Within a few days of eating the high-priced grain, the people couldn't sit still, and they all came to inquire one by one when the Lin family's grain would arrive. However, at this time, bad news came, it turned out that there was a problem with the Lin family's food.

"The grain that the Lin family bought in the south met bandits on the road, and it is said that it was robbed, and it will not be able to arrive at all!" Someone said so.

"It's really fake! How did I hear the news that the ship carrying the grain capsized, and the grain fell into the water and could not be eaten! "Someone else said that, I don't know which version is true.

"What! Why am I different from what you hear! What I heard was that there was no food at all, because now the food in the south is too expensive to buy! "Someone else says so.

For a while, everyone had different opinions, and everyone did not complain about the Lin family, but they also knew that for a period of time, the Lin family's food would not arrive. The rich and noble family is just that, the big deal is that the expenditure is more, and those ordinary people don't have much silver, how can they be willing to eat such expensive food!

Therefore, for a while, the people complained and were quite unstable.

At this time, in the prefect's yamen, Governor Zhou looked at several local grain merchants and frowned. He was calm, drank a cup of tea, and then looked at the merchants who were standing, looking indifferent, but these grain merchants had no bottom in their hearts!

"I heard that the price of grain in our Jinping City has risen a lot recently, and you think you have made a lot of money!" Governor Zhou asked, sneering in his heart, there is no shortage of these people who are worth a lot of money, but they never thought that they would have to make this money.

When the businessmen heard this, they didn't dare to squeak one by one, and everyone looked at the old man of the Meng family, no matter how he looked at it, the old man of the Meng family was a leader.

"Why, when I ask, you don't squeak anymore, aren't you all good at speaking on weekdays?" Zhou Zhifu has the backing, and this confidence is naturally enough.

"Lord Zhou laughed, our grain was also bought in the south with real money, the purchase price is too high, if this is sold cheaply, wouldn't it be a loss! After all, we are doing business, we can't lose money and make money! The old man of the Meng family said.

"I see, I didn't know that your grain was so expensive! It's just that I also have the emperor's mandate, so I have to take care of you, so don't blame me. Governor Zhou said, put down the teacup, and looked at everyone.

Everyone was a little flustered in an instant, how did you say this! Why do you say that there is some imperial order, these two words can't be used indiscriminately!

"What do you mean by that, sir?" The old man of the Meng family asked, his face uncertain.

"Hehe, haven't you read the official notice of the yamen? The emperor ordered that in the year of the catastrophe, taxes should be reduced or reduced, but the price of this grain should be stable, and it should not rise too much. Don't you see any of this? Governor Zhou asked, with a smile on his face.

"What! If this is the case, how can we never know that there is such a thing! As Master Meng said this, his face became extremely ugly.

"You don't know? I've had people post notices a long time ago, haven't you even seen them? Governor Zhou smiled slightly, looking at them with a somewhat mocking expression.

Everyone: "......" put up a notice! Can that thing count? No one is going to stare at the poster every day!

"Lord Zhou! For such an important matter, don't you really need to personally send someone to tell me to wait? The old man of the Meng family asked angrily. This is the emperor's order, the emperor's order is difficult to disobey, I knew it was like this...... They're going to be more cautious.

"Tell you? Then you just raised the price of food, why didn't anyone come to tell the official? Governor Zhou said. That's right, he did it on purpose!

Governor Zhou saw the changes in the faces of the grain merchants, and smiled coldly, what the eldest lady said was not wrong, people's hearts are unpredictable, and only when the water is mixed can we see the essence of people. Directly announce the emperor's order, I'm afraid that they will store grain and not sell it, so it's better to wait until they make a mistake and then arrest it! Anyway, the emperor's order is true, and as for the rest, he has the final say anyway.

Everyone looked at Governor Zhou's expression, and they didn't know why, they always had a feeling that they had been calculated! They even doubted that the so-called proclamation, did the Zhou Governor's Mansion really release it?

"My lord, this is indeed wronged, we really don't know! Moreover, that's the case, the emperor didn't say how much it couldn't go up! ”

Cold sweat flowed down the head of the Meng family, thinking that he had calculated everything, but he didn't know that he was set up in it.

The Lin family's food is gone, and it should have been time for them to make a lot of money, but now that there is an imperial order, it will really be fatal. Fortunately, they hid the grain.

"The emperor's order does not clearly say how much the price increase will be punished, and how much the price will be killed. Emperor Shengming, let me wait for local officials to consider it as appropriate! ”

After Zhou Zhifu finished speaking, the faces of the old men of the Meng family were like ashes, consider it as appropriate, consider it as appropriate! Doesn't that condemn them? This week, the prefect is hiding so deeply!

"My lord, go around us! We don't dare! One of the grain merchants knelt down and said, with a look of remorse.

Everyone looked at this grain merchant like this, and they also understood that now they could only kneel and beg for mercy, they wanted to make a profit, but they didn't want to, and they fell directly into the hands of others.

The old man of the Meng family saw this scene and gritted his teeth directly, he never thought that it would be like this! That's how it turned out!

"Lords, the emperor's order is difficult to disobey, otherwise, if you are really remorseful, I can't be unsympathetic, if you are willing to take out the silver to do something good for the people of the Northland, this is considered as appropriate, and it is not impossible to raise the bottom line." Governor Zhou said this, where would everyone not understand, this is asking for money!

Everyone, look at me, I look at you, I finally understand, what is shameless, now this official is even more calculating than them, this is not giving people a way to live!

Still, no matter what, they still have to save their lives, and it is important to save their lives. Therefore, you have to give this silver if you want to give it or not! They are actually regular merchants, and they never thought that one day, they would be forced by the officials to buy their lives with silver!

Even so, they could not turn around and go back to get the silver, but were politely invited by the prefect to the prison, where they waited for a while, until they could come up with a satisfactory amount of silver.

Such a scene is not only in Jinping City, but also in the three cities of the Northland, this time, all the grain merchants who colluded with Master Meng did not run away, which is really embarrassing.

They thought that the plan was foolproof, but where did they think that Lin Xi had already put the big grain merchants in the north under surveillance. What they did, how could Lin Xi not know. Routine, a trap all the way!