Chapter 506: The House of Kindness and the Welfare of the World
The first day of October in the eleventh year of Jinghan is the Winter Clothes Festival.
The beginning of winter has just passed, and the autumn temperature has not completely dropped, but the scenery in late autumn has become increasingly desolate. The rice in the fields has long been harvested, and the trees are losing their last leaves. The mountains and mountains have also faded.
The magnificent coat of autumn turns the colors into gray and solemn. The big river is roaring, and the roads and villages along the river also have a dilapidated scene at this time. A fleet of boats is going down the Huaihe River at this time.
The fleet consists of six ships. Perhaps because of its official background, there are officers and soldiers guarding each ship. And due to the heavy cargo transported, the waterline of the ship is indeed quite shallow. The big ship in the front is
On the boat, a group of young people dressed in rich clothes were looking towards the shore from the side of the ship, and another young man was talking to everyone.
"Not far ahead, you can see the village. There is a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva next to the village. There was a flood this year. The village was flooded and the Guanyin statue fell down. But then there was no food, so many people still came to worship Guanyin.
The government gives out porridge there every day. I returned from here a few days ago and saw a lot of people..."
The river went forward, turned the small corner in front, and saw the ruins over there. The original village was now destroyed, with only sections of low walls left, and the Guanyin statue beside the village was broken into two pieces.
Cut off and plant a section in the soil. There were many people in and outside the village, all dressed in rags and thin, some carrying packages of various sizes. There was a platform by the river, and they were giving porridge at this time. An official ship was parked next to it.
.
A suffocating noise came from over there.
Hunger is an unbearable pain, but when it is reflected, it does not make people hysterical, because the hysterical strength is gone. At this time, it is not time to put out porridge, these hungry people gather inside and outside the village, or
Sitting or lying down, the adults hold the children, the husband hugs the wife, and the family often clings to each other, not even having the strength to speak. However, due to the gathering of people, a small number of children will still cry, and a small number of adults will.
Crying out. The atmosphere created among this crowd is enough to make people feel scalp numb.
The noble gentlemen on the boat looked at this scene with some silence, and some whispered: "We also had a famine two years ago..."
"You don't need to be too sad about this situation. Although there is not much food relief from the government at this time, few of these people have starved to death. It's just that they can't eat enough." The young man comforted appropriately.
, then said, "It's just that the weather is starting to get colder, and the price of food nearby has risen to thirty-six taels per stone..."
"Hmph, if it starts to snow, three hundred and sixty taels will be enough! How many people have survived this winter!" Someone snorted in a rough voice. It was a good-looking man in the crowd.
Although he is well-dressed, he looks like a man who often works in the field and has a lot of energy. Speaking of this, his eyebrows are a little gloomy.
Most of the people could have thought of this. At this time, an elegant young man who was standing by the side of the boat came over and said, "This time my Puyang family brought a total of five hundred stones of rice. I would like to
Three hundred shi of them were donated to help these people, and the other two hundred shi were sold at a low price to recover the cost. From now on, the 1,500 shi of rice and grain that my Puyang family is purchasing will also be handled in this way." The person who spoke,
But it was Puyang Yi, the successor of the Puyang family in Jiangning.
When he said this, someone in the crowd immediately said: "My family's entire donation!"
At this time, someone still wanted to follow suit. The young man who spoke earlier waved his hand quickly: "Everyone! Everyone! Please listen to what I'm going to say next. I think the people in the disaster area will be grateful for your thoughts, but I can't donate anything."
Seeing everyone looking over here, he continued: "Before leaving this time, my boss repeatedly emphasized that the key to this disaster relief is not how much food to give to the government, but to make the price of food really good."
Keep fighting, the more rice grains shipped this time, the better, and one can only be sold, and the price of both cannot be too low. This matter is decided by Mr. He in the city, but I feel that the price of grain
Thirty-six taels, I'm afraid we can only drop it to around thirty taels. Only when it reaches thirty-six taels can we continue to reduce it. If you sell the grain for a few taels per stone, I guarantee that it won't be out for a day.
, 90% of which will be eaten by the big merchants who collect grain, which will not only do nothing to help the situation, but will actually increase the arrogance of those people."
Everyone would have thought of this, and the young man paused for a moment: "However, if you all go over this time, there are some things that I'm afraid Master He will still ask for your help. This time the disaster has expanded, and there are not enough people to provide food relief in the city.
A few times, it almost caused chaos and hurt people. In the past few days, gentlemen, you might as well go outside the city to help serve some porridge and rice with your own hands. Mr. He once told my boss that since you are here, you can make it with your own hands.
Once you do it, the meaning is different. Master He will definitely ensure your safety, you can rest assured."
Once the disaster spreads, the city will inevitably close its gates, and it is dangerous to go outside the city to give porridge. Everyone was originally murmuring, but when they heard the young people talking about this, someone immediately said: "Can you come and help?
How can I worry about that kind of thing!"
The young man smiled and said, "Of course, the porridge and rice you have been serving outside the city in the past few days have to come from the food you brought here."
Someone in the crowd laughed: "Then I will stay a few more days and do all the things I brought here!"
Puyang Yi said: "In this case, my agreement of three hundred stones remains unchanged. After I return to Jiangning, I will buy 60% of the price of the three hundred stones into grain or winter clothes. The grain will be sold back here and the winter clothes will be donated."
.Looking at the weather, they also need this very much."
His words aroused everyone's discussion, and the atmosphere on the deck was still slightly lively at this time. The young man said no more and quietly retreated to the side. Pu Yangyi quietly followed him in the crowd with the afterglow of his eyes,
Watching him on the side of the ship, he took out a book and took the time to read a few sentences. For Puyang Yi, this time's transportation of grain was just a purely commercial act, and there was not much excitement. In fact,
There are also a small number of people in the crowd who are like this. How much money they can earn on the way to Huainan is of little significance to him. On the contrary, it is this young man who attracts his attention along the way.
of.
In this disaster relief operation led by the government and coordinated by the Chengguo Princess Palace, there is a force that is always operating and controlling behind the scenes. As the largest wealthy businessman in Jiangning, the Puyang family can know that all this comes from the right prime minister in the north.
Mansion, but deeper in, he saw the shadow of Ning Liheng who calculated every ten steps.
Contacting everyone, arranging travel and accommodation, coordinating various things with everyone along the way, chatting about everything, although a large part of it was arranged by Kang Xian in advance, but the one who has been in contact with everyone all the time is this young man named Tang Wen
After several days of contact, he got along with everyone, and during the conversation, intentionally or unintentionally, the other party was always affecting other people's sympathy and hostility.
Of course, before everyone left Jiangning, Princess Chengguo and Kang Xian had received these people and exaggerated everyone's intention to do good things. And along the way, the young man also cleverly moved everyone's mood.
It is sure to make money, and on the other hand, it can incite people's compassion, and repeatedly tell them that this journey is doing good things. Tell them how those unscrupulous traders are harming people, how many people will starve to death, and tell them how many people will starve to death.
How miserable it is for people to starve to death. Occasionally, they tell several stories about poor people and about rich people who sow good causes and reap good results.
A large part of the people who came here were just the nephews of small and medium-sized landowners in the countryside. Their families may have food, but they did not have much knowledge. Some of them had studied, but in the end they failed to enter the officialdom. Kang Xian's story
They met with them, told them about the disaster, and praised them so much that they were so proud that they couldn't find the north. Then there was guidance and exaggeration all the way. If it weren't for this series of interlocking methods, they would not have been able to do it at this time.
He may not necessarily say that all the food will be rescued. Pu Yangyi is even still doubting whether the disaster relief site he just passed was intentionally arranged by the other party.
He had just said that 60% of the food would be used for disaster relief, just for fun. Along the way, he watched the young man's actions, watching him occasionally hide aside and take time to read and recite silently.
Introduction to the Four Books. He became really curious. If the hand in the north was really controlling all this from a distance, then...how on earth did he cultivate such a young man...
While Pu Yangyi was observing all this, there was a pair of eyes looking down from the slightly opened window on the second floor of the ship. Those were the real noble people on board. The reason why Pu Yangyi was willing to help was very interesting.
A big reason is also because of her existence.
Behind the window is the face of a noble girl. Over the past few days, she has been silently observing all the changes.
"This man sent from the north did a good job." Perhaps because of the seriousness of the disaster, Zhou Pei's eyebrows were slightly melancholy, but at this time, he still smiled softly.
On this day, the price of grain in Huainan was thirty-six taels per stone, and mourners were everywhere.
This is the case in the south, and there is a similar situation in the north opposite here. As soon as the beginning of winter has passed, the tense atmosphere in the disaster area has become tense. Half a month ago, Ning Yi, who was in the capital, had already controlled the shipment of the first batch of grain.
Enter, but as ordinary people, there are not many changes that can be felt since then. Beggars and refugees began to gather in the city, more and more people had no food to eat, and everyone was looking for food. Under such circumstances,
There are still kind-hearted people.
On Hedong Road in Fenzhou, Xiaoyi County, outside the house of the wealthy Guo family, thousands of people gathered. Ten large pots were lined up to give hot rice porridge to the hungry people who came over. The hungry people who got the porridge and rice
Drink in a hurry, and half of them will say thank you before walking away.
Xiaoyi County was named after Guo Xing's filial piety during the Zhenguan period. It is difficult to say whether the Guo family inherited it from the Tang Dynasty, but the kindness of the Guo family is indeed well-known throughout the country.
Inside and outside the courtyard, there are two worlds.
The high courtyard wall blocked the hustle and bustle. Li Pin was sitting in the hall, drinking tea, waiting for the head of the Guo family, Guo Mingli, to come out. Soon after, the head of the Guo family, who was in his fifties, came to meet the newly appointed transfer deputy.
The envoy saluted and said hello, Li Pin expressed his gratitude for his good deeds outside, and the other party also said a few words of humility.
"To be honest, Mr. Guo, I came here this time because of the price of food outside."
Li Pin's words were gentle, and the other party also laughed along with him: "Uh, I don't know what this matter... has to do with Guo."
"Mr. Guo also knows that the imperial court cannot let the price of food rise like this. We are already transporting food here. Now we have checked the price of food outside some time ago. You have also seen it. It is at thirty taels.
We have to keep pressing. In the next round, we hope that the price of grain will be twenty-five taels, and we hope that the Guo family’s grain will be sold like this. Mr. Guo, the price of grain is twenty-five taels per stone, ten times the usual price, which is enough.
I made a profit, what do you think?"
The old man started to panic: "Big, big, big, sir, little old man... I don't understand, little old man... Every month for disaster relief, we have to go out hundreds of kilo of food. There are still several months of winter, and the price of food is very high."
...What does it have to do with the little old man?"
Li Pin took a sip of tea and smiled and cupped his hands: "The Guo family has always been kind-hearted and has a reputation for filial piety. Li has always admired it. With this disaster so far, the Guo family has been able to come up with so much food. It's a relief."
, I will definitely present a plaque, beat gongs and drums, and personally deliver it to the house. But the price of grain is also related to the Guo family. I know that the Guo family has grain. The grain in Fenzhou is led by your Guo family. You don’t
Selling, everyone is watching, this is not good."
"My lord, you are wrong. What does their refusal to sell have to do with me? My lord... I have already produced so much food. My lord... you have no reason to do so."
"It depends on the logic. You don't hesitate to give porridge, but you will never sell grain. The country has laws. If you hoard goods and raise prices privately, I can do it to you, but I think the Guo family has a kind heart. I have always been
I respect people with good intentions, so I had to speak in person."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Li Pin’s eyes were warm. The old man hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth: "Sir, this... this is unreasonable, what kind of hoarding and raising prices privately, sir.
, the little old man did not put the grain outside to sell it at a high price, so this is not considered private expropriation. And the grain... the little old man's family has a big business, many people eat with him, and he puts some grain at home to prepare for the famine years, and
This grain also has shareholders in the family and members of the tribe. If everyone doesn't nod, how dare I sell it privately? Sir, please forgive me... After years of famine, no government has forced anyone to sell grain. Sir, little old man.
Willing to donate food, donate food..."
Hoarding and raising prices are not allowed. In fact, this is a law that exists in every dynasty. However, what exists in the world has never been a legal issue, but whether the law can leave Beijing and whether it can be implemented. For example, disaster relief, most
Everyone knows that as long as the law is enforced strictly and all those who are corrupt and bend the law are punished and killed, even if they only punish and kill a group, they can kill the chickens and scare the monkeys. The problem is that no one dares to do this kind of thing that offends the public.
.
The Wu Dynasty encouraged commerce, and the market was relatively free. Prices fluctuated and were often left to market regulation. At this time, the government often did not have much to do about hoarding. Of course, the most fundamental problem is not that there is no way.
, but when the government also becomes a part of the profit chain, it is basically impossible to curb this kind of thing through strict investigation and crackdown. This is why Qin Siyuan and others know that this famine cannot be defeated by cruel officials and reckless actions.
However... it is impossible to contain the whole. If you want to move one or two of them, Li Pin still has the power.
"I don't want you to donate food. I'm not here to beg for food, and it's harmful to your interests. This is not good." Li Pin picked up the tea cup, "What I want is a win-win situation. The price is a little higher, it doesn't matter, what's important is
Yes, you need to sell grain, twenty-five taels a stone, ten times the price, you will earn more, and I will be happy. Being an official, after all, is to enrich the people..."
"Sir, I would like to donate five hundred stones..."
"Don't play tricks on me again! I don't want your food!" Li Pin emphasized his tone, and then calmed down again, "I just took office not long ago, and I am not very familiar with the place, but I still want to check one or two people.
.You control the price of food to rise and keep hoarding it. It’s not that I don’t want to make money for you, but don’t make it so much! I know that your backstage is the Zuo family, but if I want to deal with you, they can’t protect you!
"
The old man's face turned pale, and then he knelt down suddenly: "Sir! Since you know this, why are you forcing me like this? Little old man, I have done good deeds in my life, but food is a business matter.
The little old man's family has shareholders and clan members here, so the little old man can't mess around. And you also know that the Zuo family and other people on Hedong Road, if the little old man really gives out food, will cause public outrage.
The Guo family is finished, sir..."
Li Pin put down his tea cup and took a breath before standing up: "Yes, you are doing good deeds. I know that there are more than twice as many people waiting for porridge outside Zuo's house as there are at your house. A friend of mine said this
Many of you are great benevolent people, and you never want to kill anyone, because if someone dies, they will rush to your house, kill your people, and snatch your things! You don’t want to kill people, you just want to turn everyone in the world into the one outside.
Look like this, and then you are willing to give them food, support them, and hang their lives! You are really great! Good people!"
There was anger in his words, but also a bit powerless: "With my power, I can't handle the Zuo family, but I can handle you more than enough. There are still a few days left, Mr. Guo, think about it.
I know you are afraid of the Zuo family, but you will soon learn to be afraid of me! Because in a few days, if you don’t sell food, I will raid your home. Mr. Guo, take your leave."
"Sir, don't do this! Sir, we can discuss it! Sir..."
The old man shouted, but Li Pin had already stood up and strode out. When he was out of the door and the carriage was driving away, he opened the curtain and looked at the scene of the victims gathering behind him, then withdrew his gaze and lowered his head.
Open your mouth loudly.
"Keep an eye on this place, don't get into trouble..."
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After Li Pin left, Guo Mingli also quickly left home and went to the Zuo family in Jinzhou. The carriage drove quickly, and the old man who was still in good health arrived at the Zuo family's house the next day, but what he was looking for was not Zuo's house.
Zuo Duanyou, the great scholar who headed the family, may know a lot about grain farming, but he doesn't like his own attitude. It's just that the family is big and the business is big, so he can't take care of that much.
The person who is really superior to Guo Mingli is the current third young master of the Zuo family, Zuo Jilan.
The Zuo family is a big family. In addition to Zuo Duanyou, who controls the overall situation, there are also many clan members, uncles and brothers. Zuo Jilan is Zuo Duanyou's biological son. If nothing unexpected happens, the future head of the Zuo family will be between him and the second young master Zuo Jiyun.
In the past few years, Zuo Jilan has controlled many businesses of the Zuo family and made money for many clan members. This time when the famine is rising, it is time for him to prepare for a big fight.
After hearing what Guo Mingli said about this matter, Zuo Jilan, who is 31 years old this year, stared at the old man in front of him sternly for a while: "Uncle Guo, you know, this matter is very important to me."
"yes."
"He can kill you, and so can I. Moreover, he is an iron-clad official. After this period of time has passed, he will not be able to touch you. But my Zuo family is the one who has lived here for generations. Do you know that?"
"But..." Guo Mingli looked like he wanted to cry, "He, he is not joking. Second Young Master, if you want, you have to find a way."
"I know that this new deputy transfer envoy is from Qin Siyuan in Beijing..." Zuo Jilan thought for a moment, "I will deal with him, but you are not allowed to let go, do you understand?"
"……yes."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "No matter what, it is not easy for him to do things in officialdom. You stay here tonight, I will find a way for you, and you can
Go back...go and rest now, Uncle Guo, it's okay, it's okay, just relax..."
After Guo Mingli left in this way, Zuo Jilan called two helpers around him. One of them was an uncle of the family, usually called Zuo Si because of his low status before, and the other was a middle-aged man in his forties.
The scholar, named Wang Zhizhen, was also the most powerful aide around Zuo Jilan. After briefly talking about the matter, Zuo Jilan slapped the table.
"At this time, if Lao Guo dares to undermine me, I will let him die!" He gritted his teeth, and then said, "As for what Li Pin said, what do you think?"
The fourth person on the left glanced at Wang Zhizhen and saw that he was deep in thought, so he had to say first: "I think he can't move at all..."
Zuo Jilan shook his head: "He has just arrived, and he is Qin Siyuan's man. Of course he can't move for a while! I'm not worried about Guo Mingli. Give him the courage. He may not dare to provide food, and even if he does, the impact will be limited.
.But that Li Pin said that the court has already taken action, and the price of food suddenly dropped to thirty taels recently, is it really their fault?"
"Food prices are already fluctuating a lot nowadays. They're just shouting. It's not just thirty taels when he said it was thirty taels. But some time ago..." Wang Zhizhen spoke, frowned and thought for a moment, "Quickly
At the beginning of winter, the price of grain was rising, but now it suddenly dropped. During that time, the price almost rose to forty taels. Suddenly a large amount of grain entered the market. At first, we thought it was some unscrupulous traders, but we swallowed it.
As it turned out, there was always one there, and nearly five thousand shi were swallowed, and the price was thirty-seven taels and four cents, and then the price dropped."
"Thirty-seven taels." Zuo Jilan blinked, "After eating five thousand shi, here is more than 100,000 taels of silver. If it is really thirty-seven taels now, it means that I have lost more than 30,000 taels in one go.
two?"
"That's not what you say." Wang Zhizhen said, "Winter is here, and the price will definitely rise next. It is said to be thirty taels per stone, and there is not much food outside. We just have to wait."
Zuo Jilan thought for a while: "If someone offers land as payment, thirty taels is enough."
"Of course... the Qi family should also know about this matter. Second Young Master, do you want to talk to them?"
"Well...that's fine."
With that said, the next day, several people met Qi Fanghou, the young master of the Qi family. The aide next to Qi Fanghou was named Xu Mai. This man was similar to Wang Zhizhen. Those who could serve as aides in this kind of family were probably proficient in all kinds of things.
Scholars and celebrities of things, when both sides are put together, they have found common ground.
"Some time ago, because I heard that the imperial court organized people to come to sell grain, the people below wanted to find out the truth. The first batch swallowed four thousand stones, and the second batch swallowed two thousand stones, making a total of six thousand stones." Qi Fang said honestly, "I
I don’t care about money, but there is no point in swallowing it like this, so I took a look first, and then the government let out the news and said that the price of food has dropped. They are using thirty taels for takeout. I guess it’s not much, but I don’t know how much will come next.
.”
Xu Mai is well-known in the Hedong area and has always been a feather fan. At this time, he shook his fan and said: "It seems that there are capable people behind them who understand this very well."
"What do officials know?" Zuo Jilan sneered, "Didn't they just find a group of people to kill, and then find another group of people to kill? There was no movement this time..."
"We also killed a few, but there really wasn't much movement this time. All the movement was due to the increase in food prices. So, there are people over there who understand this."
Xu Mai nodded his fan, and Qi Fanghou smiled and said, "Then, does Mr. Xu have any countermeasures?"
"In the capital, those who can be appreciated by others are probably not easy. We haven't found out yet, so we can't underestimate the enemy." Xu Mai said, "But from what Xu has seen, when people in the officialdom mention doing business, most of them
I just took it for granted and deceived those big officials in the capital. Of course, no matter what happened, with the financial resources of the Zuo family and the Qi family in Hedong, I believe that no matter who it is, with my simple knowledge and Brother Wang’s management ability,
You can't get any easy results from this, what do you think, Brother Wang?"
Wang Zhizhen smiled: "I didn't pay much attention to it before, but now that I'm prepared, no matter who is behind... let's teach him how to behave."
For a moment, everyone laughed.
Next, the price of food on Hedong Road began to rebound. At the same time, regarding Guo Mingli's matter, the two parties combined their efforts and a difficult strategy was born. Soon after, Guo Mingli returned home and prepared to give Li Li
A dangerous move.
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In the capital, winter has entered, and Ning Yi is busy in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Every day, he summarizes a large amount of intelligence and data through the intelligence network of the Secret Investigation Department, and at the same time passes on judgments and responses to various food price fluctuations as quickly as possible.
There are a lot of delays and errors in the intelligence network at this time. Many things can often only be predicted. Ning Yi is also correcting his own pace. While he is doing well and sometimes even humming while doing things, he is currently working on
Wenren Fuer, who helped him, felt quite miserable. He was often confused by the data and judgments and had no idea of the basis for his decision.
But not long after, he gradually saw the shadows and fluctuations of Ning Yi's fight with the grain-farming nobles of half the country.
In early October, for them, everything was relatively calm, because the confrontation only occurred outside the capital. At this beginning, due to Ning Yi's intervention in the north and the south, the counterattacks launched by both sides after realizing it were quite fierce.