Facts have proved that Zhang Ximeng's premonition was still wrong, because it was not that someone was unlucky, but that someone's head fell to the ground and his family was destroyed!
Zhu Chongba went to the Commander's Mansion and spent the entire night discussing strategies for dealing with the officers and soldiers.
On the morning of the next day, Zhang Ximeng was holding a copy of "Mencius" and studying it patiently. At this moment, Mu Ying ran in.
The little guy's face was as red as an apple, and he bumped in from the outside. Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but shake his head, you brat, you can't be more steady, read more when you have time, and stop running around all day long.
It's a pity that Mu Ying can't fulfill Zhang Ximeng's wish. Although he also knows that reading and literacy are important, he just can't sit still. On the contrary, his godfather's swords, guns and weapons are the boy's favorite, and he always fumbles.
Drooling.
Zhu Chongba was afraid that he would hurt himself, so he got Mu Ying a wooden knife. The boy couldn't put it down and held it in his arms even when he was sleeping. With his virtue, he had little hope of becoming the top scholar.
"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang!" Mu Ying shouted excitedly, "My godfather arrested several grain merchants and tied them to the street. I heard they are going to behead them!"
Zhang Ximeng was stunned subconsciously. Is Lao Zhu so fierce? After a pause, Zhang Ximeng said to Mu Ying: "You little kid, stay at home for now. I'll go take a look!"
"I want to go too!" Mu Yingcai didn't want to stay at home!
"Why are you joining in the fun? Are you not afraid of beheading?"
Zhang Ximeng wanted to scare Mu Ying, but he was wrong. Although Mu Ying was young, he had probably seen more killings than Zhang Ximeng.
There is no other choice but to take to the streets with a tail.
They hurried to the street entrance. At this time, many people from the city had gathered from all directions. They were three layers inside and three layers outside, surrounding the middle.
Zhang Ximeng and Zhang Ximeng were wrapped in the middle of the crowd, and they could only see the back of the head of the person in front of them. There was nothing they could do in their hurry.
At this moment, Zhu Chongba and Tang He were escorting several grain merchants. When they arrived at the street corner, some Red Scarf Army soldiers borrowed teahouse seats and set up a temporary stage. Zhu Chongba came up first.
Lao Zhu stood taller, and Zhang Ximeng could see him. However, there were more and more people, but Zhu Chongba couldn't see Zhang Ximeng. He could only handle this matter by himself.
At the head of the grain merchants is an old man who is over fifty years old. He has a gray beard and is wearing silk and satin. He looks like a decent and wealthy man. Many people know him. This man's surname is Jiang. He is a famous grain merchant in Haozhou and has a rich family.
, unusual.
Facing Zhu Chongba, the man named Jiang was not afraid of him. On the contrary, the old man gritted his teeth and suddenly sneered: "I know who you are? Aren't you the son-in-law of Marshal Guo? You got married a few months ago, I
We even went to have a wedding drink!”
Zhu Chongba had a sullen face. He was still an unknown person at that time. People naturally looked at the reputation of Guo Zixing and his wife. There were quite a few guests. He was not sure whether there was this one. Zhu Chongba was not too lazy.
Tube.
"There is no need to ramble... Let me ask you, why are you unwilling to sell food even though you have it? Also, you have tripled the price in one day, how can you still let the people survive?"
Faced with the questioning, the grain merchant surnamed Jiang's expression changed, but he was still not afraid, "Master Zhu, I am in business. I buy low and sell high, and this is the money I make. I don't pay taxes. If you don't believe it, you can
Go ask Marshal Guo, ask Marshal Guo!"
This person repeatedly used Guo Zixing to suppress Zhu Chongba, and he swore that he really seemed to be related to Guo Zixing. Tang He on the side frequently winked at Zhu Chongba, but he didn't know that Zhu Chongba remained unmoved.
"I won't ask you this, I'll just tell you the same thing. We are facing a powerful enemy. You are hoarding food, driving up food prices, and making people in the city panic. Could it be that you want to hand over Haozhou to the Yuan Tatars?"
When asked by Zhu Chongba, the grain merchant surnamed Jiang was also stunned for a moment. He could clearly feel that he was receiving unkind glances from all directions.
Ever since the news spread that the imperial court sent Jia Lu to attack Haozhou, people in the city were panicked, and the price of food changed three times a day. After Lu Anmin arrived, the increase was the sharpest, and the people complained.
Not to mention whether there is a war or not, when it comes to food, if you eat two meals a day, you will feel hungry if you eat less than one meal.
The defense of the city has always failed, mostly due to lack of food and people starving to death.
"I know, I and Yuan Ting are not of the same mind, so how can you help them?" The grain merchant surnamed Jiang thought for a moment and understood what Zhu Chongba meant. "I know, the war is coming and we need food. I am willing to donate five yuan."
Give a hundred stones to Marshal Guo to serve as military rations, and also ask Mr. Zhu to take over as Marshal."
Five hundred stones was not a small amount, but Zhu Chongba shook his head.
"Well, what about eight hundred stones? One thousand stones will do too!"
Zhu Chongba still shook his head.
The grain merchant surnamed Jiang was also confused. What kind of variety is this?
When you grab grain merchants and start such a big fight, don't you just want us to provide some grain? Okay, I'll give it to you!
Even for the sake of the commander-in-chief, you should be generous and give me a way to survive!
"Master Zhu, don't be too greedy!"
Zhu Chongba smiled coldly, "We won't beat around the bush with you anymore. From now on, every grain store, how much grain it has in stock, and how much grain it sells every day, will be under our control!"
After Zhu Chongba finished speaking, he turned to look at all the people and raised his hands to everyone.
"My fellow villagers, we know that most of us are scared and worried about not having anything to eat. We also know that it feels bad to be hungry. Ever since we were young, we have never had enough to eat for several days."
Zhu Chongba's words caused a burst of laughter, and the eyes of the people looked at him much softer. Obviously, this was a man who knew the sufferings of the people.
"We are thinking that every household should buy food once every five days, with a maximum of ten kilograms at a time. Maybe it is a little less, but in this situation, we cannot eat it with open stomachs, so we have to save it. But don't worry, everyone, all the food
, we will always follow the par price and will not harm the fellow villagers!”
After Zhu Chongba finished speaking, the people around him began to calculate silently.
Once every five days, ten kilograms at a time, that is to say, you can have two kilograms of grain in one day.
On average, for a family of four, one person needs half a catty of food per day.
If you catch up with the busy farming season and work all day long, half a kilogram of grain cannot feed a strong laborer. There is no other way. In the era of serious shortage of non-staple food and fat, everyone is a rice worker, so it is really edible!
But having said that, if you have half a catty of food, you won't starve to death, and the family includes young and old, so it can be balanced.
The most important thing is that this food is affordable. At this juncture, can we expect more?
"Master Zhu, do you mean what you say?"
Someone asked bravely.
Zhu Chongba said loudly: "In front of a powerful enemy, the soldiers and civilians in the city are all one family. Even if there is only one grain of rice, we must share it! We cannot starve to death! It's just that the soldiers have to fight and risk their lives. Empty
The stomach cannot drive away Yuan Tarzi. Folks, think about it, what will happen to Haozhou City if the Yuan soldiers come in? At that time, men, women, and children will either be killed, or they will be robbed, humiliated, and turned into slaves and livestock.
Are you willing?"
Facing Zhu Chongba's questioning, the people of Haozhou quickly made a clear assessment.
"Okay, let's listen to Mr. Zhu!"
"Master Zhu, you must defend Haozhou and don't let Yuan Gouzi come in!"
With the support of the people, Zhu Chongba became more confident. He turned and looked at the grain merchant named Jiang and four other grain merchants. The expressions of these people changed again and again.
They all understood what Lao Zhu meant. This guy was going to rob their grain store, and he was doing it all in a row.
what to do?
Those few people looked at the grain merchant surnamed Jiang and said to themselves that you, the old man, are the most confident and have great hands and eyes. Please speak up for us!
The grain merchant surnamed Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "Master Zhu, are you trying to take away all my property?"
"No!" Zhu Chongba said flatly: "It's just a temporary loan. When the Yuan Tatars retreat, the grain bank will return it to you and supply you with grain."
"Hahaha!" The grain merchant surnamed Jiang burst into laughter, "I am not a three-year-old child! Zhu Chongba, I know what you are! You are the little monk from Huangjue Temple! Suddenly you climbed up a high branch and forgot about yourself.
You dare to bully me! Let me tell you, someone has already gone to see the Marshal. I lent Marshal Guo a hundred carts of grain back then. We have a life-long friendship and you can’t take it away!"
He mentioned the young monk from Huangjue Temple. Zhu Chongba raised his eyebrows several times and finally suppressed them.
"If you say that, you must be unwilling to cooperate?"
The grain merchant surnamed Jiang gritted his teeth and said, "You guys are going too far. I can't agree to this!"
Zhu Chongba asked again, "Controlling food is a military order!"
"Military order? I am not a member of the military..."
Jiang Liang was still talking, but Zhu Chongba suddenly drew out his saber and said categorically: "Military orders are to be obeyed by the whole city, no one is exception! There is only one consequence for disobeying military orders, and that is death!"
While speaking, Zhu Chongba swung his knife suddenly, and a gray human head fell to the ground... Zhang Ximeng in the crowd was so frightened that he quickly closed his eyes, and conveniently blocked Mu Ying's eyes.
The crowd was silent for a moment, then burst into thunderous applause, and the cheers became louder and louder. The profiteers deserved to die! But at this moment, Guo Zixing and his son Guo Tianxu arrived, and all they saw was a corpse, three feet tall.