Guozhou is a large production state, as early as Taoyuan Village did not know the water mill, the families of the powerful and rich there have begun to use the water mill and water mill. This increases efficiency and can be used to make a profit. In recent years, the trend has been particularly fast, and natural water power alone is no longer enough, so they began to cut off on both sides of the canal in order to set up a large number of water mills, water rakes, and so on.

Because of the prevalence of this wind, it even hinders the irrigation of farmland downstream, affecting the agricultural production of farmers. There have been people who have made trouble about this before, and it may be that the people who set up the water mills and water rakes are the powerful and rich families, and the farmers are helpless at all. They had to fetch water from far away for irrigation, and although it was a rich land, the peasants had a very miserable life.

The heavy rain caused the water level to rise sharply, and there was no time to discharge the flood, and the embankment, which had not been repaired for a long time, could not withstand the pressure and collapsed directly, and the people downstream suffered directly.

"I'm just speculating, and the actual situation will have to be found out by the imperial court sending someone to investigate. However, I think this must have played a role in it, plus the previous hidden dangers have accumulated over time and are now effective. ”

Everyone agreed, and felt that such speculation was the most reliable. Because this is at home, everyone is not afraid of being found out by outsiders if they say something taboo.

Cao's second sister-in-law sighed: "No wonder when my uncle promised to help other villages build water mills, he asked so much that they were not allowed to build them privately, etc., is it also because of this?" ”

"Not really, there is still relatively little private construction, after all, the financial resources are insufficient and there is not as much land and food as the rich and powerful. Interception is also expensive, so generally speaking, there is no need to worry. However, for the sake of insurance, it is better to strengthen management at the beginning. Huge profits can be insane, if it is only circulated in our part of the world, but if it is spread by others, it is very likely to invite trouble. ”

In good countries, the technology of using water power is not widely available, and some powerful and wealthy people deliberately conceal such technology for their own interests. According to some reactions from the imperial court, it shows that the emperor here is still very enlightened, and the previous agricultural tools such as threshers have been vigorously promoted. This shows that at least the emperor attaches great importance to the people's livelihood, but things such as water mills cannot be implemented, and there must be entanglements of interests. And as the head of a country, he is not a person who can be capricious in everything, and he is not a □□ person who can do what he wants in the true sense, and his behavior is also restricted.

The situation in Guozhou has always been complicated, because of its wealth, it has formed its own power, although it is not able to compete with the emperor, but it is not easy to meddle in the management, and the construction of the canal has a lot to do with there.

Even the emperor was jealous, and Chang Xile naturally didn't dare to provoke him. If he passed on the water mill and other things and broke the monopoly of the head snake in Guozhou, who knows if those powerful people would find trouble with him. Therefore, I can only restrain and dare not pass on this skill, and now it is within a small range.

Before, Chang Xile didn't want his family to worry, so only this truth was known to Chang Lao, Li Zheng and several clan elders. And now there is nothing to hide, there is such a big thing in Guozhou, if according to the current situation, the affected people are only afraid of hundreds of thousands.

In this way, Guozhou is likely to be in chaos.

It's much easier to get here now than it used to be, so it's likely that some of the victims will come here. Although Chang Xile sympathizes with these innocent victims, if he really encounters this situation, it is definitely not a good thing for Taoyuan Village and even the entire Daoxiang County.

If the imperial court had provided timely and vigorous relief, according to historical records, if it was a large-scale disaster, the situation would not be good, and there would always be turmoil. Those who are extremely hungry will be like locusts crossing the border, and the local people will suffer wherever they pass. It's okay in the city, surrounded by high walls, and guarded by troops, generally speaking, it can resist one or two, but the countryside is miserable.

In particular, there are often bandits among the victims of this kind of disaster, and these people are often the ones who cause chaos, and the real poor people cannot be helped.

And after the catastrophe, there will be a plague, and the economic losses are immeasurable.

Fortunately, if you want to get to Pumpkin, you have to go through waterways if you want to take a shortcut, and you have to go over mountains and mountains on dry roads, which takes a lot of time to reach. Therefore, the possibility of a large number of victims arriving is not very large, and if it encounters a small wave, Chang Xile feels that it can still be handled.

However, the most hopeful thing is that the disaster should not be too strict, otherwise it will be affected wherever it is.

But Chang Xi's expectations were finally shattered, and the Shen family sent news from the mansion that the disaster in Guozhou was very severe, and it could be described as a disaster. The emperor was furious and wanted to investigate thoroughly, but at this time, the powerful and rich people in Guozhou refused to help the people, and even deliberately raised the price of rice after the disaster, making the local people miserable.

To add insult to injury, the imperial court wanted to open a warehouse to release grain, but he didn't expect the granary in Guozhou to be empty!

After the disaster, Guozhou Taishou ran away with his family, and now the imperial court is chasing him with all his might. Now the court and the central government are transferring food everywhere, calling on everyone to donate clothes and money, and even the harem concubines have taken out their own jewelry to donate to contribute to disaster relief.

Although this is mostly a show, it is also a gesture to show the resoluteness of the emperor's attitude, and it also reflects how strict the disaster is.

Although Guozhou is adjacent to Pumpkin Province, it is a large plain, and in the event of a flood, the damage is very large. Moreover, it is also the granary of a good country, and if something goes wrong, the whole good country is in turmoil, so it is no wonder that the DPRK and China are now in chaos.

It is easy to breed plague after the flood, and Chang Xile wrote down in detail how to prevent the plague after the flood overnight, and asked the Shen family to help pass it on to Song Wangcheng in the capital. Qin Zhong also sent a point there, as well as the previous Qin Cha and so on, hoping to do his part so that the loss would not expand further.

If something happens to the state, they won't be happy.

Not only that, but he also left enough food for the Chang family to eat for a year, and let the Shen family transport the rest to Guozhou by merchant ship.

Shen Pei's two families did not take the opportunity to make a fortune like other businessmen this time, but went all out to relieve the disaster, and most of their rice and grain stores were closed, and they were shipped to Guozhou as if they didn't need money. Shen Pei's family was the first to start planting corn and sweet potatoes, and last year was a bumper harvest and hoarded a lot. This time it came in handy, and the number of donations was very considerable and huge.

The two families did this because the Qincha sent to Guozhou this time was their own people, so they were quite relieved. Otherwise, there is no sound when the thing is smashed out, and it may not be able to enter the mouths of the victims, which will be a big loss. The Shen Pei family will do their best to provide disaster relief, most of the reasons are really not because of compassion, but because they still want to take the opportunity to make a contribution for themselves.

This kind of thinking is not anything, at least it is really being done, and it can save a lot of people.

And Chang Xile also wants to do his part, not for his own sake, so that the victims of the disaster will not go out because of hunger, which is also to avoid the occurrence of disasters.

Chang Xile thought very clearly, donating a little now is just a loss of some money, but if the disaster victims come, it will not be so simple. Not only will food not be saved, but lives will probably be threatened. Although Taoyuan Village is easy to defend and difficult to attack, if a large number of disaster victims attack, it will not be able to withstand it.

Taoyuan Village has a good reputation, everyone knows that it is very rich, and there is no army to guard it, so it is likely to become a target for devouring.

Because of the propaganda of Li Zheng and the clan elders, the people in the village also knew why Chang Xile did this, and they also demanded that the grain depot in the village be opened and all of them should be used for disaster relief.

However, Chang Xile refused, this year's harvest will definitely be bad, no one knows what will happen next year, if they take it all out, it is very likely that they will starve themselves by then. Although they have some money in their hands, because of the disaster in Guozhou, the price of grain in the entire good country will skyrocket, and no amount of money will be enough at that time.

This is also Chang Xile who asked everyone to store more grain, and the grain used in the workshop for processing was obtained by collecting grain with the money earned, and accused everyone of exchanging grain for money. Because once there is a disaster, it is easy to inflation, and the money in hand becomes worthless.

The reason why Chang Xile is like this is not because he has always been cautious, but because he has read the county records of Daoxiang County and the neighboring county seats, as well as the records of Pumpkin Mansion and other relevant materials and history books that can be collected in other places. Although he didn't have to do any more research over the years, it didn't mean that he was idle and had been studying these things.

Because of the help of the Shen family, and the name of the person, I got a lot of information. And these materials also made him more deeply aware of the importance of hoarding grain, because although the good country has been developing in a good direction as a whole, the major disasters and small disasters have never stopped. Either the court is in trouble, or God is not strong, and something can always be caused to make the people unable to be peaceful.

Therefore, in order to prevent accidents, he called on everyone to stock up on grain, and Gongzhong also built a granary, which must be guaranteed to be full, which can last the entire Daoxiang County for a year.

Although the people of Taoyuan Village didn't quite understand why Chang Xile was so cautious, they were all convinced that they didn't panic when they had food in their hands, so no one objected.

"The price of food outside is about to skyrocket, and the house is already five or six times more expensive than usual, and it is still rising!" Chang Xisheng returned and told what he had seen and heard in the house and county.

Everyone's eyes widened when they heard this, and Sister-in-law Wang said incredulously: "Why did it suddenly rise so much!" ”

After the catastrophe, food prices began to rise, although the magnitude was not small, but it was still within everyone's tolerance, but now it has suddenly risen so much, it is unacceptable. The instability of food prices is the initial manifestation of turmoil, and if it cannot be stabilized, there will be chaos in the future.

Chang Xisheng said indignantly: "It's not those profiteers yet!" They knew that the food of the Shen Pei family had been donated, and they understood that there was a shortage of food in this mansion, and this year's harvest would definitely not be good, so they began to rise desperately. Moreover, it is also rumored in the city that our good country has suffered a great disaster this time, and the harvest will definitely be reduced this year, there will not be enough food to eat, and the granaries everywhere are still empty, and there will be no place to use the money if you don't buy it now. So the people in the city are still robbing like crazy, when I first got there, it was two or three times as much, but when I came back, it was five or six times as much. This price increase is really a blink of an eye, and the rice card will change, and there is no room at all. The price of the first person in a team and the last person in a team can be two or three times different! ”

Grandma Sun slapped her thigh directly, "Damn it these days!" Isn't this asking for the lives of ordinary people? ”

Father Chang frowned, "It's all like this, and the government doesn't care about it?" ”

Chang Xisheng sighed: "The disaster situation in our house is also very strict, and we have to take care of the Guozhou side, the yamen is about to be messed up, and we can't pull out at all." Besides, people said don't buy it if it's too expensive, and no one forced it. These people are taking advantage of this time to get rich, and they are all red-eyed and don't care about anything. ”

The Chang family is no longer the illiterate farmer a few years ago, everyone has read with Chang Xile, and they know a lot of truths, and their hearts are pinched when they hear this.

If this continues, there will be chaos.

Everyone has just passed a few good days, and the future is full of hope.

Chang Xile thought for a while and reassured: "The imperial court is not free now, after all, the disaster in Guozhou has also been severely affected in various places, and after a while, these profiteers will not be allowed to succeed, let's watch." ”

"Yes, the current emperor is a Ming monarch, and he will not let these profiteers become demons!" Chang Xiwang agreed.

Others echoed and even began to bless with their palms together.

Chang Xile saw that Chang Xisheng was about to speak and stopped, and asked, "Second brother, what else is going on, why don't you speak up?" ”

Chang Xisheng sighed and looked at Sister-in-law Wang, "Didn't I go to the county this time, the price of grain in the county has also risen sharply, many villagers have gone to the county to sell grain, and I also saw my sister-in-law's brother." I look at that posture, I'm afraid that most of the food in the family has been shipped out......"

Contrary to the rumors in the prefecture, the county did not say that there would be no food to eat this year, but kept saying that the asari had been actively providing disaster relief, and that a large amount of grain would soon come down, and the price of grain would be stable by then. If we don't step up the sale of grain now, we will lose money by then. Now this price is rare in decades, and it is very exciting.

Seeing that the price of grain is so high now, the nearby farmers were also moved when they saw that the day was not beautiful and refused to sell their grain. Many people, like the Wang family, take out all the grain at home and sell it, just to make the difference. Thinking that although Daoxiang County was also affected, it was better than outside, and because a large amount of corn and sweet potatoes were planted, I felt that I would definitely not be hungry, so I took the opportunity to sell grain.

Sister-in-law Wang was stunned, and it took a while to react, "I also sent a letter back to ask them not to sell grain!" Why are you still pulling it out and selling it! ”

Chang Xisheng sighed: "Before Lizheng wandered around, asking other villages not to sell grain, and at that time, the Lizheng of those villages should be down. But the price of food is too attractive to stop people at all. Blocking people's money is ruining people's lives, I didn't stop it, my sister-in-law replied to me like this. He also said that when our days are good, we can't see them well. ”

Now the Chang family has nothing to say, and the Wang family has made trouble before, and Sister-in-law Wang has also seen it over the years, so everyone is not shy about it, and Chang Xisheng will tell the matter directly.

Sister-in-law Wang was so angry that her whole body was trembling, she was no longer as obedient as before over the years, but she was used to being kind, and she couldn't really throw her parents aside. There has always been a subsidy on weekdays, but it is no longer the same as before, and Chang Xixing has never been to Wang's house again, indicating his position and attitude.

The Wang family has also been quite honest over the years, although from time to time they like to use their in-laws with the Chang family to seek some convenience, but there is nothing wrong with them. These years have been good, at least food and clothing have not been worried.

didn't expect that his brain was still so confused, and after thousands of instructions, he was still made obstructed by that little money.

"What a fool they're in!" Sister-in-law Wang didn't know what to say, she already knew what virtues she had in the family, and she was short-sighted. It's not that she hasn't thought about helping over the years, but she is lazy and ambitious, and she knows that what she earns in front of her is Adou who can't be supported at all, and she is completely different from other concubines, so she can only give up.

However, the youngest members of the family were all taken over by her and let them study in Taoyuan Village, hoping that their family would not be destroyed in the next generation. But just like this, the Wang family thought that the Chang family had forgotten about the past, and wanted to go to the door to fight the autumn breeze, and blamed Sister-in-law Wang for letting the children live in the old house, instead of living in the Chang family compound that they had long coveted.

Sister-in-law Wang immediately became angry and asked them to take the child back. Where is the Wang family, they know very well that the children will not only have a good future in the future, but also save some food now! And because of this, the Wang family has no chance to enter Taoyuan Village, even if they pick up their children, they can only be at the entrance of the village.

The Wang family has grievances in their hearts but dare not speak out, the current Chang Xile is a man, and their family has to rely on Wang's sister-in-law. They also understood that this daughter was not left to be handled, and the uncle had never seen them, and the grandson was not close to them, so he could only be a man with his tail between his legs.

This time, he actually said this to Chang Xisheng, and it seemed that he was lost by the high price of grain, and he began to make shallow eyelids again.

Chang Xile's face was not good when he heard these news, if something really went wrong at that time, it would be internal and external troubles.

At that time, the people in other villages will be so hungry that they will have no food to eat, so will they flock to Taoyuan Village? Many people in these villages work in Taoyuan Village, which will be very troublesome to deal with.

"Are there many people selling grain?"

"There are a lot of them, but the familiar faces are also sisters-in-law and brothers, and the others are more face-to-face, not the ones who often deal with our village. Thinking about the role of lobbying before Li Zheng, everyone knows that it is not wise to sell grain at this time, and most of the people who sell grain at this time are those people we don't look down on on weekdays. ”

Over the years, the nearby villages have relied on Taoyuan Village to make money, including selling grain, working, etc., and not everyone in Taoyuan Village will do business with it, especially hiring people to work, neat hands and feet is one of them, and the most important thing is good character. Like that kind of village tyrant, they won't deal with it, and even if they change their ways, they have to go through a strict review, which is much more troublesome than others.

Taoyuan Village is very confident in doing this, and those people don't dare to squeak at this time when they are arrogant on weekdays.

There was a family that was rejected before, this is because the family has a bad character, usually likes to steal chickens and dogs, and often touches porcelain everywhere. If you are used to acting as a blessing on weekdays, you can't stand it. So I have been insulting Taoyuan Village behind my back, and slandering Taoyuan Village everywhere that there is corpse oil in the food. They are the tyrants in the village, typical scoundrels, and there are many men in the family, and Li Zheng can't help it.

Chang Xile didn't talk nonsense with them, and directly sued the family, and threw several people into prison without much effort. Although it was only a small punishment later, and he was released after being locked up for half a year, he was put in prison in this era to take off a layer of skin. is so completely honest, he no longer dares to provoke, and other people who have opinions about Taoyuan Village do not dare to squeak.

The name of the man is not an ornament!

Later, everyone saw how powerful the security team of Taoyuan Village was, and it made people dare not offend Taoyuan Village.

Chang Xile was quite relieved to hear this, so most of the people related to Taoyuan Village should not be blinded by the immediate interests, so if something really happens later, it is easy for them to solve it internally.

"Whose family is the grain? It won't be the Qian family again, right? Ding San's sister-in-law asked.

Chang Xisheng shook his head, "It's not, now the Qian family is in charge of Qian Xin, and I heard that it is much kinder than before." The person who made these things this time was surnamed Wu, the one who sold the coffin. He has a way to transport by water, and it is estimated that he plans to collect grain and sell it in the house in exchange for the price difference. ”

Father Chang shook his head and sighed, "The businessman has multiple benefits and light righteousness." ”

Chang Xixing was afraid that Chang Xisheng would not be happy when he heard it, so he hurriedly said: "That's not all, I think Shen Pei's two families are not extremely kind, and we have been doing business now without any moths." ”

Father Chang nodded, still with a sad face, "I hope the imperial court can handle it properly this time, otherwise our ordinary people will have a hard time, and there are still few like Shen Pei's two families after all." ”

Who knows, things are not as smooth as everyone expected.

The emperor was furious and wanted to thoroughly investigate the corruption situation in Guozhou, and raised food everywhere to go to Guozhou for disaster relief, the original situation has gradually eased, but at this time, there are still people who want to take advantage of the chaos to rebel!

This person was none other than the emperor's uncle, King Pingning.

King Pingning has always been low-key, he has never shown his attachment to the throne before, and has always supported the emperor, and won the trust of the emperor, so he will let him come to this rich place.

No one thought that King Pingning would turn back, and at such a time. All the grain that had been transported before was swallowed by King Pingning, and he did not use it for disaster relief, but as food and grass for his army.

Not only that, but the victims were also driven out, hoping to use these victims to stumble the imperial court, and then take advantage of the chaos to establish an independent state.

And the previous donations of Shen Pei's family and Chang Xile were all lost, and victims from all over the country flocked to Pumpkin Mansion. Pumpkin Mansion had been hollowed out for disaster relief, and there was still food to be given in the city, and those merchants were unwilling to give food, so they could only close the city gates.

The people who were hungry for so long and waded through mountains and rivers to come here, only to be locked out, and the disappointment and anger in their hearts can be imagined. Many people died of starvation or disease, and although they knew that the cause of this evil was caused by the king of Pingning, their hungry stomachs did not allow them to think much about it, and they only wanted to attack the city and fill their stomachs.

There are hundreds of thousands of victims, and Pumpkin House is in danger.