Summer is quietly coming, cicadas are chirping, and long-lost ice cream stalls have appeared on the streets of Yindu.

The sorbet vendors were sweating profusely, but they couldn't bear to take a bite of the sorbet in their cabinet.

The sun was shining, and the hot weather made Gao He sweat like rain, the war horse under his feet was panting heavily, and the soldiers behind him were also hot and sweaty.

This time I came to Yindu, Gao He walked for half a month, crossed the plank road, crossed the cross-section, and was very difficult, but fortunately, in the end, there was still a thrilling arrival in Yindu.

Looking at the towering city walls of Yindu, Gao He's heart welled up with a feeling of going home, but this home is no longer home.

"I invite Gao He, the king of Anxi, to enter the palace for an audience." Outside the Taihe Palace, the shrill voice of the eunuch echoed in the palace.

Dressed in a black python robe and wearing a four-feather crown, Gao He slowly walked into the court, looking at Gao Zhen on the dragon chair.

Gao Zhen couldn't help but chuckle in his heart, I haven't seen him for three years, why is Gao He so old?

Three years ago, Gao He entered Beijing, although his face was already vicissitudes at that time, but it was not like today, his eyes were sunken, his face was full of wrinkles, and his skin was extremely dark.

"The younger brother of Anxi, King Gao He, visited my emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live." Gao He knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and shouted loudly, although his tone was respectful, but it seemed a little cold.

"King Anxi's flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gao He stood up and stood in the center of the main hall, for him, today's audience would definitely be a bloodless battlefield.

Soon, Gao Zhen began to ask the king of Anxi about the robbery of grain by the Yin soldiers, "Brother Xian, there is a rebellion in Miaojiang in Shuzhou, and you said that you want three million stone of grain."

I didn't delay, let the agricultural secretary prepare the military rations at the same time, but I never thought about encountering the Yin soldiers in your Shuzhou, three million stone of grain disappeared, how can you explain this? ”

Gao Zhen opened his mouth to rob the food, Gao Zhen frowned, sure enough, the person who came was not good.

"Your Majesty, the matter of the Yin soldiers robbing the grain, the younger brother feels that there must be a hidden secret, as for who robbed it, the younger brother is still investigating, but please rest assured, Your Majesty, this matter will definitely be investigated, and the three million stone grain will definitely be recovered."

"It's been more than half a month since this happened, and there has been no progress?" Gao Zhen said with a displeased expression, "If the virtuous brother is short of manpower, I can send some over." ”

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the land of Shuzhou is a place where the courtiers have worked hard for many years, and there are enough people, so Your Majesty will not bother; It's just that this Yin soldier is too strange, and the younger brother really needs time. ”

Gao He arched his hand and said, but he was unhappy for a while, didn't you send people to Shuzhou, did you not know if there was any progress?

Gao Zhen smiled and looked at Gao He below, "Three million stone grain is not a small number, Brother Xian, it's not that I'm here to embarrass you, it's just that the people of the city need an explanation, if there is a difficulty, just open your mouth." ”

"Brother I understand."

"Your Majesty, the minister has something to say." Xue Xun, the secretary of the Criminal Department, walked out from the side and said with his hand.

"Xue Aiqing, please speak." Gao Zhen smiled slightly and said softly.

Xue Xun arched his hand: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the King of Anxi, after the military rations accident, the minister sent people to Luofu Mountain to investigate as soon as possible, and found a lot of traces similar to the activities of soldiers and horses on Luofu Mountain, just near the robbery of military rations, I don't know how the King of Anxi explained this." ”

Gao He frowned and said: "Luofu Mountain is rampant with bandits, my brother has been committed to eliminating bandits for many years, and I have been restoring peace in Sichuan and Shu, it is normal for Luofu Mountain to have soldiers and horses mobilized, my brother feels that this does not mean anything, Lord Xue is a little too nervous." ”

"Really? However, these marks are obviously recent, so the minister feels that the three million stone military rations were not robbed by the Yin soldiers, but by the people of the army, and this Yin soldier matter is just an excuse for them, Lord Wang, what do you think? Xue Xun said sharply, and the face of King Anxi next to him instantly became gloomy.

Gao Zhen sat on the throne, and after hearing this, he nodded silently, then looked at King Anxi and said, "Brother Xian, have you found these in Luofu Mountain?" ”

"Luofu Mountain's soldiers and horses are frequently mobilized, but just relying on these marks to determine that someone is robbing grain, it is a bit too hasty.

The rutted horse marks are not only found in the transfer of military horses, ordinary people, mountain bandits and thieves will also leave marks, in the absence of conclusive evidence, it is not appropriate to draw conclusions. King Anxi said lightly.

Xue Xun frowned, and Gao Zhen immediately asked, "Xue Aiqing, have you found evidence?" ”

"This, Weichen has not yet mastered." Xue Xun bowed his head helplessly and said.

"Dare to accuse the court of being an important minister above the court just because of suspicion, Lord Xue really has a hand, are you so hasty in handling all cases?" King Anxi is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and he will take Xue Xun with his backhand.

Xue Xun was deflated and had no choice but to give up, "King Anxi, as a courtier, I naturally want to share my worries for Your Majesty, and it is normal to put forward my own opinions, as for the accusation you said, I am afraid that it is a little too much, just now I just reminded and asked, worried that the prince would miss this detail." ”

King Anxi snorted coldly, is that really the case?

If you just said that you know, then you are really passive, the traces of soldiers and horses, isn't it only you who can mobilize soldiers and horses in Shuzhou?

Isn't that tantamount to admitting that he sent someone to rob the grain, not to mention anything else, that is, this one robbery of grain is enough for himself.

If you don't admit it, it will be tantamount to bullying the king, because this mark is real, and I have doubted it before, and like Xue Xun, there is no evidence.

Therefore, King Anxi neither admitted nor denied it, but asked Xue Xun rhetorically, only in this way can he avoid this topic.

"Okay, Xue Aiqing is also for the sake of serving the country, don't blame the virtuous brother."

Gao Zhen stood up and played a round and continued: "The Criminal Department will continue to investigate the case of the loss of military rations, and the virtuous brother can communicate with Xue Aiqing and strive to find out the truth as soon as possible." ”

"Ministers should help each other." Xue Xun arched his hand.

"Your Majesty, although it is strange and strange for the Yin soldiers to rob grain, the rebellion of the Miaojiang tribe is still a hidden danger to the safety of Shuzhou, so the subordinate brother dares to beg His Majesty to allocate some more grain and grass to the subordinate brother to stabilize Miaojiang." Gao He arched his hand and said.

After saying this, the court instantly became lively, and there were many discussions, these three million stone grain has just been lost, and your king Anxi opened his mouth to ask for food, isn't this a desire to block His Majesty?

Sure enough, Gao Zhen's face was a little strange, he looked at Gao He, and smiled reluctantly, "Then how much does the virtuous brother plan to ask for this time?" Or three million stones? ”

Gao He nodded, "It must be three million." ”

Yan Yisong, the head of the household, stood up and arched his hand, "Lord Wang, these three million stone grain is not a small amount, and now the grain stock in Yindu is simply not enough to support another three million stone, if you insist on asking for three million stone grain, it may take a while to wait for the arrival of Jiangnan grain." ”

"This king can wait, for as long as he wants, but can the people of Miaojiang wait? Can a soldier who has gone to the battlefield wait? Gao He said without being salty or light.

The transfer of military rations is an urgent matter, and it has been almost a month since the theft of three million military rations, can Gao He, who is the king of Anxi, not be in a hurry.

Yan Yisong had just taken office as the head of the household department, and when he heard it, he arched his hand in a sneering voice, "Lord, having said that, you can't embarrass your subordinates, let Your Majesty embarrass you, right?" ”

Yan Yisong moved out of Gao Zhen, and Gao He had to let go, "Hmph, if there are no three million, then take as much as you want." ”

"Brother Xian." Gao Zhen opened his mouth, interrupted Gao He's words, frowned and said: "Today is only about the Yin soldiers, as for the food you said, let's discuss it in a few days." ”

Gao Zhen forcibly stuffed back the words on Gao He's lips, and Gao He had no choice but to give it up.

……

The matter of Yin Bing has not yet figured out what is going on, but Wang Aosheng, who is far away in Shuzhou, found that there is something wrong with Shuzhou.

That is, a lot of grain merchants suddenly appeared in the markets in various parts of Shuzhou, reselling grain at extremely low prices, causing chaos in the Shuzhou market.

Shuzhou, Guangdu City.

As the seat of Shuzhou, Guangdu City has always been the largest city in Sichuan and Shuzhou, and the political and economic center of Shuzhou.

At this time, a grain merchant on the streets of Shuzhou was directing the carriage behind him to transport a large amount of grain to the grain store behind him, and shouted at the same time: "The price of grain has been reduced, the price of grain has been reduced, five cents a catty, five cents a catty, the quantity is limited, first come, first served." ”

The people along the street were instantly attracted and stopped to look at the grain store.

Sure enough, the price of grain on the sign at the door of the grain store became Wuwen, which is really cheap, the grain is more than 20 wen a pound on weekdays, but today it is so cheap.

"Your food is so cheap, will there be a problem?" The people around asked suspiciously.

The grain merchant patted his chest and said: "You can rest assured that this is all transported from Yindu, absolutely new grain, if you buy it back and there is a problem, just come to me, I will refund you at the price of thirty wen a catty, what do you think?" ”

"Yindu grain, it's so cheap, so what are you waiting for, buy it, I'll buy ten catties first." Hearing this, the people rushed to the grain store, and soon there was a sea of people at the door of the grain store, and there was an endless stream of people buying grain.

Not long after, a sonorous sound of armor sounded, Wang Aosheng rode a horse and frowned, and the Shuzhou soldiers who followed behind him opened the road on both sides.

After seeing the grain store peddling grain, Wang Aosheng shouted: "Catch that grain merchant, surround the grain store, and not a single grain of grain can be sold." ”

"Yes!"

The soldiers next to him gave up their orders, and their soldiers quickly surrounded the grain store and shouted: "Who sells the grain?" ”

The grain merchant walked out tremblingly, "Master Jun, the little one is doing serious business and has not broken the law, what are you doing here?" ”

"Didn't you say no, no? Come, take him down, and take all the food with you! ”

Seeing this, the surrounding people left one after another, and even the grain they had just bought was forced to be returned.

Although the grain merchant shouted all the way, he was still taken away.

Wang Aosheng shouted in front of the people on the street, "Ladies and gentlemen, these grains are coming from the wrong way, don't buy them in the future, report to the government in time, if you don't report it, or buy and sell it indiscriminately, you will be dealt with in accordance with the law." ”

Seeing that the people were indifferent, Wang Aosheng knew that what he said was actually equivalent to not saying it.

The people take food as the sky, and this is especially true for the people, who cares where your food comes from, as long as it is good, the price is cheap, and someone will buy it.

If this happens next time, not only will the people not report it, but they will continue to buy it, and even help hide it from the government.

Wang Aosheng can't do anything about this, he can't really put the people of Shuzhou in prison.

What's even worse is that this problem happened after King Anxi entered the Yin capital, and nine times out of ten this grain is the grain that was robbed by the Yin soldiers.

Now the truth is not clear, the people in the criminal department are investigating the case in Shuzhou, if the news reaches Yindu, it will inevitably be unfavorable to King Anxi.

But now Wang Aosheng has no better way, he can only do his best to deal with the matter before the news reaches the ears of the people in the criminal department.

He had a vague sense of foreboding, and it all seemed to be a conspiracy.