Qi Huangong is so clever, why did he exchange thatch for gold?

In fact, Qi Henggong is speculating that worthless thatch is more expensive than gold. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qi Henggong led the allied forces of various countries to attack Chu. The battle came inexplicably, and Chu had no clue, so he sent envoys to see Qi Henggong to find out what had happened.

Guan Zhong, the prime minister at that time, said that the cause of the war was the white thatch that could be seen everywhere along the river. The envoys of the State of Chu were even more strange, saying only that white thatch was everywhere, and they just went to the river to collect it. Later, peace was made, and the war was finally solved. White thatch has become a famous commodity. But even so, it is impossible for Qi Henggong to exchange thatch for gold. What else did he do?

1. Strengthen the momentum and improve the social status.

Qi Henggong's attack on Chu was unsuccessful, but it improved the value of white thatch. White grass itself is just a very common plant, but it has religious functions. People at that time believed that white thatch could be psychic. Emperor Zhou held a sacrificial ceremony with white thatch. At that time, Guan Zhong explained to the emissary of the State of Chu that the State of Chu detained the white thatched grass, which made it impossible for the Emperor of Zhou to offer sacrifices to the gods. After the war, white thatch suddenly became a tight commodity.

2. Join the Duke of Zhou to buy and sell thatch.

Since white thatch has become a tight commodity, no one can get it. Qi Henggong contacted Zhou Tianzi and asked him to send someone to the place where the white thatch grew and guard it strictly. It is also necessary to issue an order to the vassal States that the Zhou Emperor will start the sacrificial ceremony, and all the vassal States will participate, but they need to bring mats made of white thatch, otherwise they will be disposed of. As soon as this order came out, the vassals could only rush to buy white thatch and fry it into gold price.

Why did Qi Henggong go to so much trouble to fry thatch? Because the vassal States at that time were unwilling to pay tribute, and Qi claimed to respect the king, so Qi paid tribute to Zhou Tianzi. In order to make the vassal States spit out tributes and give them to Zhou Tianzi, Qi Henggong and Guan Zhong joined hands with Zhou Tianzi to stir-fry thatch. At that time, the vassal States could only buy thatch with gold. Zhou also got a lot of wealth.