Qingfeng County Ya, in the side hall behind the side of the main hall, there are four middle-aged men sitting at this moment, three of them are dressed in brocade clothes, with big bellies, sitting on the lower side and on the left, quietly looking at the county magistrate who is sitting on the main seat and drinking tea, waiting for the county magistrate to speak.

The county order's surname is Pei, and after putting down the teacup, he looked at the first three proprietors behind the grain stores in the county, "Have they all been dealt with?" ”

"It's all taken care of." The man sitting at the front of the three replied, "If you don't feel at ease, just send someone to check it out." ”

Although the other two did not answer, they also nodded in agreement.

"Naturally, this official will send his henchmen to check." Pei Xian Ling bowed his head imperceptibly, "It's not that I don't believe you, but this matter is very important, if the news leaks, the official can still get out, but you may not be." ”

The hearts of the servants sank, and they all understood.

Whether they colluded to empty the granary, or sent people to attack the granary and set fire to the granary to cover up their crimes during the disaster, if one of them leaks out, there are people above the county magistrate, and they can still run away and be exiled, but if they have no official status, they will inevitably be beheaded.

This time the flood came at the wrong time, but it also came at the right time.

It's not right because there is no grain in the granary, and the government can't open a warehouse to help the victims, no matter how they make up for it now, the court will definitely send people down after the disaster.

Saying that it is right, it is not necessary to be afraid of being discovered by the Qin Mission, it is better to turn the passive into the active, take the opportunity to burn the granary, and say that it is a riot of the people, even if the state government and the imperial court will have some suspicions, as long as they can't come up with substantial evidence, they will have more room to move.

Of course, this plan undoubtedly shifts all the pressure to the county magistrate alone, and at least one crime of lax governance cannot be avoided. But who has always been the head of the county commander, since he has reached out, he must be ready to wipe his ass.

However, Pei County's order was not without a backhand, only to hear him say again: "Looking for you, in addition to this matter, there is another matter, this official hopes that after you step out of the gate of the county government, the price of grain will not rise again tomorrow." ”

The faces of the three grain merchants changed, and the one sitting at the front of the three grain merchants said in a deep voice: "My lord, this is not appropriate, right? When we discussed it yesterday, you didn't say that you couldn't raise the price of food. ”

He is the owner of Chen Ji Grain Store and the head of the Qingfeng Chen family. The imperial power does not go to the countryside, and the county orders govern the localities, and they rely on them, the local squires and wealthy families.

Qingfeng Chen is a local clan in Qingfeng County, and his younger brother serves as a county lieutenant in the county government and is in charge of the county's public security. If he really wants to fight hard with the county order, he is not false.

At present, all parts of the county have been affected by the disaster, and it is not only the farmers who have lost the harvest, but their wealthy families hold a large amount of land, and if you really want to calculate it, the losses can be described as heavy. If they don't take advantage of this opportunity to bring back a wave of blood, when the grain from the state capital arrives, they will miss the opportunity, and maybe even the state government will order the grain to be purchased from them at a low price.

How can they say yes.

"Everyone, don't be impatient." Pei County Ling was not shocked or impatient, and a smile appeared on his face, "This morning, Linhu County sent someone to inform me that yesterday's heavy rain caused the water level of the Jinjiang River to rise, and the focus of Lord Taishou's attention now is not in our Qingfeng County, even if there will be food transfer, it will definitely not be much." You can keep the current grain price for a few days, and then make plans, so that the people can buy more food, and then go back to the Taishou Lord and say, Isn't it? ”

Speaking of this, his face suddenly sank, "If you don't listen to the official's advice, don't blame the official for not being emotional." ”

The three grain merchants immediately understood that the county magistrate wanted to take the credit of curbing the rise in grain prices to offset the impact of the crime of "lax governance" on him as much as possible.

When it comes to his future, the price of food is bound to be non-negotiable.

It's just a matter of waiting for a few days, and the three grain merchants hesitated for a moment and could only agree. They don't dare to report and expose it, even if the court deals with it strictly, and the county commander loses his life, they will not escape death.

Pei Xian Ling had no fear, but he was not complacent, and after hitting a stick, he gave sweet dates, "Don't worry, as long as you pass this pass safely, are you afraid that there will be no chance to make money?" Even if the official is transferred away in the future, you don't need to worry, what we did before, you still do it. ”

The three grain merchants swept the bitter color on their faces and nodded yes.

The Dajing Dynasty stipulated that the term of office of local officials ranged from three to five years, and Pei County Commander had been the county commander in Qingfeng County for three years, and he could be transferred away at any time.

Now Pei Xianling's words have reassured them, Pei Xianling was born in a prestigious family and has a relationship in the court, Qingfeng County is just a lower county, if he interferes in the relationship between the court and the middle, arranging a county order is just a matter of a few words.

After finishing the matter, the four of them chatted, and Pei Xianling suddenly remembered that in the plan to burn the granary, there was a household clerk surnamed Chen who died on the spot, so he casually mentioned it and asked Master Chen to do a good job of dealing with the aftermath.

"It's just a child of a side branch, it's not worth the county magistrate's concern." Master Chen arched his hand indifferently, "I'll just ask the housekeeper to send some food when I go back." Now that there is no money to buy much food, they still have to be grateful to the main branch. ”

Pei Xian Ling pointed at Master Chen and laughed. The other two grain merchants also laughed and agreed.

And at this moment, the county man hurriedly came with an anxious face, arched his hand to Pei Xianling, and said: "My lord, Linhu County sent a quick horse to report, they received a sheep report, the water level in the upper reaches of the Jinjiang River has skyrocketed, and the embankment in the Linhu section may be in danger of bursting, let us transfer the people as soon as possible." ”

Pei Xianling was shocked, "Then what are you waiting for, hurry up and send someone to inform the people!" ”

Although he is greedy for money, he also knows the seriousness of the matter, and the corruption can still be dealt with through the relationship, but now Linhu County is about to report it, if the embankment in the Linhu section really bursts, if he does not deal with it in time, resulting in too many casualties among the people under his rule, then a catastrophe will come.

The county leader was ordered to leave in a hurry, and the three grain merchants also hurriedly said goodbye, they still have clansmen living outside the city, and they must arrange for someone to take them all to the city.

If the Jinjiang River is really in danger of bursting its embankment, then it is safer to live in Qingfeng County, the flood passes through the buffer of Linhu County, the power is naturally weakened, and the city is naturally relieved by the city wall.

At this time, the sky was already dark, and night was about to fall, more than a dozen fast horses rushed out of the city gate, and the officials on horseback held torches, and ran in different directions.

On the hill behind Xiao Chen's village house, the villagers are arguing whether to go down the mountain and go back to their homes.