At two o'clock in the evening, Zhuang Wenxuan came to the No. A box of Xianglai Restaurant on time, and Ji Jiude, who had been waiting here, hurriedly got up to greet him.

The two exchanged politeness, and after sitting down, Ji Jiude instructed the guys to serve the food.

After the guy left, Zhuang Wenxuan said: "Ji Dian, you and I are colleagues, and there is no need to be formal. The owner of this restaurant is his own person, so he doesn't have to worry about leaking the news. If you have anything to say, you can just say it. ”

Then the subordinate said it directly. My lord, for six years, the household has been in charge of the Qi Division. In just a few years, the Qi family started from a pawnshop and developed into the richest man in Juzhou. There are nearly 100 people up and down the entire house, all of whom dare not speak out. ”

"Do you have credentials?"

"Yes" said Ji Jiude took out an account book from his sleeve and said, "This is evidence that he has been corrupt for several years. ”

The official took the account book, flipped through it, put it on the table, and said, "In addition to the account book, is there any evidence?" ”

"Yes, as long as you check the position of Chang Ping, you will find that he stole and sold grain, and it is shoddy and ironclad. In the past few years, he used his own grain store to collude with Chang Ping to steal and sell the grain in the warehouse, and then used the old grain to make up for it, making a lot of money. Judging from the accounts, there are more than 15,000 stones of grain in Changping, including 4,800 stones of old grain and more than 200 stones of moldy grain. ”

But that's not the case. According to my estimates, there are at most 8,000 stone of new grain, less than 1,000 stone of old grain, and the rest is all moldy grain. ”

"Moreover, I also made a major discovery, last night, dozens of carts successively pulled grain from Chang Ping to Qi Ji Grain Store. For a whole night, this is what I saw with my own eyes, and when my subordinates went to the restaurant to drink and came back late, they happened to find that there were big cars coming in and out of the backyard of Qi Ji Grain Store. I thought it was strange, so I followed it carefully and found that those big cars had gone to Chang Liquid. ”

"How much grain do you estimate pulled out that night?" Zhuang Wenxuan was shocked, he knew that the Qi Yu family was corrupt, but he didn't expect his appetite to be so big. After pulling grain all night, at least more than 3,000 stone had to be pulled.

"I can't estimate, I don't dare to get too close alone. I can only count the number of carts, and as far as I can count, there are eighty-seven trips. ”

"No wonder in the past two days, the Qi family grain store has been selling a lot of grain, and I wonder where the Qi family got such food. It turned out that the entire Changping warehouse had already been emptied by his family and became the back warehouse of his grain store. It seems that the Qi family wants to make a big profit in this food shortage, which is really dizzy! Zhuang Wenxuan said angrily, and then asked: "After Lord Zhizhou takes office, do you dare to report and expose it?" ”

"How dare not? As long as we join forces, we are not afraid that we will not be able to defeat him! Ji Jiude said, and then continued: "I just don't know if Lord Liang is determined to eradicate this big greed." ”

"I think Lord Liang will have this determination, Lord Liang is arresting bandits in Yanjin County, building a school palace, and benefiting the people. He is also from a humble background, starting from a small official, and rising all the way to Zhizhou, he is a model for you and me. ”

"yes. Lord Liang came to take office, which is a blessing for the officials of our state and a blessing for the people. Thanks to the guidance of Lord Servant, my subordinates are relieved. ”

********

The day after the accident at Zhou Ji Grain Store, Zhou Fuliu got the news. On the same day, He Shaolin, He Zhiyuan, and Zhou Fuliu came to the city and went directly to the back house of the grocery store.

Zhou Fuliu was the first to jump out of the carriage and asked with concern, "Father, are you okay?" ”

"It's okay, as soon as something happened, shopkeeper Li and I left. It's just that a few guys have been injured and have been treated by a doctor, and there is no major problem. ”

"How much did the grain store lose?" Zhou Fuliu asked again.

"About fifty or sixty stone of grain, plus two hundred stone stolen by the victims on the road, it is only two hundred and fifty or sixty stone of grain. This loss is nothing, the point is that the reputational damage is huge. If this matter is not clear, this pot will be firmly carried on Zhou Ji's body. ”

As they walked, they walked into the house. After sitting down and the servant served tea, He Shaoyun asked, "Brother Zhou, have you found out who did it?" ”

"You don't need to check to know that the Qi family did it, but there is no evidence." Zhou Xuhai said: "The Qi family sees that we have not increased the price, and we still insist on opening the door. blocked his family's financial route, so he let the social ruffians make trouble, took the opportunity to smash and rob, and also spread rumors and framed the grain store for selling rice mixed with sand. In fact, the evil act of mixing sand was done by their Qi family, as well as the Zhang family and the Liu family. ”

"Did you report this?" He Shaolin asked.

"It's reported, the history of the yamen is with the Qi family, and there will be no results. However, Lord Servant sent two officials to inquire today. He also instructed us not to spread the word, I guess the Zhuang officials are secretly investigating, so let the guys tell the truth. ”

"Zhuang Yuanmu is my classmate and friend in private school, and he has had a good personal relationship since childhood, and he knows our plan. Let him check it out. ”

Zhou Xuhai said reassuringly: "Since it is my own person, it will be easy to do." ”

At this time, He Zhiyuan said: "Uncle Zhou, I think our plan can be started. Now there are more than two million stocks in the soap factory, which is enough. ”

"Don't you need to wait for Lord Zhizhou to come before deciding?"

"We've already met Lord Zhizhou Liang. I think he's a shrewd and capable official who can get things done. ”

"Seen? When did you see it? Isn't it that he hasn't arrived yet? ”

He Zhiyuan and He Shaolin told Liang Wensheng about the private interview with Weifu.

"In this way, Lord Liang is really a strategic, courageous, shrewd and capable official. I also appreciate your father and son. ”

"We think so, too."

"It's a great opportunity, and you have to take advantage of it." Zhou Xuhai said excitedly.

"Yes, then our plan can begin, and I'll send someone to inform you immediately. It also takes seven or eight days to get here in Jiangnan, and it is time to start counting the days. ”

********

In the post house of Zhu Chendian, Liang Wenhui said eagerly: "My lord, rumors have been spreading in Juzhou City in recent days, grain prices have skyrocketed, and ordinary people are rushing to buy grain. It's all here. ”

Liang Wensheng was shocked: "What caused it?!" Is there someone behind it? ”

"I heard that the four major grain stores in the city were closed for three days, and only Zhou Ji insisted on not raising prices and opened for business. Now the whole city is flocking to the Zhou Ji Grain Store to buy food. ”

"What about the other three? Is it hoarding and profiting? Liang Wensheng guessed angrily.

"Nine times out of ten? The three families all said that there was no food to sell, but in fact, the common people knew about it. In the past few years, almost every time there is a shortage of green and yellow, it is almost like this, but this year is especially powerful. ”

Liang Wensheng pondered for a moment and said: "Today, we don't bring a guard of honor, just like a few days ago, we rode a donkey into the city, visited the city, and secretly learned about public opinion." ”

"What about your family?"

"Where are they?"

"They were two days behind us, and they were probably still halfway there."

"Send a guard to inform them, let them find a shop to stay in after they arrive in Juzhou City, don't tell their identities, and wait until we arrive."

This time, Liang Wensheng was dressed as a common man, riding a donkey, or led by Liang Wenhui, and the four guards pretended to be a folk man and followed from afar. Just swayed like this, and slowly walked towards the city of Juzhou.

Near noon, they walked to the gate of Juzhou City.

At this time, Liang Wenhui said: "My lord, what should I do if this soldier guarding the city gate wants to check the road guide?" If you come up with a guide, won't you reveal your identity? ”

"Wait for the four guards in the back, let's go into the city together, you take out the road guide, just say that you are coming to the city on business, the soldiers guarding the city gate are not very literate, and generally will not arouse suspicion."

The six people easily blended into the city, and this experience later became a good story of Liang Wensheng, which has been circulated in Juzhou for a long time. But at that time, the four guards and Liang Wenhui all sweated for Lord Liang.

This day was the second day after the Zhou Ji grain store was smashed, and when rumors were still flying in the city and the people were panicking, Liang Wensheng and his party walked on the street without attracting anyone's attention. Who would have thought that this middle-aged man riding a donkey would be the parent of this state, Lord Liang?

If Liang Wensheng had arrived at the city gate an hour earlier, maybe he would have met He Shaoyun and his son, but this time He Shaoyun and his son were not so lucky, and they missed the grand scene of Liang Wensheng riding a donkey into the city.

It was noon when he entered the city, so Liang Wensheng casually found a hotel to stay in, and then instructed the innkeeper to prepare meals.

When the food was served, Liang Wensheng asked the guy: "I see the chaos in the city, and I heard that there is still a food shortage, is there really a problem?" ”

"Listening to the accent, are you an outsider?" The guy asked rhetorically.

"Yes, I am from Shaanxi and came to the city to do business."

"Oh, then it doesn't hurt me to talk to you." The guy whispered, "It's been days, and everyone is rushing to buy food." Yesterday another grain store was smashed. ”

"Why was the grain store smashed?"

"We have four major grain stores in Juzhou City, the Liu family and the Zhang family led by the Qi family are grain stores run by locals, and the Zhouji grain store is opened by Boss Zhou from Qingzhou. In the first two days, the three local companies all increased their prices, but the Zhou family did not rise, and the three local ones all closed their doors and stopped selling, but the Zhou family did not close. In this way, the Zhou family blocked other people's financial paths, and yesterday they were smashed by the Qi family who secretly bought the ruffian. ”

"Does the government care?"

"This is all guessed by the people, there is no real evidence, how can the government manage it? However, even if the government has solid evidence, it will turn a blind eye. We haven't had a Zhizhou here for almost a year, and now the Qi family is the boss, and no one can afford to mess with it. ”

"The Qi family is so powerful? Isn't there a history of Tongzhi and classics without Zhizhou? ”

"The Qi family is the richest man in the city, and the eldest son of the Qi family is the household secretary of the yamen, and he has a lot of power. Tongzhi is old and dizzy, he is a good old man, and he doesn't care about anything. The classic history is with the Qi family, and no one cares about the Zhou family being smashed. ”

At this time, the shopkeeper shouted at the house: "Li Er, I heard that the grain store is open, go buy rice." ”

"Hey, it's coming, it's coming. Today, seeing that you are outsiders, I dare to say it. Don't tell your boss that these things are what I said. With that, he hurried out.