After the busy Mid-Autumn Festival, the maid presented the gift list she had recently received, and Master Li read it and accidentally found the gift sent by Ning Yi, only to remember that the two had not met for a while.

She asked the maid to find out the gift, the gift is a painting, the painting is the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the author of the painting is called Tang Zhigui, who is a famous landscape artist a hundred years ago, presumably this painting is worth a lot of money. After a slight glance, the master asked the maid to take it back.

Valuable paintings may not represent the mind, and girls are the most sensitive to this aspect. Thinking of this, she was somewhat slandered at Ning Yi.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, business was busy in the alum building, and she had booked a poetry party to attend, and there were many guests who wanted to talk and chat. The Oiran of the Qing people does not sleep with others, either to add color to the big scene, or to gather alone, giving people a clean and comfortable time or two.

When you see someone, it's an hour or two, and when you attend a meeting, it's even longer. In the capital, there are quite a few people she can't afford to offend or don't want to offend, even if she breaks herself in half, it's actually not enough. And when she had free time, or could be taken out, she threw herself all into Tong Shu'er's case, either going to Kaifeng Mansion to inquire about the case, or meeting with the other sisters involved. These women are not all from Alum Tower, but this time they are the same enemies of the fireworks industry, and the teacher doesn't care, but in it, they are also the most important of the heavy.

If the woman in the Qinglou wants to express her attitude, of course, she can't gather a sign to protest all over the street, that is, she will die. After all, they express their grievances through a variety of "friends", including the officialdom. Shopping mall gentry, romantic celebrities.

After the uproar during this time, the pressure on the Yin side of Kaifeng Mansion was also quite great for Tong Shuer's murder, and on the other hand, the official who was the murderer also had some connections, and ran several ways, stuffing money and giving gifts, and moving up and down. Later, a clear stream came out and said that the woman in the Qinglou dared to point fingers at the murder of the imperial court. To blackmail public opinion. I had to beat them hard. The teachers and teachers were not afraid, but when they met the big officials, they cried to them in a weak manner, and then some literati wrote articles in private and circulated them. It is necessary to punish the officials from outside. and nailed the negative man who abandoned Tong Shu'er to the pillar of shame. The discussion is surging. After all, there was a tug-of-war between the two sides, and it seemed that the official was outside. Most of them can't escape.

For this kind of thing, the teachers and teachers didn't have to go to Kaifeng Mansion to hear the case, but when they were there during the trial, they still made the teachers feel a kind of pleasure. After all, they are doing very good things, everyone is here to help, only to have such a result, although Kaifeng Mansion has repeatedly delayed the time to adjudicate the case, but after all, it can't cover up the bad guys, and it can't be dragged to the ground!

And it's really at this time that I can see who my friends are. Since learning about her relationship with Tong Shu'er's case, many talented people who knew her before have come over to help write things and come up with ideas, and some of them who are on errands in the yamen have also come to express their indignation, and some are estimated to have secretly promoted the conviction of the officials outside the department. However, at this time, Ning Yi did not come, and when she remembered it, it was somewhat unpleasant.

Of course, she knew that Ning Yi had been here twice, and she happened to have something to do with her at that time, and after she came back and was notified by the maid, the other party had already left. This seems a little insincere: I'm not available, you can wait. In addition, although you can't come out when you meet guests alone, if you participate in a poetry meeting somewhere, with your identity as a great talent, if you really want to go in, there will be someone in the way? It's almost as if I'm stingy with a few of his poems.

In the past, when she was not very familiar, she felt that Ning Yi's personality was strange, and after more than half a year, she got along with each other relatively frequently, and she became accustomed to Ning Yi's character. That guy has been thinking about business lately, and every poem has to be taken to a branch of Zhuji - the teacher has never seen such a "stingy" talent for poetry, and his poetry is really unstoppable, and after reaching the end, he can only think that he is a little "lazy" in the matter of composing poetry.

Everyone is a friend, this is not a character that cannot be tolerated, but after getting acquainted, I find it interesting. On weekdays, if Ning Yi is busy, say hello and say a few words and leave, the teacher also feels ordinary, because she is originally open-minded, only in the recent period of time, the other party did not come to participate, which made her more or less resentful.

Soon after, the resentment grew a little more.

It was two days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng came to see her, and by comparison, this heart really made the teacher feel a little warm. In fact, Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng are both officials in the capital now, although they are both minor officials, but among the officials, the Beijing officials are the most noble, and others can't be if they want to, but because most of the people they come into contact with on weekdays are people with higher status, the identity of the teacher is only limited to the category of childhood friends, when talking about Ning Yi, Chen Sifeng shook his head with a sneer: "Liheng him, I can't help but value money too much......

Among the two, Chen Sifeng is quite arrogant, and Yu Hezhong is slightly better, but they can't understand what Ning Yi did. Then he talked about some things one after another: "I heard that there is a food shortage in the north and south. ”

"The price of rice has risen too high, but Zhuji has been collecting grain recently......"

"Actually, in Beijing and outside Beijing, it hasn't been peaceful recently, and the atmosphere in the ministry is not very relaxed......"

"I heard that the right prime minister's mansion is for private use, and it wants to use the resources of the imperial court for business, and it is this time that the price of grain has skyrocketed. As a result, there has been a lot of discussion about things, and in recent days, many officials have been taken off their hats, and the two ministers are very prepared, but the royal history Qingliu I know have also been a little bit of a move recently, and I wonder if there will be problems again. ”

"In the imperial history, Lord Cheng Qin and the right minister are their own family, can't they fight?"

"It's hard to say, Qin Zhongcheng has a straightforward personality, and last year he even dared to participate in Taishi Cai......"

As low-level officials, although they can't reach the upper echelons, they are quite sensitive to changes in wind direction, and they feel a little bit of the coming breath of mountain rain. The teacher, on the other hand, wrote down the food shortage, and in a sense, made money by taking advantage of the soaring food prices. It is what all businessmen do, and it is not incomprehensible to say that Ning Yi has been busy with this matter recently.

But it was a famine, and how could you just think about making money at such a time......

I think this way in my heart, and I know that this kind of thinking is somewhat naïve in the eyes of many people. In the following days, while paying attention to the progress of Tong Shu'er's case, she also made a little inquiry about the famine situation in the north and south, and some of the people who interacted with her also knew the inside story. I talked about the damage this year. Since then, the traders have hoarded grain and raised the price of grain, which has expanded to the extent that there are several roads from north to south! Most people sigh when they talk about it. Most of the people are going to die this year. Then he spoke of the inhumanity of those who hoarded grain.

And so unanimously until this day of August 22. After the first round of busyness, there was some time in the evening, and the teacher took leave with Li Yun. Leave the alum tower and go to visit Ningfu. When I met Su Wending when I came to the door, I realized that Ning Yi was still dealing with things in Zhuji, so she turned back to Zhuji, and after the report, a shopkeeper invited her in and asked her to wait in the side hall. ”

The master sat down in the side hall.

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

At the same moment, on the street outside the alum tower, a richly dressed man waved a folding fan and walked in the night. Behind him was the carriage and several attendants.

Shaking the folding fan in his hand, looking at the prosperous scene along the way, the man's face showed a faint smile, he turned his head and whispered to the people around him: "Du Chengxi, I, sometimes look out on the palace wall, the lights are prosperous, but I always feel that the high place is unbearable, only every time I go out of the palace, in this prosperity, I feel that this is what the capital should be, just like the poem I read recently, a night of fish and dragon dance...... Okay, here's it, let's go inside. ”

What appeared here at this time was Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe, who was out of the palace in micro-clothes. Recently, there has been a trace of discord brewing in the court, if he would be a little annoyed in normal times, but the recent success of the war in the north has swept away the haze in his heart. He watched it all unfold with a relaxed mind, and took time out to relax. It's not the first time I've been here, I didn't see Master Li last time, which made him feel a little regretful, if he can see it this time, he will definitely be in a good mood.

But this time, the other party was not in Alum Tower. Recognizing that this was the royal nobleman brought by Captain Gao last time, her mother Li Yun hurriedly came out and apologized desperately. Zhou Zhe was quite generous, waved his hand to show that he didn't care, and called another Oiran as a companion.

Zhou Zhe doesn't come to Alum Tower often, but looking at Li's mother's posture, he obviously has a very high status, and some maids in the building talk about it in private. Not long after, when Zhou Zhe came out, he overheard the conversation between the two maids: "Speaking of which, where did the teacher and the girl go today?" ”

"I heard that I went to find Ning Yi and Ning Gongzi, and you also know that they have been friends since childhood...... The relationship is quite affectionate. ”

Zhou Zhe frowned, and then smiled at Du Chengxi, the chief manager of the inner house beside him: "Du Chengxi, this Ning Yi Ning Liheng, it's not simple." ”

Du Chengxi frowned and said, "Little Zhilu Dao, the emperor ...... The poem that the old man just chanted was written by him. ”

"Well, that's not the case." Zhou Zhe smiled, "The last time I came, this teacher girl went to perform for What Bamboo Record, and this Bamboo Mark was opened by his family." In other words, this Ning Gongzi snatched the woman I fancied twice, isn't it powerful? Ha Lu Ha ......"

He said this, but his voice was not high, he took a step forward, looked back at Du Chengxi's expression, and then suddenly frowned: "You, don't show this look!" Don't bother people with this kind of thing! Talented and beautiful, romantic stories, since ancient times, I just came out to have some fun in my spare time, and he didn't know what to do, what could this be! Let me tell you, this Ning Liheng is a capable person under the right minister, and he is a talent! That's what I do with him...... Okay, forget about it, you should ...... Am I a faint king? ”

He lowered his voice again and said the last sentence, he turned around and smiled, and went back to accompany the beauty......

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

Zhuji, a large room with swaying lights, more than 20 people gathered among them, looking at a large map on the blackboard in front of him, Ning Yi was still talking about it in circles, and the shopkeeper here whispered a word to Ning Yi, but it was: "The master girl is leaving." ”

"Huh?" Ning Yi blinked. Then he looked at the crowd, "There is something to do, let's go out first, and we will continue to talk when we come back, no, I am lazy." At the end of the room, Wen Ren, who had only returned to Beijing today, was actually listening to him say something, and he smiled and arched his hand to him.

Ning Yi chased after the shopkeeper: "You haven't gone far yet, have you?" ”

"Fang just said, it shouldn't have gone far."

"Really...... I just have something to ask her, so I just asked her to come in and listen to it......"

Ning Yi whispered. Walk quickly out of the caus. When he was about to reach the side door of Zhuji, he caught up with Shishi and her maid: "Shishi Li, wait, leave so soon." I'm looking for you for something......"

The teacher showed an embarrassed and charming smile: "I just passed by here today. Drop by and have a look. Liheng, you have to go ahead of time, and I have to hurry back. ”

"Oh......" Ning Yi was stunned, and then nodded as well. That...... I'm really slacking, I'll look for you next time. ”

"Okay." The teacher saluted and walked towards the door.

When she went out and the lights in the market came over, the smile on her face retracted, and she sighed, and the maid next to her listened to her sigh softly: "Since there is something, you don't say that you will look for me tomorrow, but you will find me the day after tomorrow, only next time...... Alas......"

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

On the other side, Ning Yi frowned, quickly returned to the room, and continued to look at the large circled map with everyone.

“…… Let's go on to say that each family here has their own different situations, and what I have listed here today are just some of the methods that are taken for granted, and how to really convince them is your improvisation, and the basis of improvisation should be based on intelligence. From this picture, it seems that there are still a considerable number of people who can be placed, which you have temporarily omitted. Of course, although the time is not sufficient, I still advocate one step at a time, as long as it is to visit, the words must be thorough, the work must be solid, do not go to the past, to be efficient, if they can only tolerate you once to speak, then your speech, must be very quality......"

On the big map, it is marked with a radius of several hundred kilometers near Bianliang, which exceeds more than one province in later generations, and it is marked with large and small dots and circles, which is the location of the landlord who has more than 1,000 acres of land near Bianliang, and there are more than 200 such people on the map. However, because Bianliang is a place where rich people live, people who settle in Bianliang City, but whose land is in other places, are not counted.

"The situation is actually not optimistic...... "After talking to everyone, the discussion is over, and the time is not early, Ning Yi whispered to Wen Ren on the side about the progress of the whole thing, "In more than ten days, what is really determined is only about 6,000 stone of grain, and with the intention, it can probably reach 20,000 stone, but the first one to attack the fortification is the easiest, and then to expand, the difficulty will increase......"

He sighed, in fact, five thousand stones and ten thousand stones of grain did not seem to be much, but the account was not easy to calculate.

In terms of today's situation, the yield per mu of land in the Wu Dynasty at this time was about more than 100 catties, and the landlord got the income per mu for each mu, which was actually a little more than half a stone. A large landlord with a thousand acres of land at home can have 600 stone of grain a year, and he can't eat it anyway, and a landlord who has hoarded a thousand acres of land usually has no pressure to take out a thousand stones.

In fact, although the commerce of the Wu Dynasty is developed today, there is a situation that occurs frequently within the scope of this one and a half provinces: among these large landowners, at least more than half, they do not sell grain, and when the grain is stored in the warehouse until it becomes moldy, they will take it to the field and burn it.

In the case that there is no grain to sell in many places, the problem of grain storage is solved by fire, which shows that there is grain storage in a large area. But on the other hand, the fact that it is better to burn them than to dispose of them by selling them is enough to prove the solidity of the idea of self-isolation, and of course, there are other reasons for this: for example, there are no channels, and for example, there is an aversion to business.

Only the "no channel" situation is best solved. And among the more than two hundred households, a small half - usually the people with the most food - Zhu Ji said that they could not move them, they had their own channels and methods, and among the remaining people, half of them were stubborn and absolutely unconvincing, plus many other problems, the results expected by Ning Yi after the most were not too much.

“…… In the most ideal state, before we have something to eat next year, the grain we want to pry is at least 500,000 stones, Zhuji's side, I think it should be expected to be able to get 50,000 stones, 100,000 stones is impossible, and outside, the relationship between Qin Xiang, Kang and Mata, Nian Gong's relationship, and Master Jueming, can you say that you can move 450,000 stones, I think...... Not easy. ”

Although Ning Yi said that Zhuji is a small head, such a flowering everywhere is actually efficient. Qin Xiang has a big face, and he may be able to say that he can move a few big landlords of three or five thousand stones or even tens of thousands of stones, but the number that can really be reached is limited. Ning Yi said this, and Wen Ren nodded: "In addition, the officialdom is not very peaceful." ”

Ning Yi smiled: "I'm not worried about this, the old man's side is prepared, let's just watch him perform......" He paused, "Actually, Wenren, what I'm most worried about hasn't arrived yet......"

Merchants are seeking profits, and the disaster-stricken areas are stockpiling grain, and this side is also another model of stockpiling grain. Once the grain enters the disaster area and the real commercial price suppression begins, at that time, all kinds of people whose interests have been harmed will really jump out one after another.

And before that, in late August, a storm of officialdom of no small scale was brewing and began to erupt in the court. The war between the two prime ministers and Yushi Qingliu broke out chaotically......

All this, many people, do not feel much for the time being. It's just that on this night, Master Li had insomnia as usual...... (To be continued......)