When Liu Ru heard this, he already understood, and asked in a deep voice: "You mean that someone is harvesting grain behind his back!" ”

"Not bad! And it's a very large amount! ”

"That's weird, if you want to hoard Juqi to make a profit, you won't store food at this time? It must be known that grain prices are already very high at this time, and in two or three months, the summer grain will come down, and then the grain prices will inevitably fall. www.biquge.info I'm afraid I'm afraid I'm going to lose my capital, how can there be such a stupid person in the world? ”

"Unless it's not to make money, that man is stockpiling grain for other extremely important purposes, so he'd rather spend a high price on food at this time!"

Liu Ru is such a smart woman, she immediately understood, and couldn't help but change her face greatly, and said in a low voice: "Zilong, do you mean that someone is plotting against him and wants to rebel?" ”

Chen Zilong didn't speak, just nodded slightly. As the saying goes, if the army has no food, it will perish, and if it were not for the government, most of the private hoarding of food at any cost would be a bad intention. Especially in the famine year, if a large amount of grain is hoarded in advance, and the elite army is selected from the hungry people, and the 100,000 people can be completed in ten months, which is definitely a nightmare for the imperial court.

"But the land south of the Yangtze River has always been a land of fish and rice, and there is no shortage of food?"

"That's in the past!" Chen Zilong sighed: "Since the Jiajing period, the people of Jiangnan have planted mulberry, tobacco, and cotton on their fields, and the profits are far better than planting rice. Although Jiangnan is the land of fish and rice, the rations are given to Jiangxi, Huguang and other places. Many people only have a month's worth of grain at home, and if there is a war, the grain from the upstream side cannot be transported, and it will immediately be a different scene! ”

"Do you know who is secretly buying food?" Liu Ru hurriedly asked.

"I haven't sent anyone to inquire yet, but it's not that hard to find!"

Liu Ru nodded, the capital, storage, and transportation required to buy so much grain are by no means something that ordinary businessmen can do, and there are only a handful of people who can do it. Thinking of this, her face also darkened: "Hey, it's really the end of the world!" Zilong, we can't sit still here, you hurry up and inquire about the news, and after we get the confirmed news, we will go to Yixing and tell Mr. Yushen about the matter. ”

Lushun.

"My lord, this is the list of imported goods for this month!" Xu Xianming carefully handed a thin wooden board to Liu Cheng, and there was a stack of white paper sandwiched on the wooden board, on which the types and quantities of goods were densely written in small block letters. Liu Cheng put down the teacup in his hand, took the wooden board and looked at it carefully, muttering while reading it, suddenly he stopped chattering, pointed to the line of words on it and asked, "Why is the price of copper ingots so expensive?" ”

"My lord, the copper smelting workshop over there in Chaoyi has been suspended, and the one here has not yet started, so it can only be replaced by the one shipped from North Korea, the quantity is not enough, and the excess can only be bought from Japan, and the price is much more expensive!"

"Okay!" Liu Cheng sighed, due to the annexation of the military industry of the Later Jin Dynasty and the acquisition of a large number of skilled craftsmen from the Later Jin Dynasty and North Korea, his weapon production capacity was actually at least double that of the Chaoyi period, but the required raw material production capacity was not increased accordingly, in order to gain time, he had to make up for the gap through imports, and the result was a large outflow of precious metals from the inventory, as soon as he thought of this, he couldn't help but feel a pain in his flesh.

"Will the silver in stock still hold up?"

"Japanese businessmen are willing to use silk, porcelain, and some daily necessities we produce to offset the payment for copper ingots!" Xu Xianming said with a smile.

"Good, good!" Liu Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this: "Is it okay to be sulfur?" ”

"That's not necessary, the sulfur from the big man's side has already been shipped over two ships, and the gunpowder factory says that the quality is very good, and I have asked them to bring a few more ships. You can use seal skin, blubber fat, and all kinds of Liaodong goods to exchange for them in Jiangnan, and then use silk, tea and porcelain to deduct them. ”

"What about saltpeter?" Liu Cheng asked, ancient China itself had a relatively rich production of saltpeter, but since Liu Cheng eliminated the Houjin, it was not so easy to obtain a large amount of saltpeter from the interior, considering that the war was likely to be prolonged, he had to take precautions before the war and hoard a little more.

"The big man has already ordered two ships of Indian saltpeter from the British East India Company, if everything goes well, it can be shipped here in a month, and there should be no delay!"

"Good, good!" Liu Cheng patted the wooden board with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Obviously, you are really my Xiao He!" ”

"Your Excellency praises it!" Xu Xianming respectfully owed his body: "In fact, in the eyes of his subordinates, the most important thing now is food, Houjin is already very short of food, North Korea just passed through the army last year, the food on the Hetao side is too big to consume on the road, less gunpowder can still fight, if the food is not enough, I'm afraid it will be-"

"Huh!" Liu Cheng laughed: "Obviously, you don't have to worry about the food problem, I have prepared for this, you just need to keep an eye on weapons, gunpowder, ships, and funds!" ”

Although he still didn't understand why Liu Cheng was so confident, Xu Xianming still nodded habitually, he handed the wooden board to the little servant behind him, and said in a low voice: "My lord, if my subordinates say something that shouldn't be said, it's not a long-term solution to go on like this, and it can barely be maintained until the end of the year, if it is delayed until this time next year, I'm afraid that the salary of the guards will be used to be insufficient to be worth the coins!" ”

"This time next year?" Liu Cheng said with a smile: "You also look up to the old men in the Beijing Division too much, we can't last this time next year, can they hold on?" ”

Jingshi, Houfu.

"Young master, Mr. Zhou of Yixing is here, just wait outside!" The housekeeper cautiously told Hou Fangyu, who was painting in front of the bookcase, that he knew the temper of his son-in-law best, although he had always admired himself, but his temper was very big, especially when writing and painting, he was most taboo to be disturbed, one was not good, and it was common to drag it out and kill him.

"Is that him?" Hou Fangyu put down the brush and sneered: "I must have asked my father to help him recover, this person has such a heavy sense of fame, if he is allowed to turn over, where is there a place for me?" ”

The housekeeper replied cautiously: "Then I will refuse him, just say that the young master is not in the mansion, let him leave a letterhead?" ”

"That's it! This person has a great reputation, and the reputation is too bad to hear! Hou Fangyu pondered slightly: "You just leave the person in the backyard!" ”

"Yes, young master!"

After the housekeeper stepped back, Hou Fangyu picked up the paintbrush, walked to the front of the case and wanted to continue painting, but he didn't want to stand there but didn't put down the pen, after half a ring, he shook his head and sighed: "Hey, there's no interest at all, that's it, it's okay, let's go see this annoying spirit first!" ”

Hou Fangyu turned around, and the maidservant who had already been on the side brought a jade basin full of warm water, waited for him to wash his hands, and changed into a loose green coat before he lazily walked across the verandah and came to the wing. Sitting in the room was a middle-aged scholar in his thirties, who hurriedly stood up when he saw Hou Fangyu coming in, bowed down and said, "Hou Gongzi, I was entrusted by Mr. Jade Rope to come here for an important matter, and I am disturbed!" ”

Hou Fangyu listened to the other party's tone, not like it was for Zhou Yanru's recovery, and hurriedly smiled: "Mr. Jade Rope is the hope of the sea, and Fang Yu is the younger generation, how dare you be the word disturb!" ”

The man took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Hou Fangyu with both hands: "The matter in the letter is extremely important, Mr. Jade Rope originally wanted to hand it over to Ling Zun directly, but he was worried that the people around Ling Zun would be mixed and leaked the news, so I asked Gongzi to tell Ling Zun as soon as possible after reading it, and give it to the saint!" ”

Hou Fangyu took the letter, just read two lines, his face suddenly changed, and asked, "Is what this letter says true?" ”

"The words are true, and there is no half-word falsehood!" The scholar said in a low voice: "After investigation, there are four or five families that hoard grain, but behind them all point to a businessman named Mr. Cheng Er, who has traveled a lot and is also a close friend of Xu Hecheng, the governor of Yangzhou!" ”

"Xu Hecheng?" Hou Fangyu read the name for a while, and suddenly a hint of joy appeared, and he stood up: "Sir, rest in my house for two days, and when my father comes back, I will immediately show him!" ”

Qianqing Palace.

"Really?" Chongzhen slapped the letterhead on the imperial case fiercely, and his face was already iron-blue.

Hou Sui said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the names of the people, the names of the merchants, the amount of grain, and the rise and fall of grain prices are clearly written in this letter, how can it be fake?" ”

"Then why don't you take these thieves down and torture them?" Chongzhen was already full of voice, and the eunuchs and palace maids on both sides hurriedly held their breath, lest they provoke death.

"Wechen thinks there are two reasons!" Hou Sui replied calmly: "First, since this Mr. Cheng Er is a close friend of Xu Hecheng, the governor of Yangzhou, I am afraid that Lord Xu is also involved in this matter. If it provokes chaos, I am afraid that Jiangnan will be eroded, and it will be out of control! ”

"And what about the second one?" Chongzhen nodded, as the saying goes, once you are bitten by a snake, you are afraid of the well rope for ten years. At the beginning, King Qinwang of Shaanxi mutinied, but the result was that the Liukou crisscrossed more than ten provinces, and it took more than 10,000,000 taels of military salaries to suppress it, and the loss of manpower and material resources could not be calculated. If the wealth in Jiangnan is repeated this time, the imperial court may not be able to take out so much silver to suppress it.

Hou Sui didn't answer immediately, he looked around, Chongzhen saw this and understood that the other party had scruples, so he made a look, and Wang Chengen behind him screamed: "Stand down!" The palace maids and eunuchs who were waiting in the palace all retreated.

"Mr. Hou, there are only you and me in the palace, don't worry!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hou Sui nodded: "After Weichen learned about this incident, he sent someone to check the resume of this Governor Xu, and found that this person was recommended by Yang Shoufu to the Ministry of War to be a foreigner, and then because of his meritorious service in killing thieves, he was promoted all the way, which can be described as a prosperous official luck!" ”

"Mr. Yang?" Chongzhen's brows furrowed dangerously, and he pondered for a while: "Mr. Hou, stand down, your conversation with me is not allowed to leak out!" ”

Seeing Chongzhen's appearance, Hou Sui had already achieved his goal in his heart, he knelt down and kowtowed, and said, "The minister obeys the order!" ”

As soon as Hou Sui's figure disappeared at the entrance of the hall, Chongzhen said sharply: "Wang Daban, you quickly go and check the details of this Xu He City!" ”

Wang Chengen's work efficiency was very high, but after a meal, he returned to the hall with more than ten books. Chongzhen picked up the book and looked at it carefully, and after a while, his face became more and more ugly, he flicked his sleeves suddenly, swept the four treasures of the study room and some scattered objects on the imperial case to the ground, and scolded sharply: "I can't think of it, I can't think of it, this Yang Wenqiao is such a wolf-hearted and dog-hearted man!" The widow's eyes are really blind, and he has been deceived for so many years! ”

"Emperor, do you want Mr. Yang to come over and confront him?" Wang Chengen said in a low voice.

"What else to confront against?" Chongzhen shouted angrily: "A businessman, he was awarded an important official such as Wai Lang, a member of the Ministry of War, at once, and then he rose to the top, first Yangzhou Bingbeidao, and then Yangzhou Governor, did the previous dynasty have such an old precedent?" And this person is secretly hoarding food and plotting against him, does it have nothing to do with this Yang Wen's weakness? Also, where did Xu Hecheng get so much money to buy grain? Yang Wenweak, why did he refuse to cut the old army even though the world was peaceful tomorrow? Suspension of salaries? Rest with the people? What kind of wolf heart and dog lungs is he pregnant? ”

Wang Chengen opened his mouth, speechless, instinctively he felt that Yang Sichang was wronged in this matter, but Xu Hecheng's promotion obviously did not conform to the route of normal Ming Dynasty officials, if Yang Sichang did not intervene in this process, it would be a ghost to believe. And Xu Hecheng's behavior is also extremely suspicious, linking these with Yang Sichang's refusal to stop levying salaries for a period of time, it is normal for Chongzhen to be suspicious. If it is an ordinary person, it is fine, the problem is that Chongzhen is the Son of Heaven, and his suspicion of his subordinates is enough to be used as a reason for conviction.

The more Chongzhen spoke, the more angry he became, and tears were already flowing in his eyes: "I am so virtuous, and I have such a traitorous minister under my rule." "At this point, my hands and feet are already trembling. Seeing this, Wang Chengen hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him, and while caressing his back, he whispered comfortingly: "The emperor is angry, don't be angry, otherwise what will happen to the country left by the ancestors?" What should the people of the world do? ”

Under Wang Chengen's appeasement, Chongzhen calmed down for a while: "Wang Daban, make an edict for me!" ”

Wang Chengen secretly screamed badly, but as a person who was left behind in his sentence, he was just a slave of the Son of Heaven, where was there room for resistance, so he had to take pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, hold his breath, and wait for Chongzhen's voice.

Chongzhen took a sip of ginseng soup, calmed down his emotions a little, and said in a deep voice: "I use Liangde, inherit the unification, renew the world, and return the old ancestors." Relying on inhuman ...... unexpectedly"

Shengjing.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!" Zhao Wende quickly climbed the steps of the Phoenix Tower, and said loudly: "Jingshi has important news!" ”

"Breaking news?" Liu Cheng raised his head from the map: "What's the important news that makes you sweat nervously?" Come on, bring Mr. Zhao a bowl of sour plum soup to relieve the heat! ”