The howling north wind has begun to blow, and the temperature has dropped sharply in the past few days. People in the city have thickened their clothes, but in such a big city where millions of people gather, even if the weather drops slightly, the people on the streets
There are also many pedestrians. The merchants are still shouting and hawking while shopping, trying to get more business before winter comes completely. Children are running outside the house, looking forward to the first winter snow.
On the left side of the imperial city is the area where high-ranking officials and wealthy families gather. On this side, there are slightly fewer pedestrians on the road. On the relatively remote Wenyuan Street, a vendor dragging a candy cart was outside the residence of Master Zhang, the censor.
After shouting a few words, he learned that the grandson of Mr. Zhang, the imperial censor, was just three years old. The old lady in the family loved him very much. Once the hawking aroused the minds of children or old people, they would always gain something.
Pedestrians walking by on the street were mostly servants and maids of wealthy families. Horse-drawn carriages passed by quietly. Not long after, a few people came towards us from the other end of the road. The woman leading them was tall and beautiful.
Although it was already winter, her clothes were quite subtle, but they could not hide the woman's beautiful figure. The woman beside her looked like her sister, chattering to her, talking about interesting things.
At this time, her steps were still jumping lightly. Behind her were four maids, two of whom were worse looking, but had sharp eyes and a tall stature. One of the maids held a basket in her arms.
A group of six people stopped at the back door of Youxiang's Mansion. After knocking on the door, someone came over and welcomed them in.
Those who came over at this time were naturally Yunzhu and Jin'er who lived nearby. Since then, Ning Yi has been in charge of disaster relief in the Prime Minister's Mansion. It is often difficult to leave at noon, so they often come over, sometimes bringing lunch.
It was time to send some sugar water. It was still afternoon. After entering the Prime Minister's Mansion, two female bodyguards dressed as maids were left outside. Yunzhu and Jin'er walked in familiarly, and when they almost reached the office yard over there,
Instead, he met Qin Siyuan who was walking towards him. The old man was dressed in casual clothes and seemed to be thinking about something. When he saw the two of them, he still smiled and said, "Here we come."
"Grandpa Qin."
"Grandpa Qin."
They saluted, and Qin Siyuan smiled and said, "What did you bring? Do you think you deserve it as an old man like me?"
Jin'er smiled: "The Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup is still hot. There are a lot of them."
"Oh. Then serve me a bowl later. Let's go. I'm also looking for Li Heng."
Several people walked towards the yard where Ning Yi and others were. Although speaking of this, the disaster relief work also included the induction and analysis of a large amount of intelligence data. In addition to Ning Yi, there were also several people helping in the yard, but the atmosphere was not good.
As lively as some financial markets in later generations, everyone made their own conclusions and only occasionally summed it up with Ning Yi. After Qin Siyuan came over, Ning Yi also temporarily let go of the work at hand and sat with the old man in the yard for a while. Yunzhu and Jin
The son poured the Tremella and Lotus Seed soup one by one and sent it to the staff at work. When he gave it to Qin Siyuan and Ning Yi, the two of them were sitting here chatting seemingly casually, but the topic was not casual.
"...There's a fight over there in Pingzhou."
"Sent troops?"
"The troops were mobilized a few days ago, led by Wanyan Mu."
"Aguda's younger brother, but his abilities are average... What's the attitude of the court?"
"Originally I was happy, but now that the matter is in front of me, the Holy One is a little undecided. Tong Guan is... afraid."
"Asking General Guo to cooperate, we have to fight once..."
"That's what I mean. There are few Jurchens and it's hard to go south, but we must fight north of Yanmen Pass. It's a pity... Chao Shang just wants to talk..."
"What about now..."
"Wanyan Yan Mu's men are not as large as Zhang Jue's men. We can only hope that Zhang Jue will win the battle."
"I think... the imperial court does not need to send troops, but it can ask General Guo to lend a hand. Prime Minister, how about asking General Guo to write to the imperial court himself to request a war?"
"That's what I think too. I've already gone north to study and study... How are the food prices?"
"Both sides are floating around thirty taels."
"The weather has dropped but not risen?"
"The operation is still effective, but for now, it can only be maintained. The biggest hurdle will be after the first snow falls. At that time, it will be clear whether the court can restore the confidence of the people."
It is said that it is a food war or an economic war, but what it is really fighting is the people's confidence in the government's disaster relief. The big gentry said that the price of food will definitely rise. There is not much food in the first place. The people believed it and bought food at high prices. The government said
, we will provide disaster relief, we will crack down on illegal grain sellers, and we will have food flowing in continuously. The final result of disaster relief depends on the people's trust in both parties, and of course, it also depends on how hungry they are.
The basic principle is this, but when it comes to details, it is hundreds of times more complicated. The process of suppressing food prices in the north and the south has been going on for a month, and the fluctuations in food prices in the two places are still around thirty taels, which is enough for Qin Siyuan.
I was surprised. But as Ning Yi said, what really determines the outcome is after the first snow falls. At that time, either the court's disaster relief measures collapse, or the psychological limits of the big families collapse. Before that, both sides
They are constantly using various means to improve their bargaining chips.
In the south, just in the past half month, a grain transport ship was even scuttled, and the murderer has not yet been found. Not long ago, a county magistrate sent by Qin Siyuan in Huainan, because of his upright character, used drastic measures to provide disaster relief.
, caused a rebound. A large grain farmer wanted to take advantage of this famine to expand his strength and blindly ate a lot of shipped grain. He thought he would make a sure profit and bought it at a high price. Who knows what will happen next?
The fluctuations in grain prices were beyond his expectation, and there was a slight downward trend.
This is also due to Ning Yi’s fierce suppression methods in the first stage. Although it seems that the total amount of food that can be mobilized is not as expected, Ning Yi’s investment in the first stage is still very courageous. He is too experienced.
It's like playing stud gambling in a shopping mall. No matter whether you are fat or not, you have to get your face swollen first. On the other hand, this time the enemy also has a ladder-like level, and it will first satisfy the appetite of some big players.
It is Ning Yi's plan to increase their psychological burden, make them collapse in advance, and leak food as soon as possible to intimidate higher-level people.
At this level, how can the small and medium-sized gentry in the countryside be Ning Yi's opponent? Ning Yi controlled the entry of grain, and after receiving the order from the Prime Minister's Office, the county magistrate also enthusiastically used administrative means to cooperate with public opinion and began to
He suppressed prices and threatened these big households to spit out their grain. He did so well. The psychology of the big households collapsed, and one day they shouted: "If you don't let me live, I will let you die."
"Invite people to kill the county magistrate who is busy rescuing people.
The county magistrate originally came from a poor family and was an honest and upright official. When he was killed, he was distributing his own rations to the hungry people outside. His family at home could only eat porridge every day.
After the murder occurred, the wealthy family secretly asked someone to release the news, saying that the county magistrate was killed by Wang Qing's men who were causing trouble nearby. But the police quickly found the murderer. At this time, the person in charge of the disaster relief in the south was Princess Chengguo's Mansion.
Zhou Pei happened to be nearby, and even told the county magistrate himself about the disaster relief plan. After learning the whole situation, he was so sad that he almost went crazy. He immediately sent people to arrest the entire family and screened them out.
The people involved in the grain harvesting and the immediate family members of the big family were thrown into prison. Then she and the furious Princess Zhou Xuan of Chengguo wrote a letter home to Zhou Zhe.
After this incident, the Prime Minister's Office immediately issued an order to accept the affairs of the county government with people from the Secret Investigation Department. After the trial, it was paraded through the streets to publicize it. After that, several companies were investigated with strong methods. The rest of the people were in panic, and under this high pressure
I didn't dare to stock up any more, but it did cause a hole in local food prices.
In this case, it is said that after the wealthy family was thrown into prison, Zhou Pei rushed into the prison on the first day, snatched away all the meals for the wealthy family, and even drank the gruel on the spot.
A bowl means "how can such good porridge be given to beasts", "they must be starved to death", "whoever dares to give them porridge again, I will beat him to death". If the royal family intervenes, even if they really
The family members were beaten to death on the spot and no one dared to say anything. I just heard that Zhou Pei vomited in the room the night he drank porridge and almost fell ill the next day.
Later, it was announced in the trial that the family had been starved to death for four days. It was not until Kang Xian issued an order that Zhou Pei was told to stay away from the matter. At the same time, they were given one meal of porridge a day to barely survive. But as you can imagine,
It was rare for them to die a happy death from now on.
When Qin Siyuan talked about this, his tone was a little low, and Ning Yi's expression also seemed indifferent.
"Magistrate Geng's family has asked the Secret Investigation Department to help make arrangements... Zhou Pei still asked him to go back. Wang Qing was making trouble there. Although Xin Xingzong and the others have set out to suppress it, it is still not peaceful after all. And... a
Even if the price of food in the county drops slightly, it will not be of great benefit to the overall situation. We cannot use the lives of good people to pay for it. We must prevent this kind of thing from happening in other places..."
Although Ning Yi's tone was indifferent, he still felt compassion after thinking about these things. Qin Siyuan shook his head: "This is a war, it is inevitable. A hard knife will not cut the flesh, and a soft knife will hurt more. Recently, the pressure down there has been a lot, but really
If you want to get things done, you have to adopt a warlike attitude. Otherwise, once you think about self-protection and compromise once, you will inevitably continue to compromise. I will spread the news about Geng Qianzhi to the world through Di Bao.
The evil of these food hoarders must... be defeated!"
Ning Yi thought about it and nodded: "I'm a little indecisive..."
Qin Siyuan laughed: "A gentleman is like an animal. Seeing it live, he can't bear to see it die; hearing its sound, he can't bear to eat its meat. So a gentleman is a cook far away. He acts consistently and is ruthless to himself and others. Only
It is the way of a gentleman to always have compassion for those around you."
Ning Yi thought for a moment and sighed: "Good people should be rewarded. We often say that someone does good deeds and accumulates virtue, but later dies for others and does not get good rewards. In the end, people often feel that if they do good deeds, they will be rewarded."
If there is no evil retribution for someone who deserves evil retribution, it will often appear that the person has impure intentions when doing good deeds. This kind of publicity is not good."
"There is no such thing as what Li Heng said." Qin Siyuan was slightly surprised, "I have seen some stories and strange novels in the world today, saying that this person is filial or chaste, and they often end up with good things in the end. If he is a man, he often tests
If you are a woman who reaches the top rank of the imperial examination and has the highest rank of official worship, she will often meet your husband as you wish. But there are not many people who say that good people will be rewarded with bad things."
"Uh..." Ning Yi was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing, "Haha, it was my fault. Don't blame Mr. Qin."
Qin Siyuan also smiled, and then his expression became solemn: "Li Heng must guard against the soft knives I mentioned."
Ning Yi nodded: "I know that most of the officials sent out on both sides of the north and south are under pressure, either lured by money or forced by power, just to make them turn a blind eye.
, in this regard, the Secret Investigation Department has been asked to intensify the intensity of investigation, and other officials, as well as other officials, cannot be careless about the several lines on the North-South Commercial Road."
"Someone has extended their connections to the capital and taken away my connections." Qin Siyuan looked gloomy, "Sooner or later they will find Li Heng. Li Heng must make some preparations."
Hearing him talk about this, Ning Yi showed a smile: "I'm mentally prepared for this. Don't worry, Prime Minister Qin."
Qin Siyuan sighed: "I'm not worried about you. As I said just now, Liheng is cruel to himself and others. I just sigh about this world..." After a pause, he laughed, "Oh, that's right.
, Dexin and Zhouhai in the north seem to be doing well."
Ning Yi nodded: "Brother Cheng is very powerful. With him and Dexin teaming up, those people can't make any trouble."
"Well, Zhou Hai's tactics are too ruthless, which is somewhat similar to my early years, but when he does things, he is indeed thorough, so I... am not too worried..."
As the old man said this, he actually had high hopes for Cheng Zhouhai, a disciple with great tricks...
****************
The reason why Qin Siyuan and Ning Yi talked about Cheng Zhouhai was because Cheng Zhouhai was originally in charge of military rations in the north. After the disaster relief began, he temporarily took over the affairs of the Secret Reconnaissance Department in the north. After that, he took over with Li Pin.
lines, cooperate with each other.
Then a few days ago, on Hedong Road, the first violent rebound among large households came from the Guo family in Xiaoyi County.
After Li Pin came to the Guo family to force him to release grain, Guo Mingyi went to Zuo Jilan to discuss, and Zuo Jilan went to Qi Fanghou of the Qi family. After the two sides combined, two aides, Wang Zhizhen and Xu Mai, gave Guo Mingyi the first strategy.
.
Afterwards, the day after Guo Mingyi returned home, he went outside and spoke to the hungry people in tears under the protection of his servants: Because the government believed that the Guo family had been giving porridge, they must have food at home, so they threatened the Guo family.
To release more food, he had to make some forced concessions. At the same time, he announced that this day would be the last meal of porridge for the Guo family.
He wants to... incite civil unrest and target the government directly!
No matter how big Li Pin's official position is, no matter what kind of background he has behind him, if his first measure after taking power causes civil unrest, and combined with the influence of the Zuo family and Qi family in the capital, his official...
It cannot be done no matter what.
On this day, perhaps because it was the last day of porridge relief, the porridge cooked by the Guo family was particularly thick, which also gave the hungry people the strength to digest the news. The hungry people were stunned when they heard Guo Mingyi's words.
A commotion was about to break out. Someone shouted from one side of the crowd: "He is lying!" (To be continued...)
ps: Looking back on some books in ancient times, being a good person and a filial son can become the number one scholar and be appreciated by the emperor. Nowadays, the propaganda is often that if you do good deeds, you will die. This person who has done good deeds is so miserable. And because of the logical judgment of the public,
The ability is generally low, and eventually it becomes an atmosphere: if this person is not dead or does not live a miserable life, then the good deeds he does will not count, or in other words, this person does good deeds for profit from the beginning. Motives
Let us all be polite and unreasonable, and let a society that generally needs goodwill not get it. It is similar to people like Chen Guangbiao. If he has done good things and wants to show off, why can't he do it?
What? Why can’t you get praise for doing good things? Society needs goodwill, and people who do good deeds do need some motivation to continue doing good deeds. Among them, praise is really the most humble reward. Well, this is