Chapter 301: Do dandies need to consider the consequences of fighting?
It’s okay to kowtow, Li Qinzai doesn’t care about face.
When Li Qinzai was hunted down in the Duke's Mansion with a stick by his father, Li Qinzai's face at that time was as irretrievable as his lost youth.
The question is, if it still doesn’t work after giving it to the grain merchants, wouldn’t it be in vain?
You can't do business that makes you lose money.
"The people are short of food and have nowhere to buy it. The grain dealers are hoarding food and are unwilling to sell it. Does Wang Biejia have any good ideas?" Li Qinzai asked with a smile.
Wang Shifu said in a low voice: "The lower officials think that they can use soft and hard tactics, suppressing the grain merchants while being gentle at the same time, so that they will not only know the king's strict laws, but also accept the world's sophistication, be emotional and sensible, and fight with swords and soldiers, so that things can be accomplished."
Li Qinzai glanced at him in surprise.
I have to say that this method has merit. Wang Shifu's position is really good. First of all, he does not sit crookedly. These words really come from the standpoint of the court and the people.
Secondly, we are not pedantic in our work and do not stick to old rules. The methods we propose are indeed effective.
Li Qinzai couldn't help but secretly wonder, could it be that Song Sen's information was correct and that Wang Shifu was indeed a good person and good official?
"It's a good idea. Did Wang Biejia just think of it?"
Wang Shifu lowered his head and said: "As early as the day when the grain merchants were hoarding strange things, I have been thinking about how to deal with it. However, the former governor of the Song Dynasty could not make a decision. I had to give up after mentioning it several times."
"Don't drive, you can do it yourself."
"While the governor is in office, the subordinate officials dare not overstep their authority."
Li Qinzai looked at him deeply and smiled without saying a word.
The two stood in front of a grain store and chatted for a while. When they were about to leave, they suddenly saw an old man hobbling towards them in the distance carrying an empty cloth bag.
The old man has a sallow face and thin muscles, has some inconvenience in his legs and feet, and has a strange walking posture.
When he walked to the grain store and saw that the door was closed, the old man sighed helplessly. After looking around for a long time, he hesitated and finally gritted his teeth and knocked carefully on the grain store's door.
After knocking for a long time, the door of the grain store finally opened. A shop assistant stuck out his head impatiently and said dissatisfiedly: "Why are you knocking on the door? Don't you see that the door is closed? Do you understand what closing means?"
No business today!"
Just as he was about to close the door, the old man held on to the door frame and begged: "Well, please sell some millet. My grandson is so hungry that he has no rice soup to drink... I am rich, rich."
"
The waiter sneered: "The shopkeeper said that there will be no business this month, so we have no food to sell."
The old man was anxious: "Why is there no food? Yesterday, someone saw you bringing in several large carts of food..."
The waiter looked sarcastic and said, "Do you have money to buy food?"
Seeing his relaxed tone, the old man thought there was hope and hurriedly said: "Rich, rich!"
The waiter sneered: "One liter of millet is thirty cents, how much do you want to buy?"
The old man was about to take out the money in his arms, but he couldn't help being stunned when he heard this, and looked at him in disbelief: "Did you hear that right, old man? One liter of millet rice... Thirty Wen? One liter of millet rice?"
"You heard me right, a liter of millet rice is thirty cents, do you want to buy it?"
The old man suddenly became excited: "You young man, why don't you just go and grab the money? How can there be such expensive millet in the world? In the past, a liter of millet only cost two cents. Why has it increased more than ten times this year?"
The waiter sneered and said: "Business and purchase, one is willing to buy and the other is willing to sell. I'm not forcing you to buy. If you can't afford it, you might as well go elsewhere. Don't cause trouble for us."
The old man was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed at him and said: "It's too much to bully others. Aren't you afraid of the king's law?"
The waiter rolled his eyes and said: "I sell my own grain as much as I like. I didn't kill anyone, set fire, or rob or cheat. What kind of king's law have I violated? If you can't afford it, get out!"
After saying that, the boy closed the door without ceremony.
The old man stood alone outside the door, his body becoming more and more stooped, his face gradually filled with despair, murmuring: "What should we do, what should we do, my poor grandson..."
Li Qinzai and Wang Shifu stood not far away and watched all this quietly. Their expressions remained unchanged, but a coldness flashed in Li Qinzai's eyes.
After a long time, Li Qinzai suddenly signaled to Liu Asi, asking Buqu to leave the old man behind and asked him to wait. Then he looked at Wang Shifu and said, "The grain merchants maliciously raise the price of grain. Is it really true that the court can't control them?"
Wang Shifu thought for a while and said: "Unless it is confirmed that it is indeed a disaster year, the imperial court will issue a decree strictly prohibiting raising food prices, and violators will be severely punished. But before the decree is issued, the government can only intervene. Whether or not the crime is punished depends entirely on it.
Current situation.”
"For example, right now, if the grain merchants are punished, it will undoubtedly cause a violent backlash from the major grain merchants and lead to serious consequences. So the government usually has good discussions with the grain merchants and will not punish them rashly."
Wang Shifu smiled bitterly and said: "Laws are nothing more than human feelings. The laws of the imperial court come from the capital, but how effective they are when they are promulgated to the localities. They can only be adapted appropriately according to the situation. If the chief officials of the state and county really govern strictly according to the laws,
Come on, I guess this official won't last long..."
Li Qinzai smiled: "It makes sense. The officialdom should be smoother. There is no reason to make enemies everywhere when you are an official. That would be detrimental to your own future..."
Wang Shifu seemed to hear a different meaning in Li Qinzai's words, and couldn't help but be startled: "Li Qinzai..."
Li Qinzai laughed loudly and said: "I heard that Wang Biejia was also from a well-known family in Wangjun. The Wang family in Taiyuan was also a well-known family in the world. To put it bluntly, you and I are both from a dandy's background. I want to ask Wang Biejia, what did he do when he was young?
Have you ever done anything to bully others?"
Wang Shifu lowered his head and said: "When I was young, I did behave frivolously. Now that I am middle-aged, I am no longer what I used to be."
Li Qinzai smiled and said: "Fortunately, I am not middle-aged and am still qualified to cause trouble. Wang Biejia, would you like to see how a dude from Chang'an City causes trouble?"
Wang Shifu was surprised: "Li Qishi thought twice..."
"Think twice about it. Seeing these businessmen starving my people while still being arrogant and desolate, wouldn't it be a slap in the face of me, the governor, to torture the people under my rule?"
"What does Li Qishi want to do?"
Li Qinzai had a strange look on his face: "Of course I'll fight him back, otherwise what? Do you really want to knock him down?"
Wang Shifu trembled all over and blurted out: "Li Cishi can't do it! If you offend the grain merchant, the consequences..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Qinzai suddenly shouted: "Ah Si, break the door!"
Liu Asi, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly flew up with his kick, and with a loud bang, the door of the grain store was kicked open, and the wide door panel fell heavily to the ground, raising a burst of dust.
At the same time, there were screams of terror in the grain store, and more than a dozen clerks rushed forward.
Li Qinzai took a few steps back and said: "You dare to resist arrest, and you dare to harass the officials, you are committing more crimes! Ah Si, put them all down for me, and take down the shopkeeper!"
After speaking, Li Qinzai bared his teeth and smiled at Wang Shifu: "Wang Biejia, do you want to reminisce about the youthful and frivolous feelings? You can beat these guys as much as you want, I'll treat you."