Immediately, Wang Xianggao asked Master Yinxian: "How many bribes have you received from rice merchants, do you have accounts?" ”

The master replied: "Back to the master, all the accounts are there." ”

Wang Xianggao ordered Song Jing and his master to be escorted back to the Yinxian County Office, where they were to be tried and reported to the imperial court for execution.

The city gate is some distance from the county government, and when Wang Xianggao led a group of people to pass by a market, it was crowded with people, and the sound of singing and bursts of applause could be heard not far from the downtown area. In the year of the catastrophe, other counties in Hangzhou were starving and desolate, but Yin County was not only prosperous in the market, but also singing. Wang Xianggao came to the singing place full of doubts, and the people watching the play in front of the stage saw that there were officials and people coming, and they were about to disperse, Wang Xianggao shouted: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Wang Xianggao, the assassin of Hangzhou, and I have come to inspect the disaster in the local area, so you don't need to panic." ”

When Wang Xianggao was speaking, the common people had already seen that their county commander Song Jing was tied up and escorted, and they all gathered around, knelt down and pleaded: "My lord, why do you tie up Song County's order, he is a good official." ”

Wang Xianggao told Song Jing about raising the price of rice and accepting bribes without authorization, and suddenly an old woman came to Wang Xianggao and said loudly: "You are not right, dare to ask your lord, in this year of disaster, which county in Hangzhou is not a market depression?" If you look at our Yin County again, there is plenty of rice and grain, the market is prosperous, and no one starves to death. Whose credit is this? It's Song County's! May I ask my lord, what is the crime of our Song County Order? The old woman's words drew applause.

Wang Xianggao was speechless, the old woman was right, there was indeed no sign of disaster in Yinxian County. He was silent for a moment and then said to the onlookers: "I will investigate well and give you an explanation." Rest assured. The imperial court will not wronged a good official, nor will it let go of a corrupt official. ”

When he came to the county government of Yinxian County, Wang Xianggao openly tried Song Jing. in court. Wang Xianggao asked Song Jing why he ignored the imperial court's holy orders and raised the price of rice.

Song Jing said with a serious expression: "My lord, if the rice price policy stipulated by the imperial court is implemented, Yin County, like other counties, will starve to death. If the price of rice is not liberalized, which rice merchant is willing to sell rice? ”

"Can ordinary people afford such a high price of rice?"

"Adults don't know that Jiangnan has always been rich. Not only is the fish and rice abundant, but the business is also very developed, and ordinary people have been around for decades. All have small savings. In a famine year, all people need is grain, and although the price of rice is high, they should save a little. It can also last for a year and a half. Those families were poor. For those who can't afford to buy food, I will give them money and material assistance. ”

Song Jing asked the master to bring the rescue list and present it to Wang Xianggao.

The aid roster not only records in detail the name, address, and family size of the recipient, but also has the red handprint of the recipient.

After Wang Xianggao finished looking at it, his tone eased and asked, "Where does the money for the rescue come from?" ”

"My lord didn't know that after those rice merchants made a fortune, they all cheered. They all sent me money to Song Jing. If I refuse, they will be genuinely scared. So I took it, made a register, and gave it to the poor who could not afford to buy food. ”

Song Jing asked the master to bring the roster of receiving rice and silver. Wang Xianggao compared the two rosters, and one received one, and the score was exactly the same.

Only then did Wang Xianggao discover Song Jing's cleverness, and it was not easy for him to govern Yin County so well in the year of the catastrophe. Not only did he not cure Song Jing's crimes, but instead reported Yinxian's practices to the imperial court and asked the imperial court to reward Song Jing. He even asked Song Jing for advice on how to deal with the disaster in Hangzhou next.

Song Jing suggested that the price of rice in Hangzhou should be completely liberalized, saying that the price of rice would rise steadily at the beginning, but within three months, the price of rice would fall back to about 1,500 wen a stone. According to Song Jing's intentions, Wang Xianggao ordered all parts of Jiangnan to liberalize grain prices, and the price of rice suddenly rushed to 3,500 wen per stone. After hearing the news, rice merchants from all over the country continued to sell rice to Jiangnan. There was plenty of rice in the market in Jiangnan, and there was a situation of oversupply, and in less than three months, the price of rice really fell back to 1,500 wen a stone.

The people of Jiangnan finally got through the difficulties, but the Hangzhou government was facing a new problem, the Shaanxi and Gansu areas lacked rice and grain due to the severe drought, and the imperial court ordered support from all over the country.

Song Jing gave Wang Xianggao another idea, asking him to immediately make an announcement to buy rice at a price of 1,000 wen per stone.

Rice is 1,000 yuan and 1 stone, are rice merchants willing to sell it? Wang Xianggao was skeptical, but Song Jing said confidently: "My lord doesn't know, the price of rice here soared a while ago, and merchants from all over the country have sold rice to our Jiangnan and made enough money. I calculated, a thousand wen and one stone, and the rice merchant has already preserved the capital. ”

Wang Xianggao adopted Song Jing's suggestion and purchased a large amount of rice and grain for 1,000 wen and one stone, and shipped it to Shaanxi and Gansu, where he was rewarded by the imperial court. Song Jing also became famous because of this, and was transferred to Lantian as a county magistrate.

……

Li Tao listened, his eyes lit up, it seems that this Song Jing is a talent.

"Song County Order, I will go to Zhongnan Mountain in the next few days, and when I finish my business, I will come to the county office, and I will give you a big gift then!"

"A big gift?"

Li Tao smiled: "You'll know then." ”

……

The green hills on Zhongnan Mountain are stacked on top of each other, and the valley is full of smoke.

Li Tao and Li Bai walked up from the bottom of the mountain, climbed all the way, climbed six or seven dangerous slopes, and came to the edge of a cliff. The cliff wall stands thousands of feet, and the opposite side is also a cliff, and between the two cliffs is a stone crack that is more than ten zhang wide and bottomless.

There is a wooden bridge over the cracks in the stone, and behind the cliff on the side of the wooden bridge is the Sword Casting Villa, on which stands a middle-aged man, guarding the only passage in and out of the Sword Casting Villa. In this situation, it can really be said that it is a one-man affair, and it is impossible to open it.

In front of Shang Muyun and the others, a young couple was walking across the wooden bridge, and the middle-aged man on the bridge politely let the two pass after reading their invitations. The young woman had red lips and white teeth, a graceful figure, and a very gorgeous appearance, Li Bai couldn't help but look at it a few more times. When the woman saw that someone was looking at her, she looked back at them, and she smiled very charmingly.

Li Bai looked at the Sword Casting Villa opposite from afar and said, "The lights in the villa are brilliant, and the drums are playing in unison, it seems that it is a big banquet for guests. ”

Li Tao and Li Bai walked on the wooden bridge, and the middle-aged man on the bridge said: "I am the head of the Sword Casting Villa, surnamed Jin, I don't know if the two distinguished guests can have an invitation to the villa." ”

Li Tao handed over the token and said: "Manager Jin, we are the catcher of Lantian County, and we have an important matter to visit the owner of the villa, but the incident happened in a hurry, and there is no invitation. ”

Manager Jin replied: "In the next three days, Duan Lianting, the owner of my villa, will have a banquet for friends in the villa, and there is no time to see others, so the two of you should come to the villa in a few days." ”

Li Tao said: "This matter is not trivial, I really can't afford to delay." ”

Manager Jin shook his head like a wooden man and said: "The owner of the village ordered that you can't go without an invitation, so you two should please go back." (To be continued......)