On the first day of October in the 11th year of Jinghan, the Winter Clothes Festival.

The beginning of winter has just passed, and the temperature of autumn has not completely dropped, but the scenery of late autumn has become more and more depressed. The rice in the field has long since been harvested, and the trees are losing their last leaves. Between the mountains, the magnificent coat of autumn has also faded, turning the color gray and dignified. The big river is turbulent, and the roads and villages along the river are also in dilapidated sight at this time. A flotilla of boats, at this time down the Huai River.

The fleet consisted of six ships, perhaps because of the official background, each ship was guarded by officers and soldiers, and because of the heavy cargo transported, the waterline of the ships was not shallow. On the big ship at the front, a group of richly dressed young men were looking out to the shore on the side of the boat, and another young man was talking to everyone.

"Not far ahead, you can see the village, there is a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva on the side of the village, this year's flood, the flood flooded the village, and the statue of Guanyin also fell. But then there was no food, many people still came to worship Guanyin, and the government gave porridge there every day, and I returned from here a few days ago and saw a lot of people ......"

The river went forward, turned the small corner in front of him, and saw the ruins of the broken wall over there, the original village has now been destroyed, only a section of the low wall remains, and the statue of Guanyin on the side of the village is broken into two pieces, and one is planted in the soil. There were many people outside the village, ragged and thin, and some of them carried large and small packages, and there was a platform by the river, and at this time they were giving porridge, and an official boat was parked next to it.

A suffocating noise came from there.

Hunger is unbearable pain, but when he reflects. But it doesn't make people hysterical, because the strength for hysteria is gone. Before it was time to put porridge, the hungry people gathered inside and outside the village, sitting or lying, adults holding their children, husbands hugging their wives, and the whole family often snuggled up to each other, not even having the strength to speak. However, due to the crowd, a small number of children still cry. There are also a small number of adults who cry out. In the midst of this crowd. The atmosphere formed is enough to make people's scalp tingle.

The nobles on the ship watched this scene, a little silent, and some whispered: "We also had a famine two years ago......

"You don't have to be too upset about this. At this time, although the government did not have much food for disaster relief. But among these people. There haven't been many starvations, but it's just hard to eat. The young man spoke appropriately to comfort him, and then said. It's just that the weather is about to start getting colder, and the price of food in the vicinity has risen to thirty-six taels per stone......"

"Hmph, if it snows, three hundred and sixty taels will rise! How many people have survived this winter! Someone snorted in a rough voice, it was a good-looking man in the crowd, although he was well dressed, he seemed to be a man who often went down to the ground to do things, and had a lot of strength. Speaking of this, there is a little gloomy between his eyebrows.

Most of the people can also think of this, and it is also at this time that a very personable son who was originally standing by the string of the boat came over: "This time, my Puyang family transported over, a total of 500 stone of rice grain, I am willing to donate 300 of them to these people, the other 200 stone was sold at a low price, to recover the cost, and then my Puyang family is purchasing 1,500 stone of rice grain, also according to this example." The person who spoke was Pu Yangyi, the successor of the Puyang family in Jiangning.

As soon as he said this, someone in the crowd immediately said, "My family's full donation!" ”

At this time, someone had to follow suit, and the young man who spoke before hurriedly waved his hand: "Everyone! Ladies and gentlemen! Listen to the next word. Your thoughts, I think these people in the disaster area will be grateful, but listen to the next word, you can't donate. ”

He saw that everyone was looking over here, so he continued: "At the time of this departure, the owner of my family repeatedly emphasized that the key to this disaster relief is not how much grain to give to the government, but to really fight the price of grain. This matter is decided by Lord He in the city, but I feel that the price of grain is thirty-six taels, and we are afraid that we can only drop it to about thirty taels, and only after it reaches thirty taels can we continue to decline. If you sell your grain for a few taels and one stone, you can guarantee that within a day, ninety percent of it will be eaten by the big merchants who have stockpiled it, and that will not only do nothing, but will only boost the arrogance of those people. ”

Everyone can think of this truth, and the young man paused: "However, you have passed this time, there are some things, I am afraid that Lord He will still ask everyone to help, this time the disaster has expanded, and the city has given food relief, and there are not enough people, and there have been a few times that have almost caused chaos and hurt people." In the past few days, the sons might as well go outside the city to help distribute some porridge and rice. Mr. He and my host have both said that since they are here, the meaning of being able to do it with their own hands is different. Lord He will also ensure your safety, so you can rest assured. ”

Once the disaster spreads, the city will inevitably close its gates, and it will be dangerous to go outside the city to give porridge. Everyone originally muttered a little in their hearts, but when they heard the young man talk about this, even if someone said, "If you can come and help, how can I worry about that kind of thing!" ”

The young man smiled: "Of course, the porridge and rice that you have been serving outside the city in the past few days have to come out of the food you brought this time. ”

Someone in the crowd laughed: "Then I'll stay a few more days, and I'll take care of all the things I brought!" ”

Puyang Yi said: "Since this is the case, then my agreement of 300 stones remains unchanged, sixty percent of the selling price of these times, after I return to Jiangning, I will buy grain or winter clothes, and the grain will be sold back here, and the winter clothes will be donated." I look at the weather, they need this too. ”

His words caused a lot of discussion, and the atmosphere on the deck was still a little lively. The young man said no more, and quietly stepped aside. Pu Yangyi quietly followed him in the crowd with the afterglow of his gaze, watching him on the side of the ship, taking out a book and taking the time to read a few words. This time the grain transportation, for Pu Yangyi, is just a simple business behavior, and there is not too much excitement, in fact, there are a small number of people in the crowd, who are like this. How much money can you make on this trip to Huainan. It didn't mean much to him, but it was this young man who caught his attention along the way.

This time, in the disaster relief operation led by the government and led by the princess's mansion of Chengguo, there is a force that has always been active and manipulated behind the scenes. As the No. 1 wealthy merchant in Jiangning, the Puyang family can know that all this comes from the Right Prime Minister's Mansion in the north, but in the depths, he sees the shadow of Ning Liheng who counts ten steps.

Reach out to everyone. Arrange itinerary and accommodation. Along the way, he coordinated various things with everyone and talked about the world, although a large part of it was arranged in advance by Kang Xian's side, but he has been in contact with everyone all the time. It was this young man named Tang Wen. A few days of contact. He mingled with everyone. And in conversation, consciously or unconsciously, the other party is always influencing the empathy of others. Hostility.

Of course, before everyone left Jiangning, Princess Chengguo and Kang Xian had received these people and rendered everyone's thoughts of doing good deeds. And along the way, the young man is also skillfully driving everyone's mood, on the one hand, he is sure that he can make money, and on the other hand, he can incite everyone's compassion, repeatedly telling them that this journey is doing good deeds. Tell them how unscrupulous traders hurt people, how many people will starve to death, tell them how miserable people are to starve to death, and occasionally tell several stories about the poor, about the rich who do good and reap the fruits of good.

A large part of these people who came with me were just the sons and nephews of small and medium-sized landlords in the countryside. They may have food at home, but they don't have much knowledge, and some of them have studied, and they have not been able to enter the officialdom after the worst years. Kang Xian's meeting, telling them about the disaster, and praising them greatly, has made them so glorious that they can't find the north. Then here is the guide and rendering all the way. If it weren't for the interlocking of these means, they might not have said that they would have given away all the food at this time. Even Pu Yangyi was still wondering if the disaster relief site he had just passed by was all deliberately arranged by the other party.

He just said that he would use 60% of the grain for disaster relief, just for fun. Along the way, he watched the young man's actions, watched him occasionally hide aside and take time to read, silently reciting, and it turned out to be just a four-book introduction for students in the academy. He was really curious, if the hand in the north was really manipulating all this from afar, then...... How did he raise such a young man......

While Pu Yangyi was observing all this, there was also a pair of eyes looking down in the slightly open window on the second floor of the ship. That is the real nobleman on the ship, and a big reason why Pu Yangyi is willing to help is also because of her existence.

Behind the window, the face of a noble girl is also silently observing all the changes in the past few days.

"This guy from the north is doing a good job." Perhaps because of the severity of the disaster, Zhou Pei's eyebrows were a little melancholy, but at this time, he still smiled lightly.

On this day, the price of grain in Huainan was thirty-six taels and one stone, and mourning was everywhere.

This is true in the south, and in the north, on the opposite side, the situation is similar. As soon as the beginning of winter has passed, the tense atmosphere in the disaster area has become a string. Half a month ago, Ning Yi, who was sitting in the capital, had already manipulated the entry of the first batch of grain, but the changes since then, as ordinary people, there is not much to feel. Beggars and homeless people began to gather in the cities, and more and more people could not eat, and everyone was looking for food. And in such a situation, there are still kind-hearted people.

Outside the mansion of the big Guo family in Fenzhou, Xiaoyi County, Hedong Road, thousands of people are gathering, and ten cauldrons are lined up, giving hot rice porridge to the hungry people who come over. The hungry people who got the porridge and rice drank it in a hurry, and before they walked away, half of them would also thank them.

Xiaoyi County, Zhenguan was named after Guo Xing's filial piety, and it is difficult to say whether the Guo family at this time was inherited from the Tang Dynasty, but the kindness of the Guo family is indeed ten miles and eight townships, and it has a good reputation.

Inside and outside the courtyard, there are two worlds.

The high courtyard wall blocked the hustle and bustle, and Li Pin sat on the hall, drinking tea, waiting for Guo Mingli, the head of the Guo family, to come out. Soon after, the head of the Guo family, who was in his fifties, came to greet the newly appointed deputy envoy for transport, and Li Pin expressed his gratitude for his good deeds outside, and the other party also humbled himself.

"I can't hide it, Master Guo, this official came here this time for the sake of the outside grain price."

Li Pin's words were gentle, and the other party also laughed: "Uh, I don't know about it...... What is the relationship with Guo. ”

"Master Guo also knows that the imperial court can't let the price of grain rise like this, we are already transporting grain. Now the price of grain outside, we hit it some time ago, and you can see it, it is pressed at thirty taels, and we will continue to press it. In the next round, we hope that the price of grain will be twenty-five taels, and when the time comes, we hope that the grain of the Guo family will also be sold like this. Master Guo, the price of grain is twenty-five taels and one stone, which is ten times that of usual. Enough to earn. What do you say? ”

The old man panicked: "Big, big, big, little old man...... I don't understand, little old man...... This monthly disaster relief soup kitchen has to take out hundreds of stones of grain. There are still a few months left in this winter. Prices...... What does it have to do with the little old man? ”

Li Pin took a sip of tea. also smiled and arched his hand: "The Guo family is kind-hearted and has always had the name of filial piety, and Li has always admired it." At this point in this disaster, the Guo family can come up with so much food, and as soon as it is over, the official will definitely present a plaque, beat gongs and drums, and personally send it to the house. But the price of grain is also related to the Guo family, I know that the Guo family has grain, and the grain in the Fenzhou area is headed by your Guo family, you don't sell it, everyone is watching, this is not good. ”

"My lord is wronged, what does it have to do with Xiao Lao'er if they don't sell it, my lord...... The little old man has already produced so much food, my lord, you ...... It doesn't make sense. ”

"It depends on what you say, you don't skimp on soup porridge, but you never sell grain. The dynasty has a decree, hoarding goods, raising prices privately, I can handle you, but I see that the Guo family has a good heart, and this official has always respected kind-hearted people, so he had to say it in person. ”

Li Pin's eyes were warm, and the old man hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth: "My lord, this ...... This can't be said, what kind of hoarding and raising the price privately, adults, the little old man didn't put the grain out to sell it at a high price, this is not a private lift. And the food ...... Xiao Lao'er's family has a big business, many people follow to eat, and put some food at home, all to prepare for the famine year, and this food also has the shareholders and clansmen in the family, everyone does not nod, how dare Xiao Lao'er take it and sell it privately. Adults forgive me...... Over the years, there has been a famine, and there is no government that is forced to sell grain, my lord, the little old man is willing to donate grain, donate food......"

It is forbidden to hoard and raise prices, in fact, this is a decree in every dynasty and generation. It's just that what has always existed in the world is not a question of laws and regulations, but a question of whether laws and regulations can be sent out of Beijing and whether they can be enforced. For example, in disaster relief, most people know that as long as the law is strictly enforced, all the corrupt guys who bend the law are done and killed, or even only one batch or a batch of people are killed, and the problem is that no one dares to do this kind of thing that makes the public angry.

The Wu Dynasty encouraged commerce, and the market was relatively free, and prices fluctuated, and many times they were subject to market regulation. At this time, the government often does not have much to do with hoarding, of course, the most essential problem is not that there is no way, but that when the government also becomes a link in the chain of interests, it is basically impossible to curb this kind of thing by strictly investigating and cracking down. This is also the reason why Qin Siyuan and others knew that this famine could not be defeated by the brutal efforts of cool officials.

But...... It is impossible to contain the whole, and if one or two of them are moved, Li Pin still has this power.

"I don't want you to donate food, this official didn't come to ask for food, and it hurt your interests, which is not good." Li Pin picked up the teacup, "What the official wants is a win-win situation, the price is a little more expensive, it doesn't matter, the important thing is that there is grain to sell, twenty-five taels and one stone, ten times the price, you earn more, and the official is also happy." As an official, after all, he wants to enrich the people......"

"Adult, villain is willing to donate 500 stone ......"

"Don't be sloppy with me anymore! I don't want your bread! Li Pin accentuated his tone, and then fell again, "This official has just arrived in office, and he is not very familiar with the place, but if you want to check one or two people, it is still possible." You manipulate the price of food to rise, and you have been hoarding. It's not that I don't make money for you, but don't make so much money! The official knows that your backstage is the Zuo family, but if the official wants to deal with you, they can't protect it! ”

The old man's face turned pale, and then he knelt down abruptly: "My lord! Since the adults know the way, why do you want to force the little old man like this! Xiao Lao'er, Xiao Lao'er has done good deeds in his life, but food, it is a business thing, Xiao Lao'er has shareholders and clansmen in his family, and Xiao Lao'er can't mess around. And my lord, you also know that the Zuo family of Lu Dao, as well as other people on this Hedong Road, if the little old man really gives food, he will be angry, and the Guo family will be finished, my lord......"

Li Pin put down the teacup and took a breath before standing up: "Yes, you are doing good, I know that outside the door of the Zuo family, there are more than twice as many people waiting for porridge as your family." A friend of my chief said a lot, "You are all good people, and you never want to die, because if you die, they will rush to your house." Kill your guys! Grab your stuff! You don't want to die, you just want to make everyone in the world look like that outside, and then you are willing to give soup and food, raise them, and hang their lives! You guys are so big! Good! Person! ”

There was anger in his words, but he was also a little powerless: "The power of this official, I just hate that I can't handle the Zuo family, but it's more than enough to do you." There are still a few days to go, Master Guo, think about it. I know that you are afraid of the Zuo family. But you'll learn to be afraid of your own officials right away! Because in a few days, if you don't sell grain, the official will raid your house. Master Guo, I took my leave. ”

"Your Excellency. You don't want that! My lord. We can discuss! What ...... adults?"

The old man shouted. But Li Pin had already gotten up and strode out. When he was out of the door, and the carriage was moving away, he lifted the curtain. He glanced at the scene of the gathering of the victims in the rear, then withdrew his gaze and spoke in a low voice.

"Keep an eye on this place and don't get into trouble......"

*****************

After Li Pin left, Guo Mingli also quickly left home and went to Jinzhou Zuo's house. The carriage was speeding up, and the next day the old man who was still in good health arrived at the Zuo family's house, but he was not looking for the great Confucian Zuo Duanyou who was the head of the Zuo family.

What is really on top of Guo Mingli is the current third young master of the Zuo family, Zuo Jilan.

The Zuo family is a big family, in addition to Zuo Duanyou controlling the overall situation, there are many clansmen, uncles and brothers. Zuo Jilan is Zuo Duanyou's biological son, if there is no accident, the future head of the Zuo family will be born between him and the second young Zuo Jiyun. In the past few years, Zuo Jilan has mastered a lot of the Zuo family's business and made money for many clansmen.

After listening to Guo Mingli say this, Zuo Jilan, who is Chinese New Year's Eve one year old today, stared coldly at the old man in front of him for a while: "Uncle Guo, you know the truth, this incident is very important to me. ”

"Yes."

"He can let you die, so can I, and he is the official of the iron-clad battalion, after this period of time, he can't move you, but my Zuo family has lived here for generations, you know?"

"But......" Guo Mingli showed a look of wanting to cry on his face, "He, he's not joking, Er Shao, you have to, you have to find a way." ”

"I know that Lu Dao, the new deputy envoy of transport, is a person from Qin Siyuan in the capital......" Zuo Jilan thought for a while, "I will settle him, but you are not allowed to let go, do you know Lu Dao?" ”

“…… Be. ”

"No matter what, it's not easy for him to do things in officialdom. You stay here tonight, I'll figure it out for you, and then you can go back...... Now let's go and rest first, Uncle Guo, if you have nothing to do, if you have nothing to do, relax ......"

After Guo Mingli left, Zuo Jilan called two helpers around him, one of them was the uncle of his family, because his previous status was not high, he was generally called Zuo Si, and the other was a middle-aged scholar in his forties, named Wang Zhizhen, who was also the most powerful staff member around Zuo Jilan.

"At this time, if Lao Guo dares to dismantle my platform, I will let him die!" He gritted his teeth, and then said, "As for what Li Pin said, what do you think?" ”

Zuo Si glanced at Wang Zhizhen, and saw that the other party was pondering, so he had to say first: "I think I can't ...... him at every turn."

Zuo Jilan shook his head: "He just came, and he is Qin Siyuan's person, of course he can't move for a while!" I'm not worried about Guo Mingli, give him a boldness, he may not dare to give food, and even if he does, the impact will be limited. But that Li Pin said that the imperial court has already moved, and the price of grain has suddenly dropped to thirty taels recently, is it really what they did? ”

"The price of grain, now the fluctuation is already large, it's just a random shout, it's not that he said that thirty taels is thirty taels. But some time ago......" Wang Zhizhen opened his mouth, frowned and thought about it, "When the winter was about to start, the price of grain was rising, and now it suddenly dropped, during that time, the price almost rose to forty taels, and a large amount of grain suddenly entered the market. ”

"Thirty-seven taels and four dollars." Zuo Jilan blinked, "Eat five thousand stones, here is more than 100,000 taels of silver, if it is really thirty taels now, that means I lost more than 30,000 taels at once?" ”

"That's not what I said." Wang Zhizhen said, "Winter is coming, and it will definitely rise next, saying that it is thirty taels and one stone, and there is not much food outside, so we just have to wait." ”

Zuo Jilan thought for a while: "If someone takes the field, thirty taels will be thirty taels, and it will be fine." ”

"This natural ...... This matter, the Qi family should also know about it, Er Shao, do you want to talk to them? ”

"Hmm...... It's good. ”

Saying so, the next day, several people bumped into Qi Fanghou, the young master of the Qi family. Qi Fanghou's staff is named Xu Mai, this person is similar to Wang Zhizhen, most of the staff members who can be in this kind of family are scholars and celebrities who are proficient in various things, and the two sides have found common ground together.

"Some time ago, because I heard that the imperial court organized people to come over to sell grain, and the people below wanted to explore the truth and reality, the first batch swallowed 4,000 stones, and the second batch of 2,000 stones, a total of 6,000 stones." Qi Fang said kindly, "I don't care about money, but it's not interesting to swallow it like this, so I took a look at it first, and then the government let it go, saying that the price of food has fallen." They're selling it for thirty taels, I don't think it's much, but I don't know how many of them will be next. ”

Xu Mai is quite famous in the Hedong area, and he has always been a lupine scarf, so he shook the fan at this time: "It seems that there are capable people behind them, and they understand this very well." ”

"What can an official understand?" Zuo Jilan sneered, "Didn't they just find a group of people to come out and kill, and then find a group of people to come out and kill." There wasn't much movement this time......"

"I also killed a few, but this time there was really no movement, and all the movement was on this grain price. So, there are people out there who understand this. ”

Xu Mai nodded his fan, and Qi Fanghou smiled over there: "Then, does Mr. Xu have a countermeasure?" ”

"In the capital, most of the people who can be appreciated are not simple, we haven't checked it out yet, and we can't underestimate the enemy." Xu Mai said, "But from what Xu has seen, most of the people in the officialdom mention doing business, and they just take it for granted and deceive those bigwigs in the capital." Of course, no matter what the matter is, in Hedong, there is the financial resources of the Zuo family, and with the shallow knowledge of the lower and Brother Wang's ability to strategize, I believe that no matter who it is, it will not be good to please here, Brother Wang, what do you say? ”

Wang Zhizhen smiled: "I didn't pay attention to it before, but now that I have been prepared, no matter who is behind...... Just teach him how to be a man. ”

In a moment, everyone laughed.

Next, the price of grain on the entire Hedong Road began to rebound. At the same time, for Guo Mingli's matter, a little sum of the two sides, a difficult strategy was born, and soon after, Guo Mingli returned home, ready to give Li Pin a dangerous dismount.

*****************

In the capital, the time has entered winter, Ning Yi is busy in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and every day here through the intelligence network of the Secret Investigation Department to summarize a large amount of intelligence and data, and at the same time pass on the judgment and response to various food price fluctuations as quickly as possible. At this time, there are a lot of delays and errors in the intelligence network, and many things can often only be predicted, and Ning Yi is also correcting his pace. While he is at ease and sometimes even humming songs and doing things at the same time, Wen Renji, who is currently helping him, is quite miserable, often confused by these data and judgments, and completely does not understand the basis for his decision.

But not long after, he also gradually saw the shadow and fluctuations of Ning Yi's fight with half of the country's Tunliang clan.

At the beginning of October, everything was relatively calm for them, as the confrontation only took place outside the capital. And at this beginning, due to Ning Yi's intervention in the north and south, the counterattack launched by both sides after realizing it was quite intense...... (To be continued......)

PS: Originally, it was said in the early morning, but this chapter is too long, and now, I haven't slept all night, and I don't know when I will be able to get up. If there is one in the early hours of the next morning, it will be considered a surprise, but if not, it is because I really have to adjust my work and rest, and this chapter is more than 7,000 words, even if it is two chapters. Well, I didn't break the change ^_^