The officials above the six-room warden in Jiangning County have all arrived at the Sihai Restaurant, and in addition to Zheng Keyou.

Qu Qingze once suggested whether to invite the officers of the Jiangnan battalion to the Sihai Restaurant, but Su Tiancheng did not agree, if the officers of the Jiangning battalion came, this would leave a false excuse for others, as if they were forcing the gentry and wealthy households in Jiangning County to sell grain.

The third floor of Sihai Restaurant was contracted by the county government, and the shopkeeper of the restaurant served in person.

Su Tiancheng took everyone upstairs and greeted many gentry and wealthy families one by one, the atmosphere seemed very warm, but in the middle of such a warm atmosphere, a coldness was revealed.

The attitude of the gentry and wealthy households in Jiangning County, of course, Su Tiancheng knows the way, please come, he has something to say clearly, lest these gentry and rich households still have some illusions in the future.

The dishes were quickly served, and the wine was poured.

Su Tiancheng picked up his wine glass and stood up.

"Everyone, please drink this cup, I have been in Jiangning County for more than a year, this kind of banquet, this is the first time, I have not had much contact with the gentry before, and there is no need to say superfluous words, this cup of wine represents the meaning of everything."

After speaking, Su Tiancheng drank the glass of wine in one go.

Everyone stood up and saw Su Tiancheng drink it in one gulp, and everyone followed suit.

After three rounds of drinking, Su Tiancheng stood up again.

"Presumably, the purpose of today's county banquet is clear to all of you, so I won't beat around the bush, and directly say the main thing, Jiangning County's harvest this year is good, and the grain output is high, which is the emperor's sage and our blessing. The people have food to eat, and Jiangning County will be stable, but there are still some problems here. ”

"As you all know, there are a lot of businessmen in Jiangning County. Since the grain harvest in Jiangning County has been abundant, they can also buy a large amount of grain and operate it well, but they did not expect that the county government purchased a million stone of grain, resulting in little food left, so they found President Wan of the Jiangning County Chamber of Commerce to complain. For this matter, President Wan came to me. ”

Speaking of this, Su Tiancheng nodded to Wan Chenggui, who was sitting at a table.

Wan Chenggui hurriedly stood up and bowed to Su Tiancheng, Su Tiancheng said this, undoubtedly giving him the greatest face.

"As the magistrate of Jiangning County, I must not only consider the interests of farmers, but also the survival of businessmen. If they can't manage it well, the county government will be very negligent. ”

"Conservative estimates. Jiangning County's grain output this year is more than 3 million stones, and the county government has purchased 1 million stones, and the grain that can still be traded in the county is still 1 million stones, for the sake of business. I found Lord Zheng from Ying Tianfu and asked Lord Zheng to come forward and do some work, to put it bluntly, I just want to rely on you. Help to contribute, but unfortunately the effect is not good. ”

"Today's banquet is specially invited to reiterate this topic, you are the gentry and wealthy families in Jiangning County, and your every move has received a lot of attention, if you can take the lead in selling grain, you will definitely be able to boost morale and advocate a new atmosphere."

"Maybe you will think that the county government has purchased a million stone of grain, why do you collect a lot, so that many merchants who deal in grain can continue to buy, and some people even think that the county government will take out all the million stone grain and let the businessmen buy it, and there will be no problem."

"After all, today's purchase price is lower than the price of grain on weekdays, and there is a lot of price difference in this.

When Su Tiancheng said this, the surroundings were very quiet, and no one spoke.

Lu Tianming, Qu Qingze, Zheng Keyou and others were very surprised, they couldn't imagine that Su Tiancheng would say such words, which was originally an unfavorable thing, and after saying it, many gentry and wealthy families would be even more unconvinced.

"It's not strange that you have such an idea, if I can't explain it well, everyone is not convinced, why should you make a contribution, and the county government will benefit from it."

"So I'll settle the accounts and see what the cost of this million stone grain is, first of all, let's talk about the grain stored in the county government treasury, which is 300,000 stones, which must be guaranteed in case of emergency, there is food in hand, and there is no panic in my heart, even if something big happens, the county government can handle it calmly."

"The second is the cost of the Jiangnan battalion, 10,000 soldiers, more than 5,000 war horses, and the food that needs to be consumed in a year, at least 200,000 stones, which must be guaranteed, the Jiangning battalion is the title given by the emperor, and the military department Shangshu Fan is also the commander of the guard, if the life of the soldiers cannot be guaranteed, such a crime, Jiangning County can not bear it."

"The court is in difficulty, we need to share the worries of the emperor and the court, and the expenses of the Jiangning camp must be borne by the county government."

"The second is the relief of poor farmers in Jiangning County, presumably the requirements of the county government, you are also aware of the Tao, there can be no hunger in the county, let alone people who die of cold and starvation because of lack of food, this part of the grain needs 100,000 stones."

"There are still 400,000 stone grain left in the end, you may have to be concerned, what is the use of this 400,000 stone grain, I have given a definition of this 400,000 stone grain, it is called war preparation grain, the meaning of this, you should understand."

"Therefore, the county government's one million stone grain is useful, not only this year, but every year in the future, the county government will purchase grain and ensure the supply of grain."

"The merchants who deal in grain in Jiangning County can buy about one million stone of grain every year, so that they can maintain their business, so far, they have purchased about 600,000 stone of grain, and the remaining 400,000 is short, the official thought, please help everyone here."

Whispers began to be whispered, but no one spoke, indicating that the crowd would not bring out food.

Su Tiancheng smiled coldly.

"You are all meritorious people, the attitude has actually been clear, Master Zheng has done work for you, just now your attitude, I also saw it, today please come to the Four Seas Restaurant, it seems to be a superfluous move, you mean, grain will not be sold."

"I invite you to come today, and I want to make some things clear, so that there will be no unpleasantness in the future."

"You have a lot of fame and fame, and you have enjoyed a lot of favors, of course, these favors are given by the imperial court, and you deserve to get, I have nothing to say, I just feel strange, when you get these favors, you take it for granted, but when you ask you to make some contributions to the court, you are hesitant, thinking that your own interests have suffered a lot of damage, and that the government is doing this, it is a big rebellion, I don't understand, it is necessary to take, it is not okay to pay, this and other unequal thingsWhat do you think? ”

"If you are unwilling to sell grain, the county government of Jiangning County will not be good, but if you see anything in the future, you should not think about finding the county government, no matter what it is, since you have accepted the favor of the imperial court, you think that all this is given by the imperial court, if there is anything, go directly to the imperial court to solve it, the temple in Jiangning County is too small to afford your affairs."

"If anyone wants to impeach the official, the official gladly accepts, what he said today is what the official said from the bottom of his heart, the skin does not have hair and will be attached, you always think about the little things of your own family, but you are not willing to consider the major affairs of the court, the official does not have such a good temper, come and do not be rude, how you treat the official, how the official treats you."

"This official also wants to emphasize one point, you are all gentry and wealthy families, all of you are people with meritorious reputation, and you must take the lead in abiding by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

The discussion is gone, many gentry and wealthy households, of course, understand the meaning of these words, this is tantamount to announcing to them, in the future, they have been harassed, don't think about finding the county government to solve the matter, as the saying goes, the county officials are not as good as the current management, if the county government of Jiangning County really doesn't care about their affairs, they will be difficult to maintain.

Besides, the gentry and wealthy families in Jiangning County, who did not think that they had privileges, children and slaves, occasionally did some bullying things, and the county government also turned a blind eye, but today Su Tiancheng said this, which is equivalent to announcing to everyone that in this kind of situation, the county government will definitely not be polite.

This is tantamount to threatening everyone.

An older gentry stood up.

"My lord has just said so much, and I understand what my lord means, I have to sell food this time."

Su Tiancheng nodded.

"Your Excellency, isn't this a coercion, this is not the government's doing."

"Hehe, the official has made it very clear, whatever you think, you say it is forced, that is forced, you say that it is to make a contribution to the county government, that is to make a contribution, and the rest of the things, needless to say."

The surroundings were very quiet, Su Tiancheng did not continue to stay here, and walked out of the city alone.

Behind him, Zheng Keyou's voice came.

"Think twice, it's just to sell some grain, it's not a big deal, but I've heard that the county government of Jiangning County is going to continue to exempt the field tax next year, in this case, you have so much grain in storage, I don't know how useful the road is......"

Qu Qingze followed out and walked to Su Tiancheng's side.

"My lord, this move is really wonderful, look at the lower officials, these gentry and rich families can't stand it."

Su Tiancheng smiled and did not speak.

The reason why he did this was to maintain the interests of the businessmen in Jiangning County, and also to safeguard the interests of the county government, but to a certain extent, it harmed the interests of the gentry and wealthy households, and his meaning was very clear, the gentry and wealthy households must make a certain contribution, and this kind of behavior of just asking and not paying a penny should be vigorously prohibited. (To be continued.) )