Chapter 589: Borrowing Food to Survive Doom
It is not easy to dig out a nest of rich landlords, especially in this disaster year, rich landlords have become a very transcendent existence, just like the big boss in the game, whether it is the government or the people, **** or Baidao, they all want to brush them over and over again, not to get rid of the purple clothes, only to get rid of the food......
It was not easy for the Janissaries to find this group of rich people.
People who can become rich landlords are naturally not stupid characters, in fact, this group is more shrewd than ordinary people, but a little stupider than officials, in the middle of the pyramid, no matter how peaceful the world is, smart people are always easier to get ahead, so smart people in troubled times ascended to the top and became rebel leaders, and if they are lucky, they may be able to take the country, such as Mr. Li Gaozu. And in peaceful years, it is very easy for smart people to make a fortune by relying on their intelligence.
The so-called "intelligence" includes seeing the wind and making the rudder and observing words and colors, not only looking at people's faces, but also knowing how to look at God's faces.
Since the middle of winter last year, the rich landlords have been the first to see that the climate is wrong, of course, the experienced old farmers have also seen it, the difference is that the farmers have nothing to do with God, but the landlords have a way.
Hoarding grain, transferring grain, this is the proper meaning of the question, but where the landlord portal, no matter what the year, there will be no shortage of food at home, I have heard of the peasant households who starved to death in the disaster year, but who has heard of the landlord who starved to death in the disaster year? At no time was there a shortage of food in the landlord's house.
In the year of disaster, when the people of their own villages are panicked, the conscientious landlords do not have to wait for the relief of the imperial court, they will take the initiative to distribute relief grain to the peasant households, accumulate virtue and do good deeds at the same time, but also save their character and prestige, even the most unconscionable landlord, in order to prevent the peasant households from rebelling against him, will be forced to reduce the rent and exempt the peasant households. It means opening a charity shed or something.
When morality becomes the mainstream of this era, no matter how bad a person is, he will eventually show his good side, whether he wants to or not.
Of course, only a small part of the grain provided to the peasant households was provided, and the real bulk of the surplus grain of the landlords' families was still firmly in the hands of the landlords, and they would not hesitate to transfer the grain out before the disaster year was approaching. Dig a hole in the mountains, dig a hole in the ground or something, in the face of disaster, the landlord must maximize the protection of his own and his family's stomachs, keep most of the food for the next year, like a squirrel in winter, before the ice and snow are coming, first hide pine nuts and nuts in the tree hole, how many are hidden.
This is the biggest reason why Li Su wants to find this group of rich landlords.
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It was not easy for the Janissaries to find the landlord. When the large-scale peasant households became refugees, and a large number of people migrated and fled in the direction of Chang'an, the landlords had already run away, not only that, but the food at home was also properly hidden, and when some unscrupulous people in the refugee team broke into the landlord's house together, the houses were already empty, in fact, except for the very little landlords. The amount of food that these unscrupulous people really grabbed was pitiful.
A smart group is a necessary quality for everything first. Of course, they will not leave a warehouse full of grain at home and wait for someone to grab it.
The grain was transferred, and the landlords were also transferred with their families.
The place where the guards found these rich landlords was very creative, and they actually found them in a temple called Ciyun Temple, because in the disaster year, the temple cut off the incense, and the original monks of this temple had already taken off their monks' robes and scattered as birds and beasts. I don't know which fleeing landlord accidentally found this temple, so he had a flash of inspiration, and he simply put on a monk's robe and pretended to be a monk.
A fake monk was not enough, and the landlord also managed to inform other landlords. Three monks have no water to drink, but four or five monks are not necessarily, one spread one, the news spread quickly in this small circle that only belongs to the landlords, so thirty or forty landlords all went up the mountain to become monks, in just a few days, this abandoned temple actually formed the scale of the heyday.
Not only that, but I heard that this group of landlords insisted on doing morning and evening classes every day, and ate fast like normal monks, and never touched the slightest bit of meat, as for the children of the landlords, they were hidden in a cave in the mountain behind the temple, and they were not allowed to go out of the cave all day long.
I have to say that smart people are indeed smart people, in the year of the catastrophe, countless refugees in order to eat a bite of food at the expense of the vicious robbery, the good side of human nature in the face of hunger is completely annihilated, these landlords pretend to be anyone has the risk of leaking the bottom, but pretending to be a monk, but can make refugees prohibitive.
In this era of prosperity of faith, gods and Buddhas are still generally feared by the world, monks and monks are the representatives of the Buddha in the world, no matter how hungry the refugees are, they dare not risk the risk of reincarnation for generations to fight the monk's idea, so many refugees knocked on the mountain door, and after seeing the monks chanting and meditating inside, after all, they left politely, without exception.
This sparkling idea saved the lives of most of the landlords in Jinju.
As for being later discovered by the Praetorian Guards, it was really providential. The refugees are all bitter men, and naturally they don't have the ability to be sharp-eyed, but Li Zhi's guards are not ordinary characters, as the prince's personal protective barrier, their eyesight is extraordinary, and they can see at a glance that something is wrong with this group of fake monks.
In this year of calamity when everyone is in danger, this temple far away from the world can still insist on morning and evening classes every day, and the monks do not see any worry and panic on their faces, with a calm appearance of detachment and immediately soaring to the Western Elysium, the painting style is incompatible with the current year of famine, not to mention...... There are too many monks in the temple who are full of brains and fat bellies.
So the guards didn't say a word and wiped out all the fake monks, not a single fish slipped through the net, and even their families cried all the way back to Jinju City.
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After listening to the legendary stories of the landlords, Rao is Li Su, who has been a man of two lives, couldn't help but be stunned for a long time.
I lived to be old, I learned to be old, and finally I saw again.
The huge courtyard in the front hall of the Jinju Assassin's Mansion was full of people, the front two rows of more than 30 people were all monks wearing monks' robes, and the back rows were their respective family members, the silence of the crowd was depressing, and occasionally one or two inaudible sobs and sighs could be heard.
Looking at the dejected landlords in front of him, Li Su smiled. Laughing happily and laughing sweetly.
"You are really a master of the arts, you are bold, this official has to admire ......," Li Su said leisurely.
Everyone suddenly showed more and more panic.
"Don't, don't be afraid, what I said just now is definitely not a mockery, this official really admires you very much......" Li Su smiled: "The disaster year is the beginning of troubled times. In troubled times, whether you have money or not, whether you have food or not is secondary, the important thing is to save your life, not to mention, the most hated thing in troubled times is the master of money and food, you pretend to be a monk in order to protect yourself, this official has to say, you are very smart. Uh, a little more talking, who came up with this idea? ”
Everyone turned their heads one after another, and countless eyes locked on a big fat man with a fat head and big ears in the first row.
The big fat man has a short body, he is very fat, with a big face, big breasts and a big belly, and two small short legs like Corgi are trying to support the weight of hundreds of pounds of his body, which is very hard. From a distance, it looks like a white and rolling ball of meat, and it looks very ...... Lovely?
The big fat man was already a little cramped and uneasy. Now it has become the focus of everyone's attention, and his expression is becoming more and more frightened and suspicious, and the fat on his body is trembling with fright, and the waves are shaking rhythmically.
"Hou, Hou Ye spare your life, spare your life!" The big fat man plopped down to his knees. A pair of small short legs actually knelt very flexibly, and cold sweat poured down on the white fat face.
"Spare your life? I'm going to praise you, why are you scared like this? Get up and speak! Li Su smiled and stepped forward to help him, pulling hard...... The big fat man didn't move.
Well, abandon this self-defeating pro-people move.
"Get up on your own. Speed! Li Su shouted.
The little short leg pouted, and stood up quickly, well, a very flexible fat man.
In order to take care of the fragile glass hearts of these landlords and old wealthy, Li Su had to put on a pleasant expression and began to chat with the landlords.
After talking for a long time, Li Su gradually understood the situation of the landlords.
The big fat man's name is Wei Liangcai, who is a native of Sitou Village, Jinzhou, a well-known wealthy family, and his name is very good, he can mix so rich, "Liangcai" deserves his name, and the amount of this good material is very solid, and it can hold three urns after cremation.
The Ciyun Temple, where the real monk ran away, is not far from Sitou Village, after the catastrophe, the farmers in the village have run away, Wei Da Fat Man also ran away with his family, but after all, he has the feelings of his homeland, coupled with his bloated size, he didn't run far, he refused to go to Ciyun Temple, he had to spend the night in the temple, and as a result, he went up the mountain and opened the temple door only to find that there was no monk, although Wei Fatzi looked fat, but his mind was particularly dexterous, otherwise he would not have become such a big family business, and he saw that the temple was empty, He simply put on a monk's robe and pretended to be a monk, and found a way to notify a few landlords who had a good relationship with each other on weekdays, and everyone lived a dull life of eating fasting and reciting Buddha together in the temple.
For more than two months before and after, Wei Fatzi relied on his monk's robe to fool away many refugees, and was finally recognized by Li Zhi's guards, which is a typical point that can't be blamed on society.
Looking at Wei Liangcai, who looked frustrated and depressed, his head drooped with a look of chagrin, and occasionally a mischievous fly landed on his fat face, he didn't even bother to raise his hand, and shook his head a few times like a pig on the shore to drive the flies away......
Li Su wanted to laugh when he saw it, but he didn't feel very polite, so he had to twist his face away, and said: "Today, I invite all the rich and good gentlemen to come to the Shifu, it is the intention of this official, please come here, this official has no bad intentions, you can rest assured." ”
The landlords' expressions were slightly fixed.
Pulling Li Zhi on the side with a smile, Li Su began to introduce it solemnly.
"This is the third son of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, His Royal Highness the King of Jin, all the good gentlemen have still been invited."
All the landlords were stunned, and immediately bowed down to meet them, and Li Zhi also cooperated with his small chest and accepted everyone's visit with a cold attitude.
Li Su said with a smile: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin went out to patrol the Jin land by His Majesty's order, and this official Xi followed all the way as an auxiliary official, as for why he went on patrol, everyone must know ......"
Sighing, Li Su said: "Jinzhou is bitter, the people of Jinzhou are especially bitter, facing the loess with their backs to the sky, working day and night, in order to earn food for their families, pay more rent to everyone, and give more taxes to the imperial court. Frozen to death, countless, this official came from Chang'an all the way, I don't know how many unknown corpses and bones I encountered on the way, and the appearance can only be described in two words, 'miserable'! ”
The landlords were silent.
Li Su looked around at everyone. Said slowly: "You good gentry must have seen it when they entered the city, tents were set up on the plains outside the city, and the people living in them were refugees who had no livelihood and no hope, and with the consent of His Royal Highness the King of Jin, Jinzhou City Yu Thorn Shi opened the official warehouse, these days it is all the grain of the official warehouse to feed the people, but only these grains are not enough, the people can only barely make a stomach, and more people will hear the news in the future." And how long can the official warehouse in Jinju support the people? ”
Li Su faced everyone, gestured with a gesture, and said in a deep voice: "Ten days!" Now that it has been less than six days, no one will sit still, and at the moment of life and death, anyone will survive in death, so after six days, the people outside Jinju City will have two choices. The first is to accept his fate obediently and take the family to Chang'an. Counting on the distant Chang'an to help them, most of them will starve to death on the way, and the second option is ...... It's a rebellion! Seeing people kill people, robbing things, killing officials when encountering officials, and meeting people with money and food. Of course, you're welcome......"
The landlords were stunned, their faces couldn't help turning pale, and they looked at each other and found that they were a little panicked, but they still held on without squeaking.
Li Su looked at everyone's expressions coldly. The corners of his mouth hooked, and he said slowly: "What about the situation, this is such a situation, you are all famous squires and dignitaries in Jinzhou City, this official heard that there are still people among you who know the courtiers of Chang'an, seven poles and eight poles, and they can still have some relationship, but in the face of natural disasters, everything is floating clouds." Now you must have seen it clearly, if the people rebel in a few days, the first thing is to kill the officials, His Royal Highness the King of Jin, me, and Yu Thorn Shi can't escape, and then kill the landlords and squires, because you have money and food in your hands, maybe your ranking is still in front of our government, because everyone knows that the official warehouse is empty, but you still have things in your hands that can keep them alive......"
Led by Wei Fatzi, cold sweat broke out on the foreheads of all the landlords, and their faces became more and more pale.
After being silent for a long time, Wei Fatzi stood up with a round belly, and saluted Li Su with difficulty, shook the fat a few times, showed a miserable wry smile, and said: "What Marquis Li means, the grass people and others have understood, or ask Li Hou Ye to show me, how the grass people and others should behave, we will listen to His Royal Highness the King of Jin and the Hou Ye." ”
The interests and disadvantages of the landlords are very clear, the landlords are not stupid, and they are also very clear, even if the people can be offended, but the prince and the marquis in front of them can not afford to offend, if they disobey their will, I am afraid their fate will not be too good, the disaster year is a troubled time, in the troubled times inexplicably killed a few landlords, broke a few rich households, how to fight this lawsuit? Fight with whom?
All the landlords are not stupid, after Wei Fatzi made a statement, everyone immediately turned the corner, willing or reluctant, and agreed to echo it.
Li Su smiled, glanced at Li Zhi, and each showed a satisfied expression.
Hou Ye Li, who has a lot of opportunities, has spent a long time spitting on the stars with these squires and rich people, and he always has to gain something, right? Otherwise, Hou Ye Li's kind and kind smiling face would probably become hideous and terrifying in an instant.
At this moment, the expected effect was finally obtained, and after Li Su waited for everyone to calm down, he slowly asked: "You can't hide it, tell me honestly, how much surplus grain does each family have?" ”
There was another silence, Wei Fatzi hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Cao Min discovered that the climate was not right a few years ago, and immediately began to transfer grain, and hid it in a cave in the mountain behind Sitou Village, and hid it in total...... Eight hundred stones! These are the grass people's accumulation for many years, every year to take the old rice of the previous years for new rice, the old to the new, when the year is good, save more, when the year is bad, save less, and finally save this amount after ten years......"
Seeing that Wei Fatzi opened his mouth, the other landlords couldn't be silent anymore, so they had to talk nonsense.
"The grass people hid 600 stone ...... at the foot of the mountain outside the village"
"The grass people buried four hundred, no, five hundred stone ...... under the big locust tree"
"There is a secret cellar in the grass people's house, and there are 400 stone ...... hidden"
One after another, the smile on Li Su's face became deeper and deeper.
After the last person finished speaking, a small official behind Li Zhi next to him also finished memorizing it, and muttered a few words in Li Su's ear.
Li Su's eyes lit up, and his smile became sweeter and sweeter.
Nearly 10,000 stones of food, just like this, suddenly appeared in front of me, it seems that today's spitting stars are not in vain, it is bewitching, scareming, and oppressing, all the tricks are played, and the goal is finally achieved. Although Li Su also knows that the words of these landlords must be reserved, none of them have a real report, not to mention that they must leave a small half for their own family, otherwise they will not be able to live, but it is the nearly 10,000 stone grain they reported has already solved the urgent need of Jinzhou.
Turning his head to the side, Wang Zhu handed over a stack of paper that had already been prepared, and the paper was densely filled with words, and distributed them to the landlords one by one.
"What you have in your hands is the deed given to you by the imperial court, see clearly, not only the official seal of the Yu Thorn History of Jinzhou, but also the private seal of His Royal Highness the King of Jin, and His Majesty has to admit it when you get the lawsuit in Chang'an, the grain you have saved, the government has borrowed it temporarily, and it will be repaid next year, and the official will tell you honestly that there is very little left in the imperial treasury, so it is impossible to borrow your grain with interest......
Looking at the calm expressions of the landlords, Li Su continued: "Although there is no interest, the official can give you a welfare, all the squires who have borrowed grain, the official can call the shots, please ask Your Majesty to inscribe a few words for each of your families, whether it is 'good people' or 'accumulating virtue for good', all of them will be inscribed to you, hear clearly, these words are the inscription of His Majesty's royal pen today, 'royal pen inscription'!" If you want to stamp the emperor's seal, you can keep this word properly and leave it for future generations. ”
The landlords were stunned for a moment, and then their faces showed great surprise.
Suddenly fell from the sky with a fat thigh and hugged himself fiercely, this huge sense of happiness that was about to explode was swollen......
Thump!
It was Wei Fatzi who reacted the fastest, and he was the first to kneel down, and said silently: "Wei Liangcai, a grass citizen, is willing to be a member of the Tang Dynasty, and is willing to smear his liver and brain for His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and then die!" ”
Behind him, a group of wealthy landlords knelt down in hindsight and swore by the heavens and the earth.
Li Su really admires Wei Fatzi a little bit at this time, this guy is fat and virtuous, but his reaction is so flexible and fast, if he can be taken by his side to serve, there may be unexpected surprises......
"After death, there is no need, you can keep a useful body, serve the Tang Dynasty well, and relieve your Majesty the Emperor a lot, such as borrowing one or two hundred stones of grain or something......"
"The grass people are wrong, the grass people are guilty! Grass people ......" Wei Fat Man hesitated, gritted his teeth fiercely, and said loudly: "The grass people can't do it!" In fact, my family's grain is a thousand stones, and I would like to give it all to ...... cough cough cough, I am willing to lend it all to the government, and I can pay it back next year! ”
"No, okay?" Li Su asked tentatively.
"No way!" Fat Wei replied categorically.
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PS: More than 5000 words big chapter, big chapter, big chapter...... (To be continued.) )