When the Manchu Dynasty was amazed, there were also smart people who tried to analyze that Chuzhou could survive such a big disaster under the premise that the official food was reduced by nearly one-third?

First of all, Chuzhou predicted the arrival of the locust plague seven days in advance, but this point is the most critical. Time is everything, and if you don't know it in advance, all the measures that follow are meaningless. In a hurry, there was no time to ban Chuzhou from quarantine, and if the locusts spread, it would not only be Chuzhou at this moment, but the entire Shenzhou would be in dire straits.

Knowing the locust plague, Chuzhou did not sit idly by, but immediately asked the three armies of Chuzhou to ban Chuzhou. This is a feat of sacrificing one's life for righteousness, and it is also a helpless strong man who breaks his wrist.

But if it is just to sacrifice himself to become Dayu, then the next operation is what makes the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military eyes shine and be deeply shocked.

The food restriction order is so important at this critical time. The Minister of Civil Affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, who does not understand the chain reaction of the locust plague and the crazy rise in grain prices, and as soon as the price of grain rises, it will cause endless panic among the people of Chuzhou.

But in the reality of Chuzhou, the Taishou Mansion and the Xuantian Mansion have joined forces to check the gates, even if the grain merchants in Chuzhou do not open warehouses, they will not relax the grain restriction order. Relying on the official purchase restriction order of Chuzhou alone, all the people of Chuzhou have been condensed into a rope to tide over the difficulties together.

"Suffer from inequality...... I only now understand the deep meaning of this sentence......" Chang Taifu looked at the results of the analysis and couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh.

"Yes, everyone is hungry, but everyone is honest. After all, there is a government that promises to ensure that they will not starve to death. If the granary is opened, and the rich people rush to buy at a high price, the poor people will inevitably resentful and riot. With the riots, the operation of Chuzhou will inevitably be interrupted.

If there is an imbalance, Chuzhou will inevitably fall short...... This He Xingzhi, this Lu Sheng, is amazing! The two of them are one writer and one martial arts, one is one and one is relaxed, one is black and one is white, and they actually make the entire Chuzhou move forward like a precision wheel. ”

"Yes, and then, frying the locusts and catching them for food is ingenious. If the people can eat locusts, they will naturally catch them and eat them to fill their stomachs. Taking an individual case as a spark, it is like a wildfire burning the prairie fire, and it is a good delicacy from heaven.

As soon as the locusts cease, the people will go hungry. Chuzhou and the locust plague are incompatible, and Lu Sheng was able to come up with such a method to exterminate locusts. Then he instigated the martial arts of the rivers and lakes to kill locusts, lure them with fame and fortune, and save the water and fire of the people.

How can this move look so much like a game of the art of war in my opinion?"

"Hahaha...... It turned out that Li Xiangguo also had this feeling, and the old man carefully studied Lu Sheng's layout, and every move and style were secretly in line with the soldiers. Avoid its edge, attack its vital points, attract momentum, encircle and annihilate it!"

"And now, Chuzhou has almost relied on its own ability to survive this catastrophe, so that my court has been shouting to mobilize the power of the whole country to save Chuzhou from danger. But until now, the relief grain has not been delivered to Chuzhou?"

"If you urge again, you can't set off the first 10 million stone grain within three days, and one from top to bottom will be severely punished. ”

The first batch of grain purchased from Bazhou Prefecture was continuously transported and sent to Chuzhou through the army's Eight Gate Array.

This is a good thing that the whole people are excited about, and the people of Chuzhou are shouting loudly. This is hope, the hope of living.

The people's gratitude to the court completely exploded at this moment. Looking at the grain trucks transported, they knelt down and kowtowed excitedly. The mouth shouted the words of long live the emperor, long live Lord He, and long live Lord Lu.

But the people were reveling, but Lu Sheng and He Taishou were worried.

Because there is not enough money.

Even if Lu Sheng did everything he had, and even if the Taishou Mansion took out all the treasury silver, how much grain could he buy back? It was okay to hold out the grain until the locust plague was eliminated, but it was simply impossible to last until the beginning of spring next year and until the people's summer harvest.

Not only is it impossible, but it is also a hundred and eight thousand miles away.

"We have to make money, we have to make money as soon as possible......" Lu Sheng shouted as he knocked on his knees.

"Lord Lu, you are an expert in making money, do you say that this money is so easy to make? Even if we let all the workshops start, the distant water can't save the thirst......"

In just seven days, He Taishou's hair was almost gray. Seven days ago, his hair was only gray, but now, He Taishou was covered with snow as if he was ten years old.

"There is a way!" Lu Sheng's eyes burst into a cold light, and the corners of his mouth slightly hooked up a cold smile.

"What's the solution?"

"Remember those grain merchants?"

"No!" At the moment when Lu Sheng's words just landed, He Taishou immediately stopped Lu Sheng's plan with a stern word.

"Private property cannot be forcibly seized for any reason, this is the express decree of our dynasty, and as soon as this case is opened, the credibility of the state will be destroyed. ”

"I didn't want to take their food, but I had a way to make money from them. ”

"They don't even want to give a grain of food to the victims and earn money from them?

"Lord Taishou, think about it, why are they still reluctant to open a warehouse to release grain now that the locust plague has been controlled?"

Everyone knows that the locust plague is just the beginning, and the grain of the autumn harvest has been destroyed in one fell swoop, and 50 million people can only buy grain if they want to survive. And now, it is their major grain merchants who have the most control over the grain.

They didn't release grain, and the people of Chuzhou had no locusts to satisfy their hunger, and in the end they had to count on the imperial court for relief. They can afford to wait, but we can't afford to wait. If we don't have money to buy food, we will still ask them for it. How much hair have I lost these days......"

"So if I were a grain merchant, I would limit the amount of grain that the government could obtain, and we could keep the grain that lasted for half a month, and then disguise the grain as a grain merchant in Bazhou and other places to sell it to them at a high price. Use the money earned from them to buy food ......"

"This ...... The grain merchants of Chuzhou are not fools, how can they be fooled?"

"The key to operating this is the eight-door ban. During the lockdown of the Eight Gates, they were unable to learn the truth, and they were unable to go out to distribute food. So during the lockdown period, they were deaf and blind at our mercy. ”

"The ban will be lifted as soon as the locust plague has passed, and we only have half a month. How much can you earn in half a month?"

"A lot!" Lu Sheng smiled faintly, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes, "Do you know how rich these grain merchants are? Nearly twenty percent of the country's grain transactions pass through their hands.

I estimate that it will take at least 10,000 stone to solve the crisis in Chuzhou, and so much grain reserves already account for almost half of all the reserves of the eight surrounding states of Chuzhou. If we buy all this food, not to mention that the money is not enough, even if it is enough, we can buy at most this much.

We know it in our hearts, and so do the grain merchants. So if we buy a little bit, they will have a little less. If the grain merchants bet on the grain restriction order, then they will definitely compete with us for a share.

Therefore, once we release this grain, it is not that we have already bought, but that they have been sent by the imperial court to discuss cooperation, and the grain merchants of Chuzhou will definitely rob us, and they are even willing to buy it at one or two times the price.

In this way, we are using their money to buy our food. ”

"But what if it's half a month from now?"

"Half a month later, we have eaten nearly 30% first, and we can still take 30% of the remaining 70%. You can still sit down with them and spend it slowly. ”

"This ......" He Xingzhi was confused when he heard it, but there was an inexplicable feeling that was unfathomable.

"Lord Lu, eat 30% of 10,000 stones in half a month. That's 30 million stones...... Do we have so much money? Or rather, the grain merchants have so much money that we ...... We ...... the word "pit", He Xing couldn't say it for a long time.

"No money...... Can you take credit ......" Lu Sheng suddenly showed a grim smile on his face, "I owe money, if I can't pay it back, won't there be an official government to collect it...... As long as it comes to us, it is necessary to say how to judge. If you don't have money, you can use grain to pay off debts, and the price is naturally a common practice, and eighty percent of the price of grain.

The government settles debt disputes, this shouldn't be considered a forcible encroachment on private property, right?"

This tone and this expression are matched with this expression, not to mention what will happen if he is seen by the grain merchants, even He Xingzhi shuddered when he saw it.

Lu Sheng was about to speak, when suddenly his words stopped. Turning his head, he looked at the door. A clear sound of footsteps came.

"Come in!"

Without waiting for the other party to report, Lu Sheng had already called him in. It was Xuan Tianwei who came in, and his name Lu Sheng couldn't be called. After all, there are so many people, Lu Sheng can't guarantee that they will remember each of them.

After someone came in, he quietly leaned into Lu Sheng's ear and whispered, and suddenly, Lu Sheng's eyebrows raised slightly, "Is there really anyone who is not afraid of death?"

"Lord Lu, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing important, in Xichu City, there is a grain shop that has opened a warehouse to store grain. ”

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

However, he privately raised the price of food by 40 percent. ”

After Lu Sheng finished speaking, he stood up and strode out the door.

West Chu City, located at the west end of Chuzhou, further west, is the boundary of Qinzhou. After learning that some shops had quietly raised the price of grain, Xuantianfu did not act immediately, and at this sensitive moment, Lu Sheng needed to make a decision in person.

And Lu Sheng also knows that the major grain merchants have been a little ready to move recently, and since they have jumped out of one, they must kill chickens and monkeys.

The other party opened a position very secretly, and closed the door after only one hour. Although it was only for an hour, it also caused the people of West Chu City to rush wildly. In just one hour, the harvest is worth half a month.

The façade was closed, but the shopkeeper and the bookkeeper were crackling inside and quickly calculating the accounts. The transaction was too fast and urgent just now, and I didn't have time to keep accounts.

"The shopkeeper made a total profit of three thousand taels. ”

"It seems that the price can be too high tomorrow ......"

"But the shopkeeper, we are so clearly against Xuantian Mansion...... What if it ......."

"What are you afraid of? We are from White Horse City, and behind us is White Horse City. Don't be afraid, this money was sent to White Horse City overnight to reassure the city lord, and now is the right time to open a warehouse and sell grain.

The grain merchant of Chuzhou was timid and was frightened by Lu Sheng, which can't frighten us......"

"Bang-" There was a loud bang, and the wooden door of the grain store exploded instantly, and the debris shot out, startling the three people who spoke. Before he could make a move, Lu Sheng's crimson figure strode out.

"This official doesn't dare to offend White Horse City at this time, but I don't think White Horse City will dare to offend this official at this time. Especially for you two guys, White Horse City won't even fart. Some people have reported that you have ignored the grain restriction order and raised the price of food without permission!"