After Zhang Yushi asked these grain merchants, he sat back in his seat and stopped talking. On the other side, Dali Temple Yue Zheng stood up from his chair. He stretched out his hand to stroke the beard under his chin and turned to look at the person sitting there.
Magistrate Chen was standing beside him.
He coughed and asked: "Prefect Chen, I am asking you a question on behalf of the imperial court."
Chen Yu stood up from his chair and bowed slightly to Yue Zheng: "Imperial envoy, just ask."
Yue Zheng nodded and continued: "Just now, you heard what the grain merchants said and what Zhang Yushi said. Are what they said true?"
Magistrate Chen looked at the grain merchants sitting opposite him, with a faint smile on his face: "It's true."
Hearing his words, everyone present was shocked.
This Lord of Jiangdu actually...
Just admit it?!
Some people rolled their eyes, already wondering about the meaning behind this incident.
Is it... is it that Prime Minister Yang in the capital has made up his mind to retire, began to shrink his power, hide his minions, and is no longer as tyrannical as before, and can no longer even protect his disciples...
Or is it that the young Emperor secretly used Chen Fuzun to attack Yang Xiang and his family, so that he could successfully take over the government?
Even Master Lu couldn't help but frown. He stared at Chen Yu, and then subconsciously said to Shen Yi: "Weird, Chen Yu is not the type to bow down and admit defeat..."
Shen Yi looked at Chen Fuzun thoughtfully, and then whispered: "Sir, if Chen Fuzun has enough connections in the court, he can solve this matter from the source and remove what he did in Jiangdu.
Everything becomes legal and reasonable.”
Before Master Lu could understand the meaning of Shen Yi's words, he saw Yue Pingshi frowning and continued to ask Chen Yu: "Prefect Chen means that you...or the Yamen of the prefect of Jiangdu do buy grain from the imperial court.
I made a profit from the price difference and took money from the Ministry of Accounts' money!"
Chen Fuzun looked at Yue Zheng, shook his head slightly, and said with a smile: "The imperial envoy misunderstood. I did buy grain from these Jiangdu grain merchants at a low price, but I didn't make any profit from the price difference."
Speaking of this, Chen Yu looked calm and said calmly: "Half a month ago, Director Zhao from the Ministry of Revenue came to Jiangdu to supervise the grain supply. At that time, the total amount of silver that the Ministry of Revenue brought to Jiangdu was 50,000 taels. I, together with Director Zhao,
After calculation, if you buy it from Jiangdu at two cents per pound, you can buy a total of 166,600 shi of grain."
Having said this, Chen Yu looked at the grain merchants opposite him with a calm expression.
"Originally, there is no problem with these. The price of two cents per pound is very generous. When I buy grain at this price, my Jiangdu magistrate's office can not only easily run the court and complete the errands assigned by the Ministry of Household Affairs, but also the Jiangdu prefecture's yamen.
Grain merchants will also take the initiative to provide some benefits to me and other officials who are on errands."
Having said this, Chen Yu looked at the horseman and said calmly: "Mr. Ma, is what I said true or false?"
At this moment, Ma Yuanwai seemed to have realized what Chen Yu wanted to do. His face turned red and he gritted his teeth and said, "But the Jiangdu Prefecture's Yamen did not buy grain at this price!"
Upon hearing these words, Chen Fuzun's expression suddenly darkened.
He looked at the horseman with an expressionless expression and said coldly: "That's because the price of food in Jiangdu is not that high. I, Chen, am an official of the imperial court. I can't just press the button just because the Ministry of Household Affairs gives me too much money."
If you buy it at a high price, you are profiteers who are exploiting the people and buying and selling things!"
"When Director Zhao from the Ministry of Household Affairs came to Jiangdu, he sent someone to investigate the price of grain in Jiangdu. At that time, the price of grain in Jiangdu was about three cents per catty, and the price of some old rice was one penny per catty."
"Far beyond the price given by the court."
Magistrate Chen squinted his eyes, looked outside Ma Yuan, and said calmly: "Mr. Ma, is what I said true or false?"
Ma Yuanwai took a deep breath and said: "Even if the price is three cents per catty, the prefect's Yamen did not give it. The prefect's Yamen's price is one penny per catty, or even lower!"
Chen Fuzun smiled and continued: "At that time, after discussing with Chief Zhao, in order to save money for His Majesty and the court, I decided not to buy grain at the price of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but at the actual price of Jiangdu Prefecture.
Buy food."
After saying this, Chen Yu's face turned cold: "That day, I was also here to summon you grain merchants from Jiangdu Prefecture to discuss matters. More than a dozen of you grain merchants were all present, and we sat together to discuss the price.
The price of one penny per pound is not given to you by me, but by you grain merchants."
Chen Yu put his hands behind his back and looked grim.
"Ma Yuanwai, yes or no?"
Hearing these words, Mr. Ma froze on the spot, unable to express his pain.
On that day, the prefect's Yamen indeed summoned grain merchants like them to the Magistrate's Yamen for discussion, but the discussion process was not equal. Facing these officials from Jiangdu Prefecture, how could these grain merchants have the qualifications to offer prices? They were intimidated several times.
After that, naturally a low price was quoted.
Yes, the price of one penny per pound was indeed given by grain merchants like them, but they were forced to do so at the time, and after leaving the prefect's Yamen, they gathered together to raise Jiangdu's grain prices because of their dissatisfaction.
The price is high, and I want to earn back the money lost in the court from the people of Jiangdu.
Originally, the prefect's yamen or Jiangdu's government would definitely turn a blind eye to this matter and let Jiangdu's grain merchants return their blood. However, not long after grain prices rose, that heart-wrenching nursery rhyme came out.
!
Jiangdu is full of tigers and wolves!
Afterwards, the incident continued to escalate, attracting the attention of some people in the imperial court. Eventually, Ma Yuanwai and Chen Zhifu became the projection of the situation in the capital in Jiangdu, and started fighting in Jiangdu.
The horseman's face turned red and his neck became thick with anger.
He stood up, glared at Chen Yu, and gritted his teeth: "That's because you people used official power to threaten you, and we didn't know the price given by the court in advance, so we were confused and set a price that was far lower than the market price.
!”
Ma Yuanwai took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Master Chen, we are ordinary people and have no intention of going against you. However, how were the prices of grain set at the beginning? The price given by your prefect's yamen is nearly twice the price given by the Ministry of Household Affairs.
What's your explanation?"
Hearing this sentence, Shen Yi, who was listening the whole process, already figured out the key to the matter.
He lowered his body slightly, approached Lu Anshi's ear, and whispered: "Sir, the result has been decided..."
Mr. Lu looked back at his young disciple and asked, "What's the result?"
Shen Qilang whispered: "One will lose his money, and the other will lose his home."
As soon as Shen Yi finished saying this, he saw a smile on Magistrate Chen's face.
A very peaceful smile, with a hint of sinisterness in it.
He looked at the horseman and said slowly: "I have just said that the reason why I lowered the purchase price is to save money for the court."
"Now, the 160,000 shi of grain requested by the Ministry of Revenue is being escorted to Beijing one after another. As for the money that my prefect's Yamen has saved for the imperial court, it is naturally..."
Chen Fuzun looked calm: "Of course they were sent to the capital together."
"Director Zhao of the Ministry of Household Affairs should have sent the saved money to the Treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs by now."
As soon as Chen Fuzun finished speaking.
The horseman standing opposite him immediately turned pale. He stared at Chen Yu with a trembling voice.