Xiao Yuanbo's bearing was extraordinary, he raised his hand slightly, and returned the half-salute, "No courtesy, please lead the way in front." ”

"Xiao Ye, please."

The Anguo Mansion is too big, and it's nighttime.

In this way, Qi Su took Xiao Yuanbo and Xiao Yuanji to take a shortcut and walked a stick of incense before arriving at Dongyuan Bookstore.

Around the Dongyuan Book House, the security is fierce.

After a while, the young head Dugucheng came out of the main hall of the study house, raised his hand at Xiao Yuanbo and arched: "Master Xiao, Xiangye is inside, please." ”

"Hmm."

Xiao Yuanbo bowed his head, then raised his legs and crossed the high threshold and walked towards the study room.

The guard Xiao Yuanji followed behind him, and was blocked by Dugucheng with his hand, "I'm sorry, you can't go in." ”

"This..."Xiao Yuanji was stunned.

Whoever the chief helmsman Xiao Yuanbo meets, no matter how high the status of the rivers and lakes is, he follows the left and right and never separates.

"Yuanji, you can find a place to rest for a while, and someone will naturally inform you when I finish my business."

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Yuanbo raised his feet and walked in with Dugu City.

"Yuanji obeys." Xiao Yuanji clenched his fists and groaned.

He is Xiao Yuanbo's nephew, loyal and courageous, strong in martial arts, if there is no chief helmsman, he will never leave him day and night.

Even if Xiao Yuanbo was looking for a woman to have fun in the Qinglou, he would not shy away from it.

However, on this kind of secret talk occasion tonight, I am afraid that it is not suitable for him to follow left and right, because Cao Qichang is not a big man in the rivers and lakes, he is the prime minister of the cabinet.

Even Qi Su and others have to retreat.

"Brother Yuanji, please..."

"Please..."

Xiao Yuanji followed Qi Su, leaving the cordon of the East Garden Book House one after another, and walked towards the west courtyard of the East Garden.

This is a side room annex for entertaining VIPs.

As soon as the two of them entered the gate of the west courtyard, it was a little dark, and Xiao Yuanji staggered to the shoulder of Qi Su.

Qi Su stopped and turned around, "Brother Yuanji, be careful of your step..."

"Oh nothing, tripped over the threshold, out of the way..."

While talking, Xiao Yuanji stuffed a wax-sealed pill into his ruler pocket.

At this time, as soon as the lights were on, several guards and maids in the courtyard came out to greet them.

"Prepare a separate room for this Xiao Zhuangshi, and some wine and food for supper."

"No."

After Qi Su finished speaking, he turned to Xiao Yuanji and hugged his fist and said:

"Brother Yuanji, please take care of yourself, drink some wine to eliminate the fatigue on the way, and then take a break, brother, I still have to go on a night patrol, and I can't accompany him."

"Brother Qisu, please."

After the two of them finished saluting, Qi Su turned around and disappeared into the moonlit night.

……

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, due to the recent disaster relief by the imperial court, the prices of daily necessities such as food and cotton cloth in the capital and the surrounding state capitals have skyrocketed, and they are the same every day."

Tobe Shangshu Shi Shenyi wiped the sweat on his face with a handkerchief and continued:

"The price of rice has risen to an outrageous level, half a year ago, five or six plants of Tongdian could buy a pound of new rice in good condition, but now, even the moldy old rice, less than forty or fifty Tongdian, can not be bought, and it is still rising, which makes the citizens panic, and they have to grab rice and accumulate it."

"How can this be, it's outrageous, isn't it?" The prince's eyebrows tightened.

"Most of the grain in the capital and the surrounding cities are concentrated in the hands of big grain merchants, and they are a consortium with the Cao Gang, and many grain merchants in the capital market are actually the Cao Gang's own people who are running them, and this is a conventional means of hoarding and reselling." Xu Xinchun added.

Cao Gang, as the name suggests, is related to waterway transportation.

In the decades since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, grain has been transferred from the south to the north, and the Grand Canal has been used to reach the area of the capital directly.

Caoyun was originally an organization of the imperial court, and now in addition to the official food of the imperial court used to escort soldiers, the vast majority of them are sailors, stompers, and slender men used by civil organizations.

This non-governmental organization of Cao Yun is the Cao Gang.

He and the Salt Gang and the Beggars Gang have become the three major gangs in the rivers and lakes.

"Your Royal Highness, according to the internal report, Xiao Yuanbo, the chief helmsman of the Cao Gang, recently arrived in the capital from Yangzhou, and went to the Anguo Mansion late at night to meet Cao Xiang secretly, I am afraid that I will engage in more conspiracy." The Secret Guard Governor reported to the Governor of the Guard.

Jiangnan Xiao, a descendant of Emperor Liang of the Southern Dynasty, has strong strength, and his commercial houses are all over the south of the Yangtze River, that is, Turkic, Tibetan, Dongying, Western and other places, there are their agents.

Xiao Yuanbo controlled the Cao Yun, mainly mobilizing grain, silk cloth, etc.

"That's right, there is no wind and no waves, this time the grain and cloth are soaring, it must be the Cao Mansion colluding with the Jiangnan forces to make trouble, and the East Palace must fight back."

The crown prince stretched out his hand and stroked the tiger's whiskers, and ordered:

"The Zhan Shifu issued the prince's decree, from now on, merchants must open warehouses and release grain, set prices for transactions, are not allowed to stockpile, let alone raise prices, violators are raided and imprisoned, and in addition, an order was given to Jingzhao Yin Yamen, so that they can send officials, government soldiers, government officials, etc., to supervise and inspect everywhere."

"Order Jin Wuwei to actively assist Jing Zhao Yin in running errands, and strengthen patrols at various docks, warehouses and markets to prevent riots."

"The secret guard continues to understand the activities of the Cao Gang and the Cao Mansion, and they must find out where the grain transferred in by the Cao Gang is located?"

"Yes."

The ministers took the command and departed.

The prince sneered twice, and said to Gao Jin, the chief manager beside him:

"National disaster wealth, but not so easy to make money, these profiteers, officials and businessmen collude, relying on the gangs in the rivers and lakes, on weekdays to make a lot of money, in the period of national crisis, still thinking about making this kind of ill-gotten wealth, is it really the big knife hanging by the end of the Jin Dynasty, can it not fall on their necks?"

"That's what Your Highness said." Gao Jin nodded and said.

"Spread the decree, I want to go out of the city and go to the markets and Caoyun Wharf." Yuan Zhi stood up and said.

"Compliance... Obey the order, and the slave and maid will arrange it. ”

Gao Jin was stunned and wanted to speak.

He wanted to dissuade the prince from going out of the city, but he didn't dare, so he had to call a eunuch and ask him to inform the Qianniu guards to prepare.

……

The imperial capital of the Final Jin Dynasty has two major docks, east and west, both of which are in the outer city.

The large wharf here, of course, is built along the waterway, and there are large and small wharf warehouses.

The west wharf is located in Chengtianmen, which is mainly for official cargo loading and unloading and transshipment, mainly in the imperial city, official offices, and military materials, and is called the official wharf.

Such as official food, salt, cloth, stone and wood, etc.

The east wharf is located at the carrier gate, which is mainly for civilian goods, ranging from grain, oil, cloth, to pots and pans, brooms, needles and threads.

The East Wharf is connected to the East Market, which is a large miscellaneous city, covering an area of dozens of miles, and the area is more than ten times that of ordinary residents.

The east market is neatly planned, horizontal and vertical, with elm and willow shade, and the canal is noteworthy.

There are pawn shops, jewelry shops, rouge buildings, oil shops, money villages, cloth villages, etc., heavy buildings and strict pavilions, reflecting each other, dazzling.

There are thousands of shops in all walks of life.

There are four gates in the east market, and Yuan Zhi, under the escort of 20 plainclothes guards such as Ding Jiu and Jiang Wu, entered from the west gate and crowded into the crowd.

Yuan Zhi made a breakthrough, visiting the ancient market, full of curiosity. He entered the East Market, not to buy anything, but to wander around and learn about this unparalleled market.

Here, as far as the eye can see, there is a sea of people.