In the middle of December, after the first snowfall, the weather was cold and frozen, under the flat eaves, the figures of pedestrians and vendors on the streets were still lively and shuttled, and there would be no less, the price of food in the city changed every day, gradually rising, for the people in the city, it was related to whether the year could be good, it was not difficult for tens of thousands of people to starve to death in a winter, and the time when the price of food was rising was not long, although there were people who could not eat, but they would not starve to death.

The same places like wine shops have also raised prices, and when it snows in winter, the large and small wine shops in the city have become the most lively and noisy places, and the prices of food and wine have risen, and these original merchants already have some money on them, but they have not made a big fuss, and there will naturally be complaints.

“…… The three big families of Wang Su and Zhao on the side of Shanggu County really regard themselves as wealthy families, and they want the government to give them the northern trade by raising the price of grain, and they dare to shout with the government when they have only a few hundred people at home, and they are not afraid that Gongsun Taishou will be in a hurry to kill their whole family. ”

It was almost noon, and the wine shop arrived at the meal, as usual, and it was lively as usual, in the hustle and bustle, the man who spoke was a northerner, and he was not polite to speak, and most of the people who listened to him around were businessmen who were accustomed to running all over the world, clamoring and clamoring to slap the table and argue.

"That brother can't say that, killing the local clan, the impact is not good, according to the days I have been in Shanggu County, I also know that these three families, how many people are officials in various counties, and they really want to use knives...... It is Gongsun Taishou who suffers, and when the government decrees are different, and the people's hearts are outward, it will be difficult to do. ”

On another case, someone clapped his palms: "I said everyone, do you know what happened recently, Gongsun Taishou is at home, something terrible happened, do you think it will be these big families in Shanggu County secretly doing it...... After all, everyone is interested in the cattle, sheep and horses brought from the grassland, and this is not a small amount. ”

"Don't cause trouble....... don't cause trouble, drink and drink!" Someone next to him hurriedly waved his hand to dissuade him.

Speaking of this, the businessman surnamed Yu, who spoke before, stood up excitedly, "I'm afraid that they are very big, the government already cares about us and other businessmen, if it weren't for these big families to insert a bar on the way, this matter would have been settled a long time ago, I came all the way from Bingzhou, and I couldn't let me carry the goods back untouched...... Let's just choose one person to come out first, take everyone into a group, and go to the government to prepare a name, if those big families dare to stop, we are many of us, and we are not afraid of ......" said, and scolded the gang of wealthy people.

In the hustle and bustle of the atmosphere, a person watched everyone talking, laughed freely, drunkenly picked up the wine, and before he put it to his mouth, there were ripples on the surface of the water, he shook his head, and the ripples swung in circles.

"Uh...... I...... Your hands aren't shaking......"

The sound of conversation in the liquor shop suddenly stopped, the ground shook beneath his feet, and the crackling of whips in the air was heard, and the sound of horses' hooves roaring along the street in front of the liquor store, booming and booming...... The horses' hooves churned for a while before the armored cavalry finished the street.

Throughout the street, countless heads and figures hurriedly poked out of the eaves to see what was going on, and whispered discussions unfolded in the crowd: "Depending on the situation, is there going to be a war?" ”

"The first snow has fallen, what ...... to fight?"

“…… It is also possible that Brother Yu said that this Taishou was going to do it, maybe the assassination was really related to the three big families. ”

"It's light to raid the house......"

……

In the small words of the vendors and outsiders on a street, it is probably speculated that the disaster that the three big families are about to face has a lot of schadenfreude, after all, many of them have delayed their journey home because of these big families, and they braved the heavy snow to walk the Taihang Mountains, which is not fatal. After a lively discussion, the crowd gradually dispersed, and each returned to his seat to continue eating and drinking, talking about the north and the south.

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

December, 16, Fuyang Mansion Office.

Li Ru's external name is Li Wen, and his identity as the emperor is quite sensitive, so that people outside listen to it, it will bring a lot of trouble, even if it is placed under the command of the princes of other towns, there are many suspicions about such an identity, but the affirmative words that Gongsun Zhi said when he got on the horse that day made this middle-aged scribe feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

Lifetime ...... Death to those who should be confidants.

He put down the bamboo slip, stretched out his hand to extinguish the wick, got up and walked out of this room, the atmosphere outside was a little different from usual, the three gentry and dignitaries of Shanggu County came to visit a few times, from gentle speech, to side knocking, to now the tone is not good and threatening, but most of the words are still persuading: General Baima has gone, the foundation is all in Youbeiping, Gongsun Taishou is a little inconvenient for his son to sit in Shanggu, said that at the beginning of the year, Gongsun Taishou was an official here, and so many people from Montenegro were moved, they all sold some land to the government to repair the village and resettle, There is no difficulty in it, and now that Taishou has settled here, it is reasonable to consider them first in the business on the grassland at this time.

In addition to these three outdoors, there are also many small portals of some local forces to persuade one after another, taking people, things, and land to exert pressure, most of these people are ventilated in private, and the smaller ones are attached to the big ones, and they have taken turns to fight in the past two months, and they have been blamed by Dongfang Sheng and Li Ru for each other, blocking back, and only then did there be a matter of food price gouging.

The scribe walked through the long eaves, and in the main hall of the meeting, Dongfang Sheng and the three people at the helm discussed it, and the words were already very intense.

“…… Dongfang Juncheng, it's not that I'm waiting to find trouble, it's about to be the New Year, this troublesome thing is not resolute, this year, no one is having a good time, Gongsun Taishou is a capable person, you are also a capable person, but you always have to eat, now Jundu Mountain and Yanmen County have blocked the trade road, goods are scarce, and food prices are rising day by day, you have to find a way to go down, otherwise the people who can't afford to eat will make a fuss. ”

On the seat on the right, a middle-aged man wearing a crown hat and a fox fur wearing a Shu brocade robe chattered and persuaded Dongfang Sheng behind the long case, the latter also naturally heard the tone of the knife in the other party's words, just kept smiling, responded a few words, and then saw the door open, and the scribe with a gloomy smile walked in.

Then the door closed, and a group of soldiers came to guard the hall door with weapons. When the three people in the side seats saw Li Ru coming in, they became angry and turned their faces away.

"Juncheng, you are the political person of Shanggu County, how can you call a staff member. Forgive us for not wanting to talk about it any longer, farewell! The three of them got up, brushed Li Ru's shoulders, opened the door, and one after another blades forced over, and someone turned around and shouted angrily: "Li Wen, what do you mean by this?" ”

Li Ru walked to the seat, shook his robe and knelt down, poured himself wine, and said in a flat tone: "You don't want to talk, Wen wants to talk to you." ”

Pouring the wine, the flask was lowered on the table, and he raised his gaze: "...... The assassination of Taishou was done by the three of you. ”

"You're biting indiscriminately—"

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

In the suburbs outside the city of Fuyang, there are almost Zhuangzi is connected together, forming a huge crowding area, and there are often goods here to distribute and trade, it can be said that it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a relatively large town, the Su family is the largest in Zhuangzi, followed by the Wang family, and finally the Zhao family. It's just that today, a group of soldiers and horses entered Zhuangzi and directly surrounded the houses of the three families, and the head of the family went into the city to do errands, leaving the eldest son or housewife of the family to come out to deal with the officers and soldiers.

However, the door that was opened could no longer be closed.

"According to the order, the Su family, the Wang family, and the Zhao family, for the sake of being rich and unkind, wantonly raised the price of grain first, intending to assassinate the Taishou behind, and there was a suspicion of intent to rebel, so the family was ordered to be closed, and the parents, wives and concubines and children of the family should be taken down, and they should be interrogated on a certain day, and their family property must not be tampered with, and the domestic servants and maids are not allowed to leave the courtyard gate for a single step, and the offender will be punished as theft."

The silk cloth of the issued order was put away, and the cavalry leader beckoned back: "Take the man—"

"You're biting indiscriminately!"

In front of the courtyard gate, the servants of the family saw the soldiers rushing over like wolves, and naturally did not have the courage to resist the other party, and the woman in charge or the eldest son of the family struggled with the shackles and shouted: "Wronged...... My family wants to be benevolent, and has never done such a thing, so I beg you to be merciful, and let us wait until the head of the house returns, and make it clear to you. ”

"There's no chance!" The leader turned around and shouted, "Take it away!" ”

The sky was gloomy and about to start a second snowfall.