Mr. Sun suddenly came to his senses and realized this Silver would not be so easy to earn. The Xia Family had the Grand Secretary backing them; naturally they had nothing to fear.

Although he too had leaned on an official in the court, that man had already warned him never to act recklessly.

So later Mr. Sun stopped purchasing grain. If in the end he had to sell it all off cheap, wouldn’t that be trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice?

Not only would he have wasted his energy, he might well have to sell at a loss in the end.

After all, this batch of coarse rice had been bought at eight or nine wen per sheng; it was never that expensive in ordinary times.

Gu Chengyu smiled faintly without speaking, then picked up his tea bowl and took a sip. This leisurely manner made Hu Maoshen and the others roll their eyes—at a time like this, he was still keeping them in suspense.

Xia Hongji’s eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly felt that this so‑called merchant guild might not be a good thing for him.

The Xia Family’s business had always been extensive; with the reputation of the Grand Secretary, whenever they negotiated with other firms, the others would always give way. Who would deliberately go against the Xia Family?

This had also cultivated an extremely domineering temperament in the Xia Family’s way of doing business. Merchants who cooperated with them would, to a greater or lesser extent, suffer some losses.

After so many years, they were already used to earning Silver in this manner, and had no desire for some merchant guild to come along and bind the Xia Family’s hands.

Xia Hongji carefully thought back for a while and confirmed that the Clan Leader had never mentioned such a matter to him.

The Chief Minister was a high minister in the court; if the court truly intended to establish a merchant guild, there was no reason the Prime Minister wouldn’t know!

Xia Hongji cast a meaningful glance at Gu Chengyu. Could it be that this was some trick cooked up by this fellow himself, solely to suppress the grain shops hoarding rice?

The more he thought about it, the more Xia Hongji felt this was highly possible.

"This humble commoner dares to ask Lord Gu: when did the court ever say it would establish a merchant guild? The Prime Minister often sends family letters back to Yingnan Mansion, yet he has never mentioned such a thing in his letters. I wonder what the truth of this matter is..."

By the end, Xia Hongji was stammering.

But his meaning was already very clear—wasn’t he just saying that Gu Chengyu was fooling them?

Everyone present turned their eyes toward Gu Chengyu, their gazes filled with obvious doubt.

Gu Chengyu felt no panic in his heart. He smiled brilliantly, then said, "Because this matter was proposed by myself. At present it is only in its infancy and must be gradually refined. So it has not yet been publicly announced, but it’s already eight or nine parts settled."

Hu Maoshen used the motion of drinking tea to conceal the doubt in his eyes.

Seeing Gu Chengyu so calm and unruffled, Hu Maoshen couldn’t help feeling puzzled as well. Could it be that what Gu Chengyu said was not false?

Yet they had clearly not heard a hint of wind beforehand; this was somewhat out of the ordinary!

"At this moment, all of you likely have no clear idea of what a merchant guild is. Then I shall give you a detailed explanation here. A merchant guild, as the name suggests, is an organization formed among merchants. And what are the benefits of establishing such a guild? There are many."

Gu Chengyu rose, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to speak at length about the plan that had only just taken shape in his mind.

"Once the guild is established, all of you present may apply to join and become members of the guild—this is called membership. First, as more merchants join the guild, the number of potential partners you can choose from will also increase. You are all members, bound by the same rules, so you needn’t fear being swindled again."

On hearing this, everyone nodded repeatedly in agreement. When they travelled all over the land doing business, it was indeed easy to encounter swindlers.

There were no few who had been cheated out of everything, ruined and destitute. Once those swindlers got away with the Silver Coin, they vanished without a trace. No matter how the victim turned the world upside down, it was hard to track them down.

In the end they could only set off in high spirits and return in dejection. As for making a comeback later, that was easier said than done.

As long as one was a merchant, no one could pat his chest and claim he had never been cheated. Even if not by swindlers, he had been schemed against and forced to swallow more than a few dumb losses.

Seeing everyone nodding like pounding garlic, Gu Chengyu knew he had struck a chord in their hearts.

He extended two fingers and continued, "Second, with more members in the guild, others may have important information that you don’t, and you can exchange it with each other and share what you each have."

Those present nodded again. Indeed! Though they were only merchants, they still needed to understand current affairs and the movements of officials.

For example, if the official one relied upon was demoted, or had committed a grave crime and his household was raided and exterminated. Those high officials were far away in the Capital, so they could not possibly receive news at the first moment; at such times it depended on how wide their own circle of contacts was.

If an acquaintance’s household received the news and immediately informed them, they might just avert a disaster and prepare in advance.

Xia Hongji gave Gu Chengyu a deep look. He had to admit, he truly could not refute these two points.

"Third, a single tree cannot make a forest; working together in a group is the way to last. You can join forces and complement each other, the strong helping the weak, mutually assisting and benefiting, so that everyone gains. If you encounter difficulties—for instance, if you suddenly have a shortfall in Silver Coin—you may also borrow from other guild members. With the guild and the court both imposing restraints, they won’t dare refuse to repay."

Mr. Sun was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He often fretted over having no Silver to turn over. Every time he borrowed from friends, they wouldn’t take extra interest, which made him feel very guilty.

Moreover, sometimes he wanted to borrow more but simply lacked the channels. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

If he truly became a member of the guild, it would be much easier for him to borrow Silver; as long as he paid interest, there would always be someone willing to lend. As for repayment, he believed that since the court had already decided to establish a merchant guild, it would certainly come up with a way.

"Fourth, our court has the gazette; the merchant guild can likewise publish a gazette. The benefits of a gazette need hardly be elaborated; I’m sure all of you present know them well."

The court’s gazette was similar to the newspapers in a previous life, and this paper only reported major events in current affairs. If the merchant guild ran a gazette, it would be about commercial information—equivalent to a financial newspaper in a previous life.

Even Hu Maoshen, upon hearing this, was so astonished he tugged at his beard.

If this merchant guild were put into practice, it would be a major reform. The Dayan Dynasty would surely, in a short span of time, usher in a flourishing age.

This youth was truly extraordinary—downright monstrous. Hu Maoshen looked at Gu Chengyu with eyes full of admiration. How had a farming family produced such a monstrously gifted favored child of Heaven? It was simply beyond comprehension.

"Of course, this gazette must be issued by the court. I will memorialize the Emperor and have this matter implemented as soon as possible, striving to make it as detailed as we can. These are the benefits of establishing a merchant guild. Do you gentlemen think this is still feasible?"

Gu Chengyu turned and sat down. He believed these merchants would definitely be tempted. In fact, he had truly not yet discussed this matter with the Emperor, for it was an idea sparked only after he came to Jiangnan and saw the grain prices rise.