The prostitutes were very beautiful, and a few of the soldiers had the audacity to reply, "Beautiful." ”

Maybe the prime minister will be happy and reward them to himself.

Dare to think of good things, Zheng Lang did not get angry, Mencius said well, the rich and noble cannot be lewd, the poor and the lowly cannot be moved, and the mighty cannot be bent, this is called a great husband. But how many people can do it? I'm afraid that if I am embarrassed by food and clothing, I will also be forced to do some small things.

He also said: "I went to the Khitan and brought a hundred guards with me, but only ninety-one people really returned. The nine men rebelled. At that time, they were still by my side, and I have repeatedly said that I can take them home for just over a year, and nine people will not be allowed to return, and my heart is often too restful. ”

Twenty people are not stupid, on the contrary, they are all shrewd and capable people, who can almost be called the elite selected from the 300,000 soldiers, can they be stupid? Upon hearing this, several people's faces changed color.

"Why did I leave you behind, let you enter the palace to patrol, live in my house, see many nobles every day, cultivate your bearing, and let you enter Taixue, and study a little, it is to cultivate your knowledge. This is an important thing for you to do. So it's not just training, it's also assessment. This assessment is not a whip or torture, but a fragrant assessment. Everyone has a love for beauty, and I don't blame you. You can love it, but you can't be too nostalgic. Xie Chun, Hua Xianyan, Shui Sanwa, and Tao Jianming ......" ordered a total of fourteen people, asked them to come out, and said: "You pack your luggage, I will give you a book tomorrow, I won't be too aggrieved, and I will arrange for you to hold the first-class military position." ”

That is, after this secret elimination, all fourteen people were defeated.

Zheng Lang is still paying attention to their expressions, in fact, they are all good talents, and the trend of prostitutes is prevalent in this society, there are tens of thousands of prostitutes in the capital alone, if there are no complaints, they can also be used as reuses, and serve as commanders of various battalions. If you have complaints, you can only be a small head.

Swept. I didn't dare to have resentment, but there were several people who were not convinced. Zheng Lang didn't explain much, these people were ordinary soldiers, at most they were forbidden soldiers. Just picked and chosen, and after suffering for a while, the court granted him the actual position, and then he gave him a military position, which was worthy of them.

Only six remained.

He called them into the room alone and instructed them carefully for more than an hour.

These six will carry out one of the most important tasks, posing as traitors of the Song Dynasty who are greedy for wealth. defected to Western Xia, tried every means to express himself, and approached not hiding the false Pang. It is more dangerous than the original task performed by Wang Yong and Wang Song.

But he did not let them go immediately, but gave each of them three hundred taels of silver, and told them to go home, reunite with their families for a few days, and then come to Beijing to gather. Three hundred taels of silver was an additional reward, and every month they received a salary for their official position in Seru. Distribute it to their families on time.

The fact is that they are also allowed to go home and explain the aftermath, and this time, the sacrifice rate will reach more than half. You have to arrange your family. lest they have carelessness.

Lu Xianggao's second letter soon came to the capital.

Wang Anshi gave Lu Xianggao a vivid education lesson. At first, Lu Xianggao didn't know, thinking that he had done a good job, and arrested a corrupt official for the court, except for a harm for the people. The fold was sent to the capital along with the account book. Officials from Viet Nam also rushed to hear the news. Strictly speaking, Lu Xianggao's approach is also a little wrong, you are the prefect of Hangzhou, why did you go to our Yuezhou to arrest people.

As soon as Lu Xianggao told the story, the officials in Yuezhou did not dare to speak up, and Wang Anshi intended to buy rice in a high-profile manner, not only in Hangzhou. It is possible that the rice merchants in Jiangning heard about this and transported the rice to Yanzhou in order to make a fortune, and of course the local officials in Yuezhou knew about it. But Wang Anshi is Zheng Lang's student, and he dares to be angry but not speak.

Lu Xiangliang overstepped his authority, and he and others were also derelict in their duties. It was getting late, and everyone rested. The next day, Lu Xianggao walked on the streets, and the streets of Yan County were very lively, still the same as the previous year, there were all kinds of tricks and tricks, and there were bursts of applause from time to time. …,

Lu Xianggao was suspicious in his heart, other places, including the streets of Hangzhou, were starving, how could Yan County continue to be prosperous? I didn't figure it out, so I walked over to see it. When the common people saw him, they scattered one by one as if they had seen a plague god.

Lu Xianggao said puzzledly: "Fellow villagers, I am the prefect of Hangzhou, and I have come to inspect the disaster in the local area, so don't lie." ”

The common people ignored him at all, and all of them scattered, even the performers snorted angrily, packed up their luggage, I don't sell my arts, hide from you.

Lu Xianggao scratched his head, no, I am not afraid of the powerful, except for a big harm in the county, where I passed, I should hear the people's eulogy, how did this happen? I went back very depressed, and was just about to interrogate Wang Anshi, but when I came to the gate of the county office, a large group of ordinary people knelt down and pleaded for Wang Anshi. Lu Xianggao was speechless and reprimanded these people for not knowing what to do. An old man said: "Dare to ask the prefect, in this year of catastrophe, the state and county on both sides of the Qiantang River are not depressed, but if you look at our county, there is plenty of rice and grain, the market is full of flowers, and no one starved to death, whose credit is this?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he all agreed.

Can't let Lu Xianggao put Wang Anshi in prison, otherwise Yan County will be like other places, and the people themselves will be unlucky soon.

Lu Xianggao was speechless, and it was only at this time that he faintly saw that the problem was not what he thought, and after most of the day, he said solemnly: "Everyone, I will investigate well and give you an explanation." ”

When he openly tried Wang Anshi with Yuezhou officials, he first asked: "Wang Anshi, why are you raising the price of rice?" ”

"Governor Lu, if the imperial court orders are carried out and the price of rice is not released, that grain merchant is willing to sell grain, and many people will starve to death in Yan County, just like other counties."

There was a burst of cheers outside, especially those rice merchants, we have worked hard to transport the grain, is it possible for us to transport the grain back, how much money will be wasted?

Lu Xianggao glanced at the common people, and then asked, "Can the common people afford such a high price of rice?" ”

Wang Anshi is confident, Lu Xianggao is not a capable official, but he is not a mediocre official, he can see the changes in Yan County, as long as he perceives this change, he will be fine. He replied calmly: "Jiangnan has always been rich, not only the land of fish and rice, but also very developed commerce, and ordinary people have small savings. In the first disaster year, all people need is food, although the price of rice is a little higher, but the people are a little thrifty, and they can last for a year and a half. For those poor families, I can also provide relief. Let them get through this. ”

As he spoke, he asked the master Bo to bring the rescue roster and present it to Lu Xianggao.

I remember the sum of money very clearly, Lu Xianggao's tone was more slow, and he asked, "Where did the money come from?" ”

"It's the money silk given by the merchant," Wang Anshi said. It is not said that it is forcibly blackmailed, it is not said that it is greedy for ink, but it is said that it is a gift.

Lu Xianggao finally woke up, and dared to make a big fuss about himself, so angry that he couldn't cry or laugh, and asked dissatisfiedly: "Why didn't you say it yesterday?" ”

"Yesterday, the prefect was aggressive, where did I have a chance to speak?" Wang Anshi replied with concern. Yesterday it was impossible to discern at all. If you can't get this Lord Lu angry, you can make the official slap his mouth.

Lu Xianggao was even more ridiculous, and said after a long time: "Let's go." ”

A word came out, and the people outside thundered with joy.

Lu Xianggao didn't feel good in his heart, but the worst thing was that he didn't figure out the matter, so he wrote a report to the court. Therefore, a banquet was set up and Wang Anshi was invited to the banquet, and he had to let him say good things for himself. And the practice of Yan County also made him think deeply. In the past, although the price of grain was expensive, the common people could still buy rice, and their lives were a little harder. Won't starve to death. These profiteers! Lu Xianggao was also angry.

I asked Wang Anshi what to do. …,

There is also a fierce man behind Wang Anshi, his teacher Zheng Lang is back, afraid of a ball. So he offered a bolder plan, and the county continued to maintain 3,000 yuan per stone of rice, but asked Lü Xianggao to cooperate, and asked him to issue an order to allow merchants to sell grain in Hangzhou at the price of 1,500 meters per stone. It is 1,500 wen, and grain merchants also have huge returns, and the cost in good years was only three or four hundred wen, plus the cost of loss and transportation. It's only 500 words.

There is a high-priced grain in Yan County in front, and there is a larger Hangzhou market in the back, and grain merchants from all over the south are frantically transporting grain to Hangzhou. Don't do more, in two or three months, the grain from Hangzhou to Yan County will pile up. But at this high price, the people will not hoard food. Then the grain will accumulate more and more, and there will be no need to adjust it, and the price of grain will fall day by day. Or if the two sides cooperate, there will be a steep drop, and the price of grain can be reduced to 1,000 wen.

This price is not harmful, and even in good years, the price of grain in the north fluctuates between more than 600 wen and 1,000 wen. The entire grain crisis in the two Zhejiang provinces will be resolved, and even the grain prices in the two Zhejiang provinces will fall, and even other places will drop the grain prices.

Lu Xianggao was dumbfounded when he heard this, almost snorted, and asked in surprise: "So you hit this idea?" ”

"Yes, otherwise it's three thousand Wen, and the people can't afford to eat it."

"Then why didn't you say it in court?"

"Can you say? As soon as the news is leaked, can the strategy still succeed? ”

Lu Xianggao couldn't answer again.

However, he was not as bold as Wang Anshi, and after returning to Hangzhou, he discussed with his subordinate officials, and then wrote a report to the matter again and asked the court for permission.

Zhao Zhen looked at the fold and shook his head: "It's not a system." ”

Zheng Lang continued: "It's not a system, in the past, only businessmen tried their best to earn the interests of the country, in order to deal with the imperial court, they actually ignored the people starving to death, and jointly refused to sell grain. ”

This ancient answer, Da Song and the others all shook their heads. Zhao Zhen was also laughing and said, "Accurate." ”

Merchants can pit the court, why can't the court pit merchants.

Under an edict, the grain merchants in the south of the Yangtze River began to go crazy, and for a time the Grand Canal was full of ships transporting grain, and they rushed to Hangzhou together, but Hangzhou was not the ultimate goal, but to Yan County. It's better to rush to Hangzhou, but to rush to Yan County, that is to send to death.

And it's not lively enough, and another new force is killed.

At that time, several businessmen inadvertently brought grain to Mizhou to sell it, and made some money, which was returned by Quandang. Zheng Lang was in Zhongshu at that time, deliberately rewarding and exempting him from taxes. This created a system in which some merchants brought grain back from time to time. Usually the profit is not high, but the price is low there, and people would rather raise livestock than sell. The normal price reaches more than 200 Wen before he is willing to sell. I won't deliberately bring grain back for the price difference of two or three hundred yuan, but look at the carrying capacity of the ship, if the ship is empty, take a little by the way, and make a small amount of money. However, this invisibly stimulated some left-behind people to plant.

Extensive planting and thin-harvest planting, but fortunately, there is no need to pay taxes, and it is a terra nullius, and there is a season of three crops, and there is a lot of backlog of grain over the years. Zheng Lang was not completely to prepare for the famine year, but to suppress the domestic grain price, so that through the reward, the businessmen stimulated the businessmen, and let the businessmen stimulate the left-behind people to plant.

Food prices had been rising slowly during the Song Dynasty. Instead of the peasants making profits, some fifth-class households have paid their rents and taxes, and the remaining grain is only enough to survive, and the fourth-class households also have little surplus grain to sell. It is the merchants and the big families who benefit.

Under the deliberate coaxing of both sides, grain prices in the Song Dynasty have only risen but not fallen. But the fact that the other side produces a lot of food will counteract this momentum. In the past few years, I have brought back a lot of food, but not much. Until the three thousand Wen came out......

One by one, they are all crazy, the profit of two hundred wen is not attractive, the cost of sea ships is high, there are risks at sea, and most of them are transporting valuable goods. However, the ships that can go to sea are very large, the small ones are 400 tons, and the large ones can reach 1,000 tons. Turning into stone, it is a 10,000-stone ship and a 20,000-stone ship, and one stone can earn 500 Wen, so it is also considerable. It happened to be a good time for the northwest wind to go south in September, but this time the south was different, it was deliberately to buy grain from the people in those strongholds, and even because the ships gradually increased, some people went south to deal with the idea of the toe people. Loaded the grain onto the ship, regardless of the headwind, rowed desperately with a big oar, and sailed the boat back to Hangzhou. If you miss it, you won't be able to do it again. As a result, at the end of the year, more than 300,000 stone of grain came from overseas. Compared with the edible grain needed in the south, more than 300,000 stone is not enough for the people of Hangzhou to eat for several months. But the grain is accumulating more and more, and more than 300,000 stone grains are coming, which is deadly. …,

This grain was not thought of by anyone.

Zheng Lang handed the thirty-six rosters to Zhao Zhen.

The top six people have the word top secret written on them, which are the household registers and files of thirty spies, all of which were handed over to Zhao Zhen. This means that from now on, even the officials of the Privy Council can only contact these spies, and they do not know the family history of these spies, so as not to leak them.

Zhao Zhen opened the roster and mainly stared at the top six:

Zhou Yuan, twenty-nine years old, a native of Kaifeng Beijing, family status, both parents, has a younger brother, a wife, and two sons.

Feng Gao, 27 years old, from Shangpo Village, Yangwu, family status, both parents, has a brother, a wife, a son and a daughter.

Wei Yang, 28 years old, Dongming Weizhuang family, family status, father, two brothers, a wife, a son and a daughter.

Lu Yi, 26 years old, from Liuhe Village, Weicheng, family status, both parents, has a brother, a wife, and a son.

Zhao Shanjin, 29 years old, a former native of Wuzhaikou Village, family status, both parents, has a younger brother, a wife, two sons and a daughter.

Wei Zhifang, 26 years old, Wei Zhuangren, family status, parents, has a younger brother, a wife, a son and two daughters.

This is also the method adopted by Zheng Lang to punish the betrayal of the nine guards, there are parents in the family, there are wives and children, so there is concern, saving one single, one person is full, the whole family is full, if the other party is tempted by beauty, it is easy to turn around. At the same time, there are brothers, who have an accident by themselves, their parents and children are taken care of, and the court treats them well, so they have worries but no worries. Then you must find ways to make great achievements, return to your hometown, and glorify your ancestors.

But Zhao Zhen stared at the list and said hesitantly: "Six families." ”

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the big self, I have to sacrifice the small self, and it may not necessarily be sacrificed."

When others say this, they may be able to say that it is none of their business, and they are not afraid to flash their tongues when they speak, but Zheng Lang is qualified to say it, he went to the Khitan, and he also died in his life, but he did not retreat and hesitate at all. Zhao Zhen cautiously sealed the file and released it into the dark pavilion. He said: "Zhang Kang is about to arrive in the capital." ”

The place he went to was Shouzhou, why didn't you say a word? Zhao Zhen was puzzled, thought about it for a long time, didn't understand Zheng Lang's thoughts, and couldn't help asking. rq