Zhao Luoyang would not take the initiative to harm others, but she was very stingy. Gao Lizheng and others colluded with the bandits to deal with the sixteen households, so she had to settle the account with them.
Although they were busy doing business, they did not give up on this matter. Master Zhao was looking for evidence, and she also took the opportunity of making fur coats to find emigrants from nearby villages to try to find out the situation in Taozhou Village.
There are hidden dangers in some villages. If they cannot be eradicated at once, there will be trouble in the future.
Later that night, Fang Shengzhong from Sunjia Village came to Fengxia Village.
Zhao Xueli brought Fang Shengzhong into the house, and Zhao Luoyang brought a cup of hot water and placed it in front of Fang Shengzhong.
Zhao Xueli said: "Drink something hot to warm yourself up."
Sunjia Village is not far from here, but it still takes half an hour to walk.
Fang Shengzhong said with a smile: "I don't feel cold anymore after wearing boots. I hit my feet like this back and forth a while ago, and it took a long time for my feet to feel the cold."
Not only did he put on boots, but he also bought a lot of food from the village. There was a charcoal fire at night and he could eat enough during the day. At least the family could survive this winter.
Zhao Xueli asked: "How is it in the village?"
Shi Jiu said: "When you see the refugees, is this what you think of?"
Fang Shengzhong said: "Those people should have hidden the food in a cellar not far from the village. Now we know that the people in Sunjia Village and Wangjia Village are secretly colluding."
Fang Shengzhong said: "We will keep a close eye when we go back. We will definitely find out."
Zhao Luoyang said: "Sir, don't worry, Mr. Zhao is different from others." Because it is not only Zhao Jingyun who is in Taozhou, but also Xiao Yu and his military guards.
Mr. Song said: "These places are rotten to the core from the outside, and the farmers here are almost tortured. They are thinking about relocating the people here. How much benefit can the relocation bring to them? After working hard, they have no choice but to
Selling food at a low price, alas... How could those officials in the capital know about these things?"
Fang Shengzhong took a sip of hot water as he spoke: "We dare not say how much wages you paid. Those people always thought that you only cared about making money for yourself."
Shi Jiu said: "But this is also the best opportunity to get rid of them."
Mr. Song had already expected it: "If you look at the villages in Taozhou, you probably have an idea of how the farmers are living. They all have arable land, and they are all hard-working people, but few households have large livestock.
Those who spoke upright never dared to refute, so they must have been coerced."
In the end, it's all about fighting for your own life.
After Zhao Luoyang finished speaking, he heard Shi Jiu say: "It is right to investigate from the bottom up, otherwise even if the imperial court really comes to investigate, they will only arrest a few Sun Ji. When officials from the Feng family are replaced, it will still be the same.
"
After the incident in Fengxia Village, Fang Shengzhong and the others were also secretly on guard, fearing that the evil-minded people would attack them. However, it was not a problem to be on guard like this. When everyone got together, Fang Shengzhong mentioned it, why not send those who secretly caused trouble to the government office?
Department.
They were all immigrants in the first place, and they were oppressed. Everyone sympathized with each other, and they reached a consensus very quickly. They didn't dare to do big things now, but after they returned, they would keep an eye on those people and inquire about the news in the village. Such small things would still matter.
Easily captured.
What they didn't know was that this seemingly natural consensus was actually deliberately facilitated by Zhao Luoyang.
"Sometimes when I think about it, I feel sorry for you."
However, Xiao Yu cannot directly intervene in this matter, as it will arouse the suspicion of the Feng family, so it is safest to start the trouble from them, which can make the Feng family relax their vigilance and catch them off guard.
Fang Shengzhong nodded, and several other villages also did the same. When he said this, he felt extremely guilty.
Zhao Luoyang said: "Their selling of grain is proof. Mr. Zhao said before that if anyone is found selling high-priced grain, they must be dealt with strictly. Now we still have to find out whether they have colluded with the rice shops in the city." That's it.
He was able to find all the food hidden by Sun Ji and others at once.
Mr. Song said: "It depends on Mr. Zhao's methods this time."
At that time, when something happened in Fengxia Village, only one Gao Lizheng could be arrested. But now it is different. Knowing so many villages, we can deal with them all.
Shi Jiu in Zhao Luoyang's mind said, "It's really hard to know. Even if someone comes, the farmers don't dare to report the truth."
"That's not bad," Fang Shengzhong said, "much better than we thought. In the final analysis, you secretly helped us a lot. Otherwise, how many people would have froze to death in the snow two days ago."
This is the fourth death since they were naturalized in Sunjiacun.
Zhao Xueli said: "I didn't expect so many villages to be like this."
Zhao Luoyang said: "I will tell Huaiqing all this, and Huaiqing will report it to Mr. Zhao."
Zhao Xueli smiled and said: "It's all to catch those people. If you say good things about us, how dare those people provoke us and sell you high-priced grain?"
Zhao Luoyang responded: "Whether the refugees are real or fake, those people will definitely use this to cause trouble, and that is indeed the case. Mr. Zhao will still have to resettle the refugees, so how can he have the energy to deal with those people hiding in the dark."
Fang Shengzhong said: "I know, those people are very cruel when dealing with bandits." No one would dare to risk doing this unless they couldn't survive.
After drinking all the water in front of him in one breath, Fang Shengzhong also stood up and prepared to leave.
All the news was gathered in the West Village of Fengxia Village. What Fang Shengzhong didn't know was that the same was true in Xujiacun and Zhangjiacun, which were a little further away.
Zhao Xueli and Zhao Luoyang sent the people out, and Zhao Xueli also asked: "No matter how you investigate, you must be careful not to let them notice and attack you secretly."
Fang Shengzhong whispered: "They are selling high-priced grain and charcoal quietly. Maybe the rice and grain shops in the city are short of food. Recently, a lot of refugees have flooded in. Rumors say that some of the food provided by the imperial court will be distributed to the refugees.
The food left in the rice shop is simply not enough to eat, and if you don’t buy it now, it will only become more expensive in the future.”
This is their method of oppressing the people.
After they left, Zhao Xueli and Zhao Luoyang went to the Song family and told Mr. Song the news.
How long has Zhao Jingyun been here? Except for a few people who sued Sun Ji, most of the people kept silent. You can't blame them for being timid, just because they had seen too much before, and the officials kept changing, but their
The days have not changed, and no one has really made the decision for them.
Fang Shengzhong sighed: "One of them left last night. He was old and fell ill on the way to move. The family also hired a doctor. I spent the remaining money to buy medicine, but it didn't get better."
Sixteen households now have something to do. The small charcoal kiln owned by Feng Laosan and Shi Ping needed manpower, so they asked Fang Shengzhong to help. Fang Shengzhong made some money and bought low-priced charcoal. The female relatives of his family also followed
Fengxia Village makes fur coats. Although the sum of these cannot be said to make a small fortune, it is indeed a help in times of need and helped them at a critical moment.
In order to let those people take the bait, Fang Shengzhong and others deliberately discussed Fengxia Village when they went back.
Zhao Luoyang said: "Meng Gao said that the rice grains in Taozhou will be collected and sold together by Li Zheng. It may be sold to the rice grain shops in Taozhou first, and then the money earned will be given to Sun Ji's people, and then those people will
Pay filial piety to the Feng family."
On the surface, Fengxia Village still cannot have too close contact with the government office.
Zhao Xueli thought of the situation of capturing the bandits that day, and suddenly said: "I wonder if we can help this time?" They are different from then. Everyone has been practicing boxing, kicking and archery. I can't say how powerful they are, but they can also
Get some manpower.
Mr. Song nodded: "With so many villages involved, we can definitely help. At least we have to keep an eye on the food and not let them take it away or destroy it."
Zhao Xueli knew the importance of food. If he really found food, how many people would he have to feed? There must be no mistakes.