"Your Majesty!" Hu Hengqiu flattered him.

The emperor looked at the locusts on the plate. Different from last time, this time they were skewered and grilled, not battered. The locusts were neatly skewered on bamboo skewers, which was very eye-catching.

"Aren't you going to cover it up this time?" the emperor asked again.

Hu Hengqiu: "Your Majesty, this is what the people eat."

The emperor nodded, picked up a bunch, frowned at the locusts, but still opened his mouth and picked one up to eat.

"It tastes good too!" the emperor commented.

Last time Hu Hengqiu served fried locusts, and the emperor ate them. Although they were very fragrant, when he heard they were locusts, he vomited them.

Hu Hengqiu submitted a report to the emperor, which read: "... Mr. Chu said: 'People depend on grain as their livelihood, and you eat it, which is harmful to the people. The people have made mistakes, but it is only one person who has a spirit.

But if it hurts my heart, it will not harm the people.' When Mr. Chu said this, his expression was sad and angry..."

That was the report submitted by Wang Qianhu, deputy director of the Yibin Mansion, after hearing what Chu Qing was mumbling to himself at that time. He was excited and wrote furiously.

After Hu Hengqiu presented it to the emperor, the emperor didn't want to vomit at all.

An official, no, a woman, has such an act of "eating one's heart" for the sake of the people of the world. As the father of all people, how can he eat a fried and delicious locust and spit it out?!

So this time Hu Hengqiu presented the locust kebabs to the table, and the emperor ate them without saying a word.

The emperor asked: "How is the locust exchange for food going in her place?"

Hu Hengqiu: "It's in full swing! Not to mention the heated exchanges at Chuqing, even the government offices are lined up;

The Yibin Prefecture Council reported that Chu Qing purchased last year's grain, and two kilograms of locusts could be exchanged for one kilogram of grain, but the government office exchanged one kilogram for one kilogram, or even one kilogram of grain for eight taels of locusts;

However, the people are more willing to exchange for Chu Qing’s grain, but Chu Qing’s grain is not much.”

Emperor: "Why?"

Hu Hengqiu: "What the High Prefecture produces is stale food."

If quantity is used to offset quality, and if it is not exchanged at a discount like this, political achievements will not be achieved.

Emperor: "Have you checked?"

Hu Hengqiu: "We are investigating, but I'm afraid there are no results. Last year's floods were not serious in Yibin Prefecture, but Kozhi Prefecture could fully mobilize its resources to provide disaster relief."

The emperor nodded.

Corrupt officials can be greedy and have the ability to be greedy. They must not be stupid and must have found a way out.

Changpingcang, as a granary that mediates grain prices and stores grain to prepare for shortages, is most easily embezzled by corrupt officials in the name of disaster relief.

Even if it is a good year, it will be replaced by stale grain, and the new grain of the year will be used to enrich the family.

Corrupt officials have a common way of thinking: Why have I been living in poverty for so many years? Why would I get up early and work late at night if not for fame and fortune?

This is even more true if you are a corrupt official from a poor family, he doesn’t even care about fame, but money comes first.

Chu Qing didn't want to be famous. The emperor thought, how could a woman like her be scolded?

I can't even try to draw a picture.

To say that she was seeking profit, she was originally seeking to raise children, but now that she can afford to raise children, she is no longer seeking it.

No idea... no, my money!

"Chang Feng, you said that Chu Qing exchanged all the grain for locusts, how do you get your money back? Do you rely on these insects?" The emperor gnashed his teeth as he chewed, "Where is the money!"

Hu Hengqiu: "Your Majesty, how much can locusts be exchanged for? Besides, there will be no more locusts after autumn, so it's impossible to rely on this;

I thought that since she gave the chickens and ducks to the people on credit, she should be able to repay the money by recycling the chickens and ducks."

The emperor nodded: "That makes sense!"

Then he shook his head again: "No! She gave out countless chickens and ducks on credit, and bought them all back. Isn't it a huge sum of money?"

Hu Hengqiu: "Because there are so many, the farmer can't sell them at a high price when recycling them. She can't spend too much money. If she takes them back and sells the chickens, ducks, meat and eggs, won't she get her money back?"

Emperor: "Can't lose?"

Hu Hengqiu: "I won't lose much, but I guess I won't make much either."

The emperor couldn't eat anymore: "It's so generous of me!"

The emperor hated those officials who were lying on their backs even more.

Hu Hengqiu was silent. After all this calculation, he also felt sorry for money.

Hu Hengqiu suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit today: "Your Majesty, some merchants in Chongyu Mansion voluntarily carried out an initiative to exchange locusts for food. They carried out the initiative for four or five days before the imperial decree was transmitted to the Chongyu Mansion Office;

I mean, I guess the merchant heard about Yibin Mansion's exchange of grain, so he took such action;

However, for an ordinary merchant, this act is a righteous act. After all, Chu Qing did not dare to do this on his own in Yibin Mansion, but in the name of the Directorate of the Secret Investigation Department."

The emperor shook his head: "Can't it be that merchant trying to gain fame by grandstanding?"

Hu Hengqiu: "Probably not. According to a report from the Chongyu Prefecture Board of Directors, at that time, the merchant also suggested that people catch locusts to feed themselves, just like Chu Qing did. However, he was reviled, and some even threw dung at his escort office and threw stones at him."

Emperor: "Why? Is it the same kind of rumor that Chu Qing encountered? What about the Locust God?"

Hu Hengqiu: "Yes, the emperor is wise, this is the rumor. In fact, it cannot be regarded as a rumor. After all, the people believe in the locust god, and the origin of the locust god was spread by the literati hundreds of years ago."

Emperor: "You just said that the merchant runs a bodyguard agency?"

Hu Hengqiu: "Yes, it's called Sanshun Escort Bureau. It opened a branch in Kyoto two months ago. The merchant I'm talking about is the young boss of the Escort Bureau. Qian Sanshun is a young boy of 12 or 13 years old."

Emperor: "How old are the children of the Chu Qing family?"

Hu Hengqiu: "I will be ten years old next month."

The emperor nodded: "Oh. It seems that this young master is also young and promising."

Hu Hengqiu: "He is the third nephew of Qian Pingjian, the owner of a small boat shop in Chongyu Prefecture. He has quite a business acumen."

Emperor: "What happened to that boy from the Chu Qing family?"

Hu Hengqiu smacked his lips and was a little embarrassed to answer: "I think...I think that child was raised crookedly."

The emperor raised his eyelids: "How?"

Hu Hengqiu: "According to the report below, that kid opened schools everywhere and then inspected each school. He was just a dandy. When he encountered common people causing trouble, he kept saying 'I can do what I want,' and then used money to suppress him. Anyone who disobeyed would be expelled.

Whose student is that?"

The emperor smiled: "It works?"

Hu Hengqiu: "It works, but it just ruins his mother's reputation a bit."

The emperor laughed out loud: "Hehehehe, as long as it works. His mother doesn't necessarily have any reputation. Didn't you hear that the whole court is impeaching his mother?"

Hu Hengqiu: "It is difficult to admit that others are better than yourself, let alone ask them to recognize a woman."

These emperors don't mind, all he has to do is balance. It doesn't matter what the ministers say, nor does the reputation of the ministers matter.

As long as the imperial power is not threatened, what does the reputation of others have to do with me as an emperor?

What the emperor wants is results, the results of reducing the losses caused by disasters, the results of whether the treasury is abundant, the results of whether it can help the emperor expand his territory and achieve unparalleled achievements.


Chapter completed!