In the winery.

The little girl cleaned up thoroughly, put on a clean dress, as if she had changed a person, although her head was big and her limbs were small, and she was a little dark, but her big eyes were blinking, and her pitiful appearance was endearing.

No wonder the man had taken a fancy to her.

But Huang Xiongying thinks that probably people are very good-looking when they are young.

Because people are small, there are not so many twists and turns in the heart, so the eyes are also clean and reflective.

Huang Xiongying asked people to cook a bowl of clear soup noodles, add two eggs, and serve it to the little girl.

"Eat."

The little girl didn't want to be too embarrassed, but unfortunately this bowl was like a long drought for her, and as soon as she smelled the fragrance, the word "embarrassed" was thrown out of the clouds.

She almost buried her face in the bowl, and ate it violently, like the autumn wind sweeping away the leaves, she ate two bowls in a row, and her stomach was round.

"What's your name?"

Huang Xiongying sat quietly next to her, waiting for the little girl to finish eating, and then asked out loud.

The little girl still had unwiped vegetable soup on her lips, and a pair of black pearl-like eyes looked at Huang Xiongying in a daze, and opened her mouth, but she couldn't make a sound, just shook her head.

It seems that this little girl should have been overly frightened during this time, and her language function has been impaired.

"Hmmm......"

Huang Xiongying thought for a while and said, "Why don't I call you Xiaobao for the time being, what do you think?" ”

The little girl's eyes suddenly lit up and she nodded vigorously......

Huang Xiongying asked the Guo brothers to find someone to take care of Xiaobao's father's body, and then took Xiaobao to her father's grave and put three sticks of incense on her father.

Xiaobao cried so much, and after kowtowing to his father, he kowtowed to Huang Xiongying.

Huang Xiongying picked up Xiaobao and went in the direction of Jingshi......

……

Henan Mansion Lobby.

Looking at the large box of Chase treasure money in front of him, Li Jinglong finally showed a long-lost smile.

The emperor's grandson really didn't lie to him, it was only half a month, and he raised more than 700,000 taels of silver for them, and now the disaster relief food allocated by the imperial court has been used up to seventy-seven eighty-eight, and now it is the critical period for disaster relief.

It can be said that this money came at the right time.

Next, Li Jinglong arranged for Tie Xuan to purchase grain, and it was not enough to have silver, the most important thing was to convert the silver into precious grain.

The rest of the money was given to Xia Yuanji to build the river embankment.

Everything is arranged, and Li Jinglong is also full of confidence.

Soon, though, he was hit in the head.

Because of the two provinces of Henan and Shandong, which were the most severely affected, grain prices have long been sky-high, and before the famine, one tael of silver could buy rice and two stones, but now, it has almost risen more than ten times.

Even the surrounding provinces have also increased their prices together.

The money that could have purchased hundreds of thousands of stones can now only be bought for tens of thousands of stones.

Li Jinglong's brows furrowed again, and he said to Tie Xuan: "Go and summon the officials from all counties!" ”

"Yes!"

Tie Hyun took the order and left......

Not long after, the lobby of Henan Mansion

Li Jinglong, who was sitting on the top of the public court, glanced at the county officials and said:

"Let's not talk nonsense, this time I summoned you here because the relief food from the imperial court has arrived."

"Now, we will distribute the disaster relief grain money to each of your counties 10,000 taels, and you will immediately return to your own county, and within ten days, each county needs to immediately handle the purchase of grain at a parity price, and the purchase of grain at a parity price in each county shall not be less than 10,000 stones, and it will be pledged to the treasury warehouse!"

Speaking of this, Li Jinglong asked Tie Xuan to distribute the prepared 10,000 taels of Chase Treasure Notes to the hands of county officials.

Looking at the thick pile of Chase treasure money in the small wooden box in his hand, the county officials were embarrassed.

The lobby was quiet for a while.

An official finally stood up and said, "Li ...... Master Li, this 10,000 stone of grain, I ...... I'm afraid our county won't be able to hand it over? ”

"Why?"

Li Jinglong narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the county official.

"Hey—"

The county magistrate sighed and replied: "My lord doesn't know, the price of grain today has exceeded five taels of silver and one stone, not to mention ten thousand taels of silver, even two thousand stones, I'm afraid there are difficulties!" ”

When the officials heard this, they nodded one after another: "Yes." ”

Li Jinglong frowned and asked: "Shandong and Henan provinces have been hit by disasters and there is a shortage of grain, which is understandable, can it be said that even the grain merchants in the surrounding provinces have no grain to sell?" ”

"Hey—"

The county magistrate sighed again and replied: "It's not that the grain merchants don't have grain in their hands, on the contrary, they have grain, but you just said that there is a shortage of grain in Shandong and Henan provinces, so how can they be willing to sell it at a low price?" ”

"Humph!"

Li Jinglong snorted coldly: "Okay, they are going to make a fortune!" ”

The officials were silent.

Li Jinglong said angrily: "Call me tomorrow the grain merchants from the surrounding provinces, I don't believe they can turn the sky upside down!" ”

Day 2.

Li Jinglong sat in front of the public desk in the lobby, Tie Hyun and Xia Yuanji on both sides.

Sitting on both sides of the lobby are big grain merchants from Shandong, Henan and surrounding provinces.

Li Jinglong glanced at it, and then said: "I invite you to come today, what are you for, you must have already known, the Yellow River has been flooded, millions of people have been affected, although the emperor is in Beijing, but he is always worried about the situation in the disaster area, his old man has worked hard to raise the disaster relief grain money has been sent to our hands, but we heard that now the price of grain has increased tenfold, is there such a thing?" ”

Hearing this, the hall was silent, and the grain merchants remained motionless as if they had been immobilized.

"Okay, don't you speak, do you? Then listen to us! ”

Li Jinglong's face was gloomy, and he said: "Henan and Shandong have been hit by disasters, millions of victims have been displaced, and they can't eat, but you are all so fat that you fart and have oily crotch, but you are still raising the price of food, what is this?" You fucking make a fortune! ”

"We don't want you to donate grain now, as long as you sell grain at the previous price, it's not too much, right?"

After listening to Li Jinglong's words, the grain merchants were still dead pigs who were not afraid of boiling water, and they did not move or speak.

Li Jinglong's face became longer and longer, but he still said patiently: "Listen to our advice, selling grain at a low price is for the emperor, for the court, and for your own blessings!" ”

As he spoke, seeing that the grain merchants did not mean anything at all, Li Jinglong's face finally turned completely cold.

"Very good, since you don't see the coffin and don't shed tears, then we have to say it first, starting tomorrow, if anyone here dares to continue to sell grain at a high price, we will treat it first and then play!"

At this point, a grain merchant finally stood up.

The grain merchant had a fat head and big ears, and arched his hand: "Lord Yu, Jia Zheng, a grain merchant in Qingzhou, Shandong, Henan, and Shandong have suffered disasters, and the grass people, as grain merchants, have a low status, and their lives are not easy, where is there any grain that is sold high?" The family is frugal and frugal! ”

"Now the adults say that they want to buy grain at a low price, but there is really little grain in the grass people's homes, so let's do not want the adults' money, and the grass people take the lead and donate one-third of the grain in the grass people's homes...... Ten stones! ”

The words are good, but Li Jinglong's face is so angry that his face is pale!

Someone stood up to speak, and the other grain merchants suddenly became active as if the immobilization technique had been eliminated.

Another grain merchant stood up: "Brother Jia is worried about the country and the people, and he sacrifices himself for the country, which can be called an example for my generation, but I am a small fight, how can I compare with Brother Jia?" I also don't want the court's money, pledge ...... Nine stones! ”

Another grain merchant stood up: "I also pledged nine stones!" ”

Another grain merchant stood up: "I am the same!" ”

……

Seeing a famous grain merchant stand up and express his position, Li Jinglong was so angry that he almost bit his good teeth.

"Well, you guys did a great job!"

As he spoke, Li Jinglong was so angry that he grabbed the inkstone on the public case and threw it to the ground!

Smack.

The inkstone fell to the ground, the ink splashed everywhere, and several grain merchants were splashed all over their faces.

"You wait for us!"

After Li Jinglong put down a cruel sentence, he turned around and left with Tie Xuan and Xia Yuanji angrily.

All the grain merchants looked at each other, and those with and without ink on their faces all turned their eyes to Jia Zheng, who stood up and spoke at the beginning.

Jia Zheng's eldest brother is Jia Shaozu, the prefect of Qingzhou, Shandong.

And he himself is also the largest grain merchant in this area of Shandong and Henan.

The corners of Jia Zheng's mouth hooked slightly: "Hey! We are kind enough to donate food, and we still have a face? Don't let us sell food, right? Then we won't sell it! Afraid of what? See who is begging for whom! ”

A grain merchant flattered him and said, "You want to take the grain from us at a low price? No way! ”

Another grain merchant said: "Yes, there is no money, what should we hand over to the prince of Qi......

Jia Zheng immediately shouted in a low voice: "Shut up!" ”

The grain merchant was shocked and hurriedly stopped.

Jia Zheng glanced at the grain merchants and said, "Let's get together rarely, tonight in the old place, I will put wine to suppress the shock for you." ”

Everyone nodded their heads in understanding......

……

Yingtianfu, Forbidden City, Fengtian Temple.

Syllable!

Zhu Yuanzhang threw the fold on the ground.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

Fu Youde, who had just finished reporting on the sale of mirrors, asked cautiously.

"Humph!"

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a cold snort in his nose: "Look for yourself!" ”

Fu Youde carefully picked up the fold on the ground, Xu Huizu also came over, opened it and saw that it was actually the fold of Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao Guo, who was sent to disaster relief this time.

In the middle of the compromise, Li Jinglong first explained that the disaster relief in Shandong and Henan provinces was proceeding in an orderly manner, and that there was a gradual improvement, that the victims had porridge to drink, that no one was dying of starvation, and that the 700,000 taels of silver for the imperial court had already been received.

However, the price of grain in the two affected provinces and the surrounding provinces has risen steadily, and has risen to six taels of silver and one stone of rice......

After looking at it, Fu Youde was also so angry that he scolded:

"Bold, so daring! Dare to raise the price of food, and it is difficult to make a fortune for the country! ”

"Humph!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly again: "Kill!" These gang of profiteers who are flying and camping dogs should all be killed! ”

Seeing the murderous aura on Zhu Yuanzhang's face, Fu Youde and Xu Huizu didn't dare to say much, so they could only stand respectfully on the side.

After a while, the murderous aura on Zhu Yuanzhang's face dissipated a little, and asked Fu Youde and Xu Huizu:

"Tell me, what should I do?"

Fu Youde pondered for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that now...... Can't be killed! ”

"The profiteers who raise the price of grain should indeed be killed, but Cao Guogong has already explained in the excerpt that after he issued a warning, the grain merchants are now not even selling rice, it can be seen that they are colluding together, and there must be forces behind them to support them, if they are killed, I am afraid the situation will be even worse!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly.

How could he not know whether he could kill or not, because there were many grain merchants in Shandong, Henan and the surrounding provinces, large and small, and they couldn't all be killed, if they were all killed, there would be no one to let the grain circulate.

After that, no one wanted to be a grain merchant.

Because once there is a famine, the court will kill them and rob them of their food, how is this different from robbers?

Robbing the rich and helping the poor has never been the way to govern the country.

Zhu Yuanzhang motioned for Fu Youde to continue, and Fu Youde continued:

"The minister doesn't have a very good way for a while, but the minister thinks that it is possible to purchase food from the Jingshi side and then support the disaster area?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he pondered for a while and said, "It's a method, but we're worried, in this way, will even the price of Jingshi's grain be raised?" You know, these profiteers are everywhere! ”

When Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned the word profiteer, he couldn't help but increase his tone, which shows his hatred for profiteers.

Fu Youde also had no idea for a while.

The emperor's worries are not unreasonable, if the situation in the disaster area is because of the situation in the disaster area, the Jingshi is implicated, then the gains outweigh the losses.

"Anhe, summon the ministers to the palace!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said and strode towards the main hall of Fengtian Palace......

In the Fengtian Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger lasted for a long time.

The princes and ministers trembled.

What made Zhu Yuanzhang even more angry was that after discussing for a long time, he couldn't come up with a good solution.

Killing is the easiest.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang goes down with a will, a team of brocade guards can kill people's heads.

But at this juncture, it is not possible to solve the problem by killing people, and it may even be counterproductive, because once you start to use the knife against the grain merchants, you may force them to burn all the grain, and it will lead to a series of problems in the future.

In the end, the discussion came and went, and the way to get was to find out the behind-the-scenes forces of these grain merchants, and without the support of the behind-the-scenes forces, the grain merchants who colluded together would be easily dismantled.

But then, who knows how long it will take?

After three or five months of investigation and handling, the disaster area no longer knows what has happened......

This time the court meeting ended in Zhu Yuanzhang's angry scolding and the trembling of the ministers.

And Zhu Yuanzhang, who got off the court meeting, was still worried.

It is not difficult to be an emperor, but it is difficult to be an emperor who cares about the people!

At this moment, he is extremely nostalgic for a woman.

A woman he considers to be the most virtuous and intelligent woman in the world, Queen Ma.

If she is still there at the moment, she should be able to come up with some ideas for herself, even if she can't, at least she can comfort herself and make herself comfortable.

Thinking of Queen Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang unconsciously thought of his eldest grandson.

Because his eldest grandson Zhu Xiongying gave him the same feeling as Queen Ma, every time he went to his eldest grandson, he always felt comfortable when he was impatient, and the whole person became warm.

And every time he goes, he gets a different surprise that makes him both happy and looking forward to it......

Let's hope this time will be no different.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head, he actually had this kind of thought, it was really a bit ridiculous, the problem that the dynasty couldn't solve, his eldest grandson had already solved it once, he couldn't count on his eldest grandson again this time, right?

However, Zhu Yuanzhang still called Jiang Zhen and went to the bank of the Qinhuai River, because ......

He really misses his eldest grandson!

During this time, he has been busy with government affairs, and he has a headache because of all kinds of problems, and he can only relieve his fatigue from the eldest grandson, just like the original Ma girl......

……

A small courtyard on the banks of the Qinhuai River.

Xiaobao followed Huang Xiongying to live here.

Slowly, Xiaobao regained her language function, and began to smile more on her face.

And this little guy is very diligent, every day to clean the house, since Xiaobao came, the kettle is always full of hot water, garbage has never been in the house overnight.

Huang Xiongying never thought that a six-year-old girl could be so sensible.

Zhu Yuanzhang entered the house and couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Xiaobao.

Huang Xiongying on the side smiled and said, "Xiaobao, call grandpa!" ”

"Hello grandpa!"

Xiaobao shouted obediently.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and looked at Huang Xiongying: "Stinky boy, you will really surprise us!" ”

(End of chapter)