When Suren returned home, his wife, who came to greet him, nervously grabbed Sauron's arm and asked anxiously, "I heard that the grain ship will be late this month?" ”

"Not like that." Suren immediately objected. Seeing that his wife's expression was still anxious, Sauron touched his wife's hair and tried his best to comfort her with a pleasant face, "The grain ship has never been late for so many years. Don't listen to people's nonsense. ”

"But everybody says so." Suren's wife was not reassured by her husband's comfort.

Su Lun himself was also uneasy, and the rumors of last month were shattered by reality. I thought it was just some fool's message, and it wasn't worth mentioning at all. This month first saw the shipwrecking, and then the news of the rebellion of the nobles reached Constantinople.

Half of the 40,000 troops of the Eastern Roman Empire are now in Serbia to suppress the rebels, and 20,000 troops are stationed in the main cities of the empire. Constantinople had only eight thousand troops. The Duke of Cantacuthenus and the Marquis of Syrkia, two well-known nobles of the Eastern Roman Empire, rebelled at the same time, and the army was very anxious.

While the husband and wife were talking, Suren's parents walked into the house with wicker baskets. On weekdays, the two of them would bring back a lot of cheap vegetables when they went out, but now the basket is empty. Seeing his son at home, Suren's father couldn't help but complain: "The price of vegetables has almost doubled today. Everyone is buying vegetables and going back to pickle kimchi! If it goes on like this, we won't be able to eat at home! ”

Kimchi is a new style of food from the province of Europa, buy a small porcelain jar and clean it, fill it with salt water, sprinkle a little peppercorn and peppercorns to soak it to make it fragrant, and military families like Suren can also use more spices, such as cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Soak the washed and dried cabbage leaves in fragrant salted water, carefully seal the lid, marinate for a few days, and then take out the shreds and eat them raw or stir-fry them in olive oil.

With only two or three days of delicious vegetables extended to two weeks, Chinese kimchi quickly became a staple on the tables of Constantinople families, and the tables of the Roman legions and Janissaries were served every day. I can't even eat kimchi, and I can't live my life. Suren could only comfort his parents, telling them that that would not happen. Comforting his family at home, Suren did not say anything about it after returning to the army.

If Su Lun doesn't say it, it doesn't mean that others don't say it. Throughout Constantinople there was talk of the late arrival of the grain ships, and now that the vegetables had begun to be harvested in full swing, there would be no new vegetables on the market until spring, when prices had risen and were now soaring. Soaring vegetable prices sparked panic buying, and from the moment the news broke, all vegetable stalls were crowded with people. In less than two days, all the vegetables were sold out. Those who didn't get their hands on the vegetables were angry because of the collision or other small friction that led to scolding and even fighting. Because there was a disturbance everywhere, the magistrate had no choice but to ask the Roman legions to intervene to maintain order. The dispatch of the Roman legions required the emperor's approval, and the news of the chaos reached the emperor.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer immediately went to the provincial office of Europa, and hurriedly met the delegates, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked: "I heard that the arrival of the grain ship will be delayed?" Is this true? ”

The representative looked calm, and first asked the excited minister to sit down, and then he responded: "There is no such thing." ”

Without waiting for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to breathe a sigh of relief, the representative added, "In general, there will be no such thing." However, you have attended a cocktail party, and there will be delays for such a little distance, and we can only guarantee that the ships will be dispatched, and it is not impossible to delay it for a few days occasionally. ”

When the Chancellor of the Exchequer heard this, he seemed to have been whipped in a whip, and he stood up, pressing his hands on the deputy's table and said anxiously: "This is not good! This must not work! ”

The representative sighed and did not answer immediately. The news of the possible delay of the grain ship was ordered by him to be released, in order to provoke 'point' pressure in Constantinople. The Eastern Roman court was forced to speed up its military campaign to exterminate the aristocracy, at least to establish a safe zone on which to build a telegraph line from Constantinople to Athens.

The plan was very modest, and the means by which the compradors of the office disseminated very reasonable news could at best 'blow up a pool of spring water' in the eyes of the deputies. Unexpectedly, this 'blow' directly caused panic in the city. First came the rush to buy, then the chaos. Before the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Eastern Roman Empire entered the deputy's office, the delegate saw the latest news. There were many shops in the vicinity of the Roman legions' garrisons, in addition to the fact that the army was their big customer, it was convenient to open shops nearby. Roman legionnaires were disciplined, and merchants opening stores near camps added a sense of security. With the rush to buy, order immediately got out of control, and many rush buyers fought near the barracks. Where could the Roman legions allow such a situation to occur, they sent barracks guards out to maintain order. What was meant by a well-intentioned move only fueled the panic, and rumors began to spread that there were rebels in the city, and that the army was going to kill the rebels in Constantinople.

Looking at the representative's calm expression, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said anxiously: "Your Excellency, we hope to be able to transport grain to Constantinople in advance. No, can you transport two months' worth of grain in advance! ”

If there is not a total chaos outside, the delegates' hearts will rejoice when they hear the Chancellor's request. Now the representative is full of self-blame for being cocooned. He never intended to cause panic in Constantinople. At this point, the delegates decided to stick with it. He said in an embarrassed tone: "We have a saying in China, which is called treating the symptoms but not the root cause. When there is a panic, increase inventory, and don't say it works. Is there such a large granary near Constantinople? It's autumn, and the grain has just been harvested. In April, where did so much grain come from! ”

The Chancellor understood this, so he was frightened by the terrible news. The minister shouted: "Your Excellency, we will talk about the future later, please send someone to bring food immediately!" ”

"What if there was a better way! Do you want to hear it? The representative also said loudly.

"Please!" The minister shouted.

The delegate spoke about what had been prepared before. Now it takes half a month for the news to travel from Constantinople to Athens. Because it could not grasp the immediate information, the Eastern Roman court, faced with various uncontrollable crises, inevitably fell into panic first.

Once the telegraph line was built, news from Constantinople and Athens could go back and forth in two days. Athens can send a message before the ship departs. Even if something happened to the ship, Athens would be able to send it again immediately. In addition, the ship passed many lighthouses along the way, and the telegraph station near the lighthouse could also send out the news immediately, so that the Eastern Roman Empire and the provinces of Europa could get the latest news of the ship at any time.

With the completion of the telegraph line, the Eastern Roman Empire no longer had to waste time waiting. Even if you encounter rumors, you can publish accurate information, and even if the people don't believe it at first, they will eventually build trust in the Eastern Roman court over time. And then solve the problem of rumors once and for all.

After hearing this reasonable plan, the minister's mouth tightened. The delegate felt that the minister would discuss the plan, so he listened to the minister: "Please also send a message now, Your Excellency, to send two months' worth of grain to Constantinople first." Please! ”

The representative was extremely disappointed by these words, what kind of officials are these! The population of the Great Song Dynasty was more than ten times that of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the land area was about 100 times that of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Zhao family has managed such a huge country in an orderly manner. If the Great Song Dynasty heard the suggestion to build a telegraph line, it would have carefully consulted on horseback. The Eastern Roman Empire is too blind.

However, the representative also blamed himself at this time, he overestimated the level of the Eastern Roman Empire, and if Yang Congrong knew about it in the province of Europa, he would inevitably be criticized. The representative could only reply: "I'll send a ship back now." ”

The steam-sail hybrid ship takes four days to reach Athens from Constantinople. It will be on the ninth day to bring back the news, and as for the grain ships, it will only be slower. The representative prayed in his heart that Constantinople would not be completely chaotic because of this turmoil, which he had never thought of. Things in the world are just afraid of what comes. For the next two days, the chaos in Eastern Rome continued to escalate. In some places, there was even black smoke, which was obviously a fire.

Until the Eastern Roman court ordered the entire city to be banned, no one except the army, factories for military families, and sanitation workers were allowed to go out. Constantinople barely restored order. As a result, the provincial office of Europa was greatly affected, the compradors could not leave their homes, and all business was forced to be suspended. The representative finally realized what it was like to be 'cocooned and self-bound'. In addition to reflection and introspection in the office, the delegates were also bored reading books, looking forward to the early arrival of the grain ship.

The action on the Athenian side was swift, and the grain ships arrived on the tenth day. As soon as the ships arrived, the Eastern Roman court ordered the distribution of food. When the food arrived, the panic of the population quickly dissipated. Three days later, the curfew was lifted, and the city of Constantinople returned to its former harmony. These days, the grocery buyers have already transported a large number of vegetables, and at this time all the vegetable stalls in the market are full of vegetables. The vegetable vendors did not expect that the previous rush to buy had caused every household to accumulate a large amount of kimchi, and no one bought the new vegetables. Seeing the mountains of vegetables unattended, the vegetable vendors wanted to cry without tears.

In the news gathered two days after the Europa provincial office, the life of the vegetable vendors became even more difficult. The people do not have the difficulties of large vegetable vendors, but many people scold the vegetable vendors who have raised prices in the rush to buy, and curse these black-hearted businessmen for retribution. It is these people who scold the vegetable vendors for their incompetence, they are the ones who scold the vegetable vendors for raising prices, and it is these people who scold the vegetable vendors for being punished by God. The delegates who saw the report sighed in their hearts that if these people were not incited, where would there be so much.

The deputies soon summoned the compradors and asked them to buy the vegetables that could not be sold. Hearing this order, Sheila was surprised and asked why. The representative sighed: "So many vegetables can't be sold, it's a pity to spoil them." Give them a hand. ”

Sheila was thoughtful, but continued to ask, "What should we do if we buy so many vegetables?" Where to sell it? ”

"Not for sale. This is not a lot of money, and when I heard that the Roman legions were going to fight against the rebels, I should wish them a victory and success. After the representative finished speaking, he felt a little better.