Chapter 209: Catching Dead Fish with Grass and Nets

If the grain released by the government is used as water, then the attraction of rice and grain in Lin'an City is like sand, no matter how much water is injected into the sand, it will only wet the sand and disappear in a moment.

The common people have begun to complain, believing that the government should come forward to manage this matter, suppress the soaring price of rice, and stabilize the value of gold yuan bills and coins. When those rice shops faced the doubts of the people, they were full of words, only saying that their own prices had not increased, as long as the people who bought the grain could get the money, then they would sell the rice at the same price.

The price of rice reached its peak on June 25 of the first year of Yan Huang, and the price of one stone of rice was as high as 15 yuan, and the gold yuan coupon also cost 10 yuan. The credibility of the gold dollar coupon is shaky, and the coin is close to bankruptcy. Moreover, the news from all over the country, the high price of rice quickly spread to the rest of the country, whether it is Quanzhou, Yangzhou, or Qingyuan, Huating and other state capitals, the price of rice is rising wildly along with the price of grain in Lin'an.

Not only did the price of private money rise, but the news of the government's opening of the copper ban came out, and the result was that there was no copper on the market, and even the big bronze bell in the temple had to be guarded by monks, so as not to be sold by the thief who was blinded by the copper yellow.

Yu Tianxi is like an ant on a hot pot these days, almost all the rice in his hands can be included, he has done his best, and even coerced and lured the major rice merchants in Lin'an City, but these rice merchants are also bitter, only saying that the rice is really not much, if it is all thrown out for a while, the price of rice still does not fall, then the entire Lin'an will have no rice to sell.

Huang Shaobin, who is an old man in a rice trading bank, simply claimed that he had suffered from heat stroke because of the hot weather and went to the countryside to escape the heat. Although his shop took out 200 stones to save rice, but in the past few days, 100,000 stones have been thrown, and only these 200 stones are of no use!

He knew that the Son of Heaven hid two batches of rice, adding up to 160,000 stones, and originally he just wanted to rely on the power of Lin'an Mansion to calm down the price of rice, so as to show his ability, but now it is not done, if it is delayed any longer, I am afraid that there will be a big disaster.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly summoned the carriage and rushed to the forbidden palace.

"Yu Tianxi is here?" Hearing Yu Tianxi's request to see him, Zhao and Ju were talking to Huo Chongcheng, and smiled when they heard it: "It must be for the price of rice, let him come in." ”

"Please retire." Huo Chongcheng Road.

"Guangliang is not an outsider, just listen here, maybe you will need to use the secret investigation department in the future." Zhao Youju shook his head and said.

After a while, Yu Tianxi arrived in front of Zhao Heju, his face was pale at this time, and his originally plump face obviously showed traces of thinness, as soon as he arrived in front of Zhao Heju, he knelt on the ground: "The minister is incompetent, ask Your Majesty for the guilt!" ”

Zhao and Ju said warmly: "Why did Yu Qing say this, please come and speak quickly." ”

Yu Tianxi stood up, glanced at Huo Chongcheng, and saw that the Son of Heaven did not mean to retreat from him, but gritted his teeth and said: "The minister is not doing things effectively, now the price of rice in Lin'an City is high, but there is no rice to sell in the rice shops, and the ministers have also sent people to check, and the warehouses of the rice shops are indeed empty." According to His Majesty's orders, he successively invested 150,000 stones, but he still failed to stop the price of grain. Now that the people have complained, the ministers are afraid that they will no longer do anything powerful, and there are things that they dare not speak...... Please Your Majesty quickly send the inner treasury to save the people's livelihood, and then please punish the crimes of the ministers! ”

After he bowed his head and said these words, he did not get a reply from the Son of Heaven for a long time, he did not dare to raise his head, but only pricked up his ears to listen, however, only the sound of the clock was ringing in this side hall, and the Son of Heaven seemed to have disappeared.

Zhao Youju was not really angry, but was thinking about whether the time was ripe.

"Summoning Cui Xianggong." After a long time, he commanded the chamberlain.

"Please retire." Hearing Zhao and Ju say this, Huo Chongcheng said again. That day, Ge Hong's warning was still in his ears, and the Son of Heaven was looking for the prime minister to discuss matters, although he was an old man in the palace, he should not be present, otherwise he would inevitably be accused of being arrogant and rude.

"You go first, if there is anything, I will announce you." Zhao Youju nodded.

Not long after Huo Chongcheng left, he arrived at the gate of the palace and saw a person looking anxiously. His face sank, and he was about to speak, when the man beckoned to him.

This person was one of his secret spies, so anxious, it was obvious that important information had arrived, and Huo Chongcheng walked towards him quickly.

"Huo Sishi, I found it, I found Zhang Xingpei!" The man stepped aside with him and lowered his voice.

In fact, what he found was not Zhang Xingpei, but Zhang Xingpei's carriage, which was completely accidental, Huang Shaobin's Zhuangzi in the suburbs was bought in the name of a person who had nothing to do with him, he was extremely cunning, although he did not know that the imperial court was so quick to detect their movements, but he was still cautious, lest it be known. But his son made a mistake, Zhang Xingpei's carriage was specially made and extremely luxurious, so Huang Shaobin's youngest son drove it out to the sword camp to show off. When the car entered Lin'an City, it was discovered by the secret spy planted by Huo Chongcheng, and Huo Chongcheng had orders, so he immediately ran to report.

Huo Chongcheng was surprised and delighted, finding Zhang Xingpei's whereabouts at this time, whether he is dead or alive, the danger of Lin'an rice price will be solved. He groaned slightly, and originally wanted to take people to arrest him, but when he thought of Ge Hong's warning that day, his heart sank.

The power given to him by the Son of Heaven was only a secret detective, and the power to arrest was not in his hands, he looked at the gate of the palace, looked for a guard he knew and said: "Li Jingwen, please call Li Jingwen for me, urgent, 100,000 urgent." ”

The guard knew that he was a believer of the Son of Heaven, and he was in charge of the secret spy, so Li Yunrui had an urgent matter, it must be urgent business, so he immediately ran in, and after a while, Li Yunrui hurriedly came out.

"Bring some people and arrest them with me." Without waiting for him to ask, Huo Chongcheng said in a low voice: "Zhang Xingpei's whereabouts are here." ”

Huo Chongcheng did not have the power to arrest, but Li Yunrui did, in addition to taking over the post of Marquis Yu, the former secretary of the Qin Dashi Palace, he was also responsible for military law and arrest. Hearing Huo Chongcheng's words, he didn't say a word, beckoned back, and immediately more than ten people followed.

When they left in a hurry, they happened to see Cui He's carriage coming over and stopping in front of the palace. Cui He didn't pay attention to this small group of guards, galloping all the way, although his carriage was a good carriage given by the Son of Heaven, and the road was smooth and easy to walk, he still felt that his old bones were about to be scattered.

"I don't know what happened, the Son of Heaven is urging me in a hurry." He grumbled quietly and walked quickly into the palace.

"Cui Qing, the price of Lin'an rice is no longer the same, Lin'an Mansion is out of control, do you think the time has come?"

After Cui saluted, Zhao Youju didn't give him politeness, and asked bluntly. His strategy was known to Cui and Yu Tianxi in the court, Wei Liaoweng was also known to the enemy, and the rest of the courtiers did not know, so he summoned people to discuss, and only called Cui to him. And Wei Liaoweng didn't call him because Zhao Heju was afraid of him nagging, the price of Lin'an rice was so high, Zhao Heju could have started to calm down earlier, but until now, he also has his own plans.

"When the minister came, I asked, the price of rice is already fifteen yuan and one stone, and the gold dollar coupon is also ten yuan, that is, the money, and now it seems to be shaking." Cui He thought for a while, and then said: "This is the right time, almost all the private money has been squeezed out, and if you don't take the opportunity to close the net, I'm afraid it will be really difficult to control the price of rice." ”

"I'm not afraid of the price of rice, what I want is that all the copper coins hidden in the kiln will come out." Zhao Youju heard that his judgment was the same as his own, and said happily in his heart: "Then so be it!" ”

Yu Tianxi's heart sank, he knew that the Son of Heaven had a plan to deal with those people who raised the price of rice behind the scenes, and he always thought that the Son of Heaven was waiting to give those people a fatal blow, but he didn't expect that in addition to those people, the Son of Heaven was also very dissatisfied with the money hidden by the people. The reason for the money shortage in the Great Song Dynasty, in addition to the three points that Wei Liaoweng had summed up, there was also an important one that the people buried a large amount of money in the altar and did not enter the circulation. These days, the price of rice has skyrocketed, and the corresponding prices of other daily necessities have also risen, such as firewood, salt, oil and tea, the price of daily necessities has more than doubled, and the money hidden by the people has to be used, which is also an important reason why Zhao and Ju have not quickly cracked down on those who raise the price of rice.

"Yu Qing." Zhao Youju glanced at Yu Tianxi and said softly.

"The minister is here!" Restraining his mind, Yu Tianxi respectfully accepted the order.

Cui He looked at the pair of monarchs and ministers, twisted his beard, and squinted slightly. The relationship between Yu Tianxi and Zhao and Ju, he is very clear, it can be said that without Yu Tianxi's "insight", the Son of Heaven would not have been able to become the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. Although the Son of Heaven is ruthless to Shi Miyuan, he is gentle and polite to Yu Tianxi, Zheng Qingzhi and others, showing a look of great nostalgia.

"At such an age, this trick of power and scheming is so proficient, isn't it true that the official family has been enlightened by Lu Zu as the rumors say?" Choi thought to himself.

"You go back immediately, the first post is to post an article, announcing that there are traitors who are raising prices and hoarding Juqi, and the government is already investigating and dealing with it; Second, they sent people to maintain order in the ten stores of the scheduled Baoxing grain store, and implemented the policy of restricting purchases, that is, each person could only buy one stone of rice each time; Third, the merchants and travelers who enter and leave Lin'an City are strictly inspected, and those who make more than 100 yuan of money and more than 5 stones of rice are temporarily seized and detained. ”

Yu Tianxi replied without hesitation: "Yes!" ”

"There you go." Zhao Heju said: "Don't worry about rice, today I will invest 60,000 stone rice, after the purchase limit, these 60,000 stones will cost 60,000 people to buy, ten places are enough for them to be busy all day." ”

Yu Tianxi took the order and left, and Zhao Heju said to Cui Hezhi again: "Cui Qing, this kind of weather makes you tired, I feel uneasy, it just so happens that I have recently made sorbet, can Cui Qing want it?" ”

"Thank you for Your Majesty's gift, it's just that the courtier's old intestines are blocked, and he will have diarrhea after eating the cold, and the minister wants to share his worries for His Majesty for two more years, and he can't hurt his body for the desire of his tongue."

He said it bluntly, and Zhao and Ju laughed.

After Yu Tianxi complied with the arrangement of the Son of Heaven one by one, he came to a shop in Baoxing Grain Store, and sure enough, after a while, the people who came to buy rice formed a long line, there were hundreds of people, and more and more people came, if it were not for the messengers of Lin'an Mansion to maintain order, these people were enough to crowd the store in Baoxing.

In front of the rest of the grain stores in Lin'an Mansion, it was almost empty, no one waited, all the people who bought rice went to the front of the Baoxing grain store to line up, and the ten shops added up, and the number of people queuing up was up to four thousand. Baoxing sold grain at the old price limit, those who hoarded grain originally wanted to repeat the old trick, and then go to buy all the grain in Baoxing, but because of the limited amount, they could only take a stone of grain away, for a while, they could not find too many people to line up, so they could only look at the queue and sigh.

And at the same time, from the inner palace, dozens of carts kept delivering rice to various Baoxing grain stores.

There are smarter grain shops, knowing that the huge profits of the previous time have passed, and they have quietly lowered the price of their own rice. More and more people followed the trend, and by about 3 p.m., the prices of ninety percent of the city's grain stores had returned to normal. When he heard the news reported from everywhere, Yu Tianxi breathed a sigh of relief, and the price of rice was temporarily stabilized.

Li Yunrui almost didn't use any means, and he learned from Huang Shaobin's young son that these traitors would gather. After reporting to Zhao and Ju, Zhao and Ju immediately made a decision and ordered the guards to dispatch 1,000 people, led by Li Yunrui and Li Yilao, to prepare for arrest in the suburbs.

At this moment, the group of merchants in the courtyard of the village no longer had the slightest joy, their faces were as white as earth, and they didn't know what to do.

"Huang Xinglao, why didn't you come out to see us?" Tan Fu couldn't help but shout.

Just a moment ago, the hat man appeared in front of everyone again and summoned Huang Shaobin directly to the backyard, half an hour had passed, and Huang Shaobin had not come out. The wealthy businessmen were originally entangled in one place, and they all had their own ghosts, and after waiting for a long time, they inevitably became suspicious.

The current situation in Lin'an City, they are all clear, knowing that the government has begun to move seriously, they have remorse in their hearts, if they see a good one, they will accept it, they have also received ten times the profit, and they are stable at home to spend the summer, but because Huang Shaobin has been persuaded repeatedly, and Zhang Xingpei, the guilty sheep, so everyone is greedy and insufficient, so it has been postponed to this day.

In fact, in just one day, the price of the grain, rice, oil, salt, vinegar, tea and copper they hoarded was suppressed by the government's forceful measures, and some of them not only spit out all the money they earned some time ago, but even lost more than half of their family property.

Hearing Tan Fu's shouting, everyone also clamored, and then they realized that the thugs of Huang Shaobin's nursing home who were originally in this village were gone.

This made the panic spread further, Tan Fu's head was the most active, he immediately ran to the backyard, wanting to see if Huang Shaobin was still there, as soon as he entered the door, he smelled a strong smell of blood, he knew that something was wrong, and he didn't look at it, turned around and left.

Those who followed him were not as quick as he reacted, and when he leaned over to look, he screamed in fright.

In the backyard, there were more than ten corpses, and if you carefully distinguish them, Huang Shaobin was also among them!

No matter how slow the reaction is, they also know that the situation is not good, Huang Shaobin is obviously killing the hat man, and although they were let go because they didn't know, it doesn't mean that they are safe, if it is not to the point of exhaustion, why did the hat man kill Huang Shaobin?

"Run!" Everyone thought so in their heads, only Zhang Xingpei, who was sandwiched between them, did not escape, he frowned and came to Huang Shaobin's body, turned the corpse, and searched his body, but he didn't find anything.

Although it was just a very simple action, for a specially trained person like him, it was no less than a full-body search of Huang Shaobin. The person who killed him was very cautious and did not leave any clues, and Zhang Xingpei also learned from the rest of the wealthy businessmen in the past few days that no one knew the identity of that person except for Huang Shaobin.

It seems that the only thing he can repay to his boss Huo Chongcheng is the word "hat man", Zhang Xingpei thought helplessly.

Note 1: The data in this chapter should be ignored by the ranking officials, so please do not delve into it.

Note 2: As to whether those speculative businessmen had the courage to do such a thing, it is not necessary to refer to the financial war in Shanghai in the early days of the dynasty.