Chapter 512: The prophecy is like a mystery, the snow falls silently (Part 1)
Since taking root in Bianliang and expanding Zhuji, Ning Yi's living situation has actually changed a lot compared to Jiangning.
Although after experiencing so many things in his previous life, his personality still tends to be quiet and not active, but after Zhuji was founded, his life and social circle were actually slowly expanding. Friendships in the business world
Once in a while, there were occasional poetry gatherings. In the first half of Jinghan's eleventh year, he would also attend and take a look. Therefore, after the disaster relief incident, in addition to unknown wealthy families and business partners,
, Occasionally, talented scholars who claim to be "friends" will come over to give him some advice. Ning Yi is too lazy to meet some of these people, and when he does, he just pushes them away with some Tai Chi skills.
A successful person can have many qualities, but they definitely do not include soft-eared people. Some people are said to be open-minded to accept opinions, and they all have their own set of methods of inductive analysis. More often than not, they compare each other to others.
If you understand the idea thoroughly and think it makes sense, you will accept it. If you think the other person is an idiot, you will not show it on your face. You will say thank you with a smile at any time. This is a person with an open mind. As for thinking that anyone can say anything.
Being well-intentioned and reasonable does not mean that you are guilty of conscience, but that your own three views are unstable. Of course, goodwill is often right, but goodwill, superficiality and stupidity are often not inconsistent with each other.
For Ning Yi, as soon as most people open their mouths, he can see the deep thoughts of the other person. Pretending to be a well-intentioned suggestion is meaningless to him. Most of the time, he will be perfunctory. If necessary, he will even use the same good intentions.
His attitude will lead the other party in a completely different direction. Of course, there are not many people who need him to do this, but the person who greeted Wen Renfuer yesterday still has such a need.
In order to provide disaster relief, I originally thought about asking Miss Shishi to help persuade some people. But then the other party was always busy, and he didn't have much time. There were too many things to consider, so Shishi was delayed.
Yesterday, Wenren Buer brought back the news after he dealt with Zuo Jilan. Ning Yi thought that someone might be looking for her to be a lobbyist. However, it is not difficult to deal with this woman Li Shishi. She desires sincerity and is well-informed. She is the kind of person I talk to.
If you make a request, the other party will take it back automatically if you make it difficult for them. On the one hand, this kind of character comes from the sincerity that can understand others. On the other hand, it comes from the sobriety of keeping a distance.
"But I think it's not Zuo Jilan who wants Miss Shishi to come here, and it's definitely not Zuo Jilan who invited her here." During lunch, Wen Renfu'er held up his chopsticks and talked about this, "After all, yesterday
Miss Shishi didn’t mention a word about him.”
"I was too busy some time ago, and now I suddenly came to see me for something. This kind of thing shouldn't go away... However, Master Li is a very knowledgeable person. It is possible that Li Yun asked her to make this trip."
After Ning Yi finished speaking, Wenren Buer nodded and waved his finger in the air: "Someone asked Li Yun. Li Yun didn't want to come and talk to you in person, so he asked the teacher to come over... In this way,
This Mother Li seems to understand your character quite well."
"This means that she doesn't want to break up with me. She just accepted the request and just gave me a warning." Ning Yi smiled and shook his head, "That's okay. Others can break up with me and cooperate with Fan Lou.
, it still needs to be carried out.”
"Then are you going to... be perfunctory?"
"The water will come and the earth will cover it up. I want to see if I can instigate Master Li to rebel."
"I noticed that Li Heng, you always use your first name when talking about Miss Shishi, making it seem like you are not familiar with each other..."
"Although we have known each other since we were young, in this circle, interests and power are always visible and tangible. Teachers are... relatively sincere when treating friends, but it is a good thing to keep a distance. She is an oiran now, and she will be a courteous girl in a while.
If you are married to someone else, can you still be friends? To say the least, can you still marry her?"
Wenren Buer thought for a moment: "Tsk, but Miss Shishi looks really good."
"Wen Ren, you seem to have a good impression of her."
"She is beautiful and has temperament. It is not unreasonable for her to become the number one oiran in Bianliang City."
"Oh, marry her."
"Haha, I have a wicked wife and mother in my family. I still want to live a few more years, so forget it. You can do it, Li Heng."
"I already have...four of them now, and I also want to live a few more years."
Both of them laughed. Ning Yi thought, now there are four, plus red grapes and watermelon, he is now six... He didn't want to be a playboy, why did he become like this? Men really care
I couldn't help myself...thinking this, I couldn't help curling my lips and sighing.
Most of Qin Siyuan's students and staff are very attentive, and they often see people and things very accurately. They usually talk and speculate on the situation, and they are inseparable. At this time, Ning Yi chatted with Wenren Buer for a while,
I also roughly organized the outline of what Shishi would say when he came over. However, after Shishi came over in the afternoon and the two sides talked for a while, Ning Yi realized that he had thought wrong about this matter.
Not long after lunch, the master came over. The guests were received in one of the reception courtyards of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The courtyard was not big. There were small rockeries, flowers, and trees in the courtyard. Since winter had arrived, most of the flowers and plants were gone.
It has withered. After a while of greetings, the first thing Shishi talked about was the young people he had received two days ago and talked about the situation in the disaster area that he heard from them. Ning Yi thought about it.
"Yu family, I do remember. After the business was settled, they should have left this morning. They paid a visit to my home. They originally wanted to see me, but I was at the Prime Minister's Mansion, and it was Tan'er who received them."
"So...what's the situation in the disaster area now?"
"It's hard to say..." Ning Yi hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile, "Every aspect has tried its best. We can only keep the price of food from collapsing now. The weather is getting cold, and people are already dying. But the real wait is
, it’s the first snow, and both of us are making preparations.”
"Those grain merchants..." Shishi said through gritted teeth, and then said after a moment, "Then...can I help with something?"
"Of course." Ning Yi smiled, "I originally wanted to find you. Master, you know many people in the capital. Some people have food at home and can help transport things, or if you have connections, I would like to invite you to go.
Let’s lobby for it. I originally made a list and wanted you to find out who you have a relationship with and can talk to..."
Shishi lowered his head and thought, his eyes full of energy: "I know what I know..."
"Oh, but you were quite busy at that time, and I also had a lot of things to do here..."
"Well, at that time..." Shishi thought for a while and showed a shy smile. "They were all concerned about Tong Shuer's affairs."
"I know, I heard that that guy has traveled three thousand miles."
"Yes." Shishi smiled happily. After a moment, he looked at Ning Yi and said, "Isn't it too late?"
"It's not too late."
"That's good." Shishi thought for a while. "I still have some sisters, the sisters who were involved in Tong Shuer's incident. They can also help... I know that some people's families have connections with the Prime Minister.
If they don’t move, we should be able to persuade them to move. Then, Li Heng, how much loss can we make those big profiteers lose? How much food do we have now?"
"It's a loss..." Both of them were standing in front of the window of the living room at this time. Ning Yi's expression became slightly complicated, "How could it be a loss..."
"Uh..." Shishi was stunned.
Ning Yi looked out the window, his expression became serious, and after a moment, he exhaled: "They will not lose money, there is only a difference between making more and making less. Master, you said these people are collecting food, their purpose is
For what?"
"Well, they are..." Shishi originally had the answer in his mind, but when he heard Ning Yi talk about it, he felt that it would not be that simple, so he couldn't help but hesitate.
Ning Yi cast his gaze out the window: "Two taels and a half of grain for one stone, just selling it now, is already ten times the profit. Although money is very powerful and everyone wants it, once the government suppresses it, is it really that worth it?
How many people are dissatisfied? They feel that ten times the profit is small... They are not doing it for money, they are doing it for land..."
The teacher looked at him.
Ning Yi shook his head: "Only small households collect grain for money. They think that the price of food will continue to soar, so they will buy it. As for the large households, they have grain in their own homes, and then eat a lot of it to maintain the supply of grain."
The high price is not to sell at the highest time, but to reduce the amount of food on the market so that people can exchange their possessions and land for food. Only land is the most affordable thing for them, which is also the main reason why they fight the government.
As for making money, when they hit thirty taels, they earn ten times. Even if they hit ten taels, they still make four times the profit. Master, our current expectation is just to hit ten taels..."
"But... those... those people..."
"The government is not without food for disaster relief. But in order to annex the land, they will fight tooth and nail. The higher the temptation, the greater their investment. Then under the temptation of huge profits, people from the government will also participate, and they will directly contribute to disaster relief.
Start with food. If you want to provide disaster relief, you will get twice the result with half the effort. The more people sell their land, the more people will need relief. In this case, it will be a dead end. We are transporting food to fight their greed.
If the greed in the hearts of these upper-class people is eliminated, hundreds or thousands of people below will benefit, and so many more people will live."
Shishi listened quietly, and Ning Yi smiled: "But how is it possible for them to lose money? There are only a few people who can't stop the greed in their hearts. They will swallow as much food as they can, and the big ones who will eventually burst themselves will lose money."
, these people are stupid. Otherwise, they would have made money no matter what..."
He paused: "Now we are waiting for snow, and the government is now telling them that we have enough food, and everyone can have something to eat at any time. They will not believe it. The government said it will provide disaster relief, and there are many food vendors below.
, I won’t believe it either. Only when it snows and the government can continue to supply food far and wide will the first batch of traders who wait and see determine the intensity of this disaster relief, and wait until they start selling while the price of food is still high.
, the liquidation will come out, and the price of grain will really collapse. When we transport the grain, we have actually reserved a large part of it in the warehouse, just waiting for the snow to fall, but in terms of total quantity, I am afraid it is not enough. These grains
, the more the better.”
There was silence in the room for a long time, and Shishi finally said: "I understand." She pursed her lips, with a determined look in her eyes, "I, I will do this right away, and try to have something to do before it snows.
A good result. Also... I hope it snows later."
Ning Yi also smiled: "I hope it snows later."
The two didn't say much more about it after that, but just chatted casually about things around them. Then Ning Yi sent her out to the Prime Minister's Mansion. After the carriage drove out and the side door of the Prime Minister's Mansion was closed, Ning Yi stood there thinking for a while, tapping his fingers.
Touching the side of his thigh, he also revised some of his perceptions about Shishi.
In the next few days, Shishi ran back and forth inside and outside the capital, and also called some sisters to exaggerate the price of food in the north and south together. Their actions were quite effective. In the Prime Minister's Mansion, Ning Yi and others had already screened them.
Among the big households in the capital, she incited several young people to start large-scale transfers of grain. A few days later, she met with Ning Yi again, informed him of the progress of the matter, and asked if there was anything else that needed help. Then she said to herself
I have made an appointment with several sisters, young masters from the capital, and I will personally transport the grain to the north.
Although she told Ning Yi, she was already prepared in her heart. Ning Yi nodded and only told her to contact the local government quickly if there was any inconvenience.
In November, the grain transport fleet organized by the Min family, a wealthy family in the capital, left the capital and headed north to Hedong. A few days later, the fleet entered the hinterland of Hedong Road...
At the same time, after staying in the capital for a few days, Wang Zhizhen returned to the Zuo family.
******************
When he went south to the capital, he originally wanted to activate various connections to put pressure on the prime minister's office and also give Ning Liheng, the manipulator, a warning. Unexpectedly, the response he received was like a wake-up call. Wang Zhizhen had no idea at that time.
Although Wen Renfuer told him that "the water in the capital is deep", he first stayed in the capital, asked Zuo Houwen for help, and also visited various houses he originally visited, hoping to fish Zuo Jilan out. However,
Although these people agreed to put pressure on the matter, after hearing what happened, they all expressed that Qin Siyuan was not easy to mess with. Zuo Houwen lost his temper after returning from a visit to the Prime Minister's Mansion. Obviously, the other party did not give him any advice.
In order to save face, some other people went to the prime minister's house to intercede. They learned that Qin Siyuan had written a letter to Zuo Duanyou, and when they came back, they said: "In this case, Mr. Wang should go back early, so as not to delay important events." Yes.
For them, although this matter was a bit messy, since Qin and Zuo could talk directly between themselves, they didn't care about other people's affairs.
At the level of Qin Siyuan and Zuo Duanyou, their communication can indeed be regarded as a real event. Wang Zhizhen has also understood that there is nothing he can do by staying here, so he has to go back to Hedong with all kinds of uneasiness.
.
On the afternoon of the day he returned to Zuo's house, he went to see Zuo Duanyou. Although he encouraged the young master to collect grain, encouraged the young master to go to the capital, and even left the young master alone after going to the capital, it certainly did not give Zuo Duanyou a good impression, but
In any case, raising one's head and shrinking one's head is the same as cutting one's head. I just hope that the rift between Zuo Duanyou and Qin Siyuan is far deeper than most people imagine. He lost his temper when he saw Qin Siyuan's letter, and thus forgot his own mistakes.
Zuo Duanyou lives in a courtyard deep in Zuo's home. There is a small bamboo forest near the yard that is not lush. The flowers and plants in the courtyard are basically taken care of by Zuo Duanyou and a few old servants. This respected old man
He was nearly seventy years old, with white beard and hair, but sharp eyes, and he was dressed neatly and simply, meticulously. He did not accuse Wang Zhizhen of anything, because Wang Zhizhen was a teacher in the mansion and not a student, so the other party just called him "Mr. Wang" and asked him to
He sat next to him, and after Wang Zhizhen told him what he saw in the capital, he asked him for Qin Siyuan's letter.
The old man squinted his eyes slightly behind the desk and read the letter written by Qin Siyuan.
He put his finger on the letter without looking up. After a moment, he asked aloud: "I know that people are starving to death due to the food shortage outside. How many people from my Zuo family are involved in this matter?"
"This..." Wang Zhizhen had some difficulty in speaking. Zuo Duanyou didn't like this, and Zuo Jilan led the grain harvesting, and it was his direct operation. If he said it, most of the Zuo family would be brought down.
What would you think?
However, Zuo Duanyou then waved his hand: "Needless to say, I understand how they could miss such a good opportunity." He said, "...and they are not afraid of losing their life."
The old man sighed, then took out a piece of rice paper and a writing brush. He thought about it and glanced at Wang Zhizhen: "Mr. Wang, please grind the ink for me."
Wang Zhizhen hurried over and saw the old man carrying a teacup and getting some tea into the inkstone, and then he began to grind ink. The old man said: "I know that the government is suppressing me, and I can't control other people. All the food in my room is put away."
Get out. Mr. Wang, you are in charge of this matter. You should also go and deal with it."
Wang Zhizhen nodded quickly: "Yes."
The ink in the inkstone was getting thicker and thicker. The old man took the brush and said, "I will edit a book. You... um. No, let his second brother Jiyun go to the capital to pick him up." Wang Zhizhen's hand almost shook.
At that moment, I suddenly understood that Zuo Jilan's inheritance qualification was gone. They came to Beijing to cause trouble to Qin Siyuan. Qin Siyuan just sent a letter. Zuo Duanyou directly accepted Zuo Jilan's inheritance qualification. From now on, the head of the family will only be Zuo Duanyou.
Jiyun and Zuo Jilan had completely lost their chance of revenge.
His mind was in chaos. His whole body was sinking. In the chaos, he heard Zuo Duanyou saying: "Please, Mr. Wang, please do some food feeding." He agreed in a confused manner. He didn't know when he went out. He just went out.
At that time, I could vaguely hear Zuo Duanyou sighing: "...it's nothing. This Shizhang is a prosperous and colorful world. Once people from the north come from the south, after all, nothing...can stay..."
Wang Zhizhen didn't understand the meaning of those words. That night, he tossed and turned in his room and couldn't sleep. He got up in the early morning and walked to the yard. The cold winter night gave him some calmness. He knew that he had suppressed
Many things about him were gone. The last words Zuo Duanyou said rang in his mind again. He thought about the meaning behind it, like a deep and dark prophecy. He shook his head, trying to get these words out of his mind.
Waving away, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, stretched out his hand towards the front...
*****************
With a bang, the brazier on the shelf flew out, and flames exploded in the darkness, followed by screams and noises.
In the cold wind of winter, this is a village in Shuanglian Mountain on Hedong Road. There are about a hundred bandits in the village, and about three hundred people including their families live here. Soon after the commotion broke out, the entire village was already occupied.
Light up.
Along Hedong Road, there are many places where the people are not peaceful and the world is unfair. If you can't be a citizen, becoming a bandit is also a way out. The village in Shuanglian Mountain is called Dahu Village because the name of the village owner is Peng Dahu. His name is
Although it doesn't sound good, he is also one of the best in the world. There was a time when Tian Hu, the tiger king of Hebei, came to recruit him to join the righteousness. He refused directly, saying that you, Tian Hu, are the tigers in the fields. I am not only a tiger, but also a big tiger. Why bother?
Following your orders, he also defeated the highly skilled envoy sent by the opponent on the spot. After that, because the two sides were still far apart, Tian Hu was unable to do anything to him.
As the leader of a party, he ensures the safety of the other party. As a bandit, Peng Dahu treats his subordinates in the village well. In the past two years, he has had no worries about food and clothing. But at this time, the neck of this village leader who is highly skilled in martial arts is...
Being caught in a big hand like an iron pincer, he was half-kneeling on the ground, his face flushed red, but his hand was waving to the men behind him, and he struggled to say: "Don't... don't do it...
Don't take action..."
There were only three people who invaded the cottage late at night. The leader was a tall old man in a green robe. The other man and woman, who looked to be in their forties or fifties, were confronting a group of bandits who had gathered around.
There was an endless stream of voices.
Peng Dahu's difficult movements silenced everyone's words. His name was Dahu, and he was practicing tiger claws. However, in the fight just now in the darkness, he had already been defeated with just three moves, and was then defeated.
The other party dragged him out of the room. At this time, the other party's palm was on his throat. Peng Dahu had no doubt that as long as the other party exerted force, his throat would be torn into bloody mud.
"Old man, old man...I give up, I give up, I know...you are..."
"I'm Zhou Tong."
As soon as these words came out, almost half of the people in the village took a breath of cold air, and some people even retreated subconsciously. Peng Dahu raised his hands and said with difficulty: "I know, I know... I know the old hero's
My intention...I promise, I promise."
"Huh?" Zhou Tong glanced at him, "Really?"
Peng Dahu said: "Keep the winter rations and put the rest out... In the village, the granary is over there... The account books, the account books are in the room..."
Zhou Tong loosened his hand slightly. On the other side, a woman named Zuo Wenying jumped into the room. Peng Dahu pointed to one side and asked her to find the account book. Zhou Tong said: "When I came here, I checked it and removed it.
For rations, you can come up with more than two hundred stones of food..."
"Two hundred and sixteen dan, two hundred and sixteen dan, I've calculated it. I'll do the calculation after it's divided."
Zuo Wenying looked at the account books, and for a moment, nodded towards Zhou Tong. Since they had already conducted an investigation when they came, there was no need to check the granary at this time. Zhou Tong said: "The day after tomorrow, in the morning, the grain will be transported to the warehouse.
Someone is coming to pick us up at the fork in the village official road. Master Peng, I would like to trouble you to send us out now."
Although he was sure of this, the person in his hand still didn't have the opponent's neck. Peng Dahu just said: "No problem, no problem, you guys spread out, you guys spread out!" His neck was grabbed, and he was walking backwards.
But he looked at Zhou Tong without much resentment, and he even talked to Zhou Tong along the way.
"Old Hero Zhou, Grandmaster Zhou, after I found out about you, I knew you would come to me. So I've already settled it. I, Peng Dahu, have nothing to say. Hero Zhou, look at my martial arts, I practice tiger claws
, why...why I made a move just now. You didn’t even have to block it. No. That moment just now...Zhou Yingxiong, you showed me two moves, you pointed me..."
Zhou Tong frowned: "One day you won't be a gangster. I'll teach you."
"I can't help it, Zhou Yingxiong, I can't help it, look at it..."
"...I will teach you the day I find a way."
A group of people went out from the entrance of the village. After going out, Zhou Tong let go of Peng Dahu and said these words. When the figures of the three people disappeared in the darkness, Peng Dahu bowed respectfully from behind. The people in the village behind
The brother rushed over: "Brother, do you want to chase us? There are many of us now..." but Peng Dahu pushed him away.
"Chasing? What are you doing? Do you know who that is? He is Zhou Dong, the hero of Zhou, the best person in the world. He is a hero and a hero. He came here to save people. Shouldn't we be robbed? He didn't let you
Hungry! Damn it, this is a good thing! Don’t you remember what Zhou Yingxiong said? Go and order some food to transport out. Let me tell you, we agreed on the two hundred and sixteen dan. If it’s less, I’ll deduct it from you.
Ration supplement..."
The mountain wind howled, and in the darkness, Zhou Tong, Fulu, and Zuo Wenying were walking among the rocks. After walking for a while, they heard Zuo Wenying say: "There are more than two hundred rocks."
Fulu said: "We can live with more people." He was a little relaxed as he spoke.
Zhou Tong sighed: "It's a pity... I can only use this method to save people..." Although he said this, even this sigh did not seem heavy. Two hundred more stones, there are always two
Benefits of Baishi.
After the food shortage, this was not the first village they visited. Zhou Tong was highly skilled in martial arts. After all, he had no specific method for disaster relief. It was impossible for him to kill corrupt officials or large grain farmers. The last thing he thought of was
This is the method. In the past two months, the three of them fought from Hebei West Road to Hedong Road, specifically selecting a village of two to three hundred people to attack. The three of them were extremely skilled in martial arts, and it was impossible to massacre the village. They went in at midnight and directly
When catching the leader of the village, he was sure to catch him immediately, and then threatened him to keep his winter rations and then release other grains.
If anyone in these villages dares to refuse to comply, the old man might come in a few nights and lose his head.
Although Zhou Tong didn't know Qin Siyuan's level of officials, he still had a lot of connections in the world. He called in, and the other party shipped out food, and here he asked some trustworthy friends in the world to help with relief. In the recent period,
, Zhou Tong also saw Zhu Ji mobilizing merchants to transport grain to the disaster area. He didn't understand this at first, but later he saw that those people were working enthusiastically, not only selling, but also giving free porridge, so he asked Fulu and Zuo Wenying to inquire.
The two brought back the truths promoted by the Zhuji staff, which made him think for a long time, and finally admitted: "That Ning Liheng is quite good."
When he passed through a city and saw a conflict between grain merchants and local wealthy families, he even came to help and beat away all the servants of those wealthy families.
However, the food on his side is still provided free of charge.
Along the way, the master and servant talked about rescuing people nearby. Suddenly, Zhou Tong raised his palm and stopped. Fulu and Zuo Wenying also stopped and looked up at the sky.
In the palm of my hand, a little bit of coldness disappeared...
****************
In the early morning of November, the fleet was sailing along the river. Master woke up from his sleep, opened the window, and looked at the leaden scenery of the river.
On the big ship at the head of the fleet, there were not only Shishi, but also several young men and scholars in the capital, and the other three brothel sisters. Because they were all talented women and pure courtesans, they were not looked down upon by others.
, on the contrary, this trip can be regarded as something elegant.
Most of these literati who came from the capital came from wealthy families and were talented. This time when they went north to provide disaster relief, men and women mixed together. The daily programs were actually about eating, drinking, having fun, or watching someone's happiness.
When it comes to performances, or gathering together to chat, play bamboo cards, and Shuanglu, the whole atmosphere can be said to be harmonious. No one can blame them, and even Ning Yi will probably only criticize them.
To express praise, Shishi felt more or less depressed and urgent in her heart. This made her get up very early every day.
However, there will naturally be people who get up earlier than her. It is already dawn, and the servants have actually finished tidying up and cleaning the deck below. Shishi vaguely heard sounds outside at night, like the sound of rain.
It was raining, so I looked at it and found that the deck was indeed wet.
She put on her clothes and went out. It was surprisingly cold on the bow deck, and her breath turned white. Shishi tightened her clothes and stood there. Suddenly, she saw something. She trembled slightly and stretched out her hand.
One hand.
At that moment, she realized that what fell last night was not rain.
The night before the snow fell, two bursts of ice fell.
As the fleet moved forward, the river spread before her eyes. On both sides of the river, green forests and mountain peaks expanded. White goose feathers fell on her delicate palms, turning into a moist feeling. In the sky ahead,
On the river, in the mountains and forests, heavy snow fell from the sky, falling everywhere in sight.
Tears flowed out, and she covered her lips with her other hand...
In the next three days, heavy snow fell one after another in Huainan, Jinghu and other places. Ning Yi learned the news in the capital. This was something that had been expected.
When the silver coating spreads out between the heaven and the earth, and the time comes to see blood... (To be continued...)
ps: This chapter has more than 8,000 words. It took a lot of thought and effort, and I feel very good. Everyone, there is no double this month. If you have a monthly ticket, just vote for it. Thank you everyone. ^_^