Chapter 1057: Chapter 893: Conditions for Joining the Chamber of Commerce

The benefits of the chamber of commerce are self-evident, but it’s not without shortcomings. Will he reveal them now? Certainly not.

To control grain prices, the chamber of commerce must be established as soon as possible.

"Mr. Gu, you speak only of the benefits of establishing the chamber, but what about the shortcomings? Surely there are some, right? You can’t gloss over the important issues!"

Xia Hongji is no fool. Seeing Gu Chengyu only mention the benefits of the chamber, he believes Gu Chengyu must be hiding the shortcomings. And Gu Chengyu’s purpose for establishing the chamber is certainly to control the rising grain prices.

He chuckled coldly. If the court really had an order to curb the rising grain prices, how could Gu Chengyu ignore it? Going around in circles like this is indeed scheming to the utmost.

Gu Chengyu raised an eyebrow as he looked over and found Xia Hongji staring proudly at him, prompting a sneer from Gu Chengyu.

"Mr. Xia speaks truly. Establishing a chamber will certainly have shortcomings. Because once you join the chamber, you cannot arbitrarily raise the prices of goods. Of course, the court won’t mind a moderate increase. But if it’s too unreasonable, the court will inevitably intervene. The difference is, in the past, officials would be sent to prohibit, but after the chamber is established, the chamber will issue warnings beforehand. If they still don’t listen, it will be reported to the court."

"In fact, the chamber is quite free. Members are bound by the chamber on regular days, and the court generally won’t interfere. This is all to facilitate your actions. You all may consider carefully. When it comes to a shortcoming that’s not really a shortcoming, I believe the benefits far outweigh it."

Gu Chengyu felt somewhat fatigued; he was indeed a bit tired.

And with so much information today, he feared these people wouldn’t handle it, so he planned to delay this matter.

Because he also needed to discuss this matter with the Emperor before implementing it.

As for shortcomings, they are not limited to just this. With more wealthy merchants in the chamber, court officials will find ways to win them over, making them part of their forces,

especially those princes far in their fiefs. Although they are not in the Capital, remote control is still possible because someone can handle it for them!

In due course, the chamber might become another fame and fortune arena. It’s absolutely impossible to completely prevent such incidents.

The only way is to figure out how to control such matters within the chamber’s manageable scope.

As for establishing the chamber, according to tradition, the Emperor won’t entrust this matter to himself.

He’s just the one offering ideas; implementation will naturally be done by other officials.

Therefore, Gu Chengyu plans to withdraw entirely after the chamber is established, as he doesn’t want to be involved at all.

Moreover, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—with merchants ranked last. If a chamber is established, the merchants’ status in the court would rise significantly.

This poses a threat to the court officials’ positions. With enough chamber members, they could shake the whole Dynasty.

Gu Chengyu certainly won’t allow this to happen. He’s already devised a countermeasure.

"The chamber’s affairs can’t be resolved overnight. But grain prices remain high, persistently rising, and I will absolutely not allow this. A word of advice to you all, don’t let small gain lead to major loss; don’t say I turned my back on you. Before I came to Jiangnan, the Emperor granted me the Imperial Sword and a gold medal as a gift. If you don’t heed my advice, executing first and reporting later is allowable."

Gu Chengyu’s lips curled slightly, revealing a sneering smile.

Upon hearing the Imperial Sword and gold medal, the officials present showed envious expressions, while those wealthy merchants didn’t seem so composed.

Among them, Mr. Ning was the most anxious, sitting uneasily, pondering whether he should sell the abundant grain in the warehouse at low prices now?

But if he really sells them, wouldn’t it pain him terribly? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Xia Hongji’s face turned pale; he had stockpiled quite a lot of grain. Does it all need to be sold at a low price? It won’t do!

This matter must be reported to the Clan Leader early. Although Gu Chengyu is an imperial envoy, he will be inevitably restricted in actions. Only by asking the Clan Leader to write to the Prime Minister to transfer Gu Chengyu back to the Capital can this be resolved.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered Min Feng.

Min Feng is the Chief Minister Xia’s disciple. Yet, why wasn’t Min Feng seen at the banquet today? This indeed is strange.

Even if he disdains this outsider occupying family resources, the other is ultimately Xia Qing’s closed-door disciple.

Now seeing him absent from the banquet, it’s reasonable he should inquire.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. Min Feng is right here in Jiangnan; why should the opportunity be left to the Clan Leader?

It’s better to befriend Min Feng now so that when Min Feng returns, he can speak positively about him to Chief Minister Xia.

Sitting nearby, Li Yu Huan wasn’t bothered about the rising grain prices; he was rather intrigued by the idea of joining the chamber.

"Mr. Gu, our Li’s Trading House hasn’t stockpiled grain, nor will we raise grain prices. Please rest assured. However, I have a query—are there any requirements to becoming a chamber member?"

Li Yu Huan’s voice drew the attention of everyone present.

All are eager to know the conditions for joining the chamber, as they see great benefits in membership—far more than the few mentioned by Gu Chengyu.

Gu Chengyu cast a commendable glance over, like teaching a promising child!

But he just asked for Silver from these people, mentioning Silver again, would it be inappropriate?

Indeed, Gu Chengyu’s ultimate purpose was firstly to better manage these merchants and prevent price hikes from happening again.

Secondly, it was indeed for Silver. Of course, initially, chamber revenue wouldn’t be much. But when more people join, Silver Coins will follow.

"You all understand, if everyone qualified to enter the chamber, wouldn’t its membership be disparate and chaotic? Joining the chamber requires meeting several conditions simultaneously. I still need to report to the Holy Emperor and draw up the regulations before explaining them to you. Don’t rush; the chamber won’t be established in just a few days; be patient."

The conditions, the most important one, is naturally having Silver.

Gu Chengyu planned that chamber members must pay an annual fee of two thousand Silver, which is the lowest tier, and a security deposit of five thousand Silver.

Two-tenths of the fee covers the chamber’s expenses and operation, and the rest is handed to the court, becoming another source of court income.

After all, although the chamber is mostly operated by merchants themselves, court oversight and deterrence are needed, right?

The court does exert substantial effort on the chamber, so it’s only natural to deserve the Silver.

As to whether these people are willing to pay, Gu Chengyu holds no concern.

When the time comes, he’ll devise some gimmicks to hype up membership tiers; there’s no fear they wouldn’t be willing to spend Silver.

Besides meeting these two conditions, chamber members must also undergo chamber examination.

If their reputation and credibility are poor, the chamber will reject their membership.

Gu Chengyu listed many examples a few days ago, but it’s not yet the time to reveal them now.