Li You's coercion and intimidation of the shopkeeper of Taisheng Coal Shop is actually a half-truth, a half-truth, and a half-truth, which is his usual method when questioning and judging matters, especially when he occupies a moral and power advantage.

After walking around the coal market a few times, he felt that the small coal shop was just that, there was no storage in the first place, and it was easy to cut off the supply, which was not unusual. But a person who is a shopkeeper in a big business like Taisheng should not be so mentally retarded, and he openly and unscrupulously hoards in front of an official.

Under normal circumstances, he led a group of sergeants to buy coal in a menacing manner, and he was obviously a powerful figure. Don't say that there is coal in the backyard, even if there is no one, I am afraid that I will have to think of some transportation to deal with it. How can there be such a thing as today's Taisheng shopkeeper, who is sure that there is no coal.

You must know that charcoal, like grain and water, is a material of a strategic nature. Not to mention the common people, it is the palace inside, and the bulk products that are stored for emergencies are these three things. The grain is Taicang, the water is Xihaizi, and as for charcoal, there is a coal mountain behind the palace, you know.

The dynasty is not a system in which capitalists are in power, and in this big winter, some businessmen want to disrupt the coal market by hoarding and disturbing the capital and disturbing the restlessness of the capital, and it is possible for the court to investigate and kill people. No matter how serious it is, Li You can go to the court to ask him for a big crime of "plotting misdeeds".

So Li You felt that there must be an inside story, and sure enough, after a few casual scares, he heard some inside stories, but this inside story was not the same as he guessed.

He originally thought that there was a greedy and powerful person behind this matter, but he didn't know who it was, but he didn't expect that the eunuchs of the Salary Division were involved.

This Salary Division is one of the Twelve Eunuch Supervisors, Four Divisions and Eight Bureaus, and is responsible for the purchase and supply of fuel in the entire Imperial City. It is open in Xi'an Gate alone, and there are several factories outside the palace, among which the West Factory in Xicheng is the largest.

At present, the Salary Division is managed by the eunuch of the direct palace eunuch, which is not as famous as the celebrant eunuch, the internal official supervisor, and the imperial horse supervisor.

The shopkeeper was afraid that Li You would not believe it. Hurriedly turned out the diploma given by the Salary Division and handed it to Li Youxian.

Lord Li took it, and saw that it was indeed marked that "the West Factory of the Salary Division bought 130,000 catties of coal from the Taisheng Coal Shop outside Fucheng Gate". The signature is "Huang Yong, the deputy of the right division of the Salary Division, and the eunuch of the West Factory of the Salary Division", and the date is yesterday.

This right deputy of the Salary Saving Division is nominally second only to the Palm Seal Eunuch and the Left Deputy Salary Collector Division, because the position of the West Factory, which is responsible for purchasing and storing fuel, is too important, so Huang Yong, the deputy of the Right Division, is stationed in the West Factory as the eunuch.

Li You waved the diploma in his hand and asked, "Are you the only ones like this?" How about others? ”

The shopkeeper of Taisheng Coal Shop replied honestly: "Except for the small shops that have no goods, most of the others are like this." Except for the coal collected by the West Factory, it has been sold. ”

Li You was careful, and asked again: "Your family alone is more than 100,000 catties." The total number of catties is only one or two million catties. Did the West Factory give you silver? ”

The shopkeeper of Taisheng Coal Shop immediately looked sad, and his words revealed dissatisfaction, "The West Factory just asked me to sign a contract yesterday, and I couldn't refuse." So far, it's been a short time. The payment has not yet been made, and we are anxious and uneasy, and we don't know what will happen next. ”

If you change to an official with mediocre ability, I am afraid that I will ask here, and maybe I will have a few sympathies that are cheap and useless - it seems that it is a eunuch who is taking advantage of the situation to do evil, and he is forced to buy and sell, and this merchant will not dare to disobey, otherwise he will have to wear a few big hats such as disobedience to the court.

Then those who have backbone will go to Shangshu to impeach the eunuchs; Spineless. Sighing a few times, Mingzhe pretended not to know.

But Master Li has handled cases for so many years and has seen all kinds of cases, and when he asked, he was really shrewd to get to the bottom of it. I immediately realized that the shopkeeper did not reveal a word on a key issue. That's the price of coal. At what price did the West Plant collect coal yesterday? …,

Li You knows very well that when he wants to find out the truth, the more the other party doesn't want to say it, and the more he avoids the important and trivial, the more he should ask questions. Then he said: "The time when the West Factory bought coal was yesterday, so at what price did I make a contract with you?" Is it at yesterday's old price, or is it at the market price at the time of delivery? ”

Yesterday, the news of the chaos in the Xishan mine did not spread, and the price of coal was almost the same, basically about one tael of silver per 100 catties; And at this moment today, the price of coal has skyrocketed to three or four taels per 100 catties, and it is still changing.

The gap between the two prices is very large, and Lord Li is very curious, at which price does the Salary Division buy coal? If it is the old price of one or two silver in front, then it is obvious that after the salary division got the news first, it was forced to buy and sell and temporarily monopolize coal. If it is agreed at the new price, then things are interesting.

The shopkeeper of Taisheng Coal Shop was silent for a moment, and replied helplessly: "Based on the market price at the time of delivery." ”

Hearing the answer, Commander Jiang of the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses, who was accompanying him, was still puzzled, how could the father-in-law change his temperament and do business so fairly.

When he was thinking about it, he saw Li Baixian suddenly shouting: "Catch someone!" Closed shop! Those who dare to block will be punished as rebellion! ”

Before Commander Jiang could react, he heard Li Baixian's order: "Quickly send someone to summon the soldiers and horses of Xicheng to send an army, just in case!" ”

After talking for a while, the shopkeeper of the Taisheng coal shop realized that he had dealt with the other party, and the young official did not have much experience, so he was very confused, but he was unexpectedly dealt with more severely.

He was shocked and said in front of Li You: "What's the matter? The small shop is safe and guarded, there is no chaos, I hope the adults will see it! ”

Li You thought he was ugly, and dangling in front of him affected his mood, and waved his hand and slapped him to the side. Said contemptuously: "If people don't know, they can't do it unless they do." Go to the yamen to explain your business! ”

The moment he heard the shopkeeper's answer, Master Li's heart brightened. couldn't help but curse a few words, did these dead eunuchs want to speculate on futures to make trouble for Li You? This merchant shopkeeper is not a good thing, he actually jokes about coal in the cold winter, they must be in collusion with the eunuchs of the Salary Saving Division!

Obviously, the coal shop wanted to hoard Juqi to make huge profits, but it lacked the name of righteousness, and as mentioned above, it was easily suppressed by the authorities represented by him Li You on charges of "conspiracy to misbehave".

But what if this coal is labeled as a court? Of course, it is the duty and duty of the subjects to ensure the use of Ouchi, and no one dares to rob the palace materials.

Then in a few days, when the price of coal reaches its peak, maybe there will be no need for so much coal in the palace, and it is very possible to put it back in the market and sell it.

This process, although I don't know who led it - either the salary-saving division pulled the coal shop to do the game together, and finally gave the coal shop a little profit; Either the coal shop took the initiative to borrow the name of the Salary Saving Division, hoarded it in a grand manner, and finally handed over part of the profits to the Salary Saving Division.

But all in all, neither side is a good thing, and he dares to cause trouble within the scope of his Li You's duties, in an attempt to smear his Li You's glorious and perfect work resume! (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )