Lin Xulu went to look for Zhang Yubo, but was rejected. He didn't even see anyone, so he was kicked out by the old officials outside the Yamen and left angrily.

But the matter was not over yet. At dawn, more than a dozen major rice shops and rice shops in Jiangning City closed their doors in the name of inventory and warehousing, and the prison island also closed its warehouses and locked the river.

The remaining millet shops did not have Dongyang Township Party background, and they were all impounded by Fu Yin in Gu Tianqiao. They did not dare to stand up to the storm and closed down business. However, they had limited grain reserves and no purchasing channels, so they could not survive.

Within half a day, all the food in stock was sold out.

There is food in the rice stores, and no matter how high the price of rice is, the situation will not be chaotic; if the rice stores are sold out, and the food source is cut off, panic will inevitably break out in the streets. The only thing that can give people some peace of mind is the ones set up in the city.

Dozens of porridge restaurants have not stopped yet, but when they will stop, no one can tell - some people endure it silently, while others refuse to sit back and die. If there is no rice and grain transportation in, Jiangning will become a dead city -

By afternoon, crowds of fleeing people began to appear in the nine gates of the four cities.

In order to avoid causing large-scale riots, we had no choice but to start today's street cleaning in advance as soon as the sun set. Soldiers from the Huaidong Soldiers and Horses Brigade filed out from the four-city military camp to control the main street intersections and restrict the free movement of citizens.

After Jia soldiers took to the streets, the nascent riots in Jiangning City were temporarily controlled, but all this was temporary, and bigger riots were hidden in the silence.

The situation was tense. Zhang Yubo, Fan Jiliang and others were in the government office. They were not feeling relaxed. Not to mention the mentality of outsiders, even some old officials were afraid of following Zhang Yubo and offending Huaidong. Almost half of them left the government office in the afternoon, citing illness.

He never showed up again.

Zhang Yubo was angry and wanted to raid Lin Xulu's loan shop directly with his men. Those old officials who stayed behind, including Fan Jiliang, all dragged Zhang Yubo away.

Gu Tianqiao was still a chicken that scared the monkeys. As the eldest son of Lin Tingli and brother of the Lin Fu clan, Lin Xulu was a big shot in Jiangning even before the Huaidong soldiers and horses took control of Jiangning City.

When Lin Xulu came to fish for people in the early morning, Fan Jiliang almost suspected that Zhao Shuhan had guessed Lin Fu's intentions wrongly. Zhang Yubo had a tough temper and blocked Lin Xulu directly from the door, giving him a closed door. However, he did not expect that Lin Xulu would be killed at dawn.

Give them such cruelty.

If there was a large-scale riot in the city, Lin Fu could openly oust Zhang Yubo from the position of Quan Zhifu Yin.

"Should we go to Chen Yuan? If this situation continues, it will not be good for Huaidong after all?" Fan Jiliang paced in front of the public case and asked Zhang Yubo, who was sitting behind the public case with a solemn face.

Zhang Yubo shook his head slowly and said: "The rice store is closed today to take stock of its warehouses. But after today and tomorrow, it will be like this again. The intention of hoarding is obvious, and it should be governed by the laws of the country..."

"Okay, if there are national laws that should be followed, chaos should be eliminated, and with Mr. Zhang here, Jiangning will be in good hands from now on!"

Fan Jiliang looked back anxiously and saw Shen Rong walking in accompanied by King Hailing, followed by Zhao Shuhan winking at them.

King Hailing was allowed by the Empress Dowager to participate in politics, and he could enter and leave the Yamen Hall without permission.

There was no need for Zhao Shuhan to remind Fan Jiliang that King Hailing and Shen Rong were coming over at this time, probably because they were afraid that the chaos would not be big enough. But at the moment, he could only go to the hall with Zhang Yubo to greet him: "I have met the prince, Shen Rong."

Sir..." Welcoming King Hailing came to the hall and sat down.

"The Empress Dowager knows what is going on here and has specially ordered me to come and ask," Yuan Jianhai took the seat behind the public case and said, "The profiteers are in power and the national law cannot tolerate it. Some people say that Duke Pengcheng is behind these profiteers. , but I never believe that Duke Pengcheng ignored the laws of the country and allowed profiteers to cause chaos in the world. Should I invite Duke Pengcheng to come over and discuss this matter to find a proper solution?"

"Okay, according to the prince's order, I will send someone to invite Duke Pengcheng to come over." Zhang Yubo agreed.

Fan Jiliang was secretly worried: King Hailing and Shen Rong came over, obviously showing uneasiness and good intentions.

Lin Fu is hiding behind the scenes, so there is still room for easing the matter; if Lin Fu comes out in person, no matter how serious the matter is, there will be no room for easing. If Lin Fu doesn't come forward, can they still send a government official to force him to do so?

Lin Fu can recommend Zhang Yubo, but if he really wants to oust Zhang Yubo, can King Hailing and Shen Rong stop him?

Some of the old officials in the government office could not stand the arrogance of the Dongyang Township Party. After listening to Zhang Yubo's order, two people stepped forward and rushed to Chenyuan to ask Duke Pengcheng to come forward.

Zhang Yubo was sitting in the hall, discussing with King Hailing, Shen Rong, and Zhao Shuhan about the difficulties of governing the city. Fan Jiliang sat there uneasily, worried that Lin Fu might not show up at all if he walked in with a bad face.

After waiting for a while, they reported that the driver of Duke Pengcheng had arrived outside the government hall, and Fan Ji's conscience relaxed a little. Before they could get up to greet Lin Fu, Lin Mengde, and Gao Zongting, they walked in and looked at Yuan Yuan. Jian Hai said: "It's outrageous that this matter has alarmed the Queen Mother and the Prince..."

"Nowadays, there are over a million people in Jiangning City. If the food supply is short for a day, more than a thousand people will die of hunger." Zhang Yubo invited Lin Fu to sit in the hall and said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone, "I have no choice but to trouble Duke Pengcheng to come forward..."

"In troubled times, we should use heavy codes. In troubled times for merchants, how should the Pengcheng County magistrate deal with it?" Yuan Jianhai looked at Lin Fu and said sharply.

"There are laws to follow. Jiangning city affairs are governed by Master Zhang. How can I talk nonsense?" Lin Fu gently took away the spear pointed by Yuan Jianhai and said, "Everything must be decided by Master Zhang." Idea, I can only serve as a consultant when I come over..." He did not sit down with Yuan Jianhai in the main seat in front of the public case, but sat down to the left of the public case.

Yuan Jianhai was beaten with a stick, and Lin Fu sat beside the case. He could not sit behind the case and take the lead. He stood up with a stiff face and returned the main case to Zhang Yubo.

"With Peng Chenggong's words, everything will be easy to handle." Zhang Yubo ignored the verbal exchanges between Lin Fu and Yuan Jianhai. After sitting back, he pulled out a directory from the desk and said, "At this time, Jiangning has a leading grain merchant. , I will summon them to the Yamen Hall for questioning..."

Neither Pengcheng Gong nor Hailing King had any objections, so the government officials below became more courageous and went to invite people separately.

One after another, Lin Xulu, Sun Wenbing, Ye Kai, Xiao Mi, Chen Yuanliang's son Chen Qiao and others were invited over. Even Gu Tianqiao was brought to the lobby from prison.

Fan Jiliang went to Jiangning to serve as Chen Xiyan's staff. Although the time was not long, he still had a very profound understanding of the Dongyang Township Party.

The Ye family and the Xiao family used to run paper and pawn shops in Jiangning, but after Hekou Town quickly emerged as one of the four rice markets in Jiangning and the Dongyang family took control of the Tianjin-Hai Grain Road, they all started to operate rice grains. .

Sun Wenbing mainly ran Jiyun Society for Huaidong, but after the Sun family was cleared of charges, the original Xihe Society and some properties of the Sun family in Jiangning were preserved. There are still people who belong to the Sun family and the original Xihe Society who are taking care of these industry.

Chen/Yuanliang has not been heard from since the war in Qingzhou, and he is basically certain to have died in the troubled times, but the Chen family’s property in Jiangning is not weak. Chen Qiao is Chen/Yuanliang’s second son, and he is also the one preserved by the Chen family. There is only one branch. After the defeat of Qingzhou, Lin Gu's grievances were over, and the Chen family was naturally regarded as the Dongyang family.

Warehouses, shops, and tribesmen's joint ventures are common in today's world. Operating the rice industry, harvesting grains and setting up piles, requires extremely large amounts of capital. Only by gathering huge amounts of capital can sufficient profits be made. Relatives form a partnership or go to the village. It is common for people to borrow goods, like Chen Qiao, Lin Xulu, Gu Tianqiao and others standing in front of the hall, but the forces behind the scenes, connected through blood, in-laws, village parties and mature commercial capital, are much greater than imagined. many.

In the final analysis, these forces will be pushed to the head of Pengcheng County Gong Lin Fu - Lin Xulu is Lin Fu's clan brother and the eldest son of Lin Tingli, Gu Tianqiao is the clan brother of Lin Fu's main wife Gu Junxun, Sun Wenbing himself belongs to Huaidong, and his sister They are also Lin Fu's concubines, the Ye, Xiao, and Chen families, and they are closely related by marriage to the Gu and Lin families.

Lin Mengde looked at the people standing in front of the hall, all of whom were familiar faces.

Sun Wenbing was here to fill up the numbers. Not to mention Lin Xulu himself was the core figure of the Lin clan. In the past, Huaidong maintained the Tianjin-Haihai grain road and ran the Huaidong bank. Ye, Xiao, Chen and other families all contributed. I really can't burn bridges by crossing the river, I really need people like Zhang Yubo to stand up and make bad faces for Huaidong.

Lin Fu and King Hailing were here, and Lin Xulu and others had to come forward, but they also had answers to Zhang Yubo's questions.

"Your Excellency said, a certain class of common people dare not disobey. Today they will take stock of their warehouses and tomorrow they will resume selling grain at the pre-war price. Until all is sold out, a certain class of people will no longer do this business that is burdened by both parties and creates obstacles..." Xiao Mi said.

Jiangning City is currently evacuating the refugees. There are more than 600,000 people in urban households alone. To ensure basic survival, at least 200,000 liters of rice and food must be imported every month. To maintain basic operations, it is even more important. Many times this number.

Before the war, all the grain stored by Gu Chen, Ye Xiao and other families in the city were looted and burned by the rebels even if they were not able to be moved out in time. At this time, all the grain sold by the rice bank was shipped in from outside the city after the war.

Even if all the grain stores in the city were confiscated, they would still not have tens of thousands of dan.

Zhang Yubo was so angry that veins popped up on his forehead.

"You don't want to serve the imperial court, but instead threaten the imperial court in everything," Shen Rong shouted sharply, "I will punish you for your previous crimes and punish them according to the laws of the country without mercy..."

"If I am guilty, please punish me according to the laws of the country!" Gu Tianqiao had just taken off his shackles, and there were blood marks on his wrists and neck. Hearing Shen Rong's sharp scolding, he immediately refuted with all his strength. After sitting in jail for a day, not only did he not Give in, but have a tougher scalp.

"Insolent!" Lin Fu stood up with a slap on the table, stared at Gu Tianqiao, and scolded, "You are debating the national law." After shouting Gu Tianqiao away, Lin Fu sat down with a livid face and turned to ask Zhang Yubo, "Mr. Zhang , you are familiar with the law and how to punish me, don’t care about my face!"

On the surface, he was scolding Gu Tianqiao for arbitrarily discussing national laws, but Shen Rong's face was hot. Lin Fu's words almost slapped him directly in the face.

The person who was really familiar with the legal system was Zhao Shuhan. He replied on behalf of Zhang Yubo: "Those who collude to raise the market price will be punished with a cane: for the first offense, thirty canes are allowed to be redeemed with copper; for those who do not change after the first admonition, fifty canes are not allowed to be redeemed; If he refuses to change despite repeated admonitions, he will be charged with theft and emigrated!" He also rushed to say that if Zhang Yubo had a bad temper and said, "In troubled times, heavy codes should be used", the situation would be difficult to control.

Shen Rong looked ugly. If it had been someone else, he would have said, "In troubled times, he will be beheaded if he uses a heavy code." But he cannot apply it to the head of the Dongyang Township Party. If you really want to follow the legal system, don't say that you have used thirty or fifty pounds of copper to atone for your sins. If it were the same weight of gold, none of these people in the hall would blink an eye.

"I have been admonished but have no regrets, and my words have no remorse. I will be beaten for thirty years without any redemption!" Zhang Yubo wanted to kill the chickens and scare the monkeys. He immediately sat down on the public case to make a judgment and used the seal. He summoned the Yamen, "Drag the criminal Gu Tianqiao out and give him three whips." Ten whips to serve as a warning..."

Several people from the left and right government officials robbed Gu Tianqiao and dragged him out to torture him.

After thirty lashes, Gu Tianqiao was dragged in with bruises and saw blood. Lin Fucai said with a livid face: "I have also been punished. Can I tell my family to use medicine to avoid losing their lives?"

After the flogging, his family was allowed to take it back, but Zhang Yubo really couldn't take Gu Tianqiao's life, as that would only serve no purpose.

"The matter is not yet finished, the Tianqiao can still hold up." Gu Tianqiao insisted on staying, regardless of the whiplash on his back.

"I haven't seen you in these years, but your temper has become stinky and hard. What kind of behavior would it be to leave this bloody person in the hall?" Lin Fu scolded, and then ordered the accompanying guards to help Gu Tianqiao down and apply medicine, not to mention carrying it on his back. I have a whip injury, and if I stay naked in the hall for a long time in the cold weather, I will get sick from the cold.

Here, Gu Tianqiao was dragged down to take medicine. Lin Fu asked Zhang Yubo, "From now on, no matter who breaks the law or violates discipline, I ask Mr. Zhang to be unselfish and punish him with legal punishment. However, the punishment has been used, and this matter seems to be unsolvable." , Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Shen, do you have any good suggestions?"

Shen Rong and Yuan Jianhai were in a state of uncertainty. Although Gu Tianqiao received thirty whips, it did not help. Xiao Mi kept his words there. The Dongyang Township Party would ask the rice shops in the city to open for supply tomorrow, but the open It only cost tens of thousands of grains of rice, which could not solve the hunger problem of more than a million people in the city.

The traditional legal system can no longer restrain the Dongyang Township Party. They do not raise prices or hoard, they just quit the business. What can be done? We cannot use the name of the government and the court to suppress them.

"There are more than a million people in the city who eat food. It cannot be maintained without maintenance. If the old system cannot be used, a new system should be established..." Zhang Yubo said.

"How should this new system be established?" Lin Fu responded and asked, "I am also a little confused. Maybe the prince will go back to the palace and ask the queen mother to draft a decree for the new system..."

Laws and decrees are the system, and the emperor's decrees and edicts can be the system. The empress dowager's edicts must be considered as family laws, but at present, the royal family law is not separated from the national law, so the empress dowager's edicts can barely be regarded as the system. However, the Dongyang Xiang Party is closed today and can be taken back The government's notice allowing him to do business has no reason to force others to do business.

Yuan Jianhai was frozen there. Although he was the King of Hailing, he had little experience in handling this kind of specific practice. In front of the Dongyang Township Party, he could not show off the majesty of a prince.

"Market food is related to the livelihood of millions of people, and we and everyone in the hall have unshirkable responsibilities." Lin Mengde sat in Lin Fu with his head tilted and was silent for a long time. At this time, he added, "In my humble opinion, the new system established is temporarily in place. Jiang Ning, everyone in the hall can discuss it together. The so-called new system is also a countermeasure of Quan Yi. If everyone discusses it together, we can always find a consensus. After the new system is established, everyone will have a basis for it. We can't just fall out and walk away. People, really don’t care about the life and death of the millions of people in the city, right?”

Shen Rong frowned and didn't say anything. He always felt that things were inappropriate.

If everyone gathers to discuss countermeasures, it doesn't matter. If they discuss the new system and then ask for an edict, the nature is a little different - Lin Xulu, Sun Wenbing and others have close relations with Huaidong, Lin Fu may be able to recommend them easily They are officials, but they are merchants at this time. Although merchants are not untouchables, they are always restricted from participating in politics. Moreover, the deliberation system is the foundation of state affairs. How can merchants be allowed to get involved?

"What do you think, the prince?" Lin Fu asked.

Yuan Jianhai didn't think there was anything wrong, and said: "What Lin Mengde said is in line with the king's wishes." He looked at Zhang Yubo and said, "Master Zhang, I think this is how we will handle this matter. Within two days, you guys Agree on the new system and deliver the documents to the palace..." He was just enjoying the pleasure of issuing orders and did not think about the difference in it.

Zhang Yubo thought about what Lin Fu said about "great publicity" and "great privateness", and knew that doing this was against the rules, but he could only solve the matter properly and provide food for millions of people, and he didn't care whether it was in compliance with the rules or not.

Lin Fu looked at Lin Xulu and the others and asked, "What do you think?"

Although Lin Xulu had an important position, he had not been able to directly intervene in political affairs in the past. He could only work with others behind the scenes to help Lin Fu and his father plan. Once this was revealed, he had the name of "directly participating in politics." Moreover, Lin Meng It must be Lin Fu's intention to speak at this time, how could he not allow it?

"That's it, we don't want to see the whole city of Jiangning devastated." Lin Xulu said.

Lin Fu nodded and said, "Two days are too long, and the people's hearts are uneasy. I think you will stay here tonight." He stood up, looked at Zhang Yubo, and said, "Also, are there any difficult issues that the government will solve in the future?" You can also follow this example and don't make such a big fuss easily!"

"When you are in doubt, ask the village elders for advice" is nothing new, but it is not a necessary procedure.

The magistrate of Shifu County has extremely heavy authority. Even if there are no rules or old rules to follow when things happen, he can still make arbitrary decisions. If he really wants to follow Lin Fu's words, the magistrate of Shifu County will not be able to act arbitrarily.

Zhao Shuhan thought to himself: Is it possible that Lin Fu wants to disturb the state?

Zhao Shuhan's thoughts were hidden in his heart, and Lin Fu issued the command, which was more powerful than King Hailing. Zhang Yubo, Fan Jiliang and others also agreed.

Lin Fu asked Lin Mengde to stay, and he and Gao Zongting went back first.

Out on this cold night, for fear of alarming the people, Lin Fu did not ride on his horse and returned in a carriage with Gao Zongting.

On the carriage, Gao Zongting Xiaoyi asked: "Sir, do you want to change your roots?"
To be continued...